Wartime flags of the so-called Army of Bosnia and Herzegovina, rather than ordinary supporters’ symbols, have once again appeared as a way for certain individuals to “support” the national team. Only seven days after a shocking video surfaced on social media showing a group of extremists burning the Serb tricolour while shouting insults, curses and “Allahu Akbar”, new provocations have now taken place in Doboj. A car decorated with a wartime Bosnian Army flag provoked local residents, after which police intervened, arrested one person and confiscated the flag.
While Serb tricolours are being burned in the other entity, wartime flags are now being displayed across Republika Srpska. It is no novelty that wartime Bosnian flags have become a common sight on cars in the Federation. What is new, however, is that some appear determined to push those symbols beyond entity lines, driving into Doboj with a vehicle bearing the wartime flag. Following reports from citizens, police intervened.
“Police officers identified a person with the initials S.H. who, during the undertaking of legally prescribed measures and actions, ignored a lawful order issued by a police officer, after which the individual was deprived of liberty, and the flag in question was confiscated with a receipt. Bearing in mind that the actions of the police officers were filmed and photographed without authorisation by a person with the initials N.S. from the municipality of Maglaj, Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, after which the recordings were published on social media and internet portals, the duty prosecutor of the Doboj District Public Prosecutor’s Office was informed and classified the matter as the criminal offence of ‘Unauthorised photographing’,” the Doboj Police Administration said.
Serb war veterans reacted with anger, saying that under the very same flag now being waved from a car, some of the most brutal crimes against the Serb people were committed during the war.
“The purpose of displaying those flags is solely provocation, nothing else. It is not a flag that represents the Serb people. Even during the war it was not the flag of all of Bosnia and Herzegovina, but of that part of Bosnia and Herzegovina from which the Serb people were expelled from the Bosna valley and all the areas now under the Federation,” said Petar Tubić, President of the Assembly of the Doboj City Veterans’ Organisation.
Stevan Medić, President of the Association of Creators of Republika Srpska, said that the current moment is not a time for provocations, although, as he put it, fellow citizens living in the Federation often misuse their symbols in this way, and added that efforts should be directed towards bringing people closer together rather than driving them apart.
Residents of Doboj said that supporting a team is not a problem, but provocations are.
There has been no official reaction from Sarajevo to the incident. Condemnations have come only from Republika Srpska, while the Federation has remained silent, continuing to promote the narrative of Bosnia and Herzegovina as a country of coexistence. The question, however, is what kind of coexistence that can be if one of the constituent peoples is constantly subjected to provocation.
Source: RTRS
