CONSUL VERA SAJIĆ REQUESTS POLICE PROTECTION DUE TO CALLS FOR LYNCHING

STUTTGART, MAY 28 /SRNA/ - The Consul General of BiH in Stuttgart, Vera Sajić, requested protection from the German police following the Sarajevo media reports and comments in Sarajevo media calling for her lynching after she refused to allow the Consulate's premises to be used for commemorating the victims of war in Srebrenica, which would amount to politicization.

"After the Sarajevo media reports and comments that are offensive to me and my family, attacking me on national grounds, spreading hatred, and calling for lynching, I have sent a verbal note to the Ministry of the Interior of the state of Baden-Württemberg and requested protection," Sajić told SRNA. She said that she had also informed the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Sarajevo about everything. After receiving the request to use the Consulate's premises for commemorating the victims of war in Srebrenica, Sajić emphasized that the diplomatic-consular network of BiH must not be used for commemorating the victims of war from among only one ethnic group and that the victims must not be politicized. "Considering that the same event was held in Munich, where I served as Consul General for three years, and that the organizers never approached or used the Consulate's premises, I was surprised by the email and request sent by a certain lady and creator of the petition to the Consulate General of BiH in Stuttgart," Sajić said. She emphasized that there is no agreement among the three constituent peoples in BiH regarding the commemoration of the suffering of any one people, nor is there a common position of the Presidency of BiH regarding the sufferings of Serbs, Bosniaks, or Croats. Sajić reminded that the Presidency of BiH is a collective body that makes decisions by consensus and is solely responsible for conducting foreign policy. "She said that the Consulate General of BiH in Stuttgart was used in previous years for the needs of only one ethnic group and party, as well as for collecting political points and voters, which is an abuse of the diplomatic-consular network, emphasizing that she will not allow it. "I want to emphasize that I feel sorry for all those who suffered in the civil war in BiH and for every grieving family and mother. I am also sorry that we do not look each other in the eye and apologize for all the sufferings, for all the victims in BiH," said Sajić." She emphasized that the diplomatic-consular network of BiH must not be used for commemorating the victims of only one ethnic group and that the victims must not be politicized. "As Consul General, I am responsible for the consulate, its employees, and it is my duty to alert the authorities of the host country about any potentially compromised security situation when I assess it. I have requested personal protection and protection for the premises of the Consulate General," Sajić stressed. She also noted that immediately after the media reports, a request from Serbian associations in Baden-Württemberg for holding a commemorative event for the Serbs killed in the Podrinje region arrived at the Consulate General. Sarajevo media reported on May 18 that the organizers of the central commemoration event for the war victims in Srebrenica had signed a petition to be allowed to use the Consulate General of BiH in Stuttgart, and that this year, as they claim, Sajić refused them that opportunity.