FILIPOVIĆ: HELEZ SHOULD BE DISMISSED AND PROSECUTED

BRATUNAC, JUNE 15 /SRNA/ - The Minister of Defense in the Council of Ministers, Zukan Helez, urgently should be dismissed and face charges for endangering the Constitution of BiH due to his statement that Bosniaks will seek the abolition of Republika Srpska and its division into two cantons, according to the Bratunac Organization of Families of Captured and Killed Soldiers and Missing Civilians.

The president of the Organization, Radojka Filipović, told SRNA that Helez's statements are not surprising because Bosniak politicians continue their policy of attempting to achieve in peace what they could not in war, which is the disappearance of Republika Srpska and the Serbian people from the left bank of the Drina River. "Helez's statements and announcements are an assault on the Constitution of BiH. He provokes and spreads hatred, aiming to instill fear in the Serbian people instead of creating conditions for a safer life for all citizens of BiH. Because of this, he should be removed from office and held criminally accountable," emphasized Filipović. She believes that Helez is trying to ingratiate himself with his voters in an election year to secure more votes for his party in local communities, and is expressing his hatred and dissatisfaction with the fact that Republika Srpska is a better-organized part of BiH. Filipović added that Helez and many others who oppose Republika Srpska are bothered by the unity of the Serbian people and their steadfast commitment to protecting and preserving Republika Srpska. “However, we tell them that they will not succeed in their intentions to abolish it. Republika Srpska is a guarantor of freedom and survival for Serbs on the left bank of the Drina, and we will never abandon it or surrender it to others," Filipović said. According to her, she expects the judiciary, specifically the Prosecutor's Office of BiH, to launch an investigation and file charges against Helez for endangering the Constitution of BiH. Helez recently announced that the Bosniak authorities, in light of the Srebrenica resolution, will seek the abolition of Republika Srpska by dividing it into two cantons and erasing its name forever. Helez also threatened that Serbs would "come out worse" if they do not comply with his plan for division, and would fare, as he said, like Serbs from the Republic of Serbian Krajina who were expelled during the Croatian "Operation Storm." He also said that it would be an “advantage" for Serbs if they would voluntarily leave Republika Srpska and BiH.