DODIK: SERBS DO NOT WANT TO SEE SARAJEVO AS THEIR CAPITAL

MRAKOVICA, JUNE 29 /SRNA/ - Republika Srpska President Milorad Dodik stated today that Serbs do not want to see Sarajevo as their capital, as 150,000 residents of Serbian nationality were expelled from the city during the last war.

“We want nothing from the Federation of BiH, we are not interested in a single millimeter of their territory, their way of life, their successes or failures. We have no emotional attachment to it, and we are surprised by their constant aspirations toward Srpska,” Dodik said at Mrakovica. Speaking at the commemoration of the 83rd anniversary of the Battle of Kozara, Dodik emphasized that today, some are trying to turn Serbs into some kind of Bosnians and Herzegovinians. “What a deceit! We are part of the united Serbian people, who live not only here but also in Serbia and around the world,” Dodik said. He noted that the Serbian Orthodox Church /SPC/ has always stood by its people, preserving their literacy, language, and patron saint traditions. “They tried to take all that from us during communism. Similar to what /Benjamin/ Kalaj did, the communists wanted to pacify the Serbian people to the point of losing their identity. But in the 1990s, we recognized the threat coming from Sarajevo and Zagreb,” Dodik said. He reminded that Republika Srpska was defended with the blood of its best fighters. “Today we defend it again through our political actions and our character,” Dodik emphasized. Republika Srpska, Dodik emphasized, is stable, unquestionable, and living a life of progress despite many challenges and obstacles. “There is not a day when something isn’t being plotted against us. They forced us into BiH to eventually disappear or at least lose the will for Republika Srpska. But things look better than many can imagine,” Dodik said. According to him, Republika Srpska has never been in a better position, regardless of what the malicious say. “Today, Republika Srpska has an average salary of BAM 1,500, which used to be just a pipe dream. We know it’s not enough for people, but we are constantly growing and progressing; our economy is growing, as are our investments,” Dodik stated. He said that Republika Srpska plans to complete the highway from Banja Luka to Belgrade despite all the obstacles from Brussels and Sarajevo, and that the Krajina region would have had a gas pipeline if it weren’t for the cynicism in Sarajevo.