NORMALIZATION AND INSTITUTIONALIZATION OF SERBOPHOBIA

SARAJEVO, JULY 28 /SRNA/ – The Dean of the Orthodox Theological Faculty "Saint Vasilije of Ostrog" in Foča, Archpriest-Stavrophore Darko Đogo, says there are serious signs of the normalization and institutionalization of Serbophobia in the Federation of BiH /FBiH/, with Orthodox churches and the small remaining Serb population being seen as legitimate and unprotected targets.

“We are dealing, first and foremost, with a society that has lived for 30 years under the illusion of the role of the so-called Army of BiH in the past war, with almost no awareness of the crimes committed against the Serb people,” Đogo told SRNA. According to him, the war traumas of the Muslim population are continuously politicized in a way that generates a strong desire for revenge - one that, for many, from leaders to ordinary citizens, justifies statements about a “second half” and other unacceptable wartime narratives. “Unfortunately, the issue goes even deeper: from media propaganda to history textbooks, children in FBiH are constantly exposed to a barrage of false history in which everything is reversed - from the long-debunked thesis about the Bogomils in the Middle Ages, to absurd claims that Serbs in Herzegovina and Bosnia are merely ‘Serbianized Bosniaks.’ We are witnessing a horrifying normalization of lies and aggression toward the identity of Serbs, which was once shared across all of Bosnia and Hum,” Đogo said. He concluded that in such circumstances, it is not surprising that Orthodox churches and the small number of Serbs are viewed by many as legitimate, yet unprotected, targets.