ZOBENICA: SRPSKA PRESIDENT TODAY, TOMORROW IT COULD BE ANY ONE OF US

BELGRADE, AUGUST 2 /SRNA/ – The confirmation of the first-instance judgment against the President of Republika Srpska, Milorad Dodik, is not a legal decision but a political execution, emphasized political analyst Aleksandar Zobenica.

Zobenica’s op-ed for SRNA is published in full below: "What happened today is not a judgment – it is a message, not directed at Milorad Dodik, but at every Serb living in Republika Srpska. It’s a message that we are not allowed to think, not allowed to decide, not allowed to defend what the Dayton Peace Agreement clearly and unambiguously guaranteed us , what our grandfathers and fathers laid down their lives for. If a Serb dares to raise his head – the court awaits. If the institutions of Republika Srpska say ‘no’ to the high tourist without an office – they are punished. If the president of Republika Srpska stands in defence of his people’s constitution and laws – prison awaits him. If they can do this to a president, what do you think they can do to an ordinary person? A teacher, a student, a worker, a householder? This is not a legal decision. It is a political execution. The Court of BiH is an instrument, not an institution. It is not a guarantor of justice, but an unconstitutional tool of intimidation. Its target is not one man – it is an entire state. And that state is called Republika Srpska. Today we are prosecuted for not accepting the decisions of /Christian/ Schmidt, who was not appointed by the UN Security Council. Tomorrow they’ll dictate how we celebrate our patron saint’s day. The day after, they’ll abolish the Cyrillic alphabet. Once you accept that internationals and their offices in Sarajevo choose your president, tomorrow they’ll be choosing your child’s name. That’s why we must not remain silent. This is not a time for diplomatic wording; this is a time for popular vigilance and institutional resistance. This is not just about Dodik. This is about the right of Republika Srpska to exist, to have its own president, its own laws, its own will. If we allow this to go through – everything will fall. This is the moment where you either lower your head and stay silent, or stand upright and defend Srpska! Republika Srpska must remain upright. Not because of one man. But because of ourselves, our children, our right to be what we are – a free, proud Serb people."