GOGANOVIĆ: HELEZ'S CRITICISM OF CVIJANOVIĆ REFLECTS HIS WEAKNESS

ISTOČNO SARAJEVO, NOVEMBER 21 – Deputy Minister of Defense in the Council of Ministers Aleksandar Goganović has stated that the unfounded criticism by Minister of Defense Zukan Helez against the Serb member of the BiH Presidency, Željka Cvijanović, is nothing more than the reaction of a politician who cannot tolerate her international reputation and dignified representation of the interests of Republika Srpska.

"Željka Cvijanović, the Serb member of the BiH Presidency, is one of the most respected figures from the region on the international political stage. She maintains continuous contacts with a large number of foreign leaders and partners, and she represents the interests of Republika Srpska and the Serb people with dignity. She does so calmly, with arguments, and without insults, a proof of serious and responsible politics", Goganović streesed for SRNA. He pointed out that this is precisely what bothers certain irresponsible politicians in Sarajevo, so the unfounded and coordinated attacks launched by Helez and those like him come as no surprise, adding that such statements say far more about them than about Cvijanović. Goganović reminded that at the BiH level there is no law on state holidays, and that today when it's a non-working day in Republika Srpska, when the Day of the Signing of the Dayton Peace Accords is marked — employees of the Ministry of Defense and members of the BiH Armed Forces from the ranks of the Serb people are not working. By contrast, Goganović emphasized, November 25 will be an entirely ordinary working day for all Serbs in the defense system. "This clearly shows who upholds the law and the Constitution, and who is attempting to impose political dates that have never been adopted as state holidays", Goganović told SRNA in response to Helez’s statement that "Cvijanović herself celebrated BiH Statehood Day, November 25, until 30 years ago". Helez failed to mention, he said, that November 25 marks the statehood of a BiH that no longer exists. It is a holiday that was observed in the former Socialist Republic of BiH, in memory of the 1943 adoption of the ZAVNOBiH Resolution, which laid the foundations for BiH as an equal republic within the former SFR Yugoslavia. That date, tied to the former SR BiH, is marked in the Federation of BiH, while in Republika Srpska it is a normal working day, as Srpska marks peace and the conclusion of the Dayton Peace Accords, when BiH emerged as a state community composed of two entities and three constituent peoples.