VASIĆ: SO-CALLED BOSNIAK INTELLECTUALS ARE SPREADING NOTORIOUS LIES

ISTOČNO SARAJEVO, AUGUST 26 /SRNA/ - Sociologist Vladimir Vasić stated that self-proclaimed Bosniak intellectuals are spreading lies that the so-called Army of BiH "preserved key religious facilities of other peoples," thereby continuing their efforts to falsify the truth about the war in BiH, and sent a message that reconciliation does not happen on the basis of amnesia.

"The burned Church of St. George in Trnovo was probably not on the list of `key religious facilities` that were `generously saved` by members of the so-called Army of BiH. Nor was the then-parish priest of Trnovo Nedeljko Popović on that same `humanistic list,`" Vasić told SRNA. The sociologist from Istočno Sarajevo points out that such statements only speak of the tireless efforts of individuals to characterize the war according to carefully crafted false matrices, according to which it turns out that – Serbs committed crimes against themselves, burned their own places of worship, killed their own people, and looted their own property!? Vasić says that all of this is blasphemy, which is nothing new or strange in the narrative of "Bosnian-Herzegovinian" champions of the "truth" and eternal guardians of the "victim" status. "When a claim is placed into the public sphere that the so-called Army of BiH `preserved key religious facilities of other peoples,` while at the same time there is abundant data on the suffering and destruction of Orthodox churches, cemeteries, and other Serbian cultural and religious heritage during the war, then it is necessary to reply and call it by its real name – notorious lies," Vasić emphasized. And if someone lies, says Vasić, they also steal. "We are witnessing that individuals not only lie, but also attempt to steal other people's identities while building their own. The way a society interprets the past directly affects its relations today," Vasić believes. According to him, the immortal Jovan Dučić spoke best about the "courage" of certain people who are not courageous just because they fear nothing, but because they are ashamed of nothing. Vasić stated that the Serbian people do not have the need to diminish the suffering of any other people in order to speak about their own suffering. "On the contrary, the maturity of a society is reflected in its ability to say that every innocent victim deserves dignity, every destroyed church deserves to be remembered, and every crime deserves clear condemnation – regardless of who committed it. But, we have grown a little tired of exchanging stones and bread. They throw stones at us, we throw bread at them. We are tired," says Vasić. According to him, every destroyed place of worship represents a personal and collective defeat, but also a human, civilizational, and spiritual downfall. He emphasizes that reconciliation cannot be built on amnesia—that is, demanding that one side admit everything, even what they did not do, while the other side plays dumb and remembers nothing, especially not their own misdeeds. "The gatherings of the Serb people around their churches are a pledge for the future, but also a mustard seed that, through faith, can create a miracle. But, as long as large assemblies and gatherings of the Serbian people in churchyards in the territory of the Federation of BiH have to be secured by strong police forces, until then we cannot say - as some from those federal ranks try to say - that we live in a multicultural community tolerant of diversity. Yes, religious and national pluralism may exist, but under controlled conditions – like a mouse in a laboratory," Vasić stated. In March in Sarajevo, at the initiative of the Islamic Community in BiH, Muslim religious and political leaders signed a statement claiming that their army "preserved key religious facilities of other peoples," while the Committee for the Protection of the Rights of Serbs in FBiH points out the destruction of numerous Orthodox facilities in the territory of the FBiH.