MILIĆ: WE SHOULD PRESERVE MUTUAL TRUST AND FOCUS ON A SHARED FUTURE

BRČKO, AUGUST 31 /SRNA/ - Brčko District Mayor Siniša Milić called on residents to show tolerance and mutual respect and not allow public debates on social media about events from the past to drive them away from building a shared future.

Milić stressed that everyone has the right to their own personal memories, family experiences, and views on the events of the 1990s. "However, the real question is how we will live and work together tomorrow, and how we will address issues such as water supply, sewage, infrastructure, and improving quality of life if we lose mutual trust," Milić stressed. Milić stressed that in a multi-ethnic community such as Brčko, attempts to impose one’s own version of the past, accompanied by insults and hate speech, cannot bring anything good or change anyone's beliefs, but can only undermine the mutual trust on which the stability of the district rests. He pointed out that people should not delude themselves into thinking that a unified narrative about the causes and nature of the war can ever be reached, noting that this was not achieved even in the Dayton Peace Agreement, which ended the war and established the political framework for the functioning of BiH. "It is our obligation to ensure that Brčko is a place where every person, regardless of their name, religion or nationality, will have security, dignity and equal opportunities," Milić said. He reminded that citizens of all ethnicities expressed identical needs during budget discussions and asked whether verbal clashes on social media help or hinder efforts to reach agreement on key local projects such as the spatial plan, routes for future roads, the reconstruction of the bus station and the completion of the city stadium. Milić concluded that Brčko District was established and continues to develop on the principles of multi-ethnicity, tolerance and cooperation, and called on residents to preserve these values as their greatest strength, stressing that the city's future directly depends on the trust being built today.