GOGANOVIĆ: BURNING OF REPUBLIKA SRPSKA FLAG IS HATE-FUELED CRIMINAL ACT

SARAJEVO, JUNE 26 /SRNA/ – Deputy Defense Minister in the Council of Ministers Aleksandar Goganović said that the burning of the Republika Srpska flag constitutes a criminal offense and a brutal act of hatred, adding that such incidents are not isolated but rather the result of ongoing political tensions and anti-Serb rhetoric coming from political Sarajevo.

Goganović said that for years there had been repeated desecration of Serbian Orthodox churches and cemeteries in the other entity, attacks on Serb returnees, and a lack of adequate punishment for those responsible.

"I expect the competent authorities to promptly identify and sanction the perpetrators, and I also expect the international community to clearly and unequivocally condemn such attacks," Goganović told SRNA, commenting on a video showing a group of individuals removing the Republika Srpska flag from a flagpole and then setting it on fire while shouting "Allahu Akbar" and using profanity.

He stressed that Republika Srpska was established through great sacrifice and that its symbols deserve full respect.

"We will respond to every desecration of our symbols with dignity and determination, while preserving peace, stability and the interests of Republika Srpska, which is a factor of stability in BiH," Goganović emphasized.

He added that Republika Srpska would know how to protect its dignity and its symbols in accordance with the law.

"Hands off the Republika Srpska flag!" Goganović said.

According to media reports from the Federation of BiH, the flag had been flying on a flagpole erected along the Inter-Entity Boundary Line between Republika Srpska and the Federation of BiH.