IT IS ABSURD TO TRY TO FORCE SERBS TO RENOUNCE ONE OF MOST GLORIOUS PARTS OF THEIR HISTORY

BIJELJINA, JANUARY 28 /SRNA/ – Minister of Labor and Veterans' and Disability Protection Radan Ostojić said it is absurd to attempt to impose on the Serb people the renunciation of one of the most glorious parts of their history by handing down verdicts because a Serb carried photographs of Serbian generals Ratko Mladić and Radovan Karadžić.

Ostojić said that Miodrag Malić, who was sentenced to three years in prison by Sena Uzunović, was convicted under a law imposed by former High Representative in BiH Valentin Inzko.

"This is a verbal offence for which no one anywhere in the world is held criminally liable, yet everything is being done to force us to renounce a part of our history that represents its most glorious chapter," Ostojić told reporters in Bijeljina.

He stressed that the first president of Republika Srpska Radovan Karadžić had a vision of how to create Republika Srpska, while General Mladić led the fighters in order to defend it.

Ostojić assessed that it is absurd to punish someone for carrying a photograph and to put someone on trial based on a subjective feeling.

He emphasized that the Court of BiH, the incomplete Constitutional Court of BiH and the Office of the High Representative /OHR/ are working to undermine Republika Srpska, noting that he has not seen any of these institutions ever decide on anything that would be in favor of Republika Srpska.

Ostojić pointed out that Serbs must give a unified response to the actions of these three institutions, otherwise there will be more cases like those of Malić and Vojin Pavlović.

"We recently had the `Pavlović case,` which resulted in a conviction. I personally organized a protest with his family in Kravice in front of a memorial to our victims, for whom no one has yet been held accountable, and during the appeal process he received an even harsher sentence," Ostojić said.

He stressed that much greater attention must be paid to these cases, as they will create a legal precedent to be used in future proceedings.

"I believe that if nothing is done again on this issue, a Pandora's box will be opened to the detriment of the Serb people. But if we are united and speak about our glorious history and about individuals who sacrificed themselves for all of us, then we will not allow this to continue. We, the veterans, will always hold the highest regard for Karadžić and our General Mladić," Ostojić concluded.