KOŠARAC: EXODUS OF SARAJEVO SERBS REMAINS HAUNTING LEGACY OF ETHNIC CLEANSING

SARAJEVO, FEBRUARY 21 /SRNA/ – The exodus of Sarajevo Serbs, who left their ancestral homes 30 years ago, remains the most harrowing story of suffering, sacrifice, and ethnic cleansing of a people, said Minister of Foreign Trade and Economic Relations in the Council of Ministers, Staša Košarac.

Košarac told SRNA that this was a tremendous sacrifice woven into the foundations of Republika Srpska, which permanently obliges everyone in the entity.

"In the collective memory of the Serb people, the images of endless convoys of Sarajevo Serbs carrying personal belongings, icons, and coffins with exhumed remains of their loved ones in their hands, seeking refuge in Republika Srpska, will remain forever imprinted," Košarac stressed.

He reminded that the Serbs of Sarajevo, who defended their territory and homes during the war at enormous cost, were forced to leave after the signing of the Dayton Agreement because they did not want to live under Muslim authority.

"Neither then, nor today, did we believe in the sincere intentions of Bosniak politics towards the Serb people. The Sarajevo ordeal taught us a historical lesson: without our state, Republika Srpska, we have neither freedom nor peace. That is why Republika Srpska is our true homeland and refuge, and why it is our sacred duty to protect and defend it," Košarac underlined.

According to him, today, when certain anti-Serb policies try to challenge and belittle Republika Srpska, strip it of rights guaranteed by Dayton, and turn the Serb homeland into an empty shell where others decide the fate of the Serb people, the Serbs are more determined than ever to say that this will not happen.

"We are undoubtedly committed to the patriotic and responsible policies of leader Milorad Dodik and the institutions of Republika Srpska, which stand as the guardians of our freedom. We will not allow a new exodus of the Serb people, new suffering, or desecration of our greatest sanctuary - Republika Srpska. We protect and defend our Republika Srpska, our rights and freedoms, not yielding even a millimeter of what is ours, while refusing to let anyone take what is rightfully ours," Košarac said.

The mass exodus of Sarajevo Serbs officially began on 17 February 1996 from the Serb Sarajevo municipalities that, following the signing of the Dayton Agreement, were assigned to the Federation of BiH, and lasted almost until the end of March.

It is estimated that 120,000 to 150,000 Serbs left their homes in the municipalities of Ilidža, Ilijaš, Vogošća, Hadžići, Rajlovac, Grbavica, and Novo Sarajevo, and one of the most harrowing aspects was the exhumation and transfer of the remains of the deceased to Republika Srpska.