LINTA: FREEDOM OF OPINION NOT A PRIVILEGE FOR ONLY ONE PEOPLE

BELGRADE, September 1 /SRNA/ – Chair of the Association of Serbs from the Region Miodrag Linta warned that following the death of General Ratko Mladić, Bosniak politicians and some media outlets in the FBiH, particularly in Sarajevo, have launched a new wave of anti-Serb hysteria, using Mladić’s death as a pretext to spread hatred and launch new attacks against Serbs, as well as to attempt to impose collective guilt on the entire Serb people.

He said it was the height of hypocrisy that Sarajevo speaks about the need to confront the past while simultaneously applying different standards to Serb and Bosniak wartime commanders.

Linta recalled that Rasim Delić, commander of the so-called Army of BiH, who was sentenced by the Hague Tribunal to three years in prison for command responsibility for war crimes against captured members of the Republika Srpska Army /RSA/, was buried in Sarajevo with state and military honours, the Association of Serbs from the Region stated.

He stressed that, on the contrary, the death of Ratko Mladić is being used to launch a new campaign against Serbs, while threats of violence, intimidation and various forms of pressure against Serbs who publicly express respect for General Mladić by posting his photographs or in other ways represent a particular security threat.

"When Serbs are fired or lose professional engagements because they have expressed a personal opinion, or because one of their family members has expressed such an opinion, this constitutes a brutal attack on fundamental human rights, including the right to live without fear and the right to work. Freedom of opinion cannot be a privilege for only one people," Linta concluded.