KONAKOVIĆ'S STATEMENTS A SERIOUS AND UNNECESSARY INSULT TO SERBIA AND THE SERBIAN PEOPLE

BELGRADE, December 1 /SRNA/ - Statements made by Elmedin Konaković, Minister of Foreign Affairs in the Council of Ministers, represent a serious and unnecessary insult to Serbia and the Serbian people, as well as a step backwards in efforts to improve relations between the two countries, the Serbian Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced.

The Ministry expressed regret over Konaković's remark that he refuses to apologize for the incident and shameful chanting by part of the audience during last night's basketball game between BiH and Serbia in Sarajevo, and condemned "the language, assessments and comments made by the chief diplomat of a neighbouring and friendly state, BiH."

The statement stressed that sports events, wherever they take place and regardless of which teams are involved, should be venues for promoting healthy competition, adherence to the rules of the game, and correct behaviour by spectators.

"Matches and fans must not be misused as a pretext for reopening old wounds, spreading gross falsehoods, disrespecting all victims, nor should they become platforms for insulting the President of Serbia and the Serbian people as a whole," the Ministry stated.

Instead of condemning the shameful chanting in Sarajevo - which part of the local political establishment seeks to present as coming from a supposedly multi-ethnic and multi-confessional city - Konaković tries to translate daily politics, foreign-manufactured media spin, and his open personal animosity toward the President of Serbia Aleksandar Vučić and the entire Serbian nation into public statements that make no sense and have no basis in truth.

The Ministry pointed out that, when speaking about crimes and suffering of Bosniaks, Konaković deliberately ignores the fact that his compatriot Naser Orić, commander of Muslim units during the conflict in BiH, was acquitted of responsibility for the brutal killings of nearly 3,700 Serbs in the wider Srebrenica area and the ethnic cleansing carried out there, just as he ignores that the deserved sentences were evaded by the /El Mujahid/ fighters in the ranks of the BiH Army, who also committed horrific massacres of Serbian civilians.

"Is that supposed to be justice? Listing the unpunished crimes committed by the Bosniak–Muslim side against Serbs between 1992 and 1995 would take much space - even more if we went back several decades to the years of the Second World War," the Ministry stated.

The Serbian Ministry of Foreign Affairs recalled that Vučić travelled to Srebrenica a little over ten years ago to honour Bosniak victims, and that Bosniak extremists responded to this gesture of respect, reconciliation and apology with an attempted lynching.

The statement added that, instead of a dignified reception, Vučić and the Serbian delegation were greeted with a hail of stones.

"For that 'incident', which in a state governed by the rule of law would be classified as attempted murder or at least causing grievous bodily harm, no one was ever held accountable. Konaković knows all of this, but cheap political points, sowing hostility and hatred toward Serbs in his own and in a neighbouring state appear to take priority in the work of the 'foreign minister' of BiH," the Ministry said.

It emphasized that Serbia remains committed to peace, cooperation and preserving stability in the region.

"We ask for nothing more from others than that our victims be respected, acknowledged, and not minimized. If we seek sincere reconciliation, a minimum of justice must be achieved - meaning accountability for those responsible for crimes. The Serbian people have always borne their burden, their victims, suffering and pain with dignity, but we will not allow anyone to insult or belittle us," the Ministry stressed.

Earlier today, the Minister of Foreign Affairs in the Council of Ministers, Elmedin Konaković, stated that he would not extend an apology to the citizens of Serbia over the shameful chanting in Sarajevo during the basketball game between the national teams of Serbia and BiH, accusing Serbia of "provocations and assaults on the integrity and sovereignty of BiH."