DODIK: PASS TRUTH ABOUT POGROM OF SERBS ON TO FUTURE GENERATIONS

BANJA LUKA, JULY 23 /SRNA/ – We want to pass on the truth about the suffering and expulsion of Serbs during the Croatian military and police Operation Storm 31 years ago to future generations, because it must never be forgotten, said today the chairman of the organizing commemoration committee, Milorad Dodik.

"At that time, the municipalities of Glamoč, Grahovo, Drvar, Petrovac, Mrkonjić Grad, Šipovo, Ribnik… and others were also ethnically cleansed of Serbs. That is why we must not forget what was done to the Serb people," Dodik said at a press conference following a meeting of the organizing committee for the Day of Remembrance of Serbs killed and expelled during the Croatian military and police Operation Storm.

He stressed that the event is important for both Republika Srpska and Serbia, which commemorate it jointly.

Dodik recalled that the pogrom carried out during Operation Storm permanently extinguished many Serb homes and communities in Croatia.

"The small number of Serbs who remained in Croatia live in difficult conditions. The Serb people in the FBiH also live under difficult circumstances. Our people are marginalized in all aspects of life, not to mention ethnic rights," Dodik said.

He pointed out that property and legal issues concerning Serbs are resolved with great difficulty, adding that there has recently been attack on the property of the Serbian Orthodox Church in the FBiH.

"We are ready to fight for every aspect of the Serb people's survival in the FBiH. Serbs were ethnically cleansed from their ancestral homes. Sarajevo is one example, from where 156,000 Serbs were expelled. Many people were killed, and the Petrovac Road best symbolizes the cruelty of the killers from the Muslim and Croatian armies. They killed innocent people who had fled from Croatia," Dodik recalled.

He reiterated that more than a decade ago he and Serbia’s President Aleksandar Vučić agreed that the Day of Remembrance of Serbs killed and expelled during the Croatian military and police Operation Storm would be commemorated jointly.

"On the other side, among the Muslim-Croat side, there will be euphoric celebrations. But we remember that you killed us and that you have never repented. They assume they can kill a Serb without being held accountable. At the commemoration, we will clearly express our political views," Dodik said.

He also stated that His Holiness Patriarch Porfirije of Serbia will deliver a sermon following the prayer service and memorial.

"Those who attend will hear the positions of the most important Serb institutions: Republika Srpska, Serbia, and the Serbian Orthodox Church," Dodik concluded.

According to the Veritas Documentation - Information Centre, more than 220,000 Serbs were expelled during Operation Storm. The centre has recorded the names of 1,903 Serbs who were killed or remain missing during and after the operation, of whom 1,247, or 66 percent, were civilians. About three-quarters of the victims were over the age of 60.

The International Court of Justice, in its February 2015 judgment, characterized Operation Storm as ethnic cleansing, but not genocide, although some experts in the field have argued that the operation exhibited all the characteristics of genocide.