DODIK: POLICE OFFICERS SHOW HIGHEST PATRIOTISM

PRIJEDOR, OCTOBER 1 /SRNA/ - President Milorad Dodik has said that police officers of the Republika Srpska Ministry of Internal Affairs /MoI/ are true patriots who stand ready at all times to defend Srpska, adding that the Republic must repay them by improving their living standards and continuing to equip all units involved in maintaining security.

"The Anti-Terrorist Unit and everything we are doing are a response to growing global threats. We must be ready at all times to have capable, highly principled officers who can act without hesitation and prevent any threat to the safety and security of Republika Srpska," Dodik told reporters on Kozara, where he attended a tactical exercise marking the 10th anniversary of the establishment and work of the MoI Training Center.

Dodik said Republika Srpska would continue working to equip and strengthen all MoI units.

He described the exercise as excellent and congratulated the commanding officers and Republika Srpska Interior Minister Željko Budimir.

"We did not have this a few years ago. We were subject to arrangements that humiliated us to the point where there was one rifle for every 10 police officers. We had to escape that trap and, from 2000 onward, begin modernizing and training our police units so that the security of our citizens could be maintained at a high level," Dodik said.

He concluded that Srpska today has a police force that guarantees not only public order and safety, but also the ability to combat terrorist and other actions that might potentially be directed against Srpska.