DODIK: WE EXPECT U.S. ADMINISTRATION'S REPRESENTATIVE FOR RELIGIOUS AFFAIRS TO ATTEND COMMEMORATION IN BRATUNAC TODAY

BRATUNAC, JULY 4 /SRNA/ – SNSD Leader Milorad Dodik announced that a representative of the U.S. administration for religious affairs is expected to attend today's commemoration in Bratunac marking the 34th anniversary of the suffering of Serbs in the Central Podrinje and Birač region.

"I expect him to come. I would like that to happen, which could represent a kind of turning point. Sooner or later, the truth comes to light and cannot be hidden," Dodik told the press in Bratunac.

He points out that representatives of Republika Srpska institutions and the Serb people are present in Bratunac today, but that there are no EU representatives.

"Brussels is built on falsehoods. They are trying to impose their version of the truth on us and build BIh, which is impossible and will become evident in the period ahead," Dodik said.

A tribute is being paid today in Bratunac for the 3,267 Serb victims from the Central Podrinje and Birač who were killed during the recent war.

The commemoration marks the 34th anniversary of the large-scale suffering of Serbs on St. Peter's Day in 1992 in villages around Srebrenica and Bratunac, when 69 soldiers and civilians were killed and 22 people were taken prisoner, none of whom survived.

Muslim units from Srebrenica frequently attacked Serb-populated villages during the Defensive-Patriotic War on major Orthodox religious holidays. On St. Peter's Day in 1992, they attacked the villages of Zalazje, Biljača, Sase and Zagoni, killing everyone they encountered while looting and burning Serb-owned property.

This year's commemorative programme’s moto is "One Is Not Invited to Bratunac – One Goes to Bratunac".