EGIĆ DESCRIBES SREBRENICA PARADE AS DELIBERATE PROVOCATION DIRECTED FROM SARAJEVO

BANJA LUKA, NOVEMBER 26 /SRNA/ – The Minister of Labor and Veterans' and Disability Protection of Republika Srpska Danijel Egić stated that the observance of the legally ungrounded holiday on the territory of Republika Srpska on November 25 – the so-called Statehood Day of BiH – is a provocation that has been carried out for years under directives from Sarajevo.

Egić emphasized that the parade in Srebrenica, where participants can clearly be seen in photographs, some draped in the war flags of the so-called Army of BiH, was clearly an attempt to provoke an incident, which the organizers failed to achieve, the Ministry of Labor and Veterans' Protection of Republika Srpska said in a statement.

"As Minister of Labor and Veterans' and Disability Protection, I strongly condemn the display of war symbols and call on the Bosniak political elite to cease their inflammatory rhetoric, especially during unconstitutional and so-called holidays," Egić said.

Yesterday, Bosniaks from Srebrenica, led by fellow nationals from the municipal authorities and local institutions, paraded through the center of Srebrenica, carrying not only BiH flags but also war flags of the so-called Army of BiH.

Some young girls were provocatively draped in the war flags of the so-called Army of BiH, under which crimes were committed against Serbs during the last war.

The former ZAVNOBiH Day, November 25, is marked as the so-called Statehood Day in parts of the Federation of BiH predominantly inhabited by Bosniaks, while Croats do not observe it as a holiday.

At the BiH level, there is no law on holidays, so the holiday laws of Republika Srpska and the Federation of BiH apply within their respective entities.

Republika Srpska celebrates January 9 as Republic Day and November 21 as the Day of the Establishment of the General Framework Agreement for Peace in BiH.