GENERAL MLADIĆ HONORABLY LED RSA, HIS DEATH AMOUNTS TO MURDER

BELGRADE, AUGUST 27 /SRNA/ - President Milorad Dodik expressed his condolences over the death of Serbian General Ratko Mladić, who, he stressed, honorably led the Republika Srpska Army /RSA/, and said that his death while in detention in The Hague amounted to murder.

"A man has died who was commander of the Republika Srpska Army in the struggle for the freedom of the Serb people, who honorably led the RSA from its establishment on May 12, 1992, and who undoubtedly demonstrated both human and military character, even though, by inventing the notion of collective responsibility, they also dragged him into the narrative of responsibility for certain events," Dodik told TV Informer.

Dodik stressed that, regardless of Sarajevo and political pressure from the West, Republika Srpska remains committed to the facts and to preserving the legacy of Ratko Mladić.

"Republika Srpska will not forget his role," Dodik stressed.

Dodik said that everything indicated that the general was in poor health and that what happened to him in the detention facility in The Hague was a coordinated course of action intended to result in his death.

"The conclusion I am led to is that this was done by the Mechanism solely so that he would die, because they did not know how to get themselves out of that situation, and this appeared to them to be the solution," Dodik said.

He said he was saddened by General Mladić's personal fate and that it was difficult for all Serbs to accept the way he was treated in his final days.

He reminded that General Mladić was respected by the Serb people and said that, regardless of what anyone might say, distort, or prohibit from being discussed, it could be said that, as commander, he took charge of the army to defend the Serbs, not to commit crimes against others.

He pointed out that the Republika Srpska Army was an honorable force and that nowhere could it be found that it had been convicted as an organization.

"That is why the executioners in the West, by establishing the Hague Tribunal, singled out individuals, claiming that they were part of a joint criminal enterprise because they could not prove anything else. Ratko Mladić was the one who made sure that the women and children of Srebrenica left for Tuzla," Dodik said.

Dodik also referred to his testimony in General Mladić’s defense before the Hague Tribunal, saying that he had conducted himself as an officer with honor, and stressed that "it pains us deeply that Naser Orić, the personal executioner, is walking free".

He expressed his condolences to the family and to everyone who respected Ratko Mladić.

"We did everything we could to help, but unfortunately, there are always those who are more powerful and whom we had to submit to," Dodik said.

Dodik said that the Hague Tribunal had failed to establish the number of people killed in Srebrenica, and also pointed to many international experts who rejected the genocide classification.

"The death of General Mladić certainly does not bring the story of the Defensive-Patriotic War or the war in BiH to an end," Dodik said, asking how those who defended their homes, as General Mladić and the RSA did, could be aggressors.

Dodik said that these days should be devoted to bidding farewell to General Mladić with dignity and to speaking about him as we see him, while ignoring reports from Sarajevo or certain quasi-media outlets in Belgrade.

"I will ignore them because I do not want them to taint my view of who and what Ratko Mladić was. They cannot erase the significance and role of Ratko Mladić from the memory of the Serb people," Dodik said.

Regarding General Mladić's final wish to be buried next to his daughter at Topčider Cemetery in Belgrade, Dodik said that it was both Orthodox and Christian to respect the wishes of the deceased and that no one should object to this.