REPUBLIKA SRPSKA HAS WON, BUT STRUGGLE IS NOT OVER

BANJA LUKA, NOVEMBER 29 /SRNA/ - SNSD leader Milorad Dodik emphasized in a piece for Glas Srpske that Republika Srpska has once again prevailed against opponents who believed that attacking it would be enough, but failed to understand the most important thing, that its strength comes from people who have never known how to kneel.

Dodik stressed that Republika Srpska is not his political option, but a vow, the homeland of his ancestors, a legacy for future generations, and that its defense is an obligation, not a choice.

SRNA is publishing Dodik's piece in its entirety:

Republika Srpska has won. Again.

And it did not win because it was louder, more brazen, or more numerous - it won because it was firmer, wiser, and more consistent than all those who wished to pass judgment on it. It won according to rules that were not ours, in a contest we did not choose, against opponents who believed that striking us would be enough to break us.

They failed to understand the most important thing: the strength of Republika Srpska comes from its people, not from positions. Sarajevo was looking for an enemy in me. I saw the people in Srpska. Sarajevo builds its politics on obsession. They are obsessed with me because I stand in the way of their desire to become what they never will be - the masters of BiH.

They are obsessed with Republika Srpska because they want it smaller, weaker, quieter, or extinguished altogether. But I did not pursue a politics of obsession. I pursued a politics of friendship, stability, and self-respect. While they were drawing enemies, I was building bridges.

While they were inciting chaos, I was preserving peace.

While they were attacking the office, I was defending the institution.

Republika Srpska is not my political option. It is my vow. For many in Sarajevo, Srpska is a geographical space they would gladly erase from the map.

To me, it is much more: the homeland of our ancestors, a legacy to our descendants, proof that even the hardest paths can be taken when a people know what they are defending.

That is why defending Republika Srpska is a duty, not a choice. Not only for me, but for every honorable Serb, wherever they may live. They dreamed of my end, and then of the end of Srpska. But I was making plans for a new beginning.

It wasn’t the first time, nor will it be the last. They are used to underestimating what they don’t understand. When I decided to take a step back, many hoped it was my end. They failed to understand that the biggest steps forward are sometimes made by consciously stepping back - not for oneself, but for the people.

I showed that the office is not sacred to me. Republika Srpska is. Offices come and go. The people remain. Statehood remains.

Today, Sarajevo celebrates a victory it never truly achieved. And therein lies its weakness. They sought humiliation, chaos, the collapse of the institutions of Republika Srpska. Instead, they got stability, unity, and people who once again showed who they trust in the hardest moments.

Sarajevo has the illusion of having won. But illusion is all they have. Anyone who has to invent their victory has already lost.

And Republika Srpska?

Republika Srpska moves forward. Calm. Strong. Dignified.

With people who know how to choose, and leaders who know how to carry the burdens of the times. I have not finished my plans. I have not finished my battles. I have not finished my duty to Srpska. And no matter how much they try to stop us, there is one thing they cannot defeat: The strength of people who have never known how to kneel. The Serb people.