Ivanić: For me, BiH Independence Day does not exist

Chairman of the BiH Presidency Mladen Ivanić stated that the "referendum on the so-called BiH independence and the murder of Serb wedding guest Nikola Gardović on March 1, 1992, in Sarajevo, were tragic events that marked the beginning of the war in BiH, and therefore Serbs will never participate in marking that date," reports the Patria News Agency.

-The heinous murder of a Serb wedding guest and the referendum, which was held against the will of the Serb people, were a prelude to a bloody war. It is quite clear and evident that there is no politician from Republika Srpska who can accept this as something normal, and therefore, for me, that day, which is marked in part of BiH as the so-called BiH Independence Day, simply does not exist, Ivanić emphasized.

He said that if any holiday deeply irritates and offends Republika Srpska and the Serb people in BiH, then it is certainly March 1st.

-I hope that consciousness will mature, especially among politicians in Sarajevo, to abandon the inappropriate practice of irritation and spite so far, and that in the future, through compromise, we will arrive at holidays that would be acceptable to all peoples and citizens of BiH, Ivanić pointed out.

According to him, if something serious is to be done in BiH, a compromise must first be reached among all constituent peoples, and all holidays that irritate someone must be set aside.