Coordination of Veterans' Associations of BPK: Do not leave us without support, we will knock on your door

The Coordination of Veterans' Associations of BPK Goražde, on behalf of all families of martyrs and fallen soldiers, war invalids and demobilized soldiers, appeals to all competent institutions and individuals not to leave BPK Goražde without support through grant funds in the minimum amount of 4 million marks in these challenging times.

“Gentlemen in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, that money is not and must never become a subject of political populism that we have witnessed in recent days. We are fully aware of the difficulties in the fight against the coronavirus, but no one has the right, due to petty political points and interests, to further endanger the lives of people on the Drina River, which is already burdened with difficulties even without the pandemic, because we live on the periphery of political interests,” the statement of the Coordination of Veterans' Associations of BPK says.

They add that their struggle and “victories in the war in besieged Goražde have never been adequately valued, even though they were and remain the only and last obstacle to the realization of the dream of a 'Greater Serbia whose border will be on the Drina River.'”

“Gentlemen, do not force us to continue depending on 'mercy,' which is a crumb compared to all the privileges you have built on spilled blood and lives embedded in the foundations of the state. The lack of support through grants will endanger the most vulnerable categories of the population in BPK Goražde, including members of the veteran population, because due to the specifics of the canton, the rate of social benefits here is extremely high. Do not forget that BPK Goražde also includes two municipalities integrated after the war in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina that have never become self-sustaining,” the statement says.

Do not allow, it adds, that due to wrong political decisions we lose everything that was preserved in more difficult times. Ahead of us is a time in which members of the veteran population will depend even more on the canton's ability to ensure social sensitivity, because many jobs will be lost.

“Again, members of the veteran population will be among the most affected. With 4 million from the federal budget, you are not fulfilling the whims of local authorities; with that money, you are ensuring that people from these areas do not start knocking on your doors en masse in Sarajevo, because they will have nothing to feed their children. Ministers and parliamentarians, show once again that you have a vision and a sense of patriotism that is as important today as it was during the war. Do not forget the fact that the strength and stability of BPK Goražde largely determines the fate of returnees to the eastern part of the Republika Srpska,” they said from the Coordination.