Mektić: Dodik's messages are destructive, we must face Srebrenica

SARAJEVO, (Patria) - Minister of Security of BiH Dragan Mektić, appearing on the show Dan uživo on N1, commented on Milorad Dodik's candidacy for the member of the Presidency of BiH.

- His second term in RS is expiring, he cannot run there again. He is the president of a significant party across the entire territory of BiH. It is his legal and legitimate right to run, but the messages he sends are not in the interest of the future of any citizen here, his messages are destructive, they offer no kind of optimism or trust. He talks about quarrels, dismantling, conflicts, ways to provoke various types of incidents. We need political forces that will definitely work in the interest of all citizens within BiH, especially from the position Dodik is running for. We must work in the interest of all citizens to develop and strengthen economically so that we are all satisfied, have enough work. These are the messages a normal politician should send to citizens during an election campaign. To me, this is like someone appearing and saying: I will steal from you, I will lie to you - said Mektić.

Commenting also on a photograph published in the media showing him together with members of the Night Wolves motorcycle club, which he previously said was a terrorist organization, he stated that he should be more careful when it comes to taking photographs.

- If someone has checked that precisely and seen that there are questionable individuals, then OK, I allow that it was an oversight, I was not careful enough and OK. I have a stance on these matters, I have spoken about the Night Wolves and other organizations. I cannot guarantee whether someone will again "jump into" a photo. I had no contact, no conversations with any person, I don't know who they are or what they are. I admit it was my oversight, my carelessness, and that I need to be more careful.

When asked whether he believes genocide or a "terrible crime" occurred in Srebrenica, he said:

- Don't ask me that now, I don't want to again be the subject of some speculation. That should not be abused even if one person was killed. Leave it to historians, lawyers to clarify. I don't think about whether my position will be jeopardized. Srebrenica is a very sensitive topic and we should not talk about it in one show for a few minutes when it is demanded to say "it was" or "it wasn't". The fact is that a terrible crime occurred, there is no doubt about that. Let, I say, historians and lawyers establish all the facts about everything that happened. Regarding what happened in Srebrenica, it is better for us, as bearers of that time, to face it now, than to burden generations who were not born when it happened with that burden in 20 years. No one did it in my name, in the name of my family, of all Serbs, I cannot imagine the mental makeup of the people who did it - emphasized Mektić.