Unreasonable act of the Committee for the Protection of Serbs: As long as there is silence, anyone will desecrate the 'lilies'

Amina Čorbo-Zećo

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The Committee for the Protection of Serbs in the Federation of BiH has submitted a request to the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Republika Srpska to impose misdemeanour penalties on individuals who displayed the flag, as they stated, of the Army of the Republic of BiH in the town of Janja, on the Zvornik-Bijeljina main road.

Although this is a legal flag of the state of Bosnia and Herzegovina, which flew in 1992 on the East River in front of the United Nations building in New York, forces seeking to destroy BiH do not give up persecuting those who honour the history of Bosnia.

Under the flag with lilies, the state of Bosnia and Herzegovina was admitted to the UN, and the flag that was in use until 1998—was it necessary to legally prohibit calling it a “war flag”?
Why has the flag with lilies, which has its roots in medieval Bosnia, bothered anyone before, and especially now?

What about the flag of Republika Srpska, which has been in use since 9 January 1992, and under which genocide, crimes, rapes, expulsions, and a joint criminal enterprise were committed? The lilies are a war symbol, but the tricolour of the RS entity, which has been “condemned” both in The Hague and before domestic courts, is not a war symbol!

And the hanging of the flag with lilies is a response to provocations that have been coming for days from the BiH entity of RS. First, the rampage on Christmas Eve in Srebrenica and Višegrad, and then in East Sarajevo, “support for brothers in Montenegro”.

Namely, in the Temple of Saint Basil of Ostrog in East Sarajevo, a “prayer service for the salvation of Serbian shrines in Montenegro” was held, after which several thousand citizens walked in a procession to the Temple of Saint Confessor Barnabas in Vranješ.

A gathering reminiscent of pre-war rallies. For whose salvation are they praying?

They say they will not allow others to play with Orthodox shrines... They must know that, both in Montenegro and in BiH, there are forces that will not allow anyone to toy with the state. Therefore, it should not be surprising when provocations are met with reactions, even if these are in the form of displaying the flags of the RBiH.

I believe the time has come to demand the complete abolition of the flag of the BiH entity RS, under which the most monstrous crimes were committed, which, for example, “sting” the eyes of returnees and all citizens of this country who love the land they live in.

Recently I read that “as long as concrete steps are not taken in accordance with the law and final Hague and domestic court verdicts, and as long as there is silence, anyone will desecrate the lilies”.

And the silence of those who are full of talk about the state of Bosnia and Herzegovina only plays into the hands of the “haters” of the flag of the state of Bosnia and Herzegovina, both the one that was the Republic and the one whose continuity was confirmed in Dayton.