SDS asks Dodik to stop NATO exercise on Manjača

(Patria) - As part of the NATO exercise on Manjača, members of the Armed Forces of BiH performed the Friday prayer yesterday, and the footage was published by BN Television.

On this occasion, the Serbian Democratic Party (SDS) announced today, asking the BiH Presidency member Milorad Dodik to demand an immediate halt to this exercise "since the evidence that has appeared in public confirms that the measures of the Republican Headquarters for Emergency Situations are being violated at the military exercise on Manjača".

SDS Executive Board member Saša Lovrić said that, "after the release of a video showing that Bosniak soldiers, during a religious ceremony, significantly violated the measure prohibiting gatherings of more than 50 people, Dodik, nor the institutions of Republika Srpska, can no longer ignore the non-compliance with the regulations they have adopted," the SDS announced.

Lovrić warned that "a military exercise in which, in addition to soldiers from 20 NATO member countries, 800 members of the Armed Forces of BiH are participating, staying in inadequate conditions, represents a potential epidemiological bomb".

He asked Dodik why he did not demand that such a military exercise not be conducted on the territory of Republika Srpska during the pandemic, or that it be stopped when the violations of measures became obvious, the statement added, reports Faktor.

- Does Dodik know that, while he was insulting journalists and telling anecdotes about physical attacks on members of the Banja Luka SDS at a rally in Šargovac yesterday, imams at Manjača organized religious ceremonies during which measures for protection against coronavirus were drastically violated? - Lovrić asked, stating that "Dodik's silence on the events at Manjača is clear proof that appeasing NATO is more important to him than the health of the population of Republika Srpska".

- As soon as the word NATO is mentioned, Dodik, who likes to act tough at village rallies, becomes smaller than a poppy seed, and the example of the military exercise on Manjača is the best proof of this - Lovrić said.

He believes that Dodik, when it comes to the exercise on Manjača, owes the citizens of Republika Srpska an answer to the question of why NATO members are evaluating the Armed Forces of BiH, the statement added.