KOJIĆ: THE IDEOLOGY OF THE NDH IS ALIVE TODAY IN A WORSE FORM

ISTOČNO SARAJEVO, August 11 /SRNA/ - Milorad Kojić, an SNSD member of the House of Representatives of the BiH Parliamentary Assembly, told SRNA that the ideology of the Independent State of Croatia /NDH/ to expel, forcibly convert to Catholicism, and kill Serbs - is alive today in a worse form, in that there is now a drive to deny Serbs the right to have their own state and to prevent them from surviving on their own territory.

Speaking about a series of recent incidents in Croatia - from the burning of the Serbian flag in Split, to calling Republika Srpska "so-called" in certain Croatian media, to the Ustasha rampage at a concert by Marko Perković Thompson, Kojić said that Serbophobia and the desire to eradicate Serbs are continuously present in Croatia, even from their own territory and hearths, as is best confirmed by calling Republika Srpska "so-called". According to him, messages from Croatia, together with the Bosniak drive to create a unitary BiH without the Serbs' right to protect their vital interests, and without the principle of constituent peoples in decision-making, represent an attempt to completely expel Serbs from their centuries-old hearths. All of this, Kojić pointed out, shows that the pledge to preserve Republika Srpska must be the pledge of all Serbs, stressing that Republika Srpska is the only guarantor of the survival of the Serb people in this region. "The pledge of all must be the pledge given by Republika Srpska President Milorad Dodik, to preserve Republika Srpska by safeguarding its institutions, its constitutional and legal order, and its full protection without limiting factors, personal comfort, or anything else, with the full sacrifice of each of us, so that our children can learn our language here, our glorious Serbian history, and so that our children, and all of us, can survive here in this region," Kojić emphasized. Fans of Hajduk FC set Serbian flags on fire during the match between Hajduk and Gorica FC at the Poljud Сtadium in Split, which resounded with the Ustasha salute "For the Homeland Ready!" followed by chants of "We Croats don't drink wine, only the blood of Chetniks from Knin." Some Croatian media, reporting on this latest incident that incites hatred toward Serbs and glorifies Ustashism, referred to Republika Srpska as "so-called." This provocation in the Croatian media and attempt to deny Republika Srpska comes at a time when 33 full years have passed since the adoption of this name. Republika Srpska was founded on January 9, 1992, at a time when there were no armed conflicts in BiH, by the decision of the Assembly of the Serbian People in BiH under the initial name Serbian Republic of BiH. On August 12, 1992, in Banjaluka, the National Assembly of the Serbian Republic of BiH adopted the Declaration on the state and political organization of the state and decided to change the name from Serbian Republic of BiH to Republika Srpska. Under the General Framework Agreement for Peace in BiH, signed on November 21, 1995, Republika Srpska became internationally recognized as one of the two entities of BiH with extensive powers and with judicial, legislative, and executive authority.