Mustafić: Bosniaks are a people who will not allow anyone to write them out of history

The interest of Bosniaks is the prosperity of the countries they live in, as well as stability, connectivity, cooperation and Euro-Atlantic integration of the region, said the president of the Bosniak Council in Montenegro, Suljo Mustafić.

September 28 - the International Bosniak Day - was marked in Zagreb with a ceremonial academy and a regional gathering of Bosniak councils and organizations from the region.

The event was hosted by the Bosniak Council of Croatia, in co-organization with the Regional Office for the Coordination of Bosniak Councils and under the auspices of the Croatian Government.

Mustafić, who is also the chairman of the Regional Coordination Office of the Council, said that by celebrating Bosniak Day, they are collectively remembering the date when, at the First Bosniak Parliament in 1993, a decision was made to "reaffirm the historical and traditional name Bosniak and the name of the native Bosnian language".

"Self-awareness brought about the maturation of ourselves, in our consciousness, but also in the consciousness of others about us. It is a process that is not complete, but it is clear that Bosniaks are a people who will not allow anyone to write them out of history," said Mustafić, as announced by the Bosniak Council.

"Today we live in several countries of the region, on our age-old hearths, autochthonous in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Serbia, Kosovo, North Macedonia. Our emigration of millions in Turkey, Western Europe and America is part of a people whose cultural wealth exceeds the number and borders," he added.

Mustafić, as it was announced, "reminded what they as a nation have given to the world - from Sevdalinka and its melos, through the wonderful Hasanaginica, celebrated in Europe, the richest epic of the South Slavs, architecture, music and painting".

"We reject any possibility of redrawing the borders and will oppose any backward ideology and any revision of history. Maybe some imagine some worlds according to their own opinion, but we say that Bosniaks, wherever they are, see themselves only in the civilized world and democratically organized European societies", he emphasized is Mustafić.

He also said that they want to maintain ties that are "deep and strong in the same culture, religion and language among compatriots in the region".

"It is also necessary to build a joint institution, which would be our mother society in terms of culture and identity, uniting all our spiritual and creative potentials, in terms of social engagement, and research, preservation and presentation of our national heritage. In this field, our councils are at the forefront with the Office for Coordination are taking significant steps," concluded Mustafić.

The ceremonial academy in Zagreb was attended by numerous officials from the public, political and social life of the region, including Jasmin Ćorović, a member of the Parliament of Montenegro, according to the announcement.