Several thousand citizens attend a concert in Banja Luka organized by "Veterans of the Republika Srpska", which brings together war veterans from this entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina, financed from the budget of the Republika Srpska.
Reporter Radio Free Europe (RSE) reports that several visitors have T-shirts with the photo of Ratko Mladić, who was convicted by the Hague Tribunal for war crimes and genocide in Srebrenica, and that some children wear Chetnik iconography.
This controversial manifestation comes at a time of political crisis in Bosnia and Herzegovina caused by the anti-Dayton activities of the President of the RS Milorad Dodik and the separatist messages condemned by the international community.
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"Veterans of the Republika Srpska" gather war veterans from this entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and are financed from the RS budget.
Before the concert, the president of that association, Zoran Miljanović, told RSE that the event "opens the eyes of the people" who, he says, "are in the greatest danger of the end of the war."
He added that the goal of the 'patriotic' concert is to say no to the high representative of the international community in BiH, Christian Schmidt, whose legitimacy the RS does not recognize, because it does not have the support of Russia and China in the UN Security Council, "as well as to all the institutions that work against RS".
Miljanović also stated for RSE that help also came from the Government of RS "in terms of logistics and all help".
As announced, Mirko Pajčin, known as Baja Mali Knindža, is a guest at the concert, a singer who made fun of the genocide in Srebrenica in which more than 8.000 Bosniaks were killed.
The Government of the RS did not respond to RSE's inquiry with how much money they are funding the concert on July 16, nor what is the motive for supporting the singing of Baja Mali Knindža.
The 'patriotic' gathering followed the publication of an illegal decree by Dodik in the Official Gazette of the RS, stating that the decisions of the High Representative and the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina will not be applied in Bosnia and Herzegovina. entity.
This violated the Dayton Agreement, as well as the decision of the High Representative from July 1 to nullify the laws adopted by the RS Assembly challenging the decisions of the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Office of the High Representative in Bosnia and Herzegovina (OHR).
In 1995, after the genocide in Srebrenica, Baja Mali Knindža published a song with the lyrics "Srebrenica has also fallen, and Žepa will also fall/Republika Srpska, but you will be beautiful".
Republika Srpska denies the genocide in which more than 8.000 Bosniak men and boys were killed.
Mirko Pajčin's concert was announced on the Facebook page "Veterans of the Republika Srpska" on the day when the 28th anniversary of the genocide was commemorated in Srebrenica.
On the same day, in Banja Luka, you could also see billboards informing citizens about the hourly rate and the singers who will perform.
Igor Crnadak, the head of the parliamentary group of the opposition Party of the Democratic Party in the RS Assembly, said on July 16 that the RS authorities "pressured" public administration employees to attend the concert on Krajina Square.
"The Government of Republika Srpska, ministries and other government institutions and companies these days are putting strong pressure on all employees that they must come to the concert of Baja Mali Knindža and Goci Band tonight. People, where did we go wrong? Why is Republiia Srpska in this situation? you know that in these institutions, people were told that their phones will be tracked via GPS and that anyone who does not appear at the Square tonight will be registered," said Crnadak at the press conference.
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