Serbian member of the BiH Presidency Milorad Dodik has said at the celebration of the patron saint day of the Republika Srpska Army – Vidovdan /St. Vitus Day/ that the Army of Srpska lives in the people, whose tradition is best nurtured by the Third Infantry /Republika Srpska/ Regiment of the BiH Armed Forces.

Dodik points out that Vidovdan is a votive holiday of the Serbian people, dedicated to the great martyr Prince Lazar and the martyrs of the Kosovo epic. The Serbian army has always had Vidovdan as a strong motive for gathering, acting and the need to fight for the freedom of the Serbian people.

“Today’s time should be understood as a freedom won for the Serbian people, a freedom that is not yet stable, which many are trying to threaten, not only enemies but also those who present themselves as false friends, asking us to give in to the rights we gained by the Dayton Peace Agreement, trying to impose solutions on us, earlier with violence, and today with various types of political fraud in order to drag us into the spiral of the disappearance of Republika Srpska, which is their main goal,” Dodik told the press at the Gomionica monastery outside Banjaluka.

He adds the United Kingdom is in the lead in that, trying to belittle the efforts made by the Serbian people, which is why those who head Srpska have a vow to preserve the freedom of the Serbian people.

“We must never give up the fact that we can organise the Army of Republika Srpska, which we have the right to, according to the Constitution, if necessary,” Dodik emphasized.

He says Republika Srpska is not giving up on itself, that it understands the context in which political processes are taking place, and in that regard, it does not want to lose anything, but to strengthen.

“We do not hide our intent to strengthen Republika Srpska, it is honorable and allowed. Republika Srpska has enough of what it is given by the Constitution, therefore we are fighting for that. BiH is not a place where we can be permanently sure that our freedom will be guaranteed. BiH is hostile towards Srpska in an effort to take away the powers obtained by the Dayton Peace Agreement; although on January 9 we set out to create an independent state, but at the end of the war, given the context of the war and political processes in the world, the then Srpska government was in a way forced to accept the Dayton Accords,” Dodik said.

He stated that it was believed this agreement could be trusted, but it was dismantled by solutions imposed by the great powers.

Dodik points out it is difficult today to maintain the visibility of Republika Srpska within the Armed Forces of BiH, where attempts are being made to act unilaterally and speak only on behalf of one people, to identify themselves as a Muslim armed formation – which is not true.

“We have our units in Bileća, Bijeljina, Banjaluka that operate within the Armed Forces, we have never lost that thread, which is that the members of the Third Infantry /Republika Srpska/ Regiment are true heirs and can be honorable bearers of the tradition of the Army of Republika Srpska,” said Dodik.

He says that in these complex relations, Republika Srpska must ensure that peace is certain, but also that the Serbian people should not be afraid of any conflict because the Third Infantry /Republika Srpska/ Regiment is the guarantor that they will be defended.

Dodik says there are conflicts between Russia and Western countries on a global level nowadays, in which Ukraine is a collateral damage and a contractor on behalf of the West.

He adds that Srpska is being asked to side with this conflict and to support Muslim efforts that BiH imposes sanctions on Russia, but that Srpska will not give its consent to those sanctions with all its potential.

“Serbs do not accept the imposition of sanctions on Russia, we say that clearly, which is why they are trying to put us on the list of unsuitable and disobedient people who are trying to pursue some of their policies,” said Dodik.

He reminds the Serbian people has always stood before the largest armies of that time, from the Turkish and Austro-Hungarian occupation, through the world wars, to the present time when bombed by NATO on two occasions.

“We have never bowed; we have never been servants unlike our Muslim and Croat neighbours who have always waited for the occupiers favouring them. That separates us from the people of the Balkans, we have always defended our freedom, but never conquered,” Dodik pointed out.

He concludes the Serbian people is a freedom-loving people, gathered around their church and faith, around Republika Srpska and Serbia which they have the right to, that will never give up on Srpska as it is Serbian people’s vow.