Konaković’s statements constitute a grave and unnecessary insult to Serbia and the Serbian people, as well as a step backwards in efforts to advance relations between the two states
The Ministry simultaneously condemns the language, assessments, and comments made by the foreign minister of our neighbouring and friendly state of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Sport events, wherever they are held and regardless of the teams involved, should serve as venues for promoting healthy competition, respect for the rules of the game, and proper behaviour by the audience. Matches and supporters must not be misused as opportunities to reopen old wounds, spread gross falsehoods, disrespect victims, or serve as platforms for insulting the President of the Republic of Serbia and the Serbian people as a whole.
Instead of condemning the disgraceful chanting witnessed in Sarajevo—which some members of the local political establishment seek to portray as the behaviour of a supposedly multi-ethnic and multi-confessional city—Konaković has attempted to translate daily politics, foreign-manufactured media spin, and his undisguised personal animosity toward the President Aleksandar Vucic and the entire Serbian people into public statements that are neither meaningful nor truthful.
When speaking of the crimes and suffering of Bosniaks, Konaković knowingly disregards the fact that his compatriot Naser Oric, a commander of Muslim units during the conflict in Bosnia and Herzegovina, was acquitted of responsibility for the horrific killings of nearly 3,700 Serbs in the wider Srebrenica area and for ethnic cleansing—just as he ignores that the mujahideen serving within the ranks of the Army of Bosnia and Herzegovina, who also committed gruesome massacres of Serbian civilians, similarly escaped deserved punishment. Is this justice? Listing the unpunished crimes committed by the Bosniak-Muslim side against Serbs during the 1992–1995 conflict would require extensive space—even more so if we were to look back several decades to the Second World War.
President Vucic travelled to Srebrenica just over ten years ago to pay his respects to Bosniak victims. In response to that gesture of reverence, reconciliation, and apology, Bosniak extremists attempted to assault him; instead of a dignified welcome, the President of Serbia and the Serbian delegation were met with a hail of stones. No one has been held accountable for that “incident,” which in a state governed by the rule of law would have been treated as an attempted murder or, at the very least, an act of causing grievous bodily harm. Konaković is well aware of all this, but the pursuit of cheap political points and the sowing of animosity and hostility toward Serbs—both in his own country and in a neighbouring one—appears to take priority in the work of the “foreign minister” of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Serbia remains committed to peace, cooperation, and the preservation of stability in the region. We ask for nothing more than for our victims to be respected, acknowledged, and not diminished. If we genuinely seek reconciliation, a minimum of justice must be ensured—that is, accountability for those responsible for crimes. The Serbian people have always borne their suffering, losses, and pain with dignity, but we will not allow anyone to insult or demean us.