How right-wing and pro-Russian organizations celebrated Republika Srpska Day

Ratko Mladić's name echoed from the Mehmed Pasha Sokolović Bridge in Višegrad on the night of January 9. There, the fan group "Delije" celebrated the Day of the Republic of Srpska with fireworks, as can be heard in the video they published on social networks and in numerous media.

 

In addition to these shouts, the fans pointed out pictures of Mladić's military cap and sang the song "General, let your mother thank you", with which they pay tribute to this former commander of the Main Staff of the Army of the Republika Srpska (VRS), whom the Mechanism for International Criminal Courts in The Hague sentenced to life imprisonment for the genocide in Srebrenica, persecution of Bosniaks and Croats, terrorizing the citizens of Sarajevo and taking members of UNPROFOR hostage.

Social networks of right-wing and pro-Russian organizations were flooded with congratulatory messages on the occasion of Entity Day. Thus, the organization "Hrabro za Kosmet" published several photos and videos from the celebration on its Telegram channel. In one of the photos, which they stated was taken in Bijeljina, there are several people gathered around a flag with Mladić's face with "Hero" written underneath it. The video shows how the same flag is flying at the concert of the group "Belgrade Union", which was held in Bijeljina.

"Hrabro za Kosmet" has been collecting aid for Kosovo for years, as a humanitarian organization, and they were also one of the participants in the gathering of right-wing organizations at the Jarinje border crossing at the end of 2022, when they tried to cross from Serbia to Kosovo, which Detektor previously wrote about . At that time, this organization sold badges for "helping the children of Donbas", produced in Russia, and previously they sold badges with Mladic's face, the inscriptions "Russians in Kosovo", the letter "Z", which since the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine - from February 2022. year - represents the symbol under which the Russian army fights.

One of the members of this music group published a video from the concert where it is possible to see an anti-NATO flag, and one with "no surrender" written over the geographic map of Serbia, which includes Kosovo.

Kenan Hodžić, senior assistant at the Sarajevo Faculty of Criminology, Criminology and Security Studies, believes that the official marking in the style of a militant performance is a continuation of a tradition that always has negative, radical and counterproductive political effects on inter-ethnic relations in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

"The orchestrated strategic support of extremist organizations is problematic due to the way they are organized and the rhetoric that has a direct impact on the local environment," adds Hodžić.

 

The "Serbian-Russian Center Majak" on the social network Instagram published photos congratulating the Day of the Republic of Srpska, with the message "if the Drina is the border, we will drink it", and in a similar way the right-wing organization "Zentropa Srbija" - Belgrade a branch of the transnational forum of extreme right-wing movements.

"The borders of Republika Srpska were drawn with blood, so they will be defended with blood," reads Zentropa's announcement, in which they state that this entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina is an "unbreakable bastion of Serbianness" and "the basis for the final freedom of the Serbian lands."

The celebration, along with pyrotechnics and the flag of the Republika Srpska Army, was also organized by "Chetnička omladine Gacko", on Klinje jezero near this town. This group previously expressed support for Chetnik leaders, generals convicted of genocide and war crimes, as well as the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and they also called for participation in the column that harassed Bosniak returnees in Gack, which Detektor previously wrote about.

At least two people with the flag of the Republic of Serbia and "Serbske akcije", a far-right organization from Belgrade, marked January 9 by visiting the Memorial to the fallen fighters of the VRS in Bijeljina. This organization is known for organizing rallies and protests in support of Russia and messages that "NATO criminals" are to blame for the war in Ukraine, and they also participated in the rally in Jarinje.

 

Arrests in Doboj Jug due to graffiti about Ratko Mladic

In response to Detektor's inquiry about the incidents during the celebration of the unconstitutional holiday, the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republika Srpska announced that more than 10,000 citizens attended the ceremonial parade and concert on Krajine Square in Banja Luka, and that everything passed peacefully and without incident, which is why thanked the citizens.

The Zvornik Police Administration stated that during this day the situation was satisfactory, but from minor incidents, they note that one person in Vlasenica was driving a car with license plates marked January 9. This person was reported earlier in the day for indecent behavior, which is why the report is being processed.

The Police Department of Foč did not respond to Detektor's inquiry as to whether there had been incidents in this city, nor did they respond to our calls.

One incident was also recorded in the area of the Zenica-Doboj canton, when police officers in Karuše, Doboj Jug municipality, arrested two people for writing graffiti with the name of Ratko Mladić. According to the police, those arrested committed the criminal offense of "causing national, racial and religious hatred, dissension or intolerance", and the prosecutor on duty was also informed about everything.

 

Celebrations in Serbia and Russia

 

In addition to the celebrations in BiH, one was also organized in Zrenjanin, Serbia, and the organization "Narodna patrola" shared a video of this celebration with the message "Petrovgrad for brothers across the Drina".

Members of this right-wing organization, which sees itself as socially influential, supported "the Russian and Belarusian people in the fight against the Nazi and pro-Western government from Kiev", and are also known for their hostility towards migrants and refugees who pass through Serbia on their way to the West. Europe.

The group even attacked migrants, armed with pepper spray, and many of its members were members of other far-right groups, including "Zavetnike", which later became an official political party and whose leader, Milica Đurđević Stamenkovski, was photographed with the President of Republika Srpska, Milorad Dodik, during the Entity Day celebration.

In addition to these organizations, the celebration of the Republika Srpska Day was also supported by the pro-Russian media, so "Sputnik" published a video in which, with a congratulatory message, they say that "neither American hunters, nor Scholtz, nor the Schmidts, let alone leaders from Sarajevo". "Serbski Vestnik" joined them in congratulating them, which published archival photos of VRS soldiers and Ratko Mladić on Telegram in honor of January 9.

The celebration was also organized in Novorossiysk, a city in southern Russia, from where Aleksandr Zaldostanov the Surgeon, the leader of the "Night Wolves" organization, which is considered one of the most important ways Russia spreads its influence, shared a video of the celebration. Apti Alaudinov, the commander of the special unit of the Russian army "Akhmat", also attended the meeting, who congratulated "the Russian brothers who are fighting with him, side by side, in the same trench".

Alaudinov was declared a hero of the Russian Federation and the Luhansk People's Republic for his services during Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and he leads Ramzan Kadyrov's forces in Ukraine, which have been accused of war crimes, abuse and rape.

"Russia's victory is a chance for the whole world, and for Serbia this is also a chance for the reunification of its people and the restoration of justice," Zaldostanov said in a Telegram message.

Lejla Ramić-Mesihović, professor of international relations at Burch University in Sarajevo, recalls how the President of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Putin, spoke about BiH at the annual conference in December last year. She believes that there is an interest in permanent cooperation between the authorities in the Republika Srpska and Russia.

"The biggest effect of cooperation is that the West is defied by the Republika Srpska, that is, the ruling elite led by Dodik, and Putin, the president of the Russian Federation," says Ramić-Mesihović and adds that the announcement of the arrival of Russian state television RT in BiH is also significant.

"If a Russian at the ambassadorial level attends the commemoration, it is also a signal for the entire Russian Federation," she adds.

The "Night Wolves" from Republika Srpska were part of the official parade in Banja Luka, where Dodik was accompanied by the ambassador of the Russian Federation to Bosnia and Herzegovina, Igor Kalabuhov. Zaldostanov is presented in public as one of the close friends of the President of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Putin, and since 2014 he has been on the US blacklist due to the events in Ukraine. The group was added to the EU sanctions list in July 2022, a few months after the start of the invasion of Ukraine, and Zaldostanov was banned from entering Bosnia and Herzegovina, Canada, the United States of America and at least two other European countries.

Hodžić explains that lovers and promoters of Russian pan-Slavic culture sporadically appear in public, not only during January 9, but also during other celebrations of certain dates.

"What is characteristic of January 9 is precisely the fact that the significant Russian flags and Putin's images reflect the set trend of rewards and merits in the spectrum of hybrid tools that in the long term aim at greater closeness and dangerous consequences with security implications," says Hodžić.