“The key to the survival of the Serbian people and protection of rights of Serbs in Bosnia and Herzegovina is to strengthen their political standing and the first step toward it is for Serbs outside of Bosnia and Herzegovina to register to vote in the coming parliamentary election in Bosnia and Herzegovina. I believe that all Serbian political parties and organizations should come up with a single programme and list for the October’s election” said Miodrag Linta, Chairman of the Committee on the Diaspora and Serbs in the Region in the meeting with the representatives of Serbian associations from the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
In the meeting with 40 representatives of more than 20 Serbian associations from the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina Linta said that the survival of the Serbian people in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the fight to regain their usurped rights is a common goal. Speaking of the general election in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina called for 7 October, which was the reason for the meeting, Linta opined that the Serbs from the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina can make a significant step toward securing their rights only if they work together. He said that the position of Serbs is tragic – according to the 1991 census around 600,000 Serbs lived in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina which is 22%, while according to the 2013 census that number had dropped to 56,000 i.e. 2.5% which speaks of a brutal ethnic cleansing which remains unpunished. He added that the biggest problem Serbs are faced with in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina is discrimination across the board - employment, education, allocation of budget funds and other segments of life and no progress has been made to secure the return of the displaced or to rebuild the destroyed cultural heritage.
“One way Serbs can use the election to strengthen their political standing in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, especially the election for the House of Representatives of the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the canton assemblies is to elect authentic Serbian MPs to represent the Serbian people. That is why it is important that the displaced Serbs register to vote in the coming election”, said Linta.
He spoke with the association representatives about how the displaced Serbs can to register to vote, collecting the documentation needed for the registration procedure and announced that offices would be opened in Novi Sad and Belgrade to offer logistics support.
The association representatives said they were pleased with the meeting opining that it “has planted the seed of unity of the Serbian people”. They commended the initiatives of the Chairman of the Committee on the Diaspora and Serbs in the Region and stated that the survival of Serbs in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina hinges on the support of both Serbia and the Republic of Srpska. They also said that the voter registration of displaced Serbs requires logistics support especially when it comes to securing citizenship papers issued no more than six months before and to motivate young people.
Securing the necessary documents requires technical cooperation with the Government of the Republic of Srpska and it would also be a good idea to launch an active media campaign about the voter registration.
