Bosnian Generals Condemn MP's 'Power Struggle' Comments on War, Demand Apology

The Association of Generals of Bosnia and Herzegovina has sharply criticized a recent statement by Sabina Ćudić, president of Naša stranka and a member of the state parliament. Their public announcement labeled her address at Sarajevo's City Hall as "catastrophic."

While the association typically refrains from commenting on politicians' actions, especially during election periods, they stated this incident compelled them to speak out. They expressed deep hurt and shock over Ćudić's remarks, delivered before European officials, which they claim attempted to frame the Siege of Sarajevo and the aggression against Bosnia and Herzegovina as merely a "struggle for power."

According to the generals, Ms. Ćudić's statement constitutes a "gross humiliation" of aggression victims, fallen soldiers of the Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and all citizens who endured the country's darkest historical period. They further asserted that she "evidently fails to distinguish between aggressors and defenders, victims and perpetrators, or historical facts and political fabrications." Despite her public claims of thorough preparation for every appearance, the association believes she has "mixed apples and oranges."

The generals challenged Ćudić to clarify whether, by labeling the aggression on the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina as a "struggle for power," she implicitly endorses narratives of a "civil war" or "religious conflict" within the country. They demanded a direct, unambiguous answer from her to the public, free from political equivocation.

They reminded Ms. Ćudić that Bosnia and Herzegovina suffered brutal aggression, the Srebrenica genocide was perpetrated against the Bosniak people, and citizens of Sarajevo endured 1,425 days of terror during its siege. Moreover, they highlighted that a "joint criminal enterprise" was orchestrated from the west. These, they stressed, are not mere political interpretations but established historical and judicially proven facts.

The Association of Generals warned that Ćudić's "imprudent and perilous statements" inflicted immense damage on the truth regarding the defensive-liberation war, providing ammunition to those who have long sought to equalize aggressors and defenders. They provocatively suggested that if she doubts the soldiers of the Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the country's patriots, she should consult her own father, who served as an assistant commander of the First Corps of the Army of RBiH.

The generals publicly demanded that Ćudić issue an apology to all patriots of Bosnia and Herzegovina, all victims of aggression, and their families, whose suffering and humiliation they believe her statements about the Siege of Sarajevo and the war have compounded. They also called upon all members of Naša stranka who were part of the Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, particularly units of the First Corps, to publicly articulate their stance on their party president's views.

Directing a series of poignant questions to Ms. Ćudić, they asked: "Who murdered 1,601 children in Sarajevo, 11,547 civilians, and 6,505 defenders of Bosnia and Herzegovina's capital?" They contended that her public assertion, reducing the aggression to a "struggle for power," effectively renders pointless the investigations by Belgium and Italy into "sniper safaris." This, they argued, egregiously humiliated victims of aggression, absolved those accountable for sniping and killing children and civilians, and simultaneously undermined the dignity and legacy of the 1992-1995 liberation war.

Concluding their statement, the generals issued a stark warning: "Politicians, we will not allow you to humiliate us or to sell our spilled blood for a mere modicum of power!"