BOSNIA: SERB ARMY COMMANDER RATKO MLADIC PRESS CONFERENCE

(2 Dec 1995) Serbo-Croat/Nat In his first appearance since the Dayton peace accord, Bosnian Serb army commander Ratko Mladic has declared that his forces will never accept Muslim-Croat rule of Serb-held areas of Sarajevo. Mladic repeated calls by the Bosnian Serb leadership for a change in the accord. “The sacred Serb state must be preserved,“ he said at a ceremony to mark the formation of a new Bosnian Serb army brigade in eastern Bosnia. SOUNDBITE: As the army, people and authorities, we do anything in the interest of peace, but we are warning that we cannot let our people under butchers’ rule, and that a new and just solution, especially for Sarajevo, must be found before the peace conference. Those who bombed us, infiltrated now like lambs who want to protect peace. It is true that peace was signed in Dayton, but those who were engaged in scheme-making, now think how to implement it. it is hard to understand that those who bombed us only a while ago, can expect after this piece of paper, which presents legalization of the occupation of these regions, for Serb mothers to think about them anything different than what they deserve. People and the army, only we can be responsible for our Serb destiny, and while we exist we will defend our graves and our homes. We have created the Republic of Srpska, in the blood of Serb children, and we have to tell the whole world and coming generations that the sacred Serb state must be preserved. SUPER CAPTION: Ratko Mladic, Bosnian Serb Commander Find out more about AP Archive: Twitter: Facebook: ​​ Instagram: You can license this story through AP Archive: