Opposition lawmaker Drasko Stanivukovic told N1 on Wednesday that his multiple arrests during anti-government protests in Banja Luka were supposed to scare people and discourage them from raising their voices.
The 25-year-old member of the Party of Democratic Progress (PDP) is the youngest lawmaker in the National Assembly in Bosnia’s Serb-majority semi-autonomous Republika Srpska (RS) entity.
He has also throughout the years been one of the most vocal critics of the leadership in the RS, specifically of the Alliance of Independent Social Democrats (SNSD) and their leader Milorad Dodik – currently the Serb member of Bosnia’s tripartite State Presidency.
Stanivukovic is one of the opposition politicianswhowere arrested during the ‘Justice for David’ protests in December last year.
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The ‘Justice for David’ movement has been gathering at a central square in the RS administrative centre, Banja Luka, since March 2018. They demand that authorities reveal who the killers of 21-year-old David Dragicevic are, accusing RS police of hiding the perpetrators.
But on December 25, special police wearing masks and equipped with anti-riot gear detained David's parents, some of their supporters and several opposition figures. The way police handled the operation was met with criticism by local and international officials.
Stanivukovic was released and then detained again several times.
“The last time I spoke to media, I was detained,” he said, adding that “today it has become a normal thing to beat and put an MP with more than 20,000 votes to jail.”
Stanivukovic said there was no reason for his arrest. He said that when his lawyer asked why he was being detained, the officers falsely accused him of damaging a car during the protest.
He said the arrest had “three basic goals.”
“They influence you psychologically, but that does not work with me, it just motivates me more. The more they beat me, the more willpower I have,” he said.
“The second is to tarnish your reputation, and the third – to convict you as a criminal,” he said, adding that the charges he is facing could result in a 12-year prison sentence for him, pointing out that this would bar him from being a candidate for any post.
Stanivukovic said he was not afraid and that he will continue fighting the regime in the RS.
“I have more than 30,000 BAM worth of minor offence charges submitted against me. Some of those are being processed in the court, some of them I have to pay. If I am going through this, what could someone who makes 300 BAM do, what could a retiree do?” he asked.
“People are afraid,” he said, adding that he is not, because he “has no time to be afraid.”
“A million of us remain silent, as opposed to the rich, the tycoons, the criminals and the politicians who are leading us. Someone has to make a sacrifice in this country,” he said, explaining that he is willing to do it.
Stanivukovic called on people not to leave the country but to fight for it.
“Stay here, and experience injustice,” Stanivukovic appealed.
“Maybe they didn’t kill your child, maybe your electricity bill is not any higher, but let’s stay here and fight,” he said.
