Bosnia Security Minister Nenad Nesic said he sees “nothing wrong” with what two students, who showed support to convicted war criminal, did, adding that they only expressed their opinion.

“It is truly outrageous that today we have an open case against the girls who expressed their opinions and views because they raised three fingers. Here, Nesic will raise three fingers. Here you go, open a case against me. I don't see what's controversial about it,” said Nesic, imitating a three-finger-salute, which is often used by Serb nationalists and is mostly found offensive among other ethnic groups in Bosnia.

The statement comes days after two students of Sarajevo University used their social media to post nationalist content, one of them expressing support to convicted war criminal, Bosnian Serb military leader Ratko Mladic, while the other showed the three-finger salute.

Sarajevo student who glorified R. Mladic reported to BiH Prosecution

The move was met with harsh reactions, mostly because it occurred on July 11, when thousands were at the Potocari Memorial Centre in the eastern Bosnia commemorating the victims of the 1995 Srebrenica genocide.

After the two students, Valentina Vujicic and Sladjana Todic, came into the spotlight for their actions, they were offered a scholarship at the invitation of the director of the Security and Information Agency (BIA) of Serbia, Aleksandar Vulin, the two students will be continuing their studies at the National Security Academy in Belgrade.

Serbia gives scholarships to students who glorified war criminals in BiH

Commenting on the case, Nesic said that BiH has much bigger problems than bothering about someone's opinion.

“An opinion cannot cause any pain or a crime or make a damage to the state. Someone obviosuly wants to raise ethnic tensions. I am all in for raising pensions, salaries and to make agreements together. I have nothing against someone declaring themselves as they like – either as a Serb, a Bosniak or a croat. I respect all the victims and condemn all the crimes,” he stressed addressing a media following a meeting with Montenegrin Minister of Internal Affairs Filip Adzic.

Asked if he also supports that one of the girls said: “Good that we slaughtered you”, Nesic replied that he did not hear her saying that.

“I think it is not ok to condemn a girl just starting her life and bring her into a situation of being threatened with a lynch. Just like I would protect the girls of the Serb ethnicity, I would also protect the girls of the Bosniak ethnicity,” said the minister.

Nesic suggested everyone to get out of the 1992-95 period, referring to the years of the Bosnian war.

“I want to live in 2023. I want us to take Montenegro and BiH to the EU, I also want Serbia in the EU. I want us to have no borders, that our children are not waiting on borders for three hours. That's the problem, and not when someone raises three fingers, and say ‘God helps’ or ‘Selam aleykum’,” he underlined.