DODIK WELCOMED IN CHICAGO BY BOSNIAK DEMONSTRATORS AND AMERICAN RECOGNITION: He compared himself to Trump, renounced Serbs who committed crimes, but reinstated there was no genocide in Srebrenica! (VIDEO)

Although his arrival was in question due to the recent death of his mother, the former president of Republika Srpska, Milorad Dodik, ultimately traveled to Chicago, where tonight he received the prestigious World Leaders Forum award at Judson University.

And at the entrance to the university, unpleasant scenes… Bosniak demonstrators, armed with flags and slogans, insulted the guests, among whom were not only Serbs but also Americans.

“Chetniks, Chetniks,” echoed in front of the gates of Judson.

Before presenting him with the recognition previously received by great world leaders such as Mikhail Gorbachev, George W. Bush, Tony Blair, or Condoleezza Rice, a representative of the University introduced him as the former president of “a small but proud country.”

Addressing the gathering, Dodik spoke about the history of the Serbian people and their centuries-long struggle for freedom, in which they made great sacrifices, recalling that Serbia lost as much as 36% of its population in the First World War, which was the reason American President Woodrow Wilson ordered the Serbian flag to be flown on the mast in front of the White House in 1918.

Dodik also said that he highly appreciates President Trump’s struggle to liberate America from the rule of the “deep state” and that he perceives it as his own struggle, and that he hopes Trump and Putin will bring stabilization and a normal life to the whole world, especially to small nations like the Serbian one.

On this occasion, he also noted several similarities between himself and Trump, which caused laughter in the audience.

Following the opening speech, a panel discussion was held where the special guest was the former Governor of Illinois, Rod Blagojevich, who recalled the great powers and occupiers who conquered Serbia through the centuries, from the Turks to the Nazis, but also pointed out that despite everything they survived, Serbs never lost their Orthodox faith and thirst for freedom, at any cost.

Dodik, responding to a question about Srebrenica, stated that many world authorities, such as Efraim Zuroff, confirmed that a genocide did not happen in Srebrenica.

“A crime against Serbs happened in that part of Bosnia, after which the Muslim people also suffered. I do not defend members of my people who committed crimes; each of them should be held accountable for what they did. And I personally renounce every Serb who committed crimes in the name of Serbdom, but it is not fair that for war crimes in the civil war in BiH, only the leaderships of the Serbian people in Serbia and RS are accused and convicted in The Hague, while for example Alija Izetbegović and Franjo Tuđman are not held accountable,” the former president of RS pointed out.

Dodik dedicated the award to his recently deceased mother and donated the monetary amount to the Judson University program for underprivileged students and the Serbian Orthodox Church in America.

The event was attended by the Consul General of Bosnia and Herzegovina in Chicago, Tatjana Telić, and staff from the Consulate of Serbia.