ASSEMBLY OF SERBIAN HONOR AND REMEMBRANCE - HEROISM THAT IS NEVER FORGOTTEN

BIJELJINA, MAY 17 /SRNA/ - In the yard of the Monastery of Saint Petka in Bijeljina, in front of the monument bearing the names of 1,246 fallen sons of Sarajevo, the Day of the Ilijaš Brigade was marked today, recalling memories of this heroic unit that became part of the very foundations of Republika Srpska.

The wartime commander of the Ilijaš Brigade, Božidar Savić, stated that Serbian victims in Sarajevo fell 17 days before the formation of this unit, which was created to defend the Serbian people. He emphasized that the brigade was never defeated throughout the war, during which 539 of its soldiers were killed, and that it successfully defended and held its positions, positions that Serbs later abandoned due to decisions made at the political negotiating table. Radan Ostojić, the president of the Republika Srpska Veterans’ Organization, told reporters that the Ilijaš Brigade of the Republika Srpska Army made a huge contribution to the creation of Republika Srpska and suffered significant casualties during the Defense Patriotic War. “The heroes defended their ancestral homes on the battlefield and paid for today’s freedom with their lives, and their sacrifice is doubled because they abandoned what was defended after the Dayton Agreement,” Ostojić said. Priest Dragan Pejčić said that the Serbs suffered primarily because they were baptized and Orthodox, which is considered the greatest sin by those who want to destroy everything Serbian, Orthodox, and baptized. “We must not allow anything to divide us; no other interest, neither personal nor material, should be placed above Republika Srpska, above our Serbian kin, ancestors, and martyrs,” the priest said, emphasizing that Republika Srpska is sacred.