DODIK: GARAVICE - PLACE OF PAIN AND WARNING

BANJA LUKA, September 5 /SRNA/ - President of Republika Srpska Milorad Dodik emphasized that Garavice near Bihać is one of the largest Serbian execution sites from World War II, where in 1941, during waves of mass atrocities, more than 12,000 Serbs - men, women, children, and the elderly - were killed, with the land soaked in Serbian blood and every stone bearing witness to unimaginable suffering.

"These were not just names and numbers - these were families, neighbors, children whose laughter was silenced, the elderly whose lives were violently cut short, mothers who helplessly tried to protect their children," Dodik told SRNA on the eve of tomorrow's commemoration of the 84th anniversary of the Ustasha crime in Garavice near Bihać, where more than 12,000 Serbs, including a large number of children, were murdered. The President stressed that the crime in Garavice was not just the killing of individuals - it was an attempt to eradicate all traces of the Serbian people from their centuries-old homeland. He pointed out that the Ustasha regime carried out a planned and systematic annihilation in Garavice, turning the gentle Krajina meadows into a mass grave without crosses. "Today, when we step onto Garavice, every stone tells the story of innocent Serbs murdered. It is a place where the soil still breathes suffering, where silence speaks louder than words, where blood soaked the earth and where thousands of Serbian hearts stopped beating," Dodik stressed. That is why, Dodik said, it is our duty to pass on the truth - to ensure Garavice is not left as just a dark page of history, but a permanent warning that evil always lurks when memory fades. "We must not forget so that it does not repeat, because every time Serbs forget, they endure new suffering and new atrocities. Garavice is one of many sacred places where we pledge to remember, to preserve our identity, and never allow the victims to fall into oblivion," the President of Srpska underlined. He emphasized that it is the duty of the Serbian people to make Garavice not merely a geographical location, but a gathering place for prayer and remembrance - a reminder that freedom is always dearly paid for, and that life in peace and dignity is only possible if we know who we are, remember what was done to us, and pass the truth on to our descendants. In Garavice near Bihać, one of the largest Serbian execution sites in the Independent State of Croatia, the 84th anniversary of the Ustasha crime against more than 12,000 Serbs and 148 Jews from Bihać will be commemorated tomorrow.