DODIK: SEPTEMBER 18 AND 19, 1995 - HEROIC DAYS OF DEFENDING THREE WESTERN KRAJINA MUNICIPALITIES; A VOW NOT TO LOSE FREEDOM!

BANJA LUKA, SEPTEMBER 17 /SRNA/ – September 1995. will remain engraved in the collective memory of the Serb people as a month of the greatest trials, but also a month of pride and heroism, when the Western Krajina municipalities of Kozarska Dubica, Novi Grad, and Kostajnica were defended in just two days, said the President of Republika Srpska, Milorad Dodik.

On the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the defense of the Western Krajina municipalities of Kozarska Dubica, Novi Grad, and Kostajnica on September 18 and 19, 1995, against Croatian-Muslim aggression, President Dodik told SRNA that the defense of these municipalities was the scene of one of the largest offensives during the war, a combined strike by the Croatian Army, the so-called Army of BiH, and paramilitary formations. “This military operation aimed to destroy the Republika Srpska Army, to capture the Western Krajina municipalities – Kozarska Dubica, Novi Grad, and Kostajnica – and therefore deliver a strong blow to Republika Srpska,” President Dodik reminded. In those difficult moments for the Serb people in these municipalities, Dodik said, the frontlines were held by brave and courageous fighters of the Republika Srpska Army, police officers, and volunteers – sons, fathers, and brothers – who in just a few days became heroes. Exhausted by a prolonged war, without enough food, ammunition, or medical support, they withstood the assaults of a numerically superior and technologically better-equipped enemy,” Dodik underlined. He said that at that time, every hill, river, village, and town in these three municipalities was a target of the enemy, and today they are symbols of resistance, representing the last barrier and bastion of defense against attacks on further areas of Krajina. “The cost of defense was enormous. More than one hundred soldiers and civilians gave their lives, many were wounded, and many families were and remain draped in black. The Serb people of these three municipalities suffered a tremendous blow in those two days, but they did not surrender. Their sacrifice was not in vain, just as none of the sacrifices in the past Defensive-Patriotic War were, because today we have Republika Srpska and the people’s right to freedom and life on their own land. Today, three decades later, as we remember those days, our feelings are mixed. We mourn the lost lives, but we feel pride that the Serb people, in those two days and in those difficult hours, showed superhuman strength and determination,” Dodik told SRNA. He emphasized that the defense of the Western Krajina municipalities on September 17 and 18, 1995, is not only a military event but a symbol of steadfastness, love for the homeland, and the belief that freedom must not be lost. “This event, one in a series of tragic events that befell the Serb people, teaches us and constantly reminds us that freedom was not given but paid for at the highest price. It reminds us that Republika Srpska is not a coincidence, but a vow born from the sacrifice of the best sons and daughters of the Serbian people. It is our sacred duty never to forget that sacrifice, to preserve the names of fallen fighters and civilians from oblivion, to ensure that their families are never alone, and to defend Republika Srpska by all means, just as they defended it,” Dodik said. He added that it is up to today’s generations to preserve Republika Srpska, strengthen it, and leave it to their children as a permanent home and a vow of freedom. “We must all be aware that even today many attack Republika Srpska with the intent to destroy it, to erase its existence, to take everything from it, and at best leave only demarcation lines on paper that mean nothing. There are those in Republika Srpska who would accept all this for the sake of their own ambitions, trampling on our sacrifices,” Dodik stressed. He said that for those willing to do anything for a handful of power, Republika Srpska means nothing, just as the clattering of arms and daily threats from political Sarajevo mean nothing, nor do the statements of those who even today, as in 1992 on the eve of the civil war in BiH, threaten to sacrifice peace. “Those two hard September days of 1995 were hours of truth and trial, just as today’s trials, pressures, and challenges are political, but with the same goal – the destruction of Republika Srpska and the annulment of its existence,” Dodik pointed out. He stated that every day of the year is a vow not to give up freedom, to protect Republika Srpska, and to ensure that the sacrifice of fighters is never forgotten. In the Western Krajina municipalities – Kozarska Dubica, Novi Grad, and Kostajnica – on September 18 and 19, 1995, during the Croatian-Muslim aggression, 104 people were killed, including 54 civilians, 44 members of the Republika Srpska Army, and six members of the Republika Srpska Ministry of Interior. Towns and villages suffered extensive destruction and damage. According to municipal commissions’ assessments of material damage, in Novi Grad it amounted to BAM 83.3 million, in Kozarska Dubica BAM 50.4 million, and in Kostajnica BAM 40 million.