OSTOJIĆ: FREEDOM WAS RESURRECTED THROUGH HEROIC DEFENSE OF THE WESTERN BORDERS

NOVI GRAD, SEPTEMBER 17 /SRNA/ – The commemoration of 30 years since the defense of the western borders of Republika Srpska from Croatian aggression began this evening in Novi Grad with the screening of the film “Typhoon from Kozara” by author Nedeljko Lajšić.

Lajšić said the film depicts the suffering of the Serb people, but also heroism and the determination to preserve their centuries-old hearths. He emphasized that September 18 and 19 are among the most important dates for Novi Grad, Kostajnica, and Kozarska Dubica. The President of the Veterans’ Organization of Republika Srpska, Radan Ostojić, said that the wartime path of the units defending the western borders of Republika Srpska, as well as all units of the Republika Srpska Army, represents the path of the Serbian soldier through history. "It is a path of Golgotha on which many, unfortunately, remained. But it is also a path of friendship, respect, heroic deeds — a path on which freedom was resurrected and Republika Srpska was defended," said Ostojić. He stressed that the joint task is to preserve Republika Srpska through unity. General Momir Zec said that those times were difficult but also freedom-loving. "Had the people, soldiers, and commanders not been determined to defend this area, the question is where we would be today. We had other battles, but in those battles we could get a second chance. Here, there was no second chance — if Novi Grad, Kostajnica, Dubica, and Prijedor had fallen and enemy forces reached the Vrbas river, who knows what Dayton would have looked like," Zec said. He emphasized that in addition to the soldiers, the civilian population, who did not abandon their homes, played a decisive role. "The people were with us, they believed in their army," said General Zec. The commander of the Prnjavor Brigade of the Republika Srpska Army, Vlado Živković, recalled that this brigade arrived in Novi Grad in August 1995 from Ozren, where 132 soldiers had been killed in 14 months. "We came to defend and hold Novi Grad. We managed to prevent the Croatian Army, after crossing the Una at Tunjica, from seizing the high ground. The order was to stop them in a narrow area," Živković said. He stated that the attack on Novi Grad was carried out by elite units of the Croatian Army, which were defeated. The Mayor of Novi Grad, Miroslav Drljača, said eternal gratitude remains to all who defended Republika Srpska. "The Republika Srpska Army showed that its greatest sanctuary is Republika Srpska, in which we live and work today," Drljača said. At the central memorial to the fallen soldiers of the Republika Srpska Army in Novi Grad, wreaths will be laid tomorrow at 9:00 a.m. and a memorial service for civilian victims will be held at 9:30 a.m. at the memorial in the Tunjica settlement. Afterwards, delegations will attend the central commemoration of 30 years since the defense of the western borders of Republika Srpska in Kostajnica. The attack of the Croatian Army on the municipality of Novi Grad began on September 18, 1995, at 9:25 a.m. During two days of the offensive, 37 civilians, 18 soldiers, and two members of the Ministry of the Interior were killed, while 17 civilians, three soldiers, and one policeman were wounded. The Republika Srpska Army managed on September 19, 1995, to push the Croatian Army back across the Una River. At the site of the heaviest casualties, in the settlement of Tunjica, where Croatian forces crossed into the municipality of Novi Grad, a memorial was erected and consecrated in 2010. During the attacks in the municipalities of Kostajnica, Novi Grad, and Kozarska Dubica, 51 members of the Republika Srpska Army and 56 civilians were killed, 62 soldiers and 39 civilians were wounded, and crimes were committed against civilians and prisoners of war. During the Croatian aggression, numerous crimes were committed against civilians and prisoners of war, and material damage was estimated at BAM 627 million.