OSTOJIĆ: MONUMENT SYMBOLIZES SACRIFICE AND SUFFERING OF SERB SOLDIER

BANJA LUKA, JANUARY 8 /SRNA/ - The president of the Republika Srpska Veterans’ Organization Radan Ostojić said that the memorial to fallen soldiers of the Republika Srpska Army in Banja Luka bears witness to the heroic deeds of the Serb soldier throughout history, especially during the Defensive–Patriotic War, and symbolizes sacrifice and suffering.

Ostojić emphasized that this is a sacred place of Republika Srpska, symbolizing every grave and every hero who fell throughout history. "It is appropriate here to speak of a poem by Vojislav Ilić: ‘Unknown passerby, should you happen to pass this sacred common grave, know that the greatest heroes of our time have found eternal rest here’," Ostojić recalled at the unveiling and consecration ceremony of the Central Memorial dedicated to a total of 25,830 fallen soldiers in the Defensive–Patriotic War of Republika Srpska. He emphasized that the Serb soldier has always believed in the victory of freedom over bondage, and that all such values must be embraced to preserve Republika Srpska and Serbia. "We owe our deepest expressions of gratitude to the mothers of the immortal heroes. They are the ones who give birth, and without them there is no life and no homeland," Ostojić said. He expressed his wish that God protect mothers, the Serb people, Republika Srpska, Serbia, and especially Kosovo and Metohija. "May the Lord preserve freedom and peace. The hearth will live on. Republika Srpska, happy 34th birthday," Ostojić emphasized. On the occasion of January 9, the Day of Republika Srpska, the Central Memorial dedicated to a total of 25,830 soldiers who fell in the Defensive–Patriotic War of Republika Srpska was unveiled and consecrated in Banja Luka today. A cross has been erected in the central part of the monument bearing the message: "The memory of you is our sacred temple. Within it, your radiant and covenantal sacrifice will never die." The memorial also features plaques with the names of fallen soldiers who defended Republika Srpska. January 9 is celebrated as the Day of Republika Srpska because on that date in 1992, it was founded under its original name, the Serb Republic of BiH.