MINIĆ, OSTOJIĆ AND ĐURĐEVIĆ-STAMENKOVSKI PRESENTED AN AWARD TO MILIJA ZEČEVIĆ

BROD, MARCH 26 /SRNA/ - Republika Srpska Prime Minister Savo Minić, Minister of Labor, War Veterans’ and Disabled Persons' Protection Radan Ostojić, and Serbia’s Minister of Labor, Employment, Veterans and Social Affairs Milica Đurđević-Stamenkovski presented the “Milunka Savić” award to Milja Zečević from Sijekovac, whose three sons and husband were killed by criminals.

Minić emphasized that words are unnecessary in the face of Milja Zečević’s suffering, and that because of her and all the mothers who gave their sons as the foundation of Republika Srpska, it is an obligation to remember and preserve the dearly paid-for freedom and peace. Stamenkovski explained that Serbia and Republika Srpska have not forgotten the sacrifice of Milja Zečević, and that this decoration was established by the ministry with the aim of recognizing and commemorating the testimonies of women, brave mothers and sisters, who have left a significant mark on Serbian history. She said that Milja Zečević is a symbol of the Serbian mother who worked, raised children, cared for her home, and then witnessed everything she believed in being destroyed before her eyes, with the support of neighbors whom she had hosted many times before. “We are standing at the hearth of one of the most suffering Serbian families in our recent history. We stand at the doorstep of Mother Milja, who endured unimaginable pain; she watched as her husband and three sons were killed,” Stamenkovski said. Ostojić told reporters that everything began in Sijekovac, after which the civil war followed. “From this war, the Serb people emerged in such a way that they preserved their freedom and Republika Srpska,” Ostojić emphasized. He stated that the victims in Sijekovac were Serb civilians, from children to the elderly, and that the attackers were Croats and Muslims, adding that these events show who was responsible for the outbreak of the war and everything that happened in BiH. The visit to Milja Zečević took place after the ceremony marking the 34th anniversary of the crime against Serbs, committed during the incursion into Sijekovac by regular Croatian forces and Muslim-Croat paramilitary units.