CVIJANOVIĆ: THE TRUTH MUST NOT BE ABANDONED

ISTOČNO NOVO SARAJEVO, MAY 3 /SRNA/ - The truth should not and must not be abandoned, Serbian member of the Presidency of BIh Željka Cvijanović emphasized during the commemoration marking 34 years since the killing of JNA members in Dobrovoljačka Street in Sarajevo.

Cvijanović stressed that what happened on May 2 and 3, 1992, in Dobrovoljačka was a criminal enterprise. She said it is important to build the future in such a way that truth is never abandoned, nor the pursuit of justice and its fulfillment. "What I know, and what I have learned while doing this and other jobs, is first that we must never give up on the truth, and second, that we should not do so and that there is no justification for giving up even a millimeter of what is ours," Cvijanović said in her address in Istočno Novo Sarajevo. She pointed to the need to remember the victims as much as possible and to respect their sacrifice, because that is how freedom in which people live today will be valued more deeply. "I know we are tired of many injustices, that both as a people and as institutions we have been exhausted for a long time by various injustices delivered in different ways, but we must understand that every victim is an obligation for each of us," Cvijanović emphasized. She noted that history teaches the importance of remembering everyone, but also that there is an obligation to pass that memory on to new generations. She also pointed out that much has happened through manipulation intended to diminish the capacity and potential of Republika Srpska, its institutions, and ultimately the Serbian people. "That makes our obligation to remember even greater," Cvijanović stressed. She thanked everyone who has contributed, or continues to contribute, to preserving remembrance and showing respect for the victims. Wreaths and flowers were laid today at the monument to the 65th Regiment of the JNA and Army of Republika Srpska in the City Park in Istočno Novo Sarajevo, concluding the commemoration of the 34th anniversary of the attack on the JNA column in Dobrovoljačka Street. Earlier today, white roses were laid and candles lit in the former Dobrovoljačka Street in Sarajevo at the site where, on this day in 1992, Muslim paramilitary forces carried out a massacre against JNA members who were peacefully withdrawing from Sarajevo toward Lukavica. According to the Republika Srpska Center for Research of War, War Crimes, and Missing Persons, at least 28 JNA members were killed in Sarajevo on May 2 and 3.