MINIĆ LIGHTS CANDLES FOR REPOSE OF GENERAL MLADIĆ’S SOUL

BANJA LUKA, AUGUST 27 /SRNA/ - Republika Srpska Prime Minister Savo Minić lit candles this evening at the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in Banja Luka for the repose of the soul of Serbian General Ratko Mladić.

Minić said that he had spoken with Ratko Mladić’s family today and told his son Darko that he was sorry that efforts to ensure that the general could spend his final days with dignity had failed, given that his health had been in a catastrophic state. “All of this has taken us back to the days when the Hague Tribunal was arresting Serbs wherever it could. If we consider the sentences they received and then look at members of other ethnic groups, we realize how one-sided it was and what a great injustice it represented,” Minić told reporters. He also pointed out that Serbs are now in a situation where criminal complaints are being filed against them because they are not allowed to express what they feel, which, he said, was imposed by international evildoers, adding that someone could use this to prosecute any Serb. Minić stressed that the Serb people should come together, remain united, send messages of solidarity, and become even stronger and prouder to survive. “The messages I receive from my comrades-in-arms and from people in Republika Srpska reflect the true state of our collective spirit and what we will not say at this moment, but what we feel in our hearts and souls,” Minić said. He added that it was also sad that messages of hatred were still being heard from the Federation today. President Milorad Dodik, Minister of Labor, War Veterans' and Disabled Persons' Protection Radan Ostojić, Minister of Internal Affairs Željko Budimir, and Republika Srpska Veterans' Association President Milovan Gagić also lit candles for the repose of General Mladić’s soul together with Minić.