MARKING OF DAY OF REMEMBRANCE FOR NATO BOMBING VICTIMS BEGINS

ISTOČNA ILIDŽA, September 9 /SRNA/ - The marking of the Day of Remembrance for NATO bombing victims of Republika Srpska, which killed more than 50 members of the Republika Srpska Army and civilians and wounded more than 120 has begun in Istočna Ilidža.

A memorial service and flower-laying ceremony are currently being held at Grlica local cemetery at the memorial to the first civilian victims of the NATO bombing in Srpsko Sarajevo - brother and sister Radmila and Radenko Galinac from Vojkovići. In addition to the families of those killed, the commemoration is being attended by Republika Srpska Minister of Labour, War Veterans and Disabled Persons Protection Radan Ostojić, Chief of the Joint Staff of the BiH Armed Forces General Gojko Knežević, Deputy Chair of the Council of Ministers Staša Košarac, representative of the Serb BiH Presidency member Boško Tomić, Head of the Association of Prison Camp Detainees Anđelko Nosović, and representatives of the Russian Embassy in BiH. Members of the Republika Srpska National Assembly and the Parliamentary Assembly of BiH, representatives of the Istočno Sarajevo City Assembly, and Istočna Ilidža Mayor Marinko Božović are also attending the memorial service. A memorial service for all Serbs killed during the NATO aggression against Republika Srpska will be held at the Church of St. Peter of Dabar-Bosnia in Vojkovići, followed by addresses by officials and a spiritual and artistic programme. The marking of this historic event, which is of republican significance, is organised by the Republika Srpska Government’s Committee nurturing tradition of liberation wars. The Day of Remembrance was established in memory of September 9, 1995, when brother and sister Radmila and Radenko Galinac from Vojkovići were killed by NATO aircraft on a destroyed bridge in Semizovac near Sarajevo. NATO's "Deliberate Force" operation lasted between August 30 and September 14, 1995. During that period, 47 members of the Republika Srpska Army and seven civilians were killed, while more than 120 people were wounded. During the bombing of Pale, Jahorina, Hadžići, Vogošća, Ilijaš and Bratunac, NATO aircraft used depleted uranium munitions, which, in the years following the war, led to a significant increase in the number of people suffering from malignant diseases, particularly among the displaced population from Hadžići. The proposal for this event to be designated as an event of republican significance was put forward on November 23, 2018, by SNSD representative Staša Košarac in the House of Representatives of the Parliamentary Assembly of BiH, in line with an initiative previously launched by SRNA. The initiative to establish a Day of Remembrance for NATO bombing victims was launched in Andrićgrad on August 26, 2018, at SRNA's proposal.