VUKELIĆ: WE PAY TRIBUTE TO THOSE WHO DEFENDED SRPSKA AND CONTINUE TO STRENGTHEN IT

BELGRADE, SEPTEMBER 18 /SRNA/ - State Secretary at Serbia's Ministry of Labour, Employment, Veterans' and Social Affairs Nikola Vukelić told SRNA that the defence of the northwestern Krajina municipalities was crucial to defending that part of Republika Srpska, and that those who gave their lives for the freedom of their homeland and Republika Srpska deserve the utmost respect.

"Thanks to them, Republika Srpska was also defended, because if the municipalities of Novi Grad, Kostajnica and Kozarska Dubica had fallen, Gradiška and Banjaluka itself would also have been endangered. It is a question of how the processes in Dayton would then have unfolded, and it certainly would all have ended much less favourably for the Serb people," he said, citing the example of Republika Srpska Krajina. According to him, wherever territory was not defended, and where there was no Serbian army, there was no longer a Serb population either. Vukelić said that had the northwestern Krajina municipalities not been defended in 1995, there would be no Serbs in that area today, or they would exist only in small numbers, or would be a completely disenfranchised minority. Vukelić said that these events must always be remembered and that tribute should be paid to those who were killed, as well as to those who remained in these areas and have such a strong attachment to their homeland and family homes. He stressed that these border municipalities have a special geostrategic position and that, in peacetime and freedom, their economic and commercial development should be strengthened as much as possible. "Serbia is with Republika Srpska at all times and is there to help ensure that these processes develop favorably for the Serb people," he said. The Croatian Army’s attack on the municipality of Novi Grad began on September 18, 1995, at 9:25 a.m. During the two-day offensive, 57 people were killed - 37 civilians, 18 soldiers and two members of the Ministry of Interior. Seventeen civilians, three soldiers and one Ministry of Interior member were wounded. Members of the Army of Republika Srpska pushed the Croatian Army back across the Una River on September 19, 1995. A memorial was erected at the site where the largest number of civilians and soldiers were killed, in the settlement of Tunjica, where Croatian forces crossed into the territory of Novi Grad municipality. The memorial was consecrated in 2010. In the western Krajina municipalities of Kozarska Dubica, Novi Grad and Kostajnica, 104 people were killed during the Croatian aggression on September 18 and 19, 1995, including 54 civilians, 44 members of the armed forces of Republika Srpska and six members of the Ministry of Interior of Republika Srpska. Settlements and towns suffered extensive destruction and damage. According to data from municipal commissions, the estimated material damage amounted to BAM 83.3 million in Novi Grad, BAM 50.4 million in Kozarska Dubica and BAM 40 million in Kostajnica. The defense of the western Krajina municipalities against the Croatian aggression is considered an event of significance for the defense of Republika Srpska and, by a decision of the Republika Srpska Government, has been included among the most important dates in recent Serbian history.