A ceremonial parade was held on Krajina Square in Banja Luka as part of the formal celebration of the Day of the Republic of Srpska and the Day of the Veterans of the Defensive Patriotic War of the Republic of Srpska. Cherishing the memory of its heroes, the Republic of Srpska marks its birthday, celebrating life, freedom and endurance.

The celebration program held in Banja Luka on 8 January included wreath-laying at several memorials dedicated to fallen soldiers and victims, and opening of the Memorial to the Veterans of the Defensive Patriotic War. A ceremonial academy was also held on the same day, as well as a ceremonial reception at the Administrative Center of the Government of the Republic of Srpska.

At the ceremonial academy on the occasion of the Republic of Srpska Day, SNSD President Milorad Dodik said that he did not see a future without the Republic of Srpska and its existence, and added that the Republic of Srpska was an inevitability and that his intent was not to irritate anyone with that, although he knew that it irritated the most those wishing the Republic of Srpska to disappear.

He recalled that 26,000 soldiers had given their lives for the Republic of Srpska and that there was a large number of those disabled after being wounded and those who had to leave their homes. And home, he added, we notice mainly after we lose it.

At the ceremonial academy in Banja Luka on the occasion of the celebration of the Republic of Srpska Day, Prime Minister Đuro Macut stated that Serbia would always stand by the Republic of Srpska and the people living there, and noted that this support was not directed against anyone, but was rather a support for the right to exist and support for peace and stability. Macut said that well-known Serbian customs dictated that brothers and sisters come together in one house on major holidays to celebrate festive moments, and added that it was the same on that day, as brothers and sisters from both sides of the Drina River gathered on the eve of the Republic of Srpska Day.

The Prime Minister noted that Serbia respected the territorial integrity of Bosnia and Herzegovina and at the same time strongly supported the constitutional rights of the Republic of Srpska within the Dayton Agreement. He stated that Serbia would always stand by the Republic of Srpska and the people living there, and noted that this support was not directed against anyone.

The acting President of the Republic of Srpska Ana Trišić Babić said that if the will of the people had been respected, the legally elected President of the Republic of Srpska Milorad Dodik would have addressed those present on that day at the ceremonial academy on the occasion of the Republic Day. Thanks to external enemies, Trišić Babić said, Dodik was illegitimately and democratically forced to withdraw.

‘Aware of the bad intentions towards Srpska, Dodik took a step back so that we could take great steps forward together,’ said Trišić Babić. ‘The Republic of Srpska was established on the will of the people, because it had learned to defend that will peacefully and responsibly. Srpska chose neither withdrawal nor conflict, it chose the harder path, the path of common sense,’ said Trišić Babić.

Serbian Patriarch Porfirije stated in Banja Luka that it was important to have understanding for each other, to be united and to turn towards each other, with words of love and forgiveness.

At the Living Hearth ceremonial academy, on the occasion of the celebration of 9 January, the Day of the Republic of Srpska, the Patriarch said that the Banja Luka gathering was in double joy – the birth of Jesus Christ, but also the birth of the RS celebrated for the 34th time. The Patriarch addressed especially the young and told them not to allow and all of us together with them not to allow hatred to become our identity, to have bitterness for our food.

In his address at the ceremonial parade on the occasion of the Day of the Republic, the Minister of the Interior of the Republic of Srpska, Željko Budimir, said that every day in the existence of the Republic of Srpska was a great victory, because it was exposed to daily attacks by those trying to extinguish it, but they would fail because Srpska was a pledge of heroes.

A total of 2,634 participants took part in the Ceremonial Parade on the occasion of the Day of the Republic of Srpska.

The Secretary General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Serbia, Dušan Kozarev, paid a two-day working visit to Banja Luka on the occasion of the Republic of Srpska Day.

Kozarev attended the central ceremony in the Borik Hall and the official reception in the Administrative Center of the Republic of Srpska, and during dinner he discussed further directions for strengthening mutual cooperation with the Minister of International Cooperation and European Integration in the Government of the Republic of Srpska, Zlatan Klokić.

The visit concluded with attendance at the ceremonial parade of members of the bodies and organizations of the Republic of Srpska at Krajina Square.

Source: RTRS, RTS, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Serbia
Photo: RTRS, Borislav Zdrinja