The President of the Republic of Srpska, Željka Cvijanović, has attended today in Banja Luka the central ceremony on the occasion of the Day of the Army of the Republic of Srpska and the Third Infantry (Republic of Srpska) Regiment.
In her address at the central ceremony in the Banja Luka barracks “Kozara”, the President Cvijanović pointed out that May 12 was one of the most important dates in the recent history of the Serb people.
“On that day, exactly 30 years ago, the Army of the Republic of Srpska was formed - the Army that defended the territory of the Republic of Srpska and the right of our people to live freely, to stay and survive in their centuries-old hearths”, the President of Srpska emphasized.
The President of the Republic of Srpska stated that its glorious tradition was today proudly inherited by the Third Infantry /Republic of Srpska/ Regiment.
“The two-headed eagle on your uniforms and insignia testifies to the continuity of the Army of the Republic of Srpska, which still lives in the hearts of its brave fighters, as well as in the hearts of all of us”, said the President of Srpska.
The President of the Republic of Srpska emphasized that the Army of the Republic of Srpska did not go down in history, it lived and would live as long as we gather and remember our heroes, fearless fighters, as long as we remember the “Corridor of Life”, the battle for babies, the Mitrovdan Offensives and other great feats and operations.
From the very beginning, the President of the Republic emphasized, the Army of the Republic of Srpska had been a people’s army, composed of ordinary people who had defended their families, their houses, villages and cities.
“They were not, nor could they be, aggressors in their own backyards, in their forests and fields, in the land of their ancestors. Many of them guarded their hearths from infamous Islamic fighters from the 'El Mujahid' unit, who came from Indonesia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and other countries thousands of kilometers away from us”, the President of Srpska recalled.
The President of the Republic of Srpska pointed out that, from the distorted view of Sarajevo, those same foreign warriors had been defenders, referring to locals as aggressors, those who had defended their villages and houses, families and neighbors from them.
“And I am not saying this to justify ourselves to anyone, or to provoke anyone, but to point out to the absence of elementary logic and the paradox of the state in which we still live today. I am also saying this because we must never allow anyone to insult the Army of the Republic of Srpska and its honorable role in the Defensive and Patriotic War”, said the President Cvijanović.
The President of Srpska said that no one had the right to question the territory, competencies, property and integrity of the Republic of Srpska, for which more than 23.000 soldiers of the Army of the Republic of Srpska had given their lives.
“That is why we owe them eternal gratitude and eternal remembrance. We also owe gratitude and respect to those who left their health and parts of their bodies on the front lines”, said the President of the Republic.
If it had not been for May 12, 1992, the President Cvijanović pointed out, there would not have been November 21, 1995, the day when the Republic of Srpska was internationally verified in Dayton as an equal entity, while January 9 would have remained a historical memory, and not a magnificent holiday that citizens lovingly celebrate throughout the Republic of Srpska.
“In the thirty-year long history of the Republic of Srpska, we have many great and important dates, and today we celebrate each of them in peace and freedom thanks to the best sons of the Republic of Srpska, who gathered exactly 30 years ago.
I congratulate all combatants of the Army of the Republic of Srpska, members of the Third Infantry the Republic of Srpska Regiment, as well as citizens, on the Day of the Army of the Republic of Srpska, wishing us to preserve jointly the tradition of our glorious army, as well as the Republic of Srpska it defended. Long live the Republic of Srpska!”, said the President of the Republic of Srpska.
