DODIK: REPUBLIKA SRPSKA ARMY WAS AN HONORABLE FORMATION

TREBINJE, JUNE 28 /SRNA/ - Republika Srpska President Milorad Dodik stated that the Republika Srpska Army was an honorable formation that achieved significant victories while preserving tradition and protecting the Serb people.

At the commemoration of Vidovdan, the patron saint day of the Republika Srpska Army and the Third Infantry /Republika Srpska/ Regiment, Dodik said the Army defended lives, homes, history, and the Serbian Orthodox Church. "That army achieved significant victories while preserving tradition and the people; it was the will of the people who united during the challenging times of the breakup of the former Yugoslavia to defend the existence of the Serb people," Dodik told reporters in Trebinje. He wished all Serbs, wherever they may be, a happy Vidovdan, emphasizing that it is a date when, throughout history, important events have taken place that have marked the essence, identity, and existence of the Serbian people. “Vidovdan is not a myth; it is a holy day for the Serbian people. We have learned that without myth, there is no nation,” Dodik emphasized. He added that many myths have arisen from it, with the Kosovo myth being one of the most important. “Gathered around the Kosovo myth, the Serbs survived difficult times, and that served as the foundation for our struggle to unite during the Defense Patriotic War, aware that we had to fight for our freedom,” Dodik stated. He emphasized that Republika Srpska is a synonym for freedom, and that those who secured it were the people and their army. Dodik stated that in seven days, the 150th anniversary of the Nevesinje Rifle uprising will also be commemorated, and that today, one can trace a continuous line of Serbian suffering in this region. “Scholars have recorded that during the time of the Ottoman Empire, Serbs in these areas rose in 136 uprisings. These were honorable struggles, attempts at liberation that most often ended in bloodshed for our people, but it shows that the people couldn’t endure the lack of freedom for long; they always rose up, even when they knew they couldn’t achieve their goals,” Dodik said. He concluded that the Serbian people must remain united around Vidovdan.