DODIK: NEVESINJE UPRISINGS SERB PEOPLE’S PRIDE

NEVESINJE, JULY 6 /SRNA/ – Republika Srpska President Milorad Dodik has emphasized today that the famous people of Nevesinje, who rose in rebellion 150 years ago, ensured that Nevesinje is no longer just a geographical point, but the foundation of Serb history, Serb identity, and the pride of the Serb people.

"These are people who have always fought for freedom. Freedom is the key word throughout our history; it led the almost unarmed people of Herzegovina into an uprising," Dodik said at the ceremonial gathering marking 150 years since the Nevesinje Uprising - the uprising launched by fearless Herzegovinians against the Ottoman Empire. Dodik stresses it is not merely an epic tale that many heroes went into battle with nothing, unarmed, seizing their first weapons from the enemy, which, when they fell, they would pass on to their brothers. "Our history shows that the Serb people has never agreed to be oppressed - they endured but dreamed of freedom, seizing the first opportunity to fight for it. The Serbs in these regions have launched 136 uprisings and revolts - all were crushed in blood, and their leaders were impaled," Dodik underlined. The president of Srpska stated that nothing has ever stopped the Serbs’ struggle for freedom, as Serbs have always fought for their people and their faith. "Today we must take care of our freedom, our people, our lands, and our plans. The insurgents back then in Herzegovina had the same drive and dream as we do today - that the Serb people stand together, not divided, and remain a united Serb people," Dodik emphasized. Republika Srpska, Dodik adds, still fights for those same rights today. "This uprising shows that revolutions are started by those who are forced, who must act, and who did not want to change their faith just to save their lives," Dodik noted, adding that from the first uprising until today, the history of Serbs has been marked by suffering. The ceremonial gathering was attended by His Holiness Patriarch Porfirije of erbian, the advisor to the President of Serbia Miloš Vučević, the speakers of the National Assemblies of Republika Srpska and Montenegro, Nenad Stevandić and Andrija Mandić, as well as the Prime Ministers of Srpska and Serbia, Radovan Višković and Đuro Macut, along with ministers. Also present were the mayors of Eastern Herzegovinian municipalities, along with numerous officials and guests from the region. Following the ceremonial gathering, the central commemoration continues at the Krekovi memorial site, where at 12:45 p.m., a memorial service for the Herzegovinian insurgents will be held, and wreaths will be laid. The gathering was preceded by the Divine Hierarchical Liturgy, served by His Holiness Patriarch Porfirije of Serbia at the Church of the Ascension of the Lord. The First Nevesinje Uprising was an uprising launched in the village of Krekovi near Nevesinje on July 9, 1875, against Ottoman rule, which soon spread throughout BiH with the support of Serbia and Montenegro. Over time, it grew into the Serb-Turkish War. At the Berlin Congress in 1878, Serbia and Montenegro gained independence and territorial expansion, while Austria-Hungary occupied BiH for 30 years.