STEVANDIĆ: WE HAVE PREVAILED - OUR PEOPLE ARE NOBLER

PREBILOVCI, AUGUST 5 /SRNA/ - Speaker of the Republika Srpska National Assembly Nenad Stevandić stated in Prebilovci that the survival and strengthening of Republika Srpska, together with Serbia, represents a cornerstone for the culture of remembrance and self-respect in the future, just as the Church of the Resurrection of Christ in this village does.

"I feel a certain reverence being here in Prebilovci, where I was with Republika Srpska President Milorad Dodik when this church was consecrated. It is an honor that a representative of the Serbian government is also with us today," said Stevandić in Prebilovci, where he attended the festive evening service marking the Feast of the Prebilovci and Other Martyrs of Herzegovina. He emphasized that the Serb people have nonetheless prevailed and survived, and that they are now much stronger, unlike the depravity, disrespect, and lack of culture seen on the other side, in Croatia, where the expulsion of Serbs in the criminal Operation Storm is celebrated and songs about slaughter are sung. "If we are to summarize these emotions in human terms, I must say that we have indeed prevailed, that our seed has survived, and that our people are now greater, stronger, and nobler!" Stevandić told reporters. The Ustasha committed the massacre in Prebilovci between August 6 and 11, 1941, under the command of Ivan Jovanović-Crni. Most of the victims were thrown alive into the Golubinka pit, while others were executed on the spot. The Church of the Resurrection of Christ in Prebilovci was built and consecrated in 2015 in memory of some 4,000 Serbs from Lower Herzegovina killed by the Ustasha during World War II, who were canonized by the Serbian Orthodox Church that same year. The church in Prebilovci was built with the support of Republika Srpska President Milorad Dodik and donations from Serbs in the diaspora. It was modeled after the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, a symbol of resurrection and life.