WREATHS AND FLOWERS LAID AT NOVI ZEJTINLIK

SOKOLAC, JANUARY 9 /SRNA/ - As part of the marking of January 9 - the Day of Republika Srpska and the 34th anniversary of its existence, a memorial service was held today and wreaths and flowers were laid at the Novi Zejtinlik Military Memorial Cemetery in Sokolac, the resting place of 949 fighters who gave their lives for Republika Srpska.

Republika Srpska Minister of Transport and Communications Zoran Stevanović said that Republic Day should be an incentive for everyone to work more and better, stressing that it is the duty of all generations to preserve Republika Srpska. "We must care for every citizen and every family that has lost their loved ones. We should develop and strengthen Republika Srpska so that it lives forever and outlives all the generations present here today," Stevanović said. Darko Mladić, son of General Ratko Mladić, emphasized that on this day the primary duty of all is to bow to the heroes who gave their lives for Republika Srpska and the freedom of the Serbian people. Mladić said that today's generations should ask themselves whether they are worthy of the sacrifice made by the fallen fighters and consider what more can be done to make Republika Srpska better and stronger, and to become what those fighters gave their lives for. "Long live Republika Srpska and long live the Serbian people!" Mladić said. Envoy of the Serb member of the BiH Presidency Boško Tomić said that those who gave their lives for Republika Srpska rest at Novi Zejtinlik, while it is the responsibility of those living today to do everything in their power to preserve and improve Republika Srpska so that life in it may be better for all its citizens. Mayor of Istočno Sarajevo Ljubiša Ćosić pointed out that today, 34 years after the creation of Republika Srpska, three generations live within it - the fighters who created it, their children whom those fighters defended, and the grandchildren of the founders of Republika Srpska. "These three generations are sufficient to show that Republika Srpska is the state-forming framework in which Serbs, as well as other peoples in this area, wish to live, in accordance with the eternal pledge of those who gave their lives for its creation - freedom," Ćosić told reporters in Sokolac. According to him, if someone was ready to give their life for Republika Srpska, today's generations should, following their example, give the greatest part of their life energy so that Republika Srpska may be more successful, happier and better. "If we fail to do so, then we turn toward betrayal, which today means not working and not fighting for Republika Srpska to become a better, fairer and more successful society," Ćosić stressed. Representative of the Veterans' Organization of Republika Srpska Goran Šehovac said that Novi Zejtinlik is one of the holiest places in Republika Srpska, where fighters who were buried twice now rest. "The people who rest here gave their lives for Republika Srpska, while we who survived gave our health," Šehovac said. He sent a message to all citizens and politicians in Republika Srpska that there must be only one interest for all - Republika Srpska. Wreaths and flowers were laid by representatives of the authorities of Republika Srpska, Serb representatives in the institutions of BiH, the leadership of the City of East Sarajevo and its municipalities, delegations of the republican, regional and municipal veterans' organizations and other organizations stemming from the defensive-patriotic war, as well as the Third /Republika Srpska/ Infantry Regiment of the Armed Forces of BiH and citizens' associations. January 9 is celebrated as the Day of Republika Srpska because on that date in 1992 it was established under its original name, the Republic of the Serb People in BiH. It was founded by Serb deputies in the then BiH Assembly after they were outvoted on key issues concerning the survival of Yugoslavia and after representatives of the other two peoples embarked on secession against the will of the Serbs, who held the status of a constituent people.