ŽUPLJANIN: TALIĆ STANDS SHOULDER TO SHOULDER WITH FAMOUS SERB MILITARY COMMANDERS

BANJA LUKA, MAY 25 /SRNA/ - The Head of the Organisation of Republika Srpska Army Senior Officers Slobodan Župljanin says that General Momir Talić was not only RSA commander, but above all a Serb military commander who stands shoulder to shoulder with the famous commanders of Serb liberation wars.

“Talić was an army commander, as the First Krajina Corps at one point had more than 100,000 soldiers,” Župljanin told the press in Piskavica near Banjaluka, where he attended the commemoration of the 22nd anniversary of General Talić’s death. Župljanin emphasized that the Serb people must never forget the RSA’s heroic battles during the past war, as even the entire world and NATO could not defeat the Army of Republika Srpska. “We must preserve the memory of General Talić and the comrades who gave their lives for Republika Srpska. We must commit and vow never to forget them and to forever defend and preserve Republika Srpska,” Župljanin stated. He pointed out that Republika Srpska and the Serb people are still being attacked today, just as during wartime. “We must defend our people, Republika Srpska, and its leadership. That is the guarantee of our survival,” Župljanin said. Retired RSA General Boško Kelečević emphasized that General Momir Talić ensured the survival of Republika Srpska during its most important operation - the 1992 Posavina Corridor Breakthrough. “General Talić was one of the commanders who held numerous leading positions all the way up to Chief of the RSA General Staff,” Kelečević recalled. He noted that General Talić had a difficult life, having lost his father at an early age, and spent most of his life in boarding schools and military barracks. On July 26, 1991, General Momir Talić was appointed Chief of Staff of the Fifth Corps of the former Yugoslav People’s Army /JNA/, which later became the First Krajina Corps. He made a significant contribution to the breakthrough of the corridor connecting the western and eastern parts of Republika Srpska. For his military merits, General Talić was awarded the Nemanjić Order, the highest military decoration of Republika Srpska. General Momir Talić died on May 28, 2003, at the Military Medical Academy in Belgrade.