DODIK: THE STRUGGLE OF SERB HEROES MADE LIFE POSSIBLE WHERE DEATH THREATENED – REMEMBERING THEM IS FOUNDATION OF OUR IDENTITY

BANJA LUKA, JUNE 21 /SRNA/ – The President of Republika Srpska Milorad Dodik stated that the breakthrough of the Corridor was not just a military victory, but an act of sacrifice, courage, heroism, and patriotism. He stressed that we must never forget that every meter of that ground was paid for with the blood of those who believed that life was worth fighting for, and that remembering them is one of the most sacred duties – the foundation of Serbian identity.

“The fight of Serb soldiers made life possible where death loomed. It is our duty to remember them with respect, to learn from the past and build the future in peace, but never to forget the cost of our survival. For those who forget their heroes, forget themselves,” Dodik emphasized in a statement to SRNA, on the occasion of commemorating the 33rd anniversary of the Corridor breakthrough – a decisive battle that determined the fate of the Serb people in Republika Srpska and BiH and led to the establishment of the territorial integrity of Srpska. The president emphasized that the 1992 Corridor breakthrough was not merely a military operation – it is a unique story of mothers awaiting news, of the wounded who continued to fight, of those who stood on the front lines not out of obligation, but out of patriotism and love for their people, their Republic, and for freedom. “Courage is not measured by weapons alone, but by a heart that never gives up. Future generations have a sacred duty to remember – not to live in the past, but to build a more just future,” President Dodik said. He pointed out that this operation held multiple levels of significance. “It had a humanitarian character, because thanks to the courage and determination of Serb soldiers, the delivery of oxygen, medicine, food, and fuel to the western part of Republika Srpska was made possible, saving many lives – especially those of children, the sick, and the elderly. It also had strategic and military value. The breakthrough established a single territorial and communication link within Republika Srpska, strengthening military coordination and defensive capacity, and politically proved that the institutions and the Army of Republika Srpska were capable of organizing and defending their people in times of crisis,” the President of the Republic stressed. Dodik added that the military operation also had moral and symbolic significance, as it became and remains a symbol of survival and resistance. “The very name ‘Corridor of Life’ carries a powerful message of fighting for bare existence and freedom. It is still remembered today as one of the key moments of the past Defensive-Patriotic War,” Dodik stated. Even after the end of the civil war in BiH, he said, Republika Srpska has been exposed to constant attacks and pressures, especially against its institutions, its sovereignty, and its property. He emphasized that we must never allow ourselves to fall under any kind of pressure or fabricated judicial persecution – precisely because of those who, in the turbulent and difficult year of 1992, created Srpska, and whose soldiers later defended and preserved it. The president emphasized that Republika Srpska is today a stable and progressive community in all fields, although it continues to face immense pressures aimed at its disappearance through the imposition of a unitarist concept of BiH – a goal pursued by certain foreign countries together with the Bosniak political establishment. This unitarization, falsely labeled as “centralization of BiH”, Dodik warned, would deprive Republika Srpska of its autonomy and lead to its disappearance, which was never the vision of those who gave their lives during the humanitarian operation “Corridor of Life.” “We all have an obligation to preserve the culture of remembrance and never forget those who created and defended Srpska, so that we could live in freedom today – a freedom that is priceless. A people without memory, without its past, history, institutions, language, script, and culture is not truly a people. Therefore, let us protect our freedom and all the values of our Republika Srpska, which were both created and defended,” Dodik stressed. The 33rd anniversary of the Corridor breakthrough will be marked tomorrow at Duga Njiva near Modriča. The military operation “Corridor 92” lasted from June 14 to June 28, 1992, in the Posavina region, and it enabled the connection of the western parts of Srpska and Republika Srpska Krajina with the rest of Srpska and Serbia. The operation, launched following the death of 12 infants in a Banja Luka maternity ward due to a lack of oxygen, ended a 42-day land and air blockade of western Republika Srpska and Krajina. According to the Republic Center for War Research, War Crimes and Missing Persons, at least 855 soldiers of the Republika Srpska Army, 14 members of the Srpska Ministry of Interior, and 19 members of the Ministry of Interior and Army of Republika Srpska Krajina were killed in the operation, with more than 1,500 Serb heroes wounded.