MEMORIAL SERVICE HELD FOR SERB VICTIMS ON MARGARET THE VIRGIN

TRNOVO, JULY 30 /SRNA/ - Today in Trnovo, the Day of Remembrance for Serb Victims in this municipality was marked, as attendees lit candles and offered prayers in honor of the Serbs who perished in the Defensive-Patriotic War.

The memorial event began with a liturgy at the Church of Saint George and continued with a memorial service at the Central Monument, where numerous delegations laid wreaths and flowers. Mayor of Trnovo Miroslav Bjelica told reporters that this municipality was one of the hardest-hit during the recent war. "This is an extremely sorrowful day for us, as exactly 33 years ago we were forced to flee our homes. The very next day, our church was destroyed, our priest was killed, and then, in Ledići, even an eighteen-month-old baby and a 94-year-old woman were brutally murdered," Bjelica recalled. According to him, more than 80 percent of Trnovo’s housing stock was destroyed at the time, and 13 percent of the municipality’s Serb population lost their lives, laying the foundations of Republika Srpska with their sacrifice. He added that the leadership and citizens of this severely underdeveloped municipality are still grappling with the consequences of war, trying to rebuild housing, raise the living standard, revitalize the few remaining businesses, invest in children’s education, improve healthcare, and promote sports and culture among the youth. Bjelica emphasized that the Serbs of this region are successfully withstanding all post-war psychological and social trauma, thanks in part to the all-encompassing support of the President of Republika Srpska Milorad Dodik and the Government of Republika Srpska. President of the Organization of Families of Captured and Fallen Soldiers and Missing Civilians of Trnovo, Goran Timotija, stated that between 1992 and 1995, 101 innocent civilians were killed in Trnovo and its surrounding villages, while 130 soldiers from Trnovo gave their lives defending their homes from aggressors. He recalled the heroic efforts of the Trnovo Battalion, the special unit of the Army of Republika Srpska known as the "White Wolves," the First Motorized Guards Brigade, and Serb fighters from Gacko, Kalinovik, Foča, the Sarajevo-Romanija region, and all across Republika Srpska. Timotija believes that the crimes against Serbs in Trnovo continued even after the war, as no one has ever been held accountable or convicted for the innocent Serb victims across 13 villages of Trnovo. Wreaths were laid in honor of the fallen civilians and soldiers of Trnovo by delegations of the Veterans’ Organization of Republika Srpska, the Third /Republika Srpska/ Infantry Regiment of the Armed Forces of BiH, the Republika Srpska Organization of Families of Captured and Fallen Soldiers and Missing Civilians, the envoy of the Serb member of the BiH Presidency Boško Tomić, Mayor of East Sarajevo Ljubiša Ćosić, representatives of the BiH Institute for Missing Persons, and delegations from the municipalities of Trnovo and Kalinovik, as well as veterans' organizations and associations from the Defensive-Patriotic War from Trnovo, Kalinovik, Gacko, and Foča. Participants in today's memorial event also honored Serb victims at the monument in Rogoje. On the territory of Trnovo, members of the so-called Army of BiH committed heinous crimes against the Serb population, and even children could not escape the brutality. The youngest civilian victim in the area was 18 months old, and the oldest was 96 years old. Between 1992 and 1995, a total of 101 civilians were killed in Trnovo and its surrounding villages, while 130 Trnovo soldiers lost their lives defending their homeland.