DODIK: REMEMBERING NATO AGGRESSION VICTIMS - PERMANENT SCAR ON ETERNAL SRPSKA’S SOUL

BANJA LUKA, SEPTEMBER 8 /SRNA/ – Republika Srpska President Milorad Dodik emphasized that remembering the victims of NATO aggression on Republika Srpska is one of the most sacred Serb people’s obligations, as it is not only a recollection of the past, but a lasting warning and a vow never to forget the innocent lives lost in the name of foreign interests and a powerful military force that attacked a small but proud people, thinking it could conquer it with bombs and fear.

Ahead of the Day of Remembrance for the Victims of NATO Aggression on Republika Srpska in 1994 and 1995, which will be held tomorrow in East Sarajevo, Dodik recalled in his SRNA statement that NATO aircraft began bombing military and civilian Serb targets around Goražde on April 10, 1994, and that during criminal operations titled Deliberate Force and Dead Eye, between August 31 and September 14, 1995, Serb targets were bombed across Republika Srpska. "Republika Srpska was subjected to ruthless attacks by NATO aircraft. Towns were bombed, infrastructure destroyed, but what hurts the most and what will never fade from our memory are the lost lives of innocent civilians and soldiers, ordinary people guilty of nothing except being Serbs and loving their country," the Srpska president stressed. He stressed that what NATO called a "military operation" will forever be remembered by the Serb people as a great crime and an act of aggression. The president reminded that Republika Srpska was exposed to the brutal force of the most powerful military alliance in the world. He noted that NATO’s criminal bombs did not just destroy infrastructure, walls, bridges, and transmitters, but wounded the soul of the Serb people, contaminating their land, fields, and rivers with depleted uranium. The consequences of that crime are still felt today, decades later, through diseases that are taking the lives of innocent children and residents. "These merciless and criminal NATO operations were a classic attempt to break the spirit of the Republika Srpska people, to destroy their right to freedom and existence. Yet, from those ruins and suffering, strength was born and even greater will and desire to defend ourselves. Republika Srpska survived, rose from the ashes, and proved to the world that the Serb people, though small in number, cannot be subdued and is unbreakable." "Today, as we remember those difficult times, we must be aware that it is our duty and responsibility to defend the truth, to resist attempts to rewrite history, to pass this memory on to younger generations and teach them that freedom has no price, that it was paid for with the blood and sacrifice of the innocent," Dodik stated. That is why, he says, when we bow to the shadows of the NATO aggression victims, we are not only expressing sorrow and grief, but also renewing the vow to preserve Republika Srpska, to remain united and strong, and to never again allow our people to be targeted by powers seeking to destroy them. "Remembering innocent victims is not only about the past; it is the foundation of our future, a vow to freedom, a permanent warning, and a source of strength that leads us forward. It is our sacred duty never to forget those victims, because that is a painful wound that will never heal," Dodik said. He emphasized that on the Day of Remembrance for the Victims of NATO Aggression, we cannot help but remember the first civilian victims - the Galinac siblings, Radmila and Radenko, whose lives were taken on September 9, 1995, in Semizovac, by bombs dropped in the name of a force that calls itself a "guardian of peace." "That bomb didn’t hit a military target, nor did it stop the civil war in BiH; it struck the heart of one family, destroyed the world of their parents, and left an indelible scar on the soul of East Sarajevo and the entire Republika Srpska. That is a crime that can never be justified. To make the tragedy even greater, their brother Radovan - Radenko’s twin - had been killed just two weeks earlier. Today, they say NATO’s bombing wasn’t aggression? It was a classic act of aggression, just like the 1999 bombing of Serbia," said the president. He added that every candle lit for the innocent victims of NATO aggression is a light of truth, a reminder that NATO bombs did not bring peace, but death, blood, pain, and, decades later, severe illnesses. "It is our duty to ensure that this light never goes out so that new generations know that the freedom of Republika Srpska was paid for with the lives of innocent people and that East Sarajevo remembers. Republika Srpska remembers. The Serb people remember, as a people who remember their victims can never be defeated or destroyed. Remembering the victims of NATO aggression is remembering injustice, but is also the reminder of the strength of a people who survived and endured." Therefore, he added, we have made our position clear and have firmly said 'NO' to any NATO integration. "Any attempt by anyone to place NATO membership on the agenda of BiH is doomed to fail. For us, that is a closed issue. Our answer will always be - a proud NO," stated President of Republika Srpska Milorad Dodik.