STEVANDIĆ: THE SECOND KRAJINA BRIGADE PLAYED VITAL ROLE IN DEFENDING THE SERB PEOPLE

BANJA LUKA, SEPTEMBER 13 /SRNA/ – The Speaker of the National Assembly of Republika Srpska, Nenad Stevandić, stated that the Second Krajina Brigade, together with other brave units of the Republika Srpska Army, played a crucial role in defending Republika Srpska and the Serb people.

At the commemoration marking 34 years since the formation of the renowned brigade, Stevandić emphasized that it is important for the younger generations, who today live in freedom thanks to the fighters of the Republika Srpska Army, to understand that the culture of remembrance is a backbone of survival. “Especially today, when the greatest possible hatred is being generated against Republika Srpska and Serbs, almost greater than in 1991. It is disastrous that institutions, from the Constitutional Court of BiH, political parties in Sarajevo, and so-called joint institutions where decisions are made without Serbs, generate that hatred,” Stevandić told reporters in Banja Luka. He stressed that the so-called High Representative is the main generator of hatred toward Republika Srpska. According to him, all of them are directly responsible for the desecration of cemeteries in Zenica. “They would destroy this cemetery in Banja Luka too if they could, because they have established a practice where crimes against Serbs go unpunished, where endangering Republika Srpska, its citizens, and institutions goes unpunished, and people are literally encouraged to act in this way,” Stevandić said. He underlined that it is vital for Republika Srpska and its people to remain united and focused, and not allow themselves to be provoked, so that everyone knows where the red line is regarding survival, defense, personal dignity, and collective memory. During the Defensive-Patriotic War, more than 23,000 fighters served in the Second Krajina Brigade, of whom 231 were killed, while three remain missing. During combat operations, the brigade had more than 1,500 wounded fighters, over 750 of whom became war-disabled veterans. The Second Krajina Brigade, one of the distinguished units of the Republika Srpska Army, was formed on September 18, 1991. On its 3,500-kilometer wartime path, the brigade moved from Western Slavonia, the “Corridor of Life,” through the battlefields of Gradačac, Orašje, Doboj, Sarajevo, Vlašić, Glamoč, and Bihać, all the way to Manjača.