MINIĆ: WE MUST ALWAYS PAY TRIBUTE TO SERBIAN VICTIMS AND WORK TO ENSURE SUCH TRAGEDIES NEVER HAPPEN AGAIN

ZVORNIK, JULY 28 /SRNA/ - Republika Srpska Prime Minister Savo Minić said, after laying a wreath at the grave of the boy Slobodan Stojanović, that Serbian victims should always be honoured, but that efforts should also be made to strengthen institutions so that every citizen of Srpska feels safe in the future.

Minić said that he felt the need to visit the cemetery in Drinjača near Zvornik, where the brutally murdered 12-year-old boy was buried. He added that the boy had been innocent amid the horrors of war, as he had returned only because he was thinking about his dog. "We must warn about the horrors of war and the dark mindset behind them, while at the same time building institutions that will always protect us from any kind of evil," Minić told reporters. He stressed that efforts were being made, with the help of the Ministry of the Interior of Republika Srpska and by strengthening the institutions of Srpska, to ensure that every citizen feels safe and secure, followed by the protection of property as well. He expressed hope that there would never be another war. He pointed out that Serbian victims had been commemorated institutionally here in Drinjača today, and in Garavice yesterday, stressing that they should be respected. "That is precisely the reason for today's visit. I want to thank the local priest and the mayor of Zvornik for launching the initiative to build a memorial and preserve the memory that should be passed on to future generations. All of us who have children cannot even imagine such a crime, and it happened simply because someone was a Serb," Minić said. Twelve-year-old Slobodan was killed in Kamenica near Zvornik when he returned to get his dog after fleeing the village with his parents. Slobodan’s body was found on June 13, 1993, in a mass grave on Ždrijepci Hill near Jošanica. The mass grave was discovered and excavated by members of the Military Police from Milići, while the identification was carried out at the Fire Station in Zvornik. According to the findings of pathologist Zoran Stanković, the child was brutally killed; his abdomen had been cut open in the shape of a cross, and he had visible head injuries. The body was identified through DNA analysis. After that, he was buried in Drinjača. For the brutal murder of the boy, Elfeta Veseli was sentenced to 10 years in prison in the first-instance proceedings; however, in a second-instance verdict delivered in December 2019, the Appellate Chamber of the Court of BiH increased the sentence to 13 years.