Serbia - Republika Srpska - culture of memory - Vranješ - Gavrilo Princip
04/28/2025
12:05
BELGRADE, APRIL 28 /SRNA/ - The Ambassador of BiH to Serbia Aleksandar Vranješ emphasized that for the Serbian people, today, when they are under significant pressure, it is crucial to remember the sacrifice of Gavrilo Princip for everything he did for the Serbs.
"If we look at it from the perspective of Republika Srpska, today, marking the anniversary of Gavrilo Princip's death, might mean more than ever, especially in a time when there is an attempt to revise history," said Vranješ to reporters in Belgrade, where he laid a wreath at the monument to Princip on the 107th anniversary of his death.
Vranješ stressed that this is particularly important at a time when some are attempting to revise history, making false claims that he started the war and trying to portray him as a terrorist.
According to Vranješ, all these modern false constructions, which are historically inaccurate, are somehow trying to reflect on the struggle of the Serbian people for freedom and, in doing so, are attempting to erase everything that the Serb people have fought for over centuries in BiH - freedom, home, national symbols, and their patron saints.
"It is very important for current and future generations, especially young people who may not know history as well, to show them why it is important to come here, why it is important to pay respect to the shadows of Gavrilo Princip and all the heroes who gave their lives for the freedom of the Serb people in any war they fought in, wherever they suffered," Vranješ said.
A state ceremony was held in Belgrade today to honor and lay wreaths at the monument to Gavrilo Princip on the 107th anniversary of his death. In addition to the Serbian government delegations, the head of the Representative Office of Republika Srpska in Serbia Mlađen Cicović laid a wreath on behalf of Republika Srpska.
The wreath was also laid by the Ambassador of BiH to Serbia Aleksandar Vranješ.
At the monument to Princip in Gavrilo Princip Park in Belgrade, located at the corner of Nemanjina and Sarajevo Streets, wreaths were also laid, and honors were paid by delegations from the Ministry of Defense and the Serbian Armed Forces, representatives from the city of Belgrade, and non-governmental organizations dedicated to preserving the traditions of Serbia's liberation wars.
Gavrilo Princip was born in Obljaj on July 25, 1894. He passed away in Terezín, Czech Republic, on April 28, 1918.
As a member of the "Young Bosnia" movement, in 1914, he assassinated the Austro-Hungarian heir, Archduke Franz Ferdinand, in the struggle for the liberation of the Serbian people from Austro-Hungarian occupation.