BILJANA PLAVŠIĆ BURIED

BANJA LUKA, OCTOBER 7 /SRNA/ - Former Republika Srpska President Biljana Plavšić was buried today at the Sveti Pantelija Cemetery in Banjaluka with full honors, in the presence of the highest officials of Republika Srpska and a large number of citizens.

The funeral was attended by Republika Srpska President Siniša Karan, Prime Minister Savo Minić, National Assembly Speaker Nenad Stevandić, President Milorad Dodik, Serb member of the BiH Presidency Željka Cvijanović, and ministers in the Republika Srpska Government.

Bidding farewell to Biljana Plavšić, Karan said that she was and remains a symbol of the Serb people and Republika Srpska.

"Today we are bidding farewell to a historic and important figure of the Serb people and Republika Srpska. We are bidding farewell to an era and a time when a woman, Republika Srpska President Biljana Plavšić, had the strength to face difficult challenges and make difficult decisions," Karan said.

He said that every president of Republika Srpska is elected by the people they represent, but also represents Republika Srpska.

"That is why Republika Srpska is bidding farewell with dignity to former Republika Srpska President Biljana Plavšić. Whoever forgets, or if they forget, their presidents can forget their identity, their destiny, their present and their future," Karan said.

Karan emphasized that Plavšić belonged to the generation of those who built Republika Srpska and recognized the difficult moment when the entire Serb people were under threat.

"They created the framework of the freedom we have today - Republika Srpska," Karan concluded.

Plavšić was buried with a ceremonial gun salute by members of the honor guard of the Republika Srpska Ministry of the Interior.

Earlier, His Eminence Metropolitan Jefrem of Banjaluka served the funeral service for Plavšić at the Church of the Holy Trinity, and a commemoration was held at Banski Dvor.

The commemoration was attended, among others, by President Dodik, Stevandić, former Republika Srpska President Dragan Čavić, ministers in the Republika Srpska Government and numerous other officials.

Plavšić died in Belgrade on October 1 at the age of 96. Before entering politics, she was a university professor and dean of the Faculty of Natural Sciences and Mathematics in Sarajevo.