DODIK: NAME OF SPOMENKO GOSTIĆ WILL STAND AS PERMANENT INDICTMENT OVER HEADS OF MUSLIM SOLDIERS

BANJA LUKA, MARCH 20 /SRNA/ - On this day in 1993, when Muslims killed 15-year-old member of the Army of Republika Srpska Spomenko Gostić, one of the most tragic pages of Serbian history was written, said SNSD leader Milorad Dodik.

"His death is a symbol of a childhood cut short and immense courage contained in the fragile body of a boy. He was only fifteen years old. These are the years when boys first fall in love, dream of schoolyards and big games...

Spomenko did not have that chance. On the contrary, life broke him long before he closed his eyes forever. He buried everything he had, his mother and grandmother. Left alone under the open sky, he did not run away or seek refuge far away, but instead placed his young heart on the altar of his homeland, with the desire to defend the only home he had left," Dodik said.

He recalled that Spomenko joined the Serbian army, which became his family. He first served as a courier and later delivered food to soldiers, giving them hope with his childlike sincerity when they were exhausted from fighting.

"On that fateful March 20, 1993, the heart of the youngest decorated soldier fell silent. Shells fired from the Muslim side did not choose their target and struck a boy who was just that, a child forced to grow up too soon, to bury his loved ones and wear a military uniform instead of sports clothes. He never complained and wore it with pride," Dodik stated.

Dodik emphasized that today Spomenko is not just a name on a monument or a faded photograph, but a reminder that in war the purest souls suffer, cut down by hatred from those who did not see a child, but an enemy.

"His death, like that of the 12 Banja Luka babies or the children of Serbian Sarajevo, carries special weight because it shows how far humanity had fallen. When a child becomes a target, there are no excuses," he added.

Dodik stressed that Spomenko must not be reduced to a number or statistic, but remembered as a hero.

"As long as his name is spoken, there is an obligation to defend the truth without fear or silence," he concluded.

A memorial service will be held today at the Church of the Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos in Doboj for Spomenko Gostić, who was killed 33 years ago on the Ozren-Maglaj battlefield.

Spomenko Gostić was born on August 15, 1978, in Doboj, and died on March 20, 1993, near his village of Jovići on Mount Ozren. He was buried at the cemetery in Gornji Ulišnjak, alongside his mother and grandmother.