DODIK: OPERATION STORM - SYMBOL OF PERSECUTION, SUFFERING, AND ONE OF GREATEST INJUSTICES THAT BEFELL OUR PEOPLE

BANJA LUKA, AUGUST 4 /SRNA/ –President Milorad Dodik said that the criminal Croatian military-police Operation Storm was a criminal operation that remains a symbol of persecution, suffering, and one of the greatest injustices that befell our people in recent history.

Dodik stressed that the pain of hundreds of thousands of Serb families remains embedded in the convoys of refugees, in their tears, in the burned homes, and in the familyhomes abandoned forever.

"For us, Operation Storm is a continuation of the long historical suffering of Serbs in the western regions, from the crimes of the Independent State of Croatia /NDH/ to persecution in modern times. That is why it is our duty to remember - not out of hatred, but out of respect for the victims and responsibility toward future generations," Dodik posted on X.

He said that the joint commemoration organised by Serbia and Republika Srpska demonstrates that the culture of remembrance is an integral part of the Serb national consciousness and of the obligation to ensure that Serb victims are never forgotten.

"Ties between Serbia and Republika Srpska are stronger today than ever before, and it is precisely in this unity that the security of our people lies. During the era of Aleksandar Vučić, these relations have reached their highest level of understanding, unity, and mutual support," Dodik stated.

According to him, the presence of His Holiness Patriarch Porfirije of Serbia gives the day additional spiritual significance and confirms that faith, the Church, and unity have been the Serb people's source of strength throughout centuries of hardship.

"Today we remember the victims with sorrow, but we also look to the future with pride. Serbia and Republika Srpska are stronger than ever before and capable, despite all pressures, of demonstrating their strength and historical resolve. Together they are the guarantee of the survival, defence, development, and future of the Serb people," Dodik said.

The central commemoration marking the Day of Remembrance for all Serbs who were killed or expelled during the 1995 Croatian-Muslim pogrom against Serbs from Republika Srpska Krajina and Republika Srpska will be held in Mrkonjić Grad at 8:00 p.m.