DODIK: SERBIAN PEOPLE PAID FOR FREEDOM WITH BLOOD, THAT IS WHY WE NEVER ACCEPT OBLIVION!

BANJA LUKA, NOVEMBER 11 /SRNA/ - The president of the SNSD Milorad Dodik congratulated the Serbian people on Armistice Day, emphasizing that November 11 is not merely a date on the calendar of world history, but a day when we respectfully remember the millions of lives lost in the bloodiest conflict in human history and, in particular, the heroic contribution of the Serbian people, who stood on the side of justice, freedom, and civilization.

"Armistice Day reminds us of one of the most difficult, yet most glorious periods in the history of the Serbian people. While the world marked the end of a great wartime suffering, the Serbian people had endured years of heroic struggle, unimaginable sacrifice, and a moral victory that laid the foundation for the freedom of the entire civilized world," Dodik told SRNA on the occasion of November 11 – Armistice Day of the First World War.

Recalling that the Serbs made an enormous contribution to the victory over injustice and tyranny in that war, Dodik emphasized that the Serbs remained steadfast despite the sufferings and losses, drawing their strength from faith, the spirit of freedom, and love for their homeland.

The SNSD leader highlighted that few peoples in the world have made such a sacrifice as the Serbs, who lost a third of their population, yet preserved their honor and dignity and, most importantly, secured freedom.

"From the battlefields of Cer and Kolubara, Kajmakčalan, across the Albanian mountains to the Thessaloniki front, the Serbian soldier demonstrated that morale, courage, and faith in the homeland can overcome even the greatest powers.

That is why this day is not only a remembrance of the end of the First World War, but also a warning that freedom is never permanently won; it must be preserved through responsibility, unity, and awareness of the sacrifices that created it," Dodik stated.

He emphasized that Republika Srpska today has a duty to pass this truth on to new generations, so they know they come from a people who have always stood on the right side of history and who have never knelt before force and tyranny.

"In the darkest history of the 20th century, we Serbs were on the opposing side — the bright, just, and anti-fascist side," Dodik stressed.

Congratulating all Serbs on Armistice Day, Dodik told SRNA that today we pay tribute with pride, but also with sorrow in our hearts, to all Serbian warriors who gave their lives so that we could today have the right to speak, breathe, and live in freedom.

"On Armistice Day, Republika Srpska expresses its deepest respect for all Serbian warriors who, with their lives, laid the foundations of today’s freedom. Their sacrifice obliges us to preserve the truth about our suffering and to nurture peace, as well as the dignity of a people who have never accepted humiliation.

Freedom and peace are never granted once and for all. It is the duty of the institutions of Republika Srpska to be the guardians of historical memory and national dignity, because only a people that respects its past and nurtures a culture of remembrance can build a secure future," concluded SNSD leader Milorad Dodik.

With the signing of Germany's surrender in a railway carriage in the French town of Compiègne on November 11, 1918, the First World War came to an end.

November 11, when at 11:00 the armistice was signed in the special carriage of Marshal Ferdinand Foch in the Compiègne forest in France, is commemorated in many countries around the world as Armistice Day of the First World War.

In the First World War, at least ten million soldiers were killed, and an equal number of people died from disease and famine. Proportionally, the greatest sacrifices were borne by the Serbian people, who lost 26 percent of their population - 400,000 soldiers and 640,000 civilians.