DODIK: THE DAY OF THE UNITY OF SERBS, FREEDOM, AND THE NATIONAL FLAG - PLEDGE OF OUR ANCESTORS AND OUR TODAY'S TEST

BANJA LUKA, SEPTEMBER 15 /SRNA/ – The President of Republika Srpska Milorad Dodik emphasized that the Day of the Unity of Serbs, Freedom, and the National Flag is more than just a holiday: it is a reminder that there is no pressure the Serb people cannot withstand, no force that can destroy our identity as long as we remain faithful to the vow of our ancestors.

The text by the President of Srpska, published on the Dodik.net page, is presented in full:

September 15, the day when we mark the Day of the Unity of Serbs, Freedom, and the National Flag together with Serbia, is not just a calendar point or another state holiday. It is a day of a vow – a vow made before our ancestors, who, on the Salonika Front, during the most difficult years of World War I, made sacrifices that few nations in Europe could endure and survive.

Their struggle was more than a military victory. It was a triumph of faith in freedom, a belief that the Serb people, no matter how small in number, have the right to freedom and a life worthy of a human being. They left us the message that the greatness of a nation is not measured by millions of inhabitants, but by the strength of character and the ability to withstand all pressures and, even in the most difficult times, remain worthy of our ancestors.

Today, when new challenges and pressures are being placed before the Serb people in Republika Srpska and Serbia, it is our duty to remain equally steadfast. Our ancestors crossed Albania and broke through the Salonika Front; today, we must overcome the challenges of political ultimatums and pressures that have the same goal – to discourage us and break our faith in our own strength. We must not allow this. The duty of every Serb policy today is to endure – calmly, bravely, and with dignity – because in doing so, we preserve what they defended with their blood.

This holiday is also a call for unity. Republika Srpska was not born out of ideological uniformity but from brotherhood in the trenches – from the readiness of people to set aside all differences when their home was threatened. Our soldiers proved that the Serb people breathe strongest when they breathe together. That unity is the foundation upon which Republika Srpska stands today, and it is the message to this time: without unity, there is no freedom; without brotherhood, there is no Republic.

Serbs, along with the Russians, were the only people after the Berlin Congress of 1878 to have sovereign states on European soil – because Serbia, Montenegro, and Russia were the only Slavic nations that had independence at that time. The spark of that great Congress was in the Herzegovina uprising/Nevesinje rifle, which even scared the English Queen's court. That's why today, it is laughable when some, out of pure envy and without such a strong character as ours, in the name of Europe we also helped create, want to teach us things that they can only be jealous of Serbs for. Understanding the historical significance of our people today, in a world that must return to common sense, is of crucial importance – therefore, in the years to come, with all the burdens we carry, we must not go bent over but stand upright and proud.

The institutions of Republic of Serbia, together with the institutions of Republika Srpska, have established this holiday as a joint vow of the Serb people. Together, we realised that the attacks on Serb identity, history, culture, and tradition have come to an end. These attacks, which for decades tried to destroy Serb self-confidence and suppress our sense of historical mission, will not succeed.

Serbs may be a small nation in number, but they are a nation whose significance transcends the region in which they live. Our culture, our history, and our right to be a free people – these are the values that make us greater than any statistics.

Therefore, the Day of the Unity of Serbs, Freedom, and the National Flag is more than just a holiday: it is a reminder that there is no pressure the Serb people cannot endure, no force that can destroy our identity as long as we remain faithful to the vow of our ancestors.

Our obligation is to nurture that unity and freedom, to gather around the Serb flag – a symbol that is not aimed against anyone but is a vow to future generations that we will always be a nation that knows who we are, what we are, and where we are going.

Republika Srpska and Serbia are one today in this vow – it is our greatest victory and greatest responsibility.