DODIK: YEARS OF STRENGTH, UNITY AND PROGRESS LIE AHEAD OF SERB PEOPLE

BELGRADE, FEBRUARY 16 /SRNA/ – SNSD Leader Milorad Dodik emphasized that Serbia and Republika Srpska stand side by side in pride, responsibility and the belief that years of strength, unity and progress lie ahead of the Serb people.

"Just as Candlemas marked the awakening of the Serb state, today we also jointly safeguard our people's right to decide their own destiny," Dodik stated, attending in Belgrade the ceremony marking Candlemas, the Statehood Day of Serbia and Republika Srpska.

He has pointed out that Candlemas is a holiday of freedom, statehood and a pledge that the Serb people will always choose dignity and independence.

"Today in Belgrade we are marking this great date together, aware that the ties between Republika Srpska and Serbia are unbreakable because they are founded on history, sacrifice and a shared belief in freedom," Dodik posted on X.

The President of Serbia Aleksandar Vučić presented Candlemas decorations in Belgrade, and among more than 70 recipients was the Minister of Justice of Republika Srpska Goran Selak who was awarded the Candlemas Order, First Class.

The same decoration was also awarded to His Eminence Metropolitan Irinej of Bačka and Professor Emeritus Mirko Vasiljević, a member of the Academy of Sciences and Arts of Republika Srpska /ANURS/.

Candlemas is also marked as the Statehood Day of Republika Srpska, and this year's slogan is "Unity and Pride".

Candlemas is celebrated as Statehood Day in remembrance of February 15, 1804, when the First Serbian Uprising against the Ottomans was launched under the leadership of Karađorđe, and of the same date in 1835, when the first constitution of the Principality of Serbia, known as the Candlemas Constitution, was adopted in Kragujevac.