GOGANOVIĆ: RSA WAS GUARANTOR OF SERB PEOPLE'S SURVIVAL IN THESE AREAS

BANJA LUKA, MAY 12 /SRNA/ – Aleksandar Goganović, the Deputy Minister of Defence in the Council of Ministers, says the Republika Srpska Army /RSA/ was created out of necessity and determination to defend the Serb people, territory, and the right of Serbs to survive in these areas.

"The RSA was a guarantor of the Serb people's survival in these areas, just as Republika Srpska will survive," Goganović said during a ceremony in the Kozara Barracks in Banja Luka marking the RSA Day.

He stressed that it is the duty of the Serb people to preserve the memory of fallen RSA soldiers and to invest efforts in strengthening Republika Srpska.

"Every life built into the foundations of Republika Srpska obliges us to preserve peace, unity, and to defend Republika Srpska," Goganović said.

The commander of the Third Infantry /Republika Srpska/ Regiment Brigadier Goran Maksimović says the RSA defended the Serb people in these areas and made a major contribution to the creation of Republika Srpska.

"The Serb people and the RSA defended and preserved Republika Srpska in the past Defensive-Patriotic War," Maksimović said.

He stated that the RSA was formed out of the need to protect its people and as a response to the armed forces formed at the time by the other two peoples in BiH.

Maksimović says the RSA was characterized by unity and cohesion among its members.