HISTORY LESSON FOR 250 STUDENTS AND VISIT TO NOVI ZEJTINLIK

SOKOLAC, MAY 14 /SRNA/ - A history lesson was held in the Parish Hall in Sokolac for 250 students, who afterwards visited the Serb military memorial cemetery Novi Zejtinlik, where 963 members of the Republika Srpska Army and the Srpska Ministry of Interior are buried - a site that permanently testifies to the high price of freedom paid by the Serb people of the Sarajevo - Romanija region.

A memorial service was held and candles were lit at Novi Zejtinlik for the fallen Serb soldiers. Student delegations from elementary schools in Pale, Sokolac, and Mokro laid wreaths at the central cross within the memorial complex. The students also visited the Memorial Room at the site.

Jasna Lazarević-Gavrilović, of the Pale Municipal War Veteran Organisation, told the press that the Organisation will propose to the line that this type of history lesson becomes a regular activity for all schools in Republika Srpska, Serbia, and neighbouring countries during school excursions.

She emphasized that the aim of this lesson is to historically educate children from the region so they can pass on the knowledge to future generations.

"The military memorial cemetery Novi Zejtinlik is the most important site in the Sarajevo-Romanija region, visually illustrating the cost of freedom for the Serb people in this area," Lazarević-Gavrilović said.

She noted that this is the fourth year the history lesson has been held for final-year elementary school students from "Pale" and "Serbia" schools in Pale, and the elementary school in Mokro, joined by students from Sokolac Elementary School and a group from the Vasilije Ostroški Secondary School Centre.

Lazarević-Gavrilović explained that the curricula for final-year students include 10 classes on modern history, aimed at helping them understand the value and cost of freedom, noting that the freedom of Republika Srpska was paid with 23,000 lives.

Marina Blagojević, a history teacher of the Sokolac Secondary School Centre, expressed satisfaction that her school is participating for the second year in the history lesson for elementary students.

She emphasized that the goal is for students to learn about the suffering of the Serb people during the Defensive-Patriotic War.

"It would be good if visiting Novi Zejtinlik became mandatory for all ninth-grade students from Republika Srpska because Sokolac and Novi Zejtinlik hold a special place in our history," Blagojević noted.

Željko Popović, the chairman of the Presidency of the Sokolac Municipal War Veterans Organisation, states that he is pleased to see the history lesson conducted on the theme "The Significance of the Serb Military Memorial Cemetery Novi Zejtinlik in the Culture of Remembrance of the Serb People from the Sarajevo-Romanija Region."

He emphasized the importance of passing the culture of remembrance from older to younger generations, especially for nations with a rich historical legacy, such as the Serbs.

"Novi Zejtinlik is a place that bears witness to the heroism and suffering of the soldiers and people of the Sarajevo - Romanija region in the Defensive-Patriotic War, in their struggle for survival on this defiant and proud land," Popović said.

The history lesson was organised by the veteran organizations of the municipalities of Pale and Sokolac.