KATIĆ: SERBS LEFT DEFENDED HOMES TO PRESERVE THEIR IDENTITY

ISTOČNO NOVO SARAJEVO, MARCH 16 /SRNA/ - The Mayor of Istočno Novo Sarajevo Jovan Katić said that 30 years ago, the Serbs of Sarajevo began their exodus to preserve their identity, as they truly felt that preserving life was more important than walls and property.

Katić pointed out that the city of Istočno Sarajevo today is more beautiful, as is every street in it, than those that the Serbs left behind in Sarajevo.

He said that 30 years after the convoy of Serbs left Sarajevo, a question arises that history remains silent about — what forced those people to leave everything they had built for decades.

"The answer is not that it was fear of the future, but rather a bloody past. The Serbs of Sarajevo did not look only at political agreements; they looked at the suffering and bloody past of their grandfathers," Katić said while addressing a spiritual academy marking the 30th anniversary of the exodus of the Serbs of Sarajevo.

The Mayor of Trnovo Miroslav Bjelica emphasized that the Serbs of Sarajevo paid the highest price for the creation of Republika Srpska.

"There is no salvation for us without a strong Republika Srpska and Istočno Sarajevo!" Bjelica said.

The Mayor of Pale Dejan Kojić said that the greatest sacrifice in the creation and defense of Republika Srpska was made by the Serbs of Sarajevo.

"I do not want to diminish anyone’s sacrifice, but for the sake of future generations, I must say how great that sacrifice was, when after the signing of the Dayton Agreement, they left what they had defended during the war," Kojić said.

He added that the Serbs were united during the exodus, and that this should still be the case today when it comes to national interests.