KOŠARAC: SERB PEOPLE BELIEVES IN REPUBLIKA SRPSKA AND ITS INSTITUTIONS

SOKOLAC, MARCH 16 /SRNA/ – Council of Ministers Deputy Chair Staša Košarac has stated today in Sokolac that the Serb people is proud and trusts Republika Srpska and its institutions, and that it is the faith that still unites Serbs.

Košarac noted that the Serbs expelled from Sarajevo today experience mixed feelings of sorrow, pain, but also certain optimism, emphasizing that the Serbs who left Sarajevo did not want Muslim rule, but Republika Srpska and Serb authority.

"Just as nowadays the Republika Srpska citizens trust Republika Srpska and its institutions, back then the same feeling and the same attitude toward what was being imposed on us at the time prevailed," Košarac told the press after the memorial service and wreath-laying at the Military Cemetery Novi Zejtinlik, as part of commemorating the 30th anniversary of the exodus of Sarajevo Serbs.

Košarac, who himself left Sarajevo during the exodus, emphasized that the Serbs from Sarajevo municipalities suffered greatly during the exodus but never lost hope in Republika Srpska.

"All the people resting here, 963 soldiers, as well as soldiers across Republika Srpska, had the goal of protecting their families and property, not submitting to Islamic rule, because it was clear what would happen to Serbs," Košarac said.

He noted that the Serbs of then-Srpsko Sarajevo defended their rights with dignity and preserved what was theirs; then, after the Dayton Peace Agreement, the moment came when they had to leave their homes.

"The Serb people did this with dignity and pride," Košarac said.

The memorial at the main cross of the Military Cemetery Novi Zejtinlik was officiated by His Eminence Metropolitan Hrizostom of Dabar-Bosnia and Metropolitan Metodije of Budimlja-Nikšić.

A memorial service for the fallen soldiers was then held at the Monastery of St. George the Victorious on Ravna Romanija.

At 8:00 p.m., a spiritual gathering will take place in the sports hall in Republic of Serbia Square in Istočno Novo Sarajevo.

The marking of the 30th anniversary of the exodus of Sarajevo Serbs is organised by the Republika Srpska Government's Committee preserving tradition of liberation wars and Istočno Sarajevo City.