LET THE SUFFERING OF SERBS LIKE THAT IN OPERATION STORM NEVER HAPPEN AGAIN

BANJA LUKA, AUGUST 4 /SRNA/ - Republika Srpska Prime Minister Savo Minić said today that it is the duty of Serbs to preserve the truth, nurture a culture of remembrance and ensure that the suffering of the Serbian people, such as that in the criminal Operation Storm, is never repeated anywhere or at any time.

Minić reminded that today is a Day of Mourning and a day when Serbs remember all those killed and expelled in the Storm with sadness, respect and dignity.

"More than 220,000 people were expelled from their ancestral homes, and thousands of families were left without their loved ones, homes and the right to live in peace. Republika Srpska will never forget the convoys of refugees, the suffering on the Petrovac road and the pain that continues to this day. Eternal glory to the innocent victims!" Minić wrote on Instagram.

The central commemoration of the Day of Remembrance for all Serbs killed and expelled in the Croatian-Muslim pogrom against Serbs from Republika Srpska Krajina and Republika Srpska in 1995 will be held in Mrkonjić Grad this evening. The commemoration is organized by the committees for the preservation of the tradition of liberation wars of the governments of Republika Srpska and Serbia.

The commemoration of this historic event of importance to the Republic is jointly organized by the governments of Republika Srpska and Serbia.

A Day of Mourning is being observed in Republika Srpska to mark the 31st anniversary of the suffering of Serbs in the Croatian military-police operation Storm, during which more than 1,904 Serbs were killed, and more than 220,000 were expelled from the areas of Banija, Lika, Kordun and northern Dalmatia.

In its February 2015 ruling, the International Court of Justice classified Storm as ethnic cleansing, but not as genocide, although international experts in that field claim that the operation had all the characteristics of genocide.