LJILJANA ZELEN-KARADŽIĆ BURIED WITH HIGH HONOURS

PALE, FEBRUARY 20 /SRNA/ – Ljiljana Zelen-Karadžić, the wife of the first Republika Srpska President Radovan Karadžić, was buried today at the city cemetery Bare in Pale, with a religious ceremony and in the presence of a large number of family members, citizens, and officials.

Ljiljana Zelen-Karadžić was seen off by the Honour Guard and the Police Orchestra of the Republika Srpska Interior Ministry.

Saying farewell to her mother, Sonja Karadžić-Jovičević emphasized that the only one who could not say goodbye today was her husband Radovan, who is far away and who is suffering the most.

"You raised all of us, taught us, encouraged us with your smile, and nourished us with love, always being our warm hearth. I am jealous of the angels who will protect you better than I could, and I ask for your forgiveness. We remember everything you taught us, but we don't know how to live with this much pain. I hope you know how much you were loved, and thank you for everything," said Karadžić-Jovičević.

The funeral was attended by SNSD Leader Milorad Dodik, Republika Srpska National Assembly Speaker Nenad Stevandić, representatives of the Pale municipality and other local communities, the Istočno Sarajevo Police Department, the Republika Srpska Red Cross, and public and political figures.

Prior to the burial, a memorial service was held at the Church of the Assumption of the Holy Virgin.

The first President of Republika Srpska, Radovan Karadžić, was unable to attend the funeral of his wife as he is serving a sentence in a British prison on the Isle of Wight.

The International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals had no comment again today, for the second day in a row, on the inhuman violation of the first Republika Srpska President Radovan Karadžić's basic human rights who was not allowed to attend his wife Ljiljana Zelen Karadžić's funeral.

Ljiljana Zelen-Karadžić passed away on Wednesday, February 18, at the age of 81.

By profession, Karadžić was a neuropsychiatrist, and from 1993 to 2002, she served as the head of the Republika Srpska Red Cross.

Ljiljana Zelen-Karadžić was born in 1945 in Sarajevo, where she graduated from the Faculty of Medicine.