MINIĆ: SERBS MUST HAVE STATE COMMUNITY THAT PROTECTS THEM FROM DESTRUCTION

NEVESINJE, JULY 9 /SRNA/ - The struggle of the Serbian people for freedom is not over, but Serbs must have a state community that protects them from destruction, and work will continue towards that goal, Prime Minister of Republika Srpska Savo Minić said today at the commemoration of the 151st anniversary of the Nevesinje Uprising.

Addressing those gathered in the village of Krekovi near Nevesinje, Minić stressed the need for the Serbian people to close ranks even further, build stronger and more organized institutions of Republika Srpska, openly state that the Drina is not a border but a backbone, and that Srpska and Serbia are the lungs of the Serbian people, with the heart in Serbia.

"We must be strong, love ourselves, Republika Srpska and Serbia, and say that the Serbian people have the right to defend themselves. The Serbian people are freedom-loving and will never allow themselves to be subjugated," Minić emphasized.

Minić said that Serbs are not against anyone and do not hate anyone, but pointed out that few of us have been left after all the suffering caused by the Turks, the Austro-Hungarians, the Ustasha movement and fascism.

"They killed us wherever they could. Very few of us have survived for us to be divided over anything," Minić said.

He recalled the words of a gusle player, "if it were not for the cross and prayer, they would have counted us among the dead long ago," and stressed that the struggle of the Serbian people for freedom will probably continue for as long as we exist.

He noted that the Serbian hajduk leaders 151 years ago did not believe they had the army or equipment to accomplish that, but they had a spark.

"The idea must not be allowed to fade; that idea is Republika Srpska and Serbia. Serbs must have a state community that protects them from destruction, and we will work towards that. Anyone familiar with history knows that this is the only possible way for us to survive," Minić concluded.

The 151st anniversary of the Nevesinje Uprising was commemorated today in Krekovi, at an event jointly organized by the committees of the governments of Republika Srpska and Serbia for preserving the tradition of liberation wars.

The event was attended by Serb member of the BiH Presidency Željka Cvijanović, as well as Republika Srpska Minister of Labor, War Veterans' and Disabled Persons' Protection Radan Ostojić.