PRODANOVIĆ: NATION THAT DOES NOT REMEMBER ITS VICTIMS HAS NO FUTURE

BANJA LUKA, JUNE 29 /SRNA/ - The President of the Organizing Committee for the commemoration of the suffering of Serbs in Middle Podrinje and Birač in the Defense-Patriotic War, Lazar Prodanović, emphasized that the goal is to pay a dignified tribute to the 3,267 fallen Serbian soldiers and civilians on Saturday, July 4, in Bratunac.

"Our focus is on the children, who are the most innocent victims. We must nurture a culture of remembrance for our victims, because a nation that does not do so will have no future," Prodanović told reporters in Banja Luka.

He added that the Committee wishes that such suffering never happens again to any nation in this region, and that respecting the victims is a moral, ethical, and human obligation, without diminishing anyone else's tragedies.

"His Holiness the Serbian Patriarch Porfirije, along with the highest clergy, will serve the Holy Hierarchal Liturgy. This will be followed by a religious procession /litija/, and then representatives of the victims will speak to the attendees about the senselessness of the past war," Prodanović said.

He warned that, despite all the tragedies, the judicial institutions of BiH have unfortunately not done enough when it comes to the reconciliation of the peoples here.

The President of Republika Srpska Siniša Karan held a meeting today with representatives of institutions and organizations on the occasion of marking 34 years since the suffering of Serbs in Middle Podrinje and Birač from 1992 to 1995.

The memorial service for the 3,267 fallen Serbian soldiers and civilians from the Middle Podrinje and Birač area in the Defense-Patriotic War will be held on Saturday, July 4, in Bratunac.