SERBIAN PEOPLE KNOW PRICE OF FREEDOM WELL

BANJA LUKA, MAY 9 /SRNA/ - President Milorad Dodik said that Victory Day is a day of remembrance of the immense suffering of the Serbian people, who know the price of freedom and therefore will never agree to let those who were on the wrong side determine what they may remember and whom they may respect.

Dodik emphasized that few nations paid as high a price for freedom as the Serbs and Russians did, and that this is why the alliance with Russia is eternal and unwavering.

He emphasized that today, unfortunately, the world in many ways resembles the period preceding the victory in 1945, that battles are once again being fought over the fate of humanity, but that today’s generations have an obligation not to succumb to pressure and to preserve their homes, their future, and the legacy left to them by their ancestors.

We are publishing in full the column by President Milorad Dodik titled “Victory Day and the Oath of Republika Srpska: Freedom Has No Price.”

May 9, Victory over Fascism Day, for the Serbian people and for me, is not just a historical date. It is also a day of remembrance of the immense suffering of the Serbian people, who, together with the Russian people, were among the greatest victims of Nazi and fascist ideology in Europe.

Few nations have paid as high a price for freedom as the Serbs and Russians did. It is a day of deep, heartfelt gratitude to the Russian and Soviet people, who bore the heaviest burden in the struggle against the evil that threatened to engulf all of Europe. More than 27 million fallen sons and daughters of Russia did not give their lives only for their homeland - they freed the world from the Nazi scourge.

Europe owes them eternal gratitude. Without Russian blood, without Stalingrad, without the assault on Berlin, today we would not be speaking about freedom, but about the darkness that would still rule our continent.

The Serbian people also suffered terrible losses in that struggle. The Battle of Kozara became a symbol of suffering and resistance, a place where entire villages disappeared in flames, where mothers were left without children and children without parents. Jasenovac concentration camp and Donja Gradina remain a lasting mark of a monstrous policy of extermination carried out against Serbs simply because they were who they were. In these places, not only a people was killed - there was an attempt to erase its name, faith, culture, and right to exist.

Republika Srpska and the Serbian people carry that gratitude in their hearts. We know what it means to fight fascism. We know the price of freedom. That is why our alliance with Russia is eternal and unwavering. Russia stood by us in our most difficult moments, and we will always stand by Russia. Our brotherly bond is not a matter of passing politics - it is woven into our hearts, history, and memory.

When we speak about Victory Day, we also speak about a vow never to forget those who gave their lives so that the Serbian people could survive. Our ancestors did not choose the easier path. They chose freedom, even when it meant suffering, ordeal, and sacrifice.

Therefore, the Serbian people will never agree to let those who were on the wrong side of history dictate what they are allowed to remember, whom they are allowed to respect, and how they are allowed to commemorate their own history.

Today’s world, unfortunately, in many ways resembles the eve of the 1945 victory. Battles for humanity's fate are once again being fought. Hegemonies are being imposed once again, and international law and state sovereignty are being violated once again. There can be no lasting peace, neither global nor European, without a balance of power and without recognition of the legitimate interests of Russia.

Peace is not built on the dictate of a single power, but on agreement between major nations that respect one another. A common language must be found with Russia on the rules by which the world will function, in terms of security, politics, and the economy.

The past three decades have shown that peace has been most threatened by the policies of several U.S. administrations after the end of the Cold War. Instead of building a partnership, they pursued expansion, the encirclement of Russia, and the imposition of a unipolar world. In this, they were unfortunately actively supported by forces in Europe who are direct spiritual heirs of the greatest collaborators of Nazism and fascism.

Today, wrapped in the blue flag of the European Union, they dare to lecture the Russian and Serbian peoples. They forget that in 1941, their ancestors welcomed the occupiers with flowers, while our grandfathers were dying in forests and mountains for freedom.

In Republika Srpska, this is most clearly seen in practice. The imposition of Christian Schmidt as a so-called “High Representative” - without the consent of the United Nations Security Council and contrary to the Dayton Peace Agreement - represents a classic example of neo-colonial behavior.

This is a modern version of what we also saw during the Second World War: an external governor or vassal who comes to abolish democratic procedures, override laws and institutions, enable the outvoting of the Serbian people, and the exploitation of their resources.

The last time Germans governed this region, it also came at a terrible cost for the Serbian people. At that time, the Serbs paid for their resistance with mass suffering, pits, camps, and burned villages, but they did not accept submission.

Because of this, today’s generations have a duty not to yield to pressure and to protect their homes, their future, and the heritage left to them by their ancestors.

While Germans once came in tanks to take our mines and forests, today they are attempting to do so through one of their appointed representatives who overrides the will of the people expressed in elections.

The Serbian people will never accept that. We are a people who have always chosen freedom, not servitude. That is why we have always stood with the Russian people - because Russians, in these very regions, gave their lives selflessly to secure our freedom. They did not come to take, but to liberate.

The Serbian and Russian peoples are connected precisely by that historical sacrifice and by the understanding that there is no freedom without a willingness to pay its highest price. Our peoples laid down millions of lives on the altar of European freedom. That is why no one today has the right to relativize our contribution to the victory over fascism or to lecture us about freedom and anti-fascism.

May 9 reminds us that evil never disappears forever, but only changes its form. Today, as in 1945, victory will belong to those who defend justice, sovereignty, and the dignity of peoples. Republika Srpska stands firmly with Russia in this struggle. Let Victory Day be an inspiration for us to preserve the freedom that our ancestors paid for at the highest price.

Long live Russia!
Long live victory!
Long live Republika Srpska!