STEVANDIĆ: SELF-RESPECT IS TODAY'S NATIONAL POLICY

BANJA LUKA, AUGUST 4 /SRNA/ - Republika Srpska National Assembly Speaker Nenad Stevandić said today in Banja Luka that self-respect is today the only major, national and common policy of Serbs.

Stevandić said that during the Croatian criminal Operation Storm, innocent Serbs were ruthlessly, brutally, and treacherously expelled and killed.

"It is our duty never to forget this and never to back down when it comes to showing respect for our innocent victims and seeking accountability for those who killed them," said Stevandić, who attended a memorial service at the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in Banja Luka for those who died in the pogrom against Serbs from Republika Srpska Krajina.

He stressed that Serbs and their authorities today have nothing to be ashamed of, and noted that they must never again retreat even an inch in showing respect and paying tribute to their own victims.

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.

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.