TESLIĆ BRIGADES CREDITED WITH DEFENDING SERBS FROM SO-CALLED BiH ARMY, HVO AND MUJAHIDEEN

DOBOJ, OCTOBER 14 /SRNA/ - The Teslić brigades of the Army of Republika Srpska made an immeasurable contribution to the creation and defense of Republika Srpska by preventing members of the so-called Army of BiH, the HVO and the El Mujahideen unit from breaking through their lines and committing atrocities, speakers said at a ceremony marking 35 years since the brigades were formed.

A memorial service was held for fallen soldiers at the memorial in Gornji Buletić near Teslić, where wreaths were also laid.

Minister of Labor and Veterans and Disability Protection Radan Ostojić said that, thanks in part to these brigades, people today enjoyed freedom, adding that the road to it had been marked by suffering and sacrifice, but also by unity in order to prevent history from repeating itself and another genocide against Serbs.

"In the end, freedom was reborn and Republika Srpska was defended," Ostojić told reporters.

He said anniversaries such as this should serve as a reminder that the existence of Republika Srpska was, in his view, a prerequisite for peace and that it could be defended only through unity and solidarity.

The First and Second Teslić Brigades primarily held the front line toward Zenica, Tešanj and Maglaj, protecting the entire territory of the Teslić municipality. They managed to withstand the Third and Seventh Corps of the so-called Army of BiH, supported by HVO forces.

Aleksa Radišić, president of the city Veterans' Organization, said the 19th JNA Partisan Brigade had been formed at this location on October 14, 1991, and had been of invaluable importance to the area.

He said Teslić fighters had also been deployed to other battlefields during the Defensive-Patriotic War, adding that five of them were still listed as missing.

Nedeljko Kalaković, one of the founders of the Teslić brigades of the Army of Republika Srpska, said they had been formed because Serbs in the area felt threatened, with memories of their suffering during the Second World War still fresh.

Miroslav Lazić, who joined the brigades as a young officer, said their area of responsibility during the Defensive-Patriotic War stretched for more than 120 kilometers.

He said the brigades had emerged from the local population and faced some of the most elite units of the so-called Army of BiH and the Croatian Defense Council, including foreign fighters serving in the El Mujahideen unit.

"I am proud that the enemy was not allowed to break through the lines and commit atrocities," Lazić said.

Teslić Mayor Milan Miličević stressed the importance of preserving the memory of the formation of the Teslić Serb brigades so that future generations could be told what, he said, truly happened during the Defensive-Patriotic War.

Priest Miro Đukarić said that 35 years ago everyone had united as one and succeeded in defending what needed to be defended and creating the sacred Republika Srpska.

During the Defensive-Patriotic War, 549 members of the Army of Republika Srpska from the Teslić municipality were killed, while more than 2,000 fighters were seriously or lightly wounded.

The two Teslić brigades were part of the First Krajina Corps of the Army of Republika Srpska.

Teslić Serb Brigades Day is officially marked every year on October 14 in Gornji Buletić near Teslić, commemorating the day in 1991 when mobilization of the then 19th JNA Partisan Brigade began, from which the later VRS defense units emerged.