President of the Republic of Srpska attends the academy “Exodus and Persistence” – a reminder of the wartime events in Vozuća

The President of the Republic of Srpska Željka Cvijanović attended the academy “Exodus and Persistence” in Doboj – a reminder of the wartime events in Vozuća and the ethnic cleansing of more than 40,000 Serbs from Zenica, Žepče, Banovići and Zavidovići.

The President of the Republic of Srpska said that the gravity of the crimes committed in Vozuća in 1995 must not be forgotten and that it is important to remember the victims and celebrate freedom.

“Many people who have been engaged in politics in the other entity were directly involved in everything that had happened there, serious crimes and what the so-called Army of BiH did, with the involvement of the Mujahideen”, said the President Cvijanović before the academy.

The President of the Republic noted that the Mujahideen brutally and ruthlessly killed Serbs in that area and were known for beheading people, but that, unfortunately, no one in the world paid any attention to it at that time.

The President of Srpska said that horrors, due to which the Serbs from Vozuća had to leave the area, had given them new strength to integrate into other local communities and contribute to their development, most frequently in Doboj.

The President of the Republic stated that the people were terrorised in that area in 1995, that more than 30 villages were burned, that around 2,000 people were expelled from their homes and that a large number of civilians and soldiers were killed.

“We, the people who lived close to that area then, were silently telling stories about the courage and the difficulties the people in Vozuća went through at that time”, it was added by the President Cvijanović.

The President of Srpska expressed her support for the Regional Association of the People from Zavidovići based in Doboj, which is the organiser of tonight’s academy “Exodus and Persistence” – a reminder of the wartime events in Vozuća, which was also attended by the Serb Presidency Member Milorad Dodik.

“It is important to celebrate freedom, to celebrate the Republic of Srpska and to show in this way that we have survived and that we can build the future together”, said the Republic of Srpska President.