President of the Republic of Srpska attends the marking of May 9 – the Day of Victory over Fascism

The President of the Republic of Srpska Željka Cvijanović attended today the marking of May 9 – the Day of Victory over Fascism, which began with the “Immortal Regiment” march. At the Square to the fallen NOR soldiers in Banja Luka, the President of the Republic laid a wreath at a monument to the victims of fascism.

Addressing the gathered people, the President Cvijanović pointed out that May 9, 1945 was one of the most important dates in the world history, because on that day the ideology of terror and evil was defeated since it left the death camps behind, it ruined countries, cities and villages, as well as it left the mass crimes, including those most monstrous, such as genocide and holocaust throughout Europe and all over the world.

“As one of the victorious nations in World War II, we gathered today to mark the Day of Victory over Fascism and other criminal ideologies that came out of it. We are proud that together with other freedom-loving peoples of Europe we have contributed to the collapse of fascism and the defense of those ideals and values that were embedded in the then new Europe, and which today live through the life of our people and the work of our institutions in the Republic of Srpska”, said the President Cvijanović.

At the central manifestation marking the May 9, the Day of Victory over Fascism in Banja Luka, the President of Srpska pointed out that the victims fallen for freedom, including the fighters of the People’s Liberation War, innocently killed numerous civilian population, including an enormous number of children, the horror through which the whole nation passed, numerous execution sites, death camps, and therefore freedom was reached, demanding a lot of respect for the lost lives, but also for to the ideals governed by the liberators.

“Today, we want to give them recognition and to reiterate that our future development as a society and community must rest on exactly these values. It is therefore important that we teach our younger generations and strengthen their awareness of the past, the importance of winning over fascism, the weight of the victim’s sacrifice and the weight of the struggle for freedom itself, but also to oppose any form of historical revisionism, and in particular the revival of the ideology of evil”, said the President Cvijanović.

Unfortunately, the President of the Republic of Srpska said, we are witnessing that the movements of neo-Nazism and neo-Fascism are powering in those countries that tell us what to do, what to celebrate and how to think.

“If we add terrorism to this as a global evil or the fact that the language of diplomacy rises more frequently against the language of power, then it is not difficult to conclude with how many challenges this world is facing”, said the President.

Recalling that we live in the region which passed through the horrors of war not long ago and that there were many human victims and material suffering in that war, the President Cvijanović highlighted that it is therefore important to respect the freedom in which we live, to respect those who gave their lives in the anti-fascist struggle and in the later homeland and defensive war, we strengthen the Republic of Srpska and its institutions, we preserve peace and stability and create better conditions for the lives of our citizens.

“The victims we were in the past during the fight for freedom are obliging us to protect the Republic of Srpska and to build our future carefully and responsibly”, said the President of the Republic of Srpska.