04.08.2015.
The Day of Remembrance of the suffering and persecution of Serbs marked
The central national event marking the 5th of August - the Day of Remembrance of the suffering and persecution of Serbs was held today at the bridge near Sremska Raca, with a symbolic meeting of Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic and President of the Republika Srpska Milorad Dodik, who laid wreaths in the river Drina in memory of all Serbian victims.Tonight’s event was attended by Defence Minister Bratislav Gasic, Serbian Chief of General Staff General Ljubisa Dikovic, State Secretaries in the Ministry of Defence Zoran Djordjevic and Nenad Nerić, President of the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia Maja Gojkovic, Ministers of the Governments of the Republic of Serbia and the Republika Srpska, members of the National Assembly of the Republika Srpska and other state bodies of the Republic of Serbia and the Republika Srpska, Serbian Orthodox Church, the diplomatic corps and many citizens.
On the pier of the bridge, a memorial service for all Serbian victims was served by Serbian Patriarch Irinej, and the artistic program included the address of the “girl from the row", refugee Djurdjica Popovic.
According to Prime Minister Vucic, a sadder day than 5 August can hardly be found in recent Serbian history, when, two decades ago, the
"Storm" happened, and he added that "the crime must be forgiven, but not forgotten." - I wish for the words of hatred, conflict and revenge not to be the ones to mark this day – we are at peace with Croatia, and we will preserve it and want for the best relations in the future – Prime Minister Vucic said, expressing the hope that we would soon be good friends in the common European home as well.
Stating that the day was too hard for the great words, he mentioned the names of some of the displaced persons, stressing that they were a part of the terrible statistics of more than 250,000 names of people who were killed and exiled that day in 1995.
- Today, Serbia finally has the strength to say what the Storm was - the largest ethnic change of a population composition after World War II – Prime Minister Vucic said, adding that it should not be expected that we would gloss over that facts, and that Serbia would not agree to forget its own history, all its victories and defeats, and especially to forget its victims and its people.
President of the Republika Srpska Milorad Dodik stressed that the efforts of all countries in the region should be directed towards peace and towards European civilization values.
- This bridge was a symbol of everything - freedom, peace, of Serbia that was a safe escape from death. It is a bridge of truth, and the truth was that the Serbs were forced to leave their homes and go only where freedom was, to Serbia. They knew that they were safe once they crossed the bridge, and that they were among their own people - President Dodik stressed, adding that the solidarity that had been shown during those days would remain deeply remembered by all those people.
Operation Storm began on 4 August 1995, with the offensive of the Croatian Army, the Police and the Croatian Defence Council (the Army of Bosnian Croats) in the areas of Banija, Lika, Kordun and northern Dalmatia.
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