A solemn academy was held last evening in Mrkonjić Grad to mark the Municipality Day, established in remembrance of February 4, 1996, when the Serb population returned to their homes after months of exile.
The municipality is also celebrating 100 years since it was named after King Petar I Karađorđević Mrkonjić.
During the academy, awards and acknowledgments were presented to distinguished citizens and organizations.
The honorary citizen award was given to General Radovan Ilić, who played a crucial role in the defense of the municipality during the Defense and Homeland War and made an immeasurable contribution.
The Minister of Education and Culture of Republika Srpska, Željka Stojičić, stated that this is a day when Mrkonjić Grad was reborn, as the return of the population to the devastated town was extremely difficult.
“The residents returned to a destroyed town, a mass grave, and had to face all of that. Their love for their town and the graves they had left behind, as well as the graves they found while searching for their loved ones, gave them the strength to overcome the evil that had occurred,” emphasized Stojičić, adding that Mrkonjić Grad is today among the developed municipalities.
The head of the municipality, Dragan Vođević, congratulated the citizens on Municipality Day, which they commemorate and experience in a special way, highlighting that it took a great deal of effort, courage, and all the virtues of these people to rebuild the town into what it is today.
Source: RTRS
