Željka Cvijanović, Chairwoman and Serb Member of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, emphasized that the victims of Middle Podrinje and Birač must be preserved from oblivion and that such crimes must never happen again—to anyone.
Speaking at the commemoration of 33 years since the murder of 3,267 Serbs from the regions of Middle Podrinje and Birač, committed during the Defensive-Patriotic War by members of the so-called Army of BiH, Cvijanović said:
“Podrinje is a place of repeated suffering for the Serb people throughout the 20th century—from World War I, through the genocide in the Independent State of Croatia, to the most recent Defensive-Patriotic War. The goal was always the same—to physically separate the Serbs west of the Drina River from their brothers in Serbia. To turn the Drina from the backbone of our people into an insurmountable border,” Cvijanović stated.
She added that all such attempts failed, but left wounds that still ache decades later.
“Today in Bratunac, we gathered in prayer and remembrance for all Serbs from Podrinje who perished in the last war. Apart from us—in Republika Srpska and Serbia—with a few honorable exceptions, no one else remembers or mourns Serb victims. That makes our duty even greater—to remind, to speak out, and to bear witness to the suffering of the Serbs in Podrinje. So it is never forgotten, and never repeated—for anyone. Eternal glory to them!” Cvijanović concluded.
Source: RTRS
