After the referendum was passed in the parliament of the former Socialist Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina (SR BiH) and Serb representatives were outvoted, followed by another vote on February 29 and March 1, 1992, during an illegal referendum, Serbs in Bosnia and Herzegovina were left with only two options—to accept majorization and the referendum and face another genocide, or to organize and defend themselves.
On Saturday, March 1, it will be 33 years since the illegal referendum on unitarization and the outvoting of Serbs in BiH, despite the fact that the former “socialist BiH” had operated strictly under the principle that no nation could be outvoted since 1945.
Following the 1990 elections, which resulted in a multi-party parliament in BiH, it quickly became evident that Muslim and Croat representatives intended to outvote Serb representatives. By October 1991, the Party of Democratic Action (SDA) was already forming paramilitary units, including the “Patriotic League” and “Green Berets,” which established numerous battalions and local units in Sarajevo, essentially serving as the SDA’s military wing.
On January 25, 1992, Muslim and Croat MPs in the BiH parliament voted to hold a referendum on independence on February 29 and March 1, 1992, despite Serb MPs boycotting the decision, rejecting what they saw as a one-sided and shameful move.
An assassination that signaled the beginning of war
Đorđe Radanović, president of the Committee for the Protection of Serb Rights in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, emphasized that SDA’s scandalous intentions were already clear. The so-called “Patriotic League” had infiltrated notorious figures from Sarajevo’s criminal underworld, including Juka Prazina, Mušan Topalović Caco, Ismet Bajramović Ćelo, and Rasim Delalić Ćelo, who would play a major role in provoking war and committing crimes against Serbs.
Among them was Rasim Delalić Ćelo, who murdered Serb wedding guest Nikola Gardović on March 1, 1992, in Sarajevo’s Baščaršija district, an event that marked the beginning of open hostilities.
- “For them, March 1 is a so-called ‘Independence Day.’ For Sarajevo’s Serbs, it is the day when attempts to exterminate and expel the Serb people began, and for BiH, the day the war started. The former Muslim leader Alija Izetbegović openly stated that he was ready to sacrifice peace for a unitary and independent BiH, where Serbs would be outvoted, without any mechanisms to protect their vital national interests. That would have led to another genocide.”
Radanović pointed out that SDA’s paramilitary operatives carried out their bloody mission by murdering Nikola Gardović and setting a Serb flag on fire—a symbolic act of declaring war on Serbs in BiH.
March 1 is no holiday—it is a reminder of death, hatred, and suffering
The authorities and people of Republika Srpska have never accepted and will never accept the legitimacy of the so-called March 1 referendum on BiH’s “independence”.
For Serbs, this date does not represent any kind of holiday, but rather a day that symbolizes murder, bloodshed, and suffering. It is deeply ironic that while Bosniaks continue to celebrate March 1 as their Independence Day, they simultaneously demand the abolition of January 9—Republika Srpska Day.
For Serbs, Republika Srpska, and its institutions, March 1 will never be acknowledged as a legitimate holiday. Instead, it serves as a dark reminder of the violence, killings, and persecution of Serbs, which culminated in war, fueled by foreign intervention and biased international oversight.
Even today, the international community applies double standards, supporting Bosniak political narratives while simultaneously rejecting the legitimacy of Republika Srpska’s national holiday. International representatives in BiH regularly commemorate March 1 while refusing to recognize January 9, demonstrating their lack of respect for Republika Srpska and the Serb people’s stance.
Serbs will never forget the murder of Nikola Gardović
For Serbs in BiH, March 1 remains a day of remembrance—a day when organized violence was unleashed against them. The murder of Nikola Gardović in front of the Old Church in Baščaršija, followed by the burning of the Serb flag, was not the act of a lone criminal but an orchestrated attack—the first act of war against Serbs in Sarajevo, planned and executed by Muslim paramilitaries under the command of the SDA.
Gardović, the father of the groom, Milan Gardović, was shot and killed, while Orthodox priest Radenko Miković was wounded. Despite the obvious nature of the crime, the Muslim-led authorities in Sarajevo never attempted to bring the perpetrators to justice.
It was only in 2006—14 years later—that Sarajevo’s Cantonal Prosecutor’s Office formally launched a trial against Rasim Delalić Ćelo. However, this trial never concluded, as Delalić was assassinated in Sarajevo in 2008.
Aside from Delalić, who later admitted to killing Gardović, witnesses identified the other attackers as:
- Suad Šabanović from Zvornik,
- Muhamed Švrakić from Sarajevo, the son of Emin Švrakić, founder of the “Green Berets”,
- Taib Torlaković, who, like Delalić, was later killed in a gang-related shooting in Sarajevo.
Following the outbreak of war, Delalić became a commander in the so-called Army of BiH, leading the 9th Muslim Mountain Brigade. For his “services”, he was personally awarded a pistol by Alija Izetbegović, the wartime President of BiH’s Presidency.
A wedding turned into a bloodbath
Aco Jovančić, one of the Serb wedding guests, later described the events of March 1, 1992:
- “We gathered at Alipašino Polje in Sarajevo. The Gardović family hung a Serb tricolor on their balcony, as per our tradition. Some neighbors already expressed hostility, making sarcastic and unpleasant remarks. Even before the ceremony, a group of young men tried to remove the flag.”
The wedding ceremony took place at 2:30 PM in the Church of the Holy Transfiguration in Sarajevo. After the ceremony, around 100 guests left in a convoy of 15 cars toward the Old Orthodox Church in Baščaršija, where the wedding reception was to be held.
However, upon arrival near the church, they were ambushed by four armed men led by Rasim Delalić Ćelo, who attempted to snatch the Serb flag from the wedding procession.
When the wedding guests resisted, the attackers opened fire, fatally wounding Nikola Gardović and injuring priest Radenko Miković. Minutes later, Gardović succumbed to his wounds.
After committing the murder, the attackers burned the Serb flag, marking the official beginning of hostilities against Serbs in Sarajevo.
The murder that sparked war
Gardović’s family was forced to flee Sarajevo, as Muslim paramilitary units took control of the city. The Bosniak authorities never seriously investigated the killing.
Despite later admitting to the murder, Delalić never faced justice. He was assassinated in 2008, taking many secrets with him.
For Serbs in Bosnia and Herzegovina, March 1 is not a day of celebration—it is a day of mourning, a day when Serbs were denied their rights, their voices silenced, and their blood spilled.
Source: RTRS
