Helez: Bosnia and Herzegovina exists in "small communities" too, we must continue to defend, preserve, and develop it

(Patria) - On the occasion of the celebration of March 1st, Independence Day of BiH, the Deputy Chairman of the Council of Ministers and Minister of Defense of BiH, Zukan Helez, laid flowers today at several locations in the municipality of Gornji Vakuf - Uskoplje.

Helez laid flowers and recited Fatiha for fallen fighters and martyrs at the martyrs' cemetery in Gornja Mahala, at the grave of the Golden Lily Goran Čišić, as well as at the monument to martyrs in the local community of Voljice.

After a walk through the town, Helez laid flowers at the grave of HVO Colonel Zvonimir Fontana, a person who was a symbol of unity in the municipality of Gornji Vakuf - Uskoplje.

During the celebration of Independence Day, Helez emphasized that Bosnia and Herzegovina exists in "small communities" too, and that on such occasions, it is our obligation to show special respect to those who, when times were hardest, were protectors of freedom, independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity of BiH, and especially to those who invested their lives in the foundations of our homeland.

- Without roots, not even grass grows; without a homeland, man does not live. 32 years ago, the citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina, in a legal and internationally recognized referendum, decided by a vast majority that BiH should be an independent, sovereign, and unified state.

This important event in the history of our homeland will be remembered as the day when Bosnia and Herzegovina, after centuries of foreign rule, restored its sovereignty and became an independent state.

We must continue to defend, preserve, and develop the hard-won statehood of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and we must do so openly, publicly, and concretely.

We owe it to future generations to build the future of Bosnia and Herzegovina as a sovereign, stable, and prosperous state, a member of the European Union and NATO, which will be a state of equal citizens in every inch of its territory.

This country is big and rich enough for all of us. In the hope that every March 1st will be a reason for pride and dignity, I congratulate all citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina once again on Independence Day of BiH - Helez stated.