Helez on the occasion of the holiday: The independence of the state is maintained, preserved, and strengthened, and the sacrifices oblige us to do so

(Patria) - Minister of Defense of BiH Zukan Helez sent congratulations to all citizens on the occasion of March 1, Independence Day of BiH.

"The date we are marking today is fateful for our country and all its people. With the referendum on independence 33 years ago, Bosnia and Herzegovina, after centuries of foreign rule and being part of other state communities, has with dignity regained its sovereignty and international legal subjectivity.

We will never forget the best sons and daughters of our homeland, the martyrs and fallen soldiers who built the foundations of modern Bosnia and Herzegovina with their lives. They are the lighthouse that will permanently illuminate our honorable struggle for the homeland.

State building is not a static process. A state is not won once and for all. Its independence is preserved, maintained, and strengthened. The moment we take it for granted, when we think it is unquestionable, we must know that at that moment our independence is most vulnerable.

The sacrifices for which freedom was dearly paid oblige us to persevere in preserving and strengthening Bosnia and Herzegovina and the values on which it is founded.

The referendum question, on which the citizens of BiH voted on February 29 and March 1, 1992, is the foundation of the policy of a European Bosnia and Herzegovina, a civic state in which all citizens and peoples are equal before the law and in which every citizen's vote is worth the same.
On behalf of all citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina at home and abroad, I once again congratulate you on Independence Day of our country. May Bosnia and Herzegovina live forever," said Helez.