Commemoration of May 2nd: Tribute Paid to All Fallen Fighters and Citizens of Sarajevo

SARAJevo, (Patria) - As part of the commemoration of Sarajevo Canton Day, Stari Grad Municipality Day, and Centar Municipality Day, delegations visited cemeteries and memorials, laid flowers, and paid tribute to all citizens who perished during the aggression against BiH. On this day, Sarajevo was defended, as was the building of the Presidency of BiH.

Minister for Veterans' Affairs in the Government of Sarajevo Canton, Ismir Jusko, noted that this date will never be forgotten, reminding that on that day the JNA, with paramilitary formations, advanced into the city with the intention of dividing it, but the main objective was to seize the building of the Presidency of BiH.

"The Territorial Defense of BiH, members of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and patriotic forces, more with their hearts than with military tactics, stopped that attack. It was hard to believe that such small forces, in some cases armed with improvised means and weapons made from water pipes, would stand against the third military power in Europe," said Jusko.

The commemoration of Stari Grad Municipality Day began with the recitation of Fatiha for Isa-beg Ishaković, one of the founders of Sarajevo, in the Emperor's Mosque. The Mayor, Ibrahim Hadžibajrić, laid flowers at the Kovači cemetery for martyrs and fallen fighters.

"The second of May is practically tied to Stari Grad Municipality and Centar Municipality. Those who were here during the aggression in Sarajevo remember it very well. When the convoy was stopped in Dobrovoljačka, when the late President Alija Izetbegović was captured in Lukavica. Many forget that. It was simply a turning point during the war itself, and the defense of the city of Sarajevo, we can think and say whatever we want, but if the city had fallen then, things in BiH would have unfolded completely differently," emphasized Hadžibajrić.

Mayor Ajnadžić reminded that on this day in the war year of 1992, the buildings of the Presidency and the Municipality were heroically defended, and thus Sarajevo and Bosnia and Herzegovina.

"Truth and memory must be preserved from oblivion, because people are often prone to forgetting. Today, we have officially begun the commemoration of Centar Municipality Day, and in the period from May 2nd to May 9th, we have prepared a rich cultural and entertainment program for our fellow citizens," said Ajnadžić.