'Green Berets' and Army of RBiH soldiers marked the 33rd anniversary of the battle in 'Dobrovoljačka'

(Patria) - Members of the "Green Berets" Association, soldiers/veterans of the Army of RBiH, and citizens of Sarajevo today in Hamdije Kreševljakovića Street, formerly Dobrovoljačka, marked the 33rd anniversary of one of the decisive events in the defense of the capital city and Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The president of the "Green Berets" Association Old Town, Vahid Alić, told reporters that they gathered to pay tribute to the soldiers who gave their lives for the defense of Sarajevo and BiH, and recalled what May 2nd and 3rd, 1992, were like in Sarajevo.

"These are certainly the two most significant dates when the city of Sarajevo and the sovereign and independent state of Bosnia and Herzegovina were defended," Alić emphasized, adding that on May 3rd, the arrested president Alija Izetbegović was exchanged, and the siege of the city began, which lasted the longest in the history of modern warfare.

The Yugoslav People's Army, as he said, sided with the aggressor and aggression on May 2nd, although the awareness of our citizens at that time was still that the JNA was the sole guarantor of safety and security for both lives and property.

"It showed its true face, sided with the aggressor and aggression, and on that May 2nd, it carried out a fierce attack on institutions, primarily on the institutions of the state of Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as its citizens. From the surrounding hills from multiple directions, shelling was carried out, and in coordination with paramilitary formations, Serbian volunteers, and Niš special forces, they left the barracks in the city center and moved to capture the Presidency in order to cut the city in half, and at the same time, at the airport, President Alija Izetbegović and the delegation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, who were returning from negotiations in Lisbon, were arrested and taken to the barracks in Lukavica," said Alić.

The Minister for Veterans' Affairs of Sarajevo Canton, Omer Osmanović, said that the culture of remembrance is very important.

"Today is inseparable from May 2nd, when the battle for the BiH Presidency took place, and today was the battle for the president. There is one truth, and only with truth can we defend ourselves," Osmanović stated.

The Secretary General of the Green Berets Association, Ismir Nokto, said that today's gathering is proof of everything they do continuously.

"We have been coming here for over 30 years. The establishment of the Green Berets proved adequate at the moment the war ended, when we saw the consequences of the war and the events in Srebrenica, Prijedor, Banja Luka, Bijeljina. Genocide and mass murders happened there. Where there were patriots and they defended every inch of BiH, not a single crime happened, at least not an organized one," said Nokto.

A little later, as announced, delegations from Republika Srpska will also come to this street to pay tribute to the JNA members who died that day.