The 15th anniversary of the death of the first democratically elected President of the Presidency of the Republic of BiH Alija Izetbegovic was marked by laying flowers, reciting Fatiha and paying tribute at the martyr’s graveyard Kovaci in Sarajevo.
The flowers on Izetbegovic’s grave and the central memorial at the martyr’s graveyard were laid by delegations from the state, federal and lower levels of government in BiH, representatives of the diplomatic corps, the wartime associations, the Party of Democratic Action (SDA) and many others.
The member of the Presidency of BiH and President of SDA Bakir Izetbegovic said that Alija Izetbegovic, who died 15 years ago, is still alive as a thinker, by the reactions of those who do not like him, and even more by reactions of those who love him.
He noted that he did everything to save the peace, and to preserve the substance of BiH and the idea of the state during the war.
Representatives of several countries with embassies in BiH joined the ceremony and paid the tribute as well.
An Academy will be held at the National Theater to honor and respect the man who devoted life to the struggle for BiH and the welfare of all its peoples and citizens.
Alija Izetbegovic was born on August 8th 1925 in Bosanski Samac, in a family of farmers who moved from Belgrade to that town in 1868. His family moved to Sarajevo in 1928.
Due to the Islamic declaration, during the political process in 1983 he was charged with planning the creation of an Islamic state together with twelve Muslim intellectuals and sentenced to 14 years in prison. However, Izetbegovic did not serve his entire sentence and was released in 1988, after which he turned to active political career.
Together with Fikret Abdic, Adil Zulfikarpasic and several other politicians, Izetbegovic founded the Party of Democratic Action (SDA) in 1990. At the elections in 1990 for the assembly of the Federal Republic of B&H within the elections for a member of a seven-member Presidency of FR B&H, SDA won 35.85 percent and thereby the largest number of votes. Fikret Abdic won the first place at the presidential elections, but after the internal discussions within the party Abdic handed over the post of the President of the Presidency of the FR B&H to Izetbegovic.
During the war from 1992 to 1995, Izetbegovic attempted to maintain good relations both with the East and the West. He was exceptionally appreciated in political circles as an example of a tolerant and wise politician, and example of a modern democrat.
