Wreaths and flowers were laid today in the Memorial Room of the Army of the Republika Srpska /VRS/ at the “Kozara” barracks in Banja Luka to mark May 12 – the Day of the Army of the Republika Srpska and the Third Infantry /RS/ Regiment of the Armed Forces of BiH.
The wreath was laid by the President of the Republika Srpska Milorad Dodik, accompanied by the President of the National Assembly of the Republika Srpska Nenad Stevandić, the Prime Minister of the Republika Srpska Radovan Višković, the Chairperson of the Presidency of the Republika Srpska Željka Cvijanović and the ministers in the Government of the Republika Srpska.
At the beginning of the ceremony, the soldiers submitted a report to the Chairperson of the Presidency of the Republika Srpska Željka Cvijanović, followed by the performance of the national anthems of BiH and the national anthems of the Republika Srpska.
As a reminder, the Minister of Defense of Bosnia and Herzegovina Zukan Helez issued an order to the Joint Staff of the Armed Forces of BiH a few days ago, prohibiting Milorad Dodik, Nenad Stevandić and Radovan Višković from accessing military locations. Helez’s order was delivered to the Chief of the Joint Staff of the Armed Forces of BiH.
Despite Helez’s order, no one tried to prevent Dodik, Stevandić and Višković from entering the Kozara barracks complex.
Arrest warrants were issued for the President of the Republika Srpska, Milorad Dodik, the President of the National Assembly of the Republika Srpska, Nenad Stevandić and the Prime Minister of the Republika Srpska, since they did not respond to the summons of the Prosecutor’s Office of BiH due to the adoption of controversial laws in the National Assembly of the Republika Srpska, which are considered unconstitutional.
The Army of the Republika Srpska was formed on 12 May 1992 and had around 210,000 members. According to the Center for Research on War, War Crimes and the Search for Missing Persons of the Republika Srpska, 23,659 soldiers of the Army of the Republika Srpska were killed during the war in BiH.
The Army of the Republika Srpska was originally established under the name Army of the Republika Srpska. It existed from 12 May 1992 to 1 January 2006, after which it became part of the Armed Forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The military heritage and identity of the Army of Republika Srpska is nurtured by the Third Infantry (Republika Srpska) Regiment.
