On the occasion of June 8th, the Day of Defense of the Novi Grad Sarajevo Municipality, and the 32nd anniversary of the battle for Zuc Hill, a monument named “Wings of Freedom” was ceremonially unveiled yesterday on Golo Brdo in front of thousands of citizens. This event is the central part of the “Days of Novi Grad 2024” event, organized for the 26th time by the Novi Grad Sarajevo Municipality.
The monumental monument is dedicated to the fighters, the heroes of the defense of Sarajevo and Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH). With a wingspan of 25 meters and a height of 16 meters, it is one of the most beautiful monuments of its kind in BiH. The monument’s author is Emir Salihovic. The cornerstone for this monument was laid in 2022, and the grand monument, weighing 260 tons, symbolizes a bird as a symbol of freedom.
On June 8th, 1992, the defenders of Sarajevo, in a fierce battle on Zuc Hill, liberated the peak Orlic and the wider area towards Volujak and Krstac, as well as the neighborhoods of Smiljevici and Zabrdje. Most territory during the aggression on BiH was liberated on that day, marking one of the first major victories of the Army of the Republic of BiH (ARBiH). Significant quantities of weapons and ammunition, military equipment, and medical supplies were seized. This battle confirmed the results of the “Battle of Pofalici” and secured and strengthened communication with the defenders from the Vogosca area, specifically the neighborhoods of Ugorsko, Busce, and Kobilja Glava.
After the capture of Orlic, Kota 850, Vis, and Golo Brdo were also taken, from where the aggressors daily shelled Sarajevo with the largest calibers, holding the city under siege for 1425 days.
Member of the Presidency of BiH Zeljko Komsic, in his address, called on the attendees to silently and thoughtfully remember their wartime comrades who died defending everything worth giving one’s life for – family, honor, homeland.
“This magnificent monument is primarily a memory of them, an attempt to show their loved ones that they are not forgotten, neither they nor their sacrifices. This monument is also a kind of moral obligation of our entire generation, which had the misfortune to find itself in a war, but fulfilled its duty to its closest ones and its homeland bravely and honorably. Because of our fallen comrades, those who lost their health, their families, and this monument, we owe gratitude to everyone who contributed to us being here today for this occasion,” Komsic said yesterday.
The holder of the highest wartime honor, “Golden Lily,” reflected on “the current times and what might be expected in the future.”
“Who are we today as BiH citizens, are we aware of the moment we live in, what is important to us today, do we know what we want and where we are going? These are questions that need to be asked. It is clear that the policies that brought all the evil upon us have not disappeared nor died, but seem to be strengthening and attacking this small and beautiful country again, with the same goals as in the 1990s,” Komsic emphasized yesterday.
The Mayor of Novi Grad Sarajevo Municipality, Semir Efendic, stated that “it is very important to think about identity.”
“The people who defend BiH, the people who do not give it up, who want to live in it, to freely practice their religion, Bosniaks, Bosnians, and all others who care about the country, that is our identity. These wings connect us, and if someone does not see their identity in these wings, we have a problem with them. Why did it happen that we lost our anthem, why did the flag change, giving us the identity that carried us in these battles? The situation today is not very favorable for us in this country. We have just handed over the institutions of BiH to those who were on the other side of Zuc Hill,” said Efendic.
The Novi Grad Sarajevo Municipality purchased 8.9 hectares of land on Golo Brdo for the purpose of building the monument. To access this location, around four kilometers of road were paved, and a simulation of trenches from the wartime period was created.
