SARAJEVO, APRIL 6 (ONASA) – Today, flowers were laid at the “Eternal Fire” memorial and tributes were paid on the occasion of April 6 – Sarajevo City Day.
79 years ago, on April 6, 1945, Sarajevo was liberated from the occupation of Nazi Germany during the Second World War. The same date, 47 years later, April 6, 1992, symbolizes the first days of the siege of Sarajevo during the aggression against Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Among the numerous delegations was the mayor of Sarajevo, Benjamina Karić, who addressed the public.
“To all my dear Saraj women and Sarajians and to all those who carry this beautiful city in their hearts, I want to congratulate this day from the bottom of my heart. Today we celebrate the beauty of this city, our diversity, peace, but also all the good people of Sarajevo,” said Karić, and continued:
“I want the message of this year’s City Day celebration to be that we must continuously beautify this city, do projects for young people, refresh the infrastructure… This city is like a beautiful girl, it just needs a little tidying up to make it shine brightly. That’s why we work, build and create a better and more beautiful future for all those who live, work and raise their children in our beloved city”.
Let us remind you that on April 6, Sarajevo experienced two wars and one liberation. In 1941, with the attack of German planes on the Rajlovac airport, Sarajevo also entered the Second World War. Sarajevo was part of the Ustasha NDH, and was actually under German occupation. On the same date, April 6, 1945, Sarajevo was liberated from fascism after a four-year occupation. After fierce fighting, the partisan units broke the resistance of the Germans and members of the NDH and Sarajevo was liberated. In the anti-fascist struggle from 1941 to 1945, 10,961 citizens of Sarajevo gave their lives.
On the same date in 1992, the then JNA and paramilitary formations of Serbian extremists, later the Army of the Republika Srpska, began a complete siege of Sarajevo. From the beginning of the aggression and siege until July 31, 1995, 11,541 civilians were killed in Sarajevo, of which 1,601 were children.
Also, on April 6, 1992, the then European Community recognized the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina as an independent state. (end)