Respected families of shaheeds and fallen soldiers, representatives of veterans' associations, members of the Organizing Committee for the celebration of the 30th anniversary of the formation of the First Corps of the Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, respected representatives of the executive and legislative authorities at all levels in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Excellences, respected attendees,

I express my gratitude to the Organizing Committee of today's manifestation for their perseverance and efforts to preserve the memory of the heroic journey of the Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the achievements of the defense and liberation war 1992 – 1995.

Celebrating the 30^th anniversary of the First Corps of the Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina is another confirmation of such efforts, which should be an honor to each of your members, as well as to all of us.

I send special thanks and respect to the families of the shaheeds and fallen fighters of the First Corps of the Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Today we remember them with the wish that the goals of their struggle remain permanently recorded. We will not forget them. We will not forget their sacrifice and that time of the greatest trial for our homeland.

It was not only the defense of human lives and territory, but a battle for the existence and idea of this country. They preserved it with their lives. And that will remain permanently recorded.

Dear attendees,

The latest aggression against the statehood and integrity of our homeland is the freshest testimony of the sacrifice that the citizens of Sarajevo and all of Bosnia and Herzegovina were ready to make.

In the complete political, informational and economic blockade to which the capital of our country was exposed throughout the aggression, in an extremely difficult and complex military-political situation, thanks to the members of the First Corps of the Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republic of BiH, Sarajevo was defended, and with it the belief that we will preserve the integrity of this country.

In the most difficult moments of the fight for the defense of the capital and the survival of the state of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the First Corps of the Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina led by Generals Mustafa Hajrulahović, Vahid Karavelić and Nedžad Ajnadžić gave their best sons. Among them are the late Safet Hadžić, Enver Šehović and Safet Zajko, heroes of the defense and liberation war. At the time of the most difficult moments for Sarajevo and the state of Bosnia and Herzegovina, they believed in its survival and final victory.

We will not and cannot forget our heroes who laid down their lives for the homeland we have today and in which there must be no more room for uncertainty and repetition of the sufferings we went through.

It is up to us and the generations to come to preserve the truth about their righteous struggle and not to allow that truth to ever be endangered by deliberate distortion of facts.

Dear attendees,

The intention of the perpetrators of genocide and the joint criminal enterprise was to destroy the multi-ethnic fabric of our society through mass slaughter, torture, rape, expulsion and robbery. Their followers still dream of ending the political project that brought bloodshed to the entire region.

We witness almost daily threats to secede a part of Bosnia and Herzegovina or abuse of the Dayton constitution with various blockades, in order to force us to agree to a policy of division, exclusivity and inequality for all citizens.

We are witnessing the increasingly open support of our neighbors for such policies in Bosnia and Herzegovina, their lobbying and pressure in the institutions of the European Union in order to comply with such policies. We will not give in to such demands.

Those who want better relations with Bosnia and Herzegovina will have to face the truth, prevent the questioning of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of our country, stop insulting the victims and those who survived the genocide and the joint criminal enterprise, as well as denying the facts confirmed by the courts.

You cannot deny genocide, provide shelter to war criminals, arrest defenders of Bosnia and Herzegovina, reward Hague convicts and then declaratively demand better relations with Bosnia and Herzegovina.

You cannot bypass the official highest institutions in Bosnia and Herzegovina by visiting parts of another entity or only cantons with a majority of one nation. That's not how friendships are made with Bosnia and Herzegovina.

I wish to emphasize this in particular:

Every part of Bosnia and Herzegovina belongs equally to all citizens. To those who think differently, who seek to maintain and deepen divisions in our society under the guise of legitimacy, I am telling them from this place: you will not achieve it. No one wants such a Bosnia and Herzegovina anymore. The majority of our citizens want a modern, democratic, European state where everyone will have the same rights. Neither does the European Union. The messages of European officials are clear and unequivocal and reject the politics of division and ethnic exclusivity.

Dear attendees,

Regardless of everything, the progress of Bosnia and Herzegovina cannot be stopped any longer. The vast majority of our citizens want peace, stability and prosperity, they want to build a common and safe future for themselves and their children.

Time is on the side of those who want a stable Bosnia and Herzegovina, who work for its progress and who want to see it safe and prosperous as a member of the European Union and NATO. And we will make it happen. There is no longer any doubt about that.

Bosnia and Herzegovina will gradually return to what it has always been - a place where people of different religions, cultures and identities live together in security and progress. But with a bitter experience in which there will be no more room for forgetting and tragic mistakes that lead to some new genocide or joint criminal enterprise. Be sure of that.

Thank you.