Tribute Paid to Fallen Students and Employees of the University

At the event of marking 44 years of successful work and development of the University of Banja Luka, commemoration was held on 6 November 2019 and garlands were laid down on the commemorative plaque dedicated to fallen students and employees of the University of Banja Luka who have lost their lives in the past defensive and patriotic war.

After the religious service on the plateau between the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering and the Faculty of Law, the rector of the University of Banja Luka Professor Radoslav Gajanin, PhD, addressed everyone present and emphasized that the University will always keep memory alive of the 87 employees and students of the University who have given their lives to the Republic of Srpska.
„A lot of soldiers of the Republic of Srpska Army have lost their lives in that combat in the past war and they did not live to see peace. Unfortunately, our colleagues were among those soldiers. In the difficult times for Serbs, war veterans from the ranks of students and professors of the University of Banja Luka with their courage, patriotism and knightly morale should be role-models for all of us.“, Rector Gajanin said.

„It is the duty of all of us to protect the interests of the Republic of Srpska, the interests of public institutions and the University. We will draw the attention of individuals and institutions that get deflected from that duty“, Gajanin explained.
Assistant Minister of Labour, War Veterans and Disabled Persons Protection Radomir Graonic said that the Student Brigade was unique in the Republic of Srpska Army, as it represented a mix of students and professors and numbered about 2,100 soldiers, which mostly fought in the Bihac battlefield. He noted that they had significant combat roles in stopping the Fifth Corps offensive and liberating the then-lost territories, and that they were disbanded on 13 January 1995.

„In all societies, students represent the most important intellectual and biological potential and all countries of the world strive to protect them from war, but when the country is threatened, the last reserves and all potentials get engaged. In the final years of the war, the Republic of Srpska also mobilized the Student Brigade“, Graonic said.

President of the Presidency of the Veterans’ Organization of the Republic of Srpska Goran Rogic said that the fallen students and employees of the University and the sacrifice they had made must not be forgotten.

„The history of Serbs is full of examples of the courage of Serb fighters who were then young, but still so brave in their fight for the freedom of their people. Тhis was also case in the past war, when some of the most elite units of the Republic of Srpska Army were full of young fighters“, Rogic said and stressed that the greatest sacrifice was made by the intellectual youth of the Student Brigade and its fighters, because they were deeply aware of where they were going and that they might never return.

He told the students that had gathered there that the future of the Republic of Srpska is their future and that the Student Brigade should motivate them to study and work harder and preserve the Republic of Srpska.

Zora Vukovic, mother of the fallen student of the Faculty of Electrical Engineering Boris Vukovic, said that Boris was only 21 when he got killed by NATO aviation in the Mrkonjic Grad area, and that she comes to the commemoration every year.

Garlands were laid down on the commemorative plaque by: the families of the fallen soldiers, representatives of the Student Parliament and the Students' Union, the management of the University, deans of organizational units, representatives of the University Steering Committee, Assistant Minister of Higher Education Radmila Pejic, Assistant Minister of Labour, War Veterans and Disabled Persons Protection Radomir Graonic, President of the Presidency of the Republic of Srpska Veterans' Organization Goran Rogic, representatives of the Banja Luka Veterans' Organization and others.