President Milanović at Ceremony Marking Anniversary of Formation of 120th Brigade of Croatian Army in Sisak: We Want Peace, Freedom, Security and Good Relations with our Neighbours
The President of the Republic Zoran Milanović attended a ceremony marking the 30th anniversary of the formation of the 120th brigade of the Croatian army “Ban Toma Bakač”, in Sisak, at which he stated that this anniversary is an important day in the history of Sisak.
He told the gathering that Sisak has always been Zagreb’s shield, and recalled Sisak’s defense four hundred years ago, when its fortress and surrounding area were defended by barely 5 thousand Christian soldiers. “Toma Bakač Erdödy, Hungarian nobleman, in some other times we would beg to differ, therefore the choice of name for this brigade is quite a culturally grand gesture”, President Milanović stated. He explained the analogy saying that less than three thousand people passed through this brigade in the hardest of times, “a very small number of the bravest among us”.
“At a time when there was not just one fortress and a few villages here, but a city of 80 thousand residents, a state of 4 million and 700 thousand at that time, a nation that grew meanwhile into a political option, got organized and in the end fought for its state. Five thousand men 400 years ago, two and a half thousand brave ones, the bravest among us. That is why we must forever remember the names of those 27, in some units even more people, who gave their lives for Croatia, who are fighting for their homes in the summer of ’91 when international agreements in Europe are being concluded on accession,” President Milanović noted. He added that their chances and hopes were taken away from them. “They dreamed about Croatia, but did not live to see it. That is why this remembrance is more than a moral debt. It is what we are, without that, we are nothing. A nation exists as long as it believes in itself. It can assemble around many things, religion, common stories, territory, and, most often, around all of this. How does it look when it looks pretty bad, we have seen these days in Afghanistan. A country no one is willing to risk their lives for doesn’t exist, and that is why there is no use crying over it”, President Milanović remarked.
“You were among the first ones, you were the shield of Zagreb, which wouldn’t have developed and gotten rich hadn’t it been for those who blocked the counterbalance and counter aspirations with their chests in each era. All the soldiers who defended these regions were part of an ordinary small nation, Croats, Serbs, depending on the war. I hope this is the last one and that after all we can finally live in peace, rebuild this “gunpowder magazine” (barutana) with European funds”, the President said.
“We have a state, it has its borders, the spirit of our ancestors is buried in it, of those old folks who aren’t alive any more. As long as there are people like they were, there is no fear for us. A life in fear is not what we want. We want peace, security and good relations with our neighbours. This is a year of jubilees, a year in which Croatia must regularly remind itself that it is indebted for what it has, a small number of right people”, President Milanović concluded.
On the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the formation, President Milanović presented awards to members of the 120th brigade of the Croatian army “Ban Toma Bakač”, Sisak. Vlado Hodalj has been posthumously awarded the Order of Duke Domagoj with Ribbon for bravery and heroism displayed in the Homeland War, and Viktor Šprajc has been awarded the Order of Ban Jelačić for exceptionally successful command of the Croatian Armed Forces and extraordinary military service in their organization.
Prior to the ceremony marking the anniversary of the formation held in the former “Barutana” barracks, the President of the Republic and Commander in Chief of the Croatian Armed Forces laid a wreath and lit a candle at the central cross in the municipal cemetery of Vitorovac in Sisak in memory of the fallen Croatian defenders. Alongside President Milanović was the Special Adviser to the President for Homeland War Veterans Marijan Mareković.
PHOTO: Office of the President of the Republic of Croatia / Filip Glas