With the session of ZAVNOBiH in the difficult wartime circumstances of the fascist occupation, the statehood of Bosnia and Herzegovina was restored, its continuity, independence and equality of all its citizens were outlined.

Actors who had not only different national, but also political and ideological commitments participated in that process, but they had one principle in common: The principle of freedom!

The session of ZAVNOBiH, which was at the same time the highest political body of the People's Liberation Movement, was preceded by a determined and courageous fight for freedom and the state.

The decisions that were adopted at the First, then at the Second and Third sessions of ZAVNOBiH are only an expression of that military and political struggle.

In order to fully understand the historical significance of ZAVNOBiH today, in a kind of centuries-old historical register, it is necessary to recall the fact that no less than four states have existed on the territory of our country in the last hundred years.

Two of those states, the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, later the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, and the Independent State of Croatia, did not count on the existence of Bosnia and Herzegovina as a state at all and stifled every personality of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Their Greater Serbian and Greater Croatian hegemonic character basically sought to nullify everything Bosnian in terms of statehood and identity.

The other two states, i.e. republics, the socialist one which was created in ZAVNOBiH and the independent Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina which was declared after the independence referendum, were created on exactly the opposite basis, on the basis of Bosnian statehood and the struggle for freedom, despite the aforementioned hegemonic aspirations that were accompanied by the most serious forms of war crimes against the citizens and people of Bosnia and Herzegovina. As Bosnians and Herzegovinans, we never felt as our own states those state forms that were imposed on us without being asked about it, and we were not asked about it precisely and only in those periods when we were not organized, neither politically nor militarily.

In those moments, when there was no clear Bosnian strength, then the power and dominance of neighbouring countries was imposed on us in our own country.

ZAVNOBiH, as a precedent in the history of Bosnia and Herzegovina, is not only a proof of the continuity of the statehood of Bosnia and Herzegovina, but also an interruption of the continuity of the alienation of the country and the formation of a foreign administration. In addition to anti-fascism, this is its greatest value. No matter how it sounds to some, history inexorably teaches us the following:

Both times in the last hundred years when we used weapons to fight for the country, we defended it, and both times, when this was not the case, we lost it.

However, neither the first nor the second republic won because of weapons, which they had in much smaller quantities than their enemies anyway, but they won thanks to the principle of freedom that guided them and the commitment to freedom that they fought for, both as members of the National Liberation Movement , as well as members of the Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The only thing more important than what you fight is what you fight for. Without resources and means, it is difficult to survive, but without the feeling of standing up for justice and freedom, almost every struggle is doomed in advance.

Today, exactly 80 years after ZAVNOBiH and a bit more than 30 years after the referendum on independence, when we look around us and reflect on events, both in the East and in the West, we can clearly see that the freedom we live and enjoy in our own homeland is not to be underestimated, but it is neither given forever nor guaranteed.

The society we live in, despite all the difficulties that are present, is not a society in which there is no freedom and in which there is no perspective. It is democratic in its essence and character, although democracy is often denied to us. True, unfortunately, this cannot be said for those parts of Bosnia and Herzegovina dominated by policies that reject the libertarian values of ZAVNOBiH, but the most vital part of Bosnia and Herzegovina is democratic and free.

Sometimes it seems that our virtue is also our weakness, but when one realizes that the survival and continuous struggle for the state of Bosnia and Herzegovina depends on those who possess strength and are free in spirit and beliefs, then it is not a weakness, but a necessary prerequisite for preserving the hope that Bosnia and Herzegovina will one day become a normal and stable country. It is true that we as a country and as citizens must be aware of where we are, what we are surrounded by, who we are directed to and what we are committed to. But we also need to know that no one but ourselves is the guarantor of the survival and development of the state of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

We respect the strength and importance of international associations whose membership we seek because it is in our interest, but we neither need nor are we obliged to blindly identify the existence of the state of Bosnia and Herzegovina with the fate of the aforementioned associations. In the end, Bosnia and Herzegovina is our permanent value, and interests are changeable.

May optimism and fighting spirit guide us in these uncertain times, and may the memory of our past inspire us to build a future in which Bosnia and Herzegovina will be a country of peace, stability and prosperity for all its citizens. And let our strength lie in our uniqueness and commitment to the idea of freedom, that is the foundation on which we should build our tomorrow.

Dear women of Bosnia and Herzegovina, dear men of Bosnia and Herzegovina, when we talk about the future of our homeland, in essence, everything comes down to the freedom of us citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and to our will and desire to preserve the freedom we have won and defended, but also to defend it if that's what it takes!

Happy Statehood Day!