Hundreds gathered on the streets of Sarajevo on Thursday to mark the Victory Day and said that the anti-fascism ideas were still alive. The central manifestation was held at the WWII Vrace memorial park.

Several hundred participants gathered at the Bascarsija square in Sarajevo's old town and took a walk through central streets towards the Eternal Flame memorial and further to the statue of Josip Broz Tito in the Sarajevo University Campus.

They laid the flowers at each memorial they passed by, paying respects to the victims of fascism.

Organisers said that the March of anti-fascists is growing into a regional event as people from all parts of the region, former Yugoslav republics, are joining the like-minded people in Bosnia.

Anti-fascism ideas did not go away with the fall of the former state, they said.

Representatives of the state, entity and cantonal authorities laid flowers at the eternal flame memorial emphasising that the victory over fascism was extremely important for all citizens in Bosnia and Herzegovina and that Bosnian society must be grounded on this heritage.

The central ceremony marking the Victory Day took place at the WWII Vrace memorial park where the eternal flame was lit again after 27 years.

Raif Dizdarevic, a member of the former Yugoslav Presidency and participant of the liberation war, who had the honour to set the eternal flame again, said this memorial was a witness of courage, heroism and sacrifice for freedom, justice and better life.

Sarajevo Canton Prime Minister Edin Forto said that recovery of the Vrace memorial park is a symbolic act, which obliges to “learn about the battle we went through and the battle we will continue.”

He warned that the fascism was never defeated but that it always comes back in different forms.

“We are witnessing it today not only here but in entire Europe. It is our task to never end the fight against fascism,” said Forto.

In their Victory Day message, Bosnia Presidency member Milorad Dodik and Zeljko Komsic emphasised the importance of glorifying this date.

“While marking this day, we honour all victims of the anti-fascism battle, those who embodied their lives in creating a better, more just and more tolerant mankind and who remind us of the evil that overtook the whole world,” said Dodik, the Presidency Chairman.