04.08.2017.
Observation of the Remembrance Day for Killed and Expelled Serbs
Remembrance Day for Killed and Expelled Serbs in Croatian military and police action called “the Storm” was observed this evening at “Veternik” stadium in Novi Sad.
The commemoration was attended by the President of the Republic of Serbia, Aleksandar Vučić, President of the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia Maja Gojković, His Holiness Serbian Patriarch Irinej, President of the Republic of Srpska Milorad Dodik, President of the Government of the Republic of Srpska Željka Cvijanović, President of the Government of the Republic of Serbia Ana Brnabić, President of Provincial Government Igor Mirović, Vice President of the Government of Serbia and Minister of Internal Affairs Nebojša Stefanović, Minister of Defence Aleksandar Vulin, President of Matica Srpska Dragan Stanić, Mayor of Novi Sad Miloš Vučević as well as the representatives of the Ministry of Defence and Serbian Armed Forces.
The commemoration started with an office for the dead, conducted by Patriarch Irinej, and Branka Maksimović spoke about her memories of that August 1995, when she had arrived in Serbia in a column of refugees.
Addressing the present, President of Serbia Aleksandar Vučić emphasised that Serbia would never allow, anywhere on Serbian ethnic territory, criminal actions against Serbian people, like it was the operation „Storm“.
According to his words, Serbs lost several hundreds of villages, towns, thousands of houses and homes that the hardworking Serbian hands had been building for centuries, adding that the people were killed for proudly and honourably bearing Serbian name and last name.
As he emphasised, hundreds of thousands of people had to leave their homes in the face of „honourable liberators“ and to seek salvation in Serbian settlements that witnessed the sorrow and desperation, initial difficulties to get along, but also the hard work and love that those people had brought in their hearts.
- There was no one in the world to whom Serbia was so beautiful as it was to Serbs from Krajina because for them it was more than life; not because it was richer or more beautiful or because they love it so much. To measure the tragedy of Serbian people to the west of the Drina River, particularly the tragedy of Serbs from Krajina over the last 75 years, is almost impossible – President Vučić underlined.
The President of the Republic added that Serbian people could not survive another “Storm”, stressing that Serbia did have strength to protect its people.
- That is why I tell you and I promise that Serbia will not allow, anywhere on Serbian ethnic area, the execution of criminal actions against the Serbian people – President Vučić stated adding that Serbia threatened no one, but it did not allow that Serbs were killed without the punishment and that it desired peace and cooperation with all regarding all open issues.
Speaking about the operation “Storm”, President of the Republic of Srpska Milorad Dodik underlined that Serbs had left their hearths because they were “threatened by total annihilation”.
- There was the threat that all of us, to the last one, would have been killed with the assistance of international community which had for years elaborated and conducted its projects all over Yugoslavia, that could be characterised as anti-Serbian – President Dodik stressed. According to his words, we have to turn to life, not losing faith in Serbia and the Republic of Srpska.
-Serbs have remained together, and we have remained strong and today Serbia and the Republic of Srpska are the most stable in the region. Our institutions are functional, our governments and parliaments are not unsteady – President Dodik concluded and added that Serbia gained new strength with the President Aleksandar Vučić.
Today, in the framework of observing the Remembrance Day for the killed and expelled Serbs in military and police action the "Storm", in the Town Hall of Novi Sad, President Vučić met the representatives of Serbs form the region who spoke about the position of Serbian people in the countries in which they lived and about the problems that they daily faced. Minister of Defence Aleksandar Vulin also attended the meeting.
On that occasion, President Vučić said that it was important to observe the problems, along with the proposals for their resolution, in order that the Republic of Serbia could assist in the best possible manner so that the Serbs in the region were guaranteed their rights in line with international standards. He established that by strengthening economy and the reputation in the world, Republic of Serbia could do more for the position of Serbs in the region and other parts of the world.
Serbian president said that Serbia would continue providing support to educational and cultural institutions of Serbian people in the region, in order to preserve Serbian language and culture and it would also support the activities of the Serbian Orthodox Church.
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