15.02.2020.

President Vučić presented decorations on the occasion of Serbian Statehood Day

The President of the Republic and Supreme Commander of the Serbian Armed Forces, AleksandarVučić, presenteddecorations to deserving individuals and institutions on the occasion of the Statehood Day of Serbia today, at a ceremony in the building of the General Secretariat of the President of the Republic.
The ceremony was attended by Serbian Patriarch Irinej, Serbian Member of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina,MiloradDodik, President of RepublikaSrpska,ŽeljkaCvijanović, Minister of Defense,Aleksandar Vulin, Chief of the General Staff, General Milan Mojsilović, Rector of the University of Defense, Lieutenant General Goran Radovanović, Chief of the Military Office of the President, Brigadier General SinišaRadović, Ministers of the government and numerous guests.

On the occasion of the Serbian Statehood Day, the Military Academy marking 170 years since its founding was awarded the Order of the White Eagle with Swords of the First Degree. At today’s ceremony, President Vučić presented the Order to Major General BojanZrnić, PhD, Commandant of the Military Academy.
The Order of the White Eagle with Swords of the First Degree was awarded to the Fifth Battalion of the Military Police of the Serbian Armed Forces, who was the first to come to the aid of the border guards and who fought heroically until May 1999during defense against the NATO aggression. The Order was presented to Lieutenant Colonel Vladimir Petrić, Commander of the Fifth Military Police Battalion, by President Vučić.

The Order of the White Eagle with the Swords of the Second Degree was awarded to the Technical Overhaul Institute of Kragujevac, which was founded in 1950 and today performs extremely responsible tasks of technical maintenance and general overhaul of weapons, contributing to the improvement of the operational capabilities of the Serbian Armed Forces. The President of the Republic presented the award to Lieutenant ColonelRasimĆiriković, Director of the Technical Overhaul Institute of Kragujevac.

The Order of the White Eagle with the Swords of the Third Degree was awarded to the Military High School, which marks the jubilee of 50 years since its establishmentthis year. On the occasion of the holiday, President Vučić handed the Order to the Head of the Military High School, Navy Captain Miroslav Ćitić.
President Vučić awarded the “MilošObilić” Gold Medal for Bravery to pilot, Colonel Zoran Lunićand Gold Medal for Outstanding Merit in the medical sciences to Professor TomislavMarenović, a retired Colonel from the Military Medical Academy.

Among the honorees is an RTS journalist and author of numerous documentaries, including the movie “RatnepričesaKošara”(“War Stories from Košare”)SlađanaZarić, to whom President Vučić presented the Gold Medal for Merit today.

President Vučić congratulated Statehood Day at the ceremony, pointing out that there was no better day than this to be reminded of how little it takesto make dreams come true, and that it only took about 300 people in one trench to start liberating the state and achieve independence, where the Serbian champions swore on their own blood; that is how our forefathers laid the foundation of a modern nation.

- I congratulate the great state and national, as well as church holiday, the Lord’s CandlemassDay, a great day in our history and an important day for our country. They say the end is the hardest to write in a revolution, and Serbia has done it in the most wonderful way. The Serbian Revolution was a fight for freedom. Today we are part of a free and democratic world – saidPresident Vučić.

He recalled that Serbia has gone through many bloody wars in her history and endured the sacrifices that no one else could bear, and stressed that we endured it just so that they would not happen again, which is why the only viable policy is the one formulated byBorislavPekic: “You should love the land of your children, not of your grandfathers”.
President Vučić emphasized that this is what our great-grandfathers did, creating a land not for themselves but for us, and added that we should preserve what they had created and strengthen the country for those who are yet to come, which is a free and independent Serbia, our only and most beautiful Serbia.

He said that it was the hardest thing to write aboutthe end of revolutions, and Serbia did it in the most wonderful way, by adopting the Candlemass Constitution which introduced freedom, rights and division of power, which was also one of the most liberal constitutions in terms of world and European values.

President Vučić pointed out that when asked today where we are, we reply that we had already given the answer to the question by CandlemassConstitution in 1835 and that we were part of the free world, the traditions and values that were the foundation of Europe and the banner under which the entire democratic world was gathered.
- To believe in ourselves, our own country and give it freedom and the right to decide. And our people, to start giving birth again, there is no more important task today than that, President Vučić said in his address, adding that today we are among the most successful European countries in terms of economy and that everything we do should be in the service of the generations to come.

He said that failure therefore is not an option for us, and that when it comes to freedom – that it applies to our entire nation and that we must not forget about our people across the Drina and Danube, and in Montenegro, Northern Macedonia, Slovenia and other countries.

- We have to do everything we can to bring our people from the world back to Serbia, because there is no more beautiful or richer country. We need to do more and I am convinced that their assistance will be greater – saidPresident Vučić.

The President of the Republic said that today, when Serbian institutions are threatened across the region, we must be persistent, but also say that war is not an option for us, but only peace and cooperation.

- Today, when our institutions across the region are threatened, when the survival of the Serbian Orthodox Church on the territory of Montenegro is threatened, and when the Serbian identity in the territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina, often in some EU countries, is threatened, we must be steadfast and strong and we say that war is not an option for us, but that our choices are only peace and cooperation. But also, that capitulation is not an option for us – saidPresident Vučić.
The President of Serbia emphasized that Serbia will exist and survive along with its people and that we will never be ashamed of the Serbian people.
- Wherever Serbs may live, they can expect the help of their Serbian state, wherever the Serbian people may live, freedom and peace are required– saidPresident AleksandarVučić.
On behalf of the honorees, MilovanVitezović, a writer and screenwriter, who was awarded by Candlemass Order of the Third Degree gave thanks at today’s ceremony.

The Commandant of the Military Academy, Major General BojanZrnić, speaking about the importance of the Military Academy being awarded, said that it was “a huge recognition for an institution that has continued for 170 years”.

- It is an institution thathas, over the years, carried out a historic mission to prepare the best children in this country for her defense. We are fortunate to be recognized as an institution of national importance, and we are also fortunate to have a growing interest in military service. The competition is open for enrollment in the Military Academy, the Military High School and the Vocational Military School and the military education continues its mission of preparing for the defense of this country – General Zrnić said.

The Commander of the Fifth Battalion of the Military Police, Lieutenant Colonel Vladimir Petrić, who received the Order on behalf of that unit today, indicated its importance to all former and present members of the Fifth Battalion.

- The unit has celebrated its 25thanniversary last year and this recognition is the crown of those 25 years of operation and existence of the Battalion and all its former and current members – saidLieutenant Colonel Petrić.

Navy Captain Miroslav Ćitić, Head of the Military High School, said that the decoration awarded to the Military High School, which is part of the Military Academy, was extremely important.

- To be presented with a medal from the President of Serbia, the Order of the White Eagle with Swords of the Third Degree, is of great importance as an incentive for the employees working in the Military High School, as well as for students studying in it. I will note that the High School marks 50 years of successful work and functioning in May this year. More than 6.500 students have graduated from the Military High School so far, and today they are performing responsible duties across the Serbian Armed Forces and the Ministry of Defense – saidthe Navy Captain Ćitić.

Colonel Zoran Lunić, experimental testpilot, Assistant Director for Flight Operations at the Technical-Examination Center, was awarded the Gold Medal for Bravery in dealing with a critical situation in which hesuccessfully landed the aircraft experiencing technical difficulties without compromising the safety of the crew and property of third parties.

- I have to emphasize that this recognition is not to honor only me, but all my colleagues who are performing this job, bear the title of experimental test pilots and perform high-risk tasks on a daily basis. It is an impetus and an incentive for all of us involved in this business to continue in the same direction – saidColonel Lunić.
SlađanaZarić, a journalist and editor in the Radio and Television Serbia News Program, has authored a large number of documentaries, including
“RatnepričesaKošara”(“War Stories from Košare”) and “Niko nijerekaoneću” (“Nobody Said No”) spoke about the importance of the recognition she received today.

- The fact that you get a decoration from the country in which you live and where you were born, the fact that you were honored by the President of that state is really the greatest honor that I think any citizen of Serbia, let alone a journalist or author, can experience. I consider this my personal success, a great success of the Radio Television of Serbia, and of course the Ministry of Defense, in cooperation with whom we have been producing very successful documentaries for many years –SlađanaZarićsaid at the ceremony of awarding of decorations on the occasion of the Statehood Day of Serbia.