26.02.2023.
106th anniversary of Toplica Uprising marked
Representatives of the Ministry of Defence and the Serbian Armed Forces, headed by State Secretary Nemanja Starović, attended today the state ceremony marking the 106th anniversary of the Toplica Uprising at the Square of the Fallen Fighters in Prokuplje. Besides the representatives of the Ministry of Labour, Employment, Veteran and Social Affairs, the Ministry of Culture, the Ministry of the Interior, the Serbian Orthodox Church, the local self-government and veterans' organizations, the ceremony was attended by Assistant Minister of Defence for Human Resources Siniša Radović and Deputy Army Commander, Major General Slađan Stamenković.
At the beginning of the ceremony, the priests of St. Prokopius Church held a mass for the fallen heroes of the Toplica Uprising, and the representatives of the Government, the Serbian Armed Forces, the Toplica District, the city of Prokuplje and veterans' associations paid tribute to the fallen soldiers by laying wreaths. On behalf of the Serbian Government, a delegation consisting of State Secretaries Zoran Antić, Nemanja Starović and Miodrag Ivanović laid a wreath. The delegation representing the Serbian Armed Forces included Major General Slađan Stamenković, Colonel Dragan Antić and Lieutenant Colonel Borko Bućković.
The ceremony also included the performances of the St. Procopius Church choir and Prokuplje’s poet and actor Srđan Živković and Ivan Stojanović. Today’s ceremony completed a series events held in Prokuplje, Kuršumlija and the village of Mačkovac which marked the 106th anniversary of the Toplica Uprising.
The Toplica Uprising started on this day in 1917 and lasted until March 25 of the same year. It was the rebellion of the Serbian people living in the areas of Jablanica, Toplica and Pusta Reka against the Bulgarian and Austro-Hungarian occupation in World War I. It was the only uprising in one of the occupied countries during the Great War.
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