11.08.2023.
Minister Vučević opens "Slovak National Festivities"
Acting on behalf of the President of the Republic Aleksandar Vučić, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence Miloš Vučević, opened the "Slovak National Festivities" in Bački Petrovac tonight.
Addressing the audience, Minister Vučević said that the history of these parts and the nations living here is turbulent and intertwined.- The armies of empires and kingdoms waged battles in this area. Borders and maps of countries and nations were drawn here. Human suffering occurred cyclically, customarily after short historical respites. People were usually victims of other people’s interests. The people who lived here benefited from it the least. Their destinies are, in fact, the destinies of refugees, seekers of peace and freedom, hearth and home, neighbour and friend, understanding and due respect. Those peoples were relocated and displaced from their homes and fields as it suited the masters of their destinies. The Slavic peoples in particular trod a thorny path of martyrs - Minister Vučević reminded.
During those brief respites from wars and suffering, hunger and poverty, on clear and starry nights, people celebrated life and dreamed of freedom at spinning bees, gatherings and national festivities, he said.
- They sang songs about the places from which they came or were forced to come to this Vojvodina plain. People dreamt about Kosovo and Metohija, Prizren, Old Herzegovina, the Carpathian Mountains, the High Tatras and all other places that they had left behind, but that they still carried in their hearts and minds. The places they talked and sang about and hoped that one day, no one knew when, they would again step on the free soil of their country - said Minister Vučević.
Searching for this piece of freedom throughout history, Minister Vučević said, the Serbian people searched long and hard for these values.- They were tortured and persecuted throughout the centuries in Jasenovac, Jadovno and many other places. Sentenced to death, they refused to die. They vowed in their songs and folk-belief that they would rebuild their country, which would also guarantee freedom to our brothers and sisters, who shared our fate, the fate of sufferers and refugees. When the dark clouds of slavery lifted and the dawn of freedom broke over the country, our nation was put to the test, they had to fulfil that promise of freedom for all who shared our destiny on this earth. Today we can ask ourselves - has that promise been fulfilled? - said Minister Vučević.
In the history of legal thought, the Minister of Defence noted, Article 118 of the 1835 Sretenje Constitution, which prohibited slavery for the first time in Europe and the world, will be remembered in history.
- Furthermore, this article stipulated that every slave who stepped on the Serbian soil immediately became a free man. This unique constitution is remembered in history as a direct reflection of our people’s freedom and spirit, from which it originated. As such, it was unfit for the masters of destiny, whose doctrine of rule represented the antithesis of this legal document promoting freedom. And when, in November 1918, the Serbian army resurrected, and together with its Slavic brothers, in its unstoppable breakthrough brought the much-awaited freedom, as the President of the Provincial Government said, at the Great People's Assembly of Serbs, Bunjevci and other Slavs, the accession of Banat, Bačka and Baranja into the Kingdom of Serbia was declared, to which 62 delegates of Slovak nationality also significantly contributed - Minister Vučević said.
By the decisions of that Assembly, he added, non-Serb and non-Slavic peoples were guaranteed every right to preserve and freely develop their national identity and every citizen had the right to communicate with all authorities in their native language.- The fundamental rights of a nation are the right to use their native language and script and the right to receive education in their native language. Without this basic assumption, a nation cannot be preserved, and such a practice is an introduction to pre-planned assimilation. Knowing this, on August 10, 1919, the Slovaks living in Bački Petrovac took the initiative to hold Slovak National Festivities and to establish a printing house and a Slovak Grammar School - emphasized Minister Vučević.
According to him, following the initiative of the citizens of Petrovac and the Slovaks, on October 1, 1919, King Aleksandar Karađorđević gave consent and a financial donation to fulfil the centuries-old wish of our Slovak brothers to have a grammar school in their own language in this area.
- This grammar school is now the only grammar school outside the Slovak Republic that uses a complete curriculum in the Slovak language. It is the foundation and backbone of the Slovak people in these parts and is ingrained in our hearts and souls. It is a link in our unbreakable centuries-long friendship. Built into its walls is the love of generations of Slovaks for their origin, but also the joy of freedom and equality that has been achieved in these parts. It is there that we learned about each other and adopted each other's values, the work ethic that, like true faith in God, characterizes our Slovak brothers - said Minister Vučević.
Looking back at our shared past and analyzing it, he said, we can once again ask ourselves whether the promise of freedom and equality has been fulfilled.- I have come today with great pleasure, at the invitation of the president of the municipality of Bački Petrovac, Jasna, and the President of Matica Matica Slovenská, grateful for the honour bestowed upon me, to tell you, on behalf of the President of the Republic of Serbia, Aleksandar Vučić, that Serbia is striving to fulfil its promise of freedom and will fulfil it for all its citizens and all its people. Pledged to the idea of freedom, we stand here as brothers, your brothers, respecting and celebrating the Slovak literacy and culture. That pledge, my dear friends, is at the foundation of Serbia, the land of freedom, as our Slavic brothers used to sing in the 19th century. Our homeland can only progress if we build our Serbia, the home of all its citizens, on the foundations of mutual love and respect for all its citizens. We can show Europe and the entire world that we respect and love each other and rejoice united! May the Slovak National Festivities live forever! Long live the brotherhood and harmony of Serbs and Slovaks and all our nations! Long live the fortress of freedom and equality throughout the centuries, our common and only homeland, Serbia! - Minister Vučević said at the end of his address.
President of the Provincial Government Igor Mirović said he was certain that all those who had dreamt of freedom, Serbia governed by constitution, unity, equality and progress, and solidarity between people and nations, would be satisfied with tonight's event.
- Have we achieved the ideal of unity? I am sure we have, it can be seen at every step both at the national level, at the level of the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina and at the level of numerous local self-governments, where members of the Slovak national minority exercise their rights. If we could compare ourselves, in terms of quality and quantity, with the decades behind us, I can say with certainty that over the past several years we made concrete efforts, making sure that the rights of all Vojvodina’s national minorities, including the Slovak national minority, have reached the point where we can say that the principles of equality have been fully achieved - said Mirović.
According to the president of the municipality of Bački Petrovac, Jasna Šproh, the mission of this ceremony is to unite all Slovaks living in this area.- The mission of the ceremony is to show, under one roof, what we are like, what we know, what we have achieved and where we are going. I hope all of you in the audience and all the viewers, as well as the participants and visitors, will take away from this year's festivities a small piece of joy and enthusiasm that we, the organizers, have felt preparing them - emphasized the president of the municipality of Bački Petrovac.
The Slovak Minister for Culture, Silvia Hroncová, President of the National Council of the Slovak National Minority, Dušanka Petrakova, and the President of Matica Slovenská in Serbia, Branislav Kuljik, also addressed the audience.
The ceremony was attended by representatives of the National Assembly, members of the state and provincial governments, representatives of the Ministry of Defence, the ambassador of the Slovak Republic to Serbia, Fedor Rosocha, and numerous guests.
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