14.02.2024.
Minister Vučević Opens Exhibition “Serbia through Time - 220 Years of Statehood” at Serbian Armed Forces Club in Niš
Today, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence of Miloš Vučević opened the exhibition titled “Serbia through Time -220 Years of Statehood” set up at the Serbian Armed Forces Club in Niš that was organised to mark the Statehood Day of Serbia - 15th February.
The exhibition, organised by the Military Museum presents the aspiration of the Serbian people for freedom, and the readiness of the people and its military to defend uncompromisingly that hard won freedom.
On that occasion, Minister Vučević pointed out that the Ministry of Defence and Serbian Armed Forces had undertaken with gratitude and responsibility quite a significant participation in activities of marking this year’s Statehood Day - Candlemas. The minister of defence added that “today in Niš, our southern capital, a display of arms and part of capabilities of the Serbian Armed Forces is taking place at the foot of the Niš fortress, and gun salute will be performed in three cities - Niš, Belgrade and Novi Sad, and tomorrow, we will have great events in Orašac and Oplenac.
- Ever since its establishment, and the vision of then ruler of Serbia, 145 years ago, the Military Museum has protected and cherished everything that graced our state, and our people both in easy and not so easy times. In that way, it provides a strongly grounded testimony of the creation of our state or the restoration of our statehood, because, this is the year when we celebrate 220 years of the First Serbian Uprising, or in other words, 220 years from the restoration of our statehood and liberation from centuries of slavery - Minister Vučević stressed.
He underlined that it is a very important date and a great commitment and responsibility of this generation.
- On Candlemas, the past and the future meet, and we meet our ancestors, but we make commitment to our descendants. We meet our ancestors who were creating, rebuilding our state and paid a great and high price for that, sometimes a very high price, and we give our commitment to future generations to protect our fatherland, to protect Serbia, to make Serbia stronger, more powerful, safer, and to make it a better home for all its citizens.' For entire Serbia people, wherever they live - said the minister of defence and expressed gratitude to the Military Museum, which has been safeguarding the story and truth about our military and state for 145 years saving them from oblivion.
According to Minister Vučević, our military is people’s military, inalienable and inseparable from its people and its state. He added that our state would not have existed if it had not had that same military.
- Whoever tried to separate that bond would shortly suffer a political punishment, but they would be denounced by history and people first. Protect our state; protect everything that graces it, and our armed forces and fatherland. May the future generations learn about that. On Candlemas, I extend my greetings to citizens of Niš, and all citizens of Serbia for this great state holiday - the Statehood Day. Let a new dawn break, let new generations come, let Serbia win. May we have a happy Candlemas. Long live Niš!
Long live the Serbian Armed Forces and long live Serbia - said Minister Vučević thus opening the exhibition in the Serbian Armed Forces Club in Niš.
Lieutenant Colonel Milivoje Milisavljević from the Military Museum stated that celebrating a state and people’s holiday makes part of preserving our identity.
- Holidays remind us who we are and what we aspire to, and they maintain our awareness of the deeds of our ancestors, the sacrifices they suffered and the feats they accomplished building our fatherland and leaving it to us as a heritage to protect it and make it stronger to leave it powerful and proud to our descendants. Cherishing the traditions of our people’s and state’s heritage represents one of the greatest and most important tasks for all of us, and institutions of culture in particular. The Military Museum is among those responsible to protect and display our heritage, and cultural life of the state as a whole. The Museum was established upon a vision and efforts of officers, who, more than 145 years ago, had a desire, through the creation of such institution, to leave a permanent testimony to the significance of Serbian military for the life of our people and state - said Lieutenant Colonel Milisavljević.
The exhibition “Serbia through Time - 220 Years of Statehood” consists of several segments that encompass the First and Second Serbian Uprising, when the foundations of modern Serbian statehood were laid, then liberation wars in 1878, Balkan Wars, the First and Second World War and the period of defence against NATO aggression in 1999.
Today’s opening of the exhibition gathered members of boards of the Minister of Defence and Chief of General Staff, Head of Nišava Administrative District Petar Babović, Mayor of Niš Dragana Sotirovski and members of the Ministry of Defence and Serbian Armed Forces.
The exhibition will be open for all interested citizens until 15th March this year.
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