08.06.2024.
“One People, One Gathering – Serbia and Srpska” event held
The President of the Republic of Serbia, Aleksandar Vučić, and the President of Repubulika Srpska, Milorad Dodik, attended today the event “One People, One Gathering – Serbia and Srpska” at Republic Square in Belgrade.
The first All-Serb Assembly was attended by Minister of Defence Bratislav Gašić.President Vučić addressed the gathering at Republic Square. According to him, an agreement was reached today on Serbian unity that no one will be able to destroy and in the future, every minister in the Serbian government will first go to Banjaluka, and every minister in the government of Republika Srpska will first go to Belgrade, and our children will first go on excursions to Republika Srpska, to get to know it.
- Today is an important day for many reasons. We Serbs are often unaware of significant historical events. We remember them only after several decades have passed. And this is an important day for many reasons. Today, an agreement was reached on Serbian unity that will not last one day, or 2-3 months, but forever - said the President of Serbia.No one will be able to destroy Serbian unity ever again, he said.
- No one will ever again be able to pull back from the unity achieved today. Ten years ago, we reached an agreement with President Dodik, even though there was a difference of attitude and opinion between us. Even if Serbia and Srpska do not always consider each other’s proposals the best, they should never quarrel, they should never use harsh words against each other, there should never again be blockades and barricades on the Drina River, and we should always be together, especially in times of trouble and suffering. We have confirmed this with our declaration today, and no one will ever be able to destroy our unity - said President Vučić.According to the president, a formal decision has been made to start the construction of a memorial centre dedicated to the victims of Ustaša crimes committed in Jasenovac and other camps.
All planned works will now be carried out quickly and smoothly, he said.
- We have also discussed the construction of highways, we will soon transfer 10 million euros for the construction of the Rača – Bijeljina road, so that we can reach the second largest city in Srpska in an hour or so. We want to be able to quickly reach other cities in Serbia as well, to get to know Kragujevac, Čačak, Bor, Zrenjanin and other places, but we also want to know where Šipovo is, every small place in Republika Srpska, to show how much we love Srpska, to show them that we care - said President Vučić.We are living in difficult times, he reiterated, but through no fault of our own. Twenty-five years ago, criminal aggression was launched against our country, and that is why Serbia knows well how important freedom and independence are and which road to take, and there is nothing more important than that.
- We have to be wiser than usual and show that we are clever. Serbia suffered more deaths in the 20th century than other nations, let us try to preserve peace and freedom, that is our main task, as well as to achieve national interests - said the president, adding that small Serbia had opposed the adoption of the Srebrenica resolution and decided to fight.
Today, at the joint meeting of the governments of Serbia and Srpska, representatives of Kosovo-Metohija Serbs did not speak, he said.- And why should they, when they have their own president who represents Kosovo and Metohija as part of Serbia? It's not some other territory, God knows where. They are part of Serbia and will always be part of Serbia. They can never be taken away from us, unless there are people among us who will accept that - said President Vučić and added that attempts to destroy the Serbian people have been ongoing for 35 years.
President Vučić said that Serbia must cooperate with both the West and the East and that it must be wise and smart and focus on the economy.
- The economy is the cornerstone of our national security. Everything we have today is thanks to the good economy we have been running over the past ten years. We have factories and employed people, and we are able to finance our national institutions not only here in Serbia, but also in Montenegro, and throughout the region, including North Macedonia, Slovenia, Republika Srpska, and Bosnia and Herzegovina - emphasized President Vučić and added that "we need to work, be focused on the future, know what our goal is and what we want to achieve, but we need to do it in a wise and smart way, the way Miloš the Great and many other Serbian leaders did it".
President Vučić thanked President Dodik for saying that Serbia has never helped Republika Srpska more than it does today. President Vučić is proud of the fact, and says that this will continue and will never stop.- But we’ve had a turning point. It happened recently. After all the pressure surrounding the Council of Europe and the so-called Kosovo, after everything they did against this nation, even though Priština fulfilled none of its obligations, they passed the resolution on Srebrenica - said President Vučić and added that nowhere is it mentioned that the nation is genocidal, but that it is an individual responsibility.
- I have three questions for them today. After you voted for that resolution, were you the big winners, how many countries in the world supported you? And how many countries in the world did not support you? One small Serbia opposed you because it had decided to fight, not to give up its freedom, not to give up its Serbian name. And we have succeeded - said President Vučić.
President Vučić said that he has brought a flag from the United Nations to show it on this festive day.
- I dreamed of it for days and nights, I knew how much it was worth, I knew that there was nothing more beautiful or valuable than this flag, I fought for it. We will preserve unity, we will do many concrete things, without endangering anyone in any way. We will preserve peace, we will preserve the Serbian identity, and we will preserve both Republika Srpska and Serbia. There will be many more difficult days, but we will succeed in doing all this - said President Vučić.
The President of Republika Srpska, Milorad Dodik, told the people gathered at Republic Square that, after many sacrifices, the Serbian people have won the battle for identity and freedom.
- On this day, which is important for both this and many generations to come, on this day, when we should understand that the Serbian people have overcome all obstacles in their fight for identity and the right to decide, the key word in our life and existence is freedom. Serbs made numerous sacrifices for freedom throughout the centuries. Serbs have never been hesitant or selfish, they have given freedom to other nations as well - said Dodik.The president of Srpska referred to the All-Serb Assembly as a unification assembly, and added that a stronger Serbia is a source of pride for all Serbs, wherever they may live. According to him, today's adoption of the draft declaration is the first step towards a clearer definition of future actions aimed to improve the Serbs’ situation.
- The declaration carefully analyses the situation our people are currently in, and suggests our future course of action. Our priority goal is to preserve the peace, at all costs, but to also doggedly pursue our goals and not to allow others to impose them on us - said Dodik.
The event included the flights of five MIG-29 aircraft over Republic Square.Fifty folk dance ensembles and 2,500 dancers performed at the ceremony at Republic Square, and numerous events to mark the All-Serb Assembly were organized throughout Serbia.
After the ceremony, the presidents of Serbia and Srpska, together with the ministers of the two governments, visited the National Museum exhibition.
The first All-Serb Assembly will end with a fireworks display in the Republika Srpska Park on the left bank of the Sava River.
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