110th anniversary of Battle of Kolubara marked
A wreath-laying ceremony and commemoration of the 110th anniversary of the Battle of the Kolubara was held today at the Memorial Church of St. Demetrius with an Ossuary in Lazarevac.
Wreaths were laid by Prime Minister Miloš Vučević, acting as an envoy of the President of the Republic of Serbia Aleksandar Vučić, a delegation of the Ministry of Defence and the Serbian Armed Forces led by Brigadier General Goran Momčilović, accompanied by Brigadier General Prof. Boban Đorović and Colonel Milovan Vasić, representatives of the local self-government, diplomatic corps and associations committed to fostering the traditions of the liberation wars of Serbia.
The ceremony was attended by government ministers, members of the Ministry of Defence and the Serbian Armed Forces, representatives of the Ministry of Labour, Employment, Veteran and Social Affairs and numerous citizens.
Before wreaths were laid at the Memorial Church, a memorial service was held by His Eminence Jovan, the Metropolitan of Šumadija, and His Grace Aleksej, the Vicar Bishop of Hvostan, assisted by priests.
Addressing the gathering, Prime Minister Vučević said that “110 years have passed since the battle in which a small nation threw into the dust a hundred times more powerful enemy, since the day when our ancestors, hungry, freezing, and having nothing except Serbia in their hearts, wrote an unforgettable page in the military history of the world”. The Battle of the Kolubara is studied at military academies worldwide and stands as testimony to the exceptional abilities of Serbian commanders, the courage of soldiers and the self-sacrifice of people, he emphasized.
- Those glorious days of the heroic epic are part of our soul, our history and our collective memory. The spirit and resolve of our victors still live today in the people, in us, and serve as a guidance for overcoming new challenges and threats that we experience as a society. Today, led by the President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vučić, we reiterate that we will not stand in the way of the economic revival and militarily strengthening of our homeland. We have learnt from our glorious ancestors the great price and value of peace and freedom. Still today, Serbia is underestimated and attacked and we will defend it with the same fervour, intelligence, wisdom, and patience. We will defend our national unity and build the future that our ancestors would be proud of and that our descendants will glorify - emphasized the Prime Minister.
As part of the ceremony commemorating the 110th anniversary of the Battle of the Kolubara, a delegation from the Ministry of Defence and the Serbian Armed Forces, led by Colonel Milovan Vasić, laid a wreath at the Monument to the Serbian Warrior in Lazarevac.