16.06.2018.
Minister Vulin at the 18th Homeland Assembly
We must not allow anyone to divide us.
Today, at Selište, in Bukovac near Novi Sad, the 18th Homeland Assembly was held for the purpose of preserving the identity, culture, traditions and customs of Serbs from Krajina. The manifestation, organised by the Regional Association "Manjača" and the Alliance of Krajina Associations, was attended by Defence Minister Aleksandar Vulin, representatives of the Provincial Government and Republika Srpska, as well as numerous guests.
On this occasion, Minister Vulin pointed out that this is an event that is very important and which will certinly continue to exist, not because someone wants it or orders it, but because it is the natural need of all those who came from some other areas to Vojvodina, to preserve what made them worthy of memory and worthy of repetition.
- Vojvodina is richer because the Serbs from other places came to it, just as they also became better as they soaked up this plain. We must not allow anyone to divide us. Nobody should ask anyone here when they arrived and where they came from, the Minister of Defence said, adding that this country belongs to everyone.
He emphasized that people from Krajina, who today mark the beauty of their existence, who are looking forward to seeing their countrymen and who are proud of living here, Serbia being their only and most precious homeland, and the Republika Srpska inseparable part of themselves and their own existence, deserve to gather here, to be loved and respected, just as they love and respect the country they live in.
The Director of the Fund for Assistance to Refugees, Expelled and Displaced Persons of the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina, Duško Ćutilo, pointed out that this year the provincial government financially supported the National Assembly in Bukovac, an event that shows how the Serbs from Krajina cherish their culture, customs and tradition.
Ranka Srdić Milić, president of the Association of Krajina Associations, pointed out that this year's manifestation of the Homeland Assembly gathered a large number of visitors and that they, as hosts, tried to show everything that the Serbs from Krajina represent.
Throughout the day sports and knight's disciplines have been organized, and this year, traditionally, the biggest attention was attracted by the competition in grass mowing. Folk ensembles, poets, actors, gusle players, diple players performed in the rich cultural and entertainment programme, and today the sounds of frule, tambourine and dvojnice were heard on Fruška Gora.
The largest manifestation of culture and traditions of the Krajina Serbs gathered a large number of expelled and displaced persons in the “Flash” and “Storm” campaigns, when, in 1995, Croatian military, paramilitary and police forces expelled more than 200,000 Serbs from their centuries-old homes.
