26.09.2024.
Minister Gašić leads commemorative ceremony on Vido Island
Today, Minister Gašić led a state commemorative ceremony on Vido Island to mark the 108th anniversary of the landing of the Serbian army on the Ionian islands of Corfu and Vido, Greece.
Minister Gašić, accompanied by Brigadier General Goran Momčilović, Colonel Dejan Stanišić, Ambassador of the Republic of Serbia to Greece Nikola Nedeljković and State Secretary in the Ministry of Labour, Employment, Veteran and Social Affairs Zoran Antić, laid wreaths in Vido’s Mausoleum, next to the Navy Cross and in the sea, the so-called “Blue Tomb”.Addressing the gathering, Minister Gašić said: “The place where we are standing is our shrine, and for Serbs, this country is a homeland outside our homeland”.
- Our ancestors found refuge here 108 years ago, after the unimaginable suffering they had endured retreating over the rugged Albanian mountains. Physically broken but strong in spirit, they were welcomed here by the brotherly Greeks. Along with our prayers for the dead Serbian soldiers’ eternal repose, we also pray to God for the well-being of our Greek brothers whose great-grandfathers proved their friendship to our great-grandfathers at the crucial moment. Can the unprecedentedly horrific, but still successful retreat of the army and the entire state apparatus with part of the people to the territory of another country be explained in other way but as the will of God? Can the success of that terrifying but magnificent undertaking, the victorious return of the soldiers to their homeland be interpreted as anything else but God's providence – wondered the Minister of Defence.
He said that “from the perspective of modern times, the suffering and heroism of the glorious Serbian army are hard to fathom” and that, “although, historically speaking, one century is not such a long period, it seems that the First World War exploits are becoming distant and surreal in our minds, like a myth”.- That is why our being here is more than just a visit or a sightseeing tour of historical sights. This is our pilgrimage - the place where myth and reality meet. The great Serbian poet, Milutin Bojić, viewed Corfu, Vido and the Blue Tomb as the cradle of "fairy tales for the ages". And that is what they really are. The cornerstone of our endurance and suffering was laid here. The heavy, merciless wheel of history stopped here and started in the opposite direction, leading us to the brilliant victories on the Salonica Front – said Minister Gašić and added that, unfortunately, the wheel had left a trail of our ancestors’ bones in its wake.
The Minister of Defence said that “those bones are a testament to the sacrifice for freedom and independence, a vow that obliges us to protect Serbia”, and added that “we will protect Serbia at all costs, the way our great-grandfathers protected it for us”.- We will not break that vow. We will do everything to be worthy heirs of the heroes who, guided by the hand of God's justice, returned triumphantly to their plum orchards. Those who fell undefeated along the way deserve the greatest honour and our eternal gratitude. Let the memory of our heroes and martyrs live forever! Long live the brotherly Greek people! Long live Serbia - Minister Gašić said.
The Minister of Defence then signed the Vido Mausoleum’s guest book, inscribing the following message: “Our vow to you, our holy ancestors, is that we will protect the sacred freedom, peace and love for the motherland. With your heroism, we strive for a more dignified future for Serbia! Eternal glory to you, our heroes. Long live the Serbian Armed Forces! Long live Serbia!Commemorative ceremonies are held in memory of the period of great suffering of civilians and members of the army who, exhausted by long marches, sought refuge on the Greek islands of Corfu and Vido.
