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The Government of the Republic of Serbia

In the service of citizens

Fight for freedom of Serbian people still ongoing

Orasac, 15 February 2024

The envoy of the President of Serbia, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence Milos Vucevic said today in Orasac that the beauty and greatness of our past was proven when the First Serbian Uprising began on 15 February 1804, and when at Sretenje in 1835, the Constitution of Sretenje was adopted.

Speaking at the Central State Ceremony marking the Statehood Day of the Republic of Serbia, Vucevic said that one of the basic circumstances that form the personality of every person, their present and their future, is actually their past.

The past of one's family, the past of their ancestors, their people. That past represents an invisible, but very strong foundation. A landmark on how to move forward, a guide and an inspiration to remember who we are and what we are, pointed out Vucevic.

He said that it is the spirit of past times and a living memory of what marks us and makes us who we are.

According to him, the beauty and greatness of our past was witnessed once again on this same holy day of the Feast of the Holy Encounter.

Then in 1835, when we again created a people's state, a state tailored to all citizens, we were the first in Europe to abolish slavery and feudalism with the Constitution, we wrote the Constitution that has remained a symbol of democracy to this day, which proclaimed the rights and freedoms of all citizens, the independence of the system, freedom of movement and settlement, the inviolability of the apartment and the equality of all, regardless of religion and nation, Vucevic pointed out.

The Deputy Prime Minister stated that he has the honor to wish all citizens of Serbia and all Serbs, no matter where they live, a happy Statehood Day on behalf of President of Serbia Aleksandar Vucic.

First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Ivica Dacic pointed out that in 1804, the most prominent people among the Serbs made one of the most important decisions in Serbian history and started the fight for freedom in Orasac.

The First Deputy Prime Minister pointed out that in these 220 years, the Serbian people had to defend their freedom and independence countless times.

In the Second Serbian Uprising, as well as in the Balkan Wars, the First and Second World Wars, and the wars of the nineties, we defended freedom, not only with weapons but also with the first Constitution, which is also celebrated today, said the First Deputy Prime Minister.

Dacic pointed out that the Serbian uprising, which the great historian and friend of Vuk Karadzic Leopold von Ranke called the Serbian Revolution, changed this part of the world.

He recalled that Serbia under Milos Obrenovic was among the first twenty countries in the world to adopt a modern Constitution, and the first country in Europe after France to abolish feudalism and slavery.

According to Dacic, Serbia today wants to be worthy of their patriotic and human greatness.

Dacic emphasised that Serbia still has to defend the same values to whose defence the great men of the First Serbian Uprising rose.

It is the life in peace and freedom for our people. This is our national integrity and independence. This is our path, which we have chosen to follow for 220 years, said Dacic.

He recalled that the position of the Serbian people in the 19th century was difficult, and that Victor Hugo also wondered about the terrible crimes in Kosovo and Metohija - emphasising that a nation is being killed in the heart of Europe.

They want to kill a small nation again in front of the eyes of the whole world, he said and underlined that today Serbia knows very well what it needs to preserve and how to go through the trials it faces.

The great men of the First Serbian Uprising taught us well how to do that, with their courage and their vision of a modern and free Serbia, Dacic said.

There are two great lessons of today - heroism whose only limit is reason and wisdom. That is why today we need a heroic policy, but also a wise one, which will help us achieve our national interests with as few victims as possible for our people and our country, Dacic said.

President of Republika Srpska Milorad Dodik stated that our ancestors gathered at this place 220 years ago and set out on the road to freedom.

Dodik thanked President of Serbia Aleksandar Vucic for the fact that Serbia and Republika Srpska celebrate all their important holidays together.

I am pleased that we always meet on important days. People in Republika Srpska celebrate this day and no one can forbid it. Serbs showed with their voice 220 years ago that they exist. The Serbian world should come together and hold on to our identity and not allow anyone to dispute it, said Dodik.

The President of Republika Srpska recalled that there were 146 rebellions for the liberation from Dahije.

We in Republika Srpska want a strong and stable Serbia, because without it we are exposed like clay pigeons. It is natural that Republika Srpska and Serbia strive for unity, we are one nation, we want to have as many unique projects as possible, the President of Republika Srpska underlined.

Dodik noted that the peaceful and developed Serbia built by Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic is what the Serbs need.

May Serbia be strong and eternal, long live the Serbian people and Republika Srpska, Dodik stated.