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A:
Sutanovac opens conference on WWI
Belgrade,
13 November 2008
Serbian Defence Minister Dragan Sutanovac today opened a three day international scientific conference, “The Balkans, 90 years after World War One”, devoted to events in the Balkans and Serbia during the 1914–1918 period.
Author:
Tanjug
Opening the conference at the Central Military Club’s ceremonial hall, Sutanovac noted that political, economic, military and ideological events typical of that period cannot be understood without looking into the causes that had led to the outbreak of World War One.
He said that clarifying the historic facts leading to the outbreak is of utmost importance if we want to prevent such catastrophes from reoccurring in the future.
According to him, Serbia greatly contributed to the victory of the allies in World War One and the Serbian Army gained repute and respect thanks to their participation in numerous battles.
He recalled that the price Serbia paid for the victory was huge as it lost 28% of its general population and 57% of its male population. The Minister pointed out that according to the ratio between Serbia’s population at the time and the number of its people killed in World War One, no other country lost as many citizens in that war as Serbia did.
Of the total number of people killed in that war, every eight person was a Serb, noted Sutanovac, adding that all the victims from both world wars are woven into the foundations of modern Europe.
He stressed that there is no doubt that the Serbian people back then wanted to be a part of Europe, just as it strives to become an EU member today.
The aim of the three day conference is to mark the 90th anniversary of the liberation of Serbia in World War One as well as the World War One Armistice Day, November 11.
The conference was organised by the Ministry of Defence’s Institute for Strategic Research, under the auspices of the Ministry of Labour and Social Policy, and has gathered together experts from Serbia, Norway, France, Austria, Romania, Bulgaria, Greece, Hungary, Slovakia, Turkey, Slovenia, Canada and Montenegro.
He said that clarifying the historic facts leading to the outbreak is of utmost importance if we want to prevent such catastrophes from reoccurring in the future.
According to him, Serbia greatly contributed to the victory of the allies in World War One and the Serbian Army gained repute and respect thanks to their participation in numerous battles.
He recalled that the price Serbia paid for the victory was huge as it lost 28% of its general population and 57% of its male population. The Minister pointed out that according to the ratio between Serbia’s population at the time and the number of its people killed in World War One, no other country lost as many citizens in that war as Serbia did.
Of the total number of people killed in that war, every eight person was a Serb, noted Sutanovac, adding that all the victims from both world wars are woven into the foundations of modern Europe.
He stressed that there is no doubt that the Serbian people back then wanted to be a part of Europe, just as it strives to become an EU member today.
The aim of the three day conference is to mark the 90th anniversary of the liberation of Serbia in World War One as well as the World War One Armistice Day, November 11.
The conference was organised by the Ministry of Defence’s Institute for Strategic Research, under the auspices of the Ministry of Labour and Social Policy, and has gathered together experts from Serbia, Norway, France, Austria, Romania, Bulgaria, Greece, Hungary, Slovakia, Turkey, Slovenia, Canada and Montenegro.
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