04.08.2019.
President Vučić Today, the Serbs are united wherever they live
Central state ceremony of marking the Remembrance Day of all the killed and expelled Serbs in the armed action the “Storm”, was held this evening near monastery “Krušedol” on Fruška Gora.
The event was attended by President of the Republic of Serbia and Supreme Commander of the Serbian Armed Forces Aleksandar Vučić and President of the Government Ana Brnabić, Serbian member of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina Milorad Dodik and Presidnet of the Republic of Srpksa Željka Cvijanović, and Minister of Defence Aleksandar Vulin with the members of the Board of the Minister of Defence and Board of the Chief of General Staff of the Serbian Armed Forces.
With a central memorial service, respects were paid to the victims of Croatian military and police action the “Storm”, while the service for the dead was served by Serbian Patriarch Irinej.At the beginning of his address, President Vučić underlined that the 4th August, was hard and terrible day for every Serbian no matter where they lived.
- Today, as we mark this sad day, we all have to be united. There are differences among us, we do not always think alike, but today, all Serbs, wherever they live, are absolutely united and they know what they are to do in the future - President Vučić stressed, adding that he was grateful to Milorad Dodik for the initiative initiated six years before to jointly observe the suffering of our people and remember our victims, which had started something that had changed the culture of remembering, and created a different future of our people.
As President Vučić underscored, on that evening one could see a proud people, who knew to defend their nation, to protect their name and last name, to be baptised in the same church, to love their country and be proud of it anywhere they are.
He emphasised that the “Storm” had happened to the Serbian people when there had not been unity, discussion among Serbia, Republic of Srpska and leadership of Krajina.
- It is up to us to take care that this happens never again, to have the best relations with representatives of Serbs no matter where they live - President Vučić stressed adding that we would not allow anyone to belittle our victims, to humiliate our people, and that everyone should know that Serbia was tough, stronger than ever, and that we would know to be masters of our own home.
President Vučić reminded that one should not forget that the Storm had happened when Serbska and Serbia, Krajina and Srpska had been arguing among themselves.
- Even in Belgrade we were arguing among ourselves, making us much weaker, just like those who wished to rejoice at our tears wanted. Our obligation is to make sure that something like that never happens again - President Vučić underlined.According to him, our obligation is to unite the people, to know vital national interests, to enhance the economies of Serbia and Srpska, to work together on preservation of national and cultural identity, to use Cyrillic script in Croatia, Montenegro, Northern Macedonia alike.
According to him, as he listened that evening Milica Jurić Mihić, the President of Serbia remembered for the nth time the horrible days when the Serbs shed the most of their tears.
Speaking to people from Krajina, President Vučić reminded that some had claimed that they had been liberating their country - “the country that was your country, on which you had been living for centuries, which you farmed, loved and wished to defend and safeguard”.
- You knew what you were leaving behind, your laughter and your past as well, and your roots, graves of your forefathers, memories of them and opportunities to pay homage to them, to light candle for them and say a prayer. I do not think that there is a harder act than that one, since everything else can be compensated, but not the graves. Especially not the ones over there, because there lies the grave history, as a proof of the generations hated by someone - President Vučić estimated.
He expressed his gratitude to the people from Krajna for being diligent, hardworking, for their fighting for Serbia in the present just like they had fought for their hearths and homes, always protecting their people, their Serbian three-colour flag, the red-blue-white colours.
- I thank you for what you do for Serbia, for giving your contribution so that we have more factories, for giving your contribution so that we become richer - President Vučić stressed.
Speaking to the gathered, President Vučić pointed out that it was important that we belong to the same nation, and that we did not need borders, but that we needed to know what Serbian people was, to protect Serbian people and its tradition and its script, to protect Serbia and Srpska together.
The president also announced that on the 25th anniversary of the “Storm” Serbia would organise the largest gathering ever, in the centre of Belgrade.
- We will hold the gathering in Belgrade, the centre of Serbia on the Square of Republic and we will invite Krajishniks from all over the world, from the region to come, and we will show that we will never forget what happened precisely 24 years ago - President Vučić emphasised ending his address by saying: “Long live the Krajishniks, welcome to your Serbia, remain in it forever”.According to Milorad Dodik, the Serbian people is the pople that suffered the most in the previous century. He underlined that 24 years had passed since the day when Croatia had made decision to ethnically clean the Serbian people in Krajina in order to achieve the goal from the previous century of creating ethnically clean Croatia.
- An yet this is only the fifth time that we have gathered here for the commemoration in order to prove that we have not forgotten and that we will never forget and we should thank President Vučić for that, who initiated it five years ago and provided an opportunity to talk about it, and simply not to forget - sent the message Serbian Member of Presidency of B&H Milorad Dodik.
Dodik also noted that if Serbia forgot the “Storm”, no one would talk about it several years later.
- That is why such gathering is important. We have to turn to something that is our essence in these times. We cannot bring back the dead. Only in the “Storm” more than 1800 our people died, and more than 800 are being looked for as missing” - Dodik emphasised and stressed that those were heavy wounds of our people that cannot heal. He also added that the Serbs, wherever they were, needed peace and that Serbia was oriented towards preserving something that was the most important; the Serbian national identity.
Addressing the present, Serbian Patriarch Irinej reminded that on that day we remembered numerous tormented and killed, and those who blamelessly suffered and who were deprived of their lives without any guilt.
- Today, it is exactly 24 years since their suffering, which was rare in the history of the human kind, especially in the history of our people - Patriarch Irinej emphasised adding that we had to do everything to prevent such evil from happening again.The gathered were addressed by Milica Jurić, born Mihić, on behalf of the ones expelled during the “Storm”, who, as a child, had been forced to leave her home near the Plitivce Lakes, whose village had been destroyed and her house burnt - all in one night.
The Commemoration of the anniversary of the “Storm” near the monastery of Krušedol was attended by representatives of the Government of the Republic of Serbia and Government of the Republic of Srpska, members of National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia and National Assembly of the Republic of Srpska, representatives of the Ministry of Defence and Serbian Armed Forces and representatives of other state bodies of the Republic of Serbia and the Republic of Srpska, Serbian Orthodox Church, Serbian political representatives from Montenegro, representatives of Serbian National Council from the Republic of Croatia, representatives of the Serbs from Slovenia and Northern Macedonia, associations for cherishing traditions of liberation wars of Serbia and numerous citizens.
The “Storm” action was initiated on 4th August 1995 by an offensive of Croatian military and police and units of the Croatian Council of Defence in the area of Banija, Lika, Kordun and northern Dalmatia. A day later, on 5th August, Croatian military entered abandoned Knin and posted Croatian flag, while the columns of refugees sought salvation in Serbia.