23.04.2012.

Serbian Armed Forces Day marked in Leskovac

An artillery volley fired from the Hisar hill and parade of officers, NCOs and soldiers of the Serbian Armed Forces along the main Leskovac street Bulevar Oslobodjenja (Boulevard of Liberation) opened the central ceremony to mark the Serbian Armed Forces Day, 23 April, attended by Acting President of the Republic and Speaker of the National Assembly, Prof. Slavica Djukic-Dejanovic, Defence Minister Dragan Sutanovac, Chief of the Serbian Armed Forces General Staff Lieutenant General Ljubisa Dikovic, representatives of state and military leadership and numerous citizens.

On that occasion, an attractive programme within the exercise Jablanica 2012, with participation of nearly 2,000 members of the Ministry of Defence and the Serbian Armed Forces demonstrating operational capabilities, was prepared for the gathered citizens.

Congratulating the holiday to all members of our armed forces, General Dikovi? pointed out that between the two holidays members of the Ministry of Defence and the Serbian Armed Forces principally engaged in strengthening the operational capabilities of the Serbian Armed Forces, accomplishment of tasks in the Ground Safety Zone, the implementation of training with professional soldiers and soldiers in military service, and equipping the units and helping the people of our country when it was needed most.

- According to my assessment, all the tasks were accomplished excellently and very well praising all the members of the Ministry of Defence and the Serbian Armed Forces – stressed General Dikovic telling that members of our military will continue to perform their tasks in accordance with its constitutional role as this is the only way for the Serbian Armed Forces to be the guarantor of stability and security of all the citizens of Serbia, a factor of strengthening the reputation of our country in the world, and a worthy successor to its famous ancestors.

- Long live Serbia! - hailed General Dikovi? at the end of his speech.

Thanking to all friends of the Serbian Armed Forces, and to those who gathered to celebrate the day of our military, Minister Sutanovac pointed out that the Serbian Armed Forces has always been, as it is today, a part of our society, its elite and a leader in progress.

- The main task of our military is to ensure peace and security of the state and the lives of our citizens. This is not only a constitutional obligation, it is honour in the first place – Minister Sutanovac said, adding that in order to achieve that, we started the process of fundamental reforms which required legislative, organizational and functional transformation.

According to him, in the conditions of global challenges and threats to security, no state, no matter how big and strong it is, cannot respond to them individually, which required the standardization according to the model of the European countries.

- Our greatest success in this process of changes is the professionalization of the Serbian Armed Forces. We managed to establish a fully professional composition of the Serbian Armed Forces personnel, to raise the level of operational capabilities and have become fully prepared to respond to the challenges, risks and threats – the Defence Minister said, adding that the members of our forces are taken care of from the moment of their admission to the system.

-Therefore we completed the reform of our pension and health fund, launched a series of infrastructure works and provided housing for a large number of current and former members.

- We are continuously working on the improvement of training, living and work in the units and in accordance with the best Serbian military traditions and the international practice, we established the chaplains service in the military – the Defence Minister said emphasizing that today a good reputation of our army has also been spread throughout the region, Europe and the world.

According to him, the goal has always been that the Serbian Armed Forces be returned to its rightful place, and that we again be partners and allies of the European countries and the militaries.

- We have shown that we can equally participate with the most modern countries in the world in ensuring peace in the multinational operations of the United Nations, and since ten days ago, also in the missions of the European Union. The evidence of success of all our reforms is exactly the ability of the professional military and at the same time an indication of European and universal system of values to which we belong, minister Sutanovac concluded, adding that the Armed Forces makes a significant contribution to Serbia to become and remain a respected and important member of the international community. He underlined the contribution of the Armed Forces to restoring the core values – our peace, stability, the rule of law, democracy, tolerance and respect for human rights.

- It is these values by which the Ministry of Defence and the Serbian Armed Forces are recognised and therefore it is not surprising that a Serbian general is the first representative of the state at the session of any of the organs of the European Union since Serbia has received the candidate status. We are those who have the opportunity to begin negotiations with the European Union on joining the European Defence Agency – the Minister of Defence said.

He also said that he was satisfied that it is our contemporary soldier who is the holder of modernization and reform in Serbia, but also the keeper of a long tradition of the military and the state. In the years ahead, the Minister said, the goal is to continue to be a factor of security in the country and the region, but also a driver of economic and democratic development of our country.

-The military should support the country's foreign policy, to be the preferred partner of friendly countries and the pride of all citizens of Serbia, the Minister of Defence said extending special thanks to all active and retired members of the Serbian Armed Forces who provided support in this difficult job. To all those who celebrate the Day of the Serbian Armed Forces away from their homes, in peacekeeping missions, the Minister extended special wishes for the holiday.

Minister Sutanovac wished to all the present happy holiday with the greeting "Long live Serbia!"

One of the oldest military formations in our country, the Guard, performed the drill, the unique art of handling weapons.

Paratroopers from the 63rd Parachute Battalion of the Special Brigade performed a demo jump from aircraft AN - 2 at the altitude of 1500 meters carrying flags of the Republic of Serbia, the Armed Forces and the Special Brigade, which caused a particular delight among the youngest visitors of the ceremony.

The main city street was then filled with consistent bat of military steps of infantry, motorized and air subechelons making a solemn parade which was commanded by Deputy Commander of Land Forces, Brigadier General Vojin C. Jondic.

In the hands of the Military Academy cadets the Serbian regimental flag replicas from the World War II flew accompanied by the sounds of Serbian marches.

Continuation of the ceremony was marked by parade of AF&AD motorized echelon, formed of military equipment and aircraft from the composition of the units of the Serbian Armed Forces, which was led by squad of fighter aircraft EAGLE.
There followed a military police subechelon of passenger, off-road, special and combat police vehicles.

They were followed by subechelon of Special Brigade made up of teams for antiterrorist operations, search and rescue and other special actions, which are equipped with high end equipment.

A parade by subechelons of the declared units for participation in multinational operations, NBCD service, the 2nd Army brigade with cargo vehicles FAP 1118 of domestic production, missile units for air defence, which consisted of self-propelled missile systems "Strela-1M" and vehicles for transportation and handling anti-air missiles for missile systems CUB and NEVA, accompanied by applause, also paraded.

Then there came artillery subechelon with 152 mm gun-howitzer NORA of maximum firing range up to 24 km, and 128 mm self-propelled multiple rocket launcher M-77 "Oganj", with the maximum firing range of up to 20 km and 262 mm M-87 "Orkan" self-propelled multiple rocket launcher, with shooting range up to 50 kilometers.

For the assembled citizens of Leskovac area the tactical display of weapons and equipment of the Serbian Armed Forces was also prepared in the city park, and the military style cooked beans were served.

By order of the Chief of the Serbian Armed Forces General Staff, on the occasion of today's holiday, the firing of six volleys from as many artillery pieces that were fired by the Guard members could be heard.

During the last few years, 15 February has been celebrated as the SAF Day, to commemorate the year 1804 and the beginning of the First Serbian Uprising and the year 1835 when the Sretenje constitution was adopted. It was decided, however, that as of this year this day is to be marked on 23 April, when, 197 years ago, in Takovo, at the meeting of prominent national leaders, it was agreed to raise the Second Serbian Uprising.

STATEMENT OF ACTING PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF SERBIA AND SPEAKER OF THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY SLAVICA DJUKIC DEJANOVIC

Acting President of the Republic of Serbia and Speaker of the National Assembly, Slavica Djukic Dejanovic said, speaking to the media, that it is for the first time that we celebrate 23 April as the Armed Forces Day, marking the day when the decision was made to raise the Second Serbian Uprising in 1815.

- It is a pleasure to be here today because the parade awakened memories of the tradition of military commitment to the people, the tradition related to a soldier who was ready to lose his most valuable asset, his life, for the honour of his homeland. At the same time, we had the opportunity to see what modern education, knowledge and skills mean, what is the modern technology that our military uses, and how many conditions are there to make peace and security the reality of our future - the Speaker of the Parliament said.

STATEMENT BY THE MINISTER OF DEFENCE

Defence Minister Dragan Sutanovac expressed special thanks to the citizens of Leskovac for the patience they showed during the preparations for today's ceremony, but also for the support of all the participants who went out to the streets to greet the Serbian Armed Forces.

-I am glad you had a chance to see the military that is trained and equipped in an adequate, contemporary and modern way. This is the Armed Forces that came out of the crisis and that is now the security factor, not only for the Republic of Serbia but also for the region, the Minister said, wishing once again happy holiday to those who are currently far from their homes, whether in missions or in the Land Security Zone.

The Minister expressed his hope that the citizens of other towns in Serbia will have the opportunity to host the ceremony of marking the Serbian Armed Forces Day and he announced Užice as a potential host for the next year.

-The idea of the Ministry of Defence and the Serbian Armed Forces is exactly to show that the Serbian Armed Forces is not a closed and non-transparent, but on the contrary, that it is accessible for the people and the citizens, Minister Sutanovac said.

ANSWERS TO THE REPORTERS' QUESTIONS

Answering to the reporters' questions, Minister Sutanovac said that the parade is certainly a way of popularizing the Serbian Armed Forces, and recalled that it was one of the most respected institutions of the state, and that our military schools are the most popular schools in Serbia. According to the Minister, that is a proof of confidence in the military and the officer's profession that has been restored in less than four years.

Asked whether the closeness of the administrative line with Kosovo and Metohija was the reason that the military parade was held in Leskovac, the Defence Minister said that the Serbian Armed Forces used to celebrate this holiday outside Belgrade before, and it was in Nis, Novi Sad and Kraljevo.

- We decided to celebrate the Armed Forces Day today in Leskovac where we have the Training Centre, and in the next year I guess that we will be in Uzice on the joy of the Chief of General Staff and all of us.

Commenting on the current situation in the Ground Safety Zone, the Minister said that at this moment the KFOR is reinforcing its actual strength.

- I wish to recall that at each official meeting we asked that the actual strength of KFOR not be reduced because of the possible destabilization, especially in the area of the Northern Kosovo. This time, I believe that the Command of KFOR and NATO decided to act promptly and to provide more stability than there was – the Minister said and pointed out that in the Ground Safety Zone there have been no military challenges, but he stressed that the Serbian Armed Forces operates completely ready.

Chief of General Staff of the Serbian Armed Forces General Dikovic thanked to the citizens of Leskovac for the patience they showed in the previous days when the members of the military were preparing for today's event. He also thanked for the warm welcome and great hospitality of the Serbian Armed Forces.