Today, Serbia celebrates Statehood Day, in memory of February 15, 1804, when the First Serbian Uprising began, and on the same date in 1835, the first Serbian constitution was promulgated.
Serbian Defense Minister Miloš Vučević and Republika Srpska Prime Minister Radovan Višković laid wreaths on the sarcophagus of leader Karađorđe in the Church of St. George on Oplenac in Topola as part of the Serbian Statehood Day celebrations.
The Prime Minister of Serbia, Ana Brnabić, congratulated the National Day and said that only an economically strong and stable Serbia, led by people who truly love their country, can persevere in solving issues of state and national interest.
“On behalf of the Government of Serbia and on my own behalf, I congratulate the citizens of Serbia on the national holiday Statehood Day, with a reminder of the Constitution of Sretenj, the foundation of the modern Serbian state, as well as memories of the famous ancestors whose vision of a modern and free state we are living today,” Brnabić said.
Minister of Foreign Affairs Ivica Dacic said that no one should be allowed to harm the freedom, integrity and independence of Serbia, and pointed out that “only harmony saves the Serbs” and that in these difficult geopolitical moments, harmony is most needed in Kosovo, in the Republika Srpska, but and regarding the position of Serbs in Montenegro and North Macedonia.
“We hope that it is not the last moment for Serbia to embark on a general state and national revival. Let us also move towards our state and national goals in order to place our people and the state in its rightful place, and the first prerequisite is the unity of our people wherever they are and which is more necessary than ever,” said Dacic in Orašac at the central celebration of the Day of Serbian Statehood.
The President of Republika Srpska Milorad Dodik and the envoy of the President of Serbia Miloš Vučević laid wreaths at the monument to leader Karađorđe, the leader of the First Serbian Uprising, in Orašac today, on the occasion of the Day of Serbian Statehood – Meeting in Kragujevac.
Dodik stated in Orašac that it is natural for Srpska and Serbia to strive for unity because it is one nation. Dodik pointed out that today’s assembly is celebrated and wherever there are Serbs, they should gather in the Serbian world and hold on to their identity, culture, religion and baptismal glory.
He said that the Serbian people must never allow anyone to dispute this.
“That’s the Serbian world. The West didn’t understand us,” said Dodik in a speech at the central celebration of Serbia’s Statehood Day.
In Serbia, Statehood Day is celebrated on February 15 and 16, and according to chroniclers, on February 15, 1804, insurgents led by Đorđe Petrović-Karađorđe decided to launch the First Serbian Uprising.
In the next few years, the insurgent army defeated the Ottoman forces and liberated almost the entire territory of the Belgrade Pashaluk, thus beginning the creation of the Serbian state.
In Kragujevac, also on February 15, but 31 years later, in 1835, the Sretenj Constitution was adopted, which, according to the chroniclers, was one of the most democratic constitutions of that time, recalls Beta.
