President Vučić: By celebrating Sretenje we send a message that we want a free, strong and modern Serbia

President Vučić pointed out that the 1835 Sretenje Constitution confirms Duke Karađorđe's and Prince Miloš Obrenović's fundamental principle that Serbia is a country of free peasants, whose right to private property was enshrined in the highest legal act of the then Principality. "We have no right to consign to oblivion our ancestors and the fact that at that time the greatest global powers pursued and maintained a centuries-old tradition of slavery, serfdom, and cruel colonialism. And it is no coincidence that today we are one of the most dynamic and fastest growing economies in Europe, just as it is no coincidence that we are a country of construction sites and new investments. It is no coincidence that we managed to cope with all crises, ranging from floods to pandemics. In the end, it is not by chance that we are an independent country, choosing its own destiny. That was the obligation handed down to us on 15 February 1835, by the people gathered in the field of our freedom and our future." ― President Vučić said.

President Vučić reiterated that today's Serbia was founded on two events, which took place on the same day, at different time intervals, and that our daily efforts to make our country better and stronger were a way of repaying our debt to Karađorđe, Čarapić, Veljko, Glavaš, Sinđelić, and all the other insurgents. "According to historians, the first event is the most significant one in our modern history, because it initiated the wars for freedom, independence and unification. And on 15 February 1804, in Marićević Jaruga near the village of Orašac, the folk heroes and leaders launched the first freedom uprising in the Balkans, an uprising that generated an independent Serbia, planting the sacred word freedom in these lands ― as a quintessential notion, as an obligation, and as a covenant. Thanks to them, Serbia managed to endure hundreds of years of struggle for not only its own freedom and independence, but also of other peoples. Today, Serbia is a bastion of freedom and independence, and a guarantor of peace in this region." ― he said.

"Each new road we build, every hospital, railway, factory that we construct, is a special repayment for the dreams and sacrifices of the insurgents, who, asking nothing from no one, set out on that terrible yet beautiful path of freedom. Despite the collapse with which it ended, the First Serbian Uprising proved that Serbia, relying on itself, could be free and fully functional as a country. The desire of the insurgents to secure the right to a "Srpsko Pravleniye" (Serbian Governance) was a metaphorical beginning of the future Serbian state." ― President Vučić said.

President Vučić then pointed out that exactly 187 years ago, coinciding with the church holiday of Sretenje, Serbia not only received its first Constitution, but also became a modern state owing to it. "It was so decided by the biggest Assembly ever held, the one in Kragujevac, in front of the Pridvor Church. In that open-air field, Serbia got its flag, its coat of arms, its institutions, and made its freedom official. After centuries of enslavement, a nation of farmers, proud and persistent, decided to legally rid itself of all shackles, and to turn that open field into a modern state, a state without slaves, in which everyone will be equal before the law with rights and freedoms, and any government limited." ― he stressed, adding that on that day, Serbia with its constituted order, took its place alongside France and Belgium, becoming one of the most modern European countries.

During his address, President Vučić said that owing to its heroic ancestors, today Serbia existed as a free, independent, stable, dignified state, which was at peace with everyone. “On that note, I will now present the medals, as a sign of gratitude, to all those who have invested their efforts and commitment towards making Serbia what it is today. They will [all] be remembered forever, recorded on the pages of that great and wonderful book which our ancestors began to write, without words, but with clear ideas. A book that we continue to write today, diligently and carefully, fully aware that it has no end." ― President Vučić concluded.

Source: predsednik.rs

Photo: Presidency of Serbia / Dimitrije Goll