Speaking at the commemoration on the Day of Remembrance for victims of Ustasha crimes committed in the Jasenovac concentration camp, which is being held in Donja Gradina, Serbia’s President, Aleksandar Vucic, spoke about the unity of the Serb people, the attitude of the West towards Serbia, Kosovo and commented on the terms "Croatian Serb", "Belgrade Serb" and "Bosnian Serb".
Vucic said that he is grateful to the president of Bosnia’s Republika Srpska (RS) entity, Milorad Dodik, for the nine years they have jointly been commemorating the suffering of their people, holidays and important dates from history.
“That is important. Because I am not a Belgrade Serb, nor is my father a Bosnian Serb. We are both Serbs just like other members of our people who are only Serbs no matter where they are from. We are a unique nation and no one will be able to take that away from us or change it. For more than 200 years, they have tried and failed,” said Vucic.
He said that a lot has changed in the attitude of Serbs towards world developments.
“The emotion of our people has changed. They cannot accept that we Serbs are always portrayed as the culprits and responsible for everything, that we are the ones who have no rights and that only those who agree to self-destruction are seen as the politicians of the future. And if they want to do something for their people, then they are seen as belonging to the politics of the past and those who belong in the dustbin of history,” he said.
“Today, Serbs are almost uniquely able to react to any kind of pressure from outside. They don't understand that once Serbs get fed up, there is no going back,” he said.
He also spoke about Kosovo, saying that in the Sunday elections, Kosovo authorities intend to establish a government of those who do not live in the north of Kosovo and that they sought his consent for that.
“I can proudly say that until this moment only a few Serbs have come out in all four municipalities. Serbs will not serve other people's interests but their own. They want peace with everyone and to respect everyone, but above all they want to fight for the interests of their people,” said Vucic.
He stated that the leadership of Serbia and the Republika Srpska entity agreed to build a memorial centre in Donja Gradina, but also in Belgrade so that everyone would know what happened in Jasenovac.
He stressed that peace should be preserved because there have been too many wars and said that “Serbia will always adhere to international law, unlike many from the West”, citing the example of Kosovo.
“We will do our best to be stronger both politically and economically and in every sense. It is a difficult time and burden for us. We are almost alone in these areas today. We must never allow ourselves to be divided into Bosnian, Croatian, or any other kinds of Serbs. Long live Serbia, RS and let's never forget the victims of Jasenovac”, said Vucic.
