President of the Republic of Serbia Aleksandar Vučić said that for Serbia’s citizens there is nothing more important than to have peace, good relations and cooperation with everyone, because only in peace can they continue to build and elevate “our one and only Serbia”.
Speaking at a ceremony on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the liberation of Belgrade in the Great War, President Vučić said that the ravages of the looted city, the fire and smoke of the burned stores, the ruined railway station were found by the liberators of Belgrade after the occupier’s army retreated, along with the previously destroyed most important institutions of Serbian identity and culture – from the Serbian Cathedral Church and the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts to the National Museum, National Theatre, Ruzica Church and demolished schools and hotels. But they also encountered the indestructible freedom-loving spirit of the citizens, who were laying flower carpets from Slavija to Kalemegdan in front of the victorious Serbian Army units. Getting to Belgrade meant getting to freedom, entering Belgrade meant getting Serbia back to the people of Serbia and their children,” added Vučić.
He said that in the Great War small people were the winners, ordinary people, who have not finished big schools, often small in stature and age.
Vučić presented data from the 1919 Peace Conference in Paris that Serbia lost 1,247,435 people or 28 per cent of the total population.
402,435 soldiers were killed in battle, or died from wounds or the epidemic, while 477,475 soldiers died during the retreat through Albania.
36,477 soldiers died in the fighting on the Thessaloniki front between 1916 and 1918, 81,214 were killed or died in captivity, and 34,781 soldiers died of wounds or disease in the territory of Serbia in 1915.
He added that the losses among civilians were horrendous – almost 845,000 people. Of the 200,000 citizens who followed the army in the withdrawal through Albania, more than 140,000 people were killed or died, and almost 360,000 people died of louse-borne typhus.
The commemoration was attended by Speaker of the National Assembly of Serbia Maja Gojković, ministers Zorana Mihajlović, Siniša Mali, Nela Kuburović, Branko Ružić, Nebojša Stefanović, Aleksandar Vulin, Aleksandar Anticć and Zoran Đorđević.
Other officials attending were Mayor of Belgrade Zoran Radojičić, President of Vojvodina government Igor Mirović, NBS Governor Jorgovanka Tabaković, Republika Srpska President Milorad Dodik, Republika Srpska Prime Minister Željka Cvijanović, as well as representatives of the army, religious communities, public and cultural life.
The commemoration began with the playing of the national anthem “God of Justice” and a short film about events in Serbia during the Great War. After the speech of President Vučić, the premiere of the film “Zaspanka za vojnike” (Lullaby for Soldiers) was held.