MEMORIAL SERVICE FOR VIDOVDAN MARTYRS AND MEMBERS OF "YOUNG BOSNIA"

SARAJEVO, JUNE 28 /SRNA/ - In the Orthodox chapel of the Vidovdan heroes, at the cemetery of the Holy Archangels George and Gabriel in Sarajevo, a holy liturgy and memorial service were held today, on Vidovdan, for the Vidovdan martyrs, followed by the laying of wreaths at the grave of Gavrilo Princip.

The Mayor of East Sarajevo, Ljubiša Ćosić, stated after the memorial service and wreath-laying that few peoples in the world have a patron saint's day like the Serbs, one that is so closely tied to this day – Vidovdan – from Kosovo until today.

"Since 1389, the patron saint's day has been tied to that day, when the Serbs chose, as the folk poet says, 'the heavenly kingdom instead of the earthly kingdom.' However, it is not just one day; we have many Vidovdans when fateful decisions for the Serbian people were made," Ćosić stated.

According to him, in the chapel of the Vidovdan heroes lie the bones of true martyrs who fought not only for the freedom of the Serbs but also for all the peoples living in this region.

"That must always be emphasized – Gavrilo Princip, Mlada Bosna /Young Bosnia/, the Young Bosnians, and all the Vidovdan martyrs resting here believed in the freedom of Serbs and all the peoples living in this region. They died for that freedom, and it sparked a wave of liberation from Austro-Hungarian occupation," Ćosić emphasized.

He noted that there are many places today where Serbs should gather in churches, believe in unity, harmony, and love, but the most significant are Kosovo and Metohija and Sarajevo, as the two most tragic places.

"Only 33 or 34 years ago, this was the city with the second largest number of Serbs in the world, after Belgrade. Today, very few remain here, but we come to preserve the memory of Gavrilo Princip, the Young Bosnians, and all those who died on this land believing in freedom," Ćosić emphasized.

He reminded that the chapel of the Vidovdan heroes at the cemetery of the Holy Archangels George and Gabriel was built from the tombstones of Serbs who had been buried for centuries at the cemetery in Marin Dvor.

The holy liturgy and memorial service were attended, among others, by representatives of the City and institutions of East Sarajevo, the Embassy of Serbia in BiH, the Secondary School “28 June” from East New Sarajevo, numerous associations, as well as believers and admirers of the “Young Bosnia” movement and Gavrilo Princip.

The memorial service in the Chapel of the Vidovdan Heroes is part of the event “Princip’s Days,” which has been held for years in East New Sarajevo in memory of Gavrilo Princip.

On this day in 1914, Gavrilo Princip, a member of the Young Bosnia movement, carried out the assassination of the Austro-Hungarian heir to the throne, Archduke Franz Ferdinand, in Sarajevo. His wife, Sophie Chotek, also died as a result of an accidental gunshot wound.

The Sarajevo assassination served as a pretext for the Austro-Hungarian authorities to launch a military invasion of Serbia, which ultimately led to the outbreak of the First World War.

The members of Young Bosnia carried out the assassination as an act of protest against Austro-Hungarian occupation policies and as an expression of the majority Serb population's aspiration for liberation and unification.

All the assassins were arrested and stood trial between October 12 and 28, 1914.

The remains of the Vidovdan heroes were collected from prisons across the former Austro-Hungarian Empire, where they had been imprisoned, and were laid to rest in a common grave in Sarajevo on July 7, 1920.

The memorial chapel dedicated to the Vidovdan heroes was opened 19 years later. Inscribed on the chapel are the words of Montenegrin poet Petar II Petrović Njegoš: “Blessed is he who lives forever, he had a reason to be born.”