"KRUŠEDOL BELLS" GATHERED NUMEROUS SERBS FROM KRAJINA

BELGRADE, MAY 30 /SRNA/ - The 20th jubilee "Krušedol Bells" was held today at the Krušedol Monastery on Fruška Gora in the presence of a large number of people from Krajina, who gathered from all sides.

The event, organized by refugee associations of Serbs from Croatia, the Hometown Club "Slavonia from Inđija," and the Eparchy of Srem, with the support of the Representation of Republika Srpska in Serbia, began in the monastery Church of the Annunciation of the Most Holy Theotokos with a liturgy and a memorial service for the Serbs killed in the wars from 1991 to 1999 and for those who died in exile.

The Serbian church-people's and Krajina gathering was opened with a welcome speech by the President of the Organizing Committee of "Krušedol Bells," Veljko Vukelić, and an address by the Minister of Labor, Employment, Veteran, and Social Affairs of Serbia, Milica Đurđević Stamenkovski.

After a minute of silence for all fallen Serbs from Kosovo to the present day, Vukelić said that this gathering is one of the most important spiritual and national centers of Serbs north of the Sava and Danube rivers.

He also pointed out that steps have been taken to build a memorial center at the Church of Mild Mary in Banstol, where the names of all the killed Serbs from the Republic of Serbian Krajina would be inscribed.

He expressed special gratitude to the Metropolitan of Srem, Vasilije, the Serbian Orthodox Church, and the people of Republika Srpska and its institutions for their engagement, adding that they have provided assistance to this event for years and contributed to it growing into a great national, pan-Serbian gathering.

Vukelić thanked the attendees for coming, expressing regret that the Metropolitan of Srem, Vasilije, and the President of SNSD, Milorad Dodik, who are synonymous with this event, were not here today.

"They could not come, but I believe that they are, in their own way, with the people gathered here," emphasized Vukelić.

Minister Milica Đurđević Stamenkovski said that funds have been allocated for the construction of the Memorial Center dedicated to the victims from the Republic of Serbian Krajina, which will be built near the Church of Mild Mary.

"We believe that the time has come to list the names of all our murdered and killed Serbs from the territory of the Republic of Serbian Krajina in one place. These are lives, cut-short youths and childhoods, entire families, and therefore the victims cannot just be a number that we will talk about collectively," said Stamenkovski.

She emphasized that every name needs to be carved into stone to serve as a testimony of what happened.

"That warning should also be a vow to the generations to come, to never allow anyone to tear down our state and institutions. We must never forget the sacred Krajina, believing that Serbs will once again live in it in peace, harmony, and love," Stamenkovski pointed out.

She added that she has been coming to the "Krušedol Bells" for years and that she is happy to see more and more youth at the gathering each time, which shows that the people of Krajina, who were forced by circumstances to leave their hearths, did not allow their homeland to be torn from their memories and souls.

"You have brought many values here, and we can learn from you how important it is for a person to be hardworking and patriotic. Gathered here, we call the entire Serbian people to unity, believing that we will preserve family values, tradition, the culture of remembrance, customs, and everything that makes us a nation," said Stamenkovski.

In the cultural and artistic part of the program, traditional male and female singing groups, cultural-artistic societies, actors, and poets performed.

Several singing groups and cultural-artistic societies from Republika Srpska also participated, and the special guest of the gathering was the singer Baja Mali Knindža.