MEMORY OF KOSOVO HEROES FILLS EVERY SERB'S SOUL WITH PRIDE

PRIŠTINA, JUNE 27 /SRNA/ – Serbs are most aware of their national strength on Vidovdan /St. Vitus Day/, because the memory of the heroes of Kosovo fills every Serb's soul with pride, Director of the Serbia’s parliamentary Office for Kosovo and Metohija Petar Petković said.

"On Vidovdan, every Serb is part of a single national being, and every Serb heart, even in the most distant corner of the planet, beats in unison and with the same rhythm," Petković said.

In a letter sent on the occasion of the ceremonial session of the assemblies of the City of Priština and the Municipality of Gračanica, held today at the Cultural Centre in Gračanica, Petković said that the Serb people remember their past while also having a clear vision of their future.

Although he is still banned from entering Kosovo and Metohija, Petković said he feels fully present and spiritually connected with everyone in Serb southern province.

Petković pointed out that it is no coincidence that the rights of Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija are violated most flagrantly during this holiday, because some believe the Serb people should be humiliated at the very moment when they are most proud.

"There have been difficult periods and centuries in our history during which we had to endure," Petković said, adding that the Serb people still exist today because the light of Vidovdan and the halo of the Holy Prince Lazar have always shown them the way.

Gračanica Mayor Novak Živić said that, for Serbs, the Battle of Kosovo is not a chapter of history that ended long ago.

"There are no cannons or trenches today, but there is a more insidious weapon – the attempt to erase our memory, appropriate our holy sites and erase every trace of our existence. We are not newcomers, but the guardians of this land," Živić said.

He called for unity and told Serbs from central Serbia, Montenegro, Republika Srpska and the diaspora that Kosovo "is as alive as the bond with its people".

"Every visit to Gračanica, Dečani and the Patriarchate of Peć is proof that we are one people. Today we are not gathering to mourn the past, but to reaffirm our pledge to preserve what our ancestors left us," Živić said.

The ceremony was also attended by Trebinje Mayor Mirko Ćurić, who said that Kosovo is the cradle of Serb spirituality and identity.

"This is where the foundations of our culture and faith lie. Kosovo and Metohija are not merely a territory, but a part of every Serb's soul. We bring you a message from Trebinje – you are not alone," Ćurić said.

Acting President of the Provisional Authority of the City of Priština Dejan Miladinović said that Vidovdan is a daily reality for Serbs in Kosovo and that their very survival represents a victory.

At the ceremony, the Vidovdan Charter was presented to the Education Association of Kosovo and Metohija, while awards were also presented to the Raška-Prizren Diocese, the humanitarian organisation "Mother of the Nine Jugović Brothers", Danijela Simonović and Zoran Nedeljković.

The Vidovdan marking in Gračanica will continue this evening with a Poetry Vigil, while tomorrow a Divine Liturgy and memorial service for the Kosovo heroes will be held at Gazimestan.