EXHIBITION EXPLORES BANS AND DEFENSES OF SERBIAN CYRILLIC

BIJELJINA, OCTOBER 23 /SRNA/ – The cultural war against the Serbian people is also aimed at abolishing Cyrillic as a national symbol, Aleksandar Milanović, acting director of the Cyrillic Museum in Rača, said at the opening of an exhibition in Bijeljina on foreign bans on the use of Cyrillic.

"The exhibition should deepen our love for Serbian Cyrillic, but also remind us of something we too easily forget: why all occupiers throughout history banned the Serbian people's native script,” Milanović said, pointing to a continuing pattern of attempts to eradicate Serbian Cyrillic through various administrative measures.

He said the Serbian people had responded appropriately and announced cooperation between the Serbian language councils of Serbia and Republika Srpska.

"Our ancestors fought these processes much more bravely than we do today, preserving their native script and what is Serbian within them. This exhibition is, in a way, a tribute to our ancestors," Milanović said.

He added that he was now much more concerned about bans on Cyrillic imposed from within than those imposed by foreign powers, citing the willingness of many people to abandon the script themselves.

Milanović said there was cause for concern given the status of Cyrillic in both Serbia and Republika Srpska, particularly in Montenegro and in Kosovo and Metohija.

Before the exhibition opened, university professor Veljko Brborić stressed the importance of responsible language policy and linguistic culture.

"We should foster in young people a love of language and an understanding of the need to preserve and nurture it," Brborić said.

The exhibition "Bans and Defenses of Serbian Cyrillic," presented by the Cyrillic Museum in Rača, near Bajina Bašta, as part of the "Days of Serbia in Republika Srpska" event, marks the beginning of celebrations commemorating 160 years of public use of Vuk Karadžić's reformed Cyrillic alphabet and the 140th anniversary of the founding of the Teacher Training College in BiH. The exhibition was organized by the Faculty of Education in Bijeljina.

The 30-panel exhibition documents bans on Serbian Cyrillic from the 18th through the 20th centuries.