NEVESINJE RIFLE - EXAMPLE OF A SMALL PEOPLE' STRUGGLE FOR FREEDOM

TREBINJE, JULY 8 /SRNA/ - The Herzegovina Uprising, better known as the Nevesinje Rifle, is studied at military academies as an example of the struggle of a small people against the powerful Ottoman Empire, and it is also significant because it set in motion processes that changed the political situation in Europe, historian Boško Buha told SRNA.

Buha told SRNA that there had been several rebellions and uprisings in Herzegovina, but that they had mostly remained of local significance.

"Only the Nevesinje Rifle grew beyond local boundaries and spread across the entire Balkans, and it can be said even across Europe. That is why this uprising is studied at military academies as an example of the struggle of a small people against the powerful Ottoman Empire," Buha said.

He reminded that the uprising, which began on July 9, 1875, in the village of Krekovi near Nevesinje, marked the beginning of liberation from centuries of Ottoman rule, but that freedom did not come immediately, as the decisions of the Congress of Berlin were followed by the Austro-Hungarian occupation.

Although the insurgents made a major contribution to weakening the Ottoman Empire, Buha noted that the people of Herzegovina did not immediately gain freedom, but instead came under Austro-Hungarian rule.

"Nevertheless, the significance of the Nevesinje Rifle remains immeasurable, because it set in motion processes that changed the political circumstances in the Balkans and Europe," Buha stressed.

Speaking about the mood among the people at the time the uprising broke out, Buha said that the Nevesinje Rifle represented a continuation of the struggle for freedom after the earlier uprisings led by Luka Vukalović.

"Immediately after the outbreak of the uprising, contacts were established with Cetinje and Belgrade. Although, due to international circumstances, there was no public support, Serbia and Montenegro secretly assisted the insurgents with weapons, volunteers, and in other ways, to help sustain the uprising and prevent the Serb people from remaining under Turkish oppression," Buha said.

The 151st anniversary of the Nevesinje Rifle will be commemorated tomorrow in Krekovi near Nevesinje, and Buha stressed that this date will continue to be marked with dignity in the future as one of the most important dates in the history of Herzegovina and the Serb people.