VIDOVDAN PROCESSION MARKING 110 YEARS SINCE SUFFERING OF SERBS PASSES THROUGH CITY

TREBINJE, JUNE 28 /SRNA/ – The Serbian Orthodox Church Municipality of Trebinje organised this evening the restored Vidovdan procession to mark the 110th anniversary of the suffering of Serbs in Trebinje between 1914 and 1916.

The procession had been held until the Second World War as a memorial to the Serbs who were killed and hanged by the Austro-Hungarian authorities between 1914 and 1916.

Historian Dejan Škrivan told the press the Vidovdan procession held between the two world wars was dedicated to those killed and hanged during the 1914–1916 period, when the Austro-Hungarian occupiers, with the aim of spreading fear, hanged two women and 77 of Trebinje's most prominent residents.

He said that, in addition to the hangings, thousands of people from Trebinje and Herzegovina were taken to factories of death in Doboj, Arad and other places across the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy, where many of them died.

"It is very important that we remember, because remembrance is a safeguard against oblivion. We do not remember in order to seek revenge or to hate. None of these events is a call for hatred or revenge, but rather a call to honour our victims. A people who know their victims and their graves also know who they are, and a people who know who they are have the strength to survive," Škrivan said.

He added that Vidovdan is written in red letters in the history of the entire Serb people, because on this day Serbs remember not only Kosovo, but also all the places where they suffered simply because they were who they were.

The procession passed through the city to the memorial ossuary at the cemetery in Podgljivlje, where a memorial service was held for all the Serbs who perished. Earlier, an evening service had been held at the Cathedral Church of the Holy Transfiguration of the Lord.

Archpriest-Stavrophor Boris Banduka said that the procession had been restored after 85 years, stressing the importance of remembering in this way all those who have perished from the Battle of Kosovo to the present day.

Head of the Department for Culture of the Trebinje City Administration Slađana Skočajić said that the most important thing is not to forget the victims, noting that the Church calls for forgiveness.

"Those who lost family members and neighbours say that even forgiveness comes in its own time, according to each person's ability. Perhaps the time will come for everyone to forgive, but it is important that we do not hate," Skočajić said.