The Head of the Republic of Srpska Representative Office in Serbia, Mlađen Cicović, said that Kočić Day in Belgrade represented a debt to the great writer, as well as an opportunity to bring his work closer to new generations.

Cicović expressed his satisfaction over the program bringing together writers from Srpska, Serbia and the diaspora, because Kočić’s work connects the entire Serbian cultural space even today. ‘Through such events, we preserve our common memory, nurture cultural ties between the Republic of Srpska and Serbia, and show that culture and literature are one of the strongest bridges that connect us,’ Cicović said.

He stated that Kočić was a great writer and people’s tribune, whose literary work and public engagement testified to the struggle for freedom, dignity and rights of his people, and that his work did not belong to a single time and space. ‘That is why it is important that even today, more than a century after his death, we remember Kočić and talk about him in Belgrade, the city in which he had lived and died,’ said Cicović.

He added that the Representation organized Kočić Day in Belgrade as part of the Kočić Gathering, which had been preserving the memory of Petar Kočić and his work for 61 years. ‘I believe this will continue into the future, because Kočić’s words still have the power to remind us of the values that we must not forget – freedom, dignity, justice and love for our people and homeland,’ Cicović noted.

Kočić Day in Belgrade, organized by the Representation traditionally in cooperation with the Writers’ Association of Serbia, will be held today. At 11:00, writers from Banja Luka, Serbia and the diaspora, and organizers will lay flowers at the grave of Petar Kočić in the Alley of the Greats in the New Cemetery. They will then visit his monument in Čuburski Park in Vračar to pay tribute with poetry and flowers and recall the years he spent in this part of Belgrade from 1904 to 1905. A literary evening dedicated to Kočić will be held later during the evening, including an eleven-minute film about the writer and his Zmijanje. Kočić Day in Belgrade is part of a large, multi-day event Kočić Gathering, which has been held for 61 years in Banja Luka, Belgrade, the Gomionica Monastery and Stričići, Petar Kočić’s birthplace.

Source and photo: Republic of Srpska Representative Office in Serbia