The Minister of European Integration and International Cooperation of the Republic of Srpska, Zlatan Klokić, received support from the Mayor of Corfu, Merope Hydraiou, to have the event Days of Serbdom on Corfu become traditional and continue to be organized in coming years.

During the meeting with Hydraiou on Corfu, Klokić commended the organization of the event Serbdom Days on Corfu, held for the first time on this Greek island.

The meeting also discussed the importance of preserving the culture of remembrance, especially since this event is designed to celebrate the days when our ancestors, after the Albania’s Golgotha and suffering, had found an island of salvation on Corfu, announced the Ministry of European Integration and International Cooperation.

The meeting also discussed past cooperation between the city of Corfu and the Republic of Srpska, especially on the joint project related to organizing Serbian language learning in Corfu implemented with the Republic of Srpska Representative Office in Greece. Among other topics was the organization of student excursions from the Republic of Srpska to Corfu.

The Minister of Family, Youth and Sports, Selma Čabrić, attended the meeting with Minister Klokić on behalf of the Republic of Srpska Government, together with the Head of the Republic of Srpska Representation in Greece, Jelena Jovanović.

During the day, the Serbdom Days on Corfu event was planned to include a presentation of Serbian gastronomy and a showcase football tournament with veterans of the football clubs: Crvena Zvezda, Borac Banja Luka and Kerkyra Corfu.

This tournament is held in honor of the Serbian heroes who played a match against friendly Greek soldiers on 1 April 1916, just one month after the Golgotha they had experienced on the way to Corfu.

The Minister of European Integration and International Cooperation, Zlatan Klokić, met with representatives of the Greek-Serbian Friendship Society in Corfu.

Minister Klokić thanked the President of the Society, Željko Popović, for the hospitality shown and emphasized the importance of the remembrance culture nurtured by this Society, noting that visiting Corfu was a kind of pilgrimage for him personally, but also for every member of the Serbian people.

The meeting discussed the importance of the Corfu Greek-Serbian society for the preservation of Serbian culture, history and tradition. The President of the Association informed Minister Klokić about the need to preserve the Iron Regiment monument in Dassia, but also about the importance of erecting a new memorial in Analipsi, the place of Serbian military and civilian cemetery during the First World War.

Popović presented the Minister with the book Krf, ostrvo vaskrsenja Srbije (Corfu, the island of the resurrection of Serbia), which he wrote himself and which offers the most complete account of the stay of Serbs in Corfu during the First World War.

Popović noted the great interest in learning Serbian among Greek population in Corfu, especially after the Republic of Srpska Greek Representation had launched the learning project last year and planned to continue it in the future.

The Minister of European Integration and International Cooperation of the Republic of Srpska, Zlatan Klokić, laid a wreath at the monument to Serbian soldiers in the mausoleum on Vido island, and said that their suffering was the pinnacle of the tragedy of the Serbian people after the Albania’s Golgotha and that Srpska would never forget it.

Klokić stated that Srpska would preserve the memory of the suffering, tribulation and sacrifice of the Serbian heroes resting in the blue tomb.

‘We are proud to be their descendants and it is the duty of each of us to cherish the memory of their heroism and suffering’, said Klokić.

As part of the Serbdom Days on Corfu event, the Republic of Srpska delegation visited the Serbian House museum in Corfu during the day.

Source: RTRS - Glas Srpske - Srna

Photo: Ministry of European Integration and International Cooperation