The Republic of Srpska and Serbia celebrate 15 September – the Day of Serbian Unity, Freedom and the National Flag.

The central event of the celebration will take place in Niš and be attended by the presidents of the Republic of Srpska and Serbia, Milorad Dodik and Aleksandar Vučić.

The celebration will also be attended by numerous officials of Srpska and Serbia who have invited the Serbian people, wherever they live, to display the national flag – the tricolor – on their houses.

The governments of the Republic of Srpska and Serbia decided to celebrate together the Day of Serbian Unity, Freedom and the National Flag.

The holiday was established in 2020, to commemorate the day of the Salonika Front breakthrough in the First World War.

This battle is one of the most important events in Serbian history; it was critical for the collapse of the Central Powers, because a month and a half later, Austria-Hungary capitulated.

On behalf of the President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vučić, the Minister without portfolio in the Serbian Government in charge of relations with the diaspora, Đorđe Milićević, will attend the celebration of the Day of Serbian Unity, Freedom and the National Flag today in Frankfurt am Main.

For the first time, celebration of this holiday will be organized also outside the borders of Serbia and the Republic of Srpska.

Milićević said that this was a big day for Serbs in Frankfurt, symbolizing togetherness, courage and connection with the roots.

– It is a great pleasure, honor and privilege to be here today, with my people. It is a great honor to be an envoy of the Serbian President, and it confirms that Serbia will always be with its people anywhere in the world – stated Milićević.

He said that it was important to gather around the flag in Serbia, Republic of Srpska and abroad because it showed loyalty to Serbian values.

– We gather around our flag, a symbol of the present, past and future – said Milićević.

He noted that it was very important to preserve Serbian cultural and historical heritage outside the borders of Serbian territories.

The Director of the Directorate for Cooperation with the Diaspora and Serbs in the Region, Arnaud Gouillon, announced that on the Day of Serbian Unity, the Serbian flag would be flown wherever the Serbian heart beats, and that Serbs would thus celebrate the national holiday, not only in Serbia and Republic of Srpska, but also in the region and around the world.

Gouillon said that the Day of Serbian Unity, Freedom and the National Flag – 15 September was a holiday for Serbs wherever they lived because, in addition to the anthem and the national flag – the tricolor with the coat of arms, they also had the people’s flag, which is the tricolor without the coat of arms, representing the people rather than the state.

‘Serbs can display that flag wherever they live, respecting their host countries, be they in Europe, America or Australia, because it represents their people. That is one advantage that Serbs have, because other nations only have state symbols, and Serbs also have people’s symbols’, said Gouillon.

He believes that it is a very good thing that three years ago the President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vučić, and the President of the Republic of Srpska, Milorad Dodik, included the Day of Serbian Unity, Freedom and the National Flag in Serbia and the Republic of Srpska as a day for the entire Serbian people, not just for Serbia and Srpska.

He pointed out that the Directorate for Cooperation with the Diaspora and Serbs in the Region had financed the production of a video and a new version of the old song Srpkinjica jedna mala, which is about the tricolor.

‘We did this to bring these eternal traditional values closer to younger generations. That video will be broadcast on television and social networks, because the song unites the people and all Serbs. It is a thread that connects all Serbian communities around the world’, said Gouillon.

He announced that on the occasion of the Day of Serbian Unity, Freedom and the National Flag, festive events would be organized around the world.

‘Thus, we will show unity in action and that we are not ashamed of our symbols. On the contrary, we will show that we are very proud of them and that this should be nurtured’, said Gouillon.

He noted that 15 September had not been chosen randomly as the Day of Serbian Unity, Freedom and the National Flag, because on that day in 1918 the Salonika Front had been broken through.

‘It is an important day not only for Serbia, but also for the whole of Europe, marking the beginning of its liberation. I want to note that in that breakthrough, Serbian soldiers did not come only from the then Serbia, but also from Montenegro, today’s Republic of Srpska, from BiH, Croatia, but also from the diaspora. They had come from America by ship to fight for the freedom of their people and the freedom of our Serbia’, Gouillon reminded.

He believes that the heroism of the fighters who broke through the Salonika front is a true example for today’s generations of how to fight for freedom and for your country and people.

Source: RTRS – SRNA

Photo: City of Zvornik