Vucic: We will not be servants - Serbs want their freedom

"We will not be servants and subordinates; Serbs want their freedom and do not ask for the price," declared Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic this evening in Sremski Karlovci, at a commemoration marking 30 years since Croatia’s Operation “Storm.”

“The heart of Krajina is vast, and it holds the most love for Serbia. Thank you for contributing to Serbia’s progress, for giving your children to Serbia, for loving it more than your own homes — because you wanted to live with your people. Forgive us for not welcoming you as you deserved,” said Vucic.

In his speech, he reflected on events over the past three decades:

“They destroyed Yugoslavia, saying, ‘we’ll tear them apart’ — as if Serbs had no right to live in one state. When they plotted to destroy Krajina, they completed it in a matter of days, and no one ever mentioned the pink zones or UN-protected zones again. No one cared that Serbs were guaranteed safety. No one talks about that — only how it was 'magnificent' to kill 2,500 people and expel 250,000. And they forced us into silence,” Vucic said.

He continued, saying they told Serbia to look to the future:

“First, they bombed us without UN approval, ignoring the Charter, international law and order. Why? Because they could! Meanwhile, they ran the harshest propaganda — calling us barbarians who needed to be brought down. Then they told us: just change the government in Serbia and Kosovo will be yours. And when Serbs believed those brazen lies, they said: Montenegro can’t stay with you either. ‘Look to the future, you finally have your independence.’ And then — two years later — nothing came of that. They took 14% of our territory and tried to seize Kosovo.”

He reminded the audience of the local elections held three years ago in northern Kosovo, which Serbs boycotted.

“They recognized elections with 2.5% turnout — and called it democracy. Shame on you, scoundrels! You took me to Moldova and told me: 'We won’t accept that, be patient, you’ll have new elections.’ But there were no new elections. For four years, occupiers have run those municipalities,” he said, adding that the majority of the Serbian people will not renounce their name and identity.

“Imagine if we, in our country, had sentenced someone to even one day in jail for a verbal offense — let alone a mayor or someone from another ethnic group — they would accuse us of violating every international legal norm. But don’t insult our intelligence. I tell you — you don’t understand what is happening in the soul of the Serbian people. We are not touching anyone else’s state. We just want to protect our Serbian name and identity. And we want to tell you: you don’t understand what you’re doing. You think you can humiliate us, frighten us. We’ve had enough. We will not serve you, and we cannot listen to your lies anymore,” Vucic stated.

He urged everyone in the Republic of Srpska to fight for its survival.

“And from here, I want to say this: I guarantee, in the name of the Republic of Serbia and in my own name — at least while I am president of Serbia — the Republic of Srpska will exist and live, and there is nothing you can do about it, all of you together!” Vucic declared.

He also emphasized that Serbia will strive to maintain good relations — but will trust in itself.

“We will preserve peace and stability, but we will be capable and strong enough to defend our country much better than we were able to 30-something years ago,” said Vucic, noting that people forget that Serbia was at its weakest during Operation Storm, which was “carried out with the help of the United States and the most powerful European powers.”

“Whenever someone in the region wants to say something about Serbs, they say: ‘You’ll be back on tractors again.’ As if we’re cowards and they’re the brave ones. But history showed the truth — in World War I and II, in all liberation wars. It’s clear who stood on which side, who welcomed Nazi tanks with flowers, and whose cities were bombed and battered into exhaustion,” Vucic concluded.