President: Preserving Serbia within its borders

BELGRADE President Tomislav Nikolic stated on Friday during a special session of parliament that "the most important task is to preserve Serbia within its borders". He underscored that he was elected to protect the country respecting the Constitution "fully and conscientiously". President: Preserving Serbia within its borders According to him, Serbia is a democratic country - it is fighting crime, it is doing all it can to employ its citizens, it is also conducting talks with the Pristina interim institutions and it has every right to expect the date of talks with the EU to be defined soon. “Bound by the words and actions of our great ancestors who managed to preserve our homeland under exceptionally difficult circumstances, we need to defend Serbia as a democratic country and honour the victims who gave their lives to protect it. We need to preserve Serbia within its borders,” Nikolic in his address to the Serbian parliament on Belgrade, which held a special session to mark Statehood Day. He congratulated all Serbian citizens on the holiday, and he expects the representatives chosen by the citizens to invest all their efforts in the joint goal of preservation of our unique identity within one country, a proud Serbia. “We must not lose hope and we will not stop with the just efforts aimed at the preservation of our territory and identity, our heart and soul, Kosovo and Metohija,” Nikolic underscored. "Perhaps some 'smart individuals' would mock these words and write or say that victims and temptations are pointless. Serbia is a democratic country where this is also possible. I would like such individuals to follow the model of those who make such statements or write such texts about their homeland while living abroad, in EU countries, for example. Serbia has changed, it now allows everyone to voice their opinions without any potential sanctions. If Serbia was such in the previous periods, I would have never spent time in prison because of my statements. If such a Serbia existed earlier, many would have already been in prison for crimes they committed,” he said. But even after the darkest nights comes a new dawn, the president said and added: ”We have won the fight for democracy, we are fighting crime, we are fighting to open jobs in Serbia, we are conducting negotiations with Pristina interim institutions and we have every right to expect the date of the EU accession talks to be set soon.” He recalled that the First Serbian Uprising was launched on this day, 209 years ago, while the First Serbian Constitution was adopted on this day 178 years ago, as the first democratic document of its kind in the country. The adoption of the Constitution was not met with approval abroad, there were certain remarks according to which it is unthinkable for Serbia to have a Constitution of the kind that many European countries lack, Nikolic said. "Questions were even put as to what the use would be for ministries, including the ministry of foreign affairs, in Serbia and what the national flag would serve as. They believed there were some revolutionary elements, taken over from France primarily. They called for their dismissal with an explanation that 'the Constitution should be changed because it introduced French seedlings into a Turkish forest',” Nikolic recalled. He noted that prince Milos withdrew the published constitution and that he wanted to run the country independently but he had to give in to the will of the forces his authority rested on. This is why the path of Serbia's constitutionality was a thorny one and it had its ups and downs and was exposed to influences from both the East and the West. “The several centuries' long historical burden of dependence on someone else's will, or better said willfulness, influenced the Serbian constitutions, both the popular and the octroyed, those contemporary or those less modern,” the president said. According to him, Serbs can be proud of their legal tradition regardless of the difficult historical circumstances. “Ever since (Emperor) Dusan's Code, the six independent constitutions Serbia adopted as a principality first, and then as a kingdom, which were passed in 1835, 1838, 1869, 1888, 1901, 1903, up to the contemporary constitutions and the valid one adopted in 2006, Serbia has had a bright tradition which is in no way inferior to the one in other European countries,” Nikolic said. “Traditions are the fundamental source of our every regulation, law and constitution. This is why honesty, respect, patriotism and liberalism are inviolable in Serbia. It was so in Serbia for centuries and it would stay that way,” the president stated. Nikolic underscored that the Constitution derives its power from the willingness and determination of every citizen to defend it and added that without the citizens' support, constitutional rights would be a dead letter, like a wish list. “The words of prince Milos and all those who created Serbia as a country based on a democratic Constitution still have force. This is why I am saying that I was appointed to defend Serbia while respecting the Constitution of the Republic of Serbia fully and conscientiously, and there is no other voice I would take more heed of,” Nikolic concluded. Tomislav Nikolic (Tanjug) DSS suggests "a more honorable solution" MPs of the opposition DSS party did not attend today's special parliament session, in protest over what they referred to as "abolishment of Serb statehood in Kosovo and Metohija". In a written statement, DSS spokesman Petar Popovic noted that the party leader, Vojislav Kostunica, commented on President Nikolic's statement about the creation of "Serb municipalities" by saying that Nikolic on Statehood Day sent a message about abolishment of Serbia's statehood in Kosovo. Kostunica also noted that it was "more honorable to resign, than to act as an accomplice in somebody's handing over of Kosovo". Tanjug

President: Preserving Serbia within its borders

According to him, Serbia is a democratic country - it is fighting crime, it is doing all it can to employ its citizens, it is also conducting talks with the Priština interim institutions and it has every right to expect the date of talks with the EU to be defined soon.

“Bound by the words and actions of our great ancestors who managed to preserve our homeland under exceptionally difficult circumstances, we need to defend Serbia as a democratic country and honour the victims who gave their lives to protect it. We need to preserve Serbia within its borders,” Nikolić in his address to the Serbian parliament on Belgrade, which held a special session to mark Statehood Day.

He congratulated all Serbian citizens on the holiday, and he expects the representatives chosen by the citizens to invest all their efforts in the joint goal of preservation of our unique identity within one country, a proud Serbia.

“We must not lose hope and we will not stop with the just efforts aimed at the preservation of our territory and identity, our heart and soul, Kosovo and Metohija,” Nikolić underscored.

"Perhaps some 'smart individuals' would mock these words and write or say that victims and temptations are pointless. Serbia is a democratic country where this is also possible. I would like such individuals to follow the model of those who make such statements or write such texts about their homeland while living abroad, in EU countries, for example. Serbia has changed, it now allows everyone to voice their opinions without any potential sanctions. If Serbia was such in the previous periods, I would have never spent time in prison because of my statements. If such a Serbia existed earlier, many would have already been in prison for crimes they committed,” he said.

But even after the darkest nights comes a new dawn, the president said and added:

”We have won the fight for democracy, we are fighting crime, we are fighting to open jobs in Serbia, we are conducting negotiations with Priština interim institutions and we have every right to expect the date of the EU accession talks to be set soon.”

He recalled that the First Serbian Uprising was launched on this day, 209 years ago, while the First Serbian Constitution was adopted on this day 178 years ago, as the first democratic document of its kind in the country.

The adoption of the Constitution was not met with approval abroad, there were certain remarks according to which it is unthinkable for Serbia to have a Constitution of the kind that many European countries lack, Nikolić said.

"Questions were even put as to what the use would be for ministries, including the ministry of foreign affairs, in Serbia and what the national flag would serve as. They believed there were some revolutionary elements, taken over from France primarily. They called for their dismissal with an explanation that 'the Constitution should be changed because it introduced French seedlings into a Turkish forest',” Nikolić recalled.

He noted that prince Milos withdrew the published constitution and that he wanted to run the country independently but he had to give in to the will of the forces his authority rested on.

This is why the path of Serbia's constitutionality was a thorny one and it had its ups and downs and was exposed to influences from both the East and the West.

“The several centuries' long historical burden of dependence on someone else's will, or better said willfulness, influenced the Serbian constitutions, both the popular and the octroyed, those contemporary or those less modern,” the president said.

According to him, Serbs can be proud of their legal tradition regardless of the difficult historical circumstances.

“Ever since (Emperor) Dušan's Code, the six independent constitutions Serbia adopted as a principality first, and then as a kingdom, which were passed in 1835, 1838, 1869, 1888, 1901, 1903, up to the contemporary constitutions and the valid one adopted in 2006, Serbia has had a bright tradition which is in no way inferior to the one in other European countries,” Nikolić said.

“Traditions are the fundamental source of our every regulation, law and constitution. This is why honesty, respect, patriotism and liberalism are inviolable in Serbia. It was so in Serbia for centuries and it would stay that way,” the president stated.

Nikolić underscored that the Constitution derives its power from the willingness and determination of every citizen to defend it and added that without the citizens' support, constitutional rights would be a dead letter, like a wish list.

“The words of prince Milos and all those who created Serbia as a country based on a democratic Constitution still have force. This is why I am saying that I was appointed to defend Serbia while respecting the Constitution of the Republic of Serbia fully and conscientiously, and there is no other voice I would take more heed of,” Nikolić concluded.

DSS suggests "a more honorable solution"

MPs of the opposition DSS party did not attend today's special parliament session, in protest over what they referred to as "abolishment of Serb statehood in Kosovo and Metohija".

In a written statement, DSS spokesman Petar Popović noted that the party leader, Vojislav Koštunica, commented on President Nikolić's statement about the creation of "Serb municipalities" by saying that Nikolić on Statehood Day sent a message about abolishment of Serbia's statehood in Kosovo.

Koštunica also noted that it was "more honorable to resign, than to act as an accomplice in somebody's handing over of Kosovo".