Blessing Vučić: How the patriarch escorted the president to New York

The President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vučić, and the President of the Republic of Srpska, Milorad Dodik, attended a prayer service in the Church of St. Sava in Vračar, ahead of Vučić's trip to New York, where on May 23 the United Nations General Assembly will discuss resolution on Srebrenica, broadcast by RTS.

EPISCOP STEFAN, ALEKSANDAR VUCIĆ, MILORAD DODIK

Vučić said that he asked Patriarch Porfirio for a blessing before the trip and that he is going to New York to "fight for the future of our country", and the patriarch to raise our voice against historical revisionism and the resolution.

Gathering under the "freedom flag" of Serbia

"I am going to New York to fight with all my strength and heart for the future of our country," said the President of Serbia, adding that before his trip to New York he asked for a blessing from Serbian Patriarch Porphyry and prayed to God in our sanctuary - the Church of Saint Sava in Belgrade.

MILORAD DODIK, ALEKSANDAR VUCIC

"Those who are against us are strong, but Serbia is our greatest sanctuary." There are many lies, but the truth is one and eternal. Our tricolor will fly proudly in New York, and under its auspices, all freedom-loving countries, all nations fighting for dignity and justice, which has been meaningless and humiliated for a long time, will find new energy in advocating for a more just world. Long live Serbia!" Vučić wrote on Instagram.

The great powers of the world attacked Serbia

The Patriarch said that they gathered in the temple to pray before Vučić's trip to New York, where the major powers of the world intend to pass a resolution on the "so-called" genocide in Srebrenica at the United Nations.

"We consider it untruth and injustice in relation to the Serbian people," said the patriarch.

The Serbian patriarch added that the Serbian people, throughout their turbulent history, carried their cross with dignity, both in the First World War and in the Second World War, when, in the Independent State of Croatia, which included Bosnia and Herzegovina and extended all the way to the city of Zemun , suffered like few nations in the world in terms of the number of victims and the manner of suffering.

Photo: Nemanja Jovanović/Tanjug

"Similarly, in occupied Serbia, the German Nazis killed groups of students in one day after school hours. The life of one executor was worth a hundred of our lives. We suffered in every hamlet, village, city. The truth of that suffering did not have to be confirmed by imposed amoral resolutions: they were witnessed by the suffering itself, without false witnesses in the form of direct descendants and indirect followers of the perpetrators of the actual genocide," said the head of the Serbian Orthodox Church, RTS reported.

So he pointed out that the world we live in has forgotten the genocide against the Serbian people in the twentieth century.

"That's why today we strongly raise our voice and point out the absolute falsehood and the attempt of historical revisionism, in which the Serbian people, victims of multiple genocides and ethnic cleansing, are tried to be declared the perpetrators of genocide by simple inversion.

"We do not minimize the extent of the crimes in Srebrenica, but, as Orthodox Serbs, we do not keep silent about the crimes against the Serbian people in the vicinity of Srebrenica," said the patriarch.

Great world injustice

Unfortunately, the proponents of the resolutions do not pay attention to those crimes in Serbian villages in which whole families were oppressed and which happened continuously from 1992 to 1995, the patriarch said, adding that, according to them, there is an exclusive right to sacrifice and pain.

"According to us, all innocent victims are innocent victims, be they Muslim or Croatian or Serbian, which is 'wisely' kept silent by contemporary revisionists and enemies of historical truth, who selectively grant the exclusive right to pain and sacrifice to double standards. In this way, they leave all of us who live in these areas a stumbling block for the future," the patriarch pointed out.

God give strength and wisdom to Vučić

The patriarch said that today, when the Serbian people are being tested at the largest international forum, they pray that God will give strength, wisdom and determination to the president, as well as to the entire nation, to bear witness to the truth that all victims of wars in these areas are equally worthy of respect and prayerful remembrance.

"It is one of the necessary preconditions for a peaceful future among people and nations in this region," the patriarch said.

After the sermon, Vučić and Dodik lit candles in the Temple.

In addition to Vučić and Dodik, the liturgy in the Temple was attended by the Prime Minister of Serbia Miloš Vučević, Minister of Foreign Affairs Marko Đurić and Minister without portfolio Nenad Popović.

What is actually written in the draft resolution on Srebrenica

Final proposal resolutions on the genocide in Srebrenica it was sent to the President of the General Assembly at the beginning of May of the United Nations To Dennis Francis and all permanent missions.

The final draft of the resolution, which was forwarded to Radio Free Europe from the Potočari Memorial Center, states the UN's decision "to declare July 11 as the International Day of Remembrance of the Genocide in Srebrenica in 1995, which will be celebrated every year."

The UN, as stated in the text, "condemns without reservation any denial of the genocide in Srebrenica as a historical event and calls on member states to preserve the established facts, including through their educational systems, by developing appropriate programs, also in remembrance, in order to prevent denial and distortion fact, and occurrences of genocide in the future".

"Also", it states further, the UN "unreservedly condemns actions that glorify those convicted of war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide by international courts, including those responsible for the genocide in Srebrenica".

The importance of completing the process of finding and identifying the remaining victims of the genocide in Srebrenica and giving them a dignified burial is also emphasized, and calls for the continuation of the prosecution of those perpetrators of the genocide in Srebrenica who have yet to face justice.

The resolution "calls on all states to fully comply with their obligations under the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, as applicable, and customary international law on the prevention and punishment of genocide with due respect for relevant decisions of the ICJ."

The UN Secretary-General is requested to "establish an information program entitled "Genocide in Srebrenica and the United Nations", starting with its activities and preparations for the 30th anniversary in 2025, and further requests the Secretary-General to draw the attention of this resolution to all states members, organizations of the United Nations system and civil society organizations for due respect".

Also, the UN resolution "calls on all member states, organizations of the United Nations system, other international and regional organizations and civil society, including non-governmental organizations, academic institutions and other relevant participants to mark the International Day, including special commemorations and activities in remembrance and tribute victims of the 1995 genocide in Srebrenica, as well as appropriate education and activities to raise public awareness".

Dozens of criminal charges

In 2007, the International Court of Justice in The Hague characterized the crime in Srebrenica as genocide, in which more than 1995 men and boys from the enclave under the protection of the United Nations were killed in July 8.000.

For these crimes, more than 50 people were sentenced to about 700 years in prison.

The former high representative in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Valentin Inzko, using the Bonn powers, imposed on July 23, 2021, amendments to the Criminal Code of Bosnia and Herzegovina that prohibit and prescribe punishment for denying genocide and glorifying war criminals.

Dozens of criminal charges were filed, but almost three years later, no indictment has been confirmed.

Declaration of the Assembly of Serbia on Srebrenica

In 2010, the Serbian Parliament adopted the Declaration on the condemnation of the crime in Srebrenica in July 1995, in which 8.000 Bosniaks were killed.

The declaration, proposed by the ruling coalition led by the Democratic Party of Serbian President Boris Tadić, was adopted with 127 votes in favor and 21 votes against after several hours of heated discussion.

The declaration refers to the verdict of the International Court of Justice, which established that genocide was committed in Srebrenica in July 1995, and the text condemns the crime in the manner determined by the verdict of the aforementioned court, without mentioning the term genocide.

Point 1 of the Declaration states: "The National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia strongly condemns the crime committed against the Bosniak population in Srebrenica in July 1995, in the manner determined by the judgment of the International Court of Justice, as well as all social and political processes and phenomena that led to the formation of awareness that the achievement of one's own national goals can be achieved through the use of armed force and physical violence against members of other nations and religions, expressing condolences and apologies to the families of the victims for not having done everything to prevent this tragedy".