All-Serbian Assembly adopts declaration on joint future of Serbs

BELGRADE - At Saturday's All-Serbian Assembly in Belgrade, the governments of Serbia and Republika Srpska adopted a Declaration on Protection of National and Political Rights and the Joint Future of the Serbs.

The Declaration notes that the Serbian nation represents a single whole and that, historically, it has had several states with various names and claims the right to cherish its rich tradition.

The Declaration contains 49 conclusions, stances and objectives coordinated by the All-Serbian Assembly of Serbia and Srpska in good faith and with a view to preserving peace, stability and national and religious identity as well as to stepping up and deepening the cooperation and mutual support.

The Assembly rejected various imposed prefixes to the noun "Serbs", noting that, wherever they may live, members of the Serbian nation have the right to call themselves Serbs.

It concluded that it will meet biennially and that it expects full implementation of the process of national reconciliation and overcoming historical divisions within the Serbian nation.

It recommended that institutions of the Republic of Serbia and Srpska act in a united and coordinated manner to invest efforts to stop the assimilation of Serbs in countries of the region as well as around the world.

"The Republic of Serbia and Republika Srpska need to maintain ties with members of the Serbian nation by developing personal, cultural, scientific, sports and other types of ties and relations," one of the conclusions states.

While respecting all religions and supporting religious freedoms and recognising the indispensable significance of members of the Serbian nation who are of other religious affiliations, the Assembly expressed special gratitude to the Serbian Orthodox Church, which unites the majority of the Serbian nation under its wing.

"The Serbian Orthodox Church has preserved the Serbian nation in the most difficult times, biologically as well as culturally and educationally," the document says.

The Assembly also notes that Kosovo-Metohija is an unalienable part of the Republic of Serbia, one of the defining aspects of the Serbs' national identity, the foundation of the spirituality of the Serbian nation and a cornerstone of its path of the oath and the path of Saint Sava.

"The All-Serbian Assembly supports the efforts of the Republic of Serbia in the preservation of the territorial integrity and sovereignty, guaranteed by international law and UNSC Resolution 1244 and other UNSC Resolutions, as well as the right and the duty of the Republic of Serbia to commit to the survival of the Serbian nation in Kosovo-Metohija," it also says.

"The All-Serbian Assembly requests and believes that Serbs in Kosovo-Metohija, as well as all other citizens loyal to the Republic of Serbia, and monasteries, churches, medieval fortresses, private property, cemeteries and other endangered structures, should be protected by all legal, political, economic and other means available."

The Assembly condemned the deliberate creation of unbearable living conditions for Serbs and their persecution by the Pristina provisional institutions.

"That continuous, well-planned and comprehensive repression by ethnic Albanian secessionists against the Serb population in Kosovo-Metohija has in the past years resulted in an accelerated departure of Serbs from the Province and a drastic worsening of the position of the part of the Serbian nation that has remained in its homes in spite of the brutal ethnically motivated terror. The All-Serbian Assembly expects the Republic of Serbia to continue to protect the rights and the lives of its citizens in Kosovo-Metohija using all mechanisms envisioned by internal and international law," the document also states.

The Declaration was adopted at a session of the expanded government cabinets of Serbia and Republika Srpska, attended by Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, Republika Srpska President Milorad Dodik, the PMs and the parliament speakers of Serbia and Republika Srpska, representatives of Serbs from Montenegro and North Macedonia as well as Serbian Patriarch Porfirije and bishops and representatives of the clergy of the Serbian Orthodox Church.

The Declaration will be tabled for approval to the National Assemblies of Serbia and Republika Srpska.