The Chairman of the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia, Predrag Markovic, attended ceremonies held in Kragujevac to mark 15 February, the National Day of Serbia, and the 170th anniversary of the adoption of the Sretenje Constitution, adopted in 1835 on the day of the Visitation of the Virgin (Sretenje in the calendar of the Serbian Orthodox Church).

Mr Markovic laid a wreath at the monument to Jovan Ristic. Speaking at the ceremony, Mr Markovic said that the state “had to be made complete”, adding that “Serbia had to be a real state in order to live better, since only states could join Europe, and there is no state without a constitution”. He stressed that the situation in Serbia was similar to that in 1835, when there existed “friends and enemies of the international community, there were betrayals, personal tyrannies, and when Serbia was divided.” “It is not enough for me to give you a flag or an anthem – we must ensure a better life for people, as someone said recently, and let me finish that sentence – it is not enough, but having a flag and an anthem is a precondition, as is adopting and obeying laws, and having a Constitution – all of these are needed for a better life”, Markovic said.

At the “Echoes of Sretenje – Serbia in search of a new constitution” roundtable, Mr Markovic reminded all those who undertook, in the Serbian Assembly, a commitment to working on the new Constitution, that there was no more time to waste. He stressed that he had been, since 30 March 2004, asking political leaders to start work on a new Serbian Constitution, but that he would no longer ask, but rather demand that all should respect their own decisions and obey the law.