At the sitting held on 16 December 2020, the members of the Committee on the Diaspora and Serbs in the Region considered the status and prospects of Serbs in the region in the context of support by the Republic of Serbia and impact on the position of the Serb community in the region.
Committee Chairman Milimir Vujadinovic Welcomed the guests, saying that they are not really guests, they are friends come to their own home, the National Assembly House.
"I am sure that our compatriots have never needed the help of the Republic of Serbia more they do now, but they could never have relied on Serbia more than today either," said Vujadinovic. He emphasized that the President of the Republic of Serbia Aleksandar Vucic is making great efforts to establish and maintain good relations with all statesmen in the region, which is reflected in the relationship between the home country and Serbs in the region, as wellas around the world.
The Committee Chairman thanked National Assembly Deputy Speaker Dr Vladimir Orlic for attending the sitting of the Committee, which, Vujadinovic sayid, lend special importance to the work of that body.
National Assembly Deputy Speaker Dr Vladimir Orlic thanked everybody for the opportunity to welcome those present on his own behalf and on behalf of the National Assembly, telling them that they have come to their own house. He added that the feeling towards the institutions of Serbia has not always been built in the same way, nor did those same institutions always show the same kind of feeling on their part, nor the same kind of attention and desire to take care of their compatriots.
"From the moment Aleksandar Vucic became the President of the Republic, there was a change which became obvious and surprised and delighted many of our compatriots, according to the Bishop of Bihac-Petrovac Sergius, providing lasting evidence of love through kindergartens, schools, roads, churches that no one hoped for but everyone was happy to see", said Deputy Speaker Orlic. He emphasized that Serbia has the strength and desire and keeps the need to take care of its people wherever they may live high on its list of priorities.
The Director of the Serbian House in Podgorica, Emil Labudovic, described the position of Serbs in Montenegro with an MP’s comment he heard during a visit to the National Assembly, who said that Serbs vacationing in Albania today are safer than those vacationing in Montenegro:
"I must admit with some bitterness that this is true. We in Montenegro are endangered by our brothers, that is, by discord, brothers who hate us with that primordial hatred of Cain ", said Labudovic.
Labudovic pointed out that what Serbs lack the most, even more than material assistance, is raising the spiritual and cultural awareness of the unity of the Serbian people. Labudovic said that there would be a census in Montenegro at the beginning of next year, and appealed to Serbia to put pressure on international factors to make sure the census is legal.
He took the opportunity to express his gratitude to the President of the Republic of Serbia Aleksandar Vucic for helping to provide 3.7 million EUR for the opening of the Serbian House in Podgorica, emphasizing that no one has done more for Montenegro and its people than the President of Serbia since the times of King Aleksandar.
Mladjan Cicovic, the head of the Representative Office of the Republic of Srpska in Serbia, pointed out that the relationship between the Republic of Srpska and Serbia has always been good, but that it has reached its highest level in the past seven years. He emphasized that Serbia's help has never been lacking and that it is inestimable in the struggle of the Republic of Srpska to preserve its national identity, language and culture. He also spoke about a number of joint projects in the field of infrastructure, culture and art, which significantly improve the position of the Republic of Srpska and stressed the importance of further strengthening economic cooperation.
Srdjan Jeremic, Chairman of the Joint Council of Vukovar Municipalities, pointed out that today, on the territory of Slavonia, Baranja and Western Srem, which is closely connected with the Republic of Serbia, we have a preserved homogeneous Serbian community that has fully inherited its tradition, culture, religion, customs, language and script. However, he pointed out a number of rights, guaranteed by the Constitution of the Republic of Croatia, which are denied to the Serbian national minority, such as the right to employment, use of bilingual language and script, education in the Serbian language.
Dr Ivan Bosnjak, co-chair of the intergovernmental mixed commissions for the improvement of the position of minorities, spoke about the activities and the results achieved by the commission so far that have contributed to the position of minorities in the region. He emphasized that Serbia wants and can help minorities in the region, as well as in the rest of the world.
The guests’ addresses were followed by a discussion with the Committee members.
The sitting was chaired by Committee Chairman Milimir Vujadinovic and attended by the following Committee members and deputy members: Aleksandar Cotric, MA Jadranka Jovanovic, Slobodan Alavanja, Goran Milic, Milan Djurica, Sanja Lakic, Mladen Boskovic, Janko Langura, Natasa Ljubisic, Miodrag Linta, Aleksandar Markovic, Radovan Tvrdisic, Haji Milorad Stosic and Justina Pupin Koscal.
