DECLARATION ON VOJVODINA ADOPTED BY POPULAR ACCLAMINATION

SREMSKA MITROVICA, FEBRUARY 15 /SRNA/ - The Declaration on Vojvodina in Serbia was adopted tonight by popular acclamation at the meeting "We will meet at Candlemas" in Sremska Mitrovica, which, according to the organizers, was attended by more than 120,000 people, including the highest officials of Serbia and Republika Srpska.

In the Declaration on Vojvodina, it is emphasized that Vojvodina is an inseparable part of the national political, constitutional and cultural identity of modern Serbia. "Vojvodina is not just a part of Serbia, Vojvodina is Serbia. Vojvodina is a name, and Serbia its last name. Just as Serbia does not exist without Vojvodina, neither Vojvodina can exist outside of Serbia," the Declaration emphasized. The text states that the latest events in the northern Serbian province, "the revival of separatist ideas and movements, the public advocacy of ideas about the `Vojvodina nation', the language and the Orthodox Church, and the announcement of the adoption of some kind of 'Vojvodina platform' obligate the territorial integrity and integrity of the Serbian state to be protected by activities in the social and political sphere. The declaration was proposed to the citizens of Serbia based on the Constitution that Serbia is the state of the Serbian people and all citizens who live in it, as well as that the territory of Serbia is unique and indivisible. The People's Declaration contains five points, the first of which refers to the historical development of Serbian Vojvodina, the second indicates a continuous attempt to nationalize Vojvodina and impose the idea of ​​a so-called Vojvodina nation. The third point describes the constitutional and legal position of Vojvodina after the Second World War - from an autonomous province whose autonomy is expanding, through a quasi-federal unit, to a return to the constitutional framework of standard political-territorial autonomy. The fourth point recalls the stopping of separatist tendencies and the return of AP Vojvodina to the constitutional framework during 2012-2014. year. The fifth point talks about Vojvodina as a multicultural, multinational and multi-confessional community, based on the equality of citizens. In that point, it is stressed that the Serbian Orthodox Church proved to be a unifying force and a key element of the Serbian identity in Vojvodina. "Vojvodina is the fruit of the libertarian aspirations of the Serbian people in the Prečan lands, and at the same time it is home to all religious, ethnic and national communities, their cultures, native languages, spiritual values ​​and traditions," the text emphasizes. It is pointed out that the renaissance that has occurred in the relations between Serbs and Hungarians in the last ten years is the best proof that the autonomist-statist model of the organization of Vojvodina not only did not contribute to inter-ethnic harmony, but that its rejection was a necessary precondition for improving understanding, harmony and cooperation between the national communities in the province. "Vojvodina is an expression of European values, a community of all citizens living on the territory of the autonomous province, as much as it is an inseparable part of the national, political, constitutional and cultural identity of modern Serbia. These spiritual verticals do not repel each other, but complement each other," the Declaration reads. The promotion of other particularistic, autonomist, even separatist and anti-Serb content represents, as it is indicated, the ultimate perversion and, consequently, the complete negation of the great ideals that Vojvodina was founded on. The meeting "We will meet at Candlemas" was attended by the presidents of Serbia Aleksandar Vučić, Republika Srpska Milorad Dodik, Prime Minister of Serbia in resignation Miloš Vučević, Prime Minister of Srpska Radovan Višković. Also present were the speakers of the parliaments of Serbia and Srpska, Ana Brnabić and Nenad Stevandić, ministers and parliamentarians of Serbia and Srpska. The gathering ended with a big fireworks display. For the first time this year, Republika Srpska and Serbia are celebrating Candlemas together as the Statehood Day of the Republic of Serbia and the Statehood Day of Republika Srpska, which was foreseen by the Declaration from the All-Serb Assembly held on June 8 last year in Belgrade. Candlemas is being celebrated this year in Srpska under the slogan "Unity and pride". Statehood Day is marked in memory of February 15, 1804, when the First Serbian Uprising took place, and of Candlemas in 1835, when the Candlemas Constitution was adopted.