CENTURIES OF SERB STRUGGLE FOR NATIONAL CONSCIOUSNESS POURED INTO PERO TUNGUZ’S SHOT

PALE, JULY 4 /SRNA/ – In the shot fired by the hajduk commander Pero Tunguz at Turkish mule drivers in Bišina on July 5, 1875, were poured centuries of popular pain, suffering, and migrations, but also the continuous struggle of Serbs to preserve their national consciousness and Orthodox faith, Draga Mastilović, Director of the Institute of Historical Sciences at the University of East Sarajevo, stated for SRNA.

Mastilović noted that this shot resounded a few days later in Krekovi and ignited the flame of the long-prepared and anticipated Herzegovina Uprising. He emphasized that the joint central commemoration of the 150th anniversary of the Herzegovina Uprising, organized in Nevesinje on Sunday, July 6, by Serbia and Republika Srpska, represents one of the important segments in establishing the collective culture of remembrance of the Serb people. “The Herzegovina Uprising, which began in Nevesinje 150 years ago, did not have a local character, but is one of the most significant events in the recent history of the entire Serb nation,” Mastilović stressed. He reminded that the flame of the Herzegovina Uprising eventually spread to such an extent that it opened not only the Serbian issue throughout the Balkans but also the Great Eastern Crisis, which ultimately led to the Berlin Congress of 1878 and a new geopolitical map of Europe. According to him, the Serb people then once again showed their inner strength, national consciousness, and tireless readiness to shoulder the burden of history and step onto the world stage. Therefore, Mastilović emphasized, this is one of the dates that belongs to the entire Serb people and their collective culture of remembrance, and it should be marked by every Serb, regardless of where they live. “That is why the Assembly in Nevesinje on Sunday, July 6, is not only an opportunity to pay tribute to our ancestors, but also for all of us together as a people to remember how much we loved freedom, how persistently and determinedly we fought and died for it, and how much we love it today, remembering the struggles and sacrifices of our ancestors,” Mastilović said.