ŠKOBO: VIDOVDAN - SYMBOL OF SERBS' CENTURIES-LONG STRUGGLE FOR FREEDOM AND JUSTICE

ISTOČNO SARAJEVO, JUNE 26 /SRNA/ - Vidovdan /St. Vitus Day/ is a symbol of the Serbian people's centuries-long struggle for freedom and justice, and its essence is best reflected in the Battle of Kosovo in 1389 and the Sarajevo assassination in 1914, historian Lazar Škobo told SRNA.

Škobo stressed that these two historical events testify to the Serbian people's determination to fight for freedom to the last drop of blood, endure great suffering, and persevere through the centuries. "The entire essence and nobility of the Serbian people are best reflected in two Vidovdans: the Battle of Kosovo in 1389 and the Sarajevo assassination in 1914. They exemplify a people who fight for freedom, endure suffering, persevere for nearly five centuries, and then make enormous sacrifices once again in the struggle against a new occupier – Austria-Hungary," Škobo said. He stressed that the Serbian people's centuries-long suffering in the pursuit of freedom and justice was not in vain. “The culmination of this historical process came in 1918, when all Serbian lands, both west and east of the Drina River, found themselves within a single state,” Škobo said. According to him, it is precisely because of the sacrifice of ancestors and the historical significance of Vidovdan that the memory of those who gave their lives for freedom must be preserved. "That is why today we must preserve the memory of our fallen ancestors, while also cherishing the legacy and ideals of Vidovdan, the day that encapsulates both the hardship and the preciousness of our glorious past," Škobo said.