The leadership of the Croatian Royal Council strongly condemns chauvinistic statements and pretensions towards Croatia made in video's of the President of the Republic of Serbia. Building national myths on the basis of historical forgeries and pretensions can only be a foundation for more future conflicts and intolerance.
A series of short videos was published on the official TikTok page of the President of the Republic of Serbia, Aleksandar Vučić (1), featuring chauvinistic statements claiming territory of countries outside of Serbia which historically or de jure and de facto belong to sovereign states such as Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro and Kosovo. Using chauvinistic propaganda and terms, some videos refer to a false myth of an all-Serbian holiday, the so-called Day of Serbian unity, freedom and national flag or September 15th, proclaimimg “Serbdom has been resurrected” and calling for the Serbian tricolor flag to swirl in “all free Serbian lands.”(2) The videos themselves show neighboring countries and call for the application of this holiday, aggressively posturing to the mentioned countries and unjustly appropriating Serbs in Croatia who have built their culture and identity related to the Croatian crown and homeland for centuries against the so-called "Thessaloniki bayonets".
Footage from a series of chauvinistic videos published on the social network TikTokMythology, but not a historical reality
The saddest fact is the creation of a falsified national myth based on historical forgeries and lies, the so-called The Day of Serbian Unity, Freedom and the National Flag, a farce of a chauvinist policy that suffered its defeat in the 1990s. The Serbs of Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina were historically largely loyal inhabitants of these countries under the scepter and crown of Croatian rulers, including the late Franz Joseph I and Blessed King Charles IV Habsburg. This propaganda calls upon an old populist thesis of Serbian liberators marching forward with bayonets on September 15, 1918 and the breakthrough on the Thessaloniki line (front). In reality, the event itself was not a Serbian battle, but a large operation under the auspices of the multinational Entente army, whose supreme command and the largest number of soldiers were French. For full context, the Odessa Massacre should be considered one of the bloodiest and most horrific war crimes of the Great War of 1914-1918, committed by the Serbian army when it killed thousands of prisoners, mostly Croats but also Serbs who refused to swear allegiance to the Serbian crown and flag by the same organization that is now perceived as liberators of Serbs and Slavs.
It is ironic that the day itself which they mention did not bring liberation for Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina from the Habsburg monarchy, since they both as a part of the State of SCS (Slovene, Croats, Serbs), entered a joint state with Serbia through the decision of the National Council in Zagreb and the Royal Government in Belgrade. This day of unity also proved to be a funeral procession of the Serbian ally of Montenegro, who's people lost their own country, and were exposed to further Serbization in order to ethnically erase the Montenegrin people, as witnessed personally by many prominent Montenegrins and units that resisted the illegal occupation by their Serb allies. This act is especially visible today through the many injustices committed against the Montenegrin people and the ruling Petrović-Njegoš family who are being viciously attacked, leading to the excesses such as the negation of the Montenegrin Orthodox Church.
Flags of the Kingdom of Montenegro used from 1910 to 1916, in the video as an element of contemporary chauvinistic Serbization of Montenegrins and MontenegroSerbian myth of the unconqured Flag?
The first video in this series carrying the description: "The Serbian people are one and indivisible! Day of Serbian Unity, Freedom and the National Flag ” states a common claim without any historical basis made up to build a myth of military heroism which was often mentioned to non-Serb POW during the 1990s wars when many Albanians, Bosniaks and Croats were severely tortured, abused and executed. In an effort to revive and glorify the myth, the video states:
„The (Serbian flag) was carried by the best and the bravest. They defended it with their lives and not a single (Serbian) flag fell into the hands of the enemy.”(3)
This myth is a historical forgery that served to create Serbian military identity, culture and character. The claim is that no Serbian military flag, unit flag or official flag fell into the hands of the enemy during the Great War of 1914-1918. In every one of the possible meanings mentioned above, the myth is historically incorrect and fabricated. For, as the video calls them, the best and bravest have actually lost what they consider their proudest symbol, that is, the first flag of the State, the flag of the most elite Serbian unit, the flag of the Serbian King and King's Guard!
Serbia's First Flag captured; King's personal standard carried by the Royal Guard, the most elite unit of the Serbian army
Picture of the captured court train of King Peter I Karadjordjevic near NišNamely, during the general offensive of the KuK monarchy and its allies in 1915 and 1916, there was a heavy defeat of Serbia and Montenegro, which were wiped off the political map of Europe. In those moments of collapse, Bulgarian, Croatian, Austrian, etc. units broke behind enemy lines and captured the royal court train near Niš. Besides many trophies, the train also carried the personal standard of King Peter I Karadjordjevic (the first flag of the State carried by the most elite unit of the Serbian army's King's Guard). The flag remained as a war trophy and was later exhibited at war exhibitions in Sofia, while King Peter I himself barely escaped captivity, leaving behind ceremonial uniforms to save his own head from capture. In these battles, the elite Serbian unit did not provide a heroic fight, and was easily surprised by the incursion of the forces of Bulgaria and the KuK monarchy. This news spread through many countries and various newspapers wrote about it, including those in the Triune Kingdom of Croatia. This is just one historical fact that shatters the myth of the Serbian flag, and certainly reminds us how much forgery and lies can affect the construction of negative identity and myths. Throughout history, this myth has grown to say that this same guard carried King Peter I through Albania, conveniently leaving out that it was defeated in the conflict and lost the most important flag in all of Serbia.
Captured Serbian crown of King Peter Karađorđević by Bulgarian troopsCroatian reaction and the question of building better neighbourly relationships?
These provocative videos have resulted in heated reactions from neighbouring countries. In Croatia, many politicians and the public opinion at large have condemned this chauvinistic act. The main spotlight has certainly been on the representatives of the Serb minority in Croatia and how they view this clear act of provocation. The attitude and speech of Milorad Pupovac, the leader of the Serbian National Council, is certainly regrettable, who after presenting the conclusions of the SNV meetings on the same day, said:
„The flag is something that belongs to Serbs in the Republic of Croatia, just as it belongs to Croats in the Republic of Serbia or other minorities living outside their home countries. Any manifestation, whether related to the country of origin or its holidays, should take place in accordance with the laws of the country in which one lives.”
(Milorad Pupovac)
With his statement, he did not even question the holiday itself, which is in its original form contrary to the constitutional and legal order of Croatia, that was, like other countries, a victim of the Sarajevo assassination, and our Constitution clearly mentions in the preamble that Croatia is a follower of the Croatian Kingdom that lasted from 925 to 1918 and that it does not legally recognize the events of 1 December 1918 carried out by the National Council in Zagreb with the aim of unification with Serbia.
Even though during the 1991-1995 Homeland War there were many Croatian Serbs who joined the Croats in defending their homeland, it is a sad fact that the majority went the other way and took up arms against Croatia and supported aggression through illegal unification with the criminal entity of Republic of Serbian Krajina (1991-1995). This Parastate was defeated in the legitimate and liberating army operation Storm in 1995. Unlike the Croatian Serbs in 1991-1995, the majority of Croatian Serbs during the Great War of 1914-1918 took part in the defense of the Croatian crown, a war ignited by great injustice and the assassination of Crown Prince Franz Ferdinand and his wife Duchess Sofia in Sarajevo 28 June 1914.
Through his statement, Milorad Pupovac did a great injustice to many Serbs from Croatia who lived in it for centuries and were loyal to their Croatian homeland, the crown and the Habsburg dynasty, denying their desire and the rights they acquired and upheld under the condition of loyalty in stark contrast to warmongers in neighboring Serbia between 1914 and 1918 . Warmongers who, after the Thessaloniki front was broken, raised their bayonets against the lives of many innocent prisoners, mostly Croats but also Serbs from Croatia who refused to obey the Serbian crown and remained loyal to their homeland.
Ultimately, Serbs in Croatia must decide whether Croatia is their homeland in which they built a glorious centuries-old history with Croats and other minorities, or whether they are ready to reject it and return to a war-mongering and chauvinistic ideology that brought so much evil and injustice during the 20th century. The same is true for neighboring Serbia, whether it has decided to sober up from failed Greater Serbian projects and claims to neighboring countries, and return to build upa a better relationship with its neighboring countries.
Sources:
*1) Aleksandar Vučić; predajanijeopcija, (https://www.tiktok.com/@predajanijeopcija), pristupljeno 14.09.2021.
*2) Aleksandar Vučić; predajanijeopcija, “Српство је васкрсло!” (https://www.tiktok.com/@predajanijeopcija/video/7006026148899491077), pristupljeno 14.09.2021.
*3) Aleksandar Vučić; predajanijeopcija, “Српски народ је један и недељив! Дан српског јединства, слободе и националне заставе” (https://www.tiktok.com/@predajanijeopcija/video/7005295662484999429), pristupljeno 14.09.2021.
Ultimately, a reminder for those who use chauvinism to deny someone's ethnicty and religion, words the most famous Croatian military leader Svetozar Baron Boroevic said as a proud Croat of the Orthodox faith. He addressed his text to the Serbs as well, when, as he said, it is an insult for him and Serbs as well to be a subject of a Dynasty and a House that we can see through the eyes of history as an ideological apologist to the Thessaloniki bayonet myth.
Croatian Royal Council
2021.
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