“Politika”, 14 February 2004
Personal view
GREAT JUBILEE THEN
AND NOW
Dusan Babac, vice chairman of the Serbian Heraldic
Society
Bicentennial of The First Serbian Uprising and the establishment
of modern Serbian state is a great historical date. There is not
much use in talking about how other nations marked their great
historical dates. Any comparison with the celebration of the USA
Bicentennial (1976), 200th anniversary of the fall of
the Bastille (1989) or, for instance, this year’s celebration of
the two centuries of the Legion d’Honeur, leaves us with,
essentially, just a list of the events we regrettably won’t
attend. That is why it would be very useful to at least remember
how the great jubilees were marked in our country in the past.
On
the Centennial of The First Serbian Uprising King Peter I was
coronated in Belgrade, and then anointed in Zica monastery. All
his efforts to turn Serbia into one of the most democratic
countries of the time, with a progressive Constitution and
political stability, were also crowned then. The testimony of what
Serbia was like then and how this great jubilee was marked is the
first Serbian documentary film that was made on that occasion.
That year the highest state award, the Star of Karadjordje was
introduced, which in the liberation wars that Serbia waged from
1912 to 1921 was much more than a decoration, becoming a symbol of
knighthood.
The next great jubilee, 150th anniversary of the
Uprising was celebrated in 1954, which means in the time of
totalitarian communist regime of Josip Broz. In this context, it
seems totally unbelievable that the law on constructing the new
National Library was passed on that occasion. The construction
took several years, and this monumental building in Vracar plateau
became a stronghold of our culture and remained a permanent
witness to the fact that even at the times when it was least
expected, there was enough understanding for the significance of
the anniversary of the greatest event in Serbian history.
Today, when we celebrate the Bicentennial, Serbia will, at least
the official one, though it is not quite clear what that term
might mean today, celebrate the great jubilee with a musical play
entitled “The Ferry”. The modest assumption of the author of these
lines is that the ferry should represent a metaphor of our
transition from the past into a better tomorrow. Let us, by all
means, before that better tomorrow, look at the present, at least
the paraphernal one, which illustrates quite well the state our
country is in. The great jubilee of the Serbian state is
celebrated today with the still existing official symbols, the
coat of arms with a charming red star an a cog-wheel of our
development, and without the anthem. At the same time, the
official logo of the celebration is a fluttering version of the
above mentioned coat of arms, a shield with floating croissants,
supposedly representing the fire-steels and of course, without the
cross. Regrettably, the story does not end here, for we are today
among the rare exotic countries without decorations. So it happens
that when foreign heads of states come to our country, or the
highest diplomatic representatives and their missions here, they
leave Serbia and Montenegro with their hands empty. Unfortunately,
that also happens to the citizens of this country who have
contributed to our science, culture and business through their
lifelong work and achievements. Such a thing was not recorded even
in Tito’s time.
One might think that the country’s symbols do not have fundamental
meaning, but how can it then be explained that those who have
gathered around “O God of Justice” anthem and the double-headed
white eagle for the last ten years, today believe that adopting
those very same symbols would in fact be reestablishment of
monarchy. Even the quick glance of the crowned coats of arms of
the republics of Montenegro, Bulgaria or the Russian Federation,
clearly speaks that this kind of inferior attitude toward one’s
own history is our authentic invention. Some of them also believe
that our greatest shame is the fact that we are going to celebrate
this great jubilee without the president of the Republic, as the
only such country in Europe. I would like to try to remind that in
the past 200 years this country was republic for only 60 years and
the quality of that republic is to be judged by the citizens
themselves. And as for the notion that we are the only such
country in Europe, I would add that the half of the European Union
members, the more developed half, are in fact monarchies.
