Academician Matija Beckovic during his speech at the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering in Belgrade

The students carefully listen the speech by academician Matija Beckovic

The member of the Crown Council, academician Matija Beckovic spoke at the public debate “Why Monarchy” addressing several hundred of Belgrade University students, in the crowded amphitheatre of the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering on Wednesday, 24 December.

“It is often said that we don’t need Monarchy because today it is only a symbol of continuity and unity, honor and dignity in the European Kingdoms. Is it little that Serbia too has this symbol and isn’t it regrettable for Serbia not to have it when it already has one! It might be said that this flag is just a piece of cloth and the anthem is just a melody, the coat of arms is just a gadget and the crown is just a badge – but Serbia that does not have any of it is only a barren valley without laws and without anything sacred. The Kingdom of Serbia is the name for a great project of moral, spiritual, cultural and economic revival and renaissance of our society. On the cover of the book of this project the crown stands as a symbol of credibility of Serbian state. The proof that it has original documents and that it bears its Christian name” – said Matija Beckovic in his speech.

“The issue of who the King is was resolved by the Crown Prince’s birth. The Crown Prince is Karadjordje’s descendant. His great-great-great-grandfather was the Supreme Leader, his great-grandfather was the Liberator, his grandfather was the Unifier, his father was exiled and he should be the Reconciliator.

He is neither Chetnik nor Partisan.

He is the proof that the civil war is over and that we have returned from many a back road, alive and well – and emerged in the world with our own name and our own face” – makes his point academician Beckovic.

“It is usually said that Serbia had never been a republic, except under the communists. But it would not have been a mistake to say that it had not been a republic under the communists either! Serbia was a monarchy under the communists too, but an absolute one, with an absolute monarch, who maintained his power with an iron fist. There were no such monarchies among European kingdoms, but there were countries like that among socialist despoties. True, the monarch was fake, but his tyranny was real. And today it is not the issue of establishing the absolute monarchy with the fake monarch – but to establish a constitutional parliamentary monarchy on the model of contemporary European kingdoms and on the measure of our time” – said Matija Beckovic to the students gathered in the amphitheatre of the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering.

The debate “Why monarchy?”, which is a part of the cycle “Two Centuries of Serbia’s Statehood”, was organized by the “Dveri” (The Doors) – Serbian Assembly Association, at the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering of the University of Belgrade.

The participants of the debate were the Faculty’s Dean Dr Milos Nedeljkovic, the actor Danilo Lazovic and the singer Ljuba Manasijevic.