Thursday, May 1, 2008

Time has come for the Kingdom of Serbia (2)

Aleksandar Memišević

Of course, the reality of our world and the historical moment we live in, is such that Serbia must, and will be, part of the European Union. That is inevitable, in spite of many objections that could be directed to the EU. We will get there as a Republic, or as a Monarchy. If we are democratic and pro-Western oriented, we will get there either way. But, it would be better if we did so as a Monarchy. One reason - Monarchy has everything to do with our past, history and national identity. The Republic has nothing to do with it. The other reason - a Republic will always be seen in the world as “Tito’s / Milosevic’s residue”. With a Monarchy we can give the final punch to Communism and its Godless and bloody ideology it stands for, once and for all. Then we will tell the world that we have definitely ended with it and have turned on a new path.

Until the emergence of Communism, Serbs have always been the victims, never the prosecutors. Serbs have for centuries lived and died for their freedom, for their faith, for their homes, for the respect of their ancestors. Serbs have never built places like the Jasenovac death camp, but have always perished in them, massively. Communism changed all that and today we are viewed (still) as evil monsters. The bolsevic-communist-socialist-extreme nationalist governments that have come and gone in the past 60 years, have done so much damage and destruction to Serbia, that it is unimaginable. The only way to end this is to proclaim once again the Kingdom of Serbia.

Many wounds are still present on the Serbian national being. But, Serbia is slowly once again finding its true self, its identity, and that process is still ongoing. Very soon Serbia will once again be a fully capacitated state - sovereign, independent and internationally recognized, thanks to Montenegro’s vote. The people of Serbia and the people of Montenegro will always be close, regardless of where they live. Centuries of fighting the same enemies, sharing the same religion and language, as well as bonds between cousins and families, will testify to our good relations in the future. Thanks to Montenegro’s vote on independence, Serbia has also become independent. It’s time for Serbia to finish searching for its identity, its soul. It’s time to stop searching and it’s time to finally find the way, once and for all. And that way, ladies and gentlemen, the only way, is to once again establish the Kingdom of Serbia, for the benefit of all its citizens.

In this truly exciting and promising historical moment, when we now have once again our own state, when we fly the flag with the Nemanjic crown, when we use the Coat of Arms of the glorious Kingdom of Serbia, when we once again stand tall to our own national anthem - God of Justice, when we have our beloved Patriarch and the Crown Prince at the Royal Palace, what are we to do? By logic, in the context of our historical continuity, our tradition, history and statehood, we must crown the Prince as our King, and we must make Serbia a Constitutional Parliamentary Kingdom!

His Royal Highness, Crown Prince Alexander II Karadjordjevic, is the descendant of Karadjordje - the father of modern Serbia, of Prince Alexander, of King Peter I The Liberator - the father of our modern European-styled democracy whom the people called Uncle Pierre, of King Alexander I - the father of the misfortunate Yugoslavia and the young King Peter II, under whose command general Draza Mihailovic led the first anti-Nazi guerrilla in occupied Europe. If it were not for Karadjordje and his dynasty, there would be no modern Serbia. Of course the Obrenovic dynasty has also done a great deal for modern Serbia and that dynasty deserves respect and place in history. But, we today have a living dynasty, the Karadjordjevic one, and its representative in the face of Crown Prince Alexander II. He is the son of our last King, therefore, he is King by definition. He was modest and decided to use the title of Crown Prince (heir to the throne), and will resume the title of King if and when the Serbian people freely decide to renew their Monarchy. Not only is he worldly educated, but is also not accustomed to living under communism, he is tolerant of different opinions, ethnicities, religions and he has shown that he is dedicated to serving his country and people. Humanitarian activities of him and his wife have contributed greatly for the benefit of our children, the young, the challenged, the elderly, the refugees… Medicines, medical equipment, new hospital departments, sponsoring talented youth and students, promoting investments in Serbia, promoting a positive image of Serbia, marking cultural, historic and other events, all that is wonderful. But, because he bears the historic last name that everyone in Serbia knows, he should do more. He should take the throne of the new Serbia! Of course, another advantage is that he is related, in one way or another, to almost all major Royal Families in Europe. Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II of the UK, Northern Ireland and the Commonwealth is his godmother. No Serbian President will ever have such family ties and connections.

Countries that have Kings and Queens are in some ways more privileged than countries that do not. A King being crowned, a Princess being married, that is so much more romantic and so much more traditional, than the inauguration of any President in any Republic. Monarchies of today give us the sense of a modern fairy tale, a sense of the lost romance. Monarchies are not created over night. They are a symbol of continuity, tradition, unity. So, a country either has a King, or does not have a King. One can’t just place an ad in the paper and conduct a job interview with potential candidates. One can’t just pick someone out of a crowd and place a crown on his or her head. Serbia is not a nation that was made yesterday or 60 years ago. Serbia has a long history and the Monarchy is the essential and unbreakable part of it. Serbia has its own Royal Family, a dynasty which originated from the Serbian people, a dynasty that has marked the last 200 years of modern Serbian history.

When Croatia declared independence in 1991, it talked of a “thousand year dream”, of “renewing the medieval state of Croatian Kings”. I am sure that they would have crowned a King, if they had one. Serbia has one, its own, and yet it still bothers with remains of Communism. None of this is part of our identity and should not be part of our future.

Let’s stop wasting precious time and inventing solutions out of the blue, because we have one solution that has been here, right in front of our own very eyes. Let us make our ancestors proud once again and let us secure democracy, peace, prosperity for our children! While standing firm on the paths of our past and tradition, we must also look ahead into the future, with a smile and proud gaze!

The power of the centuries is on our side. With faith in God, it can be done, for the benefit of everyone in our beloved Serbia! The world should support the renewal of the Kingdom of Serbia, because it will bring prosperity and stability, not only to Serbia, but to the whole region of the Western Balkans, of which Serbia is a key country.

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