BELGRADE, Nov. 11 (Tanjug) - Prime Minister Ivica Dacic said on Monday Serbia chose the right side in both world wars, adding he believed the country needed to strengthen its position among the equal and united European nations resolutely and in peace.
He laid a wreath marking the 95th anniversary of the Armistice in World War One and said afterwards people should remember their ancestors who died in that war and make more effort to strengthen the awareness of the need to forgive and constantly promote life in peace.
Delegations from the Serbian Armed Forces, allies from World War One, the city of Belgrade and veteran associations also laid wreaths at the memorial to soldiers fallen in World War One located at a Belgrade cemetery.
Dacic stressed that Serbia lost a third of its population in World War One and suffered irreparable damage, which it never recovered from in full. World War One started with an invasion of the Kingdom of Serbia, Dacic stated, praising Serbia's initial victories over the Austro-Hungarian forces on the mountain Cer and at the river Kolubara, western Serbia, the heroic defence against the German attack in 1915, the retreat across Albania, recovery on the island of Corfu and finally the breach of the Thessaloniki Front and country's ultimate liberation in 1918. History has build and enriched all that with new knowledge through the years, but also with stereotypes that highlighted victories in battle and heroic commanders while neglecting the huge losses and devastation, he said. It is the obligation of everyone in Serbia to maintain a dignified memory of World War One, he emphasized. It is everyone's obligation, regardless of nationality and religion, but also an obligation to bequeath a more organized, stable, democratic and tolerant society based on understanding, equality, cooperation and non-violence to the future generations, he said.