Academician Darko Tanasković said last night in Banja Luka that there is a major attack on the identity of the Serb people, but that it can be preserved if efforts are pursued persistently and if Serbs do not allow themselves to be defined by how others see them.
“Of course, we must take this into account and adapt our methods of fighting for the preservation of identity to the spirit of the times,” Tanasković told journalists ahead of the promotion of a special edition of the journal Poredak titled In the service of Serbdom, dedicated to him.
Tanasković emphasized that he has always been inspired by the idea that it is necessary to strengthen Serb identity primarily on the cultural and spiritual level.
“Above all because no one can take that away from us, and because it depends on us the most. I believe this is where we are strongest, because the vertical line that runs from Saint Sava to the present day is a privilege of the Serb people and of the states that this people has created,” Tanasković said.
He pointed out that few peoples and states have realized a historical ideal as fully as the Saint Sava tradition.
“I feel that this publication is actually more dedicated to that idea for which I have fought throughout my professional life, and that it is, in a way, a materialization that can serve others, especially young people, to set out on that path,” Tanasković said.
Historian Goran Latinović said that the special edition of Poredak dedicated to Tanasković should encourage people to reflect deeply, but also motivate them to read the works of this academician.
He noted that Tanasković is one of the leading Serb intellectuals of today and that through many of his highly regarded books he has drawn attention, among other things, to the issue of Serb identity.
“Tanasković is one of the people most deserving of the fact that the so-called Kosovo was not admitted to UNESCO, which is of great importance, because had the decision been different it would have had serious consequences for Serb cultural heritage in Kosovo and Metohija. His role was also significant in preventing Aloysius Stepinac from being proclaimed a saint,” Latinović said.
The promotion of the journal was organized by the Center for Socio-Political Research of Republika Srpska in cooperation with the Eparchy of Banja Luka and the Institute for Political Networking.
Darko Tanasković is a Serb Islamologist, orientalist philologist, university professor, writer, literary translator, diplomat, and academician. He is a former ambassador of Yugoslavia to Turkey, Azerbaijan, and the Vatican, as well as Serbia’s ambassador to UNESCO.
Source: Glas Srpske
