Dear Mr. Secretary General:
The Serbian American community is deeply offended with the reports that you apologized for the performance in the UN of the song "Marš na Drinu" by the Viva Vox Choir from Belgrade Serbia on January 14, 2013.
Please see the enclosed letter about our community's response and request.
Thank you.
Sincerely yours,
Mirjana Samardzija
President
Serbian Unity Congress
Cell: (415) 260-5961
(415) 380-9191
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January 17, 2013
H.E. Ban Ki-moon
Secretary General
United Nations
1 United Nations Plaza
New York, NY 10017
Your Excellency,
Today’s media reported that you offered an apology for the performance of “Marš na Drinu” January 14 at the UN by the Belgrade choir Viva Vox in response to a slanderous campaign by the Bosniak community of activists who claimed falsely that this was a song that represented and promoted ethnic hatred and crimes.
“Marš na Drinu” is a song that represents the sad but proud history of the sacrifice of the Serbian people in World War I fighting on the side of the allies to defend their freedom. This song has been recognized world-wide as a song that represents a people’s struggle for freedom and has been performed around the world by many renown international musicians and venues.
The Serbian American community is extremely disturbed and offended by the possibility that you would have apologized for a song of which the Serbian nation is most proud and which symbolizes its struggles and grave sacrifices for freedom. We are stunned that a man of your world standing would have succumbed to this anti-Serb campaign to smear Serbian culture by the Bosniak extremists and that you would have apologized for the song. Had your staff looked into the matter properly they would have learned about the origin of the song and have seen that the Bosniak accusations were unfounded and malicious with the intent to defame.
People of Serbian nationality are still reeling from the defamation they endured as a result of the wars of the 90s. As a representative of a major Serbian diaspora organization I write to you in the name of our community and urge you to clarify to the media in your press conference that you did not issue an apology for the song as there is nothing to apologize for.
Thank you for your attention and consideration.
Sincerely yours,
Mirjana Samardzija
President
Serbian Unity Congress
2311 M Street, Suite 402, Washington, DC 20037
Tel: 202-463-8643 Fax: 202-318-4757 www.serbianunity.net
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If you would like to get in touch with me, Aleksandra, please feel free to contact me at heroesofserbia@yahoo.com
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