July 4, 2007
Embassy of the United States of America
Belgrade

Independence Day Remarks by Ambassador Michael C. Polt

Thank you, Marija Serifovic, for that moving rendition of the Star Spangled Banner on this, the 125th anniversary of U.S.-Serbian relations.

Dear Friends, Welcome to America's 231st Birthday Celebration!

Thank you all for joining Hallie and me to celebrate a very special day for all Americans.

Our birthday as a nation is a family picnic and not a somber occasion. This year, throughout the United States, we will again ignore the advice of our doctors and consume over 150 million hotdogs and damage our ear drums with over $210 million worth of fireworks.

But amidst all the exuberance and noise of our Independence Day celebration, every year on this day, we Americans recommit ourselves to a most serious cause and responsibility -- the enhancement of liberty -- the inherent right of all people on this earth to choose freely how they want to live their lives.

We know that this liberty for which we are so grateful often comes with a high price – a price that we remain prepared to pay. We know that we can never take it for granted and we remember that there was a time when our own liberty was anything but certain.

So again this year, we would now like to introduce to you representatives of Serbia's genuine every-day heroic spirit. People who live their vision of liberty and responsibility and who are role models to me, as much as I recommend them to you:

Selami Bektashi of the NGO Green World in Presevo: Selami is the President of Green World, a local organization that carries out environmental projects in the Presevo municipality. Selami received a degree in Biology in Pristina. He is unemployed and serves his community and Serbia as a volunteer.

Vesna Jankovic from Medvedja: Vesna’s five-member family lives on welfare in temporary accommodations. Vesna is the only family member with a regular income. With a modest grant provided by the American people, she managed to successfully open her own pastry shop. She and her husband are dedicated to their two children's education. Their elder daughter is a final year student at the Faculty of Economics in Nis, and their younger daughter is preparing for the entrance examination at the university.

Slavica Nina Milunovic from Smederevska Palanka and Gazmend Raci from Kosovo are partners in empowering internally displaced people through medical, educational, and financial support. By leading the NGOs Bozur and Initiative for Peace, Nina and Gazmend are creating a sense of community for displaced persons in Kosovo and throughout Serbia.

And finally, Goran. Goran Jevic was born in Belgrade. He left Serbia with his family to live in Australia in 1989. Always committed to returning home someday, he chose to come back three years ago. Since then, he has started a new life, a new business, and has contributed to a new future for Serbia. Not rich, but determined, and after a very difficult start, he now runs a successful restaurant in Belgrade providing ten people solid employment. His restaurant has started something of a healthy eating revolution.

My wife and I have traveled this beautiful country over the past three years and we have met so many wonderful people, like Selami, Vesna, Slavica, Gazmend, and Goran.

We are proud to have come to know the Serbian people and we hope we have done as much as we could to earn your friendship and your respect -- if not always your agreement.

So today, on our last birthday celebration here in Belgrade, we ask for God's gift of liberty for the people of Serbia.

Liberty is not a selfish ideal. Liberty is a universal and a generous concept. We thank you for joining us in celebrating our nation’s democratic spirit and our journey to freedom, and we wish you all the very best as you continue to walk your own path of democracy and liberty that you so bravely reawakened in October of 2000.

Bon voyage!

Photos: FoNet

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