Serbian Defence Minister Dragan Sutanovac, as an envoy of President Boris Tadic, laid a wreath and signed the memorial book at the Monument to the Unknown Hero on Avala mountain near Belgrade on Tuesday, to mark Serbia's Statehood Day (Sretenje). Dacic opens exhibition to mark Statehood Day in Nis.

Serbian Chief-of-Staff Gen. Miloje Miletic, AF&AD Commander Brig. Gen. Ranko Zivak and Ground Army Commander Lt. Gen. Ljubisa Dikovic laid wreaths at the monument on behalf of the Serbian Armed Forces.

Serbian Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister Ivica Dacic opened an exhibition of Serbian flags and banners from the period of World War I at the National Museum in the southern Serbian city of Nis on Tuesday, as part of the celebration of Serbia's Statehood Day.

Dacic congratulated all Serbian citizens on their country's Statehood Day.

“Representative exhibits that opened on this occasion in Nis, Novi Sad, Belgrade, Kragujevac and Valjevo are not just exhibitions - they also represent an exceptionally rare occasion for all of us to see the insignia that symbolise our country,” Dacic pointed out.

On Tuesday, Serbia celebrates its Statehood Day and Army Day, which were founded by participants in the First Serbian Uprising 207 years ago when they, under Karadjordje's leadership, launched the fight for liberation from the Ottoman Empire.

The Statehood Day and Army Day are observed on the important Christian holiday Sretenje (Candlemas), which is the day when the First Serbian Uprising broke out in 1804 and the day when the first Constitution of the Principality of Serbia was adopted in 1835.

Decrees of President of Serbia on appointments in VS

On the occasion of the Statehood Day of the Republic of Serbia and Day of the Serbian Armed Forces (VS), Serbian President Boris Tadic issued decrees on appointments and ordinary and extraordinary promotions of officers in Serbia's military, the president's press office said Tuesday.

Brigadier General Milan Bjelica was appointed Deputy Chief of VS General Staff.

Major-General Miodrag Jevtic was appointed Rector of the University of Defense, Brigadier General Goran Radovanovic was appointed Deputy Commanding Officer of the Training Command, and Lieutenant Milomir Todorovic as Commander (Adjutant) of the VS Guard.

Colonel Dejan Jankovic was appointed Chief of the Military Police Department, and Colonel Dusko Zarkovic as Chief of Staff in the Air Force and Air Defense Command.