PDF Dosyası - Ankara Üniversitesi Kitaplar Veritabanı

ack foot by foot, and so was forced to leave the whole of its country andleave it to the enemy. This army, consisting of the sons of the Serbpeople, but also those statesmen and dignitaries who ruled the people'sdestiny, vvere by no means discouraged or rendered hopeless by that. So,vvhen not even a foot of land remained in their hands, they said: "Wewish to stay an honorable people!" And so they have. There, the result ofthat determination is that we today see a big Yugoslavia instead of asmall Serbia". End of quotation.The above mentioned big Yugoslavia no longer exists because thestatesmen and dignitaries vvho led the Serb people at the end of the pastdecade did not realize the essence of the historical changes in globalrelations manifested through the fail of Berlin Wall, the disintegration ofthe USSR and the Warsaw Pact and the collapse of the real-socialistestablishment in the countries of Eastern Europe.Rather than comprehending the great historical mission of the Serbpeople, that had started vvith the creation of Yugoslavia, rather thanpeacefully, by reforms and in a democratic and political vvay usheringthat Yugoslavia to the European Union, they tried to avoid the inevitable,failing to realize that Yugoslavia vvas a "transit stop" on the Yugoslavpeoples' vvay to the united Europe.Today's Yugoslavia again has no prospects of being a peaceful andcomfortable place for ali her citizens regardless of nation, religion,ideology and culture to vvhich they belong unless she acknovvledges thesimple truth that she is not merely a geographic part of Europe, but alsopart of its civilization and that by that very fact she must also be an activeand equal participant in the contemporary economic, political, securityand military integration.My regret is even greater knovving that our statesmen and dignitariesdo not have to confront the burden of backvvardness that Atatürk had toface. They need not "take fezzes and scarves off in order to put hats onthe heads of the citizens and dress them in the clothes of the civilizedpeople". But, they, too, vvould have to understand the importance ofAtatürk's efforts to feel the pulse of radical changes in the people, amongthose vvho vvere unavvare of the point of changes and modernization. Aparticularly important message he addressed in that historic speech vvas"not to stay apart from the entire vvorld". It is my special pleasure toquote the follovving:'The international clothes of the civilized peoples are fullybecoming of our nation. We shall vvear shoes, trousers, shirts, collars,838