ANTIĆ: GRATEFUL FOR DECORATION

BANJA LUKA, FEBRUARY 14 /SRNA/ - Famous Macedonian basketball player Pero Antić has said that he is happy about the decoration he received in Banjaluka on the occasion of Candlemas – Statehood Day of Serbia and Statehood Day of Republika Srpska.

"It means a lot when someone recognizes what you've done in your life," Antić told reporters, after being awarded the Order of Merit with Golden Rays at Banski Dvor. Tomislav Vukomanović, a kickboxer from the "Sveti Georgije" Club in Banjaluka, who received the Medal of Merit for the People, said that this recognition serves as encouragement to achieve even better results. During the ceremony in Banjaluka on the occasion of Candlemas – Statehood Day of Serbia and Statehood Day of Republika Srpska, decorations were presented to deserving individuals and organizations in various fields. The ceremony was attended by Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić, and numerous high-ranking officials from both countries, representatives from public, political, social, and religious life, citizens, and other guests. The All-Serbian Assembly decided on June 8 of last year that Candlemas, February 15, Statehood Day of the Republic of Serbia, should also be Statehood Day of Republika Srpska and that this date should be celebrated jointly. Candlemas/Sretenje is a national holiday celebrated on February 15 in memory of the beginning of the First Serbian Uprising in 1804, led by Karađorđe, and the adoption of the Sretenje Constitution in 1835, the first modern constitution of Serbia.