President Milanović at 307th Sinjska Alka Tournament: Here I see the Croatian, Dalmatian world – warm, smiling and light-hearted
“This region is special, a region of a Croatian identity from where I originate myself, which is a coincidence, but to me an important one. The duality of Alka is significant – a masculine, warlike, rough discipline, soldierly and victorious – on the other hand with a feminine genetic code woven into it – the gentler, Marian, maternal part related to Mary, the patroness, Our Lady, the virgin, known to us as Our Lady of Sinj,” said the President of the Republic Zoran Milanović at the opening of his address at the 307th Sinjska Alka lancing tournament, which he attended today together with the President of the Republic of Slovenia Borut Pahor.
President Milanović explained that being religious is not needed to understand that the Cetinska Krajina region and its people have endured hardship in the distant and more recent past and how the people there – by some “miracle” and with the help of their patroness Our Lady of Sinj – became what they are today.
“Identity irrevocably and permanently came with the siege of Sinj, and because of those things that other parts of Croatia do not have. This identity is special because the Alka and similar tournaments were also held in Makarska, even earlier than in Sinj, in towns all over Dalmatia, in Zadar, but only here they have survived. And that is why on the 307th anniversary of the Alka and on the 27th anniversary of the glorious victory of the Croatian Army in Operation Storm, the tradition is alive. We must be faithful to it, but also know that it should be interpreted in a moderate, appropriate and thoughtful way. Times are different now. Turks and Ottomans are no longer our enemies. We want to believe they are our friends. We want to believe they understand the problems and difficulties faced by the Croats in Bosnia and Herzegovina today, which are not the same as 300 years ago, but they exist, and we would appreciate help,” the President told those present at the event.
President Milanović extended a warm welcome to his Slovenian counterpart President Pahor, whom he considers a friend of Croatia and his personal friend, saying he was glad that President Pahor came today. “Our friend, my friend Slovenian President Borut Pahor is here, a man who has done a lot for the good faith and good spirit between Croatia and Slovenia. These days we can see that the Slovenian government is finally, after seven years of misunderstanding, removing the ugly wire fencing that divided Croatia and Slovenia and whose victims were above all people as well as wildlife. This is a chivalrous move, in the spirit of Alka in a way. I welcome the removal of unnecessary borders between close and friendly peoples,” said President Milanović.
“The world today is like a dandelion in the wind. I’m only afraid that someone will sneeze and everything will scatter. The world today is there, where everyone sees their own world. Here I see the Croatian, Dalmatian world. It is our world – warm, smiling, cheerful, light-hearted, and in a world like this we can rest assured that we will still be around in 300 years. All the best! Long live the Alka!”, President Milanović said in conclusion of his address.
Ahead of the 307th Sinjska Alka, Presidents Milanović and Pahor toured the exhibition “Meštrović and Sikirica – Portraits of Contemporaries,” showcased in the Sikirica Gallery in the Alka Halls, under the expert guidance of exhibition curators Dragana Modrić, Barbara Vujanović and Dalibor Prančević. After viewing the exhibition, the two Presidents attended a reception hosted by the Alka duke, where the President of the Alka Knights Society of Sinj Stipe Jukić presented them with gifts.
After Frano Ivković was proclaimed the winner of the 307th Sinjska Alka at the end of the tournament, President Milanović extended his congratulations and presented a gift to him and said: “Take this gift, you and your squire, carry it proudly through the Cetinska Krajina region and win next year as well!”
Adviser to the President of the Republic for Human Rights and Civil Society Melita Mulić, Adviser to the President of the Republic for Foreign and European Policy Neven Pelicarić and Head of the Military Office of the Cabinet for Defense and National Security Rear Admiral Predrag Stipanović attended this year’s Sinjska Alka tournament alongside President Milanović.
PHOTO: Office o the President of the Republic of Croatia / Marko Beljan