The sixth annual convention of the Serbian Unity Congress, held on October 6-8 in San Francisco, was attended by delegates from the United States, Canada, Australia, South America, and Western Europe. Also attending it were HRH Knez Aleksandar Karadjordjevich and his wife Princess Barbara of Lichtenstein, Bishop of Western America the Most Reverend Jovan and many other guests.

Members of the Executive Board of the Serbian Unity Congress held a meeting on Friday morning and then met with the members of the International Advisory Board. Present at this meeting were also Knez Aleksandar and his wife Barbara as well as our guests from Belgrade Vlastimir Matejic, Dusan Batakovic and Miodrag Perisic. The purpose of these two meetings was to discuss and determine SUC's main tasks for 1996 and beyond. The key conclusion was that we, Serbs, were unprepared for war and now are unprepared for peace.

On Saturday morning the members of the Executive Board reported on the state of the organization and the activities and accomplishments during the past year.

Saturday afternoon was devoted to the main theme of this convention: Serbs and Their Enlightened National Interest. The basis for discussion was SUC's publication of 17 papers (both in English and Serbian): Preconditions for a Serbian Renewal (Dobrica Cosic); Culture and Tradition as a Source for Freedom and Renewal of the Serbian Nation (Nikola Samardzic); Serbs and Culture as an Identity (Nikola Koljevic); What Kind of Schools does Serbia Need? (Niksa Stipcevic); "Brain Drain" and Serbian National Interest (Vladimir Grecic); The Demographic Future of Serbs (Gordana Matkovic); The Future of the Serbs in the Age of Science and Technology (Vlastimir Matejic); Serbs and Trade in the 21st Century (Bosko Mijatovic); Serbs in the 21st Century - the Problem of Kosovo Metohija (Dusan Batakovic); The Serbs and the Slavic World (Milorad Ekmecic); Serbs and Islam (Darko Tanaskovic); Serbs and the United States (Alex Dragnich); Serbs and Yugoslavia (Zarko Bilbija); Serbs and Their Possibilities for Unification (Slobodan Samardzic); Serbs in Relation to Germany, the United States and the Diaspora (Miodrag Perisic); Monarchy as the Spiritual Embodiment of the Nation (Matija Beckovic); The Inseparability of External and Internal Freedoms (Kosta Cavoski).

Taking part in the panel, chaired by Miroslav Djordjevich, were four guests from Belgrade: Vlastimir Matejic, Vladimir Grecic, Dusan Batakovic and Miodrag Perisic. Their presentations were followed with a great number of questions raised by delegates and guests. The general conclusion of this discussion was that Serbia and Serbian people find themselves in the most difficult situation since 1804. The delegates and the panelists agreed that the only way out of this situation is the mobilization of all national forces in the fatherland and Diaspora. They also agreed that resolving state, national, and economic problems demands a new consciousness and a different approach to these issues. Only a reformed and modern Serbia and Serbs integrated into a commonwealth can restore the reputation and the importance Serbia once had in the Balkans and Europe.

The key note speaker was Knez Aleksandar Karadjordjevich - one of the four founders of the Serbian Unity Congress - who, together with Princess Barbara, participated in all activities of the Convention. The theme of his speech was that no reconciliation and no healing of wounds is possible until Serbs become aware of the true role Knez Pavle and Draza Mihailovic, wrongly and maliciously accused, played in World War Two.

The delegates received messages of greetings and good wishes for an effective Convention from Patriarch Pavle, HRH Crown Prince Aleksandar, President of Republika Srpska Radovan Karadzic, Ohio Governor George Voinovich, Kraina writer Jovan Radulovic, SANU General Secretary Miroslav Pantic, President of the Association of Serbs from Bosnia and Herzegovina in Serbia Gojko Djogo, Rados Ljusic and Slobodan Samardzic of the Serbian Committee for the Defense of Rights and Freedoms, President of the Union of Serbian Writers Slobodan Rakitic, and many others.

Sunday morning was spent writing resolutions and electing new Board members. The delegates unanimously passed 10 resolutions. The new Board of the Serbian Unity Congress now has two additional members:

1. John M. Delich, president
   
2. Ron Radakovich, executive vice-president
   
3. Dushica Protic, vice-president
   
4. Milos Milenkovich, vice-president
   
5. Vojin Joksimovich, vice-president
   
6. Zika Petrovich, treasurer
   
7. Nadezda Rakic, secretary
   
8. Nikola Petrovich, past president
   
9. Miroslav Djordjevich, past president
   

See you at the next convention.