10.06.2020.

Students of Advanced Security and Defence Studies and the General Staff Course visit the “Defence 78” exhibition on the 21st anniversary of the end of the NATO agression

Today, the Minister of Defence, Aleksandar Vulin, together with the students of the Advanced Security and Defence Studies and the School of National Defence, visited the exhibition of the Ministry of Defence and the Serbian Armed Forces, "Defence 78", in the Belgrade City Museum on the occasion of the 21st anniversary of the end of the NATO aggression on the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.

During the visit, Minister Vulin presented the most important segments of this exhibition, pointing out that the "Defence 78" exhibition is a way to preserve the memory of what happened in 1999 and said "that we must never allow NATO aggression to be forgotten, because if we forget it, it will happen again to someone else."

One of the students of the 9th class of the Advanced Security and Defence Studies who visited the exhibition today was MP Marija Obradović, who emphasized after the visit that "a bitter impression should stay with us for a long time."

- Everyday life distracts our attention elsewhere, but it is important that as many people as possible see this exhibition. A long time has passed since 1999; many generations have been born who will harbour the heavy feeling of suffering of the citizens of Kosovo and Metohija during the bombing. I am deliberately using the word “citizens”, the population of that territory; I am not saying that they are exclusively Serbs, although majority of victims were Serbs. I am talking about a world crime that took a large number of lives, especially the lives of children and young people, innocent population - said Marija Obradović and added that this type of crime occurs in other places as well, but "what happened to us in 1999 was unprecedented" in the heart of Europe.

She stated that, as a student of the 9th class of the Advanced Security and Defence Studies, she is proud that today, together with her colleagues and the Minister of Defence, she evoked memories of everything that happened and that "we must not allow something like this to ever happen in the world."

- This is also an important lesson for all of us who are seriously involved in politics and who are in the security sector, reminding us to think carefully about future moves and decisions about the direction in which this sector will go. The geopolitical circumstances and foreign policy relations of Serbia at this moment cannot be the only motive for making decisions, we must be aware of the past - said Marija Obradović.

The tour of "Defence 78" exhibition left special impressions on the student of the 63rd class of the General Staff Course of the School of National Defence, Lieutenant Colonel Branko Mićanović, a member of the 549th Motorized Brigade, performing the duty of the Commander of the First Gun Battery. He took part in the fighting in the territory of Kosovo and Metohija from 1995 to 1999, until the unit was relocated from that area, and he also took part in the battle of Paštrik.

- What left an overwhelming impression on me here is that, primarily, it evokes memories of all those events and everything that we survived in that period - said Lieutenant Colonel Mićanović, who invited all citizens to visit this exhibition, which, as he emphasized, depicts a part of what our soldiers survived.

One of the students of the 9th class of the Advanced Security and Defence Studies, Ivan Mijailović, said that today he saw everything that we must not forget - the victims of NATO aggression and all the heroes who fought and defended the honour and freedom of our people in a chivalrous way, adding that "the Serbian people have defended themselves and fought for freedom throughout the history.”

- You cannot remain indifferent when you visit the exhibition, when you see all the pictures, our children and the youth that fell silent and now we have the opportunity to see them only in photographs. The models, the pain, the sacrifices and grief shown here are a reflection of the responsible government that created the opportunity for all our citizens to come and see all this. I recommend to all students to come and see the exhibition, but also to those who talk about us as a nation that is not worth much, so that they can see what they once did to the Serbian people, a not so numerous but a great nation - said Mijailović.

Twenty-one years ago, NATO aggression was carried out on the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. The air campaign of 19 member countries of the Western Military Alliance called "Allied Force" began on the evening of 24 March 1999. In the 78 days of aggression, a large number of members of the armed forces, police and civilians were killed, seriously and lightly wounded. The aggression ended with the Kumanovo Military Technical Agreement and the signing of Resolution 1244 of the United Nations Security Council.

The exhibition uniquely shows the country's heroic defence during the 78 days of NATO aggression, which began with the attack on the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia on 24 March 1999, without the approval of the United Nations Security Council and is dedicated to the fallen members of the armed forces, police and civilians, many of which were unfortunately children.