24.03.2022.

Minister Stefanović lays wreath to mark Day of Remembrance for Victims of NATO Aggression

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence NebojšaStefanović, PhD, has laid a wreath at the memorialin the “Jugovićevo” barracks in Novi Sad today, to mark the national observance of the Day of Remembrance for the Victims of NATO Aggression. He said that March 24 would never be an ordinary day again, not only for Serbia, but for the whole world. “That day is a symbol of our pain, but also of injustice. A terrible injustice done to our country," said Minister Stefanović.

The Minister of Defence laid the wreath accompanied by Deputy Chief of the Serbian Armed Forces General Staff, Lieutenant General PetarCvetković, and Deputy Commander of the Air Force and Air Defence, Brigadier General ŽeljkoBilić. Wreaths were also laid by the President of the Government of the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina Igor Mirović, Head of the South Bačka Administrative District Milan Novaković, the Mayor of Novi Sad MilošVučević, the representatives of the Association of Disabled Veterans of Novi Sad, the families of the victims, the representatives of the Association of Airmen of Vojvodina, the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina SUBNOR (Union of War Veterans of the National Liberation Wars of Serbia), the City of Novi Sad SUBNOR, the representatives of the City of Novi Sad Reserve Officers Organization and the Association of Law Enforcement and Military Police Veterans of the Republic of Serbia.

Addressing the gathering, MinisterStefanović said that March 24 would never be an ordinary day in our country again.

- This day in 1999 has become a symbol of pain in Serbia, and the sound of air-raid sirens is something that is deeply etched in the hearts and souls of us all. I think that we all vividly remember where we were and what we were doing that Wednesday, March 24, when the sirens sounded for the first time. Unfortunately, we also remember what followed. Those memories are extremely painful for the people who lost their loved ones, their spouses, their children, their parents, someone close, someone whom they still mourn. Twenty-three years is too short a period for those memories to fade. Every day is an eternity for those who have suffered this pain - said Minister Stefanović.

He said that years and centuries would pass, our sons and daughters, grandchildren, their children would succeed us, but we must not forget that.

- We must never forget that, we must remember the pain and fear, the destroyed bridges, the burnt trains, maternity hospitals, schools, houses. We will remember every name and surname, and every innocent victim, because they were someone's children, mothers and fathers, friends, sisters, grandmothers and grandfathers. Those people’s lives, joy, spring, childhood or the best time of their lives, shared with the loved ones, were cut short in one day, forever. Those people were and will always be the heroes of Serbia. And those 78 infernal days and nights in the spring of 1999 confirmed the unbreakable bond between our armed forces and our people. Our soldiers were determined to defend our territory, although faced with a far more superior enemy, they fearlessly defended our only homeland, and they did not lose it. The Serbian Armed Forces, which were then the Yugoslav People’s Army, will always be proud of being made up of people who show every day that nothing can stop their hearts that beat for Serbia - said Minister Stefanović.

He expressed his wish to pay special tribute to the heroes of the 240th Self-Propelled Air Defence Missile Regiment in Novi Sad today, because they had laid down their lives in an uneven fight against NATO aggression, protecting their country and their people.

- It is our duty to pay tribute to our heroes and Serbian airmen, the heroes of Košare and Paštrik and all our units. It is our duty not to allow the world to forget our killed children, their childhood cut short, because it is a pain that nothing can ever cure. The targets of the air raids were not just military facilities, far from it. They did not only target infrastructure - bridges, factories, roads, but also schools, hospitals, town squares, media offices and cultural monuments. The international community is responsible for civilian victims, and March 24 will never again be an ordinary day, not only for Serbia, but for the whole world.That day is a symbol of our pain, but also a symbol of injustice. An injustice done to our country for which no one has yet publicly apologized. Around 250,000 buildings, more than a thousand kilometres of railway and roads, 39 hospitals were destroyed. We have built new ones, we have rebuilt Serbia, it has risen from the ashes for the umpteenth time in its history. But our message is clear, NATO bombing was a crime and aggression against our people, and today, thanks to President Vučić, we canremind the world about it,holding our heads up high - said Minister Stefanović.

The decision to carry out aggression against our country, said Minister Stefanović, was made without the approval of the United Nations Security Council,for the first time in history.

- It should not have happened, but it did. And that is why it must not be forgotten. So that we can be smarter and more skilled today, so that we can build, but also be able to protect and preserve our Serbia - Serbia where the children of our fallen heroes will also have a better future, because we owe it to their fathers who laid down their lives for the homeland - said Minister Stefanović.

After the commemoration, Minister Stefanović talked to the families of the killed members of the 240th Self-Propelled Air Defence Missile Regiment, Siniša Krstić, Saša Laušev and Dragan Bandić.

According to the President of the Government of the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina, Igor Mirović, today we remember our great and brave heroes, who gave their lives for freedom and honour of the homeland, but also the crimes of those gathered under the roof of NATO, who organized and committed the most horrible crimes in our country.

- We owe the deepest debt of gratitude to those whoimmediately took on the duty of defending their homeland, at the cost of their lives. Many of them laid down their lives, and many were wounded, many lost their property, but they all made a great sacrifice that we admire today. Nevertheless, when we talk about the saddest memory, the deepest scar, we remember the most innocentvictims – children. And when we talk about forgiveness and forgetfulness in these reflections, there is one thing we often say - we may be able to forgive everything, we can certainly not forget anything, but we cannot forgive nor forget the most innocent child victims, and there were quite a few of them. We remember today, as every other day, the victims of the most ruthless, unjust and wrongful aggression against our country, and we speak proudly of our heroes’ sacrifice - said Mirović.

According to the Mayor of Novi Sad, Vučević, 23 years after NATO committed the crime against our people and state, the story of what we have suffered as a nation and a state has never been clearer and louder.

- I guess it is clear to everyone what this small nation, this small state has gone through, fighting for the right that the entire world is talking about today, telling us about some universal principles, inviolability of borders, human rights and freedoms, forgetting that they had trampled on it allhere in Serbia. They shed the blood of innocent children and civilians and our heroes, members of our armed forces, police and other security services. And that is why we must not be tired of the story of NATO aggression, that is why we have no right not to mention and talk today and tomorrow, to future generations, about all the heroes who fought for our homeland - said Vučević.

The commemoration began with a minute’s silenceand paying tribute to all the victims, and the First Army Brigade military chaplain, Captain First Class Đorđe Stojisavljević, held a memorial service to those killed during the NATO aggression near the memorial in the "Jugovićevo" barracks.