Živadin Jovanović,
Belgrade Forum for a World of Equals

For the Sake of the Future
Speech at the Round Table “NATO Aggression – 24 years on”
Held on March 23, 2023 in the House of the Serbian Armed Forces

Ladies and Gentlemen,

It has been almost a quarter of a century since NATO’s aggression against Serbia and Montenegro (the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia). During that aggression, some 4,000 of our fellow citizens were killed and twice as many injured. Three-quarters of the casualties were civilians, among them, sadly, were a large number of children, from Milica Rakić, a toddler from Batajnica, to Sanja Milenković, Serbia’s national high school champion in mathematics from Varvarin.

It can hardly ever be precisely determined how many more victims succumbed to the delayed effects of weapons filled with depleted uranium, toxic chemical agents and unexploded cluster bombs. It is on behalf of those victims that we have gathered as we have here today, as we do each and every year throughout the country, across Europe and other continents, wherever there is one of us. We pay tribute and dedicate our thoughts and prayers to them, all the fallen heroes of our defense, all the innocent victims.

Serbia has not yet recovered from the pain and injustice, either spiritually or materially. In the very heart of Belgrade, we still pass by destroyed buildings whose gaping ruins that leave a lasting reminder of the deeds of those who now proclaim themselves our partners. As we praise the donations they make, we still refrain from filing the announced but forgotten claims for war damages. It is hard to estimate to what extent this reflects our desire to be constructive, realistic, and respected. It might be a good idea to have the ruined structures of the Military General Staff and the Police declared and protected as monuments of culture, not merely because this would require fewer funds, but rather because it would make more sense than either their reconstruction or the erection of brand-new edifices.

It was a crime against peace and humanity, against a country which posed no threat to anyone, least of all to NATO or its individual members. Today, we are warning, not just repeating the truth, when we say that the NATO aggression was carried out in violation of the fundamental principles of international affairs, the UN Charter, the OSCE Helsinki Final Act and the Paris Charter; when we say that, five and a half decades since the end of World War Two, NATO reintroduced war on European soil; that bombs and cruise missiles killed citizens of Serbia but were nonetheless intended for others as well; that, while raining down, they also dismantled the European and global architecture of security and cooperation; that, in its essence, it was a war against Europe waged by Europe itself; that it served as a case precedent for the ensuing wars of conquest and coups within the proclaimed strategy of eastward expansion and a deceptive democratization; that NATO, by virtue of its aggression against Serbia and Montenegro (the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia), marked its 50th anniversary by transitioning from a defensive and a regional into an invading alliance with global hegemonistic goals.

What prompts us to reiterate the above now, twenty-four years on, has the least to do with habits, rituals or being stuck in the past, since we do it exclusively for the sake of the present and the future; for the sake of peace, security and progress as equal and unalienable values shared by all peoples and countries.

We also do this because recent messages and views expressed from Brussels, Ohrid, Washington and some other destinations warn us that aggression against Serbia continues, albeit with other means, but nonetheless with the same goal: to disenfranchise and humiliate the entire Serbian people in the Balkans and make them permanently shift away from their traditional friends and their supporters, and to renounce their statehood rights to the province of Kosovo and Metohija.

The past 24 years and contemporary developments reconfirm, time and again, that the true goal of the aggression was to carve Kosovo and Metohija out from Serbia, together with overthrowing President Slobodan Milošević and, ultimately, transforming the Balkans into a springboard for a warpath against the East.

Having in mind all past experiences and trends that brought about profound changes in global relations, I am convinced that the best path forward for Serbia is to reaffirm an independent, neutral and well-balanced foreign policy, to preserve and strengthen relations with traditional friends and allies, and to remain open for equal-handled relations and cooperation with all countries and integration mechanisms that endorse Serbia as an equal partner. Any just and durable solution for the province of Kosovo and Metohija is only possible with the consistent observance of the Constitution of Serbia, the fundamental principles of international law and UN Security Council Resolution 1244 in its capacity of a permanent and irrevocable legal duty. This is the only solution capable of serving the interests of lasting peace, security, and cooperation. Any other status imposed by force, threats and/or extortion, regardless of the form it assumes, cannot be transformed into a right or compromise, nor can it evolve into a contribution to peace. Quite the contrary.

If I may suggest that we send three pleas from this gathering:

First, to resume the work of the Parliamentary Committee for Establishing Consequences of the Use of Weapons Filled with Depleted Uranium during NATO Aggression, and the related Governmental Interdepartmental Body;

Second, that the work on compiling a list of all civilian victims of the aggression is completed before next March’s 25th anniversary of NATO aggression;

And third, to analyze how NATO aggression has been portrayed and processed in relevant teaching units in textbooks at all levels of education, so to ensure the preservation of truth.

I assume there is no need to further elaborate these suggestions.

Thank you!

Edited by RR

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