SERBIA/KOSOVO: Serbia and Kosovo remember the tenth anniversary of NATO bombing of Belgrade

Record ID: 356657

  • Title: SERBIA/KOSOVO: Serbia and Kosovo remember the tenth anniversary of NATO bombing of Belgrade
  • Date: 25th March 2009
  • Summary: BLACE BORDER CROSSING, KOSOVO, (MARCH 24, 2009) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (Albanian) KOSOVO PRIME MINISTER, HASHIM THACI, SAYING: "I must say that I feel good because ten years ago this place was full of Serb army, police, paramilitaries and Serb killers, but today we have the symbols of the state of Kosovo and it will remain like this forever." BLACE BORDER CROSSING, KOSOVO
  • Embargoed: 9th April 2009 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Topics: International Relations,Defence / Military
  • Reuters ID: LVA6IIE9UGA4K5CPH7JD3PEVFPYT
  • Story Text: Serbs and Kosovo Albanians commemorate ten years since NATO bombed Serbia in response to the army's actions in Kosovo.
    At midday on Tuesday (March 24) air-raid sirens sounded in Belgrade to mark 10 years since the NATO "Operation Allied Force" was launched against Serbia.
    The government, which also stopped for a minute's silence, had called on Serbian citizens to stop and remember the victims of the bombing, which are estimated at 3,000.
    The NATO bombardment in 1999 was the first time in 50 years that European powers attacked another European country, and followed Kosovo's failed push for independence during the Balkan war.
    The ethnic Albanian Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) guerrillas launched an armed rebellion. Serb forces retaliated and in 1998 100,000 Albanians were forced to flee. Peace talks in France failed and in March 1999 NATO started bombing Belgrade to force it to withdraw its forces from Kosovo.

    "Victims should not be forgotten and crime should not be forgotten. Sooner or later they should be accountable for a crime committed against innocent people," said pensioner, Dragutin Vuksanovic about the bombardment.
    Economists have estimated the vale of the damage at 29.6 billion USD (22 billion euros) During the 78 days of bombing Serbian and Montenegrin infrastructure, commercial buildings, schools, health facilities, media, cultural monuments, churches and monasteries were destroyed or heavily damaged.
    Many Serbs still feel that the NATO intervention did not adhere to international law.

    "It's not right what America did, I think that the whole world should condemn it. We citizens can do nothing but the authorities should work on it," said a local pensioner.

    "They should be ashamed, Europe and the whole civilised world, they should be ashamed about what happened and correct their mistakes,"
    pensioner, Voja Dragojevic said.
    The Serbian government held a special session on Tuesday and laid wreaths at various locations throughout Serbia.

    "The attack on our country was illegal, against International law, without U.N. decision an organisation that was founded on the ruins of WW2 with the aim that wars would not be repeated and for conflict to be solved peacefully. The bombing has caused far-reaching consequences for Serbia, the region, and for political relations in the world. Serbia can not forget those tragic days," said Serbian Prime Minister Mirko Cvetkovic.
    Meanwhile, Kosovo has also been commemoration what many there see as a liberation by NATO forces.
    The Blace border between Kosovo and Macedonia held one of the refugee camps for some of the 800,000 Kosovo Albanians feeling their homes.
    Kosovo Prime Minister, Hashim Thaci, visited the border crossing to uncover a memorial to the Kosovo victims of the war that are estimated at between 12,000 and 15,000.

    "We uncovered the memorial sign as a sign of the suffering and sacrifice of more then half a million people that stayed here for many days," Thaci said.
    Thaci, who was the political leader of the Kosovo Liberation Army, in 1999 called the Serb actions during the break-up of the former Yugoslavia an act of genocide.

    "The bombing was started to halt the ethic cleansing and genocide being carried out by the Serb army, police and paramilitary forces and to support the war for the freedom of the Kosovo Liberation Army and the Kosovo people," he said.
    After the end of the conflict on June 12th, 1999, Kosovo was placed under U.N. administration before declaring independence on February 17, 2008.
    Kosovo is now recognised by the U.S. and most of the European Union member states.

    "I must say that I feel good because ten years ago this place was full of Serb army, police, paramilitaries and Serb killers, but today we have the symbols of the state of Kosovo and it will remain like this forever,"
    Thaci said.
    Serbia is now a member of NATO's Partnership for Peace programme.
    However, its full membership in the Western Alliance is still questionable.
    Neither Serbia nor Russia recognise kosovo's independence.
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