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The Government of the Republic of Serbia

In the service of citizens

Day of Remembrance of Victims of NATO aggression observed

Aleksinac, 24 March 2018

President of the Republic of Serbia Aleksandar Vucic, Prime Minister Ana Brnabic and President of Republika Srpska Milorad Dodik attended tonight the Day of Remembrance of Victims of the NATO aggression at the square outside the Centre for Culture and Art in Aleksinac.

Aleksinac was bombed six times during the 78 days of NATO aggression in 1999, and 11 people were killed on that occasion.

Ceremony "We will forgive if we can, we will forget only if we stop existing" began symbolically, with the lights turned off and the sound of the siren for air danger.

A large number of citizens gathered at the square in Aleksinac, who, just as other guests, representatives of state institutions, the Serbian government and the diplomatic corps were holding candles in honour of those killed in the bombing.

The event was opened with a part of the liturgy of Stevan Stojanovic Mokranjac “Tebe Pojem”, under the baton of Bojan Sudjic.

President of Serbia Aleksandar Vucic said that today it is 19 years since the most difficult time for our country, since the symbol of injustice was inflicted to a people that did not even think that something like that could happen.

They called the air-strike campaign "Merciful Angel", as if that could be defined as anything human. How is that crime called? What can we say today after they killed 2,500 of our people in exactly the same amount of attacks? One man per attack. What can I say here in Aleksinac which was bombed several times? Was someone promoted in military ranks for shedding our blood?" President Vucic asked.

He pointed out that throughout Serbia, people with history, wishes, dreams and hopes were killed.

We were told it was a fight against dictatorship, against bad people in power. When there were no more bad people in power, then they expelled our people from Kosovo, and then separated us from Montenegro to take Kosovo from us.

Another reason for which they are threatening us today is because we do not recognise what they recognise. We are right, and they know they are wrong and that they have never been right. This country was being killed without the Security Council's permission, for the first time in history, he underlined.

The Serbian President stated that the victims were in Aleksinac, Varvarin, Belgrade, Novi Sad, Nis and other cities of Serbia.

They killed toddlers on their potties, the old people in the parks. Today, our victims are imaginary for them. That is why only one part of diplomatic corps is here today and we thank you for condemning the aggression. This is Serbia, a country that has its own dignity. We will never forget those who gave their lives for their country. Serbia will not be humiliated. Today we have one trump card in our hands on which those who were killing us did not count. We have the right to say what they did to us and what they are doing to us today. We have the right to say what we think and what we pass through. We will use that right until the end. We will remember the names of all our victims, the President of Serbia said.

Vucic noted that every day Serbia is getting stronger and stronger economically.

We managed to rise from the ashes, and we just want to be on our own and nothing else. We will continue to fight for a compromise and to repeat that our Serbia is beautiful and that every day is progressing. This is our homeland.

Dear friends, no one will be able to attack Serbia any more. We will never threaten anyone. We will keep peace and stability, but we will not allow anyone to humiliate Serbia. Let eternal glory be for all our victims. Long live free and unconquered Serbia,” Vucic concluded.

President of Republika Srpska Milorad Dodik estimated that the suffering of our people in the hands of those who chose Serbia and the Serbian people as their target is being marked again.

They killed our people and children. How to forgive? By no means. We will never forget, and the hardest is for those who lost their loved ones, Dodik said. He added that Serbia has managed to restore its dignity in all these difficult years.

Today the Serbs want to get included in all civilizational flows. Our freedom has always meant the state. Today, Serbia can be proud of the fact that it is recovering its economy. We have to gather around what Serbia is today.

President Vucic today is building a stable, strongest country in the region. Long live Serbia and Republika Srpska, Dodik concluded.

A witness of the killing in Aleksinac, doctor Bratislav Miladinovic, who lost his sister, mother and father during the NATO bombing, said that his loved ones disappeared in a moment, and that he does not accept that the death of innocent people could bring good to someone.

During that night my wife, my daughter and my son were wounded. I do not feel anything for people in NATO and their chiefs, I am indifferent. They are responsible for what they did and they will answer for their actions. As long as we exist as a nation, we will bear the memory of all our innocent victims. We have forgiven, but we have not forgotten, Miladinovic said.

The NATO aggression against Serbia was carried out without the approval of the UN Security Council, and during the 78 days, how long it lasted, about 2,500 people were killed.

1,031 members of the Army and the Serbian police were killed and more than 6,000 civilians were injured and wounded, including 2,700 children.

5.173 soldiers and police officers were injured and more than ten people are still missing, while the total material damage is estimated at several dozen billions of dollars.

A total of 2,300 air strikes were carried out on 995 facilities throughout the country, with depleted uranium ammunition.