21.05.2019.

Minister Vulin: The Battle for Mount Paštrik is an example of military power, skill, courage and victory

- The Battle for Mount Paštrik is an example of military power, skill, professionalism, unquestionable courage, and victory, but also a part of our forgotten history, forgotten in a planned way and deliberately, which in this way becomes part of our everyday life. Most of Serbia did not even hear about the mountain under that name, let alone the epic that took place there. In a military sense, it was a brilliant operation, which inflicted terrible losses on the enemy, waged until the last day of the NATO aggression. It was no incidental operation, no side direction, it was the main direction of the NATO aggression and the desire to enter the territory of Kosovo and Metohija by land intervention, and then go on. If there were no victories on Košare and Paštrik, we would not have had a Kumanovo Military Technical Agreement on the Termination of Hostilities, we would have unconditional capitulation without Resolution 1244, or negotiations, or the hope for Serbia to be able to fight for Kosovo and Metohija and people who live in that area - Defence Minister Aleksandar Vulin said at today's press conference on the occasion of the première of the documentary-feature film War Stories from Paštrik.

- Serbia has passed through a long period of self-denial. Serbia has passed through a long time in which it was ashamed of itself. Although it could not say what it was actually ashamed of, and who it was really ashamed of, whom it was hiding, what it was hiding from. That period passed, it passed forever. This is our way to record history, to record it with live witnesses, not to allow anyone else to ever write our history for us any more. That is why we are writing today our history, as it was, with living participants, with those who, with their lives and their death, told the truth, just as it was - Minister Vulin said, adding that the hope was won by the members of the Yugoslav Army and all of them who managed to get away with a far more superior enemy.

The Minister of Defence recalled that whenever someone else wrote our history for us, we were portrayed as aggressors, as bad people, as bad nation, and our children had no reason to be proud of their fathers by learning from that history, and to fight tomorrow for their sons. Today, 20 years later, Minister Vulin assessed, it is up to us to thank these people in this way, and, as they have already secured their place in history with their lives and fight, to preserve this place, so that they can be proud to show it to their children.

- It has been many years since they could talk to their children wholeheartedly, because their sons have learned for decades that there was neither Paštrik nor Košare, that there was no heroic resistance and that the Serbs themselves were to be blamed for the NATO aggression and the evil that happened to them. They are not, because Serbia has not provoked NATO aggression with anything, it cannot be blamed in any way, and Serbia is endlessly proud of each and every of its soldiers, officers, non-commissioned officers and a policemen who defended the FRY and our Serbia - Minister Vulin emphasised.

Referring to the statements of NATO officials regretting over civilian casualties during the NATO aggression, Minister Vulin stressed: he wants to believe that they are honest, but he thinks that it is not enough to say, because regret will only be honest when they say they regret over every soldier and policeman, because no one has the right to kill them in one sovereign state, in their own country, on their piece of stone.

- We are mourning over each of them, and we cannot forget any of them. We cannot forget, we cannot even forgive - Minister Vulin said.

Minister Vulin pointed out that after this film, after the ‘Warrior’ edition, after the testimony of all these brave people, no one will have the opportunity to say that something has not happened and never to forget it any more. History was written once and for all. This will never be forgotten, neither Paštrik nor Košare nor all those brave guys who left their lives and all those brave people who survived - Minister Vulin said, adding that the Ministry of Defence, together with RTS, will continue to preserve the tradition and history.

As the author of the film, Slađana Zarić, pointed out, the series of war stories is an attempt to tell the heroic story that happened at the border with Albania in 1999 and to thank those people who really bravely fought.

Participants in the Battle of Pastrik from the 549th Motorised Brigade spoke about their war experiences, including Goran Nikolić, who pointed out that these were often hard times for them, especially when a soldier, a friend or a warrior is lost.

- It was difficult for us when we had to move from Kosovo and Metohija to the territory of Serbia, with refugees who were not allowed to remain there without the protection of their army. Perhaps somebody will forgive once, but we must remember and memorise what happened in spring 1999. We did not look then what power was attacking and what is the strength of that army, we defended the sanctuary, Serbia, until the last man - Nikolić said.

Speaking 20 years later about his military days and battles at Mount Paštrik and bombardment from NATO aircraft, Vladimir Cvetić pointed out that they all fought wholeheartedly to defend their country, doing their best, adding that they were aware of the importance of the resistance that should give at that position.

Slobodan Mladenović, a reservist, spoke about the events at the ‘Gorožup’ outpost, as well as about the day when an ambulance of the Yugoslav Armed Forces was destroyed by a direct hit, when he was wounded and several people were killed.

- This country is worthy of dying for because we do not have a reserve one, and we will not have it. All the people who were down there know who they were fighting for, what we fought for and what we should fight for now - Mladenović said.

‘War Stories from Paštrik’ is the second film in the co-production of Radio Television of Serbia and the Ministry of Defence - ‘Zastava film’ Military Film Centre, which testifies to the heroic fight of our army in the defence of the fatherland on Paštrik in 1999, which is very little known about.

Testimony of more than 30 interlocutors, officers, soldiers, reservists and volunteers from the 549th Motorized Brigade, told the stories about the events of the battle that was waged in the Mount Paštrik area. The film chronologically follows the events from the attack on the ‘Gorožup’ outpost to the withdrawal of our army after the signing of the Kumanovo Agreement.

The documentary-feature film ‘War Stories from Paštrik’ will be premiered at the Guard Club at Topčider, on 23rd May at 8 pm. The film will also be premièred on the 20th anniversary of the start of the Battle for Mount Paštrik, on 26th May at 9 pm on the First Programme of the RTS.

The authors' team of the film, along with Sladjana Zarić, includes photography directors Žarko Pekez and Petar Vujanić, editor Bojan Perišić, producers Snežana Rodić Sinđelić and lieutenant colonel Goran Ikonić, journalist Vesna Ilić and composer Vladimir Tošić.