17.05.2020.
Generals Pavković, Lazarević, Živanović and Lieutenant Colonel Dimčevski 21 years after the NATO aggression
WE WERE A BURDEN TO THE COUNTRY WE HAD FOUGHT FOR
Until 2012, our general public knew almost nothing about the events of the 1999 war and the Battles of Košare and Paštrik. General Nebojša Pavković, Commander of the Third Army, speaks about that time for the May issue of "Odbrana".
"Aggression, Košare, Paštrik - those were forbidden topics. The government led by the Democratic Opposition of Serbia forbade any mention of the 1999 NATO aggression and the defence of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and Serbia. The people who took part in the defence of their country suddenly began to be a burden to that same country. Unwanted, removed from the public, forced into early retirement, satanized - in short, our own state was ashamed of us, for reasons known only to them. If there had not been a change of government, these events would not be talked about or written about even today. President Vučić was the first to start speaking about the aggression and bombing of our country and called those events by their real names. It was only with him that the anniversary of that event practically started being commemorated. Since then, monuments to fallen heroes have been erected, streets and squares have been named after them, books have been written and films have been made."
Drawing a parallel and highlighting the concrete results of the Government of Serbia before and after 2012, General Pavković claims that it is fortunate that at a crucial moment, people came to power who were aware of how important a modern, strong and well-equipped Armed Forces can be for a small country like Serbia."On the one hand, there is President Vučić and his associates who did not allow the heroes who defended the country in 1999 to be forgotten, who managed to modernize the Armed Forces in a short period of time and bring them to the level of the strongest and most capable in the region." On the other hand, there are usual critics, mostly from the ranks of those who were proud of melting tanks and trampling on and destroying rifles and “Strela“2M anti-aircraft missile systems, who criticize any activity aimed at the development and modernization of the Armed Forces.
Unlike them, Minister Aleksandar Vulin has concrete results, and only those who are malicious or those who feel personal animosity, so they do not look at things objectively, can allow themselves to dispute his work. We need to look at and compare the results and speak with arguments, and the facts and figures speak in favour of the fact that he, as the Minister of Defence, has really done a lot for the institution he leads. "
General Pavković recalls that the current President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vučić, even when he was the Minister of Defence, was the first to point out the catastrophic situation he found in the Armed Forces.
"We who followed these events, could see how the ministers before him literally destroyed the Armed Forces before our eyes, starting with the early retirement of the most capable and experienced commanding officers who still had much more to give and pass on their experiences to younger generations, to the destruction of materiel that could still be used, but also completely new combat systems, all the way to the shameful "reorganization", which reduced the Armed Forces to a negligible level of combat readiness. From these insane decisions, one can only conclude that their goal was to leave the country without Armed Forces and to make it dependent on foreign mentors and their armies”.
General Pavković thinks that today there are people in command positions in the Armed Forces who fight like lions for them and their members.
"It simply has to be respected. These are people with integrity and experience, educated and capable of reorganizing and modernizing the Armed Forces and commanding them in the most complex combat conditions, which they have already proven by commanding in complex exercises, side by side with members of the most modern armies in the world," said General Nebojša Pavković.
During the war in 1999, no one could have guessed that covering up the facts would lead to a verge of oblivion that threatened to cover everything that the Yugoslav Armed Forces did in 78 days of NATO aggression, everything that their members fought for, and many of them gave their lives."Only a few years ago, the defenders of their homeland were not allowed to say that they defended the freedom of Serbia with their lives," testified General Vladimir Lazarević, Commander of the Priština Corps, adding: "I thank all Serbian citizens, the entire state leadership, the Serbian Armed Forces, the Ministry of Defence, the Government and the President of Serbia who are not ashamed of their heroes who defended the freedom of our country, our Serbia, with their lives and bayonets 21 years ago. I thank them for making it possible for our fighters to continue to mourn their fallen comrades, to finally "admit" without fear that they defended their Serbia, to feel that the sacrifices were not in vain."
General Dragan Živanović, the Commander of the 125th Motorized Brigade, emphasizes that he is especially glad that today the Battle of Košare is being talked about quite openly, transparently, meaningfully and with arguments, that films are being made, books are being written and archival material is being collected.
"I am especially glad that in some towns, squares and streets are named after Košare, that thanks to the dedicated engagement of individuals and groups, dozens of memorials to heroes have been erected. An improved Law on Veterans has been adopted."On the occasion of the 21st anniversary of the Battle of Košare, the President of the Republic and the Supreme Commander of the Serbian Armed Forces, Aleksandar Vučić, awarded the Order of the White Eagle with Swords of the Second Degree to Lieutenant Colonel Dragutin Dimčevski for his personal heroism and skilful command of the 53rd Border Battalion of the Yugoslav Armed Forces in 1998 and 1999.
"It was hard for me to withstand that eerie silence that reigned until 2012," testified Lieutenant Colonel Dimčevski. "The government that was democratic until 2012, undemocratic in my opinion, apart from forgetting the soldiers from Košare, Paštrik, Morina and other battlefields, forbade us to speak publicly about the heroes of those battlefields. With the arrival of President Aleksandar Vučić to power, everything changed in a positive sense. The great injustice towards the soldiers, and
especially the dead and their families, has been removed ", says Lieutenant Colonel Dimčevski and adds: "21 years have passed since the Battle of Košare and all I can say is that I would do the same today.”Emphasizing the importance of the "Ratnik" (Warrior) edition of the "Odbrana" Media Centre in eliminating the injustice inflicted on all defenders of the homeland, General Pavković singles out the role of the Minister of Defence Aleksandar Vulin, according to whose idea the edition was published.
"A lot has been written and told about the Battle of Košare so far. But it is certain that many of the fights and actions carried out by small groups and individuals still went unnoticed, as did their heroic deeds. That is why I deeply respect the patience and effort that the Minister of Defence, Aleksandar Vulin, invested in the "Ratnik" edition, which is envisages as a collection and publication of testimonies of participants in the 1999 war. At his initiative, we were all given the opportunity to record our memories of those days. It is very important that those memories of the immediate participants remain written for future generations", General Pavković points out.
