11.02.2022.
Statement
The Ministry of Defence uses its communication channels to inform the public about the most important activities in the Ministry of Defence and the Serbian Armed Forces in a truthful, accurate, proactive and objective manner, to promote military profession and keep alive the traditions of our Armed Forces through filmmaking and publishing.
Instead of dealing with trade union issues, the Serbian Military Union is trying to gain cheap political points by consciously trying to ruin the reputation of the Ministry of Defence and the Serbian Armed Forces in public for the umpteenth time, making political statements that are full of untruths.
The Ministry of Defence is actively involved in the promotion of military profession, military virtues and patriotism, as evidenced by thousands of press releases, published books, professional and popular magazines, and numerous campaigns that bring young people to our armed forces – cadets and students of military schools, reserve officers course participants, soldiers performing voluntary military service and scholarship recipients. We are proud that the media promotion is part of a successful process of strengthening the defence system, which, in addition to new modern weapons, is also getting new members.
"Odbrana" magazine is one of the oldest print media in our country, with a 143-year-long tradition. In addition to its excellent analytical articles, interviews with important personalities and reviews of modern military technology that are often cited in the media, in 2021 "Odbrana" was awarded the first prize by the European Military Press Association (EMPA) for the best photograph published in European military newspapers and magazines. The photo, showing a member of the Serbian Special Forces undergoing training, won the competition, beating several dozen European military print media.
Suffice it to say that over the past few years alone we have made dozens of films on Serbian military history, including: The Toplica Uprising, The Kosmet Trilogy, 1999 Yugoslav Army War Brigades, A Serb Gladly Joins the Army, They Defended the Sky of the Homeland, the First Serbian Squadron, Serbia in the Great War, Milunka Savić - the Heroine of the Great War, Serbs in Corfu, War Stories from Košare and Paštrik, which we co-produced with the Radio and Television of Serbia. We would also like to note that in the last few years we have published 63 books as part of the "History" and "Warrior" editions alone.
The absurdity of the union's statement is best illustrated by the notorious lie saying that "there are still no significant indicators of any improvement in the Serbian Armed Forces", although the Serbian Armed Forces are stronger in all segments - from new weapons and military equipment to the improved financial position of its members, and everybody knows that, not only soldiers, but the entire public. Only those who are bothered by the fact that the Serbian Armed Forces are strong can say that there is no improvement in the Serbian Armed Forces.
The untruths that the leaders of some trade unions spread in public can only be interpreted as political activity aimed to divert attention from the good results achieved by the Ministry of Defence in the past period and to dissuade young people from joining the Serbian Armed Forces.
The fact that the citizens of Serbia place the greatest trust in the Serbian Armed Forces speaks best about the way in which the Ministry of Defence informs the public about the Serbian Armed Forces’ activities. The reputation that the Ministry of Defence and the Serbian Armed Forces enjoy in the public is the Public Relations Department’s key success indicator and goal.
