07.04.2023.

Minister Vučević attends commemoration marking beginning of aggression against Košare outpost

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence Miloš Vučević and Chief of the Serbian Armed Forces General Staff, General Milan Mojsilović, attended a commemoration held at the Central Military Club today, marking the beginning of aggression against the Košare outpost.

Addressing everyone present, Minister Vučević said that, after years of silence, the time has come to tell the truth.

- They say that every person dies twice – once when their earthly life ends and, for those who believe in God, the eternal life starts, and the second time, which is a more tragic death – when they are forgotten. To the shame of all the citizens of this country, we almost forgot the people who are essentially immortal. Since we were silent, they almost succeeded in convincing us that we should be ashamed of those who were the bravest, those who were the best. Those who were less brave or luckier tried to persuade us to forget the most daring ones. To our shame, this is not the first time this has happened to us - said Minister Vučević.

According to Minister Vučević, today we are free to tell the truth so that it is heard, but that is the debt we owe to those who died for their homeland.

- I ask you not to let any participant in the war, any soldier, any hero be forgotten. Let us not forget the families who, also to our shame, went through all this, so that the children of the fallen soldiers, warriors, heroes do not feel less worthy because their fathers were deployed and fought in the most dangerous place, but to be respected in our society - stressed Minister Vučević.

This does not require a great deal of effort, the Minister of Defence said, a lot can be done if there is only good will, if there is a desire and if we are able to hear each other out.

- I do not want any days, hours, or minutes our soldiers spent at Košare or Prokletije to be forgotten. I do not want the soldiers who fought in other places, such as the Junik Mountains, or the heroes from Paštrik, or those who fought in Drenica, or those who guarded the Kosovo Pomoravlje and Gora and the Lab River region and all of Metohija to be forgotten. Neither should we forget 1998 – the year of war, nor the people who died, suffered, and fought for Serbia that year. But we had erased 1998, and only recently did we remember that people had been killed in Košare in 1998 as well - said Minister Vučević.

All those who draw maps and borders today, who make decisions, pass resolutions, sign agreements, said Minister Vučević, must know that not all borders are administrative.

- There are borders that are eternal, that last longer than all countries, and in our country those borders are drawn where the blood of our people was spilled, where the bones of our heroes are. You can make all the decisions you want, but you cannot take away what the people feel in their souls, in their hearts. May our dearest, immortal knights from Košare and the entire Kosovo and Metohija be blessed forever, may the glory be with you – the best sons of Serbia, may the Serbian Armed Forces live, prosper and strengthen, and may our only homeland, free and independent Serbia, be eternal – concluded the Minister of Defence.

The President of the Serbian Association of Security Services and Military Police Veterans, Todor Petković, said that for two and a half months, NATO had brutally bombed and heartlessly killed civilians, and that March would always remind us of our country's defence against the 1999 NATO aggression.

- The military aggression was carried out without the approval of the United Nations Security Council, which is another confirmation of the disregard for everything on which the legal system of this planet is based. To make sure that it is never forgotten, we should repeat again and again what kind of messages had been spread around the world prior to the aggression and before NATO attacked our country with bombs and rockets in flagrant violation of international law. That is why we must always speak with special reverence about the brave Serbian people, about the numerous heroes and members of the legendary Priština Corps - emphasized Petković.

A Military Police veteran, participant in the Battle of Košare and member of the Association’s Executive Board, Slobodan Radmilović, said that policemen had no fear and recalled the difficult days of April 1999.

- We stopped about 2,500 terrorists. They were stopped by the people sitting here today, now mature and serious people, together with those who are no longer with us. Anyone who tells a different story is not telling the truth - said Radmilović.

According to Rada Komarica, the wife of a Military Police member who died during the attack on the Košare outpost, during the difficult time following the death of her husband, she got the greatest comfort from the wives of her husband’s colleagues, who had unfortunately experienced the same fate. She emphasized the importance of taking care of the families of those who had given their lives fighting for the homeland. She also thanked the representatives of the Association for preserving the memory of their sacrifice.

A participant in the Battle of Košare and Military Police veteran, Željko Gavrilović, spoke on behalf of all the soldiers from the 5th Military Police Battalion.

- I want to send a message on behalf of all the soldiers, veterans and fighters from Košare. Do everything to make sure that there is no war, and if there is, rest assured that we will again be the first to defend the homeland. I would like to thank the Serbian Association of Security Services and Military Police Veterans for gathering such a great number us, after so many years, and for doing such a special honour to both us and the families of the fallen veterans - said Gavrilović.