Serbian Embassy reacts to North Macedonia minister's disgraceful statement about NATO aggression

Belgrade in the spring of 1999; Photo: Shutterstock

The Embassy of Serbia in Skopje on Tuesday expressed deep concern regarding a statement made by Deputy Prime Minister of North Macedonia Arben Fetai, who spoke on the occasion of the 26th anniversary of the start of NATO's aggression against Serbia.

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Fetai's comments "do not contribute to building mutual respect between the two countries," the Embassy said.

The statement stressed that Fetai saying that the NATO aggression was a "historic moment" that "opened the path to peace and stability in the region" and "stopped genocide" deeply affects the feelings of the citizens of Serbia, for whom March 24 is a symbol of great suffering and the beginning of one of the most tragic periods in the recent history of Serbia and the Serb people.

The Embassy recalled that during the 78 days of continuous bombing, around 2,500 civilians lost their lives, including dozens of children, while more than 6,000 people were wounded.

It is also stated that bridges, hospitals, schools, factories, cultural sites and other civilian infrastructure was destroyed during the aggression, as well as that many families lost their loved ones, their homes and a sense of safety.

"Memories of the events of that time and the suffering of the population are deeply etched in the collective consciousness of our people, and the pain and consequences of that period are still alive today. This is precisely why any attempt to relativize or interpret these events as positive is perceived as a painful and inappropriate degrading of the victims and their families," the Embassy said.

The statement also recalled that NATO's military intervention that started in March 1999 was carried out without approval of the United Nations Security Council, and as such represents a flagrant violation of international public law and the principles on which the international legal order rests.

"Therefore, we believe that the narrative about the event in question, devoid of the necessary legal but also moral sensitivity, does not contribute to the building of mutual respect in interstate relations. Bearing this in mind, the Embassy of Serbia in Skopje expresses the hope that in the future, the complexity of such topics will be taken into account during public appearances, but, what is even more important, that consistency will be shown in terms of respecting international legal principles, instead of their selective application and interpretation," the statement reads.

The Embassy added that the nonchalant and baseless use of certain phrases and legal terms - such as "genocide" - is particularly concerning, since its misuse represents a relativization and an insult to all true victims of this most serious form of crime.

The statement added that the arbitrary use of such serious qualifications requires special responsibility, grounding and caution, especially in a region that has experienced numerous instances of devastation throughout its history.

"In that context, we use this opportunity to once again point out the numerical situation and conditions in which the Serb community lives in Kosovo and Metohija, which has been facing systemic violations of basic human rights, institutional pressure, physical attacks, the destruction of cultural and religious heritage, and even the desecration of graves and memorial sites for a long time - all with the aim of erasing the traces of its centuries-old presence in that area," the statement said.

The Embassy points out that Serbia remains committed to fostering close and friendly relations with North Macedonia, as well as preserving regional stability and cooperation, but that it equally reserves the right to defend the truth about its own history, as well as the dignity of its people, who suffered the greatest losses in terms of the loss of life in this region during the 20th century.

(Telegraf.rs/Tanjug)