Serbia Marks 27th Anniversary of NATO Bombing of FR Yugoslavia

On March 24, 1999, NATO launched bombing campaign against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia(BETAPHOTO/MILOS MISKOV/DS)

A number of commemorative events were held in Serbia on March 24 on the 27th anniversary of the 78-day NATO attack on the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in 1999 during which unofficially around 2,500 civilians and 1,000 soldiers and police officers were killed.

At the central state ceremony on "the Day of Remembrance of Those Who Died in the NATO Aggression" in Vranje, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said that that was when international law and order were "kissed goodbye" and the world embarked "on maybe its ultimate destruction."

"If that happens tomorrow, if we are surrounded by the ruins of an entire civilization, let there be no doubt that that end began on March 24, 1999," Vucic said.

He also said that the "wounds from that March 24 are not even close to healing," and that today things could be seen much more clearly" that every war and all violence in the world, every destruction of principles and laws, began precisely on March 24, 1999.

"If someone asks today why international law is being violated, the only true and correct answer is: Because of the permission for that that was given on March 24, 1999. Why are some territories being snatched away from some countries today, why are their territorial integrity and sovereignty being violated, the answer again is because of the practice that you introduced on March 24, 1999," Vucic said.

He said that for the same reason today "force and bombs are being used to enforce order," officials and civilians are being killed, infrastructure and entire cities are being destroyed and "all humanity and empathy is being executed."