Parties and politicians on the anniversary of the start of the NATO bombing in 1999.

Today marks 27 years since the beginning of the NATO bombing of the then Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, which began on March 24 and lasted until June 10, 1999, a total of 78 days.

Political parties and representatives of state and local authorities have spoken out on this occasion.

Kovačević: We should not forget the heroes

The President of the Municipality of Nikšić, Marko Kovačević, together with the President of the Parliamentary Committee for Human Rights and Freedoms, Jovan Vučurović, and the Vice President of the Municipality, Vidak Krtolica, laid a wreath at the Memorial to the soldiers who died in the wars of the 1990s on Šaka Petrović Square.

Kovačević said on that occasion that the Municipality of Nikšić "is trying to inherit the culture of memory", especially towards the victims of all previous wars, the local government announced.

"This was the last war fought in this area, which began on March 24, 1999. We, as the Municipality of Nikšić, wanted to pay tribute to all the fighters of the wars of the 90s, members of the military and police forces, as well as all civilian victims. They are true heroes, whom we should not forget, because they were faithful to their country and their people, fulfilling their duties, and local and state institutions are obliged to remember them for that. In the meantime, states and state policies have changed, but their sacrifice and their suffering have remained," said Kovačević.

Koprivica: Remembering the victims obliges us to persevere in preserving the dignity of every life

Deputy Prime Minister Momo Koprivica said that March 24, 1999 - the day the "unlawful bombing of FRY" began - is part of the "permanent memory of the innocent victims and the deepest reverence, but also an encouragement to ensure that such tragedies and suffering never happen again."

"It is our responsibility to nurture a culture of remembrance, as well as to build a future based on peace, understanding and cooperation among peoples. Remembering the victims obliges us to persevere in preserving the dignity of every human life and in building an order in which dialogue will always take precedence over conflict, and this is the moral imperative of every time," Koprivica wrote on Ix.

Kaluđerović: The day international law was buried

Socialist People's Party (SNP) MP and Vice President Slađana Kaluđerović said that on March 24, 1999, "international law was buried."

"Today, on the 27th anniversary of the beginning of NATO's aggression against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, we are not only marking the anniversary of the attack, but also the anniversary of the brutal trampling and burial of international law. On that fateful evening in 1999, without any legal basis and against the will of the UN Security Council, Pandora's box was opened, the devastating consequences of which the world is still feeling today. This was no 'humanitarian intervention', but an act of madness by those who decided that force should prevail over law," she said.

She added that NATO missiles also targeted numerous facilities that had no military significance, that around 2.500 civilians were killed, including 89 children, and that around 6.000 civilians were wounded, of which 2.700 were children.

"As someone who comes from Zeta, I cannot help but recall with particular pain that Zeta was one of the first targets. The sound of sirens and the whistling of missiles that tore through the sky above our houses remained etched in the collective memory of every Zeta resident. The SNP has never been silent, not even in 1999, and it will not be silent today. It is our duty to be the voice of those whose breath was stopped by bombs and not to allow the dust of oblivion to cover the truth about the suffering of Murin, Zeta, Podgorica, Danilovgrad and every inch of our country," the SNP MP states.

She said that peace has no price, but that peace is not built on forgetting injustice. That is why, she says, the SNP will "continue to inherit the values ​​of freedom and dignity", preserving the memory of every victimized citizen, because "peoples who forget their past risk having it repeated."

"History will judge all those who replaced law with force and who sowed death from a safe height. They tried to bury international law, but they failed to kill the truth. That truth lives in the memory of innocent victims and in the obligation to ensure that such injustice never happens again. Therefore - glory to all innocent victims and the lasting memory of 1999 as a warning to all humanity," the statement reads.

The SNP, in a separate statement, said that today marks the anniversary of "one of the most tragic periods in our modern history."

"On March 24, 1999, the FRY was attacked without the approval of the UN Security Council, and the sound of bombs became an everyday occurrence that forever changed the lives of millions of people. Today, our thoughts go to those who paid the highest price. Every victim, from Murin, Danilovgrad, Podgorica, to Niš, Aleksinac and Belgrade, reminds us that peace has no price and that the injustice inflicted on our people must not be forgotten. We remember the fear and uncertainty, but also the incredible unity and defiance of the people who showed dignity in the most difficult moments," the statement reads.

They said that material damage "can be repaired over time, but the void of lost lives remains a permanent wound."

"Commemorating this day is not only an act of remembrance of the past, but also an obligation to future generations. It is our duty to preserve the truth about the events of 1999, to cultivate a culture of remembrance so that the suffering never repeats itself, and to strive for peace and justice, without forgetting the lessons we have paid dearly for. May eternal glory and thanks be to all innocent victims," ​​the statement reads.

DNP: To preserve the memory of the heroes who laid down their lives on the altar of the homeland

Future generations are obliged to "preserve the memory of the heroes who laid down their lives on the altar of the homeland," the Democratic People's Party (DNP) said.

The president of the party, Milan Knežević, and the Serbian ambassador, Nebojša Rodić, met today, as announced by the DNP, "on the occasion of the 27th anniversary of the NATO aggression against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia."

"In a fraternal and open conversation, the President of the DNP and Ambassador Rodić expressed their respect for the victims of NATO aggression against the FRY, especially emphasizing the heroic resistance of the Yugoslav Army, security forces, but also the entire people who defiantly resisted for 78 days the previously unprecedented aggression of 19 NATO members who, without the consent of the Security Council, started a war in order to break up the common state and tear it away from its composition and form the protectorate of Kosovo. Future generations are obliged to preserve the memory of the heroes who laid down their lives on the altar of the homeland, and today's date only further strengthens the unbreakable ties between Montenegro and Serbia and their heroic past," the statement reads.