23 years since the NATO bombing were marked in Nikšić

Marking the 23rd year since the NATO bombing, as well as the 31st year since the beginning of the civil war and the breakup of the SFR Yugoslavia, members of the Association of War Veterans of Montenegro since 1990, representatives of the Municipality of Nikšić, family members and admirers of the fallen fighters, as well as representatives of political parties, passed are flowers on the monument dedicated to the fighters from Nikšić and Šavnik, who died in the 1991/1999 wars. year, which is located on Šak Petrović Square, near the Cathedral.

"We felt the need to be here where we remember the innocent civilian victims of NATO aggression, but also those people who died defending our country, not only in that aggression, but also in all the wars that took place on the territory of the former Yugoslavia in the XNUMXs. These people have been unfairly forgotten. Regardless of all policies, they responded to the call of their country, started to defend it and gave for it the most valuable thing they had, that is their lives. They did the hardest part of their job, the easier part of that job is that we don't forget them and the Municipality of Nikšić will always work in that direction," said Kovačević.

Together with the Vice President of the Municipality, Zoran Tomić, and the head of his cabinet, Marko Perućica, he laid a wreath at the monument to the fallen fighters.

The president of the Association of War Veterans since 1990, Radan Nikolić, said that "50 young soldiers of the Yugoslav Army from Montenegro and another 950 from fraternal Serbia lost their lives due to NATO aggression".

"In one month it will be 32 years since the death of the first soldiers of the JNA, who laid down their lives in the defense of the great Yugoslavia. Our Association will never forget or forgive the victims. These are people whose average age is around 35 years. The children of some of them did not even remember their fathers," Nikolić pointed out.

He called on all citizens in Montenegro to preserve peace.

According to him, the Association has been trying all these years to defend the truth about the mentioned wars, as well as the image and work of the fighters from Montenegro.

Nikolić especially thanked the President of the Municipality for being the first official to contribute and lay a wreath at the monument to fallen fighters from Nikšić.

"The attitude of the former government, which ignored our victims and the crime for which no one was held accountable, is shameful. The fighters of the nineties were only guilty of responding to the call to defend their homeland. No one can heal the wounds of the families of fallen fighters. They see them with us, and we show with such gatherings that we are for truth, justice, and that the war in the region does not repeat itself. Many thanks to President Kovačević for having his support for all our activities to save the victims from being forgotten," Nikolić concluded.

Vukosav Delibašić, speaking on behalf of the families of the fallen fighters, thanked the Association and Radan Nikolić, because if it wasn't for them, the fallen fighters would, as he pointed out, be forgotten by everyone, except the families.

"It hurts that for 30 years the government has treated us, who were participants, as second-class people. We had no rights. The wounds hurt, and it hurts even more that no one tried to shed light on the crime in Lora," said Delibašić and told everyone to preserve unity in Montenegro.

Promotion of the memorial book "The Last Line of Defense"

Tonight in Nikšić, in the "Zahumlja" hall, starting at 18 p.m., the second amended and supplemented edition of the memorial book "Zadnja linija obduranje" by Radan Nikolić, with the biographies of 320 fallen soldiers from Montenegro, will be presented. Marko Kovačević, President of the Municipality of Nikšić, Dr. Budimir Aleksić and the author will speak about the memorial book, which was prepared and published by the Association of War Fighters of Montenegro since 1990, while the program will be led by the poet Milica Bakrač.

"As a sign of attention to the victims who gave their lives in defense of the homeland, representatives of the families of fallen soldiers at the promotion will be symbolically handed a copy of the memorial book, which will also be delivered to the families of fallen soldiers in other Montenegrin municipalities, as well as to those families living in Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina", the Association stated.