Osmani: 25 years ago, great hope began for Kosovo

2024-03-24 10:06:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

Osmani: 25 years ago, great hope began for Kosovo

The President of Kosovo, Vjosa Osmani

The President of Kosovo, Vjosa Osmani, described March 24, 1999 as a day of great hope for Kosovo, as she recalled the launch of NATO bombings on police and military targets in the former Yugoslavia.

"March twenty-fourth was truly a day of great hope, because for the first time, the alliances of the democratic world came together to prevent the extermination of the people of Kosovo by the then genocidal regime of the former leader, Slobodan Milosevic, and together with many, many other partner states, we managed to finally make Kosovo free".

She made these statements after paying homage to the memorial of fallen NATO soldiers for the freedom of Kosovo, which is located in Mother Teresa Square in Pristina.

Ambassadors of Western countries in Kosovo were also present.

"This day of great hope has turned into an unwavering partnership between Kosovo and the democratic world, alliances that continue today."

Osmani thanked each NATO soldier who, as she said, risked their lives "in order to save ours".

"I want to thank all the leaders of the democratic world who did not close their eyes to the suffering of the people of Kosovo, but came to our rescue, came to our rescue and are still standing by us today, as long as we work together so that today's Kosovo is Kosovo that will make, not only the citizens, but also its friends, to boast about the successes in the development of democracy".

After the Recak massacre, in March 1999, NATO launched attacks on military police targets in the former Yugoslavia.

After 78 days of attacks, the bombings were stopped on June 10, 1999, with the Kumanovo Technical Agreement, which provided for the withdrawal of all Serbian military and police forces from Kosovo.

The agreement was followed by the adoption of Resolution 1244 of the United Nations Security Council.

This Resolution was a compromise of the five permanent member countries of the Security Council, on the basis of which a United Nations administration - UNMIK was established in Kosovo, which administered the transitional phase until the establishment of local institutions and the permanent settlement of the conflict. the status of Kosovo.

On June 12, 1999, the deployment of about 50,000 soldiers from 36 countries of the world began, of which 30,000 were from NATO countries.

KFOR is present even today and takes care of the security of Kosovo.

In the war fought in Kosovo in 1998/99, more than 13,000 civilians were killed and thousands more disappeared.

Over 1,600 people are still missing - most of them Albanians./ Rel