Serbia should preserve military neutrality – NATO membership issue to be decided by referendum only

It is in the lasting interest of Serbia to retain and reinforce military neutrality that was instituted by the decision of the National Assembly – is the key message of the participants in the Roundtable titled “Serbia and NATO”, held on the occasion of the 12th anniversary of launching of NATO aggression against Serbia (the FRY). NATO should not be ignored, but in mutual relations experiences from the past two decades must not be forgotten. NATO 1999 aggression was a crime against peace and humanity which marked Alliance’s turning point from a defensive into an offensive military block. NATO strategy aims at domination rather than democratization in international affairs. As demonstrated by all the aggressions and occupations committed so far, from the 1999 aggression on Serbia (the FRY), through Afghanistan, Iraq and nowadays Libya, these are but façade for taking control of energy and strategic minerals resources. NATO defends and tries to impose uni-polar world relationsin spite of global changes introducing multi-polar world order.
These are some of the positions and views presented in addresses of the participants in this Roundtable.

The Partnership for Peace (the PfP) that Serbia joined in 2006, at the Riga Summit, is quite sufficient framework for the mutual Serbia - NATO. Tactics of a “crawling” joining the Alliance is quite unacceptable. Serbia’s membership to NATO would bring much more detriment and risks upon Serbia than benefits. The concept of a balanced foreign policy requires a balanced security policy that is inexistent at present – was a unanimous view of speakers and participants in hours-long discussion.

Relations between Serbia and NATO are a strategic issue of the utmost national importance. This is supported by independent surveys, which show that more than 70% of Serbian citizens are against Serbia’s membership to the Alliance. The state leadership is obliged to respect this position. If the issue of Serbia’s membership to NATO ever comes to the agenda, it can only be decided only by citizens of Serbia at referendum.

The venue for this Roundtable was the Ceremonial Hall of the Municipal Assembly of Novi Beograd City Hall, and it was attended by several hundred guests from the country and from abroad. Exhibition of photos and books depicting the consequences of the 1999 NATO aggression accompanied the round table.

The events have been jointly organized by the Belgrade Forum for a World of Equals, the Club of Generals and Admirals, and the War veterans association of Serbia.

The participants paid tribute to the victims of aggression, recalling that, during 78-day long, incessant bombing, over 3,500 people were killed and additional 12,000 wounded. They recalled that 89 children lost their lives of NATO bombes; the infrastructure, economy, and public services were devastated; the use of depleted uranium, cluster and graphite bombes, destruction of chemical factories inflicted indiscriminate long-lasting consequences to the population and environment.

The participants gave full support to the Report of Mr. Dick Marty and the ensuing Resolution of the Council of Europe to the effect of establishing  the truth about human organs harvesting of Serbs from Kosovo and Metohija abducted and killed by the terrorist KLA. The participants demanded action and full contribution of relevant state bodies of Serbia. Serbia and Serbian media have a moral obligation to counter any attempt to water down this initiative of Dick Marty and the Council of Europe.

Among the participants of the Round table were Prof. Radovan Radinović, Vladislav Jovanović, Zivadin Jovanovic, Zoran Vujić(Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs), Dr Stanislav Stojanović (Head of the Strategic Planning Department of the Minsitry of Defense), General Jovo Milanović, retired, Prof. Dr. Branko Krga, Prof. Dr. Peter Strutinski (Germany), Prof. Đorđe Vukadinović (“New Serbian Political Thought”), Dr Srđa Trifković, (“Chronicle”, the USA), Prof. Miodrag Zečević, Milovan Drecun, and others.

This Roundtable was also attended by several foreign diplomats accredited in Serbia.

The papers of the speakers will be published as the Roundtable Report and also uploaded to the website of the Belgrade Forum for a World of Equals, at: (www.beoforum.rs).

{artsexylightbox picasaUser="beoforum" picasaAlbum="OkrugliStoSrbijaINATO"}{/artsexylightbox}