Milosevic is a spin master too. Here is his speech ...
AP
Thur. June 10
Text of Milosevic Address
Thursday, June 10, 1999; 12:37 p.m. EDT
BELGRADE, Yugoslavia (AP) -- Here is a text of President Slobodan Milosevic's televised address to the nation Thursday following suspension of the NATO bombing campaign and the beginning of the Serb withdrawal from Kosovo.
The remarks were delivered in Serbian and translated by The Associated Press.
Dear citizens. Happy peace to us all!
At this moment, our thoughts go out to the heroes who have given their lives for the defense of the fatherland in the struggle for freedom and dignity of our nation. All their names will be announced in full but at this moment I would like to inform you that in the war which lasted exactly 11 weeks, from March 24 until today, 462 Yugoslav army soldiers and 114 police were killed.
We shall never be able to repay them. We have to do what we can. Our duty is to care for their families and repay them by being forever ready to defend our freedom and dignity of this land for which they laid down their lives.
The entire nation participated in this war -- from babies in hospitals to intensive care unit patients, to soldiers in air defense trenches and soldiers on the borders.
No one will forget the heroism of the defenders of the bridges, the citizens who defended the factories, the squares and the cities ... their state and their people.
The people are the heroes -- this may be the briefest conclusion of this war.
The people are the heroes and should feel like heroes and behave as such: with dignity, nobility and responsibility.
Throughout the rallies in this past year in our country, one motto was often heard: We will not give up Kosovo.
We never gave up Kosovo.
Today, the territorial integrity and sovereignty is guaranteed by the G-8 nations, the U.N., This guarantee is in the draft resolution.
Open questions regarding the possible independence of Kosovo in the time before the aggression have been sealed with the Belgrade agreement.
The territorial integrity of our country can never be questioned again.
We survived and defended the country and raised the entire problem to the pinnacle of world authority, the pyramid -- the United Nations.
The problem was returned to be solved under the auspices of the United Nations and in tune with the U.N. Charter.
The troops due to be deployed in Kosovo will be under U.N. auspices.
These troops will have their prime responsibility to ensure the safety of all citizens.
Also under the U.N. aegis, a political process will take place, based on the principles already discussed and on the basis of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of our country.
This political process can only involve the autonomy of Kosovo and nothing else.
By coming before the U.N., we have not only defended our country but have brought back to the world stage the U.N., which did not function for 80 days before this aggression. This is our contribution to the world: to prevent creation of a unipolar world, to prevent the acceptance of a world based on the dictat from one center.
I think this contribution will be huge in history and that the heroism of our people in the resistance to the many-times stronger and bigger enemy will mark the end of the 20th century.
I am convinced of this.
We have shown that our army is invincible - I am sure the best army in the world and by the army I mean the soldiers, police, all forces of national defense.
They showed the entire world how one defends his nation, how unified and strong we stood. Because the people were the army and the army was the people.
Never before have our people been so united and never in our history did we have fewer cowards who fled the country to await the war's end abroad in safety.
At this moment, we face many new problems which will open many new duties at the end of the aggression and the beginning of peace.
To take care of the ones who need it the most, the families of the killed, those who have been maimed for life, all those workers and farmers and citizens whom the war damaged and who need help.
Everyone need help.
We face the reconstruction of the country.
We shall begin rebuilding our bridges immediately, our factories, our roads, We have to restart again a great development to reflect the vitality of all our citizens.
And when I speak of our people, I mean all citizens and nationalities.
We have defended the only multiethnic society left over as a remnant of the former Yugoslavia -- this is another great achievement of our defense.
The forces that come to Kosovo will serve peace, regardless from which countries they come from.
An army always follows the orders and the order here is to protect the people and the peace.
The work ahead will require great mobilization. I think that the unity in these difficult times is a major achievement which we have to preserve in times ahead.
I wish all citizens of Yugoslavia much joy and success in reconstruction of our country! |
