The Republika Srpska is marking today as the “Day of Remembrance for the Victims of NATO Bombings,” which were carried out by the Alliance forces from August 30 to September 14, 1995, on the territory of Republika Srpska, according to Serbian media reports.
“No one has been held accountable for these ‘crimes,’” claims the Serbian portal “kosovoonline.”
The “Day of Remembrance for the Victims of NATO Aggression” will be commemorated today in East Ilidža.
Since the end of World War II, Yugoslavia was a federal socialist state comprised of six republics: Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Montenegro, and Macedonia. From 1974, it also had two autonomous provinces: Vojvodina and Kosovo.
In Kosovo, Albanians constituted 80% of the population, while Serbs claimed that Kosovo was the “cradle of Serbia.” In 1989, Milošević revoked Kosovo’s autonomy. Ethnic tensions escalated. Who does Kosovo belong to? After decades of peaceful resistance from the Albanians, the Kosovo Liberation Army emerged in 1996. This armed organization fought against Serbian reprisals. The Serbian army responded with massive attacks. In the summer of 1998, war broke out in Kosovo.
Foreign countries needed to assist in finding a compromise and ending the war. The USA, France, the United Kingdom, and Germany invited the parties to negotiations in Rambouillet near Paris. The plan was to reach a temporary agreement on the autonomy of Kosovo. After several meetings in France and a final visit by American diplomat Richard Holbrooke to Belgrade, the negotiations failed. Yugoslavia was unwilling to sign the agreement.
