Pavlovic: The real reason for the bombing - punishing Serbia and giving another state to Albanians in the Balkans

Historian Momcilo Pavlovic says that today, 25 years after the bombing of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, the real reason and cause of NATO aggression have been revealed, which is punishing Serbia and Serbs by taking away territory and giving Albanians another state in the Balkans.

"This also implied changing borders, but this was not said then, nor is it said today in the way I am speaking. The direct consequence of the NATO bombing is the change of Serbia's borders," Pavlovic points out for Kosovo Online.

He notes that playing with border changes eventually comes back like a boomerang because history does not stand still, and this, he believes, will be seen in Ukraine and Gaza.

"At this moment, it comes to mind that the construction of intentional killing of civilians, as is happening now in Gaza and partly in Ukraine, was invented back then, formulated as 'collateral damage'. Does anyone today use that term for the civilian casualties in Gaza or Ukraine? We see that 25 years after the NATO bombing, the real, essential reasons for the aggression against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia have been exposed," Pavlovic said.

He adds that Albanians were not such an important factor in this case, but that the international community, or rather the United States, Great Britain, Germany, France, and other powers, had their plan 25 years ago, the consequence of which is the realization of greater sovereignty for the Albanians in Kosovo.

"The Albanians in the Kosovo region are increasingly exercising sovereignty in proportion to Serbia's loss of sovereignty in that area, precisely under international protection. Therefore, all norms of international law, all standards, European standards regarding human rights, democracy, freedom, the protection of property, and other rights are persistently violated in the Kosovo region under the protection of international forces," Pavlovic states.

He warns that these international forces do not protect all communities in Kosovo but rather Albanians from any potential Serbian action to regain sovereignty in Kosovo.

"When I say sovereignty, I mean external borders, and internally how we will negotiate with the Albanians - that is a completely different question. It is interesting to note - Albanians under Slobodan Milosevic, even when allegedly expelled and displaced, had more rights than they are now willing or able to acknowledge to the Serbs in Kosovo," Pavlovic emphasized.

He emphasizes that "everything has turned around," but that the policy of the international community is still such that Kosovo is consolidating its independence.

As problematic, he sees the fact that he says, material, political, and other resources are invested in divisions rather than in coexistence so that Serbs and Albanians can continue to live as they did before 1999.

"Their unprincipled policy, which has its reasons but was justified by Milosevic's policy, is now exposed, in terms of punishing Serbia and all Serbs in the former Yugoslavia, who are perceived by Western powerful countries as the sole and main culprits for the breakup of that country, and they are the criminals, while all others are victims," Pavlovic believes.

He adds that it is now "ungrateful to speculate" about what would have happened if a different policy had been pursued.

"However, both then and now, a country must defend itself, regardless of what anyone thinks. Serbia should also seek assistance for the return of sovereignty to the territory of Kosovo and Metohija, or the entire Serbia, just as Ukraine seeks the return of sovereignty and fights for it, or any other country. Of course, I am not naive, and I know what the reality is, and I know that it is currently unfeasible. But we must persistently and systematically point out these double standards and that what applies to all countries should also apply to Serbia," Pavlovic concluded.