1000 SERBS AGAINST NATO (27 MARCH 2016)

INTERNET SOURCE: https://www.rt.com/news/337379-serbs-march-against-nato/

  

1,000s of Serbs march against NATO in Belgrade (VIDEO)

Published time: 27 Mar, 2016 21:30

A man waves a flag during an Anti-NATO demonstration gathering several hundred people for a protest in downtown Belgrade, on March 27, 2016. © Alexa Stankovic / AFP

Several thousand protesters marched through Serbia’s capital on Sunday to vent anger at the cooperation agreement the country signed with NATO in February, which guarantees diplomatic immunity and freedom of movement through Serbia for NATO troops.

The troops are to uphold peace and stability in the region in exchange.

“We think it is hypocrisy to say that NATO will guarantee stability and security to our people in Kosovo and Metohija,” Milica Djurdjevic, spokeswoman for Zavetnici (Oath Keepers), the right-wing Serbian party that organized Sunday’s protest, said.

“Kosovo has had a NATO base for years now. And despite their presence, Serbs were persecuted, some of our holiest and oldest monasteries were burnt, our houses were burnt and people were expelled from their homes.”

She also accused the alliance of breeding global problems instead of solving them.

“We are not only thinking that the NATO alliance does not curate stability, but that NATO is the cause for terrorism, the cause for migration, and all other global problems they cannot solve nowadays – unlike the Russian Federation, where problems are solved at their root.”

Pro-Russian political forces in Serbia have been gaining ground ahead of a general election to take place on April 24 that could decide which direction Serbia is heading – toward its Slavic ally Russia or the EU and NATO.

Supporters of a pro-Russian course for the country were holding up Russian and Serbian flags, as well as banners praising Russian President Vladimir Putin, while shouting slogans against Serbia siding with the West. They also waved anti-NATO banners, that read “Serbia is not a NATO colony” and “NATO, get out of Serbia.”

The crowds initially gathered at Republic Square and then marched to Radio Television of Serbia’s (RTS) headquarters, where the rally organizers entered the building to hand deliver footage of the protest. Activists accuse RTS of censorship and biased coverage, slamming the broadcaster for its lack of proper coverage of anti-NATO sentiment in Serbia.

Officials put the number of protesters at 6,000, while Zavetnici claims that up to 20,000 people were present.

Sunday’s march comes as the country marks the 17th anniversary of NATO’s intervention in Serbia, which was allegedly launched as a response to a crackdown on Kosovo Albanian separatists in 1999. NATO bombed Serbian territory for 78 days, resulting in hundreds of civilian deaths.

Sunday’s protest was the second such public demonstration just this week. A similar protest was held on March 24 – the same date the NATO bombing campaign began 17 years ago.

INTERNET SOURCE: http://tass.ru/en/world/866576

Serbia does not plan to join NATO as most citizens are against it — FM

April 01, 15:45 UTC+3

According to the minister, Serbia's intention to join the EU can't harm good relations with Russa

MOSCOW, April 1. /TASS/. Serbia does not plan to join NATO, and this reflects the position of most Serbian citizens, Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic said on Friday after talks with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov.

"We do not plan to join NATO," Dacic said adding that "no one in the government has initiated Serbia’s membership in the Alliance." "Our cooperation and relations with NATO remain at the level of partnership for the sake of peace and are maintained on the basis of an individual plan for those countries that do not want to become members of the Alliance," Dacic added.

Serbia "supports constructive approach to NATO, so that there are no more bombings," the foreign minister said. "Belgrade does not embark on path of rapprochement with NATO for the Serbian people, not for Russia," he noted. "Most Serbian citizens are against the country’s. membership in the Alliance. We are not engaged with this but several media are engaged with manipulations about Serbia’s intention to join NATO," Dacic said.

Talking about Serbia’s plans to join EU, the foreign minister noted that "we want to become EU’s member, it is in our interests." "We are the country that is geographically and politically located in this part of Europe. However, this can in no way harm our good relations with Russa," he added.

Serbia: Thousands decry govt. NATO deal in Belgrade

Published on Mar 27, 2016

Around 6,000 took the streets of Belgrade on Saturday to protest against Serbia's recent cooperation agreement with NATO. The deal, signed in February, guarantees diplomatic immunity and freedom of movement throughout Serbia for NATO troops.

SOT, Milica Djurdjevic, spokesperson of Zavetnici (Serbian): "We think it is hypocrisy to say that NATO will guarantee stability and security to our people in Kosovo and Metohija, especially if we take into consideration that Kosovo has had a NATO base for years now. And that despite their presence, Serbs were persecuted, some of our holiest and oldest monasteries were burnt, our houses were burnt and people were expelled from their homes."

SOT, Milica Djurdjevic, spokesperson of Zavetnici (Serbian): "We are not only thinking that the NATO alliance does not curate stability, but the NATO alliance is the cause for terrorism, the cause for migration, and all other global problems they cannot solve nowadays - unlike the Russian Federation, where problems are solved at their root."

VIDEO SOURCE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r9c7T5hVNVE