19 Years After NATO Bombed Serbia, Most Serbs Won’t Take Apology From Alliance – Poll

In the 1990s, NATO lost its raison d'être when the Iron Curtain fell and Communism collapsed. They had to find a new reason for their existence and where better to find a reason for a military alliance than in the Balkans. They got their new lease on life and it only cost a few thousand lives at most. 

Since 1999, NATO has seemingly made a art-form out of provoking regional wars - Libya, Syria, etc., but as both these missions became absolute disasters, NATO has turned it's attention to fear-mongering - creating hysteria about Russia that is way over the top. But they are making and selling weapons like never before in history, so everyone is getting filthy rich. 

© Marko Djurica / Reuters

A majority of Serbs today would not accept an apology from NATO for its 1999 military intervention in Kosovo. Only 10 percent would wish to see their country become a member the trans-Atlantic defense bloc, recent poll shows.

The continued animosity towards NATO in Serbia was highlighted by an opinion poll conducted by the Belgrade-based Institute for European Affairs in mid-March. According to the poll, only 10 percent of Serbs support membership of the military bloc while 84 percent oppose it. The mood is particularly strong in the Serbian capital, where the level of support for NATO membership is 5.8 percent, and among young people aged 18 to 25 (7.7 percent). Only 18 percent believe that becoming an ally would be beneficial for Serbia.

Former Serb leader Slobodan Milosevic and his policies are perceived as the main reason for the bombings by 17.4 percent of Serbs. The second-most mentioned reason was that the US and Western powers were simply pursuing their interests. It was cited by 15.2 percent of respondents. Other popular explanations included a goal to push ethnic Serbs out of Kosovo (12.6 percent) and to remove Kosovo from Serbia (10.5 percent).

If NATO were to offer Serbs an apology for the bombings, 62 percent of them would not accept it according to the poll. The defiant attitude is most prominent among Belgrade residents (65.9 percent) and people aged 30-44 (67.3 percent), who were teens or young adults during the bombing campaign. A majority of 66 percent said NATO bombings of Yugoslavia could have been avoided.

NATO justified its intervention in Kosovo by accusing the Milosevic government of ethnically cleansing the province. 

Of course, only NATO would believe that the way to end ethnic cleansing is to drop bombs on people.

The bombings lasted 78 days and officially claimed at least 758 civilian lives, though Serbian sources say the true figure may be double that. The violence in Kosovo followed decades of inter-ethnic alienation and tension in the province. The loss of the province was a great symbolic blow to Serbs, who historically consider the land essential to their statehood and of great spiritual significance.

EU Countries Turning on Merkel in Mass Resentment at Germany's Dominance

NIGEL FARAGE today claimed other EU countries are ready to bring Angela Merkel “down a peg or two” amid growing resentment at the German Chancellor’s dominance of European decision-making.

By GREG HEFFER, POLITICAL REPORTER EXPRESS

Nigel Farage noted rising anger at Angela Merkel's grip on EU affairs

EU leaders are currently meeting in Brussels to discuss a plan drawn up between Mrs Merkel and Turkey in a bid to stem the flow of migrants into Europe amid the ongoing refugee crisis.

But the Ukip leader suggested the fact the German leader now appears to “speak on behalf of all” Europeans is causing “massive, massive resentment right across the EU”.

Speaking to LBC Radio from the Belgian capital, Nigel Farage described how “one or two countries are beginning to kick back” against Mrs Merkel’s grip on EU affairs.

The MEP insisted Germany had never intended to dominate the EU, but had been thrust into a central role following the outbreak of the eurozone debt crisis.

Mr Farage said the EU’s unelected bureaucrats “did not command the authority to be the leading voices on what the eurozone should do faced with this crisis”, adding: ”And so what happened was the biggest, most powerful country in the eurozone and the EU… stepped to the fore.

“We’ve seen since 2008 and 2009 Germany increasingly becoming the dominant voice.”

I sense that one or two countries are now

 on the verge of bringing her down a peg or two.

Nigel Farage

The anti-EU politician outlined how Mrs Merkel now “speaks on what should happen with Turkey, she speaks on what should happen with the migrant crisis and she speaks on what the Greeks should do with their public spending levels”.

Mr Farage added: ”She appears, when she speaks, to speak on behalf of all of us.

“That is causing massive, massive resentment right across the EU and particularly in the south and the Mediterranean.

“I sense that one or two countries are now on the verge of bringing her down a peg or two.”

The Ukip leader noted how the Netherlands are holding a referendum next month on the proposed deal to put Ukraine on the path to EU membership, which he predicted would be rejected.

And Mr Farage also highlighted moves in Hungary to hold a vote on the “Merkel proposal” for compulsory migrant quotas for each EU member state.

He said: “She [Merkel] is still the top dog, if you like, in the EU - but one or two countries are beginning to kick back.”

Earlier this month, Iceland’s prime minister gave a similar warning over Germany’s dominance of the EU.

Sigmundur Gunnlaugsson, who has seen his country’s economy soar outside of the EU, said: “When it comes to the big stuff the decisions are made by two, and increasingly one country.”

Last weekend, Mrs Merkel’s Christian Democrat party suffered a series of painful defeats in regional elections as part of a continuing backlash against the German Chancellor’s handling of the refugee crisis.

Mrs Merkel initially offered safe passage for all Syrian refugees to Germany, but soon saw her popularity plummet as the country saw nearly half-a-million asylum claims in 2015.