"In a healthy society, fighters must not be forgotten. And in Serbia, we are erased from memory because our truth hurts, because our patriotism was not for the media, but for the people," an active police colonel told Vreme.
An old acquaintance and friend calls the journalist to meet and, on the occasion of the anniversary of the signing of the Kumanovo Agreement, to "regret" the injustice done to the policemen who fought from 1991 to 2001, wherever they were sent - from Croatia, through BiH to Kosovo and southern Serbia. He is an active colonel about to retire, so he must not speak under his name in order not to bear the sanctions he has endured several times so far. A top cop, a warrior who has been through everything, and most importantly, and rarely for the police, an extraordinary intellectual, well-read, with whom you can talk about all topics.
"Those who in that difficult time wore a uniform, stood on the side of the motherland, risked their lives and defended the law are today forgotten. Their status in society is not only neglected, but humiliatingly low, below any dignity that should accompany their sacrifice and service.
Police veterans from that period were rarely mentioned and even less respected. They received neither symbolic monuments, nor recognitions, nor public acknowledgments. Their names are not pronounced at the solemn celebrations of the Police Day, nor are they called when baptisms and jubilees are celebrated. Instead of them, 'deserving' officials, politically eligible officials and careerists appear at those events - people for whom service in the police was only a stepping stone to higher positions", he says resignedly.
The interlocutor of "Vremena" recalls that those who worked for years at traffic checkpoints, patrolled the streets, exposed themselves to daily danger in high-risk zones, were erased from the collective memory.
"Policemen, traffic officers, patrolmen - people whom the citizens saw most often and relied on, are today forgotten. No one remembers them, except when they are needed again - when the situation in Preševo, Kosovo or Sandžak becomes serious", states the veteran who was pushed into the war at the age of 18.
Patriotism not for the media, but for the people
He believes that the government treats police veterans this way because they are not suitable and do not belong to the elites who today shape politics and give speeches, "because our truth hurts, it reminds us of the years when the state was crowned, and they tried to preserve it", because "our patriotism was not for the media, but for the people, for the street, for the safety of the common man".
"In a healthy society, fighters, whether soldiers or policemen, must not be forgotten. Their service must be recognized, their dignity protected, and their contribution recorded in the collective memory. To forget them means to forget who we were in the most difficult times. And if we as a society allow it, next time we may not have anyone to defend us," he concluded.
The fact that only representatives of "loyal" associations of police veterans, none of those who fought and are not in those associations, were invited to this year's ceremonial academy on the occasion of Police Day speaks volumes for the attitude towards policemen warriors.
Internal repression in the Ministry of Interior
The interlocutor of "Vremen" says that the internal repression in the MUP is much greater than during the regime of Slobodan Milošević, probably because technology has advanced, so it is easier to monitor and everyone is afraid of everyone.
The author of this text also remembers the 1996/1997 demonstrations. year, when the front page of "Vremen" published a photo of a traffic policeman who, in the snow, on duty, holding in his hands and reading the newly released issue of the newspaper. "I don't know what's going on with him now, whether he's retired or still working, but I know he didn't face any sanctions for that. If you don't count being sent to Kosovo, where I met him, but that's where we all went, whether we were punished or not. Now imagine if someone recorded a policeman reading 'Vreme' on duty or off duty, or brought some of the 'opposition newspapers' to the office, he would immediately 'drink' disciplinary liability, plus a reduction in salary."
Vučić Aleksandra's false promises
At the celebration of the Police Day, Minister Ivica Dacic laid a wreath on the monument erected in memory of the fallen policemen (which, by the way, seems to have been made by an amateur sculptor) and said that "we must keep the memory of their great sacrifice" and that the MUP is trying as much as possible to help the families of the dead policemen and the wounded, those who lost their ability to work.
"And what will happen to us who stayed alive, went through all those adversities, which left consequences for us and our families? We are not asking for anything, just that they remember us, mention us... Do Dacic and the others from the MUP who take pictures with him know what it was like for our parents when we go somewhere in Kosovo and they don't know when we are going to return, and there are no phones in the field to call them, cell phones were rare then. What was it like for colleagues who were married and had children. They were frightened by the doorbell and begged God not to see a policeman in uniform, because they knew what that meant," says another police veteran, who was lucky enough to survive the injury, after which he returned to the fight.
"Aleksandar Vučić said that the job of policemen is difficult, because everything is always demanded and expected of them, and almost no one ever gets recognition and that he will fight for the respect of policemen. He has been repeating this for more than 10 years, and how did he fight it - not at all. Since he came to power, we with a war biography have been slowly removed from leadership positions, new 'party cadres' came, trained overnight, and it went over their heads, so the police are what they are," he concludes. he.
"Today, the army solemnly commemorates the end of the battle at Košare, let it be, and it should be, they defended that direction with superhuman strength, practically cut off from their commands. No one from the media asks the participants of the battle how it was in reality, those elders who appear on television and talk were called 'motorola-commanders', because they commanded from the safety of some basement near Gjakova via radio link," says the police colonel bitterly.
"And no one mentions us, who were ensuring that the KLA gangs did not attack them from behind. And Drenica or the area around Junik, Mališevo, Ćaf Dulje, were full of terrorists, who were waiting for the signal to attack - we were their obstacle. Of course, in cooperation with the army."
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