For the first time in the history of the war, a media house was hit, which was previously declared a legitimate military target. The RTS building was bombed during a news broadcast, at two hours and six minutes, after midnight on April 23, 1999.
At that time, 16 RTS workers were killed and killed at their workplaces. They were killed by NATO bombs, which declared the RTS building a legitimate military target contrary to all the rules and customs of war, even though they knew that there were between 150 and 160 civilians in it every night.
These were ordinary people who only did their daily work professionally.
On behalf of the families of the injured RTS workers, Miroslav Medic, the brother of the murdered Sinisa Medic, said that the killed RTS workers were not given the opportunity to live, to start their own families, to enjoy retirement.
“We continue to ask why they were brutally killed, why they were sacrificed, why none of the NATO leaders were responsible for this crime. We also ask why no one in the then government did anything to prevent the tragedy, why those whose duty it is they did nothing to protect people, although there were announcements that television was a possible target, “Medic said.
Monument ‘Why is the warning that this will never happen again, said the acting director of the Serbian Television, Ilija Cerovic.
“This monument, although a silent witness to that event, all these years the question engraved on it is ‘Why’ they had to die. We know who killed them but we don’t know who condemned them. We did nothing to prevent that and that “It is a stain on our cheeks. How long will we ask the government to officially answer all the questions of the victims’ families and help their search for truth and justice finally end,” Cerovic said.
Twenty-two years in front of the ‘Why’ monument we are looking for answers to the same questions. We are looking for the truth. The victims and the monument are a warning that this crime will never be repeated and forgotten.
The following were killed in the attack: Jelica Munitlak, make-up artist, Ksenija Banković, video mixer, Darko Stoimenovski, exchange technician, Nebojša Stojanović, master technician, Dragorad Dragojević, security worker, Dragan Tasić, electrician, Aleksandar Deletić, cameraman, Slaviša Stevanović, technician, Sinisa Medic, program designer, Ivan Stukalo, technician, Dejan Markovic, security worker, Milan Joksimovic, security worker, Branislav Jovanovic, master technician, Slobodan Jontic, fitter, Milovan Jankovic, precision mechanic, and Tomislav Mitrovic, program director.
In addition to the families, colleagues and friends of the victims, the commemoration was attended by representatives of journalists’ associations, the Minister of Labor, Employment, Veterans and Social Affairs Darija Kisić Tepavčević and the Deputy Mayor of Belgrade Goran Vesić.
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