French retired army colonel Jacques Hogard was amongst the first western officers to enter Serbia, that is, Kosovo and Metohija after Kumanovo agreement was signed in 1999 and after withdrawal of the Serbian army.
Hogard described what he saw in only 12 days in Kosovo, as a member of KFOR’s advanced group, in a book titled “Europe has died in Pristina’. He said to web portal Sputnik that before he came to Kosovo he was aware that it was not about the ‘humanitarian war’, but about the war planned by the US against Serbia, and against the Russian interests in Eastern and Southern Europe too.
Is Kosovo an independent state in your view and can it survive?
Kosovo is not a state and can’t become one. It can become part of ‘Big Albania’, based on political or ethnic affiliation, or forever remain part or Serbia.
If you would be authority in Serbia, would you sign the Brussels Agreement? Is that a solution for the problem of secession of Kosovo?
I am not a Serb and I am not part of Serbian authorities that are faced with huge pressure. However, there is no reason for discussing Kosovo with anyone beyond the framework of the UNSC Resolution 1244, which is quite clear – Kosovo and Metohija are integral part of the Republic of Serbia. All other declarations are illegal from the international and objective point of view.
What kind of message would you like to convey to your French public from the perspective of your memories?
The message I am trying to convey to Western public, particularly to French people, is that NATO had demonized Serbia and that it was the result of huge number of disinformation in the propaganda war led against Serbia by Western media. War against Serbia was huge mistake of France. In a way it was the treason.
