Dr. Marek Obrtel is a Czech Republic Army ex-officer, who served in the

Afghanistan War War in Afghanistan, Afghan war, or Afghan civil war may refer to: *Conquest of Afghanistan by Alexander the Great (330 BC – 327 BC) *Muslim conquests of Afghanistan (637–709) *Conquest of Afghanistan by the Mongol Empire (13th century), see als ...

. He is best known for returning the medal he received during his posting in Afghanistan War for

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...

operations in protest against the U.S. policy on

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

, calling the North Atlantic alliance a "criminal organization" with "atrocious interests". He served in 11th Field Hospital of Army of Czech Republic. He also made a statement to a Belgrade daily commenting on NATO's involvement in the

Kosovo War The Kosovo War was an armed conflict in Kosovo that started 28 February 1998 and lasted until 11 June 1999. It was fought by the forces of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (i.e. Serbia and Montenegro), which controlled Kosovo before the war ...

in 1999. "Genocide against Serbs took place in Kosovo, and it was instigated by the West. For this reason, I am filled with sadness, bitterness and disappointment as I was part of the NATO machinery. I also witnessed how drug lords became respectable officials of the so-called state of Kosovo, and how mass murderers became heroes".

References

1966 births Living people Czech Republic and NATO Czech military doctors Czech military personnel of the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021) {{Czech Republic-military-bio-stub