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A Statement by Concerned Serbian Citizens
As long time proponents of and activists for a
democratic and anti-nationalist Serbia, who have chosen to
remain in Yugoslavia during this moment of crisis and who
want to see our country reintegrated into the community of
world nations, we state the following: 1. We strongly condemn the NATO bombings which have hugely
exacerbated violence in Kosovo and have caused the
displacement of people outside and throughout Yugoslavia. We
strongly condemn the ethnic cleansing of the Albanian
population perpetrated by any Yugoslav forces. We strongly
condemn the Kosovo Liberation Army's (KLA) violence targeted
against the Serbs, moderate Albanians and other ethnic
communities in Kosovo. The humanitarian catastrophe in
Kosovo - death, grief and extreme suffering for hundreds of
thousands of Albanians, Serbs and members of other ethnic
communities - has to be ended now. All refugees from
Yugoslavia must immediately and unconditionally be allowed
to return to their homes, their security and human rights
guaranteed, and aid for reconstruction provided.
Perpetrators of crimes against humanity whoever they are
must be brought to justice. 2. The fighting between Serbian forces and KLA has to be
stopped immediately in order to start a new round of
negotiations. All sides must put aside their maximalist
demands. There are (as in other numerous similar conflicts
such as Northern Ireland) no quick and easy solutions. We
all must be prepared for a long and painstaking process of
negotiation and normalization. 3. The bombing of Yugoslavia by NATO causes destruction and
growing numbers of civilian victims (at least several
hundred, maybe a thousand, by now). The final outcome will
be the destruction of the economic and cultural foundations
of Yugoslav society. It must be stopped immediately. 4. The UN Charter, the Helsinki Final Act, the founding
document of NATO, as well as the constitutions of countries
such as Germany, Italy, Portugal, have been violated by this
aggression. As individuals who have devoted their lives to
the defense of basic democratic values, who believe in
universal legal norms we are deeply concerned that NATO's
violation of these norms will incapacitate all those
struggling for the rule of law and human rights in this
country and elsewhere in the world. 5. NATO's bombings have further destabilized the southern
Balkans. If continued this conflict can escalate beyond
Balkan borders and, if turned into land military operations,
thousands of NATO and Yugoslav soldiers, as well as Albanian
and Serbian civilians, will die in a futile war as in
Vietnam. Political negotiations toward a peaceful settlement
should be reopened immediately. 6. The existing regime has only been reinforced by NATO's
attacks in Yugoslavia by way of the natural reaction of
people to rally around the flag in times of foreign
aggression. We continue our opposition to the present
anti-democratic and authoritarian regime, but we also
emphatically oppose NATO's aggression. The democratic forces
in Serbia have been weakened and the democratic reformist
Government of Montenegro threatened by NATO's attacks and by
the regime's subsequent proclamation of the state of war and
now find themselves between NATO's hammer and regime's
anvil. 7. In dealing with the conflicts in the former Yugoslavia
the leaders of the world community have in the past made
numerous fatal errors. New errors are leading to an
aggravation of the conflict and are removing us from the
search for peaceful solutions. We appeal to all: President Milosevic, the representatives of the Kosovo Albanians, NATO, EU and US leaders to stop all violence and military activities immediately and engage in the search for a political solution.
Belgrade, April 16, 1999
SIGNATURES: (Alphabetic order)
1. Stojan Cerovic, "Vreme" columnist and journalist 2. Jovan Cirilov, Belgrade International Theater Festival (BITEF) selector and former director of the Yugoslav Drama Theater; Theater History Center Director 3. Sima Cirkovic, Member Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts, Professor, Belgrade University, Dept. of History 4. Mijat Damnjanovic, Former Professor, Belgrade University, Faculty of Political Sciences, Center for Public Administration and Local Government (PALGO) Director 5. Vojin Dimitrijevic, Former head of the Department of International Law, Belgrade Law School; The Belgrade Center for Human Rights Director; UN Human Rights Committee former Vice Chairman 6. Dasa Duhacek, Director Women Studies Center, Board Member of Alternative Academic Educational Network (AAEN) 7. Milutin Garasanin, Member of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts; Vice President of The Association for Research of South-Eastern Europe (UNESCO) 8. Zagorka Golubovic, Professor, Belgrade University, Department of Sociology; Chair Social Sciences Department of AAEN 9. Dejan Janca, Professor, Novi Sad University, Law School 10. Ivan Jankovic, Belgrade lawyer, human rights activist, Board President of Center for Anti-War Action 11. Predrag Koraksic, Belgrade cartoonist 12. Mladen Lazic, Professor, Belgrade University, Department of Sociology, AAEN Board member 13. Sonja Licht, President, Fund for an Open Society Executive Board 14. Ljubomir Madzar, Professor Belgrade University, Faculty of Economy, Member Group-17 15. Veran Matic, Editor in Chief, Belgrade Radio B92, President Alternative Network of Electronic Media (ANEM) 16. Jelica Minic, Secretary General, European Movement in Serbia 17. Andrej Mitrovic, Professor, Belgrade University, Department of History 18. Radmila Nakarada, Senior Reserach Fellow, Belgrade Institute for European Studies 19. Milan Nikolic, Director, Center for Policy Studies 20. Vida Ognjenovic, Theater director, playwrite 21. Borka Pavicevic, Director, Center for Cultural Decontamination 22. Jelena Santic, Anti-war 487 group, human rights activist 23. Nikola Tasic, Associate member of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts, Member European Academy 24. Ljubinka Trgovcevic, Senior Research Fellow, Belgrade University, Department of History 25. Srbijanka Turajlic, Professor, Belgrade University, Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Board President AAEN 26. Ivan Vejvoda, Fund for an Open Society Executive Director, 27. Branko Vucicevic, translator |
