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STATEMENT Slobodan Milosevic, Chairman of the Serbian Socialist Party and former President of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, was arrested in Belgrade. All circumstances directly indicate that this action was ordered by the United States. The intensity of pressure on the Yugoslav government was unprecedented, and the decision to arrest Mr. Milosevic was made under the threat of vicious economic and political blackmail. This represents the most deplorable interference in the internal affairs of a sovereign state and a fresh violation of international legal norms, already shaken by the rogue bombings of Iraq, Libya, Sudan, and especially the NATO aggression against Yugoslavia in 1999. By arresting a former head of a foreign country, the United States is introducing a dangerous element into international relations. The consequences of this precedent could be far-reaching for any head of state trying to run an independent foreign and domestic policy, including the leaders of Russia and Belarus. With that in mind, the deafening silence of the Russian Federation’s Foreign Ministry is simply shocking. Those forces in Yugoslavia that favor the preservation of the historical friendship between the Yugoslav people and Russia are being openly harassed. The continuance of the current faceless policy of the Russian Foreign Ministry is bound to lead to Russia’s removal from the Balkans altogether. The decision of the Yugoslav regime to arrest its former head of state for the sake of financial "aid" is contemptible – especially since it is obvious that the demand for Slobodan Milosevic’s arrest came from the leaders of NATO, convicted by a Yugoslav court for crimes against the people of Yugoslavia and responsible for war damages in excess of tens of billions of dollars. The People’s Patriotic Union of Russia condemns the persecution of Slobodan Milosevic, as it will further increase tensions in Yugoslavia, contrary to our desires for peace and stability in that country. Judging that the persecution of the Serbian Socialist Party leader represents an attempt to impose the American "New World Order," the People’s Patriotic Union of Russia calls for an international campaign to cease political persecution of Slobodan Milosevic and support the patriotic forces in Yugoslavia, which continue to resist the expansion of NATO. Moscow, April 2, 2001 Chairman of the People’s Patriotic Union of Russia Gennady Zyuganov |
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