Stop the US/NATO war on Serbia! Self-determination for Kosova!
The following international statement has been initiated by Green
Left Weekly. If you agree, please return your endorsement (include
your name, address, telephone number, e-mail address and your
organisation or position for identification purposes) to Green Left
Weekly, PO Box 394, Broadway, NSW, 2007. Phone (02) 9690 1210, fax
(02) 9690 1381, or e-mail <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>.
We oppose both the US-led NATO war against Serbia/Yugoslavia and the
Serbian authorities' genocidal campaign of terror against the ethnic
Albanian majority in Kosova (the region termed =93Kosovo=94 by the
Serbian regime). We support the right of the Kosovar people to self-
determination, which includes their right to independence from
Serbia.
The NATO powers' war against Serbia/Yugoslavia has nothing to do with
defending the Kosovar people against Serbian persecution, which began
a decade ago and which these powers did nothing against.
The real purpose of the US/NATO war is two-fold: first, to win
greater public acceptance for the right of the US government to use
its war machine anywhere in the world; second, to block the Kosovar
people's struggle for independence from Serbia. The NATO powers have
consistently opposed this struggle, denouncing the Kosova Liberation
Army as =93terrorists=94 and insisting that Kosova remain part of Serbia,
regardless of what the Kosovar people want.
The NATO powers only began to express opposition to the Serbian
government's repression in Kosova when the Kosova Albanians began an
armed resistance to this repression. NATO began to insist that Serbia
allow NATO troops to occupy Kosova and disarm the KLA because the
NATO powers had lost confidence in the Serbian authorities' ability
to crush the Kosovar armed resistance movement.
The NATO war against Serbia/Yugoslavia will do nothing to bring about
a just settlement of the Serbian/Kosovar conflict, which can only be
based upon recognition of the Kosova Albanians' right to decide their
own affairs free of both Serbian and NATO interference.
For these reasons, we believe it is necessary to oppose US/NATO
military intervention in the Balkans, and to demand an immediate halt
to the NATO military campaign against Serbia, the immediate
withdrawal of all Serbian military forces from Kosova and removal of
all restrictions imposed on the ability of the Kosova Albanians to
defend themselves (including the UN-NATO arms embargo).
Initial endorsers (organisations and positions for identification
purposes only unless indicated otherwise): Lisa Macdonald, editor,
Green Left Weekly; John Pilger, journalist, author and film-maker;
Dhyta Caturani, international department, People's Democratic Party
(Indonesia); Dr Syd Husin Ali, president, Malaysian People's Party;
John Percy, national secretary, Democratic Socialist Party
(Australia); Sonny Melencio, Socialist Party of Labour (Philippines);
Wardah Hafidz, Urban Poor Consortium (Indonesia); T. Rajamoorthy,
Regional Council on Human Rights in Asia; Jos=E9 Alvarez Icaza,
president, National Center for Social Communication (Mexico); Agnes
Khoo, women's and workers' rights activist (Singapore); Patrick Bond,
lecturer, University of Witwatersrand (South Africa); Anna Weekes, on
behalf of the South African Municipal Workers Union; Brian Ashley,
coordinator, Alternative Information and Development Centre (AIDC),
South Africa; Koshin Fukushima, AIDC; Duncan Chapple, Socialist
Democracy (Britain); Pete Brown, Independent Labour Network
(Britain); Mark Hudson, Solidarity (USA); Allen Myers, editor, Links;
Michael Karadjis, delegate Australian Services Union; Sid Shniad,
research director, Telecommunications Workers Union (Canada); Max
Lane, national coordinator, Action in Solidarity with Indonesia and
East Timor (ASIET); Dodong Valencia, KASAPI HELLAS (Greece); Sean
Healy, national coordinator, Resistance; Dr Helen Jarvis, Asia
Pacific Institute for Democratisation and Development; Neville
Spencer, editor, Venceremos; Pip Hinman, Asia Pacific Women's
Solidarity Network; Dr Dede Oetomo, lecturer, Universitas Airlangga
Surabaya (Indonesia); Becky Ellis, New Socialist Group (Canada);
University of Queensland Union; Kate Carr, education officer,
Griffith University SRC; Rally for Peace and Nuclear Disarmament
(Brisbane); Jabiluka Action Group (Brisbane); Jabiluka Action Group
(Sydney); Dave Holmes, Resistance Books; Stephen O'Brien, Committees
in Solidarity with Central America and the Caribbean (CISLAC); Dr
Kamala Emanuel, medical practitioner; Bob Hendricks, Queensland
secretary, CEPU Electrical Division; Peter Boyle, New Course
Publications; Dr Tuntuni Bhattacharyya, medical practitioner; Jill
Hickson, film-maker; Aaron Benedek, education officer, Sydney
University Students Representative Council; Tim Gooden, secretary,
ACT government section, Community and Public Sector Union (CPSU);
Philippa Stanford, section councillor, Centrelink section, CPSU; Mark
Cronin, section councillor, Centrelink section, CPSU; Dr Jeremy
Smith, lecturer, University of Ballarat, National Tertiary Education
Industry Union national councillor; Melanie Sjoberg, organiser,
Public Service Association (SA); Maurice Sibelle, coordinator,
Victorian TAFE Students and Apprentices Network (VTSAN); Sarah Lantz,
student research officer, VTSAN; Dr Margaret Perrot, medical
practitioner; Chris Latham, coordinator, Australia-Indonesia Student
Solidarity Brigade; Allen Jennings, CISLAC Victoria; Ertugral Titiz,
Kurdish activist; Mark Abberton, education officer, RMIT TAFE
Students Association; Natasha Izatt, women's officer, RMIT TAFE
Students Association; Vanessa Hearman, ASIET Victoria; Trisha
Reimers, women's officer, University of WA Student Guild; Amanda
Lawrence, women's officer, University of Canberra Students
Association; Angela Luvera, National Union of Students NSW Women's
Committee; Peter Robson, NUS Queensland Education Committee; Craig
Gebauer (USA); Blanche Grosswald, School of Social Welfare,
University of California; Nils P. Lie-Gjeseth, Red Alliance (Norway);
Lekkie Hopkins, Edith Cowan University; Canberra Rape Crisis Centre;
Natalie Gourgard, postgraduate vice-president, University of
Queensland Union; Roland Pfefferkorn, Marc-Bloch University (France);
Ichiyo Muto, co-president, People's Plan Study Group (Japan); James
E. Vann (USA).
j
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