nettime-nl: LETTER OF APPEAL FROM BELGRADE INTELLECTUALS

["Marc / Ana (X-Gateway)" <marc@archined.nl>]

                          LET CIVILITY PREVAIL

                A STATEMENT OF 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:

                                      (ABC 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




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