On War: From the Peacework mailbag

"An Appeal for Peace in Yugoslavia" from Members of the National Coalition for Peace in Yugoslavia, 5/20/99:

We speak out of deepening concern and anguish over the continued bloodshed and human suffering in Yugoslavia. We call for an immediate end to NATO bombing and intensified effort to bring a just peace in Kosovo. We condemn the atrocities and human rights abuses committed by Serbian forces in Kosovo, and we do not believe that NATO bombing will solve the problem. We are also horrified by the environmental degradation caused by the bombing, with its long-term consequences for all the people of the region.

We seek a solution that ends the killing and destruction on the ground and from the air. Proposals for diplomatic settlement have been put forth by a number of governments and institutions of the international community. We encourage all efforts made in good faith towards a diplomatic solution and strongly urge our nation's leaders to pursue nonviolent alternatives.

We urge an immediate cease-fire, a halt to NATO air attacks, and negotiations involving all interested parties. An end to the bombing is a prerequisite for any peace process to begin. We support the return of Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe monitors in conjunction with the introduction of a truly international peacekeeping operation that would monitor the activities of the Serb military force and the Kosovo Liberation Army.

Members of the National Coalition as of 5/20/99: AFSC, Church of the Brethren, Washington Office, Episcopal Peace Fellowship, Fellowship of Reconciliation, Fourth Freedom Forum, Friends Committee on National Legislation, Fund for New Priorities in America, Mennonite Central Committee, National Priorities Project, NETWORK: A National Catholic Social Justice Lobby, Pax Christi USA, Peace Action, Sojourners, US-Indochina Reconciliation Project, Veterans for Peace, War Resisters League, Women's Action for New Directions, Women's International League for Peace & Freedom

To sign: "Appeal for Peace in Yugoslavia," fax name; name of organization, indicating whether it is national or stat/local/regional; and phone, email, and address to Fran Teplitz, Peace Action Education Fund, 202/862-9762 or email <fteplitz@peace-action.org>

An Appeal from American Jews to the Green Party of Germany

We are Jewish Americans who are deeply concerned that the memory and tragedy of the Holocaust is being invoked in order to justify an unjust bombing campaign against the civilian population of Yugoslavia. Many of us have friends who lost family members in the Holocaust, or have lost relatives ourselves. We are deeply aware of our own history and the need for the world community to intervene in situations where there is a threat of genocide, in order to prevent it. However, this is clearly not what is happening in Yugoslavia today.

We do not believe that our government's war against Yugoslavia is motivated by humanitarian concerns. This is evidenced by their refusal to airlift food and water to desperate refugees within Kosovo, as well as the paltry sums allocated for refugee relief as compared to the billions of dollars spent on the bombing. The Clinton Administration's great reluctance to pursue a negotiated solution to the conflict also indicates that this intervention is mainly about power: showing the world that the United States (and NATO, which it largely controls) is the self-appointed international policeman, and stands above international law and the United Nations. They are waging their war against civilians, destroying the Yugoslav economy, and killing hundreds of innocent people, in order to demonstrate and consolidate their power.

Many supporters of the bombing have drawn analogies to the Holocaust, arguing that the world cannot simply stand by in the face of ethnic cleansing in Kosovo. But the bombing has greatly worsened the situation of the Kosovar Albanians, as is now universally recognized. It has also destroyed the pro-democracy movement within Yugoslavia, and is destabilizing neighboring countries.

We urge you to reject these false and exaggerated analogies to the Holocaust and World War II, which are being used to garner support for a bombing campaign that is intensifying the suffering of all nationalities in Yugoslavia. We appeal to the Green Party of Germany to oppose this war, and to support a negotiated solution of the conflict.

Signed: Noam Chomsky, MIT; Edward S. Herman, Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania; Robert Weissman, Editor, Multinational Monitor; Michael Albert, Z Magazine/Znet; Michael Brün, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; Mark Weisbrot, Dean Baker, Robert Naiman, Preamble Center

To sign on, simply return your name, and any title or organizational affiliation (it will be made clear that this is for identification only) to: <naimanr@preamble.org>; Preamble Center, 1737 21st NW, Washington, DC 20009; www.preamble.org