International Communist Seminar, Brussels, 2-4 May 1999
www.icsbrussels.org , ics[at]icsbrussels.org
We, participants of the International Communist Seminar in Brussels, strongly condemn the barbarian aggression of NATO against Yugoslavia, a sovereign and independent country, one of the founders of the United Nations Organisation. This aggression was undertaken without the approval of the Security Council. It is a brutal violation of the UN Charter and of all principles of international law.
NATO, a regional alliance led by US and German imperialism, has no right at all to undertake military action against an independent state. Germany and the United States have deliberately stirred up ethnic conflicts in Yugoslavia in order to create a pretext for imperialist intervention. There is no legal ground whatsoever for imperialist powers to use the internal problems of an independent state, such as ethnic problems, for undertaking military operations against that state.
NATO's brutal aggression against Yugoslavia is murdering hundreds of people, amongst them children, elderly and women. It is destroying cities and villages, populated quarters, factories, houses, hospitals, schools, cultural and historical monuments, installations for the provision of water, railroads, bridges and communication centres.
The war against Yugoslavia serves to strengthen imperialism militarily and economically, not only in Europe but also in relation to the strategic areas of the Middle East and the former Soviet Union. It is the first open NATO war of aggression in its 50 years of history, and it includes the first combat role of German troops on foreign soil since the defeat of Hitlerite fascism. The US/NATO war has resulted in the military occupation of the former People's Socialist Republic of Albania, has turned Albania into the main military base of imperialism in its aggression against Yugoslavia, and has brought new life to the Hitlerite concept of a "Greater Albania".
NATO has clearly proved to be an international terrorist organisation. NATO's leaders should be brought before an International Court as war criminals, responsible for aggression against the sovereign state of Yugoslavia. NATO is a major threat to the peace, independence and sovereignty of all states in the world. NATO means war! It must be dissolved.
Guided by a spirit of solidarity and a sense of responsibility of the International Communist Movement towards the fate of the people of Yugoslavia and the Balkans, we issue the following demands and calls:
1. We call upon all peace-loving people and progressive forces throughout the world to condemn in the strongest possible terms the barbarian acts of the United States and its Nato allies against Yugoslavia.
2. The barbarian bombing of Yugoslavia must be stopped immediately.
3. All military, political and economic threats and blockades against Yugoslavia must be stopped.
4. We condemn any presence of foreign troops in Kosovo against the will of Yugoslavia.
5. The countries that took part in the aggression against Yugoslavia must indemnify Yugoslavia without delay for all the material damage caused and for all citizens killed.
6. We strongly oppose any ground troop invasion of Yugoslavia to accomplish the imperialist aims of military occupation, aims that imperialism has been unable to achieve through a sham "peace process".
7. US/NATO troops and bases out of Yugoslavia, Albania, and the entire Balkans.
8. The current crisis in the Balkans must be resolved through peaceful negotiations and must be based on the principles of solidarity and unity of the working class and of the different peoples against imperialist aggression and for democracy and equality.
9. We call upon the International Communist Movement to strengthen its solidarity in the struggle against the imperialist wars of aggression in the Balkans, and especially in Yugoslavia, and to strengthen its struggle to achieve national liberation and socialism.
The independence and sovereignty of Yugoslavia must be upheld, respected and defended. Political talks must start on all problems related to Kosovo, and they must be solved by peaceful political means. Kosovo must be granted broad autonomy within the framework of Serbia and Yugoslavia, and within the framework of their respective juridical systems. The broad autonomy of Kosovo must guarantee the absolute equality of all its inhabitants: Serbs, Albanians, Roms, Turkish and other ethnic communities living there. All refugees must be allowed to return to Kosovo, irrespective of their ethnic or religious background. Peaceful and friendly relations between all ethnic communities in Kosovo must be stimulated.
Signatories:
(List of 25 June 1999)