Zivadin Jovanovic

ADRESS TO THE ROSA LUXEMBURG CONFERENCE
Berlin, January 11th, 2014.

It is great honor to speak at the Conference held under the name of Rosa Luxemburg, symbol of the struggle for freedom, dignity and social justice - values so much jeopardized and so much needed today in Europe and the world. I would like to sincerely thank our hosts, comrades from “Junge Welt” for their kind invitation, excellent organization and for worm hospitality.
During the Yugoslav crisis, sanctions and particularly, during criminal NATO aggression, you have demonstrated solidarity with the people of my country, humanism toward victims and great courage in defending justice and the truth against massive production of lies and all sorts of manipulations. This Conference shows that the struggle for truth, solidarity and justice continues with the same vigor and resolve. Therefore, I would like to thank you for all you have done on your path of human dignity, solidarity and self-esteem.
Allow me, also, to convey to all of you heartfelt greetings from the leadership and members of the Belgrade Forum for a world of equals. To many of you the Belgrade Forum is known, but let me say again that it is a truly independent, non-partisan and non-profit association of intellectuals in Serbia established 14 years ago. The Forum stands for peace, solidarity and sovereign equality among nations, states and individuals. We struggle for justice, truth and social justice, against any discrimination. We are against interventionism, abuse of human rights, double standards over terrorism, against militarization and robbing of the other nations for the interests of corporate capital. We stand for just world order based on the respect of basic principles of international law and democratization of international relations without subjugation and exploitation. New era in international relations is marked by weakening of forces mono-polarism and dictate opening new space for the forces of peace and justice. Let us unite to use this change for progress and wellbeing of humanity.
15 years ago, my country was a victim of NATO aggression. That attack on Serbia (Federal Republic of Yugoslavia) in 1999 was a crime against peace and stability. It was a first war in Europe after the Second WW. About 4000 people were killed, 8.000 seriously wounded. Thousands of houses have been destroyed, as well as factories, railways, bridges, schools, hospitals. Economic damage is estimated to over 120 billions of US dollars. The aggressors used missiles with depleted uranium, graphite and cluster bombs taking death toll even today. It was the war on European soil, war for controlling Europe, consequences of which shall stay in Europe but, unfortunately, actively participated by European countries.
Such a destructive, inhumane and criminal war was ironically termed – “humanitarian intervention” and “merciful angel”. Afterwards it has been used as a precedent for ensuing NATO aggressive wars on other countries. In fact, it was meant to serve as precedent. This was confirmed in April 2000 when high US representatives at the NATO summit held in Bratislava declared that, unlike European allies who thought the war against Yugoslavia was an exception, in fact was precedent to be used in the future whenever necessary and suitable. This position was noted in a report of German politician, member of Bundestag and Vice president of the Parliamentary Assembly of OSCE Willy Wimmer to the then Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, dated May 2nd, 2000.
At April 2000 NATO summit in Bratislava, as Willy Wimmer, reported to the Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder in his letter of May 2nd, 2000. USA officials declared that the 1999 war against Yugoslavia had a role to correct the mistake of Dwight Eisenhower from the period of the Second WW and to get justification to bring US soldiers there. British military attaché in Belgrade John Crosland (1996-1999), in his written testimony to The Hague tribunal of June 2006, noted that in June 1998, “Bill Clinton, Richard Holbrook and Medline Albright decided to change regime in Serbia and that the KLA should be a tool in achieving this objective. Having that in mind, all reservations I or anyone else has had against KLA was rendered meaningless. The position of the international community in Rambouillet in 1999 was harmonized with this policy”. What elements of this precedent were supposed to be?
These may be summed up this way: