PUBLIC
STATEMENT
It is with the utmost pleasure that we acknowledge the news that the man
who brought us so much evil is finally in the Hague. The fact that
Slobodan Milosevic will have to answer for wars which he started and lead,
and for ethnic cleansing which he ordered, will not be much consolation to
the victims of his crime and madness. But for those who have survived we
are awarded a certain satisfaction and all that remains is for us to
congratulate the government of the Republic of Serbia for its responsible
and courageous move in extraditing Milosevic to the Hague.
Our
pleasure is mitigated by the fact that there are still individuals who
should be in the Hague with him. Biology has saved Milosevic's main
companion, Franjo Tudjman. The indecisiveness of representatives of the
international community hides certain aspects of justice while the statute
of the Tribunal does not account for those who have been conspirators in
crimes against humanity.
Our
pleasure is also mitigated by the fact that the spirit which inspired
Milosevic and his followers is still alive and active in our immediate
surroundings.
The
situation in Macedonia continues to confirm how a low-intensity war is
transformed into a full-out war. This is a war in which people who think
like Milosevic, on both the Albanian and Macedonian sides, lead ethnically
homogenized entities, where all bridges of interethnic cooperation and
dialogue have been all but destroyed, where the language of hate has
washed away all human form of communication and where the speech of
weapons has blocked ever weakened voices of reason.
As
usual, the international community is showing its proverbial inertia.
Should we sit back and wait for a repeat of the Bosnian scenario before
there is decisive intervention to avoid greater suffering of the civilian
population?
Should
Skopje, Bitola, Tetovo and Kumanovo have the same fate as Sarajevo,
Mostar, Vukovar and Dubrovnik before the conscience of the rich and
powerful is sparked? When will the world hear the voices of
Macedonians and Macedonian Albanians who speak of peace and dialogue but
whose voices are muffled by the terror of homogenized militants of their
ethnic communities?
Why
are the voices of reason heard only when they reach the silence of the
grave? These are difficult questions. Will the leaders of the crime
and ethnic cleansing in Macedonia one day answer to the Tribunal in the
Hague? It won't make a difference to their victims.
A
protest against ethnic violence and war in Macedonia will be held on
Wednesday, July 4, 2001 from 15:30 to 16:30 on Republic Square in
Belgrade.
Belgrade, July 4,
2001
Women in Black, Belgrade
Yugoslavia
