Granma Editorial. Saturday, June 5th, 1999 Via NY Transfer News Collective * All the News that Doesn't Fit CUBANEWS FROM RADIO HAVANA CUBA E-mail: rhc@radiohc.org http://www.radiohc.org Granma Editorial. Saturday, June 5th, 1999 HOW MUCH LONGER WILL NATO CONTINUE BOMBING SERBIA? On Thursday June 3rd, it was announced in Europe, and even earlier in Washington, that the Serbian National Assembly, despite the opposition of a large number of nationalist legislators, had passed the full text of a Peace Plan proposed by Russia's special envoy to the Balkans, Victor Chernomirdin, and by the European Union's mediator, Martti Ahtisaari. The United States and its NATO allies welcomed the news, since the approved plan implies more Yugoslav concessions than those contained in the so-called Rambouillet Accords or in the most recent accords signed in Petersberg, Germany, on May 6th, by the Group of 8, made up of the world's seven most-industrialized nations and Russia. Many aspects of the peace plan are still to be defined. Although it addresses the issue of an occupation force in Kosovo under the command of the United Nations Security Council, there are still many questions to be answered. What role will NATO aggressor forces play? How many troops will be from the United States, Germany, Britain and other NATO member-nations directly participating in the air strikes against Yugoslavia? Who will be designated as commander of the UN occupation force in Kosovo? How many Russian soldiers will be actually participating and what will be the Russian contingency role -- the only nation which, until the meeting of its special envoy in Germany on Tuesday, was siding with its Yugoslav brothers? What are the guarantees that Yugoslavia's integrity and sovereignty will actually be respected? NATO, headed by Washington, has claimed the right to command all military troops that will be sent into Kosovo under the auspices of the United Nations. Could that be the prize awarded to those who have staged a despicable war which has completely devastated a nation, causing numerous civilian deaths and turning nearly one million Serbs and Kosovars alike into refugees? Should the international community tolerate NATO's complete disregard for the United Nations and its contempt of the Security Council? Should we expect such neo-Nazi practices to be repeated in the future? Such methods will never lead to a lasting peace in the Balkans or in any other part of the world. The unprecedented heroism of the Serbian people, who have resisted the bombings launched by the world's most powerful military machinery without any hesitation or any sign of surrender, will not be in vain. It will always be an example for all peoples. The international community will have to endure the humiliation and disgrace for what has happened. As for who lost this war, certainly it was NATO -- whose state-of-the-art weaponry failed to undermine the will of a small European nation, determined to defend its sovereignty after more than two months of continued bombings. The Serbian people have resisted a genocidal war, achieving a moral victory over its powerful NATO aggressors, who dreamt of a military victory within three of four days of launching their undeclared war against Yugoslavia, deciding to exterminate the entire population -- something that neither Europe nor the world could tolerate. Even inside Russia itself, many consider the concessions granted to NATO by the Russian special mediator as treason. In spite of the Serbian National Assembly's precipitated response, the U.S.-led NATO aggression has not stopped, with military aircraft flying over 600 attack missions daily. How much longer will NATO war planes continue destroying Serbian infrastructure, causing death and trauma among the civilian population -mainly children, sick people, pregnant women and the elderly-terrorized by the sound of air-raid sirens and NATO's low-flying aircraft -- in the same, unforgettable way that Adolf Hitler attacked Warsaw, Amsterdam, Brussels, London, Coventry and other European cities. Why does NATO want to destroy Serbia? How much longer will the genocide, destruction and the ecological disaster continue in the very heart of a supposedly civilized Europe? [c] 1999, Radio Habana Cuba All rights reserved Articles cannot be reproduced, reprinted or published in any system without the consent of RHC. This prohibition includes the distribution of this material via Usenet News, "bulletin board" services, e-mail lists, print media, radio and television. For the complete RADIO HAVANA CUBA NEWSCAST and other features, please write for our daily broadcast schedule. We welcome your comments and suggestions. For further information, contact us at: Postal Address: Radio Havana Cuba P.O.Box 6240 Havana, Cuba Telephone: (53) (7) 791053 Fax: (53) (7) 795007 E-mail: rhc@radiohc.org WWW: http://www.radiohc.org rhc-eng-32423 1999-Jun-05 17:15:49