TARGET YUGOSLAVIA: NATO's WAR OF AGGRESSION / Wednesday, 12 May 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 TARGET YUGOSLAVIA: NATO's WAR OF AGGRESSION Wednesday, 12 May 1999 Radio Havana Cuba presents its coverage of the ongoing U.S.- led NATO aggression against Yugoslavia. ---------------------------------------------------------- CUBAN FOREIGN MINISTER ROBERTO ROBAINA REITERATES CONDEMNATION OF U.S.-LED NATO BOMBARDMENT OF CHINESE EMBASSY IN BELGRADE Cuban Foreign Minister Roberto Robaina has charged that the recent NATO bombardment of China's embassy in Belgrade is "an effort to intimidate the diplomatic community that has remained in the Yugoslav capital and which is a witness to the crimes being perpetrated against that nation." In statements on Radio Rebelde, Robaina said the U.S.-led NATO attack is "nothing more than an effort by Washington to reinforce its dominance in the world, tie the hands of the United Nations and threaten countries like China and Russia." The Cuban foreign minister said that the excuses for the so- called `accidental attack' against the Chinese embassy are "ridiculous and outrageous." Referring to an out-of-date map by the CIA, Robaina said it was impossible to believe that the world's greatest power, "which planned the aggression for months and has studied and selected its targets, can insult the intelligence of the international community with such cynical excuses." Foreign Minister Roberto Robaina also said that Washington's attempt to portray the aggression as an action in favor of human rights is "gross and disgraceful." Meanwhile, the U.S.-led NATO attacks against Yugoslavia late Tuesday night/early Wednesday morning have been called the most intense yet by Serb media outlets. According to local reports, some 600 bombing missions were carried out -- with the destruction of eight bridges, five runways and a camp for Bosnian refugees, among other civilian targets. OSPAAAL STRONGLY CONDEMNS NATO ATTACK AGAINST CHINESE EMBASSY The Organization in Solidarity with the Peoples of Africa, Asia and Latin America (OSPAAAL) has strongly condemned the brutal aggression by U.S.-led NATO forces against the Chinese Embassy in Belgrade. OSPAAAL emphasized that this new attack is "a systematic violation of the most elemental norms of International Law and the United Nations Charter." The Havana-based solidarity organization affirmed that "the bombing of the Chinese embassy is yet another attack against civilian installations." OSPAAAL pointed out that these aggressions have killed more than one thousand civilians and have wounded another 5000 -- among them women, children and elderly. According to OSPAAAL, "no excuse can justify the uncivilized, inhumane and genocidal actions of the U.S. and NATO." The Organization in Solidarity with the Peoples of Africa, Asia and Latin America "calls on all international organizations, renowned personalities and men and women of goodwill "to stand up and protest the terrible holocaust being committed against the Yugoslavian people." HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH CONDEMNS USE OF CLUSTER BOMBS BY NATO The humanitarian group Human Rights Watch has condemned the use of cluster bombs by NATO forces in its attacks against Yugoslavia. In a statement released in New York City, Human Rights Watch explained that explosives inside the cluster bombs have a high percentage of failing to go off and that the small bombs can be detonated if they are touched. The Director of the Weapons Division of the organization, Joost Hiltermann, pointed out that the explosives inside the cluster bombs convert wide areas into virtual mine fields. In Tuesday's statement, Human Rights Watch underlined the fact that the use of anti-personnel land mines is strictly prohibited by an international treaty. Although Washington has refused to sign the treaty prohibiting their use, all other NATO member-nations are signatories. Hiltermann added that even though the United States has not signed the treaty, it must comply with international law. Observers pointed out that the U.S.-manufactured cluster bombs pose a long-term, serious danger to civilians and refugees -- noting that they can lie unexploded for months or even years and then be detonated by the simple touch of a small, curious child. -30- [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. 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