The Destiny of a Free Socialist Country



Kosovo: Flying in the Face of Law!
Munich ´38 should be a warning

Hans Modrow

former SED secretary of Dresden, GDR,
former prime minister of the GDR, honorary president of the Party of Democratic Socialism (PDS), candidate for the European Parliament

Neues Deutschland, 20/21 March 1999

translated by K. Hagendorf

In November 1990 in the Charter of Paris the European states and the US committed themselves "to refrain from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any State". Kosovo has become a test case how serious this solemn declaration has to be understood.

No doubt, the tragic conflict in the serbian province has to be resolved - politically, lasting and in peace. The way to achieve this leads to the establishment of a comprehensive autonomy of the area under strict observance of the equality of all national communities living there - Albanians and Serbs, Muslims and Montenegrins, Romas and Turks as well as members of other nationalities.

If the US and some of their allies would really strive for this objective the conference in Paris could have been successfully ended within a few days. In Rambouillet Serbia and the Yugoslavian Federation, who's integral territorial part Kosovo is, had already agreed without exception to all ten principles of the international contact group to resolve the conflict and to establish a comprehensive autonomy whereas the separatist UCK continuous immutable to strive for a violent political separation of Kosovo.

One may observe the hypocritical advocation of the protection of human rights by the US in NATO member state Turkey. There, with the support of the NATO-pact for years a ruthless war is fought against the Kurds who are deprived even of their ethnical status.

In fact the interest of the US is not the area of Kosovo, the ending of the violent conflict, the peaceful living within the community of its citizens. Their objectives are different. Otherwise they would not have included the UCK to refuse any talks with the Serbian site and responded to Yugoslavia's intentions to effectively negotiate with ultimate demands which are unacceptable for any sovereign state. The world power No. 1 wants an excuse for the use of military force who's consequences cannot be predicted.

Against the original principals of the contact group, Serbia and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia are asked to accept a document in which the sovereignty and territorial integrity - basic principles of European security - are disregarded. Even worse: ultimately the Albrights, Holbrook and Co. demand the acceptance of military occupation and the change of Kosovo into a protectorate of NATO as well as de facto the definite secession of the area after 3 years.

Yugoslavia is confronted with the choice to accept these demands unconditionally or to become the target of a military attack by a highly equipped NATO force which has been deployed already without any mandate of UNO.

To irritate the international community and to increase the blackmailing pressures on Yugoslavia, the US made the UCK, who's position they have taken over in all important points - sign a document. It has in fact never been negotiated and does not deserve the name "peace agreement". It does not represent anything else but a diktat against international law.

Although history does not simply repeat itself she teaches lessons! Where does it lead to when international law is abandoned and replaced by the rule of force Munich showed once when a sovereign state Czechoslovakia was destroyed - a terrible lesson.

It is disgraceful and alarming that the red-green federal government (of Germany) almost more eagerly than its predecessor supports this course of blackmailing and military force and actively participates in it.

Schröder, Fischer and Scharping support a policy which inflicts upon the European Union and the whole of Europe serious damage and evokes the danger that the South of the continent becomes the theater of a war of aggression. The consequence is and this is the proper objective of the US administration to replace the monopoly of the UNO to apply military force with self justice and the law of the strongest. As the interests of power of the US cannot be those of Europe it is necessary to resist these disastrous developments.





Copyright © 1999 EURODOS, Amsterdam