April 20, 1999

Dear Comrades,

Below is the text of a statement on Kosova and the NATO aggression that
Green Left Weekly has initiated in Australia and internationally, for
circulation and publication in the progressive media.

We ask you to consider adding your name or your organisation's to the
statement, and emailing or faxing it to the Green Left Weekly address at
the bottom of the statement. We'll keep you informed of the names that
are added as the list grows, and where the statement gets published.

Comradely,

John Percy
DSP National Secretary
_________________________________________________

International statement by progressive organisations and individuals

Stop US/NATO war on Serbia!

Self-determination for Kosova!

We oppose both the US-led NATO war against Serbia/Yugoslavia and the
Serbian authorities' genocidal campaign of terror against the ethnic
Albanian majority in Kosova (the region termed ``Kosovo'' by the Serbian
regime). We support the right of the Kosovar people to
self-determination, which includes their right to independence from
Serbia.

The NATO powers' war against Serbia/Yugoslavia has nothing to do with
defending the Kosovar people against Serbian persecution, which began a
decade ago and which these powers did nothing against.

The real purpose for the US/NATO war is two-fold: First, to win greater
public acceptance for the right of the US government to use its war
machine anywhere in the world. Second, to block the Kosovar people's
struggle for independence from Serbia. The NATO powers have consistently
opposed this struggle, denouncing the Kosova Liberation Army as
``terrorists'', and insisting that Kosova remain part of Serbia,
regardless of what the Kosovar people want.

The NATO powers only began to express opposition to the Serbian
government's repression in Kosova when the Kosova Albanians began an
armed resistance to this repression. NATO began to insist that Serbia
allow  NATO troops to occupy Kosova and disarm the KLA because the NATO
powers had lost confidence in the Serbian authorities' ability to crush
the Kosovar armed resistance movement.

The NATO war against Serbia/Yugoslavia will do nothing to bring about a
just settlement of the Serbian/Kosovar conflict, which can only be based
upon recognition of the Kosova Albanians' right to decide their own
affairs free of both Serbian and NATO interference.

For these reasons, we believe it is necessary to oppose US/NATO military
intervention in the Balkans, to demand an immediate halt to the NATO
military campaign against Serbia, the immediate withdrawal of all
Serbian military forces from Kosova and removal of all restrictions
imposed on the ability of the Kosova Albanians to defend themselves
(including the UN-NATO arms embargo).

Lisa Macdonald, Editor, Green Left Weekly
Dr Syd Husin Ali, President, Malaysian People's Party
John Percy, National Secretary, Democratic Socialist Party (Australia)
Sonny Melencio, Socialist Party of Labour (Philippines)
Patrick Bond, lecturer, University of Witwatersrand (South Africa)
Anna  Weekes  on behalf of the South African Municipal Workers Union
Allen Myers, Editor. Links
Max Lane, National Coordinator, Action in Solidarity for Indonesia and
East Timor
Sean Healy, National Coordinator,  Resistance (Australia)
Dr Helen Jarvis, Asia Pacific Institute for Democratisation &
Development (Australia)
Neville Spencer, Editor, Venceremos
Pip Hinman, Asia Pacific Women's Solidarity Network
Dave Holmes, Resistance Books.
Stephen  O'Brien, Committees in Solidarity with Central America & the
Caribbean
Dr Kamala Emanuel, medical practitioner
Peter Boyle, New Course Publications
Dr Tuntuni Bhattacharyya, medical practitioner
Jill Hickson, film maker
Aaron Benedek, Education Officer, Sydney University Students
Representative Council
Tim Gooden, Secretary, ACT Government Section, Community & Public Sector
Union (CPSU)
Philippa Stanford, Section Councillor, Centrelink Section, CPSU
Mark Cronin, Section Councillor, Centrelink Section, CPSU
Melanie Sjoberg, organiser, Public Service Association (South Australia)

Maurice Sibelle, coordinator, Victorian TAFE Students & Apprentices
Network (VTSAN)
Sarah Lantz, Student Research Officer, VTSAN
Dr Margaret Perrot, medical practitioner
Chris Latham, Coordinator, Australia-Indonesia Student Solidarity
Brigade
Allen Jennings, CISLAC Victoria
Ertugral Titiz, Kurdish activist
Mark Abberton, Education Officer, RMIT TAFE Students Association
Natasha Izatt, Women's Officer, RMIT TAFE Students Association
Vanessa Hearman, ASIET Victoria
Trisha Reimers, Women's Officer, University of Western Australia Student
Guild
Amanda Lawrence, Women's Officer, University of Canberra Students
Association
Angela Luvera, National Union of Students NSW Women's Committee
Peter Robson, NUS Queensland Education Committee

Organisations and positions for indentification purposes only.

Initiated by the Australian newspaper Green Left Weekly for publication
in progressive media.

Name: _______________________________ Tel: ___________ Email:
__________________

Organisation & Position:
_______________________________________________________
(For indentification purposes only)

Please return your endorsement to Green Left Weekly, PO Box 394,
Broadway, NSW 2007, Australia.
Tel: +61 2 9690 1210 Fax: +61 2 9690 1381.
Email: greenleft@peg.apc.org