Don't jump to conclusions

I have to comment in response to a few letters addressed to me in pages of The Jakarta Post lately, with accusations against me coming from left, right and center.

There is no mention of "Greater Serbia", explicitly or implicitly, in any of my letters, so I take putting my stand in this context as pure defamation aimed at creating a public impression of me as something of a Nazi. I call on the author to prove my "Greater Serbia" stance.

I assure you I am writing these letters not for ideology but for my mother, father, brother and all my friends in Yugoslavia. To paraphrase NATO, I had to do something. Only, unlike NATO, I made sure to follow the basic rule: "First, do no harm."

I was marked "A Great Liar" (for telling repeatedly a "Great Lie" that Yugoslavia is the victim in this war). I call on the author to tell me what exactly did I lie about? Is Yugoslavia being subjected to a two-week-long bombing campaign or not? If I am lying when I call this bare aggression, what does my opponent wish to call it?

It is true I did not write about refugees in my earlier letters. But it was only because there were none to talk about, not until NATO started with its Phase Two.

I, of course, feel terrible about the refugees, but unlike my opponents, I think that they are primarily victims of NATO aggression. The fact that there were no refugees prior to this aggression supports my stand. I think that the refugees have a better chance of going back to their homes if bombs stop falling on Yugoslavia; maybe my opponents know of a case in history of humankind when refugees went back while the war was still on.

But allow me at this point a counter-question: There were no comments on my letters before Phase Two. Why? Maybe because of a lack of arguments? With the beginning of Phase Two, we suddenly witness 100,000 refugees, we have amateur videos, we have a full- blown propaganda campaign and, of course, we have my opponents responding. They now have arguments. Makes you wonder: Was that the purpose of generating the refugee crisis? Was it a gift from heaven for NATO, or maybe they had to pull a few strings?

I never even mentioned the Bosnian war and its casualties. Are my opponents blaming me for the Bosnian tragedy? Can they point out where they find their arguments for that? Bosnia is living in peace now with both Bosnian entities trying to find a peaceful way to settle what problems they have. Is bombing of Yugoslavia helping Bosnia any? Or is this aggression also complicating things in Bosnia by putting pressure of war on the Serb half by destabilizing the whole region?

If my opponents wish to respond, please do. But when commenting on my letters, please stick to what I actually write and please do not try to X-ray my stands against the light of propaganda. Let me repeat: I do this for my mother.

BRANIMIR SALEVIC

Jakarta