NATO must be condemned

NATO must be condemned

The editorial entitled What price Kosovo? (The Jakarta Post,
June 12, 1999) is an example of how one, due to lack of
objectivity and full of bias falls into contradictions and into
negating its own and generally accepted principles.

In the commentary, the punishment of "Milosevic and his
regime" is being justified, but stating that in fact it has been
the entire Yugoslav people who have been heavily punished. It is
further stated that the NATO aggression has caused the loss of
thousands of lives, avoiding, however, to specify that it has
been the lives of over 2,000 innocent civilians, most among them
being children, women and the elderly, and not saying a word of
condemnation of such a crime. NATO's aggression in Yugoslavia is
being justified by the alleged ethnic cleansing of Kosovar
Albanians, immediately after that stating correctly that the NATO
bombings have actually forced almost one million refugees to
leave their homes. Ethnic cleansing has never been and cannot
possibly be the policy of multinational Yugoslavia in which,
besides Albanians, live almost 30 other national minorities.

The commentary further stated that the people of many peace-
loving countries have "raised their eyebrows" when NATO launched
an attack on Yugoslavia. The criminal act committed by NATO in
Yugoslavia asks for a lot more than "raising eyebrows", which has
been demonstrated by the people of many countries all over the
world in daily demonstrations and condemnation of NATO's
aggression against Yugoslavia. It is also suggested that issues
and disputes among countries be settled through dialog rather
than by using force, while NATO's criminal use of force is being
justified because it was "forced" to do so. If all countries
fighting against separatism and terrorism, which is the case in
Kosovo, were "punished" by a foreign force, Yugoslavia would have
to be proceeded by many other countries, so the real reason for
the NATO aggression against Yugoslavia is not ethnic cleansing or
human rights, but other, geo-strategic objectives and interest,
and above all the establishment of control over the Balkans.

Despite the frequent efforts of your esteemed newspaper in
support of the principle of non-interference in the internal
affairs of other countries, the commentary takes the right and
the liberty to advise the people of Yugoslavia as to what they
have to do with their leaders. In Yugoslav newspapers one cannot
find this kind of arrogance in "advising" other people,
especially not the people of friendly Indonesia, as to what they
have to do with their leaders. Many people readily give "advice"
to others, not knowing at the same time what they themselves are
supposed to do.

DUSAN STOJKOVIC

Charge d'Affaires a.i.

Yugoslav Embassy

Jakarta