More on Kosovo crisis: voice from Serbian side

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Date: Mon, 12 Apr 1999 08:54:16 +0300 (EET DST)
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Subject: More on Kosovo crisis: voice from Serbian side

From: MINELRES moderator <[email protected]>

Original sender: Snezana Trifunovska <[email protected]>

More on Kosovo crisis: voice from Serbian side


Dear friends,
 
Before two days I received an appeal from Belgrade which I am sending
to you and which I thought could contribute not only to the discussion
on the crisis in Kosovo and Yugoslavia, but more importantly to the
better understanding of the situation overthere:

--------------------
"APPEAL TO THE WORLD UNIVERSITY COMMUNITY AND ALL THINKING AND
GOODWILL PEOPLE
 
Dear Colleague,
 
Raise your voice! Sensible people can understand the dimensions of
danger. Act to stop the madness and bombing of Yugoslavia that lead
the world towards a new big war. It's your duty to react immediately.
This is not the burning house of somebody unknown - believe me -
there's fire in your house too.

My name is Vlastimir Dedovic. I am mechanical engineer, doctor of
technical sciences, car designer, professor of Belgrade University,
member of JUMV/FISITA and ISTVS. And also I am a family man, father of
two nice children, loving my wife and my house. I am not politician or
member of any political party or organization. 

I am writing this message in a shelter, listening to the sound of
sirens, while in Belgrade bombs and missiles are whistling between
houses. I can assure you that this is not a feeling you would like to
experience. The fifth consecutive day professional assassins sent by
the Man who got the power to rule the world, and who is not in control
of himself, seed death in Serbia and Montenegro. May be among them are
your compatriots. I demand you stop them, raising your voice in
public.

The first of the official reasons for NATO aggression is "humanitarian
catastrophe" in Kosovo. You have to know that in the last five days of
bombing, there have been more people killed than during the whole last
year. Now there are much more refugees running ahead NATO's explosions
and provoking war actions.

Furthermore, these days the whole country is permanently exposed to
devastation, economic destruction, "depleted uranium" and who knows
what kind of chemical and biological substances. You must not say any
more that you didn't know what malicious euphemism "collateral
damages" really means: unproportional death of civilians, damaging of
ancient monasteries which are the world cultural treasures, damage and
destruction of houses, ambulances, schools, nurseries, as well as
great pain and long term misery of several million people. And also,
somebody's son, husband or father was in those planes which have been
shut down.

Belgrade citizens, my whole family and me among them, two nights ago
were suffocated by toxic gases from targeted chemical facilities. Like
in any other country, we have a few more factories of basic chemistry.
They are not secret - everybody knows their locations. If these
factories should be struck, every living creature from Thessaloniki to
Budapest shall be poisoned, and ecological consequences in the hart of
Europe shall be worse than in Chernobyl and will last dozens of years.

After the recent experience I am afraid that your public will be
explained that destruction of similar targets will help to solve a
"humanitarian problem", exactly as bombs and missiles have been
delivered for the benefit of Serbian, Albanian, and other peoples that
the mentioned person loves and cares for. Raise your voice! Still
today, demonstrate in public and request your authorities to ask and
pledge an immediate cease of NATO attacks. Tomorrow it may be late for
us, but also for you.

The second official reason for NATO action is that the agreement, made
between Him and his mercenaries, has not been signed. Raise your voice
again! Ask from your Government to publish the integral version of
this paper and read chapters 2, 5 and 7 as well as Annex B. Decide if
you and your country should sign such a paper. Then, if you still
think it is reasonable, condemn us. But do not allow to be lied and
manipulated. If you accept, I'll think that George Orwell wrote a
novel where you are the heroes.

There are about ten million people in FR Yugoslavia. They have hard
historical experience and know well what is war destruction. In the
past, we often accepted unproportional part of war effort, helping
allies in common combat. Perhaps your and my grandfather fought
serried together in World War I. In World War II your father fought on
the same side with mine, or, may be, was in the same camp with him. I
am, as most citizens of Serbia and Montenegro, a successor of great
historical heritage and I follow their sacrament. I ensure you, by my
honor that I hold proudly, that we Serbs and Montenegrins are still
the same.

This is the appeal to your conscience and your interests. Think about
what your country obtains being an accomplice in the biggest state
criminal act in the history of civilization - wild hypertechnological
and systematic destruction of a small, freedom loving and, in spite of
actual propaganda, non-aggressive country. What is your gain, and what
is the loss? Think about. Who is the next? Show that you have
conscience. Request the cease of bombing Yugoslavia. This is the
moment to stop the men with distorted mind. Otherwise, your
descendents will read "The Dictionary of Serbs" (and other peoples)
with the same interest and concern as you've red "The Dictionary of
Khazars" written by our novelist M. Pavic.

Today at noon, during bombing campaign, many citizens of Belgrade,
instead of hiding in shelters, have gone to the central square of the
town, attending a concert, exposing themselves to mortal danger,
demonstrating their proud attitude and asking the world for
understanding. Many of them have been marked with a target on their
body. I felt that at this moment Belgrade has been the conscience of
mankind, maybe also the very center of the world.

The men who made wrong decisions threaten through their own media that
attacks of NATO - the alliance of most powerful countries in the world
- will be continued and amplified. They say that army, police and all
factories, bridges, power plants and whole economy of ten million
Yugoslav people shall be destroyed, and that their force will go
forward until all poor but dangerous Serbs (women and children
included) are thrown on their knees or completely exterminated. It
seems that only this way they should be proud of themselves and their
leadership. Do you trust them? We hoped that such an insane idea
nobody would ever try to realize. But we learned, however, that these
efficient persons with limited intelligence and unlimited power are
very dangerous. Particularly because they intentionally make a new,
greater error, to turn public attention from the previous one.

We have nothing but to defend ourselves. Now, our lives are in
question, tomorrow maybe yours - that's why I'm asking your help to
stop them. For all of us, for the world, I do ask you - raise your
voice!
 
Faithfully yours,
 
Prof. Dr Vlastimir Dedovic
Sunday afternoon, March 28, 1999.
Belgrade, Serbia, Yugoslavia"

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