Dear all,
you may know that the German Green Party is meeting in an extraordinary
congress at present to decide whether to go against the wishes of their own
Foreign Minister (Joschka Fischer). This could either destroy the German
coalition govenment and leave JF isolated inside or outside the Die Grunen,
or make Mr Fischer become more active within the coalition at trying to
change their stance, or even (though this is less likely) lead to Geman
government realigning itself against the bombing strategy.
The following is a plea from over 200 US Jewish leaders to the German
Greens, which clearly has wider relevance in that it condemns the misuse of
terms like 'holocaust' to justify bombing...
The petition states:
"The Holocaust is being invoked in order to justify an unjust bombing
campaign against the civilian population of Yugoslavia. Many of us have
friends who lost family members in the holocaust, or have lost relatives
ourselves. We are deeply aware of our own history and the need for the
world community to intervene in situations where there is a threat of
genocide, in order to prevent it.
However, this is clearly not what is happening in Yugoslavia today. We do
not believe that our government's war against Yugoslavia is motivated by
humanitarian concerns. This is evidenced by their refusal to airlift food
and water to desperate refugees within Kosovo, as well as the paltry sums
allocated for refugee relief as compared to the billions of dollars spent
on the bombing.
The Clinton Administration's great reluctance to pursue a negotiated
solution to the conflict also indicates that this intervention is mainly
about power: showing the world that the United States (and NATO, which it
largely controls) is the self-appointed international policeman, and stands
above international law..."
contact: ROBERT NAIMAN,
[log in to unmask],http://www.preamble.org/greensign.html
David.
David Wood
PhD Student ('The Rural Peace Dividend')
Dept Of Agricultural Economics and Food Marketing
University of Newcastle upon Tyne
NE1 7RU
0191 222 5305
[log in to unmask]
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