War
and Genocide in Kosovo
The
war in Kosovo has escalated in a dramatic fashion. One may have believed at the
onset of the offensive that the massive air attacks on “strategic
targets” could force the Milosovic regime to sign the Rambouillet
Agreement, but now consensus is growing, even among some of those responsible
for the NATO mission, that this war was a wrong decision and that what is
urgently needed now is an immediate cease-fire and new negotiations. The brutal
expulsion of Kosovo Albanians from their homes and the genocide that had begun
before NATO started their offensive have escalated in the course of the NATO
bombing and have created a catastrophic situation for the hundreds of thousands
of refugees and displaced people. It is becoming clear that the lethal
repercussions of the NATO offensive were either totally underestimated or were
not fully taken into consideration and analyzed beforehand. Was there any
discussion at that time that acts of war could trigger a massive wave of
refugees and displaced persons for which the governments and people of the
countries carrying out the war should make preparations?
Those
taking part in an ecumenical worship service for peace held in Wetzlar the week
before Easter prayed the following in regards to the situation in Kosovo:
God,
who raised Christ from the dead ... we bring before you and lament the
destruction caused by the bombing, an attack which has created not only
material damage but also wreaked all initiatives for democracy and a society of
law and order, for peace and reconciliation, so that the difficult
reconstruction work following the war in Bosnia and all efforts to prevent a
war in Kosovo were doomed to failure. Once again no one heeded or listened to
the voices of caution or seriously pursued alternative solutions. In the end
violence and destruction triumphed once more.
We
confess to you that we Christians and churches were not decisive witnesses of
Jesus’ message of peace. We did not pay enough attention to nor support
the many initiatives by Christians and non-Christians for nonviolent and
non-military solutions to the conflicts and terror in the Balkan region. Today
we must confess our own guilt and responsibility in regards to the political
failure which we were not able to prevent...
Different
Christian and non-Christian peace organizations and initiatives for peace
continue to remind us that, contrary to the claims of NATO, there were
possibilities for non-military alternatives to prevent the violence and ethnic
persecution in Kosovo. In a memorandum in the Frankfurter Rundschau on March
31, 1999, legal experts indicated various alternatives, including the following:
The
West has been aware of the extent of the deprivation of the rights of the
Albanian population and the explosive nature of the situation in Kosovo for
many years. Despite this the Kosovo conflict was ignored in the Dayton
Agreement. Over the years the Albanians who maintained a strategy of
nonviolence experienced no support of consequence from the West in terms of
preventive conflict resolution. In this way western governments denied
sufficient support to those persons and groups such as the Kosovo politician
Rugova and his followers who have struggled over a period of many years to
reach a political compromise without violence and by using civilian means.
These groups were left at the mercy of Belgrade’s political whims...
The
international community failed to station, under UN-mandate and with agreement
of the involved parties, adequate international police and “blue
helmet” forces in Kosovo to act as a buffer between Serbs and Kosovo
Albanians and ensure a ceasefire.
There
was a failure to develop a civilian program to overcome enmity that would have
been build on cooperation with groups in Serbia and Kosovo open to reform.
The
most horrible part of this war is the ever-increasing number of victims:
traumatized people brutally driven out of Kosovo, victims of massacres and
genocide, victims in Kosovo, Montenegro and Serbia. The “official”
justification for the NATO offensive was to no longer remain as passive
observers to the inhumane actions of the Belgrade government. However, now the
amount of human suffering does not seem to have decreased but rather to have
increased.
An
equally depressing result of the NATO offensive is the loss of credibility of
western democracies and their sworn commitment to establishing a society of law
and order in the Balkans. Economically weak areas have been massively bombed,
their non-military infrastructure and civil resources have been destroyed. Even
houses that had been rebuilt so that refugees from Bosnia could return to their
homes have been hit by bombs. Yesterday a person involved in work with refugees
from the war in Bosnia stated that the entire refugee resettlement program in
Bosnia has had to be discontinued.
In
such a situation as Kosovo the Christian maxims of nonviolence and love for the
enemy mean first and foremost “
defusing
violence and protecting life
”.
As Mennonite theologian Fernando Enns rightly emphasized, “
These
commandments ask of us that we do not look away. It is a question of
credibility, but one of the credibility of the defence of human rights and
preservation of life, not that of a military alliance! And it is this
credibility that the ‘Christian’ West is gambling away.
”
(
idea
spektrum
,
14/1999, pp 21)
Many
Church and Peace members and friends who have been working for peace,
understanding, reconstruction and reconciliation for many years now in the
former Yugoslavia have reported to us in the past few days that the NATO
offensive has not only destroyed the results of their laborious work and that
of many individuals and groups in Bosnia, Kosovo, Croatia and Serbia, but also
effectively destroyed any hope of being able to start anew. Gudrun
Tappe-Freitag, member of Initiative Schalom and whose work is mentioned in the
Spring issue of the Quarterly (pp. 15), wrote to us recently about the current
developments in the region:
At
that time [as a volunteer in Novi Sad] I was full of hope for the people in
Voivodina. Today I feel only sorrow and concern. I, along with all those who
have worked for peace, reconciliation and understanding between peoples for the
past nine years, stand before a pile of rubble. Everything that we had build up
has been destroyed. We can share our sorrow only by telephone, and it is over
the phone that I become a witness to falling bombs as teacups rattle in the
cupboard. I don’t ask any concrete questions over the phone, first
because both parties are rendered speechless by what is happening and secondly
because I am afraid of putting someone in even greater danger through such a
conversation.
Will
I as a German ever be able to travel to this country again? I have already
experienced that the atrocities of the German soldiers during World War II have
not been totally forgotten. And now we Germans are once again a part of a war.
The organization TABITA in Novi Sad where I worked is predicting a humanitarian
catastrophe for the people in the area. No one is working in the factories. No
one is receiving a salary and soon no one will have any money on hand. They are
appealing for a quick humanitarian assistance response. The most recent news
broadcasts have reported the Serbian military’s intention of laying down
their weapons in Kosovo for the Orthodox Easter celebrations. Dare we hope for
a time of reflection and negotiation for all those concerned? Is there a small
glimmer of hope?
Gudrun
Tappe-Freitag has referred to the needs of persons in Voivodina. We have heard
many similar requests for assistance recently from different organizations
working for peace and reconciliation in the Balkans and who are bringing in
humanitarian aid despite military and other dangers. The need is certainly
greatest in Kosovo, but people in Serbia, Bosnia and other places in the region
are also suffering and fearful for their lives. We hope that you will hear this
plea for help now as well as later when the media has turned its attention to
another topic. We will put together a list here in the International Office of
different projects helping persons affected by the war and genocide. Please
contact us for a copy (+49 6445 5588). Let us also support all efforts for an
unconditional and warm acceptance here in our own countries of refugees and
army deserters from the areas affected by this war and genocide.
Christian
Hohmann, Church and Peace General Secretary
9
April 1999
Trans:
TRM