A STATEMENT BY THE ORLANDO LOCAL
OF THE SOCIALIST PARTY OF FLORIDA
/SOCIALIST PARTY U.S.A.
ON THE CONFLICT IN THE BALKANS

(Adopted May 1, 1999)

The Orlando Local of the Socialist Party of Florida /Socialist Party U.S.A. opposes the NATO bombing of Yugoslavia. As socialist humanists, we reject the use of force to resolve conflicts. The results of the bombing bear out our conviction. Among these is its failure to reduce the flow of Albanians from Kosovo or to ensure respect for their human rights -- nor would those results in any way justify the bombing. (Indeed it is noteworthy that the exodus of refugees did not begin until after the bombing started.) It is immoral and illogical to kill people to make a statement that killing or abusing people is wrong, and we mourn the people in Serbia and Kosovo dying because of NATO's bombs. We also mourn the loss of life and the human rights violations that have occurred within Kosovo among both Albanians and Serbs; this includes the killing of Serbs by the Kosovo Liberation Army and the Serbian expulsion of the Albanians. We denounce the authoritarian nationalism, the misguided patriotism, the destructive religious and ethnic intolerance and the senseless violence on all sides that NATO has used as a rationale for starting its war against Serbia. The diverse religious, ethnic, racial and linguistic groups that make up the human family must abandon nationalism and hatred and learn to live in harmony with each other or continue to suffer disaster.

The Orlando Local rejects the use of NATO (including U.S.) combat forces within Kosovo as unjustified on moral grounds. We feel NATO has intervened in a civil war within Serbia and in violation of international law and the charter of the United Nations. In our opinion, this intervention has not taken place for "humanitarian" reasons, as is claimed, but because of NATO's need to find ways to justify its existence since the Soviet Union has fallen. Furthermore, the claims of U.S. "humanitarian" concern ring hollow when one looks at the suffering our country's policies are causing the ordinary people of Iraq and Cuba.

U.S. management of and participation in the war against Serbia, and in NATO in general, does not serve the true interests of the American people or any other part of humanity--particularly the worldwide working class majority. The working class, as Eugene V. Debs pointed out, is always called upon to fight and die in the wars created by wealthy and powerful elites. The control of Kosovo is not worth the life of one individual -- American, Serbian, Albanian or any other nationality or ethnicity -- that issue should be decided through negotiations.

Governments and the media in the NATO countries are demonizing the Serbian government and the Serbian people through exaggerated claims of human rights violations in order to build support for the war. We denounce this propaganda campaign that has whipped up hysteria and distorted reality. We also denounce the Melosovic government for demonizing the Kosovar Albanians and taking away their autonomy. As a gesture of goodwill and a sign of respect for human rights, we call upon Serbia to restore autonomy to Kosovo.

We condemn President Clinton for participating in NATO's war with Serbia without congressional permission -- not that this would have justified it. Clinton's authoritarian action violates the Constitution and is another enlargement of the imperial presidency at the expense of democracy. We call upon Congress to pass all measures necessary to end the war, including an immediate cut-off of all funding for U.S. military activities related to it. Some of the money saved should be used for humanitarian assistance to displaced Albanians, Serbs and others in the region.

We call for immediate U.S. withdrawal from NATO and adoption of non-intervention as a principle of U.S. foreign policy. This could begin with U.S. withdrawal from the Balkans and by avoiding the temptation to arm the KLA, as some have unwisely suggested. Doing so would make the KLA a proxy in a larger struggle between competing power blocs for dominance in the region. We call for drastically slashing U.S. military spending and for ending all U.S. military activities around the world. The money saved should be used for human needs here: housing, health care, education, infrastructure, helping the homeless and hungry. Some of the money also should be used for non-military foreign aid and for grants to grassroots organizations working to improve the lives of people in foreign countries, including building respect for human rights and advocating non-violent conflict resolution.

The Orlando Local calls for an immediate halt to the bombing of Serbia and for the cessation of hostilities by all sides, the withdrawal of all NATO (including U.S.) forces from the Balkans and their replacement with neutral peacekeepers from non-NATO countries who would be under the United Nations control. This must be followed by fair, honest and open peace and disarmament negotiations, mediated by disinterested non-NATO parties, between all sides in Kosovo. The Orlando Local endorses local organizing efforts in opposition to the NATO war in the Balkans and we urge everyone to participate in anti-war activities such as demonstrations. And we invite everyone to join us in dialogue.

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