We would like to draw the attention of the international community that the NATO aggression on Yugoslavia represents an act of brutal retaliation against an entire nation and not a punishment of so called Milosevic's war machinery, as it is alleged in daily statements issued by leading politicians of the alliance and their generals. Moreover, the biggest victims of NATO air raids are ordinary citizens of Yugoslavia, regardless of whether they are of the Albanian, Serbian or some other nationality.

Facts prove that every NATO action so far is in complete contrast to its alleged interest in humanitarian issues. NATO has not only caused a terrible humanitarian catastrophe in Kosovo, Montenegro, Macedonia and Albania without any guilty conscience, but it had made the entire Yugoslav nation a victim and a candidate for a humanitarian help after immense economic destruction of Serbia. It is a depressing fact that NATO countries, whose democracy and civic institutions represent the most valuable legacy, have decided to teach a lesson a small European country and send it a political message by bombs and aggression, instead of supporting its economic reforms and democratic developments.

After one month of daily bombing of Yugoslavia, it is absolutely clear that the scope of material destruction of economic and other civilian targets has little to do with military operations which NATO formally uses as an excuse. An important part of the industry is either completely or heavily destroyed - the oil industry, chemical industry, fertilizer industry, car industry, industry of constraction machines, tobacco industry, home appliances industry, etc. Having attacked chemical industry installations, which had kept in store very toxic materials (Petrohemija Pancevo, Azotara Pancevo, Prva Iskra Baric), NATO has only shown that its human face, used as a mask for the wide public audience, is only a big farce. With these attacks, the alliance has consciously risked a global environmental catastrophe which could have resulted in pestilence of a huge number of people. Beside these targets, NATO has bombed many residential buildings, hotels, holiday facilities, trains and refugee convoys, claiming a great many civilian lives. NATO bombs have destroyed a great deal of transportation, telecommunications and other infrastructure, having important external effects on economic development of any country. According to our estimates, total economic damage caused by NATO aggression and measured in relation to gross domestic product will likely exceed the one caused in the World War II, when there were almost no economic destructions since the end of 1941 and mid-1944 during a Nazi Germany occupation of Serbia.

We believe there are still reasonable and influential people worldwide, including in NATO countries, capable of realizing real impacts of this tragedy. We do hope they will realize that even their countries could soon indirectly become victims of irrational NATO policies. One must bear in mind there are always present and future victims of this war. With its industry destroyed and per capita income unlikely to exceed USD 1.000 in future, Yugoslavia will not be able to sustain either the present, low level of health and social security or the present level of education. Because of destroyed industrial facilities, millions of workers and their families could be left without any source of income and will qualify for a humanitarian assistance. By doing this, NATO is punishing the entire nation. All the citizens of the country will become victims, which is contrary not only to moral but also to legal tradition in Europe, a part of which is Yugoslavia. The unemployment rate of around 27 percent before this war could quickly double. This could force many citizens of Yugoslavia to seek refuge from poverty by fleeing to developed Western countries. Therefore, those in favor of further bombing should think twice before doing so. They must think if their economies are really so powerful and capable of accepting hundreds of thousands, maybe millions of future economic asylum seekers from Serbia and Yugoslavia without any economic and social impact.

With this aggression on a sovereign country NATO has, no doubt, violated many articles of the international law. But, the tragedy is that the victim of such a violation is an entire nation and its future. We are fully aware that non-selective and brutal destruction of the Yugoslav economy is a clear retaliation against its people, because they express great morale in these very difficult moments. Therefore, we are asking NATO politicians not to hide in future behind the personality of Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic when they publicly explain the aims of their irrational military campaign. It does not take much wisdom to understand that destruction of factories and infrastructure of civilian installations causes none, whatsoever, material damage, and not even political damage to Mr. Milosevic, but only to citizens of Yugoslavia, whose President Mr. Milosevic happens to be. President Milosevic has not worked in destroyed factories. He was rarely crossing the destroyed bridges. If gentlemen from NATO do not want to stop thei war machinery, we appeal to them at least to call their bombing targets with a real name - retaliation against the people of Yugoslavia!

Group 17
Belgrade, 22 April 1999