April 21, 1999: Only those people can be free who do not take part in the suppression of other peoples!
Short speech of the party chairman of the MLPD, Stefan Engel, at the weekly Tuesday rally which is conducted as a nationwide initiative in various German cities on April 20th, 1999, in Gelsenkirchen
Dear citizens of Gelsenkirchen, dear friends of peace,
today is the 28th day of
war in Yugoslavia. The "Tuesday action” is meeting for the fourth
time to express its active resistance against the NATO war against Yugoslavia.
This action demands the unconditional halt of NATO war operations and
the withdrawal of all foreign troops from the Balkans!
Last week was marked by various efforts of the UN general secretary
or of foreign minister Fischer for a diplomatic solution of the Kosovo
crisis. NATO was forced to develop this diplomatic activity because
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the unceasing air attacks completely failed and none of its military
goals could be reached and because
- the discontent and the protest of the people in the NATO countries against this unjustified offensive war of UN troops is growing.
But the diplomatic efforts of the Fischer plan merely provided for the
capitulation of Milosevic and his subjugation to NATO's goals. Essentially
this means the establishment of a NATO controlled protectorate in
Kosovo which practically means abolishing the sovereignty of Serbia. No
government of the world can seriously accept such a peace diktat.
Therefore it was to be expected that the Yugoslavian government categorically
rejected Fischer's peace plans as well as that of the UN last weekend.
In the meantime, press reports are increasing that a ground war is being
prepared and a course of the escalation of the war is being
intensified. NATO general secretary Solana does not fully exclude
such a land war and the British newspaper "Observer” reports in yesterday's
German daily newspaper "Frankfurter Rundschau” that a ground war
is already being prepared. President Clinton's special advisor Daltor
adamantly calls for ground troops. At next week's NATO summit at the latest,
the decision about ground troops is to be made. To the question raised in
the Senate, why the military is not prepared for the option of a ground conflict,
US defense minister Cohen answered that this was not intended by the allies.
Today's "Frankfurter Rundschau” states that "while politicians and
the military of the NATO are arguing on the pros and cons of bringing ground
troops into action in Yugoslavia, more and more allied units are being deployed
along Serbia's borders. Even if some of the soldiers currently deployed in
the Balkans are presently fulfilling tasks of humanitarian aid or are preparing
for operating in a future peace contingent, these units could form invasion
forces.”
Everyone knows that a ground war can lead to a dangerous escalation in
various respects:
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A ground war would unavoidably involve the neighboring countries of Macedonia,
Albania and perhaps Bosnia/Herzegovina in the war, too. This would lead
to the start of an enduring political destabilization in the Balkans.
-
Russia has already declared a ground war to be the red line which
may not be crossed. Otherwise it would take sides with Serbia
militarily. That was an open threat to extend the war. The threat of
a 3rd World War is becoming
more and more immanent.
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A ground war would entail the more general mobilization of NATO troops
which would have to involve very many soldiers. In the meantime it is said
that with the corresponding logistics 250,000 soldiers would be needed to
lead a ground war in Kosovo and to free it from Serbian troops. In this
connection, Scharping also announced during the first week of the war that
the so-called crisis reaction forces of the German federal army would be
increased from 50,000 to 80,000.
A so-called "state of emergency” could develop. According to the emergency
laws, this "state of emergency” entails drastic restrictions of democratic
rights and freedoms, especially for war opponents. The press would be directly
controlled by the federal government and the militarization of society would
be considerably increased. The German federal government has repeatedly denied
preparations for a ground war. At the same time it emphasizes that it is
a firm part of the NATO and that it wants to reach the goals of the war under
all conditions. Therefore, in case it is not possible to force Milosevic
to make concessions, it is only a question of time that NATO resorts to such
means. We should have no illusions that the NATO does not want to push through
its policy by all means. It is therefore necessary that we show the government
that there are people who actively resist this war and all of its
consequences.
In its parliamentary session on Thursday, the government declared that no
war is being led. There are only "military emergency actions with humanitarian
objectives”. At the same time you see only refugee caravans and
mass graves on television that supposedly justify NATO operations. For the
MLPD there is no doubt that the misery of the refugees really exists and
that the Milosevic government in Yugoslavia is taking brutal action against
the people in Kosovo. But we are not blind and we also see the great damage
that especially the NATO war is causing in Yugoslavia. According to reliable
information by the government in Yugoslavia, the NATO war has already cost
more than 1000 lives. The damage to objects already amounts to 180 billion
US-dollars. Much of the destruction hits the population directly, their supply
and living situation, schools and hospitals, their living and working conditions.
It is hypocritical to maintain that a country could be attacked militarily
without leading a war against its population.
It is surely very complicated to see through this war because the real background
and its real course are being covered up by means of psychological warfare.
We Marxist-Leninists maintain that war is the continuation of politics
with other means. If we really want to analyze this war, we must examine
the policy behind it:
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Milosevic is leading an unjustified war against the Kosovo Albanians
who are fighting for their right of self-determination in Yugoslavia. The
policy of Milosevic is determined by Serbian nationalism and the subjugation
of the right of self-determination of the Albanian people in Kosovo. He is
therefore leading an unjustified and brutal war against the Albanians.
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NATO is also leading an unjustified war against the state of Yugoslavia because
it is violating the right of self-determination of Yugoslavia in an
imperialist manner. It aims at completing the so-called European integration
in the Balkans by armed force. This European integration has more and more
become an economic necessity for the European imperialists, who aim at playing
a leading role in the international competition with the USA and Japan. Certainly
this leads to differences within the NATO, too. The USA also wants to push
through its own special interests which are especially of a political
nature and aim at military dominance in the Balkans. Their view is aimed
toward the Black Sea and to the Caucasus, where the biggest oil reserves
of the future are situated.
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The struggle for the right of self-determination of the Kosovo Albanians
is justified, but at that point of time when the Kosovo Albanians give up
their independence and ally with the NATO against Yugoslavia, their struggle
will turn into an unjustified war. The result will not be the right of
self-determination of the Kosovo Albanians, but the subordination of its
autonomous interests to the policy of the European and American
imperialists.
. Serbian, Albanian and German workers must lead a struggle against workers being driven against each other in the name of reactionary interests. One of the greatest dangers of this war is that the working class will be divided, that hatred among people is renewed if we do not bring the war and the war mongers to fall. 800,000 Yugoslavian, Serbian and Albanian workers and their families live in Germany. They work with us in factories, in offices and fight with us against unemployment and exploitation and they live with us. The continuation of the war threatens this workers' unity, drives the Albanian workers against the Serbian, the Serbian against the Albanian workers and the German workers against the Serbian workers, etc. The MLPD fights for international workers' unity because it is the guarantor of peace.
Only those people can be free who do not take part in the suppression of other peoples!
End the NATO war in Yugoslavia! Long live international solidarity!Workers of all countries, unite!
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