| Resource Centre | News | Programs | Calendar | Links | About | Contact | Get involved |
Location:
What's here:
|
|||
|
|||
|
Location: |
Programs » Peace » Advocacy » | ||
What's here: |
|||
Bombing of Yugoslavia |
|||||
See background on Kosovo.General Board Right Honourable Jean Chrétien Honourable Lloyd Axworthy April 1, 1999 Dear Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, We are deeply saddened and troubled by NATO’s bombing of Yugoslavia and the developing human crisis in that region. As a Christian denomination of 36,000 adult members, the Mennonite Church Canada is writing to you once again to explain our concern with Canadian involvement in an armed response in world affairs. We recognize that the situation in Kosovo and Serbia is complex. We understand that atrocities committed by the Serbian leadership and military are very serious. The stated aims of the bombing: to end the hostilities in Kosovo, to prevent genocide and alleviate the suffering of its people, are very worthwhile. Yet, it is already evident that these objectives are not being met through the violent strategy that has been chosen. Ultimately, we believe that violence breeds only further violence, and that it is not the way to a true peace. We are concerned that NATO is the primary mechanism through which this situation is being addressed. Canada’s commitment to NATO has evidently drawn us into attacking a sovereign state, without clear debate in our parliament. We would like to know why NATO has been selected as the international decision-making body in this case. In other cases, the Canadian government has said that the United Nations Security Council, in which we have a voice, is the appropriate place to pursue humanitarian concerns. Media reports indicate that bombing has led to an escalation, not a reduction, of terror and suffering in the region. Commanding General Wesley Clark declared that it was "entirely predictable" that Serbian terror and violence would intensify after the NATO bombing. We are also aware that the international community tried, but was unsuccessful in facilitating a negotiated solution that would be just and sustainable. This suggests to us that, at this point, we are all without effective solutions. In their struggle for rights and dignities, we understand that the Kosovo Albanian people engaged in nonviolent strategies for several years. They organized parallel healthcare and education systems when they encountered harassment and discrimination in the Serbian system. University students organized nonviolent strikes and demonstrations and maintained nonviolent discipline in the face of police repression. However, these efforts were overshadowed by events in Bosnia, and unreported by the media. As frustration and isolation increased, the Kosovo Albanians, through the Kosovo Liberation Army, discovered that world attention was more easily gained through violent uprising. Given this background and its complexities, surely there is a wiser response to the struggle than NATO current bombing. We do not and should not deny our responsibility. Our attention also is drawn to this conflict now that there is overt violence on all sides. We lament that neither as a nation nor as a church did we effectively support the local nonviolent strategies for peace and reconciliation. As we communicate our opposition to current Canadian and NATO policy, we acknowledge that the Christian church has a long way to go to meet the challenge of developing alternative strategies to violent intervention. It is our belief that if the equivalent resources were invested in nonviolent peace-creating and peace-maintaining strategies as are poured into military equipment, technology and strategy, much could be accomplished. We believe we are called to demonstrate by our words and actions as Christians and as citizens that violence is not the solution to human problems, in spite of the systems which claim that it is. As our churches work against violence in the family and the community, promote models of restorative criminal justice, practice mediation and conflict transformation, and participate in public witness to expose injustice and develop nonviolent strategies of intervention in violent conflict, we find that we cannot condone violence in international relations. We urge Canada to cease its participation in the bombing of Yugoslavia, to influence NATO allies to cease as well, and to seek actively alternative forms of violence reduction. Our prayers are with all those who suffer the consequences of violence; for the refugees, soldiers and decision-makers on all sides. Sincerely, Dr. Helmut Harder Dr. Robert J. Suderman Jeremy Bergen cc. Honourable Art Eggleton, Minister of National Defense |
|||||