LET CIVILITY PREVAIL

A STATEMENT OF CONCERNED SERBIAN CITIZENS

As long time proponents of and activists for a democratic and
anti-nationalist Serbia, who have chosen to remain in Yugoslavia
during this moment of crisis and who want to see our country
reintegrated into the community of world nations, we state the
following:

1. We strongly condemn the NATO bombings which have hugely exacerbated
violence in Kosovo and have caused the displacement of people outside
and throughout Yugoslavia. We strongly condemn the ethnic cleansing of
the Albanian population perpetrated by any Yugoslav forces. We
strongly condemn the Kosovo Liberation Army's (KLA) violence targeted
against the Serbs, moderate Albanians and other ethnic communities in
Kosovo. The humanitarian catastrophe in Kosovo - death, grief and
extreme suffering for hundreds of thousands of Albanians, Serbs and
members of other ethnic communities - has to be ended now. All
refugees from Yugoslavia must immediately and unconditionally be
allowed to return to their homes, their security and human rights
guaranteed, and aid for reconstruction provided. Perpetrators of
crimes against humanity whoever they are must be brought to justice.
2. The fighting between Serbian forces and KLA has to be stopped
immediately in order to start a new round of negotiations. All sides
must put aside their maximalist demands. There are (as in other
numerous similar conflicts such as Northern Ireland) no quick and easy
solutions. We all must be prepared for a long and painstaking process
of negotiation and normalization.
3. The bombing of Yugoslavia by NATO causes destruction and growing
numbers of civilian victims (at least several hundred, maybe a
thousand, by now). The final outcome will be the destruction of the
economic and cultural foundations of Yugoslav society. It must be
stopped immediately.
4. The UN Charter, the Helsinki Final Act, the founding document of
NATO, as well as the constitutions of countries such as Germany,
Italy, Portugal, have been violated by this aggression. As individuals
who have devoted their lives to the defense of basic democratic
values, who believe in universal legal norms we are deeply concerned
that NATO's violation of these norms will incapacitate all those
struggling for the rule of law  and human rights in this country and
elsewhere in the world.
5. NATO's bombings have further destabilized the southern Balkans. If
continued this conflict can escalate beyond Balkan borders and, if
turned into land military operations, thousands of NATO and Yugoslav
soldiers, as well as Albanian and Serbian civilians, will die in a
futile war as in Vietnam. Political negotiations toward a peaceful
settlement should be reopened immediately.
6. The existing regime has only been reinforced by NATO's attacks in
Yugoslavia by way of the natural reaction of people to rally around
the flag in times of foreign aggression. We continue our opposition to
the present anti-democratic and authoritarian regime, but we also
emphatically oppose NATO's aggression. The democratic forces in Serbia
have been weakened and the democratic reformist Government of
Montenegro threatened by NATO's attacks and by the regime's subsequent
proclamation of the state of war and now find themselves between
NATO's hammer and regime's anvil.
7. In dealing with the conflicts in the former Yugoslavia the leaders
of the world community have in the past made numerous fatal errors.
New errors are leading to an aggravation of the conflict and are
removing us from the search for peaceful solutions.

We appeal to all: President Milosevic, the representatives of the
Kosovo Albanians, NATO, EU and US leaders to stop all violence and
military activities immediately and engage in the search for a
political solution.

Belgrade, April 16, 1999

1.  Stojan Cerovic, "Vreme" columnist and journalist
2.  Jovan Cirilov, Belgrade International Theater Festival (BITEF)
selector and former director of the Yugoslav Drama Theater; Theater
History Center Director
3.  Sima Cirkovic, Member Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts,
Professor, Belgrade University, Dept. of History
4.  Mijat Damnjanovic, Former Professor, Belgrade University, Faculty
of Political Sciences, Center for Public Administration and Local
Government (PALGO) Director
5.  Vojin Dimitrijevic, Former head of the Department of International
Law, Belgrade Law School; The Belgrade Center for Human Rights
Director; UN Human Rights Committee former Vice Chairman
6.  Dasa Duhacek, Director Women Studies Center, Board Member of
Alternative Academic Educational Network (AAEN)
7.  Milutin Garasanin, Member of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and
Arts; Vice President of The Association for Research of South-Eastern
Europe (UNESCO)
8.  Zagorka Golubovic, Professor, Belgrade University, Department of
Sociology; Chair Social Sciences Department of AAEN
9.  Dejan Janca, Professor, Novi Sad University, Law School
10.  Ivan Jankovic, Belgrade lawyer, human rights activist, Board
President of Center for Anti-War Action
11.  Predrag Koraksic, Belgrade caricaturist
12.  Mladen Lazic, Professor, Belgrade University, Department of
Sociology, AAEN Board member
13.  Sonja Licht, President, Fund for an Open Society Executive Board
14.  Ljubomir Madzar, Professor Belgrade University, Faculty of
Economy, Member Group-17
15.  Veran Matic, Editor in Chief, Belgrade Radio B92, President
Alternative Network of Electronic Media (ANEM)
16.  Jelica Minic, Secretary General, European Movement in Serbia
17.  Andrej Mitrovic, Professor, Belgrade University, Department of
History
18.  Radmila Nakarada, Senior Reserach Fellow, Belgrade Institute for
European Studies
19.  Milan Nikolic, Director, Center for Policy Studies
20.  Vida Ognjenovic, Theater director, playwrite
21.  Borka Pavicevic, Director, Center for Cultural Decontamination
22.  Jelena Santic, Anti-war 487 group, human rights activist
23.  Nikola Tasic, Associate member of the Serbian Academy of Sciences
 and Arts,  Member European Academy
24.  Ljubinka Trgovcevic, Senior Research Fellow, Belgrade University,
Department of History
25.  Srbijanka Turajlic, Professor, Belgrade University, Faculty of
Electrical Engineering, Board President AAEN
26.  Ivan Vejvoda, Fund for an Open Society Executive Director,
27.  Branko Vucicevic, translator