Despite wet and blustery conditions, some 2000 people rallied in Melbourne's city square on August 23 in support of Bosnia and to denounce the Serbian campaign of "ethnic cleansing" of Croats and Muslims there. Among the speakers was DAVE HOLMES, Democratic Socialist candidate for Melbourne in the state elections. The following is the text of his speech.
On behalf of the Democratic Socialist Party, I would like to express our solidarity with the people of Bosnia whose homeland is being destroyed in the criminal war unleashed by Serbian leader Slobodan Milosevic and his Chetnik thugs.
Following the end of the Cold War, George Bush promised a New World Order in which, supposedly, peace and justice would prevail and the use of force in international conflicts would become a thing of the past.
The terrible events that have taken place following the disintegration of Yugoslavia show up the so-called New World Order for the callous fraud it is.
The basic cause of the horrifying bloodshed, destruction and repression which first descended on Croatia and which have now engulfed Bosnia has been Milosevic's ruthless drive for a "greater Serbia". Without this factor, the peoples of the region would probably have been able to work out their problems peacefully.
But Milosevic and the old bureaucratic mafia he represents had a different agenda. They played the Serbian chauvinist card to preserve their positions of power and privilege and deflect popular discontent at home. This is the reason for the Serbian war of aggression against its neighbours.
And in the face of this naked war of aggression, what has the West done? They watched as Croatia was devastated and much of its territory occupied, while tens of thousands have been killed in Bosnia, towns and villages gutted and 60-70% of the country has been "cleared" of Croats and Muslims.
The West gave backhanded support to Milosevic from the start by imposing an arms embargo on all the countries of former Yugoslavia. This hypocritical policy has not hindered the Serbian expansionists in the least, but it has prevented their victims from defending themselves.
Without this amazing and cynical arms ban — first pushed by the United States — Milosevic wouldn't have been able to get nearly so far nor do remotely so much damage.
Now the West is talking of intervention to protect food aid. But they still refuse to lift the arms embargo. What utterly breathtaking hypocrisy! Food aid will not stop the Serbian aggression.
Look at Croatia! The United Nations presence there simply guarantees and legitimises Serbian control of one-third of the country. Not only have the refugees not been able to return home, but the "cleansing" of non-Serbs continues unabated.
No, it is a cruel illusion to expect that the mighty West will intervene to save the victims and punish the aggressors. If they do intervene, it will be only to protect their own interests, not the interests of any of the peoples of the former Yugoslavia.
Is there a basis for ending the repression and killing in Croatia and Bosnia? We would suggest there are a number of fundamental points.
- The Western arms embargo on Croatia and Bosnia should be lifted. Let the victims defend themselves. Then we may see Serbia willing to engage in real negotiations.
- Serbia must withdraw its forces from those parts of Croatia and Bosnia it has occupied and end its aid to the local Chetnik militias.
- All the refugees must be allowed to return home — Muslims, Croats and Serbs. "Ethnic cleansing" is a crime against humanity. The Serbian chauvinists bear the fundamental responsibility for this terrible, Nazi-like campaign which has imposed so much misery and suffering on the Croats and Muslims. However, it is also a crime when Serbian people are terrorised into leaving their homes or killed simply for being who they are.
- We stand for all the states of the former Yugoslavia being allowed to form independent republics on the basis of the borders established by the 1974 constitution. We are also opposed to changing these borders by force. Changes should be made only through negotiation and the consent of the people concerned. Anything else is a formula for perpetual national conflict.
Macedonia should be granted full international recognition immediately. The peoples of Kosovo and Vojvodina should be allowed to determine their futures, free of Serbian pressure.
- Finally, we support an independent, multinational Bosnia. Breaking up Bosnia on the basis of "ethnic cleansing" would be a recipe for endless violence and hatred. The only viable solution is a unified state with wide autonomy for Muslims, Croats and Serbs and real respect for the rights of minorities in any area.
No matter how remote such a prospect may now seem, it is the only sure foundation for a future free of national hatred, violence and repression.