PRESS RELEASE

29th March 1999

Et Tu NATO?
Lack of contingency plans for genocide leaves NATO motivation under scrutiny.

Once more the spectre of genocide overshadows Europe. Half a million and more are refugees – Kosovans fleeing another Serb crusade against Muslims, and any other vestiges of un-Orthodox identity.

NATO has valiantly come to the Kosovans aid – bombing the Serbs into expediting the ethnic cleansing of the region. As the humanitarian crisis unfolds, several questions come to light, the answers for which must be sought, regardless of NATO’s purported stance of principle.

Why were there no contingency plans in place for the unfolding refugee nightmare? Serbia’s genocidal intent was hardly a secret.

Why has there still been a concerted lack of political will to indict Milosevic and others for their part in the genocide in Bosnia? Indeed, once this war is over, will there be any move by the powers behind Allied Force to bring Milosevic to justice?

How is it that NATO feels justified and able to use military might in this scenario, but was cowed to its knees in Bosnia? When it is admitted that US and UN intelligence knew days in advance of the plans to eradicate Srebrenica and massacre its inhabitants in 1995, why was no corresponding action undertaken?

Behind this show of valour, there remains a dark and degraded history. UN troops are the subject of national enquiry in the Netherlands over their complicity in the fall of Srebrenica. Accusations and evidence follow the chain of command to the highest parts of its structure. The shame of Bosnia and Srebrenica cannot be eradicated by Allied Force – once more too late to have any other effect than stiffen the Serb resolve.

What could give NATO the moral high ground it claims, is an unequivocal guarantee to those expelled from their homes, that they will be allowed to return, backed by the force that has hastened their expulsion, from NATO.

Finally, Milosevic and his cronies must be brought to book for each and every victim of the genocide.

For more information, please call the Press Office on (+44) 181 902 0888, fax (+44) 181 902 0889, mobile (+44) 959 522 196, e-mail: ihrc@dial.pipex.com