BRUSSELS CONFERENCE
'Stop the U.S./NATO war!'
By John
Catalinotto
Brussels, Belgium
Communists and other progressives at a seminar here May 2-4
cheered loudest for those representatives of Balkan countries
who showed the strongest determination to combat NATO's war
against Yugoslavia.
The seminar, organized by the Labor Party of Belgium (PTB),
drew representatives of 69 progressive and revolutionary
movements in 40 countries. Fourteen NATO countries were
represented, as were three in the Balkans and four former
republics of the Soviet Union. Also present were
representatives of revolutionary movements and mass communist
parties in Asia, Africa and Latin America.
The discussion on Yugoslavia opened on May 2 with the news
that U.S. planes the night before had bombed a bus in
Yugoslavia and killed 60 people. Labor Party President Ludo
Martens recounted a recent visit to an impoverished
neighborhood of Kinshasa, Congo. In the midst of their own
civil war against imperialist puppets, the people there who
support Congo's President Laurent Kabila wanted to discuss
Yugoslavia and show their solidarity against NATO's attack.
A representative of the New Communist Party of Yugoslavia,
Branco Kitanovic, opened the seminar by reporting that "after
35 days of mad bombing, NATO has destroyed, wholly or
partially, 50 large factories, 25 vitally important bridges,
220 schools, 45 kindergartens, five oil refineries, 12 power
stations, 25 libraries, 12 university institutes, 18 churches
and monasteries" and killed hundreds of people.
He said the U.S. and NATO were attacking Yugoslavia because
1) Yugoslavia is the last country in Eastern Europe with some
aspects of socialism that is resisting counter-revolution and
an imperialist takeover; 2) Washington wants to frighten all
those who would resist; 3) the Pentagon is preparing for an
invasion of Ukraine and Russia; 4) it wants to test new
military weapons; and 5) NATO wants military bases in Kosovo,
Albania, Bulgaria and Romania.
Kitanovic says his party differs from that of Yugoslav
President Slobodan Milosevic in advocating greater resistance
to the privatization of state property. Nevertheless, he made
it clear his party and the Yugoslav people support the current
Belgrade government's courageous defense against NATO. "We will
not allow NATO to send forces to Kosovo," he said.
"I am asking all communist parties to support the Yugoslav
people's struggle against NATO," Kitanovic said to the cheers
of the audience.
A speaker from the Communist Party of Greece noted that his
country was "in the news these days for a bad reason--because
of the savage war NATO was waging against Yugoslavia. All
Greeks," he continued, "must contribute to the Yugoslavs'
effort to defeat imperialism." He mentioned that Greek workers
had stopped NATO equipment and troops trying to get from
Greece's Salonika seaport to Skopje, the capital of
Macedonia.
The seminar is expected to pass resolutions supporting the
heroic resistance of the Yugoslav people to NATO
aggression.
The day before the seminar began, a May Day celebration
organized by the PTB drew almost 4,000 people to support the
party's broadest election campaign ever. It is focused on
defending union organizers facing repression in the Clabecque
case and organizing protests against NATO, whose headquarters
are in Brussels.
Among those speaking at a public forum on NATO were Mumia
Abu-Jamal's attorney, Len Weinglass, who read excerpts from the
U.S. death-row political prisoner's statement against the war.
Michel Collon, who recently had four ribs broken by Belgian
gendarmes for daring to demonstrate against NATO, was back in
action chairing the session.
After a thorough discussion, the PTB called to the stage the
people who will organize local anti-war committees throughout
Belgium.
This writer spoke at the May 1 meeting about the U.S.
anti-war movement and the Pentagon's use of depleted uranium, a
carcinogen, in its weapons and ammunition.
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