Yugoslavia star athletes boycott NATO lands
By
Monica Moorehead
As the U.S./NATO bombing of Yugoslavia intensifies,
world-famous Yugoslav athletes are joining the growing chorus
of protest and outrage against this gross international
violation of sovereignty.
In addition, a top Greek soccer team will be playing an
exhibition game in Belgrade in solidarity with the besieged
Yugoslav peoples. The team will be risking their lives by
traveling by bus from Budapest, Hungary to the Yugoslav
capital, which has been put under siege by intensified bombings
by the U.S. and its NATO allies. Dimitri Mellissanidis,
president of the AEK Athens team stated, "We've won many titles
on that field, this will be a humanitarian title."
This is significant. Many athletes are viewed as positive
role models in society. Unfortunately, the majority of
athletes--especially in this country--do not take public stands
against social injustices. When an athlete does take a
progressive position, especially against imperialist
aggression, it is noteworthy.
In this case, a number of world renown ed Yugoslav soccer
and basketball players have displayed their firm opposition on
and off the playing field towards the bombing of their
country.
Predrag Mijatovic is a member of Real Madrid, the current
European soccer champion club. In the early stages of the
bombing campaign, he participated in a march against the U.S.
embassy in Madrid, Spain, while wrapped in the flag of his
country. Spain is a member of NATO. Mijatovic comes from the
Yugoslav republic of Montenegro.
His teammate, Dragan Stojkovic, lifted up his jersey to
display to the fans a T-shirt with the slogan, "NATO Stop
Strikes" each time he scored a goal during a soccer match in
Japan. Other members of the soccer club have participated in
protests outside the U.S. consulate in Barcelona, Spain and the
U.S. embassy in Lisbon, Portugal.
These players and about 30 others have initiated a boycott.
They have vowed not to play for clubs based in NATO countries
until the bombing stops. This boycott will be a big blow to
soccer everywhere since Yugoslav players are regarded as among
the best.
Mijatovic stated, "I could not wear the jersey of Real
Madrid knowing that my parents are sleeping in a garage." In
response to the role of the U.S. in the bombing of Yugoslavia,
he stated, "when there were wars in Kosovo during the Ottoman
Empire 600 years ago, the USA did not exist."
Another player, Vladan Lukic, a member of a French soccer
team, has volunteered to go back to his homeland to fight if
necessary. He told a French sports newspaper, L'Equipe, "Serbia
is not the aggressor; it is the victim, and it never has been
and never will be occupied. Nobody will change our borders
against our will."
Besides the soccer players, a basketball star, Sasha
Djordjevic, wore a black arm band and a rectangle piece of
cloth covering his name on the back of his jersey to protest
the bombing during a game in Seville, Spain. Vlade Divac, a
long time National Basketball Association player, has also
publicly come out against the bombing.
Predrag Radosavljevic, a Yugoslavian-born soccer midfielder
playing in Kansas City, offered this interesting comparison:
"Serbia will never give up that part of the country.
Historically, that's always been ours, so why should we give it
up? We're basically allowing terrorists to take that part of
the country away. Can you imagine if Miami wanted to be part of
Cuba? What would the U.S. government do?''
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