‘We want a verdict that leads to action’
Richard Becker represented the International Action
Center in Berlin at the June 2-3 European session of the
International Tribunal on the NATO War Against Yugoslavia.
The following are excerpts from his presentation.
While the bombing stopped with the cease-fire on June 10,
1999, we knew that the war against the people of Yugoslavia
did not end, and in fact continues to this day.
We believe that it is of the highest importance to take a
stand with those who are resisting the imperialist onslaught
in Yugoslavia, and also with Iraq, where the genocidal
sanctions and bombing have taken more than a
million-and-a-half lives, with Cuba, the Democratic People's
Republic of Korea, and all those who refuse to accept the
dictates of Washington.
We don't want to make the tribunals solely a judgment of
the past, although the verdict is very important. The
consciousness of future generations must not be left in the
hands of the paid propagandists of the "Great Powers," who
are "great," it was once noted, only in their violence.
At the same time, we want to render a verdict that leads
to action, a living verdict that provides the basis for
common and coordinated action, a verdict that points the way
forward. We believe that the most effective verdict our
tribunals can render will be to use their authority to launch
a worldwide campaign to abolish NATO.
NATO, like the International Monetary Fund and World Bank,
has become a focus for the anger and opposition of
progressive and anti-war forces around the world. We were in
the streets in April in Washington. The IAC organized a march
there linking the struggle against the IMF/World Bank to the
fight against domestic repression and militarism. The police
arrested nearly 700 people, many of them carrying signs
demanding freedom for U.S. death-row political prisoner Mumia
Abu-Jamal.
When we say "abolish NATO" we in the United States also
mean to disarm and disband the Pentagon, the most central
element of NATO and the greatest single danger to the people
of the world. There is no greater violator of human rights in
the world today than the Pentagon and the U.S.
government.
We believe that international solidarity will triumph over
militarism and exploitation.
This article is copyright under a Creative
Commons License.
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