Serbia

The massive air strikes against Yugoslavia do not only destroy army installations. They also take human lives and ruin the economic infrastructure of our impoverished country. In the long run, however, the biggest collateral damage will be the shattered possibilities for democracy in Serbia. We fear that the only durable result of the undeclared war will be a permanent state of emergency, legal and spiritual, this time with the support of the bewildered majority, which has always sided with the government in times of extreme adversity and danger.

Milosevic warned ominously last night that there will be "no mercy for deserters" from the Serbian army. Already, deserters and draft evaders from this conscript army face up to 20 years imprisonment (art. 214, 217 and 226, Chapter 20, Federal Criminal Code, Offences against the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia), as well as the inevitable persecution and intimidation.

by autonomous Women’s Groups in Belgrade, Serbia

Women’s autonomous groups in Belgrade are communicating publicly in order to condemn the Serbian regime’s violence in Kosova. The war in Kosova has begun. The violence of the Serbian regime is the continuation of the apartheid policy which the regime has applied for the past ten years. And the present situation shows that territory is sacred, not human life.

As we remember imprisoned peacemakers, Xabi Agirre Aranburu argues the case for imprisoning those responsible for war crimes as a necessary step in preventing war.

The town of Stolac's position on the front-line had made it an obvious target of Serbian artillery ever since the war In Bosnia begun. One particular morning In the summer of 1992 began with the usual Serbian bombardment. This time, the shells landed, but did not explode.

While the powers sees former-Yugoslavia at peace, the Balkan Peace Teams in both Croatia and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia have been witnessing the tensions. Otvorene Oci ("Open Eyes" - the team in Croatia) still has an office in Split and has moved the other office from Zagreb to Karlovac. The Karlovac office has reported three explosions aimed against Serbs: on 24 February (this only made page 4 of the local newspaper!), and two others on 28 February and 2 March after a demonstration against Serbs returning from FRY to Vojnic.

In May, four lesbians from Serbia's only lesbian and gay organization, Arkadija, were beaten up in Belgrade. Lepa Mladjenovic is a member of the group and was one of the women attacked. Lepa is a well-known feminist peace activist and has received international recognition for her work on behalf of lesbian and gay human rights. She took part in the million-strong international gay and lesbian pride march in New York in June 1994, carrying the sign "Serbia--Stop the War".

by Julie Mertus

On Wednesday, 16 November 1994, Arkadia's lesbian activist Lepa Mladjenovic, appeared on the local television show called "Nus pojave" ("Incidentals"). That was the first time in Serbian history that an official representative of a lesbian and gay group took part in a public TV show. Another guest of the show was Wendy Eastwood, British lesbian feminist, presently living in Novi Sad (Vojvodina-Serbia).

1.The Assembly recalls its Resolution 984 (1992) on the crisis in the former Yugoslavia, its Resolution 1019 (1994) on the humanitarian situation and needs of the refugees, displaced persons and other vulnerable groups in the countries of the former Yugoslavia and its Recommendation 1218 (1993) on establishing an international court to try serious violations of international humanitarian law.

2.It refers to the European Parliament resolution on deserters from the armed forces of states in the former Yugoslavia adopted on 28 October 1993.

Representatives of some of the main anti-war groups in former-Yugoslavia met in St Johan, Salzburg, Austria this April. One of the documents they produced was an Open Letter to Peace Movements, written in a private capacity, rather than in the name of their groups.

By Staša Zajovic

Since the beginning of the wars in ex-Yugoslavia, especially in Bosnia-Herzegovina, the image of the suffering of the civilian population projected by the major television networks is usually a variation on the image of the woman-victim, who, exhausted, humble and in tears, carries a child in her arms. If she is shown as a rape victim, that image is emphasized even more.

On 4-6 March, 19 people from 10 European countries met to discuss the situation of draft resisters and deserters seeking asylum. This has become a major issue in Europe with the large numbers of refugees from the war in former-Yugoslavia, especially as several governments insist that Croatia and Serbia are not part of the war zone.

Stasa Zajovic of the women’s anti-war group in Belgrade, Women in Black—Women Against War, was invited by other anti-war groups to the State of Spain this April. Stasa spoke in Madrid, Barcelona, Zaragoza and many other cities. Her talks were well attended (over 150 people at each public talk) and the tour received good press coverage. Most of all, solidarity between peace groups in the various countries was strengthened. The following is a compilation of several reports about her visit.