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Mart, Miroslav is not the only one who should check his sources. Avnery is no more than an hypocrite. Even when about Palestine, I recalled him asking for a vote for Barak "who wasn't so bad after all" and demonising any progressive alternative. More despicable was his attitude on NATO aggression on Yugoslavia. I only knew an Uri Avnery before, the "champion of Palestine rights". I could hardly believe the column (enclosed below) was written by him. So, I took the effort to asking him by email whether he retracted of such an uninformed collection of rubbish. No need to say he still stands for it 100%. Watch out. Regards, FJB -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 31. March 1999 Dear Europe: From Uri Avnery I am happy about your decision to use power for the sake of peace in Kosovo. You have learned your lesson. Sixty years ago, when the Nazis tormented German Jews and threatened to exterminate all of Europe's Jewry, you just stood by. You said: "It is an internal matter." You said: "International law prohibits me from intervening." Last week you put to a final rest this cynical argument. You determined that it is permissible to interfere in the internal matters of a sovereign state which persecutes a religious and national minority. Even more than that: you determined that it is an obligation to interfere. For this you should be blessed.60 years ago you sacrificed a tiny nation -- the Czech people -- on the altar of peace and convenience. Tony Blair's predecessor, the British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain, stated that the British are not prepared to spill their blood for a small and distant country which they have trouble locating on the map. Those very same words can now be heard in the U.S. Not a single American soldier's life should be put in harm's way for a country which most Americans can't find on the map. But the British nation has paid an exorbitant price for that wretched line. If only Britain and its allies had stopped Hitler at that time, instead of signing the Munich Agreement, the lives of tens of millions of people --including those of the six million Jews -- would have been spared. 55 years ago, neither Britain nor the U.S. were prepared to use their planes to bomb the train tracks to Auschwitz. This week, both sent their planes to bomb Serb installations used in the genocide of Kosovars. While this isnot enough -- I would like to see those powers recognize Kosovo independence and arm the Kosovar freedom-fighters -- it is still a lot. At that time, the Western leaders, Roosevelt and Churchill, failed to do the most basic thing: to warn the holocaust troopers that each of them -- from the lowest to the highest levels -- would be tried for crimes against humanity and would pay with their lives for those atrocities. This week I heard the British Vice Premier utter this unequivocal warning in Parliament. I particularly admire the European and U.S. governments for undertaking this course of action, despite the fact that Kosovo holds no particular strategic or any other national self-interest to any of them. To each soldier who lays his life on the line in the skies over Yugoslavia, our heartfelt thanks. Too bad, dear Europe, that the same didn't happen two generations ago. But I am glad that it is happening now and I bless you for it. What puzzles me is the condem- nations for this action from many good people -- among them some Leftists. International law? Interference in internal matters? An unjustified use of power? My goodness, we are talking here about the lives of hundreds of thousands of people, about the genocide of the people of Kosovo, about the destruction of towns and villages, about the expulsion of hundreds of thousands, whose sole crime consists of belonging to a different ethnic group. A few months ago I had the opportunity to take part in a debate (on board a Japanese ship) with peace activists from Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia and Kosovo. It was an accelerated course which turned me into an enthusiastic supporter of the right of the Albanian people of Kosovo for national independence and most certainly for autonomy. I am glad, dear Europe, that you, too, have recognized this just demand. Of course I do not like the use of military power. I dream of the day -- and it will come, even if I may not get to witness it -- when there will be an inter- national government, with its international court of justice, and an international police force. Today, each state has a court to adjudicate civil conflicts. The police carry out the court's sentence. Much blood had to be spilt for humanity to reach this stage. Tomorrow, a world-court will adjudicate conflicts between nations and will enforce ist will. Then will the people of Kosovo and East Timor, Kurds and Palestinians be able to get their justice without bloodshed. But that day is still very distant, and for now no oppressed nation can hope to get ist justice without violence. I am happy that Europe is prepared to use force to save a persecuted and oppressed people whose blood cries out from the ground. And I would also like to thank you, Europe, for your courage in recognizing the Palestinian people's right to declare their state. Most of the Israeli public knows well that there can be no peace here without a Palestinian state, and hundreds of intellectual leaders and peace activists have just signed a manifesto right here in Israel recognizing this right. I regret the gall of my Prime Minister -- the Israeli Milosevic -- condemning your decision, while referring to the exter- mination of a third of the Jewish people "on European soil." My lesson from the Holocaust is that we must never close our eyes when a religious, ethnic or national minority is oppressed in any "sovereign" state. I am glad, dear Europe, that you have learned this lesson. My hat is off to you. ==^================================================================ This email was sent to: archive@jab.org EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?a84x2u.a9WB2D Or send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register ==^================================================================