German 'Mothers against war' say 'no to NATO'
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
4/24/99
BELGRADE, April 24 (AFP) - A group of 130 German peace activists arrived here Saturday to protest against NATO's month-long bombing campaign against Yugoslavia. The members of "Mothers against the War" and "Peace Now" let candles and placed flowers in front of the Serbian state television building where at least 10 people were killed when a bomb hit Friday night.
"We want the war to stop immediately," said Ilona Rothe, one of the organisers.
The group, comprising pacifists and left-wing militants, left Thursday from Dresden, a town chosen because it was flattened in a World War II bombing raid and is today a symbol of civilian casualties inflicted by air attacks.
The group came in three buses, decorated with mottos: "Stop NATO," "Solidarity with Yugoslavia," "For Freedom of Europe," and images of doves as symbols of peace.
Among them were teenagers and elderly couples, all demanding "an immediate end of war in the Balkans."
"We didn't give birth in order to see our children killed," Rothe said.
Rothe, whose son is now stationed in Macedonia, said that "all women in Europe should be against the war."
"We have to speak together how to bring the peace," Rothe said, adding that the group would like to meet both representatives of the Yugoslav authorities and non-government peace activists.
After they crossed the Hungarian-Yugoslav border late Friday, the activists visited northern town Subotica, hit by NATO air strikes last week.
They visited a family whose house was destroyed in the attack, and spent the night there.
"The constrast we saw in Subotica was terrible. Beautiful houses and landscape, and then, smashed buildings," said Juergen Fischer, one of the organisers.
"We were horrified by what we heard and saw. When we talked with people who lost everything, we could realise the worst side of the war we have not seen before," he said.
Peter, 26, said he was against the war, describing the NATO air campaign as "terrorism for the new world order."
"It is possible there were some wrong things in Kosovo, there is a war going on there, but not everything can be black and white, as our governments are presenting us," he said.
Fischer said the aim of their action was to "show people if peace can not be achieved by politicians, it must be reached by ordinary people."
"We want to show that the Germans are divided: there are those who are fighting the war, but also those who are suffering together with people of Yugoslavia," Fischer said.
The activists planned to join Belgrade residents in their night protest on the main bridges in the Yugoslav capital.
These gatherings have been held daily by citizens who wanted to make "human shields" to protect bridges from NATO bombing, as officials said 25 were destroyed in NATO air raids.
One bus was due to return to Germany late Saturday, while the remaining two were to start on Sunday. |
