(reprinted from SME, Tuesday April 6, 1999)
Last week, debates about the situation in Kosovo began in the Slovak Pariament. The following document is the proposed proclamation of the Slovak Parliament in support of the NATO bombing of Yugoslovia. The resolution has not yet been adopted by the parliament.
The Parliament of the Slovak Republic, perceptive to the variety of opinions of citizens of the Slovak Republic and aware of its responsibility to pursue long-term state-political interests of Slovakia:
A: EXPRESSES
a conviction that adherence to human rights is a common matter of the whole international community which can not remain still at the sight of their mass violation, of massacres of the civilians, ethnic clearances and the growing number of refugees in Kosovo.
B: PRONOUNCES
deep concern and regret that the repeated, relentless and complex efforts of the international community and the Security Council of the United Nations to solve the crisis and prevent humanitarian catastrophy in Kosovo by political negotiations have faced rejection by Yugoslavian President Milosevic and have not been successful. This forced NATO to adopt an extreme solution, which aims at stopping the ethnic cleansing in Kosovo and working towards a peace treaty.
C: AGREES
with the published attitudes of Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Slovak Republic about the situation in Kosovo and with the steps taken by the Government of the Slovak Republic in connection with the crisis.
D: CALLS
on all concerned parties to reopen negotiations which would lead to a peaceful settlement of the intricate and tragic conflict in Yugoslavia in the shortest possible time, and thus help to end the military operations and to stop the killing of innocent civilians.
