Press Release

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For release 16:00

December 7, 1994

Mamuka Tsagareli, vice president of General Council of the Transnational Radical Party, and Nikolaj Khramov, General Councillor of this party (both are local coordinators of the RP activity in CIS countries) made today in Moscow the following declaration.

Yesterday's scandal - there is no other word - in Budapest, where Russia blocked the final CSCE declaration on Bosnia, as well as Russian veto on last week in UN Security Council (first time during all the period of "autonomous" existing Russia on international arena), have caused already a number of satisfied commentaries in Russian mass media. Unfortunately, there is no reason to joy. The estimations of happened as "Russian coming back to the politics of its own national interests" can rouse only bitter regrets. If, of course, not to mean under "national interests" striving to oppose ourselves to all the rest of world.

The last days events in New York and Budapest have shown, that Russia even more and more openly takes position in favour of those who initiated and continue the Balkan war, who creates so called "Greater Serbia" by means of impudent trampling fundamental principles of international law, by means of violence and ethnic cleansing - during the shameful stand behind of international community.

Again the international community, Western countries, NATO shamefully capitulate, accepting planes to divide the multiethnic democratic Bosnian state on the criteria of ethnic purity, abating new and new demands of the aggressor. Meanwhile, if not to betray the term of justice itself, Mr. Milosevic, Karadzic and Mladic must seat not at negotiation table with Western diplomats, but on the dock of International Tribunal in Hague. In this context the hot debates about to accept or not to accept the Central European countries in NATO, seem nothing as scholastic argues about how many angels can place on the top of needle: if today nobody is able to assert Sarajevo and Bihac, who will defend Warsaw and Prague tomorrow? And what for a future has NATO, the only mechanism of European security, if during four year it cannot stop henocide and killing unarmed just in the center of Europe? Is it really - neither UNPROFOR, nor NATO, but only president Tudzman's declaration about Croatian accession into war in case of fall

ing Bihac can prevent the final act in tragedy of this European city?

The "new style" of international politics of Yeltsin and Kozyrev (no doubts, elaborated starting from "internal" point of view) tries to revive nationalist geo-political orientations, growing from the beginning of the century. In this context are symbolic the declarations from Moscow about desired revival of Russian-French (also Serbian?) Entente. However, this politics will cause the revival of much more young ghosts: coming back of Cold War time confrontation. And exactly Russia will be guilty in this. Exactly Russia, to our deep regret, is now a sours of instability and threat - both on the territory of ex-USSR, in Europe and in the world.

Also this is disastrous, that inside of Russia there is no democratic alternative to Yeltsin/Kozyrev's foreign politics declared. No party, no politician in our country did not express clearly and definitively on the Balkan tragedy (if not mention, of course, the "patriotic" opposition, supporting from the beginning by word and action the Serbian Barkashovs and Zhirinovskys), excluding probably only some unarticulated declarations of Yegor Gaidar on symbolic NATO bombardment of Serbian positions. Indeed, is it possible to consider as such an expression of Mr. Javlinsky's position the anonymous article recently published on the front page of "Novaja Ezhednevnaja Gazeta" (whose public board Mr. Javlinsky - together with Gorbachev and Saburov - is member of), containing accusations UN in supporting henocide of Serbian people?..

The Bosnian policy of Russia is deadly dangerous - not only for citizens of Sarajevo and Bihac, dieing under Serbian shells and bullets of Serbian sharpshooters, not only for European future, but also for democracy in Russia itself. It is impossible to build peace and security in ex-Yugoslavia on the trampling the fundamental principles of international law - as well as in Abkhazia and Nagorno Karabakh. Will it be understood finally in Moscow, Brussels and New York?