AJC Runs Ads Applauding Nato Action In Kosovo; Urges Public To Also Express Appreciation

American Jewish Committee
Thursday, 15 April 1999

To applaud NATO for its "principled stand" in Kosovo, the American Jewish Committee will run advertisements in major national and international newspapers and periodicals. The ads encourage readers to write to the Permanent Representatives of the 19 NATO members to "tell them how much you value their efforts and urge them to stay the course," to end the Serbian assault on ethnic Albanians in Kosovo.

The first AJC ad, under the headline "When History Asks Who Stood Up To Evil In Kosovo, The Answer Will Be: NATO," will appear in The International Herald Tribune on Friday, April 16. The ad will also run in The New York Times on Sunday, April 18, in The Washington Post on Friday, April 23, and in the May 10 issue of The New Republic (on newsstands April 23).

The text of the AJC reads:

"The world could see the slaughter coming. Diplomats worked furiously to prevent it -- and, for a time, succeeded.

"But when Yugoslavia's Slobodan Milosevic, in the name of a nationalism run amok, once again led Serbia to betray its proud anti-Nazi legacy and set his army and police at the throat of the Kosovo Albanians, one international force had the resolve to stand up to Belgrade's policy of barbarism.

"NATO, the guarantor of European security for half a century, rose to the challenge of defending Kosovo's ethnic Albanians. Nineteen countries acted in unison to stop the violence against the Kosovars and seek their safe return under international protection.

"In this noble mission, NATO must prevail. What is at stake in Kosovo isn't oil or commerce or trading routes. What is at stake are basic principles: human rights, human dignity, the credibility of deterrence, collective security. With determination and courage, NATO weighed the difficult choices and chose to act -- because it was right, because the alternative would give tyrants a green light to terrorize civilian populations and destroy the fabric of international order.

"We recognize the sacrifice made by each NATO member to arrest evil in Kosovo. In this dark century, witness to unspeakable acts of inhumanity, we applaud the alliance for taking a principled stand.

"To join us in expressing appreciation to the 19 NATO members -- Belgium, Canada, the Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Turkey, the United Kingdom, and the United States -- write their Permanent Representatives, c/o NATO Headquarters, Brussels, Belgium. Tell them how much you value their efforts and urge them to stay the course.

"History has taught us -- or should have taught us -- that diplomacy and reason have their limits in dealing with a Milosevic. Sometimes conscience demands the application of force. In these times, as always, we are grateful for NATO."

The AJC has joined in efforts to provide emergency relief to the Kosovar refugees through its Kosovo Relief Fund. Following an immediate donation of $25,000 to the International Rescue Committee which is operating on the ground to help the victims of Yugoslav violence, AJC has since raised an additional $450,000, to be distributed to appropriate aid agencies.

For more information, or to contact American Jewish Committee, see their website at: www.ajc.org