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20/12/1991 | Letter to Franjo Greguric and Zdravko Tomac from Emma Bonino, Sergio Stanzani, Paolo Vigevano |
| ABSTRACT: Letter from Emma Bonino, Sergio Stanzani and Paolo Vigevano to the Prime Minister and Vice Prime Minister of the Republic of Croatia, asking them to accept the "enlistment" of a group of radical leaders on an unarmed service in the Croatian defence forces. Franjo Greguric Prime Minister of the Republic of Croatia Zdravko Tomac Vice Prime Minister of the Republic of Croatia Rome, 20 December 1991 Dears sirs and dear friends, you know the reasons for which last week we decided to change our nonviolent fasting initiative into the participation in the organized defence of your country and your population in an unarmed front line service. On the one hand we had obtained all we could obtain, through our parliamentary and nonviolent actions, to organize and corroborate the dissent against the policy of Europe and especially of Italy, which basically support the aggressors and the oppressors who are currently in power in Serbia; on the other hand, we feared (and still fear) that the wrongful laissez-faire policy of the European Community, of the United Nations and of the U.S. could have the effect of an increased military violence against the territory and population of Croatia and of other regions. Therefore, we judged it urgent to provide a visible and concrete enactment of the defence of the legality and of the fundamental human, civil and political rights with respect to the military and political forces of the aggressors. Practically speaking and for the initial stage, we intend to ask you to accept our "enlistment" in your defence forces, as specified above; if necessary precisely in Osijek. The group will be formed by Marco Pannella, who will simply ask to wear his scarf of member of the European Parliament over his Croatian uniform, Roberto Cicciomessere, former conscientious objection, founder of the League of Conscientious Objectors, former member of the European Parliament and former Secretary of the Radical Party, currently member of the Italian Parliament in the European Federalist Group, Olivier Dupuis, Belgian conscientious objector who spent almost a year in prison in 1988, former member for three years of the Radical Party's secretariat, currently in charge of the transnational political coordination from the headquarters of Budapest, and especially active in Hungary and Rumania. There will also be Sandro Ottoni, former conscientious objector, Lorenzo Strik Lievers, senator of the environmentalist federalist group, Renato Fiorelli, member of the town council of Gorizia and organizer of several antimilitarist marches in Friuli, Renato Berté, member of the Radical Party's federal Council and Alessandro Tessari, member of the European Federalist Group. We have received a great number of requests on the part of other companions, European and Italian citizens as well as Croats living in Italy, asking to take part in our action. Similarly, many press and TV organs have asked to accompany us. For the moment, we prefer to avoid giving our action a particularly demonstrative and visual character; however, for at least a week, we would like our presence to be protected simply as the presence of democratic and nonviolent brothers among the Croatian people and in the defence structures. What we consider on the contrary important is being able to communicate - in the hours preceding our effective "enlistment" and presence in Osijek - the nonviolent characteristic of the initiative, that is, also of friendship and respect for the Serbian people and for the young men who are forced to wage this war of aggression, through the Croatian, Slovenian and former Yugoslav mass media (the remaining ones) as well as to the foreign correspondents of the European mass media. We recommend maximum preventive stress on the democratic, European federalist, nonviolent, antiracist and antichauvinist meaning of the initiative, in the two days preceding our effective presence in the "military" area, also as a necessary instrument to prevent the "Serbian" generals from maintaining, at any time, that our presence was ignored or that "mistakes" occurred as in Dubrovnik. At the end of the first week, on the basis of the general evolution of the events and of our particular initiative, we could decide whether to enhance our action numerically and qualitatively or consider it no longer necessary or useful. Therefore we need your attention, your advice and your help...to help you - if you agree - in the way we are describing. Despite the war and the forthcoming Christmas festivities, we need to concretely prepare and organize the beginning of our action in detail at the latest by the 27th (or 28th morning). Fraternal regards, Emma Bonino, President of the Radical Party Sergio Stanzani, Secretary of the Radical Party Paolo Vigevano, Treasurer of the Radical Party |
