Staement to the Croatian and International public

The 22nd Triennial Conference of the international peace network WAR RESISTERS' INTERNATIONAL is taking place this week in Porec, Croatia. Three hundred representatives, coming from all continents of the world, are participating.

New strategies to strengthen justice in a post-war period and to strengthen peace are being discussed at the Conference. Many participants come from areas where wars are still in progress. We have discussed solidarity strategies against war, conscription, the arms trade, discrimination and violence - especially against women - and agreed on a strategy of resistance through means including conscientious objection, civil disobedience and war tax resistance. These discussions are an important contribution to the attempts to bring about reconciliaton within and between post-Yugoslav countries.

We greatly regret that some internationally recognised peace activists from Serbia, Kosovo, Montenegro and Vojvodina are absent from the conference. The authorities of the Republic of Croatia have refused to issue visas to these activists, in contravention of promises given earlier, and despite the fact that the applications were made in good time. The participants of the Conference are of the opinion that this is not just an accident, rather, it is another example of the policy of the current Croatian Government not to support democratisation processes within the area of former Yugoslavia except by empty words. A country which does not allow freedom of association is not free.

It is symptomatic that this act of the Croatian Government comes at the same time that the Serbian Government is forbidding peace demonstrations against repression and war in Kosovo, planned and announced for September 19 in many cities in Serbia and Vojvodina - could this really be just a coincidence? Obviously, democratisation, reconciliation and peace building in the region are perceived as a threat by the nationalist authoritarian regimes here.

The Croatian government also delayed visas to two of the African activists invited to this conference, to the point that they were not able to attend. We see this as a shameful act of discrimination.

One of our colleagues, a peace activist from Kosovo, is not able to join us because she was wounded by a land mine during a peace mission just a couple of days before our Conference. Although she was caught in the crossfire, she did manage to make it to the hospital where she is presently undergoing treatment.

The courage and persistence of the peace activists cooperating with the War Resisters' International network proves that every person has the possibility of resisting war and repression - and that is always a valuable act. We will not allow current regimes to frustrate our efforts to achieve reconciliation and a lasting peace in the region of the former Yugoslavia.

Once again we call on the people of the world to choose peace together!