The 50th anniversary of NATO is marked by it's unmasking as a relic of the cold war. The identity crisis of NATO, revealed after the fall of Berlin wall, cannot be overcome by it's expansion towards the East of Europe. The Communist Party of Bohemia has always preferred building a new European security structure on the basis of further developing the OSCE (Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe), especially after the concluding documents of the Lisbon summit. The elaboration and signing of a European security charter; the spreading of diplomatic negotiation and peaceful settlements; the diminishing of weapons potential in the European area instead of a new round of the arms race. This is the answer to the challenges of the age to come.

The Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia (Czech Republic) condemns NATO's brutal aggression in the Balkans in the strongest terms. NATO sets a very dangerous precedent as it enters a new era in the field of international law by violating the present principles of international law.

The Rambouillet document, separating for the first time in modern history, political and territorial sovereignty, is very dangerous in its possible impact on other multiethnic states and its 56 pages differ from the 10 principles of the Contact Group.

There is no other alternative to diplomatic negotiation and peaceful solution, instead of gunboat diplomacy. NATO has violated not only the principles and obligations of international law, principles of the civilised world, but also the founding documents of the NATO itself, which is a very painful experience for the Czech Republic as a new member state.

The pretext for the bombing, the coercion of FRY to accept the Rambouillet document is very dubious, because of the fact that according to the 9th Vienna convention on treaty law (Art. 52) no agreement made by force or the threat of force can be seen as valid.

From the Czech point of view, this is an argument for the rejection of the Munich Treaty of September 1938, which is, in the sense of the convention mentioned above, not valid. Kosovo is the Sudetenland of the present day and the behaviour of NATO forces very similar to the practice of the western democracies in 1938. The power threats and final aggression in Balkans was the direct support for terrorism, drug-traffickers and provoked large humanitarian catastrophes. It is a shame to see and hear the unqualified statements of people like Robertson, Cook and Albright not taking into account the historically complex reality of the Balkans. We share the fear of many that the present crisis can lead to a new alignment of military blocs; looking for allies, and a new arms race because of the neglect and degradation of the UNO.

This was the reason for the communist party of Bohemia and Moravia to organise demonstrations (the first was on Saturday, March 27th, 1999 in the Wenceslas Square, Prague. The next will be on April 8th at the same place, other rallies are in other cities and towns of Czech Republic) against the aggression in the Balkans and the Czech participation in it. We are organising other protests, including petitions to stop this military adventure. We are speaking for the majority of Czechs (only 30% approve the military action in the Balkans), shocked by our involvement with NATO in this openly aggressive behaviour reminding us of colonial times.

It is high time to dissolve NATO as the dangerous survivor of the cold war period and to build a bloc-free Europe.