25th of March 1999, Rome.

Mr. Javier Solana
NATO Secretary General
Chairman of the North Atlantic Council
North Atlantic Treaty Organisation

Dear Mr. Solana,

Peace and all Good!

As Director of the Justice and Peace Office of the Order of Friars Minor in Rome representing Franciscans around the world, we wish to vehemently express our profound disappointment, total rejection and abhorrence at NatoÍs decision to resort to military action against Yugoslavia. While we support and praise your efforts in brokering a negotiated settlement to the Kosovo crisis, we cannot support the use of force which may lead to a dangerous escalation of the conflict and inflict further suffering on the civilian population. Even the Secretary General of the United Nations, Mr. Kofi Annan, has expressed his rejection of these unilateral military actions.

We firmly condemn the atrocities committed in Kosovo and the massive forced displacement provoked by the Yugoslav police and military. We regret that the Yugoslav government refused to sign on to the Rambouille Agreement, thus precipitating this crisis. We support the rights of the people of Kosovo to self-determination. However, the unilateral decision to wage war on a sovereign nation is a dangerous precedent and undermines United Nations mechanisms for conflict resolution thus weakening the ability to mediate and help resolve future conflicts.

Fr. Peter Schorr, OFM
Director, JPIC Office