Peace activists urge action on Kosovo

"The easy, American way of dealing with things is not to watch," said Mathew Johnson, assistant dean of students at Siena College in Loudonville. Along with Siena professor Ned McGlynn, he planned the National Peace Conference held at Siena last week.

"What turned Vietnam around was people getting involved. When you walk down the street, [you find that] nine out of ten people don't know about [Kosovo]. Becoming educated is one of the easiest things we can do. The government can act unilaterally because the people are uninformed."

Perspective

The Church's teaching on the preferential option for the poor calls Catholics to act. "We need to place ourselves in their shoes," Mr. Boehrer said. "We need to be more aware -- watch the news and read the paper so we know what's going on over there."

He encourages Catholics to seek out multiple media outlets to become better informed about the conflict and suggests foreign sources, like the BBC, which provide a different perspective on the U.S. involvement.

"People think we're the good guys coming in," Mr. Boehrer said. "In fact, we had been playing a role in the cycle of violence and helped escalate it. It's a very complicated political situation. It's difficult for the media to cover it. There are not two sides -- the good guys and the bad guys."

Heartbreak

"We don't always have to feel good," she said. "There are some things our hearts should break about. This is one of them."

At this time of year especially, Ms. DiTommaso, Catholics should be poised to take action. "We just came through Lent," she said. "We just came from Good Friday. We follow this man who didn't give up the discomfort of the cross. That has to be our path, too."

Just war?

The just war tradition, formulated by Ss. Augustine and Thomas Aquinas, presumes that war is evil; however, there are extreme conditions where war is permitted (see The Evangelist, April 1).

"In the just war tradition, the only legitimate reason [to go to war] is for self-defense or to defend a smaller party," she said, adding that NATO's involvement in Kosovo is just that: defense of a smaller party. "Sometimes in life, you have to choose between two evils."

'Illegal' action

Mr. Boehrer is also opposed to the military effort in Kosovo "for several reasons: Lasting peace won't come from violence, civilians are being killed, and the smart bombs aren't all that smart."

He does not believe peace negotiations were exhaustive. "It's important to recognize when peace negotiations were going on, they were with military leaders who were not representative of all of the people. The peace negotiations were not complete because everyone wasn't invited to the table."

He would like to see human rights groups develop ground rules for negotiations in situations like the one in Kosovo. He would also like to see more international observers in Kosovo.

What to do

Ms. DiTommaso would also like to see serious attempts at peace. "Historically, by organizing, people can resist tyranny and save lives," she said. "It works in all kinds of struggles."

She also believes there are things Catholic can do to help bring an end to the crisis. "The first thing we have to do is pray," she said. "Pray for Slobodan Milosevic. Loving your enemy is the hardest thing to do. We can pray for the safety of the troops and refugees, pray for democracy efforts, and pray that some kind of creative solution can be found."

(Contributions for relief of the Kosovo refugees can be made through Albany diocesan Catholic Charities. They will be forwarded to Catholic Relief Services, the overseas relief agency of American Catholics. Donations for the refugees can be sent to Catholic Charities, 40 N. Main Ave., Albany, NY 12203. Write "Kosovo" on the memo section of the check.)

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