The continuance of US administration's subversive activities

New York, September 19th (Tanjug) - The opening of the US "Office for Yugoslavia" in Budapest is an open demonstration of force, pressure and brutal interference in the internal affairs of a sovereign state by the outgoing US administration, the Yugoslav Foreign Ministry said in a protest to the UN Security Council.

The protest, addressed on the occasion of the opening of the "Office", headed by a US ambassador, on August 15th, was distributed today at the Palace of Nations as a General Assembly and Security Council document.

The "Office" has a personnel of 30 employees of various profiles, including members of the CIA, the National Security Council, the Pentagon, USAID and other similar US agencies. According to US officials, its main task is to help the opposition in Serbia and Yugoslavia and to influence the will of the voters ahead of the upcoming elections.

It openly means founding and financing various pro-American and pro-NATO organizations in FRY`s territory, financing opposition parties and so-called independent media, directing the work of American secret services and US media in reporting on FRY, as well as coordinating the US network and activities in the region of southeastern Europe against the legitimate government and constitutional institutions of FRY.

This "Office" is in fact the center for subversive actions like similar centers founded in Segedin, Temisvar, Sofia, Skoplje, Tirana and Zagreb.

With this act, the US administration practically pursues its last year's unsuccessful aggression on Yugoslavia, using subversive and spying activities inadmissible in international relations. It also endorses separatism and terrorism, fans dangerous aspirations in the region and violates international law.

The opening of the "Office" and its proclaimed tasks constitute a glaring violation of the US commitment to the UN Charter, the Vienna Conventions on diplomatic relations, the UN Declaration principles regarding relations and cooperation among states of October 24th 1970, and other international documents.

The Office activities and Hungary's acceptance of the use of its territory for activities against a third country also constitute a direct violation of the GA Resolution 54/168 of December 17th 1999, on the respect of national sovereignty and non-interference in internal affairs of states as regards electoral process. It particularly violates its Paragraph 5, which stipulates that all states must refrain from financing political parties or groups in other states or undertaking any actions undermining their electoral processes.

The Hungarian government's acceptance and endorsement of the opening of the "Office" is a precedent in international relations, and raises the question of whether such acts are in line with the principles of good-neighborly relations and of the OSCE that Hungarian government allegedly supports. This act is reminiscent of the time when Budapest, albeit in different circumstances and under the influence of other powers, also served as a center for pressures and subversive activities against Yugoslavia.

The Yugoslav government most strongly protests against such illegal activities of the US administration in the territories of Hungary and other states, with the aim of openly interfering in Yugoslavia's internal affairs, endangering its sovereignty and territorial integrity, and attempting to destabilize it. The Yugoslav government expects the Security Council to most strongly condemn such conduct and to urge the US administration to abide by the UN Charter, its international commitments and international law, the Ministry document says.