Rejecting US aid

IssueJune - Aug 2003
News by Tuva Ravn Eggan

In April the Croatian Multimedia Institute announced that they had reached a decision to end a contract through which they were granted US$100,000 by the US government for their work on the development of Croatian civil society.

In a public statement, the Institute made it clear that this decision was based on their belief that “the US government is disregarding international law, subverting international decision-making forums based on the international law, and disrespecting worldwide public opposition to the war carried out on Iraq”. It went on to highlight their specific concerns about the war:
a) it sets a precedent based on the pre-emptive war rationale;
b) it was being waged in disregard of the legitimate processes of the international community;
c) it was guided by corporate interests to control the natural resources.
They added that this was all incompatible with the ethos and aims of the Institute.

The Multimedia Institute (MI2) is a non-governmental organisation that brings together the critical public, and promotes the potential provided by new information technologies for social and cultural action.

Topics: Iraq, Media