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Johnstone received a Ph.D. at the University of Minnesota and was active in the movement against the Vietnam War, organizing the first international contacts between American citizens and Vietnamese representatives. Johnstone was European editor of the U.S. weekly "In These Times" from 1979 to 1990, and continues to be a correspondent for the publication. She was press officer of the Green group in the European Parliament from 1990 to 1996. Johnstone is also published frequently in the CounterPunch online magazine.
Johnstone was the subject of some controversy after 2003 because of the claim that she has denied the Srebrenica massacre, an allegation that she rejects. She denied that genocide-level of killings occurred in Srebrenica in her Fools' Crusade: Yugoslavia, Nato, and Western Delusions, book that was rejected from publishing in Sweden in the first place. Norm Chomsky and several of other signatories in 2003 opposed the withdrawal of the book by its Swedish publisher in an open letter. Johnstone in that book also expresses doubts over the use of systematic rape in the war in Bosnia and the number of victims of rape, the authenticity of the Racak massacre in Kosovo, and the true figure of Bosnian war dead. Johnstone's right to publish was defended in a letter signed by, among others, Noam Chomsky, Arundhati Roy, Tariq Ali and John Pilger. The letter has gone on to spark controversy after an interview with Noam Chomsky by Emma Brockes of The Guardian newspaper; in the article Chomsky was asked, in reference to Johnstone's work, "Do you regret supporting those who say the Srebrenica massacre was exaggerated?" to which he is said to have replied "My only regret is that I didn't do it strongly enough"
However the validity and context of the quote is questionable given Chomsky's claim that the article is inaccurate and given the Guardian's subsequent correction letter. Johnstone has also voiced concerns over the representation of her work by Brockes. Most of Johnstone's adult life has been spent in France, Germany, and Italy, and from 1990 she has lived in Paris.
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