Informazione


http://www.en.beoforum.rs/conference-in-sao-paolo-2011/217-human-rights-of-serbs-in-the-province-of-kosovo-and-metohija.html

Zivadin Jovanovic,

President of the  Belgrade  Forum for a World of Equals,  Serbia

 

 

 Human rights of Serbs in the  Province  of  Kosovo  and Metohija

 

- Theses for a case study -

 

(Paper presented at the International Conference “Human Rights with the view to building a Culture of Peace”, held in  Sao Paolo ,  Brazil , on 2nd and 3rd of December 2011)

 

It is true that the struggle for peace and the struggle for full respect of universal human rights, as defined by UN Declaration on protection of human rights, are interdependent and non-separable. Threats to peace, violations of sovereignty and territorial integrity, military interventions, aggressions and occupations go hand in hand with massive violations of the basic human rights.

It is clear that there are no humanitarian military interventions. 

NATO military aggression against  Yugoslavia  ( Serbia ) in the spring 1999 was launched to allegedly protect human rights of Kosovo Albanians. It was the first of that sort and without approval of UN Security Council. The precedent was used later in various other parts of the world whenever it suited the interests of  USA  and NATO:  Afghanistan ,  Iraq , and  Libya . There are threats that it may be used against  Syria ,  Iran  or any other country. 

NATO aggression against Yugoslavia (Serbia and Montenegro) in 1999 left close to 4000 dead and more tan 10.000 wounded,  two thirds of whom where civilians including close to 1 hundred children. NATO forces were using missiles with depleted uranium, causing massive cancer disease, deformation of newly-born babies unknown before polluting of soil, water and food production for unbelievable period of four billion years. Economic damage caused by aggression was estimated to an amount over one hundred billion dollars.

 

Immediately after the end of the aggression,  USA  constructed on Serbian soil in Kosovo and Metohija the biggest American base in the world known as Bondstill. This was the beginning of mushrooming of  USA  and NATO military basis all over the Balkans and  Eastern Europe .

 

Today there are more  USA  and NATO military basis in  Europe  than any time during the Cold War Era.

 

Why now?

 

Warsaw  military block has been disbanded. There are no adversary social-political systems, all apparently are democratic. Who to defend and where from by long range ballistic rockets carrying nuclear heads?

 

The overall economic, financial, political and moral crises of the leading countries of the West may lead to further spreading interventionism and total disregard of the basic principles of international relations. The crises have already caused the most massive violation of human rights such as the right to employment, education, health, information.


Shortly after NATO “humanitarian” aggression on  Yugoslavia  ( Serbia ), it became clear that intervention actually resulted in an unprecedented scale of violation of human rights of Serbs and non-Albanians of Kosovo and  Metohija   Province .  Alliance  between NATO and the Albanian terrorists and separatists during the military aggression (KLA), continued ever since and reached its peak in February 2008 by unilateral proclamation of illegal secession of the Province from  Serbia . This act would never be possible without NATO aggression and support. It violated the basic principles of the national and international laws, UN Charter and UN Security Council’s resolution 1244 (1999) which guaranties sovereignty and territorial integrity of Serbia .

The consequences are that Kosovo and Metohija after 12 years of being under UN mandate continues to be the source of instability, organized international crime and spring board of extremism and terrorism toward the rest of  Europe .

 

The  Province  of  Kosovo  and Metohija is birth place of Serbian nation, culture, religion and the state. Thousands of Serbian medieval monuments witness to this. There are two large communities living in the Province - Kosovo Serbs, who are Orthodox Christians, and Kosovo Albanians, great majority of whom are Moslems. Before the beginning of the Second World War Serbian population in the Province were majority. Today, Serbs make less than 10 percent of the total population of the Province.  The drastic change in national structure was due to the policy of ethnic cleansing of Serbs over decades if not centuries - first by Turkish Empire which occupied the Province for about 500 years, then by Tito’s anti-Serbian policy, by fascist-Nazi occupation forces (1941 – 1945) of Mussolini and Hitler and finally by NATO aggression and occupation which continues up to these days.

UN Security Council Resolution 1244, of June 10, 1999 put the end of the NATO aggression but introduced military occupation of the Province, formally by international UN mandated forces (KFOR), in reality by NATO forces. Ever since June 1999, we have been witnessing large scale of individual and even institutionally-sponsored violation of basic human rights and freedoms of Kosovo Serbs. This continued in spite of any new adopted legislation which endorsed and made applicable in Kosovo all international human rights instruments.

 

Here are examples of major human rights violations.

 

No free and safe return for 250,000 displaced Serbs from Kosovo and Metohija

After June 1999, International Red Cross noted some 250,000 Serbs and other non-Albanians who had been expelled by terror, intimidation and ethnic cleansing leave their birth places and homes in Kosovo and Metohija. Current UNHCR data show return of some 18,000 Serbs, but in reality this number is some 6,000, or 2.1%. UN Mission and other international stakeholders organized the process of the return, but no results. Therefore, Serbia  remains the country with the highest number of refugees and displaced persons in the whole of  Europe .


No justice for the victims

After June 1999, close to 1,000 Serbian and other non-Albanian civilians have been abducted and eventually killed. Many of them were abducted in their working places. In July 1999, 14 people, including children, in the  village  of  Staro Gracko  were killed while harvesting in the field. In the winter 2002, a bomb was planted and set-off under a passenger bus killing many Serb passengers. In August 2003 a group of Serbian children playing by the river in  village  of  Gorazdevac , were killed. Thousands of other crimes against Serbs in the Province have been committed and non of the culprits brought to justice although justice and police are directly managed by UN and EU missions (UNMIK, EULEX).


Human organs trafficking

In December 2010, Special Rapporteur of the Parliamentary assembly of the Council of Europe, Swiss MP  Dick Marty , published Report on trafficking of human organ of abducted Serbs in 1999. The Parliamentary Assembly adopted the Report and passed Resolution demanding independent international investigation. So far no results because the people involved in this organized crime are Kosovo Albanian top politicians, former leaders of the terrorist KLA (UCK). They enjoy support and protection from  Washington ,  London  and  Berlin .

There is great need to for public preasure that the investigation in the human organs trafficking in Kosovo and Metohija be conducted under auspices of UN Security Council without further delay.


Illegal occupation of Serbian-owned property

After June 1999, Kosovo Albanians simply occupied all immovable and movable possession of 250,000 Serbs who left Kosovo, but also of Serbs who remained. Often, owners were either killed or expelled by force from their properties. In September 1999, the UN founded a body that was supposed to facilitate return property to legal owners, the Housing and Property Directorate, but there are no results.

 

General insecurity

Since June 1999, there was almost no freedom of movement outside the so-called enclaves in which Serbs found their safety in numbers, except in military-guarded convoys. Today Serbs still cannot access their businesses and land without risk of being attacked end even killed. They still cannot go churches and cemeteries without KFOR military escort.

 

Rewriting history

Ever since NATO aggression in 1999, there has been systematic distraction of any traces of Serbian monuments and Christianity in Kosovo. Some 150 Serbian Orthodox churches and monasteries have been destroyed, originating from as early as 13th and 14th centuries, including some from the UNESCO List of World Heritage. In addition, there has been a wide-spread exercise to rename remaining churches and monasteries as “Byzantine” or “Albanian”, or “Albanian castles and towers”. There is a current diplomatic battle going on in UNESCO, where Kosovo Albanians try to present this cultural heritage as heritage of Kosovo what is absurd. 

 

Violation of right to health

Kosovo Albanian authorities have been stopping and seizing shipments of medical equipment and medical drugs intended for medical facilities in Serbian enclaves. In addition, they have been willfully and intentionally trying to worsen situation for Serbian populated areas, by cutting the electric power supply. For three years in the row, in winters of 2005, 2006 and 2007, they have been cutting power supply to Serbian enclaves on the pretext of payment etc. They have been rejecting offers of Serbian government for humanitarian and free-of-charge electric power supply, thus exposing population to health hazards. In 2009, they have stopped power supply to the Serbian enclave of Strpce in the southernmost part of Kosovo for three months, pressing local population to sign new contracts. Unfortunately, none of international stakeholders voiced any concerns over this act.

 

Violation of right to education

Since June 1999, all cities and towns in Kosovo except Mitrovica in the north were ethnically cleansed and became mono-ethnically Albanian. Serbs and other ethnic groups were driven to villages. School facilities were inaccessible for Serbian schoolchildren. They had to resort to inadequate premises for schools. However, most drastic situation is in Gorani community. The Goranis are local Serbian speaking ethnic group of Muslim belief, who have been exposed to incessant assimilation attempts and forced to accept Albanian language and Albanian curriculum. This pressure still goes on.

 

Let me sum up what has been said:

 

Struggle for peace and struggle for social, economic, political and cultural human rights are invisible tasks of peace movements and all peace loving forces.

Freedom, equality in rights and opportunities and independence of states and nations are preconditions for full respect of human rights as provided for in the UN GS Declaration on human rights.

Liberal corporate capitalism in its imperialistic stage is the chief source of massive violation of the basic human rights of the mankind.

Global economic, financial, political and moral crisis of the western societies is accompanied by the most massive violation of the basic human rights after the end of the Second World War.

Global interventionism, wars and violations of human rights, disrespect of the international law and abuse of United Nations are immanent features of corporate capitalism.

There are no humanitarian military interventions whatsoever.

NATO has become the most dangerous tool for massive violation of human rights in the second half of XX and first decade of XXI centuries. Therefore NATO as remnant of the cold war area should be dismantled, including all its military bases all over the world.

Abuse of human rights for spreading domination of imperialism is impermissible and should be stopped.

Territorial integrity and sovereignty of each country should be fully respected in the interest of peace and stability. Natural and economic resources are subject to the sovereign rights and sole control of concrete countries and can not be excuse for any intervention into internal affairs.

The role of the UN, respect of the UN Charter and UN GS Declaration on protection human rights should be reaffirmed and reinforced.

The sovereignty and territorial integrity of  Serbia  should be respected and  UN   SC  resolution 1244 (1999) fully implemented.

Unilateral secession of  Serbian   Province  of Kosovo and Metohija is not acceptable and should not be recognized. We call for peaceful solution of the issue of the status respecting  UN   SC  resolution 1244 and equal human rights of all inhabitants of the Province.

All Serbs and other non-Albanians expelled from the Province after NATO aggression should be given all necessary conditions for free and safe return to their homes in the Province.

The use of the missiles with depleted uranium should be formally banned by international convention.



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[L'importante documentario norvegese "Srebrenica: una città tradita", da noi a suo tempo segnalato, è oggetto di ire furibonde non solo da parte della lobby bosgnacca, ma persino da parte dei responsabili del "Tribunale ah hoc" dell'Aia. Questi ultimi si sono peritati di inviare una lettera di diffida alla Radiotelevisione svedese che oserebbe trasmettere il film... E' stata iniziata una petizione di protesta contro tale atteggiamento censorio ed intimidatorio, da inviare al presidente del "Tribunale" (per adesionI: davidepet@...).
Tra la documentazione importante segnaliamo in questo post anche lo studio sui fatti di Srebrenica dell'Istituto olandese per la documentazione bellica (NIOD).
Sulla disinformazione strategica a proposito dei fatti di Srebrenica si veda anche tutta la documentazione raccolta alla nostra pagina: 
https://www.cnj.it/documentazione/srebrenica.htm ]

Srebrenica Documentary Controversy and NIOD Report


1) On the Norwegian Documentary "Srebrenica A Town Betrayed": The Controversy Continues

2) Srebrenica Historical Project: Invitation to sign on to a letter of protest to ICTY President Meron

3) On the Netherlands Institute for War Documentation (NIOD) Report on Srebrenica


LINKS:

Film: Srebrenica - Izdani grad (A town betrayed - dir. Ola Flyum - David Hebditch / prod. Fenris Film - Tore Buvarp / 2009-2010 / 59min)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RUuhSGnLvv8  or  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3_TxfVLSXmI

Response to the Norwegian Helsinki Committee Complaint and the Helsinki Committee’s rebuttal:
https://www.cnj.it/documentazione/Srebrenica/Responses_NHCcomplaint_ENG.pdf
Nerma Jelacic (ICTY) letter to Eva Hamilton (Swedish State TV):
https://www.cnj.it/documentazione/Srebrenica/JelacicLetter_toSwedishTV.pdf

Netherlands Institute for War Documentation (NIOD) Report on Srebrenica:
http://www.srebrenica-project.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=140:niod-report&catid=12:2009-01-25-02-01-02

Srebrenica Historical Project
http://www.srebrenica-project.com

More documents and links on "Srebrenica":
https://www.cnj.it/documentazione/srebrenica.htm 


=== 1 ===

----- Original Message -----
Sent: Monday, October 03, 2011 9:25 AM
Subject: Srebrenica Historical Project: Norwegian Srebrenica Documentary Controversy Continues

Srebrenica Historical Project
Postbus 90471,
2509LL
Den Haag, The Netherlands
+31 64 878 09078  (Холандија)
+381 64 403 3612  (Србија)
Интернет презентација: www.srebrenica-project.com


RESPONSE OF OLA FLYUM AND DAVID HEBDITCH TO THE NORWEGIAN HELSINKI COMMITTEE COMPLAINT
 
Filmmakers and investigative journalists Ola Flyum and David Hebditch, authors of noted documentaries, “Srebrenica: A Town Betrayed” and “Sarajevo Ricochet,” have been subjected to vitriolic denunciations by interested parties in Bosnia and in the Bosniak diaspora for presenting evidence and raising issues that completely recast the nature and course of the war in Bosnia-Herzegovina during the nineties. Their local colleagues, Bosniak investigative journalists Esad Hećimović and Mirsad Fazlić, have been subjected to a rather worse treatment – physical and even death threats. To top it all off, the Norwegian Helsinki Committee has filed against them an official complaint to the Norwegian Press Complaints Commission and Broadcasting Council for allegedly making a number of untrue statements in their controversial documentaries. In Norway, that agency monitors compliance with journalistic standards.

 

The fact that the complainer is the Helsinki Committee gives a particularly surreal, and even ludicrous, twist to this controversy. Helsinki Committees were originally set up in the seventies throughout Europe at the height of the Cold War to observe compliance with basic human rights standards in OSCE signatory countries. Freedom of expression, particularly in the media, is one of the fundamental human rights on that list. The practical effect of the Norwegian Helsinki Committee’s politically correct Complaint in this particular case is to suppress the very rights the Committee was set up to safeguard and preserve, or at least to discourage their unfettered exercise. The possibility that the documentaries may contain errors, which is entirely conceivable since they were made by human beings, certainly should not disqualify them from being presented to the widest audience in the marketplace of ideas. Those who are able to identify such errors have ample opportunity to point them out in a civilized way, without resorting to vituperative language, insults, or threats. In anticipation of the formal hearing which will be convened in a couple of weeks, the filmmakers have prepared a detailed issue-by-issue 43-page Response to the derogatory allegations that have been made against them. We are happy to share with our readers that analysis of the merits of the Norwegian Helsinki Committee’s Complaint.

 

          In the attachments [ https://www.cnj.it/documentazione/Srebrenica/Responses_NHCcomplaint_ENG.pdf ] are Flyum and Hebditch’s Response to the Norwegian Helsinki Committee Complaint to the Norwegian Press Complaints Commission, and the Helsinki Committee’s rebuttal to that Response. We have the latter in Norwegian so we can only post it in that language. As for the filmmakers’ Response, which begins in English on p. 7 of the document, it quotes extensively from the original Complaint submitted by the NHC. Readers will therefore have no difficulty noting all the disputed issues and the parties’ position in regard to them.


Response to the Norwegian Helsinki Committee Complaint and the Helsinki Committee’s rebuttal:
https://www.cnj.it/documentazione/Srebrenica/Responses_NHCcomplaint_ENG.pdf

Nerma Jelacic (ICTY) letter to Eva Hamilton (Swedish State TV):
https://www.cnj.it/documentazione/Srebrenica/JelacicLetter_toSwedishTV.pdf


=== 2 ===

----- Original Message -----
Sent: Thursday, December 01, 2011 10:19 AM
Subject: Srebrenica Historical Project: Invitation to sign on to a letter of protest to ICTY President Meron

Srebrenica Historical Project
Postbus 90471,
2509LL
Den Haag, The Netherlands
+31 64 878 09078  (Холандија)
+381 64 403 3612  (Србија)
Интернет презентација: www.srebrenica-project.com

Dear colleagues,


If you have not received this material already from some other source, I urge you to read it and to give it your careful consideration. It is a letter to the President of the Hague Tribunal, Theodore Meron, in reaction to a disturbing letter sent out on ICTY stationery by their spokesperson Nerma Jelacic to Eva Hamilton, director of Swedish State Television. The letter was in reaction to the Norwegian documentary “Srebrenica: A Town Betrayed” and its thrust was to prevent future broadcasting of any programs, in particular dealing with Srebrenica, which do not take ICTY verdicts as their point of departure and which “contradict” the conclusions they contain. For a copy of the Jelacic letter sent out on behalf of the Tribunal, please go to http://nspm.rs/files/LetterTownBetrayed.pdf


This scandalous attempt by a judicial institution to influence the media, and in the process to extort respect for its verdicts, has provoked widespread disapproval. David Peterson, who co-authored a number of books with Edward Herman, has composed a protest letter to President Meron and he is asking that all who agree with the position taken in the letter sign on. You can do that by sending a brief note to David at davidepet@... and expressing your agreement for your name and country where you reside to be added to the list of signers. As soon as a substantial number of signatures is gathered, the letter will be forwarded to ICTY President Theodore Meron.


It goes without saying that you are encouraged to send this note and David’s letter to all your friends and acquaintances who might also be inclined to join.


If you have not seen the Norwegian documentary, you may access it here: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RUuhSGnLvv8&feature=player_embedded 


Many thanks for your kind attention.


Stephen Karganovic

Srebrenica Historical Project
---

Open Letter to the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia


To Whom It May Concern: 


On November 24, Ms. Nerma Jelacic, acting in her official capacity as the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia’s Head of Outreach, addressed a letter to Ms. Eva Hamilton, the Chief Executive and Editor-in-chief of Sveriges Television (Swedish Public Television, or SVT).   

Ms. Jelacic reprimanded SVT for having broadcast in August of this year the documentary film 
Staden som offrades (“Srebrenica: A Town Betrayed”), by the Norwegian filmmakersOla Flyum and David Hebditch.[1]   


 “[M]uch of the [film’s] content runs counter to rulings made by the ICTY,” Ms. Jelacic noted.  She also asked that, “should [SVT] decide to broadcast any further material which contradicts facts irrefutably established by the ICTY including those related to the Srebrenica genocide, that the ICTY be given the opportunity to present its findings.”[2]


Clearly, Ms. Jelacic’s request is designed to intimidate SVT, and to warn other media not to follow SVT’s example and broadcast Srebrenica: A Town Betrayed.   Space and time should not be provided to any other person whose work challenges the ICTY’s alleged facts.  It is unacceptable to discuss Srebrenica outside of what Ms. Jelacic called the ICTY's “definitive judgements.”


But Srebrenica: A Town Betrayed does an impressive job of portraying much of the largely ignored but important political background and context to the Srebrenica tragedy—material that receives little or no weight in the ICTY’s judgments.  Furthermore, many of the ICTY’s accepted facts are highly contestable.[3]  We fully support Swedish Public Television’sdecision to broadcast this documentary, and consider Jelacic’s effort to obtain equal time for the ICTY’s publicists an illicit form of pressure on SVT, wholly incompatible with Western principles of freedom of speech and of the press.


As the fate of the population in the Srebrenica “safe area” after July 11, 1995 is currently an issue before the ICTY in the trial of Radovan Karadzic, and will also be an issue in the trial of Ratko Mladic, Ms. Jelacic’s intervention at SVT also amounts to a denial of the fundamental rights of the accused to be presumed innocent.  It betrays the fact that at the ICTY, there never has been any real purpose to the Srebrenica-related trials, other than mechanisms of official guilt-assignment and propaganda.[4]  It is this truth that Ms. Jelacic appears intent on shielding from criticism.  


Nerma Jelacic has long displayed animosity towards ethnic Serbs, as well as towards the wartime political structures and figures of the Republic of Serbia and the Srpska Republika within Bosnia and Herzegovina (where her hometown is located[5]).  Her current attempt as the ICTY’s Head of Outreach to intimidate Swedish Public Television adds greater weight to the contention that the central task of the ICTY is not to render unbiased justice, but to impose the official NATO interpretation of the Yugoslav tragedy. 

 

[1] For one YouTube version of the documentary in question, see Ola Flyum and David Hebditch, SrebrenicaA Town Betrayed (Oslo: Fenris Film, 2010).  
[2] Nerma Jelacic, Head of Outreach, International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, Letter Addressed to Ms. Eva Hamilton, Chief Executive and Editor-in-Chief, SVT (Swedish Television), November 24, 2011, p. 1; p. 4.  (For a copy of this letter, written on the official ICTY letterhead, see https://www.cnj.it/documentazione/Srebrenica/JelacicLetter_toSwedishTV.pdf .)
[3] For work that powerfully contests the ICTY’s accepted facts, see, e.g., 
Germinal Civikov, Srebrenica: The Star Witness, Trans. John Laughland (Belgrade: NGO Srebrenica Historical Project, 2010); and Edward S. Herman, Ed., The Srebrenica Massacre: Evidence, Context, Politics (Evergreen Park, IL: Alphabet Soup, 2011).
[4
On the ICTY as a mechanism of official guilt-assignment and a stager of show-trials, see Edward S. Herman and David Peterson,The New York Times on the Yugoslavia Tribunal: A Study in Total Propaganda ServiceColdType, 2004, p. 29. 
[5] See Nerma Jelacic, "'Milosevic shattered my life, caused all the pain',” The Observer, June 24, 2001. Also see Nerma Jelacic,Even in death, Milosevic wins again,” The Observer, March 12, 2006.



=== 3 ===

----- Original Message -----
Sent: Monday, November 14, 2011 10:50 PM
Subject: Srebrenica Historical Project: The NIOD Report posted on our site


SREBRENICA HISTORICAL PROJECT

Postbus 90471, 
2509LL Den Haag, The Netherlands
+31 64 878 09078  (Holland)
+381 64 403 3612  (Serbia)
E-mail: srebrenica.historical.project@...
Web site: www.srebrenica-project.com


NIOD REPORT

Everyone involved in Srebrenica research is aware of the NIOD Report which was published in 2002 by the Nederlands Instituut voor Oorlogsdocumentatie [Netherlands Institute for War Documentation, http://www.niod.nl/] in 2002. The Report, which focuses on the tragic events in Srebrenica in July of 1995 is universally regarded as a first rate research and documentation tool. It has been relied on by historians, commentators, and legal experts.

The Report came about in a very interesting way. Soon after allegations of Dutch responsibility, and even complicity, in the Srebrenica massacre were made the matter became a controversial political topic in the Netherlands. The Dutch government were facing the prospect of a politically motivated parliamentary inquiry into the role and conduct of Dutch military personnel during their presence in the UN-protected Srebrenica enclave in 1994 and 1995. It is speculated that in order to avoid further politicisation of the issue the Dutch government assigned the task of sorting out what happened in Srebrenica and its background to a respected neutral scholarly institution, the Netherlands Institute for War Documentation, also known as NIOD. It should be noted that NIOD’s principal research and documentation focus before it received this task was the World War II occupation of the Netherlands and of the Dutch East Indies. Srebrenica was a somewhat out of character assignment and it was entrusted to a team of scholars headed by the distinguished Dutch historian, Professor Hans Blom.

However one chooses to assess the final product, known as the “NIOD Report on Srebrenica”, its depth and meticulous detail are undeniable. The motives of the Dutch cabinet may have been political in seeking to avoid a parliamentary commission on Srebrenica, but the end result certainly reflects a high level of scholarship and it is refreshingly non-political.

Oddly, it is precisely the objective, non-political character of the NIOD Report which has drawn criticism from those who expected something else from it. A case in point is the following reaction which appeared on the BBC website almost as soon as the Report was published:

Mrs Catic said the protesters would meet again with the NIOD director, Hans Blom, in an attempt to persuade him to revise the findings - especially an assertion that half of those killed had fought in the Bosnian Muslim army.

They also denounced the conclusions that there was no evidence to link former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic to the massacre, and that the role of Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic was unclear.[1]

One is compelled to say that it is to Professor Blom’s credit that on that occasion he refused to modify his scholarly team’s findings to make it acceptable to parties in the Bosnian conflict or to “clarify” the role of targeted defendants, which is a task for judicial organs rather than for historians.

“Srebrenica Historical Project” continues to insist that the complex events in and around Srebrenica in July of 1995 should be studied from an objective and scholarly perspective and without political preconceptions. The NIOD Report is a document of great significance to a better understanding of Srebrenica which we recommend to our readers as a reference in their own research. We therefore take pleasure in making it available to them on our website.

Readers can download the entire NIOD Report from our website at:


http://www.srebrenica-project.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=140:niod-report&catid=12:2009-01-25-02-01-02 



=== * ===



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(The original text, in english:
The New Authoritarianism: From Decaying Democracies to Technocratic Dictatorships and Beyond
by Prof. James Petras - Global Research, November 28, 2011
http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=27908 )

Il nuovo autoritarismo: dalle democrazie in decomposizione alle dittature tecnocratiche, e oltre


del prof. James Petras

Professore emerito di sociologia all’università Binghamton di New York. Ultimo libro pubblicato: The Arab Revolt and the Imperialist Counter Attack, (Clarity Press, March 2011). Recente libro tradotto in italiano : USA: padroni o servi del sionismo? I meccanismi di controllo del potere israeliano sulla politica degli USA (Libro Press, 2007).


(traduzione di Curzio Bettio di Soccorso Popolare di Padova)



Global Research, 28 novembre 2011


Introduzione

Viviamo in un tempo di cambiamenti di regime, dinamici, regressivi. Un periodo in cui sono in piena accelerazione grandi trasformazioni politiche e l’arretramento drammatico di norme legislative di natura socio-economica introdotte un mezzo secolo fa; tutto questo provocato da una crisi economica prolungata e sempre più profonda e da un’offensiva portata avanti dalla grande finanza in tutto il mondo.

Questo articolo analizza come gli importanti cambiamenti di regime in corso hanno un profondo impatto sui modi di governare, sulle strutture di classe, sulle istituzioni economiche, sulla libertà politica e la sovranità nazionale.


Viene individuato un processo in due fasi di regressione politica.

La prima fase prevede il passaggio da una democrazia in disfacimento ad una democrazia oligarchica; la seconda fase, attualmente in atto in Europa, coinvolge il passaggio dalla democrazia oligarchica ad una dittatura colonial-tecnocratica.

Si individueranno le caratteristiche tipiche di ogni regime, concentrando l’attenzione sulle specifiche condizioni e sulle forze socio-economiche che stanno dietro ad ogni “transizione”.

Si procederà a chiarire i concetti chiave, il loro significato operativo: in particolare la natura e la dinamica delle “democrazie decadenti”, delle democrazie oligarchiche e della “dittatura colonial-tecnocratica”.

La seconda metà del saggio puntualizzerà le politiche della dittatura colonial-tecnocratica, il regime che più si è discostato dal principio di democrazia rappresentativa sovrana.  

Verranno chiarite le differenze e gli elementi simili tra le dittature tradizionali militar-civili e fasciste e le più aggiornate dittature colonial-tecnocratiche, mirando l’analisi sull’ideologia del “tecnicismo apolitico” e della gestione del potere tecnocratico, come preliminare per l’esplorazione della catena gerarchica profondamente colonialista del processo decisionale.

La penultima sezione metterà in evidenza il motivo per cui le classi dirigenti imperiali e i loro collaborazionisti nazionali hanno ribaltato la pre-esistente formula di gestione del potere oligarchico “democratico”, la ricetta del “governare indirettamente”, a favore di una presa di potere senza più paraventi.

Dalle principali classi dominanti finanziarie di Europa e degli Stati Uniti è stata consumata la svolta verso un diretto dominio coloniale (in buona sostanza, un colpo di stato, con un altro nome).

Verrà valutato l’impatto socio-economico del dominio di tecnocrati colonialisti designati di imperio, e la ragione del governare per decreto, prevaricando forzatamente il precedente processo di persuasione, manipolazione e cooptazione.

Nella sezione conclusiva valuteremo la polarizzazione della lotta di classe in un periodo di dittatura colonialista, nel contesto di istituzioni svuotate e delegittimate elettoralmente e di politiche sociali radicalmente regressive.

Il saggio affronterà le questioni parallele delle lotte per la libertà politica e la giustizia sociale a fronte di governi imposti da dominatori colonialisti tecnocratici, alla fine venuti alla ribalta.

La posta in gioco va oltre i cambi di regime in corso, per identificare le configurazioni istituzionali fondamentali che definiranno le opportunità di vita, le libertà personali e politiche delle generazioni future, per i decenni a venire.


Democrazie decadenti e la transizione verso democrazie oligarchiche.

Il decadimento della democrazia è evidente in ogni sfera della politica. La corruzione ha pervaso ogni settore, i partiti e i leader si contendono i contributi finanziari dei ricchi e dei potenti; posizioni all’interno dei poteri legislativo ed esecutivo hanno tutte un prezzo; ogni parte della legislazione è influenzata da potenti “lobbies” corporative che spendono milioni per la scrittura di leggi a loro profitto e per individuare le manovre più opportune alla loro approvazione.

Eminenti faccendieri che agiscono nei posti di influenza come il criminale statunitense Jack Abramoff si vantano del fatto che “ogni membro del congresso ha il suo prezzo”.

Il voto dei cittadini non conta per nulla: le promesse elettorali dei politici non hanno relazione alcuna con il loro comportamento quando sono in carica. Bugie e inganni sono considerati “normali” nel processo politico.

L’esercizio dei diritti politici è sempre più sottoposto alla sorveglianza della polizia e i cittadini attivi sono soggetti ad arresti arbitrari.

L’élite politica esaurisce il tesoro pubblico sovvenzionando guerre coloniali, e le spese per queste avventure militari eliminano i programmi sociali, gli enti pubblici e i servizi fondamentali.

I legislatori si impegnano con demagogia al vetriolo in conflitti da vere marionette, sul tipo dei burattini Punch (Pulcinella) e Judy (Colombina), in manifestazioni pubbliche di partigianeria, mentre in privato fanno festa insieme alla mangiatoia pubblica.

A fronte di istituzioni legislative ormai screditate, e del palese, volgare mercato di compravendita dei pubblici uffici, i funzionari dirigenti, eletti e nominati, sequestrano i poteri legislativo e giudiziario.

La democrazia in decomposizione si trasforma in una “democrazia oligarchica” come governo auto-imposto di funzionari dell’esecutivo; vengono scavalcate le norme democratiche e si ignorano gli interessi della maggioranza dei cittadini. Una giunta esecutiva di funzionari eletti e non eletti risolve questioni come quelle della guerra e della pace, alloca miliardi di dollari o di euro presso una oligarchia finanziaria, e mossa da pregiudizi di classe riduce il tenore di vita di milioni di cittadini tramite “pacchetti di austerità”.

L’assemblea legislativa abdica alle sue funzioni, legislativa e di controllo, e si inchina davanti ai “fatti compiuti” della giunta esecutiva (il governo di oligarchi) . Alla cittadinanza viene assegnato il ruolo di spettatore passivo - anche se si diffondono sempre più in profondità la rabbia, il disgusto e l’ostilità.

Le voci isolate dei rappresentanti il dissenso sono soffocate dalla cacofonia dei mass media che si limitano a dare la parola ai prestigiosi “esperti” e accademici, compari pagati dall’oligarchia finanziaria e consiglieri della giunta esecutiva.

I cittadini non faranno più riferimento ai parlamenti, alle assemble legislative, per trovare soccorso o riparazione per il sequestro e l’abuso di potere messo in atto dall’esecutivo.

Per fortificare il loro potere assoluto, le oligarchie castrano le costituzioni, adducendo catastrofi economiche e minacce assolutamente pervasive di “terroristi”.

Un mastodontico e crescente apparato statale di polizia, con poteri illimitati, impone vincoli all’opposizione civica e politica. Dato che i poteri legislativi sono fiaccati e le autorità esecutive allargano la loro sfera di azione, le libertà democratiche ancora presenti sono ridotte attraverso “limitazioni burocratiche” imposte al tempo, luogo e forme dell’azione politica. Lo scopo è quello di minimizzare l’azione della minoranza critica, che potrebbe mobilitare simpateticamente e divenire la maggioranza.

Come la crisi economica peggiora, e i detentori di titoli e gli investitori esigono tassi di interesse sempre più alti, l’oligarchia estende e approfondisce le misure di austerità. Si allargano le diseguaglianze, e viene messa in luce la natura oligarchica della giunta esecutiva. Le basi sociali del regime si restringono. I lavoratori qualificati e ben pagati, gli impiegati della classe media e i professionisti cominciano a sentire l’erosione acuta di stipendi, salari, pensioni, il peggioramento delle condizioni di lavoro e di prospettive di carriera futura.

Il restringersi del sostegno sociale mina le pretese di legittimità democratica da parte della giunta di governo. A fronte del malcontento e del discredito di massa, e con settori strategici della burocrazia civile in rivolta, scoppia la lotta tra fazioni, tra le cricche rivali all’interno dei “partiti ufficialmente al governo”.

L’“oligarchia democratica” è spinta e tirata nelle varie direzioni: si decretano tagli alla spesa sociale, ma questi possono trovare solo limitati appoggi alla loro applicazione. Si decretano imposte regressive, che non possono venire riscosse. Si scatenano guerre coloniali, che non si possono vincere. La giunta esecutiva si dibatte tra azioni di forza e di compromesso: robuste promesse per i banchieri internazionali e poi, sotto pressioni di massa, si tenta di ritornare sugli errori.

A lungo andare, la democrazia oligarchica non è più utile per l’élite finanziaria. Le sue pretese di rappresentanza democratica non possono più ingannare le masse. Il prolungarsi dello stato conflittuale tra le fazioni dell’élite erode la loro volontà di imporre a pieno l’agenda dell’oligarchia finanziaria.

A questo punto, la democrazia oligarchica come formula politica ha fatto il suo corso.

L’élite finanziaria è già pronta e decisa a scartare ogni pretesa di governo da parte di questi oligarchi democratici. Sono considerati sì volonterosi, ma troppo deboli; troppo soggetti a pressioni interne da fazioni rivali e non disposti a procedere a tagli selvaggi nei bilanci sociali, a ridurre ancora di più i livelli di vita e le condizioni di lavoro.

Arriva in primo piano il vero potere che muoveva le fila dietro le giunte esecutive. I banchieri internazionali scartano la “giunta indigena” e impongono al governo banchieri non-eletti – doppiando i loro banchieri privati ​​da tecnocrati.


La transizione verso la dittatura coloniale “tecnocratica”            

Il governo dei banchieri stranieri, alla fine venuto direttamente alla ribalta, è mascherato da un’ideologia che descrive questo come un governo condotto da tecnocrati esperti, apolitici e scevri da interessi privati. Dietro alla retorica tecnocratica, la realtà è che i funzionari designati hanno una carriera di operatori per- e- con i grandi interessi finanziari privati ​​e internazionali.

Lucas Papdemos, nominato Primo ministro greco, ha lavorato per la Federal Reserve Bank di Boston e, come capo della Banca centrale greca, è stato il responsabile della falsificazione dei libri contabili a copertura di quei bilanci fraudolenti che hanno portato la Grecia all’attuale disastro finanziario.

Mario Monti, designato Primo ministro dell’Italia, ha ricoperto incarichi per l’Unione europea e la Goldman Sachs.

Queste nomine da parte delle banche si basano sulla lealtà totale di questi signori e sul loro impegno senza riserve di imporre politiche regressive, le più inique sulle popolazioni di lavoratori di Grecia e Italia.

I cosiddetti tecnocrati non sono soggetti a fazioni di partito, nemmeno lontanamente sono sensibili a qualsiasi protesta sociale. Essi sono liberi da qualsiasi impegno politico ... tranne uno, quello di assicurare il pagamento del debito ai detentori stranieri dei titoli di Stato - in particolare di restituire i prestiti alle più importanti istituzioni finanziarie europee e nord americane.

I tecnocrati sono totalmente dipendenti dalle banche estere per le loro nomine e permanenze in carica. Non hanno alcuna infarinatura di base organizzativa politica nei paesi che governano. Costoro governano perché banchieri stranieri minacciavano di bancarotta i paesi, se non venivano accettate queste nomine. Hanno indipendenza zero, nel senso che i “tecnocrati” sono soltanto strumenti e rappresentanti diretti dei banchieri euro-americani.


I “tecnocrati”, per natura del loro mandato, sono funzionari coloniali esplicitamente designati su comando dei banchieri imperiali e godono del loro sostegno.

In secondo luogo, né loro né i loro mentori colonialisti sono stati eletti dal popolo su cui governano. Sono stati imposti dalla coercizione economica e dal ricatto politico.

In terzo luogo, le misure da loro adottate sono destinate ad infliggere la sofferenza massima per alterare completamente i rapporti di forza tra lavoro e capitale, massimizzando il potere di quest’ultimo di assumere, licenziare, fissare salari e condizioni di lavoro.

In altre parole, l’agenda tecnocratica impone una dittatura politica ed economica.

Le istituzioni sociali e i processi politici associati con il sistema di sicurezza sociale democratico-capitalista, corrotto da democrazie decadenti, eroso dalle democrazie oligarchiche, sono minacciati di demolizione totale dalle prevaricanti dittature coloniali tecnocratiche.

Il linguaggio di “sociale / regressione” è pieno di eufemismi, ma la sostanza è chiara. I programmi sociali in materia di sanità pubblica, istruzione, pensioni, e tutela dei disabili sono tagliati o eliminati e i “risparmi” trasferiti ai pagamenti tributari per i detentori di titoli esteri (banche).

I pubblici dipendenti vengono licenziati, allungata la loro età pensionabile, e i salari ridotti e il diritto di permanenza in ruolo eliminato. Le imprese pubbliche sono vendute a oligarchi capitalisti stranieri e domestici, con decurtamento dei servizi ed eliminazione brutale dei dipendenti. I datori di lavoro stracciano i contratti collettivi di lavoro. I lavoratori sono licenziati e assunti a capriccio dei padroni. Ferie, trattamento di fine rapporto, salari di ingresso e pagamento degli straordinari sono drasticamente ridotti.

Queste politiche regressive pro-capitalisti sono mascherate da “riforme strutturali”.

Processi consultativi sono sostituiti da poteri dittatoriali del capitale – poteri “legiferati” e messi in attuazione dai tecnocrati designati allo scopo.

Dai tempi del regime di dominio fascista di Mussolini e della giunta militare greca (1967 - 1973) non si era mai visto un tale assalto regressivo contro le organizzazioni popolari e contro i diritti democratici.


Raffronto fra dittatura fascista e dittatura tecnocratica

Le precedenti dittature fasciste e militari hanno molto in comune con gli attuali despoti tecnocratici per quanto concerne gli interessi capitalistici che loro difendono e le classi sociali che loro opprimono. Ma ci sono differenze importanti che mascherano le continuità.

La giunta militare in Grecia, e in Italia Mussolini, avevano preso il potere con la forza e la violenza, avevano messo al bando tutti i partiti dell’opposizione, avevano schiacciato i sindacati e chiuso i parlamenti eletti.

Alla attuale dittatura “tecnocratica” viene consegnato il potere dalle élites politiche della democrazia oligarchica - una transizione “pacifica”, almeno nella sua fase iniziale.

A differenza delle precedenti dittature, gli attuali regimi dispotici conservano le facciate elettorali, ma svuotate di contenuti e mutilate, come entità certificate senza obiezioni per offrire una sorta di “pseudo-legittimazione”, che seduce la stampa finanziaria, ma si fa beffe di solo pochi stolti cittadini. Infatti, dal primo giorno di governo tecnocratico gli slogan incisivi dei movimenti organizzati in Italia denunciavano: “No ad un governo di banchieri”, mentre in Grecia lo slogan che ha salutato il fantoccio pragmatista Papdemos è stato “Unione Europea, Fondo Monetario, fuori dai piedi!”

Le dittature in precedenza avevano iniziato il loro corso come stati di polizia del tutto vomitevoli, che arrestavano gli attivisti dei movimenti per la democrazia e i sindacalisti, prima di perseguire le loro politiche in favore del capitalismo. Gli attuali tecnocrati prima lanciano il loro malefico assalto a tutto campo contro le condizioni di vita e di lavoro, con il consenso parlamentare, e poi di fronte ad una resistenza intensa e determinata posta in essere dai “parlamenti della strada”, procedono per gradi ad aumentare la repressione caratteristica di uno stato di polizia... mettendo in pratica un governo da stato di polizia incrementale.


Politiche delle dittature tecnocratiche: campo di applicazione, intensità e metodo

L’organizzazione dittatoriale di un regime tecnocratico deriva dalle sue politiche e dalla missione politica. Al fine di imporre politiche che si traducono in massicci trasferimenti di ricchezza, di potere e di diritti giuridici, dal lavoro e dalle famiglie al capitale, soprattutto al capitale straniero, risulta essenziale un regime autoritario, soprattutto in previsione di un’accanita e determinata resistenza.

L’oligarchia finanziaria internazionale non può assicurare per tanto tempo una “stabile e sostenibile” sottrazione di ricchezza con una qualche parvenza di governance democratica, e tanto meno una democrazia oligarchica in decomposizione.

Da qui, l’ultima risorsa per i banchieri in Europa e negli Stati Uniti è di designare direttamente uno di loro a esercitare pressioni, a farsi largo e ad esigere una serie di cambiamenti di vasta portata, regressivi a lungo termine. La missione dei tecnocrati è di imporre un quadro istituzionale duraturo, che garantirà per il futuro il pagamento di interessi elevati, a spese di decenni di impoverimento e di esclusione popolare.

La missione della “dittatura tecnocratica” non è quella di porre in essere un’unica politica regressiva di breve durata, come il congelamento salariale o il licenziamento di qualche migliaio di insegnanti. L’intento dei dittatori tecnocrati è quello di convertire l’intero apparato statale in un torchio efficiente in grado di estrarre continuamente e di trasferire le entrate fiscali e i redditi, dai lavoratori e dai dipendenti in favore dei detentori dei titoli.

Per massimizzare il potere e i profitti del capitale a scapito dei lavoratori, i tecnocrati garantiscono ai capitalisti il ​​potere assoluto di fissare i termini dei contratti di lavoro, per quanto riguarda assunzioni, licenziamenti, longevità, orario e condizioni di lavoro.

Il “metodo di governo” dei tecnocrati è quello di avere orecchio solo per i banchieri stranieri, i detentori di titoli e gli investitori privati.

Il processo decisionale è chiuso e limitato alla cricca di banchieri e tecnocrati senza la minima trasparenza. Soprattutto, in base a regole colonialiste, i tecnocrati devono ignorare le proteste di manifestanti, se possibile, o, se necessario, rompere loro la testa.

Sotto la pressione delle banche, non c’è tempo per le mediazioni, i compromessi o le dilazioni, come avveniva sotto le democrazie decadenti e oligarchiche.


Dieci sono le trasformazioni storiche che dominano l’agenda delle dittature tecnocratiche e dei loro mentori colonialisti.


1)        Massicci spostamenti delle disponibilità di bilancio, dalle spese per i bisogni sociali ai pagamenti dei titoli di stato e alle rendite

2)      Cambiamenti su larga scala nelle politiche di reddito, dai salari ai profitti, ai pagamenti degli interessi e alla rendita.

3)      Politiche fiscali fortemente regressive, con l’aumento delle imposte sui consumi (aumento dell’IVA) e sui salari, e con la diminuzione della tassazione su detentori di titoli ed investitori.
4)      Eliminazione della sicurezza del lavoro (“flessibilità del lavoro”), con l’aumento di un esercito di riserva di disoccupati a salari più bassi, intensificando lo sfruttamento della manodopera impiegata (“maggiore produttività”).
5)      Riscrittura dei codici del lavoro, minando l’equilibrio di poteri tra capitale e lavoro organizzato. Salari, condizioni di lavoro e problemi di salute sono strappati dalle mani di coloro che militano nel sindacato e consegnati alle “commissioni aziendali” tecnocratiche.

6)      Lo smantellamento di mezzo secolo di imprese e di istituzioni pubbliche, e privatizzazione delle telecomunicazioni, delle fonti di energia, della sanità, dell’istruzione e dei fondi pensione. Privatizzazioni per migliaia di miliardi di dollari sono sopravvenienze attive su una dimensione storica mondiale. Monopoli privati ​​rimpiazzano i pubblici e forniscono un minor numero di posti di lavoro e servizi, senza l’aggiunta di nuova capacità produttiva.
7)      L’asse economico si sposta dalla produzione e dai servizi per il consumo di massa nel mercato interno alle esportazioni di beni e servizi particolarmente adatti sui mercati esteri. Questa nuova dinamica richiede salari più bassi per “competere” a livello internazionale, ma contrae il mercato interno. La nuova strategia si traduce in un aumento degli utili in moneta forte ricavati dalle esportazioni per pagare il debito ai detentori di titoli di stato, provocando così maggiore miseria e disoccupazione per il lavoro domestico. Secondo questo “modello” tecnocratico, la prosperità si accumula per quegli investitori avvoltoio che acquistano lucrativamente da produttori locali finanziariamente strozzati e speculano su immobili a buon mercato.
8)      La dittatura tecnocratica, per progettazione e politiche, mira ad una “struttura di classe bipolare”, in cui vengono impoverite le grandi masse dei lavoratori qualificati e la classe media, che soffrono la mobilità verso il basso, mentre si va arricchendo uno strato di detentori di titoli e di padroni di aziende locali che incassano pagamenti per interessi e per il basso costo della manodopera.
9)      La deregolamentazione del capitale, la privatizzazione e la centralità del capitale finanziario producono un più esteso possesso colonialista (straniero) della terra, delle banche, dei settori economici strategici e dei servizi “sociali”. La sovranità nazionale è sostituita dalla sovranità imperiale nell’economia e nella politica.
10)  Il potere unificato di tecnocrati colonialisti e di detentori imperialisti di titoli detta la politica che concentra il potere in una unica élite non-eletta.


Costoro governano, supportati da una base sociale ristretta e senza legittimità popolare. Sono politicamente vulnerabili, quindi, sempre dipendenti da minacce economiche e da situazioni di violenza fisica.


I tre stadi del governo dittatoriale tecnocratico

Il compito storico della dittatura tecnocratica è quello di far arretrare le conquiste politiche, sociali ed economiche guadagnate dalla classe operaia, dai dipendenti pubblici e dai pensionati dopo la sconfitta del capitalismo fascista nel 1945.

Il disfacimento di oltre sessanta anni di storia non è un compito facile, men che meno nel bel mezzo di una profonda crisi socio-economica in pieno sviluppo, in cui la classe operaia ha già sperimentato drastici tagli dei salari e dei profitti, e il numero dei disoccupati giovani (18 - 30 anni) in tutta l’Unione europea e nel Nord America varia tra il 25 e il 50 per cento.

L’ordine del giorno proposto dai “tecnocrati” - parafrasando i loro mentori colonialisti nelle banche – consiste in sempre più drastiche riduzioni delle condizioni di vita e di lavoro. Le proposte di “austerità” si verificano a fronte di crescenti disuguaglianze economiche tra il 5% dei ricchi e il 60 % degli appartenenti alle classi subalterne tra Sud Europa e Nord Europa.

Di fronte alla mobilità verso il basso e al pesante indebitamento, la classe media e soprattutto i suoi “figli ben educati”, sono indignati contro i tecnocrati che pretendono ancor di più tagli sociali. L’indignazione si estende dalla piccola borghesia agli uomini di affari e ai professionisti sull’orlo della bancarotta e della perdita di status.

I governanti tecnocratici giocano costantemente sulla insicurezza di massa e sulla paura di un “collasso catastrofico”, se la loro “medicina amara” non venisse trangugiata dalle classi medie angosciate, che temono la prospettiva di sprofondare nella condizione di classe operaia o peggio.

I tecnocrati lanciano appelli alla generazione presente per sacrifici, in realtà per un suicidio, per salvare le generazioni future. Con atteggiamenti dettati all’umiltà e alla gravità, parlano di “equi sacrifici”, un messaggio smentito dal licenziamento di decine di migliaia di dipendenti e dalla vendita per miliardi di euro / dollari del patrimonio nazionale a banchieri e investitori speculatori stranieri. L’abbassamento della spesa pubblica per pagare gli interessi ai detentori di titoli e per invogliare gli investitori privati ​​erode ogni richiamo all’“unità nazionale” e all’“equo sacrificio”.

Il regime tecnocratico si sforza di agire con decisione e rapidità per imporre la sua agenda brutale regressiva, l’arretramento di sessanta anni di storia, prima che le masse abbiano tempo di sollevarsi e di cacciarli.

Per precludere l’opposizione politica, i tecnocrati domandano “unità nazionale”, (l’unità di banchieri e oligarchi), l’appoggio dei partiti in disfacimento elettorale e dei loro leader e la loro sottomissione totale alle richieste dei banchieri colonialisti.

La traiettoria politica dei tecnocrati avrà vita breve alla luce dei cambiamenti sistemici draconiani e delle strutture repressive che propongono; il massimo che possono realizzare è quello di dettare e tentare di attuare le loro politiche, e poi tornarsene ai loro santuari lucrativi nelle banche estere.


Governo tecnocratico : prima fase

Con l’appoggio unanime dei mass-media e il pieno sostegno di banchieri potenti, i tecnocrati approfittano della caduta dei politici disprezzati e screditati dei regimi elettorali del passato.

Essi proiettano un’immagine pulita del governo, che parla di un regime efficiente e competente, capace di azioni decisive. Promettono di porre fine alle condizioni di vita progressivamente in deterioramento e alla paralisi politica dovuta allo scontro fra le fazioni dei partiti.

All’inizio della loro assunzione di potere, i dittatori tecnocratici sfruttano il disgusto popolare, giustificato, nei confronti dei politici privilegiati “nullafacenti” per assicurarsi una misura del consenso popolare, o almeno l’acquiescenza passiva da parte della maggioranza dei cittadini, che sta annegando nei debiti e alla ricerca di un “salvatore”.

Va notato che fra la minoranza politicamente più preparata e socialmente consapevole, che i banchieri ricorrano ad un “regime tecnocratico” da colonia, questo provoca poco effetto: gli appartenenti alle minoranze immediatamente identificano il regime tecnocratico come illegittimo, dato che fa derivare i suoi poteri da banchieri stranieri. Essi affermano i diritti dei cittadini e la sovranità nazionale. Fin dall’inizio, anche sotto la copertura dell’assunzione del potere in uno stato di emergenza, i tecnocrati devono affrontare un nucleo di opposizione di massa.

I banchieri realisticamente riconoscono che i tecnocrati devono muoversi con rapidità e decisione.


Politiche shock dei tecnocrati : seconda fase

I tecnocrati lanciano un “100 giorni” del più eclatante e grossolano conflitto di classe contro la classe operaia dai tempi dei regimi militare / fascista.

In nome del Libero Mercato, del Detentore di Titoli e dell’Empia Alleanza fra oligarchi politici e banchieri, i tecnocrati dettano editti e fanno passare leggi, immediatamente buttando sul lastrico decine di migliaia di dipendenti pubblici. Decine di imprese pubbliche sono mandate in blocco all’asta. Viene abolita la certezza del posto di lavoro e licenziare senza giusta causa diventa la legge del paese. Sono decretate imposte regressive e le famiglie vengono impoverite. La piramide del reddito complessivo viene capovolta. I tecnocrati allargano e approfondiscono le disuguaglianze e l’immiserimento.

L’euforia iniziale che salutava il governo tecnocratico viene sostituita da biasimi amari. La classe media inferiore, che ricercava una risoluzione dittatoriale paternalistica della propria condizione, riconosce “un altro raggiro politico”.

Come il regime tecnocratico corre a gran velocità a completare la sua missione per i banchieri stranieri, lo stato d’animo popolare inacidisce, l’amarezza si diffonde anche tra i “collaboratori passivi” dei tecnocrati. Non cadono briciole dal tavolo di un regime colonialista, imposto al potere per massimizzare il deflusso delle entrate statali a tutto vantaggio dei detentori del debito pubblico.

L’oligarchia politica compromessa cerca di far rivivere le sue fortune e “contesta” le peculiarità dello “tsunami” tecnocratico, che sta distruggendo il tessuto sociale della società.  

La dimensione e la portata del programma estremista della dittatura, e il continuo accumulo di frustrazioni di massa, spaventano i collaborazionisti appartenenti ai partiti politici, mentre i banchieri li incalzano per tagli alle garanzie sociali sempre più grandi e più profondi.

I tecnocrati di fronte alla tempesta popolare che sta montando cominciano a farsi piccoli e ritirarsi in buon ordine. I banchieri esigono da loro maggiore spina dorsale e offrono nuovi prestiti per “mantenerli in corsa”. I tecnocrati si dibattono in difficoltà - alternando richieste di tempo e sacrifici con promesse di prosperità “dietro l’angolo”.

Per lo più fanno assegnamento sulla mobilitazione costante della polizia e di fatto sulla militarizzazione della società civile.


Missione compiuta: guerra civile o il ritorno della democrazia oligarchica?

La riuscita dell’“esperimento” con un regime dittatoriale colonialista tecnocratico è difficile da prevedere. Una ragione è dovuta al fatto che le misure adottate sono così estreme ed estese, tali da unificare allo stesso tempo quasi tutte le classi sociali importanti (tranne la “crema” del 5%) contro di loro. La concentrazione del potere in una élite “designata” la isola ulteriormente e unifica la maggior parte dei cittadini a favore della democrazia, contro la sottomissione colonialista e governanti non eletti.

Le misure approvate dai tecnocrati devono far fronte alla prospettiva improbabile della loro piena attuazione, in particolare a causa di funzionari e impiegati pubblici a cui si impongono licenziamenti, tagli di stipendio e pensioni ridotte. I tagli a tutta l’amministrazione pubblica minano le tattiche del “divide et impera”.

Data la portata e la profondità del declassamento del settore pubblico, e l’umiliazione di servire un regime chiaramente sotto tutela colonialista, è possibile che incrinature e rotture si verificheranno negli apparati militari e di polizia, soprattutto se vengono provocate sollevazioni popolari che diventano violente.

A questo punto, le giunte tecnocratiche non possono assicurare che le loro politiche saranno attuate. In caso contrario, i ricavi vacilleranno, scioperi e proteste spaventeranno gli acquirenti predatori delle imprese pubbliche. La grande spremitura ed estorsione pregiudicherà le imprese locali, la produzione diminuirà, la recessione si approfondirà.

Il governo dei tecnocrati è per sua natura transitoria. Sotto la minaccia di rivolte di massa, i nuovi governanti fuggiranno all’estero presso i loro santuari finanziari. I collaborazionisti appartenenti alle oligarchie locali si affretteranno ad aggiungere miliardi di euro/dollari ai loro conti bancari all’estero, a Londra, New York e Zurigo.

La dittatura tecnocratica farà ogni sforzo per riportare al potere i politici democratici oligarchici, a condizione che siano mantenute le variazioni regressive poste in essere. Il governo tecnocratico vedrà la sua fine con “vittorie di carta”, a meno che i banchieri stranieri insistano che il “ritorno alla democrazia” operi all’interno del “nuovo ordine”.

L’applicazione della forza potrebbe rivelarsi un boomerang.

I tecnocrati e gli oligarchi democratici, rinnovando la minaccia di una catastrofe economica in caso di inosservanza, riceveranno un contrordine dalla realtà della miseria effettivamente esistente e dalla disoccupazione di massa.

Per milioni, la catastrofe che stanno vivendo, risultante dalle politiche tecnocratiche, prevale su qualsiasi minaccia futura. La maggioranza ribelle può scegliere di sollevarsi e rovesciare il vecchio ordine, e cogliere l’opportunità di istituire una repubblica socialista democratica indipendente.

Una delle conseguenze impreviste di imporre una dittatura di tecnocrati designati, radicalmente colonialista, è che viene cancellato il panorama politico delle oligarchie politiche parassite e si pongono le fondamenta per un taglio netto. Questo facilita il rigetto del debito e la ricostruzione del tessuto sociale per una repubblica democratica indipendente.

Il pericolo grave è quello che i politici screditati del vecchio ordine tenteranno con la demagogia di impadronirsi delle bandiere democratiche delle lotte “anti-dittatoriali anti-tecnocratiche”, per rimettere in piedi quello che Marx definiva “la vecchia merda dell’ordine precedente”.

Gli oligarchi politici riciclati si adatteranno al nuovo ordine “ristrutturato” dei pagamenti dell’eterno debito, come parte di un accordo per conservare il processo in corso di regressione sociale senza fine.

La lotta rivoluzionaria contro i dominatori tecnocratici colonialisti deve continuare e intensificarsi per bloccare la restaurazione degli oligarchi democratici.


James Petras è un collaboratore assiduo di Global Research.  

Global Research Articles by James Petras www.globalresearch.ca 

Per informazioni: media@...



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[Nella speranza di trovare tutela da uno Stato sovrano, in pochi giorni più di 50mila serbi-kosovari hanno presentato richiesta per l'ottenimento della cittadinanza della Federazione Russa...]

50.000 Kosovo Serbs applying for Russian citizenship

0) LINKS
1) >50.000 RUSSIAN PASSPORTS' REQUESTS
2) MORE NEWS
3) Kosovo Quietly Signs Up Top US Lobbyists


=== 0 : LINKS ===


Source of most following documents in english language is the Stop NATO e-mail list 
Archives and search engine:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/stopnato/messages
Website and articles:
http://rickrozoff.wordpress.com

---

TEXT: Serbia's Tadic Rejects Call for Kosovo Negotiations
Global Research, November 7, 2011 / Balkan Insight
http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=27523

VIDEO: KFOR razbija barikadu kod Dudinog Krša - KFOR demolishing road barricades in province of Kosovo
23.11.2011 11:00 p.m.: KFOR počeo da razbija barikadu kod Dudinog Krša.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=37QDXi5ZKh8

VIDEO: NATO forces dismantle Serb barricade in Kosovo
RT - November 23, 2011
http://rt.com/news/nato-dismantle-barricade-kosovo-093/

PHOTO: NATO In Kosovo: German, Austrian Troops, Tanks Vs Serbian Woman
http://www.b92.net/eng/news/politics-article.php?yyyy=2011&mm=11&dd=30&nav_id=77573

JUGOINFO POSTS ON KOSOVO-SERBS DEMONSTRATIONS AGAINST NATO (2011):
http://it.groups.yahoo.com/group/crj-mailinglist/message/7119
http://it.groups.yahoo.com/group/crj-mailinglist/message/7151
http://it.groups.yahoo.com/group/crj-mailinglist/message/7157
http://it.groups.yahoo.com/group/crj-mailinglist/message/7175
http://it.groups.yahoo.com/group/crj-mailinglist/message/7196
http://it.groups.yahoo.com/group/crj-mailinglist/message/7199


=== 1 : >50.000 RUSSIAN PASSPORTS' REQUESTS ===


http://english.ruvr.ru/2011/11/14/60351111.html

Voice of Russia - November 14, 2011

20,000 Kosovo Serbs want Russian passports

Over 20,000 Kosovo Serbs have asked the Russian Parliament’s lower house, the State Duma, to help them obtain Russian citizenship, said the Russian Embassy Counsellor Oleg Bouldakov in Belgrade. 
They cite security guarantees against the Albanian authorities of the self-proclaimed Kosovo as the main reason for their request.

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http://en.rian.ru/russia/20111115/168720849.html

Russian Information Agency Novosti - November 15, 2011

Kosovo Serbs turn to Russia over Belgrade's negligence

BELGRADE: At least 20,000 Kosovo Serbs, who applied for Russian citizenship last week, were acting out of despair and disillusion in Belgrade’s ability to defend the ethnic minority, a Serbian leader in Kosovo, Marko Jaksic, said on Tuesday.
Last week, Kosovo Serbs handed over a petition with signatures to the Russian Embassy in Belgrade, asking for Russian citizenship.
“Those who turned in the petition live mostly in the southern enclaves in Kosovo, further away from the administrative border between Kosovo and Serbia,” Jaksic said. He added this showed how hard their lives were.
“As Russian citizens they would be more secure compared to their current status when Belgrade has turned its back on them,” Jaksic said.
Serbs constitute 5-10% of the 2-million population and Albanians make up the majority of Kosovo.
Albanian authorities proclaimed Kosovo’s independence from Belgrade with support from the United States and the European Union in 2008.
Both Serbia and Russia have refused to recognize Kosovo’s independence. Ethnic Serbs in Kosovo are bluntly opposed to the Albanian authorities in Pristina.
Tensions flared in Kosovo's ethnic Serbian enclave in October after Albanian Kosovars installed their customs officers at the Jarinje and Brnjak border crossings with Serbia.

---

http://www.rbcnews.com/free/20111116170147.shtml

RosBusinessConsulting - November 16, 2011

Russian envoy pledges support for Kosovo Serbs

Moscow: Russia's ambassador to NATO Dmitry Rogozin called upon authorities to grant Russian citizenship to 20,000 Kosovo Serbs after this group filed a relevant petition, claiming that its security was in jeopardy in a region dominated by ethnic Albanians.
"This opportunity should be discussed, including with the Russian president, and we should assist them in relocating to Russia," Rogozin said, adding that Kosovo Serbs should be included in Russia's repatriation program.

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http://www.interfax.com/newsinf.asp?pg=6&id=288044

Interfax - November 17, 2011

Russia understands motives behind Kosovo Serbs' request - Lavrov 

MOSCOW: The Russian Foreign Ministry has familiarized itself with the request of several thousand Kosovo Serbs for Russian citizenship and it understands the reasons behind it, said Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.
"We have read this request attentively, of course, and we will have to act guided by a number of factors," Lavrov said at a joint news conference with his Indian counterpart Somanahalli Krishna on Thursday.
Concerning the legal aspect of this problem, we have a law in Russia which regulates instances when Russian citizenship is granted to foreign nationals, he said.
"From the political point of view, we very well understand the motives behind the Kosovo Serbs' request of this kind," Lavrov said.
It was reported earlier that more than 20,000 Kosovo Serbs had applied for Russian citizenship.
"They have found themselves in a desperate situation and they have the feeling of hopelessness in conditions when they are being forced to obey the Pristina dictate in violation of UN Security Council Resolution 1244 and when they can even lose the right to local self-government. Too bad that all this is happening with connivance and direct support from the Kosovo Force, led by NATO, and the European Union's so-called Rule of Law Mission," Lavrov said.
These "international presences" are operating in violation of the "neutral-status mandate they have," he said.
"We will be firmly opposing this in the future and we think that no one should usurp the role of ruler of the destinies of nations, especially Kosovo Serbs, wherever they live, using opportunities provided by international or Russian law," he said.
Russia has been actively assisting the Kosovo Serbs for the past few years in humanitarian programs and in saving their culture, ethnic identity and traditions. This work will be continued," the Russian foreign minister said.

---

http://english.ruvr.ru/2011/11/23/60927581.html

Russian Information Agency Novosti - November 23, 2011

Russia to find way to support Kosovo Serbs - Rogozin

The application of more than 20,000 of Kosovo Serbs for the Russian citizenship is an unprecedented and very alarming situation, Russia’s envoy in NATO Dmitri Rogozin said Wednesday.
“Russia will find a way to support the nation which is spiritually close to us and which found itself in such a difficult situation”,  Rogozin said.
Earlier this month 22,000 Kosovo Serbs put their signatures under collective application for the Russian citizenship as they find that Serbia is not providing them with the required support.

---

http://en.rian.ru/russia/20111127/169067155.html

Russian Information Agency Novosti - November 27, 2011

Number of Kosovo Serbs seeking Russian citizenship tops 50,000

MOSCOW: Over 50,000 Kosovo Serbs have applied for Russian citizenship, Serbia’s B92 television reported citing Zlatibor Djordjevic, a spokesman for the Old Serbia movement.
The number of applications sent to the Russian Embassy in Belgrade has more than doubled since the beginning of November as more and more Kosovo Serbs 
become disillusioned with Belgrade’s ability to defend the ethnic minority.
“We are not satisfied with the progress in talks in Brussels [between Belgrade and Pristina], which, if they conclude with the same outcome as in the beginning, will mean the end of Kosovo Serbs,” Djordjevic said on Saturday.
...

Djordjevic said that Kosovo authorities applied pressure on elderly Serbs and Serbs living in poverty to swap their Serbian citizenship for the Kosovo one by promising them pensions and other social benefits.
He also stressed that most of Kosovo Serbs seeking Russian citizenship were not planning to relocate to Russia, but simply wanted political protection from Moscow.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Tuesday that Russia intended to defend the rights of Serbs wherever they live, taking into account all options derived from international and Russian law.
He did not say, though, how Moscow was planning to respond specifically to Kosovo Serbs’ applications for Russian citizenship.
Kosovo, a landlocked region with a population of mainly ethnic Albanians, declared its independence from Serbia in February 2008. Up to 10 percent of Kosovo two-million-people population are ethnic Serbs.
Both Serbia and Russia have refused to recognize Kosovo’s independence.


=== 2 : MORE NEWS ===


http://www.stripes.com/news/europe/kosovo-disturbances-mimicked-in-training-scenario-1.161166

Stars and Stripes - November 18, 2011

Kosovo disturbances mimicked in training scenario

By Steven Beardsley 

HOHENFELS, Germany: The chaos arrived in the early afternoon, hours after negotiations failed.
As soldiers in riot gear approached a makeshift roadblock and the mob that erected it, they were met with taunts and jeers. “U.S. go home!” the crowd began to chant. Then someone hurled a rock.
The riot that ensued was a training simulation – the “rocks” were sandbags, the mob was a group of role-playing Germans, retired soldiers and an active-duty platoon.
Yet it was a mimic of real events in Kosovo, the newly independent Balkan state — and the destination of a National Guard unit that recently trained at the Joint Multinational Readiness Center in Hohenfels. This summer, ethnic Serbs erected barriers on roads in the country’s north, in a dispute over border crossings into Serbia, forcing violent confrontations with local police and a tense standoff with NATO peacekeepers.
Officials at JMRC, which regularly prepares U.S. and multinational soldiers for the NATO force known as KFOR, or Kosovo Force, decided to re-create the events as a training tool after a visit to the country last month.
Important tasks during a civil disturbance include holding formation in a line, minding flanks, responding with appropriate force and generally keeping composure at a time when emotions run high, said Lt. Col. Eric McFadden, a training leader at JMRC.
Judging by the action on Thursday, that’s easier said than done.
The Guard unit, a maneuver company from Georgia, arrived with a track vehicle posing as a tank and several Humvees.
The roadblock — an assemblage of plywood planks, stacked wooden pallets and old tires — was easy enough to handle. The tank pushed through, slowly advancing on the mob, which backed away. Soldiers then formed a line the width of the road, their shields held together to form a barrier.
That’s when the rioters emerged from the crowd, a dozen or so civilians played by a platoon with 1st Battalion, 4th Infantry Regiment, U.S. Army Europe’s opposition force. Harassment was their tactic, 1st Lt. Todd Pitt, the platoon leader, advised his men before the exercise began.
“Try to steal batons, try to steal shields,” he said. “Don’t go jumping into their lines.”
Platoon members taunted the soldiers. They grabbed at shields while dodging baton swipes, threw sandbags and rolled tires with smoke grenades inside. Someone suddenly hurled a smoking tire into the crowd.
In a pattern that repeated itself several times, the Guard line surged forward with abandon, an apparent effort to push the rioters back. Each time, the 1-4 took advantage of the resulting disorder in the line, gaining clean hits with sandbags and grabbing shields or batons.
...

Some soldiers seemed to take things personally. Several times, a soldier dropped his shield and baton to tackle one of the rioters. JMRC observer-controllers, referees in the exercise, broke each scuffle up to resume the scenario.
...

They also appeared to improve over the course of the exercise. Soldiers began to move in lock-step, counting out each step forward. They moved to protect their flanks, keeping shields up and preventing individual soldiers from lurching forward. They learned to hold their shields properly, preventing them from being pushed against them and causing injuries.
The rioters were eventually thinned out at the discretion of the observer-controllers, taken out by a range of nonlethal weapons — among them rubber bullets — that KFOR soldiers might actually use, but didn’t use in the exercise. The company eventually reached the boundary line that was its goal.
McFadden said the simulation achieved what trainers wanted, making the company adjust to the situation around them.
“It’s better to learn the hard lessons here than have to deal with the hard lessons once you deploy,” he said.

---

http://ap.stripes.com/dynamic/stories/E/EU_KOSOVO_TENSE_NORTH?SITE=DCSAS&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

Associated Press - November 23, 2011

NATO in Kosovo moves to dismantle Serb barricade

RUDARE, Kosovo: NATO troops in Kosovo fired tear gas to disperse a crowd of Serbs resisting the dismantling of a concrete barricade put up to block Kosovo authorities from controlling the Serb-dominated area.
An AP reporter witnessed NATO soldiers in riot gear attempting to remove a concrete barrier late Wednesday and stretching barbed wire on the road. Tear gas was fired after several hundred Serb protesters removed the barbed wire. NATO did not immediately comment.
Serbs in Kosovo's north have been blocking roads since summer angered by Kosovo authorities' attempt to send ethnic Albanian customs and police officers into the Serb area.
Many Serbs that live there reject the country's 2008 secession from Serbia and say NATO is supports Kosovo institutions.

---

http://rt.com/news/nato-dismantle-barricade-kosovo-093/

RT - November 24, 2011

Tear gas, barbed wire, isolation: NATO tools for Kosovo raid

Serbs protesters have thwarted attempts by NATO to dismantle a barricade in Northern Kosovo. And while NATO claims their decision to fire tear gas came as 21 of their soldiers were injured, Belgrade has warned Pristina against any further violence.
The Serbian Minister of Internal Affairs and Deputy Prime Minister Ivica Dacic has called on the Kosovo's Prime Minister Hashim Thaci to restrain his NATO-led forces from attacking Serbian civilians.
“The red line for Belgrade would be Hashim Thaci’s decision to initiate an armed attack on Serbs in Kosovo. Thaci must know that any attack against Kosovar Serbs means an attack on Belgrade,“ Dacic said in a statement aired on local television Thursday.
Dacic went on to warn Pristina it would be mistaken to think that fears of upsetting the current balance of power would exclude the possibility of war.
Dacic was quick to point out “historically, we’ve lost Kosovo several times, and then it’s returned to us.”
The Serbian minister’s strongly worded appeal is a response to overnight clashes in Northern Kosovo which NATO claims injured 21 of its soldiers.
NATO released a statement Thursday saying Serb protesters threw stones and drove trucks loaded with gravel into its troops. The alliance also claims one soldier was seriously injured, as the decision to fire tear gas and end the operation was taken...
Wednesday night’s disturbances came as Serbs thwarted attempts by a Kosovo Force (KFOR) contingent under NATO command from dismantling a barricade near the town of Zvecan in Northern Kosovo.
Late on Wednesday, KFOR forces stretched barbed wire across a road near Zvecan – a town located near the de facto Serbian capital of Kosovska Mitrovica -as they moved to dismantle the concrete barricade.
Shortly after NATO forces arrived, a siren went off which alerted local Serbs, who soon rushed to the area and began tearing down the barbed wire.
KFOR troops then deployed tear gas in a failed attempt to repel the hundreds of Serbs who had gathered to protect the barricades.
After the NATO troops withdrew from the area, the Serbs moved to further reinforce the concrete blocks.
According to RT's Aleksey Yaroshevksy, some sources have said NATO forces also used rubber bullets, though no injuries have been reported.  
Tensions in Northern Kosovo have been on the rise for months over disputed border crossings.
The government of the breakaway province wants to control the border with Serbia to enforce an import ban – a move resisted by ethnic Serbs in Kosovo.
In July, a policeman was shot dead whilst Kosovo police were trying to take control of the border posts.
At the time a temporary deal was reached between Pristina and Belgrade to allow the international peacekeepers to guard the border, but was rejected by local Serbs.
Kosovo proclaimed independence in 2008, though Serbia never recognized the breakaway move.
Political analyst Aleksandar Pavic told RT that NATO had destabilized the region by taking Pristina’s side in the conflict, a decision which overstepped their role as a peace keeping force under UN Security Resolution 1244.
“In 2008 Pristina unilaterally declared independence and NATO countries recognized that independence so the root of the problem is that we have Western Powers who are recognizing an illegally declared state and they are trying to make the Serbs down there live in this illegally declared state, and that's why practically every day now, especially over the past several months, they're overstepping their UN mandate,“ he said.

VIDEOS: http://rt.com/news/nato-dismantle-barricade-kosovo-093/

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http://english.ruvr.ru/2011/11/24/60962772.html

Russian Information Agency Novosti - November 24, 2011

Attack on Kosovo serbs is attack on Belgrade - Serbia's interior minister

Serbia’s Interior Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Ivica Dacic has said that an attack on ethnic Serbs in Kosovo would actually mean an attack on Belgrade.
In his statement broadcast on the B92 TV channel, he reminded Kosovo’s Prime Minister Hashim Thaci that throughout its history Serbia had lost and then regained Kosovo several times.
Earlier, Mr. Dacic called for dividing Kosovo into Albanian and Serb parts.
Tensions in the Serb-populated northern Kosovo have been running high since early September when Kosovo’s Albanian authorities deployed their policemen and customs officers at the Jarinje and Brniak border checkpoints on the border with Serbia, which led to armed clashes between police and local Serbs.

---

http://www.monstersandcritics.com/news/europe/news/article_1677297.php/LEAD-NATO-soldiers-injured-in-attempt-to-clear-Serb-barricades

Deutsche Presse-Agentur - November 24, 2011

NATO soldiers injured in attempt to clear Serb barricades

Pristina/Belgrade - NATO peacekeepers in Kosovo (KFOR) said Thursday that 21 soldiers were injured in clashes with a crowd of ethnic Serbs when the soldiers tried to dismantle a roadblock in the northern Kosovo enclave.
The incident comes amid heightened tensions in the Serb-dominated north of Serbia's former province...
The soldiers took control over the roadblock and began dismantling it late Wednesday. But they withdrew under a hail of stones thrown by a crowd that continued to grow and approach ever closer, despite tear gas canisters lobbed their way.
KFOR command in Pristina said its soldiers withdrew...Nonetheless, KFOR reported 21 injuries sustained.
In recent months, Serbs have erected around 20 roadblocks in the north to prevent the government in Pristina from taking control over the borders to Serbia proper.

...Serbs fiercely resist any authority from Pristina and, nearly four years since Kosovo declared independence from Serbia, still consider Belgrade their capital.
In a tense cat-and-mouse game, KFOR has dismantled several roadblocks since the Serbs put them up at crossings in September. Each time the barricades were renewed.
...

Serbian leaders promised never to recognize Kosovo's independence and have backed their compatriots' resistance to Pristina's rule.
...

The most prominent turnaround was made by the Deputy Premier and Interior Minister Ivica Dacic, who told Thursday's edition of the daily Press that a new war over Kosovo 'cannot be excluded.'
...

Dacic leads the Socialist Party, a junior partner in President Boris Tadic's ruling coalition.

---

http://www.b92.net/eng/news/politics-article.php?yyyy=2011&mm=11&dd=24&nav_id=77468

B92/Press - November 24, 2011

“We should go to war over Kosovo if necessary”

BELGRADE: Kosovo PM Hashim Thaci needs to know that by attacking Serbs in Kosovo he is also attacking Belgrade, Serbian Deputy PM Ivica Dačić told daily Press.
He added that Serbia could not stand by peacefully and watch that.
Dačić on Wednesday stated that nobody in Serbia must say that Kosovo was lost and that they would not go to war over it. 
“A red line for Belgrade is Hashim Thaci’s armed assault on Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija,” he was quoted as saying. 
“Thaci needs to know that by attacking Serbs in Kosovo he is attacking Belgrade as well. Serbia cannot and will not watch it peacefully,” the deputy PM pointed out. 
He stressed that if Turkey could say that an attack on Sarajevo was an attack on Istanbul, then there was no reason “the attack on Kosovska Mitrovica is not an attack on Belgrade”. 
Dačić assessed that rejection of a possibility of war would be a wrong message to Thaci because a “balance of fear” was necessary for the sake of security in the region. He explained that the “balance of fear” was the only reason why a war never broke out between the U.S. and the USSR. 
...

Military-political analyst Miroslav Lazanski believes that the use of force is a part of diplomacy and points out that “this is one in a scale of statements in which Dačić is expressing his position on the situation in Kosovo”. 
“Dačić’s position is hard, but right in my opinion. Not a single state diplomacy is successful if it is not supported by military force. It takes two to have a war and there is a question what we would do if someone attacked us. If NATO does not want to go over the barricades by force, what would happen if Serbia set a clear line regarding some other issues as well? If the Americans say ‘stick and carrot’, because the carrot itself is not enough, which in translation means that we need to show that we are ready to use the force we have at our disposal,” Lazanski was quoted as saying. 
...

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http://www.b92.net/eng/news/politics-article.php?yyyy=2011&mm=11&dd=24&nav_id=77469

Beta News Agency/Serbian Radio and Television/Tanjug News Agency - November 24, 2011

KFOR troops withdraw, Serbs at barricades

ZVEČAN: KFOR troops withdrew about an hour and a half after midnight from a barricade in the village of Dudin Krš which they attempted to remove on Wednesday night.
Serbs built a new barricade at Dudin Krš during the night (Tanjug)
The local Serbs additionally reinforced the barricade last night by adding new amounts of gravel.
KFOR troops withdrew toward southern Kosovska Mitrovica while the Serbs continued to reinforce the barricade. 
The barricades made of dirt, sand and large boulders are around two meters high and are blocking both lanes on a bridge near Zvečan. 
When the Serbs started unloading the large amounts of gravel and building new barricades KFOR troops used tear gas to disperse them. Some of the citizens had gasmasks on and ambulance arrived to the scene to treat those did not have them. 
Shots were heard in the area around 00:30 CET but it is still unknown who fired them. Majority of citizens left home around 02:00 and only a small number of them stayed at the barricade. 
The barricade in the village of Dudin Krš was built almost four months ago and it is blocking the road leading to the Jarinje administrative crossing. 
KFOR has already tried to remove the barricade near Dudin Krš twice, on October 18 and 22 but they were stopped by the citizens both times.
Explosion rocks Kosovska Mitrovica
A powerful explosion took place about 01:00 CET in northern Kosovska Mitrovica. Nobody was injured but two cars were damaged in the blast. 
The explosion took place near the Faculty of Economy and police immediately came to the scene. 
“So far we have neither motive nor suspects for the bomb attack,” Kosovo police regional Spokesman Besim Hoti has stated.

---

http://rt.com/news/kosovo-serbs-barricades-kfor-267/

RT - November 26, 2011

Northern Kosovo: Serbs make their last stand

Tensions run high on Serbia's border with northern Kosovo, as neither of the conflicting sides is prepared to rule out a further escalation of violence.
Local Serbs say NATO forces are to blame, for breaking an agreement by trying to remove a barricade blocking the way to one of a number of disputed checkpoints. 
The move prompted violent clashes that left dozens injured on both sides.
Last night in Northern Kosovo passed without violence though this does not mean that the source of tensions has disappeared.
On November 23 the NATO’s KFOR forces attempted to remove a barricade put up by ethnic Serbian minority of the region. The resistance was tense so the soldiers used tear gas. More than 20 people were injured but the Serbs got it their way and the KFOR operation was ceased.
RT crew traveled around the area and saw the barricades that have been there for the last four months still up. They are constantly maintained and people there say they are not going to abandon them in any case and in fact are planning to build more of them.
To an untrained eye those barricades seem to be mere piles of rubble, amateurishly constructed. One would never say they could become a cause of armed conflict.
But in order to comprehend why the barricades appeared in the first place, the developments in July in Kosovo must be remembered.
The Serbian minority, that constitutes 10 per cent of the Kosovo population, lost any kind of legal status once Kosovo unilaterally proclaimed independence from Serbia in 2008. The Kosovo Serbs still consider themselves the citizens of Serbia. Needless to say that the Kosovo Albanians do not consider Northern Kosovo to be independent and expect Serbs to leave their homes and move to Serbia.
Until July the Serbs in northern Kosovo were allowed a measure of self-independence and an ability to be in free contact with mainland Serbia. But then the official Pristina (Kosovo capital) decided to take the border with Serbia under control, to install customs stations to administrate the goods flow and all the cars and trucks coming into the area.
The Serbs did not see that as a mere formality, but as an infringement of their remaining freedoms. They called it a slippery slope, first comes the customs control – then they become hostages of a political will of Albanian Pristina.
To prevent that from happening they erected barricades.
Then it appeared a compromise was found when it was announced that the customs stations will be controlled not by Albanians, but by KFOR forces.
The only matter is that the Serbs never trusted KFOR, seeing it as a force that conducts NATO policies in the region, making the separation of Kosovo from Serbia possible in the first place and protecting Albanian interests only.
And Serbs have every right to stick to their opinion since KFOR has never been evinced any sympathies with Serbs.
This time it was exactly the same. Once the tensions ran high and an attempt to remove the barricades was made, KFOR opened fire at protestors with live ammunition, later claiming they were using rubber bullets.
But doctors in the region who were treating the wounded have seen enough to tell the difference between a rubber bullet wound and a real one. Luckily enough, no one was killed.
In November KFOR started another operation to remove the barricades and again Serbs born in Kosovo made a stand, clearly understanding this might be their last one, saying firmly they will not leave their land.

VIDEO: http://rt.com/news/kosovo-serbs-barricades-kfor-267/

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http://www.b92.net/eng/news/politics-article.php?yyyy=2011&mm=11&dd=25&nav_id=77496

B92/Beta News Agency/KiM Radio - November 26, 2011

KFOR commander's statements "worrying"

ČAGLAVICA: A Serb mayor in northern Kosovo on Friday commented on a statement made by KFOR commander Erhard Drews, who warned about "a possible escalation of violence".
The German general who commands NATO's troops in Kosovo commented on the situation in the northern part of the province in an interview reported on Thursday.
Today, Zvečan Mayor Dragiša Mišović told KiM Radio in Čaglavica that "KFOR does as Priština (K. Albanian authorities) decide", while Serbs in the north - where they are a majority rejecting the authority of the government in Priština - "will not jeopardize security or aggravate the already difficult situation". 
For the past several months, local Serbs have been putting up barricades blocking the roads leading to the administrative line crossings between central Serbia and Kosovo, after the Priština authorities tried to install their customs and police at the checkpoints. Local Serbs and official Belgrade also reject the unilateral proclamation of independence of Kosovo, made by ethnic Albanians in early 2008. 
Mayor Milović said on Friday that he believed Drew's statement meant that "obviously these announcements are coming from Priština": 
"As he himself has said, Priština is getting increasingly nervous, but we expect him and all KFOR officials to act in line with their mandate and in line with (UNSC) Resolution 1244, in maintaining the stability and security of all people who live in Kosovo and Metohija." 
According to the mayor, claims that the barricades were limiting KFOR's ability to move freely were "not true". 
"KFOR enjoys full freedom of movement, and we have agreed with their representatives that there must not be any unilateral moves. On the other hand, we receive the answer in the form of an attempt to use force to remove the barricade in Dudin Krš," Milović said, referring to the incident at one of the road blocks, that took place earlier this week.

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http://blogs.voanews.com/breaking-news/2011/11/28/nato-soldiers-wounded-in-clash-with-serb-protesters/

Voice of America News - November 28, 2011

NATO Soldiers Wounded in Clash With Serb Protesters

A NATO spokesman says two soldiers serving with NATO's Kosovo Force were wounded Monday during a confrontation with Serb protesters in north Kosovo.
The violence erupted when NATO troops began removing several earthen roadblocks put in place by the Serbs who reject the authority of the Kosovo government. The ethnic Albanian-dominated Kosovo declared its independence from Serbia in 2008.
A KFOR spokesman said the wounded soldiers condition is not known.

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http://rt.com/news/kosovo-clashes-violence-victims-421/

RT - November 29, 2011

NATO troops shot, wounded in brutal Kosovo clashes 

At least two Kosovo Serbs and two NATO peacekeepers were injured in a fresh wave of violence in northern Kosovo, casting doubts on whether the conflict could be resolved in the near future.
The skirmishes occurred near the town of Zubin Potok, where Serbs were protesting NATO’s attempts to remove a barricade made of buses and trucks that was blocking a main road in the region. NATO peacekeeping troops responded by firing rubber bullets, tear gas and water cannons at the demonstrators. They also used pepper spray and batons against the protesters while the latter hit the NATO peacekeepers with clubs and pelted them with rocks.
NATO has been claiming the two injured peacekeepers were under fire from the Serb demonstrators and is now instructing its soldiers to fire live ammunition if they come under attack.
Violence between Kosovo Serbs and NATO troops and Kosovar police flared up this summer after the self-proclaimed Kosovo government sought set up customs and border posts in the north of the country, where the overall minority Serbs make up a majority.
The Serb population responded by burning one of the posts and attacking Kosovar police. NATO troops were then called in, but Serbs began setting up barricades made of mud, soil, rock and concrete barriers to block the main road arteries leading to the border. This led to several skirmishes over the past months involving NATO peacekeepers and Kosovo Serbs.
Just last week more than 20 Portuguese and Hungarian soldiers were injured in another operation to remove the barricades.
Kosovo declared its independence from Serbia in 2008 but it was only recognized by 85 countries, including the United States, the United Kingdom and France, but not most of the countries, including Russia and Serbia itself.
... 

VIDEO: http://rt.com/news/kosovo-clashes-violence-victims-421/

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http://english.ruvr.ru/2011/11/29/61193442.html

Itar-Tass - November 29, 2011

25 NATO servicemen injured in clashes with Kosovo Serbs
        
25 NATO servicemen have been injured in clashes with Serbs in Northern Kosovo, according to a statement that the KFOR international security force for Kosovo released earlier today. According to the Serbian mass media, up to 50 civilians were injured in the clashes.
NATO servicemen used rubber bullets, water cannons and tear gas to disperse the raging crowd, and also heavy military hardware to unblock the motorway that the protesters cut off with their buses and trucks in the area of the town of Zubin Potok.
The situation in Northern Kosovo was aggravated in the middle of September, when the Albanian authorities of the self-proclaimed state assumed control over the Jarinje and Brnjak checkpoints on the administrative border with Serbia. Kosovo Serbs have since started erecting barricades to protest the move.

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http://www.b92.net/eng/news/politics-article.php?yyyy=2011&mm=11&dd=29&nav_id=77551

Beta News Agency/Tanjug News Agency - November 29, 2011

KFOR: We'll shoot; Serbs start building new road

JAGNJENICA: KFOR members used loud speakers on Tuesday to warn local Serbs that they would "shoot" if they built a new barricade at Jagnjenica. 
KFOR at Jagnjenica on Tuesday (Tanjug)The locals ignored the warning and started hauling in earth and gravel, dumping it on the road, thus constructing a new barricade. KFOR reacted by throwing tear gas at the Serbs, who are also this Tuesday building a new road nearby.
This latest maneuver by the locals left KFOR troops "partially blocked", Tanjug is reporting. 
The vehicles the soldiers used on Monday to break up the old barricade are now located between two new road blocks, set up on both sides of the Zubin Potok-Zvečan road this afternoon. 
KFOR vehicles can at present only retreat to Čabra, an ethnic Albanian village where they had set up camp, according to this report. 
Earlier in the day, the talks between the NATO troops in Kosovo and local Serb leaders, held earlier in the day, did not produce any results. 
"If your trucks unload gravel here, we will shoot," it was heard from the KFOR loud speakers. 
The citizens gathered on the roads reacted with dissatisfaction, but no incidents were reported from the scene. 
During the meeting on Tuesday, KFOR again asked Serbs to leave the road, while Zubin Potok Mayor Slaviša Ristić said that the troops should return to the positions they held before they moved to remove the barricade at Jagnjenica, and added that KFOR enjoyed freedom of movement. 
A KFOR commander, who reports said "did not wish to introduce himself", accused Ristić of being "directly responsible for yesterday's violence against KFOR" - an accusation which the mayor rejected as false. 
Ristić also said he woud call on citizens to remain calm. 
After the meeting, KFOR again used lound speakers to warn the Serbs to disperse, and threaten that tear gas would be used against them.

New road
Meantime, local Serbs have decided to build a new road near Jagnjenica. 
On Tuesday afternoon, they brought machines to the location and started building an "alternative" road, in a bid to circumvent the barricade that is now held by KFOR. 
The aim is to make sure that the town of Zubin Potok, now cut off from other towns in the north of the province, is once again connected to Zvečan and Kosovska Mitrovica. 
The citizens are hauling in gravel and building the road, while KFOR troops are observing the developments.

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http://www.defense.gov/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=66279

U.S. Department of Defense - November 29, 2011

U.S. Commander Condemns Attacks on Kosovo Force

By Donna Miles

WASHINGTON: A senior U.S. military leader in Europe condemned recent violence against NATO troops in Kosovo just as a Wisconsin Army National Guard unit prepares to take command of the 15th rotation of peacekeeping forces there.
Navy Adm. Samuel J. Locklear III, commander of Allied Joint Force Command Naples, visited Pristina, Kosovo, today to assess the situation a day after attacks by Serb demonstrators wounded more than two dozen NATO Kosovo Force members. No U.S. troops were wounded in the clashes.
The attacks occurred after the KFOR troops removed blockades that had shut off a main road in northern Kosovo.
“The use of violence against KFOR troops is unacceptable,” Locklear said in a statement released today...
About 180 members of the Wisconsin National Guard’s 157th Maneuver Enhancement Brigade are now preparing to assume authority for the next KFOR rotation in December. They will serve as the brigade headquarters unit for Multinational Battle Group East, also known as Task Force Falcon. In that role, the 157th will oversee operations for the entire Multinational Battle Group East.
The group includes National Guard and Reserve soldiers from Wisconsin, Mississippi, Georgia, Nebraska, Vermont, North Dakota, New Jersey, Wyoming, Massachusetts and Puerto Rico. It also includes international forces from Armenia, Greece, Poland, Turkey, Romania and the Ukraine.
To prepare for the mission, the KFOR 15 troops trained in realistic scenarios at Camp Atterbury, Ind., and most recently, at U.S. Army Europe’s Joint Multinational Training Center in Hohenfels, Germany.
...

Observer-controllers at both training sites strived to make the training as realistic as possible, he said, based on tactics, techniques and procedures taking place on the ground.
“Early on in our training, the focus was on a relatively steady state and calm environment in Kosovo,” Liethen said earlier this month at Hohenfels.
“Things have drastically changed,” he said. “It’s very obvious that the training program here at Hohenfels has been modified to replicate what is actually going on in Kosovo right now so that will definitely be a help in us conducting our mission.” 

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http://www.b92.net/eng/news/politics-article.php?yyyy=2011&mm=11&dd=30&nav_id=77557

Tanjug News Agency - November 30, 2011

UN SC voices different views on Kosovo

NEW YORK: U.S., Great Britain, France and Germany’s representatives in the UN Security Council supported on Tuesday removal of the barricades in northern Kosovo.
Russia and China, on the other hand, backed Serbia’s integrity.
Serbia’s Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremić requested from the UN Security Council to prevent further unilateral actions. The UN Security Council permanent members strongly condemned violence but remained divided regarding who was responsible for it. 
...

Commenting on the recent incidents in northern Kosovo, the German representative said that violence against KFOR soldiers had to be fiercely condemned because attacks on KFOR...
Pointing out that putting up roadblocks was unacceptable, Wittig called on all sides to refrain from violence and asked Serbian authorities to use their influence to prevent violence. He also appealed to Priština officials to get involved in the search for a solution to the problems of organized crime and attacks on minorities. 
U.S. Ambassador to the UN Rosemary DiCarlo said that the violence in northern Kosovo had been caused by few extremists, adding that her country was still optimistic regarding solving of the issues between Belgrade and Priština. 
She called on the Serbian government to cooperate with KFOR and EULEX on removal of the barricades and arrest of suspected criminals in northern Kosovo. 
DiCarlo said that Kosovo was a unique customs market and that it therefore had the right to control its borders. She accused the Serbian security structures of being in northern Kosovo illegally. 
British Ambassador to the UN Michael Tatham strongly condemned the attacks on KFOR and called for an immediate removal of the barricades. 
He also called for continuation of the Belgrade-Priština dialogue, adding that Great Britain supported Serbia’s EU integration. 
French and German representatives voiced similar views. French Ambassador Gerard Araud said that the biggest victims of the barricades in the north were the people living there. 
The German ambassador said that the violence was organized by the Serbs who kept protesting and called for full freedom of movement in the entire Kosovo. 
He added that Serbia needed to implement the agreements that had been reached and that it was one of the conditions for the EU candidate status. 
Russian and Chinese ambassadors had completely different views regarding Kosovo, pointing out that Priština was responsible for the violence in the north. 
Russia's Ambassador Vitaly Churkin said the UN body had to send a clear message to everyone in Kosovo that they had to restrain from violence and continue the dialogue. 
Pointing out that Russia shared the concern of the Serbian foreign minister over the situation in Kosovo, Churkin reiterated that official Moscow did not recognize the unilaterally proclaimed independence of Kosovo and that this stance would not change. 
“The UNSC Resolution 1244 is in effect and represents an international and legal basis for the resolving of the Kosovo issue. We believe it is important that the dialogue is resumed, in order to find a solution to the problem,” the Russian ambassador said. 
“Unilateral actions by Priština are unacceptable,” he stressed. 
“Russia is concerned over the deterioration of the situation in northern Kosovo,” Churkin said, stressing that certain incidents were very brazen. 
When it comes to the clashes between KFOR and Kosovo Serbs, he stated it would be best if KFOR concentrated not on the removal of barricades but rather on what the concerns of the people living in that part of the province were. 
“KFOR and EULEX allegedly acted so as to ensure freedom of movement, but this is an shifting argument. According to the Resolution 1244, Kosovo is a special area within Serbia, and therefore we oppose the selective implementation of KFOR and EULEX's mandate,” Churkin said. 
“The use of force in order to establish the government of the so-called state of Kosovo is neither status neutral nor in keeping with their mandate,” Churkin pointed out, and added that Russia advocated a detailed investigation into developments from September 27, when KFOR used weapons and wounded civilians. 
“Russia also demands that a full and objective investigation into allegations on organ trafficking be launched, under the auspices of the UN Security Council,” he said. 
“Moreover, Moscow is concerned because the key witnesses in important proceedings have been eliminated and because the number of returnees in Kosovo is unsatisfactory,” the Russian representative concluded. 
The Chinese ambassador stressed that Serbia’s integrity and territorial sovereignty needed to be respected and said that a dialogue should be a solution to the crisis. 
He expressed concern over the human organ trafficking case in Kosovo, pointing out that Beijing requested a full and an unbiased investigation. 
Colombia, Brazil, South Africa and Bosnia-Herzegovina’s representatives also stressed that the Belgrade-Priština dialogue was the only possible solution.

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http://rt.com/politics/churkin-kosovo-serbs-security-537/

RT - November 30, 2011

Moscow slams NATO power games in Kosovo

Russia is concerned with the exacerbation of the situation in northern Kosovo, where NATO forces are pursuing their power politics targeted against Serbs, Russian envoy to the UN Vitaly Churkin is convinced.
Violence could have been prevented, the diplomat said during a Security Council meeting devoted to the Kosovo settlement, if “KFOR focused on providing security of the region’s residents, as stipulated in their mandate, rather than on eliminating Serbian barricades, which are a response to Pristina’s attempts to take under control the administrative border with Serbia.”
The Russian diplomat also said that Moscow has supported the Serbian government’s appeal to the UN secretary-general to thoroughly investigate an incident on September 27, when KFOR resorted to force, leading to a number of civilian casualties. 
Russia also insists on a full and objective probe into cases of human organ trafficking revealed by member of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe Dick Marty.
The process of the return to Kosovo of displaced people, most of whom are Serbs, is unsatisfactory, Vitaly Churkin went on to say. And one of the main reasons for this is that those people are not confident of their security. In addition, “incidents of looting and theft of Kosovo Serbs’ property remain unpunished.”
He also demanded that all necessary measures be taken for the defense of Orthodox shrines and believers. 
“The UN mission to Kosovo should play a most active role in Kosovo settlement,” the Russian envoy to the UN stressed.
On November 29, at least two Kosovan Serbs and two NATO peacekeepers were injured in a fresh wave of violence near the town of Zubin Potok in the north of Kosovo. Serbs were protesting NATO’s attempts to remove a barricade made of buses and trucks that was blocking a main road in the region. NATO responded by firing rubber bullets, tear gas and water cannons at the demonstrators. Churkin called the incident “outrageous.”


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http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=27495

Kosovo Quietly Signs Up Top US Lobbyists

Global Research, November 5, 2011 / Balkan Insight


Kosovo’s government has discretely engaged the lobbying services of one of Washington’s top firms for $50,000 a month, after having been forced to cancel an identical agreement with the firm last year for breaking public procurement laws.

Balkan Insight has obtained a copy of an official US document, which shows that Kosovo signed up the services of the lobbying firm Patton Boggs on August 31.

The document, logged at the Department of Justice, says Patton Boggs will offer Kosovo “advisory services on legal and advocacy issues to be used for expansion of bilateral and multilateral relations”.

The company will also be “fostering investments and trade opportunities for Kosovo, as well as gathering funds from foreign aid programs”.

Although the deal with the company was apparently signed on August 31, it has not been announced by the government, which last year was forced to cancel a similar contract.

Frank Wisner, Patton Bogg's foreign affairs advisor, met Thaci in the United States last July. According to a press release issed by the PM's office they discussed “current political developments in Kosovo and the achievements up to now of Kosovo’s institutions”.

Wisner is an old Kosovo hand. The former US Secretary of State under George Bush, Condoleezza Rice, appointed him the US’s special representative to the Kosovo Status Talks in 2005. Wisner played a crucial role in negotiating Kosovo’s independence.

In September 2010 the government then voted to employ Patton Boggs at a rate of 50,000 dollars a month [38,000 euro].

The cabinet was forced to cancel the decision in November after Balkan Insight revealed that the move appeared to break Kosovo's own law on public procurement.

This was because the cabinet had simply selected Patton Boggs instead of allowing a competitive bidding process to take place. The cabinet had also not justified to the Public Procurement Agency why it went ahead with a single-source tender.

Government officials said they annulled the deal on legal advice but denied having broken procurement rules.

The document recently seen by Balkan Insight showed that the annulled deal has since been quietly revived.

The Foreign Ministry said it had awarded the contract in coordination with the Procurement Agency.

Confusingly, the Agency first stated that it had no record of such a request from the ministry, but then later said it did.

Balkan Insight has now seen a copy of the request by the Foreign Ministry to the Procurement Agency to secretly award the contract to Patton Boggs with a single-source tender.

Seemingly unaware that all such contracts are required, by law, to be published online by the US Justice Department, Kosovo's Foreign Ministry argued that if the contract became public it could hinder Patton Boggs' lobbying work.

The Foreign Ministry's request was approved by the Procurement Agency.



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