Informazione
http://auth.unimondo.org/cfdocs/obportal/
index.cfm?fuseaction=news.notizia&NewsID=2708
Uranio impoverito: la guerra infinita
Bidoni coperti da un sottile strato di terra. Lì sono stoccati i resti
dei proiettili all’uranio impoverito sganciati nel ’99 su Bogutovac.
Nel cuore della quotidianità della piccola località termale nel sud
della Serbia. Un reportage di Michele Nardelli.
(30/12/2003) Mirijana Pantovic, aveva 32 anni, un marito, tre figli. Se
ne è andata qualche settimana fa, uccisa da un cancro che la sua
giovane età non è riuscita a sconfiggere. La sua morte non ha fatto
notizia, ma se ne parla, con inquietudine. Così come di quella di altre
persone a Bogutovac e dintorni, una località a non molti chilometri da
Kraljevo, lungo la Ibarska, la strada statale che dalla Serbia ti porta
in Sangiaccato. E che ad un tratto, in modo inaspettato, ti butta
addosso i segni di una strana guerra, diversa da quella che ha
distrutto sistematicamente le case di Bosnia o delle Krajne. Una
stazione ferroviaria cancellata, capannoni e case distrutte, una scuola
da poco ricostruita, un posto di blocco permanente della polizia serba.
Nel duro inverno di Bogutovac non c’è un raggio di sole. Il che rende
ancor più spettrale lo scenario che hai di fronte, lungo la stretta
valle del fiume Ibar, un tempo nota per la sua splendida fortezza di
Maglic, per il Monastero di Studenica e per la ricchezza delle acque
termali che sgorgano tutt’intorno. Gli occhi e il cuore, ormai abituati
agli affreschi di questa modernità, si riprendono in fretta. Procediamo
oltre, per una stradina che sale verso la montagna, nella direzione di
Bogutovacka Banja, un centro termale dove l’acqua ricca di litio sgorga
a 27 gradi. Una potenziale risorsa del territorio nel quadro di un
progetto di cooperazione decentrata e di sviluppo locale che la
comunità trentina sta promuovendo in quell’area. Ed è lì, lungo i viali
di un centro termale piegato su se stesso dal fallimento di un modello
e dall’incuria di una transizione senza qualità, che l’attenzione viene
catturata da un annuncio funebre affisso su un albero, da un nome e
dalla giovane età della persona scomparsa. “Qui di uranio impoverito si
continua a morire” ci dice Srdjan, rappresentante del Forum Civico di
Kraljevo, organismo che raccoglie numerose Ong della zona. Sono gli
“effetti collaterali” della guerra umanitaria del 1999. In quell’area
c’erano infatti una caserma e depositi militari bombardati dalla Nato.
Obiettivi “strategici” di una guerra che con la pulizia etnica del
Kossovo non aveva niente a che vedere, prove di dominio di un apparato
militar industriale che di lì a poco avrebbe messo definitivamente le
mani sulla Casa Bianca. Lungi dal risolvere la questione kossovara, ma
lasciando dietro di sé una scia di veleno e di morte.
A suo modo anche questa è una “guerra infinita”, considerato che di
uranio impoverito si continua a morire in Bosnia, in Serbia e nel
Kossovo “liberato”. E se gli organismi della comunità internazionale
continuano a sostenere che non è acclarato alcun collegamento diretto
tra uranio impoverito e tumori in tempi così rapidi come sarebbe in
Serbia oggi, gli studi su Hadzici, comune nei pressi di Sarajevo
fortemente bombardato durante l'azione del ‘95, ci dicono il contrario:
più di 300 persone che erano ad Hadzici durante il bombardamento sono
morte solo lo scorso anno nei campi profughi di Bratonac. Di cancro e
leucemia.
Le persone che ci accompagnano ci spiegano che le aree colpite dai
missili “arricchiti” ora sono state bonificate dall’esercito e che non
dovrebbe esserci alcun pericolo. Così andiamo in uno dei luoghi dove è
stato stoccato il materiale contaminato dai bombardamenti (soprattutto
bombe inesplose e parti di bombe esplose), in fusti piombati.
Lì, sul ciglio della strada statale che poco prima abbiamo percorso,
vicino alle macerie della stazione ferroviaria, a poche decine di metri
dal letto del fiume Ibar, c’è il sito di raccolta dei fusti, una specie
di discarica a cielo aperto ricoperta di terra e con qualche presa
d’aria, senza protezione alcuna, né un cancello, né un cartello di
pericolo. E la gente ci passa attorno, i bambini con lo zainetto che
vanno a scuola, le loro madri con i sacchetti delle provviste, ogni
giorno. Perché quella è la loro terra, l’unica che hanno. Ci dicono che
lì a due passi, sotto il ponte presidiato dal posto di blocco, c’è un
missile inesploso da quattro anni e mezzo, “in attesa che gli americani
vengano a bonificarlo”.
Certo, perché il paradosso della storia è che in questi anni, nella
distrazione generale, la situazione geopolitica nei Balcani è cambiata,
tanto che oggi la Serbia è al centro nella strategia delle alleanze
degli USA nei Balcani, paese di maggior favore nei rapporti commerciali
(basti pensare alla mitica Zastava che oggi produce armi su licenza
americana) e candidato a diventare un prezioso alleato
dell’amministrazione Bush, com’è testimoniato dall’orientamento di
inviare un proprio contingente militare in Afghanistan (qui si dice che
le indicazioni per colpire il bunker di Saddam Hussein a Baghdad
venissero proprio dai servizi segreti serbi, visto che tale bunker era
di fabbricazione jugoslava).
In attesa dei militari nordamericani, il missile sotto il ponte di
Bogutovac è lì, con il suo carico di morte, a monito del nuovo ordine
mondiale.
Proseguiamo per Studenica, 40 chilometri più a sud, a ridosso di
quell’incrocio di genti e culture che è il Sangiaccato. Lo splendido
monastero dell’XI secolo è imbiancato da una leggera coltre di neve
appena caduta. Uno spettacolo di arte, cultura e natura che resiste
alla barbarie e che nonostante tutto ci fa pensare che questi luoghi
possano rinascere. Del resto, è per questo che la comunità trentina è
lì, l’idea di uno sviluppo locale autosostenibile e di un turismo
rurale che si trova a dover fare i conti con la tragedia di una guerra
infinita. In fondo non è che una forma di risarcimento. Anche alla
memoria di Mirijana.
Michele Nardelli – Osservatorio sui Balcani
Vedi anche:
Uranio impoverito: si faccia chiarezza
http://auth.unimondo.org/cfdocs/obportal/
index.cfm?fuseaction=news.view1&NewsID=2659
Uranio impoverito alla ribalta della RAI
http://auth.unimondo.org/cfdocs/obportal/
index.cfm?fuseaction=news.view1&NewsID=2656
Uranio impoverito in più di 200 località
http://auth.unimondo.org/cfdocs/obportal/
index.cfm?fuseaction=news.view1&NewsID=1699
Sindrome dei Balcani: terza relazione Mandelli
http://auth.unimondo.org/cfdocs/obportal/
index.cfm?fuseaction=news.view1&NewsID=1008
Le Nazioni Unite trovano tracce di uranio impoverito in FRY
http://auth.unimondo.org/cfdocs/obportal/
index.cfm?fuseaction=news.view1&NewsID=708
La realtà delle armi all'uranio impoverito
http://auth.unimondo.org/cfdocs/obportal/
index.cfm?fuseaction=news.view1&NewsID=695
Uranio impoverito, gli errori di Mandelli
http://auth.unimondo.org/cfdocs/obportal/
index.cfm?fuseaction=news.view1&NewsID=258
Uranio impoverito, a volte si dimentica
http://auth.unimondo.org/cfdocs/obportal/
index.cfm?fuseaction=news.view1&NewsID=208
» Fonte: © Osservatorio sui Balcani
index.cfm?fuseaction=news.notizia&NewsID=2708
Uranio impoverito: la guerra infinita
Bidoni coperti da un sottile strato di terra. Lì sono stoccati i resti
dei proiettili all’uranio impoverito sganciati nel ’99 su Bogutovac.
Nel cuore della quotidianità della piccola località termale nel sud
della Serbia. Un reportage di Michele Nardelli.
(30/12/2003) Mirijana Pantovic, aveva 32 anni, un marito, tre figli. Se
ne è andata qualche settimana fa, uccisa da un cancro che la sua
giovane età non è riuscita a sconfiggere. La sua morte non ha fatto
notizia, ma se ne parla, con inquietudine. Così come di quella di altre
persone a Bogutovac e dintorni, una località a non molti chilometri da
Kraljevo, lungo la Ibarska, la strada statale che dalla Serbia ti porta
in Sangiaccato. E che ad un tratto, in modo inaspettato, ti butta
addosso i segni di una strana guerra, diversa da quella che ha
distrutto sistematicamente le case di Bosnia o delle Krajne. Una
stazione ferroviaria cancellata, capannoni e case distrutte, una scuola
da poco ricostruita, un posto di blocco permanente della polizia serba.
Nel duro inverno di Bogutovac non c’è un raggio di sole. Il che rende
ancor più spettrale lo scenario che hai di fronte, lungo la stretta
valle del fiume Ibar, un tempo nota per la sua splendida fortezza di
Maglic, per il Monastero di Studenica e per la ricchezza delle acque
termali che sgorgano tutt’intorno. Gli occhi e il cuore, ormai abituati
agli affreschi di questa modernità, si riprendono in fretta. Procediamo
oltre, per una stradina che sale verso la montagna, nella direzione di
Bogutovacka Banja, un centro termale dove l’acqua ricca di litio sgorga
a 27 gradi. Una potenziale risorsa del territorio nel quadro di un
progetto di cooperazione decentrata e di sviluppo locale che la
comunità trentina sta promuovendo in quell’area. Ed è lì, lungo i viali
di un centro termale piegato su se stesso dal fallimento di un modello
e dall’incuria di una transizione senza qualità, che l’attenzione viene
catturata da un annuncio funebre affisso su un albero, da un nome e
dalla giovane età della persona scomparsa. “Qui di uranio impoverito si
continua a morire” ci dice Srdjan, rappresentante del Forum Civico di
Kraljevo, organismo che raccoglie numerose Ong della zona. Sono gli
“effetti collaterali” della guerra umanitaria del 1999. In quell’area
c’erano infatti una caserma e depositi militari bombardati dalla Nato.
Obiettivi “strategici” di una guerra che con la pulizia etnica del
Kossovo non aveva niente a che vedere, prove di dominio di un apparato
militar industriale che di lì a poco avrebbe messo definitivamente le
mani sulla Casa Bianca. Lungi dal risolvere la questione kossovara, ma
lasciando dietro di sé una scia di veleno e di morte.
A suo modo anche questa è una “guerra infinita”, considerato che di
uranio impoverito si continua a morire in Bosnia, in Serbia e nel
Kossovo “liberato”. E se gli organismi della comunità internazionale
continuano a sostenere che non è acclarato alcun collegamento diretto
tra uranio impoverito e tumori in tempi così rapidi come sarebbe in
Serbia oggi, gli studi su Hadzici, comune nei pressi di Sarajevo
fortemente bombardato durante l'azione del ‘95, ci dicono il contrario:
più di 300 persone che erano ad Hadzici durante il bombardamento sono
morte solo lo scorso anno nei campi profughi di Bratonac. Di cancro e
leucemia.
Le persone che ci accompagnano ci spiegano che le aree colpite dai
missili “arricchiti” ora sono state bonificate dall’esercito e che non
dovrebbe esserci alcun pericolo. Così andiamo in uno dei luoghi dove è
stato stoccato il materiale contaminato dai bombardamenti (soprattutto
bombe inesplose e parti di bombe esplose), in fusti piombati.
Lì, sul ciglio della strada statale che poco prima abbiamo percorso,
vicino alle macerie della stazione ferroviaria, a poche decine di metri
dal letto del fiume Ibar, c’è il sito di raccolta dei fusti, una specie
di discarica a cielo aperto ricoperta di terra e con qualche presa
d’aria, senza protezione alcuna, né un cancello, né un cartello di
pericolo. E la gente ci passa attorno, i bambini con lo zainetto che
vanno a scuola, le loro madri con i sacchetti delle provviste, ogni
giorno. Perché quella è la loro terra, l’unica che hanno. Ci dicono che
lì a due passi, sotto il ponte presidiato dal posto di blocco, c’è un
missile inesploso da quattro anni e mezzo, “in attesa che gli americani
vengano a bonificarlo”.
Certo, perché il paradosso della storia è che in questi anni, nella
distrazione generale, la situazione geopolitica nei Balcani è cambiata,
tanto che oggi la Serbia è al centro nella strategia delle alleanze
degli USA nei Balcani, paese di maggior favore nei rapporti commerciali
(basti pensare alla mitica Zastava che oggi produce armi su licenza
americana) e candidato a diventare un prezioso alleato
dell’amministrazione Bush, com’è testimoniato dall’orientamento di
inviare un proprio contingente militare in Afghanistan (qui si dice che
le indicazioni per colpire il bunker di Saddam Hussein a Baghdad
venissero proprio dai servizi segreti serbi, visto che tale bunker era
di fabbricazione jugoslava).
In attesa dei militari nordamericani, il missile sotto il ponte di
Bogutovac è lì, con il suo carico di morte, a monito del nuovo ordine
mondiale.
Proseguiamo per Studenica, 40 chilometri più a sud, a ridosso di
quell’incrocio di genti e culture che è il Sangiaccato. Lo splendido
monastero dell’XI secolo è imbiancato da una leggera coltre di neve
appena caduta. Uno spettacolo di arte, cultura e natura che resiste
alla barbarie e che nonostante tutto ci fa pensare che questi luoghi
possano rinascere. Del resto, è per questo che la comunità trentina è
lì, l’idea di uno sviluppo locale autosostenibile e di un turismo
rurale che si trova a dover fare i conti con la tragedia di una guerra
infinita. In fondo non è che una forma di risarcimento. Anche alla
memoria di Mirijana.
Michele Nardelli – Osservatorio sui Balcani
Vedi anche:
Uranio impoverito: si faccia chiarezza
http://auth.unimondo.org/cfdocs/obportal/
index.cfm?fuseaction=news.view1&NewsID=2659
Uranio impoverito alla ribalta della RAI
http://auth.unimondo.org/cfdocs/obportal/
index.cfm?fuseaction=news.view1&NewsID=2656
Uranio impoverito in più di 200 località
http://auth.unimondo.org/cfdocs/obportal/
index.cfm?fuseaction=news.view1&NewsID=1699
Sindrome dei Balcani: terza relazione Mandelli
http://auth.unimondo.org/cfdocs/obportal/
index.cfm?fuseaction=news.view1&NewsID=1008
Le Nazioni Unite trovano tracce di uranio impoverito in FRY
http://auth.unimondo.org/cfdocs/obportal/
index.cfm?fuseaction=news.view1&NewsID=708
La realtà delle armi all'uranio impoverito
http://auth.unimondo.org/cfdocs/obportal/
index.cfm?fuseaction=news.view1&NewsID=695
Uranio impoverito, gli errori di Mandelli
http://auth.unimondo.org/cfdocs/obportal/
index.cfm?fuseaction=news.view1&NewsID=258
Uranio impoverito, a volte si dimentica
http://auth.unimondo.org/cfdocs/obportal/
index.cfm?fuseaction=news.view1&NewsID=208
» Fonte: © Osservatorio sui Balcani
Bulgaria / NATO / USA (italiano / english)
1. Irak: i primi morti della missione bulgara
Cadono i primi soldati bulgari in missione in Irak. A Kerbala sono
cinque i militari a rimanere vittima di un attentato. Ed intanto a
Sofia c’è chi inizia a pensare che l’alleanza agli USA sta costando un
prezzo troppo alto … (Osservatorio Balcani)
2. Sarafovo, la nuova Aviano? (Osservatorio Balcani)
3. Iraq: Polish-Bulgarian-NATO Occupation Zone Still Tense
1) Polish-Bulgarian-NATO Occupation Zone Still Tense
2) A Taste Of Blood: Bulgarian Mercenaries In Revenge
Attacks Against Iraqis
3) New Bulgarian Military Contingent Gathers At
US/NATO Bourgas Base For Deployment To Karbala
4) Bulgarian Prime Minister, Former King Simeon II,
Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, Hosts Belgian King, Queen For New
Year Royal Get-Together As Bulgarian Cannon Fodder
Ship Off To Iraq War Zone
5) Bulgarian Troops Refuse To Die For King And Country
Vedi anche / See also:
Bulgaria Approves Hosting of US, NATO Military Bases
http://www.balkantimes.com/
default3.asp?lang=english&page=process_print&article_id=22451
A sorry outpost of Empire
http://www.bhhrg.org/
CountryReport.asp?ChapterID=607&CountryID=6&ReportID=196&keyword=
=== 1 ===
http://auth.unimondo.org/cfdocs/obportal/
index.cfm?fuseaction=news.notizia&NewsID=2711
Irak: i primi morti della missione bulgara
Cadono i primi soldati bulgari in missione in Irak. A Kerbala sono
cinque i militari a rimanere vittima di un attentato. Ed intanto a
Sofia c’è chi inizia a pensare che l’alleanza agli USA sta costando un
prezzo troppo alto …
(29/12/2003)
Da Sofia scrive Tanya Mangalakova
Cinque rangers bulgari hanno perso la vita a Kerbala in Iraq tra il
27 e il 28 dicembre scorso, quando un’autobomba è esplosa nel campo
bulgaro. Un trasporto d’acqua ha colpito la recinzione della base
indiana, dove il battaglione bulgaro è di stanza. L’infernale
esplosione ha colpito a morte il capitano Georgi Hristov Kachorin, il
sergente Ivan Hristov Petrov, il secondo sergente Anton Valentinov
Petrov, Svilen Dimitrov Kirov e il colonnello Nikolay Saraev morto ieri
nell’ospedale di Baghdad a seguito delle lesioni riportate
nell’attentato. Altri 27 militari sono rimasti feriti , dei quali 17
sono tutt’ora in gravi condizioni e sono stati trasportati in
elicottero presso l’ospedale americano di Baghdad.
L’opinione pubblica si è lamentata particolarmente per il silenzio di
diverse ore mantenuto dal governo bulgaro a seguito dell’incidente,
lasciando le famiglie dei circa 500 soldati di stanza in Iraq. Il
premier bulgaro Simeone, il ministro degli esteri Solomon Passy e il
ministro della difesa Nikolay Svinarov non sono apparsi subito in
pubblico per calmare la società bulgara e le famiglie dei soldati,
tutti e tre gli alti funzionari bulgari non hanno rinunciato alle loro
vacanze natalizie.
Riportate i nostri soldati a casa!
È il titolo dell’articolo di Martin Karbovsky pubblicato dal
quotidiano “24 Chassa” il 28 dicembre. “I soldati bulgari sono carne da
macello nel gioco geostrategica, sono i manichini della NATO, i
bersagli più facili. Con l’attacco ai nostri pochi preparati soldati
gli iracheni possono dimostrare la loro forza di resistenza e
rivendicare le loro perdite per la sconfitta militare e la cattura del
loro dittatore. Questa guerra non è leale da entrambi i lati delle
barricate, e la cosa meno leale è il vostro motivo per essere lì –
pagamenti e obblighi che non esistono. Come emigrati potete avere molti
soldi, così, tornate a casa, questa guerra non è vostra. Siamo stati
coinvolti in un conflitto ma dobbiamo liberarcene adesso: la guerra tra
ebrei e arabi non ci riguarda, la guerra degli USA contro il mondo
nemmeno”.
Qualche giorno prima dell’attacco alla base bulgara di Kerbala era
intervenuto sull’argomento Irak il Presidente Parvanov. “La guerra in
Irak condotta dagli USA non solo non ha posto fine al terrorismo
internazionale ma rischia, per alcuni versi, di averne accentuato la
vitalità”. Lo ha affermato in un’intervista alla radio bulgara “Darik”.
Parvanov non ha cambiato idea quindi rispetto ai giorni nei quali la
Bulgaria scelse di essere al fianco degli USA e lui fu tra i pochi a
sostenere la posizione della Russia, della Francia e della Germania.
“Dovremo favorire il dialogo tra Europa e Stati Uniti” ha aggiunto
Parvanov.
Non a caso l’intervista al Presidente bulgaro verteva sull’Irak.
Quest’ultimo è un argomento da prima pagina sui media bulgari. Non solo
perché la Bulgaria ha preso parte alla missione militare contro il
regime di Saddam Hussein, non solo perché è stata ammessa tra i 63
stati che ricostruiranno il Paese ma anche e soprattutto per i rischi
che il contingente bulgaro deve affrontare quotidianamente in Irak.
Una breve cronologia della presenza bulgara in Irak
Il contingente bulgaro fa parte della forza multinazionale presente
in Irak ed è attualmente sotto commando polacco. Il contingente -
arrivato in Irak nell’agosto del 2003, in seguito ad una decisione del
Consiglio dei Ministri del 22 maggio dello stesso anno - è costituito
da 478 uomini ed è stanziato nelle vicinanze della città di Kerbala,
città santa sciita, un centinaio di chilometri da Baghdad. Compito dei
militari bulgari quello di controllare quest’ultima.
Un prezzo troppo alto per la lealtà alla NATO
I media bulgari sono stati estremamente attenti a riportare qualsiasi
incidente accaduto ai militari a Kerbala. Anche prima della tragica
fine dei cinque militari bulgari si era verificato più di un incidente.
La situazione è resa ancora più difficile dal fatto che si tratta della
prima missione bulgara all’estero e scarso è stato l’addestramento
specifico.
Sino ad ora sono stati spesi per il mantenimento del contingente
bulgaro in Iraq 30 milioni di euro, secondo alcuni troppo per un
piccolo Paese come la Bulgaria. Ma coloro i quali sostengono la
missione affermano che ritornerà utile aver dimostrato la propria
fedeltà alla NATO ancor prima di farne parte.
L’opinione pubblica bulgara è divisa tra chi è pronto ad accettare
questo “prezzo” e chi si è invece espresso in senso contrario. Le
posizioni si sono polarizzate dopo la morte dei tre militari bulgari lo
scorso 27 dicembre. Questa polarizzazione era stata prevista dal
direttore esecutivo dell’Istituto Euro-Atlantico, Konstantin Dimitrov
in un’intervista per un settimanale bulgaro specializzato in questioni
legate alla sicurezza. “Non dimentichiamo che è un’operazione complessa
e rischiosa”, aveva affermato quest’ultimo.
Reclutamenti difficili
“Cinquanta militari rifiutano di partire per Serbala”, riporta lo
scorso 22 dicembre il quotidiano bulgaro Sega citando le parole del
generale Nikola Kolev, a capo dell’esercito bulgaro “ciononostante non
ho dubbi che si riuscirà a formare un secondo contingente disposto ad
andare in Irak. Stiamo tra l’altro accordandoci con l’Università di
Sofia per arruolare interpreti dall’arabo”, ha aggiunto Kolev.
Kolev non ha risparmiato però critiche agli Stati Uniti per come
viene gestita la situazione post-bellica. In particolare nota, in
un’intervista a BTV, che gli USA non sembrano avere una chiara visione
politica dell’Irak del futuro né alcun piano per la ricostruzione.
La difficoltà principale nel reclutare militari disposti a partire è
legata al fatto che, data la legge vigente, possono essere inviati solo
militari che diano il proprio consenso alla missione. Si parte quindi
solo su base volontaria. Lo stesso Kolev ha già proposto che la legge
venga modificata e che ogni soldato bulgaro possa essere inviato senza
un suo espresso assenso in missioni all’estero. “Altrimenti - nota
Kolev - può essere rallentato il processo di professionalizzazione
dell’esercito e la Bulgaria rischia di non essere in grado di adempiere
ai propri doveri di alleato NATO”.
1,7 miliardi di dollari di crediti
L’Irak è debitore nei confronti della Bulgaria di 1,7 miliardi di
dollari. Restituzione dei quali in pochi credono ancora in Bulgaria. La
cattura di Saddam Hussein ha però ravvivato gli animi e in molti
sperano che le grandi potenze si accordino sul debito estero iracheno e
che parte di questo debito possa venir restituito. “Dopo la cattura di
Saddam avverrà la restituzione del debito” aveva assicurato il Ministro
degli esteri bulgaro Solomon Passy. Il quotidiano “Sega” commenta che
il credito nei confronti di Baghdad ammonta al 12,5% del PIL bulgaro.
La Francia si è già detta disposta a rinunciare a 3 miliardi di dollari
che l’Irak le deve, aggiunge “Sega”, sostenendo che questo potrebbe
implicare una maggior disponibilità di risorse per ripianare il credito
bulgaro. “La miglior soluzione per il credito bulgaro nei confronti
dell’Irak è quello di venderlo” ha affermato invece nei giorni scorsi
Krassen Stanchev, direttore dell’Istituto per l’economia di mercato, ha
dichiarato per la sezione bulgara della BBC che “se viene venduto
subito si può recuperare sino al 10% della somma”.
=== 2 ===
www.resistenze.org - popoli resistenti - bulgaria - 23-12-03
fonte: Fonte: Osservatorio sui Balcani
Sarafovo, la nuova Aviano?
di Tanya Mangalakova
12.12.2003 - Sofia
Un tour in alcuni dei Paesi dell’ex Patto di Varsavia. Prima la
Polonia, poi Bucarest ed infine la Bulgaria. Lo ha compiuto nei giorni
scorsi una delegazione del Dipartimento di Stato USA guidata dal
vicesegretario alla Difesa Doulgas Feith. Obiettivo: un giro di
consultazioni sull’eventuale dislocamento in questi Paesi di alcune
basi militari statunitensi attualmente in Europa occidentale.
I politici bulgari si sono prodigati, in primis il Ministro degli
Esteri Solomon Passy ed il Presidente Paravanov, nell’assicurare che vi
è piena disponibilità rispetto alla concessione di basi militari agli
USA. “Il consenso politico su questa opzione è emerso chiaramente già
all’indomani dell’11 settembre quando governo e Parlamento dichiararono
che la Bulgaria intende operare come membro di fatto della NATO”, ha
ricordato Solomon Passy.
Ma Feith non si è limitato a constatare la disponibilità bulgara ma ha
anche posto alcune condizioni chiare all’arrivo dei militari USA. La
posizione della Bulgaria rispetto alla Corte Penale Internazionale
influenzerà le scelte USA sul dispiegamento o meno di basi militari in
Bulgaria, ha affermato. La Bulgaria infatti, nonostante le notevoli
pressioni subite, ha rifiutato di sottoscrivere l’accordo bilaterale
che di fatto escluderebbe dalla giurisdizione della CPI i soldati e
cittadini USA che si fossero resi colpevoli di crimini contro l'umnaità
su suolo bulgaro. La scelta è stata presa dal governo bulgaro anche in
chiave di integrazione europea. In più occasioni infatti l’Unione ha
palesato non solo di non gradire ma anche di considerare un ostacolo
all’allargamento la firma di accordi bilaterali con gli USA di immunità
dalla Corte Penale Internazionale.
Molti quotidiani bulgari sottolineano come il processo di dislocamento
della basi USA dall’Europa occidentale a quella orientale sembra oramai
avviato. Secondo gli esperti militari bulgari la Bulgaria sarebbe tra i
Paesi preferiti dagli USA. Al suo fianco la Polonia e la Romania.
Quella degli scorsi giorni è stata la visita USA di più alto livello
sulla questione della dislocazione della basi USA in Europa. Feith ha
infatti ricevuto il proprio mandato direttamente dal Presiedente USA
Bush. Il Ministro alla difesa Svinarov ha invitato il Parlamento ad
adottare una dichiarazione, prima di Natale, che ribadisca la
disponibilità ad ospitare le strutture miliatri USA. “Che possono
essere di vario tipo” ha reso noto il Ministro “temporanee, permanenti
o ad esempio destinate esclusivamente all’addestramento ed alle
esercitazioni”.
La Bulgaria ha già in passato messo a disposizione proprie basi
militari per operazioni dell’esercito USA. La base aerea di Sarafovo,
sul Mar Nero, nei pressi di Bourgas, è stata utilizzata sia in
occasione degli attacchi all’Afghanistan che all’Iraq. Sono 239 le basi
militari USA in Europa e 116.000 i militari dispiegati nel vecchio
continente. Di questi Washington intenderebbe dislocarne in Europa
orientale circa 42.000.
Ma cosa pensano i cittadini delle località della Bulgaria probabili
sedi delle basi militari USA? Secondo un sondaggio condotto dal
Ministero della Difesa il 43,2% degli intervistati vede con favore
l’arrivo degli americani mentre il 40,7% si sarebbe dichiarato
contrario. Proteste anche della rete bulgara anti-globalizzazione che
ha organizzato a Sofia una manifestazione contro la creazione di basi
NATO ed ha richiesto all’Assemblea Nazionale che ogni decisione
rilevante in merito alla questione debba essere presa attraverso un
referendum popolare.
=== 3 ===
Naslov: Iraq: Polish-Bulgarian-NATO Occupation Zone Still Tense
Od: "Rick Rozoff"
Datum: Ned, 4 Januar, 2004 09:24
1) Polish-Bulgarian-NATO Occupation Zone Still Tense
2) A Taste Of Blood: Bulgarian Mercenaries In Revenge
Attacks Against Iraqis
3) New Bulgarian Military Contingent Gathers At
US/NATO Bourgas Base For Deployment To Karbala
4) Bulgarian Prime Minister, Former King Simeon II,
Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, Hosts Belgian King, Queen For New
Year Royal Get-Together As Bulgarian Cannon Fodder
Ship Off To Iraq War Zone
5) Bulgarian Troops Refuse To Die For King And Country
1)
http://www.novinite.com/view_news.php?id=29544
Novinite (Bulgaria)
January 4, 2004
Situation in Karbala Remains Tense
The situation in the southern Iraqi city of Karbala
and the nearby region remains tense, Bulgarian Defense
Ministry officials reported on Sunday.
The curfew from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m., which the Polish
military imposed after the attacks, is still in force.
Security measures around the camp of the Bulgarian
infantry unit have been beefed up and the soldiers
continue to carry out their assignments.
The health condition of the Bulgarian soldier, injured
in the deadly December 27 attacks that remained in
Karbala is improving. The injured soldiers in Germany
as well as those transported to Bulgaria are also
improving.
The holy Shia city south of Baghdad was hit by a
deadly attack last Saturday, claiming the lives of
five Bulgarian soldiers, the country's first
casualties among the 450 soldiers in the infantry
battalion in Iraq. On Friday it was announced that
more than two dozen Bulgarian soldiers refused to join
a 500-member contingent heading for Iraq after
attacks. The new contingent is to replace 480
Bulgarian troops who have been deployed in Iraq as
part of a 9,000-strong Polish-led multinational
contingent in Iraq.
2)
http://www.novinite.com/view_news.php?id=29532
Novinite
January 4, 2004
Iraqis: Bulgaria's Soldiers Revenge for Dec 27 Attacks
The Bulgarian soldiers that remained in the Iraqi city
of Karbala are now revenging for the killed military
men, claims Bulgarian 24 Chasa newspaper citing Iraqis
from the holy Shia city.
On December 27 deadly attacks claimed the lives 5
Bulgarian and 2 Thai soldiers from the 9,000-strong
22-nation force under Polish command that controls the
region. Those 5 victims were the first Bulgarian
casualties in Iraq and shocked both the nation and the
military unit in Karbala.
Following the blasts in the Bulgarian base the soldier
were drastically changed, the article reads. They
became too abrupt and instead of communicating with
the local people they started beating them up. The
newspaper article even claims that one or two local
people even died after the Bulgarians terrorized them.
A friend of my cousin was killed as he didn't see the
barriers and went on driving his car, an Iraqi said
and claimed that his life was also endangered by the
Bulgarian soldiers once.
One other Iraqi explains that not all Bulgarian
soldiers were like that, adding that some of them are
still very polite. Some of the local people back the
theory that Osama Bin Laden was behind the attacks,
while others say that local criminals, whose interests
were affected are to be blamed.
All Iraqis cited by the Bulgarian newspaper, however,
are certain that the local people should not bear the
consequences, as it was very pleased to see the
Bulgarian soldiers in its town.
No comment has been made from Bulgaria's Defense
Ministry on the behavior of the soldiers. Some of the
military men in Karbala said that the new behavior is
due to the change in the defense tactics. These new
tactics led to even tighter control in the Iraqi city.
3)
http://www.novinite.com/view_news.php?id=29525
Novinite
January 3, 2004
Bulgaria's Replacement Iraq-Bound Unit Arrive at Black
Sea City
The first 60 soldiers from Bulgaria's replacement
contingent in Iraq arrived on Saturday in the Black
Sea city of Burgas.
According to information of local Darik Radio the
sixty soldiers are part of the technical team, which
is to be the first to head for Karbala.
Unconfirmed reports say the soldiers will be flown to
Karbala from the airport of Burgas on Sunday. No
information about the date and hour of the departure
or the kind of transport used has been divulged out of
security concerns.
Additional technical equipment for the Bulgarian
infantry unit will be transported by sea.
A day earlier it became clear that more than two dozen
Bulgarian soldiers refused to join a 500-member
contingent heading for Iraq after attacks. The new
contingent is to replace 480 Bulgarian troops who have
been deployed in Iraq as part of a 9,000-strong
Polish-led multinational contingent in Iraq.
4)
http://www.bgnewsnet.com/
Bulgarian News Network
December 31, 2003
Saxe-Coburg Gotha hosts Belgium's royal couple on the
New Year eve
SOFIA (bnn) Belgium's King Albert II and his wife
Queen Paola are arriving at a private visit to
Bulgaria Wednesday, the Government Information Service
reported. The royal couple will celebrate the New Year
with Prime Minister Simeon Saxe-Coburg Gotha,
Bulgaria's former king and his wife Margarita Gomez
Acebo. According to a report in the Sofia daily Trud
Wednesday, Saxe-Coburg will host Albert II and Paola
at his hereditary alpine mansion of Czarska Bistritsa
in the scenic Rila Mountain, some 80 kilometers (50
miles) south of Sofia.
5)
http://www.onlinebg.com/ASP/wwwbgweb2.asp?mode=article&artdate=2004/1/
3&artno=8
Bulgaria Online
January 3, 2004
Bulgarian Troops Refuse to Go to Iraq
-Government officials have said that Bulgaria will
remain a firm member of the U.S.-lead coalition,
despite the deaths.
"Keeping our military contingent in Iraq is a question
of principle," Prime Minister Simeon Saxcoburggotski
said earlier this week.
More than two dozen Bulgarian soldiers are refusing
deployment in Iraq, following the deaths of five
countrymen in an attack in the Mideast country, a
senior military official said Friday.
Between 25 and 30 soldiers of the second Bulgarian
contingent, due to leave for Iraq in early January to
replace the troops there now, have decided not to go
on the mission, said Gen. Nikolai Kolev, the army
chief of staff. The withdrawals would not affect
Bulgaria's mission in Iraq, he added.
All soldiers in Bulgaria's Iraqi missions have
volunteered to take part.
Bulgaria, a staunch supporter of the U.S. military
campaign in Iraq, last August sent a 485-soldier light
infantry battalion to Iraq.
Some of the replacement soldiers changed their minds
after five of their countrymen were killed a week ago
in a blitz of four suicide car bombs, rocket-propelled
grenades and mortars that blasted coalition military
bases and the Iraqi governor's office.
The troops who withdrew will have to refund the costs
of their training and medical examinations, Kolev
said.
Government officials have said that Bulgaria will
remain a firm member of the U.S.-lead coalition,
despite the deaths.
"Keeping our military contingent in Iraq is a question
of principle," Prime Minister Simeon Saxcoburggotski
said earlier this week.
1. Irak: i primi morti della missione bulgara
Cadono i primi soldati bulgari in missione in Irak. A Kerbala sono
cinque i militari a rimanere vittima di un attentato. Ed intanto a
Sofia c’è chi inizia a pensare che l’alleanza agli USA sta costando un
prezzo troppo alto … (Osservatorio Balcani)
2. Sarafovo, la nuova Aviano? (Osservatorio Balcani)
3. Iraq: Polish-Bulgarian-NATO Occupation Zone Still Tense
1) Polish-Bulgarian-NATO Occupation Zone Still Tense
2) A Taste Of Blood: Bulgarian Mercenaries In Revenge
Attacks Against Iraqis
3) New Bulgarian Military Contingent Gathers At
US/NATO Bourgas Base For Deployment To Karbala
4) Bulgarian Prime Minister, Former King Simeon II,
Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, Hosts Belgian King, Queen For New
Year Royal Get-Together As Bulgarian Cannon Fodder
Ship Off To Iraq War Zone
5) Bulgarian Troops Refuse To Die For King And Country
Vedi anche / See also:
Bulgaria Approves Hosting of US, NATO Military Bases
http://www.balkantimes.com/
default3.asp?lang=english&page=process_print&article_id=22451
A sorry outpost of Empire
http://www.bhhrg.org/
CountryReport.asp?ChapterID=607&CountryID=6&ReportID=196&keyword=
=== 1 ===
http://auth.unimondo.org/cfdocs/obportal/
index.cfm?fuseaction=news.notizia&NewsID=2711
Irak: i primi morti della missione bulgara
Cadono i primi soldati bulgari in missione in Irak. A Kerbala sono
cinque i militari a rimanere vittima di un attentato. Ed intanto a
Sofia c’è chi inizia a pensare che l’alleanza agli USA sta costando un
prezzo troppo alto …
(29/12/2003)
Da Sofia scrive Tanya Mangalakova
Cinque rangers bulgari hanno perso la vita a Kerbala in Iraq tra il
27 e il 28 dicembre scorso, quando un’autobomba è esplosa nel campo
bulgaro. Un trasporto d’acqua ha colpito la recinzione della base
indiana, dove il battaglione bulgaro è di stanza. L’infernale
esplosione ha colpito a morte il capitano Georgi Hristov Kachorin, il
sergente Ivan Hristov Petrov, il secondo sergente Anton Valentinov
Petrov, Svilen Dimitrov Kirov e il colonnello Nikolay Saraev morto ieri
nell’ospedale di Baghdad a seguito delle lesioni riportate
nell’attentato. Altri 27 militari sono rimasti feriti , dei quali 17
sono tutt’ora in gravi condizioni e sono stati trasportati in
elicottero presso l’ospedale americano di Baghdad.
L’opinione pubblica si è lamentata particolarmente per il silenzio di
diverse ore mantenuto dal governo bulgaro a seguito dell’incidente,
lasciando le famiglie dei circa 500 soldati di stanza in Iraq. Il
premier bulgaro Simeone, il ministro degli esteri Solomon Passy e il
ministro della difesa Nikolay Svinarov non sono apparsi subito in
pubblico per calmare la società bulgara e le famiglie dei soldati,
tutti e tre gli alti funzionari bulgari non hanno rinunciato alle loro
vacanze natalizie.
Riportate i nostri soldati a casa!
È il titolo dell’articolo di Martin Karbovsky pubblicato dal
quotidiano “24 Chassa” il 28 dicembre. “I soldati bulgari sono carne da
macello nel gioco geostrategica, sono i manichini della NATO, i
bersagli più facili. Con l’attacco ai nostri pochi preparati soldati
gli iracheni possono dimostrare la loro forza di resistenza e
rivendicare le loro perdite per la sconfitta militare e la cattura del
loro dittatore. Questa guerra non è leale da entrambi i lati delle
barricate, e la cosa meno leale è il vostro motivo per essere lì –
pagamenti e obblighi che non esistono. Come emigrati potete avere molti
soldi, così, tornate a casa, questa guerra non è vostra. Siamo stati
coinvolti in un conflitto ma dobbiamo liberarcene adesso: la guerra tra
ebrei e arabi non ci riguarda, la guerra degli USA contro il mondo
nemmeno”.
Qualche giorno prima dell’attacco alla base bulgara di Kerbala era
intervenuto sull’argomento Irak il Presidente Parvanov. “La guerra in
Irak condotta dagli USA non solo non ha posto fine al terrorismo
internazionale ma rischia, per alcuni versi, di averne accentuato la
vitalità”. Lo ha affermato in un’intervista alla radio bulgara “Darik”.
Parvanov non ha cambiato idea quindi rispetto ai giorni nei quali la
Bulgaria scelse di essere al fianco degli USA e lui fu tra i pochi a
sostenere la posizione della Russia, della Francia e della Germania.
“Dovremo favorire il dialogo tra Europa e Stati Uniti” ha aggiunto
Parvanov.
Non a caso l’intervista al Presidente bulgaro verteva sull’Irak.
Quest’ultimo è un argomento da prima pagina sui media bulgari. Non solo
perché la Bulgaria ha preso parte alla missione militare contro il
regime di Saddam Hussein, non solo perché è stata ammessa tra i 63
stati che ricostruiranno il Paese ma anche e soprattutto per i rischi
che il contingente bulgaro deve affrontare quotidianamente in Irak.
Una breve cronologia della presenza bulgara in Irak
Il contingente bulgaro fa parte della forza multinazionale presente
in Irak ed è attualmente sotto commando polacco. Il contingente -
arrivato in Irak nell’agosto del 2003, in seguito ad una decisione del
Consiglio dei Ministri del 22 maggio dello stesso anno - è costituito
da 478 uomini ed è stanziato nelle vicinanze della città di Kerbala,
città santa sciita, un centinaio di chilometri da Baghdad. Compito dei
militari bulgari quello di controllare quest’ultima.
Un prezzo troppo alto per la lealtà alla NATO
I media bulgari sono stati estremamente attenti a riportare qualsiasi
incidente accaduto ai militari a Kerbala. Anche prima della tragica
fine dei cinque militari bulgari si era verificato più di un incidente.
La situazione è resa ancora più difficile dal fatto che si tratta della
prima missione bulgara all’estero e scarso è stato l’addestramento
specifico.
Sino ad ora sono stati spesi per il mantenimento del contingente
bulgaro in Iraq 30 milioni di euro, secondo alcuni troppo per un
piccolo Paese come la Bulgaria. Ma coloro i quali sostengono la
missione affermano che ritornerà utile aver dimostrato la propria
fedeltà alla NATO ancor prima di farne parte.
L’opinione pubblica bulgara è divisa tra chi è pronto ad accettare
questo “prezzo” e chi si è invece espresso in senso contrario. Le
posizioni si sono polarizzate dopo la morte dei tre militari bulgari lo
scorso 27 dicembre. Questa polarizzazione era stata prevista dal
direttore esecutivo dell’Istituto Euro-Atlantico, Konstantin Dimitrov
in un’intervista per un settimanale bulgaro specializzato in questioni
legate alla sicurezza. “Non dimentichiamo che è un’operazione complessa
e rischiosa”, aveva affermato quest’ultimo.
Reclutamenti difficili
“Cinquanta militari rifiutano di partire per Serbala”, riporta lo
scorso 22 dicembre il quotidiano bulgaro Sega citando le parole del
generale Nikola Kolev, a capo dell’esercito bulgaro “ciononostante non
ho dubbi che si riuscirà a formare un secondo contingente disposto ad
andare in Irak. Stiamo tra l’altro accordandoci con l’Università di
Sofia per arruolare interpreti dall’arabo”, ha aggiunto Kolev.
Kolev non ha risparmiato però critiche agli Stati Uniti per come
viene gestita la situazione post-bellica. In particolare nota, in
un’intervista a BTV, che gli USA non sembrano avere una chiara visione
politica dell’Irak del futuro né alcun piano per la ricostruzione.
La difficoltà principale nel reclutare militari disposti a partire è
legata al fatto che, data la legge vigente, possono essere inviati solo
militari che diano il proprio consenso alla missione. Si parte quindi
solo su base volontaria. Lo stesso Kolev ha già proposto che la legge
venga modificata e che ogni soldato bulgaro possa essere inviato senza
un suo espresso assenso in missioni all’estero. “Altrimenti - nota
Kolev - può essere rallentato il processo di professionalizzazione
dell’esercito e la Bulgaria rischia di non essere in grado di adempiere
ai propri doveri di alleato NATO”.
1,7 miliardi di dollari di crediti
L’Irak è debitore nei confronti della Bulgaria di 1,7 miliardi di
dollari. Restituzione dei quali in pochi credono ancora in Bulgaria. La
cattura di Saddam Hussein ha però ravvivato gli animi e in molti
sperano che le grandi potenze si accordino sul debito estero iracheno e
che parte di questo debito possa venir restituito. “Dopo la cattura di
Saddam avverrà la restituzione del debito” aveva assicurato il Ministro
degli esteri bulgaro Solomon Passy. Il quotidiano “Sega” commenta che
il credito nei confronti di Baghdad ammonta al 12,5% del PIL bulgaro.
La Francia si è già detta disposta a rinunciare a 3 miliardi di dollari
che l’Irak le deve, aggiunge “Sega”, sostenendo che questo potrebbe
implicare una maggior disponibilità di risorse per ripianare il credito
bulgaro. “La miglior soluzione per il credito bulgaro nei confronti
dell’Irak è quello di venderlo” ha affermato invece nei giorni scorsi
Krassen Stanchev, direttore dell’Istituto per l’economia di mercato, ha
dichiarato per la sezione bulgara della BBC che “se viene venduto
subito si può recuperare sino al 10% della somma”.
=== 2 ===
www.resistenze.org - popoli resistenti - bulgaria - 23-12-03
fonte: Fonte: Osservatorio sui Balcani
Sarafovo, la nuova Aviano?
di Tanya Mangalakova
12.12.2003 - Sofia
Un tour in alcuni dei Paesi dell’ex Patto di Varsavia. Prima la
Polonia, poi Bucarest ed infine la Bulgaria. Lo ha compiuto nei giorni
scorsi una delegazione del Dipartimento di Stato USA guidata dal
vicesegretario alla Difesa Doulgas Feith. Obiettivo: un giro di
consultazioni sull’eventuale dislocamento in questi Paesi di alcune
basi militari statunitensi attualmente in Europa occidentale.
I politici bulgari si sono prodigati, in primis il Ministro degli
Esteri Solomon Passy ed il Presidente Paravanov, nell’assicurare che vi
è piena disponibilità rispetto alla concessione di basi militari agli
USA. “Il consenso politico su questa opzione è emerso chiaramente già
all’indomani dell’11 settembre quando governo e Parlamento dichiararono
che la Bulgaria intende operare come membro di fatto della NATO”, ha
ricordato Solomon Passy.
Ma Feith non si è limitato a constatare la disponibilità bulgara ma ha
anche posto alcune condizioni chiare all’arrivo dei militari USA. La
posizione della Bulgaria rispetto alla Corte Penale Internazionale
influenzerà le scelte USA sul dispiegamento o meno di basi militari in
Bulgaria, ha affermato. La Bulgaria infatti, nonostante le notevoli
pressioni subite, ha rifiutato di sottoscrivere l’accordo bilaterale
che di fatto escluderebbe dalla giurisdizione della CPI i soldati e
cittadini USA che si fossero resi colpevoli di crimini contro l'umnaità
su suolo bulgaro. La scelta è stata presa dal governo bulgaro anche in
chiave di integrazione europea. In più occasioni infatti l’Unione ha
palesato non solo di non gradire ma anche di considerare un ostacolo
all’allargamento la firma di accordi bilaterali con gli USA di immunità
dalla Corte Penale Internazionale.
Molti quotidiani bulgari sottolineano come il processo di dislocamento
della basi USA dall’Europa occidentale a quella orientale sembra oramai
avviato. Secondo gli esperti militari bulgari la Bulgaria sarebbe tra i
Paesi preferiti dagli USA. Al suo fianco la Polonia e la Romania.
Quella degli scorsi giorni è stata la visita USA di più alto livello
sulla questione della dislocazione della basi USA in Europa. Feith ha
infatti ricevuto il proprio mandato direttamente dal Presiedente USA
Bush. Il Ministro alla difesa Svinarov ha invitato il Parlamento ad
adottare una dichiarazione, prima di Natale, che ribadisca la
disponibilità ad ospitare le strutture miliatri USA. “Che possono
essere di vario tipo” ha reso noto il Ministro “temporanee, permanenti
o ad esempio destinate esclusivamente all’addestramento ed alle
esercitazioni”.
La Bulgaria ha già in passato messo a disposizione proprie basi
militari per operazioni dell’esercito USA. La base aerea di Sarafovo,
sul Mar Nero, nei pressi di Bourgas, è stata utilizzata sia in
occasione degli attacchi all’Afghanistan che all’Iraq. Sono 239 le basi
militari USA in Europa e 116.000 i militari dispiegati nel vecchio
continente. Di questi Washington intenderebbe dislocarne in Europa
orientale circa 42.000.
Ma cosa pensano i cittadini delle località della Bulgaria probabili
sedi delle basi militari USA? Secondo un sondaggio condotto dal
Ministero della Difesa il 43,2% degli intervistati vede con favore
l’arrivo degli americani mentre il 40,7% si sarebbe dichiarato
contrario. Proteste anche della rete bulgara anti-globalizzazione che
ha organizzato a Sofia una manifestazione contro la creazione di basi
NATO ed ha richiesto all’Assemblea Nazionale che ogni decisione
rilevante in merito alla questione debba essere presa attraverso un
referendum popolare.
=== 3 ===
Naslov: Iraq: Polish-Bulgarian-NATO Occupation Zone Still Tense
Od: "Rick Rozoff"
Datum: Ned, 4 Januar, 2004 09:24
1) Polish-Bulgarian-NATO Occupation Zone Still Tense
2) A Taste Of Blood: Bulgarian Mercenaries In Revenge
Attacks Against Iraqis
3) New Bulgarian Military Contingent Gathers At
US/NATO Bourgas Base For Deployment To Karbala
4) Bulgarian Prime Minister, Former King Simeon II,
Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, Hosts Belgian King, Queen For New
Year Royal Get-Together As Bulgarian Cannon Fodder
Ship Off To Iraq War Zone
5) Bulgarian Troops Refuse To Die For King And Country
1)
http://www.novinite.com/view_news.php?id=29544
Novinite (Bulgaria)
January 4, 2004
Situation in Karbala Remains Tense
The situation in the southern Iraqi city of Karbala
and the nearby region remains tense, Bulgarian Defense
Ministry officials reported on Sunday.
The curfew from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m., which the Polish
military imposed after the attacks, is still in force.
Security measures around the camp of the Bulgarian
infantry unit have been beefed up and the soldiers
continue to carry out their assignments.
The health condition of the Bulgarian soldier, injured
in the deadly December 27 attacks that remained in
Karbala is improving. The injured soldiers in Germany
as well as those transported to Bulgaria are also
improving.
The holy Shia city south of Baghdad was hit by a
deadly attack last Saturday, claiming the lives of
five Bulgarian soldiers, the country's first
casualties among the 450 soldiers in the infantry
battalion in Iraq. On Friday it was announced that
more than two dozen Bulgarian soldiers refused to join
a 500-member contingent heading for Iraq after
attacks. The new contingent is to replace 480
Bulgarian troops who have been deployed in Iraq as
part of a 9,000-strong Polish-led multinational
contingent in Iraq.
2)
http://www.novinite.com/view_news.php?id=29532
Novinite
January 4, 2004
Iraqis: Bulgaria's Soldiers Revenge for Dec 27 Attacks
The Bulgarian soldiers that remained in the Iraqi city
of Karbala are now revenging for the killed military
men, claims Bulgarian 24 Chasa newspaper citing Iraqis
from the holy Shia city.
On December 27 deadly attacks claimed the lives 5
Bulgarian and 2 Thai soldiers from the 9,000-strong
22-nation force under Polish command that controls the
region. Those 5 victims were the first Bulgarian
casualties in Iraq and shocked both the nation and the
military unit in Karbala.
Following the blasts in the Bulgarian base the soldier
were drastically changed, the article reads. They
became too abrupt and instead of communicating with
the local people they started beating them up. The
newspaper article even claims that one or two local
people even died after the Bulgarians terrorized them.
A friend of my cousin was killed as he didn't see the
barriers and went on driving his car, an Iraqi said
and claimed that his life was also endangered by the
Bulgarian soldiers once.
One other Iraqi explains that not all Bulgarian
soldiers were like that, adding that some of them are
still very polite. Some of the local people back the
theory that Osama Bin Laden was behind the attacks,
while others say that local criminals, whose interests
were affected are to be blamed.
All Iraqis cited by the Bulgarian newspaper, however,
are certain that the local people should not bear the
consequences, as it was very pleased to see the
Bulgarian soldiers in its town.
No comment has been made from Bulgaria's Defense
Ministry on the behavior of the soldiers. Some of the
military men in Karbala said that the new behavior is
due to the change in the defense tactics. These new
tactics led to even tighter control in the Iraqi city.
3)
http://www.novinite.com/view_news.php?id=29525
Novinite
January 3, 2004
Bulgaria's Replacement Iraq-Bound Unit Arrive at Black
Sea City
The first 60 soldiers from Bulgaria's replacement
contingent in Iraq arrived on Saturday in the Black
Sea city of Burgas.
According to information of local Darik Radio the
sixty soldiers are part of the technical team, which
is to be the first to head for Karbala.
Unconfirmed reports say the soldiers will be flown to
Karbala from the airport of Burgas on Sunday. No
information about the date and hour of the departure
or the kind of transport used has been divulged out of
security concerns.
Additional technical equipment for the Bulgarian
infantry unit will be transported by sea.
A day earlier it became clear that more than two dozen
Bulgarian soldiers refused to join a 500-member
contingent heading for Iraq after attacks. The new
contingent is to replace 480 Bulgarian troops who have
been deployed in Iraq as part of a 9,000-strong
Polish-led multinational contingent in Iraq.
4)
http://www.bgnewsnet.com/
Bulgarian News Network
December 31, 2003
Saxe-Coburg Gotha hosts Belgium's royal couple on the
New Year eve
SOFIA (bnn) Belgium's King Albert II and his wife
Queen Paola are arriving at a private visit to
Bulgaria Wednesday, the Government Information Service
reported. The royal couple will celebrate the New Year
with Prime Minister Simeon Saxe-Coburg Gotha,
Bulgaria's former king and his wife Margarita Gomez
Acebo. According to a report in the Sofia daily Trud
Wednesday, Saxe-Coburg will host Albert II and Paola
at his hereditary alpine mansion of Czarska Bistritsa
in the scenic Rila Mountain, some 80 kilometers (50
miles) south of Sofia.
5)
http://www.onlinebg.com/ASP/wwwbgweb2.asp?mode=article&artdate=2004/1/
3&artno=8
Bulgaria Online
January 3, 2004
Bulgarian Troops Refuse to Go to Iraq
-Government officials have said that Bulgaria will
remain a firm member of the U.S.-lead coalition,
despite the deaths.
"Keeping our military contingent in Iraq is a question
of principle," Prime Minister Simeon Saxcoburggotski
said earlier this week.
More than two dozen Bulgarian soldiers are refusing
deployment in Iraq, following the deaths of five
countrymen in an attack in the Mideast country, a
senior military official said Friday.
Between 25 and 30 soldiers of the second Bulgarian
contingent, due to leave for Iraq in early January to
replace the troops there now, have decided not to go
on the mission, said Gen. Nikolai Kolev, the army
chief of staff. The withdrawals would not affect
Bulgaria's mission in Iraq, he added.
All soldiers in Bulgaria's Iraqi missions have
volunteered to take part.
Bulgaria, a staunch supporter of the U.S. military
campaign in Iraq, last August sent a 485-soldier light
infantry battalion to Iraq.
Some of the replacement soldiers changed their minds
after five of their countrymen were killed a week ago
in a blitz of four suicide car bombs, rocket-propelled
grenades and mortars that blasted coalition military
bases and the Iraqi governor's office.
The troops who withdrew will have to refund the costs
of their training and medical examinations, Kolev
said.
Government officials have said that Bulgaria will
remain a firm member of the U.S.-lead coalition,
despite the deaths.
"Keeping our military contingent in Iraq is a question
of principle," Prime Minister Simeon Saxcoburggotski
said earlier this week.
http://www.wsws.org/articles/2004/jan2004/germ-j08_prn.shtml
World Socialist Web Site www.wsws.org
WSWS : News & Analysis : Europe : Germany
Deportations and the border regime
The deadly consequences of Germany’s refugee policy
By Lena Sokoll
8 January 2004
Last September, the intelligence service (Verfassungsschutz) of the
German state of Brandenburg seized acts of vandalism against the
immigration office in the town of Frankfurt-Oder in order to slander
the World Socialist Web Site, accusing it of promoting violence and
constituting part of a milieu of violent “left extremism.”
The pretext for this political attack was an article published by the
WSWS nearly three years ago entitled, “Deportation policy and the
border regime: The deadly consequences of German refugee policy.” The
Brandenberg intelligence agency claimed that a copy of the article was
left behind at the scene of the vandalized immigration office, and on
this basis held the WSWS responsible.
“The road to criminal acts is paved with such texts,” the intelligence
service declared in a report posted on its web site. The report
continued by making a number of distortions and false claims regarding
the content of the WSWS article and then expressed doubts over its
accuracy in recounting the consequences of Germany’s refugee policy.
The WSWS article was based on reputable sources and generally available
information. It established factually that over a period of seven
years—between 1993 and 2000—at least 239 refugees lost their lives,
with many more suffering injuries, as a result of government-imposed
measures aimed at suppressing immigration.
During this period, the number of immigrants who lost their lives on
Germany’s borders, and as a result of brutal deportation measures and
the inhuman conditions prevailing in deportation centres, exceeded the
number of victims of racist attacks. The article concluded by stating
that, despite occasional lip service by politicians proclaiming their
hostility to racism, state policies in the end only served to validate
the neo-Nazis’ view that the life of an “undesirable” alien in Germany
is worthless.
According to the intelligence service’s online report: “The author of
this article accuses the immigration authorities, the border police
(BGS) and regular police of treating refugees and foreigners in a
contemptuous manner and claims that the so-called BGS ‘border regime’
prevents refugees from entering Germany in the first place. In
addition, the practice of deportation is also dealt with in a very
critical manner. In the course of deportation those involved have been
repeatedly injured (sic!) or have even died. In light of these ‘facts’
the author expresses her scepticism as to whether the struggle against
the extreme right by the forces of the state is serious in its intent.”
What is one to make of a state agency that is formally obliged to
protect the constitution and human dignity, but calls into question
information that has appeared regularly in newspapers and has been
documented by various organisations involved in the defence of
immigrants’ rights? It is factually indisputable that, because of the
difficulties involved in legally entering European countries, large
numbers of refugees from all over the world have lost their lives or
been injured in attempts to enter Europe by other means. They have
drowned or frozen to death while attempting to cross rivers or seas,
suffocated in sealed containers or come to harm in the course of
fleeing from border guards. In addition, migrants confront intolerable
conditions in deportation centres and camps and are often subjected to
brutal treatment by police or guards in the course of deportation.
There is no evidence that the conditions exposed by the WSWS article in
2001 have improved in the intervening years. This fact cannot have
escaped the notice of the authorities of a state such as Brandenburg,
which shares a common border with Poland and where refugees have drawn
up their own memorandum on the inhuman conditions and treatment of
immigrants.
Cases of death and injuries at the borders
Victims continue to drown trying to cross the Oder and Neiße rivers
into Germany. Other immigrants have suffered injuries by police tracker
dogs or have been shot by border police.
The following brief chronology is taken from a document issued by the
German parliament (serial no.14/8432), outlining cases pertaining
solely to the month of July 2001:
July 8: Close to the Czech-Saxony border in Neuhermsdorf a person of
Romanian origin was bitten and injured by a police dog in the course of
being arrested by German border police.
July 16: North of the Brandenburg Ortschaft Manschow on the
German-Polish border an unknown, probably drunken person was pulled out
of the river Oder.
July 22: A drunken person who could not be identified was pulled out of
the river in the vicinity of the town of Frankfurt-Oder.
July 31: In the Saxony region of Niederschlag a person of Armenian
origin was bitten by a BGS dog in the border region to the Czech
Republic.
This list could be continued at length for the remaining months of 2001.
There are no official figures available for either this year or last
year. This not because of any change in practice on the part of
immigration authorities and the border police, but instead reflects a
change in the composition of the German parliament following the 2002
general election. Prior to 2001 the fraction of the Party for
Democratic Socialism (PDS) had regularly inquired into the fate of
refugees on German borders. In the 2002 election, the PDS lost its
fraction status in parliament and no other German party, including the
Social Democrats (SPD) and Greens, has expressed any interest in
obtaining current information on such matters.
In the annual report of the BGS for 2002, German Interior Minister Otto
Schily (SPD) asserted that the number of “unauthorised entries at the
country’s borders” as well as “cases of smuggling” had declined
considerably in comparison to the previous year. He stated that the
basis for this “success by border police” was a “strengthening of
border supervision and improvements in collaboration across borders as
part of the continuing process of European integration and the
associated elaboration and imposition of international combat
strategies.”
Refugee deterrence has been effectively shifted farther eastward as
part of the so-called “joint patrols” policy and increased cooperation
between the BGS and the police of other European countries adjoining
Germany (Poland, Chechnya and other Eastern European states). The aim
is to prevent refugees from crossing the outer borders of Europe.
According to Schily, “The dispatch of border police communications
officers and advisors, as well as increased bilateral training and
provision of equipment for middle and far Eastern European states, has
contributed to reduce pressure on the Schengen [the 15 European Union
members that have abolished controls on their common borders] external
borders.”
The report makes no mention of the methods used to deter, detect and
arrest refugees on EU borders and there is no information as to the
human costs of such border policies.
Suicide and self-imposed injuries
The number of self-imposed injuries, suicide attempts and suicides by
refugees remains very high. Such tragedies arise from the desperate
reaction of many refugees to impending deportations or to the
deplorable conditions in the refugee camps and deportation centres.
In the years 2001-2002, the Anti-Racist Initiative Berlin documented
eight cases of refugees who either committed suicide prior to their
deportations or were killed as they attempted to flee imprisonment.
Over the same period, at least 57 persons facing deportation (28 were
already incarcerated in deportation centres) either deliberately
injured themselves or attempted suicide—in most cases surviving with
severe injuries.
There are no figures available for 2003, but press reports have brought
to light a number of cases. In January of this year, refugee David
Mamedov hanged himself following a visit to the immigration offices in
the region of Gütersloh. Mamedov first entered Germany with his family
from Georgia at the end of 1996 and was awarded refugee status in
February 1997. He was a member of an oppressed minority community in
Georgia, subject to persecution by both state and non-state groups.
Mamedov had been repeatedly mistreated by police in his homeland—in one
incident his leg was seriously burned with a hot iron.
German authorities argued against maintaining Mamedov’s refugee status,
arguing that attacks carried out by police cannot be counted as state
repression. The upper court for the city of Munster accepted this line
of argument, and shortly before his suicide Mamedov was informed that
he would be deported. Less than six months later, Mamedov’s widow was
also informed that she had to leave the country immediately or would
herself face deportation to Georgia.
In July 2003, 33-year-old Hüseyin D. set himself on fire in the
building of the same immigration office. He died shortly afterwards
from his injuries. Hüseyin D. faced forcible deportation although he
was married to a woman who had a valid residence permit. In a cynical
commentary on the self-immolation, Gütersloh official Sven-Georg
Adenauer declared: “It is unbelievable to what lengths people will go
to avoid expulsion. In future we will not allow ourselves to be put
under pressure, in particular by such types of actions.”
On August 16, 2003, 16-year-old Nurcan B. jumped from the window of a
house in Wendlingen in a vain attempt to avoid deportation. She was
transferred to hospital with grievous bodily injuries. The young girl
had spent almost her entire life in Germany and faced being deported to
a country completely alien to her.
On October 3, 2003, 48-year-old Lewon A. set himself on fire and later
died from his injuries. A married man with children, he had lost his
job due to immigration regulations and had been threatened on a number
of occasions with deportation. His appeals to stay in the country had
been rejected despite support for him from a number of church and
immigration organisations as well as his former employer. The family’s
priest, Christoph Schulze-Gockel, stated after the suicide: “Herr A. is
a further victim of German immigration and refugee law. Fear of
persecution following deportation and the fact that his residency
allowance had to be permanently renewed have worked to crush these
people.” The rest of A’s family continue to face deportation.
Deportation jails and refugee camps
For years various refugee organisations have charged that conditions
prevailing in deportation centres and refugee camps are an insult to
human dignity and are evidently aimed at breaking the spirit of those
incarcerated—and thereby deterring attempts by other undocumented
immigrants to enter Germany.
In an open letter, the inhabitants of one refugee centre in Brandenburg
(Rathenow) wrote of the “humiliating treatment” they receive from those
working in the centre. The letter also criticised the security firm
“Security Zarnikow.” Security measures were solely directed at the
refugees, whose private mail was subject to scrutiny by guards. The
refugees in the centre were also able to establish that known neo-Nazis
were employed by the security firm. Last winter it was revealed that at
least four members of the firm were members of an extreme right-wing
organisation (“Kameradschaft Hauptvolk”).
Inhabitants of another centre in the state of Thuringia sent a letter
of protest to the state interior minister complaining of deplorable
conditions and treatment. “The head of the centre treats us like
animals, slaves or prisoners.... We have been threatened with
deportation if we complain about the situation.” The residents were
particularly concerned about the lack of medical treatment as well as
the isolation of the centre. The nearest village was 5 kilometres away
and the next nearest town 25 kilometres. In addition, the centre’s
interior grounds were fenced off with barbed wire.
In the deportation prison located in the Berlin suburb of Köpenick, 68
detainees went on hunger strike in January 2003 in protest over
abominable living conditions, lack of hygiene and prolonged periods of
detention. In the Köpenick jail there have been a series of suicides
and attempted suicides by innocent individuals who were only arrested
because the authorities deemed there was a danger they would “go
underground.” Some of these victims have spent up to 18 months in a
deportation prison. For every day of detention, the authorities impose
a fee of 60 euros to be repaid by the detainees should they ever be
released.
In their press statement, the imprisoned refugees on hunger strike
reported on the humiliating treatment they had received at the hands of
prison personnel. “A person who collapsed into unconsciousness was
merely met with laughter.... Police personnel behave in an utterly
arbitrary manner, employing humiliation and ridicule. Every request or
question leads to open rudeness and abuse on their part.”
Brutal deportations
Deportations are often carried out with extreme brutality—particularly
in cases where the refugee attempts to defend himself or when the
police anticipate the possibility of resistance.
Sometimes the deportees are physically restrained and gagged,
immobilised through the forced administration of drugs or driven out of
their homes and onto planes at the barrel of a gun.
In this respect, the deportation transport to Nigeria on November 20,
2002, is exemplary. The flight carried 21 deportees from Germany and 24
from Italy. On landing in Nigeria, most of them had fresh wounds on
their ankles and wrists, indicating that they had been restrained for
the entire flight only to be freed shortly before landing. The
deportees were exhausted and declared that they had been subject to
severe mistreatment by both the German and Italian police. Nigerian
immigration authorities refused to accept the admission of two men, who
were then returned to Germany. One of them was unconscious and was
unable to leave the plane on his own volition; the second had a broken
neck.
Since 1993, five refugees have died in the course of deportation, with
at least 179 injured as a result of physical restraint or mistreatment
in the course of deportation.
In light of the lack of interest on the part of German authorities,
together with the obstacles faced by refugee organisations in their
attempts to obtain information, the fate of deportees upon being
returned to their countries of origin is largely unknown. Politically
persecuted deportees are often arrested at the airport as they leave
the plane to be subjected to renewed torture, or they simply
“disappear” without a trace.
In July 2001, for example, according to reports in the Turkish press,
out of a total of 63 persons deported in a charter plane from the
German state of North Rhine Westphalia to Turkey, 25 were immediately
arrested upon landing, accused of membership of the banned Kurdish
Workers Party, (PKK).
In January 2002, following a 31-day hunger strike, the severely
weakened refugee E. was deported to Togo. Since then, there has been no
trace of him, although he had agreed to report by telephone to a
refugee organisation. He was a member of the opposition group Union des
Forces pour le Changement (UFC). He had fled Togo after military police
arrested his father, who was also active in the UFC and disappeared
after his arrest.
According to research carried out by the Anti-Racist Initiative Berlin,
since 1993 at least 13 persons are known to have been killed following
their deportations from Germany, with at least 307 persons tortured or
mistreated by police or the military upon landing in their country of
origin. A minimum of 47 disappeared without a trace.
Refugees not faced with political persecution have also suffered as a
result of deportation: for example, in those cases where someone
seriously ill is deported to a country where there is no possibility of
adequate medical treatment. Such was the case of Sikrie Dervisholli, an
Albanian who entered Germany from Kosovo. At four in the morning on
November 5, 2002, she was dragged out of her bed by police and put on a
plane to Pristina.
Ms. Dervisholli suffered from a severe illness of the nervous system
which, in the absence of proper treatment, results in paralysis and can
lead to a torturous death. Numerous testimonies by doctors and her
lawyer were insufficient to sway the authorities to suspend her
deportation. The victim had no relatives in Kosovo and was merely
attempting to spend the short period of life left to her with her
sister in Germany. Her neurologist bitterly remarked on her treatment
at the hands of the authorities, asking: “How could anyone allow a
person to die so miserably?”
Copyright 1998-2003
World Socialist Web Site
All rights reserved
World Socialist Web Site www.wsws.org
WSWS : News & Analysis : Europe : Germany
Deportations and the border regime
The deadly consequences of Germany’s refugee policy
By Lena Sokoll
8 January 2004
Last September, the intelligence service (Verfassungsschutz) of the
German state of Brandenburg seized acts of vandalism against the
immigration office in the town of Frankfurt-Oder in order to slander
the World Socialist Web Site, accusing it of promoting violence and
constituting part of a milieu of violent “left extremism.”
The pretext for this political attack was an article published by the
WSWS nearly three years ago entitled, “Deportation policy and the
border regime: The deadly consequences of German refugee policy.” The
Brandenberg intelligence agency claimed that a copy of the article was
left behind at the scene of the vandalized immigration office, and on
this basis held the WSWS responsible.
“The road to criminal acts is paved with such texts,” the intelligence
service declared in a report posted on its web site. The report
continued by making a number of distortions and false claims regarding
the content of the WSWS article and then expressed doubts over its
accuracy in recounting the consequences of Germany’s refugee policy.
The WSWS article was based on reputable sources and generally available
information. It established factually that over a period of seven
years—between 1993 and 2000—at least 239 refugees lost their lives,
with many more suffering injuries, as a result of government-imposed
measures aimed at suppressing immigration.
During this period, the number of immigrants who lost their lives on
Germany’s borders, and as a result of brutal deportation measures and
the inhuman conditions prevailing in deportation centres, exceeded the
number of victims of racist attacks. The article concluded by stating
that, despite occasional lip service by politicians proclaiming their
hostility to racism, state policies in the end only served to validate
the neo-Nazis’ view that the life of an “undesirable” alien in Germany
is worthless.
According to the intelligence service’s online report: “The author of
this article accuses the immigration authorities, the border police
(BGS) and regular police of treating refugees and foreigners in a
contemptuous manner and claims that the so-called BGS ‘border regime’
prevents refugees from entering Germany in the first place. In
addition, the practice of deportation is also dealt with in a very
critical manner. In the course of deportation those involved have been
repeatedly injured (sic!) or have even died. In light of these ‘facts’
the author expresses her scepticism as to whether the struggle against
the extreme right by the forces of the state is serious in its intent.”
What is one to make of a state agency that is formally obliged to
protect the constitution and human dignity, but calls into question
information that has appeared regularly in newspapers and has been
documented by various organisations involved in the defence of
immigrants’ rights? It is factually indisputable that, because of the
difficulties involved in legally entering European countries, large
numbers of refugees from all over the world have lost their lives or
been injured in attempts to enter Europe by other means. They have
drowned or frozen to death while attempting to cross rivers or seas,
suffocated in sealed containers or come to harm in the course of
fleeing from border guards. In addition, migrants confront intolerable
conditions in deportation centres and camps and are often subjected to
brutal treatment by police or guards in the course of deportation.
There is no evidence that the conditions exposed by the WSWS article in
2001 have improved in the intervening years. This fact cannot have
escaped the notice of the authorities of a state such as Brandenburg,
which shares a common border with Poland and where refugees have drawn
up their own memorandum on the inhuman conditions and treatment of
immigrants.
Cases of death and injuries at the borders
Victims continue to drown trying to cross the Oder and Neiße rivers
into Germany. Other immigrants have suffered injuries by police tracker
dogs or have been shot by border police.
The following brief chronology is taken from a document issued by the
German parliament (serial no.14/8432), outlining cases pertaining
solely to the month of July 2001:
July 8: Close to the Czech-Saxony border in Neuhermsdorf a person of
Romanian origin was bitten and injured by a police dog in the course of
being arrested by German border police.
July 16: North of the Brandenburg Ortschaft Manschow on the
German-Polish border an unknown, probably drunken person was pulled out
of the river Oder.
July 22: A drunken person who could not be identified was pulled out of
the river in the vicinity of the town of Frankfurt-Oder.
July 31: In the Saxony region of Niederschlag a person of Armenian
origin was bitten by a BGS dog in the border region to the Czech
Republic.
This list could be continued at length for the remaining months of 2001.
There are no official figures available for either this year or last
year. This not because of any change in practice on the part of
immigration authorities and the border police, but instead reflects a
change in the composition of the German parliament following the 2002
general election. Prior to 2001 the fraction of the Party for
Democratic Socialism (PDS) had regularly inquired into the fate of
refugees on German borders. In the 2002 election, the PDS lost its
fraction status in parliament and no other German party, including the
Social Democrats (SPD) and Greens, has expressed any interest in
obtaining current information on such matters.
In the annual report of the BGS for 2002, German Interior Minister Otto
Schily (SPD) asserted that the number of “unauthorised entries at the
country’s borders” as well as “cases of smuggling” had declined
considerably in comparison to the previous year. He stated that the
basis for this “success by border police” was a “strengthening of
border supervision and improvements in collaboration across borders as
part of the continuing process of European integration and the
associated elaboration and imposition of international combat
strategies.”
Refugee deterrence has been effectively shifted farther eastward as
part of the so-called “joint patrols” policy and increased cooperation
between the BGS and the police of other European countries adjoining
Germany (Poland, Chechnya and other Eastern European states). The aim
is to prevent refugees from crossing the outer borders of Europe.
According to Schily, “The dispatch of border police communications
officers and advisors, as well as increased bilateral training and
provision of equipment for middle and far Eastern European states, has
contributed to reduce pressure on the Schengen [the 15 European Union
members that have abolished controls on their common borders] external
borders.”
The report makes no mention of the methods used to deter, detect and
arrest refugees on EU borders and there is no information as to the
human costs of such border policies.
Suicide and self-imposed injuries
The number of self-imposed injuries, suicide attempts and suicides by
refugees remains very high. Such tragedies arise from the desperate
reaction of many refugees to impending deportations or to the
deplorable conditions in the refugee camps and deportation centres.
In the years 2001-2002, the Anti-Racist Initiative Berlin documented
eight cases of refugees who either committed suicide prior to their
deportations or were killed as they attempted to flee imprisonment.
Over the same period, at least 57 persons facing deportation (28 were
already incarcerated in deportation centres) either deliberately
injured themselves or attempted suicide—in most cases surviving with
severe injuries.
There are no figures available for 2003, but press reports have brought
to light a number of cases. In January of this year, refugee David
Mamedov hanged himself following a visit to the immigration offices in
the region of Gütersloh. Mamedov first entered Germany with his family
from Georgia at the end of 1996 and was awarded refugee status in
February 1997. He was a member of an oppressed minority community in
Georgia, subject to persecution by both state and non-state groups.
Mamedov had been repeatedly mistreated by police in his homeland—in one
incident his leg was seriously burned with a hot iron.
German authorities argued against maintaining Mamedov’s refugee status,
arguing that attacks carried out by police cannot be counted as state
repression. The upper court for the city of Munster accepted this line
of argument, and shortly before his suicide Mamedov was informed that
he would be deported. Less than six months later, Mamedov’s widow was
also informed that she had to leave the country immediately or would
herself face deportation to Georgia.
In July 2003, 33-year-old Hüseyin D. set himself on fire in the
building of the same immigration office. He died shortly afterwards
from his injuries. Hüseyin D. faced forcible deportation although he
was married to a woman who had a valid residence permit. In a cynical
commentary on the self-immolation, Gütersloh official Sven-Georg
Adenauer declared: “It is unbelievable to what lengths people will go
to avoid expulsion. In future we will not allow ourselves to be put
under pressure, in particular by such types of actions.”
On August 16, 2003, 16-year-old Nurcan B. jumped from the window of a
house in Wendlingen in a vain attempt to avoid deportation. She was
transferred to hospital with grievous bodily injuries. The young girl
had spent almost her entire life in Germany and faced being deported to
a country completely alien to her.
On October 3, 2003, 48-year-old Lewon A. set himself on fire and later
died from his injuries. A married man with children, he had lost his
job due to immigration regulations and had been threatened on a number
of occasions with deportation. His appeals to stay in the country had
been rejected despite support for him from a number of church and
immigration organisations as well as his former employer. The family’s
priest, Christoph Schulze-Gockel, stated after the suicide: “Herr A. is
a further victim of German immigration and refugee law. Fear of
persecution following deportation and the fact that his residency
allowance had to be permanently renewed have worked to crush these
people.” The rest of A’s family continue to face deportation.
Deportation jails and refugee camps
For years various refugee organisations have charged that conditions
prevailing in deportation centres and refugee camps are an insult to
human dignity and are evidently aimed at breaking the spirit of those
incarcerated—and thereby deterring attempts by other undocumented
immigrants to enter Germany.
In an open letter, the inhabitants of one refugee centre in Brandenburg
(Rathenow) wrote of the “humiliating treatment” they receive from those
working in the centre. The letter also criticised the security firm
“Security Zarnikow.” Security measures were solely directed at the
refugees, whose private mail was subject to scrutiny by guards. The
refugees in the centre were also able to establish that known neo-Nazis
were employed by the security firm. Last winter it was revealed that at
least four members of the firm were members of an extreme right-wing
organisation (“Kameradschaft Hauptvolk”).
Inhabitants of another centre in the state of Thuringia sent a letter
of protest to the state interior minister complaining of deplorable
conditions and treatment. “The head of the centre treats us like
animals, slaves or prisoners.... We have been threatened with
deportation if we complain about the situation.” The residents were
particularly concerned about the lack of medical treatment as well as
the isolation of the centre. The nearest village was 5 kilometres away
and the next nearest town 25 kilometres. In addition, the centre’s
interior grounds were fenced off with barbed wire.
In the deportation prison located in the Berlin suburb of Köpenick, 68
detainees went on hunger strike in January 2003 in protest over
abominable living conditions, lack of hygiene and prolonged periods of
detention. In the Köpenick jail there have been a series of suicides
and attempted suicides by innocent individuals who were only arrested
because the authorities deemed there was a danger they would “go
underground.” Some of these victims have spent up to 18 months in a
deportation prison. For every day of detention, the authorities impose
a fee of 60 euros to be repaid by the detainees should they ever be
released.
In their press statement, the imprisoned refugees on hunger strike
reported on the humiliating treatment they had received at the hands of
prison personnel. “A person who collapsed into unconsciousness was
merely met with laughter.... Police personnel behave in an utterly
arbitrary manner, employing humiliation and ridicule. Every request or
question leads to open rudeness and abuse on their part.”
Brutal deportations
Deportations are often carried out with extreme brutality—particularly
in cases where the refugee attempts to defend himself or when the
police anticipate the possibility of resistance.
Sometimes the deportees are physically restrained and gagged,
immobilised through the forced administration of drugs or driven out of
their homes and onto planes at the barrel of a gun.
In this respect, the deportation transport to Nigeria on November 20,
2002, is exemplary. The flight carried 21 deportees from Germany and 24
from Italy. On landing in Nigeria, most of them had fresh wounds on
their ankles and wrists, indicating that they had been restrained for
the entire flight only to be freed shortly before landing. The
deportees were exhausted and declared that they had been subject to
severe mistreatment by both the German and Italian police. Nigerian
immigration authorities refused to accept the admission of two men, who
were then returned to Germany. One of them was unconscious and was
unable to leave the plane on his own volition; the second had a broken
neck.
Since 1993, five refugees have died in the course of deportation, with
at least 179 injured as a result of physical restraint or mistreatment
in the course of deportation.
In light of the lack of interest on the part of German authorities,
together with the obstacles faced by refugee organisations in their
attempts to obtain information, the fate of deportees upon being
returned to their countries of origin is largely unknown. Politically
persecuted deportees are often arrested at the airport as they leave
the plane to be subjected to renewed torture, or they simply
“disappear” without a trace.
In July 2001, for example, according to reports in the Turkish press,
out of a total of 63 persons deported in a charter plane from the
German state of North Rhine Westphalia to Turkey, 25 were immediately
arrested upon landing, accused of membership of the banned Kurdish
Workers Party, (PKK).
In January 2002, following a 31-day hunger strike, the severely
weakened refugee E. was deported to Togo. Since then, there has been no
trace of him, although he had agreed to report by telephone to a
refugee organisation. He was a member of the opposition group Union des
Forces pour le Changement (UFC). He had fled Togo after military police
arrested his father, who was also active in the UFC and disappeared
after his arrest.
According to research carried out by the Anti-Racist Initiative Berlin,
since 1993 at least 13 persons are known to have been killed following
their deportations from Germany, with at least 307 persons tortured or
mistreated by police or the military upon landing in their country of
origin. A minimum of 47 disappeared without a trace.
Refugees not faced with political persecution have also suffered as a
result of deportation: for example, in those cases where someone
seriously ill is deported to a country where there is no possibility of
adequate medical treatment. Such was the case of Sikrie Dervisholli, an
Albanian who entered Germany from Kosovo. At four in the morning on
November 5, 2002, she was dragged out of her bed by police and put on a
plane to Pristina.
Ms. Dervisholli suffered from a severe illness of the nervous system
which, in the absence of proper treatment, results in paralysis and can
lead to a torturous death. Numerous testimonies by doctors and her
lawyer were insufficient to sway the authorities to suspend her
deportation. The victim had no relatives in Kosovo and was merely
attempting to spend the short period of life left to her with her
sister in Germany. Her neurologist bitterly remarked on her treatment
at the hands of the authorities, asking: “How could anyone allow a
person to die so miserably?”
Copyright 1998-2003
World Socialist Web Site
All rights reserved
[ in ITALIANO:
http://it.groups.yahoo.com/group/crj-mailinglist/message/3055
"Dividiamo l'Iraq come abbiamo fatto con la Yugoslavia!"
en FRANCAIS:
http://it.groups.yahoo.com/group/crj-mailinglist/message/3003
«Divisons l'Irak comme la Yougoslavie!»
in ENGLISH:
http://it.groups.yahoo.com/group/crj-mailinglist/message/3045
"Let's Divide Iraq as We Did in Yugoslavia!" ]
Da: "Klaus von Raussendorff" <redaktion@...>
Data: Gio 8 Gen 2004 11:36:21 Europe/Rome
Washington hat die Lösung gefunden:
“LASST UNS DEN IRAK AUFTEILEN,
WIE WIR ES MIT JUGOSLAWIEN GEMACHT HABEN!“
Von Michel Collon (23. Dez. 2003)
http://globalresearch.ca/articles/COL312A.html
(erscheint voraussichtlich demnächst in junge Welt)
Der belgische Journalist Michel Collon analysiert die US-Strategie der
Zerschlagung eines einheitlichen irakischen Nationalstaates und die
dahinter
stehende rassistische Strategie, welche vor allem in Israel Befürworter
findet. Seit Beginn der US-Invasion im Irak war erkennbar, dass die
Besatzer
ihr koloniales Regime auf Destabilisierung und Chaos stützen. Von
„demokratischem Aufbau“ eines einheitlichen Irak ist nur in der
Medienpropaganda die Rede. „Einerseits hat Bremer angesichts des
Widerstands
zu nationaler Versöhnung aufgerufen. Mit einer Generalamnestie könnten
die
Amerikaner versuchen, einige Abteilungen des Widerstands zu gewinnen,
indem
sie ihnen Funktionen in der neuen Regierung versprechen. Auf der anderen
Seite fordern die pro-iranischen Schiiten einen islamischen Staat. Von
nun
an werden all diese Widersprüche, die durch die US-Besatzung entfaltet
wurden, stärker werden, und zwar zwischen all diesen verschiedenen
Komponenten. Das wird zu weiterer Instabilität führen.“ (Mohammed
Hassan in
einer Stellungnahme der Partei der Arbeit Belgiens* vom 14. Dezember,
2004)
Ende Dezember 03 berichteten die Zeitungen, dass Washington seine Pläne
für
den Aufbau einer einheitlichen irakischen Hilfsarmee der Besatzungsmacht
zugunsten der Aufrüstung von Milizen einzelner potentieller
Bürgerkriegsfraktionen zurückstellt: “Zur gleichen Zeit,“ schreibt
beispielsweise die Washington Post v. 27. Dez. 03
(http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A35053-2003Dec27), “hat die
Besatzungsmacht die Zahl der Rekruten wesentlich reduziert, welche sie
durch
eine dreimonatige Ausbildung im Lager zu schleusen beabsichtigt, die
darauf
angelegt ist, eine verbesserte, professionell ausgebildete Armee
aufzubauen.
Stattdessen verstärkt die Besatzungsmacht die Reihen der Polizeibeamten
und
Zivilschutztruppen, die schneller eingesetzt werden können, aber weitaus
weniger Ausbildung und Sicherheitsüberprüfung als Soldaten brauchen.“
Obgleich die Besatzungsmacht ursprünglich die kurdischen Milizenverbände
schnell auflösen und in die neue Armee- und Polizeitruppe überführen
wollte,
hätten die US-Vertreter gegenüber den kurdischen Führern nicht darauf
gedrängt. Sie nähmen inzwischen auch gegenüber einer schiitischen Miliz,
deren Schutzherr der Oberste Rat der Islamischen Revolution ist, eine
gelassene Haltung ein. „Bremer erlaubte auch kürzlich die Schaffung
einer
neuen Streitmacht, welche ehemalige Mitglieder von fünf politischen
Partei-Milizen umfasst, um die Aufständischen mit Hilfe amerikanischer
Ausbildung und Unterstützung zu verfolgen.“
------------------------------------------------------------------------
----
Anti-Imperialistische Korrespondenz (AIKor) -
Informationsdienst der Vereinigung für Internationale Solidarität (VIS)
e.V.,
Redaktion: Klaus von Raussendorff
Postfach 210172, 53156 Bonn; Tel.&Fax: 0228 - 34.68.50;
Email: redaktion@...
AIKor-Infos können auf der Seite der AIKor http://www.aikor.de
unter "Info-Dienst der AIKor" runter geladen werden
Webmaster: Dieter Vogel, Email: webmaster@...
Wer die AIKor-mails nicht empfangen möchte, schicke bitte eine Mail mit
dem
Betreff
"unsubscribe" an redaktion@...
************************************************************************
****
http://globalresearch.ca/articles/COL312A.html
Washington hat die Lösung gefunden:
“LASST UNS DEN IRAK AUFTEILEN,
WIE WIR ES MIT JUGOSLAWIEN GEMACHT HABEN!“
von Michel Collon (23. Dez. 2003)
Sie haben die Lösung gefunden! Den Irak in drei Mini-Staaten zerlegen
und
diese dann gegen einander aufhetzen. Kommt einem das nicht bekannt vor?
Allerdings! So etwas geschieht nicht zum ersten Mal….
Am 25. November 2003 brachte The New York Times einen Kommentar von
Leslie
Gelb, ein einflussreicher Mann, der bis vor kurzem Vorsitzender des
gewichtigen Council of Foreign Affairs war, einer Ideenwerkstatt, die
Vertreter der CIA, des Außenministeriums und Großkopfete der US-Konzerne
zusammenbringt.
Gelbs Plan? Irak durch drei Mini-Staaten ersetzen: “Kurden im Norden,
Sunniten im Zentrum und Schiiten im Süden.“ Das Ziel? „Das meiste Geld
und
die meisten Truppen dort einsetzen, wo sie schnell am meisten Gutes tun
-
bei den Kurden und bei den Schiiten. Die Vereinigten Staaten könnten die
meisten ihrer Truppen aus dem so genannten Sunnitischen Dreieck
nördlich und
westlich von Bagdad abziehen…Dann könnten die US-Beamten abwarten, bis
die
unruhigen und dominanten Sunniten ohne Erdöl oder Erdöleinnahmen ihre
Ansprüche mäßigen oder die Konsequenzen tragen.“ Kurz gesagt, den
mittleren
Staat um Bagdad aushungern, weil die Sunniten immer die Spitze des
Widerstands gegen den US-Imperialismus gewesen sind.
Dieser Plan der CIA existiert insgeheim bereits seit einiger Zeit. Wir
haben
ihn in einem Artikel vom September 2002 verurteilt. Aber in
Wirklichkeit ist
es ein alter israelischer Traum, den Irak zu aufzuteilen. Oded Yinon,
ein
Beamter des israelischen Außenministerium schrieb 1982: „Den Irak
aufzulösen
ist sogar noch wichtiger, als Syrien aufzulösen. Kurzfristig ist es die
irakische Macht, welche die größte Bedrohung für Israel darstellt. Der
iranisch-irakische Krieg hat den Irak zerrissen und seinen Niedergang
provoziert. Jede Art von innerarabischem Konflikt hilft uns und
beschleunigt
unser Ziel der Zerschlagung des Irak in verschiedene kleine Stücke.“
(Artikel von Kivunim - Zionistische Weltorganisation - , 1982, zitiert
nach
Bill Vann, World Socialist Web Site, 26 novembre 2003).
Erneut ethnische Säuberungen?
Demzufolge möchte Gelb den Irak zerschlagen, indem der Norden (mit
kurdischer Mehrheit) und der Süden (mit schiitischer Mehrheit) in
„selbst-regierende Regionen mit Grenzen, die so weit wie möglich nach
ethnischen Linien gezogen sind“, umgestaltet werden.
Aber hat diese Methode nicht in Jugoslawien zu Bürgerkrieg und Blutbad
geführt? Weil die verschiedenen Regionen dieses Landes alle bedeutende
Minderheiten enthielten und eine Teilung ohne die zwangsweise
Verlagerung
von Bevölkerungen nicht möglich war. Daher hat Berlin und später
Washington
heimlich rassistische Extremisten, die sich nach den Zeiten des zweiten
Weltkrieges zurück sehnten, insgeheim finanziert und bewaffnet. Dies
machte
den Bürgerkrieg nahezu unausweichlich, weil der Weltwährungsfonds und
die
Weltbank Jugoslawien in den Bankrott getrieben hatte, um es zur
Unterwerfung
unter den Neo-Liberalismus zu bewegen, der nach dem Fall der Berliner
Mauer
triumphierte. All dies wurde geflissentlich vor der Öffentlichkeit
verschleiert.
Genau so, wie man nun vor der Öffentlichkeit die Tatsache verschleiert,
dass
alle Völker des ehemaligen Jugoslawien in Elend und Arbeitslosigkeit
gestürzt wurden, so schlimm wie noch nie zuvor. Inzwischen haben
multinationale Konzerne die Kontrolle über die Reichtümer des Landes
übernommen.
Auch im Irak wohnen die drei großen Bevölkerungsgruppen nicht “jede in
ihrer
eigenen Region”, sondern leben meist unter einander vermischt. Im
übrigen
weiß Gelb ganz genau, dass eine Neuauflage dieser Strategie im Irak
erneut
aller Wahrscheinlichkeit nach zu ernsten „ethnischen“ Konflikten, und
vielleicht sogar zu Bürgerkrieg führen würde. Zynisch verkündet er,
dass der
Staat im Zentrum des Irak „größere im Zentrum verbliebene Minderheiten,
insbesondere die großen kurdischen und schiitischen Bevölkerungsgruppen
in
Bagdad bestrafen könnte. Diese Minderheiten müssen die Zeit und die
Mittel
haben, um sich zu organisieren und ihre Vereinbarungen aushandeln oder
entweder nach dem Norden oder dem Süden gehen.“ Auf diese Weise würden
Millionen Menschen gezwungen werden, die Gebiete zu verlassen, in denen
sie
immer gelebt haben, aber Gelb findet das nicht störend, wenn es den USA
ermöglicht, ihre Kolonialherrschaft abzusichern.
Ist der jugoslawische Präzedenzfall nicht Warnung genug? Die Wahrheit
ist,
dass der Bürgerkrieg in Jugoslawien für Gelb ein großer Erfolg war,
weil er
es möglich machte, ein Land, dass sich den Multinationalen Konzernen
widersetzte, zu zerschlagen.
Da ist sie wieder: Die Theorie der “ethnisch reinen Staaten”!
Tatsächlich bezieht sich Gelb offen auf „einen hoffnungsvollen
Präzedenzfall…Jugoslawien“. Wirklich merkwürdig! Hieß es nicht, die
Vereinigten Staaten hätten dort eingegriffen, um „ethnische
Säuberungen“ zu
verhindern? Keineswegs, räumt er ein: „ethnisch reine“ Staaten sind in
Ordnung, wenn sie den Plänen Washingtons dienen.
Während Gelb “ethnisch reine Staaten” (er spricht auch von “natürlichen
Staaten”!) propagiert, kritisiert er Tito dafür, dass dieser „höchst
disparate ethnische Gruppen“ in einem vereinten Jugoslawien
zusammengefasst
hat, und dabei behauptet er, dass der Irak aus denselben Gründen „ein
künstlicher Staat“ ist; Gelb greift auf alte Theorien der extremen
Rechten
zurück.
Seine Theorie der ethnisch reinen Staaten ist tatsächlich identisch mit
derjenigen Hitlers: “Ein Volk, ein Reich, ein Führer”. Es ist auch eine
Theorie, die von den Zionisten übernommen wurde, die von einem „von
Arabern
gesäuberten“ Israel träumen. In Jugoslawien war dies die Theorie der
westlichen Schützlinge, des Kroaten Tudjman und des bosnischen Moslem
Izetbegovic. Es war auch die Theorie des rechten serbischen Führers
Karadzic. Es ist schon seltsam, dass die USA Theorien propagieren,
gegen die
sie einst zu kämpfen vorgaben!
Die Wahrheit ist, dass die Vereinigten Staaten - genau wie alle anderen
Kolonialisten - für oder gegen ethnisch reine Staaten sind, je nachdem
es
ihren strategischen Interessen passt oder nicht. Das einzige, was zählt,
ist, den Widerstand zu schwächen. Teile und herrsche. Wie immer. Die
Briten
organisierten geflissentlich die Teilung Irlands, Indiens und Pakistans
und
anderer Räume in der Welt. Der einflussreiche strategische Vordenker der
USA, Zbigniew Brzezinski, möchte Russland in drei Länder teilen, um
Moskau
von den Erdölreserven abzuschneiden. Die CIA hat ihre „eigenen Pläne“,
Saudi
Arabien aufzuteilen. In einer Zeit, da sich um die Europäische Union
und die
Vereinigten Staaten großräumige wirtschaftliche und politische Einheiten
formieren, betreiben dieselben Großmächte die Balkanisierung bestimmter
anderer Staaten, die ihnen Widerstand leisten.
Das Grundprinzip der internationalen Politik der USA ist, dass es kein
Grundprinzip gibt. Man kann so tun, als ob man ethnische Säuberungen
heute
bekämpft, und morgen betreibt man die Organisation ethnischer
Säuberungen.
Und dies völlig willkürlich. In der Vergangenheit haben die Vereinigten
Staaten die Kurden aufgefordert, innerhalb des türkischen Staats zu
verbleiben, der von faschistischen Generalen dominiert wird; aber heute
sind
die USA Wegbereiter eines kurdischen Staates, der, obgleich in
Wirklichkeit
ein Marionettenstaat, angeblich auf dem Prinzip der „Selbstbestimmung“
beruhen soll. Sie geben vor, der Welt Demokratie zu bringen, aber dann
wieder propagieren sie die faschistische Theorie der „ethnisch reinen“
Staaten.
Gefahr einer weltweit exportierbaren Theorie
Die Gefahr dieser falschen Theorie reicht weit über Irak und Jugoslawien
hinaus. Die meisten heute auf unserem Planeten existierenden Staaten
sind
„multinational“. Und vernünftige Leute empfinden diese Mischung der
Kulturen
als Bereicherung. Wenn man Theorien von „ethnisch reinen Staaten“
zulässt,
haben die USA einen Vorwand, jedes „multinationale“ Land, dass
Widerstand
leistet, zu zerschlagen.
Tatsächlich lässt Washington seine Absicht erkennen, das internationale
Recht und die Souveränität der Staaten mehr und mehr mit Füßen zu
treten.
Die USA schicken sich an, weltweit das zu tun, was sie in Jugoslawien
und
Afghanistan begonnen haben, und was eine Mehrheit der westlichen Linken
hat
geschehen lassen, und zwar mit den übelsten Begründungen. Halt! Es ist
an
der Zeit, die Bilanz der verhängnisvollen Allianz dieser Linken mit den
Vereinigten Staaten in Sachen Jugoslawien und Afghanistan zu ziehen.
Wenn
man sich dem globalen Krieg, das heißt der Rekolonisierung der Welt,
widersetzen will, dann ist es Zeit, der Verteidigung der Souveränität
der
Länder der Dritten Welt zu Hilfe zu kommen, d.h. eines Prinzips, auf
dem die
UN-Charta beruht. Diese Wendung zum Besseren fand im Jahre 1945 statt,
und
die USA sind darauf aus, sie zunichte zu machen.
Unterstützt den Widerstand!
Der eigentliche Inhalt des Plans von Gelb besteht darin, den Irak in
einen
langen Bürgerkrieg zu stürzen, um die koloniale Besetzung durch die USA
zu
retten und weiter das Erdöl stehlen zu können. Die USA werden
versuchen, den
Widerstand zu spalten - der überall in den verschiedenen
Bevölkerungsteile
vorhanden ist - indem sie jene, die weiter zusammenleben möchten,
bestrafen
und unter heuchlerischen Vorwänden „ethnische Säuberungen“
organisieren. Der
Plan der USA ist es, den Irak durch Erpressung zu spalten, und dabei die
Sunniten auszuhungern, die seit langem in der vordersten Front des
Widerstands gegen den Imperialismus stehen.
Wird Washington Gelbs Plan durchführen können? Was wird es daran
hindern?
Die Furcht, dass ein irakischer Schiiten-Staat mit dem Iran, der
mächtigsten
„feindlichen“ Armee im Mittleren Osten, zusammen gehen wird. Und die
Angst,
dass ein irakischer Kurden-Staat zu einem Anziehungspunkt für Kurden
wird,
die von der Türkei abfallen wollen, von einem wichtigen strategischen
US-Verbündeten, der an den Verbindungslinien zwischen Balkan, Kaukasus
und
Mittlerem Osten liegt. Aber wenn der irakische Widerstand weiterhin
anwächst
und seine verschiedenen Strömungen, einschließlich der Schiiten,
vereint,
dann dürfte Washington seine Chance verspielt haben, seinen Plan der
Zerschlagung des Landes in die Tat umzusetzen.
Der jugoslawische Präzedenzfall muss als eine ernste Warnung verstanden
werden! Es kann nicht sein, dass andere Staaten in dasselbe Drama
gestürzt
werden! Angesichts der Tatsache, dass Bush neue Gefahren für die ganze
Welt
entfesselt hat, angesichts der Tatsache, dass er immer häufiger auf
faschistische Theorien zurückgreift, ist die einzig mögliche Antwort der
Aufbau einer vereinten Weltfront gegen die Politik der Vereinigten
Staaten
und die weltweite Unterstützung des Widerstands - in erste Linie des
bemerkenswerten irakischen Widerstands (von den Herrschaftsmedien oft
als
„Terrorismus“ bezeichnet).
Der irakische Widerstand hindert Bush daran, in einem Zuge auch Iran,
Syrien, Nordkorea und Kuba anzugreifen. Er zeigt wieder einmal, dass die
Vereinigten Staaten nie unbesiegbar gewesen sind. Bush ist zur
Witzfigur der
Welt geworden. „Papiertiger“ ist der klassische Ausdruck. Der irakische
Widerstand überwindet auch die Entmutigung und den Pessimismus, der sich
nach der „Befreiung Bagdads“ im Irak ausbreitete. Der Krieg ist nicht
vorbei, er hat eben erst begonnen. Unterstützen wir den Widerstand,
weil wir
damit uns selbst unterstützen.
Übersetzung aus dem Englischen: Klaus von Raussendorff
Kontakt: michel.collon@...
***************************************************************
http://it.groups.yahoo.com/group/crj-mailinglist/message/3055
"Dividiamo l'Iraq come abbiamo fatto con la Yugoslavia!"
en FRANCAIS:
http://it.groups.yahoo.com/group/crj-mailinglist/message/3003
«Divisons l'Irak comme la Yougoslavie!»
in ENGLISH:
http://it.groups.yahoo.com/group/crj-mailinglist/message/3045
"Let's Divide Iraq as We Did in Yugoslavia!" ]
Da: "Klaus von Raussendorff" <redaktion@...>
Data: Gio 8 Gen 2004 11:36:21 Europe/Rome
Washington hat die Lösung gefunden:
“LASST UNS DEN IRAK AUFTEILEN,
WIE WIR ES MIT JUGOSLAWIEN GEMACHT HABEN!“
Von Michel Collon (23. Dez. 2003)
http://globalresearch.ca/articles/COL312A.html
(erscheint voraussichtlich demnächst in junge Welt)
Der belgische Journalist Michel Collon analysiert die US-Strategie der
Zerschlagung eines einheitlichen irakischen Nationalstaates und die
dahinter
stehende rassistische Strategie, welche vor allem in Israel Befürworter
findet. Seit Beginn der US-Invasion im Irak war erkennbar, dass die
Besatzer
ihr koloniales Regime auf Destabilisierung und Chaos stützen. Von
„demokratischem Aufbau“ eines einheitlichen Irak ist nur in der
Medienpropaganda die Rede. „Einerseits hat Bremer angesichts des
Widerstands
zu nationaler Versöhnung aufgerufen. Mit einer Generalamnestie könnten
die
Amerikaner versuchen, einige Abteilungen des Widerstands zu gewinnen,
indem
sie ihnen Funktionen in der neuen Regierung versprechen. Auf der anderen
Seite fordern die pro-iranischen Schiiten einen islamischen Staat. Von
nun
an werden all diese Widersprüche, die durch die US-Besatzung entfaltet
wurden, stärker werden, und zwar zwischen all diesen verschiedenen
Komponenten. Das wird zu weiterer Instabilität führen.“ (Mohammed
Hassan in
einer Stellungnahme der Partei der Arbeit Belgiens* vom 14. Dezember,
2004)
Ende Dezember 03 berichteten die Zeitungen, dass Washington seine Pläne
für
den Aufbau einer einheitlichen irakischen Hilfsarmee der Besatzungsmacht
zugunsten der Aufrüstung von Milizen einzelner potentieller
Bürgerkriegsfraktionen zurückstellt: “Zur gleichen Zeit,“ schreibt
beispielsweise die Washington Post v. 27. Dez. 03
(http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A35053-2003Dec27), “hat die
Besatzungsmacht die Zahl der Rekruten wesentlich reduziert, welche sie
durch
eine dreimonatige Ausbildung im Lager zu schleusen beabsichtigt, die
darauf
angelegt ist, eine verbesserte, professionell ausgebildete Armee
aufzubauen.
Stattdessen verstärkt die Besatzungsmacht die Reihen der Polizeibeamten
und
Zivilschutztruppen, die schneller eingesetzt werden können, aber weitaus
weniger Ausbildung und Sicherheitsüberprüfung als Soldaten brauchen.“
Obgleich die Besatzungsmacht ursprünglich die kurdischen Milizenverbände
schnell auflösen und in die neue Armee- und Polizeitruppe überführen
wollte,
hätten die US-Vertreter gegenüber den kurdischen Führern nicht darauf
gedrängt. Sie nähmen inzwischen auch gegenüber einer schiitischen Miliz,
deren Schutzherr der Oberste Rat der Islamischen Revolution ist, eine
gelassene Haltung ein. „Bremer erlaubte auch kürzlich die Schaffung
einer
neuen Streitmacht, welche ehemalige Mitglieder von fünf politischen
Partei-Milizen umfasst, um die Aufständischen mit Hilfe amerikanischer
Ausbildung und Unterstützung zu verfolgen.“
------------------------------------------------------------------------
----
Anti-Imperialistische Korrespondenz (AIKor) -
Informationsdienst der Vereinigung für Internationale Solidarität (VIS)
e.V.,
Redaktion: Klaus von Raussendorff
Postfach 210172, 53156 Bonn; Tel.&Fax: 0228 - 34.68.50;
Email: redaktion@...
AIKor-Infos können auf der Seite der AIKor http://www.aikor.de
unter "Info-Dienst der AIKor" runter geladen werden
Webmaster: Dieter Vogel, Email: webmaster@...
Wer die AIKor-mails nicht empfangen möchte, schicke bitte eine Mail mit
dem
Betreff
"unsubscribe" an redaktion@...
************************************************************************
****
http://globalresearch.ca/articles/COL312A.html
Washington hat die Lösung gefunden:
“LASST UNS DEN IRAK AUFTEILEN,
WIE WIR ES MIT JUGOSLAWIEN GEMACHT HABEN!“
von Michel Collon (23. Dez. 2003)
Sie haben die Lösung gefunden! Den Irak in drei Mini-Staaten zerlegen
und
diese dann gegen einander aufhetzen. Kommt einem das nicht bekannt vor?
Allerdings! So etwas geschieht nicht zum ersten Mal….
Am 25. November 2003 brachte The New York Times einen Kommentar von
Leslie
Gelb, ein einflussreicher Mann, der bis vor kurzem Vorsitzender des
gewichtigen Council of Foreign Affairs war, einer Ideenwerkstatt, die
Vertreter der CIA, des Außenministeriums und Großkopfete der US-Konzerne
zusammenbringt.
Gelbs Plan? Irak durch drei Mini-Staaten ersetzen: “Kurden im Norden,
Sunniten im Zentrum und Schiiten im Süden.“ Das Ziel? „Das meiste Geld
und
die meisten Truppen dort einsetzen, wo sie schnell am meisten Gutes tun
-
bei den Kurden und bei den Schiiten. Die Vereinigten Staaten könnten die
meisten ihrer Truppen aus dem so genannten Sunnitischen Dreieck
nördlich und
westlich von Bagdad abziehen…Dann könnten die US-Beamten abwarten, bis
die
unruhigen und dominanten Sunniten ohne Erdöl oder Erdöleinnahmen ihre
Ansprüche mäßigen oder die Konsequenzen tragen.“ Kurz gesagt, den
mittleren
Staat um Bagdad aushungern, weil die Sunniten immer die Spitze des
Widerstands gegen den US-Imperialismus gewesen sind.
Dieser Plan der CIA existiert insgeheim bereits seit einiger Zeit. Wir
haben
ihn in einem Artikel vom September 2002 verurteilt. Aber in
Wirklichkeit ist
es ein alter israelischer Traum, den Irak zu aufzuteilen. Oded Yinon,
ein
Beamter des israelischen Außenministerium schrieb 1982: „Den Irak
aufzulösen
ist sogar noch wichtiger, als Syrien aufzulösen. Kurzfristig ist es die
irakische Macht, welche die größte Bedrohung für Israel darstellt. Der
iranisch-irakische Krieg hat den Irak zerrissen und seinen Niedergang
provoziert. Jede Art von innerarabischem Konflikt hilft uns und
beschleunigt
unser Ziel der Zerschlagung des Irak in verschiedene kleine Stücke.“
(Artikel von Kivunim - Zionistische Weltorganisation - , 1982, zitiert
nach
Bill Vann, World Socialist Web Site, 26 novembre 2003).
Erneut ethnische Säuberungen?
Demzufolge möchte Gelb den Irak zerschlagen, indem der Norden (mit
kurdischer Mehrheit) und der Süden (mit schiitischer Mehrheit) in
„selbst-regierende Regionen mit Grenzen, die so weit wie möglich nach
ethnischen Linien gezogen sind“, umgestaltet werden.
Aber hat diese Methode nicht in Jugoslawien zu Bürgerkrieg und Blutbad
geführt? Weil die verschiedenen Regionen dieses Landes alle bedeutende
Minderheiten enthielten und eine Teilung ohne die zwangsweise
Verlagerung
von Bevölkerungen nicht möglich war. Daher hat Berlin und später
Washington
heimlich rassistische Extremisten, die sich nach den Zeiten des zweiten
Weltkrieges zurück sehnten, insgeheim finanziert und bewaffnet. Dies
machte
den Bürgerkrieg nahezu unausweichlich, weil der Weltwährungsfonds und
die
Weltbank Jugoslawien in den Bankrott getrieben hatte, um es zur
Unterwerfung
unter den Neo-Liberalismus zu bewegen, der nach dem Fall der Berliner
Mauer
triumphierte. All dies wurde geflissentlich vor der Öffentlichkeit
verschleiert.
Genau so, wie man nun vor der Öffentlichkeit die Tatsache verschleiert,
dass
alle Völker des ehemaligen Jugoslawien in Elend und Arbeitslosigkeit
gestürzt wurden, so schlimm wie noch nie zuvor. Inzwischen haben
multinationale Konzerne die Kontrolle über die Reichtümer des Landes
übernommen.
Auch im Irak wohnen die drei großen Bevölkerungsgruppen nicht “jede in
ihrer
eigenen Region”, sondern leben meist unter einander vermischt. Im
übrigen
weiß Gelb ganz genau, dass eine Neuauflage dieser Strategie im Irak
erneut
aller Wahrscheinlichkeit nach zu ernsten „ethnischen“ Konflikten, und
vielleicht sogar zu Bürgerkrieg führen würde. Zynisch verkündet er,
dass der
Staat im Zentrum des Irak „größere im Zentrum verbliebene Minderheiten,
insbesondere die großen kurdischen und schiitischen Bevölkerungsgruppen
in
Bagdad bestrafen könnte. Diese Minderheiten müssen die Zeit und die
Mittel
haben, um sich zu organisieren und ihre Vereinbarungen aushandeln oder
entweder nach dem Norden oder dem Süden gehen.“ Auf diese Weise würden
Millionen Menschen gezwungen werden, die Gebiete zu verlassen, in denen
sie
immer gelebt haben, aber Gelb findet das nicht störend, wenn es den USA
ermöglicht, ihre Kolonialherrschaft abzusichern.
Ist der jugoslawische Präzedenzfall nicht Warnung genug? Die Wahrheit
ist,
dass der Bürgerkrieg in Jugoslawien für Gelb ein großer Erfolg war,
weil er
es möglich machte, ein Land, dass sich den Multinationalen Konzernen
widersetzte, zu zerschlagen.
Da ist sie wieder: Die Theorie der “ethnisch reinen Staaten”!
Tatsächlich bezieht sich Gelb offen auf „einen hoffnungsvollen
Präzedenzfall…Jugoslawien“. Wirklich merkwürdig! Hieß es nicht, die
Vereinigten Staaten hätten dort eingegriffen, um „ethnische
Säuberungen“ zu
verhindern? Keineswegs, räumt er ein: „ethnisch reine“ Staaten sind in
Ordnung, wenn sie den Plänen Washingtons dienen.
Während Gelb “ethnisch reine Staaten” (er spricht auch von “natürlichen
Staaten”!) propagiert, kritisiert er Tito dafür, dass dieser „höchst
disparate ethnische Gruppen“ in einem vereinten Jugoslawien
zusammengefasst
hat, und dabei behauptet er, dass der Irak aus denselben Gründen „ein
künstlicher Staat“ ist; Gelb greift auf alte Theorien der extremen
Rechten
zurück.
Seine Theorie der ethnisch reinen Staaten ist tatsächlich identisch mit
derjenigen Hitlers: “Ein Volk, ein Reich, ein Führer”. Es ist auch eine
Theorie, die von den Zionisten übernommen wurde, die von einem „von
Arabern
gesäuberten“ Israel träumen. In Jugoslawien war dies die Theorie der
westlichen Schützlinge, des Kroaten Tudjman und des bosnischen Moslem
Izetbegovic. Es war auch die Theorie des rechten serbischen Führers
Karadzic. Es ist schon seltsam, dass die USA Theorien propagieren,
gegen die
sie einst zu kämpfen vorgaben!
Die Wahrheit ist, dass die Vereinigten Staaten - genau wie alle anderen
Kolonialisten - für oder gegen ethnisch reine Staaten sind, je nachdem
es
ihren strategischen Interessen passt oder nicht. Das einzige, was zählt,
ist, den Widerstand zu schwächen. Teile und herrsche. Wie immer. Die
Briten
organisierten geflissentlich die Teilung Irlands, Indiens und Pakistans
und
anderer Räume in der Welt. Der einflussreiche strategische Vordenker der
USA, Zbigniew Brzezinski, möchte Russland in drei Länder teilen, um
Moskau
von den Erdölreserven abzuschneiden. Die CIA hat ihre „eigenen Pläne“,
Saudi
Arabien aufzuteilen. In einer Zeit, da sich um die Europäische Union
und die
Vereinigten Staaten großräumige wirtschaftliche und politische Einheiten
formieren, betreiben dieselben Großmächte die Balkanisierung bestimmter
anderer Staaten, die ihnen Widerstand leisten.
Das Grundprinzip der internationalen Politik der USA ist, dass es kein
Grundprinzip gibt. Man kann so tun, als ob man ethnische Säuberungen
heute
bekämpft, und morgen betreibt man die Organisation ethnischer
Säuberungen.
Und dies völlig willkürlich. In der Vergangenheit haben die Vereinigten
Staaten die Kurden aufgefordert, innerhalb des türkischen Staats zu
verbleiben, der von faschistischen Generalen dominiert wird; aber heute
sind
die USA Wegbereiter eines kurdischen Staates, der, obgleich in
Wirklichkeit
ein Marionettenstaat, angeblich auf dem Prinzip der „Selbstbestimmung“
beruhen soll. Sie geben vor, der Welt Demokratie zu bringen, aber dann
wieder propagieren sie die faschistische Theorie der „ethnisch reinen“
Staaten.
Gefahr einer weltweit exportierbaren Theorie
Die Gefahr dieser falschen Theorie reicht weit über Irak und Jugoslawien
hinaus. Die meisten heute auf unserem Planeten existierenden Staaten
sind
„multinational“. Und vernünftige Leute empfinden diese Mischung der
Kulturen
als Bereicherung. Wenn man Theorien von „ethnisch reinen Staaten“
zulässt,
haben die USA einen Vorwand, jedes „multinationale“ Land, dass
Widerstand
leistet, zu zerschlagen.
Tatsächlich lässt Washington seine Absicht erkennen, das internationale
Recht und die Souveränität der Staaten mehr und mehr mit Füßen zu
treten.
Die USA schicken sich an, weltweit das zu tun, was sie in Jugoslawien
und
Afghanistan begonnen haben, und was eine Mehrheit der westlichen Linken
hat
geschehen lassen, und zwar mit den übelsten Begründungen. Halt! Es ist
an
der Zeit, die Bilanz der verhängnisvollen Allianz dieser Linken mit den
Vereinigten Staaten in Sachen Jugoslawien und Afghanistan zu ziehen.
Wenn
man sich dem globalen Krieg, das heißt der Rekolonisierung der Welt,
widersetzen will, dann ist es Zeit, der Verteidigung der Souveränität
der
Länder der Dritten Welt zu Hilfe zu kommen, d.h. eines Prinzips, auf
dem die
UN-Charta beruht. Diese Wendung zum Besseren fand im Jahre 1945 statt,
und
die USA sind darauf aus, sie zunichte zu machen.
Unterstützt den Widerstand!
Der eigentliche Inhalt des Plans von Gelb besteht darin, den Irak in
einen
langen Bürgerkrieg zu stürzen, um die koloniale Besetzung durch die USA
zu
retten und weiter das Erdöl stehlen zu können. Die USA werden
versuchen, den
Widerstand zu spalten - der überall in den verschiedenen
Bevölkerungsteile
vorhanden ist - indem sie jene, die weiter zusammenleben möchten,
bestrafen
und unter heuchlerischen Vorwänden „ethnische Säuberungen“
organisieren. Der
Plan der USA ist es, den Irak durch Erpressung zu spalten, und dabei die
Sunniten auszuhungern, die seit langem in der vordersten Front des
Widerstands gegen den Imperialismus stehen.
Wird Washington Gelbs Plan durchführen können? Was wird es daran
hindern?
Die Furcht, dass ein irakischer Schiiten-Staat mit dem Iran, der
mächtigsten
„feindlichen“ Armee im Mittleren Osten, zusammen gehen wird. Und die
Angst,
dass ein irakischer Kurden-Staat zu einem Anziehungspunkt für Kurden
wird,
die von der Türkei abfallen wollen, von einem wichtigen strategischen
US-Verbündeten, der an den Verbindungslinien zwischen Balkan, Kaukasus
und
Mittlerem Osten liegt. Aber wenn der irakische Widerstand weiterhin
anwächst
und seine verschiedenen Strömungen, einschließlich der Schiiten,
vereint,
dann dürfte Washington seine Chance verspielt haben, seinen Plan der
Zerschlagung des Landes in die Tat umzusetzen.
Der jugoslawische Präzedenzfall muss als eine ernste Warnung verstanden
werden! Es kann nicht sein, dass andere Staaten in dasselbe Drama
gestürzt
werden! Angesichts der Tatsache, dass Bush neue Gefahren für die ganze
Welt
entfesselt hat, angesichts der Tatsache, dass er immer häufiger auf
faschistische Theorien zurückgreift, ist die einzig mögliche Antwort der
Aufbau einer vereinten Weltfront gegen die Politik der Vereinigten
Staaten
und die weltweite Unterstützung des Widerstands - in erste Linie des
bemerkenswerten irakischen Widerstands (von den Herrschaftsmedien oft
als
„Terrorismus“ bezeichnet).
Der irakische Widerstand hindert Bush daran, in einem Zuge auch Iran,
Syrien, Nordkorea und Kuba anzugreifen. Er zeigt wieder einmal, dass die
Vereinigten Staaten nie unbesiegbar gewesen sind. Bush ist zur
Witzfigur der
Welt geworden. „Papiertiger“ ist der klassische Ausdruck. Der irakische
Widerstand überwindet auch die Entmutigung und den Pessimismus, der sich
nach der „Befreiung Bagdads“ im Irak ausbreitete. Der Krieg ist nicht
vorbei, er hat eben erst begonnen. Unterstützen wir den Widerstand,
weil wir
damit uns selbst unterstützen.
Übersetzung aus dem Englischen: Klaus von Raussendorff
Kontakt: michel.collon@...
***************************************************************
