Informazione
Bielorussia / Belarus
1. La politica della sicurezza e la collocazione internazionale della
Bielorussia (trad. dal russo di Mauro Gemma)
2. Lukashenko vs. US (by Vasily Bubnov)
=== 1 ===
LA POLITICA DELLA SICUREZZA E LA COLLOCAZIONE INTERNAZIONALE DELLA
BIELORUSSIA
Il 26 dicembre, al termine della riunione del Consiglio di Sicurezza
della Repubblica di Belarus (Bielorussia), l’ufficio stampa del
presidente Aleksandr Lukashenko ha diffuso una nota, in cui si fa cenno
anche allo stato attuale dei rapporti del piccolo stato ex sovietico
con gli USA e alle scelte che ne derivano per Minsk sul terreno della
politica della sicurezza e delle alleanze internazionali.
A tal proposito, si propone la traduzione di uno stralcio del documento
in questione.
M.G.
(…) Avendo ben presenti le pericolose tendenze geopolitiche in corso,
la Bielorussia si vede costretta alla vigilanza e a prestare
particolare attenzione alla propria sicurezza, al rafforzamento dei
suoi dispositivi di difesa e alla creazione di un sistema adeguato e
moderno di organizzazione militare dello stato. L’analisi dell’attuale
situazione internazionale dimostra che il mondo sta regredendo ad una
condizione in cui la guerra e la pressione militare rappresentano gli
strumenti concreti della politica estera. Il diritto e le istituzioni
internazionali in pratica non sono più in grado di garantire pienamente
la sovranità e l’integrità territoriale dei singoli paesi. E’ evidente
la persistente aspirazione dei governi di alcuni stati all’egemonia, al
dominio esclusivo, alla formazione di un nuovo ordine mondiale. Il
leader bielorusso ha indicato come esempio di questa tendenza gli Stati
Uniti che, a suo avviso, rivendicano il particolare diritto all’uso
della forza militare nei confronti degli stati che trovano il coraggio
di condurre una politica interna ed estera indipendente, non soggetta
al loro controllo. “Inoltre, (gli USA) riescono ad ottenere che i
propri militari non vengano richiamati alle proprie responsabilità, e,
purtroppo, con il consenso di molte organizzazioni internazionali”, -
ha constatato Aleksandr Lukashenko.
Il presidente ha inteso sottolineare che la Bielorussia conduce con
coerenza una politica estera, indirizzata al rafforzamento della
sicurezza internazionale. Noi rimaniamo fedeli alle idee del disarmo
nucleare generalizzato, della non proliferazione delle armi di
distruzione di massa e delle tecnologie correlate. Va consolidandosi la
partecipazione della Bielorussia all’attività delle organizzazioni
internazionali e regionali, in materia di sicurezza e controllo degli
armamenti. La nostra repubblica aspira a portare il proprio contributo
alla definizione di una nuova architettura della sicurezza europea e
intende sviluppare una collaborazione reciprocamente vantaggiosa anche
con la NATO. Occupiamo una posizione significativa nell’
“Organizzazione del Trattato sulla sicurezza collettiva” (che raggruppa
alcuni paesi della Comunità degli Stati Indipendenti), siamo parte
costituente di uno spazio integrato di difesa con la Russia, e
contribuiamo a rafforzarlo.
Ma le misure indicate non sono sufficienti. A parere del presidente,
occorre realizzare una serie di misure in grado di garantire il
duraturo ed efficace funzionamento dell’organizzazione militare dello
stato (…)
Traduzione dal russo di Mauro Gemma
=== 2 ===
http://english.pravda.ru/printed.html?news_id=11666
Lukashenko vs. US - 12/29/2003 11:53
It is perfectly known that the president may turn any event into
denunciation of something or somebody
On December 26, Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko spoke at a
session of the Belarus Security Council. Sessions of the Council are
routine as a rule, however it is perfectly known that the president may
turn any event into denunciation of something or somebody.
This time the US, Washington's foreign policy to be exact, was in the
focus of Alexander Lukashenko. The president of Belarus stated that
nowadays the whole of the world once again turned war and armed
pressure into actual leverage of policies of some countries. He said:
"Today, international institutions cannot guarantee territorial
integrity of any state. Leaders of some countries obviously seek
hegemony and monopolism." One can easily guess what country Alexander
Lukashenko means. The Belarus president says that "the US openly states
it enjoys the particular right of using force with respect to those
countries which political lines are not controlled by America."
International organizations, in their turn, are being pushed around by
this policy.
The Belarus leader thinks the geopolitical phenomena are extremely
dangerous and make Belarus pay particular attention to its defence. The
session of the Security Council on December 26 was devoted to approval
of a program meant to guarantee security of the country. Alexander
Lukashenko emphasized he meant defence of the country in extraordinary
situations if some were to occur.
However, the Belarus leader declared that the issue was of top
priority for Belarus and documents on the problem had been developed
for a long period already. "Belarus makes no attempts to conceal
weapons, to intimidate someone; we should avoid making the situation
tenser," Alexander Lukashenko said.
It is hardly likely that Washington will pay any attention to
Lukashenko's statements. The Belarus leader is in fact not the only
person blaming the US for striving for hegemony. It sometimes even
seems that the US Administration itself makes no secret of this.
This is not for the first time that Belarus president criticizes the
US policy. The Iraqi war, in Lukashenko's words, is "the most cynical
aggression since WWII." Washington in its turn has several times blamed
Belarus for weapons supplies to Iraq, Libya, Syria and North Korea. As
a rule, the US brought the charges against Belarus unsupported with any
evidence.
Vasily Bubnov
Pravda.Ru
1. La politica della sicurezza e la collocazione internazionale della
Bielorussia (trad. dal russo di Mauro Gemma)
2. Lukashenko vs. US (by Vasily Bubnov)
=== 1 ===
LA POLITICA DELLA SICUREZZA E LA COLLOCAZIONE INTERNAZIONALE DELLA
BIELORUSSIA
Il 26 dicembre, al termine della riunione del Consiglio di Sicurezza
della Repubblica di Belarus (Bielorussia), l’ufficio stampa del
presidente Aleksandr Lukashenko ha diffuso una nota, in cui si fa cenno
anche allo stato attuale dei rapporti del piccolo stato ex sovietico
con gli USA e alle scelte che ne derivano per Minsk sul terreno della
politica della sicurezza e delle alleanze internazionali.
A tal proposito, si propone la traduzione di uno stralcio del documento
in questione.
M.G.
(…) Avendo ben presenti le pericolose tendenze geopolitiche in corso,
la Bielorussia si vede costretta alla vigilanza e a prestare
particolare attenzione alla propria sicurezza, al rafforzamento dei
suoi dispositivi di difesa e alla creazione di un sistema adeguato e
moderno di organizzazione militare dello stato. L’analisi dell’attuale
situazione internazionale dimostra che il mondo sta regredendo ad una
condizione in cui la guerra e la pressione militare rappresentano gli
strumenti concreti della politica estera. Il diritto e le istituzioni
internazionali in pratica non sono più in grado di garantire pienamente
la sovranità e l’integrità territoriale dei singoli paesi. E’ evidente
la persistente aspirazione dei governi di alcuni stati all’egemonia, al
dominio esclusivo, alla formazione di un nuovo ordine mondiale. Il
leader bielorusso ha indicato come esempio di questa tendenza gli Stati
Uniti che, a suo avviso, rivendicano il particolare diritto all’uso
della forza militare nei confronti degli stati che trovano il coraggio
di condurre una politica interna ed estera indipendente, non soggetta
al loro controllo. “Inoltre, (gli USA) riescono ad ottenere che i
propri militari non vengano richiamati alle proprie responsabilità, e,
purtroppo, con il consenso di molte organizzazioni internazionali”, -
ha constatato Aleksandr Lukashenko.
Il presidente ha inteso sottolineare che la Bielorussia conduce con
coerenza una politica estera, indirizzata al rafforzamento della
sicurezza internazionale. Noi rimaniamo fedeli alle idee del disarmo
nucleare generalizzato, della non proliferazione delle armi di
distruzione di massa e delle tecnologie correlate. Va consolidandosi la
partecipazione della Bielorussia all’attività delle organizzazioni
internazionali e regionali, in materia di sicurezza e controllo degli
armamenti. La nostra repubblica aspira a portare il proprio contributo
alla definizione di una nuova architettura della sicurezza europea e
intende sviluppare una collaborazione reciprocamente vantaggiosa anche
con la NATO. Occupiamo una posizione significativa nell’
“Organizzazione del Trattato sulla sicurezza collettiva” (che raggruppa
alcuni paesi della Comunità degli Stati Indipendenti), siamo parte
costituente di uno spazio integrato di difesa con la Russia, e
contribuiamo a rafforzarlo.
Ma le misure indicate non sono sufficienti. A parere del presidente,
occorre realizzare una serie di misure in grado di garantire il
duraturo ed efficace funzionamento dell’organizzazione militare dello
stato (…)
Traduzione dal russo di Mauro Gemma
=== 2 ===
http://english.pravda.ru/printed.html?news_id=11666
Lukashenko vs. US - 12/29/2003 11:53
It is perfectly known that the president may turn any event into
denunciation of something or somebody
On December 26, Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko spoke at a
session of the Belarus Security Council. Sessions of the Council are
routine as a rule, however it is perfectly known that the president may
turn any event into denunciation of something or somebody.
This time the US, Washington's foreign policy to be exact, was in the
focus of Alexander Lukashenko. The president of Belarus stated that
nowadays the whole of the world once again turned war and armed
pressure into actual leverage of policies of some countries. He said:
"Today, international institutions cannot guarantee territorial
integrity of any state. Leaders of some countries obviously seek
hegemony and monopolism." One can easily guess what country Alexander
Lukashenko means. The Belarus president says that "the US openly states
it enjoys the particular right of using force with respect to those
countries which political lines are not controlled by America."
International organizations, in their turn, are being pushed around by
this policy.
The Belarus leader thinks the geopolitical phenomena are extremely
dangerous and make Belarus pay particular attention to its defence. The
session of the Security Council on December 26 was devoted to approval
of a program meant to guarantee security of the country. Alexander
Lukashenko emphasized he meant defence of the country in extraordinary
situations if some were to occur.
However, the Belarus leader declared that the issue was of top
priority for Belarus and documents on the problem had been developed
for a long period already. "Belarus makes no attempts to conceal
weapons, to intimidate someone; we should avoid making the situation
tenser," Alexander Lukashenko said.
It is hardly likely that Washington will pay any attention to
Lukashenko's statements. The Belarus leader is in fact not the only
person blaming the US for striving for hegemony. It sometimes even
seems that the US Administration itself makes no secret of this.
This is not for the first time that Belarus president criticizes the
US policy. The Iraqi war, in Lukashenko's words, is "the most cynical
aggression since WWII." Washington in its turn has several times blamed
Belarus for weapons supplies to Iraq, Libya, Syria and North Korea. As
a rule, the US brought the charges against Belarus unsupported with any
evidence.
Vasily Bubnov
Pravda.Ru
Da: "operanomadinazionale" <operanomadinazionale@...>
Data: Ven 2 Gen 2004 12:55:55 Europe/Rome
Oggetto: devastazione razzista contro sede Opera Nomadi Milano
---
COMUNICATO STAMPA
OPERA NOMADI SEZIONE DI MILANO
30 DICEMBRE 2003
DEVASTATA LA SEDE DELL’OPERA NOMADI DI MILANO
La nuova sede dell’Opera Nomadi di Milano, allestita da circa un mese
in Via De Pretis 13, al Quartiere Barona, è stata devastata questa
notte. I locali, concessi in affitto dal Comune di Milano, hanno subito
danni gravi, così come gli arredi, le attrezzature e il materiale
documentario dell’archivio.
Gli atti vandalici sono stati “firmati” con scritte fasciste, svastiche
e croci celtiche.
L’apertura di questa nuova sede era stata realizzata grazie ad un
finanziamento erogato dall’ UCEI (Unione delle Comunità Ebraiche
Italiane) e destinato alla creazione di un centro permanente di
documentazione sulla Porrajmos - la persecuzione contro i Rom attuata
durante il nazifascismo - e di un osservatorio sulla discriminazione.
Il grave episodio è stato scoperto questa mattina dai responsabili
cittadini dell’associazione, che si erano recati in sede per completare
il trasferimento del materiale d’archivio.
Immediata la solidarietà del Centro di documentazione ebraica
contemporanea, trasmessa all’Opera Nomadi da Marcello Pezzetti, storico
della Shoah e ricercatore del Cdec.
Fortunatamente buona parte del materiale relativo alle ricerche sulla
Porrajmos, incluse alcune interviste ai sopravvissuti ai campi di
sterminio, si è salvato dalla distruzione. Si stava infatti concludendo
in questi giorni il montaggio di un documentario che l’Opera Nomadi
aveva commissionato in vista delle celebrazioni della Giornata della
Memoria e, per questo motivo, la documentazione non era ancora stata
restituita all’archivio.
Per ulteriori informazioni:
Maurizio Pagani
Vice Presidente Opera Nomadi di Milano 339.3684212
paganimao@...
Roberta Migliavacca Ufficio Stampa Opera Nomadi di Milano 328.9680695
---
RASSEGNA STAMPA
Tratto da “Il Manifesto” 31 dicembre 2003
MILANO
Vandali contro i Rom
La nuova sede dell’Opera Nomadi di Milano è stata scassinata e
danneggiata nella notte tra lunedì e martedì. Gli atti vandalici sono
stati firmati con scritte razziste contro i Rom, svastiche e croci
celtiche. I teppisti hanno ammucchiato il poco materiale che sono
riusciti a trovare, libri e fotografie e gli hanno dato fuoco: un
piccolo falò che ha danneggiato l’impianto elettrico. La sede che si
trova in un negozio nel quartiere Barona è stata affittata dal Comune
ed avrebbe dovuto essere inaugurata il prossimo 27 gennaio. « Non c’era
mai successo niente di simile – racconta Maurizio Pagani dell’Opera
Nomadi – purtroppo a Milano cresce un’avversione diffusa contro i
nomadi, atteggiamenti aggressivi che registriamo anche da parte di
cittadini comuni».
Tratto da “l’Unità” 31 dicembre 2003
Tratto da “La Repubblica 31 dicembre 2003
Sconosciuti hanno devastato di notte la sede del centro di
documentazione sui Rom e i Sinti. Scritte naziste e svastiche sui muri
Milano, assalto fascista all'Opera Nomadi
di Laura Matteucci
Milano L'hanno devastata nella notte. Hanno divelto la cancellata che
dà sulla strada, rotto la porta a vetri, fracassato mobili e
attrezzature. Hanno ammassato suppellettili e libri, ne hanno fatto un
mucchio in mezzo alla stanza. E lasciato, come firma, scritte razziste
sui muri, svastiche e croci uncinate. Oltre alla scritta «Non vi
vogliamo qui».
Assalto nella notte
La nuova sede dell'Opera Nomadi di Milano, aperta da poco più di un
mese in via De Pretis alla Barona, un quartiere della periferia
sud-ovest, è stata presa di mira da sconosciuti nella notte tra lunedì
e martedì. Morale: l'impianto elettrico non funziona più, i danni sono
gravi per arredi, attrezzature e per il materiale documentario
dell'archivio.
«Siamo rimasti esterrefatti davanti alla devastazione, quando siamo
arrivati stamattina (ieri, ndr) - dice Maurizio Pagani, vicepresidente
dell'Opera Nomadi di Milano - Un fatto che dimostra, una volta di più,
come non esista alcun controllo del territorio. Non nel senso di
militarizzazione, ci mancherebbe, ma nel senso di visibilità».
«A questo punto - prosegue Pagani - dovremo valutare se sia il caso di
rimanere ancora nella stessa sede, o se provare a fare richiesta al
Comune per un altro luogo». Il che, comunque, non è semplice, vista
anche l'attenzione del Comune di Milano per progetti di questo tipo.
«Valuteremo la cosa più giusta da fare. Anche perché l’Opera è un luogo
aperto, un centro di documentazione cui si rivolgono Rom e Sinti». Che
a Milano sono circa 3.500, tra i l2Omila e i l30mila in tutta Italia.
Da notare che all'ingresso della sede non era stata affissa alcuna
targa che indicasse la presenza dell'Opera Nomadi, di cui però, negli
ultimi tempi, si era sparsa voce nel quartiere.
I locali della sede devastata l'altra notte erano stati concessi in
affitto dal Comune nel luglio scorso. L'apertura era stata realizzata
grazie ad un finanziamento dell’UCEI (l'Unione delle Comunità Ebraiche
Italiane), e destinato alla creazione di un centro permanente di
documentazione sulla Porrajmos - la persecuzione contro i Rom durante
il nazifascismo - e di un osservatorio sulla discriminazione razziale.
Fortunatamente, buona parte del materiale relativo alle ricerche sulla
Porrajmos, incluse alcune interviste ai sopravvissuti ai campi di
sterminio, si è salvato dall'atto di vandalismo. Proprio in questi
giorni, infatti, si stava concludendo il montaggio di un documentario
che l'Opera Nomadi aveva commissionato in vista della Giornata della
Memoria, il 27 gennaio. «Si tratta di un video - spiega Pagani - che
testimonia della persecuzione dei nomadi in Italia durante il regime
fascista».
Presi di mira
Le precedenti sedi dell'Opera Nomadi non avevano mai dovuto subire atti
di questo genere. Quest'ultima, invece, per la verità, era già stata
presa di mira da qualche settimana, praticamente dalla sua apertura.
Pagani, infatti, parla di sassi conficcati nella vetrata, lanciati con
delle fionde.
La devastazione dell'altra notte, certo, ha ben altra portata. «Anche
perché questa volta - riprende Pagani - la matrice è ben riconoscibile
come di destra, visto che i muri sono stati imbrattati da scritte
razziste, svastiche e croci uncinate».
Tratto da “L’Unità” 31 dicembre 2003
Distrutta la nuova sede alla Barona: svastiche e croci celtiche come
firma
Assalto all’Opera Nomadi "Qui non vi vogliamo"
di Oriana Liso
Non c’era ancora la targa sulla porta, né c'era stata l’inaugurazione
ufficiale. Ma qualcuno aveva ugualmente individuato la nuova sede
dell’Opera Nomadi, trasferita da un mese in via De Pretis, alla Barona.
Sono entrati lunedì notte ed hanno devastato i tre locali: i mobili
sfasciati, libri e documenti bruciati, l'impianto elettrico manomesso.
Come firma svastiche croci celtiche e una scritta “Non vi vogliamo”.
«Avevamo già avuto qualche avvisaglia - racconta Maurizio Pagani,
vicepresidente della fondazione - due sassate che avevano spaccato un
vetro, la prima quindici giorni fa, la seconda la settimana scorsa, e
poi una delle grate di protezione della vetrina divelta. Ma all’inizio
pensavamo fosse solo vandalismo». Un’ipotesi giustificata dal fatto che
intorno al centro non c'e molto movimento di negozi, e l’allestimento
di una nuova attività non sarà passata inosservata.
Prima di questi episodi, infatti, la presenza del centro era diventata
più visibile, grazie ad un video – documentario che avevano girato
proprio in quei locali. La nuova sede è nata in locali affittati dal
Comune, grazie ad un finanziamento dell’Unione delle Comunità Ebraiche
Italiane. Erano stati rimessi a posto anche con l’aiuto delle Comunità
Rom. L’idea è quella di fare un Centro permanente di Documentazione
sulla “Porrajmos”, la persecuzione nazifascista contro i Rom, oltre ad
un Osservatorio sulla Discriminazione. « Un luogo ideale per gli
studenti universitari che ci chiedono materiale per la Tesi, gli
studiosi, i mediatori culturali», aggiunge Pagani. Ma ieri, dopo
pranzo, Pagani e alcuni collaboratori sono arrivati al centro, per
portare altro materiale d’archivio. Scoperta la devastazione, hanno
chiamato la polizia. Sono arrivate la Digos e la scientifica per i
rilievi: «La polizia ci ha detto che questo luogo è indifendibile. Un
atto come questo è anche figlio della politica del Comune, che sfratta
le associazioni dal centro e le manda in periferia » denuncia Pagani.
Il primo messaggio di solidarietà è arrivato dal Centro di
documentazione ebraica contemporanea attraverso lo storico della Shoah
Marcello Pezzotti.
Chi è entrato nella sede di via De Pretis, però, non è riuscito a
distruggere perché al sicuro in un altro luogo il materiale
sull’olocausto zingaro, tra cui interviste ai sopravvissuti ai campi di
sterminio, che fa parte del documentario che verrà presentato il 27
gennaio, in occasione della Giornata della Memoria.
Data: Ven 2 Gen 2004 12:55:55 Europe/Rome
Oggetto: devastazione razzista contro sede Opera Nomadi Milano
---
COMUNICATO STAMPA
OPERA NOMADI SEZIONE DI MILANO
30 DICEMBRE 2003
DEVASTATA LA SEDE DELL’OPERA NOMADI DI MILANO
La nuova sede dell’Opera Nomadi di Milano, allestita da circa un mese
in Via De Pretis 13, al Quartiere Barona, è stata devastata questa
notte. I locali, concessi in affitto dal Comune di Milano, hanno subito
danni gravi, così come gli arredi, le attrezzature e il materiale
documentario dell’archivio.
Gli atti vandalici sono stati “firmati” con scritte fasciste, svastiche
e croci celtiche.
L’apertura di questa nuova sede era stata realizzata grazie ad un
finanziamento erogato dall’ UCEI (Unione delle Comunità Ebraiche
Italiane) e destinato alla creazione di un centro permanente di
documentazione sulla Porrajmos - la persecuzione contro i Rom attuata
durante il nazifascismo - e di un osservatorio sulla discriminazione.
Il grave episodio è stato scoperto questa mattina dai responsabili
cittadini dell’associazione, che si erano recati in sede per completare
il trasferimento del materiale d’archivio.
Immediata la solidarietà del Centro di documentazione ebraica
contemporanea, trasmessa all’Opera Nomadi da Marcello Pezzetti, storico
della Shoah e ricercatore del Cdec.
Fortunatamente buona parte del materiale relativo alle ricerche sulla
Porrajmos, incluse alcune interviste ai sopravvissuti ai campi di
sterminio, si è salvato dalla distruzione. Si stava infatti concludendo
in questi giorni il montaggio di un documentario che l’Opera Nomadi
aveva commissionato in vista delle celebrazioni della Giornata della
Memoria e, per questo motivo, la documentazione non era ancora stata
restituita all’archivio.
Per ulteriori informazioni:
Maurizio Pagani
Vice Presidente Opera Nomadi di Milano 339.3684212
paganimao@...
Roberta Migliavacca Ufficio Stampa Opera Nomadi di Milano 328.9680695
---
RASSEGNA STAMPA
Tratto da “Il Manifesto” 31 dicembre 2003
MILANO
Vandali contro i Rom
La nuova sede dell’Opera Nomadi di Milano è stata scassinata e
danneggiata nella notte tra lunedì e martedì. Gli atti vandalici sono
stati firmati con scritte razziste contro i Rom, svastiche e croci
celtiche. I teppisti hanno ammucchiato il poco materiale che sono
riusciti a trovare, libri e fotografie e gli hanno dato fuoco: un
piccolo falò che ha danneggiato l’impianto elettrico. La sede che si
trova in un negozio nel quartiere Barona è stata affittata dal Comune
ed avrebbe dovuto essere inaugurata il prossimo 27 gennaio. « Non c’era
mai successo niente di simile – racconta Maurizio Pagani dell’Opera
Nomadi – purtroppo a Milano cresce un’avversione diffusa contro i
nomadi, atteggiamenti aggressivi che registriamo anche da parte di
cittadini comuni».
Tratto da “l’Unità” 31 dicembre 2003
Tratto da “La Repubblica 31 dicembre 2003
Sconosciuti hanno devastato di notte la sede del centro di
documentazione sui Rom e i Sinti. Scritte naziste e svastiche sui muri
Milano, assalto fascista all'Opera Nomadi
di Laura Matteucci
Milano L'hanno devastata nella notte. Hanno divelto la cancellata che
dà sulla strada, rotto la porta a vetri, fracassato mobili e
attrezzature. Hanno ammassato suppellettili e libri, ne hanno fatto un
mucchio in mezzo alla stanza. E lasciato, come firma, scritte razziste
sui muri, svastiche e croci uncinate. Oltre alla scritta «Non vi
vogliamo qui».
Assalto nella notte
La nuova sede dell'Opera Nomadi di Milano, aperta da poco più di un
mese in via De Pretis alla Barona, un quartiere della periferia
sud-ovest, è stata presa di mira da sconosciuti nella notte tra lunedì
e martedì. Morale: l'impianto elettrico non funziona più, i danni sono
gravi per arredi, attrezzature e per il materiale documentario
dell'archivio.
«Siamo rimasti esterrefatti davanti alla devastazione, quando siamo
arrivati stamattina (ieri, ndr) - dice Maurizio Pagani, vicepresidente
dell'Opera Nomadi di Milano - Un fatto che dimostra, una volta di più,
come non esista alcun controllo del territorio. Non nel senso di
militarizzazione, ci mancherebbe, ma nel senso di visibilità».
«A questo punto - prosegue Pagani - dovremo valutare se sia il caso di
rimanere ancora nella stessa sede, o se provare a fare richiesta al
Comune per un altro luogo». Il che, comunque, non è semplice, vista
anche l'attenzione del Comune di Milano per progetti di questo tipo.
«Valuteremo la cosa più giusta da fare. Anche perché l’Opera è un luogo
aperto, un centro di documentazione cui si rivolgono Rom e Sinti». Che
a Milano sono circa 3.500, tra i l2Omila e i l30mila in tutta Italia.
Da notare che all'ingresso della sede non era stata affissa alcuna
targa che indicasse la presenza dell'Opera Nomadi, di cui però, negli
ultimi tempi, si era sparsa voce nel quartiere.
I locali della sede devastata l'altra notte erano stati concessi in
affitto dal Comune nel luglio scorso. L'apertura era stata realizzata
grazie ad un finanziamento dell’UCEI (l'Unione delle Comunità Ebraiche
Italiane), e destinato alla creazione di un centro permanente di
documentazione sulla Porrajmos - la persecuzione contro i Rom durante
il nazifascismo - e di un osservatorio sulla discriminazione razziale.
Fortunatamente, buona parte del materiale relativo alle ricerche sulla
Porrajmos, incluse alcune interviste ai sopravvissuti ai campi di
sterminio, si è salvato dall'atto di vandalismo. Proprio in questi
giorni, infatti, si stava concludendo il montaggio di un documentario
che l'Opera Nomadi aveva commissionato in vista della Giornata della
Memoria, il 27 gennaio. «Si tratta di un video - spiega Pagani - che
testimonia della persecuzione dei nomadi in Italia durante il regime
fascista».
Presi di mira
Le precedenti sedi dell'Opera Nomadi non avevano mai dovuto subire atti
di questo genere. Quest'ultima, invece, per la verità, era già stata
presa di mira da qualche settimana, praticamente dalla sua apertura.
Pagani, infatti, parla di sassi conficcati nella vetrata, lanciati con
delle fionde.
La devastazione dell'altra notte, certo, ha ben altra portata. «Anche
perché questa volta - riprende Pagani - la matrice è ben riconoscibile
come di destra, visto che i muri sono stati imbrattati da scritte
razziste, svastiche e croci uncinate».
Tratto da “L’Unità” 31 dicembre 2003
Distrutta la nuova sede alla Barona: svastiche e croci celtiche come
firma
Assalto all’Opera Nomadi "Qui non vi vogliamo"
di Oriana Liso
Non c’era ancora la targa sulla porta, né c'era stata l’inaugurazione
ufficiale. Ma qualcuno aveva ugualmente individuato la nuova sede
dell’Opera Nomadi, trasferita da un mese in via De Pretis, alla Barona.
Sono entrati lunedì notte ed hanno devastato i tre locali: i mobili
sfasciati, libri e documenti bruciati, l'impianto elettrico manomesso.
Come firma svastiche croci celtiche e una scritta “Non vi vogliamo”.
«Avevamo già avuto qualche avvisaglia - racconta Maurizio Pagani,
vicepresidente della fondazione - due sassate che avevano spaccato un
vetro, la prima quindici giorni fa, la seconda la settimana scorsa, e
poi una delle grate di protezione della vetrina divelta. Ma all’inizio
pensavamo fosse solo vandalismo». Un’ipotesi giustificata dal fatto che
intorno al centro non c'e molto movimento di negozi, e l’allestimento
di una nuova attività non sarà passata inosservata.
Prima di questi episodi, infatti, la presenza del centro era diventata
più visibile, grazie ad un video – documentario che avevano girato
proprio in quei locali. La nuova sede è nata in locali affittati dal
Comune, grazie ad un finanziamento dell’Unione delle Comunità Ebraiche
Italiane. Erano stati rimessi a posto anche con l’aiuto delle Comunità
Rom. L’idea è quella di fare un Centro permanente di Documentazione
sulla “Porrajmos”, la persecuzione nazifascista contro i Rom, oltre ad
un Osservatorio sulla Discriminazione. « Un luogo ideale per gli
studenti universitari che ci chiedono materiale per la Tesi, gli
studiosi, i mediatori culturali», aggiunge Pagani. Ma ieri, dopo
pranzo, Pagani e alcuni collaboratori sono arrivati al centro, per
portare altro materiale d’archivio. Scoperta la devastazione, hanno
chiamato la polizia. Sono arrivate la Digos e la scientifica per i
rilievi: «La polizia ci ha detto che questo luogo è indifendibile. Un
atto come questo è anche figlio della politica del Comune, che sfratta
le associazioni dal centro e le manda in periferia » denuncia Pagani.
Il primo messaggio di solidarietà è arrivato dal Centro di
documentazione ebraica contemporanea attraverso lo storico della Shoah
Marcello Pezzotti.
Chi è entrato nella sede di via De Pretis, però, non è riuscito a
distruggere perché al sicuro in un altro luogo il materiale
sull’olocausto zingaro, tra cui interviste ai sopravvissuti ai campi di
sterminio, che fa parte del documentario che verrà presentato il 27
gennaio, in occasione della Giornata della Memoria.
Albania on sale
1. Austrians Buy Albania’s Largest Bank
2. Albania Approves Trans-Balkan Pipeline
=== 1 ===
http://www.balkantimes.com/
default3.asp?lang=english&page=process_print&article_id=22554
Austrians Buy Albania’s Largest Bank
By Ardi Pulaj for Southeast European Times in Tirana - 30/12/03
With the sale of the country's largest bank to an Austrian buyer,
Albania has taken an important step in its attempts to privatise
strategic sectors of the economy. On 17 December, the Savings Bank of
Albania was sold to Raiffeisen Zentralbank Osterreich AG for $126m
(almost 102m euros).
The government approved the sale several days later in an extraordinary
meeting. Prime Minister Fatos Nano hailed the move and said it would
enrich the country, the state budget and development programmes.
The Savings Bank is now under reconstruction. Its position in the
financial market is around 75 per cent; it has the largest expansion in
the country and 400,000 clients. Official sources from the Albanian
government have indicated that the amount offered by the Austrian bank
was higher than expected.
Raiffeisen was one of two candidates in the privatisation process for
the Savings Bank. The other was the Hungarian bank OTP, which has since
accused Albanian authorities of irregularities. According to OTP, the
finance ministry was biased in favour of the Austrian bank and did not
give fair consideration to OTP's offer.
Currently, Raiffeisen covers 25.5 per cent of the Austrian banking
market. It owns 28.2 per cent of deposits, 22.1 per cent of loans and
28.9 per cent of managed funds. In June, its capital reached 50.453m
euros. It has made several important purchases over the past few years.
In 2000, it bought Market Banka of Bosnia and Herzegovina, in 2001 HPB
and Banca Agricola and in 2002, the Bank of Kosovo.
Albanian authorities are also trying to find investors for the
privatisation of other state companies, such as the telecommunications
giant Albtelekom. Authorities have yet to deal with the privatisation
of the Albanian Power Corporation, the railway system, the main port in
Durres, the coal industry, water supplies and the state transportation
company, Albtransport.
© 1999 - 2003 Southeast European Times. All Rights Reserved.
=== 2 ===
> http://www.balkantimes.com/
> default3.asp?lang=english&page=process_print&article_id=22411
Albania Approves Trans-Balkan Pipeline
By Ardi Pulaj for Southeast European Times in Tirana -
18/12/03
Albanian authorities have approved construction of the AMBO
trans-Balkan pipeline, which will start in Bulgaria's Bourgas port,
pass through Macedonia and end in the Albanian port of Vlora.
The approval came from the Council of Regulation of Territory in
Albania, headed by Prime Minister Fatos Nano.
"The oil passing through the AMBO pipelines will give to Albania nearly
41m euros per year as a profit … This port will be a very important
place for the international market," Nano said.
Experts from each of the three countries involved in the project, as
well as from the companies AMBO and Brown & Root, have selected the
route, avoiding inhabited areas. An environmental impact study is being
conducted, Nano added.
According to Besim Islami, head of the National Power Agency, the
pipeline will enter Albania at the checkpoint of Qafe-Thana on the
border with Macedonia. The cities of Perrenjas, Librazhd, Elbasan,
Cerrik, Lushnje and Fier will be along the route to the southern port
of Vlora.
The ministry of industry and power and local authorities in the cities
involved would be responsible for the implementation of the project,
Islami said.
The IMF, the World Bank, the Overseas Private Investment Corporation of
the United States (OPIC), the Washington-based Ex/Im Bank and the EBRD
have expressed interest in providing financial support to the
construction of the pipeline.
The oil will come from Russia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan
with European and North American markets as the final destination.
The cost for the construction of AMBO pipeline is estimated at $1.13
billion. The pipeline will become part of the infrastructure for the
east-west Corridor 8, which includes highways, railways, pipelines and
telecommunications.
© 1999 - 2003 Southeast European Times. All Rights Reserved.
1. Austrians Buy Albania’s Largest Bank
2. Albania Approves Trans-Balkan Pipeline
=== 1 ===
http://www.balkantimes.com/
default3.asp?lang=english&page=process_print&article_id=22554
Austrians Buy Albania’s Largest Bank
By Ardi Pulaj for Southeast European Times in Tirana - 30/12/03
With the sale of the country's largest bank to an Austrian buyer,
Albania has taken an important step in its attempts to privatise
strategic sectors of the economy. On 17 December, the Savings Bank of
Albania was sold to Raiffeisen Zentralbank Osterreich AG for $126m
(almost 102m euros).
The government approved the sale several days later in an extraordinary
meeting. Prime Minister Fatos Nano hailed the move and said it would
enrich the country, the state budget and development programmes.
The Savings Bank is now under reconstruction. Its position in the
financial market is around 75 per cent; it has the largest expansion in
the country and 400,000 clients. Official sources from the Albanian
government have indicated that the amount offered by the Austrian bank
was higher than expected.
Raiffeisen was one of two candidates in the privatisation process for
the Savings Bank. The other was the Hungarian bank OTP, which has since
accused Albanian authorities of irregularities. According to OTP, the
finance ministry was biased in favour of the Austrian bank and did not
give fair consideration to OTP's offer.
Currently, Raiffeisen covers 25.5 per cent of the Austrian banking
market. It owns 28.2 per cent of deposits, 22.1 per cent of loans and
28.9 per cent of managed funds. In June, its capital reached 50.453m
euros. It has made several important purchases over the past few years.
In 2000, it bought Market Banka of Bosnia and Herzegovina, in 2001 HPB
and Banca Agricola and in 2002, the Bank of Kosovo.
Albanian authorities are also trying to find investors for the
privatisation of other state companies, such as the telecommunications
giant Albtelekom. Authorities have yet to deal with the privatisation
of the Albanian Power Corporation, the railway system, the main port in
Durres, the coal industry, water supplies and the state transportation
company, Albtransport.
© 1999 - 2003 Southeast European Times. All Rights Reserved.
=== 2 ===
> http://www.balkantimes.com/
> default3.asp?lang=english&page=process_print&article_id=22411
Albania Approves Trans-Balkan Pipeline
By Ardi Pulaj for Southeast European Times in Tirana -
18/12/03
Albanian authorities have approved construction of the AMBO
trans-Balkan pipeline, which will start in Bulgaria's Bourgas port,
pass through Macedonia and end in the Albanian port of Vlora.
The approval came from the Council of Regulation of Territory in
Albania, headed by Prime Minister Fatos Nano.
"The oil passing through the AMBO pipelines will give to Albania nearly
41m euros per year as a profit … This port will be a very important
place for the international market," Nano said.
Experts from each of the three countries involved in the project, as
well as from the companies AMBO and Brown & Root, have selected the
route, avoiding inhabited areas. An environmental impact study is being
conducted, Nano added.
According to Besim Islami, head of the National Power Agency, the
pipeline will enter Albania at the checkpoint of Qafe-Thana on the
border with Macedonia. The cities of Perrenjas, Librazhd, Elbasan,
Cerrik, Lushnje and Fier will be along the route to the southern port
of Vlora.
The ministry of industry and power and local authorities in the cities
involved would be responsible for the implementation of the project,
Islami said.
The IMF, the World Bank, the Overseas Private Investment Corporation of
the United States (OPIC), the Washington-based Ex/Im Bank and the EBRD
have expressed interest in providing financial support to the
construction of the pipeline.
The oil will come from Russia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan
with European and North American markets as the final destination.
The cost for the construction of AMBO pipeline is estimated at $1.13
billion. The pipeline will become part of the infrastructure for the
east-west Corridor 8, which includes highways, railways, pipelines and
telecommunications.
© 1999 - 2003 Southeast European Times. All Rights Reserved.
Criminal Clark
1. Milosevic trial sets precedent: US granted right to censor evidence
2. Wesley Clark: America's Man On Horseback To Out-Herod Herod
SEE ALSO:
Candidate Clark stumps (the rest of us) at the Hague
http://www.balkanalysis.com/modules.php?name=News&file=print&sid=214
Wesley Clark, defender of KLA terrorists, joins race to White House (by
Mary Mostert)
http://www.renewamerica.us/columns/mostert/030922
Criminalization of International Law: War Criminal to Testify at The
Hague
"War Crimes" Tribunal , Toronto Lawyers
http://globalresearch.ca/articles/BLA312A.html
General Clark's self aggrandizement (by Vojin Joksimovich)
http://news.serbianunity.net/press/suc285.html
=== 1 ===
http://www.wsws.org/articles/2003/dec2003/cens-d31_prn.shtml
World Socialist Web Site www.wsws.org
WSWS : News & Analysis : Europe : The Balkans
Milosevic trial sets precedent: US granted right to censor evidence
By Paul Mitchell
31 December 2003
Earlier this month the US government demanded and received the right to
censor testimony at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former
Yugoslavia (ICTY).
A press release issued before Democratic Presidential candidate Wesley
Clark gave evidence at the trial of former Yugoslav President Slobodan
Milosevic said Clark’s testimony would be given in closed session. The
press release also said the normally simultaneous broadcast of the
testimony would “be delayed for a period of 48 hours to enable the US
government to review the transcript and make representations as to
whether evidence given in open session should be redacted in order to
protect the national interests of the US.”
Milosevic faces 66 counts of war crimes and genocide allegedly
committed in Croatia, Bosnia and Kosovo in the 1990s. Clark was
commander of the 78-day NATO bombing campaign against Yugoslavia in
1999 that destroyed much of Serbia’s industrial infrastructure and left
thousands of civilians dead.
There have been several attempts to prosecute Clark himself for war
crimes committed during the NATO bombing. In that year a group of
Canadian lawyers and academics asked the ICTY to investigate and indict
Clark and others for war crimes in Yugoslavia saying that there was
“overwhelming evidence that the attack was unlawful and that the
conduct of the attack [was] on civilian objects.” Former US Attorney
General Ramsey Clark has also accused Clark and other leaders of war
crimes and crimes against humanity and in September 2000 a Belgrade
court found Wesley Clark and other Western leaders guilty.
However, the ICTY has refused to indict any US or NATO military or
political leaders as it deals out victors’ justice on behalf of the
western powers.
Clark has admitted the illegal basis on which NATO fought a war of
aggression in Kosovo. In his book Fighting Modern War, Clark says the
war “was coercive diplomacy, the use of armed forces to impose the
political will of the NATO nations on the Federal Republic of
Yugoslavia, or more specifically, on Serbia.”
The Bush administration is keen to see Milosevic found guilty and so
wanted Clark to testify. But its primary concern is to protect US
officials from ever facing trial for war crimes and to prevent any act
of military aggression on its part being judged illegal. To this end it
has refused to ratify the International Criminal Court and bribed and
bullied governments to promise that they will never prosecute US
officials or military personnel.
At the ICTY testimony involving US citizens has been carefully
controlled. The Washington Post prevented a former reporter Jonathan
Randall from appearing at the trial of Radoslav Brdjanin, a Bosnian
Serb accused of genocide and persecution. The testimony given at
Milosevic’s trial by William Walker, the former head of the Kosovo
Verification Mission, was restricted to the alleged massacre at Racak
that provided the pretext for the NATO bombing of Serbia.
The Bush administration is also concerned that Milosevic has based his
self-defence on pointing the finger at his accusers and charging them
with war crimes. This, and the prosecution’s inability to produce a
“smoking gun” to prove Milosevic’s guilt, has weakened the court’s
credibility. Charges of genocide have been dropped against all but one
of those accused at the ICTY. With most of the convictions based on
individual crimes against humanity, the premise that Milosevic
organised a systematic ethnic cleansing campaign has been undermined.
The appearance of Clark at the ICTY was therefore fraught with dangers.
He has played a key role in the US drive to establish its world
hegemony. Before he became NATO Supreme Allied Commander, he was
Director for Strategic Plans and Policy for the Joint Chiefs of Staff
with responsibilities for worldwide US military strategic planning. In
this capacity he was part of the team negotiating the Dayton Accord
ending the five-year war in Bosnia. This is where Clark first met
Milosevic who was granted a key role under the accord in policing and
enforcing the agreed peace formula.
From 1996 to 1997 Clark served as Commander-in-Chief of the US Southern
Command in Panama where he was responsible for the direction of
military activities in Latin America and the Caribbean.
US officials have downplayed the extent to which they censored Clark’s
testimony saying, “Nothing was redacted, only one thing related to the
US government ... He gave very specific testimony about Milosevic’s
intentions. Nothing about Milosevic has been cut.”
In one respect this is true. A close reading of the transcript shows
that the prosecution were determined to focus on Milosevic’s role and
prevent any revelations about US or NATO “intentions” emerging and any
discussion of the NATO action. Judge Richard May went along with this,
preventing Milosevic from pursuing any areas that fell outside Clark’s
carefully restricted and vetted testimony.
Beginning his cross-examination Milosevic pointed out the unprecedented
nature of the court’s acquiescence in the face of US pressure saying,
“I don’t quite understand the position of this witness ...
representatives of the government of his country may be able to review
the transcript, to approve some of it, to redact some of it possibly,
and only then to release it to the public. I am not aware of any legal
court in the world delegating its authority of this kind to any
government. This would be the first time for any such thing to happen.”
Judge May quickly prevented Milosevic from elaborating stating, “We are
not going to argue this point. We have made our order. The reason that
the government have any rights in the matter at all is this, that in
order to provide information to this Court, it is occasionally—and I
stress occasionally—necessary for governments to do so, and they are
allowed to do so under our Rules on certain terms, and these are one of
the terms which has been followed in this case.”
When Milosevic tried to question Clark about his book Fighting Modern
War with the words, “General Clark, in your book you say that the NATO
military action against Yugoslavia in the spring of 1999 could not be
called a war,” May again intervened:
“I don’t think we are going to have that debate. That’s precisely what
I have been talking about. You’re not allowed a free-ranging discussion
about the NATO action.”
May also prevented Milosevic asking Clark, “Is it true that in an
interview that you gave to the New Yorker on the 17 November you said
that the war you waged was technically illegal?” and declaring that
Clark had “given no evidence about the legality of the war.”
That the US government was allowed to censor evidence at an
international court set up by the United Nations in a Western democracy
and presided over by a British judge speaks volumes about the nature of
international justice. It also indicates the type of justice Saddam
Hussein will face should he ever come to trial in US-occupied Iraq.
If Milosevic had been given free rein to question his accusers such as
Clark, he could have provided ample evidence, not only of the years in
which the US enjoyed close relations with his regime but of how
Washington set out to provoke a war in order to seize control of the
Balkan region, using the pretext of human rights abuses by Serbia. The
parallels with Iraq are obvious. The only difference in the case of
Saddam Hussein is that the record of US support for his regime is
longer and the pretext used for war is more flimsy and discredited.
Copyright 1998-2003
World Socialist Web Site
All rights reserved
=== 2 ===
Da: RicK Rozoff
Data: Ven 2 Gen 2004 14:40:28 Europe/Rome
Oggetto: Wesley Clark: America's Man On Horseback To Out-Herod Herod
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=694&ncid=716&e=6&u=/ap/
20040102/ap_on_el_pr/clark_democrats
[The commander of the first undeclared, unprovoked war
against a European nation since Adolph Hitler's
blitzkrieg campaigns of 1939-1941 is defining the real
issue in this year's American presidential campaign:
Who is militarily best qualified to lead the United
States in its self-appointed role of master of the
planet.
With the likes of Michael Moore, Madonna, Charles
Rangel and The American Prospect cheering on the Seven
Days In May scenario.]
Associated Press
January 2, 2003
Clark Sets His Sights on Dean
By WILL LESTER
-"{I]'m the only candidate positioned to actually win
the election because I am the candidate best able to
stand up to George W. Bush and win the debate about
who will best be able to make our country secure over
the next four years."
-[I]t's clear that the former NATO commander
repeatedly will be emphasizing his military experience
as a valuable counter to President Bush's strength on
national security.
-Clark's financial strength could help him challenge
for the nomination. He raised between $10.5 million
and $11 million in the final quarter and is getting
$3.7 million in federal matching money.
-His rivals have criticized Clark's past support for
Republican presidents. They also found fault with his
stumble on the Iraq war issue right after entering the
race in September.
WASHINGTON - Flush with money after a big fourth
quarter of fund raising, Democratic presidential
candidate Wesley Clark is mapping out how he can
parlay that success into becoming the alternative to
Howard Dean.
"It's now clear that I'm one of only two candidates in
a position to win the nomination," Clark, a retired
Army general, said in a statement Thursday. "And I'm
the only candidate positioned to actually win the
election because I am the candidate best able to stand
up to George W. Bush and win the debate about who will
best be able to make our country secure over the next
four years."
Clark said he believes his "fund-raising success will
be a leading indicator of the direction this campaign
is heading in."
And it's clear that the former NATO commander
repeatedly will be emphasizing his military experience
as a valuable counter to President Bush's strength on
national security.
Bush had a 67 percent to 21 percent lead over Dean on
whom people trust more to handle national security,
according to a mid-December ABC-Washington Post poll.
Dean's campaign aides say his strength in a general
election campaign is his ability to mobilize new
voters and to raise money beyond the limits
established by the federal presidential election
financing system. Dean decided not to accept federal
matching funds and the limits that go with it.
Dean spokesman Jay Carson said Clark and other
candidates taking matching funds will be "flat broke
after the primary campaign and sitting ducks for
President Bush." Bush also has decided not to take
federal money during the primary season that begins
this month, and his re-election campaign already has
raised more than $115 million.
Clark's financial strength could help him challenge
for the nomination. He raised between $10.5 million
and $11 million in the final quarter and is getting
$3.7 million in federal matching money.
Now his campaign is providing a road map on how he
plans to capitalize on his strong financial position.
"We will have ample resources to compete well into
February and beyond," campaign spokesman Matt Bennett
said.
Clark is in relatively strong position in polls both
nationally and in states with early contests.
As Clark tries to narrow the race to two candidates,
other campaigns are likely to start diverting some of
their relentless attacks on Dean.
Campaign aides to Joe Lieberman, the Connecticut
senator, say Clark is relying too heavily on his
biography as a military man.
In fact, the Clark campaign is sending a 15-minute
videotape about the general's life and views to 50,000
possible primary voters in New Hampshire and showing
it on several cable channels in the state before the
Jan. 27 primary.
His rivals have criticized Clark's past support for
Republican presidents. They also found fault with his
stumble on the Iraq war issue right after entering the
race in September. After giving contradictory answers,
he now consistently says he is against the way the war
was handled.
Starting Monday, Clark plans a carefully orchestrated
introduction of domestic and security proposals. Clark
plans to roll out a "signature issue" on the domestic
front Monday, though aides wouldn't discuss specifics.
For a week in mid-January, the former NATO commander
plans to address different aspects of domestic and
economic security each day, including a detailed
homeland security plan. During that week, he will
focus his campaign on New Hampshire and states with
contests in early to mid-February.
Starting the week of Jan. 19, Clark plans to campaign
steadily in New Hampshire, as all the candidates move
their campaigns to the Northeast.
Relying on his strong finances, Clark is advertising
heavily in New Hampshire, as well as in many states in
the South and West with contests in February.
The Clark campaign is counting on building a strong
grass-roots presence, both through traditional means
and through the Internet.
Taking a calculated risk, Clark is not competing in
the Jan. 19 Iowa caucuses, saying he entered the race
too late to compete there. Lieberman also is skipping
Iowa.
Iowa plays an important role in several other
candidates' plans to challenge Dean. Dick Gephardt,
the Missouri congressman with the comprehensive health
care proposal, is counting heavily on a win in Iowa,
while senators John Kerry of Massachusetts and John
Edwards of North Carolina hope to do well in Iowa to
strengthen their hand in New Hampshire and beyond.
1. Milosevic trial sets precedent: US granted right to censor evidence
2. Wesley Clark: America's Man On Horseback To Out-Herod Herod
SEE ALSO:
Candidate Clark stumps (the rest of us) at the Hague
http://www.balkanalysis.com/modules.php?name=News&file=print&sid=214
Wesley Clark, defender of KLA terrorists, joins race to White House (by
Mary Mostert)
http://www.renewamerica.us/columns/mostert/030922
Criminalization of International Law: War Criminal to Testify at The
Hague
"War Crimes" Tribunal , Toronto Lawyers
http://globalresearch.ca/articles/BLA312A.html
General Clark's self aggrandizement (by Vojin Joksimovich)
http://news.serbianunity.net/press/suc285.html
=== 1 ===
http://www.wsws.org/articles/2003/dec2003/cens-d31_prn.shtml
World Socialist Web Site www.wsws.org
WSWS : News & Analysis : Europe : The Balkans
Milosevic trial sets precedent: US granted right to censor evidence
By Paul Mitchell
31 December 2003
Earlier this month the US government demanded and received the right to
censor testimony at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former
Yugoslavia (ICTY).
A press release issued before Democratic Presidential candidate Wesley
Clark gave evidence at the trial of former Yugoslav President Slobodan
Milosevic said Clark’s testimony would be given in closed session. The
press release also said the normally simultaneous broadcast of the
testimony would “be delayed for a period of 48 hours to enable the US
government to review the transcript and make representations as to
whether evidence given in open session should be redacted in order to
protect the national interests of the US.”
Milosevic faces 66 counts of war crimes and genocide allegedly
committed in Croatia, Bosnia and Kosovo in the 1990s. Clark was
commander of the 78-day NATO bombing campaign against Yugoslavia in
1999 that destroyed much of Serbia’s industrial infrastructure and left
thousands of civilians dead.
There have been several attempts to prosecute Clark himself for war
crimes committed during the NATO bombing. In that year a group of
Canadian lawyers and academics asked the ICTY to investigate and indict
Clark and others for war crimes in Yugoslavia saying that there was
“overwhelming evidence that the attack was unlawful and that the
conduct of the attack [was] on civilian objects.” Former US Attorney
General Ramsey Clark has also accused Clark and other leaders of war
crimes and crimes against humanity and in September 2000 a Belgrade
court found Wesley Clark and other Western leaders guilty.
However, the ICTY has refused to indict any US or NATO military or
political leaders as it deals out victors’ justice on behalf of the
western powers.
Clark has admitted the illegal basis on which NATO fought a war of
aggression in Kosovo. In his book Fighting Modern War, Clark says the
war “was coercive diplomacy, the use of armed forces to impose the
political will of the NATO nations on the Federal Republic of
Yugoslavia, or more specifically, on Serbia.”
The Bush administration is keen to see Milosevic found guilty and so
wanted Clark to testify. But its primary concern is to protect US
officials from ever facing trial for war crimes and to prevent any act
of military aggression on its part being judged illegal. To this end it
has refused to ratify the International Criminal Court and bribed and
bullied governments to promise that they will never prosecute US
officials or military personnel.
At the ICTY testimony involving US citizens has been carefully
controlled. The Washington Post prevented a former reporter Jonathan
Randall from appearing at the trial of Radoslav Brdjanin, a Bosnian
Serb accused of genocide and persecution. The testimony given at
Milosevic’s trial by William Walker, the former head of the Kosovo
Verification Mission, was restricted to the alleged massacre at Racak
that provided the pretext for the NATO bombing of Serbia.
The Bush administration is also concerned that Milosevic has based his
self-defence on pointing the finger at his accusers and charging them
with war crimes. This, and the prosecution’s inability to produce a
“smoking gun” to prove Milosevic’s guilt, has weakened the court’s
credibility. Charges of genocide have been dropped against all but one
of those accused at the ICTY. With most of the convictions based on
individual crimes against humanity, the premise that Milosevic
organised a systematic ethnic cleansing campaign has been undermined.
The appearance of Clark at the ICTY was therefore fraught with dangers.
He has played a key role in the US drive to establish its world
hegemony. Before he became NATO Supreme Allied Commander, he was
Director for Strategic Plans and Policy for the Joint Chiefs of Staff
with responsibilities for worldwide US military strategic planning. In
this capacity he was part of the team negotiating the Dayton Accord
ending the five-year war in Bosnia. This is where Clark first met
Milosevic who was granted a key role under the accord in policing and
enforcing the agreed peace formula.
From 1996 to 1997 Clark served as Commander-in-Chief of the US Southern
Command in Panama where he was responsible for the direction of
military activities in Latin America and the Caribbean.
US officials have downplayed the extent to which they censored Clark’s
testimony saying, “Nothing was redacted, only one thing related to the
US government ... He gave very specific testimony about Milosevic’s
intentions. Nothing about Milosevic has been cut.”
In one respect this is true. A close reading of the transcript shows
that the prosecution were determined to focus on Milosevic’s role and
prevent any revelations about US or NATO “intentions” emerging and any
discussion of the NATO action. Judge Richard May went along with this,
preventing Milosevic from pursuing any areas that fell outside Clark’s
carefully restricted and vetted testimony.
Beginning his cross-examination Milosevic pointed out the unprecedented
nature of the court’s acquiescence in the face of US pressure saying,
“I don’t quite understand the position of this witness ...
representatives of the government of his country may be able to review
the transcript, to approve some of it, to redact some of it possibly,
and only then to release it to the public. I am not aware of any legal
court in the world delegating its authority of this kind to any
government. This would be the first time for any such thing to happen.”
Judge May quickly prevented Milosevic from elaborating stating, “We are
not going to argue this point. We have made our order. The reason that
the government have any rights in the matter at all is this, that in
order to provide information to this Court, it is occasionally—and I
stress occasionally—necessary for governments to do so, and they are
allowed to do so under our Rules on certain terms, and these are one of
the terms which has been followed in this case.”
When Milosevic tried to question Clark about his book Fighting Modern
War with the words, “General Clark, in your book you say that the NATO
military action against Yugoslavia in the spring of 1999 could not be
called a war,” May again intervened:
“I don’t think we are going to have that debate. That’s precisely what
I have been talking about. You’re not allowed a free-ranging discussion
about the NATO action.”
May also prevented Milosevic asking Clark, “Is it true that in an
interview that you gave to the New Yorker on the 17 November you said
that the war you waged was technically illegal?” and declaring that
Clark had “given no evidence about the legality of the war.”
That the US government was allowed to censor evidence at an
international court set up by the United Nations in a Western democracy
and presided over by a British judge speaks volumes about the nature of
international justice. It also indicates the type of justice Saddam
Hussein will face should he ever come to trial in US-occupied Iraq.
If Milosevic had been given free rein to question his accusers such as
Clark, he could have provided ample evidence, not only of the years in
which the US enjoyed close relations with his regime but of how
Washington set out to provoke a war in order to seize control of the
Balkan region, using the pretext of human rights abuses by Serbia. The
parallels with Iraq are obvious. The only difference in the case of
Saddam Hussein is that the record of US support for his regime is
longer and the pretext used for war is more flimsy and discredited.
Copyright 1998-2003
World Socialist Web Site
All rights reserved
=== 2 ===
Da: RicK Rozoff
Data: Ven 2 Gen 2004 14:40:28 Europe/Rome
Oggetto: Wesley Clark: America's Man On Horseback To Out-Herod Herod
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=694&ncid=716&e=6&u=/ap/
20040102/ap_on_el_pr/clark_democrats
[The commander of the first undeclared, unprovoked war
against a European nation since Adolph Hitler's
blitzkrieg campaigns of 1939-1941 is defining the real
issue in this year's American presidential campaign:
Who is militarily best qualified to lead the United
States in its self-appointed role of master of the
planet.
With the likes of Michael Moore, Madonna, Charles
Rangel and The American Prospect cheering on the Seven
Days In May scenario.]
Associated Press
January 2, 2003
Clark Sets His Sights on Dean
By WILL LESTER
-"{I]'m the only candidate positioned to actually win
the election because I am the candidate best able to
stand up to George W. Bush and win the debate about
who will best be able to make our country secure over
the next four years."
-[I]t's clear that the former NATO commander
repeatedly will be emphasizing his military experience
as a valuable counter to President Bush's strength on
national security.
-Clark's financial strength could help him challenge
for the nomination. He raised between $10.5 million
and $11 million in the final quarter and is getting
$3.7 million in federal matching money.
-His rivals have criticized Clark's past support for
Republican presidents. They also found fault with his
stumble on the Iraq war issue right after entering the
race in September.
WASHINGTON - Flush with money after a big fourth
quarter of fund raising, Democratic presidential
candidate Wesley Clark is mapping out how he can
parlay that success into becoming the alternative to
Howard Dean.
"It's now clear that I'm one of only two candidates in
a position to win the nomination," Clark, a retired
Army general, said in a statement Thursday. "And I'm
the only candidate positioned to actually win the
election because I am the candidate best able to stand
up to George W. Bush and win the debate about who will
best be able to make our country secure over the next
four years."
Clark said he believes his "fund-raising success will
be a leading indicator of the direction this campaign
is heading in."
And it's clear that the former NATO commander
repeatedly will be emphasizing his military experience
as a valuable counter to President Bush's strength on
national security.
Bush had a 67 percent to 21 percent lead over Dean on
whom people trust more to handle national security,
according to a mid-December ABC-Washington Post poll.
Dean's campaign aides say his strength in a general
election campaign is his ability to mobilize new
voters and to raise money beyond the limits
established by the federal presidential election
financing system. Dean decided not to accept federal
matching funds and the limits that go with it.
Dean spokesman Jay Carson said Clark and other
candidates taking matching funds will be "flat broke
after the primary campaign and sitting ducks for
President Bush." Bush also has decided not to take
federal money during the primary season that begins
this month, and his re-election campaign already has
raised more than $115 million.
Clark's financial strength could help him challenge
for the nomination. He raised between $10.5 million
and $11 million in the final quarter and is getting
$3.7 million in federal matching money.
Now his campaign is providing a road map on how he
plans to capitalize on his strong financial position.
"We will have ample resources to compete well into
February and beyond," campaign spokesman Matt Bennett
said.
Clark is in relatively strong position in polls both
nationally and in states with early contests.
As Clark tries to narrow the race to two candidates,
other campaigns are likely to start diverting some of
their relentless attacks on Dean.
Campaign aides to Joe Lieberman, the Connecticut
senator, say Clark is relying too heavily on his
biography as a military man.
In fact, the Clark campaign is sending a 15-minute
videotape about the general's life and views to 50,000
possible primary voters in New Hampshire and showing
it on several cable channels in the state before the
Jan. 27 primary.
His rivals have criticized Clark's past support for
Republican presidents. They also found fault with his
stumble on the Iraq war issue right after entering the
race in September. After giving contradictory answers,
he now consistently says he is against the way the war
was handled.
Starting Monday, Clark plans a carefully orchestrated
introduction of domestic and security proposals. Clark
plans to roll out a "signature issue" on the domestic
front Monday, though aides wouldn't discuss specifics.
For a week in mid-January, the former NATO commander
plans to address different aspects of domestic and
economic security each day, including a detailed
homeland security plan. During that week, he will
focus his campaign on New Hampshire and states with
contests in early to mid-February.
Starting the week of Jan. 19, Clark plans to campaign
steadily in New Hampshire, as all the candidates move
their campaigns to the Northeast.
Relying on his strong finances, Clark is advertising
heavily in New Hampshire, as well as in many states in
the South and West with contests in February.
The Clark campaign is counting on building a strong
grass-roots presence, both through traditional means
and through the Internet.
Taking a calculated risk, Clark is not competing in
the Jan. 19 Iowa caucuses, saying he entered the race
too late to compete there. Lieberman also is skipping
Iowa.
Iowa plays an important role in several other
candidates' plans to challenge Dean. Dick Gephardt,
the Missouri congressman with the comprehensive health
care proposal, is counting heavily on a win in Iowa,
while senators John Kerry of Massachusetts and John
Edwards of North Carolina hope to do well in Iowa to
strengthen their hand in New Hampshire and beyond.
