Informazione
On the police and mafia regime in Serbia
1. IMPORTANT LINKS to articles about the "state of emergency" in
Serbia and its implications.
Many authors agree about the anti-democratic and mafia character of
the ruling mafia coalition, independent from their very different
point of views.
2. MISCELLANEA
Agencies and short articles about the "state of emergency" and NATO/US
support.
3. United Nations Office Of The High Commissioner For Human Rights,
Serbia And Montenegro:
Confidential Memorandum To The Ministries Of Justice And The Interior
Of The Republic Of Serbia. Initial findings and recommendations
arising from the visit to detainees in Belgrade 14-15 April 2003
For a very good summary of the recent events in Serbia we advice to
read:
BHHRG: THE KIROV MURDER REVISITED?
Zoran Djindjic's assassination and Serbia's political elite
An analysis of the events surrounding the assassination of Serbia's
prime minister on 12th March 2003
http://www.oscewatch.org/CountryReport.asp?CountryID=20&ReportID=197
=== 1 ===
IMPORTANT LINKS to articles about the "state of emergency" in Serbia
and its implications.
Many authors agree about the anti-democratic and mafia character of
the ruling mafia coalition, independent from their very different
point of views.
=== * ===
THE ARGUMENT OF FORCE. SERBIA UNDER MARTIAL LAW
by Nebojsa Malic
Antiwar.com - March 27, 2003
http://www.antiwar.com/malic/m032703.html
<<...Djindjic's murder has been blamed on "remnants of the Milosevic
regime", both by the Serbian government and the Imperial press. It is
hard to say exactly who claimed it first, though the accusations
seemed to appear in American papers sooner than in official Serbian
statements....>>
WASHINGTON'S STOOGE:
DJINDJIC ASSASSINATION EXPOSES U.S. ROLE IN SERBIA
By Heather Cottin
Reprinted from the March 27, 2003 issue of Workers World newspaper
http://www.workers.org/ww/2003/djindjic0327.php
<<...Djindjic had the distinction of being one of the only nationally
known politicians in Serbia to support the U.S./NATO 78-day bombing
campaign of Yugoslavia that began exactly four years ago on March 24,
1999... The Serbian government is using Djindjic's assassination
as an excuse to institute political repression, directing their
attacks on the remaining supporters of Slobodan Milosevic...
Zoran Djindjic was the corrupt beneficiary of U.S. regime change
and instituted the economic reforms that destroyed Yugoslavian
society as surely as the NATO bombs destroyed its infrastructure...>>
RUSSIAN COMMUNIST PARTY AGAINST STATE OF EMERGENCY IN SERBIA
Press service of the Russian Communist Party
Pravda.RU: Politics. 2003-04-01
http://english.pravda.ru/politics/2003/04/01/45411.html
<<...Western countries, which allegedly take care of their democracy,
ignore the fact that civil freedoms in Serbia are imperiled greatly at
present moment. The People's Patriotic Union of Russia denounces the
use of the state of emergency in Serbia as a way to intimidate
political opponents of the present government...>>
A FALLING-OUT AMONG THIEVES?
John Laughland
"All News is Lies", Sanders Research Associates, April 7, 2003
http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/HL0304/S00233.htm
<<...The West has not been able to contain its enthusiasm for this
massive crackdown in Serbia. The Union of Serbia and Montenegro (as
Yugoslavia is now known) was admitted last week to Europe's main human
rights body, the Council of Europe - at the height of these purges and
mass arrests... while the all-powerful US ambassador in Belgrade,
William Montgomery, also stated that "the international community
supports the Serbian government's fight against organised crime". As
Montgomery added, again without a trace of irony, that a contract had
just been signed between US Steel, based in Pittburgh, and the Sartid
company to buy the steel works at Smederevo...>>
THE ZORAN DJINDJIC ASSASSINATION: "DEMOCRACY" AT WORK?
by TV Weber
http://www.serbianna.com/columns/weber/002.shtml
<<...After Tito's death, the image of the Serbs took another
unexpected transformation, to that of insane nationalists, responsible
for all the evils in the Balkans. But now, with Yugoslavia dissolved
and Milosevic on ice in the Hague, the press wants to view the Serbs
as a bunch of gangsters...>>
AN INNOCENT ABROAD: POWELL IN BELGRADE
by Srdja Trifkovic
ChroniclesExtra, April 10, 2003
http://www.chroniclesmagazine.org/News/Trifkovic/NewsViews.htm
<<..The campaign against Kostunica indicates the real
government agenda: to eliminate political and media opposition in
advance of the lifting of the state of emergency, so that a snap
election-with a preordained result-can be called before the opposition
recovers and regroups...>>
BOLSHEVIKS IN BELGRADE. SERBIAN PURGES UNMASKED
by Nebojsa Malic
Antiwar.com - April 10, 2003
http://www.antiwar.com/malic/m041003.html
<<...And what a purge it is: judges, military and police officials,
lawyers, even some politicians, all have been targeted in the past
three weeks, and the hunt is about to get even bigger...>>
POST-YUGOSLAVIA AND THE EXCEPTIONAL STATE OF SERBIA-MONTENEGRO
Tamara Vukov Interviews Andrej Grubacic, April 22, 2003
http://www.zmag.org/content/print_article.cfm?itemID=3498§ionID=36
<<...A few days ago, the vice-president of the government announced
that we should not complain that there is no opposition. Now we are a
democracy, so opposition is no longer necessary - we are so
democratic, that no opposition needs to exist. This is so-called
"total democracy." A situation in which democracy, in its total
self-fulfillment, abolishes itself. They are so devoted to democracy
that they no longer need it... The NGOs and rent-a-dissidents are
supporting it, promising complete loyalty to the Serbian
government...>>
AFTER PROMISING "DEMOCRACY"
by John Catalinotto
http://www.workers.org/ww/2003/serbia0417.php
<<...A state of emergency continues. Some 7,000 people were arrested,
with 2,000 held in prison for investigation, say both European press
accounts and dispatches direct from Belgrade. There can be no
criticism of the government, no demonstrations or strikes. Not even
public statements are allowed. The threat is now that parties will be
forbidden...>>
"SHOCK AND AWE" IN TURBULENT SERBIA
By David Binder, MSNBC CONTRIBUTOR (WASHINGTON, May 16)
http://www.msnbc.com/news/911513.asp or
http://www.icdsm.org/more/shock.htm
<<...HOW ELSE TO characterize a 65-day state of emergency with 10,111
citizens questioned by the police, some 4,000 detained, 45 indicted
for "inciting terrorism and murder," the mysterious gunning down of
two prime suspects, sharp curbs on the independent press and
television, dismissal of judges and the imposition of draconian
laws?...>>
STATE OF EMERGENCY AS THE INTRODUCTION TO THE DICTATORSHIP
Spomenka Deretic, Belgrade, 10 May 2003
http://www.artel.co.yu/en/izbor/jugoslavija/2003-05-11.html
<<...Among more than ten thousand imprisoned citizens of Serbia are
also several newspapermen. The majority of them are released, but the
work is forbidden to the editors of the only two papers that were not
under the complete control of the current authorities in Serbia....>>
BHHRG: THE KIROV MURDER REVISITED?
Zoran Djindjic's assassination and Serbia's political elite
An analysis of the events surrounding the assassination of Serbia's
prime minister on 12th March 2003
http://www.oscewatch.org/CountryReport.asp?CountryID=20&ReportID=197
<<...It was puzzling that a cameraman had managed to be conveniently
situated outside the government building to record the moment Dr.
Djindjic was shot. There were no special events scheduled for the
12th March - the prime minister was only arriving for work as usual.
Even stranger, was the fact that the security cameras covering the
entrance and scene of the crime had been switched off...>>
=== 2 ===
MISCELLANEA
Agencies and short articles about the "state of emergency" and NATO/US
support.
=== * ===
Objective responsibility of the Serbian Government
http://www.dss.org.yu/nasstav.asp#1389
PRESS RELEASE BY THE DSS PRESIDENCY, 7.04.2003
OBJECTIVE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE SERBIAN GOVERNMENT
It is precisely because of its pronounced European orientation that
the Democratic Party of Serbia will use all means at its disposal so
that the truth about the seamy side of the state of emergency in
Serbia can reach the local and international public
At this evening's meeting chaired by Vojislav Kostunica, the DSS
Presidency discussed the situation in the country nearly a month after
the assassination of Serbian premier Zoran Djindjic and the
introduction of a state of emergency, and decided that the tardy
measures implemented by the Serbian government, clearly targeted
against organised crime though, do not have a comprehensive character.
The Democratic Party of Serbia has been a fervent advocate of an
all-inclusive and unselective struggle against all forms of organised
crime for years.
For this effort, the party, its president and his aides have been
attacked time and again and exposed to the genuine atmosphere of
lynch. This is particularly the case today.
The logical question is what the state of emergency is good for in the
hands of the Serbian government if it is quite clear that the
proclaimed purpose is not the only one. Aside from the uncontestable
results it has produced, the purpose of the state of emergency is to
keep the ruling coalition in power at all cost, relying on a doubtful
majority in the Serbian parliament, to help it shun responsibility for
the reforms it pledged but failed to carry out, for a wracked economy
and the sell-off of national companies, for growing unemployment rates
and flourishing commercial crime and corruption. There is also no need
to waste words on those who got rich recklessly under the former
regime and have now found secure livelihood with the new regime
composed of the remnants of the Democratic Opposition of Serbia.
After all, is there anyone else to blame for the fact that crime had
assumed the proportions that allowed for the murder of premier
Djindjic but the very same government? It is exactly the Serbian
cabinet that made it
possible for all sorts of crime to burgeon by denying that organised
crime existed at all. It is the Serbian government that has openly
sided with one criminal group clashed with another by preparing the
leader of one of them for the role of a protected witness. The very
fact that the Serbian government's State Security Council
coordinated the work of the Spec-Ops Unit since early January 2002
tells us that the responsibility for the assassination of premier
Djindjic lies with the government staff. The fact that the justice
minister plays an important role in the High Judicial Council points
to his objective responsibility for the appointment of Milan
Sarajlic as a deputy to the Serbian public prosecutor. The fact that a
Serbian deputy premier visited Dusan Spasojevic in jail and took him
out of it, and then was friends with him, also points to the objective
responsibility for links with an organised criminal group.
Serbia and Montenegro's membership of international organisations,
including the Council of Europe since not long ago, implies certain
rights and, even more so - obligations. Among other things, this
membership requires
that all the questions posed here be answered. It is precisely because
of its pronounced European orientation that the Democratic Party of
Serbia will use all means at its disposal so that the truth about the
seamy side of the state of emergency in Serbia can reach the local and
international public alike. We are not going to let the flag raised in
Strasbourg after two and a half years of hard work be tarnished by the
autocracy of the DOS core plainly intending to restore the one-party
system we once had in Serbia.
=
Information Service of the Democratic Party of Serbia
---
Evidence instead of fabrications
http://www.dss.org.yu/nasstav.asp#1417
PRESS RELEASE, 11.04.2003
EVIDENCE INSTEAD OF FABRICATIONS
This is virtually about an invented conspiracy in the
making, which followed the authentic one that led
to the murder of the premier, while the media are
just tipped off who is the next to be removed from
the political and public life
The Democratic Party of Serbia will cooperate
with all truly democratic forces and the civil
sector, fighting against blatant human rights
violations and threats to democratic institutions.
Likewise, it will not hesitate to internationalise
this problem, since the admission of Serbia and
Montenegro into the Council of Europe implies
both rights and obligations in this regard.
At today's briefing for editors-in-chief of
Serbian media, a government representative
informed the reporters about what allegedly was
the latest discovery in the investigation into the
assassination of premier Zoran Djindjic.
According to this "discovery", the blame for the
crime falls on a coalition of patriotic forces,
which, as they insinuate, has been led by the
Democratic Party of Serbia. Let alone that such
an allegation might imply that some parties in the
country are not patriotic.
Not for a moment contesting its genuinely
democratic and national orientation, the
Democratic Party of Serbia is openly pointing out
that it is now crystal clear that the state of
emergency, instead of allowing for an authentic
showdown with all forms of organised crime, has
been used for a showdown with the Serbian
strongest political party.
Everyone should be clear already that the
prisons have been closed and visits by family and
lawyers banned precesily to allow the
government's mouthpiece to seize the role of the
sole source of information about who purportedly
said what during the investigation. Accordingly,
the first thing to be done is to make up a
statement by a prisoner, and than develop it into a
concocted version that might serve as a basis for
the arrest of political rivals.
This is virtually about an invented
conspiracy in the making, which followed the
authentic one that led to the murder of the
premier, while the media are just tipped off who is
the next to be removed from the political and
public life. Isn't this undeniable evidence of a
political abuse of the state of emergency? Today,
Gradimir Nalic has been mentioned; tomorrow -
anyone can be mentioned and as falsely accused,
without the possibility of communicating at least
with lawyers. Moreover, extremely compromised
and blackmailed persons have been used as
supposedly reliable witnesses during the
investigation.
Information Service of the Democratic Party of Serbia
---
STATE OF EMERGENCY ENDS
BELGRADE, April 22 (Beta) - Acting Serbian President Natasa Micic on
April 22 lifted the state of emergency that was introduced on March
12, after the assassination of Serbian premier Zoran Djindjic.
Addressing the public, the acting Serbian president said that the
steps taken during the state of emergency had yielded results, since
"the perpetrators and organizers of Djindjic's assassination and many
other crimes have been found and will be brought to justice."
"We have dealt the final blow to organized crime. We have dismantled
Milosevic's [sic] criminal apparatus and stopped the spiral of
violence that has been tearing our country apart for over a decade.
The country has been preserved," Natasa Micic said.
She pointed out that the state institutions defended the country "with
full respect to international standards during the state of emergency.
She said that the authorities were now facing a reform of the
SerbianMontenegrin army, stressing that the army "used to be an
institution that managed to avoid public control for decades."
The acting Serbian president also said that Serbia should face the
fact that certain individuals had committed war crimes on its behalf.
"There will be elections and therefore a chance for campaigning and a
new distribution of political power, in accordance with the will of
the people. Until then, let us do what the people have clearly
demanded from us: finish the job we have started," Micic said.
COMMENTS ON DECISION TO LIFT STATE OF EMERGENCY
BELGRADE, April 22 (Beta) - OSCE CHAIRMAN: OSCE chairman Dutch Foreign
Minister Japp de Hoop Scheffer said in Belgrade on April 22 that the
OSCE would have applied pressure [sic] on the Serbian government had
it not chosen to lift the state of emergency. He said that there had
been no abuse during this period.
"Had the state of emergency continued, the OSCE would have applied
pressure to have it lifted," Scheffer said, after meeting with Serbia
and Montenegro President Svetozar Marovic, Serbian Premier Zoran
Zivkovic and Foreign Minister Goran Svilanovic.
Scheffer said that no country could exist in a prolonged state of
emergency. He said he hoped that everyone involved in the
assassination of Serbian premier Zoran Djindjic would be brought to
justice and that this could be accomplished in regular conditions.
PROSECUTOR AND PRESIDENT OF SERBIA'S SUPREME COURT ELECTED
BELGRADE, April 23 (Tanjug) - The Serbian Parliament Tuesday elected
Acting President of the Supreme Court of Serbia Sonja Brkic as
president of this court, while Acting Republican Public Prosecutor
Djordje Ostojic was elected as Public Prosecutor.
The Parliament released former Supreme Court president Leposava
Karamarkovic and former public prosecutor Sinisa Simic of their
duties at their own request [sic]. The newly elected President of the
Supreme Court and the Public Prosecutor took oath before the MPs.
SERBIAN LEGISLATION PASSES PUBLIC INFORMATION LAW
BELGRADE, April 22 (Beta)-The Serbian Legislature adopted on April 22
a law on public information, which regulates the numerous rights and
obligations of journalists, because it provides for the greater
protection of persons who are the subjects of information.
Several amendments were made to the government's proposal of the law,
including the provision under which information must be accessible to
all media under equal conditions.
Government representatives explained that the reason that the
provision on the free access to information was absent from the new
law is the fact that a special law on this is soon to be adopted.
One of the principal objections to the new public information law made
by Serbian experts and media representatives is the possibility of
banning the distribution of newspapers and magazines [sic], which was
rejected as unacceptable in the course of the public debate.
The possibility of banning the distribution of information was
included in order to prevent the propagation of war, incitement to
direct violence or the advocacy of racial, national or religious
hatred, as well as in cases when a published or broadcast information
might have direct "grave, irreparable consequences which cannot be
prevented in any other way."
---
LIGHT THROWN ON 28 MURDERS - MIHAJLOVIC
BELGRADE, April 29 (Tanjug) - Serbian Interior Minister Dusan
Mihajlovic said on Tuesday that during the Operation Sword, light had
been thrown on 28 murders, 23 attempts of murder, 45 exortitions, 15
kidnappings, 208 criminal acts of illegal production, keeping and
putting into traffic of drugs, and other criminal acts.
Mihajlovic told a press conference that as of March 12, 2003, the
police had filed 3,919 criminal charges against 3,400 persons, due to
sustained suspicion that they had committed 5,812 criminal acts.
He also said that 1,325 peaces of various weaponry had been taken
away, as well 357 hand granades, 110,097 pieces of various
ammunition, 74,830 kg.of different drugs and many other objects.
---
http://news.ft.com/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=FT.com/StoryFT/
FullStory&c=StoryFT&cid=1051389842266&p=1012571727166
Financial Times May 8, 2003
Bush backs military support for Serbia
By Eric Jansson and James Politi
President George W. Bush yesterday authorised the US
to provide military assistance to Serbia and
Montenegro, offering Belgrade's new leader Zoran
Zivkovic, who recently replaced assassinated prime
minister Zoran Djindjic, one of the strongest
indications yet of international support for his
policies.
The White House said the decision followed
"significant steps" taken by Mr Zivkovic's government.
In the past week, officials from Serbia and Montenegro
agreed to place the military under civilian command,
ordered the police to arrest any individuals sought by
UN war crimes prosecutors, and sacked some
Milosevic-era generals.
The moves, according to Reuters, were described by US
officials as an important step in Serbia and
Montenegro's bid to join Nato's Partnership for Peace.
James Politi in Washington and Eric Jansson in Belgrade
---
http://www.b92.net/english/news/index.php?lang=english&version=
standard&my_categories_class=%27News%27&nav_category=
&nav_id=22668&order=priority&style=headlines
NATO offers help to achieve alliance standards
Beta, AP May 7, 2003
BRUSSELS -- Wednesday -- NATO today welcomed military
restructuring in Serbia-Montenegro and offered help
implementing more democratic changes, which would
enhance the country's bid to join the alliance.
After being presented with the programme for military
restructuring and civilian control by federal Defence
Minister Boris Tadic and army chief-of-staff Branko
Krga, NATO ambassadors expressed support for the state
union.
An anonymous NATO official told agency AP "the
minister made a very convincing presentation", adding
that the 19-nation alliance had offered to send a
group of expert reform advisors to Serbia-Montenegro.
He explained that the assassination of PM Djindjic had
prompted NATO ambassadors to hasten reforms in
Belgrade saying:
"The murder of Djindjic galvanized the emphasis on
reform. There is a sense of urgency that did not exist
before and we want to develop closer relations."
Tadic: membership within the year
Following the Brussels presentation, Tadic said that
he expects the new state union to join NATO?s
Partnership for Peace programme within the year.
Expressing hope that Serbia-Montenegro will accept
suggestions regarding full cooperation with The Hague
Tribunal and the International Court of Justice, Tadic
said that NATO Secretary General George Robertson and
the NATO Council had offered support to the
presentation outlining a concept of regional security.
The concept, presented by Tadic and Krga, calls for a
regional security policy for the Balkan Peninsula,
which will ensure there are no alliances between some
Balkan states against other Balkan states.
Strong support
Tadic also said that the armed forces civilian-control
reform plan had been well received and that
practically all ambassadors strongly supported the
Supreme Defence Council?s decision to transfer
military jurisdiction to the ministry of defence.
The defence minister confirmed the readiness of NATO
ambassadors to back Serbia-Montenegro's accession to
the programme, provided concrete steps are taken.
He added: "We will continue to cooperate with The
Hague tribunal and I am sure that we will meet all the
pre-conditions. I want to believe that we will become
a member of the partnership for Peace this year".
---
From: Mrs. Jela Jovanovic
Sent: Thursday, May 22, 2003 6:00 PM
Subject: Scandals are shaking Serbian government
DAN-PODGORICA
Scandals are shaking Serbian government
- Assistant of the Health Minister falsified her diploma
- Minster Dusan Mihajlovic covered up the case of a double murder
Mrs. Aleksandra Makaj, assistant of the Minister of health in the
Government of Serbia is caught in forgery.
Mrs. Makaj is member of the Socialdemocratic party of Slobodan Orlic.
She was in the group of putschists that took the Socialdemocratic
party from Vuk Obradovic. Afterwards the Supreme court of Serbia
returned the Party to Vuk Obradovic, but the leader of the putschists,
Mr. Slobodan Orlic, with his mercenaries kept all the Assembly
representatives' mandates and functions.
Mrs. Aleksandra Makaj, presenting herself as the graduated student of
the Medicine faculty of the Zagreb University, became the assistant to
the Minister of health. Her domain is sanitary surveillance.
Through the checking at the Medicine Faculty in Zagreb, it was
ascertained that Mrs. Aleksandra Utopljenikov (her maiden name), born
of father Georgije and mother Anka in Virovitica 1952,Croatia, never
finished this Faculty. Minister's assistant is these days under the
surveillance of the Ministry of the interior affairs. She had, in
cooperation with her party colleagues, imported 20 thousand tons of
genetically modified crushed seeds. Serbia is in danger that EU
forbids the import of food from it.
In spite of the existence of the report that the assistant of the
Minister of health not only does not have the Diploma of the Medical
doctor, but not even the elementary education in the field of
medicine, the Government of Serbia refused to release her from the
duty. On the site of the Government of Serbia one can still read that
Mrs. Makaj is by profession doctor specialist. For fraud, as it seams.
Party colleague of Mrs. Makaj, representative in the Assembly and the
director of the Belgrade Fair, Mr. Branko Gligoric, seven month ago,
on the hill Goc killed by his vehicle two students of the Ministry of
interior
affairs, that were on the course for the multiethnic police in the
south of Serbia. He drove the car in the state of heavy alcohol
intoxication. Two youngsters passed away five days later in the
hospital. Minister Dusan
Mihajlovic covered up this case of double murder.
Milovan BRKIC
Wednesday, 21. May, 2003
=== 3 ===
Source: http://www.icdsm.org/more/shock.htm
or: http://www.ohchr.org/news/State%20of%20Emergency%
20%20UNHCHR-ODIHR-OSCE%20Memorandum%20on%20Detention%
20Facilities%2024%20April%202003.doc
United Nations Office Of The High Commissioner For Human Rights,
Serbia And Montenegro
Confidential Memorandum To The Ministries Of Justice And The Interior
Of The Republic Of Serbia
Initial findings and recommendations arising from the visit to
detainees in Belgrade 14-15 April 2003
CONFIDENTIAL
Following their joint visit to places of detention and detainees in
Belgrade on 14 and 15 April 2003 the UN
Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, OSCE Mission to
Serbia and Montenegro and OSCE Office of
Democratic Institutions and Human Rights have identified nine urgent
recommendations which they would draw to
the attention of the authorities in the Republic of Serbia.
These recommendations are not intended to represent the complete
findings and recommendations of the three
institutions. Rather, they represent a number of urgent steps which,
if implemented, the Delegation considers
would immediately improve the situation of persons detained following
the imposition of the state of emergency.
The three institutions will issue a comprehensive joint report of
their findings and recommendations in due
course. This report will expand upon the recommendations below and be
complemented by additional ones. The three institutions would like to
draw the Government's attention to the fact that, in its observations,
many of the problems do not arise directly from the conditions under
the state of emergency, but are long-standing problems concerning the
Belgrade Central Prison which were identified during assessment visits
in 2001. The state of emergency has exacerbated most of these problems
and that certain provisions of the amended Law on the Suppression of
Organised crime are likely to continue doing so unless appropriate
safeguards are promptly introduced.
The three institutions welcome the lifting of the state of emergency
orders on 22 April. Although the provisions relating to detention
under the state of emergency are no longer in force, they consider
that the findings and recommendations pertaining to detention
contained in this memorandum remain relevant. They base this on
recognition of the fact that the pressures on Serbia's criminal
justice system remain; that provisions for extended detention without
judicial supervision remain in force under the amended Law on the
Suppression of
Organized Crime; and the continued existence of systemic problems
which have previously been identified
following the 2001 prison assessment, the visit of the Committee
against Torture in 2002 and other assessments.
Besides the matters requiring attention which are identified below,
the Delegation would like to record that
welcome improvements upon the situation in 2001 were noted. These
included improved relationships between
detainees and prison guards. The Delegation heard consistently
positive references to the guards from detainees
during their confidential interviews. In addition the Delegation also
noted that all government officials were
helpful and open in their discussions with it.
The three institutions hope that the initial findings and
recommendations contained in this memorandum will be
of assistance to the Government in its efforts to combat organized
crime and uphold the rule of law on
accordance with the relevant international standards. They look
forward to delivering the full report in the
near future and of having the opportunity to carry up follow-up visits
to places of detention.
Findings and Recommendations
Section A: The legal basis for detention
Finding 1: The continued justification for detention without judicial
supervision
Article 4 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
(ICCPR) states clearly that derogations of rights guaranteed under the
Covenant must be strictly limited to those required by the exigencies
of the
situation. Both the procedures under the state of emergency and the
recent amendments to the Law on the
Suppression of Organized Crime include provisions for extended periods
of detention without adequate judicial
supervision. These are clearly not in conformity with the
international human rights standards, notably Article
9(4) of the ICCPR and Article 5(4) of the European Convention for the
Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (ECHR). The
commentaries and case law indicate that detainees may be held without
judicial supervision for a few days as an absolute maximum, even in
times of public emergency.
The Delegation found that the justification for the continued
detention of individuals without judicial
supervision was unclear in many cases, particularly as many
individuals had not been subject to any form of
questioning for many days and that much time has passed since the
initial emergency following the assassination.
Some, who had been in detention for several days, reported that they
had not been questioned at all.
With the ending of the state of emergency, which has occurred since
the visit, all derogations to the right to
be brought promptly before a judge are to be considered invalid and
therefore detention without charge is no
longer permissible. Therefore the detainees must be either charged
with a criminal offence or released in
accordance with Article 9 of the ICCPR.
The Delegation was particularly concerned that the combination of
detention without judicial supervision
combined with some of the other findings given below meant that human
rights violations were being compounded or exacerbated by a
combination of these factors.
Recommendation 1: Re-examine, on the basis of the facts of each case,
whether the conditions continue to warrant the detention of each
individual detained since the state of emergency was introduced
(including those detained under the amended Law on the Suppression of
Organized Crime). Ensure that detainees are either released or charged
with a criminal offence and kept in further detention only on the
basis of judicial decisions. These decisions should be subject to
regular review.
Finding 2: Information about status and rights for detainees; access
to counsel; procedures for considering
appeals
International standards as well as the principles established in the
Constitutional Charter of the State Union
and the Code of Criminal Procedure emphasize the rights right of
detainees to be informed of their status and
rights as well as being given access to legal counsel to protect their
interests. The state of emergency
suspended or restricted a number of rights relating to communication
with the outside world including visits by
families and communication with legal counsel. While some of these
restrictions may be justified as exceptions
required by the exigencies of the situation, applied on a case-by-case
basis and for short periods, they appear
instead to have been applied on a group basis or in an arbitrary way
and often for extended periods.
The Delegation found that many detainees were unclear about their
status and rights. There appeared to be no
systematic process to ensure that detainees were informed of their
right to challenge detention under the state
of emergency order. The confusion about their status, rights, and
possibilities for communication extended to
detainees who had passed to detention on judicial orders or on the
orders of the Special Prosecutor.
Recommendation 2: Carry out a systematic process of informing all
detainees of their status and rights. This
should include, inter alia, particular attention to those who were
initially detained under orders issued under
the state of emergency, but are now passing into other forms of
detention. Ensure that all detainees are given
immediate access to legal counsel.
Finding 3: Appeals procedures
At least one detainee was informed in writing that he had to submit
any appeal within 12 hours of receiving the
decision on his detention. No effective deadlines existed for ruling
on appeals; at least one detainee received
the negative decision around the 30th day of his 30-day detention. The
processes for communicating between
detainees and the authorities were not transparent in ensuring
adequate recording and issuing receipts for
communications. The Delegation also felt that a review by the Minister
of Internal Affairs was not a
sufficiently independent mechanism. The Delegation is concerned that
these problems persist for detainees held
under the provisions of the amended Law on the Suppression of
Organized Crime.
Recommendation 3: Introduce judicial supervision of all detainees
immediately. Introduce a clear and consistent
procedure regulating the process of allowing detainees to appeal
against detention, ensuring that there are no
temporal limits on the detainees' right to appeal and that all appeals
are ruled upon and communicated to the
individual concerned within 24 hours.
Finding 4: Arbitrary factors controlling conditions of detention
The Delegation found that the applicable rules governing detainees
conditions of detention were not clear and
that they depended in part on individual decisions by the prison
authorities. This was particularly problematic
as these decisions and the procedures applied appeared variously to
influence the detainees' possibilities to
obtain medical supplies or sanitary items and to communicate with
families and legal counsel.
Recommendation 4: Ensure that the law and regulations applied do not
introduce arbitrary factors which affect
the possibility of detainees to obtain access to counsel or restrict
other rights.
Section B: Conditions of detention
Finding 5: Police facilities unsuitable for extended detention
The Delegation found that the facilities in the police station it
visited were unsuitable for anything other
than short periods of detention and were not suitable for overnight
stays. The reasons for the unsuitability
included, inter alia, the lack of beds for each detainee and of any
blankets or mattresses; inadequate
provisions for food and medical care; and inadequate lighting and
ventilation. All these are requirements
contained in the Standard Minimum Rules of the Treatment of Prisoners
(SMR) and the European Prison Rules (EPR).
SMR Rule no. 19 and EPR Part II, Rule 24 offer specific guidance in
this.
The Delegation was concerned to learn that some detainees have been in
the Central Police Station in these
conditions for up to six or seven days.
Recommendation 5: Ensure that detainees are kept in police detention
facilities for as short a period as
possible and are not used to detain prisoners for overnight stays.
Finding 6: The conditions of detainees kept in isolation in the
Belgrade Central Prison were unacceptable
The Delegation saw that most prisoners kept in isolation at the
Belgrade Central Prison are kept in small, badly lit cells with poor
lighting and ventilation. It also learned that most were denied
exercise and were kept in the cells all the time and were taken out
infrequently and mainly for the purpose of questioning.
The cumulative and combined effects of the underlying illegality of
extended periods of detention coupled with
the substandard conditions of detention for many detainees amounts to
degrading punishment or treatment which is incompatible with Article 3
of the Convention against Torture and Other, Cruel, Inhuman or
Degrading Treatment and Punishment (CAT), Article 3 of the ECHR and
Article 7 of the ICCPR.
The Delegation noted that the increased population at the prison also
appeared to decrease the possibility for
exercise for all prisoners. It noted that the 2001 assessment found
that the exercise facilities in the Belgrade Central Prison were
already inadequate for the then population of some 400 detainees and
the exercise periods too short. The current population is reported to
be more than 1,000.
Recommendation 6: Ensure that all prisoners are allowed adequate
exercise of at least one hour per day and that
other steps are taken to improve the conditions in the isolation cells
in the Belgrade Central Prison.
Finding 7: Procedures for registering complaints
During the visit to the Belgrade Central Police Station and the
Belgrade Central Prison the Delegation was
briefed about the procedures in place to submit complaints to internal
or external control bodies. The
procedures within the prison which were described to and seen by the
Delegation represented a very centralised
approach to the airing of complaints. They seemed to be an inadequate
guarantee and did not provide for
independent and transparent analysis of complaints. The inadequacy of
the current method was also reflected in
the poor confidence of the detainees in the effectiveness of the
internal investigations.
This concern seems particularly relevant as during the visit, the
Delegation heard allegations or saw
indications of torture or ill-treatment during arrest concerning two
detainees. It was unable to verify in full
the veracity of these allegations, but the Delegation considers it
important that detainees are able to report
any such allegations with confidence in seeing their complaints
promptly addressed. The Delegation also heard
accounts of forms of questioning and pressure during interrogation
which would appear to be inappropriate,
particularly when they involve young women.
Recommendation 7: Improve the possibilities for detainees to
communicate with the relevant authorities
concerning their conditions of detention and develop a long-term plan
of revision of the internal control
systems in both the police and prison systems. Any allegations of
ill-treatment should be subject to prompt and
proper investigation with the invocation of appropriate criminal
and/or disciplinary proceedings against the
officials concerned.
Finding 8: Proportionality of the measures applied to each detainee
The Delegation found that the physical conditions of detention and the
possibilities to communicate within the
prison or the outside world varied enormously. There appeared to be no
clear rationale as to why certain
measures were applied in general or in individual cases. As indicated
in finding 4, there appeared to be
elements of arbitrariness and a lack of transparent regulations and
guidelines.
Recommendation 8: Re-examine on an individual basis whether the
measures applied, such as detention in
isolation, are proportionate and justifiable in each case. Ensure that
the decisions on the application of these measures are subject to
regular review in each case.
Finding 9: Health and medical provisions
A number of prisoners kept in isolation complained of inadequate
medical and provision, including difficulties
in obtaining the necessary medicines, items for personal hygiene and
clean clothes. They also complained that
they were unable to communicate to their families their state of
health and learn of the health of their
relatives. Some detainees were not confident that they had prompt
access to doctors or doctors who were familiar with their existing
medical conditions.
Partial or incorrect information about the health or aspects of the
situation of has reached the relatives of
detainees either through media reports or word of mouth. In some cases
they allege that they heard information
officially.
The Delegation would draw attention to Rules 25 and 62 of the SMR and
Rules 29-62 in Part II of the EPR Part II
which provide more guidance on provisions for medical care and SMR
Rule 15 and EPR Part II, Rule 20 which
describe the requirements necessary to ensure personal hygiene.
If requested, an organization such as the International Committee of
the Red Cross should be able to address
these needs.
Recommendation 9: Improve access to medical care and provision of
clean clothes, personal hygiene items and
facilities. As an additional safeguard, invite the assistance of an
independent organization with capacity to
address the medical and hygienic and related needs of the detainees
and allow the possibility of communication
with their families.
/Ends
United Nations Office Of The High Commissioner For Human Rights,
Serbia And Montenegro
Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe Mission to Serbia
and Montenegro
1. IMPORTANT LINKS to articles about the "state of emergency" in
Serbia and its implications.
Many authors agree about the anti-democratic and mafia character of
the ruling mafia coalition, independent from their very different
point of views.
2. MISCELLANEA
Agencies and short articles about the "state of emergency" and NATO/US
support.
3. United Nations Office Of The High Commissioner For Human Rights,
Serbia And Montenegro:
Confidential Memorandum To The Ministries Of Justice And The Interior
Of The Republic Of Serbia. Initial findings and recommendations
arising from the visit to detainees in Belgrade 14-15 April 2003
For a very good summary of the recent events in Serbia we advice to
read:
BHHRG: THE KIROV MURDER REVISITED?
Zoran Djindjic's assassination and Serbia's political elite
An analysis of the events surrounding the assassination of Serbia's
prime minister on 12th March 2003
http://www.oscewatch.org/CountryReport.asp?CountryID=20&ReportID=197
=== 1 ===
IMPORTANT LINKS to articles about the "state of emergency" in Serbia
and its implications.
Many authors agree about the anti-democratic and mafia character of
the ruling mafia coalition, independent from their very different
point of views.
=== * ===
THE ARGUMENT OF FORCE. SERBIA UNDER MARTIAL LAW
by Nebojsa Malic
Antiwar.com - March 27, 2003
http://www.antiwar.com/malic/m032703.html
<<...Djindjic's murder has been blamed on "remnants of the Milosevic
regime", both by the Serbian government and the Imperial press. It is
hard to say exactly who claimed it first, though the accusations
seemed to appear in American papers sooner than in official Serbian
statements....>>
WASHINGTON'S STOOGE:
DJINDJIC ASSASSINATION EXPOSES U.S. ROLE IN SERBIA
By Heather Cottin
Reprinted from the March 27, 2003 issue of Workers World newspaper
http://www.workers.org/ww/2003/djindjic0327.php
<<...Djindjic had the distinction of being one of the only nationally
known politicians in Serbia to support the U.S./NATO 78-day bombing
campaign of Yugoslavia that began exactly four years ago on March 24,
1999... The Serbian government is using Djindjic's assassination
as an excuse to institute political repression, directing their
attacks on the remaining supporters of Slobodan Milosevic...
Zoran Djindjic was the corrupt beneficiary of U.S. regime change
and instituted the economic reforms that destroyed Yugoslavian
society as surely as the NATO bombs destroyed its infrastructure...>>
RUSSIAN COMMUNIST PARTY AGAINST STATE OF EMERGENCY IN SERBIA
Press service of the Russian Communist Party
Pravda.RU: Politics. 2003-04-01
http://english.pravda.ru/politics/2003/04/01/45411.html
<<...Western countries, which allegedly take care of their democracy,
ignore the fact that civil freedoms in Serbia are imperiled greatly at
present moment. The People's Patriotic Union of Russia denounces the
use of the state of emergency in Serbia as a way to intimidate
political opponents of the present government...>>
A FALLING-OUT AMONG THIEVES?
John Laughland
"All News is Lies", Sanders Research Associates, April 7, 2003
http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/HL0304/S00233.htm
<<...The West has not been able to contain its enthusiasm for this
massive crackdown in Serbia. The Union of Serbia and Montenegro (as
Yugoslavia is now known) was admitted last week to Europe's main human
rights body, the Council of Europe - at the height of these purges and
mass arrests... while the all-powerful US ambassador in Belgrade,
William Montgomery, also stated that "the international community
supports the Serbian government's fight against organised crime". As
Montgomery added, again without a trace of irony, that a contract had
just been signed between US Steel, based in Pittburgh, and the Sartid
company to buy the steel works at Smederevo...>>
THE ZORAN DJINDJIC ASSASSINATION: "DEMOCRACY" AT WORK?
by TV Weber
http://www.serbianna.com/columns/weber/002.shtml
<<...After Tito's death, the image of the Serbs took another
unexpected transformation, to that of insane nationalists, responsible
for all the evils in the Balkans. But now, with Yugoslavia dissolved
and Milosevic on ice in the Hague, the press wants to view the Serbs
as a bunch of gangsters...>>
AN INNOCENT ABROAD: POWELL IN BELGRADE
by Srdja Trifkovic
ChroniclesExtra, April 10, 2003
http://www.chroniclesmagazine.org/News/Trifkovic/NewsViews.htm
<<..The campaign against Kostunica indicates the real
government agenda: to eliminate political and media opposition in
advance of the lifting of the state of emergency, so that a snap
election-with a preordained result-can be called before the opposition
recovers and regroups...>>
BOLSHEVIKS IN BELGRADE. SERBIAN PURGES UNMASKED
by Nebojsa Malic
Antiwar.com - April 10, 2003
http://www.antiwar.com/malic/m041003.html
<<...And what a purge it is: judges, military and police officials,
lawyers, even some politicians, all have been targeted in the past
three weeks, and the hunt is about to get even bigger...>>
POST-YUGOSLAVIA AND THE EXCEPTIONAL STATE OF SERBIA-MONTENEGRO
Tamara Vukov Interviews Andrej Grubacic, April 22, 2003
http://www.zmag.org/content/print_article.cfm?itemID=3498§ionID=36
<<...A few days ago, the vice-president of the government announced
that we should not complain that there is no opposition. Now we are a
democracy, so opposition is no longer necessary - we are so
democratic, that no opposition needs to exist. This is so-called
"total democracy." A situation in which democracy, in its total
self-fulfillment, abolishes itself. They are so devoted to democracy
that they no longer need it... The NGOs and rent-a-dissidents are
supporting it, promising complete loyalty to the Serbian
government...>>
AFTER PROMISING "DEMOCRACY"
by John Catalinotto
http://www.workers.org/ww/2003/serbia0417.php
<<...A state of emergency continues. Some 7,000 people were arrested,
with 2,000 held in prison for investigation, say both European press
accounts and dispatches direct from Belgrade. There can be no
criticism of the government, no demonstrations or strikes. Not even
public statements are allowed. The threat is now that parties will be
forbidden...>>
"SHOCK AND AWE" IN TURBULENT SERBIA
By David Binder, MSNBC CONTRIBUTOR (WASHINGTON, May 16)
http://www.msnbc.com/news/911513.asp or
http://www.icdsm.org/more/shock.htm
<<...HOW ELSE TO characterize a 65-day state of emergency with 10,111
citizens questioned by the police, some 4,000 detained, 45 indicted
for "inciting terrorism and murder," the mysterious gunning down of
two prime suspects, sharp curbs on the independent press and
television, dismissal of judges and the imposition of draconian
laws?...>>
STATE OF EMERGENCY AS THE INTRODUCTION TO THE DICTATORSHIP
Spomenka Deretic, Belgrade, 10 May 2003
http://www.artel.co.yu/en/izbor/jugoslavija/2003-05-11.html
<<...Among more than ten thousand imprisoned citizens of Serbia are
also several newspapermen. The majority of them are released, but the
work is forbidden to the editors of the only two papers that were not
under the complete control of the current authorities in Serbia....>>
BHHRG: THE KIROV MURDER REVISITED?
Zoran Djindjic's assassination and Serbia's political elite
An analysis of the events surrounding the assassination of Serbia's
prime minister on 12th March 2003
http://www.oscewatch.org/CountryReport.asp?CountryID=20&ReportID=197
<<...It was puzzling that a cameraman had managed to be conveniently
situated outside the government building to record the moment Dr.
Djindjic was shot. There were no special events scheduled for the
12th March - the prime minister was only arriving for work as usual.
Even stranger, was the fact that the security cameras covering the
entrance and scene of the crime had been switched off...>>
=== 2 ===
MISCELLANEA
Agencies and short articles about the "state of emergency" and NATO/US
support.
=== * ===
Objective responsibility of the Serbian Government
http://www.dss.org.yu/nasstav.asp#1389
PRESS RELEASE BY THE DSS PRESIDENCY, 7.04.2003
OBJECTIVE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE SERBIAN GOVERNMENT
It is precisely because of its pronounced European orientation that
the Democratic Party of Serbia will use all means at its disposal so
that the truth about the seamy side of the state of emergency in
Serbia can reach the local and international public
At this evening's meeting chaired by Vojislav Kostunica, the DSS
Presidency discussed the situation in the country nearly a month after
the assassination of Serbian premier Zoran Djindjic and the
introduction of a state of emergency, and decided that the tardy
measures implemented by the Serbian government, clearly targeted
against organised crime though, do not have a comprehensive character.
The Democratic Party of Serbia has been a fervent advocate of an
all-inclusive and unselective struggle against all forms of organised
crime for years.
For this effort, the party, its president and his aides have been
attacked time and again and exposed to the genuine atmosphere of
lynch. This is particularly the case today.
The logical question is what the state of emergency is good for in the
hands of the Serbian government if it is quite clear that the
proclaimed purpose is not the only one. Aside from the uncontestable
results it has produced, the purpose of the state of emergency is to
keep the ruling coalition in power at all cost, relying on a doubtful
majority in the Serbian parliament, to help it shun responsibility for
the reforms it pledged but failed to carry out, for a wracked economy
and the sell-off of national companies, for growing unemployment rates
and flourishing commercial crime and corruption. There is also no need
to waste words on those who got rich recklessly under the former
regime and have now found secure livelihood with the new regime
composed of the remnants of the Democratic Opposition of Serbia.
After all, is there anyone else to blame for the fact that crime had
assumed the proportions that allowed for the murder of premier
Djindjic but the very same government? It is exactly the Serbian
cabinet that made it
possible for all sorts of crime to burgeon by denying that organised
crime existed at all. It is the Serbian government that has openly
sided with one criminal group clashed with another by preparing the
leader of one of them for the role of a protected witness. The very
fact that the Serbian government's State Security Council
coordinated the work of the Spec-Ops Unit since early January 2002
tells us that the responsibility for the assassination of premier
Djindjic lies with the government staff. The fact that the justice
minister plays an important role in the High Judicial Council points
to his objective responsibility for the appointment of Milan
Sarajlic as a deputy to the Serbian public prosecutor. The fact that a
Serbian deputy premier visited Dusan Spasojevic in jail and took him
out of it, and then was friends with him, also points to the objective
responsibility for links with an organised criminal group.
Serbia and Montenegro's membership of international organisations,
including the Council of Europe since not long ago, implies certain
rights and, even more so - obligations. Among other things, this
membership requires
that all the questions posed here be answered. It is precisely because
of its pronounced European orientation that the Democratic Party of
Serbia will use all means at its disposal so that the truth about the
seamy side of the state of emergency in Serbia can reach the local and
international public alike. We are not going to let the flag raised in
Strasbourg after two and a half years of hard work be tarnished by the
autocracy of the DOS core plainly intending to restore the one-party
system we once had in Serbia.
=
Information Service of the Democratic Party of Serbia
---
Evidence instead of fabrications
http://www.dss.org.yu/nasstav.asp#1417
PRESS RELEASE, 11.04.2003
EVIDENCE INSTEAD OF FABRICATIONS
This is virtually about an invented conspiracy in the
making, which followed the authentic one that led
to the murder of the premier, while the media are
just tipped off who is the next to be removed from
the political and public life
The Democratic Party of Serbia will cooperate
with all truly democratic forces and the civil
sector, fighting against blatant human rights
violations and threats to democratic institutions.
Likewise, it will not hesitate to internationalise
this problem, since the admission of Serbia and
Montenegro into the Council of Europe implies
both rights and obligations in this regard.
At today's briefing for editors-in-chief of
Serbian media, a government representative
informed the reporters about what allegedly was
the latest discovery in the investigation into the
assassination of premier Zoran Djindjic.
According to this "discovery", the blame for the
crime falls on a coalition of patriotic forces,
which, as they insinuate, has been led by the
Democratic Party of Serbia. Let alone that such
an allegation might imply that some parties in the
country are not patriotic.
Not for a moment contesting its genuinely
democratic and national orientation, the
Democratic Party of Serbia is openly pointing out
that it is now crystal clear that the state of
emergency, instead of allowing for an authentic
showdown with all forms of organised crime, has
been used for a showdown with the Serbian
strongest political party.
Everyone should be clear already that the
prisons have been closed and visits by family and
lawyers banned precesily to allow the
government's mouthpiece to seize the role of the
sole source of information about who purportedly
said what during the investigation. Accordingly,
the first thing to be done is to make up a
statement by a prisoner, and than develop it into a
concocted version that might serve as a basis for
the arrest of political rivals.
This is virtually about an invented
conspiracy in the making, which followed the
authentic one that led to the murder of the
premier, while the media are just tipped off who is
the next to be removed from the political and
public life. Isn't this undeniable evidence of a
political abuse of the state of emergency? Today,
Gradimir Nalic has been mentioned; tomorrow -
anyone can be mentioned and as falsely accused,
without the possibility of communicating at least
with lawyers. Moreover, extremely compromised
and blackmailed persons have been used as
supposedly reliable witnesses during the
investigation.
Information Service of the Democratic Party of Serbia
---
STATE OF EMERGENCY ENDS
BELGRADE, April 22 (Beta) - Acting Serbian President Natasa Micic on
April 22 lifted the state of emergency that was introduced on March
12, after the assassination of Serbian premier Zoran Djindjic.
Addressing the public, the acting Serbian president said that the
steps taken during the state of emergency had yielded results, since
"the perpetrators and organizers of Djindjic's assassination and many
other crimes have been found and will be brought to justice."
"We have dealt the final blow to organized crime. We have dismantled
Milosevic's [sic] criminal apparatus and stopped the spiral of
violence that has been tearing our country apart for over a decade.
The country has been preserved," Natasa Micic said.
She pointed out that the state institutions defended the country "with
full respect to international standards during the state of emergency.
She said that the authorities were now facing a reform of the
SerbianMontenegrin army, stressing that the army "used to be an
institution that managed to avoid public control for decades."
The acting Serbian president also said that Serbia should face the
fact that certain individuals had committed war crimes on its behalf.
"There will be elections and therefore a chance for campaigning and a
new distribution of political power, in accordance with the will of
the people. Until then, let us do what the people have clearly
demanded from us: finish the job we have started," Micic said.
COMMENTS ON DECISION TO LIFT STATE OF EMERGENCY
BELGRADE, April 22 (Beta) - OSCE CHAIRMAN: OSCE chairman Dutch Foreign
Minister Japp de Hoop Scheffer said in Belgrade on April 22 that the
OSCE would have applied pressure [sic] on the Serbian government had
it not chosen to lift the state of emergency. He said that there had
been no abuse during this period.
"Had the state of emergency continued, the OSCE would have applied
pressure to have it lifted," Scheffer said, after meeting with Serbia
and Montenegro President Svetozar Marovic, Serbian Premier Zoran
Zivkovic and Foreign Minister Goran Svilanovic.
Scheffer said that no country could exist in a prolonged state of
emergency. He said he hoped that everyone involved in the
assassination of Serbian premier Zoran Djindjic would be brought to
justice and that this could be accomplished in regular conditions.
PROSECUTOR AND PRESIDENT OF SERBIA'S SUPREME COURT ELECTED
BELGRADE, April 23 (Tanjug) - The Serbian Parliament Tuesday elected
Acting President of the Supreme Court of Serbia Sonja Brkic as
president of this court, while Acting Republican Public Prosecutor
Djordje Ostojic was elected as Public Prosecutor.
The Parliament released former Supreme Court president Leposava
Karamarkovic and former public prosecutor Sinisa Simic of their
duties at their own request [sic]. The newly elected President of the
Supreme Court and the Public Prosecutor took oath before the MPs.
SERBIAN LEGISLATION PASSES PUBLIC INFORMATION LAW
BELGRADE, April 22 (Beta)-The Serbian Legislature adopted on April 22
a law on public information, which regulates the numerous rights and
obligations of journalists, because it provides for the greater
protection of persons who are the subjects of information.
Several amendments were made to the government's proposal of the law,
including the provision under which information must be accessible to
all media under equal conditions.
Government representatives explained that the reason that the
provision on the free access to information was absent from the new
law is the fact that a special law on this is soon to be adopted.
One of the principal objections to the new public information law made
by Serbian experts and media representatives is the possibility of
banning the distribution of newspapers and magazines [sic], which was
rejected as unacceptable in the course of the public debate.
The possibility of banning the distribution of information was
included in order to prevent the propagation of war, incitement to
direct violence or the advocacy of racial, national or religious
hatred, as well as in cases when a published or broadcast information
might have direct "grave, irreparable consequences which cannot be
prevented in any other way."
---
LIGHT THROWN ON 28 MURDERS - MIHAJLOVIC
BELGRADE, April 29 (Tanjug) - Serbian Interior Minister Dusan
Mihajlovic said on Tuesday that during the Operation Sword, light had
been thrown on 28 murders, 23 attempts of murder, 45 exortitions, 15
kidnappings, 208 criminal acts of illegal production, keeping and
putting into traffic of drugs, and other criminal acts.
Mihajlovic told a press conference that as of March 12, 2003, the
police had filed 3,919 criminal charges against 3,400 persons, due to
sustained suspicion that they had committed 5,812 criminal acts.
He also said that 1,325 peaces of various weaponry had been taken
away, as well 357 hand granades, 110,097 pieces of various
ammunition, 74,830 kg.of different drugs and many other objects.
---
http://news.ft.com/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=FT.com/StoryFT/
FullStory&c=StoryFT&cid=1051389842266&p=1012571727166
Financial Times May 8, 2003
Bush backs military support for Serbia
By Eric Jansson and James Politi
President George W. Bush yesterday authorised the US
to provide military assistance to Serbia and
Montenegro, offering Belgrade's new leader Zoran
Zivkovic, who recently replaced assassinated prime
minister Zoran Djindjic, one of the strongest
indications yet of international support for his
policies.
The White House said the decision followed
"significant steps" taken by Mr Zivkovic's government.
In the past week, officials from Serbia and Montenegro
agreed to place the military under civilian command,
ordered the police to arrest any individuals sought by
UN war crimes prosecutors, and sacked some
Milosevic-era generals.
The moves, according to Reuters, were described by US
officials as an important step in Serbia and
Montenegro's bid to join Nato's Partnership for Peace.
James Politi in Washington and Eric Jansson in Belgrade
---
http://www.b92.net/english/news/index.php?lang=english&version=
standard&my_categories_class=%27News%27&nav_category=
&nav_id=22668&order=priority&style=headlines
NATO offers help to achieve alliance standards
Beta, AP May 7, 2003
BRUSSELS -- Wednesday -- NATO today welcomed military
restructuring in Serbia-Montenegro and offered help
implementing more democratic changes, which would
enhance the country's bid to join the alliance.
After being presented with the programme for military
restructuring and civilian control by federal Defence
Minister Boris Tadic and army chief-of-staff Branko
Krga, NATO ambassadors expressed support for the state
union.
An anonymous NATO official told agency AP "the
minister made a very convincing presentation", adding
that the 19-nation alliance had offered to send a
group of expert reform advisors to Serbia-Montenegro.
He explained that the assassination of PM Djindjic had
prompted NATO ambassadors to hasten reforms in
Belgrade saying:
"The murder of Djindjic galvanized the emphasis on
reform. There is a sense of urgency that did not exist
before and we want to develop closer relations."
Tadic: membership within the year
Following the Brussels presentation, Tadic said that
he expects the new state union to join NATO?s
Partnership for Peace programme within the year.
Expressing hope that Serbia-Montenegro will accept
suggestions regarding full cooperation with The Hague
Tribunal and the International Court of Justice, Tadic
said that NATO Secretary General George Robertson and
the NATO Council had offered support to the
presentation outlining a concept of regional security.
The concept, presented by Tadic and Krga, calls for a
regional security policy for the Balkan Peninsula,
which will ensure there are no alliances between some
Balkan states against other Balkan states.
Strong support
Tadic also said that the armed forces civilian-control
reform plan had been well received and that
practically all ambassadors strongly supported the
Supreme Defence Council?s decision to transfer
military jurisdiction to the ministry of defence.
The defence minister confirmed the readiness of NATO
ambassadors to back Serbia-Montenegro's accession to
the programme, provided concrete steps are taken.
He added: "We will continue to cooperate with The
Hague tribunal and I am sure that we will meet all the
pre-conditions. I want to believe that we will become
a member of the partnership for Peace this year".
---
From: Mrs. Jela Jovanovic
Sent: Thursday, May 22, 2003 6:00 PM
Subject: Scandals are shaking Serbian government
DAN-PODGORICA
Scandals are shaking Serbian government
- Assistant of the Health Minister falsified her diploma
- Minster Dusan Mihajlovic covered up the case of a double murder
Mrs. Aleksandra Makaj, assistant of the Minister of health in the
Government of Serbia is caught in forgery.
Mrs. Makaj is member of the Socialdemocratic party of Slobodan Orlic.
She was in the group of putschists that took the Socialdemocratic
party from Vuk Obradovic. Afterwards the Supreme court of Serbia
returned the Party to Vuk Obradovic, but the leader of the putschists,
Mr. Slobodan Orlic, with his mercenaries kept all the Assembly
representatives' mandates and functions.
Mrs. Aleksandra Makaj, presenting herself as the graduated student of
the Medicine faculty of the Zagreb University, became the assistant to
the Minister of health. Her domain is sanitary surveillance.
Through the checking at the Medicine Faculty in Zagreb, it was
ascertained that Mrs. Aleksandra Utopljenikov (her maiden name), born
of father Georgije and mother Anka in Virovitica 1952,Croatia, never
finished this Faculty. Minister's assistant is these days under the
surveillance of the Ministry of the interior affairs. She had, in
cooperation with her party colleagues, imported 20 thousand tons of
genetically modified crushed seeds. Serbia is in danger that EU
forbids the import of food from it.
In spite of the existence of the report that the assistant of the
Minister of health not only does not have the Diploma of the Medical
doctor, but not even the elementary education in the field of
medicine, the Government of Serbia refused to release her from the
duty. On the site of the Government of Serbia one can still read that
Mrs. Makaj is by profession doctor specialist. For fraud, as it seams.
Party colleague of Mrs. Makaj, representative in the Assembly and the
director of the Belgrade Fair, Mr. Branko Gligoric, seven month ago,
on the hill Goc killed by his vehicle two students of the Ministry of
interior
affairs, that were on the course for the multiethnic police in the
south of Serbia. He drove the car in the state of heavy alcohol
intoxication. Two youngsters passed away five days later in the
hospital. Minister Dusan
Mihajlovic covered up this case of double murder.
Milovan BRKIC
Wednesday, 21. May, 2003
=== 3 ===
Source: http://www.icdsm.org/more/shock.htm
or: http://www.ohchr.org/news/State%20of%20Emergency%
20%20UNHCHR-ODIHR-OSCE%20Memorandum%20on%20Detention%
20Facilities%2024%20April%202003.doc
United Nations Office Of The High Commissioner For Human Rights,
Serbia And Montenegro
Confidential Memorandum To The Ministries Of Justice And The Interior
Of The Republic Of Serbia
Initial findings and recommendations arising from the visit to
detainees in Belgrade 14-15 April 2003
CONFIDENTIAL
Following their joint visit to places of detention and detainees in
Belgrade on 14 and 15 April 2003 the UN
Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, OSCE Mission to
Serbia and Montenegro and OSCE Office of
Democratic Institutions and Human Rights have identified nine urgent
recommendations which they would draw to
the attention of the authorities in the Republic of Serbia.
These recommendations are not intended to represent the complete
findings and recommendations of the three
institutions. Rather, they represent a number of urgent steps which,
if implemented, the Delegation considers
would immediately improve the situation of persons detained following
the imposition of the state of emergency.
The three institutions will issue a comprehensive joint report of
their findings and recommendations in due
course. This report will expand upon the recommendations below and be
complemented by additional ones. The three institutions would like to
draw the Government's attention to the fact that, in its observations,
many of the problems do not arise directly from the conditions under
the state of emergency, but are long-standing problems concerning the
Belgrade Central Prison which were identified during assessment visits
in 2001. The state of emergency has exacerbated most of these problems
and that certain provisions of the amended Law on the Suppression of
Organised crime are likely to continue doing so unless appropriate
safeguards are promptly introduced.
The three institutions welcome the lifting of the state of emergency
orders on 22 April. Although the provisions relating to detention
under the state of emergency are no longer in force, they consider
that the findings and recommendations pertaining to detention
contained in this memorandum remain relevant. They base this on
recognition of the fact that the pressures on Serbia's criminal
justice system remain; that provisions for extended detention without
judicial supervision remain in force under the amended Law on the
Suppression of
Organized Crime; and the continued existence of systemic problems
which have previously been identified
following the 2001 prison assessment, the visit of the Committee
against Torture in 2002 and other assessments.
Besides the matters requiring attention which are identified below,
the Delegation would like to record that
welcome improvements upon the situation in 2001 were noted. These
included improved relationships between
detainees and prison guards. The Delegation heard consistently
positive references to the guards from detainees
during their confidential interviews. In addition the Delegation also
noted that all government officials were
helpful and open in their discussions with it.
The three institutions hope that the initial findings and
recommendations contained in this memorandum will be
of assistance to the Government in its efforts to combat organized
crime and uphold the rule of law on
accordance with the relevant international standards. They look
forward to delivering the full report in the
near future and of having the opportunity to carry up follow-up visits
to places of detention.
Findings and Recommendations
Section A: The legal basis for detention
Finding 1: The continued justification for detention without judicial
supervision
Article 4 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
(ICCPR) states clearly that derogations of rights guaranteed under the
Covenant must be strictly limited to those required by the exigencies
of the
situation. Both the procedures under the state of emergency and the
recent amendments to the Law on the
Suppression of Organized Crime include provisions for extended periods
of detention without adequate judicial
supervision. These are clearly not in conformity with the
international human rights standards, notably Article
9(4) of the ICCPR and Article 5(4) of the European Convention for the
Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (ECHR). The
commentaries and case law indicate that detainees may be held without
judicial supervision for a few days as an absolute maximum, even in
times of public emergency.
The Delegation found that the justification for the continued
detention of individuals without judicial
supervision was unclear in many cases, particularly as many
individuals had not been subject to any form of
questioning for many days and that much time has passed since the
initial emergency following the assassination.
Some, who had been in detention for several days, reported that they
had not been questioned at all.
With the ending of the state of emergency, which has occurred since
the visit, all derogations to the right to
be brought promptly before a judge are to be considered invalid and
therefore detention without charge is no
longer permissible. Therefore the detainees must be either charged
with a criminal offence or released in
accordance with Article 9 of the ICCPR.
The Delegation was particularly concerned that the combination of
detention without judicial supervision
combined with some of the other findings given below meant that human
rights violations were being compounded or exacerbated by a
combination of these factors.
Recommendation 1: Re-examine, on the basis of the facts of each case,
whether the conditions continue to warrant the detention of each
individual detained since the state of emergency was introduced
(including those detained under the amended Law on the Suppression of
Organized Crime). Ensure that detainees are either released or charged
with a criminal offence and kept in further detention only on the
basis of judicial decisions. These decisions should be subject to
regular review.
Finding 2: Information about status and rights for detainees; access
to counsel; procedures for considering
appeals
International standards as well as the principles established in the
Constitutional Charter of the State Union
and the Code of Criminal Procedure emphasize the rights right of
detainees to be informed of their status and
rights as well as being given access to legal counsel to protect their
interests. The state of emergency
suspended or restricted a number of rights relating to communication
with the outside world including visits by
families and communication with legal counsel. While some of these
restrictions may be justified as exceptions
required by the exigencies of the situation, applied on a case-by-case
basis and for short periods, they appear
instead to have been applied on a group basis or in an arbitrary way
and often for extended periods.
The Delegation found that many detainees were unclear about their
status and rights. There appeared to be no
systematic process to ensure that detainees were informed of their
right to challenge detention under the state
of emergency order. The confusion about their status, rights, and
possibilities for communication extended to
detainees who had passed to detention on judicial orders or on the
orders of the Special Prosecutor.
Recommendation 2: Carry out a systematic process of informing all
detainees of their status and rights. This
should include, inter alia, particular attention to those who were
initially detained under orders issued under
the state of emergency, but are now passing into other forms of
detention. Ensure that all detainees are given
immediate access to legal counsel.
Finding 3: Appeals procedures
At least one detainee was informed in writing that he had to submit
any appeal within 12 hours of receiving the
decision on his detention. No effective deadlines existed for ruling
on appeals; at least one detainee received
the negative decision around the 30th day of his 30-day detention. The
processes for communicating between
detainees and the authorities were not transparent in ensuring
adequate recording and issuing receipts for
communications. The Delegation also felt that a review by the Minister
of Internal Affairs was not a
sufficiently independent mechanism. The Delegation is concerned that
these problems persist for detainees held
under the provisions of the amended Law on the Suppression of
Organized Crime.
Recommendation 3: Introduce judicial supervision of all detainees
immediately. Introduce a clear and consistent
procedure regulating the process of allowing detainees to appeal
against detention, ensuring that there are no
temporal limits on the detainees' right to appeal and that all appeals
are ruled upon and communicated to the
individual concerned within 24 hours.
Finding 4: Arbitrary factors controlling conditions of detention
The Delegation found that the applicable rules governing detainees
conditions of detention were not clear and
that they depended in part on individual decisions by the prison
authorities. This was particularly problematic
as these decisions and the procedures applied appeared variously to
influence the detainees' possibilities to
obtain medical supplies or sanitary items and to communicate with
families and legal counsel.
Recommendation 4: Ensure that the law and regulations applied do not
introduce arbitrary factors which affect
the possibility of detainees to obtain access to counsel or restrict
other rights.
Section B: Conditions of detention
Finding 5: Police facilities unsuitable for extended detention
The Delegation found that the facilities in the police station it
visited were unsuitable for anything other
than short periods of detention and were not suitable for overnight
stays. The reasons for the unsuitability
included, inter alia, the lack of beds for each detainee and of any
blankets or mattresses; inadequate
provisions for food and medical care; and inadequate lighting and
ventilation. All these are requirements
contained in the Standard Minimum Rules of the Treatment of Prisoners
(SMR) and the European Prison Rules (EPR).
SMR Rule no. 19 and EPR Part II, Rule 24 offer specific guidance in
this.
The Delegation was concerned to learn that some detainees have been in
the Central Police Station in these
conditions for up to six or seven days.
Recommendation 5: Ensure that detainees are kept in police detention
facilities for as short a period as
possible and are not used to detain prisoners for overnight stays.
Finding 6: The conditions of detainees kept in isolation in the
Belgrade Central Prison were unacceptable
The Delegation saw that most prisoners kept in isolation at the
Belgrade Central Prison are kept in small, badly lit cells with poor
lighting and ventilation. It also learned that most were denied
exercise and were kept in the cells all the time and were taken out
infrequently and mainly for the purpose of questioning.
The cumulative and combined effects of the underlying illegality of
extended periods of detention coupled with
the substandard conditions of detention for many detainees amounts to
degrading punishment or treatment which is incompatible with Article 3
of the Convention against Torture and Other, Cruel, Inhuman or
Degrading Treatment and Punishment (CAT), Article 3 of the ECHR and
Article 7 of the ICCPR.
The Delegation noted that the increased population at the prison also
appeared to decrease the possibility for
exercise for all prisoners. It noted that the 2001 assessment found
that the exercise facilities in the Belgrade Central Prison were
already inadequate for the then population of some 400 detainees and
the exercise periods too short. The current population is reported to
be more than 1,000.
Recommendation 6: Ensure that all prisoners are allowed adequate
exercise of at least one hour per day and that
other steps are taken to improve the conditions in the isolation cells
in the Belgrade Central Prison.
Finding 7: Procedures for registering complaints
During the visit to the Belgrade Central Police Station and the
Belgrade Central Prison the Delegation was
briefed about the procedures in place to submit complaints to internal
or external control bodies. The
procedures within the prison which were described to and seen by the
Delegation represented a very centralised
approach to the airing of complaints. They seemed to be an inadequate
guarantee and did not provide for
independent and transparent analysis of complaints. The inadequacy of
the current method was also reflected in
the poor confidence of the detainees in the effectiveness of the
internal investigations.
This concern seems particularly relevant as during the visit, the
Delegation heard allegations or saw
indications of torture or ill-treatment during arrest concerning two
detainees. It was unable to verify in full
the veracity of these allegations, but the Delegation considers it
important that detainees are able to report
any such allegations with confidence in seeing their complaints
promptly addressed. The Delegation also heard
accounts of forms of questioning and pressure during interrogation
which would appear to be inappropriate,
particularly when they involve young women.
Recommendation 7: Improve the possibilities for detainees to
communicate with the relevant authorities
concerning their conditions of detention and develop a long-term plan
of revision of the internal control
systems in both the police and prison systems. Any allegations of
ill-treatment should be subject to prompt and
proper investigation with the invocation of appropriate criminal
and/or disciplinary proceedings against the
officials concerned.
Finding 8: Proportionality of the measures applied to each detainee
The Delegation found that the physical conditions of detention and the
possibilities to communicate within the
prison or the outside world varied enormously. There appeared to be no
clear rationale as to why certain
measures were applied in general or in individual cases. As indicated
in finding 4, there appeared to be
elements of arbitrariness and a lack of transparent regulations and
guidelines.
Recommendation 8: Re-examine on an individual basis whether the
measures applied, such as detention in
isolation, are proportionate and justifiable in each case. Ensure that
the decisions on the application of these measures are subject to
regular review in each case.
Finding 9: Health and medical provisions
A number of prisoners kept in isolation complained of inadequate
medical and provision, including difficulties
in obtaining the necessary medicines, items for personal hygiene and
clean clothes. They also complained that
they were unable to communicate to their families their state of
health and learn of the health of their
relatives. Some detainees were not confident that they had prompt
access to doctors or doctors who were familiar with their existing
medical conditions.
Partial or incorrect information about the health or aspects of the
situation of has reached the relatives of
detainees either through media reports or word of mouth. In some cases
they allege that they heard information
officially.
The Delegation would draw attention to Rules 25 and 62 of the SMR and
Rules 29-62 in Part II of the EPR Part II
which provide more guidance on provisions for medical care and SMR
Rule 15 and EPR Part II, Rule 20 which
describe the requirements necessary to ensure personal hygiene.
If requested, an organization such as the International Committee of
the Red Cross should be able to address
these needs.
Recommendation 9: Improve access to medical care and provision of
clean clothes, personal hygiene items and
facilities. As an additional safeguard, invite the assistance of an
independent organization with capacity to
address the medical and hygienic and related needs of the detainees
and allow the possibility of communication
with their families.
/Ends
United Nations Office Of The High Commissioner For Human Rights,
Serbia And Montenegro
Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe Mission to Serbia
and Montenegro
http://balkanreport.tol.cz/look/BRR/article_single.tpl?IdLanguage=1&IdPubli=
cation=9&NrIssue=1&NrSection=4&NrArticle=9519&ST1=body&ST_T1=brr&ST_AS1=1&ST=
_max=1
16 May 2003
"Revolution Is a Process, the Struggle Continues"
=
Dead 23 years, worshipped, then scorned, and now worshipped again, the
communist leader of the former Yugoslavia is making a comeback.
by Goran Tarlac
BELGRADE, Serbia and Montenegro - It is 23 years since the death of
Marshal Josip Broz Tito, president of the Socialist Federal Republic
of Yugoslavia (SFRJ), president of the Yugoslav League of Communists
(SKJ), and supreme commander of the Yugoslav People's Army (JNA).
Tito was buried in Belgrade, in a majestic museum known since then as
the House of Flowers (Kuca cvijeca). The funeral was held on a
beautiful sunny day in the presence of 21 presidents, four kings, five
princes, six vice presidents, seven parliamentary leaders, 22 prime
ministers, 13 deputy prime ministers, and 47 foreign ministers. The
UPI news agency described the ceremony as "the greatest meeting of
world leaders of our time, if not in history."
When Tito died on 4 May 1980, the whole of Yugoslavia mourned the
death of the man who for 35 years had sat at its helm and who
symbolized the shared life of all its peoples. Photojournalists
captured people crying on the streets, footballers crying in stadiums,
and in Macedonia an attempted suicide out of grief for comrade Tito.
A few years later, with the first signs of the arrival of democratic
freedom--and nationalism--in the then Yugoslavia, people began to
speak more and more of the once-beloved president as a dictator, "an
iron-fisted ruler," a hedonist dedicated only to personal interest.
To love Tito had ceased to be popular, and was sometimes even
dangerous.
Tito's Yugoslavia has since been reduced to five small states. Tito's
SKJ, the JNA, his policy of ethnic tolerance known as "brotherhood
and unity," the system of self-management, and Yugoslavia's
foreign policy of nonalignment have all disappeared. A wholesale
cleansing of historical memory has taken place, with the renaming of
towns that had carried his name - Titograd, Titovo Uzice, Titov Drvar,
Titovo Velenje, Titov Veles, Titov Vrbas, Titova Mitrovica, and Titova
Korenica - the removal of monuments, pictures, and all manner of
symbols, and the sweeping of all traces from museums and libraries.
"COME BACK, ALL IS FORGIVEN"
Two decades after his death, following a period of war and deep
economic crisis, the concept of "Tito" is more popular in the
countries of the former Yugoslavia than ever before. People pay
tribute in different ways to times when they lived under an
undemocratic system, but lived better and were safer and happier.
To speak positively of Tito and socialist Yugoslavia has become
fashionable once more. Yugo-nostalgia and Tito-nostalgia are
incredibly popular in all the former Yugoslav republics. Today, in
many towns of the former Yugoslavia, one can find graffiti on the
walls of the main squares: "The old man was better," "Come back, all
is forgiven," or "While there was Tito, there was dope."
On 2 May in Subotica, a city in northern Serbia close to the border
with Hungary, the "Fourth Yugoslavia" was proclaimed. The "state" was
founded by a local printer, Blasko Gabric, on his three
hectares of land. The meeting, to which the founder of the latest
Yugoslavia invited "all Yugo-nostalgics, regardless of nationality
or faith, from all former Yugoslav republics, Europe, and the whole
world," was attended by almost 3,000 people. At the corner of his
property Gabric had placed a border stone on which is written in
Cyrillic and Latin, "Yugoslavia" and "While we exist, so, too,
will Yugoslavia."
Those gathered turned to the founder of the fourth Yugoslavia, Gabric,
and to Tito's grandson, Josip Joska Broz, who said that the
destruction of Yugoslavia "by foreign powers and their hirelings"
happened so that one state entity might destroy and succeed another,
far worse than the former. Many pensioners, once Tito's Partisans, at
this point began to cry.
"Yugo-nostalgics want to hold onto their dream, the dream of South
Slavs, the dream of their own Yugoslavia, since it was taken from us
without putting it to the people. The fourth mini-Yugoslavia will be a
meeting place of those for whom the dream of the old shared motherland
never leaves their sleep," Gabric told TOL after the meeting.
And in Uzice, a town in central Serbia that was once called Titovo
Uzice, there are plans to restore an entire complex of museums
dedicated to Tito's era. The idea is, considering the well-attended
museums that exist in the countries of the former Soviet bloc, that
Uzice apply a similar model to the Kadinjaca mountain, the site of a
great battle between Tito's Partisans and Hitler's troops. A Tito
remembrance room, with a bust of Tito, and streets and cafes that
carried his name and the names of his aides would also be restored.
After the rise of Slobodan Milosevic, such features disappeared from
Uzice. In 1991, the grand statue of Tito that had stood in the city
square was taken down and, with general delight, was chucked into the
warehouse of the local Museum of the Revolution. The initiative came
from the municipal authorities led by Milosevic's Socialist Party of
Serbia (SPS).
TITO'S POSTMORTEM TRAVELS
Three years later, another of Tito's statues surfaced in Uzice. It was
brought from the war-ravaged town of Rudo in eastern Bosnia. And so,
the complete bronze statues, which art historians say are the two most
significant sculptures by famous Tito-era sculptor Antun Augustincic
commemorating Josip Broz Tito, met in the town that had once carried
his name. Both monuments had been exhibited in 1950 in the Yugoslav
pavilion at the Venetian Biennale.
Before the idea came about, Tito's grandson, Josip Joska Broz, came to
Uzice with the intention of buying one sculpture. With him in Uzice
was Sinisa Zarin, a private businessman from Novi Sad. He had wanted
to buy a statue to place at the center of a museum of socialist
revolution, which he plans to establish as part of his firm in Novi
Sad.
Before him, Branislav Kaludjerovic from Cetinje, Montenegro, tried to
buy the same statue. He is known for placing an obituary to "comrade
Tito" in the Montenegrin press every 4 May, the day Tito died. In the
obituary, which this year appears in Podgorica's daily Vijesti, is
written: "Comrade Tito, when we were comrades we were gentlemen."
In Uzice, when it occurred to them that so much could be done with the
statues, they decided to not sell either of them and to correct the
mistake of pulling them down.
As things stand now, the project to revitalize the town's communist
heritage will be carried out by giving support to urban art groups
that would work on promoting Tito and the heritage of a state that is
no more. Some projects have already been started, such as one to
establish links with towns in Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia, Macedonia,
and Montenegro that were once named after Tito.
At the end of March, just 25 miles south in Kragujevac, where the
inhabitants are said by the press to be the most anti-communist, a
cafe called "Tito" has opened. The owner has adorned the interior with
photographs and slogans of the former president and a guest book.
A similar cafe, going by the name of "Republika," opened two years
ago in the very center of Belgrade, about 50 yards from the so-called
House of the Army, where until recently literary evenings dedicated to
indicted war criminals Radovan Karadzic and Veselin Sljivancanin were
held.
Besides a large number of photographs and symbols of the former
socialist state, Yugo-nostalgics come here because they are served by
young waitresses dressed in white blouses and red scarves, straight
away associated with the former pioneer uniforms, and because the cafe
plays only rock music from the time of the SFRJ. The visitors are
generally young people, though Serbian Deputy Prime Minister Zarko
Korac is also said to drop in regularly.
REVIVING TITO
In neighboring Croatia, organized trips to Tito's birthplace in
Kumrovec are becoming increasingly popular. On 4 May this year, more
than 2,000 people of various ages gathered in Kumrovec to pay their
respects to the former president.
The gathering was organized by the Josip Broz Tito Society and the
Union of Croatian Anti-Fascist Fighters, and they sang old partisan
songs, as well as a few new ones: "Dear Lord, Croats beg you - return
comrade Tito to us," "Comrade Tito, we wouldn't call you - had they
not sold our Croatia." In Kumrovec a cafe was recently opened called
"The Old Man's," Tito's nickname from the World War II.
On that same day, the Tito society from the Slovenian capital of
Ljubljana visited his grave in Belgrade's House of Flowers. By 3 p.m.,
over 100 people had visited Tito's grave to pay their respects to his
image and his work.
One of the guards at the House of Flowers told TOL that every day
between 50 and 100 people come, and that recently there had been many
Slovenes. In the visitor book are messages written in Chinese,
Italian, Dutch, and English, and in all the languages of the former
Yugoslavia.
One Macedonian woman who recently visited Tito's grave wrote: "I'm
happy that I lived at least a few years in your time."
"In my heart you live forever," wrote one Slovenian woman. "You were
the greatest."
"Tito was the one legendary and true figure in the history of
Yugoslavia."
"I lived only in Tito's time."
"When you left, chaos commenced."
"Revolution is a process, the struggle continues."
COMRADE TITO HAS DIED
On that same 4 May at 3:05 p.m. in the Marshall Tito army barracks in
Sarajevo, a siren sounded, and from the speakers was heard an old
announcement from the Central Committee of the League of Yugoslav
Communists: "Comrade Tito has died."
Thereupon, some 200 Sarajevans of all ages paid their respects to Tito
with a minute's silence, the laying of flowers, and the song "Hvala"
(Thank you). In a speech given by one young girl, Tito was described
as "one of the giants of the 20th century, the man who first
introduced self-management to the world." She added: "Once again shall
young people learn about the work of Josip Broz." Interestingly, a
group of young people from Belgrade was also present at the gathering
in Sarajevo.
Every town in the former Yugoslavia had a street named after Tito. But
today Sarajevo is the only one whose main street is still called
Marshal Tito Street.
Most of the citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina consider Tito a
"positive historical figure." In a survey conducted by the Sarajevo
daily Dnevni avaz and published on the 21st anniversary of Tito's
death, 86 percent of those questioned in the predominantly Bosniak
(Bosnian Muslim). Sarajevo had a positive opinion of Tito's historical
role. Not one person who was questioned expressed a negative opinion
of Tito. In Banja Luka and Capljina, cities with a Serb and a Croat
majority, respectively, only 6 percent of citizens surveyed considered
Tito a negative historical figure.
Tito has been commemorated on film, too. Since his death, three films
have been made in which he plays a part. In Croatia in 1999, Marshal
was the most popular domestic film. Director Vinko Bresan tells the
story of a small Adriatic island on which appears the spirit of Tito.
Although the new Croatian authorities use a police investigation to
try to deny it, as Tito's war veterans descend upon the island, the
chance comes for Tito to lead them into a new revolution to restore
communism.
In a film by Serbian director Zelimir Zilnik, Tito for the Second Time
Among the Serbs, actor Dragoljub Ljubicic Micko walked around the
streets of Belgrade in 1994 wearing Tito's uniform, and people would
approach and talk to him. There is an interesting scene in which a
Belgrader approaches the supposed Tito and says to him: "Comrade
Tito, you are a Croat, I am a Serb, but I loved you so much!" For
the director the greatest surprise was the fact that people spoke to
Tito as though to a living person--no one approached and said: "I
know that you're dead."
"That conversation with the dead Tito was in some way a conversation
with one's own past, with one's own life," Zilnik said.
In the 1992 film Tito and I by Goran Markovic, a 10-year-old boy
writes a letter in which he claims to love Tito more than he loves his
mother and father.
BETTER IN THE DARK
Such opinions and events do not surprise Tito's grandson, who today
works in the catering industry in Belgrade. He says that every country
of the former Yugoslavia is preparing to enter into Europe with great
pomp, and no one mentions that Yugoslavia was once in Europe.
"Just remember our Yugo-passports. They were the most prized in
Europe; we were revered and respected," Tito's grandson told TOL. He
claims that to carry the surname of the former Yugoslav leader is no
burden whatsoever, and that he is very proud of his grandfather: "When
normal people hear my surname I can feel how pleased they are."
Joska is 61 and lives in the house that was left to him by his father,
Zarko, in Belgrade. Like his grandfather and father, he has been
married three times. Asked whether it is part of the family tradition,
he replies that the Brozes have always been people of principles and
they made sure of this with whomever they lived.
From the age of 2 until he was 16, Joska lived with his grandfather.
He remembers that time as the most beautiful period of his life. When
he finished school he worked as head of several hunting estates, and
at one point worked as the closest member of Tito's security. When
Tito died, he immediately left state service. "None of the eight
presidents that succeeded Tito were worthy of my care," he said with a
smile.
Later he went into private business and then entered catering. Today
he runs a hunting restaurant called Lav (Lion) in the old Belgrade
suburb of Zemun, and behind the bar hangs a photograph of his
celebrated grandfather.
According to a Zagreb high school teacher, last year an incident
occurred at her school that wonderfully illustrates the former
Yugoslavia's thoughts about Tito today. A teacher sets her students
the task of writing an essay on the topic "45 years of darkness under
Tito." One student finished after just five minutes, closed his
exercise book, and left the classroom. When the curious teacher opened
the exercise book she saw what the student had written: "May God damn
whoever turned the lights on!"
=
Goran Tarlac is a Belgrade-based journalist.
Copyright © 2003 Transitions Online. All rights reserved.
cation=9&NrIssue=1&NrSection=4&NrArticle=9519&ST1=body&ST_T1=brr&ST_AS1=1&ST=
_max=1
16 May 2003
"Revolution Is a Process, the Struggle Continues"
=
Dead 23 years, worshipped, then scorned, and now worshipped again, the
communist leader of the former Yugoslavia is making a comeback.
by Goran Tarlac
BELGRADE, Serbia and Montenegro - It is 23 years since the death of
Marshal Josip Broz Tito, president of the Socialist Federal Republic
of Yugoslavia (SFRJ), president of the Yugoslav League of Communists
(SKJ), and supreme commander of the Yugoslav People's Army (JNA).
Tito was buried in Belgrade, in a majestic museum known since then as
the House of Flowers (Kuca cvijeca). The funeral was held on a
beautiful sunny day in the presence of 21 presidents, four kings, five
princes, six vice presidents, seven parliamentary leaders, 22 prime
ministers, 13 deputy prime ministers, and 47 foreign ministers. The
UPI news agency described the ceremony as "the greatest meeting of
world leaders of our time, if not in history."
When Tito died on 4 May 1980, the whole of Yugoslavia mourned the
death of the man who for 35 years had sat at its helm and who
symbolized the shared life of all its peoples. Photojournalists
captured people crying on the streets, footballers crying in stadiums,
and in Macedonia an attempted suicide out of grief for comrade Tito.
A few years later, with the first signs of the arrival of democratic
freedom--and nationalism--in the then Yugoslavia, people began to
speak more and more of the once-beloved president as a dictator, "an
iron-fisted ruler," a hedonist dedicated only to personal interest.
To love Tito had ceased to be popular, and was sometimes even
dangerous.
Tito's Yugoslavia has since been reduced to five small states. Tito's
SKJ, the JNA, his policy of ethnic tolerance known as "brotherhood
and unity," the system of self-management, and Yugoslavia's
foreign policy of nonalignment have all disappeared. A wholesale
cleansing of historical memory has taken place, with the renaming of
towns that had carried his name - Titograd, Titovo Uzice, Titov Drvar,
Titovo Velenje, Titov Veles, Titov Vrbas, Titova Mitrovica, and Titova
Korenica - the removal of monuments, pictures, and all manner of
symbols, and the sweeping of all traces from museums and libraries.
"COME BACK, ALL IS FORGIVEN"
Two decades after his death, following a period of war and deep
economic crisis, the concept of "Tito" is more popular in the
countries of the former Yugoslavia than ever before. People pay
tribute in different ways to times when they lived under an
undemocratic system, but lived better and were safer and happier.
To speak positively of Tito and socialist Yugoslavia has become
fashionable once more. Yugo-nostalgia and Tito-nostalgia are
incredibly popular in all the former Yugoslav republics. Today, in
many towns of the former Yugoslavia, one can find graffiti on the
walls of the main squares: "The old man was better," "Come back, all
is forgiven," or "While there was Tito, there was dope."
On 2 May in Subotica, a city in northern Serbia close to the border
with Hungary, the "Fourth Yugoslavia" was proclaimed. The "state" was
founded by a local printer, Blasko Gabric, on his three
hectares of land. The meeting, to which the founder of the latest
Yugoslavia invited "all Yugo-nostalgics, regardless of nationality
or faith, from all former Yugoslav republics, Europe, and the whole
world," was attended by almost 3,000 people. At the corner of his
property Gabric had placed a border stone on which is written in
Cyrillic and Latin, "Yugoslavia" and "While we exist, so, too,
will Yugoslavia."
Those gathered turned to the founder of the fourth Yugoslavia, Gabric,
and to Tito's grandson, Josip Joska Broz, who said that the
destruction of Yugoslavia "by foreign powers and their hirelings"
happened so that one state entity might destroy and succeed another,
far worse than the former. Many pensioners, once Tito's Partisans, at
this point began to cry.
"Yugo-nostalgics want to hold onto their dream, the dream of South
Slavs, the dream of their own Yugoslavia, since it was taken from us
without putting it to the people. The fourth mini-Yugoslavia will be a
meeting place of those for whom the dream of the old shared motherland
never leaves their sleep," Gabric told TOL after the meeting.
And in Uzice, a town in central Serbia that was once called Titovo
Uzice, there are plans to restore an entire complex of museums
dedicated to Tito's era. The idea is, considering the well-attended
museums that exist in the countries of the former Soviet bloc, that
Uzice apply a similar model to the Kadinjaca mountain, the site of a
great battle between Tito's Partisans and Hitler's troops. A Tito
remembrance room, with a bust of Tito, and streets and cafes that
carried his name and the names of his aides would also be restored.
After the rise of Slobodan Milosevic, such features disappeared from
Uzice. In 1991, the grand statue of Tito that had stood in the city
square was taken down and, with general delight, was chucked into the
warehouse of the local Museum of the Revolution. The initiative came
from the municipal authorities led by Milosevic's Socialist Party of
Serbia (SPS).
TITO'S POSTMORTEM TRAVELS
Three years later, another of Tito's statues surfaced in Uzice. It was
brought from the war-ravaged town of Rudo in eastern Bosnia. And so,
the complete bronze statues, which art historians say are the two most
significant sculptures by famous Tito-era sculptor Antun Augustincic
commemorating Josip Broz Tito, met in the town that had once carried
his name. Both monuments had been exhibited in 1950 in the Yugoslav
pavilion at the Venetian Biennale.
Before the idea came about, Tito's grandson, Josip Joska Broz, came to
Uzice with the intention of buying one sculpture. With him in Uzice
was Sinisa Zarin, a private businessman from Novi Sad. He had wanted
to buy a statue to place at the center of a museum of socialist
revolution, which he plans to establish as part of his firm in Novi
Sad.
Before him, Branislav Kaludjerovic from Cetinje, Montenegro, tried to
buy the same statue. He is known for placing an obituary to "comrade
Tito" in the Montenegrin press every 4 May, the day Tito died. In the
obituary, which this year appears in Podgorica's daily Vijesti, is
written: "Comrade Tito, when we were comrades we were gentlemen."
In Uzice, when it occurred to them that so much could be done with the
statues, they decided to not sell either of them and to correct the
mistake of pulling them down.
As things stand now, the project to revitalize the town's communist
heritage will be carried out by giving support to urban art groups
that would work on promoting Tito and the heritage of a state that is
no more. Some projects have already been started, such as one to
establish links with towns in Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia, Macedonia,
and Montenegro that were once named after Tito.
At the end of March, just 25 miles south in Kragujevac, where the
inhabitants are said by the press to be the most anti-communist, a
cafe called "Tito" has opened. The owner has adorned the interior with
photographs and slogans of the former president and a guest book.
A similar cafe, going by the name of "Republika," opened two years
ago in the very center of Belgrade, about 50 yards from the so-called
House of the Army, where until recently literary evenings dedicated to
indicted war criminals Radovan Karadzic and Veselin Sljivancanin were
held.
Besides a large number of photographs and symbols of the former
socialist state, Yugo-nostalgics come here because they are served by
young waitresses dressed in white blouses and red scarves, straight
away associated with the former pioneer uniforms, and because the cafe
plays only rock music from the time of the SFRJ. The visitors are
generally young people, though Serbian Deputy Prime Minister Zarko
Korac is also said to drop in regularly.
REVIVING TITO
In neighboring Croatia, organized trips to Tito's birthplace in
Kumrovec are becoming increasingly popular. On 4 May this year, more
than 2,000 people of various ages gathered in Kumrovec to pay their
respects to the former president.
The gathering was organized by the Josip Broz Tito Society and the
Union of Croatian Anti-Fascist Fighters, and they sang old partisan
songs, as well as a few new ones: "Dear Lord, Croats beg you - return
comrade Tito to us," "Comrade Tito, we wouldn't call you - had they
not sold our Croatia." In Kumrovec a cafe was recently opened called
"The Old Man's," Tito's nickname from the World War II.
On that same day, the Tito society from the Slovenian capital of
Ljubljana visited his grave in Belgrade's House of Flowers. By 3 p.m.,
over 100 people had visited Tito's grave to pay their respects to his
image and his work.
One of the guards at the House of Flowers told TOL that every day
between 50 and 100 people come, and that recently there had been many
Slovenes. In the visitor book are messages written in Chinese,
Italian, Dutch, and English, and in all the languages of the former
Yugoslavia.
One Macedonian woman who recently visited Tito's grave wrote: "I'm
happy that I lived at least a few years in your time."
"In my heart you live forever," wrote one Slovenian woman. "You were
the greatest."
"Tito was the one legendary and true figure in the history of
Yugoslavia."
"I lived only in Tito's time."
"When you left, chaos commenced."
"Revolution is a process, the struggle continues."
COMRADE TITO HAS DIED
On that same 4 May at 3:05 p.m. in the Marshall Tito army barracks in
Sarajevo, a siren sounded, and from the speakers was heard an old
announcement from the Central Committee of the League of Yugoslav
Communists: "Comrade Tito has died."
Thereupon, some 200 Sarajevans of all ages paid their respects to Tito
with a minute's silence, the laying of flowers, and the song "Hvala"
(Thank you). In a speech given by one young girl, Tito was described
as "one of the giants of the 20th century, the man who first
introduced self-management to the world." She added: "Once again shall
young people learn about the work of Josip Broz." Interestingly, a
group of young people from Belgrade was also present at the gathering
in Sarajevo.
Every town in the former Yugoslavia had a street named after Tito. But
today Sarajevo is the only one whose main street is still called
Marshal Tito Street.
Most of the citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina consider Tito a
"positive historical figure." In a survey conducted by the Sarajevo
daily Dnevni avaz and published on the 21st anniversary of Tito's
death, 86 percent of those questioned in the predominantly Bosniak
(Bosnian Muslim). Sarajevo had a positive opinion of Tito's historical
role. Not one person who was questioned expressed a negative opinion
of Tito. In Banja Luka and Capljina, cities with a Serb and a Croat
majority, respectively, only 6 percent of citizens surveyed considered
Tito a negative historical figure.
Tito has been commemorated on film, too. Since his death, three films
have been made in which he plays a part. In Croatia in 1999, Marshal
was the most popular domestic film. Director Vinko Bresan tells the
story of a small Adriatic island on which appears the spirit of Tito.
Although the new Croatian authorities use a police investigation to
try to deny it, as Tito's war veterans descend upon the island, the
chance comes for Tito to lead them into a new revolution to restore
communism.
In a film by Serbian director Zelimir Zilnik, Tito for the Second Time
Among the Serbs, actor Dragoljub Ljubicic Micko walked around the
streets of Belgrade in 1994 wearing Tito's uniform, and people would
approach and talk to him. There is an interesting scene in which a
Belgrader approaches the supposed Tito and says to him: "Comrade
Tito, you are a Croat, I am a Serb, but I loved you so much!" For
the director the greatest surprise was the fact that people spoke to
Tito as though to a living person--no one approached and said: "I
know that you're dead."
"That conversation with the dead Tito was in some way a conversation
with one's own past, with one's own life," Zilnik said.
In the 1992 film Tito and I by Goran Markovic, a 10-year-old boy
writes a letter in which he claims to love Tito more than he loves his
mother and father.
BETTER IN THE DARK
Such opinions and events do not surprise Tito's grandson, who today
works in the catering industry in Belgrade. He says that every country
of the former Yugoslavia is preparing to enter into Europe with great
pomp, and no one mentions that Yugoslavia was once in Europe.
"Just remember our Yugo-passports. They were the most prized in
Europe; we were revered and respected," Tito's grandson told TOL. He
claims that to carry the surname of the former Yugoslav leader is no
burden whatsoever, and that he is very proud of his grandfather: "When
normal people hear my surname I can feel how pleased they are."
Joska is 61 and lives in the house that was left to him by his father,
Zarko, in Belgrade. Like his grandfather and father, he has been
married three times. Asked whether it is part of the family tradition,
he replies that the Brozes have always been people of principles and
they made sure of this with whomever they lived.
From the age of 2 until he was 16, Joska lived with his grandfather.
He remembers that time as the most beautiful period of his life. When
he finished school he worked as head of several hunting estates, and
at one point worked as the closest member of Tito's security. When
Tito died, he immediately left state service. "None of the eight
presidents that succeeded Tito were worthy of my care," he said with a
smile.
Later he went into private business and then entered catering. Today
he runs a hunting restaurant called Lav (Lion) in the old Belgrade
suburb of Zemun, and behind the bar hangs a photograph of his
celebrated grandfather.
According to a Zagreb high school teacher, last year an incident
occurred at her school that wonderfully illustrates the former
Yugoslavia's thoughts about Tito today. A teacher sets her students
the task of writing an essay on the topic "45 years of darkness under
Tito." One student finished after just five minutes, closed his
exercise book, and left the classroom. When the curious teacher opened
the exercise book she saw what the student had written: "May God damn
whoever turned the lights on!"
=
Goran Tarlac is a Belgrade-based journalist.
Copyright © 2003 Transitions Online. All rights reserved.
1. Internat. Demonstration to support Slobodan Milosevic
The Hague, June 28, 03
2. Hague protest to demand freedom for Yugoslav workers
By John Catalinotto
Reprinted from the May 29, 2003, issue of Workers World newspaper
3. Down with NATO's mafia govt in Belgrade!
Anti-imperialist Camp
4. ICTY Sets Milosevic Case Deadline
(People's Daily, China, 21/5/2003)
5. Milosevic trial may run to 2005 after prosecutors win more time
Agence France-Presse, May 20, 2003
=== 1 ===
From: "Klaus von Raussendorff" <redaktion@...>
Sent: Monday, May 19, 2003 1:31 PM
Subject: Internat. Demonstration to support Slobodan Milosevic (The
Hague, June 28, 03)
YUGOSLAVIA, AFGHANISTAN, IRAQ... WHO'S NEXT?
STOP USA! - FREE SLOBODAN MILOSEVIC!
On the occasion of the second anniversary of the kidnapping of the
former president of Yugoslavia there will be an
International Demonstration
in The Hague/Netherlands, Saturday, June 28, 2003
Slandered from the outset, Slobodan Milosevic, the Socialist Party of
Serbia and all patriotic forces resisted the shattering of Yugoslavia
into weak, racially segregated territories, resisted domination by the
IMF and World Bank, resisted penetration by the Macdonald's culture
and resisted NATO-dominated racist-terrorist forces cynically
disguised as freedom fighters. It is because of these acts of
principle that NATO has put him on 'trial' in The Hague.
In that trial President Milosevic refuses to make a deal to save
himself but continues to expose the crimes of violence and racism
committed by NATO and its proxy forces against Yugoslavia.
Slobodan Milosevic was overthrown by a "regime change" made in USA.
Yugoslavia is now being wrecked economically, socially and culturally,
under USA/German domination. President Milosevic has become the first
political prisoner of the so-called "globalisation" of capitalist
exploitation. By kidnapping and putting on "trial" a popularly elected
President of a sovereign state, NATO and their "tribunal" have
established the gravest precedent for the destruction of the
sovereignty of states.
After the military invasions in Afghanistan and Iraq the US government
and their allies continue to blackmail many more nations into
subjugation by economic sanctions, the threat of mass destruction and
destabilization through "dissident" and "opposition" forces organized
from outside.
We, the signatories of this appeal, wish to remind all people in the
anti war and social movements that for our future struggles against
the threat of war it is of utmost importance to remain persistent in
our opposition and protest against previous acts of aggression and
their continuation in the form of occupation and subjugation of
countries, sell out of their wealth and resources to transnational
corporations and, last not least, the "trial" of their leaders.
Recalling the verdicts rendered by independent popular tribunals in
Berlin and New York on NATO leaders for their aggression and war
crimes committed against the former Yugoslavia we call on honest
people of all political convictions and all walks of life to join in
the demonstration
in order to demand:
- the abolishment of the illegal Hague "Tribunal", an instrument of
aggression and occupation
- the release of Slobodan Milosevic, who has shown by his outstanding
defence that he is indicted only to divert attention from NATO war
crimes and to impose foreign control on his people
- reparation payments to be made by NATO governments responsible for
all damages caused by their war of aggression against Yugoslavia
DOWNLOAD THE DEMO LEAFLETS AT:
http://it.groups.yahoo.com/group/crj-mailinglist/files/AIA/
=== 2 ===
http://www.workers.org/ww/2003/milos0529.php
Hague protest to demand freedom for Yugoslav workers
By John Catalinotto
European groups that have been defending former Yugoslav President
Slobodan Milosevic, along with organizations of the Yugoslav diaspora,
are issuing a call for a demonstration in The Hague, Netherlands, on
June 28, demanding his freedom.
It was on that date two years ago that Milosevic was kidnapped from
Belgrade by NATO forces and brought to The Hague. It is also St. Vitus
Day, a date commemorated in Serbia for its significance in the
struggle against foreign oppressors in 1389.
The call states clearly the reasons NATO went after President
Milosevic.
"Slandered from the outset," it reads, "Slobodan Milosevic, the
Socialist Party of Serbia and all patriotic forces resisted the
shattering of Yugoslavia into weak, racially segregated territories,
resisted domination by the IMF and World Bank, resisted penetration by
the McDonald's culture and resisted NATO-dominated racist-terrorist
forces cynically disguised as freedom fighters. It is because of these
acts of principle that NATO has put him on 'trial' in The Hague.
"In that trial President Milosevic refuses to make a deal to save
himself but continues to expose the crimes of violence and racism
committed by NATO and its proxy forces against Yugoslavia.
"Slobodan Milosevic was overthrown by a 'regime change' made in the
USA. Yugoslavia is now being wrecked economically, socially and
culturally, under USA/German domination. President Milosevic has
become the first political prisoner of the so-called 'globalization'
of capitalist exploitation. By kidnapping and putting on 'trial' a
popularly elected president of a sovereign state, NATO and their
'tribunal' have established the gravest precedent for the destruction
of the sovereignty of states.
"After the military invasions in Afghanistan and Iraq, the U.S.
government and its allies continue to blackmail many more nations into
subjugation by economic sanctions, the threat of mass destruction and
destabilization through 'dissident' and 'opposition' forces organized
from outside."
The International Action Center, which was active in leading the
anti-war struggle in the United States during the U.S./NATO bombing of
Yugoslavia in 1999, has added its support to the call and will send a
representative to The Hague on June 28.
Reprinted from the May 29, 2003, issue of Workers World newspaper
(Copyright Workers World Service: Everyone is permitted to copy and
distribute verbatim copies of this document, but changing it is not
allowed. For more information contact Workers World, 55 W. 17 St., NY,
NY 10011; via email: ww@.... Subscribe
wwnews-on@.... Unsubscribe wwnews-off@.... Support
independent news http://www.workers.org/orders/donate.php)
=== 3 ===
Down with NATO's mafia govt in Belgrade!
Within less than three years Djindjic and his so-called Democratic
Opposition (DOS) succeeded in destroying the last remnants of
Yugoslavia and transforming it into a Latin American style third world
oligarchy.
Djindjic was the only common point which kept together his
heterogeneous clique of Habermasian civil society intellectuals,
ultra-liberal mouthpieces of IMF, war profiteers, praetorians and
simple gangsters, while his anti-popular regime was rapidly loosing
ground:
Although the neo-liberal "shock therapy" has proved a complete failure
all over Eastern Europe as well as in Argentine it was applied once
again on Yugoslavia. The radical policy of open market and the
privatisation of the financial and industrial sector completely
destroyed the remains of the national economy. Prices soared and wages
plunged precipitating the majority into misery while a small layer
made enormous fortunes. While unemployment is skyrocketing the social
system is being dismantled.
All the promises of the nationalist fig leaves to defend Serbian
integrity against fragmentation brought about by imperialist
aggression and blamed on the Milosevic government turned out to be
cheap lies. Yugoslavia has eventually being dismantled splitting away
Montenegro. Kosovo remains under NATO occupation being successively
albanised, the Serbian Kraijna is completely ethnically cleansed and
the Bosnian Serbs continue to live under the dictatorial rule of EU
and NATO imposed protectorate. In South Serbia the Albanian
nationalist guerrilla is carrying on their struggle for secession and
subsequent unification into a Great Albania without being curbed by
NATO. The plans to fragment even Serbia proper by giving further
autonomy to Sandjak and Voivodina are being pressed ahead.
The Hague "tribunal" has been imposed violating the rules of the UN in
order to legitimise NATO's aggression. The anti-imperialist resistance
of the Yugoslav and Serb people is to be condemned and abased. Like
during medieval witch hunts whose aggressed should be forced to accuse
themselves voluntarily and thus absolve the aggressor. But in his
brave defence Milosevic keeps destroying the amalgam of the tribunal
in which both the prosecutor and the judge are NATO puppets and the
judgement is already decided.
While the Djindjic regime, in order to co-operate with its foreign
masters, has been violating the constitution by extraditing Yugoslav
citizen to the Hague, the people continue opposing by majority the
tribunal's attempt to criminalize their decade long resistance.
When Djindjic wanted to get rid of his powerful mafia companions who
brought him to power by means of a coup d'etat and threatened to
extradite them to the Hague they assassinated him.
On the brink of collapse the Djindjic clique passed to the offensive
by imposing the state of emergency. Elementary democratic rights were
suspended, strict censorship imposed, the opposition media outlets
closed down, 10.000 people taken into custody and interrogated among
them 2.000 still not released. While announcing a crackdown on the
"organised crime" (which they are in fact politically representing)
they are really targeting all the left remnants remaining within the
state apparatus. It was not by accident that those organising the
defence of Slobodan Milosevic were hit as well. Actually it is the
second part of the pro-imperialist coup d'etat.
The state of emergency had to be lifted after one month. But several
dictatorial measures continue to be in place. The media is completely
in Western hands. There is virtually no more freedom of expression.
Hence the democracy of Western brand for which the American empire in
waging wars around the world. But they will not pass. The popular
resistance in continuing whether in Serbia, Iraq or Colombia.
Free Slobodan Milosevic!
Dissolve the Hague inquisition tribunal!
Restore elementary democratic rights in Serbia!
NATO out of the Balkans!
Demonstration on Vidovdan (the Serbian national day commemorating the
defeat on Kosovo Polje, the assassination of Sarajevo, the extradition
of Milosevic)
The Hague, June 28, 2 pm
Churchillplain 10
Anti-imperialist Camp
************************************
Antiimperialist Camp
PF 23, A-1040 Vienna, Austria
camp@...
www.antiimperialista.org/en
************************************
=== 4 ===
ICTY Sets Milosevic Case Deadline
http://fpeng.peopledaily.com.cn/200305/21/print20030521_116961.html
International Criminal Tribunal Sets Milosevic Case Deadline
Judges at International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia
(ICTY) set prosecutors a 100-day deadline on Tuesday to complete the
case on Slobodan Milosevic.
Considering a summer break and rest days, the ICTY ruling effectively
means prosecutors must end their case against the former Yugoslav
president before the end of December.
Milosevic, accused by the Hague-based court of genocide, crimesagainst
humanity and war crimes in the Balkans in the 1990s, is defending
himself. The deadline raises the prospect of him launching his defense
early next year.
The trial, which started in February 2002, has been adjourned several
times because of Milosevic's frequent illness. It has heard evidence
from more than 180 witnesses covering three conflicts spanning almost
a decade in the Balkans.
In a written ruling, Judges ordered prosecutors to finish calling more
than 170 witnesses within 100 days in court from May 16. The tribunal
takes a three-week break in August and also takesregular breaks to
allow Milosevic to rest.
The ICTY prosecutors earlier this month appealed for more time after
telling judges they could not meet a deadline set last year to wrap up
the case this month.
"The trial chamber has come to the conclusion that it would be in the
interests of justice to allow some variation in the time limit to
allow the prosecution more time to call further witnessesit regards as
essential," judges said in the ruling.
People's Daily Online --- http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/
=== 5 ===
HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK
---------------------------
http://sg.news.yahoo.com/030520/1/3b37k.html
[This unconscionable screed, recognizable by all but
the most incurably indoctrinated for what it is, is an
indication of to what extent the establishment media
stokes the fires of war and the latter's inexorable
descent into persecuting the defeated victims so as to
retroactively excuse the perpetrators' war crimes.
Even the Third Reich permitted Georgi Dmitrov the
opportunity to - forcefully - win an acquital.]
Agence France-Presse
May 20, 2003
Milosevic trial may run to 2005 after prosecutors win
more time
The war crimes trial of Slobodan Milosevic could now
stretch well into 2005 after the prosecution won more
time to present its case against the former Yugoslav
leader.
Judges at the UN war crimes court in The Hague granted
prosecutors another 100 trial days "in the interest of
justice" and they are now expected to wrap up their
case by the end of this year.
Milosevic, standing trial on more than 60 charges of
war crimes and crimes against humanity for his role in
the 1990s wars in Bosnia, Croatia and Kosovo, will
then have nearly two years to present his defence.
But observers said the trial could run even longer if
Milosevic's ill health, which has led to the
interruption of the proceedings seven times since it
opened in February last year, emerges as a problem
again.
The prosecution was to have wrapped up its case by May
16, but it asked for more time to complete the
presentation of evidence on the 1991-1995 conflict in
Croatia and the war in Bosnia from 1992-95, for which
Milosevic also faces a charge of genocide, the gravest
of war crimes.
Prosecutors at the International Criminal Tribunal for
the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) have already presented
their evidence over the 1999 Serb crackdown against
Albanians in the province of Kosovo.
Milosevic, 61, a lawyer by training, has branded the
UN court illegal and defiantly conducted his own
defence.
Although doctors say he runs the risk of a heart
attack because of high blood pressure, Milosevic is
said to spend his nights in the tribunal's detention
centre pouring over thousands of pages of court
documents.
He has two handpicked legal advisors from Belgrade who
consult with him on strategy but he does not allow
anyone to speak for him in court.
The former Yugoslav president was ousted from power in
October 2000 after a popular uprising, ending 13 years
in power that saw the bloody breakup of the former
Yugoslavia.
Presiding judge Richard May said the court had to
"strike a balance" between allowing the prosecution
enough time and ensuring an expeditious trial.
But May said the judges would not allow any more extra
time for prosecutors because their case would become
"excessively long and oppressive to all concerned, in
particular the accused."
Even if the trial ends in 2005, Milosevic -- who faces
a life sentence if convicted -- could still lodge
appeals that could also take years to go through the
UN court system.
After the judges announced their decision Tuesday's
hearing continued with the cross-examination of Renaud
de la Brosse, a French expert on the use of the media
and political propaganda for Serb nationalist ends.
"By making up lies, inventing differences and
overplaying oppositions between communities, the
television, radio and written press played a dangerous
game," de la Brosse said.
The coverage "made it possible to inspire and arouse
hatred and fear among communities" in the former
Yugoslavia, he added.
The Hague, June 28, 03
2. Hague protest to demand freedom for Yugoslav workers
By John Catalinotto
Reprinted from the May 29, 2003, issue of Workers World newspaper
3. Down with NATO's mafia govt in Belgrade!
Anti-imperialist Camp
4. ICTY Sets Milosevic Case Deadline
(People's Daily, China, 21/5/2003)
5. Milosevic trial may run to 2005 after prosecutors win more time
Agence France-Presse, May 20, 2003
=== 1 ===
From: "Klaus von Raussendorff" <redaktion@...>
Sent: Monday, May 19, 2003 1:31 PM
Subject: Internat. Demonstration to support Slobodan Milosevic (The
Hague, June 28, 03)
YUGOSLAVIA, AFGHANISTAN, IRAQ... WHO'S NEXT?
STOP USA! - FREE SLOBODAN MILOSEVIC!
On the occasion of the second anniversary of the kidnapping of the
former president of Yugoslavia there will be an
International Demonstration
in The Hague/Netherlands, Saturday, June 28, 2003
Slandered from the outset, Slobodan Milosevic, the Socialist Party of
Serbia and all patriotic forces resisted the shattering of Yugoslavia
into weak, racially segregated territories, resisted domination by the
IMF and World Bank, resisted penetration by the Macdonald's culture
and resisted NATO-dominated racist-terrorist forces cynically
disguised as freedom fighters. It is because of these acts of
principle that NATO has put him on 'trial' in The Hague.
In that trial President Milosevic refuses to make a deal to save
himself but continues to expose the crimes of violence and racism
committed by NATO and its proxy forces against Yugoslavia.
Slobodan Milosevic was overthrown by a "regime change" made in USA.
Yugoslavia is now being wrecked economically, socially and culturally,
under USA/German domination. President Milosevic has become the first
political prisoner of the so-called "globalisation" of capitalist
exploitation. By kidnapping and putting on "trial" a popularly elected
President of a sovereign state, NATO and their "tribunal" have
established the gravest precedent for the destruction of the
sovereignty of states.
After the military invasions in Afghanistan and Iraq the US government
and their allies continue to blackmail many more nations into
subjugation by economic sanctions, the threat of mass destruction and
destabilization through "dissident" and "opposition" forces organized
from outside.
We, the signatories of this appeal, wish to remind all people in the
anti war and social movements that for our future struggles against
the threat of war it is of utmost importance to remain persistent in
our opposition and protest against previous acts of aggression and
their continuation in the form of occupation and subjugation of
countries, sell out of their wealth and resources to transnational
corporations and, last not least, the "trial" of their leaders.
Recalling the verdicts rendered by independent popular tribunals in
Berlin and New York on NATO leaders for their aggression and war
crimes committed against the former Yugoslavia we call on honest
people of all political convictions and all walks of life to join in
the demonstration
in order to demand:
- the abolishment of the illegal Hague "Tribunal", an instrument of
aggression and occupation
- the release of Slobodan Milosevic, who has shown by his outstanding
defence that he is indicted only to divert attention from NATO war
crimes and to impose foreign control on his people
- reparation payments to be made by NATO governments responsible for
all damages caused by their war of aggression against Yugoslavia
DOWNLOAD THE DEMO LEAFLETS AT:
http://it.groups.yahoo.com/group/crj-mailinglist/files/AIA/
=== 2 ===
http://www.workers.org/ww/2003/milos0529.php
Hague protest to demand freedom for Yugoslav workers
By John Catalinotto
European groups that have been defending former Yugoslav President
Slobodan Milosevic, along with organizations of the Yugoslav diaspora,
are issuing a call for a demonstration in The Hague, Netherlands, on
June 28, demanding his freedom.
It was on that date two years ago that Milosevic was kidnapped from
Belgrade by NATO forces and brought to The Hague. It is also St. Vitus
Day, a date commemorated in Serbia for its significance in the
struggle against foreign oppressors in 1389.
The call states clearly the reasons NATO went after President
Milosevic.
"Slandered from the outset," it reads, "Slobodan Milosevic, the
Socialist Party of Serbia and all patriotic forces resisted the
shattering of Yugoslavia into weak, racially segregated territories,
resisted domination by the IMF and World Bank, resisted penetration by
the McDonald's culture and resisted NATO-dominated racist-terrorist
forces cynically disguised as freedom fighters. It is because of these
acts of principle that NATO has put him on 'trial' in The Hague.
"In that trial President Milosevic refuses to make a deal to save
himself but continues to expose the crimes of violence and racism
committed by NATO and its proxy forces against Yugoslavia.
"Slobodan Milosevic was overthrown by a 'regime change' made in the
USA. Yugoslavia is now being wrecked economically, socially and
culturally, under USA/German domination. President Milosevic has
become the first political prisoner of the so-called 'globalization'
of capitalist exploitation. By kidnapping and putting on 'trial' a
popularly elected president of a sovereign state, NATO and their
'tribunal' have established the gravest precedent for the destruction
of the sovereignty of states.
"After the military invasions in Afghanistan and Iraq, the U.S.
government and its allies continue to blackmail many more nations into
subjugation by economic sanctions, the threat of mass destruction and
destabilization through 'dissident' and 'opposition' forces organized
from outside."
The International Action Center, which was active in leading the
anti-war struggle in the United States during the U.S./NATO bombing of
Yugoslavia in 1999, has added its support to the call and will send a
representative to The Hague on June 28.
Reprinted from the May 29, 2003, issue of Workers World newspaper
(Copyright Workers World Service: Everyone is permitted to copy and
distribute verbatim copies of this document, but changing it is not
allowed. For more information contact Workers World, 55 W. 17 St., NY,
NY 10011; via email: ww@.... Subscribe
wwnews-on@.... Unsubscribe wwnews-off@.... Support
independent news http://www.workers.org/orders/donate.php)
=== 3 ===
Down with NATO's mafia govt in Belgrade!
Within less than three years Djindjic and his so-called Democratic
Opposition (DOS) succeeded in destroying the last remnants of
Yugoslavia and transforming it into a Latin American style third world
oligarchy.
Djindjic was the only common point which kept together his
heterogeneous clique of Habermasian civil society intellectuals,
ultra-liberal mouthpieces of IMF, war profiteers, praetorians and
simple gangsters, while his anti-popular regime was rapidly loosing
ground:
Although the neo-liberal "shock therapy" has proved a complete failure
all over Eastern Europe as well as in Argentine it was applied once
again on Yugoslavia. The radical policy of open market and the
privatisation of the financial and industrial sector completely
destroyed the remains of the national economy. Prices soared and wages
plunged precipitating the majority into misery while a small layer
made enormous fortunes. While unemployment is skyrocketing the social
system is being dismantled.
All the promises of the nationalist fig leaves to defend Serbian
integrity against fragmentation brought about by imperialist
aggression and blamed on the Milosevic government turned out to be
cheap lies. Yugoslavia has eventually being dismantled splitting away
Montenegro. Kosovo remains under NATO occupation being successively
albanised, the Serbian Kraijna is completely ethnically cleansed and
the Bosnian Serbs continue to live under the dictatorial rule of EU
and NATO imposed protectorate. In South Serbia the Albanian
nationalist guerrilla is carrying on their struggle for secession and
subsequent unification into a Great Albania without being curbed by
NATO. The plans to fragment even Serbia proper by giving further
autonomy to Sandjak and Voivodina are being pressed ahead.
The Hague "tribunal" has been imposed violating the rules of the UN in
order to legitimise NATO's aggression. The anti-imperialist resistance
of the Yugoslav and Serb people is to be condemned and abased. Like
during medieval witch hunts whose aggressed should be forced to accuse
themselves voluntarily and thus absolve the aggressor. But in his
brave defence Milosevic keeps destroying the amalgam of the tribunal
in which both the prosecutor and the judge are NATO puppets and the
judgement is already decided.
While the Djindjic regime, in order to co-operate with its foreign
masters, has been violating the constitution by extraditing Yugoslav
citizen to the Hague, the people continue opposing by majority the
tribunal's attempt to criminalize their decade long resistance.
When Djindjic wanted to get rid of his powerful mafia companions who
brought him to power by means of a coup d'etat and threatened to
extradite them to the Hague they assassinated him.
On the brink of collapse the Djindjic clique passed to the offensive
by imposing the state of emergency. Elementary democratic rights were
suspended, strict censorship imposed, the opposition media outlets
closed down, 10.000 people taken into custody and interrogated among
them 2.000 still not released. While announcing a crackdown on the
"organised crime" (which they are in fact politically representing)
they are really targeting all the left remnants remaining within the
state apparatus. It was not by accident that those organising the
defence of Slobodan Milosevic were hit as well. Actually it is the
second part of the pro-imperialist coup d'etat.
The state of emergency had to be lifted after one month. But several
dictatorial measures continue to be in place. The media is completely
in Western hands. There is virtually no more freedom of expression.
Hence the democracy of Western brand for which the American empire in
waging wars around the world. But they will not pass. The popular
resistance in continuing whether in Serbia, Iraq or Colombia.
Free Slobodan Milosevic!
Dissolve the Hague inquisition tribunal!
Restore elementary democratic rights in Serbia!
NATO out of the Balkans!
Demonstration on Vidovdan (the Serbian national day commemorating the
defeat on Kosovo Polje, the assassination of Sarajevo, the extradition
of Milosevic)
The Hague, June 28, 2 pm
Churchillplain 10
Anti-imperialist Camp
************************************
Antiimperialist Camp
PF 23, A-1040 Vienna, Austria
camp@...
www.antiimperialista.org/en
************************************
=== 4 ===
ICTY Sets Milosevic Case Deadline
http://fpeng.peopledaily.com.cn/200305/21/print20030521_116961.html
International Criminal Tribunal Sets Milosevic Case Deadline
Judges at International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia
(ICTY) set prosecutors a 100-day deadline on Tuesday to complete the
case on Slobodan Milosevic.
Considering a summer break and rest days, the ICTY ruling effectively
means prosecutors must end their case against the former Yugoslav
president before the end of December.
Milosevic, accused by the Hague-based court of genocide, crimesagainst
humanity and war crimes in the Balkans in the 1990s, is defending
himself. The deadline raises the prospect of him launching his defense
early next year.
The trial, which started in February 2002, has been adjourned several
times because of Milosevic's frequent illness. It has heard evidence
from more than 180 witnesses covering three conflicts spanning almost
a decade in the Balkans.
In a written ruling, Judges ordered prosecutors to finish calling more
than 170 witnesses within 100 days in court from May 16. The tribunal
takes a three-week break in August and also takesregular breaks to
allow Milosevic to rest.
The ICTY prosecutors earlier this month appealed for more time after
telling judges they could not meet a deadline set last year to wrap up
the case this month.
"The trial chamber has come to the conclusion that it would be in the
interests of justice to allow some variation in the time limit to
allow the prosecution more time to call further witnessesit regards as
essential," judges said in the ruling.
People's Daily Online --- http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/
=== 5 ===
HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK
---------------------------
http://sg.news.yahoo.com/030520/1/3b37k.html
[This unconscionable screed, recognizable by all but
the most incurably indoctrinated for what it is, is an
indication of to what extent the establishment media
stokes the fires of war and the latter's inexorable
descent into persecuting the defeated victims so as to
retroactively excuse the perpetrators' war crimes.
Even the Third Reich permitted Georgi Dmitrov the
opportunity to - forcefully - win an acquital.]
Agence France-Presse
May 20, 2003
Milosevic trial may run to 2005 after prosecutors win
more time
The war crimes trial of Slobodan Milosevic could now
stretch well into 2005 after the prosecution won more
time to present its case against the former Yugoslav
leader.
Judges at the UN war crimes court in The Hague granted
prosecutors another 100 trial days "in the interest of
justice" and they are now expected to wrap up their
case by the end of this year.
Milosevic, standing trial on more than 60 charges of
war crimes and crimes against humanity for his role in
the 1990s wars in Bosnia, Croatia and Kosovo, will
then have nearly two years to present his defence.
But observers said the trial could run even longer if
Milosevic's ill health, which has led to the
interruption of the proceedings seven times since it
opened in February last year, emerges as a problem
again.
The prosecution was to have wrapped up its case by May
16, but it asked for more time to complete the
presentation of evidence on the 1991-1995 conflict in
Croatia and the war in Bosnia from 1992-95, for which
Milosevic also faces a charge of genocide, the gravest
of war crimes.
Prosecutors at the International Criminal Tribunal for
the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) have already presented
their evidence over the 1999 Serb crackdown against
Albanians in the province of Kosovo.
Milosevic, 61, a lawyer by training, has branded the
UN court illegal and defiantly conducted his own
defence.
Although doctors say he runs the risk of a heart
attack because of high blood pressure, Milosevic is
said to spend his nights in the tribunal's detention
centre pouring over thousands of pages of court
documents.
He has two handpicked legal advisors from Belgrade who
consult with him on strategy but he does not allow
anyone to speak for him in court.
The former Yugoslav president was ousted from power in
October 2000 after a popular uprising, ending 13 years
in power that saw the bloody breakup of the former
Yugoslavia.
Presiding judge Richard May said the court had to
"strike a balance" between allowing the prosecution
enough time and ensuring an expeditious trial.
But May said the judges would not allow any more extra
time for prosecutors because their case would become
"excessively long and oppressive to all concerned, in
particular the accused."
Even if the trial ends in 2005, Milosevic -- who faces
a life sentence if convicted -- could still lodge
appeals that could also take years to go through the
UN court system.
After the judges announced their decision Tuesday's
hearing continued with the cross-examination of Renaud
de la Brosse, a French expert on the use of the media
and political propaganda for Serb nationalist ends.
"By making up lies, inventing differences and
overplaying oppositions between communities, the
television, radio and written press played a dangerous
game," de la Brosse said.
The coverage "made it possible to inspire and arouse
hatred and fear among communities" in the former
Yugoslavia, he added.
http://www.artel.co.yu/sr/reakcije_citalaca/2003-04-09_5.html
Kosovo i Metohija: Propaganda i istina
Rade Drobac
Beograd, 09. april 2003. godine
Beleska autora: tekst sam pisao januara 1999. g. za
potrebe Saveznoig ministarstva za inostrane poslove a
sada sam ga aktuelizovao u uverenju da je korisno
ponoviti argumente koji i danas imaju jednaku
vrednost a koje smo, u poplavi dnevnih vesti i
dezinformacija, mozda izgubili iz vida.
UVOD
Kosovo i Metohija su jedna od najcescih tema u
politickim krugovima u inostranstvu, medjunarodnim
organizacijama i svetskim medijima ve? du?i niz
godina.. Kada bi se analizirala kolicina izrecenog,
napisanog i snimljenog , moglo bi se pomisliti da je o
ovom pitanju sve i vise nego poznato i da je vec
svima jasno o cemu se tu radi, ko je tu kriv i zasto, i
koga treba braniti. Medjutim, kolicina i vrsta
informacija koje kruze o Kosovu i Metohiji obnuto je
srazmerna stvarnom razumevanju zbivanja u ovoj
juznoj srpskoj pokrajini. Poznavaocima stanja i
problematike cini se da sto se vise o Kosovu i
Metohiji govori, sve je vise zabluda i pogresnih
predstava. Kako je ovo moguce? Iako zvuci
nelogicno, moguce je jer se na ovom delu srpske
teritorije preplicu drzavni i nacionalni interesi
Republike Srbije i SRJ, velikoalbanske aspiracije
albanskih separatista i terorista i globalni i stgrateski
interesi nekih velikih sila, koje nesumnjivo raspolazu
mogucnostima i nacinima da, u funkciji ostvarivanja
ciljeva sopstvene politike, istinu pretvore u laz i laz u
istinu. Kosovo i Metohija je jedan od primera koji
nedvosmisleno dokazuje da se oni ne libe da to i ucine
ne vodeci, pri tome, racuna o stvarnim cinjenicama,
niti o interesima onih koji u ovoj srpskoj pokrajini
zive, iako se za to verbalno zalazu, niti se pridrzavaju
principa koje su sami proklamovali i koje silom
namecu drugima. Neupuceni bi se mogli zapitati zbog
cega je nekom potrebno da manipulise cinjenicama?
Zbog toga da bi, prikazujuci stanje, aktere i zbivanja u
svetlu koji odgovara sopstvenim interesima,
mobilisao sto veci broj politickih faktora u svetu u
podrsci ostvarivanju sopstvenih ciljeva, isfabrikovao
dogadjaje koji treba da nateraju medjunarodne
organizacije i institucije da legalizuju odredjene
politicke i vojne akcije uperene protiv zacrtanog
protivnika i, napokon, da bi se pred medjunarodnim
javnim mnjenjem stvorio utisak o pravednosti
sopstvenog delovanja.
Brojni su primeri manipulacija koje su uspele i donele
velike nesrece celim narodima. Na srecu bilo je i
pokusaja manipulacija, koji su osujeceni i njihovi
negativni efekti spreceni. Kada je Kosovo i Metohija
u pitanju, najpoznatji takav slucaj je pokusaj
inscenacije masovnog masakra albanskih civila od
strane srpske policije u selu Racak. Teroristi koji su u
prethodnom periodu izvrsili vise napada na policiju i
civile u tom regionu napali su policiju koja je na
napad odgovorila i tom prilikom ubila vise desetina
terorista. Preko noci su ti teroristi preobuceni i
proglaseni civilima, a sve to su legalizovali visoki
predstavnici najuglednijih madjunarodnih
organizacija i vodecih sila sveta. Na srecu, ima
postenih novinara koji su to videli i prevaru
obelodanili.
Kada se pojedinci ne libe ovako otvorenih i grubih
manipulacija, moze se zamisliti kakve se sve zablude
i pogresne predstave, putem sofisticiranih,
globalizovanih i centralizovanih uticajnih medija, PR
agencija i lobi grupa, sire u svetu, stvarajuci o Kosovu
i Metohiji potpuno pogresne predstave.
Nije moguce na jednom mestu izneti sve te neistine i
maniplulacije, ali cemo nabrojati one najcesce i
najvaznije.
1. LAZ: Albanci na Kosovu i Metohiji prisiljeni su
da se bune jer je rezim u Srbiji nedemokratski?
ISTINA:Problem separatistickog albanskog
delovanja na Kosovu i Metohiji postoji vec vise od sto
godina. Njegovi temelji udareni su jos 1878. g.
osnivanjem tzv. Prizrenske lige cija je pratforma
objedinjavanje svih albanskih etnickih teritorija, pri
cemu su granice te teritorije obuhvatale i delove
susednih drzava, pa i one u kojima Albanci nisu bili
vecinska populacija.
Albanski separatizam , koji je, u periodima strane
okupacije Kosova I Metohije, uzimao formu terora i
terorizma u ostalim periodima, bio je u kontinuitetu
protiv svake vlasti u Srbiji (i u susednim drzavama
prema kojima je imao aspiracije), nezavisno od
njihovog karaktera i nosilaca.
Kako tadasnja, tako i aktuelna vlast u Srbiji i
Jugoslaviji izabrane su na demokratskim izborima i
priznaje je najveci broj gradjana, medju koje spadaju i
pripadnici ostalih 25 nacionalnih manjina i etnickih
grupa koje zive u SRJ.
2. LAZ: Kosovo i Metohija je albanska teritorija i
Srbi na nju nemaju pravo.
ISTINA:Kosovo i Metohija je teritorija koja od VI
veka pripada, bez prekida, srpskom narodu koji je na
njoj najbrojniji u periodu od skoro 13 vekova.
Teritorija Kosova i Metohije je u celom ovom
periodu neprekidno, osim u periodima strane
okupacije, bila integralni deo srpske drzave. Do
okupacije Kosova i Metohije od strane Otomanske
imperije, u 14. Veku, prestonica Kraljevine Srbije bio
je grad Prizren, a sediste srpske pravoslavne crkve se i
danas nalazi u Peci. Na prostoru Kosova I Metohije
nalazi se oko 1300 srpskih kulturno - istorijskih
spomenika koji predstavljaju vise od 90% ukupne
kulturno - istorijske bastine ovog regiona. O
pripadnosti ove teritorije Srbima svedoce toponimi,
samo ime (Kosovo polje- dolazi od srpske reci kos,
Metohija dolazi od reci metoh koja znaci pravoslavni
crkveni posed). Albanci se kao etnicka skupina
pominju tek od XIV veka, a na Kosovu i Metohiji su
sada vecinsko stanovnistvo zahvaljujuci sistematskom
maltretiranju i proterivanju srpskog i drugog
nealbanskog stanovnistva sa ovog prostora.
3. LAZ: Albanaca na Kosovu i Metohiji ima 90%.
ISTINA: U skoro svim izvestajima najveceg dela
svetskih medija u vreme pred agresiju NATO pakta
kao refren se ponavljalo da Albanci na Kosovu i
Metohiji predstavljaju vecinu u odnosu na Srbe u
razmeri 9 na prema 1. Istina je sasvim drugacija. Iako
potpuno egzaktnih podataka nema, jer Albanci nisu
izasli na popis odrzan 1991. godine, a onaj iz 1981.
godine su vrsile jednonacionalne albanske komisije
koje su potpuno proizvoljno i netacno prikazale broj i
demografsku strukturu stanovnistva na Kosovu i
Metohiji, najnovije analize jugoslovenskog Zavoda za
statistiku (kraj 1998. god.) pokazale su prilicno jasnu i
verodostojnu sliku. Prema strucnjacima ovog zavoda,
na Kosovu I Metohiji tada je zivelo oko 917.000
Albanaca, 221.000 Srba, 23.000 Crnogoraca, 97.000
Roma, 72.500 Muslimana, 3.500 Jugoslovena, 21.000
Turaka, 980 Makedonaca i 23.000 ostalih. Ovi podaci
dokazuju da je procenat albanskog stanovnistva na
Kosovu i Metohiji oko 66%. Zbog cega Albansci i
oni koji u svetu podrzavaju njihov separatizam i
terorizam stalno insistiraju na 90%? Zbog toga sto
svoje zahteve za nezavisnoscu Albanci zasnivaju
iskljucivo na svojoj razlicitoj etnickoj pripadnosti pa
im je zato potrebno da prikazu sto veci procenat
stanovnistva albanske nacionalnosti kako bi svojim
zahtevima dali veci legitimitet i verodostojnost, iako
se radi o krajnje nacionalistickim i hegemonistickim
pobudama. Sada ih je na KiM verovatno 90% jer su
pod okriljem NATO jedinica i na njihovu sramotu
proterali veliki deo srpskog i nealbanskog
stanovnistva sa KiM.
4. LAZ: Svi Albanci na Kosovu i Metohiji podrzavaju
nezavisnost ove pokrajine.
ISTINA: Najveci broj Albanaca koji zive na Kosovu i
Metohiji nije za otcepljenje od Srbije i Jugoslavije.
Medjutim, suoceni sa agresivnim separatizmom
svojih politickih lidera i sve surovijim terorizmom,
uvidjajuci da i neke uticajne drzave podrzavaju
separatizam i terorizam u ovoj juznoj srpskoj
pokrajini, ne usudjuju se da se otvoreno suprotstave, u
strahu za svoje i zivote svojih porodica. Nesporna je
cinjenica da veliki broj Albanaca na Kosovu i
Metohiji ima visok standard zivota i da je zadovoljan
mogucnostima koje ima, pogotovo u odnosu na samu
Albaniju, pa i druge susedne zemlje, i da zele da zive
u miru i slozi sa svim gradjanima Kosova i Metohije.
Ali dok god se ne iskoreni terorizam i ne suzbije
separatizam, oni nece biti u prilici da dobiju
mogucnost da svoja opredeljenja slobodno I bez straha
ispolje. Najbolji dokaz da veliki broj Albanaca na
Kosovu i Metohiji ne podrzava separatizam i
terorizam je da od ubijenih u toku 1998. g. Albanske
zrtve cine 55% (77 civila). Ubijeni su samo zato jer
nisu podrzavali etnocentricnu i iskljucivu
separatisticku politiku albanskih terorista.
5. LAZ: Albancima na Kosovu i Metohiji je nasilno
oduzeta autonomija.
ISTINA:Albancima na Kosovu i Metohija nije
oduzeta autonomija, a pogotovo ne nasilno. Stepen
autonomije koju uziva ova srpska pokrajina u svemu
je jednak autonomiji koju uziva druga srpska
pokrajina Vojvodina. Dok u Vojvodini u miru i slozi,
u okviru siroke autonomije koju u punoj meri koriste,
zajedno zivi i saradjuje 25 nacionalnih manjina i
etnickih grupa, bez ozbiljnih problema ili
nesuglasica, dotle na Kosovu i Metohiji od nekoliko
nacionalnih manjina i etnickih grupa koje tamo zive
bez problema samo jedna jedina se zali- Albanska.
Prava koja imaju na raspolaganju svi gradjani Kosova
i Metohije, kao i ona specificna za pripadnike
nacionalnih manjina, u okviru koncepta regionalne
autonomije koji spada u red uobicajenih u svetu, su
takvog stepena da prevazilaze ne samo obaveze iz
medjunarodnih propisa, vec i sve sto je u praksi u
drugim zemljama Evrope i sveta. Ta prava Albanci ne
koriste iz politickih razloga - kako bi politickim
faktorima u svetu i medjunarodnoj javnosti dokazali
svoju navodnu obespravljenost.
Kao krunski argument da je Albancima na Kosovu i
Metohiji nasilno oduzeta autonomija navodi se da je
1989.g. pod pretnjom sile promenjen statut ove
pokrajine. Statut je zaista promenjen, u smislu
ukidanja atributa drzavnosti koji nisu pripadali
konceptu autonomije uobicajenom u svetu. I to je
ucinjeno na legalan nacin. Odluku je izglasala
pokrajinska skupstina a ratifikovao savezni
parlament, bez ijedne primedbe neke od republika
koje su u to vreme sacinjavale prethodnu Jugoslaviju.
Svi ostali prerogativi autonomnog statusa su ostali na
snazi ali je ovom promenom presecen proces
postepenog sticanja nezavisnosti, pa je razumljivo
nezadovoljstvo separatista kojima je time ometeno
ostvarivanje njihovih ciljeva. Pri tome ovde treba
razbiti jos jednu manipulaciju. Kroz formulaciju da je
Albancima na Kosovu i Metohiji ukinuta autonomija
na mala vrata se ova srpska pokrajina pokusava
predstaviti kao albanska a ne srpska. Da je autonomija
zaista ukinuta, ona bi bila ukinuta za sve gradjane
Kosova i Metohije, a ne samo za Albance.
6. LAZ: Ljudska i nacionalna prava Albanaca na
Kosovu i Metohiji su ugrozena.
ISTINA: Ljudska, gradjanska i nacionalna prava
Albanaca, ili drugih pripadnika nacionalnih manjina
na Kosovu i Metohiji, ili u SR Jugoslaviji , ni u cemu
nisu ugrozena. Ustavni i zakonski okviri ostvarivanja
ovih prava su, ne samo u saglasnosti sa
najsavremenijim pravnim postulatima zemalja
razvijenog sveta, vec sadrze i mnoge pozitivne
odredbe koje ne sadrze propisi koji regulisu ovu
materiju u drugim zemljama. Svi pripadnici
nacionalnih manjina u SR Jugoslaviji(Srbiji i Crnoj
Gori) imaju pravo glasa, pravo na politicko
organizovanje, pravo na negovanje sopstvenog jezika,
kulture i obicaja, pravo na skolovanje na maternjem
jeziku, ukljucujuci i na univerzitetima, pravo na
informisanje na sopstvenom jeziku i mnoga druga.
Medjutim, problem nije u nedostatku nekog od ovih
prava ili u teskocama u njihovom ostvarivanju.
Problem je u cinjenici da politicke predstavnike
Albanaca na Kosovu i Metohiji zanima samo
nezavisnost, odnosno da je njihov cilj da od Srbije i
SR Jugoslavije (srbije i Crne Gore) otmu deo njene
suverene teritorije, ne prezajuci da u tom cilju koriste
sva raspoloziva sredstva. Terorizam koji svakodnevno
odnosi brojne zrtve na Kosovu i Metohiji samo je
nalicje separatizma, usmerenog na borbu za tudju
teritoriju, pri cemu price o ljudskim i nacionalnim
pravima sluze da zamaskiraju prave ciljeve albanskih
separatista i terorista.
7. LAZ: Albance na Kosovu i Metohiji Srbi
proganjaju i etnicki ciste.
ISTINA:Optuzbe da Srbi na Kosovu i Metohiji
proganjaju Albance i da to predstavlja svojevrsno
etnicko ciscenje je apsolutno netacna. Ona sluzi
albanskim separatistima da pred ocima medjunarodne
javnosti nadju prihvatljivo opravdanje koje bi
maskiralo njihove prave ciljeve - secesiju i otimanje
dela tudje teritorije. Medjutim, te optuzbe sluze i da
preduprede istu takvu, ovoga puta istinitu, optuzbu
Srba na Kosovu i Metohiji, da Albanci decenijama
vrse sistematski progon i nedela nad njima i da su ta
nasilja razmera etnickog ciscenja. Da Albanci etnicki
ciste Srbe sa Kosova i Metohije, a ne obrnuto,
najbolje svedoce egzaktni podaci, koje niko ne
osporava. A to je da je na Kosovu i Metohiji pre
NATO agresije i nasilnog iseljavanja Srba i ostalog
nealbanskog stanaovnistva, ?ivelo 66% Albanaca a
svega 16% Srba. Ako se zna da su Srbi vekovima
predstavljali apsolutnu vecinu na prostoru Kosova i
Metohije, kako je onda moguce da su svedeni samo na
ovako mali procenat, a Albanci u demografskoj
ekspanziji. Ako pri tome znamo da se albanski teror
nad srpskim stanovnistvom odvija vec preko sto
godina, o cemu svedoce brojni dokumenti iz daleke i
nedavne proslosti, onda je to razumljivo. Taj teror je
bio posebno izrazen u periodima strane okupacije ove
srpske pokrajine, koje su albanski separatisti uvek
maksimalno iskoriscavali za jos agresivniji i potpuniji
teror nad lokalnim srpskim stanovnistvom i njegov
izgon sa Kosva i Metohije. Prema verodostojnim
istorijskim podacima izmedju 1889. i 1899. godine,
kada su Srbi bili cetiri puta brojniji od Albanaca
(Srba 415.300, Albanaca 106.270), pod
pokroviteljstvom Turske, sa Kosova i Metohije je
proterano oko 60.000 Srba. Procene strucnjaka govore
da je izmedju 1880.g. do 1913.g. sa Kosova i Metohije
proterano oko 150.000 Srba i Crnogoraca, tako da se
oko 1921.g. broj Srba i Crnogoraca izjednacaio sa
brojem Albanaca. Drugi veliki egzodus Srba i
Crnogoraca sa Kosova i Metohije dogodio se tokokm
II Svetskog rata. Pod okriljem okupacije fasisticke
Italije Albanci su pobili oko 10.000 Srba, spalili i
porusili oko 30.000 njihovih kuca i proterali izmedju
60.000 i 70.000. U istom periodu, i neposredno nakon
ovog rata, na Kosovo Metohiju je na srpska imanja i
terotorije dovedeno ukupno oko 300.000 Albanaca iz
Albanije, sa ciljem promene etnicke strukture
stanovnistva i stvaranja uslova otimanje te teritorije
od Srba. Poslednji veci odlazak Srba i Crnogoraca sa
Kosova i Metohije dogodio se u periodu nakon II
Svetskog rata, kada je pod zastitom lokalnih
albanskih politicara, koji su tada upravljali ovom
srpskom pokrajinom, nastavljeno tiho proterivanje .
Samo u periodu od 1981. do 1988. god., pod
pritiskom, pretnjama i maltretiranjima, sa Kosova i
Metohije otislo je 28.000. Srba. Ocito je, dakle, da su
na Kosovu i Metohiji Srbi ti koji su zrtve i da je
njihov opstanak tamo ugrozen, a ne obrnuto. O tome
svedoci i aktuelna situacija u kojoj albanski separatisti
i teroristi ubijaju, otimaju i muce srpske civile, u
pokusaju da ih oteraju sa Kosova i Metohije. Samo u
periodu od potpisivanja sporazuma izmedju tadasnjeg
predsednika SRJ S. Milosevica i americkog
predstavnika R. Holbruka (13. 10. 1998.g.) Srbi su
proterani iz oko 70 sela koja su sada etnicki cista -
Albanska.
8. LAZ: Srbi odbijaju pregovore i silom zele da rese
sukob.
ISTINA: Nisu Srbi ti koji odbijaju dijalog i koji na
silu zele da rese postojece razlike. Upravo je obrnuto.
U periodu od februara 1998.g. pa sve do sada
politicki predstavnici Republike Srbije i SRJ
neprekidno su nudili dijalog i resavanje sukoba
mirnim i politickim putem. Dokaz toga je cinjenica
da su delegacije Srbije i SRJ vise od dvadeset puta
pozivale albanske predstavnike sa Kosova i Metohije
na razgovore i da su u svim tim prilikama dolazili u
Pristinu. Ni na jedan od tih poziva se albanski
politicki predstavnici nisu odazvali. Svoje izostanke
ili odbijanja uvek su pravdali nekim izgovorima. Prvo
nisu imali sastav delegacije za pregovore, zatim nisu
imali pratformu za razgovore, potom nisu hteli da
razgovaraju dok se srpska policija ne povuce sa
Kosova i Metohije i sl. Sustina svega bila je
nezainteresovanost za otvaranje dijaloga jer bi na taj
nacin mogli dobiti samo autonomiju, a to oni ne zele.
Izbegavanjem razgovora, izazivanjem incidenata da bi
provocirali policiju ili vojsku da intervenise,
pokusavali su da izazovu sto vise sukoba, sto vecu
nesigurnost i sto vece stradanje naroda, optuzujuci
drzavne organe da se sve to desava zbog njihovog
terora, kako bi prisilili medjunarodnu zajednicu da
intervenise u njihovu korist i da im politickim
pritiscima i vojnim pretnjama obezbedi ostvarivanje
njihovog cilja - nezavisnog i etnicki cistog Kosova i
Metohije, kao prve stepenice u stvaranju Velike
Albanije. I danas je tako. Nasilno su oteli tudju
teritoriju i ne ?ele da o njoj pregovaraju boje?i se da
ne izgube nesto od onoga sto sada imaju.Prema tome,
albanski politicki lideri su ti koji odbijaju ili
izbegavaju razgovore i koji postojece razlike zele da
rese terorizmom i silom.
9. LAZ: Tzv. OVK je legalni predstavnik vecine
Albanaca sa Kosova i Metohije i bori se za njihovu
slobodu.
ISTINA: Tzv. OVK je tipicna teroristicka
organizacija koja se bori za ostvarenje separatistickog
politickog cilja - otcepljenja ovog dela teritorije
Republike Srbije i SR Jugoslavije (Srbije i Crne
Gore) i njenog pripajanja zamisljenoj Velikoj
Albaniji. U ostvarenju svog plolitickog cilja, a ne
nekakve imaginarne slobode koju niko ne ugrozava,
koriste sve klasicne forme teroristickih aktivnosti. U
1998. G. teroristi su izvrsili ukupno 1885
teroristickih napada, od cega 1129 na pripadnike
policije. U ovim napadima ubijeno je 115 policijaca a
ranjeno ili povredjeno njih 403. U istom periodu
teroristi su oteli 15 policajaca od kojih su 3 ubijena, 3
pustena a sudbina preostalih 9 se ne zna. Ali teroristi
su napadali i civile. U istom periodu ubili su 128, od
cega 46 Srba, 77 Albanaca 5 Roma. U tim napadima
ranjeno su 74 Srbina (teze ili lakse). Od ukupno
kidnapovanih civila, njih 293, najbrojniji su Srbi, a
potom Albanci - njih 101.Postupak sa otetim ljudima
bio je krajnje okrutan. Nakon raznolikih
maltretiranja, silovanja zena i mucenja ljudi, vecina
otetih je pobijena. Teroristi u svom delovanju koriste
i podmetanje bombi, politicka ubistva, pretnje i
ucene. Pri tome nije istina da oni predstavljaju teznje
albanskog stanovnistva na Kosovu i Metohiji.
Naprotiv, Albanci na Kosovu i Metohiji su zaplaseni
teroristickom aktivnoscu tzv. OVK i gledaju da se od
nje spasu jer ih maltretira, silom mobilise, naplacuje
im reket, siluje zene i ubija za svaku neposlusnost.
Razlog sukoba i nestabilnosti na Kosovu i Metohiji su
teroristi i oni predstavljaju prepreku ne samo
povratku mira i bezbednosti, povratku prognanih,
otpocinjanju politickog dijaloga, vec i slobodnom
izjasnjavanju svih gradjana Kosova i Metohije o
svojim politickim stavovima, bilo da se radi o
Albancima ili gradjanima druge nacionalne
pripadnosti.
10. LAZ: Sukobi na Kosovu i Metohiji prete da se
preliju i na susedne zemlje i ugrozavaju regionalnu
bezbednost.
ISTINA: Na Kosovu i Metohiji nije u pitanju ratni
sukob vec borba policijskih snaga sa teroristima.
Dakle, jedna potpuno unutrasnja stvar, bez ikakve
veze sa drugim drzavama. Kako pre NATO agresije,
tako i sada.Sa jugoslovenske strane granica nijednog
suseda nije ugrozena, niti postoje ikakve namere da se
ugrozi. SRJ je bila otvorena za ravnoporavnu saradnju
sa svim drzavama sveta, na principima medjusobnog
uvazavanja, postovanja suvereniteta i integriteta i na
bazi konkretnih interesa. Ako neko ugrozava
regionalnu bezbednost onda je to Republika Albanija
jer sa njene teritorije dolaze svi napadi na granicu SRJ
(Srbije i Crne Gore) , tamo su se nalazili baze i
kampovi za obuku albanskih terorista i separatista,
vrsila se njihova obuka, omogucavao sverc oruzja i
mnogo toga drugog, usmerenog na podrsku albanskim
separatistima i konkretnu pomoc teroristima. Podrska
separatistickim zahtevima u ovom regionu u kome se
preplicu interesi i razliciti narodi je veoma opasna jer
moze ugroziti postojece granice jednog broja drzava
ovog regiona i time izazvati destabilizaciju i
prosirenje sukoba i van granica SRJ. Dokaz toga je i
Makedonija.Stoga, medjunarodna zajednica treba da
da apsolutnu i konkretnu podrsku legalnoj borbi
Srbije i SR Jugoslavije (Srbije i Crne Gore) protiv
terorizma i separatizma jer je to preduslov da se na
Kosovo I Metohiju vrati mir i sigurnost. Znacajan
korak u tom pravcu bio bi prestanak pomoci i podrske
albanskim teroristima, njihovom finansiranju i
naoruzavanju, sto je obaveza i iz rezolucija OUN, a ne
sprovodi se. Za ostvarivanje tog cilja kljucno je
izvrsiti delotvoran pritisak na Republiku Albaniju sa
cije teritorije dolaze sve opasnosti po mir i
bezbednost kako na Kosovu I Metohiji, tako i u celom
regionu.
11. LAZ: Medjunarodna zajednica pokusava da
intervenise u cilju postizanja mira i zastite civila i
njihove imovine.
ISTINA: Da je ta tvrdnja istinita medjunarodna
zajednica bi pomogla legalne organe Republike Srbije
i SRJ da se iskoreni terorizam koji predstavlja glavnu
smetnju povratku mira i sigurnosti na Kosovo i
Metohiju i pretpostavku otpocinjanja dijaloga o
stvarnim problemima zajednickog zivota razlicitih
etnickih zajednica u ovoj srpskoj pokrajini. Medjutim,
najznacajniji medjunarodni faktori, umesto da
osudjuju terorizam, teroriste i osude stradanje
njihovih zrtava -policije, vojske i, pre svega, civila,
stalno vrse pritisak na legalne organe reda i
bezbednosti, okrivljujuci njih, a ne teroriste, za stanje
na Kosovu i Metohiji. Iako su OUN donele rezoluciju
kojom se trazi prekidanje svih vrsta pomoci
teroristima na Kosovu i Metohiji, i dalje se sa svih
strana, a preko puteva koji vode kroz Republiku
Albaniju, na Kosovo i Metohiju slivaju novac, oruzje,
teroristi, mudzahedini i kriminalci, a da se to ne
sprecava, vec naprotiv podstice, i pri tome krije ili
marginalizuje. Civile na Kosovu i Metohiji ne
ugrozava policija, vec kriminalci i teroristi i njihove
pogubne aktivnosti su razlog stradanja civila,
njihovog izgona iz domova i straha i teskoca u kojima
zive. Pored toga, tesko je razumeti da se vojne pretnje
upucuju organima suverene drzave koji brane svoju
teritoriju i gradjane, umesto da se onemogucava
teroristicka aktivnost albanskih separatista, na nacin
na koji se to radi kada su u pitanju interesi tih istih
zemalja. Ocito je, dakle, da se iza napadne brige za
civile ne krije pokusaj smirivanja sukoba i zastite
civila vec pokusaj nametanja sopstvenih interesa
silom i pretnjama, suprotno vazecim medjunarodnim
normama i principima, koristeci pri tome zamene
teza, duple standarde, pa i otvorene manipulacije
cinjenicama.
12. LAZ: Republika Albanija podrzava
medjunarodne napore za smirivanje situacije na
Kosovu i Metohiji i zalaze za mirno resenje sukoba.
ISTINA: Republika Albanija, od svog osnivanja do
danas, skoro neprekidno i u kontinuitetu, aktivno
pomaze separatisticke pokrete i njihovu teroristicku
aktivnost na Kosovu i Metohiji. O tome postoji
bezbroj dokaza, istorijskih i drugih, ali osvrnimo se
samo na aktuelan momenat. Nesprona je cinjenica da
je Albanija u ovom momentu placdarm albanskih
terorista na Kosovu i Metohiji. Na njenoj teritoriji
borave, okupljaju se, obucavaju, opremaju oruzjem i
opremom i sa nje se ilegalno, a cesto i na silu,
prebacuju preko jugoslovenske granice sa ciljem
jacanja teroristickih snaga i njihovog sto sireg i
pogubnijeg delovanja. Medjunarodni kriminal, u koji
je duboko upletena albanska narko mafija i svi drugi
kriminalci albanske nacionalnosti, bez obzira ciji
pasos nose, (medjusobno povezani upravo na principu
nacionalne pripadnosti i kriminalnog opredeljenja),
predstavlja jedan od najvecih izvora finansiranja
teroristicke i separatisticke aktivnosti na Kosovu i
Metohiji u cemu Albanija ima znacajnu ulogu i to ne
samo kao trenutna zona "prljavog" novca, droge i
oruzja na Kosovu i Metohiji. Svoju apsolutnu podrsku
albanskim separatistima i terotistima Albanija vise i
ne krije. Otvoreno prima separatisticke albanske
prvake, pa i one koji se legitimisu kao predstavnici
teroristicke organizacije tzv. OVK, otvoreno
zagovara samoopredeljenje Albanaca na Kosovu i
Metohiji, sto je jasna podrska otcepljenju ove
pokrajine od Republike Srbije i SR Jugoslavije i, cak,
priziva stranu vojnu intervenciju radi pomoci
albanskim separatistima i teroristima u ostvarivanju
njihovog pravog cilja - nezavisnog i etnicki cistog
Kosova i Metohije.
13. LA?. Albanci se bore ya demokratsko i
multietni?ko drustvo na Kosovu i Metohiji.
ISTINA:Aktuelno stanje na KiM jasno pokazuje ne
samo da su prethodno izneti argumenti apsolutno
ta?ni ve? i da je verbalno zalaganje Albanskih
politi?kih lidera za demokratsko i multietni?ko
Kosovo obi?na la?. Nakon nasilnog progona,
pra?enog ubijanjem, maltretiranjem i svim drugim
oblicima pritiska na Srbe, pre svega, ali i na svo
ostalo nealbansko stanovnistvo, rusenjem i
spaljivanjem preko 80 pravoslavnih manastira i
crkava, rusenjem srpskih grobalja, otimanjem
imovine i privrednih objekata, Albanci su pokazali da
je njihova namera da Srbe i otale nealbance proteraju
za sva vremena sa KiM kako bi oteli njihovu
teritoriju i imovinu. To je najgnusnije etni?ko
?is??enje i nema nikakve veye ni sa demokratijom a
jos manje sa ?eljom ya zajedni?kim ?ivotom sa
gradjanima drugih vera i nacionalnosti. Naj?a?losnije
je sto se to desava pred o?ima celog sveta oli?enog u
medjunarodnoj misiji , vojnoj i civilnoj, koja, umesto
da tome ostro stane na put, zatvara o?i i pravi se
nevesta kao seoska mlada. Istorija , kada se jednoga
dana bude posteno pisala, a do?i ?e i to vreme, ne?e ih
postedeti od ovog zlo?ina.
Tek razumevanje ovih cinjenica moze dati pravu
sluku o dogadjajima na Kosovu i Metohiji, akterima i
njihovim ciljevima i delovanju.
Kosovo i Metohija: Propaganda i istina
Rade Drobac
Beograd, 09. april 2003. godine
Beleska autora: tekst sam pisao januara 1999. g. za
potrebe Saveznoig ministarstva za inostrane poslove a
sada sam ga aktuelizovao u uverenju da je korisno
ponoviti argumente koji i danas imaju jednaku
vrednost a koje smo, u poplavi dnevnih vesti i
dezinformacija, mozda izgubili iz vida.
UVOD
Kosovo i Metohija su jedna od najcescih tema u
politickim krugovima u inostranstvu, medjunarodnim
organizacijama i svetskim medijima ve? du?i niz
godina.. Kada bi se analizirala kolicina izrecenog,
napisanog i snimljenog , moglo bi se pomisliti da je o
ovom pitanju sve i vise nego poznato i da je vec
svima jasno o cemu se tu radi, ko je tu kriv i zasto, i
koga treba braniti. Medjutim, kolicina i vrsta
informacija koje kruze o Kosovu i Metohiji obnuto je
srazmerna stvarnom razumevanju zbivanja u ovoj
juznoj srpskoj pokrajini. Poznavaocima stanja i
problematike cini se da sto se vise o Kosovu i
Metohiji govori, sve je vise zabluda i pogresnih
predstava. Kako je ovo moguce? Iako zvuci
nelogicno, moguce je jer se na ovom delu srpske
teritorije preplicu drzavni i nacionalni interesi
Republike Srbije i SRJ, velikoalbanske aspiracije
albanskih separatista i terorista i globalni i stgrateski
interesi nekih velikih sila, koje nesumnjivo raspolazu
mogucnostima i nacinima da, u funkciji ostvarivanja
ciljeva sopstvene politike, istinu pretvore u laz i laz u
istinu. Kosovo i Metohija je jedan od primera koji
nedvosmisleno dokazuje da se oni ne libe da to i ucine
ne vodeci, pri tome, racuna o stvarnim cinjenicama,
niti o interesima onih koji u ovoj srpskoj pokrajini
zive, iako se za to verbalno zalazu, niti se pridrzavaju
principa koje su sami proklamovali i koje silom
namecu drugima. Neupuceni bi se mogli zapitati zbog
cega je nekom potrebno da manipulise cinjenicama?
Zbog toga da bi, prikazujuci stanje, aktere i zbivanja u
svetlu koji odgovara sopstvenim interesima,
mobilisao sto veci broj politickih faktora u svetu u
podrsci ostvarivanju sopstvenih ciljeva, isfabrikovao
dogadjaje koji treba da nateraju medjunarodne
organizacije i institucije da legalizuju odredjene
politicke i vojne akcije uperene protiv zacrtanog
protivnika i, napokon, da bi se pred medjunarodnim
javnim mnjenjem stvorio utisak o pravednosti
sopstvenog delovanja.
Brojni su primeri manipulacija koje su uspele i donele
velike nesrece celim narodima. Na srecu bilo je i
pokusaja manipulacija, koji su osujeceni i njihovi
negativni efekti spreceni. Kada je Kosovo i Metohija
u pitanju, najpoznatji takav slucaj je pokusaj
inscenacije masovnog masakra albanskih civila od
strane srpske policije u selu Racak. Teroristi koji su u
prethodnom periodu izvrsili vise napada na policiju i
civile u tom regionu napali su policiju koja je na
napad odgovorila i tom prilikom ubila vise desetina
terorista. Preko noci su ti teroristi preobuceni i
proglaseni civilima, a sve to su legalizovali visoki
predstavnici najuglednijih madjunarodnih
organizacija i vodecih sila sveta. Na srecu, ima
postenih novinara koji su to videli i prevaru
obelodanili.
Kada se pojedinci ne libe ovako otvorenih i grubih
manipulacija, moze se zamisliti kakve se sve zablude
i pogresne predstave, putem sofisticiranih,
globalizovanih i centralizovanih uticajnih medija, PR
agencija i lobi grupa, sire u svetu, stvarajuci o Kosovu
i Metohiji potpuno pogresne predstave.
Nije moguce na jednom mestu izneti sve te neistine i
maniplulacije, ali cemo nabrojati one najcesce i
najvaznije.
1. LAZ: Albanci na Kosovu i Metohiji prisiljeni su
da se bune jer je rezim u Srbiji nedemokratski?
ISTINA:Problem separatistickog albanskog
delovanja na Kosovu i Metohiji postoji vec vise od sto
godina. Njegovi temelji udareni su jos 1878. g.
osnivanjem tzv. Prizrenske lige cija je pratforma
objedinjavanje svih albanskih etnickih teritorija, pri
cemu su granice te teritorije obuhvatale i delove
susednih drzava, pa i one u kojima Albanci nisu bili
vecinska populacija.
Albanski separatizam , koji je, u periodima strane
okupacije Kosova I Metohije, uzimao formu terora i
terorizma u ostalim periodima, bio je u kontinuitetu
protiv svake vlasti u Srbiji (i u susednim drzavama
prema kojima je imao aspiracije), nezavisno od
njihovog karaktera i nosilaca.
Kako tadasnja, tako i aktuelna vlast u Srbiji i
Jugoslaviji izabrane su na demokratskim izborima i
priznaje je najveci broj gradjana, medju koje spadaju i
pripadnici ostalih 25 nacionalnih manjina i etnickih
grupa koje zive u SRJ.
2. LAZ: Kosovo i Metohija je albanska teritorija i
Srbi na nju nemaju pravo.
ISTINA:Kosovo i Metohija je teritorija koja od VI
veka pripada, bez prekida, srpskom narodu koji je na
njoj najbrojniji u periodu od skoro 13 vekova.
Teritorija Kosova i Metohije je u celom ovom
periodu neprekidno, osim u periodima strane
okupacije, bila integralni deo srpske drzave. Do
okupacije Kosova i Metohije od strane Otomanske
imperije, u 14. Veku, prestonica Kraljevine Srbije bio
je grad Prizren, a sediste srpske pravoslavne crkve se i
danas nalazi u Peci. Na prostoru Kosova I Metohije
nalazi se oko 1300 srpskih kulturno - istorijskih
spomenika koji predstavljaju vise od 90% ukupne
kulturno - istorijske bastine ovog regiona. O
pripadnosti ove teritorije Srbima svedoce toponimi,
samo ime (Kosovo polje- dolazi od srpske reci kos,
Metohija dolazi od reci metoh koja znaci pravoslavni
crkveni posed). Albanci se kao etnicka skupina
pominju tek od XIV veka, a na Kosovu i Metohiji su
sada vecinsko stanovnistvo zahvaljujuci sistematskom
maltretiranju i proterivanju srpskog i drugog
nealbanskog stanovnistva sa ovog prostora.
3. LAZ: Albanaca na Kosovu i Metohiji ima 90%.
ISTINA: U skoro svim izvestajima najveceg dela
svetskih medija u vreme pred agresiju NATO pakta
kao refren se ponavljalo da Albanci na Kosovu i
Metohiji predstavljaju vecinu u odnosu na Srbe u
razmeri 9 na prema 1. Istina je sasvim drugacija. Iako
potpuno egzaktnih podataka nema, jer Albanci nisu
izasli na popis odrzan 1991. godine, a onaj iz 1981.
godine su vrsile jednonacionalne albanske komisije
koje su potpuno proizvoljno i netacno prikazale broj i
demografsku strukturu stanovnistva na Kosovu i
Metohiji, najnovije analize jugoslovenskog Zavoda za
statistiku (kraj 1998. god.) pokazale su prilicno jasnu i
verodostojnu sliku. Prema strucnjacima ovog zavoda,
na Kosovu I Metohiji tada je zivelo oko 917.000
Albanaca, 221.000 Srba, 23.000 Crnogoraca, 97.000
Roma, 72.500 Muslimana, 3.500 Jugoslovena, 21.000
Turaka, 980 Makedonaca i 23.000 ostalih. Ovi podaci
dokazuju da je procenat albanskog stanovnistva na
Kosovu i Metohiji oko 66%. Zbog cega Albansci i
oni koji u svetu podrzavaju njihov separatizam i
terorizam stalno insistiraju na 90%? Zbog toga sto
svoje zahteve za nezavisnoscu Albanci zasnivaju
iskljucivo na svojoj razlicitoj etnickoj pripadnosti pa
im je zato potrebno da prikazu sto veci procenat
stanovnistva albanske nacionalnosti kako bi svojim
zahtevima dali veci legitimitet i verodostojnost, iako
se radi o krajnje nacionalistickim i hegemonistickim
pobudama. Sada ih je na KiM verovatno 90% jer su
pod okriljem NATO jedinica i na njihovu sramotu
proterali veliki deo srpskog i nealbanskog
stanovnistva sa KiM.
4. LAZ: Svi Albanci na Kosovu i Metohiji podrzavaju
nezavisnost ove pokrajine.
ISTINA: Najveci broj Albanaca koji zive na Kosovu i
Metohiji nije za otcepljenje od Srbije i Jugoslavije.
Medjutim, suoceni sa agresivnim separatizmom
svojih politickih lidera i sve surovijim terorizmom,
uvidjajuci da i neke uticajne drzave podrzavaju
separatizam i terorizam u ovoj juznoj srpskoj
pokrajini, ne usudjuju se da se otvoreno suprotstave, u
strahu za svoje i zivote svojih porodica. Nesporna je
cinjenica da veliki broj Albanaca na Kosovu i
Metohiji ima visok standard zivota i da je zadovoljan
mogucnostima koje ima, pogotovo u odnosu na samu
Albaniju, pa i druge susedne zemlje, i da zele da zive
u miru i slozi sa svim gradjanima Kosova i Metohije.
Ali dok god se ne iskoreni terorizam i ne suzbije
separatizam, oni nece biti u prilici da dobiju
mogucnost da svoja opredeljenja slobodno I bez straha
ispolje. Najbolji dokaz da veliki broj Albanaca na
Kosovu i Metohiji ne podrzava separatizam i
terorizam je da od ubijenih u toku 1998. g. Albanske
zrtve cine 55% (77 civila). Ubijeni su samo zato jer
nisu podrzavali etnocentricnu i iskljucivu
separatisticku politiku albanskih terorista.
5. LAZ: Albancima na Kosovu i Metohiji je nasilno
oduzeta autonomija.
ISTINA:Albancima na Kosovu i Metohija nije
oduzeta autonomija, a pogotovo ne nasilno. Stepen
autonomije koju uziva ova srpska pokrajina u svemu
je jednak autonomiji koju uziva druga srpska
pokrajina Vojvodina. Dok u Vojvodini u miru i slozi,
u okviru siroke autonomije koju u punoj meri koriste,
zajedno zivi i saradjuje 25 nacionalnih manjina i
etnickih grupa, bez ozbiljnih problema ili
nesuglasica, dotle na Kosovu i Metohiji od nekoliko
nacionalnih manjina i etnickih grupa koje tamo zive
bez problema samo jedna jedina se zali- Albanska.
Prava koja imaju na raspolaganju svi gradjani Kosova
i Metohije, kao i ona specificna za pripadnike
nacionalnih manjina, u okviru koncepta regionalne
autonomije koji spada u red uobicajenih u svetu, su
takvog stepena da prevazilaze ne samo obaveze iz
medjunarodnih propisa, vec i sve sto je u praksi u
drugim zemljama Evrope i sveta. Ta prava Albanci ne
koriste iz politickih razloga - kako bi politickim
faktorima u svetu i medjunarodnoj javnosti dokazali
svoju navodnu obespravljenost.
Kao krunski argument da je Albancima na Kosovu i
Metohiji nasilno oduzeta autonomija navodi se da je
1989.g. pod pretnjom sile promenjen statut ove
pokrajine. Statut je zaista promenjen, u smislu
ukidanja atributa drzavnosti koji nisu pripadali
konceptu autonomije uobicajenom u svetu. I to je
ucinjeno na legalan nacin. Odluku je izglasala
pokrajinska skupstina a ratifikovao savezni
parlament, bez ijedne primedbe neke od republika
koje su u to vreme sacinjavale prethodnu Jugoslaviju.
Svi ostali prerogativi autonomnog statusa su ostali na
snazi ali je ovom promenom presecen proces
postepenog sticanja nezavisnosti, pa je razumljivo
nezadovoljstvo separatista kojima je time ometeno
ostvarivanje njihovih ciljeva. Pri tome ovde treba
razbiti jos jednu manipulaciju. Kroz formulaciju da je
Albancima na Kosovu i Metohiji ukinuta autonomija
na mala vrata se ova srpska pokrajina pokusava
predstaviti kao albanska a ne srpska. Da je autonomija
zaista ukinuta, ona bi bila ukinuta za sve gradjane
Kosova i Metohije, a ne samo za Albance.
6. LAZ: Ljudska i nacionalna prava Albanaca na
Kosovu i Metohiji su ugrozena.
ISTINA: Ljudska, gradjanska i nacionalna prava
Albanaca, ili drugih pripadnika nacionalnih manjina
na Kosovu i Metohiji, ili u SR Jugoslaviji , ni u cemu
nisu ugrozena. Ustavni i zakonski okviri ostvarivanja
ovih prava su, ne samo u saglasnosti sa
najsavremenijim pravnim postulatima zemalja
razvijenog sveta, vec sadrze i mnoge pozitivne
odredbe koje ne sadrze propisi koji regulisu ovu
materiju u drugim zemljama. Svi pripadnici
nacionalnih manjina u SR Jugoslaviji(Srbiji i Crnoj
Gori) imaju pravo glasa, pravo na politicko
organizovanje, pravo na negovanje sopstvenog jezika,
kulture i obicaja, pravo na skolovanje na maternjem
jeziku, ukljucujuci i na univerzitetima, pravo na
informisanje na sopstvenom jeziku i mnoga druga.
Medjutim, problem nije u nedostatku nekog od ovih
prava ili u teskocama u njihovom ostvarivanju.
Problem je u cinjenici da politicke predstavnike
Albanaca na Kosovu i Metohiji zanima samo
nezavisnost, odnosno da je njihov cilj da od Srbije i
SR Jugoslavije (srbije i Crne Gore) otmu deo njene
suverene teritorije, ne prezajuci da u tom cilju koriste
sva raspoloziva sredstva. Terorizam koji svakodnevno
odnosi brojne zrtve na Kosovu i Metohiji samo je
nalicje separatizma, usmerenog na borbu za tudju
teritoriju, pri cemu price o ljudskim i nacionalnim
pravima sluze da zamaskiraju prave ciljeve albanskih
separatista i terorista.
7. LAZ: Albance na Kosovu i Metohiji Srbi
proganjaju i etnicki ciste.
ISTINA:Optuzbe da Srbi na Kosovu i Metohiji
proganjaju Albance i da to predstavlja svojevrsno
etnicko ciscenje je apsolutno netacna. Ona sluzi
albanskim separatistima da pred ocima medjunarodne
javnosti nadju prihvatljivo opravdanje koje bi
maskiralo njihove prave ciljeve - secesiju i otimanje
dela tudje teritorije. Medjutim, te optuzbe sluze i da
preduprede istu takvu, ovoga puta istinitu, optuzbu
Srba na Kosovu i Metohiji, da Albanci decenijama
vrse sistematski progon i nedela nad njima i da su ta
nasilja razmera etnickog ciscenja. Da Albanci etnicki
ciste Srbe sa Kosova i Metohije, a ne obrnuto,
najbolje svedoce egzaktni podaci, koje niko ne
osporava. A to je da je na Kosovu i Metohiji pre
NATO agresije i nasilnog iseljavanja Srba i ostalog
nealbanskog stanaovnistva, ?ivelo 66% Albanaca a
svega 16% Srba. Ako se zna da su Srbi vekovima
predstavljali apsolutnu vecinu na prostoru Kosova i
Metohije, kako je onda moguce da su svedeni samo na
ovako mali procenat, a Albanci u demografskoj
ekspanziji. Ako pri tome znamo da se albanski teror
nad srpskim stanovnistvom odvija vec preko sto
godina, o cemu svedoce brojni dokumenti iz daleke i
nedavne proslosti, onda je to razumljivo. Taj teror je
bio posebno izrazen u periodima strane okupacije ove
srpske pokrajine, koje su albanski separatisti uvek
maksimalno iskoriscavali za jos agresivniji i potpuniji
teror nad lokalnim srpskim stanovnistvom i njegov
izgon sa Kosva i Metohije. Prema verodostojnim
istorijskim podacima izmedju 1889. i 1899. godine,
kada su Srbi bili cetiri puta brojniji od Albanaca
(Srba 415.300, Albanaca 106.270), pod
pokroviteljstvom Turske, sa Kosova i Metohije je
proterano oko 60.000 Srba. Procene strucnjaka govore
da je izmedju 1880.g. do 1913.g. sa Kosova i Metohije
proterano oko 150.000 Srba i Crnogoraca, tako da se
oko 1921.g. broj Srba i Crnogoraca izjednacaio sa
brojem Albanaca. Drugi veliki egzodus Srba i
Crnogoraca sa Kosova i Metohije dogodio se tokokm
II Svetskog rata. Pod okriljem okupacije fasisticke
Italije Albanci su pobili oko 10.000 Srba, spalili i
porusili oko 30.000 njihovih kuca i proterali izmedju
60.000 i 70.000. U istom periodu, i neposredno nakon
ovog rata, na Kosovo Metohiju je na srpska imanja i
terotorije dovedeno ukupno oko 300.000 Albanaca iz
Albanije, sa ciljem promene etnicke strukture
stanovnistva i stvaranja uslova otimanje te teritorije
od Srba. Poslednji veci odlazak Srba i Crnogoraca sa
Kosova i Metohije dogodio se u periodu nakon II
Svetskog rata, kada je pod zastitom lokalnih
albanskih politicara, koji su tada upravljali ovom
srpskom pokrajinom, nastavljeno tiho proterivanje .
Samo u periodu od 1981. do 1988. god., pod
pritiskom, pretnjama i maltretiranjima, sa Kosova i
Metohije otislo je 28.000. Srba. Ocito je, dakle, da su
na Kosovu i Metohiji Srbi ti koji su zrtve i da je
njihov opstanak tamo ugrozen, a ne obrnuto. O tome
svedoci i aktuelna situacija u kojoj albanski separatisti
i teroristi ubijaju, otimaju i muce srpske civile, u
pokusaju da ih oteraju sa Kosova i Metohije. Samo u
periodu od potpisivanja sporazuma izmedju tadasnjeg
predsednika SRJ S. Milosevica i americkog
predstavnika R. Holbruka (13. 10. 1998.g.) Srbi su
proterani iz oko 70 sela koja su sada etnicki cista -
Albanska.
8. LAZ: Srbi odbijaju pregovore i silom zele da rese
sukob.
ISTINA: Nisu Srbi ti koji odbijaju dijalog i koji na
silu zele da rese postojece razlike. Upravo je obrnuto.
U periodu od februara 1998.g. pa sve do sada
politicki predstavnici Republike Srbije i SRJ
neprekidno su nudili dijalog i resavanje sukoba
mirnim i politickim putem. Dokaz toga je cinjenica
da su delegacije Srbije i SRJ vise od dvadeset puta
pozivale albanske predstavnike sa Kosova i Metohije
na razgovore i da su u svim tim prilikama dolazili u
Pristinu. Ni na jedan od tih poziva se albanski
politicki predstavnici nisu odazvali. Svoje izostanke
ili odbijanja uvek su pravdali nekim izgovorima. Prvo
nisu imali sastav delegacije za pregovore, zatim nisu
imali pratformu za razgovore, potom nisu hteli da
razgovaraju dok se srpska policija ne povuce sa
Kosova i Metohije i sl. Sustina svega bila je
nezainteresovanost za otvaranje dijaloga jer bi na taj
nacin mogli dobiti samo autonomiju, a to oni ne zele.
Izbegavanjem razgovora, izazivanjem incidenata da bi
provocirali policiju ili vojsku da intervenise,
pokusavali su da izazovu sto vise sukoba, sto vecu
nesigurnost i sto vece stradanje naroda, optuzujuci
drzavne organe da se sve to desava zbog njihovog
terora, kako bi prisilili medjunarodnu zajednicu da
intervenise u njihovu korist i da im politickim
pritiscima i vojnim pretnjama obezbedi ostvarivanje
njihovog cilja - nezavisnog i etnicki cistog Kosova i
Metohije, kao prve stepenice u stvaranju Velike
Albanije. I danas je tako. Nasilno su oteli tudju
teritoriju i ne ?ele da o njoj pregovaraju boje?i se da
ne izgube nesto od onoga sto sada imaju.Prema tome,
albanski politicki lideri su ti koji odbijaju ili
izbegavaju razgovore i koji postojece razlike zele da
rese terorizmom i silom.
9. LAZ: Tzv. OVK je legalni predstavnik vecine
Albanaca sa Kosova i Metohije i bori se za njihovu
slobodu.
ISTINA: Tzv. OVK je tipicna teroristicka
organizacija koja se bori za ostvarenje separatistickog
politickog cilja - otcepljenja ovog dela teritorije
Republike Srbije i SR Jugoslavije (Srbije i Crne
Gore) i njenog pripajanja zamisljenoj Velikoj
Albaniji. U ostvarenju svog plolitickog cilja, a ne
nekakve imaginarne slobode koju niko ne ugrozava,
koriste sve klasicne forme teroristickih aktivnosti. U
1998. G. teroristi su izvrsili ukupno 1885
teroristickih napada, od cega 1129 na pripadnike
policije. U ovim napadima ubijeno je 115 policijaca a
ranjeno ili povredjeno njih 403. U istom periodu
teroristi su oteli 15 policajaca od kojih su 3 ubijena, 3
pustena a sudbina preostalih 9 se ne zna. Ali teroristi
su napadali i civile. U istom periodu ubili su 128, od
cega 46 Srba, 77 Albanaca 5 Roma. U tim napadima
ranjeno su 74 Srbina (teze ili lakse). Od ukupno
kidnapovanih civila, njih 293, najbrojniji su Srbi, a
potom Albanci - njih 101.Postupak sa otetim ljudima
bio je krajnje okrutan. Nakon raznolikih
maltretiranja, silovanja zena i mucenja ljudi, vecina
otetih je pobijena. Teroristi u svom delovanju koriste
i podmetanje bombi, politicka ubistva, pretnje i
ucene. Pri tome nije istina da oni predstavljaju teznje
albanskog stanovnistva na Kosovu i Metohiji.
Naprotiv, Albanci na Kosovu i Metohiji su zaplaseni
teroristickom aktivnoscu tzv. OVK i gledaju da se od
nje spasu jer ih maltretira, silom mobilise, naplacuje
im reket, siluje zene i ubija za svaku neposlusnost.
Razlog sukoba i nestabilnosti na Kosovu i Metohiji su
teroristi i oni predstavljaju prepreku ne samo
povratku mira i bezbednosti, povratku prognanih,
otpocinjanju politickog dijaloga, vec i slobodnom
izjasnjavanju svih gradjana Kosova i Metohije o
svojim politickim stavovima, bilo da se radi o
Albancima ili gradjanima druge nacionalne
pripadnosti.
10. LAZ: Sukobi na Kosovu i Metohiji prete da se
preliju i na susedne zemlje i ugrozavaju regionalnu
bezbednost.
ISTINA: Na Kosovu i Metohiji nije u pitanju ratni
sukob vec borba policijskih snaga sa teroristima.
Dakle, jedna potpuno unutrasnja stvar, bez ikakve
veze sa drugim drzavama. Kako pre NATO agresije,
tako i sada.Sa jugoslovenske strane granica nijednog
suseda nije ugrozena, niti postoje ikakve namere da se
ugrozi. SRJ je bila otvorena za ravnoporavnu saradnju
sa svim drzavama sveta, na principima medjusobnog
uvazavanja, postovanja suvereniteta i integriteta i na
bazi konkretnih interesa. Ako neko ugrozava
regionalnu bezbednost onda je to Republika Albanija
jer sa njene teritorije dolaze svi napadi na granicu SRJ
(Srbije i Crne Gore) , tamo su se nalazili baze i
kampovi za obuku albanskih terorista i separatista,
vrsila se njihova obuka, omogucavao sverc oruzja i
mnogo toga drugog, usmerenog na podrsku albanskim
separatistima i konkretnu pomoc teroristima. Podrska
separatistickim zahtevima u ovom regionu u kome se
preplicu interesi i razliciti narodi je veoma opasna jer
moze ugroziti postojece granice jednog broja drzava
ovog regiona i time izazvati destabilizaciju i
prosirenje sukoba i van granica SRJ. Dokaz toga je i
Makedonija.Stoga, medjunarodna zajednica treba da
da apsolutnu i konkretnu podrsku legalnoj borbi
Srbije i SR Jugoslavije (Srbije i Crne Gore) protiv
terorizma i separatizma jer je to preduslov da se na
Kosovo I Metohiju vrati mir i sigurnost. Znacajan
korak u tom pravcu bio bi prestanak pomoci i podrske
albanskim teroristima, njihovom finansiranju i
naoruzavanju, sto je obaveza i iz rezolucija OUN, a ne
sprovodi se. Za ostvarivanje tog cilja kljucno je
izvrsiti delotvoran pritisak na Republiku Albaniju sa
cije teritorije dolaze sve opasnosti po mir i
bezbednost kako na Kosovu I Metohiji, tako i u celom
regionu.
11. LAZ: Medjunarodna zajednica pokusava da
intervenise u cilju postizanja mira i zastite civila i
njihove imovine.
ISTINA: Da je ta tvrdnja istinita medjunarodna
zajednica bi pomogla legalne organe Republike Srbije
i SRJ da se iskoreni terorizam koji predstavlja glavnu
smetnju povratku mira i sigurnosti na Kosovo i
Metohiju i pretpostavku otpocinjanja dijaloga o
stvarnim problemima zajednickog zivota razlicitih
etnickih zajednica u ovoj srpskoj pokrajini. Medjutim,
najznacajniji medjunarodni faktori, umesto da
osudjuju terorizam, teroriste i osude stradanje
njihovih zrtava -policije, vojske i, pre svega, civila,
stalno vrse pritisak na legalne organe reda i
bezbednosti, okrivljujuci njih, a ne teroriste, za stanje
na Kosovu i Metohiji. Iako su OUN donele rezoluciju
kojom se trazi prekidanje svih vrsta pomoci
teroristima na Kosovu i Metohiji, i dalje se sa svih
strana, a preko puteva koji vode kroz Republiku
Albaniju, na Kosovo i Metohiju slivaju novac, oruzje,
teroristi, mudzahedini i kriminalci, a da se to ne
sprecava, vec naprotiv podstice, i pri tome krije ili
marginalizuje. Civile na Kosovu i Metohiji ne
ugrozava policija, vec kriminalci i teroristi i njihove
pogubne aktivnosti su razlog stradanja civila,
njihovog izgona iz domova i straha i teskoca u kojima
zive. Pored toga, tesko je razumeti da se vojne pretnje
upucuju organima suverene drzave koji brane svoju
teritoriju i gradjane, umesto da se onemogucava
teroristicka aktivnost albanskih separatista, na nacin
na koji se to radi kada su u pitanju interesi tih istih
zemalja. Ocito je, dakle, da se iza napadne brige za
civile ne krije pokusaj smirivanja sukoba i zastite
civila vec pokusaj nametanja sopstvenih interesa
silom i pretnjama, suprotno vazecim medjunarodnim
normama i principima, koristeci pri tome zamene
teza, duple standarde, pa i otvorene manipulacije
cinjenicama.
12. LAZ: Republika Albanija podrzava
medjunarodne napore za smirivanje situacije na
Kosovu i Metohiji i zalaze za mirno resenje sukoba.
ISTINA: Republika Albanija, od svog osnivanja do
danas, skoro neprekidno i u kontinuitetu, aktivno
pomaze separatisticke pokrete i njihovu teroristicku
aktivnost na Kosovu i Metohiji. O tome postoji
bezbroj dokaza, istorijskih i drugih, ali osvrnimo se
samo na aktuelan momenat. Nesprona je cinjenica da
je Albanija u ovom momentu placdarm albanskih
terorista na Kosovu i Metohiji. Na njenoj teritoriji
borave, okupljaju se, obucavaju, opremaju oruzjem i
opremom i sa nje se ilegalno, a cesto i na silu,
prebacuju preko jugoslovenske granice sa ciljem
jacanja teroristickih snaga i njihovog sto sireg i
pogubnijeg delovanja. Medjunarodni kriminal, u koji
je duboko upletena albanska narko mafija i svi drugi
kriminalci albanske nacionalnosti, bez obzira ciji
pasos nose, (medjusobno povezani upravo na principu
nacionalne pripadnosti i kriminalnog opredeljenja),
predstavlja jedan od najvecih izvora finansiranja
teroristicke i separatisticke aktivnosti na Kosovu i
Metohiji u cemu Albanija ima znacajnu ulogu i to ne
samo kao trenutna zona "prljavog" novca, droge i
oruzja na Kosovu i Metohiji. Svoju apsolutnu podrsku
albanskim separatistima i terotistima Albanija vise i
ne krije. Otvoreno prima separatisticke albanske
prvake, pa i one koji se legitimisu kao predstavnici
teroristicke organizacije tzv. OVK, otvoreno
zagovara samoopredeljenje Albanaca na Kosovu i
Metohiji, sto je jasna podrska otcepljenju ove
pokrajine od Republike Srbije i SR Jugoslavije i, cak,
priziva stranu vojnu intervenciju radi pomoci
albanskim separatistima i teroristima u ostvarivanju
njihovog pravog cilja - nezavisnog i etnicki cistog
Kosova i Metohije.
13. LA?. Albanci se bore ya demokratsko i
multietni?ko drustvo na Kosovu i Metohiji.
ISTINA:Aktuelno stanje na KiM jasno pokazuje ne
samo da su prethodno izneti argumenti apsolutno
ta?ni ve? i da je verbalno zalaganje Albanskih
politi?kih lidera za demokratsko i multietni?ko
Kosovo obi?na la?. Nakon nasilnog progona,
pra?enog ubijanjem, maltretiranjem i svim drugim
oblicima pritiska na Srbe, pre svega, ali i na svo
ostalo nealbansko stanovnistvo, rusenjem i
spaljivanjem preko 80 pravoslavnih manastira i
crkava, rusenjem srpskih grobalja, otimanjem
imovine i privrednih objekata, Albanci su pokazali da
je njihova namera da Srbe i otale nealbance proteraju
za sva vremena sa KiM kako bi oteli njihovu
teritoriju i imovinu. To je najgnusnije etni?ko
?is??enje i nema nikakve veye ni sa demokratijom a
jos manje sa ?eljom ya zajedni?kim ?ivotom sa
gradjanima drugih vera i nacionalnosti. Naj?a?losnije
je sto se to desava pred o?ima celog sveta oli?enog u
medjunarodnoj misiji , vojnoj i civilnoj, koja, umesto
da tome ostro stane na put, zatvara o?i i pravi se
nevesta kao seoska mlada. Istorija , kada se jednoga
dana bude posteno pisala, a do?i ?e i to vreme, ne?e ih
postedeti od ovog zlo?ina.
Tek razumevanje ovih cinjenica moze dati pravu
sluku o dogadjajima na Kosovu i Metohiji, akterima i
njihovim ciljevima i delovanju.
