Informazione
1. Serbia Approves Deal to Bury Yugoslavia (People's Daily, China)
2. Yugoslavia: New Year, Old Problems (I. Baskakov, PRAVDA.Ru)
=== 1 ===
http://fpeng.peopledaily.com.cn/200301/28/print20030128_110878.html
Serbia Approves Deal to Bury Yugoslavia
Serbia's parliament adopted a Western-backed accord on Monday to ditch
the bloodied Yugoslav federation in favor of a loose union with the
coastal republic of Montenegro.
Serbia and Montenegro -- which would also be the name of the new union
-- are the only two republics remaining in Yugoslavia after the old
six-member socialist federation collapsed in bloodshed during the rule
of Slobodan Milosevic in the 1990s.
If the Montenegrin and the federal parliaments follow suit and approve
the agreement, the name Yugoslavia will be consigned to history after
almost 75 years' existence in various forms.
The 250-seat assembly voted with 166 deputies for and 47 against the
deal reshaping the federation into a union of Serbia and Montenegro.
After also backing implementing legislation, the assembly hall erupted
in loud applause.
Montenegro is expected to pass the new union's constitutional charter
when its parliament meets on Tuesday. It will formally become a
reality once it is approved by the federal parliament at a session
which has yet to be called.
Serbian and Montenegrin leaders agreed under European Union pressure
last year to stay together for now in a union leaving most powers in
the hands of the republics, but it took them almost a year of
wrangling to finalize the deal.
Montenegro reluctantly bowed to Western pressure and shelved plans for
breaking away from dominant Serbia for at least three years, when both
sides have the right to go it alone.
Serbia and Montenegro would have a president, to be elected by a
126-strong parliament, as well as a council of ministers including
ministers for the defense and foreign affairs.
Source: Agencies
=== 2 ===
http://english.pravda.ru/main/2003/01/14/42009.html
Read the original in Russian:
http://world.pravda.ru/world/2003/5/14/37/5482_Kosovo.html
2003.01.14/17:36
Ilya Baskakov
Special for PRAVDA.Ru
Translated by Maria Gousseva
Yugoslavia: New Year, Old Problems
Newspaper Glas Janvosti informs, participants of a
conference dedicated to ?a new stage of the Kosovo
retreat? that was held in Belgrade?s media-center,
reached a not comforting conclusion: ?The government has
no strategy for solution of the Kosovo problem.?
Vice-president of the Coordinating Center for Kosovo and
Metohija, the author of the project ?Kosovo Facing
Judgement of History?,
Branislav Krstic said that Albanians had a plan of
actions of their own. They have their plan, like the USA
and the EU countries wishing to reform the Balkans and
to give independence to Kosovo and Metohija on the sly.
Jovan Teokarevic, an analyst from the Institute for
European Studies, mentions that solution of the Kosovo
problem ?is directly connected with reforming of
Yugoslavia and the Balkans on the whole?; he also
emphasized at that there was no immediate solution of
the problem and it couldn?t be expected in the nearest
future either. The analyst is sure that only general
westernization of the region may do away with the
controversy there.
Teokarevic says that while Yugoslav politicians are
beating about the bush, only 60 Serb families got back
to Kosovo and Metohija in 2001 and 72 families in 2002.
If we take the total number of Serb families wishing to
get back home (6 thousand families) and the present-day
rate of the Serbs? return home, we may suppose that the
process will drag on for 60 years at best.
Besides Kosovo, Yugoslavia still has enough pressing
problems in the domestic policy. Belgrade?s radio B-92
recently held an interesting poll on its official
website. Guests of the site were offered to pick out the
most lying promise made by politicians last year. Tanjug
informs that main supporters of westernization, Zoran
Djindjic and Voislav Kostunica were mentioned oftener
than other politicians.
The Serbia prime minister with the hit statement of
March 15 is the leader of the poll: ?by the end of the
year, we will have an effective federal state;
authorities of the state will cost cheap enough and
powers of the leading departments will be clearly
defined.?
How is it possible to save on the governmental spending?
One of the ways out is to sell out former Serb President
Milutinovic, the same way it was done with Slobodan
Milosevic. But in fact no money is asked for the former
Serb president; there is only once condition that the
man must stay free until a trial in the Hague. (By the
way, Americans promise to make next payments to Serbia
for the selling out in March already). The authorities
are being distributed between Serbia and Montenegro so
actively, that the newly appointed foreign minister of
Montenegro declares: within the next three years he will
train diplomats of the republic for ?work under
conditions of an independent state? (he also reported
that this independent state would be undoubtedly
founded).
Yugoslavia President Voislav Kostunica with his
statement of June 15 was rated second: ?running for the
post of Serbian president is essential for me first of
all for the sake of adoption of the Constitutional
Charter.? But the things are right where they started.
So, Yugoslavia entered the new year with the following
results: with Kostunica at head, who may share the fate
of USSR President Mikhail Gorbachev, the president
without his state; with Zoran Djindjic kow-towing to
Europe; still without Kosovo and without any promising
prospects at all. No new president of Serbia was
elected. According to the recent information, the former
Serb president may be delivered to the Hague on
Wednesday already.
2. Yugoslavia: New Year, Old Problems (I. Baskakov, PRAVDA.Ru)
=== 1 ===
http://fpeng.peopledaily.com.cn/200301/28/print20030128_110878.html
Serbia Approves Deal to Bury Yugoslavia
Serbia's parliament adopted a Western-backed accord on Monday to ditch
the bloodied Yugoslav federation in favor of a loose union with the
coastal republic of Montenegro.
Serbia and Montenegro -- which would also be the name of the new union
-- are the only two republics remaining in Yugoslavia after the old
six-member socialist federation collapsed in bloodshed during the rule
of Slobodan Milosevic in the 1990s.
If the Montenegrin and the federal parliaments follow suit and approve
the agreement, the name Yugoslavia will be consigned to history after
almost 75 years' existence in various forms.
The 250-seat assembly voted with 166 deputies for and 47 against the
deal reshaping the federation into a union of Serbia and Montenegro.
After also backing implementing legislation, the assembly hall erupted
in loud applause.
Montenegro is expected to pass the new union's constitutional charter
when its parliament meets on Tuesday. It will formally become a
reality once it is approved by the federal parliament at a session
which has yet to be called.
Serbian and Montenegrin leaders agreed under European Union pressure
last year to stay together for now in a union leaving most powers in
the hands of the republics, but it took them almost a year of
wrangling to finalize the deal.
Montenegro reluctantly bowed to Western pressure and shelved plans for
breaking away from dominant Serbia for at least three years, when both
sides have the right to go it alone.
Serbia and Montenegro would have a president, to be elected by a
126-strong parliament, as well as a council of ministers including
ministers for the defense and foreign affairs.
Source: Agencies
=== 2 ===
http://english.pravda.ru/main/2003/01/14/42009.html
Read the original in Russian:
http://world.pravda.ru/world/2003/5/14/37/5482_Kosovo.html
2003.01.14/17:36
Ilya Baskakov
Special for PRAVDA.Ru
Translated by Maria Gousseva
Yugoslavia: New Year, Old Problems
Newspaper Glas Janvosti informs, participants of a
conference dedicated to ?a new stage of the Kosovo
retreat? that was held in Belgrade?s media-center,
reached a not comforting conclusion: ?The government has
no strategy for solution of the Kosovo problem.?
Vice-president of the Coordinating Center for Kosovo and
Metohija, the author of the project ?Kosovo Facing
Judgement of History?,
Branislav Krstic said that Albanians had a plan of
actions of their own. They have their plan, like the USA
and the EU countries wishing to reform the Balkans and
to give independence to Kosovo and Metohija on the sly.
Jovan Teokarevic, an analyst from the Institute for
European Studies, mentions that solution of the Kosovo
problem ?is directly connected with reforming of
Yugoslavia and the Balkans on the whole?; he also
emphasized at that there was no immediate solution of
the problem and it couldn?t be expected in the nearest
future either. The analyst is sure that only general
westernization of the region may do away with the
controversy there.
Teokarevic says that while Yugoslav politicians are
beating about the bush, only 60 Serb families got back
to Kosovo and Metohija in 2001 and 72 families in 2002.
If we take the total number of Serb families wishing to
get back home (6 thousand families) and the present-day
rate of the Serbs? return home, we may suppose that the
process will drag on for 60 years at best.
Besides Kosovo, Yugoslavia still has enough pressing
problems in the domestic policy. Belgrade?s radio B-92
recently held an interesting poll on its official
website. Guests of the site were offered to pick out the
most lying promise made by politicians last year. Tanjug
informs that main supporters of westernization, Zoran
Djindjic and Voislav Kostunica were mentioned oftener
than other politicians.
The Serbia prime minister with the hit statement of
March 15 is the leader of the poll: ?by the end of the
year, we will have an effective federal state;
authorities of the state will cost cheap enough and
powers of the leading departments will be clearly
defined.?
How is it possible to save on the governmental spending?
One of the ways out is to sell out former Serb President
Milutinovic, the same way it was done with Slobodan
Milosevic. But in fact no money is asked for the former
Serb president; there is only once condition that the
man must stay free until a trial in the Hague. (By the
way, Americans promise to make next payments to Serbia
for the selling out in March already). The authorities
are being distributed between Serbia and Montenegro so
actively, that the newly appointed foreign minister of
Montenegro declares: within the next three years he will
train diplomats of the republic for ?work under
conditions of an independent state? (he also reported
that this independent state would be undoubtedly
founded).
Yugoslavia President Voislav Kostunica with his
statement of June 15 was rated second: ?running for the
post of Serbian president is essential for me first of
all for the sake of adoption of the Constitutional
Charter.? But the things are right where they started.
So, Yugoslavia entered the new year with the following
results: with Kostunica at head, who may share the fate
of USSR President Mikhail Gorbachev, the president
without his state; with Zoran Djindjic kow-towing to
Europe; still without Kosovo and without any promising
prospects at all. No new president of Serbia was
elected. According to the recent information, the former
Serb president may be delivered to the Hague on
Wednesday already.
FUNZIONA ALLO STESSO MODO
"Naturalmente la gente non vuole la guerra. Perché un
povero diavolo di una fattoria dovrebbe voler rischiare la
propria vita in una guerra quando al massimo ne può
guadagnare di tornare alla sua fattoria tutto intero?
Naturalmente la gente comune non vuole la guerra: né in
Russia, né in Inghilterra, né in Germania. Questo è
comprensibile. Ma, dopotutto, sono i governanti del
paese che determinano la politica, ed è sempre facile
trascinare con sé il popolo, sia che si tratti di una
democrazia, o di una dittatura fascista, o di un
parlamento, o di una dittatura comunista. Che abbia
voce o no, il popolo può essere sempre portato al volere
dei capi. È facile. Tutto quello che dovete fare è dir loro
che sono attaccati, e denunciare i pacifisti per mancanza
di patriottismo e in quanto espongono il paese al
pericolo. Funziona allo stesso modo in tutti i paesi."
(Hermann Goering al Processo di Norimberga;
segnalato da C. Scarinzi)
"Naturalmente la gente non vuole la guerra. Perché un
povero diavolo di una fattoria dovrebbe voler rischiare la
propria vita in una guerra quando al massimo ne può
guadagnare di tornare alla sua fattoria tutto intero?
Naturalmente la gente comune non vuole la guerra: né in
Russia, né in Inghilterra, né in Germania. Questo è
comprensibile. Ma, dopotutto, sono i governanti del
paese che determinano la politica, ed è sempre facile
trascinare con sé il popolo, sia che si tratti di una
democrazia, o di una dittatura fascista, o di un
parlamento, o di una dittatura comunista. Che abbia
voce o no, il popolo può essere sempre portato al volere
dei capi. È facile. Tutto quello che dovete fare è dir loro
che sono attaccati, e denunciare i pacifisti per mancanza
di patriottismo e in quanto espongono il paese al
pericolo. Funziona allo stesso modo in tutti i paesi."
(Hermann Goering al Processo di Norimberga;
segnalato da C. Scarinzi)
Ecco il caso ecologico della settimana... E' in arrivo a Kraljevo
un'ondata di fenolo e di altro, dal Kosovo, presumibilmente dalle
miniere del Kosovo.
Ecco il resoconto dettagliato della vicenda tra conferme e smentite
dell'autorita', nella rassegna stampa di Zivkica Nedanovska.... Se lo
volete gustare in pieno seguite con attenzione la sequenza delle date.
Alberto Tarozzi
(Nota: in appendice una serie di dispacci ANSA ed in lingua inglese -
IN ENGLISH AT BOTTOM)
1.FONTE: "Danas", Belgrado.
2.TITOLO: Minaccia di catastrofe ecologica di dimensioni enormi.
3.INDICE: Andjelka Mihajlov, ministro serbo per l'ecologia, sulla
situazione drammatica a Kraljevo.
4.AUTORE: Zlatija Vukovic.
5.SITO INTERNET: http://www.danas.co.yu/20030121/terazije.htm
6.NUMERO DI PAGINE: 1.
7.DATA: 21.01.2003.
"L'inchiesta più recente ha dimostrato che nelle acque del fiume
Sitnica (affluente del fiume Ibar) la concentrazione di fenolo è 300
volte superiore a quella permessa, mentre nel fiume Ibar è 50 volte
superiore", ha dichiarato il ministro serbo per l'ambiente a proposito
della catastrofe ecologica provocata dallo straripamento di fenolo
dalla centrale termoelettrica "Obilic", nel Kosmet.
Il Governo serbo ha protestato severamente, avvertendo l'UNMIK che la
catastrofe ecologica si deve fermare. Questo grave problema non lo può
risolvere lo stesso Governo perchè i rappresentati dell'UNMIK non
permettono agli esperti gli esami, visto che "tutto è sfuggito dal
controllo".
La Mihajlov ha sottolineato che il Governo avrebbe rifornito ancora i
cittadini di Kraljevo con l'acqua potabile e che la situazione sarà
seguita minuziosamente.
1.FONTE: "Danas", Belgrado.
2.TITOLO: Non ci sono segni visibili da dove provenga l'inquinamento.
3.INDICE: Bety Doson, responsabile per lo sviluppo economico
dell'UNMIK in Kosovo: in corso un'inchiesta dettagliata sulle cause
possibili dell'inquinamento delle acque a Kraljevo.
4.AUTORE: Agenzia Beta.
5.SITO INTERNET: http://www.danas.co.yu/20030121/terazije.htm
6.NUMERO DI PAGINE: 1.
7.DATA: 21.01.2003.
Nel Kosovo è in corso un'inchiesta dettagliata sulle possibili cause
dell'inquinamento del fiume Ibar. "Nella inchiesta preliminare non ci
sono indicazioni che potrebbero individuare la fonte dell'aumento
della concentrazione di fenolo e piombo nelle acque del fiume Ibar",
ha detto la responsabile presso l'UNMIK, Bety Doson. Secondo lei,
tutto quello che riguarda l'ambiente nel Kosovo viene osservato,
seguito e controllato da parte dall'Istituto per la protezione della
salute del Kosovo, e le acque potabili, nonchè quelle di scarico, sono
esaminate regolarmente.
Il responsabile del Ministero serbo per l'ambiente, Dragoljub
Bjelovic, suppone che gli inquinatori possibili dell'affluente del
fiume Ibar, Sitnica, possano essere gli impianti chimici e le miniere
a Rudnica, Trepca, Leposavic e Obilic (tutte le località che si
trovano nel Kosovo). Il fiume Ibar è straripato nella regione di Zicko
Polje l'11 gennaio, dopodichè sono stati preventivamente esclusi dalle
loro funzioni nove dei venti pozzi che forniscono l'acqua potabile ai
cittadini di Kraljevo. L'analisi dell'acqua dell'acquedotto di
Kraljevo ha dimostrato che la concentrazione di fenolo e piombo è
superiore di oltre due volte - cioè 2,8 volte - al consentito. In
conseguenza di cio' il capo distrettuale di Raski Okrug ne ha vietato
l'uso.
1.FONTE: "Danas", Belgrado.
2.TITOLO: Covic: a Obilic una quantità di fenolo tre volte
superiore...
3.INDICE: ////
4.SITO INTERNET: http://www.danas.co.yu/20030121/terazije.htm
5.NUMERO DI PAGINE: 1.
6.DATA: 21.01.2003.
Alla riunione del Ministero serbo per l'ambiente e per l'energia,
dell'UNMIK e di "Habitat" è stato detto che la misura della
concentrazione del fenolo nelle acque di Obilic è risultata tre volte
superiore a quella permessa. Secondo Nebojsa Covic, la causa possibile
potrebbe essere l'essiccatoio e la gasificazione, spenta a Obilic
dieci anni fa.
"Però, nei serbatoi sono rimaste circa 800 tonnellate di fenolo e 15
milioni di litri di acqua al fenolo. Qualora le cose non vengano
gestite in modo adeguato, possono verificarsi avarie, la perforazione
degli sbarramenti e l'ingresso di tale materiale nel fiume Sitnica
che sbocca nel fiume Ibar e da lì si diffonde oltre", dice Nebojsa
Covic - aggiungendo che le equipe serbe di esperti sarebbero pronte a
partire per il Kosovo ma, purtroppo, non hanno avuto ancora il
permesso dall'UNMIK.
1.FONTE: Glas Javnosti.
2.TITOLO: Il fenolo non minaccia più gli abitanti di Kraljevo.
3.INDICE: Accertato finalmente che il fenolo proviene dal Kosmet.
4.SITO INTERNET:
http://www.glas-javnosti.co.yu/danas/srpski/D03012302.shtml
5.NUMERO DI PAGINE: 1.
6.DATA: 24.01.2003.
"Le analisi più recenti dell'acqua potabile a Kraljevo dimostrano che
la presenza di fenolo è sotto i valori massimi permessi e che la
salute della popolazione di Kraljevo non è minacciata": sono le parole
del sostituto del ministro serbo per la salute, riferite all'agenzia
Tanjug. Egli ha sottolineato che i servizi competenti avrebbero
continuato a controllare l'acqua potabile a Kraljevo, visto che c'è
ancora una concentrazione alta di fenolo nel Kosmet.
"Dobbiamo risolvere il problema del rifornimento dell'acqua potabile
nel modo più sicuro e duraturo non solo per Kraljevo, ma per tutte le
altre città nelle quali l'acqua fluviale viene destinata all'uso della
popolazione, visto che l'ambiente è cambiato e i fiumi non sono più
puliti come una volta. La popolazione di 12 comuni lungo il fiume
Velika Morava non dovrebbe avere paura dell'inquinamento di questo
fiume perchè il fenolo non c'è nella Velika Morava e non ci sarà", ha
detto ieri all'agenzia Tanjug il capo dell'Istituto per la protezione
della salute del Pomoravski Okrug (il distretto di Pomoravlje - le
città lungo il fiume Velika Morava), Vesna Randjelovic.
1.FONTE: "Politika", Belgrado.
2.TITOLO: Sta arrivando la nuova ondata di fenolo.
3.INDICE: I risultati dell'analisi dell'acqua del Kosmet.
4.SITO INTERNET: http://www.politika.co.yu/2003/0126/01_13.htm
5.NUMERO DI PAGINE: 1.
6.DATA: 26.01.2003.
Secondo informazioni arrivate stamattina a Kraljevo dal team degli
esperti serbi e kosovari sulla qualità dell'acqua, i cittadini di
Kraljevo non possono essere tranquilli perchè [la situazione] non è
incoraggiante. Secondo la relazione, i risultati dei campioni
dell'acqua, presi ieri nel pomeriggio, dicono chiaramente che la
concentrazione di fenolo nel fiume Sitnica arriva a 880 mgr, mentre
nel fiume Ibar, vicino a Kosovska Mitrovica, è di 320mgr al litro.
Se questo influirà sulla qualità dell'acqua vicino a Kraljevo, dove
oggi la concentrazione del fenolo si trova nei limiti massimi
permessi, lo si vedrà quando l'ondata arrivera', nell'arco di 24 ore,
vicino a Kraljevo.
D'altronde, i risultati delle analisi dell'acqua dei fiumi Sitnica e
Ibar nel Kosmet, ad opera degli esperti serbi, ancora non sono
arrivati. Saranno particolarmente interessanti, secondo il ministro
serbo per l'economia idrica, perchè sono stati presi i campioni
d'acqua dove il fiume Gracanka sbocca nel fiume Sitnica. Il fiume
Gracanka passa attraverso le scorie delle miniere Ajvalija e Kisnica,
e ad occhio nudo si può vedere il sedimento delle scorie di queste
miniere di piombo e zinco.
Dunque, l'analisi dimostrerà se quell'acqua contiene anche metalli
pesanti. Percio' è possibile che il pericolo che minaccia Kraljevo e
il fiume Ibar non venga solo dal fenolo. Perciò, sulle strade di
Kraljevo sono presenti anche oggi le cisterne con l'acqua potabile per
i cittadini che non credono molto alle affermazioni degli esperti
secondo i quali l'acqua dell'acquedotto si potrebbe usare.
---
KOSOVO: SERBIA PROTESTA PER FUGA FENOLO DA IMPIANTO
(ANSA) - BELGRADO, 21 GEN - Una grande quantita' di fenolo (o acido
fenico, un composto chimico molto tossico) si e' riversata dagli
impianti della centrale elettrica di Obilic, nel Kosovo, finendo nel
fiume Ibar e da questi nelle falde acquifere della regione di Kraljevo
(Serbia centro-meridionale). Il ministro serbo per l'ambiente Andjelka
Mihajlov ha duramente criticato l'amministrazione Onu per la provincia
(Unmik) per non aver avvertito dell'incidente, e ha sottolineato che
nella zona di Kraljevo circa 100.000 persone sono da alcuni giorni
senza acqua potabile a causa dell'inquinamento. Stando ai dati del
ministero, la concentrazione di fenolo nelle acque della regione e' di
300 milligrammi per litro, circa 300 volte i livelli ammessi dalla
legge. La Serbia ha protestato anche per gli ostacoli a suo dire posti
dall'Unmik a un'ispezione di esperti serbi che avrebbero dovuto
determinare se la perdita di fenolo e' stata incidentale o causata da
un sabotaggio, o il risultato di una prassi per la quale sostanze
pericolose vengono impunemente scaricate nei fiumi kosovari. Secondo
Mihajlov, il capo dell'ufficio Unmik a Belgrado Paul McKlenburg ha
parlato di una fuoriuscita accidentale della sostanza. Alti livelli di
acido fenico si registrano anche in molte zone del Kosovo, stando
all'agenzia Tanjug: a Kosovska Mitrovica, nel nord del paese, la
concentrazione nei pozzi e' salita a 540 milligrammi per litro.
(ANSA). OT 21/01/2003 19:17
http://www.ansa.it/balcani/kosovo/20030121191732448940.html
---
SERBIAN ENVIRONMENT MINISTER CALLS ON UNMIK TO ALLOW SERBIAN EXPERTS
TO EXPLORE CAUSES OF POLLUTION
BELGRADE, Jan. 20 (Beta) - On Jan. 20, Serbian Environment Minister
Andjelka Mihajlov urged the UN Mission in Kosovo to allow a group of
Serbian experts entry in order to examine the causes of water
pollution in Kraljevo that had originated from Kosovo. Mihajlov
told a press conference that she had asked the UNMIK environment
administrator to regularly inform the Serbian environment ministry on
the quantities of phenol dumped into the Ibar and Sitnica rivers and
to establish who is responsible for not informing the Serbian
authorities on time. Mihajlov, Serbian vicepremier Nebojsa Covic and
Serbian Energy Minister Kori Udovicki met UNMIK's Belgrade office
chief Paul Maclenburg, who told them that a concentration of phenol
300 times higher than that allowed by Serbian regulations had been
measured in Kosovo on Jan. 19. Asked about the reasons for not
informing the Serbian authorities about the issue, Macklenburg
apologized and referred them to the environment administrator in
Kosovo, said Mihajlov. On Jan. 16, the Kraljevo water supply was
declared contaminated and unfit for use, after an analysis had shown
that the concentration of phenol and lead in the water was two and 2.8
times higher than allowed. After the Ibar river flooded its banks, an
emergency situation was declared in the municipality, while citizens
are now being supplied with water from mobile water tanks. According
to the first results of the Serbian environment ministry, the reasons
for pollution are most probably the industrial systems in Kosovo and
Metohija. Ministry official Dragoljub Bejlovic said that the water is
being polluted by the Kosovo river Sitnica, which flows into the Ibar
river. Although the ministry has not established the cause of
pollution yet, Bjelovic mentioned the chemical plants in Rudnica,
Trepca, Leposavic and Obilic as possible sources of pollution.
Environmental demonstrations in Kraljevo were first held in 1986
due to a high concentration of phenol and ferrous metals in the city's
water supplies.
http://www.ptd.net/webnews/wed/cd/Qyugo-kosovo-pollution.ROT7_DJL.html
Kosovo power plant is polluting river, says Yugoslavia
BELGRADE, Jan 21 (AFP) - A power plant in the
UN-administered Serbian province of Kosovo is dumping
a corrosive and toxic hydrocarbon by-product into a
river, causing major water supply problems further
downstream, the Serbian government said on Monday,
announcing a "strong" protest over the alleged
pollution.
The Serbian statement said a conventional generating
plant at Obilic, near the main Kosovo town of
Pristina, had been dumping phenol into the River Ibar,
which rises in Kosovo.
The Belgrade government said it had delivered a
protest over the incident to the UN's chief
administrator for Kosovo, Michael Steiner.
"The Serbian government protests strongly over the
serious environmental situation created by the dumping
of phenol into the Sitnica and Ibar rivers," the
statement said.
The Sitnica is a tributary of the Ibar, which flows
northwards across Serbia into the Morava River, which
in turn feeds into the Danube.
The Serbian statement said the pollution had caused
serious water supply problems in the region of
Kraljevo, a town 150 kilometers (90 miles) south of
the Serbian capital Belgrade. Some 100,000 local
residents there were without water supplies due to the
pollution, it said.
It said phenol levels in river water at Kraljevo were
currently some 60 times higher than the maximum
permitted.
It called on the UN authorities to immediately
determine the cause of the pollution, and also to
allow Serbian experts to visit the power plant and
assess the situation.
Phenol is a poisonous and corrosive acidic compound
that is present in coaltar.
---
un'ondata di fenolo e di altro, dal Kosovo, presumibilmente dalle
miniere del Kosovo.
Ecco il resoconto dettagliato della vicenda tra conferme e smentite
dell'autorita', nella rassegna stampa di Zivkica Nedanovska.... Se lo
volete gustare in pieno seguite con attenzione la sequenza delle date.
Alberto Tarozzi
(Nota: in appendice una serie di dispacci ANSA ed in lingua inglese -
IN ENGLISH AT BOTTOM)
1.FONTE: "Danas", Belgrado.
2.TITOLO: Minaccia di catastrofe ecologica di dimensioni enormi.
3.INDICE: Andjelka Mihajlov, ministro serbo per l'ecologia, sulla
situazione drammatica a Kraljevo.
4.AUTORE: Zlatija Vukovic.
5.SITO INTERNET: http://www.danas.co.yu/20030121/terazije.htm
6.NUMERO DI PAGINE: 1.
7.DATA: 21.01.2003.
"L'inchiesta più recente ha dimostrato che nelle acque del fiume
Sitnica (affluente del fiume Ibar) la concentrazione di fenolo è 300
volte superiore a quella permessa, mentre nel fiume Ibar è 50 volte
superiore", ha dichiarato il ministro serbo per l'ambiente a proposito
della catastrofe ecologica provocata dallo straripamento di fenolo
dalla centrale termoelettrica "Obilic", nel Kosmet.
Il Governo serbo ha protestato severamente, avvertendo l'UNMIK che la
catastrofe ecologica si deve fermare. Questo grave problema non lo può
risolvere lo stesso Governo perchè i rappresentati dell'UNMIK non
permettono agli esperti gli esami, visto che "tutto è sfuggito dal
controllo".
La Mihajlov ha sottolineato che il Governo avrebbe rifornito ancora i
cittadini di Kraljevo con l'acqua potabile e che la situazione sarà
seguita minuziosamente.
1.FONTE: "Danas", Belgrado.
2.TITOLO: Non ci sono segni visibili da dove provenga l'inquinamento.
3.INDICE: Bety Doson, responsabile per lo sviluppo economico
dell'UNMIK in Kosovo: in corso un'inchiesta dettagliata sulle cause
possibili dell'inquinamento delle acque a Kraljevo.
4.AUTORE: Agenzia Beta.
5.SITO INTERNET: http://www.danas.co.yu/20030121/terazije.htm
6.NUMERO DI PAGINE: 1.
7.DATA: 21.01.2003.
Nel Kosovo è in corso un'inchiesta dettagliata sulle possibili cause
dell'inquinamento del fiume Ibar. "Nella inchiesta preliminare non ci
sono indicazioni che potrebbero individuare la fonte dell'aumento
della concentrazione di fenolo e piombo nelle acque del fiume Ibar",
ha detto la responsabile presso l'UNMIK, Bety Doson. Secondo lei,
tutto quello che riguarda l'ambiente nel Kosovo viene osservato,
seguito e controllato da parte dall'Istituto per la protezione della
salute del Kosovo, e le acque potabili, nonchè quelle di scarico, sono
esaminate regolarmente.
Il responsabile del Ministero serbo per l'ambiente, Dragoljub
Bjelovic, suppone che gli inquinatori possibili dell'affluente del
fiume Ibar, Sitnica, possano essere gli impianti chimici e le miniere
a Rudnica, Trepca, Leposavic e Obilic (tutte le località che si
trovano nel Kosovo). Il fiume Ibar è straripato nella regione di Zicko
Polje l'11 gennaio, dopodichè sono stati preventivamente esclusi dalle
loro funzioni nove dei venti pozzi che forniscono l'acqua potabile ai
cittadini di Kraljevo. L'analisi dell'acqua dell'acquedotto di
Kraljevo ha dimostrato che la concentrazione di fenolo e piombo è
superiore di oltre due volte - cioè 2,8 volte - al consentito. In
conseguenza di cio' il capo distrettuale di Raski Okrug ne ha vietato
l'uso.
1.FONTE: "Danas", Belgrado.
2.TITOLO: Covic: a Obilic una quantità di fenolo tre volte
superiore...
3.INDICE: ////
4.SITO INTERNET: http://www.danas.co.yu/20030121/terazije.htm
5.NUMERO DI PAGINE: 1.
6.DATA: 21.01.2003.
Alla riunione del Ministero serbo per l'ambiente e per l'energia,
dell'UNMIK e di "Habitat" è stato detto che la misura della
concentrazione del fenolo nelle acque di Obilic è risultata tre volte
superiore a quella permessa. Secondo Nebojsa Covic, la causa possibile
potrebbe essere l'essiccatoio e la gasificazione, spenta a Obilic
dieci anni fa.
"Però, nei serbatoi sono rimaste circa 800 tonnellate di fenolo e 15
milioni di litri di acqua al fenolo. Qualora le cose non vengano
gestite in modo adeguato, possono verificarsi avarie, la perforazione
degli sbarramenti e l'ingresso di tale materiale nel fiume Sitnica
che sbocca nel fiume Ibar e da lì si diffonde oltre", dice Nebojsa
Covic - aggiungendo che le equipe serbe di esperti sarebbero pronte a
partire per il Kosovo ma, purtroppo, non hanno avuto ancora il
permesso dall'UNMIK.
1.FONTE: Glas Javnosti.
2.TITOLO: Il fenolo non minaccia più gli abitanti di Kraljevo.
3.INDICE: Accertato finalmente che il fenolo proviene dal Kosmet.
4.SITO INTERNET:
http://www.glas-javnosti.co.yu/danas/srpski/D03012302.shtml
5.NUMERO DI PAGINE: 1.
6.DATA: 24.01.2003.
"Le analisi più recenti dell'acqua potabile a Kraljevo dimostrano che
la presenza di fenolo è sotto i valori massimi permessi e che la
salute della popolazione di Kraljevo non è minacciata": sono le parole
del sostituto del ministro serbo per la salute, riferite all'agenzia
Tanjug. Egli ha sottolineato che i servizi competenti avrebbero
continuato a controllare l'acqua potabile a Kraljevo, visto che c'è
ancora una concentrazione alta di fenolo nel Kosmet.
"Dobbiamo risolvere il problema del rifornimento dell'acqua potabile
nel modo più sicuro e duraturo non solo per Kraljevo, ma per tutte le
altre città nelle quali l'acqua fluviale viene destinata all'uso della
popolazione, visto che l'ambiente è cambiato e i fiumi non sono più
puliti come una volta. La popolazione di 12 comuni lungo il fiume
Velika Morava non dovrebbe avere paura dell'inquinamento di questo
fiume perchè il fenolo non c'è nella Velika Morava e non ci sarà", ha
detto ieri all'agenzia Tanjug il capo dell'Istituto per la protezione
della salute del Pomoravski Okrug (il distretto di Pomoravlje - le
città lungo il fiume Velika Morava), Vesna Randjelovic.
1.FONTE: "Politika", Belgrado.
2.TITOLO: Sta arrivando la nuova ondata di fenolo.
3.INDICE: I risultati dell'analisi dell'acqua del Kosmet.
4.SITO INTERNET: http://www.politika.co.yu/2003/0126/01_13.htm
5.NUMERO DI PAGINE: 1.
6.DATA: 26.01.2003.
Secondo informazioni arrivate stamattina a Kraljevo dal team degli
esperti serbi e kosovari sulla qualità dell'acqua, i cittadini di
Kraljevo non possono essere tranquilli perchè [la situazione] non è
incoraggiante. Secondo la relazione, i risultati dei campioni
dell'acqua, presi ieri nel pomeriggio, dicono chiaramente che la
concentrazione di fenolo nel fiume Sitnica arriva a 880 mgr, mentre
nel fiume Ibar, vicino a Kosovska Mitrovica, è di 320mgr al litro.
Se questo influirà sulla qualità dell'acqua vicino a Kraljevo, dove
oggi la concentrazione del fenolo si trova nei limiti massimi
permessi, lo si vedrà quando l'ondata arrivera', nell'arco di 24 ore,
vicino a Kraljevo.
D'altronde, i risultati delle analisi dell'acqua dei fiumi Sitnica e
Ibar nel Kosmet, ad opera degli esperti serbi, ancora non sono
arrivati. Saranno particolarmente interessanti, secondo il ministro
serbo per l'economia idrica, perchè sono stati presi i campioni
d'acqua dove il fiume Gracanka sbocca nel fiume Sitnica. Il fiume
Gracanka passa attraverso le scorie delle miniere Ajvalija e Kisnica,
e ad occhio nudo si può vedere il sedimento delle scorie di queste
miniere di piombo e zinco.
Dunque, l'analisi dimostrerà se quell'acqua contiene anche metalli
pesanti. Percio' è possibile che il pericolo che minaccia Kraljevo e
il fiume Ibar non venga solo dal fenolo. Perciò, sulle strade di
Kraljevo sono presenti anche oggi le cisterne con l'acqua potabile per
i cittadini che non credono molto alle affermazioni degli esperti
secondo i quali l'acqua dell'acquedotto si potrebbe usare.
---
KOSOVO: SERBIA PROTESTA PER FUGA FENOLO DA IMPIANTO
(ANSA) - BELGRADO, 21 GEN - Una grande quantita' di fenolo (o acido
fenico, un composto chimico molto tossico) si e' riversata dagli
impianti della centrale elettrica di Obilic, nel Kosovo, finendo nel
fiume Ibar e da questi nelle falde acquifere della regione di Kraljevo
(Serbia centro-meridionale). Il ministro serbo per l'ambiente Andjelka
Mihajlov ha duramente criticato l'amministrazione Onu per la provincia
(Unmik) per non aver avvertito dell'incidente, e ha sottolineato che
nella zona di Kraljevo circa 100.000 persone sono da alcuni giorni
senza acqua potabile a causa dell'inquinamento. Stando ai dati del
ministero, la concentrazione di fenolo nelle acque della regione e' di
300 milligrammi per litro, circa 300 volte i livelli ammessi dalla
legge. La Serbia ha protestato anche per gli ostacoli a suo dire posti
dall'Unmik a un'ispezione di esperti serbi che avrebbero dovuto
determinare se la perdita di fenolo e' stata incidentale o causata da
un sabotaggio, o il risultato di una prassi per la quale sostanze
pericolose vengono impunemente scaricate nei fiumi kosovari. Secondo
Mihajlov, il capo dell'ufficio Unmik a Belgrado Paul McKlenburg ha
parlato di una fuoriuscita accidentale della sostanza. Alti livelli di
acido fenico si registrano anche in molte zone del Kosovo, stando
all'agenzia Tanjug: a Kosovska Mitrovica, nel nord del paese, la
concentrazione nei pozzi e' salita a 540 milligrammi per litro.
(ANSA). OT 21/01/2003 19:17
http://www.ansa.it/balcani/kosovo/20030121191732448940.html
---
SERBIAN ENVIRONMENT MINISTER CALLS ON UNMIK TO ALLOW SERBIAN EXPERTS
TO EXPLORE CAUSES OF POLLUTION
BELGRADE, Jan. 20 (Beta) - On Jan. 20, Serbian Environment Minister
Andjelka Mihajlov urged the UN Mission in Kosovo to allow a group of
Serbian experts entry in order to examine the causes of water
pollution in Kraljevo that had originated from Kosovo. Mihajlov
told a press conference that she had asked the UNMIK environment
administrator to regularly inform the Serbian environment ministry on
the quantities of phenol dumped into the Ibar and Sitnica rivers and
to establish who is responsible for not informing the Serbian
authorities on time. Mihajlov, Serbian vicepremier Nebojsa Covic and
Serbian Energy Minister Kori Udovicki met UNMIK's Belgrade office
chief Paul Maclenburg, who told them that a concentration of phenol
300 times higher than that allowed by Serbian regulations had been
measured in Kosovo on Jan. 19. Asked about the reasons for not
informing the Serbian authorities about the issue, Macklenburg
apologized and referred them to the environment administrator in
Kosovo, said Mihajlov. On Jan. 16, the Kraljevo water supply was
declared contaminated and unfit for use, after an analysis had shown
that the concentration of phenol and lead in the water was two and 2.8
times higher than allowed. After the Ibar river flooded its banks, an
emergency situation was declared in the municipality, while citizens
are now being supplied with water from mobile water tanks. According
to the first results of the Serbian environment ministry, the reasons
for pollution are most probably the industrial systems in Kosovo and
Metohija. Ministry official Dragoljub Bejlovic said that the water is
being polluted by the Kosovo river Sitnica, which flows into the Ibar
river. Although the ministry has not established the cause of
pollution yet, Bjelovic mentioned the chemical plants in Rudnica,
Trepca, Leposavic and Obilic as possible sources of pollution.
Environmental demonstrations in Kraljevo were first held in 1986
due to a high concentration of phenol and ferrous metals in the city's
water supplies.
http://www.ptd.net/webnews/wed/cd/Qyugo-kosovo-pollution.ROT7_DJL.html
Kosovo power plant is polluting river, says Yugoslavia
BELGRADE, Jan 21 (AFP) - A power plant in the
UN-administered Serbian province of Kosovo is dumping
a corrosive and toxic hydrocarbon by-product into a
river, causing major water supply problems further
downstream, the Serbian government said on Monday,
announcing a "strong" protest over the alleged
pollution.
The Serbian statement said a conventional generating
plant at Obilic, near the main Kosovo town of
Pristina, had been dumping phenol into the River Ibar,
which rises in Kosovo.
The Belgrade government said it had delivered a
protest over the incident to the UN's chief
administrator for Kosovo, Michael Steiner.
"The Serbian government protests strongly over the
serious environmental situation created by the dumping
of phenol into the Sitnica and Ibar rivers," the
statement said.
The Sitnica is a tributary of the Ibar, which flows
northwards across Serbia into the Morava River, which
in turn feeds into the Danube.
The Serbian statement said the pollution had caused
serious water supply problems in the region of
Kraljevo, a town 150 kilometers (90 miles) south of
the Serbian capital Belgrade. Some 100,000 local
residents there were without water supplies due to the
pollution, it said.
It said phenol levels in river water at Kraljevo were
currently some 60 times higher than the maximum
permitted.
It called on the UN authorities to immediately
determine the cause of the pollution, and also to
allow Serbian experts to visit the power plant and
assess the situation.
Phenol is a poisonous and corrosive acidic compound
that is present in coaltar.
---
Kusturica Opposes Bombardment in the Name of Humanity
by Kyodo News and Emir Kusturica
WorldNow
July 08, 2002
Zlatibor, Yugoslavia, May 17, 2002 (Kyodo) - Emir Kusturica, the
Sarajevo-born filmmaker, has won two Palme d'Or awards at Cannes
since starting out as a film director in 1981. During his 20-year
career he has produced only seven films, all of which have won
praise. Asked what he thinks of events in Afghanistan, Kusturica said
the United States is "bombarding (the country) in the name of
humanity" to achieve "its own strategic and economic interests." He
was speaking to Kyodo News in an interview held at a hotel in the
mountainous district of Zlatibor in Yugoslavia, where the director
and his colleagues are working on a new film called "Gladno Srce"
(Hungry Heart). The district is near Bosnia. "The international
community has never intervened properly in" the former Yugoslavia,
he says. "The international community was supposed 10 years ago to
bring the whole of former Yugoslavia into the European Union, to
give credits, to give money and to help it keep going as a normal
country," said Kusturica, wearing a T-shirt with the face of Ernesto
"Che" Guevara printed on it.
The following are excerpts from Kyodo's interview with Kusturica.
His quotes below are edited for the sake of readability.
Q. What is the main theme of your new film "Gladno Srce"
(Hungry Heart)?
It is a love story. The central motive, the central place of the movie
is a Serbian guy...whose son went to the war, was captured by the
Muslim side. And he gets in touch with one Muslim woman whom
he was supposed to exchange for his son, but he falls in love with
her.
So basically the idea is to create a movie about the war in Bosnia,
but not from the ideological, not from this kind of new way of
thinking, in which no roots, no real causes are exposed to the
audience. This movie does not want to be ideological, this movie wants
to ... create the context from which the war started and how the war
was projected through the love story of 45-year-old man.
Q. Can people understand your film as a message that love is a
winner over nationalism?
Certainly, although the theme of my movie is not nationalism, but
just the social and historical context from which the love story is
being created by the absurd human position, not the position in which
love comes naturally.
Q. You told me that somebody is creating good and bad, or yes
and no.
Now the United States is also creating something like that -- right
and wrong, or black and white. It does not exist. It is just a genre
like in a cinema in which they create this kind of impression about
life... I am not trying to define what is good, what is bad. This is
more a question of ideology, a political idea, than an artistic idea.
Q.The name of Yugoslavia will disappear from the maps. Former
Yugoslavia has already disappeared. This Yugoslavia will
disappear, too. What kind of emotional feelings does that create
for you?
To me it creates a certain emotional turbulence, because I was born
here. I believed Yugoslavia was supposed to stay and I think like
many other things in the history of this region the big powers create
countries. This country (former Yugoslavia) was created after World
War I and after about 200 years our predecessors were trying to be
(joined) together in order to preserve our culture, our history. The
problem with this disappearance is that it was, I think, mostly
created from outside the country, and is unfortunately not making
nowadays people as happy as I was. So, I think this is clear: this
time Yugoslavia was dismantled because the entire region is under the
capitalist way of imposing a new history. And it was done much too
aggressively, against what this country used to be. So, I cannot say
that I am very sentimental, because people were killing each other
very much in the name of one or the other. But, on the other hand, I
must say that what has been defined as the international community
very heavily participates in this crime. Because, as much as at one
time it was OK to create it (Yugoslavia), at another time it was
not... it was not good for it (Yugoslavia) to exist on this scale.
Q. as it maybe nationalism, religion, that destroyed Yugoslavia?
If there was a nationalism, and it was nationalism, it was fueled from
outside. I think the Western world was creating it, if not creating
than at least putting oil into the fire... I was very suspicious about
just nationalism being what created this tragedy. Because if you
wanted to stop the war in Macedonia, they did it within two months,
that much they could have done in Yugoslavia. But they did not want
to, because they wanted to break it up, to make these small regions
without any power.
Q. What is your definition of nationalism?
At the end of Word War I nationalism used to be of a kind that is
today called patriotism.
Q. Is there any boundary between nationalism and patriotism?
My problem is I do not have strong national feelings. But, I think
nationalism, which can be very dangerous, is at the same time taken
as an instrument in the destruction of the Eastern world. Because
what can you be if you do not have any goods and if you are poor?
Unfortunately you are determined to be at least nationalist... I am
not nationalist, but I am not globalist, either, because I think
globalism is a kind of new form of imperialism... If you look at the
statistics, and if you look from 1989 until today, from the fall of
the Berlin wall, which was the change from what used to be called the
Old World Order, not many people live better. So, the new conception
of the world in one in which there is no nation. But then what? What
is the belief, what is the idea, what is the utopia of the world? To
believe that the market is the one that regulates our relationships?
That is not enough.
Q. You told us that somebody from outside had put oil on the fire
to cause the collapse of former Yugoslavia. Why did they need to
do that?
Because in the projection of serious economists and historians
today... for the period of transition from a communist regime to a
market economy you need 20 years. They never allowed anybody to go on
so long.
They, the big companies, as well as some Western countries, want to
destroy the national infrastructure as soon as possible, so they can
come and buy everything very cheap.
Q. You have made films about the Roma, Gypsies so many times
and recently you have been appointed goodwill ambassador of
UNICEF.
As a hope... and I think humanity's biggest capacity is to hope. And
when you hope, you have some chances. So, therefore I wanted to
help the kids as much as I can.
Q. In what way are you going to help, especially Roma children?
Not just the Roma, all children. I think about what I can do as a film
director. I could do my best to make short movies to participate in
the campaigns.
Q. One very important question. How did you feel about your
film "Underground" on the destruction of Yugoslavia. Who was
attacking you, who was defending you at that time. Why did you
leave Yugoslavia and came back?
The point is that the entire story about Yugoslavia is the opposite of
what we have read and what we know. If you look at the end the
ethnic cleansing, the worst thing that could happen to some
territories, if you look how the Western politicians were treating the
issue, you can find out that some territories that are ethnically
cleansed are very much sponsored by the West, because the idea of
the Western politicians is not humanitarian. That is just a cover
story for something that is much deeper. As I said they need the
region, or small regions in which they can penetrate much more easily
than if it was a serious country. So, since I see this and I know
this, I must say I am standing in the center of this problem, because
this problem is familiar to me from watching all over the world. The
Eastern world economically is a huge one in which there are 1.5
billion people who want to come to the West to share the goods with
them. And they (the West) have put the border through our country, as
they were doing always in history... I will give you one statistic,
look into it. Croatia is almost ethnically purified. They (the Croats)
can now travel all over Western Europe, no problems. Slovenia, too.
The only one that is still a mixture of various nations is Serbia and
this is the worst case for them. I mean the Western world is very
simple: profit above all.
Q. How do you see military operations under the pretext of
humanitarian intervention, such as in Afghanistan?
Certainly the opinion of any human being will be against it. Because
they are bombarding in the name of humanity, but in fact they have
their own strategic and economic interests. They know that this
vicious cycle of war, capital, profit is something that functions for
200 years. We know that the biggest scientific achievements have
been reached in the field of the military. So, the military is a part
of these operations... The change from the past is just the way, the
form... They always find somebody who is very vicious to destroy
him. They call it evil. But it is not because of this evil. I am very
much against any type of bombardment, including American
bombardment of anyone.
Q. Also in Afghanistan?
Everywhere... They bomb Afghanistan as a retaliation to the terrorist
attack, but they do it the same way.
Q. The American logic is that if they did not intervene in
Yugoslavia, (former President Slobodan) Milosevic could have
continued to massacre the Kosovo Albanians. How, in that case,
could the international community have intervened, or helped?
The international community has never intervened properly (in
former Yugoslavia). The international community was supposed 10
years ago to bring the whole of former Yugoslavia into the European
Union, to give credits, to give money and to help it keep going as a
healthy normal country. I would not talk about massacres, because I
do not believe what the propaganda is saying. I want to see the proof.
I still did not see the proof of the massacres. That was the trigger
aimed to bring the international community to the level it needed (for
intervention).
Q. Do you believe children can be nationalist?
I do not think that is possible.
Q. What did you feel about the tragedy of Sept. 11?
I was very much moved, because any human tragedy, whoever did it,
produces in my heart a kind of turbulence. So, I was really sorry for
these people.
Q. What is your opinion about U.S. unilateralism?
That is a Medieval way of drawing history, in which they do not
respect the law and want the rest of the world to respect the law.
That not possible.
Q. Why did UNICEF selected you for good-will ambassador?
Because I am a funny guy.
Biographical note: Emir Kusturica, born in Sarajevo in 1954, began
his career as TV-film director in the capital of former Yugoslavia's
Bosnia-Herzegovina after having studied film-making technologies
at FAMU School in Prague. In 1981, his first film "Do You
Remember Dolly Bell?" won the Golden Lion Award in Venice. His
other films include "Time of the Gipsies," which earned the Best
Director Award at Cannes, "When Father Was Away On Business,"
winner of the Palme d'Or at Cannes in 1985, and "Underground,"
winner of the Palme d'Or in 1995.
Fonte:
http://www.zmag.org/content/showarticle.cfm?SectionID=40&ItemID=2086
Ringraziamo Patti per la segnalazione.
by Kyodo News and Emir Kusturica
WorldNow
July 08, 2002
Zlatibor, Yugoslavia, May 17, 2002 (Kyodo) - Emir Kusturica, the
Sarajevo-born filmmaker, has won two Palme d'Or awards at Cannes
since starting out as a film director in 1981. During his 20-year
career he has produced only seven films, all of which have won
praise. Asked what he thinks of events in Afghanistan, Kusturica said
the United States is "bombarding (the country) in the name of
humanity" to achieve "its own strategic and economic interests." He
was speaking to Kyodo News in an interview held at a hotel in the
mountainous district of Zlatibor in Yugoslavia, where the director
and his colleagues are working on a new film called "Gladno Srce"
(Hungry Heart). The district is near Bosnia. "The international
community has never intervened properly in" the former Yugoslavia,
he says. "The international community was supposed 10 years ago to
bring the whole of former Yugoslavia into the European Union, to
give credits, to give money and to help it keep going as a normal
country," said Kusturica, wearing a T-shirt with the face of Ernesto
"Che" Guevara printed on it.
The following are excerpts from Kyodo's interview with Kusturica.
His quotes below are edited for the sake of readability.
Q. What is the main theme of your new film "Gladno Srce"
(Hungry Heart)?
It is a love story. The central motive, the central place of the movie
is a Serbian guy...whose son went to the war, was captured by the
Muslim side. And he gets in touch with one Muslim woman whom
he was supposed to exchange for his son, but he falls in love with
her.
So basically the idea is to create a movie about the war in Bosnia,
but not from the ideological, not from this kind of new way of
thinking, in which no roots, no real causes are exposed to the
audience. This movie does not want to be ideological, this movie wants
to ... create the context from which the war started and how the war
was projected through the love story of 45-year-old man.
Q. Can people understand your film as a message that love is a
winner over nationalism?
Certainly, although the theme of my movie is not nationalism, but
just the social and historical context from which the love story is
being created by the absurd human position, not the position in which
love comes naturally.
Q. You told me that somebody is creating good and bad, or yes
and no.
Now the United States is also creating something like that -- right
and wrong, or black and white. It does not exist. It is just a genre
like in a cinema in which they create this kind of impression about
life... I am not trying to define what is good, what is bad. This is
more a question of ideology, a political idea, than an artistic idea.
Q.The name of Yugoslavia will disappear from the maps. Former
Yugoslavia has already disappeared. This Yugoslavia will
disappear, too. What kind of emotional feelings does that create
for you?
To me it creates a certain emotional turbulence, because I was born
here. I believed Yugoslavia was supposed to stay and I think like
many other things in the history of this region the big powers create
countries. This country (former Yugoslavia) was created after World
War I and after about 200 years our predecessors were trying to be
(joined) together in order to preserve our culture, our history. The
problem with this disappearance is that it was, I think, mostly
created from outside the country, and is unfortunately not making
nowadays people as happy as I was. So, I think this is clear: this
time Yugoslavia was dismantled because the entire region is under the
capitalist way of imposing a new history. And it was done much too
aggressively, against what this country used to be. So, I cannot say
that I am very sentimental, because people were killing each other
very much in the name of one or the other. But, on the other hand, I
must say that what has been defined as the international community
very heavily participates in this crime. Because, as much as at one
time it was OK to create it (Yugoslavia), at another time it was
not... it was not good for it (Yugoslavia) to exist on this scale.
Q. as it maybe nationalism, religion, that destroyed Yugoslavia?
If there was a nationalism, and it was nationalism, it was fueled from
outside. I think the Western world was creating it, if not creating
than at least putting oil into the fire... I was very suspicious about
just nationalism being what created this tragedy. Because if you
wanted to stop the war in Macedonia, they did it within two months,
that much they could have done in Yugoslavia. But they did not want
to, because they wanted to break it up, to make these small regions
without any power.
Q. What is your definition of nationalism?
At the end of Word War I nationalism used to be of a kind that is
today called patriotism.
Q. Is there any boundary between nationalism and patriotism?
My problem is I do not have strong national feelings. But, I think
nationalism, which can be very dangerous, is at the same time taken
as an instrument in the destruction of the Eastern world. Because
what can you be if you do not have any goods and if you are poor?
Unfortunately you are determined to be at least nationalist... I am
not nationalist, but I am not globalist, either, because I think
globalism is a kind of new form of imperialism... If you look at the
statistics, and if you look from 1989 until today, from the fall of
the Berlin wall, which was the change from what used to be called the
Old World Order, not many people live better. So, the new conception
of the world in one in which there is no nation. But then what? What
is the belief, what is the idea, what is the utopia of the world? To
believe that the market is the one that regulates our relationships?
That is not enough.
Q. You told us that somebody from outside had put oil on the fire
to cause the collapse of former Yugoslavia. Why did they need to
do that?
Because in the projection of serious economists and historians
today... for the period of transition from a communist regime to a
market economy you need 20 years. They never allowed anybody to go on
so long.
They, the big companies, as well as some Western countries, want to
destroy the national infrastructure as soon as possible, so they can
come and buy everything very cheap.
Q. You have made films about the Roma, Gypsies so many times
and recently you have been appointed goodwill ambassador of
UNICEF.
As a hope... and I think humanity's biggest capacity is to hope. And
when you hope, you have some chances. So, therefore I wanted to
help the kids as much as I can.
Q. In what way are you going to help, especially Roma children?
Not just the Roma, all children. I think about what I can do as a film
director. I could do my best to make short movies to participate in
the campaigns.
Q. One very important question. How did you feel about your
film "Underground" on the destruction of Yugoslavia. Who was
attacking you, who was defending you at that time. Why did you
leave Yugoslavia and came back?
The point is that the entire story about Yugoslavia is the opposite of
what we have read and what we know. If you look at the end the
ethnic cleansing, the worst thing that could happen to some
territories, if you look how the Western politicians were treating the
issue, you can find out that some territories that are ethnically
cleansed are very much sponsored by the West, because the idea of
the Western politicians is not humanitarian. That is just a cover
story for something that is much deeper. As I said they need the
region, or small regions in which they can penetrate much more easily
than if it was a serious country. So, since I see this and I know
this, I must say I am standing in the center of this problem, because
this problem is familiar to me from watching all over the world. The
Eastern world economically is a huge one in which there are 1.5
billion people who want to come to the West to share the goods with
them. And they (the West) have put the border through our country, as
they were doing always in history... I will give you one statistic,
look into it. Croatia is almost ethnically purified. They (the Croats)
can now travel all over Western Europe, no problems. Slovenia, too.
The only one that is still a mixture of various nations is Serbia and
this is the worst case for them. I mean the Western world is very
simple: profit above all.
Q. How do you see military operations under the pretext of
humanitarian intervention, such as in Afghanistan?
Certainly the opinion of any human being will be against it. Because
they are bombarding in the name of humanity, but in fact they have
their own strategic and economic interests. They know that this
vicious cycle of war, capital, profit is something that functions for
200 years. We know that the biggest scientific achievements have
been reached in the field of the military. So, the military is a part
of these operations... The change from the past is just the way, the
form... They always find somebody who is very vicious to destroy
him. They call it evil. But it is not because of this evil. I am very
much against any type of bombardment, including American
bombardment of anyone.
Q. Also in Afghanistan?
Everywhere... They bomb Afghanistan as a retaliation to the terrorist
attack, but they do it the same way.
Q. The American logic is that if they did not intervene in
Yugoslavia, (former President Slobodan) Milosevic could have
continued to massacre the Kosovo Albanians. How, in that case,
could the international community have intervened, or helped?
The international community has never intervened properly (in
former Yugoslavia). The international community was supposed 10
years ago to bring the whole of former Yugoslavia into the European
Union, to give credits, to give money and to help it keep going as a
healthy normal country. I would not talk about massacres, because I
do not believe what the propaganda is saying. I want to see the proof.
I still did not see the proof of the massacres. That was the trigger
aimed to bring the international community to the level it needed (for
intervention).
Q. Do you believe children can be nationalist?
I do not think that is possible.
Q. What did you feel about the tragedy of Sept. 11?
I was very much moved, because any human tragedy, whoever did it,
produces in my heart a kind of turbulence. So, I was really sorry for
these people.
Q. What is your opinion about U.S. unilateralism?
That is a Medieval way of drawing history, in which they do not
respect the law and want the rest of the world to respect the law.
That not possible.
Q. Why did UNICEF selected you for good-will ambassador?
Because I am a funny guy.
Biographical note: Emir Kusturica, born in Sarajevo in 1954, began
his career as TV-film director in the capital of former Yugoslavia's
Bosnia-Herzegovina after having studied film-making technologies
at FAMU School in Prague. In 1981, his first film "Do You
Remember Dolly Bell?" won the Golden Lion Award in Venice. His
other films include "Time of the Gipsies," which earned the Best
Director Award at Cannes, "When Father Was Away On Business,"
winner of the Palme d'Or at Cannes in 1985, and "Underground,"
winner of the Palme d'Or in 1995.
Fonte:
http://www.zmag.org/content/showarticle.cfm?SectionID=40&ItemID=2086
Ringraziamo Patti per la segnalazione.
