I SOLDI IN SVIZZERA


...L'inviato statunitense, Richard Holbrooke, una volta mi disse: il
governo svizzero congelera' i suoi conti. Allora gli risposi: "Perche'
solo questo? Ecco, aspetti un attimo." Scrissi alcune righe su di un
foglio e glielo diedi. "Ecco. Con questo le cedo tutti i miei patrimoni
depositati su conti in banca all'estero. Tenga, fino all'ultimo
centesimo."
Era sbalordito. "Posso?"
Gli dissi: "Certo! Purtroppo i conti non esistono."...


Dall'intervista a Slobodan Milosevic raccolta da Jared Israel e Nico
Varkevisser nel marzo 2001, recentemente pubblicata in russo sulla
Pravda. Leggibile in inglese alla URL:
http://english.pravda.ru/main/2002/08/13/34454.html
oppure:
http://emperors-clothes.com/interviews/whatismy-1.htm
http://emperors-clothes.com/interviews/whatismy-2.htm

1. Peggioramento della salute di Slobodan Milosevic fa sospendere
le udienze all'Aja
2. TPI; SLOBO HA CUORE MALATO, MEDICO CARCERE / ANSA
3. ANSA riporta deposizione di Rade Markovic omettendo le
dichiarazioni sui maltrattamenti e le intimidazioni subite
nel carcere di Belgrado da parte delle autorita' filo-occidentali.
4. Segnalazione sito sul "processo" dell'Aia


=== 1 ===


Peggioramento della Salute di S. MILOSEVIC fa sospendere le
udienze all'Aja (17 luglio 2002)

Dall 'Associazione " Libertà " - Belgrado:

Un consiglio di periti medici nominato dal "TPI" dell'Aja, in
presenza del dottore di fiducia del Presidente Milosevic, il
colonnello Z. Mijailovic,ha fatto nel pomeriggio di martedì 9/07
un controllo della salute del presidente.
La pressione del sangue era di 120/200 mmHg !
Nonostante i dati rillevati, l'udienza del giorno dopo, era
confermata.
Dopo un forte appello del Comitato Jugoslavo (vedasi sotto),
solamente il 17/07/02, la "corte" ha accettato le relazioni dei
dottori e deciso che, a causa del bisogno di cambiare la terapia
e fare controlli supplementari e analisi di laboratorio,
l'"accusato" non si presenti al "giudizio" per i successivi
due giorni, fino a ulteriore avviso.
Già all'inizio del mese, dopo la seconda interruzione del
"processo", a causa di una "influenza" (diagnosi del dottore del
carcere) che durò due settimane, la camera di consiglio del
"processo" stabilì una ordinanza per organizzare un controllo
di un consiglio di medici e verificare i risultati. Questa
decisione fu presa dopo molti appelli dalla Jugoslavia e
dall'estero. Dopo ciò, altri sforzi supplementari ed appelli
sono stati fatti per includere in questo consiglio medico almeno
un dottore jugoslavo. Il "Tribunale" finalmente accordo'
che questi controlli fossero fatti con la presenza del
dottore di fiducia del Presidente, il colonnello Z. Mijailovic
primario della Clinica Cardio-vascolare dell'Accademia Medica
e Militare in Belgrado.
Noi seguiamo gli sviluppi con estrema preoccupazione.
È ovvio che la prigione condiziona la situazione: la mancanza
di cure mediche, le condizioni inumane e la lunghezza del
"processo", hanno prodotto il peggioramento delle condizioni
di salute del Presidente Milosevic e l'aumento dei rischi per
la sua vita.
Noi denunciamo questo " processo farsa" e le sue pericolose
conseguenze!

LIBERTÀ PER SLOBODAN MILOSEVIC!

LIBERTÀ PER LA JUGOSLAVIA!

---

Comunicato al "Tribunale" dell'Aja :

ASSOCIAZIONE "LIBERTÀ", BELGRADO, R.F.di JUGOSLAVIA
17 luglio 2002

- Al Sig. Claude Jorda, Presidente, TPI
- Al Sig. Richard May, Presidente Camera di Consiglio
- A AMICUS CURIAE
- Al Sig. Hans Holthius, Cancelliere


Urgente!


Lo stato di salute del Presidente Slobodan Milosevic richiede una
azione urgente !


Egregi Signori,
Le nostre informazioni circa gli esami medici dello stato
di salute del Presidente Milosevic, fatti dalla squadra di esperti
medici nominato dal TPI su ordine della Camera di Consiglio,
purtroppo conferma le nostre conoscenze precedenti ed i nostri
sospetti che le condizioni generali nelle quali il Presidente
Milosevic è costretto a vivere, senza corrette cure mediche,
unite alla lunghezza inumana ed al sistema del Procedimento,
stanno producendo un peggioramento continuo dello stato di salute
del Presidente Milosevic e un drammatico aumento dei rischi per
la sua vita.
Noi non possiamo accettare che il risultato degli esami non abbia
ancora prodotto alcuna azione da parte vostra. Il nostro dovere è
avvertirla ancora una volta che il rifiuto di cure mediche e corrette
per una persona in tali condizioni è una responsabilità criminale.
In una siffatta situazione, quando una vita umana è in pericolo,
nessuna negligente burocrazia può essere una scusante per l'assenza di
un azione corretta ed urgente.
In particolare l'Associazione " Libertà" ha avvertito Voi molte volte
su questa situazione che è una dellle peggiori e più serie forme di
violazione dei diritti umani. Noi non possiamo negare
l'impressione che sia probabile, che questa sia una pratica
intenzionale del TPI.
Per confermare questo, noi ci riferiamo particolarmente alla nostre
lettere del 18-21/2002, 27 marzo 2002, indirizzate al Presidente del
TPI, alla Camera di Consiglio, al Pubblico Ministero e agli Amici
Curiae, con documentazioni mediche dettagliate e specifiche incluse.
La nostra ultima denuncia ( Lettera No.45/2002) fu spedita ai Sig.
Giudici Jorda e May, così come al cancelliere Sig. Holthius, il 18
giugno 2002.
Noi includiamo di nuovo in questa data la stessa documentazione medica,
già spedita nel Marzo 2002.

Noi facciamo appello in termini ancora più forti, che ogni misura
venga adottata per proteggere una vita umana, senza alcuna ulteriore
dilazione.

Distinti saluti,

Bogoljub Bjelica,
Presidente dell'Associazione dei Cittadini " Libertà" di Belgrado

---

Il Comitato Italiano per la Difesa di Slobodan Milosevic si associa e
si impegna a far circolare e a denunciare in Italia, questa ignobile
situazione, che esemplifica il carattere politico e persecutorio di
questo illegale " Tribunale dell'Aja".

Traduzione di E. Vigna - CIDSM Italia


=== 2 ===


http://www.ansa.it/balcani/jugoslavia/20020725171432290739.html

MILOSEVIC: TPI; SLOBO HA CUORE MALATO, MEDICO CARCERE / ANSA

(Di Francesco Cerri) (ANSA) - L'AJA, 25 LUG -
Slobodan Milosevic, dal 12 febbraio scorso sotto processo all'Aja per
presunti crimini di guerra e contro l'umanita', ha il
cuore malato: lo rivela un rapporto medico consegnato oggi al Tribunale
Penale Internazionale. Il piu' illustre imputato della
giustizia internazionale corre ''seri rischi cardio-vascolari'' e ha
''bisogno di riposo'' afferma il rapporto. La corte oggi ha subito
deciso di sottoporre l'ex presidente jugoslavo all'esame di un
cardiologo: sulla base delle conclusioni dello specialista i giudici
''considereranno ogni opzione possibile'' per il seguito del processo,
ha detto il presidente della corte Richard May. L'esame medico era stato
chiesto 10 giorni fa dal presidente della corte dopo che la pubblica
accusa aveva messo in dubbio la realta' dei disturbi di salute
di Milosevic, che dall'inizio del processo il 12 febbraio scorso si e'
ammalato tre volte.
''Le sue condizioni di salute sono una questione
di grande importanza per la corte'' ha detto oggi il giudice Patrick
Robinson, che ha proposto a Milosevic di farsi assistere almeno
parzialmente da un legale nei contro-interrogatori per ''riposarsi un
po' ''. Sotto accusa per le guerre in Kosovo, Bosnia e Croazia,
l'ex leader jugoslavo nega ogni legittimita' alla corte dell'Aja e si e'
sempre rifiutato di nominare un avvocato: in aula si
difende da solo. Con i suoi contro-interrogatori puntigliosi spesso e'
riuscito a mettere in difficolta' i testimoni dell'accusa. Milosevic
ha piu' volte protestato dall'inizio del processo contro il ritmo molto
intenso delle udienze, affermando che non gli consente di
difendersi in condizioni di parita' con l'accusa. Oggi Slobo, con fare
brusco, ha anche sottolineato di ''non avere mai chiesto un esame
medico''. ''Lo ha chiesto lei'' ha ricordato a May: ''da persona civile,
quando il medico ha voluto esaminarmi, l'ho lasciato
fare''. Poi ha risposto seccamente 'no' a Robinson: ''questo processo e'
una presa in giro, questo tribunale non esiste, non lo
riconosco, e' solo una vendetta contro di me: non mi sogno nemmeno di
nominare un difensore''.. Sua moglie Mira si e' detta piu'
volte preoccupata nelle ultime settimane per la salute di Slobo, a causa
dello stress del processo. Domani pero' le udienze saranno sospese
per un mese per la pausa estiva. La corte oggi ha deciso che l'ccusa
dovra' concludere la presentazione dei suoi testimoni
per il filone Kosovo del processo entro il 13 settembre. Poi ci sara'
una pausa di due settimane prima dell'inizio della presentazione
delle prove dell'accusa per la Bosnia e la Croazia, che dovra' essere
conclusa entro il 16 maggio 2003. Quindi spettera' a Milosevic
presentare per almeno un anno le tesi della difesa. Oggi intanto e'
continuata, ma solo per un'ora circa, la deposizione di Rade
Markovic, ex capo dei servizi segreti (Db) di Milosevic. Ha confermato
che l'allora presidente era informato oggi giorno da rapporti
segreti dei servizi militari sull'evoluzione della situazione in Kosovo.
Markovic ha anche indicato che il fratello del presidente,
Borislav Milosevic, ex ambasciatore a Mosca, aveva contribuito quale
intermediario all'acquisto di elicotteri russi per il Db,
comprati nonostante l'embargo internazionale grazie ai finanziamenti -
autorizzati dal presidente e versati in contanti in valuta estera
- dell' amministrazione delle dogane federali. Altro materiale militare
era stato comprato nello stesso modo in Usa e Israele.
(ANSA). CEF 25/07/2002 17:14


=== 3 ===


L'ANSA ha riportato in maniera stringata la deposizione di Rade
Markovic,
ex capo dei servizi segreti della Serbia, con la quale si e' interrotto
il "processo" prima della pausa estiva, in particolare omettendo in toto
le sue dichiarazioni sui maltrattamenti e le intimidazioni subite nel
carcere di Belgrado da parte delle autorita' filo-occidentali affinche'
deponesse il falso nell'aula dell'Aia.

http://www.ansa.it/balcani/jugoslavia/20020726174232291854.html

MILOSEVIC: TPI; EX CAPO SERVIZI DEPONE IN LINEA CON SLOBO

(ANSA) - L'AJA, 26 LUG - L'ex capo dei servizi segreti jugoslavi, Rade
Markovic, chiamato a deporre al processo contro
Slobodan Milosevic sulla guerra in Kosovo, si e'
oggi sostanzialmente allineato sulle tesi dell'ex presidente jugoslavo.
Markovic, che faceva parte del nucleo centrale del potere di
Milosevic in quanto capo dei servizi segreti (Db) tra il 1998 e il 2000,
si e' difeso dietro una serie di 'no' pronunciati su piu'
fronti. Egli ha ad esempio negato che l'esercito o la polizia della
Serbia abbiano perpetrato crimini di guerra in Kosovo oppure che
ci siano mai state operazioni per far sparire i corpi delle vittime.
Markovic ha inoltre sottolineato di non aver mai avuto ''la
ben piu' minima evidenza'' del fatto che ci sia stato un piano di
''terra bruciata'' per espellere gli albanesi dal Kosovo. ''La nostra
missione era quella di proteggere tutti i civili, sia serbi che
albanesi'', ha aggiunto Markovic, che durante la deposizione ha risposto
a qualche domanda di Milosevic, per esempio sul fatto che 'Slobo' aveva
sempre precisato che ''secondo la tradizione della
Serbia, un prigioniero di guerra e' da considerarsi una persona sacra''.
''Lei non lo ha detto solo una volta, bensi' in numerose
occasioni'', ha dichiarato l'ex capo dei servizi segreti. Markovic, che
sabato scorso e' stato trasferito all'Aja de Belgrado (dove era
detenuto da diverse settimane), aveva gia' fatto una breve dichiarazione
ieri, confermando che l'allora presidente era informato
ogni giorno da rapporti segreti dei servizi militari sulla situazione in
Kosovo.
(ANSA) RIG 26/07/2002 17:42


=== 4 ===


Subject: Re: Forum da seguire
Date: Mon, 22 Jul 2002 21:07:49 +0200
From: "Sergio"

Raccomando questo sito che contiene il forum sul
processo di Milosevic che riflette una grande
conoscenza ed un alto profilo intellettuale dei suoi
partecipanti
http://jurist.law.pitt.edu/issue_milosevic.htm

cordiali saluti
Sergio

The Trepca mining complex: How Kosovo's spoils were distributed

WSWS - By Paul Stuart
28 June 2002

In northern Kosovo, near the town of Mitrovica, sits a huge
dilapidated industrial site known as the Trepca mining complex.
During the 1980s, it employed 20,000 workers and accounted for 70
percent of all Yugoslavia's mineral wealth. One economist described
Trepca as a "colossal conglomerate composed of more than forty mines,
foundries, and subsidiary plants-which [at its height] generated 25
percent of the entire regional industrial production and figured
among the principal exporters of the ex-Yugoslavia." According to the
same study, "In the subsoil of Kosovo, one of the richest of Europe,
enormous deposits are hidden of lignite, lead, zinc, non-ferric
metals, gold, silver and petroleum," on top of 17 billion tons of
coal.
The British built core production facilities in the 1920s. During the
German occupation of Yugoslavia in World War II, Stari Trg, the
centrepiece mine, supplied 40 percent of lead used in the Nazi war
industry. The complex also made the batteries used to power the U-
boat fleet. After the Yugoslav partisans drove the Nazis out, Trepca
was maintained as a nationalised industry. During the break-up of
Yugoslavia in the early 1980s, workers at Trepca fought to defend
their jobs against mass sackings. Warring Albanian and Serb
nationalist factions exploited the workers' fears.
Prior to the NATO bombing campaign in spring of 1999, the Yugoslav
government had attempted to privatise Trepca. In 1998, despite
international sanctions, the first phase of a restructuring of the
site was undertaken in partnership with Mytileneos Holdings S.A., the
Greek metals group. According to one study, Mytileneos signed several
contracts with the Serbian agency of foreign trade "for a total of
$519 million." In return, Trepca would receive concentrates for
production and modern mining equipment. However, "Any further
development was hampered by the precipitation of events and by the
collapse of the economic, judicial, and administrative system of
Kosovo," the study found.
Global investor interest in the potential of the site was widespread
before the NATO strikes. On June 22, 1998, the New York Times
reported that the Yugoslav government was negotiating for the sale of
shares in the Trepca complex. It was on Yugoslav President Slobodan
Milosevic's list for eventual auction. The Times sent reporter
Christopher Hedges to the Stari Trg mine in Kosovo during the Kosovo
Liberation Army (KLA) insurgence against the Yugoslav government. He
wrote an article on July 8, 1998, "Kosovo War's Glittering Prize
Rests Underground", describing his visit to the Stari Trg lead and
zinc mine. "As the iron box rattled and squealed on the ear popping
journey, dropping at 18 feet a second, it left behind the potent
symbols of nationalism and ethnic identity scattered in disarray on
the ground above. Instead, in the shrill cacophony, it exposed the
real worth of Kosovo.
"There is over 30 percent lead and zinc in the ore', said Novak
Bjelic, the mine's beefy director.... We export to France,
Switzerland, Greece, Sweden, the Czech Republic, Russia and
Belgium.... In the last three years we have mined 2,538,124 tons of
lead and zinc crude ore ... and produced 286,502 tons of concentrated
lead and zinc and 139,789 tons of pure lead, zinc, cadmium, silver
and gold."
Hedges' visit was a scouting mission, alerting US investors that
while geo-strategic interests were at stake in the Balkans, investors
should not forget the substantial assets to be seized-he estimated
its value around $5 billion.
Shortly after cessation of the NATO bombing which virtually destroyed
all significant infrastructure, attention refocused on
Trepca. "Winning Kosovo's peace", a speech delivered on July 26,
1999, by Samuel R. Berger, assistant to the president for national
security affairs in the US, claimed that Trepca's furnaces had been
used to burn the bodies of 1,500 missing Kosovo Albanians. But after
the withdrawal of Yugoslav troops, the Organisation for Security and
Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) special investigators from France
dismissed the charge of alleged atrocities. Even the Hague Tribunal
admitted it found no evidence. The OSCE reported that the Zvecan lead
smelter (part of the Trepca complex) had not been working since the
commencement of the NATO air war. A US National Public Radio
broadcast in January 2001 resurrected the atrocity claim. Once again,
it was refuted, but this time Hague Tribunal officials questioned the
investigative equipment they had used as "outdated".
Miraculously, during 37,000 sorties by NATO bombers Trepca remained
untouched, whereas other branches of industry were destroyed with
deadly precision. One example was the Yugoslav oil industry. One
account explained that the "Italian oil company ENI had foreseen a
pipeline from Pitesti (in Romania) to the Yugoslav refinery in
Pan.... But US war planes destroyed the Yugoslav complex with
remarkable tenacity." During this period, the Trepca complex ceased
production. Serb and Albanian miners worked without pay to stop the
mines from flooding. The majority of the complex remained under the
control of the Yugoslav authorities. Production at the lead smelting
plant restarted in July 1999.
In February 2000, 25,000 Kosovans marched on the mixed town of
Mitrovica. The aim of the march was ostensibly to reunite the
population with lost relatives, but the KLA had ulterior motives.
They exploited the march and directed it toward driving out all non-
ethnic Albanians-as part of their strategy of creating a Greater
Albania. The KLA also wanted the Trepca complex. They had slowly
encircled the Zvecan plant, cutting off workers' pathways. In advance
of NATO troops, they had seized and placed armed guards at many of
Kosovo's industrial sites. The KLA wanted to be the arbiters in the
transfer of Kosovo's public assets to the free market. Indeed, in
2002, the KLA's political wing, the PDK, would secure the ministerial
posts for public utilities and trade and industry in the Kosovo
assembly, both closely involved in the sale of the province's assets.
Albanian miners who had worked under Serb management at Trepca were
murdered or driven out as traitors. Stari Trg was now in a KLA
controlled area, while the main smelting plant, Zvecan was under
Yugoslav management.
Military seize Trepca
In July 1999, Bernard Kouchner, head of the United Nations Mission in
Kosovo, decreed, "UNMIK shall administer movable or immovable
property, including monetary accounts, and other property of, or
registered in the name of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia or the
Republic of Serbia or any of its organs, which is in the territory of
Kosovo."
Kosovo was split up into sectors under the control of various NATO
powers, with the Trepca complex being in the French sector. A
conflict ensued between UNMIK and the Trepca management, who feared
that UNMIK would take over the complex, as they had done with
hundreds of other factories in Kosovo. The management and workers at
the plant refused to leave and threatened to defend the plant "to the
death". Therefore, NATO had to temporarily back-down and look for a
new justification for seizing the Trepca complex.
Trepca management's fears were well founded. One example of what
happens when UNMIK demands cooperation took place in July 1999. A
visit to Kosovo by the British Trade International (BTI) mission
headed by trade minister John Battle led to the appointment of an
engineering team to prepare a report on re-establishing generation
and transmissions for Kosovo power stations. At one stage, British
tanks surrounded a power station, refusing access to its former
engineers and allowing the British team a free rein. The following
June, an agency of the European Union awarded the contract to
refurbish the power station to the British Npower corporation, with a
promise of further contracts.
In November 1999, the European Bank for Reconstruction and
Development (EBRD) demanded UNMIK resolve the issue of ownership of
industry in Kosovo, insisting, "Without clarity on this point
investment will not be forthcoming." Demanding immediate action,
Carolyn McCool, head of the Mitrovica office of the OSCE, said of
Trepca, "Something has to be done with the bloody thing."
UNMIK orchestrated a press campaign to prepare public opinion for a
military takeover of Trepca. They declared that Milosevic used Trepca
for money laundering and financing paramilitary Serb units. In the
build up to NATO's seizure of Trepca, propaganda about the
environmental impact of smoke from the Zvecan lead smelter was
widespread. UNMIK began blood tests on the local population, pointing
out that lead content far exceeded recognised world health standards.
After NATO had dropped tens of thousands of depleted uranium bombs,
blowing up chemical and petrochemical plants, and affecting the whole
region for decades to come, Kouchner declared, "The people of
Mitrovica are at risk because of this smelter.... As a doctor, I can
tell you that lead poisoning can have tragic consequences for
families. It can mean irreversible damage to children and
complications for pregnant women." He insisted that the complex had
to be closed down, describing it as "the only remaining Stalinist
KOMBINAT [antiquated nationalised industry] in the world, a dinosaur
with twenty-three activities all linked to each other."
On August 14, 2000 nine hundred British, French, Italian and
Pakistani KFOR troops launched a dawn raid from helicopters. First,
they completely cordoned off the Trepca plant. Troops then entered
the facility, captured workers and managers, tied them up and took
them to the administration centre called "Three Hotel". Workers who
tried to defend themselves were brutally assaulted by troops using
tear gas and plastic bullets. Zvecan came under UNMIK control.
Typical of media reports at the time was that in the Boston Globe:
"Hundreds of NATO-led peacekeeping troops wearing surgical masks
against toxic smoke swept into a Serb-run smelting complex in Kosovo
yesterday and shut it down, then used tear gas and rubber bullets to
disperse protesters.... About 900 peacekeepers cordoned off a 200
square yard area around the huge facility before sweeping into the
mining complex.... Soldiers ... gasped for air as clouds of black and
white smoke belched from ageing chimneys."
NATO has launched wars on several occasions under a humanitarian
pretext, but this must be the first time that it has mounted a
military takeover in order to clamp down on alleged pollution! One
commentator pointed out that surgical masks were a media gimmick
useless against lead fumes he insisted that only a carbon-filter
system would provide adequate protection. One month later NATO troops
from Jordan guarding the Zvecan gates were still wearing surgical
masks.
Senior French ministers supported the capture of Trepca and a press
release from the US State Department praised the capture of Zvecan
and the battle to "rehabilitate" the Trepca complex. Once a series of
workers' protests had subsided, Kouchner said, "Now we can get to
work to bring Trepca back to life, and back to the people of Kosovo."
In a press release on the same day, UNMIK signed an agreement with
the ITT (International Technical Team) Kosovo Consortium, made up of
mining and smelting experts from French TEC-Ingenierie, US Morrison
Knudsen International and the Swedish Boliden Contech. The three-
phase plan would begin with a technical audit, an assessment of
financial viability and asset preservation. In the meantime, the
plant would be closed down.
The same press release admitted that concern for the environment had
been a sham: "Gaining full access to the mines was vital for
producing complete and fully documented ore body assessments. A new
commercial mining law was also essential for investors so that
whoever operated Trepca could be assured sufficient quiet enjoyment
of the facility' to ensure return on investment."
On August 18, 2000, during an UNMIK press briefing chaired by
Kouchner, reporters raised the question of the former owners. The
majority of property in Kosovo was state owned and UNMIK seized it
without opposition, but in a small number of cases, ownership was
challenged. This was the case at the Sharr Cement Works in southern
Kosovo, now owned by a Swedish corporation. Despite the claim for
ownership, UNMIK prepared the Works for tender, advertised it on its
web site and declared that if the court ruled that there was a
legitimate claim then the former owners would be compensated.
According to an article by Richard Merten in Christian Science
Monitor September 15, 2000, "Over the next six months, the UN plan to
explore similar options with 30 of Kosovo's largest factories."
In the same briefing, the criteria for environmental safety was
downplayed and priority was given to "the competitive participation
of Trepca in the world economy." An ITT Kosovo study of Trepca would
be done in conjunction with global trends in the metal markets. In
case of business concerns over security, Kouchner guaranteed that
NATO troops would be made available. When ITT Kosovo presented its 13
volume report on March 6, 2001, UNMIK stated that Trepca
was "promising but not a golden goose", with a "solid core of
profitable assets".
Ever since the military takeover of Trepca, ownership claims and
counter-claims have followed each other. The Mytileneos Holdings S.A.
group is demanding their contract be recognised. The British, who
built the plant in 1927 and supposedly secured a 50-year concession,
terminated in 1941, are demanding compensation. In private, French
ministers are determined not to miss out on the resources in their
own sector as they had done in Bosnia. Trepca has entered the
third "production" phase of its rehabilitation, as UNMIK continues to
digest ITT Kosovo's report. It will not be long before the profitable
parts of the Trepca complex goes the same way as the rest of Kosovo's
industry-put up for sale on UNMIK's web site.

> http://www.antiwar.com/malic/pf/p-m081502.html

ANTIWAR, Thursday, August 15, 2002

Balkan Express
by Nebojsa Malic
Antiwar.com

Nothing New In Kosovo

In The Occupied Province, Same Old Terror

Over the past couple of days, two prominent leaders of the
"Kosovo Liberation Army" (KLA) have been arrested by the
NATO forces occupying Kosovo. Rrustem Mustafa
(http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/2187270.stm),
better known as Commander Remi, is accused of torturing
and murdering several people. Ramush Haradinaj
(http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/2189870.stm)
was charged with "violent behavior" - a polite way to
describe a shooting of a rival politician two years ago.

Predictably, the arrests have been touted as a signal of NATO's
determination to "tackle armed extremism" in the province.
They are, of course, nothing of the sort. Considering the
violent record of Haradinaj and Mustafa, present charges
against them are a joke. Since their political
views are shared by most Kosovo Albanians, the two are not
"extremists," either. The most accurate description would
be "terrorists," but despite the Empire's propensity for
throwing the term around, it has been carefully
avoided in this instance. Strange, perhaps, but not new.
Not in Kosovo.

Remi and Ramush's Greatest Hits

One interesting thing about both arrests is that they refer
to events that occurred a while ago. In the meantime, Mustafa
helped the "human rights cause" in Macedonia, while Haradinaj
and his party took part in the elections last fall. Haradinaj
was frequently welcomed in Washington's halls of power, in
Foggy Bottom as well as on Capitol Hill, despite common
knowledge such as this:

"Haradinaj could face charges over what may be the biggest
atrocity carried out by the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA).
Forty civilians were killed during several months in 1998
in the village of Glodjane in western Kosovo, where
Haradinaj was then the KLA commander. Many of the bodies -
of Serbs, Albanians and gypsies [sic] - bore marks of torture."

(The Sunday Times, April 29, 2001 - see reference:
http://emperor.vwh.net/analysis/kla-aq.htm)

Mustafa's crimes are similarly documented (see here
[http://www.decani.yunet.com/testimonies4.html%5d; scroll
down to "Commander Remi"): abductions, murders, bomb
attacks against cafés, convenience stores and marketplaces?
Among his victims were both Kosovo Serbs and those
Albanians who had not joined the KLA. Most significantly,
fellow KLA members testified he was responsible for
organizing an exodus of some 220,000 Albanians from northern
Kosovo (The Guardian, June 30, 1999) during NATO's assault
in 1999. As this demolishes the NATO thesis about Serb "ethnic
cleansing" (and thus removes the justification for both the
1999 invasion and the occupation), the absence of these
crimes from Remi's indictment is not surprising.

Given the obvious amount of knowledge about these two
characters and their actions, their arrests on minor charges
amounting to "assault" and "manslaughter" seems more of a
PR move than genuine concern for justice and peace. Let's
not forget, NATO's illegal attack made it possible for Remi
and Ramush to run wild around Kosovo in the first place,
and for over three years.

Occupation "Justice"

The concept of "justice" in Kosovo is generally a sick joke.
Just last week, a local Albanian "judge" decided to expropriate
two plots of land that belonged to the Visoki Decani monastery
(http://www.balkanpeace.org/hed/archive/aug02/hed5135.shtml).
The monastery land had been stolen before, by the Communists
in 1946. Some of it was restored in 1997, by the (gasp!)
government of Slobodan Milosevic. Now the Albanians have
"liberated" it, as they have "liberated" the entire province.
Needless to say, the UN/NATO occupation authorities have done
absolutely nothing to prevent, stop, or reverse this theft.

It says plenty for the Serbian government's commitment to
justice that its only response was a timid pronouncement
by the Ministry of Faith, saying that the land-grab "certainly
is not in the best interests of anyone well-intentioned and
wishing to establish peace and tolerance in Kosovo-Metohija."

Really? What was their first clue?

Plans and Rumors of Plans

If only the schemers in Empire's corridors of power were
nearly as clueless about their plans for Kosovo! Alas,
that is not so. Last month, the U.S. Institute of Peace
published Special Report 91
(http://www.usip.org/pubs/specialreports/sr91.html),
titled "Kosovo Final Status: Options and Cross-border
requirements." Now, USIP is run and funded by the US Congress,
and employs mostly State Department personnel on hiatus
from official government duties. Though "unofficial," the
USIP reports are a good indicator of what Empire's
policymakers are thinking. And judging by SR 91, all
options for Kosovo involve some form of independence.

Again, this is not surprising. Half the people who worked
on the report have worked for the ICG at one time or
another, and the International Crisis Group
(http://www.antiwar.com/malic/m050301.html) has been an
outspoken champion of the Albanian cause. It has issued
its own report
(http://www.crisisweb.org/projects/showreport.cfm?reportid=561)
on final status - favoring independence, of course.
Its late 1999 proposal to seize the Trepca mines was
followed - almost to the letter - by the occupation
authorities in 2000. Just recently, the ICG proposed
the elimination
(http://www.crisisweb.org/projects/showreport.cfm?reportid=672)
of the last Serb enclaves in the province, as a "threat" to
peace and security.

True to form, occupation governor Michael Steiner recently
spoke (http://www.serbianna.com/news/07_31/01.shtml) against
"partition" and "parallel structures" in Kosovo (meaning
the vestiges of Serb government, not the KLA, of course).
He also categorically rejected "status quo ante" 1999,
effectively saying that chances of Kosovo reintegrating
into Serbia were less than zero. Behind Steiner's talk of
"democratic, safe and multiethnic Kosovo
(http://www.iht.com/articles/65414.htm) on its way to
Europe" is independence, hiding in open sight.

Congress Speaks Out

Finally, there is the House Resolution 467, proposed by
Representatives Benjamin Gilman (R-NY) and Tom Lantos
(D-CA) on June 27 this year, expressing the support for
independence of something called "Kosova"
(http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/
getdoc.cgi?dbname=107_cong_bills&docid=f:hr467ih.txt.pdf).
Fortunately for Kenya, this does not mean support for
separatists in the Nyanza province
(http://www.christusrex.org/www1/pater/JPN-kisii.html),
if there are any. It means Gilman, Lantos and their ilk
desperately need a lesson in remedial English. Given
the amount of contributions they received from Albanian
separatists (http://www.aacl.com/), they might need remedial
ethics as well, together with such luminaries as Viagra
pitchman Bob Dole (http://voteforusa.com/albmony1.htm)
and Senator Joseph Biden (D-DE).

There are still some naïve moralists
(http://www.westernpolicy.org/ContributingAuthors/zavales072902.asp)
who are trying hard to reconcile the aggression and occupation
with an ethical solution for Kosovo. However rational their
arguments against independence may sound, however close to
the mainstream rhetoric and thinking, the Empire seems to have
made up its mind already. The question isn't "if," but "when."

Nebojsa Covic, Serbian kommissar for Kosovo, can ask for as many
explanations (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/2180760.stm)
as he wants, and try to reason with the occupiers
(http://www.serbianna.com/news/07_30/04.shtml) till the
cows come home. His boss, Zoran Djindjic, is Empire's
obedient servant, who will find a way to rationalize and
spin whatever his masters decide to do with Kosovo. And if
he doesn't, NATO can always bomb Serbia. It worked the
first time, didn't it?

The Crucible

One glimmer of hope in this deluge of depravity is that the
Empire seems to be in no hurry to actually let the Kosovo
Albanians declare independence. Perhaps the feeling is that
such a radical move might remind the rest of the world of the
criminal nature of NATO's attack, the illegal nature of the
occupation, and the fact that the US and NATO, with UN's tacit
approval, invaded and seized a piece of a sovereign nation's
territory. That last bit might be the toughest sell to the
world, since anybody can be the next victim.

Yet given that the Empire has used the Kosovo war to assert
the right to do whatever it pleases, whenever it pleases,
with or without an excuse, the hesitation can only mean the
occupation of this Serbian province still serves a purpose.

As long as that is the case, there is hope - however slim -
that the Empire will refrain from actually proceeding with
an agenda as obviously stupid as Kosovo independence. Not
because it is wrong, immoral, illegal or unjust,
mind you, but because it might be counterproductive.

As prosecuting Remi and Ramush for terrorism might be, for instance.