Informazione
...E A HITLER DAREMO IL PREMIO GHANDI PER LA NONVIOLENZA
Il signor Bill Clinton e' stato insignito ad Aquisgrana di un premio
intitolato a Carlomagno: si tratta di "un prestigioso riconoscimento
attribuito ogni anno a quegli statisti che si sono distinti per il loro
impegno a favore della costruzione [sic!] dell'Europa".
(fonte: "La Repubblica" online del 2/6/2000)
--------- COORDINAMENTO ROMANO PER LA JUGOSLAVIA -----------
RIMSKI SAVEZ ZA JUGOSLAVIJU
e-mail: crj@... - URL: http://marx2001.org/crj
http://www.egroups.com/group/crj-mailinglist/
------------------------------------------------------------
Il signor Bill Clinton e' stato insignito ad Aquisgrana di un premio
intitolato a Carlomagno: si tratta di "un prestigioso riconoscimento
attribuito ogni anno a quegli statisti che si sono distinti per il loro
impegno a favore della costruzione [sic!] dell'Europa".
(fonte: "La Repubblica" online del 2/6/2000)
--------- COORDINAMENTO ROMANO PER LA JUGOSLAVIA -----------
RIMSKI SAVEZ ZA JUGOSLAVIJU
e-mail: crj@... - URL: http://marx2001.org/crj
http://www.egroups.com/group/crj-mailinglist/
------------------------------------------------------------
MONOPOLY- L'OTAN A LA CONQUETE DU MONDE
Il nuovo libro di Michel Collon
e le altre iniziative della Lega Antiimperialista del Belgio
---
Subject: CONFERENCE mICHEL cOLLON
Date: Wed, 31 May 2000 21:09:03 +0200 (MET DST)
From: "ANNEMARIE LUGINBUHL" <aluginbuhl@...>
Otan, mediamensonges, yougoslavie
les media nous ont-ils manipules?
-comment reperer les media mensonges?
-qu'y a-t-il derriere les bavures?
- la logique des conflits actuels et lrs
prochaines cibles de l'otan
CONFERENCE-DEBAT AVEC MICHEL COLLON
a l'occasion de la parution de son nouvel ouvrage:
MONOPOLY- L'OTAN A LA CONQUETE DU MONDE
mercredi 7 juin dans les locaux du journal Le Monde
"! bis rue Claude Bernard
PARIS 5eme. metro Censier- Daubenton
Cette conference est organisee par le Syndicat National des journalistes
CGTL'association des amis d'Epo vous invite a y participer
---
Cari compagni,
Con questa lettera, noi vogliamo mettervi a conoscenza di
una serie di informazioni e di iniziative del gruppo di lavoro "Pace"
della Lega Ant Imperialista (L.A.I.) belga.
Lo scopo della nostra presentazione: di coordinare i nostri sforzi; di
offrirvi dei nostri materiali a condizioni vantaggiose; di invitarvi ad
unirvi a noi nelle nostre iniziative di solidarietà verso la
Jugoslavia.
Si tratta, in primo luogo, del libro "Monopoly" del giornalista Michel
Collon, che contiene delle vere e proprie rivelazione sulle menzogne
medianiche della NATO prima, durante e dopo la guerra contro la
Jugoslavia e che fornisce un'analisi globale del nuovo gendarme del
mondo.
Michel Collon è l'autore anche di "Attention médias" e "Poker
Menteur". Lui è disponibile a fare delle conferenze o un dibattito su
questi temi. Inoltre vogliamo sottoporvi un nostro progetto di
solidarietà con un orfanotrofio vicino a Novi Sad. Dopo delle azioni di
emergenza durante l'inverno, la nostra ONG Medicina per il Terzo Mondo
ha costruito dei contatti stabili con la Jugoslavia. Questo progetto
costituisce un ponte d'amicizia tra il popolo jugoslavo e quello belga.
Per sostenere questo progetto, noi vendiamo un set di cartoline, con
disegni dei bambini dell'orfanotrofio. Tra il 15 luglio ed il 3 agosto,
noi organizziamo insieme all'asbl "Parola ai giovani" una brigata di
giovani verso la Jugoslavia. Alcuni giovani andranno a fare del lavoro
volontario nell'orfanotrofio, organizzare degli incontri con dei giovani
jugoslavi e fare una visita del paese. Noi proponiamo di allargare
questo viaggio a delle delegazioni di differenti paesi e di organizzare,
durante queste tre settimane un incontro internazionale per confrontare
le nostre esperienze.
Nel frattempo, siamo molto interessati di essere tenuti al corrente di
tutte le vostre iniziative di solidarietà sulla Jugoslavia e/o la pace
in
generale, al fine di poter sostenere reciprocamente i nostri sforzi se
sarà possibile.
Con amicizia,
Danny Claes
Gruppo di lavoro "Pace"
Tel: ... 32/2/513.53.86
Fax: ... 32/2513.98.31
Bolletino di richiesta:
Indirizzare alla L.A.I., rue de caserne 68, B-1000 Bruxelles.
Io ordino n.......copie del libro "Monopoly"
Prezzo di vendita al pubblico: 998 FB o 165 FF (circa 50.000 lire)
Prezzo all'ordine di una sola copia: 800 FB ou 135 FF (circa
39.000 lire) + 90 FB ou 15 FF (circa 4.500 lire) di spese di spedizione
a copia
Prezzo all'ordine per dieci copie o più: 600 FB ou 100 FF a libro
(circa 30.000 lire) + 600 FB ou 100 FF (30.000 lire) per ogni blocco di
dieci copie per spese di spedizione.
Io chiedo n........ copie del dépliant "Sostieni un villaggio di
bambini in Jugoslavi".
Io chiedo n .......... set di cartoline postali.
Prezzo di vendita al pubblico: 100 FB ou 16 FF (circa 5.000 lire)
Prezzo all'ordine a partire da 5 sets: 70 BF ou 12 FF (circa 3.600
lire)
Prezzo all'ordine a partire da 10 sets: 60 BF ou 10 FF (circa 3.000
lire).
Noi ci iscriviamo per la brigata dei giovani con n ......... persone.
Prezzo per il viaggio con partenza da Bruxelles: 25.000 FB ou 4.100 FF
(circa 1.230.000 lire).
Per chi abita fuori dal Belgio, i versamenti per gli ordini o il
progetto si possono fare con un formulario MP16 sul conto postale:
000-1617383-05 di Médecine pour le Tiers Monde, 68,
rue de la caserne, B-1000 Bruxelles, Belgique.
-
Madame, Monsieur,
Par cet envoie, nous voulons vous présenter un paquet d'nformation et
d'action du groupe de travail `Paix' de la Ligue Anti-Impérialiste de
Belgique.
Le but de cette présentation est coordonner nos efforts, si cela vous
intéresse:
de vous offrir notre matériel à des conditions raisonable
de vous inviter à nous joindre dans nos actions vers la Yougoslavie
Il s'agit en premier lieu du livre `Monopoly' du journaliste Michel
Collon, qui contient des révélations sur les médiamensonges de l'Otan
avant, pendant et après la guerre contre la Yougoslavie et donne une
analyse globale du nouveau gendarme du monde.
Michel Collon est l'auteur de `Attention médias' et `Poker Menteur'.
Il est disponible de faire une conférence ou un débat sur ce sujet.
Ensuite il y a notre projet de solidarité avec un orphelinat près de
Novi Sad. Après des actions d'urgence pendant l'hiver, notre ONG
Médecine pour le Tiers Monde a élaboré de bonnes contactes avec la
Yougoslavie. Ce projet forme un pont d'amitié entre le peuple yougoslave
et belge.
Au profit de ce projet, nous vendons un set de deux cartes postales,
avec des desseins d'enfants de l'orphelinat.
Entre le 15 juillet et le 3 août, nous organisons ensemble avec l'asbl
`Parole au jeunes' un brigade de jeunes vers la Yougoslavie. Des jeunes
vont faire du travail bénévole dans l'orphelinat, organiser des
rencontres avec des jeunes yougoslaves et faire un visite du pays.
Nous proposons de élargir ce voyage avec des délégations de différentes
pays et d'organiser pendant ces trois semaines un rencontre
international pour échanges des expériences.
Entretemps, nous sommes très intéressés d'être tenu au courant de toutes
vos initiatives de solidarité autour de la Yougoslavie et/ou la paix en
générale, afin de pouvoir rejoindre vos efforts si possible.
Amicalement,
Danny Claes
Groupe de travail `Paix'
Tél: ... 32/2/513.53.86
Fax:: ... 32/2513.98.31
Bulletin de réponse:
A renvoyer à la LAI, rue de caserne 68, B-1000 Bruxelles
Je commande ....... exemplaires du livre `Monopoly'
Prix de vente: 998 FB ou 165 FF
Prix de commande pour un à neuf exemplaires:
800 FB ou 135 FF + 90 FB ou 15 FF frais d'envoi par livre
Prix de commande pour dix exemplaires ou plus:
600 FB ou 100 FF par livre + 600 FB ou 100 FF par tranche de dix livres
frais d'envoie.
Je demande ........ exemplaires du dépliant ``Soutenez un village
d'enfants en Yougoslavie.
Je commande .......... sets de cartes postales.
Prix de ventes: 100 FB ou 16 FF
Prix de commande à partir de 5 sets: 70 BF ou 12 FF
Prix de comande à partir de 10 sets: 60 BF ou 10 FF
Nous nous inscrivons pour la brigade des jeunes avec .........
personnes.
Prix pour le voyage à partir de Bruxelles: 25.000 FB ou 4.100 FF
Pour les habitants hors Belgique, les versements pour les commandes ou
le projet peuvent se faire par un formulaire MP16 sur le compte postal:
000-1617383-05 de
Médecine pour le Tiers Monde, 68, rue de la caserne, B-1000 Bruxelles,
Belgique.
---
C O M M U N I Q U É D E P R E S S E
Les éditions EPO ont le plaisir de vous annoncer la sortie du livre
Monopoly
L'OTAN à la conquête du monde
de Michel Collon
Il y a un an, se déroulait la guerre contre la Yougoslavie. A cette
occasion, nous vous proposons un document incontournable dans ce débat.
Spécialiste des médiamensonges et des stratégies secrètes
Michel Collon est l'auteur d'Attention, médias ! Les médiamensonges du
Golfe (EPO, 1992) et de Poker menteur. Les grandes puissances, la
Yougoslavie et les prochaines guerres (EPO, 1998).
Chacun de ces livres avait provoqué un choc. En démasquant - documents
en main - les médiamensonges qui avaient permis de manipuler l'opinion.
Et en exposant les stratégies réelles des grandes puissances.
Vous trouverez en annexe une sélection de réactions parmi les médias et
les personnalités.
Un an après la guerre : quel bilan ?
La guerre avait pour but, nous disait-on, d'établir un Kosovo
multiethnique . Qu'en est-il aujourd'hui ? Elle prétendait aussi
constituer une solide alliance entre Etats-Unis et Europe. Qu'en
est-il ?
Michel Collon avait annoncé cette guerre contre la Yougoslavie. A
présent, il dévoile les prochaines cibles de l'OTAN.
Un débatteur de talent
Si ses analyses dérangent certains conformismes, Michel Collon a
passionné tous les publics auxquels il a pu s'adresser dans de nombreux
pays. Révélations nombreuses, connaissance approfondie du dossier,
synthèses claires et concises, polémiques courtoises mais sans
concession... Une cassette d'un récent débat télévisé (L'Ecran témoin,
RTBF, 31 janvier 2000) est à votre disposition.
Les éditions EPO vous proposent donc d'inclure Michel Collon dans la
couverture de cet anniversaire de la guerre (interviews, débats, bonnes
feuilles...).
Contacts :
Editions EPO, Karine Alvarez - tel : +32 2/ 523 02 32 ou email
<editions@...>
Michel Collon - tel-fax : +32 4/ 246 28 81 ou email
<michel.collon@...>
ISBN 2-87262-171-7 250 pages 998 Bef - 165 FF
éditions EPO, 30 rue Lambert Crickx, 1070 Bruxelles, Belgique
Tél: 32 (0)2 215 66 51 Fax: 32 (0)2 215 66 04 email: editions@...
Monopoly
L'Otan à la conquête du monde
de Michel Collon
1. Test-médias: que vaut notre information sur le Kosovo?
- Les 4 principes de la propagande de guerre
- Ce qu'on n'a pas dit sur le massacre de Racak
- Médiamensonges préparatoires
- Comment Washington a préparé sa guerre
- Qui a lu le texte de Rambouillet?
- Sur le génocide, la purification ethnique et les charniers
2. Serbes et Albanais: les dessous du problème `ethnique'
- La suppression de l'autonomie en 89
- Les grandes puissances derrière l'UCK
- Les tactiques militaires des deux camps
- Causes de l'exode de réfugiés
- Quel avenir pour le Kosovo?
3. Les prochaines cibles de l'Otan:
- Une armée au service de la globalisation
- Prochaines cibles: Irak, Algérie, Congo... Et Moscou!
- Caucase: la prochaine guerre du pétrole
- Ce qu'on nous cache sur la Tchétchénie
-- Les dangers de l'expansion de l'Otan
- Chine: le bombardement était un avertissement
- Le droit international bafoué
- Pourquoi le budget d'armement US augmente de 70%
- Naissance de l'euro-armée
4. La guerre de l'Otan était-elle `propre'?
- Images de souffrances
- La théorie des «bavures»
- La résistance d'un peuple
- Otan et UCK ont `purifié' le Kosovo
- Comment les multinationales se sont partagé le Kosovo
- Rétablir le dialogue
5. Nécessité d'un front mondial pour la paix
Ils ont dit de Poker menteur :
Paul-Marie de La Gorce (Le Monde Diplomatique): « Un des trois livres
les plus importants de l'année. Une analyse résolument non conformiste,
renversant les tabous et les dogmes imposés par la presse occidentale. »
Gilles Perrault: « Vous faites ?uvre de salubrité publique! Poker
menteur éclaire un problème fort complexe en tordant le cou à un certain
nombre d'escroqueries médiatiques. On retrouve là l'auteur d'Attention
médias ! Vous dévoilez surtout les vrais enjeux d'une guerre dont on ne
nous a montré que les apparences. Travail tout à fait passionnant. »
Jean Ziegler, écrivain et sociologue : « Vous faites un travail
formidable ! Merci de ce beau,
intelligent livre. »
Samir Amin, économiste : « Excellent livre. Réussit à la perfection à
faire une analyse sérieuse et profonde et à convaincre par la quantité
de faits bien présentés. »
Benoît Delépine (alias « Michael Kael » et scénariste des Guignols, sur
Canal Plus) : « Attention médias ! le précédent livre de Michel Collon,
est formidable. Comme l'Américain Chomsky, il a inspiré tout mon travail
pour Michael Kael. Le premier scénario de mon film était d'ailleurs basé
sur ce bouquin que je recommande à tous mes amis. Et chaque fois que je
viens en Belgique, je demande aux journalistes « Connaissez-vous ce
livre de Michel Collon ? » Réponse : non. Quel dommage ! »
Louis Dalmas, rédacteur en chef du mensuel français Balkans-Infos : « Je
suis à la fois sidéré par le travail et rempli d'admiration. C'est le
document le plus important qui ait été publié sur l'ex-Yougoslavie.
Complet, bien présenté, facile à lire, édifiant. »
Bichara Khader, professeur à Louvain-la-Neuve : « Je recommanderais ce
livre à tous les étudiants soucieux de comprendre la politique
internationale et épris de paix. »
Pierre Piérart (Association des Médecins pour la Prévention de la guerre
nucléaire, prix Nobel 1985) : « L'analyse de Poker menteur colle à la
réalité : le contrôle des richesses stratégiques est au c?ur du
problème. Et la puissance allemande devient en effet extrêmement
dangereuse. »
Eva Forest, résistante antifranquiste et éditrice : « Comme dans
Attention médias !, Michel Collon explique minutieusement et clairement
ces problèmes. C'est un grand plaisir de le lire. »
Michel Collon
37 Rue André Renard Tél + Fax : 32 / 4 /
246
28 81
4430 Ans - Belgique E-mail: michel.collon@...
* Journaliste, écrit notamment dans l'hebdomadaire Solidaire.
* Auteur du livre Attention, médias! (EPO, Bruxelles, 1992).
Sous-titre: Les médiamensonges du Golfe.
Manuel anti-manipulation.
Analyse du système général des médias.
Trois éditions, plus de 6.000 exemplaires (épuisé)
Traductions en espagnol et arabe.
* Auteur du livre Poker menteur (EPO, Bruxelles, 1998)
Sous-titre: Les grandes puissances, la Yougoslavie et les
prochaines
guerres.
Deux éditions, plus de 4.000 exemplaires.
Traduction en espagnol, en néerlandais, et bientôt en italien et
serbo-croate.
Analyse des stratégies cachées (Etats-Unis, Allemagne, Otan)
dans les
Balkans. Prévoyait la guerre du Kosovo, l'expansion de l'Otan dans le
Caucase...
* Plusieurs voyages en Yougoslavie et ex-Yougoslavie.
* Anime des comités pour la paix en Belgique. A dirigé une délégation de
15 personnalités belges en Yougoslavie en mai 99 sous les bombardements.
* Scénariste du film `Sous les bombes de l'Otan' (Regards Croisés,
Bruxelles, 1999, 45 minutes) à l'occasion du voyage ci-dessus.
* Plus de deux cents conférences et débats dans de nombreux pays
(en
français, anglais, néerlandais, italien).
---
Oui, je veux acheter dès maintenant
le prochain livre de Michel Collon
Monopoly
(L'Otan à la conquête du monde)
en souscription (réduction 20%)
135FF au lieu de 165 FF
ou
798 FB au lieu de 998 FB
NOM et PRENOM:
RUE, NUMERO:
CODE POSTAL et VILLE:
PAYS
Tél/fax:
E-mail:
O Je remets le montant en liquide
O Je donne un chèque au nom des EDITIONS EPO
Livraison O par une association locale
O par poste (ajouter 10 FF port)
O Veuillez m'envoyer ... exemplaires du dépliant promotionnel à diffuser
autour de moi.
O Veuillez m'informer quant aux possibilités d'aider à diffuser Monopoly
autour de moi.
O Je vous envoie des adresses de personnes à qui envoyer le dépliant
promotionnel
A renvoyer à: Editions EPO, Karine Alvarez,
25 Langepastoorstraat, 2600 Berchem Belgique
---
Le 15 bugie di Jamie Shea e della NATO
Il portavoce della NATO, Jamie Shea, tiene conferenze un po' dappertutto
per
tentare di giustificare i bombardamenti sulla Yugoslavia.
Michel Collon, autore di Monopoly - La NATO alla conquista del mondo,
smaschera le 15 menzogne maediatiche della NATO e sfida Jamie Shea ad
accettare un confronto pubblico.
Prima della guerra
1 "Il fine della NATO: riportare la pace in Kossovo"
Falso! Da più di un anno, i servizi segreti tedeschi del Bnd armano i
separatisti albanesi, secondo quanto rivelato dalla televisione tedesca
ARD.
La Cia ha fatto similmente. Così, lo stesso Uck che l'inviato speciale
degli
USA, Robert Gelbard, qualificò pubblicamente come "terrorista" alla fine
del
febbraio 1998, è stato segretamente incoraggiato ad assassinare
poliziotti e
civili serbi fedeli alla Yugoslavia.
2 "I Serbi intransigenti hanno rifiutato le nostre proposte di pace."
Falso! Alla "negoziazione" di Rambouillet (inizio 99), la NATO ha voluto
imporre l'occupazione militare di tutta la Yugoslavia e la
colonizzazione
del Kossovo da parte delle multinazionali. Essa ha anche impedito Serbi
ed
Albanesi di confrontarsi. Il fine di queste provocazioni? Dare l'inizio
alla
guerra al fine di installare le proprie basi nei Balcani.
3 "La colpa è di Milosevic. Noi vogliamo liberare gli Yugoslavi."
Falso! Numerosi Yugoslavi criticano Milosevic. Ma questo popolo è
unanime
nel rifiutare la separazione della Yugoslavia ed una occupazione da
parte
della NATO. Ecco perché l'opposizione finanziata con milioni di dollari
da
parte degli Stati Uniti non serve a niente. Né lo chantage di un embargo
crudele, che blocca medicine, mazout et viveri.
4 "La polizia yugoslava ha massacrato dei civili a Racak nel gennaio
1999."
Falso! Erano le vittime di uno scontro tra due eserciti. Questa
manipolazione è stata orchestrata da un agente americano, William
Walker,
che fu complice degli squadroni della morte del Salvador e del Nicaragua
(anni '80). Ogni guerra comincia con una grande menzogna mediatica:
delle
immagini truccate per manipolare l'opinione.
5 "I Serbi praticano la pulizia etnica."
Falso! Crimini sono stati commessi da ENTRAMBI i campi (cfr. rapporti
dell'OSCE), ma non si può parlare di ipulizia etnica sistematica. Ancora
quindici giorni prima della guerra, un rapporto ufficiale del ministero
tedesco degli Affari Esteri (diretto dal verde Joshka Fisher) dichiara:
"Non
ci sono persecuzioni etniche contro gli Albanesi come gruppo. Solamente
degli scontri tra i due eserciti."
Durante la guerra
6 "I nostri bombardamenti risparmiano i civili."
Falso! Il capo di stato maggiore belga Herteleer l'ha riconosciuto:
"Facciamo del male alla stessa popolazione serba. Infliggiamo loro delle
perdite." (Standaard, 17.4.99). Risultato: 2.000 civili uccisi, 5.000
feriti, una generazione di bambini traumatizzati, 147 ospedali colpiti,
economia distrutta. Il fine: mettere in ginocchio lo stesso popolo. Ed
eliminare tutto favorisce l'invasione delle multianzionali.
7 "Portiamo avanti una guerra "propria"."
falso! La NATO ha impiegato delle armi proibite dalla Convenzione di
Ginevra: 1. Bombe a frammentazione lanciate in particolare sul mercato e
sull'ospedale di Nis, uccidendo o mutilando numerosi civili. 2. Bombe
alla
grafite per paralizzare le condutture elettriche (e quindi gli
ospedali). 3.
Armi a uranio impoverito provocanti cancri e mutazioni genetiche, ivi
comprese quelle dei soldati USA.
8 "E' stato per errore che la NATO ha bombardato un convoglio di
rifugiati
albanesi (73 morti)."
Falso! Voi avete all'inizio preteso che erano stati bombardati dai
Serbi.
Poi che i vostri piloti l'avevano scambiato per un convoglio militare.
Ora,
questi piloti sono ritornati a bombardarlo per otto volte! In realtà,
questi
rifugiati rientravano in Kossovo, ma vo volevate svuotarlo e "provare"
che
sarebe stato impossibile per gli Albanesi di viverci.
9 "E' per errore che la NATO ha bombardato un treno che arrivava su di
un
ponte."
falso! Per tentare di dimostrare che il pilota aveva visto troppo tardi
questo treno che arrivava molto velocemente, avete truccato i video
registrati dai vostri aerei, facendoli passare tre volte più veloce; il
treno, però, sarebbe dovuto andare a 300 km/h. In realtà, anche qui, il
pilota è ritornato a bombardare di nuovo una carrozza. La NATO non
rispetta
i civili.
10 "E' per errore che la NATO ha bombaradto l'Ambasciata cinese."
falso! Voi avete all'inizio raccontato che i servizi USA non avevano una
mappa recente di Belgrado indicante il nuovo sito di questa
AmbasciataFaux!
Vous avez d'abord raconté qu'il visait le building d'en face. Il
n'y en a pas! Puis que les services US n'avaient pas un plan récent de
Belgrade indiquant le nouveau site de cette ambassade. Prendete la gente
per
imbecilli? In realtà, questo bombardiere, venuto apposta dagli USA, ha
lanciato un avvertimento per la Cina, che si dimostrava solidale con la
Yugoslavia.
Dopo la guerra
11 "Abbiamo scoperto dei charniers provanti il genocidio."
Falso! Dopo lunghe ricerche, avete esumato 2108 corpi. Di tutte le
nazionalità. Molti sono stati vittime dei vostri bombardamenti, altri
dell'Uck. Il capo dei legali spagnoli è ripartito velocemente con la sua
squadra, dicendo che erano stati manipolati. Il genocidio ("100000
uomini
uccisi", dicevate) è stata un'invenzione dei vostri servizi di
propaganda.
12 "La NATO è qui per proteggere la popolazione albanese."
Falso! Gli Stati Uniti hanno installato nel Kossovo una gigantesca base
militare permanente, chiamata Campo Bondsteel. Questo era il loro scopo
sin
dal principio. Al fine di avvicinarsi al Caucaso ed al suo petrolio, che
essi vogliono controllare. Strategia a lungo termine: accerchiare ed
indebolire la Russia. Ecco perché Washington arma in segreto le milizie
islamiche cecene.
13 "La NATO persegue delle finalità umanitarie."
Falso! Le potenze occidentali hanno ripartito le zone d'occupazione
secondo
le ricchezze interessanti le loro rispettive multinazionali. Gli USA
hanno
preso le miniere strategiche di Novo Brdo e l'industria di batterie di
Gnjilane, British Power l'elettricità, i Francesi hanno ricevuto le
miniere
di Trepca come prezzo della loro obbedienza, i Tedeschi i vigneti e
l'industria di pneumatici…
14 "La NATO interviene per formare un Kossovo multietnico."
Falso! L'Uck e voi avete "purificato" il Kossovo. 350.000 Serbi, Zigani,
Musulmani, Turchi ed altre minoranze perseguite hanno dovuto fuggire.
Non
avete ritrovato nessuna delle 700 persone rapite dall'Uck. Ed i vostri
50.000 soldati "non possono proteggere", dite voi, gli ultimi Serbi -
quattrocento - sepolti per mesi nei loro appartamenti a Pristina?
15 "Tentiamo con imparzialità di calmare le passioni."
Falso! La NATO stessa ha licenziato ventimila lavoratori serbi. Bernard
Kouchner, amministratore civile, ha preso (?) un arrestato che legittima
dopo 24 ore le occupazioni illegali di case ed appartamenti da cui i
Serbi
sono stati cacciati. Infine, disarmando i soli Serbi, voi li lasciate
alla
violenza sistematica organizzata dall'Uck, che uccide un Serbo al
giorno.
--------- COORDINAMENTO ROMANO PER LA JUGOSLAVIA -----------
RIMSKI SAVEZ ZA JUGOSLAVIJU
e-mail: crj@... - URL: http://marx2001.org/crj
http://www.egroups.com/group/crj-mailinglist/
------------------------------------------------------------
Il nuovo libro di Michel Collon
e le altre iniziative della Lega Antiimperialista del Belgio
---
Subject: CONFERENCE mICHEL cOLLON
Date: Wed, 31 May 2000 21:09:03 +0200 (MET DST)
From: "ANNEMARIE LUGINBUHL" <aluginbuhl@...>
Otan, mediamensonges, yougoslavie
les media nous ont-ils manipules?
-comment reperer les media mensonges?
-qu'y a-t-il derriere les bavures?
- la logique des conflits actuels et lrs
prochaines cibles de l'otan
CONFERENCE-DEBAT AVEC MICHEL COLLON
a l'occasion de la parution de son nouvel ouvrage:
MONOPOLY- L'OTAN A LA CONQUETE DU MONDE
mercredi 7 juin dans les locaux du journal Le Monde
"! bis rue Claude Bernard
PARIS 5eme. metro Censier- Daubenton
Cette conference est organisee par le Syndicat National des journalistes
CGTL'association des amis d'Epo vous invite a y participer
---
Cari compagni,
Con questa lettera, noi vogliamo mettervi a conoscenza di
una serie di informazioni e di iniziative del gruppo di lavoro "Pace"
della Lega Ant Imperialista (L.A.I.) belga.
Lo scopo della nostra presentazione: di coordinare i nostri sforzi; di
offrirvi dei nostri materiali a condizioni vantaggiose; di invitarvi ad
unirvi a noi nelle nostre iniziative di solidarietà verso la
Jugoslavia.
Si tratta, in primo luogo, del libro "Monopoly" del giornalista Michel
Collon, che contiene delle vere e proprie rivelazione sulle menzogne
medianiche della NATO prima, durante e dopo la guerra contro la
Jugoslavia e che fornisce un'analisi globale del nuovo gendarme del
mondo.
Michel Collon è l'autore anche di "Attention médias" e "Poker
Menteur". Lui è disponibile a fare delle conferenze o un dibattito su
questi temi. Inoltre vogliamo sottoporvi un nostro progetto di
solidarietà con un orfanotrofio vicino a Novi Sad. Dopo delle azioni di
emergenza durante l'inverno, la nostra ONG Medicina per il Terzo Mondo
ha costruito dei contatti stabili con la Jugoslavia. Questo progetto
costituisce un ponte d'amicizia tra il popolo jugoslavo e quello belga.
Per sostenere questo progetto, noi vendiamo un set di cartoline, con
disegni dei bambini dell'orfanotrofio. Tra il 15 luglio ed il 3 agosto,
noi organizziamo insieme all'asbl "Parola ai giovani" una brigata di
giovani verso la Jugoslavia. Alcuni giovani andranno a fare del lavoro
volontario nell'orfanotrofio, organizzare degli incontri con dei giovani
jugoslavi e fare una visita del paese. Noi proponiamo di allargare
questo viaggio a delle delegazioni di differenti paesi e di organizzare,
durante queste tre settimane un incontro internazionale per confrontare
le nostre esperienze.
Nel frattempo, siamo molto interessati di essere tenuti al corrente di
tutte le vostre iniziative di solidarietà sulla Jugoslavia e/o la pace
in
generale, al fine di poter sostenere reciprocamente i nostri sforzi se
sarà possibile.
Con amicizia,
Danny Claes
Gruppo di lavoro "Pace"
Tel: ... 32/2/513.53.86
Fax: ... 32/2513.98.31
Bolletino di richiesta:
Indirizzare alla L.A.I., rue de caserne 68, B-1000 Bruxelles.
Io ordino n.......copie del libro "Monopoly"
Prezzo di vendita al pubblico: 998 FB o 165 FF (circa 50.000 lire)
Prezzo all'ordine di una sola copia: 800 FB ou 135 FF (circa
39.000 lire) + 90 FB ou 15 FF (circa 4.500 lire) di spese di spedizione
a copia
Prezzo all'ordine per dieci copie o più: 600 FB ou 100 FF a libro
(circa 30.000 lire) + 600 FB ou 100 FF (30.000 lire) per ogni blocco di
dieci copie per spese di spedizione.
Io chiedo n........ copie del dépliant "Sostieni un villaggio di
bambini in Jugoslavi".
Io chiedo n .......... set di cartoline postali.
Prezzo di vendita al pubblico: 100 FB ou 16 FF (circa 5.000 lire)
Prezzo all'ordine a partire da 5 sets: 70 BF ou 12 FF (circa 3.600
lire)
Prezzo all'ordine a partire da 10 sets: 60 BF ou 10 FF (circa 3.000
lire).
Noi ci iscriviamo per la brigata dei giovani con n ......... persone.
Prezzo per il viaggio con partenza da Bruxelles: 25.000 FB ou 4.100 FF
(circa 1.230.000 lire).
Per chi abita fuori dal Belgio, i versamenti per gli ordini o il
progetto si possono fare con un formulario MP16 sul conto postale:
000-1617383-05 di Médecine pour le Tiers Monde, 68,
rue de la caserne, B-1000 Bruxelles, Belgique.
-
Madame, Monsieur,
Par cet envoie, nous voulons vous présenter un paquet d'nformation et
d'action du groupe de travail `Paix' de la Ligue Anti-Impérialiste de
Belgique.
Le but de cette présentation est coordonner nos efforts, si cela vous
intéresse:
de vous offrir notre matériel à des conditions raisonable
de vous inviter à nous joindre dans nos actions vers la Yougoslavie
Il s'agit en premier lieu du livre `Monopoly' du journaliste Michel
Collon, qui contient des révélations sur les médiamensonges de l'Otan
avant, pendant et après la guerre contre la Yougoslavie et donne une
analyse globale du nouveau gendarme du monde.
Michel Collon est l'auteur de `Attention médias' et `Poker Menteur'.
Il est disponible de faire une conférence ou un débat sur ce sujet.
Ensuite il y a notre projet de solidarité avec un orphelinat près de
Novi Sad. Après des actions d'urgence pendant l'hiver, notre ONG
Médecine pour le Tiers Monde a élaboré de bonnes contactes avec la
Yougoslavie. Ce projet forme un pont d'amitié entre le peuple yougoslave
et belge.
Au profit de ce projet, nous vendons un set de deux cartes postales,
avec des desseins d'enfants de l'orphelinat.
Entre le 15 juillet et le 3 août, nous organisons ensemble avec l'asbl
`Parole au jeunes' un brigade de jeunes vers la Yougoslavie. Des jeunes
vont faire du travail bénévole dans l'orphelinat, organiser des
rencontres avec des jeunes yougoslaves et faire un visite du pays.
Nous proposons de élargir ce voyage avec des délégations de différentes
pays et d'organiser pendant ces trois semaines un rencontre
international pour échanges des expériences.
Entretemps, nous sommes très intéressés d'être tenu au courant de toutes
vos initiatives de solidarité autour de la Yougoslavie et/ou la paix en
générale, afin de pouvoir rejoindre vos efforts si possible.
Amicalement,
Danny Claes
Groupe de travail `Paix'
Tél: ... 32/2/513.53.86
Fax:: ... 32/2513.98.31
Bulletin de réponse:
A renvoyer à la LAI, rue de caserne 68, B-1000 Bruxelles
Je commande ....... exemplaires du livre `Monopoly'
Prix de vente: 998 FB ou 165 FF
Prix de commande pour un à neuf exemplaires:
800 FB ou 135 FF + 90 FB ou 15 FF frais d'envoi par livre
Prix de commande pour dix exemplaires ou plus:
600 FB ou 100 FF par livre + 600 FB ou 100 FF par tranche de dix livres
frais d'envoie.
Je demande ........ exemplaires du dépliant ``Soutenez un village
d'enfants en Yougoslavie.
Je commande .......... sets de cartes postales.
Prix de ventes: 100 FB ou 16 FF
Prix de commande à partir de 5 sets: 70 BF ou 12 FF
Prix de comande à partir de 10 sets: 60 BF ou 10 FF
Nous nous inscrivons pour la brigade des jeunes avec .........
personnes.
Prix pour le voyage à partir de Bruxelles: 25.000 FB ou 4.100 FF
Pour les habitants hors Belgique, les versements pour les commandes ou
le projet peuvent se faire par un formulaire MP16 sur le compte postal:
000-1617383-05 de
Médecine pour le Tiers Monde, 68, rue de la caserne, B-1000 Bruxelles,
Belgique.
---
C O M M U N I Q U É D E P R E S S E
Les éditions EPO ont le plaisir de vous annoncer la sortie du livre
Monopoly
L'OTAN à la conquête du monde
de Michel Collon
Il y a un an, se déroulait la guerre contre la Yougoslavie. A cette
occasion, nous vous proposons un document incontournable dans ce débat.
Spécialiste des médiamensonges et des stratégies secrètes
Michel Collon est l'auteur d'Attention, médias ! Les médiamensonges du
Golfe (EPO, 1992) et de Poker menteur. Les grandes puissances, la
Yougoslavie et les prochaines guerres (EPO, 1998).
Chacun de ces livres avait provoqué un choc. En démasquant - documents
en main - les médiamensonges qui avaient permis de manipuler l'opinion.
Et en exposant les stratégies réelles des grandes puissances.
Vous trouverez en annexe une sélection de réactions parmi les médias et
les personnalités.
Un an après la guerre : quel bilan ?
La guerre avait pour but, nous disait-on, d'établir un Kosovo
multiethnique . Qu'en est-il aujourd'hui ? Elle prétendait aussi
constituer une solide alliance entre Etats-Unis et Europe. Qu'en
est-il ?
Michel Collon avait annoncé cette guerre contre la Yougoslavie. A
présent, il dévoile les prochaines cibles de l'OTAN.
Un débatteur de talent
Si ses analyses dérangent certains conformismes, Michel Collon a
passionné tous les publics auxquels il a pu s'adresser dans de nombreux
pays. Révélations nombreuses, connaissance approfondie du dossier,
synthèses claires et concises, polémiques courtoises mais sans
concession... Une cassette d'un récent débat télévisé (L'Ecran témoin,
RTBF, 31 janvier 2000) est à votre disposition.
Les éditions EPO vous proposent donc d'inclure Michel Collon dans la
couverture de cet anniversaire de la guerre (interviews, débats, bonnes
feuilles...).
Contacts :
Editions EPO, Karine Alvarez - tel : +32 2/ 523 02 32 ou email
<editions@...>
Michel Collon - tel-fax : +32 4/ 246 28 81 ou email
<michel.collon@...>
ISBN 2-87262-171-7 250 pages 998 Bef - 165 FF
éditions EPO, 30 rue Lambert Crickx, 1070 Bruxelles, Belgique
Tél: 32 (0)2 215 66 51 Fax: 32 (0)2 215 66 04 email: editions@...
Monopoly
L'Otan à la conquête du monde
de Michel Collon
1. Test-médias: que vaut notre information sur le Kosovo?
- Les 4 principes de la propagande de guerre
- Ce qu'on n'a pas dit sur le massacre de Racak
- Médiamensonges préparatoires
- Comment Washington a préparé sa guerre
- Qui a lu le texte de Rambouillet?
- Sur le génocide, la purification ethnique et les charniers
2. Serbes et Albanais: les dessous du problème `ethnique'
- La suppression de l'autonomie en 89
- Les grandes puissances derrière l'UCK
- Les tactiques militaires des deux camps
- Causes de l'exode de réfugiés
- Quel avenir pour le Kosovo?
3. Les prochaines cibles de l'Otan:
- Une armée au service de la globalisation
- Prochaines cibles: Irak, Algérie, Congo... Et Moscou!
- Caucase: la prochaine guerre du pétrole
- Ce qu'on nous cache sur la Tchétchénie
-- Les dangers de l'expansion de l'Otan
- Chine: le bombardement était un avertissement
- Le droit international bafoué
- Pourquoi le budget d'armement US augmente de 70%
- Naissance de l'euro-armée
4. La guerre de l'Otan était-elle `propre'?
- Images de souffrances
- La théorie des «bavures»
- La résistance d'un peuple
- Otan et UCK ont `purifié' le Kosovo
- Comment les multinationales se sont partagé le Kosovo
- Rétablir le dialogue
5. Nécessité d'un front mondial pour la paix
Ils ont dit de Poker menteur :
Paul-Marie de La Gorce (Le Monde Diplomatique): « Un des trois livres
les plus importants de l'année. Une analyse résolument non conformiste,
renversant les tabous et les dogmes imposés par la presse occidentale. »
Gilles Perrault: « Vous faites ?uvre de salubrité publique! Poker
menteur éclaire un problème fort complexe en tordant le cou à un certain
nombre d'escroqueries médiatiques. On retrouve là l'auteur d'Attention
médias ! Vous dévoilez surtout les vrais enjeux d'une guerre dont on ne
nous a montré que les apparences. Travail tout à fait passionnant. »
Jean Ziegler, écrivain et sociologue : « Vous faites un travail
formidable ! Merci de ce beau,
intelligent livre. »
Samir Amin, économiste : « Excellent livre. Réussit à la perfection à
faire une analyse sérieuse et profonde et à convaincre par la quantité
de faits bien présentés. »
Benoît Delépine (alias « Michael Kael » et scénariste des Guignols, sur
Canal Plus) : « Attention médias ! le précédent livre de Michel Collon,
est formidable. Comme l'Américain Chomsky, il a inspiré tout mon travail
pour Michael Kael. Le premier scénario de mon film était d'ailleurs basé
sur ce bouquin que je recommande à tous mes amis. Et chaque fois que je
viens en Belgique, je demande aux journalistes « Connaissez-vous ce
livre de Michel Collon ? » Réponse : non. Quel dommage ! »
Louis Dalmas, rédacteur en chef du mensuel français Balkans-Infos : « Je
suis à la fois sidéré par le travail et rempli d'admiration. C'est le
document le plus important qui ait été publié sur l'ex-Yougoslavie.
Complet, bien présenté, facile à lire, édifiant. »
Bichara Khader, professeur à Louvain-la-Neuve : « Je recommanderais ce
livre à tous les étudiants soucieux de comprendre la politique
internationale et épris de paix. »
Pierre Piérart (Association des Médecins pour la Prévention de la guerre
nucléaire, prix Nobel 1985) : « L'analyse de Poker menteur colle à la
réalité : le contrôle des richesses stratégiques est au c?ur du
problème. Et la puissance allemande devient en effet extrêmement
dangereuse. »
Eva Forest, résistante antifranquiste et éditrice : « Comme dans
Attention médias !, Michel Collon explique minutieusement et clairement
ces problèmes. C'est un grand plaisir de le lire. »
Michel Collon
37 Rue André Renard Tél + Fax : 32 / 4 /
246
28 81
4430 Ans - Belgique E-mail: michel.collon@...
* Journaliste, écrit notamment dans l'hebdomadaire Solidaire.
* Auteur du livre Attention, médias! (EPO, Bruxelles, 1992).
Sous-titre: Les médiamensonges du Golfe.
Manuel anti-manipulation.
Analyse du système général des médias.
Trois éditions, plus de 6.000 exemplaires (épuisé)
Traductions en espagnol et arabe.
* Auteur du livre Poker menteur (EPO, Bruxelles, 1998)
Sous-titre: Les grandes puissances, la Yougoslavie et les
prochaines
guerres.
Deux éditions, plus de 4.000 exemplaires.
Traduction en espagnol, en néerlandais, et bientôt en italien et
serbo-croate.
Analyse des stratégies cachées (Etats-Unis, Allemagne, Otan)
dans les
Balkans. Prévoyait la guerre du Kosovo, l'expansion de l'Otan dans le
Caucase...
* Plusieurs voyages en Yougoslavie et ex-Yougoslavie.
* Anime des comités pour la paix en Belgique. A dirigé une délégation de
15 personnalités belges en Yougoslavie en mai 99 sous les bombardements.
* Scénariste du film `Sous les bombes de l'Otan' (Regards Croisés,
Bruxelles, 1999, 45 minutes) à l'occasion du voyage ci-dessus.
* Plus de deux cents conférences et débats dans de nombreux pays
(en
français, anglais, néerlandais, italien).
---
Oui, je veux acheter dès maintenant
le prochain livre de Michel Collon
Monopoly
(L'Otan à la conquête du monde)
en souscription (réduction 20%)
135FF au lieu de 165 FF
ou
798 FB au lieu de 998 FB
NOM et PRENOM:
RUE, NUMERO:
CODE POSTAL et VILLE:
PAYS
Tél/fax:
E-mail:
O Je remets le montant en liquide
O Je donne un chèque au nom des EDITIONS EPO
Livraison O par une association locale
O par poste (ajouter 10 FF port)
O Veuillez m'envoyer ... exemplaires du dépliant promotionnel à diffuser
autour de moi.
O Veuillez m'informer quant aux possibilités d'aider à diffuser Monopoly
autour de moi.
O Je vous envoie des adresses de personnes à qui envoyer le dépliant
promotionnel
A renvoyer à: Editions EPO, Karine Alvarez,
25 Langepastoorstraat, 2600 Berchem Belgique
---
Le 15 bugie di Jamie Shea e della NATO
Il portavoce della NATO, Jamie Shea, tiene conferenze un po' dappertutto
per
tentare di giustificare i bombardamenti sulla Yugoslavia.
Michel Collon, autore di Monopoly - La NATO alla conquista del mondo,
smaschera le 15 menzogne maediatiche della NATO e sfida Jamie Shea ad
accettare un confronto pubblico.
Prima della guerra
1 "Il fine della NATO: riportare la pace in Kossovo"
Falso! Da più di un anno, i servizi segreti tedeschi del Bnd armano i
separatisti albanesi, secondo quanto rivelato dalla televisione tedesca
ARD.
La Cia ha fatto similmente. Così, lo stesso Uck che l'inviato speciale
degli
USA, Robert Gelbard, qualificò pubblicamente come "terrorista" alla fine
del
febbraio 1998, è stato segretamente incoraggiato ad assassinare
poliziotti e
civili serbi fedeli alla Yugoslavia.
2 "I Serbi intransigenti hanno rifiutato le nostre proposte di pace."
Falso! Alla "negoziazione" di Rambouillet (inizio 99), la NATO ha voluto
imporre l'occupazione militare di tutta la Yugoslavia e la
colonizzazione
del Kossovo da parte delle multinazionali. Essa ha anche impedito Serbi
ed
Albanesi di confrontarsi. Il fine di queste provocazioni? Dare l'inizio
alla
guerra al fine di installare le proprie basi nei Balcani.
3 "La colpa è di Milosevic. Noi vogliamo liberare gli Yugoslavi."
Falso! Numerosi Yugoslavi criticano Milosevic. Ma questo popolo è
unanime
nel rifiutare la separazione della Yugoslavia ed una occupazione da
parte
della NATO. Ecco perché l'opposizione finanziata con milioni di dollari
da
parte degli Stati Uniti non serve a niente. Né lo chantage di un embargo
crudele, che blocca medicine, mazout et viveri.
4 "La polizia yugoslava ha massacrato dei civili a Racak nel gennaio
1999."
Falso! Erano le vittime di uno scontro tra due eserciti. Questa
manipolazione è stata orchestrata da un agente americano, William
Walker,
che fu complice degli squadroni della morte del Salvador e del Nicaragua
(anni '80). Ogni guerra comincia con una grande menzogna mediatica:
delle
immagini truccate per manipolare l'opinione.
5 "I Serbi praticano la pulizia etnica."
Falso! Crimini sono stati commessi da ENTRAMBI i campi (cfr. rapporti
dell'OSCE), ma non si può parlare di ipulizia etnica sistematica. Ancora
quindici giorni prima della guerra, un rapporto ufficiale del ministero
tedesco degli Affari Esteri (diretto dal verde Joshka Fisher) dichiara:
"Non
ci sono persecuzioni etniche contro gli Albanesi come gruppo. Solamente
degli scontri tra i due eserciti."
Durante la guerra
6 "I nostri bombardamenti risparmiano i civili."
Falso! Il capo di stato maggiore belga Herteleer l'ha riconosciuto:
"Facciamo del male alla stessa popolazione serba. Infliggiamo loro delle
perdite." (Standaard, 17.4.99). Risultato: 2.000 civili uccisi, 5.000
feriti, una generazione di bambini traumatizzati, 147 ospedali colpiti,
economia distrutta. Il fine: mettere in ginocchio lo stesso popolo. Ed
eliminare tutto favorisce l'invasione delle multianzionali.
7 "Portiamo avanti una guerra "propria"."
falso! La NATO ha impiegato delle armi proibite dalla Convenzione di
Ginevra: 1. Bombe a frammentazione lanciate in particolare sul mercato e
sull'ospedale di Nis, uccidendo o mutilando numerosi civili. 2. Bombe
alla
grafite per paralizzare le condutture elettriche (e quindi gli
ospedali). 3.
Armi a uranio impoverito provocanti cancri e mutazioni genetiche, ivi
comprese quelle dei soldati USA.
8 "E' stato per errore che la NATO ha bombardato un convoglio di
rifugiati
albanesi (73 morti)."
Falso! Voi avete all'inizio preteso che erano stati bombardati dai
Serbi.
Poi che i vostri piloti l'avevano scambiato per un convoglio militare.
Ora,
questi piloti sono ritornati a bombardarlo per otto volte! In realtà,
questi
rifugiati rientravano in Kossovo, ma vo volevate svuotarlo e "provare"
che
sarebe stato impossibile per gli Albanesi di viverci.
9 "E' per errore che la NATO ha bombardato un treno che arrivava su di
un
ponte."
falso! Per tentare di dimostrare che il pilota aveva visto troppo tardi
questo treno che arrivava molto velocemente, avete truccato i video
registrati dai vostri aerei, facendoli passare tre volte più veloce; il
treno, però, sarebbe dovuto andare a 300 km/h. In realtà, anche qui, il
pilota è ritornato a bombardare di nuovo una carrozza. La NATO non
rispetta
i civili.
10 "E' per errore che la NATO ha bombaradto l'Ambasciata cinese."
falso! Voi avete all'inizio raccontato che i servizi USA non avevano una
mappa recente di Belgrado indicante il nuovo sito di questa
AmbasciataFaux!
Vous avez d'abord raconté qu'il visait le building d'en face. Il
n'y en a pas! Puis que les services US n'avaient pas un plan récent de
Belgrade indiquant le nouveau site de cette ambassade. Prendete la gente
per
imbecilli? In realtà, questo bombardiere, venuto apposta dagli USA, ha
lanciato un avvertimento per la Cina, che si dimostrava solidale con la
Yugoslavia.
Dopo la guerra
11 "Abbiamo scoperto dei charniers provanti il genocidio."
Falso! Dopo lunghe ricerche, avete esumato 2108 corpi. Di tutte le
nazionalità. Molti sono stati vittime dei vostri bombardamenti, altri
dell'Uck. Il capo dei legali spagnoli è ripartito velocemente con la sua
squadra, dicendo che erano stati manipolati. Il genocidio ("100000
uomini
uccisi", dicevate) è stata un'invenzione dei vostri servizi di
propaganda.
12 "La NATO è qui per proteggere la popolazione albanese."
Falso! Gli Stati Uniti hanno installato nel Kossovo una gigantesca base
militare permanente, chiamata Campo Bondsteel. Questo era il loro scopo
sin
dal principio. Al fine di avvicinarsi al Caucaso ed al suo petrolio, che
essi vogliono controllare. Strategia a lungo termine: accerchiare ed
indebolire la Russia. Ecco perché Washington arma in segreto le milizie
islamiche cecene.
13 "La NATO persegue delle finalità umanitarie."
Falso! Le potenze occidentali hanno ripartito le zone d'occupazione
secondo
le ricchezze interessanti le loro rispettive multinazionali. Gli USA
hanno
preso le miniere strategiche di Novo Brdo e l'industria di batterie di
Gnjilane, British Power l'elettricità, i Francesi hanno ricevuto le
miniere
di Trepca come prezzo della loro obbedienza, i Tedeschi i vigneti e
l'industria di pneumatici…
14 "La NATO interviene per formare un Kossovo multietnico."
Falso! L'Uck e voi avete "purificato" il Kossovo. 350.000 Serbi, Zigani,
Musulmani, Turchi ed altre minoranze perseguite hanno dovuto fuggire.
Non
avete ritrovato nessuna delle 700 persone rapite dall'Uck. Ed i vostri
50.000 soldati "non possono proteggere", dite voi, gli ultimi Serbi -
quattrocento - sepolti per mesi nei loro appartamenti a Pristina?
15 "Tentiamo con imparzialità di calmare le passioni."
Falso! La NATO stessa ha licenziato ventimila lavoratori serbi. Bernard
Kouchner, amministratore civile, ha preso (?) un arrestato che legittima
dopo 24 ore le occupazioni illegali di case ed appartamenti da cui i
Serbi
sono stati cacciati. Infine, disarmando i soli Serbi, voi li lasciate
alla
violenza sistematica organizzata dall'Uck, che uccide un Serbo al
giorno.
--------- COORDINAMENTO ROMANO PER LA JUGOSLAVIA -----------
RIMSKI SAVEZ ZA JUGOSLAVIJU
e-mail: crj@... - URL: http://marx2001.org/crj
http://www.egroups.com/group/crj-mailinglist/
------------------------------------------------------------
2000: LA GRAN BRETAGNA PREPARA LA CLASSE DIRIGENTE CHE VORREBBE
GOVERNASSE LA R.F. DI JUGOSLAVIA AL POSTO DELL'ATTUALE
1991: LA GRAN BRETAGNA COLLABORA CON FORNITURE DI EQUIPAGGIAMENTO
MILITARE ALLA SECESSIONE SLOVENA
---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: 6 May 2000 16:08:24 -0000
From: After the Rain - How the West Lost the East <palma@...>
To: List Member <martok@...>
Subject: [aftertherain] Britain Trains the Post-Milosevic Leadership
After the Rain - How the West Lost the East -
http://www.geocities.com/vaksam/after.html
This message and the message titled "The Balkans are a Good Investment"
are courtesy Bill
www.independent.co.uk
Britain trains new elite for post-Milosevic era
By Adam LeBor in Budapest
3 May 2000
British diplomats are training a Yugoslav élite-in-waiting to
oversee the country's transformation to a civil society after the
Milosevic regime falls.
Senior Serbian figures in professional fields such as the
military, law enforcement and academia are being brought to
Budapest in neighbouring Hungary to design a blueprint for
post-Milosevic Serbia, and prepare for the country's
re-integration into Europe.
The New Serbia Forum, an initiative funded by the Foreign
Office, focuses on key issues to shape the future Yugoslavia
such as instituting civilian control of the military, punishment
for those who committed atrocities under President Slobodan
Milosevic and reconstruct- ing a stable economy.
Many of the Serb participants held senior posts in Yugoslavia
before the country began to implode in the 1991 Croatian war
of independence. Their refusal to participate in Mr Milosevic's
nationalist drive forced them out of their jobs.
British officials want to prevent a repeat of the post-1989
transitions from Communist dictatorship of eastern Eur-ope's
new democracies.
Sir John Birch, former British ambassador to Hungary, said: "In
1989 there was no action plan for a new democratic
government and a lot of time was wasted arguing over
inconsequential questions such as flags and anthems,
instead of coping with the budget deficit or thinking about how
to deal with people from the old regime.
"We are not a subversive organisation, talking about how to get
rid of the Milosevic regime. We are looking at Serb solutions to
Serb problems, with outside assistance, about what Serbia
needs to reintegrate."
Forum participants, including Dr Miroslav Hadzic, a former
colonel in the Yugoslav army, said they wanted to learn from
other ex-communist nations. "It is very important for us to be in
touch with modern democratic experts which have experience
of issues such as civilian control of the army, in transition
countries such as Hungary, the Czech Republic and Slovenia,"
said Dr Hadzic, now a research fellow at a Belgrade institute.
The Western policy of isolation and sanctions had supported
Mr Milosevic, by strengthening his position, said Dr Hadzic.
"The Serbian people have no hope and without hope you
cannot do anything. All sanctions should be lifted now and
Yugoslavia should be admitted to all international
organisations.
"The Serbs are paying the price of 10 years of a bad choice,
and it is a high price."
Budapest, capital of Hungary, which borders three states of the
former Yugoslavia - Croatia, Slovenia and Serbia - has long
been a key meeting place for nationals of the south Slavic
nations, now divided into independent states.
Bosko Colak-Antic, a former journalist with Tanjug, the
Yugoslav state news agency, said: "We do not have free and
open expression, to meet experts and clarify our attitudes and
opinions. This [forum] brings together the élite of people who
can express their opinions about what should happen after the
fall of Milosevic."
Attending the forum is not without risks. Participants are often
called in by the police on their return home and questioned.
One Serb delegate said Belgrade officers asked him who he
met, and what the forum was about, then verbally abused him.
The role of the army and the police in the transition to a
post-Milosevic era is a key question. Analysts are not certain
the army will support Mr Milosevic; nor can he rely on police.
But many analysts expect the end of the Milosevic regime to be
protracted and bloody. Internationally isolated, its domestic
support crumbling, riven by factions and threatened by armed
organised crime gangs it unleashed during the Bosnian war,
the regime is likely to end not with a whimper, but with a Serb
Götterdämmerung.
One delegate said: "There is too much at stake for government
circles and they have no way out. They will fight until the last
drop of our blood."
---
FreeRepublic.com "A Conservative News Forum"
[ Last | Latest Posts | Latest Articles | Self Search | Add Bookmark |
Post | Abuse | Help! ]
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual
posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or
its
management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law
and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.
British deal fuelled Balkan war
Foreign Affairs Opinion (Published)
Source: The Guardian
Published: 05/28/00 Author: Blaz Zgaga and Antony Barnett
Posted on 05/28/2000 18:17:59 PDT by Miss Antiwar
British deal fuelled Balkan war
Military sale to Slovenia flouted Tory foreign policy
Kosovo: special report
Blaz Zgaga and Antony Barnett
Sunday May 28, 2000
Britain flouted its own foreign policy by approving the sale of millions
of pounds worth of military equipment to a
former Yugoslav republic only days before the outbreak of the bloody
Balkans war, The Observer has established.
Eight days before Slovenia became the first area to break from the
unified Yugoslavia in 1991, a British firm delivered
communications equipment to the Slovenian forces to help them fight the
Serb-led Yugoslav army.
The revelation that this deal was approved by the Conservative
Government will embarrass former Foreign Secretary
Douglas Hurd, who was the principal architect of the West's policy of
supporting a unified Yugoslavia. He had warned
the republics to stay in the federation.
Until now, Germany has shouldered the blame for the Balkan tragedy by
prematurely recognising the breakaway
republics of Slovenia and Croatia. Britain's help to Slovenia casts a
new light on events.
Labour MP Ann Clwyd, who sits on the House of Commons International
Development Select Committee, said: 'These
revelations show once again that the export of military equipment from
Britain needs to be much more rigorously
scrutinised.'
After Slovenia declared independence, the Yugoslav army began its
military offensive against the 'rebel' republic. The
ensuing 10-day war signalled the start of the conflicts that ultimately
killed hundreds of thousands.
Three months after Britain exported military equipment to Slovenia the
United Nations imposed an arms embargo on the
region.
The Observer has obtained details of the multi-million-pound contract
between the Slovenian Defence Ministry and
Racal, the British defence and communications group. A fax dated 29 May,
1991, from one of Racal's military
subsidiaries, Racal Tacticom, to the Slovenian Defence Ministry lists
four batches of tactical military communication
equipment worth £5 million.
Racal's communications network played a vital role in helping Slovenia
beat the Serb-led Yugoslav forces. The
equipment arrived on 17 June, eight days before the war of independence
began.
Janez Jansa, then Slovenian Defence Minister, praises Britain for its
role in his memoirs. He writes: 'The government of
one of the more decent Western states has, on our request, officially
approved the export of mili tary radio stations with
secure data transmission to Slovenia.'
One senior source at Racal Defence Electronics confirmed that it had
delivered the equipment after it received an export
licence from the Department of Trade and Industry. He said the contract
was with the 'regional government' of Slovenia,
and the export was for 'the purpose of national defence'.
Misha Glenny, a Balkans expert, said: 'If the British Government was
fully aware of this, it would imply that the
Government was covertly operating in contradiction of its stated policy
and aims. It would also shift some of the
responsibility carried by Germany.'
The former Slovenian Defence Minister's book also claims that the
British Embassy in Belgrade learnt that the Yugoslav
air force was planning to shoot down a Slovenian aircraft due to carry
the equipment to its new owner. According to
Jansa, the British tipped off the Slovenians, who decided to send the
cargo by road. Government sources in Slovenia
confirm that the aircraft that was to have delivered the shipment was a
passenger plane owned by Adria Airways, the
national airline. The jet was to have flown from Gatwick to the capital
Ljubljana, in central Slovenia.
Suggestions that the British Embassy in Belgrade knew of the military
shipment and warned the Slovenians are strongly
denied by Sir Peter Hall, who was ambassador in Belgrade. He said:
'These allegations of British Embassy involvement
are without foundation... I had no, absolutely no, knowledge of any
military equipment being sent from Britain to
Slovenia. Indeed, given the great tension in the region at the time I
would be surprised that any such equipment would
have been sent at all.'
The Observer contacted Lord Hurd and Peter Lilley, who was then Trade
Secretary, with details of the arms shipment.
Both declined to respond. A spokesman for the Blair Government refused
to comment, saying it needed permission from
Racal to give details of any export licence.
Lord Owen, the EU peace negotiator in Bosnia, said: 'I am surprised that
such sales took place, particularly as the British
Government, the US and Nato's view was to keep the Federation of
Yugoslavia together. But this equipment was not
aggressive - it was radios not guns. I think it sails close to the
border but does not cross it.'
Blaz Zgaga works for the Slovenian daily 'Vecer'.
1 Posted on 05/28/2000 18:17:59 PDT by Miss Antiwar
[ Reply | Private Reply | Top | Last ]
To: Miss Antiwar
A united Yugoslavia would never have joined NATO and would never have
aligned itself with the
west against Russia. It was essential to the interests of the western
European countries -
Britain, Germany, France, Italy, et al - that Yugoslavia be dismembered.
2 Posted on 05/28/2000 18:28:40 PDT by josiban
[ Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | Top | Last ]
To: Miss Antiwar
After Slovenia declared independence, the Yugoslav army began its
military offensive against the
'rebel' republic.
Er...not quite. The Yugoslav army, already stationed on its own soil in
Slovenia, simply moved to
take control of Slovene border posts. It was a clumsy, chaotic affair in
which a lot of people died
needlessly.
3 Posted on 05/29/2000 00:51:45 PDT by Canuck1
[ Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | Top | Last ]
To: Canuck1
Ditto!
4 Posted on 05/29/2000 07:49:50 PDT by F-117A (clinton is a War
Criminal)
[ Reply | Private Reply | To 3 | Top | Last ]
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual
posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or
its
management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law
and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.
[ Top | Latest Posts | Latest Articles | Self Search | Add Bookmark |
Post | Abuse | Help! ]
FreeRepublic , LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
Forum Version 2.0a Copyright © 1999 Free Republic, LLC
--------- COORDINAMENTO ROMANO PER LA JUGOSLAVIA -----------
RIMSKI SAVEZ ZA JUGOSLAVIJU
e-mail: crj@... - URL: http://marx2001.org/crj
http://www.egroups.com/group/crj-mailinglist/
------------------------------------------------------------
GOVERNASSE LA R.F. DI JUGOSLAVIA AL POSTO DELL'ATTUALE
1991: LA GRAN BRETAGNA COLLABORA CON FORNITURE DI EQUIPAGGIAMENTO
MILITARE ALLA SECESSIONE SLOVENA
---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: 6 May 2000 16:08:24 -0000
From: After the Rain - How the West Lost the East <palma@...>
To: List Member <martok@...>
Subject: [aftertherain] Britain Trains the Post-Milosevic Leadership
After the Rain - How the West Lost the East -
http://www.geocities.com/vaksam/after.html
This message and the message titled "The Balkans are a Good Investment"
are courtesy Bill
www.independent.co.uk
Britain trains new elite for post-Milosevic era
By Adam LeBor in Budapest
3 May 2000
British diplomats are training a Yugoslav élite-in-waiting to
oversee the country's transformation to a civil society after the
Milosevic regime falls.
Senior Serbian figures in professional fields such as the
military, law enforcement and academia are being brought to
Budapest in neighbouring Hungary to design a blueprint for
post-Milosevic Serbia, and prepare for the country's
re-integration into Europe.
The New Serbia Forum, an initiative funded by the Foreign
Office, focuses on key issues to shape the future Yugoslavia
such as instituting civilian control of the military, punishment
for those who committed atrocities under President Slobodan
Milosevic and reconstruct- ing a stable economy.
Many of the Serb participants held senior posts in Yugoslavia
before the country began to implode in the 1991 Croatian war
of independence. Their refusal to participate in Mr Milosevic's
nationalist drive forced them out of their jobs.
British officials want to prevent a repeat of the post-1989
transitions from Communist dictatorship of eastern Eur-ope's
new democracies.
Sir John Birch, former British ambassador to Hungary, said: "In
1989 there was no action plan for a new democratic
government and a lot of time was wasted arguing over
inconsequential questions such as flags and anthems,
instead of coping with the budget deficit or thinking about how
to deal with people from the old regime.
"We are not a subversive organisation, talking about how to get
rid of the Milosevic regime. We are looking at Serb solutions to
Serb problems, with outside assistance, about what Serbia
needs to reintegrate."
Forum participants, including Dr Miroslav Hadzic, a former
colonel in the Yugoslav army, said they wanted to learn from
other ex-communist nations. "It is very important for us to be in
touch with modern democratic experts which have experience
of issues such as civilian control of the army, in transition
countries such as Hungary, the Czech Republic and Slovenia,"
said Dr Hadzic, now a research fellow at a Belgrade institute.
The Western policy of isolation and sanctions had supported
Mr Milosevic, by strengthening his position, said Dr Hadzic.
"The Serbian people have no hope and without hope you
cannot do anything. All sanctions should be lifted now and
Yugoslavia should be admitted to all international
organisations.
"The Serbs are paying the price of 10 years of a bad choice,
and it is a high price."
Budapest, capital of Hungary, which borders three states of the
former Yugoslavia - Croatia, Slovenia and Serbia - has long
been a key meeting place for nationals of the south Slavic
nations, now divided into independent states.
Bosko Colak-Antic, a former journalist with Tanjug, the
Yugoslav state news agency, said: "We do not have free and
open expression, to meet experts and clarify our attitudes and
opinions. This [forum] brings together the élite of people who
can express their opinions about what should happen after the
fall of Milosevic."
Attending the forum is not without risks. Participants are often
called in by the police on their return home and questioned.
One Serb delegate said Belgrade officers asked him who he
met, and what the forum was about, then verbally abused him.
The role of the army and the police in the transition to a
post-Milosevic era is a key question. Analysts are not certain
the army will support Mr Milosevic; nor can he rely on police.
But many analysts expect the end of the Milosevic regime to be
protracted and bloody. Internationally isolated, its domestic
support crumbling, riven by factions and threatened by armed
organised crime gangs it unleashed during the Bosnian war,
the regime is likely to end not with a whimper, but with a Serb
Götterdämmerung.
One delegate said: "There is too much at stake for government
circles and they have no way out. They will fight until the last
drop of our blood."
---
FreeRepublic.com "A Conservative News Forum"
[ Last | Latest Posts | Latest Articles | Self Search | Add Bookmark |
Post | Abuse | Help! ]
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual
posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or
its
management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law
and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.
British deal fuelled Balkan war
Foreign Affairs Opinion (Published)
Source: The Guardian
Published: 05/28/00 Author: Blaz Zgaga and Antony Barnett
Posted on 05/28/2000 18:17:59 PDT by Miss Antiwar
British deal fuelled Balkan war
Military sale to Slovenia flouted Tory foreign policy
Kosovo: special report
Blaz Zgaga and Antony Barnett
Sunday May 28, 2000
Britain flouted its own foreign policy by approving the sale of millions
of pounds worth of military equipment to a
former Yugoslav republic only days before the outbreak of the bloody
Balkans war, The Observer has established.
Eight days before Slovenia became the first area to break from the
unified Yugoslavia in 1991, a British firm delivered
communications equipment to the Slovenian forces to help them fight the
Serb-led Yugoslav army.
The revelation that this deal was approved by the Conservative
Government will embarrass former Foreign Secretary
Douglas Hurd, who was the principal architect of the West's policy of
supporting a unified Yugoslavia. He had warned
the republics to stay in the federation.
Until now, Germany has shouldered the blame for the Balkan tragedy by
prematurely recognising the breakaway
republics of Slovenia and Croatia. Britain's help to Slovenia casts a
new light on events.
Labour MP Ann Clwyd, who sits on the House of Commons International
Development Select Committee, said: 'These
revelations show once again that the export of military equipment from
Britain needs to be much more rigorously
scrutinised.'
After Slovenia declared independence, the Yugoslav army began its
military offensive against the 'rebel' republic. The
ensuing 10-day war signalled the start of the conflicts that ultimately
killed hundreds of thousands.
Three months after Britain exported military equipment to Slovenia the
United Nations imposed an arms embargo on the
region.
The Observer has obtained details of the multi-million-pound contract
between the Slovenian Defence Ministry and
Racal, the British defence and communications group. A fax dated 29 May,
1991, from one of Racal's military
subsidiaries, Racal Tacticom, to the Slovenian Defence Ministry lists
four batches of tactical military communication
equipment worth £5 million.
Racal's communications network played a vital role in helping Slovenia
beat the Serb-led Yugoslav forces. The
equipment arrived on 17 June, eight days before the war of independence
began.
Janez Jansa, then Slovenian Defence Minister, praises Britain for its
role in his memoirs. He writes: 'The government of
one of the more decent Western states has, on our request, officially
approved the export of mili tary radio stations with
secure data transmission to Slovenia.'
One senior source at Racal Defence Electronics confirmed that it had
delivered the equipment after it received an export
licence from the Department of Trade and Industry. He said the contract
was with the 'regional government' of Slovenia,
and the export was for 'the purpose of national defence'.
Misha Glenny, a Balkans expert, said: 'If the British Government was
fully aware of this, it would imply that the
Government was covertly operating in contradiction of its stated policy
and aims. It would also shift some of the
responsibility carried by Germany.'
The former Slovenian Defence Minister's book also claims that the
British Embassy in Belgrade learnt that the Yugoslav
air force was planning to shoot down a Slovenian aircraft due to carry
the equipment to its new owner. According to
Jansa, the British tipped off the Slovenians, who decided to send the
cargo by road. Government sources in Slovenia
confirm that the aircraft that was to have delivered the shipment was a
passenger plane owned by Adria Airways, the
national airline. The jet was to have flown from Gatwick to the capital
Ljubljana, in central Slovenia.
Suggestions that the British Embassy in Belgrade knew of the military
shipment and warned the Slovenians are strongly
denied by Sir Peter Hall, who was ambassador in Belgrade. He said:
'These allegations of British Embassy involvement
are without foundation... I had no, absolutely no, knowledge of any
military equipment being sent from Britain to
Slovenia. Indeed, given the great tension in the region at the time I
would be surprised that any such equipment would
have been sent at all.'
The Observer contacted Lord Hurd and Peter Lilley, who was then Trade
Secretary, with details of the arms shipment.
Both declined to respond. A spokesman for the Blair Government refused
to comment, saying it needed permission from
Racal to give details of any export licence.
Lord Owen, the EU peace negotiator in Bosnia, said: 'I am surprised that
such sales took place, particularly as the British
Government, the US and Nato's view was to keep the Federation of
Yugoslavia together. But this equipment was not
aggressive - it was radios not guns. I think it sails close to the
border but does not cross it.'
Blaz Zgaga works for the Slovenian daily 'Vecer'.
1 Posted on 05/28/2000 18:17:59 PDT by Miss Antiwar
[ Reply | Private Reply | Top | Last ]
To: Miss Antiwar
A united Yugoslavia would never have joined NATO and would never have
aligned itself with the
west against Russia. It was essential to the interests of the western
European countries -
Britain, Germany, France, Italy, et al - that Yugoslavia be dismembered.
2 Posted on 05/28/2000 18:28:40 PDT by josiban
[ Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | Top | Last ]
To: Miss Antiwar
After Slovenia declared independence, the Yugoslav army began its
military offensive against the
'rebel' republic.
Er...not quite. The Yugoslav army, already stationed on its own soil in
Slovenia, simply moved to
take control of Slovene border posts. It was a clumsy, chaotic affair in
which a lot of people died
needlessly.
3 Posted on 05/29/2000 00:51:45 PDT by Canuck1
[ Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | Top | Last ]
To: Canuck1
Ditto!
4 Posted on 05/29/2000 07:49:50 PDT by F-117A (clinton is a War
Criminal)
[ Reply | Private Reply | To 3 | Top | Last ]
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual
posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or
its
management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law
and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.
[ Top | Latest Posts | Latest Articles | Self Search | Add Bookmark |
Post | Abuse | Help! ]
FreeRepublic , LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
Forum Version 2.0a Copyright © 1999 Free Republic, LLC
--------- COORDINAMENTO ROMANO PER LA JUGOSLAVIA -----------
RIMSKI SAVEZ ZA JUGOSLAVIJU
e-mail: crj@... - URL: http://marx2001.org/crj
http://www.egroups.com/group/crj-mailinglist/
------------------------------------------------------------
Covert Action Quarterly
Spring/Summer 2000
BRINGING DEMOCRACY TO BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINA
By Gregory Elich.
In the popular imagination, the Western
presence in post-war Bosnia-Herzegovina is seen as a
selfless humanitarian effort. NATO's mission, it is
believed, is to inculcate democratic values in an
uncivilized and irrational people. Behind the façade
of Western peacekeeping in the Balkans, though, lies a
darker reality. The benevolence of a Western
civilizing mission in post-war Bosnia-Herzegovina is
never questioned. Yet an examination of NATO's
peacekeeping operation reveals a process of
colonization as deep and thoroughgoing as any seen
in the 19th century. As NATO continues to destabilize
Yugoslavia, the last stubborn holdout in
Eastern Europe against subordination to Western
domination, NATO has succeeded in expanding its
colonization to Yugoslavia's Kosovo region, at
enormous cost to the people of the Balkans. NATO's
occupation of Bosnia provides the model for many
aspects of the colonization of Kosovo.
> Establishing Western Values.
Few question the assertion that Western intervention
is bringing democracy to the people of
Bosnia-Herzegovina, but what is the real nature of
this intervention, which has assumed many forms, both
direct and indirect? Under terms of the Dayton peace
agreement, Bosnia-Herzegovina consists of two
entities, the (Bosnian Serb) Republika Srpska and the
Muslim-Croatian Federation. Throughout the civil
war, the Muslim-Croatian Federation was seen as a
client state, and indeed, the Federation itself was
a result of an agreement forged under Western
pressure. More direct intervention, though, was
necessary to place the Republika Srpska under
Western control.
The first task the West faced following the war was
the dismantling of the existing governing structure in
the Republika Srpska, and in this task the West found
a pliant partner in that entity's President, Biljana
Plavsic, a right-wing monarchist. In November 1996,
Plavsic, who had frequently complained that the
Republika Srpska Army was riddled with "reds", issued
a
decree dismissing over 100 leftist officers.
Western officials were heavily involved in selecting
the officers who would be dismissed and those who
would be promoted in their place. Prior to the
decree, Colonel Milovan Milutinovic warned that "some
of our generals are being visited by foreign
representatives, at the request of our state organs,
and offered leading positions in the army." (1) When
the dismissed officers balked at their removal,
Interior Ministry special police units blockaded army
barracks, some army buildings had their water and
electricity turned off, and the progressive army-run
Radio Krajina was closed down.
Army Headquarters responded with a statement
denouncing these moves, saying they were "carried
out by the Interior Ministry against the army on
orders from foreign mentors," and pointing out that "a
NATO spokesman publicly said that anything that
weakens the unity of the Republika Srpska Army's Main
Headquarters and the army itself is in NATO's
interest." (2) Combined pressure from the Interior
Ministry and NATO eventually forced the resignation of
these officers on November 28.
Plavsic next turned on the civilian governing
structure. In January 1997, after weeks of failed
efforts to obtain approval from the People's
Assembly for her choice of prime minister, Plavsic
waited until opposition deputies walked out of an
Assembly session to push through her surprise
nomination of another man, Milorad Dodik, for the
post. Carlos Westendorp, chief of Western civilian
operations in Bosnia, immediately hailed Dodik's
appointment, and NATO troops were dispatched to
surround the Interior Ministry in a belligerent show
of support.
The selection of Dodik was an interesting one, as his
party held only two seats in the Assembly. How did a
man whose party was barely represented in the Assembly
gain the nomination? The instantaneous Western show
of
support for the last-minute appointment hints that the
selection may not have been entirely Plavsic's.
Several months beforehand, a report in the Bosnian
Serb press alleged that Dodik "is under the direct
control of the U.S. intelligence service, the CIA,"
and that some deputies "say that he has already
travelled abroad several times for consultations and
direct instructions." (3) The effusive praise Western
leaders have since lavished on Dodik lends support to
that accusation.
On June 28, 1997, Plavsic dismissed Interior Minister
Dragan Kijac. Five days later, in violation of the
constitution, she dissolved the People's Assembly.
Western officials were quick to back Plavsic, and
David Foley, a spokesman for the Organization for
Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) announced
that the Assembly "no longer exists." A diplomatic
source in Sarajevo admitted, "The Americans have
probably pushed Plavsic to act in such a way." (4)
The matter was referred to the Constitutional Court,
which ruled against Plavsic. The court's ruling was
simply brushed aside, as U.S. State Department
spokesman James Rubin asserted that "challenges to
[Plavsic's] actions are not legally valid," and that
Serbs who fail to comply with Western demands are
"stupid." (5) A report in the Yugoslav press alleged
that three weeks prior to the crisis, "$5 million of
the promised $30 million" were deposited into a Swiss
bank account in Plavsic's name. "The funds were
transferred from the United States," according to
"top-level civilian and military security sources" in
the Republika Srpska.
The report claimed that "the transaction is directly
linked to Biljana Plavsic's recent political
activities." Many of the people Plavsic appointed to
work in her office came from abroad, "most of whom are
supporters of the royalist movement" the report added.
( 6 )
The Ministry of Internal Affairs revealed that it had
"announced our plan to take legal measures" against
one of these employees, Aleksandr Pavic, "on the
well-founded grounds that he was working for a
foreign intelligence service," and that the Ministry
had warned Plavsic on "several of occasions"
"intelligence activities" by members of her
staff. (7)
In the first of many such actions, on August 20, 1997,
NATO troops, supported by U.S. Apache helicopter
gunships, seized police stations in Banja Luka,
ejecting police officers. (8)NATO directly hired new
policemen, who then attended training courses run by
Western police instructors. (9) UN police spokesman
Liam McDowall said of the training classes, "We
basically let them know what is expected of a normal
police force; not a socialist police force, not a
wartime police force, but a police force of a normal
democratic society." (10) Evidently, police forces in
"normal democratic societies" are dismissed,
recruited, and trained by foreign powers.
Four days later, NATO began its campaign to impose
censorship on media in the Republika Srpska. A
transmitter near Banja Luka was reprogrammed to turn
the signal over to Plavsic's control, and two days
later NATO troops seized a Serb Radio-TV transmitter
near Bijeljina.
As NATO forces surrounded Bijeljina and blocked all
access roads to the city, thousands of citizens turned
out in a mass demonstration. Low-flying NATO
helicopters harassed the demonstrators. The next day,
NATO forces took another transmitter near Doboj and
arrested its staff.
Each of the seized transmitters was turned over to
Plavsic's control. At 4:00 AM on August 28, NATO
troops moved into the town of Brcko. Air raid sirens
sounded an alert, and thousands turned out in a mass
demonstration. Demonstrators fought NATO troops with
sticks and rocks, while NATO troops fired tear-gas
canisters and warning shots. Tanks and armored
vehicles were sent into the town, but were eventually
forced to withdraw after seventy of them were
damaged. (11) Infuriated, NATO Secretary-General
Javier Solana warned that NATO "will not hesitate to
take the necessary measures, including the use of
force, against media networks or programs" that
denounced Western occupation. (12) Further threats and
pressure constrained opposition, and by the end of
November, NATO had completed its systematic seizure of
Serb radio and television transmitters and police
stations.
In April 1998, Western officials announced the
creation of a tribunal to monitor and govern media in
Bosnia-Herzegovina. The tribunal not only arrogated to
itself the power to shut down radio, television and
newspapers that voice criticism of NATO's occupation
of
Bosnia-Herzegovina, but also the authority to write
laws regulating broadcasting. Simon Haselock,spokesman
for Western civilian operations in Bosnia claimed,
"It's not about censorship," but what else is it when
foreign powers dictate what media can and cannot say,
and revoke the licenses of media which present
alternative viewpoints? What else is it when elected
representatives are not permitted to write laws
regulating broadcasting in their own nation, but must
have these laws written and submitted by foreign
powers?
Was it not censorship when the tribunal ordered
Television Kanal S in the Republika Srpska to
"immediately cease broadcasting" on April 14, 1999?
According to the tribunal, Television Kanal S did not
carry Western news programs, and committed "a serious
violation" when it broadcast a message from Sarajevo
University students in which citizens of the Republika
Srpska "were invited to join the students in a
peaceful protest" against NATO's bombing of
Yugoslavia. (13)
Western policy in ruling Bosnia-Herzegovina is direct
and heavy-handed.
On December 17, 1997, Westendorp simply imposed a new
citizenship law after the Bosnia-Herzegovina
parliament failed to meet his arbitrary 48-hour
deadline for passage of the law. (14) Similarly, he
unilaterally imposed a new Western-designed flag and
Western-designed and produced currency, the
"convertible mark". Political candidates have been
stricken from election lists, based on the flimsiest
excuses. In the November 1997 election, the OSCE
election commission eliminated three candidates of the
Serbian Democratic Party (SDS) because posters of
former Republika Srpska president Radovan Karadzic had
appeared. The SDS was not permitted to replace these
candidates. The following year, nine candidates of
the Serbian Radical Party were deleted from election
lists because a television station in neighboring
Yugoslavia broadcast an interview with the party's
presidential candidate, Nikola Poplasen. During the
same election, two SDS assembly candidates were
disqualified because, as a spokeswoman for the OSCE
said, "twice at [an election rally] an SDS supporter
held up a portrait of Karadzic." The OSCE also
eliminated four assembly candidates of the Croatian
Democratic Union and the mayor of Orasje because of
"biased" television reports in neighboring Croatia.
It is curious logic to assert that television reports
in an adjacent nation result in a biased election,
and that the solution is for foreign powers to dictate
whom voters may or may not vote for. (15) Western
officials reacted angrily when Nikola Poplasen
unseated Plavsic in the September 1998 presidential
election in Republika Srpska, and immediately began to
pressure him to appoint Dodik as his Prime Minister.
According to Poplasen, Western officials "demanded"
the appointment of Dodik "unconditionally." They
also pressured Poplasen to "break off relations" with
Yugoslavia and in effect treat it as an "enemy
nation", and his refusal to bow to either demand
evoked tremendous Western hostility. (16) Such
disobedience brought a swift response, and on March 5,
1999, Westendorp issued a statement declaring the
removal of Poplasen from office "with immediate
effect." (17) The primary justification given was
Poplasen's insistence that he had a constitutional
right to choose whom he would nominate for the post of
Prime Minister.
This coup d'etat by decree deposed the legally elected
president of the Republika Srpska. Since Poplasen's
removal, the Republika Srpska government has operated
under the sole leadership of Dodik, backed by NATO
troops.
However, Dodik's term ended with the electoral defeat
of Plavsic, and there is no legal basis for his
continuing to hold office. The removal of the legally
elected government in the Republika Srpska was not
sufficient, though. There was still the risk that
Republika Srpska citizens might freely exercise their
right to vote in upcoming elections, so Western
officials began to dismantle Poplasen's party, the
Serbian Radical Party (SRS).
On October 5, 1999, the Office of the High
Representative and the OSCE jointly sent a letter to
the Serbian Radical Party, demanding the removal of
Poplasen and two other officials from leadership
positions in the party because they had criticized
NATO. "Failure to remove these persons from leadership
positions in the SRS," the letter said, "will result
in not allowing the SRS to participate in the
municipal elections in April 2000." (18) They were as
good as their word. Twenty days later, the OSCE's
Provisional Election Commission ruled that neither the
Serbian Radical Party, nor a smaller party, "will be
registered for the municipal elections in 2000 and
will not have candidates competing for local offices."
(19) The outright banning of a major political party
passed without comment in the Western press.
No pretense of democracy is made. Western dictate is
"democratic," simply by virtue of being Western.
On the same day that saw Poplasen's removal as
president, Robert Owen, Western arbitrator for the
status of the town of Brcko, announced a decision
that effectively split asunder the Republika Srpska.
The two halves of the Republika Srpska were held
together by a narrow three-mile wide strip, in which
lies Brcko. The decree removed Brcko from the
Republika Srpska and created a special district to be
held jointly by the Republika Srpska and the
Muslim-Croatian Federation. Under terms of the
decree, Bosnian Serb armed forces cannot move from one
half of their territory to the other without
permission of NATO. The decree also specifies that
Brcko may at any
time be transferred from a "non-complying entity"
and placed "within the exclusive control of the
other." (20) The decision was met by universal
Bosnian Serb rejection and US envoy Robert Gelbard
wasted no time in wielding the heavy club of
discipline, declaring that "the territory of Brcko
could still revert to the entity which is in
compliance." (21)
Following Dodik's resignation over the Brcko decision,
Western officials scrambled to talk him out of it. As
Gelbard explained it, progress on plans to privatize
state assets "is really due to Dodik's leadership."
(22) It was not long before Dodik withdrew his
resignation and announced his acceptance of the Brcko
decision. Dodik's resignation was merely play-acting,
a bow to local public opinion. He has shown no
reluctance to carry out every order, and on October 2,
1999, following his return from meeting with American
officials in the United States, he dutifully called
for the overthrow of the Yugoslav government. (23)
>Wild West Justice.
The International War Crimes Tribunal has proved to be
a useful political tool for NATO, enabling it to
seize, or even murder political enemies. On January
30, 1996, two leading Bosnian Serb generals, Djordje
Djukic and Aleksa Ksrmanovic, were invited to meet
with Western civilian and NATO officials in Ilidza, at
that time, a Serbian suburb of Sarajevo. The meeting
was a ruse. A trap had been set, and both men were
seized and imprisoned by Bosnian Muslim soldiers.
According to a British officer, the kidnapping was a
result of NATO passing information to Bosnian Muslim
forces. A high-ranking Western European intelligence
source revealed that the U.S. Defense Intelligence
Agency (DIA) was behind the seizure. "The DIA took a
fantastic quantity of bugging and surveillance
equipment there," he said. "The vehicle in which the
Serb officers were travelling was followed from the
air." The DIA, he added, expected the generals to be
"the most valuable sources of information. Also do
not forget that a not at all negligible number of The
Hague investigators are CIA and DIA members." (24)
Two weeks later, the men were transferred to The
Hague, where they were subjected to repeated
interrogations and pressured to accuse other Bosnian
Serb officials and officers of crimes.
Djukic's lawyer said, "It was suggested to Djukic that
the court would have a better understanding for him in
the future if he testified," and tribunal spokesman
Christian Chartier said that the fate of the men "very
much depends on what they might tell us." (25)
Both men refused to talk, however, and punishment was
swift in coming. On March 1, Djukic was charged with
the "crime against humanity" of being "assistant
commander for logistics," including such heinous acts
as "proposing appointments of personnel" and "issuing
orders relating to the supply of materiel for units of
the Bosnian Serb Army." In a pique, chief prosecutor
Richard Goldstone said he indicted Djukic because of
his refusal to talk. (26) Not even as flimsy a charge
as this could be concocted against Krsmanovic, who was
held without charge for several more weeks of
interrogations. At the time, Djukic was suffering
from an advanced case of pancreatic cancer. Despite
his pain, interrogation sessions continued unabated,
but he refused to talk to the end.
In late April he was released to return to his family,
where he died on May 19.
On July 10, 1997, a joint American-British operation
swooped down on two Bosnian Serbs, despite the lack of
a public indictment against either man. Four NATO
members gained entrance to the Prijedor Medical Center
by claiming to deliver a Red Cross package, and
arrested the hospital's director, Milan Kovacevic.
The arrest provoked an angry demonstration by 400 of
the hospital's medical staff and several hundred
citizens.
Former Prijedor security chief Simo Drljaca was less
fortunate. Shortly after he returned from fishing,
still dressed in a bathing suit, to enjoy breakfast
with family and friends, NATO troops burst into his
yard. A witness recounts, "Music was playing. I was
sitting. Then suddenly I heard screams: 'Simo, Simo!'
I turned around. Soldiers were armed.I saw Simo
getting up. At that moment, I heard bullets being
fired and they fired at him. Then I saw Simo laying
down on sand near a beach. He was laying on his side
and shaking. Then a soldier came close to him and
fired another bullet at him and finished him off."
(27)
Another NATO ambush took place on January 10,
1999, targeting a car occupied by Dragan Gagovic and
five children from his karate class. One of the
children, Sonja Bjelovic, described the ambush: "We
ran across iron bars on the road. Dragan braked to
stop the vehicle, because we could not pass.then we
heard shots. Our coach said, 'down, you can be hit.'
He tried to protect us and pass around the iron bars.
However the car was hit, tires went flat and it
overturned. I saw our coach covered with blood."
Another child, Milica Dzokovic, reported, "When the
coach told us to go down I hid under the seat and
closed my eyes. When I opened my eyes I saw the coach
covered with blood and [NATO soldiers'] gun-barrels
pointed at us." (28)
On July 6, 1999, Radislav Brdjanin, leader of the
People's Party, was kidnapped from his home in Banja
Luka and flown to The Hague, where he was imprisoned.
A month and a half later, on August 25, Republika
Srpska Chief of Staff General Momir Talic, who had
been invited to a conference in Austria, was arrested
there and flown to The Hague.
Neither man had been publicly indicted.The arrest of
these men under "secret indictments" is an effective
recipe for silencing free speech.
Inevitably, people will feel a reluctance to speak out
against NATO occupation, lest they make a target of
themselves.
Stanislav Galic's mistake was in accepting an
appointment as military advisor to Poplasen. While
Galic was driving his car on December 20, 1999,
several vehicles suddenly blocked his path. NATO
soldiers sprang out and smashed Galic's car window,
roughly dragged him out and placed a hood over his
head. Galic was flown to The Hague, where he was
imprisoned.
High Commissioner Carlos Westendorp revealed much
about the imperial attitude as he delivered his last
speech before turning over the reins to his successor,
Wolfgang Petritsch. Westendorp expressed his "wish to
quote from another famous historical figure, who said
not just that much could be achieved with a kind word,
but a kind word and a gun. This figure was Al Capone.
Joke! I've been here too long. I actually
prefer Teddy Roosevelt's 'Walk softly and carry a big
stick'. The gun or stick in this context is the
continuing presence of SFOR [NATO Stabilization Force]
and the International Community." (29)
>Covert Involvement and Military Aid.<
According to a report in the Los Angeles Times, "The
CIA station in Bosnia is now reputed to be one of the
largest in the region." (30). By early 1996, the
total number of CIA operatives active in the region
had
risen to 2,500, almost half of whom were stationed at
the agency's regional headquarters in Tuzla. (31) The
DIA is also very active in the region, working in
close cooperation with the CIA. These agencies not
only engage in intelligence gathering, but also shape
events, both directly and indirectly. Most of the
international organizations present in Bosnia are
dominated and run by American officials. Local news
reports are "reshaped", that is, censored, by American
officials, and compliant media receive Western
financing, largely through the US Agency for
International Development (USAID). A report in the
Yugoslav press claims that in 1996, approximately half
a million dollars were funnelled to media in both of
Bosnia's entities. (32)
The implementation of the US Train and Equip plan has
pumped more arms into the region, posing a risk to
peace. Under the plan, the US has already supplied
Federation forces with tens of thousands of M-16
assault rifles, over 100 armored personnel carriers,
several dozen tanks, over 100 155-mm howitzers,
communications equipment, helicopters, and myriad
other
weapons.
Arms supplies from other nations have also been
arranged by US officials, and one shipment alone,
from the United Arab Emirates, consisted of 50 French
AMX-30 tanks and 41 armored vehicles.(33)The plan also
provides for American and Turkish training of
Federation forces. The Pentagon has contracted with
Military Professional Resources Incorporated (MPRI) to
conduct training. MPRI had earlier successfully
trained the Croatian Army in preparation for its
brutal invasion of Krajina, in which over 200,000
Serbs were driven from their homes in a matter of
days.
Training sessions include the use of advanced battle
simulation computer software, as was used in
preparation for Desert Storm. Funding was also
provided to open arms factories in the Federation.In
all, eight Federation arms factories operate under
NATO
supervision, and a Federation defense ministry
spokesman announced that half of these factories
produce 122mm howitzers for its army. (34)
Officially, American officials assert the dubious
proposition that Train and Equip is necessary to
ensure peace. Quietly, they know exactly what they are
doing. Asked by a Bosnian Muslim journalist about the
Western reaction were the Federation to invade the
Republika Srpska, a "high-ranking Western diplomat"
admitted, "We would officially condemn, but we would
understand and we would probably not undertake any
efficient steps. This is exactly what we expect." (35)
"The question no longer is if the Muslims will attack
the Bosnian Serbs," warned a European NATO
commander, "but when."
Alarmed at the extent of the Federation military
buildup, Russian commanders passed NATO satellite
photos of Muslim training camps to Bosnian Serb
generals. According to information received by a
Western diplomat, "The Bosnian Serb generals were
stunned. The mood in the room was very black."
In the event of an attack, a high-ranking NATO
commander said, "We also expect most all of the Serbs
[in the Republika Srpska] to be driven into Serbia..."
(36) The threat posed by the Train and Equip plan
appears to be primarily motivated by its utility as a
means for dictating policy to the Republika Srpska.
However, if Republika Srpska officials ever display
too
much independence and recalcitrance in response to
NATO's demands, then there is little doubt that the
Muslim-Croatian Federation would receive the go-ahead
for an invasion. The Train and Equip plan can be a
two-edged sword, though, and in April 1999, US envoy
Robert Gelbard temporarily suspended the program for
four months in order to force a reorganization of
the Federation Army along lines demanded by Western
officials.
> Reshaping the Economy<
The heart of Western policy in the region is the
promotion of Western corporate interests. In late
1996, a "peace implementation conference" was held in
London, during which much of Bosnia-Herzegovina's
future was forged.
According to a report by the Press Association, the
conference "won a commitment from the Bosnian leaders
to reconstruct the shattered economy along free market
economy lines, including significant privatization and
close cooperation with the World Bank." (37) Laws
are penned and imposed by Western officials. Less
than one year after the conference, Haris Silajdzic,
co-chair of the Bosnia-Herzegovina Council of
Ministers, announced that "US Finance Secretary David
Lipton will come here bringing draft laws on
privatization at the state level" to be submitted to
the Assembly for vote. Existing draft laws on
property
relations and privatization, he said, "will be
modified according to regulations the US finance
secretary will bring." (38).
On July 2 1998, Westendorp founded a commission to
manage the privatization process in
Bosnia-Herzegovina. Each privatization, including
prior actions, is subject to review and approval by
Western commission officials. (39)
An earlier law on privatization in the Republika
Srpska had previously been implemented. On December
4, 1997, Robert Farrand, of the Office of the High
Representative, issued an "Order on Privatization," in
which he mandated a "delay" of the Republika Srpska
privatization process, "so that international
assistance could be provided to make it a credible
process leading to successful transition to a free
market economy," adding that "current RS [Republika
Srpska] legislation on privatization lacks a sound
technical framework and in its current form can lead
only to large scale fraud." (40) Looking beyond the
vague nature of the complaint, and ostensible concern
about "fraud," what actually motivated the order
suspending the law? Documents from the American
Embassy in Sarajevo paint a more honest picture: "The
privatization framework is being overhauled and will
create more opportunities for involvement of potential
foreign investors," adding that a "fundamental flaw"
of the previous process "was the allocation of 47
percent of companies' shares to seven
government-managed funds."
Clearly, the "fraud" that concerned Western officials
was that Western corporations could not dominate the
process and seize the best assets. The embassy's
documents reassure investors that "The new RS
government has pledged to overhaul the privatization
framework and annulled all previous privatization
laws.
Assistance is now being provided by the World Bank and
USAID to develop new laws similar to those adopted by
the Federation." Western officials are shaping
privatization in the Republika Srpska, as they do in
the Muslim-Croatian Federation, to favor the interests
of Western investors.
The Foreign Investment Law, effective on March 1998,
and applicable to both entities, "establishes the
policy standards of promoting foreign investment and
protecting foreign investor's rights," an embassy
document declares. "The Entities will amend existing
foreign investment laws to conform to the state-level
legislation." Western officials were thorough in
ensuring their interests. The law "is progressive in
terms of its final aim which is to promote foreign
direct investment."
It is stated that the law "protects the rights of
foreign investors..there are no restrictions on>
foreign investment" except armaments and media, and
"the entities are directed to establish progressive
and favorable tax conditions that encourage foreign
investment." Furthermore, the law "expressly forbids
expropriation or nationalization actions against
foreign investments." (41)
And what role is envisioned for the people of Bosnia?
The American embassy has an answer for that,
too. "Foreign investors can utilize low-cost labor
(the lowest in the CEE [Central and Eastern Europe])
while gaining proximity and access to important
markets in the EU [European Union] and the CEE."
Bosnian people will have the privilege of joining the
Third World. Because Bosnia-Herzegovina is
essentially
land-locked, access to the Adriatic Sea is an
important prerequisite for exploiting this "low-cost
labor." Despite strong Bosnian Muslim reservations
concerning certain provisions, an agreement on special
relations was signed with neighboring Croatia, in
which the Federation was given free transit to and
use of the Croatian port of Ploce. According to a
report in the Croatian press, agreement from the
Bosnian Muslim delegation came "as a result of
pressure
from the United States." (42) In preparation for
the expansion of trade through Ploce, the World Bank
has financed a $22 million project for the
reconstruction of the main pier, and Sealand has won
a grant from the US Trade and Development Agency to
perform "a feasibility study on the development of
container terminal facilities and the corridor from
Ploce to Sarajevo (and eventually the Sava River)."
(43)
Following the removal of Brcko from the Republika
Srpska, Brcko Supervisor Robert Farrand signed an
agreement for the U.S Trade and Development Agency
to solicit bids from American firms to conduct a
six-month feasibility study of the Brcko port on the
Sava River. (44)
When deemed necessary, Western officials have readily
wielded threats in order to achieve their goals. A
Western diplomatic source revealed that "in diplomatic
talks behind closed doors, we are, sort of,
intimidating [Republika Srpska] politicians" with the
possibility of invasion by Federation troops. "The
tendency is to stimulate and open up economically"
the Republika Srpska, he added. "When, in some
diplomatic efforts, we try to 'soften' their stances,
we always hint at their possible war defeat. We
always use the illustration of Krajina." (45)
Threats against the Federation are less aggressive, if
no less effective. On November 10, 1998, the Contact
Group, which oversees policy in Bosnia, and is chaired
by the US, issued a statement threatening a cutoff of
millions of dollars in aid to the Federation. An
American spokesman bluntly stated that "the time
has come and, in fact, is overdue for the governments
of Bosnia to be making the transition - and [they]
should be making it rapidly - to a sustainable market
economy. We are prepared to cut off projects,programs,
anything to get their attention." The spokesman
demanded "much more progress on privatization" and
foreign investment. (46)
NATO is establishing a permanent presence in the
Balkans. NATO's savage bombing of Yugoslavia was
motivated solely by the desire to establish a NATO-run
colony in Kosovo. The Yugoslav government consistently
called for return of all refugees, greater autonomy in
Kosovo, and an international presence in Kosovo. The
only divisive issue was the nature of that presence,
with NATO insisting on its control of the province.
NATO bases are being constructed in Zadar and
Slavonski Brod, Croatia, and NATO is providing funds
for Bulgaria to upgrade three military airfields to
"NATO standards," although these airfields are
currently adequate for Bulgaria's aircraft. (47) Whose
planes, then, are these upgrades intended for, if not
Bulgaria's? A poor Bosnian Serb, Radoslav Skrba,
wonders, "How is it that all these Western armies now
have bases here? Could it be that it was their
strategy all along? During the Communist time we were
warned that the West wanted to come here and now here
they are." (48)
NOTES
1. Colonel Milovan Milutinovic, "Loss of Supreme
Command," Nin (Belgrade),
November 1, 1996.
2. "Don't Push Us Into a Fratricidal War!", Blic
(Belgrade), November 13,
1996.
3. Nikola Zeklic, "Dancing to the CIA's Rhythm,"
Oslobodjenje (Sarajevo -
Bosnian Serb), April 4, 1996.
4. "OSCE Says Pale Assembly 'No Longer Exists,"
Agence France-Presse
(Paris), July 4, 1997.
5. "U.S. Supports Bosnian Serb President in Court
Case," Reuters, August 15,
1997.
6. "U.S. Allegedly to Deposit $30 Million in Plavsic
Account," Beta
(Belgrade), July 1, 1997.
7. "Plavsic Aides Accused as Spies," SRNA (Pale),
August 24, 1997.
8. Colin Soloway, "NATO Forces Seize Police Stations
in Bosnian City,"
Washington Post, August 21, 1997.
9. Chris Stephen, "IPTF Screens, Retrains Police in
RS," Agence
France-Presse (Paris), August 22, 1997. "IPTF
Trains Republika Srpska
Police Officers," Tanjug (Belgrade), August 26,
1997.
10. Srecko Latal, "Bosnian Serb Military Warns
President Against Dividing
Bosnian Serb Territory," Associated Press, August
22, 1997.
11. Edward Cody, "Bosnian Serb's Backers Stone
American Troops," Washington
Post, August 29, 1997. Misha Savic, "Serbs Force
U.N. Team to Withdraw,"
Associated Press, August 29, 1997.
12. Misha Savic, "NATO Commander Warns Bosnia
Media," Associated Press,
August 30, 1997.
13. "Media Monitoring Commission Shuts Down Kanal S
TV," BETA (Belgrade),
April 14, 1999
14. "Westendorp Proclaims Citizenship Law," B92 Open
Serbia (Belgrade),
December 17, 1997.
15. "OSCE Strikes 3 Serb Candidates Off SDS Election
List," SRNA (Pale),
November 21, 1997.
"Bosnia Serb Party Sanctioned for Karadzic Picture,"
Agence France-Presse,
September 1, 1998.
"Nine Delisted for Bosnian Serb's TV Interview,"
Agence France-Presse,
September 21, 1998.
"Bosnian Croat Candidates Disqualified by TV
Bias," Reuters,
September 4, 1998.
16. "Poplasen Defends Actions While in Office," SRNA
(Pale), March 7, 1999.
Interview with Nikola Poplasen, by Branislav
Radivojsa, "Poplasen: Assembly
Must Oppose Unconstitutional Behavior of Dodik's
Government," Politika
(Belgrade), September 3, 1999.
17. Office of the High Representative, "Removal From
Office of Nikola
Poplasen," OHR Press Release (Sarajevo), March 5,
1999.
18. Joint OHR/OSCE Press Release, "SRS Must Refile
Application for Party
Registration," October 5, 1999.
19. OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina Press
Release, "PEC Denies
Certification for Serb Radical and SRSS Parties for
Municipal Elections
2000," Sarajevo, October 25, 1999.
20. "Final Award, Arbitral Tribunal for Dispute
Over Inter-Entity Boundary
in Brcko Area." March 5, 1999.
21. "Mediators Warn Bosnia Serbs to Comply with
Brcko Ruling." Agence
France-Presse (Paris), March 19, 1999.
22. "US Envoy Hopes Moderate Bosnia Serb PM Will
Stay." Reuters (London),
March 10, 1999.
23. "Dodik Returns from US, Backs Anti-Milosevic
Rallies," BETA (Belgrade),
October 2, 1999.
24. Vesna Hadzivukovic, "Americans Preparing New
Kidnappings," Telegraf
(Belgrade), February 14, 1996.
25. "Serb Officers Might be Witnesses in The Hague,"
Associated Press,
February 23, 1996.
26. The Prosecutor of the Tribunal, CASE No
IT-96-20-I, "Against Dorde Dukic
(sic) Indictment."
27. Broadcast, Srpksa Televizija (Pale), July 10,
1997.
28. "Children Describe Gagovic's 'Brutal Murder',"
Tanjug (Belgrade),
January 10, 1999.
29. Office of the High Representative, "Speech of
the High Representative
Carlos Westendorp at the Stability Pact Dinner,"
Sarajevo, July 29, 1999.
30. Tracy Wilkinson, "In Bosnia, U.S. Creeps Deeper,
Los Angeles Times,
November 11, 1997.
31. "From the Jungle to the Balkans," Politika
Ekspres (Belgrade), January
22, 1996.
32. "Daily Criticizes USAID Funding of B-H
Independent Media," Beta
(Belgrade), April 29, 1997.
33. "New Weapons Shipments for Bosnia's US-LEF
Rearmament Programme," Agence
France-Presse
(Paris), October 13, 1997.
A Prlenda, "Weapons for Peace and
Stabilization," Oslobodjenje
(Bosnian Muslim), November 22,
1996.
Nick Gowing, "Return to War," The Sunday
Telegraph (London),
December 1, 1996.
"Arms Shipment from Turkey Arrives in Ploce
Port," HINA (Zagreb),
July 26, 1997.
Srecko Latal, "United States Helping Rearm
Muslim-Croat Army: Allies
Object," Associated Press,
May 23, 1996.
34. James Drake, "Old GIs Fade Away - to Bosnia,"
Baltimore Sun, November
12, 1997.
Nedim Dervisbegovic, "Bosnian Firms Produce
Artillery with U.S. Aid,"
Reuters, October 17, 1997.
"U.S. Envoy Visits U.S-Aided Bosnian Army Factory,"
Agence France-Presse
(Paris), September 5, 1997.
35. Edina Becirevic, "If the Refugees Do Not Return
Next Year, the World
Will Tolerate That as Well!",
Slobodna Bosna (Sarajevo), September 21, 1997.
36. Chris Hedges, "Bosnian Muslims Said to Intensify
Efforts to Rearm in
Secret," New York Times,
October 3, 1997.
37. Charles Miller, "Tough Action Agreed to in Hunt
for Bosnia's War
Criminals," Press Association
(London), December 5, 1996.
38. A Pilav, "Draft Laws Arriving from the US!",
Dnevi Avaz (Sarajevo),
October 7, 1997.
39. Sead Numanovic, "Westendorp Forms a Commission,"
Dnevi Avaz (Sarajevo),
July 2, 1998.
40. Office of the High Representative, "Order on
Privatization," December 4,
1997.
41. American Embassy, Sarajevo, "The Commercial
Guide to Bosnia and
Herzegovina," June, 1998.
42. "Croatia, Federation Sign Special Relations
Agreement," HINA (Zagreb),
November 22, 1998.
"Bosnia, Croatia Form Special Relations," UPI,
November 22, 1998.
"Croatia Opens Up Key Port to Bosnia in Thawing of
Relations," Agence
France-Presse, November 22, 1998.
43. American Embassy, Sarajevo, "The Commercial
Guide to Bosnia and
Herzegovina," June, 1998.
44. OHR Press Release, "Brcko Port Feasibility Study
Agreement Signed," June
4, 1999.
45. Edina Becirevic, "If the Refugees Do Not Return
Next Year, the World
Will Tolerate That as Well!",
Slobodna Bosna (Sarajevo), September 21, 1997.
46. Carol Giacomo, "U.S. and Allies May Turn Off Aid
Tap," Reuters, November
9, 1998.
"U.S. Threatens Aid Cut," UPI, November 9, 1998.
"Contact Group Signals It Wants to Cut Bosnian Aid,"
Reuters, November 10,
1998.
47. Marko Barisic, "Referendum for NATO bases?"
Vjesnik (Zagreb), February
10, 1998. Emanuil Manev, "NATO
is Promoting its Own
Interest," Kontinent (Sofia), October 17, 1998.
48. Mike O'Connor, "Bosnian Serbs, Unhappy in Serb
Republic, Fear Return to
Bosnia," New York Times, September 18, 1998.
--------- COORDINAMENTO ROMANO PER LA JUGOSLAVIA -----------
RIMSKI SAVEZ ZA JUGOSLAVIJU
e-mail: crj@... - URL: http://marx2001.org/crj
http://www.egroups.com/group/crj-mailinglist/
------------------------------------------------------------
Spring/Summer 2000
BRINGING DEMOCRACY TO BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINA
By Gregory Elich.
In the popular imagination, the Western
presence in post-war Bosnia-Herzegovina is seen as a
selfless humanitarian effort. NATO's mission, it is
believed, is to inculcate democratic values in an
uncivilized and irrational people. Behind the façade
of Western peacekeeping in the Balkans, though, lies a
darker reality. The benevolence of a Western
civilizing mission in post-war Bosnia-Herzegovina is
never questioned. Yet an examination of NATO's
peacekeeping operation reveals a process of
colonization as deep and thoroughgoing as any seen
in the 19th century. As NATO continues to destabilize
Yugoslavia, the last stubborn holdout in
Eastern Europe against subordination to Western
domination, NATO has succeeded in expanding its
colonization to Yugoslavia's Kosovo region, at
enormous cost to the people of the Balkans. NATO's
occupation of Bosnia provides the model for many
aspects of the colonization of Kosovo.
> Establishing Western Values.
Few question the assertion that Western intervention
is bringing democracy to the people of
Bosnia-Herzegovina, but what is the real nature of
this intervention, which has assumed many forms, both
direct and indirect? Under terms of the Dayton peace
agreement, Bosnia-Herzegovina consists of two
entities, the (Bosnian Serb) Republika Srpska and the
Muslim-Croatian Federation. Throughout the civil
war, the Muslim-Croatian Federation was seen as a
client state, and indeed, the Federation itself was
a result of an agreement forged under Western
pressure. More direct intervention, though, was
necessary to place the Republika Srpska under
Western control.
The first task the West faced following the war was
the dismantling of the existing governing structure in
the Republika Srpska, and in this task the West found
a pliant partner in that entity's President, Biljana
Plavsic, a right-wing monarchist. In November 1996,
Plavsic, who had frequently complained that the
Republika Srpska Army was riddled with "reds", issued
a
decree dismissing over 100 leftist officers.
Western officials were heavily involved in selecting
the officers who would be dismissed and those who
would be promoted in their place. Prior to the
decree, Colonel Milovan Milutinovic warned that "some
of our generals are being visited by foreign
representatives, at the request of our state organs,
and offered leading positions in the army." (1) When
the dismissed officers balked at their removal,
Interior Ministry special police units blockaded army
barracks, some army buildings had their water and
electricity turned off, and the progressive army-run
Radio Krajina was closed down.
Army Headquarters responded with a statement
denouncing these moves, saying they were "carried
out by the Interior Ministry against the army on
orders from foreign mentors," and pointing out that "a
NATO spokesman publicly said that anything that
weakens the unity of the Republika Srpska Army's Main
Headquarters and the army itself is in NATO's
interest." (2) Combined pressure from the Interior
Ministry and NATO eventually forced the resignation of
these officers on November 28.
Plavsic next turned on the civilian governing
structure. In January 1997, after weeks of failed
efforts to obtain approval from the People's
Assembly for her choice of prime minister, Plavsic
waited until opposition deputies walked out of an
Assembly session to push through her surprise
nomination of another man, Milorad Dodik, for the
post. Carlos Westendorp, chief of Western civilian
operations in Bosnia, immediately hailed Dodik's
appointment, and NATO troops were dispatched to
surround the Interior Ministry in a belligerent show
of support.
The selection of Dodik was an interesting one, as his
party held only two seats in the Assembly. How did a
man whose party was barely represented in the Assembly
gain the nomination? The instantaneous Western show
of
support for the last-minute appointment hints that the
selection may not have been entirely Plavsic's.
Several months beforehand, a report in the Bosnian
Serb press alleged that Dodik "is under the direct
control of the U.S. intelligence service, the CIA,"
and that some deputies "say that he has already
travelled abroad several times for consultations and
direct instructions." (3) The effusive praise Western
leaders have since lavished on Dodik lends support to
that accusation.
On June 28, 1997, Plavsic dismissed Interior Minister
Dragan Kijac. Five days later, in violation of the
constitution, she dissolved the People's Assembly.
Western officials were quick to back Plavsic, and
David Foley, a spokesman for the Organization for
Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) announced
that the Assembly "no longer exists." A diplomatic
source in Sarajevo admitted, "The Americans have
probably pushed Plavsic to act in such a way." (4)
The matter was referred to the Constitutional Court,
which ruled against Plavsic. The court's ruling was
simply brushed aside, as U.S. State Department
spokesman James Rubin asserted that "challenges to
[Plavsic's] actions are not legally valid," and that
Serbs who fail to comply with Western demands are
"stupid." (5) A report in the Yugoslav press alleged
that three weeks prior to the crisis, "$5 million of
the promised $30 million" were deposited into a Swiss
bank account in Plavsic's name. "The funds were
transferred from the United States," according to
"top-level civilian and military security sources" in
the Republika Srpska.
The report claimed that "the transaction is directly
linked to Biljana Plavsic's recent political
activities." Many of the people Plavsic appointed to
work in her office came from abroad, "most of whom are
supporters of the royalist movement" the report added.
( 6 )
The Ministry of Internal Affairs revealed that it had
"announced our plan to take legal measures" against
one of these employees, Aleksandr Pavic, "on the
well-founded grounds that he was working for a
foreign intelligence service," and that the Ministry
had warned Plavsic on "several of occasions"
"intelligence activities" by members of her
staff. (7)
In the first of many such actions, on August 20, 1997,
NATO troops, supported by U.S. Apache helicopter
gunships, seized police stations in Banja Luka,
ejecting police officers. (8)NATO directly hired new
policemen, who then attended training courses run by
Western police instructors. (9) UN police spokesman
Liam McDowall said of the training classes, "We
basically let them know what is expected of a normal
police force; not a socialist police force, not a
wartime police force, but a police force of a normal
democratic society." (10) Evidently, police forces in
"normal democratic societies" are dismissed,
recruited, and trained by foreign powers.
Four days later, NATO began its campaign to impose
censorship on media in the Republika Srpska. A
transmitter near Banja Luka was reprogrammed to turn
the signal over to Plavsic's control, and two days
later NATO troops seized a Serb Radio-TV transmitter
near Bijeljina.
As NATO forces surrounded Bijeljina and blocked all
access roads to the city, thousands of citizens turned
out in a mass demonstration. Low-flying NATO
helicopters harassed the demonstrators. The next day,
NATO forces took another transmitter near Doboj and
arrested its staff.
Each of the seized transmitters was turned over to
Plavsic's control. At 4:00 AM on August 28, NATO
troops moved into the town of Brcko. Air raid sirens
sounded an alert, and thousands turned out in a mass
demonstration. Demonstrators fought NATO troops with
sticks and rocks, while NATO troops fired tear-gas
canisters and warning shots. Tanks and armored
vehicles were sent into the town, but were eventually
forced to withdraw after seventy of them were
damaged. (11) Infuriated, NATO Secretary-General
Javier Solana warned that NATO "will not hesitate to
take the necessary measures, including the use of
force, against media networks or programs" that
denounced Western occupation. (12) Further threats and
pressure constrained opposition, and by the end of
November, NATO had completed its systematic seizure of
Serb radio and television transmitters and police
stations.
In April 1998, Western officials announced the
creation of a tribunal to monitor and govern media in
Bosnia-Herzegovina. The tribunal not only arrogated to
itself the power to shut down radio, television and
newspapers that voice criticism of NATO's occupation
of
Bosnia-Herzegovina, but also the authority to write
laws regulating broadcasting. Simon Haselock,spokesman
for Western civilian operations in Bosnia claimed,
"It's not about censorship," but what else is it when
foreign powers dictate what media can and cannot say,
and revoke the licenses of media which present
alternative viewpoints? What else is it when elected
representatives are not permitted to write laws
regulating broadcasting in their own nation, but must
have these laws written and submitted by foreign
powers?
Was it not censorship when the tribunal ordered
Television Kanal S in the Republika Srpska to
"immediately cease broadcasting" on April 14, 1999?
According to the tribunal, Television Kanal S did not
carry Western news programs, and committed "a serious
violation" when it broadcast a message from Sarajevo
University students in which citizens of the Republika
Srpska "were invited to join the students in a
peaceful protest" against NATO's bombing of
Yugoslavia. (13)
Western policy in ruling Bosnia-Herzegovina is direct
and heavy-handed.
On December 17, 1997, Westendorp simply imposed a new
citizenship law after the Bosnia-Herzegovina
parliament failed to meet his arbitrary 48-hour
deadline for passage of the law. (14) Similarly, he
unilaterally imposed a new Western-designed flag and
Western-designed and produced currency, the
"convertible mark". Political candidates have been
stricken from election lists, based on the flimsiest
excuses. In the November 1997 election, the OSCE
election commission eliminated three candidates of the
Serbian Democratic Party (SDS) because posters of
former Republika Srpska president Radovan Karadzic had
appeared. The SDS was not permitted to replace these
candidates. The following year, nine candidates of
the Serbian Radical Party were deleted from election
lists because a television station in neighboring
Yugoslavia broadcast an interview with the party's
presidential candidate, Nikola Poplasen. During the
same election, two SDS assembly candidates were
disqualified because, as a spokeswoman for the OSCE
said, "twice at [an election rally] an SDS supporter
held up a portrait of Karadzic." The OSCE also
eliminated four assembly candidates of the Croatian
Democratic Union and the mayor of Orasje because of
"biased" television reports in neighboring Croatia.
It is curious logic to assert that television reports
in an adjacent nation result in a biased election,
and that the solution is for foreign powers to dictate
whom voters may or may not vote for. (15) Western
officials reacted angrily when Nikola Poplasen
unseated Plavsic in the September 1998 presidential
election in Republika Srpska, and immediately began to
pressure him to appoint Dodik as his Prime Minister.
According to Poplasen, Western officials "demanded"
the appointment of Dodik "unconditionally." They
also pressured Poplasen to "break off relations" with
Yugoslavia and in effect treat it as an "enemy
nation", and his refusal to bow to either demand
evoked tremendous Western hostility. (16) Such
disobedience brought a swift response, and on March 5,
1999, Westendorp issued a statement declaring the
removal of Poplasen from office "with immediate
effect." (17) The primary justification given was
Poplasen's insistence that he had a constitutional
right to choose whom he would nominate for the post of
Prime Minister.
This coup d'etat by decree deposed the legally elected
president of the Republika Srpska. Since Poplasen's
removal, the Republika Srpska government has operated
under the sole leadership of Dodik, backed by NATO
troops.
However, Dodik's term ended with the electoral defeat
of Plavsic, and there is no legal basis for his
continuing to hold office. The removal of the legally
elected government in the Republika Srpska was not
sufficient, though. There was still the risk that
Republika Srpska citizens might freely exercise their
right to vote in upcoming elections, so Western
officials began to dismantle Poplasen's party, the
Serbian Radical Party (SRS).
On October 5, 1999, the Office of the High
Representative and the OSCE jointly sent a letter to
the Serbian Radical Party, demanding the removal of
Poplasen and two other officials from leadership
positions in the party because they had criticized
NATO. "Failure to remove these persons from leadership
positions in the SRS," the letter said, "will result
in not allowing the SRS to participate in the
municipal elections in April 2000." (18) They were as
good as their word. Twenty days later, the OSCE's
Provisional Election Commission ruled that neither the
Serbian Radical Party, nor a smaller party, "will be
registered for the municipal elections in 2000 and
will not have candidates competing for local offices."
(19) The outright banning of a major political party
passed without comment in the Western press.
No pretense of democracy is made. Western dictate is
"democratic," simply by virtue of being Western.
On the same day that saw Poplasen's removal as
president, Robert Owen, Western arbitrator for the
status of the town of Brcko, announced a decision
that effectively split asunder the Republika Srpska.
The two halves of the Republika Srpska were held
together by a narrow three-mile wide strip, in which
lies Brcko. The decree removed Brcko from the
Republika Srpska and created a special district to be
held jointly by the Republika Srpska and the
Muslim-Croatian Federation. Under terms of the
decree, Bosnian Serb armed forces cannot move from one
half of their territory to the other without
permission of NATO. The decree also specifies that
Brcko may at any
time be transferred from a "non-complying entity"
and placed "within the exclusive control of the
other." (20) The decision was met by universal
Bosnian Serb rejection and US envoy Robert Gelbard
wasted no time in wielding the heavy club of
discipline, declaring that "the territory of Brcko
could still revert to the entity which is in
compliance." (21)
Following Dodik's resignation over the Brcko decision,
Western officials scrambled to talk him out of it. As
Gelbard explained it, progress on plans to privatize
state assets "is really due to Dodik's leadership."
(22) It was not long before Dodik withdrew his
resignation and announced his acceptance of the Brcko
decision. Dodik's resignation was merely play-acting,
a bow to local public opinion. He has shown no
reluctance to carry out every order, and on October 2,
1999, following his return from meeting with American
officials in the United States, he dutifully called
for the overthrow of the Yugoslav government. (23)
>Wild West Justice.
The International War Crimes Tribunal has proved to be
a useful political tool for NATO, enabling it to
seize, or even murder political enemies. On January
30, 1996, two leading Bosnian Serb generals, Djordje
Djukic and Aleksa Ksrmanovic, were invited to meet
with Western civilian and NATO officials in Ilidza, at
that time, a Serbian suburb of Sarajevo. The meeting
was a ruse. A trap had been set, and both men were
seized and imprisoned by Bosnian Muslim soldiers.
According to a British officer, the kidnapping was a
result of NATO passing information to Bosnian Muslim
forces. A high-ranking Western European intelligence
source revealed that the U.S. Defense Intelligence
Agency (DIA) was behind the seizure. "The DIA took a
fantastic quantity of bugging and surveillance
equipment there," he said. "The vehicle in which the
Serb officers were travelling was followed from the
air." The DIA, he added, expected the generals to be
"the most valuable sources of information. Also do
not forget that a not at all negligible number of The
Hague investigators are CIA and DIA members." (24)
Two weeks later, the men were transferred to The
Hague, where they were subjected to repeated
interrogations and pressured to accuse other Bosnian
Serb officials and officers of crimes.
Djukic's lawyer said, "It was suggested to Djukic that
the court would have a better understanding for him in
the future if he testified," and tribunal spokesman
Christian Chartier said that the fate of the men "very
much depends on what they might tell us." (25)
Both men refused to talk, however, and punishment was
swift in coming. On March 1, Djukic was charged with
the "crime against humanity" of being "assistant
commander for logistics," including such heinous acts
as "proposing appointments of personnel" and "issuing
orders relating to the supply of materiel for units of
the Bosnian Serb Army." In a pique, chief prosecutor
Richard Goldstone said he indicted Djukic because of
his refusal to talk. (26) Not even as flimsy a charge
as this could be concocted against Krsmanovic, who was
held without charge for several more weeks of
interrogations. At the time, Djukic was suffering
from an advanced case of pancreatic cancer. Despite
his pain, interrogation sessions continued unabated,
but he refused to talk to the end.
In late April he was released to return to his family,
where he died on May 19.
On July 10, 1997, a joint American-British operation
swooped down on two Bosnian Serbs, despite the lack of
a public indictment against either man. Four NATO
members gained entrance to the Prijedor Medical Center
by claiming to deliver a Red Cross package, and
arrested the hospital's director, Milan Kovacevic.
The arrest provoked an angry demonstration by 400 of
the hospital's medical staff and several hundred
citizens.
Former Prijedor security chief Simo Drljaca was less
fortunate. Shortly after he returned from fishing,
still dressed in a bathing suit, to enjoy breakfast
with family and friends, NATO troops burst into his
yard. A witness recounts, "Music was playing. I was
sitting. Then suddenly I heard screams: 'Simo, Simo!'
I turned around. Soldiers were armed.I saw Simo
getting up. At that moment, I heard bullets being
fired and they fired at him. Then I saw Simo laying
down on sand near a beach. He was laying on his side
and shaking. Then a soldier came close to him and
fired another bullet at him and finished him off."
(27)
Another NATO ambush took place on January 10,
1999, targeting a car occupied by Dragan Gagovic and
five children from his karate class. One of the
children, Sonja Bjelovic, described the ambush: "We
ran across iron bars on the road. Dragan braked to
stop the vehicle, because we could not pass.then we
heard shots. Our coach said, 'down, you can be hit.'
He tried to protect us and pass around the iron bars.
However the car was hit, tires went flat and it
overturned. I saw our coach covered with blood."
Another child, Milica Dzokovic, reported, "When the
coach told us to go down I hid under the seat and
closed my eyes. When I opened my eyes I saw the coach
covered with blood and [NATO soldiers'] gun-barrels
pointed at us." (28)
On July 6, 1999, Radislav Brdjanin, leader of the
People's Party, was kidnapped from his home in Banja
Luka and flown to The Hague, where he was imprisoned.
A month and a half later, on August 25, Republika
Srpska Chief of Staff General Momir Talic, who had
been invited to a conference in Austria, was arrested
there and flown to The Hague.
Neither man had been publicly indicted.The arrest of
these men under "secret indictments" is an effective
recipe for silencing free speech.
Inevitably, people will feel a reluctance to speak out
against NATO occupation, lest they make a target of
themselves.
Stanislav Galic's mistake was in accepting an
appointment as military advisor to Poplasen. While
Galic was driving his car on December 20, 1999,
several vehicles suddenly blocked his path. NATO
soldiers sprang out and smashed Galic's car window,
roughly dragged him out and placed a hood over his
head. Galic was flown to The Hague, where he was
imprisoned.
High Commissioner Carlos Westendorp revealed much
about the imperial attitude as he delivered his last
speech before turning over the reins to his successor,
Wolfgang Petritsch. Westendorp expressed his "wish to
quote from another famous historical figure, who said
not just that much could be achieved with a kind word,
but a kind word and a gun. This figure was Al Capone.
Joke! I've been here too long. I actually
prefer Teddy Roosevelt's 'Walk softly and carry a big
stick'. The gun or stick in this context is the
continuing presence of SFOR [NATO Stabilization Force]
and the International Community." (29)
>Covert Involvement and Military Aid.<
According to a report in the Los Angeles Times, "The
CIA station in Bosnia is now reputed to be one of the
largest in the region." (30). By early 1996, the
total number of CIA operatives active in the region
had
risen to 2,500, almost half of whom were stationed at
the agency's regional headquarters in Tuzla. (31) The
DIA is also very active in the region, working in
close cooperation with the CIA. These agencies not
only engage in intelligence gathering, but also shape
events, both directly and indirectly. Most of the
international organizations present in Bosnia are
dominated and run by American officials. Local news
reports are "reshaped", that is, censored, by American
officials, and compliant media receive Western
financing, largely through the US Agency for
International Development (USAID). A report in the
Yugoslav press claims that in 1996, approximately half
a million dollars were funnelled to media in both of
Bosnia's entities. (32)
The implementation of the US Train and Equip plan has
pumped more arms into the region, posing a risk to
peace. Under the plan, the US has already supplied
Federation forces with tens of thousands of M-16
assault rifles, over 100 armored personnel carriers,
several dozen tanks, over 100 155-mm howitzers,
communications equipment, helicopters, and myriad
other
weapons.
Arms supplies from other nations have also been
arranged by US officials, and one shipment alone,
from the United Arab Emirates, consisted of 50 French
AMX-30 tanks and 41 armored vehicles.(33)The plan also
provides for American and Turkish training of
Federation forces. The Pentagon has contracted with
Military Professional Resources Incorporated (MPRI) to
conduct training. MPRI had earlier successfully
trained the Croatian Army in preparation for its
brutal invasion of Krajina, in which over 200,000
Serbs were driven from their homes in a matter of
days.
Training sessions include the use of advanced battle
simulation computer software, as was used in
preparation for Desert Storm. Funding was also
provided to open arms factories in the Federation.In
all, eight Federation arms factories operate under
NATO
supervision, and a Federation defense ministry
spokesman announced that half of these factories
produce 122mm howitzers for its army. (34)
Officially, American officials assert the dubious
proposition that Train and Equip is necessary to
ensure peace. Quietly, they know exactly what they are
doing. Asked by a Bosnian Muslim journalist about the
Western reaction were the Federation to invade the
Republika Srpska, a "high-ranking Western diplomat"
admitted, "We would officially condemn, but we would
understand and we would probably not undertake any
efficient steps. This is exactly what we expect." (35)
"The question no longer is if the Muslims will attack
the Bosnian Serbs," warned a European NATO
commander, "but when."
Alarmed at the extent of the Federation military
buildup, Russian commanders passed NATO satellite
photos of Muslim training camps to Bosnian Serb
generals. According to information received by a
Western diplomat, "The Bosnian Serb generals were
stunned. The mood in the room was very black."
In the event of an attack, a high-ranking NATO
commander said, "We also expect most all of the Serbs
[in the Republika Srpska] to be driven into Serbia..."
(36) The threat posed by the Train and Equip plan
appears to be primarily motivated by its utility as a
means for dictating policy to the Republika Srpska.
However, if Republika Srpska officials ever display
too
much independence and recalcitrance in response to
NATO's demands, then there is little doubt that the
Muslim-Croatian Federation would receive the go-ahead
for an invasion. The Train and Equip plan can be a
two-edged sword, though, and in April 1999, US envoy
Robert Gelbard temporarily suspended the program for
four months in order to force a reorganization of
the Federation Army along lines demanded by Western
officials.
> Reshaping the Economy<
The heart of Western policy in the region is the
promotion of Western corporate interests. In late
1996, a "peace implementation conference" was held in
London, during which much of Bosnia-Herzegovina's
future was forged.
According to a report by the Press Association, the
conference "won a commitment from the Bosnian leaders
to reconstruct the shattered economy along free market
economy lines, including significant privatization and
close cooperation with the World Bank." (37) Laws
are penned and imposed by Western officials. Less
than one year after the conference, Haris Silajdzic,
co-chair of the Bosnia-Herzegovina Council of
Ministers, announced that "US Finance Secretary David
Lipton will come here bringing draft laws on
privatization at the state level" to be submitted to
the Assembly for vote. Existing draft laws on
property
relations and privatization, he said, "will be
modified according to regulations the US finance
secretary will bring." (38).
On July 2 1998, Westendorp founded a commission to
manage the privatization process in
Bosnia-Herzegovina. Each privatization, including
prior actions, is subject to review and approval by
Western commission officials. (39)
An earlier law on privatization in the Republika
Srpska had previously been implemented. On December
4, 1997, Robert Farrand, of the Office of the High
Representative, issued an "Order on Privatization," in
which he mandated a "delay" of the Republika Srpska
privatization process, "so that international
assistance could be provided to make it a credible
process leading to successful transition to a free
market economy," adding that "current RS [Republika
Srpska] legislation on privatization lacks a sound
technical framework and in its current form can lead
only to large scale fraud." (40) Looking beyond the
vague nature of the complaint, and ostensible concern
about "fraud," what actually motivated the order
suspending the law? Documents from the American
Embassy in Sarajevo paint a more honest picture: "The
privatization framework is being overhauled and will
create more opportunities for involvement of potential
foreign investors," adding that a "fundamental flaw"
of the previous process "was the allocation of 47
percent of companies' shares to seven
government-managed funds."
Clearly, the "fraud" that concerned Western officials
was that Western corporations could not dominate the
process and seize the best assets. The embassy's
documents reassure investors that "The new RS
government has pledged to overhaul the privatization
framework and annulled all previous privatization
laws.
Assistance is now being provided by the World Bank and
USAID to develop new laws similar to those adopted by
the Federation." Western officials are shaping
privatization in the Republika Srpska, as they do in
the Muslim-Croatian Federation, to favor the interests
of Western investors.
The Foreign Investment Law, effective on March 1998,
and applicable to both entities, "establishes the
policy standards of promoting foreign investment and
protecting foreign investor's rights," an embassy
document declares. "The Entities will amend existing
foreign investment laws to conform to the state-level
legislation." Western officials were thorough in
ensuring their interests. The law "is progressive in
terms of its final aim which is to promote foreign
direct investment."
It is stated that the law "protects the rights of
foreign investors..there are no restrictions on>
foreign investment" except armaments and media, and
"the entities are directed to establish progressive
and favorable tax conditions that encourage foreign
investment." Furthermore, the law "expressly forbids
expropriation or nationalization actions against
foreign investments." (41)
And what role is envisioned for the people of Bosnia?
The American embassy has an answer for that,
too. "Foreign investors can utilize low-cost labor
(the lowest in the CEE [Central and Eastern Europe])
while gaining proximity and access to important
markets in the EU [European Union] and the CEE."
Bosnian people will have the privilege of joining the
Third World. Because Bosnia-Herzegovina is
essentially
land-locked, access to the Adriatic Sea is an
important prerequisite for exploiting this "low-cost
labor." Despite strong Bosnian Muslim reservations
concerning certain provisions, an agreement on special
relations was signed with neighboring Croatia, in
which the Federation was given free transit to and
use of the Croatian port of Ploce. According to a
report in the Croatian press, agreement from the
Bosnian Muslim delegation came "as a result of
pressure
from the United States." (42) In preparation for
the expansion of trade through Ploce, the World Bank
has financed a $22 million project for the
reconstruction of the main pier, and Sealand has won
a grant from the US Trade and Development Agency to
perform "a feasibility study on the development of
container terminal facilities and the corridor from
Ploce to Sarajevo (and eventually the Sava River)."
(43)
Following the removal of Brcko from the Republika
Srpska, Brcko Supervisor Robert Farrand signed an
agreement for the U.S Trade and Development Agency
to solicit bids from American firms to conduct a
six-month feasibility study of the Brcko port on the
Sava River. (44)
When deemed necessary, Western officials have readily
wielded threats in order to achieve their goals. A
Western diplomatic source revealed that "in diplomatic
talks behind closed doors, we are, sort of,
intimidating [Republika Srpska] politicians" with the
possibility of invasion by Federation troops. "The
tendency is to stimulate and open up economically"
the Republika Srpska, he added. "When, in some
diplomatic efforts, we try to 'soften' their stances,
we always hint at their possible war defeat. We
always use the illustration of Krajina." (45)
Threats against the Federation are less aggressive, if
no less effective. On November 10, 1998, the Contact
Group, which oversees policy in Bosnia, and is chaired
by the US, issued a statement threatening a cutoff of
millions of dollars in aid to the Federation. An
American spokesman bluntly stated that "the time
has come and, in fact, is overdue for the governments
of Bosnia to be making the transition - and [they]
should be making it rapidly - to a sustainable market
economy. We are prepared to cut off projects,programs,
anything to get their attention." The spokesman
demanded "much more progress on privatization" and
foreign investment. (46)
NATO is establishing a permanent presence in the
Balkans. NATO's savage bombing of Yugoslavia was
motivated solely by the desire to establish a NATO-run
colony in Kosovo. The Yugoslav government consistently
called for return of all refugees, greater autonomy in
Kosovo, and an international presence in Kosovo. The
only divisive issue was the nature of that presence,
with NATO insisting on its control of the province.
NATO bases are being constructed in Zadar and
Slavonski Brod, Croatia, and NATO is providing funds
for Bulgaria to upgrade three military airfields to
"NATO standards," although these airfields are
currently adequate for Bulgaria's aircraft. (47) Whose
planes, then, are these upgrades intended for, if not
Bulgaria's? A poor Bosnian Serb, Radoslav Skrba,
wonders, "How is it that all these Western armies now
have bases here? Could it be that it was their
strategy all along? During the Communist time we were
warned that the West wanted to come here and now here
they are." (48)
NOTES
1. Colonel Milovan Milutinovic, "Loss of Supreme
Command," Nin (Belgrade),
November 1, 1996.
2. "Don't Push Us Into a Fratricidal War!", Blic
(Belgrade), November 13,
1996.
3. Nikola Zeklic, "Dancing to the CIA's Rhythm,"
Oslobodjenje (Sarajevo -
Bosnian Serb), April 4, 1996.
4. "OSCE Says Pale Assembly 'No Longer Exists,"
Agence France-Presse
(Paris), July 4, 1997.
5. "U.S. Supports Bosnian Serb President in Court
Case," Reuters, August 15,
1997.
6. "U.S. Allegedly to Deposit $30 Million in Plavsic
Account," Beta
(Belgrade), July 1, 1997.
7. "Plavsic Aides Accused as Spies," SRNA (Pale),
August 24, 1997.
8. Colin Soloway, "NATO Forces Seize Police Stations
in Bosnian City,"
Washington Post, August 21, 1997.
9. Chris Stephen, "IPTF Screens, Retrains Police in
RS," Agence
France-Presse (Paris), August 22, 1997. "IPTF
Trains Republika Srpska
Police Officers," Tanjug (Belgrade), August 26,
1997.
10. Srecko Latal, "Bosnian Serb Military Warns
President Against Dividing
Bosnian Serb Territory," Associated Press, August
22, 1997.
11. Edward Cody, "Bosnian Serb's Backers Stone
American Troops," Washington
Post, August 29, 1997. Misha Savic, "Serbs Force
U.N. Team to Withdraw,"
Associated Press, August 29, 1997.
12. Misha Savic, "NATO Commander Warns Bosnia
Media," Associated Press,
August 30, 1997.
13. "Media Monitoring Commission Shuts Down Kanal S
TV," BETA (Belgrade),
April 14, 1999
14. "Westendorp Proclaims Citizenship Law," B92 Open
Serbia (Belgrade),
December 17, 1997.
15. "OSCE Strikes 3 Serb Candidates Off SDS Election
List," SRNA (Pale),
November 21, 1997.
"Bosnia Serb Party Sanctioned for Karadzic Picture,"
Agence France-Presse,
September 1, 1998.
"Nine Delisted for Bosnian Serb's TV Interview,"
Agence France-Presse,
September 21, 1998.
"Bosnian Croat Candidates Disqualified by TV
Bias," Reuters,
September 4, 1998.
16. "Poplasen Defends Actions While in Office," SRNA
(Pale), March 7, 1999.
Interview with Nikola Poplasen, by Branislav
Radivojsa, "Poplasen: Assembly
Must Oppose Unconstitutional Behavior of Dodik's
Government," Politika
(Belgrade), September 3, 1999.
17. Office of the High Representative, "Removal From
Office of Nikola
Poplasen," OHR Press Release (Sarajevo), March 5,
1999.
18. Joint OHR/OSCE Press Release, "SRS Must Refile
Application for Party
Registration," October 5, 1999.
19. OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina Press
Release, "PEC Denies
Certification for Serb Radical and SRSS Parties for
Municipal Elections
2000," Sarajevo, October 25, 1999.
20. "Final Award, Arbitral Tribunal for Dispute
Over Inter-Entity Boundary
in Brcko Area." March 5, 1999.
21. "Mediators Warn Bosnia Serbs to Comply with
Brcko Ruling." Agence
France-Presse (Paris), March 19, 1999.
22. "US Envoy Hopes Moderate Bosnia Serb PM Will
Stay." Reuters (London),
March 10, 1999.
23. "Dodik Returns from US, Backs Anti-Milosevic
Rallies," BETA (Belgrade),
October 2, 1999.
24. Vesna Hadzivukovic, "Americans Preparing New
Kidnappings," Telegraf
(Belgrade), February 14, 1996.
25. "Serb Officers Might be Witnesses in The Hague,"
Associated Press,
February 23, 1996.
26. The Prosecutor of the Tribunal, CASE No
IT-96-20-I, "Against Dorde Dukic
(sic) Indictment."
27. Broadcast, Srpksa Televizija (Pale), July 10,
1997.
28. "Children Describe Gagovic's 'Brutal Murder',"
Tanjug (Belgrade),
January 10, 1999.
29. Office of the High Representative, "Speech of
the High Representative
Carlos Westendorp at the Stability Pact Dinner,"
Sarajevo, July 29, 1999.
30. Tracy Wilkinson, "In Bosnia, U.S. Creeps Deeper,
Los Angeles Times,
November 11, 1997.
31. "From the Jungle to the Balkans," Politika
Ekspres (Belgrade), January
22, 1996.
32. "Daily Criticizes USAID Funding of B-H
Independent Media," Beta
(Belgrade), April 29, 1997.
33. "New Weapons Shipments for Bosnia's US-LEF
Rearmament Programme," Agence
France-Presse
(Paris), October 13, 1997.
A Prlenda, "Weapons for Peace and
Stabilization," Oslobodjenje
(Bosnian Muslim), November 22,
1996.
Nick Gowing, "Return to War," The Sunday
Telegraph (London),
December 1, 1996.
"Arms Shipment from Turkey Arrives in Ploce
Port," HINA (Zagreb),
July 26, 1997.
Srecko Latal, "United States Helping Rearm
Muslim-Croat Army: Allies
Object," Associated Press,
May 23, 1996.
34. James Drake, "Old GIs Fade Away - to Bosnia,"
Baltimore Sun, November
12, 1997.
Nedim Dervisbegovic, "Bosnian Firms Produce
Artillery with U.S. Aid,"
Reuters, October 17, 1997.
"U.S. Envoy Visits U.S-Aided Bosnian Army Factory,"
Agence France-Presse
(Paris), September 5, 1997.
35. Edina Becirevic, "If the Refugees Do Not Return
Next Year, the World
Will Tolerate That as Well!",
Slobodna Bosna (Sarajevo), September 21, 1997.
36. Chris Hedges, "Bosnian Muslims Said to Intensify
Efforts to Rearm in
Secret," New York Times,
October 3, 1997.
37. Charles Miller, "Tough Action Agreed to in Hunt
for Bosnia's War
Criminals," Press Association
(London), December 5, 1996.
38. A Pilav, "Draft Laws Arriving from the US!",
Dnevi Avaz (Sarajevo),
October 7, 1997.
39. Sead Numanovic, "Westendorp Forms a Commission,"
Dnevi Avaz (Sarajevo),
July 2, 1998.
40. Office of the High Representative, "Order on
Privatization," December 4,
1997.
41. American Embassy, Sarajevo, "The Commercial
Guide to Bosnia and
Herzegovina," June, 1998.
42. "Croatia, Federation Sign Special Relations
Agreement," HINA (Zagreb),
November 22, 1998.
"Bosnia, Croatia Form Special Relations," UPI,
November 22, 1998.
"Croatia Opens Up Key Port to Bosnia in Thawing of
Relations," Agence
France-Presse, November 22, 1998.
43. American Embassy, Sarajevo, "The Commercial
Guide to Bosnia and
Herzegovina," June, 1998.
44. OHR Press Release, "Brcko Port Feasibility Study
Agreement Signed," June
4, 1999.
45. Edina Becirevic, "If the Refugees Do Not Return
Next Year, the World
Will Tolerate That as Well!",
Slobodna Bosna (Sarajevo), September 21, 1997.
46. Carol Giacomo, "U.S. and Allies May Turn Off Aid
Tap," Reuters, November
9, 1998.
"U.S. Threatens Aid Cut," UPI, November 9, 1998.
"Contact Group Signals It Wants to Cut Bosnian Aid,"
Reuters, November 10,
1998.
47. Marko Barisic, "Referendum for NATO bases?"
Vjesnik (Zagreb), February
10, 1998. Emanuil Manev, "NATO
is Promoting its Own
Interest," Kontinent (Sofia), October 17, 1998.
48. Mike O'Connor, "Bosnian Serbs, Unhappy in Serb
Republic, Fear Return to
Bosnia," New York Times, September 18, 1998.
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