Il terrorismo "buono" / 2 (english)
1. Guantanamo: Australian Al-Qaeda Militant Ex 'Freedom Fighter' In
Kosovo, Kashmir (July 2003)
2. Bin Laden’s Balkan Connections (Scott Taylor, December 2001)
=== 1 ===
Da: Rick Rozoff
Data: Mar 8 Lug 2003 18:47:08 Europe/Rome
A: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Oggetto: [yugoslaviainfo] Guantanamo: Australian Al-Qaeda Militant Ex
'Freedom Fighter' In Kosovo, Kashmir
http://www.ptd.net/webnews/wed/bs/Qaustralia-attacks-us.RnsH_Dl8.html
[Note: The second feature, below, is from a
transparently Ustashe Internet site [see:
http://www.cfiva.org/cfiva/home/index.cfm?CFID=345918&CFTOKEN=99319605]
and is only reproduced because it says more than it
intends to, both about David Hicks' involvement in
Kosovo and the Indian state of Kashmir and about the
close - inseparable - ties between the neo-Ustashe in
Croatia and the so-called Kosovo Liberation Army in
Serbia.]
Australian held by US military was trained by
al-Qaeda, PM reveals
SYDNEY, July 8 (AFP) - Australian-born Taliban fighter
David Hicks, who is now in US military detention, has
admitted training with the al-Qaeda terrorist network,
Prime Minister John Howard revealed for the first time
Tuesday.
Howard's disclosure came as US lawyers protested that
Hicks will not receive a fair trial by a US military
tribunal because he is being denied proper access to
legal representation.
The 27-year-old former Adelaide poultry process worker
has been held by the US military at Guantanamo Bay,
Cuba, since he was captured fighting with the Taliban
by US forces in Afghanistan in November, 2001.
Hicks' lawyers have conceded he was a Taliban fighter
but denied persistent allegations he had links to
al-Qaeda.
But Howard said the government was satisfied that
Hicks would receive a fair trial and that he was
linked to al-Qaeda.
"What is not an allegation, because the man in
question has admitted it, is that he trained with
al-Qaeda," Howard told ABC radio when asked about
Hicks.
Howard said the government had lengthy discussions
with US officials about the case and was satisfied
that Hicks would receive a fair hearing, that the
presumption of innocence would prevail and that there
would be access to lawyers.
One of Hicks' Adelaide-based lawyers, Frank Camatta,
said he was shocked by the prime minister's comments.
"It's a total surprise to us," he said.
"We have no basis to understand that to be the case.
Maybe the prime minister has had access to briefings
from the security services.
"We would have been very pleased to have been told
that, rather than hear it through the media. Why he
would say that without at least letting the family
know is disappointing."
Hicks was named by the US administration last week as
one of an initial group of six detainees eligible to
be tried by a US military tribunal, although no date
has been set for a hearing and no charge has yet been
laid.
His family has appointed a civilian legal team,
although his lawyers say he is being denied the usual
confidentiality between lawyer and client, which is a
basic tenet of legal representation, and without which
they say it would be virtually impossible for him to
receive a fair trial.
Hicks' US-based lawyer Joseph Margulies said there was
scant chance of a fair trial.
"They would never countenance these kinds of
proceedings in an Australian court," Margulies told
ABC radio.
"One of the real problems with the tribunal is that it
is not transparent. We may never shed light on that
dark corner."
US National Association of Criminal Defence Lawyers
(NACDL) president Lawrence Goldman said the military
court was likely to be biased because the judges, who
would probably be senior officers would find it
difficult to acquit someone whom the president of the
United States has recommended for trial.
"I would not walk into these trials as a defence
lawyer with the confidence that my client would get a
fair shake," he said.
Al-Qaeda expert Rohan Gunaratna, who has written
extensively about Osama bin Laden's terrorist network
and who initially described Hicks as a "small fry" in
the terror organisation, now believes he was more than
a foot soldier.
"There is more recent information to indicate that he
has undergone more advanced and more specialised
training," Gunaratna told The Australian newspaper.
---
http://www.cfiva.org/cfiva/news/index.cfm?fuseaction=showItem&newsID=13
Croatian Forces International Volunteers Association
CFIVA News
KOSOVO VOLUNTEER LINKED TO AL-QAEDA
Thursday, August 1, 2002
David Hicks training with the UCK prior to joining the
Taliban
-The details of his service in Kosova [sic] come to us
direct from the UCK and are as follows:
He joined a group of the UCK circa February 1999. He
was accommodated at one of three UCK training camps in
the Tropolje area in Albania for six weeks. He was
moved to another UCK training camp as a prospective
instructor after he made exaggerated claims about
being in the Australian Army.
-[H]e was placed on active duty near the border town
of Kukes with 139 Brigade, commanded by Radimas
Beshim.
-He was demobilised in June 1999, went back to the
Albanian capital Tirana where the UCK purchased an
aeroplane ticket for the Islamic Republic of Iran (via
Germany) at Hicks’ own request.
-He returned to Australia in late 1999 and claimed to
have been through six weeks training, boasted he had
been in the trenches, killed a few Serbs....
-The Australian government says he...went to Pakistan
and trained with the militant Islamic group
Lashkar-i-Taiba who are fighting in the Kashmir region
against the Indian Army. This group is believed to
have links with Al-Qa’eda and Osama Bin Laden.
-[H]icks has been blacklisted by CFIVA for bringing
the international volunteer movement [sic] in Kosova
into disrepute.
More On Terrorist Suspect Hicks - On 1st August the
Australian ex-volunteer failed to obtain a trial.
American judges ruled that because he was being held
at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, United States civilian courts
had no jurisdiction. He therefore remains indefinitely
detained without trial.
The case of Hicks is already being widely mis-reported
as international journalists studiously avoid checking
their information with other sources. Under the
ridiculous label "Soldier of Fortune," CNN state that
Hicks converted to Islam whilst fighting with the UCK
in "Bosnia" (huh??) and mis-labelled a grainy
photograph of Hicks taken in Albania in 1999 as being
in "Bosnia." We can categorically state that Hicks
never served in BiH.
He surrendered to Northern Alliance forces in
Afghanistan on 9th December 2001 near the Tora Bora
caves complex used by Al-Qa’eda. He has no criminal
record nor was he involved in any military activity
prior to Kosova. In early 1999 he approached Channel 7
wanting to sell a story about fighting as a mercenary
in South Africa or Afghanistan.
The details of his service in Kosova comes to us
direct from the UCK and are as follows:
He joined a group of the UCK circa February 1999. He
was accommodated at one of three UCK training camps in
the Tropolje area in Albania for six weeks. He was
moved to another UCK training camp as a prospective
instructor after he made exaggerated claims about
being in the Australian Army. He had no previous
military experience whatsoever. It soon became
apparent these assertions were false and his claims
were widely dismissed by the UCK. Nevertheless he was
placed on active duty near the border town of Kukes
with 139 Brigade, commanded by Radimas Beshim. His
incompetence soon came to notice and he was relegated
to a training camp away from the border. He was given
a second chance and rejoined the brigade in Kukes but
still couldn’t manage (remember, the UCK itself was a
largely untrained citizen army) so he was relegated
again to a training camp and effectively kept out of
the way. After NATO troops entered Kosova Hicks did
not accompany any UCK units into the province. He was
demobilised in June 1999, went back to the Albanian
capital Tirana where the UCK purchased an aeroplane
ticket for the Islamic Republic of Iran (via Germany)
at Hicks’ own request. The Kosovan authorities have
heard nothing from him since. He was in Albania for no
more than 14-16 weeks and never entered Kosova.
Hicks was not a mercenary. He was legally recruited
into a legitimate armed force and at all times abided
by the terms and conditions of the Geneva Conventions.
CFIVA can confirm that Hicks was never paid more than
that of a private soldier of the UCK, if at all.
Note: It was usual for the UCK to reward its
international volunteers with their passage home, as a
gesture of thanks.
He returned to Australia in late 1999 and claimed to
have been through six weeks training, boasted he had
been in the trenches, killed a few Serbs and had seen
a few of his comrades killed. The last two points are
a mild exaggeration but have neither been proven or
disproved.
Upon his return to Australia (not Bosnia)he converted
to Islam and took the name Mohammed Dawood. He was
attending a mosque several times a week but in
November 1999 spoke of going to Pakistan to increase
his knowledge of Islam. Within a week or two he had
left the country.
The Australian government says he then went to
Pakistan and trained with the militant Islamic group
Lashkar-i-Taiba who are fighting in the Kashmir region
against the Indian Army. This group is believed to
have links with Al-Qa’eda and Osama Bin Laden.
The Americans say he entered Afghanistan in late 2000
and undertook "extensive" training with Al-Qa’eda. He
telephoned his family on September 28th to say he was
fighting for the Taliban.
After his capture, he was handed over to US Special
Forces and transferred via the USS Peleliu to the
detention camp at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Two other
white Australians are also being held there. The US
say they will hand him over to the Australian
authorities if it can be promised that Hicks will be
dealt with severely. He could be charged with treason
and murder if he is connected to the WTC attacks in
New York on September 11th. He could also be charged
under the Foreign Incursions Act, which carries a 14
year sentence for “hostile activities in foreign
countries.” Needless to say Serb websites have been
doing overtime on this one.
Apparently Hicks has now hoodwinked gullible
interrogators into believing he was a "relatively
senior member of Al-Qaeda." true to form, Hicks
completely fails to comprehend the seriousness of his
situation. Nobody of course has bothered to check
Hicks' past with the Kosovan authorities. Regardless
of whether he is found guilty of the charges levelled
against him, Hicks has been blacklisted by CFIVA for
bringing the international volunteer movement in
Kosova into disrepute.
The Secretary
=== 2 ===
The Ottawa Citizen // Saturday Oserver// Dec. 15, 2001
Page B3
Bin Laden’s Balkan Connections
Dateline: Skopje, Macedonia
By Scott Taylor
With the swift collapse of the Taliban regime, the U.S.-led military
campaign in Afghanistan has been reduced to an Osama bin Laden manhunt
cum mop-up of the Al-Qaeda network. As U.S. jets pound the cave
entrances around
Tora Bora, Special Forces teams are closing in on the last redoubts of
Taliban fanatics. Following the quick success in Afghanistan, President
George Bush has already warned Americans to prepare for a "wider war"
aimed at punishing those nations which "harbour terrorism." Although
there was no
proven link between Iraq and the anthrax scare, in recent speeches Bush
has repeatedly singled out Saddam Hussein as "an enemy of the U.S."
Similar ominous threats have been levelled at the governments of Sudan,
Libya, Syria and the leaders of Palestinian extremist groups.
While it is believed that Saudi-born Osama bin Laden remains surrounded
in Afghanistan, U.S. Intelligence agencies cannot be sure of his exact
whereabouts. What is known is that his extensive Al-Qaeda terrorist
organisation still has operating cells around the world.
As the U.S. dragnet is cast ever wider, it can only be a matter of time
before the counter-terrorist effort revisits the Balkans. Over the past
decade, Mujahadeen fighters – and in particular, bin Laden’s followers
– have practised their brutal brand of terror in Croatia, Bosnia,
Kosovo and are currently believed to be participating in Macedonia’s
civil unrest.
On 20 November, while the Taliban was still offering organised
resistance and extremists from around the world were volunteering to
join their ranks, Pakistani police apprehended five of these Muslim
"fighters" carrying Macedonian passports at the Afghan border.
For Macedonian Intelligence officials, these arrests were only further
proof that Mujahadeen formed the veteran core of the ethnic Albanian
guerrilla army known as the UCK. Since March of this year, the UCK have
mounted a very successful military offensive against Macedonian
security forces. By the time that a shaky peace plan was brokered in
September, the UCK controlled nearly 30 per cent of Macedonian
territory. Originally inexperienced and ill-equipped to fight a
guerrilla war, the Macedonian security forces have maintained since the
outbreak of hostilities that up to 120 Mujahadeen were active in the
UCK ranks.
Nikola, a senior director with Macedonian Intelligence, confirmed that
following the 11 September terrorist attacks, his agency has "supplied
a substantive dossier to the CIA," outlining bin Laden’s Balkan
activities.
The information forwarded to the CIA included eyewitness accounts
offered by Macedonian civilians who had been held hostage by
Mujahadeen, along with incriminating photographs and videos, which
security forces captured from the UCK-Albanian guerrillas.
Macedonian Minister of Interior Ljubo Boskovski is anxious for his
police forces to return into the areas presently controlled by the
Albanian guerrillas in order to uncover additional evidence. Since 13
November, Macedonian security forces have been conducting an exhumation
at a mass grave outside the ethnic Albanian village of Trebos. To date,
the police have unearthed the bodies of six Macedonians, from a total
of 21 civilians who have disappeared following UCK attacks.
Intelligence officer Nikola believes it was Mujahadeen fighters who
perpetrated the Trebos massacre "because of the manner in which the
bodies were cut up and scattered."
Nikola also suspects that Mujahadeen fanatics perpetrated a brutal
ambush against security forces last April. In this incident, eight
policemen were shot outside the village of Vejce, their bodies
viciously dismembered to provide the victors with grisly trophies. The
Macedonian authorities are not the only ones to affix the blame for the
Vejce ambush on the Mujahadeen.
During the summer offensive around Tetovo, Albanian guerrillas eagerly
admitted they had gained combat experience in previous conflicts.
Twenty-three-year old Commander "Jimmy" claimed he was a veteran of
Chechnya and Kosovo, while "Snake" Arifaq bragged of service in Bosnia
and displayed a scar he received during the fighting in Croatia. Both
of these Albanians
acknowledged the involvement of Arab/Afghan "volunteers" in training
members of the UCK. As for the Vejce incident, Commander Jimmy said
such an atrocity could "only have been committed by the Foreigners
[Mujahadeen serving in the
UCK] because Albanians do not cut up bodies."
Once the UCK insurrection began in March, the Macedonian government
hastily acquired a fleet of six Ukrainian helicopter gunships to
provide their troops with tactical air support. "Shortly after that,
our pilots reported being tracked by sophisticated [U.S.-made] Stinger
[anti-aircraft] missiles," said Nikola. "It is the information [of
Macedonian Intelligence] that the UCK received these Stingers from
their Mujahadeen connections in Afghanistan."
American advisors and covert military aid have also contributed to the
UCK’s combat effectiveness, but since 11 September the Macedonians have
noted a shift in U.S. foreign policy. "The CIA have been much more
receptive to our reports about the Al-Qaeda," said Nikola.
"Particularly after they
discovered that one of the suicide hijackers had been active in both
Kosovo and Macedonia."
Given their common goal of neutralising Albanian terrorists, Macedonian
police have been working closely with their Yugoslavian counterparts.
More importantly, as part of the U.S.-led global initiative to combat
terror, the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia has been reinstated to the
ranks of Interpol – after a ten-year banishment. As a result,
Intelligence Officers from the
Yugoslavian Army have been able to supply their international
colleagues with a wealth of information outlining Mujahadeen activity
in Bosnia and Kosovo. Yugoslav Intelligence believes that at least 50
of the 150 Mujahadeen that fought in Kosovo are still active members of
the UCK.
Even without this Yugoslav co-operation, Interpol was already tracking
the Al-Qaeda’s Balkan activities. On 23 October this year, Interpol
released a preliminary report outlining bin Laden’s personal links to
the Albanian Mafia. In this report, Interpol alleges that a senior
Al-Qaeda lieutenant had been the commander of an elite UCK unit in
Kosovo during the fighting in 1999.
While U.S. President Bill Clinton’s regime was the driving force to
garner NATO support for the UCK, numerous media reports clearly show
that the CIA were well aware of bin Laden’s Albanian links prior to
NATO’s commitment in Kosovo.
On 17 January 1999 the international press was filled with news of an
alleged massacre of 45 Albanian Kosovars in the village of Racak.
Clinton seized upon this particular incident (later disproved, by UN
pathologists, to have been an Albanian hoax) to proclaim that the West
could no longer overlook "Serbian atrocities." With Clinton’s
statement, NATO was
irrevocably launched on the path towards its confrontation with
Yugoslavia.
Although lost in the U.S. media hype, Greek media outlets that same day
were detailing the Taliban’s widespread entry into Albania at the
invitation of ex-President Sali Berisa and former head of Intelligence
Bashkim Gazidede.
According to The Tribune, an Athens daily newspaper, Albanian security
official Fatos Klozi confirmed that "bin Laden was one of those who had
organised and sent groups to fight in Kosovo. There were Egyptians,
Saudis, Algerians, Tunisians, Sudanese and Kuwaitis from different
organisations
among the [UCK] mercenaries."
Ten days later, on 27 January 1999, the Arab-language news service Al
Hayat reported that an Albanian commander in Kosovo, code-named
"Monia," was directly connected to Osama bin Laden. The Al Hayat piece
also proudly proclaimed that "at least 100 Muslim Mujahadeen" were
serving with Monia’s force in Kosovo.
The Washington Post reported in August 1998 that the CIA were not only
aware of bin Laden’s association with the Albanian regime, but that
U.S. operatives had been "prominent" in the arrest of four Al-Qaeda
agents in Tirana. At that time, U.S. State Department officials even
speculated that
the bombings of their embassies in Kenya and Tanzania might have been
bin Laden’s revenge for the Tirana arrests.
The Al-Qaeda suspects detained by the CIA in Albania had been operating
the Islamic Revival Foundation, "a charitable organisation that
official sources say provided a useful cover for the [suspects] efforts
on behalf of bin Laden," reported the Post.
In February 1998, the U.S. State Department had removed the UCK from
their list of terrorist organisations. However later that same year,
the CIA and their Albanian SHIK intelligence counterparts co-operated
to successfully shut down a Mujahadeen Jihad cell operating in
conjunction with the
Albanians inside Kosovo.
Some of the most revealing links surfaced in December 1998 when
Al-Qaeda agent Claude Sheik Abdel-Kader was arrested in Tirana for the
murder of his Albanian translator. During his trial, Abdel-Kader
confessed to being a senior commander in bin Laden’s network, and
claimed he had recruited a force of some 300 Mujahadeen to fight in
Kosovo. European media covering the trial reported Abdul-Kader’s
revelation that Osama bin Laden – although a wanted terrorist –
travelled freely to Tirana in 1994 and 1998 to meet with senior
Albanian officials. Abdel-Kader also confessed that when the Albanian
regime of Sali Berisa collapsed into anarchy in 1997, state armouries
and government offices were looted. Many of the 10,000 heavy weapons
and 100,000 passports that went missing conveniently fell into the
hands of the Al-Qaeda.
Osama bin Laden – stripped of his Saudi citizenship in 1994 – is
alleged to have retained the Bosnian passport he was issued in Vienna
in 1993. The granting of official travel documents to bin Laden was
first reported 24 September 1999 by Dani, a Bosnian Muslim weekly
newspaper. The rationale
behind bestowing citizenship on a wanted terrorist was that Bosnian
President Alija Izetbegovic had been thankful for the Mujahadeen’s
contribution in his quest for a Balkan "fundamentalist Islamic
Republic."
It was also reported by Dani that Al-Qaeda terrorist Mehrez Aodouni had
been arrested in Istanbul while carrying a Bosnian passport. Like bin
Laden, his citizenship had been granted "because he was a member of the
Bosnia-Herzegovina Army."
Canadian soldiers serving with the United Nations Protection Force
(UNPROFOR) were among the first to report the presence of Mujahadeen in
the ranks of the Bosnian Muslims as early as 1992.
The Asian Wall Street Journal reported that, in 1993, bin Laden had
appointed Al Zawahiri, the Al-Qaeda’s second-in-command, to direct all
his operations in the Balkans.
While no exact numbers exist, it is estimated that between 1500 and
3500 Arab volunteers participated in the Bosnian civil war. Their main
area of operation was in the region of Zenica, with most Mujahadeen
serving in the 7th Brigade of General Sakib Mahmuljin’s 3rd Corps,
nicknamed "the
Guerrillas." Identified by red and green "Rambo" bandannas emblazoned
with the crest "our road is Jihad," this unit earned a reputation for
criminal brutality.
On 27 June 1993, the Sunday Times reported that even Bosnian Muslim
officers had reservations about the Mujahadeen volunteers. Colonel
Stjepan Siber, then-Deputy Commander of the Bosnia-Herzegovina Army,
admitted to the Times that "It was a mistake to let [the Mujahadeen] in
here… They commit most of the atrocities and work against the interests
of the Muslim people. They have been killing, looting and stealing."
According to reports, it was the Mujahadeen who were serving with
General Nasir Oric in the Muslim enclave of Srebrenica who committed
some of the most barbaric atrocities of the war. Beheadings of Serbian
civilians were commonplace, and in some villages the Mujahadeen would
dynamite homes with
the inhabitants trapped inside.
No attempt was made to hide such atrocities. In fact, General Oric
would often address media at the site of the massacres. On one such
occasion, while standing in front of Mujahadeen brandishing human head
trophies, Oric pointed to a flaming ruin and proudly said to reporters,
"We blew those Serbs to the moon."
Alija Izetbegovic was also proud to display the fighting prowess of his
Mujahadeen volunteers. Following a successful attack against Serbian
positions around Vozuce on 10 September 1995, the Bosnian President
held a televised medal presentation parade. The Mujahadeen had provided
the
vanguard of the assault force, and were awarded 11 decorations for
valour, including the Golden Crescent, Bosnia’s highest honour.
Yugoslav Intelligence estimates that over 1500 Bosnian citizenships
were granted to Mujahadeen/Al-Qaeda fighters following the Dayton Peace
Accord in 1995. Most of those soldiers are believed to have settled in
the Zenica region.
According to Miroslav Lazanski, author of the new book Osama bin Laden
Against America, Al-Qaeda still maintain two operational bases in
Bosnia. One of these contains only the best fighters and was commanded
by an Algerian, Abu Al Mali.
Following the 11 September attacks, FBI and CIA agents uncovered
evidence that two of the suicide hijackers had originated from this
Bosnian camp. Abu Mali was subsequently arrested while travelling in
Istanbul on a Bosnian passport.
It is evident from recent events that the U.S. military is also well
aware of the continued Mujahadeen presence in the Balkans. General
Myers visited NATO troops stationed in Bosnia in late November to warn
them against a possible Al-Qaeda retaliation attack. In addition, on 4
December, the White
House added two Albanian terrorist groups operating in Macedonia and
Kosovo to their list of outlawed organisations.
President George Bush’s campaign against bin Laden’s terrorists would
appear to have come full circle to confront the Clinton
administration’s dubious Balkan legacy.
1. Guantanamo: Australian Al-Qaeda Militant Ex 'Freedom Fighter' In
Kosovo, Kashmir (July 2003)
2. Bin Laden’s Balkan Connections (Scott Taylor, December 2001)
=== 1 ===
Da: Rick Rozoff
Data: Mar 8 Lug 2003 18:47:08 Europe/Rome
A: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Oggetto: [yugoslaviainfo] Guantanamo: Australian Al-Qaeda Militant Ex
'Freedom Fighter' In Kosovo, Kashmir
http://www.ptd.net/webnews/wed/bs/Qaustralia-attacks-us.RnsH_Dl8.html
[Note: The second feature, below, is from a
transparently Ustashe Internet site [see:
http://www.cfiva.org/cfiva/home/index.cfm?CFID=345918&CFTOKEN=99319605]
and is only reproduced because it says more than it
intends to, both about David Hicks' involvement in
Kosovo and the Indian state of Kashmir and about the
close - inseparable - ties between the neo-Ustashe in
Croatia and the so-called Kosovo Liberation Army in
Serbia.]
Australian held by US military was trained by
al-Qaeda, PM reveals
SYDNEY, July 8 (AFP) - Australian-born Taliban fighter
David Hicks, who is now in US military detention, has
admitted training with the al-Qaeda terrorist network,
Prime Minister John Howard revealed for the first time
Tuesday.
Howard's disclosure came as US lawyers protested that
Hicks will not receive a fair trial by a US military
tribunal because he is being denied proper access to
legal representation.
The 27-year-old former Adelaide poultry process worker
has been held by the US military at Guantanamo Bay,
Cuba, since he was captured fighting with the Taliban
by US forces in Afghanistan in November, 2001.
Hicks' lawyers have conceded he was a Taliban fighter
but denied persistent allegations he had links to
al-Qaeda.
But Howard said the government was satisfied that
Hicks would receive a fair trial and that he was
linked to al-Qaeda.
"What is not an allegation, because the man in
question has admitted it, is that he trained with
al-Qaeda," Howard told ABC radio when asked about
Hicks.
Howard said the government had lengthy discussions
with US officials about the case and was satisfied
that Hicks would receive a fair hearing, that the
presumption of innocence would prevail and that there
would be access to lawyers.
One of Hicks' Adelaide-based lawyers, Frank Camatta,
said he was shocked by the prime minister's comments.
"It's a total surprise to us," he said.
"We have no basis to understand that to be the case.
Maybe the prime minister has had access to briefings
from the security services.
"We would have been very pleased to have been told
that, rather than hear it through the media. Why he
would say that without at least letting the family
know is disappointing."
Hicks was named by the US administration last week as
one of an initial group of six detainees eligible to
be tried by a US military tribunal, although no date
has been set for a hearing and no charge has yet been
laid.
His family has appointed a civilian legal team,
although his lawyers say he is being denied the usual
confidentiality between lawyer and client, which is a
basic tenet of legal representation, and without which
they say it would be virtually impossible for him to
receive a fair trial.
Hicks' US-based lawyer Joseph Margulies said there was
scant chance of a fair trial.
"They would never countenance these kinds of
proceedings in an Australian court," Margulies told
ABC radio.
"One of the real problems with the tribunal is that it
is not transparent. We may never shed light on that
dark corner."
US National Association of Criminal Defence Lawyers
(NACDL) president Lawrence Goldman said the military
court was likely to be biased because the judges, who
would probably be senior officers would find it
difficult to acquit someone whom the president of the
United States has recommended for trial.
"I would not walk into these trials as a defence
lawyer with the confidence that my client would get a
fair shake," he said.
Al-Qaeda expert Rohan Gunaratna, who has written
extensively about Osama bin Laden's terrorist network
and who initially described Hicks as a "small fry" in
the terror organisation, now believes he was more than
a foot soldier.
"There is more recent information to indicate that he
has undergone more advanced and more specialised
training," Gunaratna told The Australian newspaper.
---
http://www.cfiva.org/cfiva/news/index.cfm?fuseaction=showItem&newsID=13
Croatian Forces International Volunteers Association
CFIVA News
KOSOVO VOLUNTEER LINKED TO AL-QAEDA
Thursday, August 1, 2002
David Hicks training with the UCK prior to joining the
Taliban
-The details of his service in Kosova [sic] come to us
direct from the UCK and are as follows:
He joined a group of the UCK circa February 1999. He
was accommodated at one of three UCK training camps in
the Tropolje area in Albania for six weeks. He was
moved to another UCK training camp as a prospective
instructor after he made exaggerated claims about
being in the Australian Army.
-[H]e was placed on active duty near the border town
of Kukes with 139 Brigade, commanded by Radimas
Beshim.
-He was demobilised in June 1999, went back to the
Albanian capital Tirana where the UCK purchased an
aeroplane ticket for the Islamic Republic of Iran (via
Germany) at Hicks’ own request.
-He returned to Australia in late 1999 and claimed to
have been through six weeks training, boasted he had
been in the trenches, killed a few Serbs....
-The Australian government says he...went to Pakistan
and trained with the militant Islamic group
Lashkar-i-Taiba who are fighting in the Kashmir region
against the Indian Army. This group is believed to
have links with Al-Qa’eda and Osama Bin Laden.
-[H]icks has been blacklisted by CFIVA for bringing
the international volunteer movement [sic] in Kosova
into disrepute.
More On Terrorist Suspect Hicks - On 1st August the
Australian ex-volunteer failed to obtain a trial.
American judges ruled that because he was being held
at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, United States civilian courts
had no jurisdiction. He therefore remains indefinitely
detained without trial.
The case of Hicks is already being widely mis-reported
as international journalists studiously avoid checking
their information with other sources. Under the
ridiculous label "Soldier of Fortune," CNN state that
Hicks converted to Islam whilst fighting with the UCK
in "Bosnia" (huh??) and mis-labelled a grainy
photograph of Hicks taken in Albania in 1999 as being
in "Bosnia." We can categorically state that Hicks
never served in BiH.
He surrendered to Northern Alliance forces in
Afghanistan on 9th December 2001 near the Tora Bora
caves complex used by Al-Qa’eda. He has no criminal
record nor was he involved in any military activity
prior to Kosova. In early 1999 he approached Channel 7
wanting to sell a story about fighting as a mercenary
in South Africa or Afghanistan.
The details of his service in Kosova comes to us
direct from the UCK and are as follows:
He joined a group of the UCK circa February 1999. He
was accommodated at one of three UCK training camps in
the Tropolje area in Albania for six weeks. He was
moved to another UCK training camp as a prospective
instructor after he made exaggerated claims about
being in the Australian Army. He had no previous
military experience whatsoever. It soon became
apparent these assertions were false and his claims
were widely dismissed by the UCK. Nevertheless he was
placed on active duty near the border town of Kukes
with 139 Brigade, commanded by Radimas Beshim. His
incompetence soon came to notice and he was relegated
to a training camp away from the border. He was given
a second chance and rejoined the brigade in Kukes but
still couldn’t manage (remember, the UCK itself was a
largely untrained citizen army) so he was relegated
again to a training camp and effectively kept out of
the way. After NATO troops entered Kosova Hicks did
not accompany any UCK units into the province. He was
demobilised in June 1999, went back to the Albanian
capital Tirana where the UCK purchased an aeroplane
ticket for the Islamic Republic of Iran (via Germany)
at Hicks’ own request. The Kosovan authorities have
heard nothing from him since. He was in Albania for no
more than 14-16 weeks and never entered Kosova.
Hicks was not a mercenary. He was legally recruited
into a legitimate armed force and at all times abided
by the terms and conditions of the Geneva Conventions.
CFIVA can confirm that Hicks was never paid more than
that of a private soldier of the UCK, if at all.
Note: It was usual for the UCK to reward its
international volunteers with their passage home, as a
gesture of thanks.
He returned to Australia in late 1999 and claimed to
have been through six weeks training, boasted he had
been in the trenches, killed a few Serbs and had seen
a few of his comrades killed. The last two points are
a mild exaggeration but have neither been proven or
disproved.
Upon his return to Australia (not Bosnia)he converted
to Islam and took the name Mohammed Dawood. He was
attending a mosque several times a week but in
November 1999 spoke of going to Pakistan to increase
his knowledge of Islam. Within a week or two he had
left the country.
The Australian government says he then went to
Pakistan and trained with the militant Islamic group
Lashkar-i-Taiba who are fighting in the Kashmir region
against the Indian Army. This group is believed to
have links with Al-Qa’eda and Osama Bin Laden.
The Americans say he entered Afghanistan in late 2000
and undertook "extensive" training with Al-Qa’eda. He
telephoned his family on September 28th to say he was
fighting for the Taliban.
After his capture, he was handed over to US Special
Forces and transferred via the USS Peleliu to the
detention camp at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Two other
white Australians are also being held there. The US
say they will hand him over to the Australian
authorities if it can be promised that Hicks will be
dealt with severely. He could be charged with treason
and murder if he is connected to the WTC attacks in
New York on September 11th. He could also be charged
under the Foreign Incursions Act, which carries a 14
year sentence for “hostile activities in foreign
countries.” Needless to say Serb websites have been
doing overtime on this one.
Apparently Hicks has now hoodwinked gullible
interrogators into believing he was a "relatively
senior member of Al-Qaeda." true to form, Hicks
completely fails to comprehend the seriousness of his
situation. Nobody of course has bothered to check
Hicks' past with the Kosovan authorities. Regardless
of whether he is found guilty of the charges levelled
against him, Hicks has been blacklisted by CFIVA for
bringing the international volunteer movement in
Kosova into disrepute.
The Secretary
=== 2 ===
The Ottawa Citizen // Saturday Oserver// Dec. 15, 2001
Page B3
Bin Laden’s Balkan Connections
Dateline: Skopje, Macedonia
By Scott Taylor
With the swift collapse of the Taliban regime, the U.S.-led military
campaign in Afghanistan has been reduced to an Osama bin Laden manhunt
cum mop-up of the Al-Qaeda network. As U.S. jets pound the cave
entrances around
Tora Bora, Special Forces teams are closing in on the last redoubts of
Taliban fanatics. Following the quick success in Afghanistan, President
George Bush has already warned Americans to prepare for a "wider war"
aimed at punishing those nations which "harbour terrorism." Although
there was no
proven link between Iraq and the anthrax scare, in recent speeches Bush
has repeatedly singled out Saddam Hussein as "an enemy of the U.S."
Similar ominous threats have been levelled at the governments of Sudan,
Libya, Syria and the leaders of Palestinian extremist groups.
While it is believed that Saudi-born Osama bin Laden remains surrounded
in Afghanistan, U.S. Intelligence agencies cannot be sure of his exact
whereabouts. What is known is that his extensive Al-Qaeda terrorist
organisation still has operating cells around the world.
As the U.S. dragnet is cast ever wider, it can only be a matter of time
before the counter-terrorist effort revisits the Balkans. Over the past
decade, Mujahadeen fighters – and in particular, bin Laden’s followers
– have practised their brutal brand of terror in Croatia, Bosnia,
Kosovo and are currently believed to be participating in Macedonia’s
civil unrest.
On 20 November, while the Taliban was still offering organised
resistance and extremists from around the world were volunteering to
join their ranks, Pakistani police apprehended five of these Muslim
"fighters" carrying Macedonian passports at the Afghan border.
For Macedonian Intelligence officials, these arrests were only further
proof that Mujahadeen formed the veteran core of the ethnic Albanian
guerrilla army known as the UCK. Since March of this year, the UCK have
mounted a very successful military offensive against Macedonian
security forces. By the time that a shaky peace plan was brokered in
September, the UCK controlled nearly 30 per cent of Macedonian
territory. Originally inexperienced and ill-equipped to fight a
guerrilla war, the Macedonian security forces have maintained since the
outbreak of hostilities that up to 120 Mujahadeen were active in the
UCK ranks.
Nikola, a senior director with Macedonian Intelligence, confirmed that
following the 11 September terrorist attacks, his agency has "supplied
a substantive dossier to the CIA," outlining bin Laden’s Balkan
activities.
The information forwarded to the CIA included eyewitness accounts
offered by Macedonian civilians who had been held hostage by
Mujahadeen, along with incriminating photographs and videos, which
security forces captured from the UCK-Albanian guerrillas.
Macedonian Minister of Interior Ljubo Boskovski is anxious for his
police forces to return into the areas presently controlled by the
Albanian guerrillas in order to uncover additional evidence. Since 13
November, Macedonian security forces have been conducting an exhumation
at a mass grave outside the ethnic Albanian village of Trebos. To date,
the police have unearthed the bodies of six Macedonians, from a total
of 21 civilians who have disappeared following UCK attacks.
Intelligence officer Nikola believes it was Mujahadeen fighters who
perpetrated the Trebos massacre "because of the manner in which the
bodies were cut up and scattered."
Nikola also suspects that Mujahadeen fanatics perpetrated a brutal
ambush against security forces last April. In this incident, eight
policemen were shot outside the village of Vejce, their bodies
viciously dismembered to provide the victors with grisly trophies. The
Macedonian authorities are not the only ones to affix the blame for the
Vejce ambush on the Mujahadeen.
During the summer offensive around Tetovo, Albanian guerrillas eagerly
admitted they had gained combat experience in previous conflicts.
Twenty-three-year old Commander "Jimmy" claimed he was a veteran of
Chechnya and Kosovo, while "Snake" Arifaq bragged of service in Bosnia
and displayed a scar he received during the fighting in Croatia. Both
of these Albanians
acknowledged the involvement of Arab/Afghan "volunteers" in training
members of the UCK. As for the Vejce incident, Commander Jimmy said
such an atrocity could "only have been committed by the Foreigners
[Mujahadeen serving in the
UCK] because Albanians do not cut up bodies."
Once the UCK insurrection began in March, the Macedonian government
hastily acquired a fleet of six Ukrainian helicopter gunships to
provide their troops with tactical air support. "Shortly after that,
our pilots reported being tracked by sophisticated [U.S.-made] Stinger
[anti-aircraft] missiles," said Nikola. "It is the information [of
Macedonian Intelligence] that the UCK received these Stingers from
their Mujahadeen connections in Afghanistan."
American advisors and covert military aid have also contributed to the
UCK’s combat effectiveness, but since 11 September the Macedonians have
noted a shift in U.S. foreign policy. "The CIA have been much more
receptive to our reports about the Al-Qaeda," said Nikola.
"Particularly after they
discovered that one of the suicide hijackers had been active in both
Kosovo and Macedonia."
Given their common goal of neutralising Albanian terrorists, Macedonian
police have been working closely with their Yugoslavian counterparts.
More importantly, as part of the U.S.-led global initiative to combat
terror, the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia has been reinstated to the
ranks of Interpol – after a ten-year banishment. As a result,
Intelligence Officers from the
Yugoslavian Army have been able to supply their international
colleagues with a wealth of information outlining Mujahadeen activity
in Bosnia and Kosovo. Yugoslav Intelligence believes that at least 50
of the 150 Mujahadeen that fought in Kosovo are still active members of
the UCK.
Even without this Yugoslav co-operation, Interpol was already tracking
the Al-Qaeda’s Balkan activities. On 23 October this year, Interpol
released a preliminary report outlining bin Laden’s personal links to
the Albanian Mafia. In this report, Interpol alleges that a senior
Al-Qaeda lieutenant had been the commander of an elite UCK unit in
Kosovo during the fighting in 1999.
While U.S. President Bill Clinton’s regime was the driving force to
garner NATO support for the UCK, numerous media reports clearly show
that the CIA were well aware of bin Laden’s Albanian links prior to
NATO’s commitment in Kosovo.
On 17 January 1999 the international press was filled with news of an
alleged massacre of 45 Albanian Kosovars in the village of Racak.
Clinton seized upon this particular incident (later disproved, by UN
pathologists, to have been an Albanian hoax) to proclaim that the West
could no longer overlook "Serbian atrocities." With Clinton’s
statement, NATO was
irrevocably launched on the path towards its confrontation with
Yugoslavia.
Although lost in the U.S. media hype, Greek media outlets that same day
were detailing the Taliban’s widespread entry into Albania at the
invitation of ex-President Sali Berisa and former head of Intelligence
Bashkim Gazidede.
According to The Tribune, an Athens daily newspaper, Albanian security
official Fatos Klozi confirmed that "bin Laden was one of those who had
organised and sent groups to fight in Kosovo. There were Egyptians,
Saudis, Algerians, Tunisians, Sudanese and Kuwaitis from different
organisations
among the [UCK] mercenaries."
Ten days later, on 27 January 1999, the Arab-language news service Al
Hayat reported that an Albanian commander in Kosovo, code-named
"Monia," was directly connected to Osama bin Laden. The Al Hayat piece
also proudly proclaimed that "at least 100 Muslim Mujahadeen" were
serving with Monia’s force in Kosovo.
The Washington Post reported in August 1998 that the CIA were not only
aware of bin Laden’s association with the Albanian regime, but that
U.S. operatives had been "prominent" in the arrest of four Al-Qaeda
agents in Tirana. At that time, U.S. State Department officials even
speculated that
the bombings of their embassies in Kenya and Tanzania might have been
bin Laden’s revenge for the Tirana arrests.
The Al-Qaeda suspects detained by the CIA in Albania had been operating
the Islamic Revival Foundation, "a charitable organisation that
official sources say provided a useful cover for the [suspects] efforts
on behalf of bin Laden," reported the Post.
In February 1998, the U.S. State Department had removed the UCK from
their list of terrorist organisations. However later that same year,
the CIA and their Albanian SHIK intelligence counterparts co-operated
to successfully shut down a Mujahadeen Jihad cell operating in
conjunction with the
Albanians inside Kosovo.
Some of the most revealing links surfaced in December 1998 when
Al-Qaeda agent Claude Sheik Abdel-Kader was arrested in Tirana for the
murder of his Albanian translator. During his trial, Abdel-Kader
confessed to being a senior commander in bin Laden’s network, and
claimed he had recruited a force of some 300 Mujahadeen to fight in
Kosovo. European media covering the trial reported Abdul-Kader’s
revelation that Osama bin Laden – although a wanted terrorist –
travelled freely to Tirana in 1994 and 1998 to meet with senior
Albanian officials. Abdel-Kader also confessed that when the Albanian
regime of Sali Berisa collapsed into anarchy in 1997, state armouries
and government offices were looted. Many of the 10,000 heavy weapons
and 100,000 passports that went missing conveniently fell into the
hands of the Al-Qaeda.
Osama bin Laden – stripped of his Saudi citizenship in 1994 – is
alleged to have retained the Bosnian passport he was issued in Vienna
in 1993. The granting of official travel documents to bin Laden was
first reported 24 September 1999 by Dani, a Bosnian Muslim weekly
newspaper. The rationale
behind bestowing citizenship on a wanted terrorist was that Bosnian
President Alija Izetbegovic had been thankful for the Mujahadeen’s
contribution in his quest for a Balkan "fundamentalist Islamic
Republic."
It was also reported by Dani that Al-Qaeda terrorist Mehrez Aodouni had
been arrested in Istanbul while carrying a Bosnian passport. Like bin
Laden, his citizenship had been granted "because he was a member of the
Bosnia-Herzegovina Army."
Canadian soldiers serving with the United Nations Protection Force
(UNPROFOR) were among the first to report the presence of Mujahadeen in
the ranks of the Bosnian Muslims as early as 1992.
The Asian Wall Street Journal reported that, in 1993, bin Laden had
appointed Al Zawahiri, the Al-Qaeda’s second-in-command, to direct all
his operations in the Balkans.
While no exact numbers exist, it is estimated that between 1500 and
3500 Arab volunteers participated in the Bosnian civil war. Their main
area of operation was in the region of Zenica, with most Mujahadeen
serving in the 7th Brigade of General Sakib Mahmuljin’s 3rd Corps,
nicknamed "the
Guerrillas." Identified by red and green "Rambo" bandannas emblazoned
with the crest "our road is Jihad," this unit earned a reputation for
criminal brutality.
On 27 June 1993, the Sunday Times reported that even Bosnian Muslim
officers had reservations about the Mujahadeen volunteers. Colonel
Stjepan Siber, then-Deputy Commander of the Bosnia-Herzegovina Army,
admitted to the Times that "It was a mistake to let [the Mujahadeen] in
here… They commit most of the atrocities and work against the interests
of the Muslim people. They have been killing, looting and stealing."
According to reports, it was the Mujahadeen who were serving with
General Nasir Oric in the Muslim enclave of Srebrenica who committed
some of the most barbaric atrocities of the war. Beheadings of Serbian
civilians were commonplace, and in some villages the Mujahadeen would
dynamite homes with
the inhabitants trapped inside.
No attempt was made to hide such atrocities. In fact, General Oric
would often address media at the site of the massacres. On one such
occasion, while standing in front of Mujahadeen brandishing human head
trophies, Oric pointed to a flaming ruin and proudly said to reporters,
"We blew those Serbs to the moon."
Alija Izetbegovic was also proud to display the fighting prowess of his
Mujahadeen volunteers. Following a successful attack against Serbian
positions around Vozuce on 10 September 1995, the Bosnian President
held a televised medal presentation parade. The Mujahadeen had provided
the
vanguard of the assault force, and were awarded 11 decorations for
valour, including the Golden Crescent, Bosnia’s highest honour.
Yugoslav Intelligence estimates that over 1500 Bosnian citizenships
were granted to Mujahadeen/Al-Qaeda fighters following the Dayton Peace
Accord in 1995. Most of those soldiers are believed to have settled in
the Zenica region.
According to Miroslav Lazanski, author of the new book Osama bin Laden
Against America, Al-Qaeda still maintain two operational bases in
Bosnia. One of these contains only the best fighters and was commanded
by an Algerian, Abu Al Mali.
Following the 11 September attacks, FBI and CIA agents uncovered
evidence that two of the suicide hijackers had originated from this
Bosnian camp. Abu Mali was subsequently arrested while travelling in
Istanbul on a Bosnian passport.
It is evident from recent events that the U.S. military is also well
aware of the continued Mujahadeen presence in the Balkans. General
Myers visited NATO troops stationed in Bosnia in late November to warn
them against a possible Al-Qaeda retaliation attack. In addition, on 4
December, the White
House added two Albanian terrorist groups operating in Macedonia and
Kosovo to their list of outlawed organisations.
President George Bush’s campaign against bin Laden’s terrorists would
appear to have come full circle to confront the Clinton
administration’s dubious Balkan legacy.