[ Tre risposte ad una intervista rilasciata dal nuovo ambasciatore
degli USA a Belgrado, Michael Polt, lo scorso 22 agosto sul quotidiano
"Politika". Mentre Polt insiste ad imporre "condizioni" alla Serbia (ad
esempio, sulla collaborazione con il "Tribunale ad hoc" dell'Aia), i
commentatori si chiedono per quale motivo gli USA insistano tanto ad
accanirsi contro i serbi: dopo l'appoggio alla pulizia etnica antiserba
in Croazia e dopo i bombardamenti del 1999, gli USA oggi sostengono il
terrorismo a sfondo separatista e razzista nella provincia occupata del
Kosmet... Si noti che Veljko Guberina, noto avvocato, nella sua lettera
aperta all'ambasciatore afferma di aver sempre nutrito simpatie per gli
USA e di essere stato un anticomunista della prima ora; anche Raymond
Kent, professore di Storia a Berkeley, richiama la politica estera USA
a riprendere la strada tradizionale dell'amicizia con i serbi.
Evidentemente, le strategie geopolitiche ed il cinismo imperialista
sono molto piu' forti delle antiche affinita'... ]


(english / srpskohrvatski)

Mike Polt / Grahovac - Guberina - Kent


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http://www.artel.co.yu/sr/reakcije_citalaca/2004-10-03.html

ŠTA SE ‘GVOZDENOM PESNICOM’ SPROVODI U SRBIJI I NA BALKANU

Beograd, 23/8/2004
Slavica Grahovac

(Povodom teksta ‘Topi se strpljenje”, Politika 22/8/2004)

U nedavnom intervjuju novog američkog ambasadora u SCG, Majkla Polta,
koji je dao listu Politika, ambasador izjavljuje da se ‘američko
strpljenje topi..” te da Amerika hoće energično ‘gvozdenom pesnicom’ da
sprovede medjunarodno pravo povodom Haga I izručivanja osumnjičenih za
ratne zločine, hapšenje Karadžića I Mladića kao I po pitanju Kosova.

a mi sa svoje strane takodje energično tražimo odluku po pitanju
Kosmeta.

Ambasador ističe da je stav američke Vlade vis a vis Kosova da “se prvo
nametnu standardi…’ koje SAD “tražI od slobodnih ljudi u SAD a koje
tražI od slobodnih društava širom sveta, poštovanje prava manjina,
odgovornost I prava većine, bezbednost I sigurnost pojedinca…’ I
nastavlja sa tim da su “standardi neophodni da bi mogli da utvrde da li
društvo može sobodno da upravlja pravedno…pre nego počnemo da
raspravljamo o statusu Kosova…” NastavljajućI na pitanje novinara da
smo se umesto progresa u martu ove godine, suočili sa eksplozijom
mržnje na Kosovu smatra da su time “…interesi albanske većine ozbiljno
oštećeni ovakvim akcijama…” insistiraju}I dalje na tome da situacija na
Kosovu nije ni bolja ni lošija no pre martovskih dogadjaja I da SAD
“insistira na dijalogu”…Uz to protivnik je bojkota lokalnih izbora od
strane kosovskih Srba uz obrazloženje da “demokratski procesi
funkcioni{u jedino ukoliko ljudi u njima učestvuju…” I da “…nema
koristi od izbora ukoliko se na njima niko ne pojavi…”

Pitamo se da li će Vašington istom gvozdenom rukom tražiti da se ispune
zahtevi Srba da se vrate na svoja vekovna ognjišta na Kosovu a na koja
su uz pomoć NATO-a Amerikanci već vratili Albance I pomogli im svojim
delovanjem da sa iste teritorije isteraju 250.000 Srba I sada zaista
budu većinski narod na toj teritoriji??

Pitamo dalje kako to da se Hrvatima I Albancima dozvoljava secesionizam
u okviru, za prve SFRJ, legalne I legitimno priznate zemlje od strane
UN, a zatim za druge u okviru same Srbije čiji je Kosmet sastavni deo I
takodje legalno I legitimno priznate od strane UN?

Možemo na osnovu činjenica koje su nam se same nametnule kao istina za
ovih 15 godina libanizacije prostora bivše SFRJ da zaključimo da je pod
plaštom demokratije I očuvanja ljudskih prava manjini to jest prvo
Hrvatima pa sada Albanacima Amerika pomogla da se njihovi nazovi
“problemi” sa Srbima internacionalizuju I da se stekne ružna slika o
Srbima u svetu, da se isti satanizuju I time direktno I indirektno
pomogla rasturanje SFRJ a sada govori o ‘Albanskoj većini’ I
integraciji “srpske I romske manjine” u ‘albansko društvo”. Kakvog li
licemerja u najmanju ruku?

No, sve nam to govori da u svetu I dalje vlada ‘pax americana’ I da
sila boga ne moli već bog silu voli. Medjutim, ovo što se danas dešava
Srbima, može samo da služI kao opomena drugim malim narodima koji se
nalaze na takvim geostrateškim položajima bitnim za velike sile I da
ponešto nauče na našem primeru.

Mi kao autentičan narod sa ovih prostora ne bismo smeli da dozvolimo
ovakvo uništenje I kasnije pretvaranje u mit I legendu kao 13. to
pleme, Hazari, I da bi se kasnije našI suplemenici kroz vreme I vekove
prepoznavali I na uštrb drugih naroda, u zgodnoj prilici, pravili novu
državu!

No, svako zlo ima I svoje naličje I ponešto dobro a to je da nas ove
nesreće nisu razvejale u potpunosti nego sabile, pa maker na teritoriju
manju od Srbije. Verujem da u svetu ima pozitivne energije I mislećih
ljudi koji neće dozvoliti uništenje jednog celog naroda. MislećI svet
zna da se žarišta lako prave, da u Evropi postoji Severna Irska, Alto
Adidje, Korzika, Kurdi u Turskoj, koji kao Demoklov mač prete Evropi I
svetu, da ne govorimo o pojedinim državama da se isto I njima može
desiti ako ne budu kooperativni.

Opstanak Srba na svojim vekovnim ognjištima značI pobedu pozitivne
političke misli u svetskoj politici I izlazak pred sud istorije čistog
srca I obraza. A sud istorije I budućih generacija je vrlo teško breme
koga su mnogi narodi dobro svesni. Da pomenemo samo Nemačku posle
drugog svetskog rata.

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http://www.artel.co.yu/sr/reakcije_citalaca/2004-09-27_1.html

Pismo Veljka GUBERINE americkom ambasadoru u Beogradu

AMERIČKA AMBASADA U BEOGRADU
Kneza Miloša 50

Za njegovu ekselenciju ambasadora gospodina Majkla Polta

Poštovani gospodine ambasadore,

U nedeljnom broju našeg najznačajnijeg I najvažnijeg lista ‘politika”
od 22 / 8 / 2004 dali ste intervju njenom novinaru gospodinu Bošku
Jakšiću, gde izmedju ostalog stoji vaša izričita izjava: “Vašington će
s’ gvozdenom odlučnošću insistirati da Beograd ispuni obaveze prema
Hagu.”

S obzirom da vam novinar nije postavio pitanje koje je za na{u javnost
od izuzetnog značaja, to sam slobodan da Vam ja postavim pitanje ‘zašto
do danas Vaša Vlada nije ‘gvozdenom odlučnošću’ insistirala da albansko
rukovodstvo u Prištini ispuni svoju obavezu i omogućI srpskom narodu
pravo na život , to jest, da dozvoli našem narodu povratak na svoja
vekovna ognjišta sa kojih je proteran.

Naime, i posle pet godina uz primenu drastičnog nasilja koje vodi do
ubijanja, albansko rukovodstvo u Prištini to isto sprovodi, a Vaša
Vlada prelazi preko toga. Brojni poznati i ugledni gradjani Srbije nisu
iz raznih ličnih I političkih razloga takvo pitanje javno uputili Vama
I preko Vas Vašoj Vladi, dok ja, koji sam takodje poznati gradjanin ove
zemlje, a pošto sam uvek pripadao nezavisnoj advokatskoj profesiji,
slobodan sam da u svoje ime I ime brojnih drugih naših gradjana
postavim neka pitanja.

Vi kao obrazovan čovek znate da je Vaša zemlja uz učešće skoro svih
evropskih država izjavila da je: ‘BOMBARDOVALA SRBIJU DA BI SPREČILA
HUMANITARNU KATASTROFU MILION ALBANACA KOJE JE MILOŠEVIĆ PROTERAO SA
NJIHOVIH IMANJA’.

U proleće 1999. godine pa sve do danas na sve strane ste objašnjavali
svoj zločin prema Srbima, a koji Vam naš narod nikada neće oprostiti.
Štaviše, doveli ste i snage NATO pakta da budu na Kosovu kako bi
omogu}ili Albancima, juna meseca 1999. godine, da se vrate na svoja
imanja, a oni su pri tom izbacivali Srbe iz njihovih stanova, kuća i
imanja i useljavali se u iste.

Ako Vam to nije poznato, spreman sam gospodine ambasadore da Vas
povedem i uverim u tačnost tih tvrdnji, jer sam 35 godina dolazio na
Kosovo I Metohiju branećI Albance koji su počinili ubistva iz domena
krvne osvete a po čemu su oni poznati u celom svetu jer se ravnaju po
Kanonu Leke Dukadjinija. Slobodan sam takodje, da Vam skrenem pažnju na
još jedno pitanje koje bi Vam trebalo da bude dobro poznato. Ceo svet
je mirno gledao kako su Hrvati proterivali Srbe sa njihovih imanja
1995. godine jer su, a Vaša Vlada se saglasila, tvrdili da su Srbi
izvršili oružanu pobunu protiv Hrvatske države čiji su gradjani i da
Hrvatska ima pravo da zaštiti svoju državu od pobunjenika. Sada se
analogno tome postavlja pitanje ‘Zar Albanci nisu bili gradjani Srbije
protiv koje su digli oružanu pobunu, te i Srbija ima pravo da brani
svoju državu protiv pobunjenih gradjana.’

Pogotovo je značajno a što bi I Vama trebalo da bude poznato da je još
1912/13 godine rešeno pitanje granica I medjusobnih odnosa izmedju
balkanskih država koje su te godine, posle vekovnog turskog ropstva,
oslobodile se I povratile nezavisnost koju su izgubile tokom XIV I XV
veka kada su Osmanlije uništile sve, tada slobodne države, na Balkanu.
Takodje, trebalo bi da znate da tada nije bilo nikakve albanske države
na tom prostoru a najmanje na Kosovu I Metohiji a o čemu govore vekovni
spomenici o njihovom bivstvovanju u tim krajevima.

Takvo stanje je I potvrdjeno 1919. godine mirovnim ugovorom posle Prvog
svetskog rata. Takodje, to stanje je potvrdjeno 1945. godine posle
Drugog svetskog rata.

Na kraju, kao pravnik slobodan sam, gospodine ambasadore, da Vam na
kraju postavim još jedno pitanje ‘u ime kojih načela Vaša Vlada daje
sebi pravo da odvoji jednu pokrajinu srpske vekovne države koja je bila
I koja će ostati izvorište njene državnosti, istorije, kulture I
duhovnosti ?’

Gospodine ambasadore, slobodan sam da Vam uputim ovo pismo jer potičem
iz porodice koja je opšte poznata da je vaspitana na načelima Vaše
demokratije, a zbog čega sam još 1945. godine bio osudjen kao
pristalica ‘američkog imperijalizma’, jer nisam želeo, iako sam bio
mladić od 20 godina, da u Beogradu marširam pevajućI ‘Amerika I
Engleska biće zemlja proleterska!’

Uz poštovanje, uveravam Vas da sam bio I ostaću prijatelj Vašeg naroda
ali ne mogu da predjem preko gore iznetih stvari pogotovo što je moja
celokupna porodica ostala pripadnik slobodnog sveta na čelu sa Vašom
zemljom.

U Beogradu 27 avgusta 2004

Veljko Guberina
Advokat u penziji

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http://www.artel.co.yu/en/reakcije_citalaca/2004-10-06_1.html

Letter of Veljko Guberina to the American Ambassador in Belgrade

Belgrade, 27 August 2004

The United States Embassy in Belgrade,
Kneza Milosa 50.

To his Excellency Ambassador Mike Polt,

Respectfully, I submit the ensuing text to You.

In the Sunday Edition of our widerly read and most important newspaper,
"Politika," (22/08/2004), You granted an interview to its correspondent
Bosko Jaksic.
In it, inter alia, one finds Your underlined affirmation that
Washington "will insist, with iron will, that Belgrade fulfill its
obligations to the Hague (Tribunal)."
In view of the fact that the correspondent did not bring up a question
of exceptional importance to our public at large, I take the liberty to
pose the question to You. Why is it that, to this day, Your Government
has not insisted, with the will of equal strength, that the Albanian
authorities at Pristina must honor their obligation to allow the
(remaining) Serbs to live unmolestd within Kosovo? This includes also
an implicit requirement, namely to unblock the return of Serb families,
expelled from Kosovo, to their original homes?
In what cannot be factually disputed, within the last five years,
Albanian authorities at Pristina have continued with the butcheries
against remaining non-Albanian citizens while Your Government has not
intervened to stop them decisivly. Since a number of many prominent and
distinguished Serb personalities, for personal or political reasons or
both, failed to openly address the question to You I take it upon
myself to so do. I am a reasonably known and independent
attorney-at-law, now retired, without any ambitions and hence free to
ask several questions of general interest to us.
As a highly educated person, You surely must be aware that the United
States, in unison with most of the European countries, had made the
following declaration. "Serbia was bombed in order to prevent the human
catastrophe involving a million Albanians that Milosevic expellled from
their properties at Kosovo."
Since the Spring of 1999 to-date, this claim is constantly reiterated
to justify what, in effect, was and remains a terrorist attack that our
people find it hard to either forget or forgive. Interestingly enough,
the NATO armed units were put into Kosovo since June 1999 to allow
Albanian refugees from Kosovo to return their homes. The Albanians took
advantage of NATO's help and threw Serbs out of their homes, moving
into them and taking over their properties.
Should You doubt the veracity of the foregoing I am prepred, Mr.
Ambassador,
to affirm it by proposing that You join me in situ personally. For some
35 years I have been defending Albanians at Kosovo and Metohija. They
were charged in criminal courts for the vengeance killings for which
they are well known all over the world because of the draconic laws in
the Kanun of Leka Dukadjinija (binding Albanian moral code).

I take the liberty to also bring to Your attention another question
which should hardly come as a surprise. In 1995, the World at large
barely noticed, let alone protested, the massive Croat expulsion
("ethnic cleansing") of (some 200,000) Serbs from Krajina. The main de
jure reason for this failure was the U.S. position that the Serbs
residing within Croatia mounted an armed rebellion against the Croat
State of which they were citizens and Croatia had an inherent right to
"defend itserlf." By the same token, one must ask "when the Kosovo
Albanians as citizens of Serbia went into an armed rebellion against
it, was and is not not Serbia equally entitled to protect the rights of
its other citizens from a violent revolt of the rebelling segment of of
its citizenry?"
As You undoubtedly know, the question of borders and mutual relations
involving the restoration of Balkan States was settled in 1912/1913.
They had freed themselves and secured their own independence from
centuries-long enslavement by Turkish occupiers. The obliteration of
pre-existing Balkan states was attained by the Ottoman Turks in the
course of the Fourteenth and Fifteenth centuries. One must also trust
that You are familiar with the fact that there was not at the time any
question of restoring an Albanian state that never came into coherent
existence anywhere let alone at Kosovo and Metohija. This is clearly
attested by the presence of ancient monuments which were not Albanian
when they began to migrate into and settle in the two areas.
The historical matter-of-fact was re-affirmed in 1919, by way of
peaceful agreement, immediately after World War One.
Sequentially, as an attorney, I am obliged to approach the end of this
letter by asking You just one more question. "In the name of what
principles does Your Government abrogate for Itself the right to sever
the space which saw the advent of Medieval Serbia and became the
revered birthplace of the Serb state, its history, its culture and its
spirituality?"
I should reveal also that I took the liberty to address You, Mr.
Ambassador, precisely because I come from a family known for being
steeped in the fundamental principles of American Democracy. In 1945, I
was convicted as a supporter of "American Imperialism." Even at 20 I
did not wish to march through the streets of Belgrade chanting slogans
which would turn America and Great Britain into "proletarian nations."
Respectfully, to conclude, I can assure you that I have been and remain
a friend of the American People. But, I cannot sweep the foregoing
particulars under the rug and all the more so since my entire family
has been and is a member of the free world with America at its helm.

Belgrade, 27 August 2004

Veljko Guberina, Retired Attorney

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http://www.artel.co.yu/en/reakcije_citalaca/2004-10-06.html

H.E. Ambassador Mike Polt,

United States Embassy,
Kneza Milosa 60,
Belgrade, Serbia. 

4 October 2004 

Dear Mr. Ambassdor, 

The time has arrived when foreign policy is too important to our own
survival to be left exclusively in the hands of our Government and what
might be called the “foreign-policy elite,” constantly cloning itself
and orbiting around Washington, D.C. This requires learning about the
real world at the grass-roots level and acting to promote respect for
close proximity to truth no matter where the chips might fall. I am
thus writing to you as an informed fellow-citizen. This letter and all
the addenda will be forwarded to Secretary Powell, President George W.
Bush, Senator John Kerry and others of my choice. It is also posted on
the Internet with references to the addenda.

To begin, I enclose a translation of a letter sent to you by a
Belgrade-based attorney-at-law, Veljko Guberina, on 27th September
last. In it, he touches upon two subjects which are of major interest
to the Serb People but which transcend, by far, the local dimension.
One is a demand imposed on Belgrade by our Government to “cooperate”
with the International Criminal Tribunal for (ex-)Yugoslavia. More
precisely, this is understood to mean the arrest and delivery of
General Vladko Mladic to the Hague. The principal charge against him is
a Command implication in the alleged genocide of Bosnian Muslims at
Srebrenica. Attorney Guberina merely touches upon this matter following
an interview that you had granted recently to “Politika,” leading
Belgrade newspper. You underlined the “iron will” in Washington to see
its demand honored and adhered to. 

My only comment at this time about Mladic’s alleged crime of “genocide”
is that it cannot be sustained under closer scrutiny. One basic fact
stands out in this case. He had ordered the busing out of Srebrenica
all of the Muslim women and children. All of them reached safely the
Bosnian Muslim stronghold of Tuzla. Whatever happened at Srebrenica it
was thus not “genocide.” It should be added that the scarce fuel for
the buses was donated by the U.N. Just like Milosevic (who is in a
Hague jail) Mladic has been already tried and convicted through the
media on a charge which would not pass muster in any established court
adhering to the Anglo-Saxon Common Law. Its pivotal principle requires
that a person be deemed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
The burden of proof rests upopn the accuser, not the media. Hence, I
would suggest that our will should not be cast in iron.

The second subject is an increasing willingness in Washington to
accomodate the special interests and lobbies which advocate the
severing of Kosovo from Serbia. Under one cosmetic formula or another,
despite frequent assertions that our policy has been consistently
opposed to altering the existing borders within the Balkan Peninsula,
the transfer of Sovereignty to Kosovo’ Albanians seems to be only a
matter of timing.  

What is of capital importance to our own National Interest, the
attorney brings out, in a professional way, without any anti-American
venom, the inconsitencies, contradictions and asymmetries that came
with our entry into the Yugoslav fratricidal tragedy. This would be bad
enough if it were confined only to the Balkans but the problem has
become endemic since the end of the Administration headed by the first
member of the Bush family to be in the White House. If this seems less
than credible to some or many at home just read the recently released
and devastating report (30 September 2004) from the Washington-based
Institute for Agriculture and Trade (enclosed). Its conclusion is that
the U.S. has repeatedly shown “scorn for International Law... causing
the United States to lose credibility at offering any kind of global
leadership.”  

At this point it is appropriate to turn to the Hague Tribunal before
the trial of Slobodan Milosevic. There is, on hand, an abundant
literature against the concepts and practices of the Hague Tribunal by
different nationals from a variety of professions. For my part, as a
Historian, I enclose two articles published in the Paris-based journal
“Dialogue” in 1996 and 1997. One is extensive and documented with the
title of “Contextualizing Hate - The Hague Tribunal, the Clinton
Administration and the Serbs,” (No. 20, 1996). The other, much shorter
and without notes, is “The True Nature of the ‘International Criminal
Tribunal,’” (No. 24,1997).  

The origins of this Tribunal, its fundings, its internal practices, its
penchant for advocacy and pre-judgements, condemnations through
frequent use of the media, and last but not least the bizzare theater
called the “trial of Milosevic,” --all point to the same conclusion.
The Tribunal is a political tool, set up by Madeleine Albright and
funded originally by two Muslim states and, subsequently, by a private
person, George Soros, an illegal contribution even within the
Tribunal’s mandate.  

As is often the practice in politics, the Hague Tribunal was
immediately enveloped in moralitic imperatives (just like the NATO
military attack on the Serbs) which served to veil two of its real
political aims. One was and continues to be the interminable punishment
of Serbs through patronizing and cerebral terrorism which defined an
entire and historically honorable people through the eggregious acts of
some extreme elements. These are obviously extant in all populations,
including our own. Milosevic has been used as a club.  

The second basic purpose was and is to block the acceptance of any
notion that the U.S.- led NATO military atrtack against Yugoslavia was
an illegal act of aggression against a sovereign state neither at war
with us nor preparing any harm to our citizens. There are grounds on
which one could credibly argue that a war crime had been committed as
well by the NATO Commander, General Wesley Clark. When the NATO flight
officers discovered that the bombings of Yugoslav military targets at
Kosovo were ineffective, General Clark switched to the bombing of
civilian targets, including people and infrastructure. Additionally,
depleted uranium was injected into the soil, water and air in Serbia
and Kosovo, while cluster bombs dropped at the time can still maim or
kill a Serb or an Albanian child attracted by their color. 

The justifications for an immediate “need” to”bomb the Serbs” consisted
of the so-called “Racak massacre” that proved to be a hoax (by an
international forensic team) and “failure of the Serbs” to sign the
would-be “Peace Treaty” at Rambouillet. A special Appendix to this
doument (Appendix B) demanded nothing less than the occupation of
Yugoslavia by NATO without any resitance. It was a last- minute
insertion developed in order to make it imposible for the Serb
delegation to sign. As Madeleine Albright put it later on “we raised
the bar so Milosevic could not jump over it.” In an easy job of
demolition by close and factual analyses, the whole edifice of
disinformation, misinformation(and the constant lobotomy performed on
OUR public mind) would drawn in its own mud.

To make sure that --along with an assessment of Milosevic’s would
-be“trial”--the foregoing text is not “dismissed” as a simplistic
attempt to ,” rehabilitate the Serbs,” I enclose a measured and
credible statement of the last Canadian Ambassador to Yugoslavia, James
Bissett. He made it in an interview on 27 September 2004. I should add,
on the grounds of historical conext and knowledge, that the Serbs do
not require as a People any “rehabilitation.” This is a subject on
which I weould be prepared to correspond in detail with you should you
think otherwise. I wouild like to end now on a couple of
recommendations. 

First, I strongly believe that our leaders in Washington and our
Ambassadors abroad should stop patronizing the “natives” through
lectures of what they should or must do or not do. We have no mandate
to carry out some sort of “Civilising Mission.” But, our behavior
abroad, since the implosion of the Soviet Union, has been far too
arrogant to allow us to become as respected and even liked as we were
right after WWII. The collective effort against terrorism which we wish
to empower will never become concrete and lasting unless we show
genuine respect for the less powerful and economically less successful
humans who live in other countries and whose sons and daughters have
enriched the fabric of the American peoople. I must conclude by adding
that Americans of Serb origin have earned eight Congressional Medals of
Honor in two World Wars despite their relatively small numerical
presence.  

With the Best Regards
and the hope that, at the
end of the day, when
you leave Belgrade, the
Serbs will honor you, 

Raymond K. Kent, Emeritus

History Department,
University of California at Berkeley