[ Lo sapevate che la Caritas e' stata usata in alcuni casi come
copertura per il rifornimento di armi all'UCK in Kosovo? Sullo stesso
argomento vedi anche, ad esempio:
Sant'Antonio ed il Demonio
http://it.groups.yahoo.com/group/crj-mailinglist/message/2295 ]
THE VATICAN'S "CARITAS" CHARITY TRAFFICKED NATO WEAPONS TO THE KLA
www.slobodan-milosevic.org - October 8, 2004
Written by: Andy Wilcoxson
INTRODUCTION
Caritas is an old, and well known Roman Catholic charity based in the
Vatican. It has branches all over the world and has been active in the
Balkans for some time.
This paper will answer the following question: Is Caritas a legitimate
humanitarian organization, or is it engaged in more nefarious
activities, such as arms trafficking?
This paper will look into possible connections between Caritas and
Iranian weapons smuggling in Bosnia. It will also explore an incident
that occurred in 1999 when a Caritas convoy was caught, by Italian
customs officials, smuggling 30 tons of weaponry to the Kosovo
Liberation Army.
A BRIEF HISTORY OF CARITAS IN THE BALKANS
In 1934 Croatia's Catholic Archbishop Alojzije Stepinac established
the Croatian branch of Caritas. [1]
Stepinac has been dubbed "the patron saint of genocide" because of the
role he played in the genocide committed by Croatia's World War II-era
fascist regime. [2]
During the war, Caritas was active in Croatian concentration camps.
The organization was tasked with forcibly re-baptizing and converting
Orthodox Christians to Roman Catholicism. [3]
POSSIBLE CARITAS TRAFFICKING OF IRANIAN ARMS IN BOSNIA
In March of 1993 the Bosnian Serb Army commander, General Ratko
Mladic, first accused Caritas of supplying weapons to Croat and Muslim
fighters in Bosnia under the guise of humanitarian assistance. [4] [5]
Gen. Mladic isn’t the only one to claim that weapons shipments were
disguised as humanitarian aid. According to a report issued by the
U.S. congressional subcommittee set-up to investigate Iranian arms
transfers to Croatia and Bosnia “the humanitarian aid flow to Bosnia
consisted primarily of convoys, organized by Muslim humanitarian
organizations that later played a significant role in the Iranian arms
pipeline to Bosnia.” [6]
According to the Congressional report, the leader of the Islamic
community in Croatia, Imam Sevko Omerbasic, was the “linch-pin figure
in the establishment and operation of the Iranian arms pipeline.” [7]
Caritas, although not an Islamic charity, was linked directly to
Omerbasic by a witness at the Hague Tribunal. Sefkija Djidic, a
witness at the Blaskic trial testified that Omerbasic led a Caritas
convoy to the Croatian stronghold of Vitez during the war. [8]
The effectiveness of Caritas as a humanitarian agency is called into
question by the testimony of another witness at the Blaskic trial. A
protected witness testified that nobody dared go to Caritas to seek
assistance. The witness, a Muslim from Kiseljak, said that if they
tried to obtain any help from Caritas that they would suffer reprisals
at the hands of the Croatian army. The witness said, “people preferred
to go hungry than go to Caritas to get some aid from them.” [9]
Caritas’s activities outside of the Balkans may also be dubious. In
1993 UN peacekeeping troops found a weapons cache at children’s
hospital linked to Caritas, in Mogadishu, Somalia. [10]
So far the case against Caritas with regard to arms trafficking has
been circumstantial. Nobody reported seeing Caritas delivering weapons
to the children’s hospital in Somalia. Gen. Mladic didn’t provide any
explicit examples of where Caritas was caught trafficking weapons in
his interviews, and we don’t know if the Caritas convoy to Vitez
contained weapons or not, even though the convoy was led by Sevko
Omerbasic, the man identified by the U.S. Congress as the “linch-pin”
in the Iranian arms pipeline.
CARITAS CAUGHT SMUGGLING NATO WEAPONRY TO THE KLA
On April 12 1999, a huge haul of arms and ammunition, destined for the
KLA, was found in the Italian port of Ancona aboard trucks leased by
Caritas. [11] The cargo had officially been declared as a German
Caritas humanitarian aid shipment for Kosovo refugees. [12] The trucks
were loaded at the Caritas center in Sarajevo. [13]
The customs officials, who searched the trucks, found 30 tons of war
material, including anti-aircraft and anti-tank missiles, rocket
launchers and machine guns. [14]
Most of the arms were of Russian or East European origin, but many
bore NATO markings. More than 1,000 mortars said to have been “stolen”
from a NATO arsenal in Germany were found onboard the trucks. [15]
There was some legitimate humanitarian aid onboard the trucks, but it
was of poor quality, much of the food had already passed its
expiration date. [16]
Italian customs officials arrested three drivers, Robert Buellesbach,
Sead Klakar, and Drasco Kovacevic. [17]
The Italian authorities claimed that Buellesbach had links to German
intelligence. [18] On that basis one could speculate that he’s the one
who “stole” the mortars from the German NATO base.
The 15-meter-long trucks had been rebuilt to transport illegal cargo.
[19] One truck was fitted with a double floor, while another one had a
secret closet behind the driver's cabin big enough for six people [20].
Italian authorities said that the arms were destined for a training
camp of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) in Scutari in northern
Albania. [21]
The name of the consignee on the export documents, was one Father
Luciano Augustino, a parish priest in Scutari. [22]
General Alberto D'Amico, the military commander in charge of customs
for the region that includes Ancona, confirmed claims by Italian
security sources that it was impossible that British and American
intelligence could have been unaware of the smuggling. [23]
A NATO spokesman said that while the Alliance had no contact with the
KLA. "Some individual countries which are member countries of NATO may
have some contacts. Of course that is not a guarantee that such things
are not happening, smuggling and so on." [24]
Caritas denied that it had any role in the arms smuggling. It issued a
statement saying, "These trucks are not from Caritas, even if the logo
(on the trucks) is the same." [25]
CONCLUSION
The trucks were leased by Caritas, and loaded at the Caritas center in
Sarajevo, and we’re supposed to believe Caritas when it says that it
had nothing to do with this? Just like were supposed to believe that
somebody managed to walk onto a German NATO instillation and steal over
1,000 mortars?
The conclusion is obvious. The Vatican was using its Caritas “charity”
to provide a cover for NATO, or at least German, arms smuggling to the
KLA. They may also have provided Iran, the world’s leading terrorist
state, with the same cover in Bosnia when Omerbasic led the Caritas
convoy to Vitez.
The Vatican’s goals are the same now as they were when Stepinac
founded the Croatian branch of Caritas, and had it forcibly convert
Serb inmates held in Croatian concentration camps to Roman Catholicism.
The best proof of this is the fact that Pope John Paul II, rather than
distancing the Catholic Church from Stepinac, did the opposite. The
Pope beatified Stepinac on October 3, 1998. [26]
FOOTNOTES
[1] Press Office of the Croatian Conference of Bishops - Catholic
Press Agency IKA-Zagreb;
http://www.pope.hr/katolicka_crkva_u_hrvatskoj_caritas.html
[2] "The Patron Saint of Genocide: Archbishop Stepinac and the
Independent State of Croatia" by Bill Stouffer;
http://www.pavelicpapers.com/features/essays/psg.html
[3] "The Vatican's Holocaust," by Avro Manhattan, Ozark Books,
Springfield, MO.1986 (Chapter 8)
[4] Serbian Radio, Belgrade 1545 gmt 26 Feb 93 / BBC Monitoring “Gen.
Mladic Assesses US Aid Plan, Says Serbs Doing Everything to Help
Convoys”
[5] Yugoslav Telegraph Service in Serbo-Croat 2026 gmt 26 Mar 93 / BBC
Monitoring “Bosnian Serb Commander Mladic on Cease-Fire, Humanitarian
Aid, Tuzla Serbs”
[6] Final Report of the Select Subcommittee to Investigate the U.S.
Role in Iranian Arms Transfers to Bosnia and Croatia (“The Iranian
Green Light Subcommittee) - U.S. House International Relations
Committee; October 10, 1996 - 104th Congress; 2nd Session; Page 85
[7] Ibid.; Page 81
[8] Blaskic ICTY Trial Transcript - 31st July 1997 – Witness, Sefkija
Djidic – Pages 1468-1469
[9] Blaskic ICTY Trial Transcript - 19th March 1998 – Protected
Witness, “JJ” – Pages 7403-7407
[10] Agence France Presse - “Malay soldiers damage children's ward in
arms search” August 17, 1993
[11] Agence France Presse - “Arms, munitions seized from Caritas
shipment: report” - May 03, 1999
[12] Deutsche Presse-Agentur – “Italian police seize arms shipment
designed for Kosovo separatists” - May 3, 1999
[13] Ibid.
[14] Ibid.
[15] Ibid.
[16] Scotland on Sunday - “NATO Linked to KLA Weapons Smuggling" - May
9, 1999
[17] Ibid.
[18] Ibid.
[19] Deutsche Presse-Agentur – “Italian police seize arms shipment
designed for Kosovo separatists” - May 3, 1999
[20] Ibid.
[21] Ibid.
[22] Scotland on Sunday - “NATO Linked to KLA Weapons Smuggling" - May
9, 1999
[23] Ibid.
[24] Ibid.
[25] Agence France Presse - “Arms, munitions seized from Caritas
shipment: report” - May 03, 1999
[26] Pope’s Speech at Marija Bistrica, Croatia - October 3, 1998
(Press Office of the Croatian Conference of Bishops - Catholic Press
Agency IKA-Zagreb);
http://www.papa.hr/pope/english/news/govor/bistrica/emb.html
copertura per il rifornimento di armi all'UCK in Kosovo? Sullo stesso
argomento vedi anche, ad esempio:
Sant'Antonio ed il Demonio
http://it.groups.yahoo.com/group/crj-mailinglist/message/2295 ]
THE VATICAN'S "CARITAS" CHARITY TRAFFICKED NATO WEAPONS TO THE KLA
www.slobodan-milosevic.org - October 8, 2004
Written by: Andy Wilcoxson
INTRODUCTION
Caritas is an old, and well known Roman Catholic charity based in the
Vatican. It has branches all over the world and has been active in the
Balkans for some time.
This paper will answer the following question: Is Caritas a legitimate
humanitarian organization, or is it engaged in more nefarious
activities, such as arms trafficking?
This paper will look into possible connections between Caritas and
Iranian weapons smuggling in Bosnia. It will also explore an incident
that occurred in 1999 when a Caritas convoy was caught, by Italian
customs officials, smuggling 30 tons of weaponry to the Kosovo
Liberation Army.
A BRIEF HISTORY OF CARITAS IN THE BALKANS
In 1934 Croatia's Catholic Archbishop Alojzije Stepinac established
the Croatian branch of Caritas. [1]
Stepinac has been dubbed "the patron saint of genocide" because of the
role he played in the genocide committed by Croatia's World War II-era
fascist regime. [2]
During the war, Caritas was active in Croatian concentration camps.
The organization was tasked with forcibly re-baptizing and converting
Orthodox Christians to Roman Catholicism. [3]
POSSIBLE CARITAS TRAFFICKING OF IRANIAN ARMS IN BOSNIA
In March of 1993 the Bosnian Serb Army commander, General Ratko
Mladic, first accused Caritas of supplying weapons to Croat and Muslim
fighters in Bosnia under the guise of humanitarian assistance. [4] [5]
Gen. Mladic isn’t the only one to claim that weapons shipments were
disguised as humanitarian aid. According to a report issued by the
U.S. congressional subcommittee set-up to investigate Iranian arms
transfers to Croatia and Bosnia “the humanitarian aid flow to Bosnia
consisted primarily of convoys, organized by Muslim humanitarian
organizations that later played a significant role in the Iranian arms
pipeline to Bosnia.” [6]
According to the Congressional report, the leader of the Islamic
community in Croatia, Imam Sevko Omerbasic, was the “linch-pin figure
in the establishment and operation of the Iranian arms pipeline.” [7]
Caritas, although not an Islamic charity, was linked directly to
Omerbasic by a witness at the Hague Tribunal. Sefkija Djidic, a
witness at the Blaskic trial testified that Omerbasic led a Caritas
convoy to the Croatian stronghold of Vitez during the war. [8]
The effectiveness of Caritas as a humanitarian agency is called into
question by the testimony of another witness at the Blaskic trial. A
protected witness testified that nobody dared go to Caritas to seek
assistance. The witness, a Muslim from Kiseljak, said that if they
tried to obtain any help from Caritas that they would suffer reprisals
at the hands of the Croatian army. The witness said, “people preferred
to go hungry than go to Caritas to get some aid from them.” [9]
Caritas’s activities outside of the Balkans may also be dubious. In
1993 UN peacekeeping troops found a weapons cache at children’s
hospital linked to Caritas, in Mogadishu, Somalia. [10]
So far the case against Caritas with regard to arms trafficking has
been circumstantial. Nobody reported seeing Caritas delivering weapons
to the children’s hospital in Somalia. Gen. Mladic didn’t provide any
explicit examples of where Caritas was caught trafficking weapons in
his interviews, and we don’t know if the Caritas convoy to Vitez
contained weapons or not, even though the convoy was led by Sevko
Omerbasic, the man identified by the U.S. Congress as the “linch-pin”
in the Iranian arms pipeline.
CARITAS CAUGHT SMUGGLING NATO WEAPONRY TO THE KLA
On April 12 1999, a huge haul of arms and ammunition, destined for the
KLA, was found in the Italian port of Ancona aboard trucks leased by
Caritas. [11] The cargo had officially been declared as a German
Caritas humanitarian aid shipment for Kosovo refugees. [12] The trucks
were loaded at the Caritas center in Sarajevo. [13]
The customs officials, who searched the trucks, found 30 tons of war
material, including anti-aircraft and anti-tank missiles, rocket
launchers and machine guns. [14]
Most of the arms were of Russian or East European origin, but many
bore NATO markings. More than 1,000 mortars said to have been “stolen”
from a NATO arsenal in Germany were found onboard the trucks. [15]
There was some legitimate humanitarian aid onboard the trucks, but it
was of poor quality, much of the food had already passed its
expiration date. [16]
Italian customs officials arrested three drivers, Robert Buellesbach,
Sead Klakar, and Drasco Kovacevic. [17]
The Italian authorities claimed that Buellesbach had links to German
intelligence. [18] On that basis one could speculate that he’s the one
who “stole” the mortars from the German NATO base.
The 15-meter-long trucks had been rebuilt to transport illegal cargo.
[19] One truck was fitted with a double floor, while another one had a
secret closet behind the driver's cabin big enough for six people [20].
Italian authorities said that the arms were destined for a training
camp of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) in Scutari in northern
Albania. [21]
The name of the consignee on the export documents, was one Father
Luciano Augustino, a parish priest in Scutari. [22]
General Alberto D'Amico, the military commander in charge of customs
for the region that includes Ancona, confirmed claims by Italian
security sources that it was impossible that British and American
intelligence could have been unaware of the smuggling. [23]
A NATO spokesman said that while the Alliance had no contact with the
KLA. "Some individual countries which are member countries of NATO may
have some contacts. Of course that is not a guarantee that such things
are not happening, smuggling and so on." [24]
Caritas denied that it had any role in the arms smuggling. It issued a
statement saying, "These trucks are not from Caritas, even if the logo
(on the trucks) is the same." [25]
CONCLUSION
The trucks were leased by Caritas, and loaded at the Caritas center in
Sarajevo, and we’re supposed to believe Caritas when it says that it
had nothing to do with this? Just like were supposed to believe that
somebody managed to walk onto a German NATO instillation and steal over
1,000 mortars?
The conclusion is obvious. The Vatican was using its Caritas “charity”
to provide a cover for NATO, or at least German, arms smuggling to the
KLA. They may also have provided Iran, the world’s leading terrorist
state, with the same cover in Bosnia when Omerbasic led the Caritas
convoy to Vitez.
The Vatican’s goals are the same now as they were when Stepinac
founded the Croatian branch of Caritas, and had it forcibly convert
Serb inmates held in Croatian concentration camps to Roman Catholicism.
The best proof of this is the fact that Pope John Paul II, rather than
distancing the Catholic Church from Stepinac, did the opposite. The
Pope beatified Stepinac on October 3, 1998. [26]
FOOTNOTES
[1] Press Office of the Croatian Conference of Bishops - Catholic
Press Agency IKA-Zagreb;
http://www.pope.hr/katolicka_crkva_u_hrvatskoj_caritas.html
[2] "The Patron Saint of Genocide: Archbishop Stepinac and the
Independent State of Croatia" by Bill Stouffer;
http://www.pavelicpapers.com/features/essays/psg.html
[3] "The Vatican's Holocaust," by Avro Manhattan, Ozark Books,
Springfield, MO.1986 (Chapter 8)
[4] Serbian Radio, Belgrade 1545 gmt 26 Feb 93 / BBC Monitoring “Gen.
Mladic Assesses US Aid Plan, Says Serbs Doing Everything to Help
Convoys”
[5] Yugoslav Telegraph Service in Serbo-Croat 2026 gmt 26 Mar 93 / BBC
Monitoring “Bosnian Serb Commander Mladic on Cease-Fire, Humanitarian
Aid, Tuzla Serbs”
[6] Final Report of the Select Subcommittee to Investigate the U.S.
Role in Iranian Arms Transfers to Bosnia and Croatia (“The Iranian
Green Light Subcommittee) - U.S. House International Relations
Committee; October 10, 1996 - 104th Congress; 2nd Session; Page 85
[7] Ibid.; Page 81
[8] Blaskic ICTY Trial Transcript - 31st July 1997 – Witness, Sefkija
Djidic – Pages 1468-1469
[9] Blaskic ICTY Trial Transcript - 19th March 1998 – Protected
Witness, “JJ” – Pages 7403-7407
[10] Agence France Presse - “Malay soldiers damage children's ward in
arms search” August 17, 1993
[11] Agence France Presse - “Arms, munitions seized from Caritas
shipment: report” - May 03, 1999
[12] Deutsche Presse-Agentur – “Italian police seize arms shipment
designed for Kosovo separatists” - May 3, 1999
[13] Ibid.
[14] Ibid.
[15] Ibid.
[16] Scotland on Sunday - “NATO Linked to KLA Weapons Smuggling" - May
9, 1999
[17] Ibid.
[18] Ibid.
[19] Deutsche Presse-Agentur – “Italian police seize arms shipment
designed for Kosovo separatists” - May 3, 1999
[20] Ibid.
[21] Ibid.
[22] Scotland on Sunday - “NATO Linked to KLA Weapons Smuggling" - May
9, 1999
[23] Ibid.
[24] Ibid.
[25] Agence France Presse - “Arms, munitions seized from Caritas
shipment: report” - May 03, 1999
[26] Pope’s Speech at Marija Bistrica, Croatia - October 3, 1998
(Press Office of the Croatian Conference of Bishops - Catholic Press
Agency IKA-Zagreb);
http://www.papa.hr/pope/english/news/govor/bistrica/emb.html