*** Prese di posizione e valutazioni sul rapporto OSCE "Kosovo/Kossova
nei fatti e nelle parole" riguardante la situazione dei diritti umani in
Kosmet nel periodo ottobre 1998 - ottobre 1999 (i documenti OSCE si
trovano alla URL: http://www.osce.org/kosovo/index.htm ):
- UN COMMENTO DI CHOSSUDOVSKY da "Emperor's Clothes"
- LA POSIZIONE DEL GOVERNO DELLA RFJ
*** Riepilogo delle violazioni della Risoluzione 1244 del Consiglio di
Sicurezza dell'ONU al 10 gennaio 2000 (Min. Esteri RFJ -
http://www.mfa.gov.yu/ oppure http://www1.mfa.gov.yu/)
---
Cooking the books -
NATO's ethnic cleansing claims challenged
by
Michel Chossudovsky (Revised 2-10-00)
Emperors Clothes - www.tenc.net
NATO's justification for bombing Yugoslavia on humanitarian grounds has
been refuted by the Western alliance's own official figures and
documentary evidence. The recently released OSCE report entitled "As
Seen, As Told: Analysis of the Human Rights Findings of the OSCE Kosovo
Verification Mission" suggests that the allegation of mass deportations
is a fabrication. 1
Although heavily slanted in its main conclusions, the OSCE figures
suggest that there were proportionately more Serbs (as a percentage of
population) fleeing Kosovo than ethnic Albanians which puts an obvious
question mark on NATO's assertion that organized mass expulsions of
ethnic Albanians were taking place.
According to OSCE numbers and Kosovar Albanian sources on population
size and distribution, an estimated 45.7 percent of the Albanian
population and 59.5 percent of the Serb population had fled Kosovo
during the bombings (i.e. from 23 March to 9 June 1999).2
The OSCE report summarises the balance-sheet of ethnic Albanian refugees
as numbering 862,979. In a secluded footnote at the bottom of the main
table, the report nonetheless acknowledges that: "In addition [to the
862,979 ethnic Albanian refugees], more than 100,000 Serb IDPs
[Internally displaced persons] are estimated to have left Kosovo and to
have been registered in Serbia and Montenegro". 3 Whereas ethnic
Albanians (including those who fled to Montenegro) are categorized as
"refugees", Serbs who fled Kosovo during the same period are casually
identified as "Internally Displaced Persons". The figures for ethnic
Albanians are very precise in contrast to those indicated for the Serbs
in the footnote. The number of refugees belonging to other ethnic groups
who fled the province during the bombings is not even acknowledged.
According to Kosovo Albanian sources, the Province had a total
population of 2.1 million of which 90 percent are ethnic Albanians, 8
percent Serbs and 2 percent are other ethnic groups.4 Based on these
figures (which are accepted both by NATO and the post-conflict KLA
provisional government) there were an estimated 1.89 million ethnic
Albanians and 168,000 Serbs in Kosovo.
In accordance with the above population breakdown, the exodus of Serbs
(as a percentage of population) was larger than that of the ethnic
Albanian population. According to OSCE numbers (from UNHCR sources), it
is estimated that 45.7 percent of the Albanian population and more than
59.5 percent of the Serb population fled Kosovo during the bombings
(i.e. from 23 March to 9 June 1999).
In other words, Serbs --who ostensibly were not the target of "ethnic
cleansing perpetrated by the Serbs"-- had also fled the theatre of the
war in Kosovo. If there had been a deliberate and cohesive policy of
ethnic cleansing and massacres directed against ethnic Albanians, the
percentages would have been markedly different and this is something
which NATO was cautious not to reveal to public opinion while the
bombings were ongoing.
The above estimates depend on the veracity of the OSCE-UNHCR refugee
figures as well as on the reliability of the data on population size and
distribution. In estimating these percentages, we have accepted official
OSCE-UNHCR refugee numbers at face value, namely that the OSCE Report
has not artificially "inflated" the number of ethnic Albanian refugees
nor has it "deflated" the number of Serbs who fled Kosovo during the
bombings with a view to vindicating NATO's claim of ethnic cleansing. We
have also taken Kosovar Albanian assumptions pertaining to population
size and distribution. In other words, the percentages are derived from
their numbers! Moreover, it should be emphasised that the percentage of
Serbs who left Kosovo estimated at 59.5 percent is based on the 100,000
figure given by the OSCE. Yet the OSCE report states that the number of
Serbs who fled Kosovo during the same period is "more than 100,000".
Accounting for biases in the OSCE-UNHCR figures and margins of error in
the data on population, the estimates do not support NATO's allegation
of a policy of mass deportation directed against ethnic Albanians.
Ironically, the OSCE Report rather than using Kosovar Albanian sources
on population, acknowledges the assumptions of Belgrade's 1991 Census
data (also in a discrete footnote) which indicates the ethnic Albanian
population at 82 percent of total population. Yet the Census was
boycotted by ethnic Albanians and the figures were never recognised by
the parallel provisional government of Kosovo. Why does the OSCE
acknowledge Belgrade's 1991 Census when NATO and KLA statements
repeatedly indicate that the ethnic Albanian population is at 90
percent? Evidently, the use of the 1991 Census data by those who have
rejected it, is in this case to their political advantage. Based on the
1991 Census figures, the estimated percentage of each population group
which fled Kosovo would be 53.7 percent for the ethnic Albanians and
more than 51.5 percent for the Serbs.5 Yet even in this case, NATO's
claim of mass deportations is not borne out.
The refugee crisis, we were told repeatedly during the War was limited
to ethnic Albanians. According to the Western media, Serb civilians had
been protected by the Serb police and Armed forces. The large scale
exodus of Serbs from Kosovo prior to June 9, 1999 (acknowledged by the
figures contained in the OSCE Report) was simply not mentioned. To
reveal the numbers would have discredited NATO's main justification for
launching its "humanitarian war".
FROM THE HORSE'S MOUTH
Other documentary evidence including an official report of the German
foreign ministry published prior to the War, confirms that there was no
evidence of "ethnic cleansing" in Kosovo in the months immediately
preceding the bombings. Who is lying? German Foreign Minister Joschka
Fischer had justified NATO's intervention pointing to a "humanitarian
catastrophe", yet the internal documents of his own ministry stated
exactly the opposite: "Even in Kosovo an explicit political persecution
linked to Albanian ethnicity is not verifiable. The East of Kosovo is
still not involved in armed conflict. Public life in cities like
Pristina, Urosevac, Gnjilan, etc. has, in the entire conflict period,
continued on a relatively normal basis. The actions of the security
forces [were] not directed against the Kosovo-Albanians as an ethnically
defined group, but against the military opponent [KLA] and its actual or
alleged supporters."...6
Moreover, a report of the United States Committee on Refugees (USCR)
confirms a significant reduction in the number of refugees and
internally displaced persons in the period following the signing of the
October 13, 1998 agreement between U.S. Special Envoy Richard Holbrooke
and Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY) President Slobodan Milosevic.
According to USCR, the overall refugee situation had improved with the
entry of the OSCE Kosovo Verification Mission (KVM). The USCR report
also confirms that "KLA ethnic cleansing of ethnic Serb civilian
population pockets intensified in December [1998]" substantiating the
results of the German Foreign Office intelligence report. But we were
told time and again that the Serbs rather than the KLA had been
responsible for ethnic cleansing in the months leading up to the War...
7
The OSCE-UNHCR figures on the number of refugees rather than supporting
NATO's main justification for waging the war, suggest that more than
half the Serb population had also fled Kosovo during the war. This
tendency could be explained by the fact that the KLA had been
responsible for relaying intelligence to NATO pertaining to potential
targets in the bombing operation. Moreover, a history of the war also
suggests that the massacres and atrocities directed against the Serbs by
the KLA Military Command (amply documented for the period after June 9)
had already commenced prior to the arrival of KFOR forces in Kosovo.
NATO'S TWO "HUMANITARIAN PREMISES" INVALIDATED
NATO's pretext for bombing Yugoslavia on humanitarian grounds rests on
two central premises: 1) the alleged indiscriminate mass killings of
Albanian civilians (premise number one); 2) the implementation of a
deliberate policy of mass deportations or "ethnic cleansing" (premise
number two). Both these premises have now been refuted by NATO's own
evidence and documentary evidence
The alleged indiscriminate mass killings of Albanian civilians had
earlier been invalidated by the FBI and European forensic teams working
under the auspices of the Hague Tribunal (ICTY) casting doubt on NATO's
justification for waging the war. The forensic and police investigators
had uncovered several hundred bodies in grave sites in Kosovo as opposed
to the 10,000 to 100,000 civilian massacres claimed by NATO and Western
governments as a pretext for waging the War. British Prime Minister Tony
Blair had announced that President Milosevic was "set on a Hitler style
genocide equivalent to the extermination of the Jews during World war
II".8 " "Genocide is starting," stated German Defense Minister Rudolf
Scharping.10...
The Hague Tribunal (ICTY) (while upholding the war crimes indictment
against members of the Yugoslav government), has acknowledged the
exhumation"the allegations of indiscriminate mass murder, rape
camps,...crematoriums, mutilation of the dead have not been borne out"
by the police investigations and forensic evidence. 12
NO REMAINING LEG TO STAND ON
Since the release of the forensic reports
--which have invalidated premise number one--, the policy of mass
deportations against ethnic Albanians (premise number two) is now being
upheld by NATO and the Western media as "a sufficient justification" for
launching the war. In the words of Madeleine Albright "opposing ethnic
cleansing is central to our values... We are reaffirming NATO's core
purpose as a defender of democracy, stability and human decency on
European soil."13 Yet NATO's claim of mass deportations has now also
been refuted by the figures contained in the OSCE report. NATO has no
remaining leg to stand on. Official documentary evidence (including the
forensic reports and the data on the number of refugees) unequivocally
refute NATO's two central postulates for waging the war. What then was
the justification for the humanitarian bombings? What was the hidden
agenda? Ultimately the truth must prevail, public opinion must be
informed and those who are responsible for waging this criminal war must
be brought to trial.
NOTES
1. OSCE, Kosovo/ Kosova, As Seen, As Told, An analysis of the human
rights findings of the OSCE Kosovo Verification Mission, October 1998 to
June 1999, Warsaw, 1999.
2. Ibid
3. Ibid.
4. Figures for 1993. See Albania Worldwide Web, GOTOBUTTON BM_1_
http://www.albanian.com/main/. See also Musa Limani, Pristina, The
Association of Lawyers of Kosova, 1992. Kosovar Albanian estimates place
the population of Kosovo at 2.3 million for 2000.
5. The Government of Yugoslavia 1991 Census data for Kosovo identified a
total population of 1,956,196 of which 82.2 % are Albanians, 9.9 % Serbs
and 7.9 % other ethnic groups. The Census was boycotted by the ethnic
Albanian population. During the 1990s, the evidence suggests that
Kosovar Serbs left the Province in large numbers.
6. Intelligence Report from the German Foreign Office, January 12, 1999
to the Administrative Court of Trier.
7. See USCR GOTOBUTTON BM_2_
http://www.refugees.org/world/countryrpt/europe/yugoslavia.htm
8. Quoted in Peter Gowan, Kosovo; the war and its aftermath, Labour
Focus on Eastern Europe, no. 64, 1999, p. 26.
9. CBS , May 17, 1999.
10. Quoted in Peter Gowan, op. cit.
11. Reuters, 10 November 1999.
12. Wall Street Journal, 31 December 1999.
13. Quoted in Time Magazine, May 17, 1999, p. 25-26.
C Copyright by Michel Chossudovsky, Ottawa, February 2000. All rights
reserved. Permission is granted to post this text on noncommercial
community internet sites, provided the essay remains intact and the
copyright note is displayed. The text can also be photocopied for
non-commercial distribution. To publish this text in printed and/or
other forms contact the author at chossudovsky@... or fax:
1-514-4256224.
Copyright, Michel Chossudovsky, Ottawa, February 2000
* Recent articles by Michel Chossudovsky:
"Seattle and Beyond: Disarming the New World Order"
http://emperors-clothes.com/articles/chuss/seattle.htm
"NATO's Reign of Terror in Kosovo"
http://emperors-clothes.com/articles/chuss/chossnato.htm
"The KLA: Grim Origins"
http://emperors-clothes.com/articles/chuss/kla.html
---
POSITIONS AND COMMENTS
of the Government of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia concerning the
OSCE
Report "Kosovo/Kossova As Seen, As Told" on the situation of human
rights
in Kosovo and Metohija in the period from October 1998 to October 1999
After careful examination of the OSCE/ODIHR Report "Kosovo/Kossova As
Seen, As Told", Parts I and II, on the human rights situation in Kosovo
and
Metohija from October 1998 to October 1999, certain questions inevitably
arise, questions that have not been answered by its authors. There is,
first of all, the question of the purpose and justification of resorting
to
an armed aggression against a sovereign country, in violation of all
norms
and principles of international law, and secondly the question of the
respect for the fundamental principles of the OSCE.
OSCE reports have received great attention in the world public and media
and have again raised serious doubts as to the reasons and consequences
of
the NATO aggression as well as to the real record of performance of the
international administration and the military presence in Kosovo and
Metohija. The Federal Government considers that the data cited and the
methodology used in collecting and presenting information need a
critical
analysis and evaluation, both from the point of view of the truthfulness
of
the statements and data presented and the method of selecting them, but
also from the point of view of the (political) effects wanted to be
achieved by them.
A one-sided presentation of facts in the report, which does not at all
make use or mention of the findings of the authorities in the FR of
Yugoslavia regarding events that are being reported on, represents an
attempt at justifying the NATO aggression against the FR of Yugoslavia
after the event. The very publication of the report by the OSCE
represents
an abuse of that organization already instrumentalized for political
purposes, for the second time (the KVM presence in Kosovo and Metohija
being used to prepare for the NATO aggression). Such abuse has most
seriously undermined the credibility of OSCE, which may have
unforeseeable
consequences on its prestige and possibilities for future activity.
1. Although it was not the intent of the report, it revealed in a
documented fashion that there was no humanitarian crisis in Kosovo and
Metohija before NATO aggression, and that problems in this Serbian
province
were at least not that serious to provoke the most brutal interference
in
the internal affairs of a sovereign State, a gross violation of its
sovereignty and territorial integrity and disrespect of the basic OSCE
principles.
It is clear from the report that prior to NATO aggression there was no
violence against Albanians in Kosovo and Metohija (except actions
against
the terrorists of the so-called KLA). These actions of "the army and
paramilitary units were confined to the areas where the so-called KLA
had
its bases". It is also clear from the report that the activities of the
Yugoslav authorities in Kosovo and Metohija were directed against a
terrorist and separatist organization which openly advocated "an armed
struggle until liberation". It documented illegal activities carried out
by
Albanian separatists (establishment of parallel institutions and
administration, boycotting of elections and the establishment of the
so-called KLA which is being described as "a paramilitary group of
Kosovo
Albanians whose purpose is separatism through armed struggle").
Consequently, legitimate reactions of the authorities in the Province
against terrorist and separatist activities cannot be described as
"repression against the Albanian population". The assertion is not true,
either, that "human rights violations were the cause and effect of
conflicts in Kosovo and Metohija", because it was well-documented that
the
terrorist activities of the so-called KLA commanded appropriate
legitimate
response of the authorities, aimed at their suppression.
The cited information clearly proves that the tragic plight of the
Kosovo
population followed "the NATO humanitarian intervention", i.e. the armed
aggression against the FR of Yugoslavia, in which thousands of people
were
killed and there was a mass exodus of the population fleeing the bombs.
In
other words, the "military intervention" was directly responsible for
the
wave of the ethnic cleansing. Instead of being prevented it is going on
to
the present day in the presence of UNMIK and KFOR.
2. The relevant authorities of the FR of Yugoslavia kept the
international
public and the OSCE Chairman-in-Office regularly informed of the illegal
actions by terrorists and separatists in Kosovo and Metohija (See the
set
of documents delivered to the CiO, Mr. Knut Vollebaek, Norwegian Foreign
Minister, on 1 March 1999.).
The terrorist actions of Albanian separatists in Kosovo and Metohija,
prior to the consent of the FRY to accept an OSCE Mission in its
territory
as a sign of its good will, had assumed such proportions that they
required
energetic measures by the authorities. In a one-year period, from 1
January-31 December 1998 alone, in Kosovo and Metohija there were :
- more than 1,885 terrorist attacks, in which 288 persons were killed
and
561 wounded;
- 1,129 terrorist attacks against police personnel and facilities, which
left 115 police officers dead and 403 wounded;
- the remaining 756 attacks were made against civilians, with 173 people
killed and 158 injured.
- During the same period, 308 persons (293 civilians and 15 policemen)
were abducted. Of this number 31 civilians and 3 policemen were killed,
while 143 abducted civilians and 9 policemen are still unaccounted-for.
Following the deployment of OSCE verifiers to Kosovo and Metohija,
terrorist activities did not cease. Only in the period from 13 October
1998
-20 March 1999 (after the agreement reached by the President of the FRY
S.
Milo{evi} and US Special Representative Ambassador R. Holbrooke), a
series
of terrorist attacks, murders and abductions took place in the presence
of
KVM, namely:
- 1,048 attacks (371 against civilians and 677 against police);
- 154 people (127 civilians and 27 policemen) were killed;
- 148 (81 civilians and 67 police officers) sustained serious injuries;
- 100 persons (93 civilians and 7 police officers) were kidnapped (16
killed:14 civilians and 2 policemen and the fate of 37 civilians and 4
policemen is yet unknown);
- 56 terrorist attacks on VJ forces (2 soldiers killed, 9 seriously and
21
slightly injured).
3. Since its deployment in Kosovo and Metohija in October 1998, the OSCE
Kosovo Verification Mission openly defended the separatist movement and
the
terrorist KLA there and adopted a benignant and uncritical attitude
towards
it. This is evidently the reason why the above information was left out
of
the report, because it will clearly show that there was an increase in
terrorist actions during the presence of KVM; that roadblocks were set
up
hindering freedom of movement; that kidnappings and arms smuggling were
frequent occurrences. Moreover, strategically important facilities were
marked in this period. In this way, the OSCE and its Mission were
grossly
abused and they played a role contrary to the goals of this
Organization.
The report singles out, as the most glaring illustration of the alleged
repressive policies of the government before the aggression, the
previously
overmagnified and overexploited "events" in the media in the villages of
Ra~ak, Rakovina and Rogovo (that are referred to as "executions"). In
these
villages, according to the report, there were mass killings of "Kosovo
Albanians by the Yugoslav/Serbian forces". The report made by the team
of
independent forensic experts did not confirm the accusations levelled by
KVM Head W. Walker.
The evidence of the crimes that had allegedly been committed in Kosovo
and
Metohija before the aggression, was taken as "eye-witness" statements
from
refugees in camps in Albania and Macedonia. In view of the fact that
this
part of the report contains most serious accusations levelled at the
actions taken by "police, paramilitary and the military" against the
civilian population - mostly those of Albanian nationality - (torture,
rape, missing persons, arbitrary detention, wanton destruction of
property
and looting, use of civilians as human shields, forced expulsions,
etc.),
it would be logical that it also contains findings of Yugoslav
authorities
concerning the events in question, considering that they were timely
presented and submitted to KVM. Instead, the drafters of the report have
confined themselves to "interviewing eye-witnesses on the ground" and
making public their statements as testimonies of "witnesses for the
prosecution", thus ignoring the reports of the legitimate authorities, a
fact which is both essentially and methodologically unacceptable and
cannot
help get an objective picture of events.
4. One may rightfully raise the question of the credibility of the
so-called "evidence of the crimes" committed by police, VJ and
paramilitary
forces in the period during the aggression, from 24 March to 9 June
1999,
since KVM withdrew from Kosovo and Metohija on 20 March 1999, i.e.
before
the onset of the aggression and was not present there while it was on.
It should be noted that the report did not at all keep track of the
crimes
committed by the NATO alliance in Kosovo and Metohija in that period,
although they were widely reported in international media and
well-documented by the competent Yugoslav authorities (See the White
Paper,
Part I and II).
The list of crimes and irreparable losses caused by the aggression is
endless:
- More than 2,000 civilians died. This figure is not final given that
the
identification of all victims has not been completed;
- More than 7,000 people were wounded and in most cases they will remain
permanently disabled;
- Eighty-two bridges were damaged or destroyed;
- 422 school facilities (school buildings, university colleges, student
dormitories, etc.) were knocked down or damaged;
- 48 health institutions (hospitals, out-patient clinics, health
stations,
etc.) were damaged or destroyed;
- 74 TV transmitter, relay and repeater sites were demolished or
destroyed;
- Essential infrastructure (power plants, transformer yards, power
distribution system, oil installations, numerous factories, traffic
routes,
etc.) were destroyed or severely damaged, as well as great many other
civilian facilities (See the White Paper);
- Over 2.5 million citizens of the FR of Yugoslavia have remained
without
the basic means of subsistence;
- Total material losses due to the aggression amount close to US$ 100
billion.
- Total quantifiable losses (due to the sanctions imposed by the
international community, due to the secession of the republics of the
former SFR of Yugoslavia as well as those due to the NATO aggression) in
the period 1991-2010 have been estimated at US$ 200 billion. It is worth
noting that the sanctions, as a flagrant violation of the basic human
rights, have not been devoted any attention in the OSCE report.
Negative effects on the overall development of the FR of Yugoslavia and
the standard of living of its population will be felt for decades to
come.
5. Regrettably, the OSCE report does not at all deal with the
consequences
of the aggression on the enjoyment of fundamental human rights of the
entire population of the FR of Yugoslavia. Contrary to NATO's propaganda
machine, which sought to create a picture of mass human rights
violations
and vulnerability of the Albanian population in Kosovo and Metohija
prior
to NATO aggression, the report, nevertheless, clearly indicates that
following the start of "air strikes", there was chaos, uncertainty and
fear
(of the bombing) and the population fled in massive numbers, which is
something that the Yugoslav authorities cannot, obviously, be blamed
for.
Civilian losses inflicted by the NATO aggressors have been completely
marginalized. Even if they are mentioned, they are justified by the
well-known NATO logic of blaming again the Yugoslav authorities for
using
"human shields" to protect facilities and equipment. Thus, massive
deaths
among the Albanian civilian population, references to which could not be
avoided, were also blamed on the "Serbian forces" and not attributed to
the
fact that this was the region where the largest number of bombs had been
dropped since the end of the Second World War. During the aggression
against the FR of Yugoslavia:
- 35,000 sorties were conducted, involving more than 1,000 aircraft and
206 helicopters;
- More than 10,000 cruise missiles were launched;
- 79,000 tons of ordnance (156 cluster bombs containing 37,440
bomblets).
The report makes no mention of the documentary evidence on the aerial
bombardment nor material losses caused by it. There are no photographs,
either, of the aftermath of the strikes and we are talking here about
the
proportionately most bombed region in the history of warfare. Even the
published photographs are not authentic, as evidenced by the bombing of
the
"Prizren League" building, which was struck down in the aggressors'
attack
on 28 March 1999 (White Paper, p.p. 227 and 228). The report wrongfully
pointed out that the building was "destroyed by the Yugoslav security
forces in March 1999" (Report, p. 334). Such examples make all other
cited
information seen in a relatively different light whose credibility may
be
brought into question.
Consequently, the OSCE report, which would otherwise make NATO
responsible
for the serious crimes against civilians and for breaches of the Geneva
Conventions, was grossly abused as a tool to justify the aggression. Its
purposes were even defined in NATO language ("preventing Yugoslav
military
and security forces from continuing repression of civilians and
deterring
their further military actions against their own population"), in
contravention of all OSCE principles which were not referred to therein.
Rather than condemning NATO aggression, the report deliberately omitted
any references to it, using the NATO terms for it such as
"intervention",
"bombing" or "air strikes" or "air campaign". Most often, only certain
dates (before or after 24 March 1999) are mentioned, thus suggesting
that
the brutal murders of the civilian population and massive destruction of
civilian facilities are the result of the same "repressive policy"
continued by other means. An impression may be gained, therefore, that
NATO
bombs killed no one (but they actually killed 2,000 people) and that
Serbian security forces were responsible for all casualties during the
"air
strikes", which was why they were targeted by NATO.
The report also lacks what UNMIK and KFOR obviously do not want to talk
about, and that is a politically devastating record of the war, because
this region is now less secure than it used to be; the ethnic cleansing
is
going unhampered and local administration is not functioning.
After UNMIK and KFOR took responsibility, massive human rights abuses by
Albanian terrorists and terrorist gangs take place, which is extremely
worrying. Between 10 June 1999 and 6 February 2000 alone, in their
presence,
- a total of 4,249 terrorist attacks were made;
- of this number 4,030 were against Serbs and Montenegrins;
- and 126 against other ethnic communities;
- 93 against Albanians;
- 889 persons were killed;
- 784 persons were wounded;
- 834 were abducted and missing (75 killed, 6 escaped, 31 released, 722
still unaccounted-for);
- more than 350,000 were expelled;
- more than 50,000 homes were burned down; and
- over 80 churches and monasteries were demolished.
At the same time, more than 200,000 criminals and looters from
neighbouring Albania were allowed to enter this Serbian province
illegally
(See the Memorandum of the FRY Government of 3 November 1999).
7. Despite its efforts to prove the contrary, the OSCE cannot conceal
an
evident conclusion that the tragic plight of the Kosovo population is a
direct consequence of the NATO aggression; that thousands of people were
killed during the aggression and not before it; and that an unimpeded
ethnic cleansing of the Province of its Serbs, Roma, Muslims, Turks,
Goranci and other non-Albanians is now under way, in the presence of
UNMIK
and KFOR.
While the report blames the Yugoslav authorities for all problems in the
past, it is clear that no one bears responsibility for the current
situation there, characterized by a climate of impunity. Terror, ethnic
cleansing, organized international crime, drug and arms trafficking,
human
smuggling, money laundering, abuse of humanitarian aid, etc. continue.
Concurrently, there is a lack of action to prevent such crimes, the lack
of
an effective system of protection of the population as well as of the
functioning of local administration. The report does not point, as it
has
done in Part I, to the responsibility of office holders in Kosovo and
Metohija (i.e. UNMIK and KFOR) or blames them for the present situation.
As
a result, there is a continuing spiral of crime; an ineffective
protection
of the basic human rights of non-Albanians and non-functioning local
government. In this part, the report only takes note of human rights
violations (ranging from murders to expulsions, harassment,
intimidation,
arson and looting).
The report reveals a number of problems arising out of inoperation of
the
military and civilian missions in Kosovo and Metohija, notably
non-fulfilment of the mandate under UN Security Council resolution 1244
(1999). Instead of taking energetic steps and applying existing laws of
the
Republic of Serbia and those of the FR of Yugoslavia, UNMIK reacts by
issuing appeals, statements and regulations that are not either enforced
or
are not in conformity with the above-mentioned resolution. The lack of
vigorous action by the relevant representatives of the international
community makes them accomplices in the crime of ethnic cleansing that
is
under way. The conclusion to be drawn is that the only thing that
members
of the international community are seriously concerned for is their own
safety and security.
Part II of the report, covering the period following the take-over of
responsibility by UNMIK and KFOR, may lead to the conclusion that the
current violence against Serbs is massive and systematic in all parts of
Kosovo and Metohija, apparently with the intent to scare off the
non-Albanian population and create a mono-ethnic Kosovo and Metohija.
The
key elements of UNMIK's and KFOR's mandates, as defined in Security
Council
resolution 1244 (1999), have not been implemented, i.e. to create a
secure
environment in which all refugees and displaced persons can return home
in
safety, to ensure conditions for a peaceful and normal life for all
inhabitants of Kosovo and Metohija, to maintain a multi-ethnic and
multi-confessional character of the Province, as well as to demilitarize
the so-called KLA. KFOR and UNMIK have failed to ensure free movement in
Kosovo and Metohija and also, with their tolerant attitude towards the
terror of the so-called KLA, are accessory to the blockading and
ghettoization of segments of the Serbian and other non-Albanian
populations
herded into several enclaves in Kosovo and Metohija (Orahovac,
Gora`devac,
Kosovo Polje). The report failed to point to the responsibility of those
who have undertaken to establish law and order and guarantee security
for
all citizens. They will not take the consequences for such failure,
either.
Thus, the recognition that UNMIK has been incompetent (or unwilling) to
halt the final stages of the ethnic cleansing in Kosovo and Metohija and
to
establish civil administration, is revealed in all its devastating
brutality.
Belgrade, 7 February 2000
---
VIOLATIONS OF THE SECURITY COUNCIL RESOLUTION 1244 (1999)
OVERVIEW
1. Affirmation of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the FR of
Yugoslavia: United Nations Security Council resolution 1244 (1999)
unambiguously confirms the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the
FR
of Yugoslavia in Kosovo and Metohija (preambular para 10; Annex 2 para
8).
The Resolution limits the mandate of the international security (KFOR)
and
civilian (UNMIK) presence to the establishment of conditions for an
unimpeded return of all refugees and displaced persons (paras 1 and 5,
Annex 1; paras 1 and 4, Annex 2), safe environment (op. para 9 c),
preservation of the multi-ethnic, multi-confessional and multi-cultural
character of Kosovo and Metohija and of the basic civilian and
administrative functions (operative para 11 b), with a view to ensuring
conditions for a political solution on the basis of the establishment of
a
substantial autonomy within the FR of Yugoslavia (operative para 10).
2. Security of citizens: The Government of the FR of Yugoslavia notes
with
concern that KFOR and UNMIK have not fulfilled their obligation
to guarantee security to all citizens in Kosovo and Metohija and to
ensure
a safe environment for the return of all refugees and internally
displaced
persons (op.para 9 c; Annex 1 para 5, Annex 2 para 7).
KFOR and UNMIK, and the UN Secretary-General's Special Representative B.
Kouchner in particular are, since they ignore the mandate they have been
entrusted to and grossly violate UN SC resolution 1244 (1999), directly
responsible for the lawlessness and chaos prevailing in the Province,
for
massive crime, usurpation of the State and private property as well as
for
terror, killings, abductions and ethnic cleansing of Serb and other
non-Albanian population.
3. Genocide and ethnic cleansing: Since the deployment of KFOR and
UNMIK,
on 12 June 1999, more than 350,000 non-Albanians, primarily Serbs,
Montenegrins, as well as Roma, Muslims, Turks, Goranci and others have
been
forcibly driven out of the Province. As many as 768 Serbs were killed
and
673 abducted. Not a single perpetrator of these serious criminal acts
has
been arrested or brought to justice, which clearly demonstrates the
efficiency of UNMIK police and their protective attitude towards
Albanian
terrorists. Most of these serious crimes have been committed by the
members
of the so-called KLA, later absorbed into the so-called Kosovo
Protection
Corps (KPC).
The remaining Serbs in the Province have been subjected to constant
terror and provocation, herded into few enclaves. KFOR and UNMIK lack
any
serious willingness and readiness to protect the remaining Serbs and
members of other non-Albanian ethnic groups in Kosovo and Metohija,
exposed
to constant terror and pressure to leave the Province, whereby KFOR and
UNMIK became direct accomplices in ethnic cleansing and genocide in the
southern Serb Province. A telling example of this is a several
months-old
blockade of Orahovac by Albanian terrorists, who have virtually turned
this
town into a first Nazi ghetto in post-war Europe.
4. Destruction of cultural monuments: In their genocidal campaign of
wiping out all Serb heritage, Albanian terrorists so far destroyed or
damaged more than 80 monasteries and churches of the Serb Orthodox
Church,
some of which date back to the XII century and represent a part of not
only
Serbian but world cultural heritage.
5. Tolerant attitude and support to terrorists: By their tolerant
attitude
towards a systematic campaign of ethnic cleansing and genocide against
Serb
and other non-Albanian population, KFOR and UNMIK bear sole
responsibility
for the violation of the provisions of UN SC resolution 1244 (1999) on
the
preservation of a multi-ethnic, multi-confessional and multi-cultural
character of the Province. KFOR and UNMIK's failure to implement UN SC
resolution 1244 (1999) or gross violations thereof, represent the cause
of
lawlessness and chaos in the Province.
6. Violation of the UN Security Council mandate: UNSG Special
Representative and Head of UNMIK B. Kouchner with his arbitrary and
unilateral decisions continuously and flagrantly violates the mandate
set
out in UN SC resolution 1244 (1999) and related documents. B. Kouchner
has
issued 25 regulations so far, all of which have no basis in UN SC
resolution 1244 (1999), and are aimed at severing all ties of the
Province
with the Republic of Serbia and the FR of Yugoslavia, i.e. at completely
separating the Province from the constitutional, legal, economic,
customs,
monetary and banking system of the FR of Yugoslavia and the Republic of
Serbia, which is in direct contravention of UN SC resolution 1244 (1999)
and related documents, reaffirming the sovereignty and territorial
integrity of the FR of Yugoslavia in Kosovo and Metohija.
Kouchner has illegally seized all legislative, executive and judicial
power in the Province (Regulation 1999/1 of 25 July 1999). By his
regulation 1999/3 of 31 August 1999, he established a separate customs
service. By his regulation 1999/4 of 2 September 1999, Kouchner
illegally
transferred monetary functions to local authorities and introduced the
German Mark as a legal tender. With regulations 1999/16 and 1999/17 of 6
November 1999 and regulations 1999/20 and 1999/21 of 15 November 1999,
he
introduced a "Central Banking and Payments Authority", i.e. a separate
banking system in Kosovo and Metohija.
- By Kouchner's regulation 1999/5 of 4 September 1999 on an Ad Hoc Court
of Final Appeal, de facto a supreme court of the Province, was actually
established, while regulations 1999/6 and 1999/7 of 7 September 1999
regulated the administration of justice and prosecution in the Province,
favouring Albanians, with a large number of KLA members including among
judges. Disastrous consequences are evident: so far, no terrorist has
been
brought to justice or convicted of serious crimes against the Serbs and
other non-Albanian population.
- Entrusting the regulation of the importation, transportation,
distribution and sale of petroleum products regime to illegal local
authorities controlled by KLA, otherwise a prerogative of the State
sovereign rule (regulation 1999/9 of 24 September 1999), constitutes a
gross violation of UN SC resolution 1244 (1999).
- The same situation prevails concerning the control of payments and
services, post and telecommunication services, granting permits for the
establishment of financial institutions and registration of vehicles,
all
of which are uniformly regulated in the entire territory of the FR of
Yugoslavia (regulations 1999/11 of 13 October 1999, 1999/12 of 14
October
1999, 1999/13 of 16 October 1999 and 1999/15 of 21 October 1999).
- UNMIK has been illegally issuing personal documents (vital statistics
records, intention to issue personal IDs) to citizens, without the
official
FRY State symbols, on the pretext that Albanians would not accept
documents
with official symbols of the FR of Yugoslavia and the Republic of
Serbia.
The policy of giving in to the Albanians is also in evidence in
connection
with the registration of the population.
- The FRY State property has been illegally transferred to foreign legal
persons (taking control of "Beopetrol" and "Jugopetrol" companies,
forcible
seizure of "Beobanka" branch offices, assigning mobile telephone network
service to French "Alcatel").
- By Kouchner's decision, Kosovo and Metohija has been taken out from a
single power supply system of Serbia and the FR of Yugoslavia and
connected
with the power supply systems of Albania and Macedonia, grossly
violating
the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the FRY.
- By preventing the activities of media outlets in Serbian and forcible
seizure of their premises and equipment, favouring at the same time the
media in Albanian, not only has destroyed a single media system of the
FR
of Yugoslavia and Republic of Serbia but encourages discrimination based
on
ethnicity, contrary to the basic intentions of the SC Resolution on the
preservation of the multi-ethnic, multi-cultural and multi-confessional
character of the Province.
- Without prior approval of the competent FRY authorities, KFOR and
UNMIK
have established international transport between the Province and some
States, including those with which the FR of Yugoslavia does not have
diplomatic relations. The establishment of local air, railway and other
transport between the Province and other parts of the single FRY
territory
has been prevented, which is particularly unacceptable.
7. Establishment of illegal organs of administration: By a fait
accompli
tactic, without consulting legal representatives of the Republic of
Serbia
and the FR of Yugoslavia, Special Representative Kouchner has illegally
established the so- called Interim Administration Council, de facto
provincial "Government", comprised exclusively of Albanians, mostly
leaders
of the terrorist so-called KLA and Albanian separatist political
parties,
in an attempt to legalise an ethnically pure Kosovo and Metohija,
contrary
to UN SC resolution 1244 (1999).
8. Blocking a political settlement: UNMIK and B. Kouchner do not accept
dialogue and co-operation with representatives of the Governments of the
FR
of Yugoslavia and the Republic of Serbia on questions of interest for
the
stabilisation of the overall security, economic and political situation
in
the Province.
The contact between UNMIK and the Government of the FR of Yugoslavia
concerning substantial autonomy and self-government in Kosovo and
Metohija
(Resolution op.para 11 a; Annex 1 para 6 and Annex 2 para 5) has not
been
established. UNSG Special Representative Kouchner persistently continues
to
ignore repeated requests of the Government of the FR of Yugoslavia
addressed to the UN Secretary-General and the Security Council to start
negotiations on substantial autonomy in Kosovo and Metohija (op.para 11
a;
Annex 2 para 8) between the legitimate representatives of the Republic
of
Serbia and the FR of Yugoslavia and the representatives of all ethnic
communities in Kosovo and Metohija.
9. Control of the State border: KFOR and UNMIK do not carry out their
obligation to control the State border of the FR of Yugoslavia towards
Albania and Macedonia (op.para 9 g), which is why more than 200,000
foreigners came to the territory of the FRY, including a large number of
the terrorists of the so-called KLA and criminal gangs, especially the
narco-mafia, illegal arms and white slave traders, etc., whereby Kosovo
and
Metohija has become the centre for the expansion of organised crime
throughout Europe. Illegal entries to the FR of Yugoslavia have not
stopped
despite the assurances by KFOR and UNMIK that they consistently
implement
their obligations arising from the Resolution, regarding the
safeguarding
of the FRY international border.
10. Return of the Army of Yugoslavia (VJ) and police: The return of the
agreed number of members of VJ and Serb police in Kosovo and Metohija is
still unjustifiably prevented and delayed (Annex 2 para 6), which
additionally encourages Albanian terrorists to continue with their daily
terror against the Serb and other non-Albanian population with a view to
completing the ethnic cleansing of the Province.
11. Demilitarisation and disarming of the so-called KLA: Terrorist so-
called KLA has not been disarmed or demilitarised, which represents one
of
the most serious examples of gross violation of UN SC resolution 1244
(1999) (op.para 9 b and op.para 15). Only a token quantity of antiquated
arms were surrendered. Secret arms caches of terrorists are being
revealed
every day. The border with Albania and Macedonia has not been closed,
whereby KFOR and UNMIK continue to enable the entry of armed terrorists
and
large quantities of arms in the Province. This has been testified to by
daily armed attacks of Albanians on Serb enclaves, buses and other means
of
transport carrying Serb and other non-Albanians as well as against their
houses, land and other property.
12. Transformation of the so-called KLA: The establishment of the so-
called Kosovo Protection Corps (KPC), which is made up of members of the
terrorist so-called KLA (in Albanian translation "corps" means "force"),
has actually legalised this terrorist organisation as well as its former
leadership and enhanced its combat organisational structure. While the
leadership of the so-called KPC has retained a wide authority through
"transformation" - its members publicly carry light weapons and they
hide
their heavy weapons in hide-outs whose location is known to KFOR. At
the
same time, "KPC" leadership or the former leaders of the terrorist
so-called KLA publicly state that "KPC", as a parallel structure of the
so-called KLA, represents a model for the future "Kosovo Army".
13. Security and freedom of movement for international representatives:
Passive attitude of KFOR and UNMIK towards several-months long Albanian
blockade of the deployment of a Russian KFOR contingent in Orahovac,
confirms their protective stance towards Albanian terrorists and
represents
an open violation of UN SC resolution 1244 (1999) on security and
freedom
of movement of KFOR and UNMIK, as well as other international
organisations
(op.para 9 h).
14. Legal status of the UN peace-keeping mission: Proceeding from the
fact
that Kosovo and Metohija is part of the sovereign territory of the FR of
Yugoslavia, the Government of the FR of Yugoslavia, as the host, has
initiated, since the deployment of international security and civilian
presence under the auspices of the United Nations in Kosovo and
Metohija,
the conclusion of an appropriate agreement with the United Nations
concerning the legal status of this mission, which did not take place
due
to the refusal on the part of the United Nations.
15. Para-diplomatic missions and visits by foreign officials: UNMIK has
allowed the illegal establishment of para-diplomatic missions of some
countries in Kosovo and Metohija, in a gross violation of the principle
of
the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the FR of Yugoslavia.
Despite the repeated official protests by the Government of the FR of
Yugoslavia addressed to the Security Council, the Secretary-General and
KFOR and UNMIK, an illegal practice continues of establishing
"diplomatic
offices" of foreign States in Kosovo and Metohija, which constitutes a
drastic violation of Security Council resolution 1244 (1999) and Article
2
of the Vienna conventions on diplomatic and consular relations, as well
as
a hostile act towards a receiving country whose sovereignty is
flagrantly
violated, because it is done without its prior consent.
Ignoring the warnings and overriding the official protests by the FR of
Yugoslavia an unacceptable practice is being continued of not notifying
the
visits of foreign officials to Kosovo and Metohija, thus violating the
provisions of SC resolution 1244 (1999) and Annex 2 paras 5 and 8, and
the
Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations and the existing Yugoslav visa
regime.
The Government of the FR of Yugoslavia insists that this illegal
practice
be immediately terminated and that the behaviour of all factors in the
Province be strictly in accordance with the provisions of the Resolution
and the applicable international conventions and practice.
16. Responsibility of KFOR and UNMIK: KFOR and UNMIK are responsible for
disturbing developments in the Province. By failing to comply with the
clear responsibilities under SC resolution 1244 (1999) and the relevant
documents or by interpreting them arbitrarily as well as by an
inadmissibly
tolerant attitude towards Albanian terrorists, KFOR and UNMIK bear full
responsibility for the crimes of genocide and systematic ethnic
cleansing
that are being perpetrated against Serbs and other non-Albanian
population
in their presence, thus using the UN peace-keeping mission as a smoke
screen and actually becoming accomplices in these serious crimes.
17. Responsibility of the UN Security Council: Under SC resolution 1244
(op. paras 19 and 20), the Security Council guarantees its
implementation.
In view of the tragic situation in Kosovo and Metohija and systematic
violations of all crucial provisions of UN SC resolution 1244 (1999) and
the Military Technical Agreement, the FR of Yugoslavia demands that the
Security Council undertake without delay most energetic steps and
measures
for their consistent implementation and prevent all attempts at
departing,
postponing to carry out or arbitrarily interpreting the provisions of
this
Resolution.
In that context, the Government of the FR of Yugoslavia energetically
demands that the Security Council rescind, without delay, all illegal
decisions of UNSG Special Representative B. Kouchner and take other
measures, as may be necessary, to have the situation in Kosovo and
Metohija
restored to its previous state.
All decisions of KFOR and UNMIK which are contrary to the Resolution and
related documents imply either their gross violation or arbitrary
interpretation, particularly regarding strict respect for the
sovereignty
and territorial integrity of the FR of Yugoslavia in the southern Serb
Province, are considered by the Government of the FR of Yugoslavia null
and
void and cannot have any legal effect.
Belgrade, 10 January 2000
--------- COORDINAMENTO ROMANO PER LA JUGOSLAVIA -----------
RIMSKI SAVEZ ZA JUGOSLAVIJU
e-mail: crj@... - URL: http://marx2001.org/crj
http://www.egroups.com/group/crj-mailinglist/
------------------------------------------------------------
nei fatti e nelle parole" riguardante la situazione dei diritti umani in
Kosmet nel periodo ottobre 1998 - ottobre 1999 (i documenti OSCE si
trovano alla URL: http://www.osce.org/kosovo/index.htm ):
- UN COMMENTO DI CHOSSUDOVSKY da "Emperor's Clothes"
- LA POSIZIONE DEL GOVERNO DELLA RFJ
*** Riepilogo delle violazioni della Risoluzione 1244 del Consiglio di
Sicurezza dell'ONU al 10 gennaio 2000 (Min. Esteri RFJ -
http://www.mfa.gov.yu/ oppure http://www1.mfa.gov.yu/)
---
Cooking the books -
NATO's ethnic cleansing claims challenged
by
Michel Chossudovsky (Revised 2-10-00)
Emperors Clothes - www.tenc.net
NATO's justification for bombing Yugoslavia on humanitarian grounds has
been refuted by the Western alliance's own official figures and
documentary evidence. The recently released OSCE report entitled "As
Seen, As Told: Analysis of the Human Rights Findings of the OSCE Kosovo
Verification Mission" suggests that the allegation of mass deportations
is a fabrication. 1
Although heavily slanted in its main conclusions, the OSCE figures
suggest that there were proportionately more Serbs (as a percentage of
population) fleeing Kosovo than ethnic Albanians which puts an obvious
question mark on NATO's assertion that organized mass expulsions of
ethnic Albanians were taking place.
According to OSCE numbers and Kosovar Albanian sources on population
size and distribution, an estimated 45.7 percent of the Albanian
population and 59.5 percent of the Serb population had fled Kosovo
during the bombings (i.e. from 23 March to 9 June 1999).2
The OSCE report summarises the balance-sheet of ethnic Albanian refugees
as numbering 862,979. In a secluded footnote at the bottom of the main
table, the report nonetheless acknowledges that: "In addition [to the
862,979 ethnic Albanian refugees], more than 100,000 Serb IDPs
[Internally displaced persons] are estimated to have left Kosovo and to
have been registered in Serbia and Montenegro". 3 Whereas ethnic
Albanians (including those who fled to Montenegro) are categorized as
"refugees", Serbs who fled Kosovo during the same period are casually
identified as "Internally Displaced Persons". The figures for ethnic
Albanians are very precise in contrast to those indicated for the Serbs
in the footnote. The number of refugees belonging to other ethnic groups
who fled the province during the bombings is not even acknowledged.
According to Kosovo Albanian sources, the Province had a total
population of 2.1 million of which 90 percent are ethnic Albanians, 8
percent Serbs and 2 percent are other ethnic groups.4 Based on these
figures (which are accepted both by NATO and the post-conflict KLA
provisional government) there were an estimated 1.89 million ethnic
Albanians and 168,000 Serbs in Kosovo.
In accordance with the above population breakdown, the exodus of Serbs
(as a percentage of population) was larger than that of the ethnic
Albanian population. According to OSCE numbers (from UNHCR sources), it
is estimated that 45.7 percent of the Albanian population and more than
59.5 percent of the Serb population fled Kosovo during the bombings
(i.e. from 23 March to 9 June 1999).
In other words, Serbs --who ostensibly were not the target of "ethnic
cleansing perpetrated by the Serbs"-- had also fled the theatre of the
war in Kosovo. If there had been a deliberate and cohesive policy of
ethnic cleansing and massacres directed against ethnic Albanians, the
percentages would have been markedly different and this is something
which NATO was cautious not to reveal to public opinion while the
bombings were ongoing.
The above estimates depend on the veracity of the OSCE-UNHCR refugee
figures as well as on the reliability of the data on population size and
distribution. In estimating these percentages, we have accepted official
OSCE-UNHCR refugee numbers at face value, namely that the OSCE Report
has not artificially "inflated" the number of ethnic Albanian refugees
nor has it "deflated" the number of Serbs who fled Kosovo during the
bombings with a view to vindicating NATO's claim of ethnic cleansing. We
have also taken Kosovar Albanian assumptions pertaining to population
size and distribution. In other words, the percentages are derived from
their numbers! Moreover, it should be emphasised that the percentage of
Serbs who left Kosovo estimated at 59.5 percent is based on the 100,000
figure given by the OSCE. Yet the OSCE report states that the number of
Serbs who fled Kosovo during the same period is "more than 100,000".
Accounting for biases in the OSCE-UNHCR figures and margins of error in
the data on population, the estimates do not support NATO's allegation
of a policy of mass deportation directed against ethnic Albanians.
Ironically, the OSCE Report rather than using Kosovar Albanian sources
on population, acknowledges the assumptions of Belgrade's 1991 Census
data (also in a discrete footnote) which indicates the ethnic Albanian
population at 82 percent of total population. Yet the Census was
boycotted by ethnic Albanians and the figures were never recognised by
the parallel provisional government of Kosovo. Why does the OSCE
acknowledge Belgrade's 1991 Census when NATO and KLA statements
repeatedly indicate that the ethnic Albanian population is at 90
percent? Evidently, the use of the 1991 Census data by those who have
rejected it, is in this case to their political advantage. Based on the
1991 Census figures, the estimated percentage of each population group
which fled Kosovo would be 53.7 percent for the ethnic Albanians and
more than 51.5 percent for the Serbs.5 Yet even in this case, NATO's
claim of mass deportations is not borne out.
The refugee crisis, we were told repeatedly during the War was limited
to ethnic Albanians. According to the Western media, Serb civilians had
been protected by the Serb police and Armed forces. The large scale
exodus of Serbs from Kosovo prior to June 9, 1999 (acknowledged by the
figures contained in the OSCE Report) was simply not mentioned. To
reveal the numbers would have discredited NATO's main justification for
launching its "humanitarian war".
FROM THE HORSE'S MOUTH
Other documentary evidence including an official report of the German
foreign ministry published prior to the War, confirms that there was no
evidence of "ethnic cleansing" in Kosovo in the months immediately
preceding the bombings. Who is lying? German Foreign Minister Joschka
Fischer had justified NATO's intervention pointing to a "humanitarian
catastrophe", yet the internal documents of his own ministry stated
exactly the opposite: "Even in Kosovo an explicit political persecution
linked to Albanian ethnicity is not verifiable. The East of Kosovo is
still not involved in armed conflict. Public life in cities like
Pristina, Urosevac, Gnjilan, etc. has, in the entire conflict period,
continued on a relatively normal basis. The actions of the security
forces [were] not directed against the Kosovo-Albanians as an ethnically
defined group, but against the military opponent [KLA] and its actual or
alleged supporters."...6
Moreover, a report of the United States Committee on Refugees (USCR)
confirms a significant reduction in the number of refugees and
internally displaced persons in the period following the signing of the
October 13, 1998 agreement between U.S. Special Envoy Richard Holbrooke
and Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY) President Slobodan Milosevic.
According to USCR, the overall refugee situation had improved with the
entry of the OSCE Kosovo Verification Mission (KVM). The USCR report
also confirms that "KLA ethnic cleansing of ethnic Serb civilian
population pockets intensified in December [1998]" substantiating the
results of the German Foreign Office intelligence report. But we were
told time and again that the Serbs rather than the KLA had been
responsible for ethnic cleansing in the months leading up to the War...
7
The OSCE-UNHCR figures on the number of refugees rather than supporting
NATO's main justification for waging the war, suggest that more than
half the Serb population had also fled Kosovo during the war. This
tendency could be explained by the fact that the KLA had been
responsible for relaying intelligence to NATO pertaining to potential
targets in the bombing operation. Moreover, a history of the war also
suggests that the massacres and atrocities directed against the Serbs by
the KLA Military Command (amply documented for the period after June 9)
had already commenced prior to the arrival of KFOR forces in Kosovo.
NATO'S TWO "HUMANITARIAN PREMISES" INVALIDATED
NATO's pretext for bombing Yugoslavia on humanitarian grounds rests on
two central premises: 1) the alleged indiscriminate mass killings of
Albanian civilians (premise number one); 2) the implementation of a
deliberate policy of mass deportations or "ethnic cleansing" (premise
number two). Both these premises have now been refuted by NATO's own
evidence and documentary evidence
The alleged indiscriminate mass killings of Albanian civilians had
earlier been invalidated by the FBI and European forensic teams working
under the auspices of the Hague Tribunal (ICTY) casting doubt on NATO's
justification for waging the war. The forensic and police investigators
had uncovered several hundred bodies in grave sites in Kosovo as opposed
to the 10,000 to 100,000 civilian massacres claimed by NATO and Western
governments as a pretext for waging the War. British Prime Minister Tony
Blair had announced that President Milosevic was "set on a Hitler style
genocide equivalent to the extermination of the Jews during World war
II".8 " "Genocide is starting," stated German Defense Minister Rudolf
Scharping.10...
The Hague Tribunal (ICTY) (while upholding the war crimes indictment
against members of the Yugoslav government), has acknowledged the
exhumation"the allegations of indiscriminate mass murder, rape
camps,...crematoriums, mutilation of the dead have not been borne out"
by the police investigations and forensic evidence. 12
NO REMAINING LEG TO STAND ON
Since the release of the forensic reports
--which have invalidated premise number one--, the policy of mass
deportations against ethnic Albanians (premise number two) is now being
upheld by NATO and the Western media as "a sufficient justification" for
launching the war. In the words of Madeleine Albright "opposing ethnic
cleansing is central to our values... We are reaffirming NATO's core
purpose as a defender of democracy, stability and human decency on
European soil."13 Yet NATO's claim of mass deportations has now also
been refuted by the figures contained in the OSCE report. NATO has no
remaining leg to stand on. Official documentary evidence (including the
forensic reports and the data on the number of refugees) unequivocally
refute NATO's two central postulates for waging the war. What then was
the justification for the humanitarian bombings? What was the hidden
agenda? Ultimately the truth must prevail, public opinion must be
informed and those who are responsible for waging this criminal war must
be brought to trial.
NOTES
1. OSCE, Kosovo/ Kosova, As Seen, As Told, An analysis of the human
rights findings of the OSCE Kosovo Verification Mission, October 1998 to
June 1999, Warsaw, 1999.
2. Ibid
3. Ibid.
4. Figures for 1993. See Albania Worldwide Web, GOTOBUTTON BM_1_
http://www.albanian.com/main/. See also Musa Limani, Pristina, The
Association of Lawyers of Kosova, 1992. Kosovar Albanian estimates place
the population of Kosovo at 2.3 million for 2000.
5. The Government of Yugoslavia 1991 Census data for Kosovo identified a
total population of 1,956,196 of which 82.2 % are Albanians, 9.9 % Serbs
and 7.9 % other ethnic groups. The Census was boycotted by the ethnic
Albanian population. During the 1990s, the evidence suggests that
Kosovar Serbs left the Province in large numbers.
6. Intelligence Report from the German Foreign Office, January 12, 1999
to the Administrative Court of Trier.
7. See USCR GOTOBUTTON BM_2_
http://www.refugees.org/world/countryrpt/europe/yugoslavia.htm
8. Quoted in Peter Gowan, Kosovo; the war and its aftermath, Labour
Focus on Eastern Europe, no. 64, 1999, p. 26.
9. CBS , May 17, 1999.
10. Quoted in Peter Gowan, op. cit.
11. Reuters, 10 November 1999.
12. Wall Street Journal, 31 December 1999.
13. Quoted in Time Magazine, May 17, 1999, p. 25-26.
C Copyright by Michel Chossudovsky, Ottawa, February 2000. All rights
reserved. Permission is granted to post this text on noncommercial
community internet sites, provided the essay remains intact and the
copyright note is displayed. The text can also be photocopied for
non-commercial distribution. To publish this text in printed and/or
other forms contact the author at chossudovsky@... or fax:
1-514-4256224.
Copyright, Michel Chossudovsky, Ottawa, February 2000
* Recent articles by Michel Chossudovsky:
"Seattle and Beyond: Disarming the New World Order"
http://emperors-clothes.com/articles/chuss/seattle.htm
"NATO's Reign of Terror in Kosovo"
http://emperors-clothes.com/articles/chuss/chossnato.htm
"The KLA: Grim Origins"
http://emperors-clothes.com/articles/chuss/kla.html
---
POSITIONS AND COMMENTS
of the Government of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia concerning the
OSCE
Report "Kosovo/Kossova As Seen, As Told" on the situation of human
rights
in Kosovo and Metohija in the period from October 1998 to October 1999
After careful examination of the OSCE/ODIHR Report "Kosovo/Kossova As
Seen, As Told", Parts I and II, on the human rights situation in Kosovo
and
Metohija from October 1998 to October 1999, certain questions inevitably
arise, questions that have not been answered by its authors. There is,
first of all, the question of the purpose and justification of resorting
to
an armed aggression against a sovereign country, in violation of all
norms
and principles of international law, and secondly the question of the
respect for the fundamental principles of the OSCE.
OSCE reports have received great attention in the world public and media
and have again raised serious doubts as to the reasons and consequences
of
the NATO aggression as well as to the real record of performance of the
international administration and the military presence in Kosovo and
Metohija. The Federal Government considers that the data cited and the
methodology used in collecting and presenting information need a
critical
analysis and evaluation, both from the point of view of the truthfulness
of
the statements and data presented and the method of selecting them, but
also from the point of view of the (political) effects wanted to be
achieved by them.
A one-sided presentation of facts in the report, which does not at all
make use or mention of the findings of the authorities in the FR of
Yugoslavia regarding events that are being reported on, represents an
attempt at justifying the NATO aggression against the FR of Yugoslavia
after the event. The very publication of the report by the OSCE
represents
an abuse of that organization already instrumentalized for political
purposes, for the second time (the KVM presence in Kosovo and Metohija
being used to prepare for the NATO aggression). Such abuse has most
seriously undermined the credibility of OSCE, which may have
unforeseeable
consequences on its prestige and possibilities for future activity.
1. Although it was not the intent of the report, it revealed in a
documented fashion that there was no humanitarian crisis in Kosovo and
Metohija before NATO aggression, and that problems in this Serbian
province
were at least not that serious to provoke the most brutal interference
in
the internal affairs of a sovereign State, a gross violation of its
sovereignty and territorial integrity and disrespect of the basic OSCE
principles.
It is clear from the report that prior to NATO aggression there was no
violence against Albanians in Kosovo and Metohija (except actions
against
the terrorists of the so-called KLA). These actions of "the army and
paramilitary units were confined to the areas where the so-called KLA
had
its bases". It is also clear from the report that the activities of the
Yugoslav authorities in Kosovo and Metohija were directed against a
terrorist and separatist organization which openly advocated "an armed
struggle until liberation". It documented illegal activities carried out
by
Albanian separatists (establishment of parallel institutions and
administration, boycotting of elections and the establishment of the
so-called KLA which is being described as "a paramilitary group of
Kosovo
Albanians whose purpose is separatism through armed struggle").
Consequently, legitimate reactions of the authorities in the Province
against terrorist and separatist activities cannot be described as
"repression against the Albanian population". The assertion is not true,
either, that "human rights violations were the cause and effect of
conflicts in Kosovo and Metohija", because it was well-documented that
the
terrorist activities of the so-called KLA commanded appropriate
legitimate
response of the authorities, aimed at their suppression.
The cited information clearly proves that the tragic plight of the
Kosovo
population followed "the NATO humanitarian intervention", i.e. the armed
aggression against the FR of Yugoslavia, in which thousands of people
were
killed and there was a mass exodus of the population fleeing the bombs.
In
other words, the "military intervention" was directly responsible for
the
wave of the ethnic cleansing. Instead of being prevented it is going on
to
the present day in the presence of UNMIK and KFOR.
2. The relevant authorities of the FR of Yugoslavia kept the
international
public and the OSCE Chairman-in-Office regularly informed of the illegal
actions by terrorists and separatists in Kosovo and Metohija (See the
set
of documents delivered to the CiO, Mr. Knut Vollebaek, Norwegian Foreign
Minister, on 1 March 1999.).
The terrorist actions of Albanian separatists in Kosovo and Metohija,
prior to the consent of the FRY to accept an OSCE Mission in its
territory
as a sign of its good will, had assumed such proportions that they
required
energetic measures by the authorities. In a one-year period, from 1
January-31 December 1998 alone, in Kosovo and Metohija there were :
- more than 1,885 terrorist attacks, in which 288 persons were killed
and
561 wounded;
- 1,129 terrorist attacks against police personnel and facilities, which
left 115 police officers dead and 403 wounded;
- the remaining 756 attacks were made against civilians, with 173 people
killed and 158 injured.
- During the same period, 308 persons (293 civilians and 15 policemen)
were abducted. Of this number 31 civilians and 3 policemen were killed,
while 143 abducted civilians and 9 policemen are still unaccounted-for.
Following the deployment of OSCE verifiers to Kosovo and Metohija,
terrorist activities did not cease. Only in the period from 13 October
1998
-20 March 1999 (after the agreement reached by the President of the FRY
S.
Milo{evi} and US Special Representative Ambassador R. Holbrooke), a
series
of terrorist attacks, murders and abductions took place in the presence
of
KVM, namely:
- 1,048 attacks (371 against civilians and 677 against police);
- 154 people (127 civilians and 27 policemen) were killed;
- 148 (81 civilians and 67 police officers) sustained serious injuries;
- 100 persons (93 civilians and 7 police officers) were kidnapped (16
killed:14 civilians and 2 policemen and the fate of 37 civilians and 4
policemen is yet unknown);
- 56 terrorist attacks on VJ forces (2 soldiers killed, 9 seriously and
21
slightly injured).
3. Since its deployment in Kosovo and Metohija in October 1998, the OSCE
Kosovo Verification Mission openly defended the separatist movement and
the
terrorist KLA there and adopted a benignant and uncritical attitude
towards
it. This is evidently the reason why the above information was left out
of
the report, because it will clearly show that there was an increase in
terrorist actions during the presence of KVM; that roadblocks were set
up
hindering freedom of movement; that kidnappings and arms smuggling were
frequent occurrences. Moreover, strategically important facilities were
marked in this period. In this way, the OSCE and its Mission were
grossly
abused and they played a role contrary to the goals of this
Organization.
The report singles out, as the most glaring illustration of the alleged
repressive policies of the government before the aggression, the
previously
overmagnified and overexploited "events" in the media in the villages of
Ra~ak, Rakovina and Rogovo (that are referred to as "executions"). In
these
villages, according to the report, there were mass killings of "Kosovo
Albanians by the Yugoslav/Serbian forces". The report made by the team
of
independent forensic experts did not confirm the accusations levelled by
KVM Head W. Walker.
The evidence of the crimes that had allegedly been committed in Kosovo
and
Metohija before the aggression, was taken as "eye-witness" statements
from
refugees in camps in Albania and Macedonia. In view of the fact that
this
part of the report contains most serious accusations levelled at the
actions taken by "police, paramilitary and the military" against the
civilian population - mostly those of Albanian nationality - (torture,
rape, missing persons, arbitrary detention, wanton destruction of
property
and looting, use of civilians as human shields, forced expulsions,
etc.),
it would be logical that it also contains findings of Yugoslav
authorities
concerning the events in question, considering that they were timely
presented and submitted to KVM. Instead, the drafters of the report have
confined themselves to "interviewing eye-witnesses on the ground" and
making public their statements as testimonies of "witnesses for the
prosecution", thus ignoring the reports of the legitimate authorities, a
fact which is both essentially and methodologically unacceptable and
cannot
help get an objective picture of events.
4. One may rightfully raise the question of the credibility of the
so-called "evidence of the crimes" committed by police, VJ and
paramilitary
forces in the period during the aggression, from 24 March to 9 June
1999,
since KVM withdrew from Kosovo and Metohija on 20 March 1999, i.e.
before
the onset of the aggression and was not present there while it was on.
It should be noted that the report did not at all keep track of the
crimes
committed by the NATO alliance in Kosovo and Metohija in that period,
although they were widely reported in international media and
well-documented by the competent Yugoslav authorities (See the White
Paper,
Part I and II).
The list of crimes and irreparable losses caused by the aggression is
endless:
- More than 2,000 civilians died. This figure is not final given that
the
identification of all victims has not been completed;
- More than 7,000 people were wounded and in most cases they will remain
permanently disabled;
- Eighty-two bridges were damaged or destroyed;
- 422 school facilities (school buildings, university colleges, student
dormitories, etc.) were knocked down or damaged;
- 48 health institutions (hospitals, out-patient clinics, health
stations,
etc.) were damaged or destroyed;
- 74 TV transmitter, relay and repeater sites were demolished or
destroyed;
- Essential infrastructure (power plants, transformer yards, power
distribution system, oil installations, numerous factories, traffic
routes,
etc.) were destroyed or severely damaged, as well as great many other
civilian facilities (See the White Paper);
- Over 2.5 million citizens of the FR of Yugoslavia have remained
without
the basic means of subsistence;
- Total material losses due to the aggression amount close to US$ 100
billion.
- Total quantifiable losses (due to the sanctions imposed by the
international community, due to the secession of the republics of the
former SFR of Yugoslavia as well as those due to the NATO aggression) in
the period 1991-2010 have been estimated at US$ 200 billion. It is worth
noting that the sanctions, as a flagrant violation of the basic human
rights, have not been devoted any attention in the OSCE report.
Negative effects on the overall development of the FR of Yugoslavia and
the standard of living of its population will be felt for decades to
come.
5. Regrettably, the OSCE report does not at all deal with the
consequences
of the aggression on the enjoyment of fundamental human rights of the
entire population of the FR of Yugoslavia. Contrary to NATO's propaganda
machine, which sought to create a picture of mass human rights
violations
and vulnerability of the Albanian population in Kosovo and Metohija
prior
to NATO aggression, the report, nevertheless, clearly indicates that
following the start of "air strikes", there was chaos, uncertainty and
fear
(of the bombing) and the population fled in massive numbers, which is
something that the Yugoslav authorities cannot, obviously, be blamed
for.
Civilian losses inflicted by the NATO aggressors have been completely
marginalized. Even if they are mentioned, they are justified by the
well-known NATO logic of blaming again the Yugoslav authorities for
using
"human shields" to protect facilities and equipment. Thus, massive
deaths
among the Albanian civilian population, references to which could not be
avoided, were also blamed on the "Serbian forces" and not attributed to
the
fact that this was the region where the largest number of bombs had been
dropped since the end of the Second World War. During the aggression
against the FR of Yugoslavia:
- 35,000 sorties were conducted, involving more than 1,000 aircraft and
206 helicopters;
- More than 10,000 cruise missiles were launched;
- 79,000 tons of ordnance (156 cluster bombs containing 37,440
bomblets).
The report makes no mention of the documentary evidence on the aerial
bombardment nor material losses caused by it. There are no photographs,
either, of the aftermath of the strikes and we are talking here about
the
proportionately most bombed region in the history of warfare. Even the
published photographs are not authentic, as evidenced by the bombing of
the
"Prizren League" building, which was struck down in the aggressors'
attack
on 28 March 1999 (White Paper, p.p. 227 and 228). The report wrongfully
pointed out that the building was "destroyed by the Yugoslav security
forces in March 1999" (Report, p. 334). Such examples make all other
cited
information seen in a relatively different light whose credibility may
be
brought into question.
Consequently, the OSCE report, which would otherwise make NATO
responsible
for the serious crimes against civilians and for breaches of the Geneva
Conventions, was grossly abused as a tool to justify the aggression. Its
purposes were even defined in NATO language ("preventing Yugoslav
military
and security forces from continuing repression of civilians and
deterring
their further military actions against their own population"), in
contravention of all OSCE principles which were not referred to therein.
Rather than condemning NATO aggression, the report deliberately omitted
any references to it, using the NATO terms for it such as
"intervention",
"bombing" or "air strikes" or "air campaign". Most often, only certain
dates (before or after 24 March 1999) are mentioned, thus suggesting
that
the brutal murders of the civilian population and massive destruction of
civilian facilities are the result of the same "repressive policy"
continued by other means. An impression may be gained, therefore, that
NATO
bombs killed no one (but they actually killed 2,000 people) and that
Serbian security forces were responsible for all casualties during the
"air
strikes", which was why they were targeted by NATO.
The report also lacks what UNMIK and KFOR obviously do not want to talk
about, and that is a politically devastating record of the war, because
this region is now less secure than it used to be; the ethnic cleansing
is
going unhampered and local administration is not functioning.
After UNMIK and KFOR took responsibility, massive human rights abuses by
Albanian terrorists and terrorist gangs take place, which is extremely
worrying. Between 10 June 1999 and 6 February 2000 alone, in their
presence,
- a total of 4,249 terrorist attacks were made;
- of this number 4,030 were against Serbs and Montenegrins;
- and 126 against other ethnic communities;
- 93 against Albanians;
- 889 persons were killed;
- 784 persons were wounded;
- 834 were abducted and missing (75 killed, 6 escaped, 31 released, 722
still unaccounted-for);
- more than 350,000 were expelled;
- more than 50,000 homes were burned down; and
- over 80 churches and monasteries were demolished.
At the same time, more than 200,000 criminals and looters from
neighbouring Albania were allowed to enter this Serbian province
illegally
(See the Memorandum of the FRY Government of 3 November 1999).
7. Despite its efforts to prove the contrary, the OSCE cannot conceal
an
evident conclusion that the tragic plight of the Kosovo population is a
direct consequence of the NATO aggression; that thousands of people were
killed during the aggression and not before it; and that an unimpeded
ethnic cleansing of the Province of its Serbs, Roma, Muslims, Turks,
Goranci and other non-Albanians is now under way, in the presence of
UNMIK
and KFOR.
While the report blames the Yugoslav authorities for all problems in the
past, it is clear that no one bears responsibility for the current
situation there, characterized by a climate of impunity. Terror, ethnic
cleansing, organized international crime, drug and arms trafficking,
human
smuggling, money laundering, abuse of humanitarian aid, etc. continue.
Concurrently, there is a lack of action to prevent such crimes, the lack
of
an effective system of protection of the population as well as of the
functioning of local administration. The report does not point, as it
has
done in Part I, to the responsibility of office holders in Kosovo and
Metohija (i.e. UNMIK and KFOR) or blames them for the present situation.
As
a result, there is a continuing spiral of crime; an ineffective
protection
of the basic human rights of non-Albanians and non-functioning local
government. In this part, the report only takes note of human rights
violations (ranging from murders to expulsions, harassment,
intimidation,
arson and looting).
The report reveals a number of problems arising out of inoperation of
the
military and civilian missions in Kosovo and Metohija, notably
non-fulfilment of the mandate under UN Security Council resolution 1244
(1999). Instead of taking energetic steps and applying existing laws of
the
Republic of Serbia and those of the FR of Yugoslavia, UNMIK reacts by
issuing appeals, statements and regulations that are not either enforced
or
are not in conformity with the above-mentioned resolution. The lack of
vigorous action by the relevant representatives of the international
community makes them accomplices in the crime of ethnic cleansing that
is
under way. The conclusion to be drawn is that the only thing that
members
of the international community are seriously concerned for is their own
safety and security.
Part II of the report, covering the period following the take-over of
responsibility by UNMIK and KFOR, may lead to the conclusion that the
current violence against Serbs is massive and systematic in all parts of
Kosovo and Metohija, apparently with the intent to scare off the
non-Albanian population and create a mono-ethnic Kosovo and Metohija.
The
key elements of UNMIK's and KFOR's mandates, as defined in Security
Council
resolution 1244 (1999), have not been implemented, i.e. to create a
secure
environment in which all refugees and displaced persons can return home
in
safety, to ensure conditions for a peaceful and normal life for all
inhabitants of Kosovo and Metohija, to maintain a multi-ethnic and
multi-confessional character of the Province, as well as to demilitarize
the so-called KLA. KFOR and UNMIK have failed to ensure free movement in
Kosovo and Metohija and also, with their tolerant attitude towards the
terror of the so-called KLA, are accessory to the blockading and
ghettoization of segments of the Serbian and other non-Albanian
populations
herded into several enclaves in Kosovo and Metohija (Orahovac,
Gora`devac,
Kosovo Polje). The report failed to point to the responsibility of those
who have undertaken to establish law and order and guarantee security
for
all citizens. They will not take the consequences for such failure,
either.
Thus, the recognition that UNMIK has been incompetent (or unwilling) to
halt the final stages of the ethnic cleansing in Kosovo and Metohija and
to
establish civil administration, is revealed in all its devastating
brutality.
Belgrade, 7 February 2000
---
VIOLATIONS OF THE SECURITY COUNCIL RESOLUTION 1244 (1999)
OVERVIEW
1. Affirmation of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the FR of
Yugoslavia: United Nations Security Council resolution 1244 (1999)
unambiguously confirms the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the
FR
of Yugoslavia in Kosovo and Metohija (preambular para 10; Annex 2 para
8).
The Resolution limits the mandate of the international security (KFOR)
and
civilian (UNMIK) presence to the establishment of conditions for an
unimpeded return of all refugees and displaced persons (paras 1 and 5,
Annex 1; paras 1 and 4, Annex 2), safe environment (op. para 9 c),
preservation of the multi-ethnic, multi-confessional and multi-cultural
character of Kosovo and Metohija and of the basic civilian and
administrative functions (operative para 11 b), with a view to ensuring
conditions for a political solution on the basis of the establishment of
a
substantial autonomy within the FR of Yugoslavia (operative para 10).
2. Security of citizens: The Government of the FR of Yugoslavia notes
with
concern that KFOR and UNMIK have not fulfilled their obligation
to guarantee security to all citizens in Kosovo and Metohija and to
ensure
a safe environment for the return of all refugees and internally
displaced
persons (op.para 9 c; Annex 1 para 5, Annex 2 para 7).
KFOR and UNMIK, and the UN Secretary-General's Special Representative B.
Kouchner in particular are, since they ignore the mandate they have been
entrusted to and grossly violate UN SC resolution 1244 (1999), directly
responsible for the lawlessness and chaos prevailing in the Province,
for
massive crime, usurpation of the State and private property as well as
for
terror, killings, abductions and ethnic cleansing of Serb and other
non-Albanian population.
3. Genocide and ethnic cleansing: Since the deployment of KFOR and
UNMIK,
on 12 June 1999, more than 350,000 non-Albanians, primarily Serbs,
Montenegrins, as well as Roma, Muslims, Turks, Goranci and others have
been
forcibly driven out of the Province. As many as 768 Serbs were killed
and
673 abducted. Not a single perpetrator of these serious criminal acts
has
been arrested or brought to justice, which clearly demonstrates the
efficiency of UNMIK police and their protective attitude towards
Albanian
terrorists. Most of these serious crimes have been committed by the
members
of the so-called KLA, later absorbed into the so-called Kosovo
Protection
Corps (KPC).
The remaining Serbs in the Province have been subjected to constant
terror and provocation, herded into few enclaves. KFOR and UNMIK lack
any
serious willingness and readiness to protect the remaining Serbs and
members of other non-Albanian ethnic groups in Kosovo and Metohija,
exposed
to constant terror and pressure to leave the Province, whereby KFOR and
UNMIK became direct accomplices in ethnic cleansing and genocide in the
southern Serb Province. A telling example of this is a several
months-old
blockade of Orahovac by Albanian terrorists, who have virtually turned
this
town into a first Nazi ghetto in post-war Europe.
4. Destruction of cultural monuments: In their genocidal campaign of
wiping out all Serb heritage, Albanian terrorists so far destroyed or
damaged more than 80 monasteries and churches of the Serb Orthodox
Church,
some of which date back to the XII century and represent a part of not
only
Serbian but world cultural heritage.
5. Tolerant attitude and support to terrorists: By their tolerant
attitude
towards a systematic campaign of ethnic cleansing and genocide against
Serb
and other non-Albanian population, KFOR and UNMIK bear sole
responsibility
for the violation of the provisions of UN SC resolution 1244 (1999) on
the
preservation of a multi-ethnic, multi-confessional and multi-cultural
character of the Province. KFOR and UNMIK's failure to implement UN SC
resolution 1244 (1999) or gross violations thereof, represent the cause
of
lawlessness and chaos in the Province.
6. Violation of the UN Security Council mandate: UNSG Special
Representative and Head of UNMIK B. Kouchner with his arbitrary and
unilateral decisions continuously and flagrantly violates the mandate
set
out in UN SC resolution 1244 (1999) and related documents. B. Kouchner
has
issued 25 regulations so far, all of which have no basis in UN SC
resolution 1244 (1999), and are aimed at severing all ties of the
Province
with the Republic of Serbia and the FR of Yugoslavia, i.e. at completely
separating the Province from the constitutional, legal, economic,
customs,
monetary and banking system of the FR of Yugoslavia and the Republic of
Serbia, which is in direct contravention of UN SC resolution 1244 (1999)
and related documents, reaffirming the sovereignty and territorial
integrity of the FR of Yugoslavia in Kosovo and Metohija.
Kouchner has illegally seized all legislative, executive and judicial
power in the Province (Regulation 1999/1 of 25 July 1999). By his
regulation 1999/3 of 31 August 1999, he established a separate customs
service. By his regulation 1999/4 of 2 September 1999, Kouchner
illegally
transferred monetary functions to local authorities and introduced the
German Mark as a legal tender. With regulations 1999/16 and 1999/17 of 6
November 1999 and regulations 1999/20 and 1999/21 of 15 November 1999,
he
introduced a "Central Banking and Payments Authority", i.e. a separate
banking system in Kosovo and Metohija.
- By Kouchner's regulation 1999/5 of 4 September 1999 on an Ad Hoc Court
of Final Appeal, de facto a supreme court of the Province, was actually
established, while regulations 1999/6 and 1999/7 of 7 September 1999
regulated the administration of justice and prosecution in the Province,
favouring Albanians, with a large number of KLA members including among
judges. Disastrous consequences are evident: so far, no terrorist has
been
brought to justice or convicted of serious crimes against the Serbs and
other non-Albanian population.
- Entrusting the regulation of the importation, transportation,
distribution and sale of petroleum products regime to illegal local
authorities controlled by KLA, otherwise a prerogative of the State
sovereign rule (regulation 1999/9 of 24 September 1999), constitutes a
gross violation of UN SC resolution 1244 (1999).
- The same situation prevails concerning the control of payments and
services, post and telecommunication services, granting permits for the
establishment of financial institutions and registration of vehicles,
all
of which are uniformly regulated in the entire territory of the FR of
Yugoslavia (regulations 1999/11 of 13 October 1999, 1999/12 of 14
October
1999, 1999/13 of 16 October 1999 and 1999/15 of 21 October 1999).
- UNMIK has been illegally issuing personal documents (vital statistics
records, intention to issue personal IDs) to citizens, without the
official
FRY State symbols, on the pretext that Albanians would not accept
documents
with official symbols of the FR of Yugoslavia and the Republic of
Serbia.
The policy of giving in to the Albanians is also in evidence in
connection
with the registration of the population.
- The FRY State property has been illegally transferred to foreign legal
persons (taking control of "Beopetrol" and "Jugopetrol" companies,
forcible
seizure of "Beobanka" branch offices, assigning mobile telephone network
service to French "Alcatel").
- By Kouchner's decision, Kosovo and Metohija has been taken out from a
single power supply system of Serbia and the FR of Yugoslavia and
connected
with the power supply systems of Albania and Macedonia, grossly
violating
the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the FRY.
- By preventing the activities of media outlets in Serbian and forcible
seizure of their premises and equipment, favouring at the same time the
media in Albanian, not only has destroyed a single media system of the
FR
of Yugoslavia and Republic of Serbia but encourages discrimination based
on
ethnicity, contrary to the basic intentions of the SC Resolution on the
preservation of the multi-ethnic, multi-cultural and multi-confessional
character of the Province.
- Without prior approval of the competent FRY authorities, KFOR and
UNMIK
have established international transport between the Province and some
States, including those with which the FR of Yugoslavia does not have
diplomatic relations. The establishment of local air, railway and other
transport between the Province and other parts of the single FRY
territory
has been prevented, which is particularly unacceptable.
7. Establishment of illegal organs of administration: By a fait
accompli
tactic, without consulting legal representatives of the Republic of
Serbia
and the FR of Yugoslavia, Special Representative Kouchner has illegally
established the so- called Interim Administration Council, de facto
provincial "Government", comprised exclusively of Albanians, mostly
leaders
of the terrorist so-called KLA and Albanian separatist political
parties,
in an attempt to legalise an ethnically pure Kosovo and Metohija,
contrary
to UN SC resolution 1244 (1999).
8. Blocking a political settlement: UNMIK and B. Kouchner do not accept
dialogue and co-operation with representatives of the Governments of the
FR
of Yugoslavia and the Republic of Serbia on questions of interest for
the
stabilisation of the overall security, economic and political situation
in
the Province.
The contact between UNMIK and the Government of the FR of Yugoslavia
concerning substantial autonomy and self-government in Kosovo and
Metohija
(Resolution op.para 11 a; Annex 1 para 6 and Annex 2 para 5) has not
been
established. UNSG Special Representative Kouchner persistently continues
to
ignore repeated requests of the Government of the FR of Yugoslavia
addressed to the UN Secretary-General and the Security Council to start
negotiations on substantial autonomy in Kosovo and Metohija (op.para 11
a;
Annex 2 para 8) between the legitimate representatives of the Republic
of
Serbia and the FR of Yugoslavia and the representatives of all ethnic
communities in Kosovo and Metohija.
9. Control of the State border: KFOR and UNMIK do not carry out their
obligation to control the State border of the FR of Yugoslavia towards
Albania and Macedonia (op.para 9 g), which is why more than 200,000
foreigners came to the territory of the FRY, including a large number of
the terrorists of the so-called KLA and criminal gangs, especially the
narco-mafia, illegal arms and white slave traders, etc., whereby Kosovo
and
Metohija has become the centre for the expansion of organised crime
throughout Europe. Illegal entries to the FR of Yugoslavia have not
stopped
despite the assurances by KFOR and UNMIK that they consistently
implement
their obligations arising from the Resolution, regarding the
safeguarding
of the FRY international border.
10. Return of the Army of Yugoslavia (VJ) and police: The return of the
agreed number of members of VJ and Serb police in Kosovo and Metohija is
still unjustifiably prevented and delayed (Annex 2 para 6), which
additionally encourages Albanian terrorists to continue with their daily
terror against the Serb and other non-Albanian population with a view to
completing the ethnic cleansing of the Province.
11. Demilitarisation and disarming of the so-called KLA: Terrorist so-
called KLA has not been disarmed or demilitarised, which represents one
of
the most serious examples of gross violation of UN SC resolution 1244
(1999) (op.para 9 b and op.para 15). Only a token quantity of antiquated
arms were surrendered. Secret arms caches of terrorists are being
revealed
every day. The border with Albania and Macedonia has not been closed,
whereby KFOR and UNMIK continue to enable the entry of armed terrorists
and
large quantities of arms in the Province. This has been testified to by
daily armed attacks of Albanians on Serb enclaves, buses and other means
of
transport carrying Serb and other non-Albanians as well as against their
houses, land and other property.
12. Transformation of the so-called KLA: The establishment of the so-
called Kosovo Protection Corps (KPC), which is made up of members of the
terrorist so-called KLA (in Albanian translation "corps" means "force"),
has actually legalised this terrorist organisation as well as its former
leadership and enhanced its combat organisational structure. While the
leadership of the so-called KPC has retained a wide authority through
"transformation" - its members publicly carry light weapons and they
hide
their heavy weapons in hide-outs whose location is known to KFOR. At
the
same time, "KPC" leadership or the former leaders of the terrorist
so-called KLA publicly state that "KPC", as a parallel structure of the
so-called KLA, represents a model for the future "Kosovo Army".
13. Security and freedom of movement for international representatives:
Passive attitude of KFOR and UNMIK towards several-months long Albanian
blockade of the deployment of a Russian KFOR contingent in Orahovac,
confirms their protective stance towards Albanian terrorists and
represents
an open violation of UN SC resolution 1244 (1999) on security and
freedom
of movement of KFOR and UNMIK, as well as other international
organisations
(op.para 9 h).
14. Legal status of the UN peace-keeping mission: Proceeding from the
fact
that Kosovo and Metohija is part of the sovereign territory of the FR of
Yugoslavia, the Government of the FR of Yugoslavia, as the host, has
initiated, since the deployment of international security and civilian
presence under the auspices of the United Nations in Kosovo and
Metohija,
the conclusion of an appropriate agreement with the United Nations
concerning the legal status of this mission, which did not take place
due
to the refusal on the part of the United Nations.
15. Para-diplomatic missions and visits by foreign officials: UNMIK has
allowed the illegal establishment of para-diplomatic missions of some
countries in Kosovo and Metohija, in a gross violation of the principle
of
the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the FR of Yugoslavia.
Despite the repeated official protests by the Government of the FR of
Yugoslavia addressed to the Security Council, the Secretary-General and
KFOR and UNMIK, an illegal practice continues of establishing
"diplomatic
offices" of foreign States in Kosovo and Metohija, which constitutes a
drastic violation of Security Council resolution 1244 (1999) and Article
2
of the Vienna conventions on diplomatic and consular relations, as well
as
a hostile act towards a receiving country whose sovereignty is
flagrantly
violated, because it is done without its prior consent.
Ignoring the warnings and overriding the official protests by the FR of
Yugoslavia an unacceptable practice is being continued of not notifying
the
visits of foreign officials to Kosovo and Metohija, thus violating the
provisions of SC resolution 1244 (1999) and Annex 2 paras 5 and 8, and
the
Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations and the existing Yugoslav visa
regime.
The Government of the FR of Yugoslavia insists that this illegal
practice
be immediately terminated and that the behaviour of all factors in the
Province be strictly in accordance with the provisions of the Resolution
and the applicable international conventions and practice.
16. Responsibility of KFOR and UNMIK: KFOR and UNMIK are responsible for
disturbing developments in the Province. By failing to comply with the
clear responsibilities under SC resolution 1244 (1999) and the relevant
documents or by interpreting them arbitrarily as well as by an
inadmissibly
tolerant attitude towards Albanian terrorists, KFOR and UNMIK bear full
responsibility for the crimes of genocide and systematic ethnic
cleansing
that are being perpetrated against Serbs and other non-Albanian
population
in their presence, thus using the UN peace-keeping mission as a smoke
screen and actually becoming accomplices in these serious crimes.
17. Responsibility of the UN Security Council: Under SC resolution 1244
(op. paras 19 and 20), the Security Council guarantees its
implementation.
In view of the tragic situation in Kosovo and Metohija and systematic
violations of all crucial provisions of UN SC resolution 1244 (1999) and
the Military Technical Agreement, the FR of Yugoslavia demands that the
Security Council undertake without delay most energetic steps and
measures
for their consistent implementation and prevent all attempts at
departing,
postponing to carry out or arbitrarily interpreting the provisions of
this
Resolution.
In that context, the Government of the FR of Yugoslavia energetically
demands that the Security Council rescind, without delay, all illegal
decisions of UNSG Special Representative B. Kouchner and take other
measures, as may be necessary, to have the situation in Kosovo and
Metohija
restored to its previous state.
All decisions of KFOR and UNMIK which are contrary to the Resolution and
related documents imply either their gross violation or arbitrary
interpretation, particularly regarding strict respect for the
sovereignty
and territorial integrity of the FR of Yugoslavia in the southern Serb
Province, are considered by the Government of the FR of Yugoslavia null
and
void and cannot have any legal effect.
Belgrade, 10 January 2000
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