Informazione
SEGNALAZIONE
E' uscito in questi giorni il numero di Febbraio 2000 de "l'Ernesto",
contenente un importante speciale sull'imperialismo. La rivista si
occupa di fornire materiali per un rilancio dell'analisi teorica
nell'ambiente comunista, con particolare attenzione al contesto
internazionale. Nei numeri passati sono stati pubblicati ad esempio
importanti articoli sulle vicende dell'Europa Orientale, dell'Asia
centrale e della Cina, con analisi rigorose - e coraggiose, assai
controcorrente rispetto al "pensiero unico" che paralizza la sinistra
sulle questioni internazionali.
L'ERNESTO - mensile comunista
direttore: Fosco Giannini
redazione: Via Lagrange 26, 28100 Novara, tel. (0321)468511
distribuzione: per abbonamento
per abbonarsi: versamento su c.c postale n. 18385104
annuale ordinario: lire 30.000
annuale sostenitore: lire 50.000
Dall'ultimo numero riceviamo, e volentieri diffondiamo, il seguente
contributo dedicato alle conseguenze ambientali della aggressione della
NATO contro la Repubblica Federale di Jugoslavia.
--------------------------------------------------------------
C'est trop facile quand les guerres sont finies
d'aller gueuler que c'etait la derniere.
Amis bourgeois vous me faites envie,
vous ne voyez donc point vos cimetieres.
(Jacques Brel, 1955)
Durante la guerra aggressiva condotta dal mondo occidentale e ricco
nei confronti della Jugoslavia, i colpi sono stati diretti soprattutto
verso le risorse economiche, gli stabilimenti produttivi, e le fonti
di energia. Evidentemente, gli obiettivi del bombardamento andavano
ben oltre quello dichiarato della difesa dei diritti umani: i nostri
governanti intendevano piegare un paese moderno e sviluppato, e farlo
regredire ad un livello da Terzo Mondo.
I terribili veleni che sono stati liberati nell'ambiente fanno
prefigurare una lenta agonia delle popolazioni balcaniche e del
territorio, ben oltre la durata dell'azione militare propriamente
detta. Con il bombardamento di impianti chimici e raffinerie sono
state immesse nell'aria e nei fiumi grandi concentrazioni di
pericolosi cancerogeni quali cloruro di vinile monomero, benzopirene e
diossine, e di sostanze pericolose per il sistema respiratorio quali
ammoniaca e anidride solforosa. Quest'ultima e' anche la principale
responsabile del fenomeno delle piogge acide, che degradano le
foreste di tutta l'Europa Centrale. Bisogna anche considerare che
tutti questi composti procurano danni enormi alla produzione agricola,
e si inseriscono nella catena alimentare. Ma l'assoluto spregio per le
popolazioni da parte dei paesi della NATO e' simboleggiato dall'uso di
armi contenenti uranio impoverito, metallo debolmente radioattivo che
diventa cancerogeno quando viene inalato, in quanto si fissa per
sempre nei polmoni e nelle ossa, agendo lentamente ma inesorabilmente.
Il primo conflitto dell'era NATO si prefigura quindi come GUERRA
ECOLOGICA.
Inoltre, i bombardamenti incessanti da parte degli Stati Uniti e
dell'Europa, che per tre mesi dello scorso anno hanno martoriato il
territorio balcanico, hanno messo in evidenza la necessita' di
interpretare gli avvenimenti internazionali oltre la scala locale.
Possiamo affermare che gran parte del pubblico non ha gli strumenti
conoscitivi ed ideologici adatti a vedere oltre la sfera piu' interna
degli avvenimenti. Questa visione miope si limita alla questione dei
nazionalismi ("etnie diverse impregnate di odi atavici non possono
convivere"), delle vere o presunte violazioni dei diritti umani
("quanto e' cattivo Milosevic"), degli interessi affaristico-elettorali
dei leader dei paesi coinvolti nelle guerre ("la Russia bombarda la
Cecenia in vista delle prossime elezioni presidenziali") e ad
interpretazioni psicologiche ("gli USA bombardano Bagdad ogni
qualvolta torna alla ribalta il sexygate"). Tutte interpretazioni
estremamente elementari e semplificate, al punto che ci arrivano anche
i giornalisti ed i politicanti. Per chi decide la guerra e la pace,
questi aspetti sono del tutto marginali: essi hanno importanza solo
per la loro funzione psicologica nei confronti dell'opinione pubblica.
Chi e' piu' attento, tuttavia, non ha potuto non estendere la propria
visione per lo meno alla scala regionale. Non lo hanno fatto soltanto
le "frange estremiste" ed i "pacifisti politicizzati": questo passo,
anzi, e' stato compiuto soprattutto dagli strateghi militari, nonche'
dai settori piu' attenti del mondo imprenditoriale e della Farnesina
(insomma, quelli che amano definirsi "i geopolitici"). Con lo sguardo
concentrato sulla scala regionale, la visione cambia radicalmente. I
dati di fatto sono l'affermarsi della Turchia come potenza regionale,
la retrocessione di una Russia umiliata e costretta a cedere uno dopo
l'altro i territori dell'ex-URSS, e l'aggressivita' economica della
Germania riunificata. Emerge cosi' l'importanza fondamentale dei
Balcani come luogo di passaggio per le merci, fra la Mitteleuropa e la
Turchia cosi' come fra il Caucaso ed il Mediterraneo, e diventa
indispensabile prendere in considerazione i vicini pozzi di petrolio
del Mar Caspio, per il controllo dei quali e' in atto una competizione
formidabile che coinvolge stati e grosse imprese petrolifere (si veda,
per esempio, Michel Collon, POKER MENTEUR, Editions EPO, Bruxelles
1998, libro di cui e' in corso di preparazione la traduzione italiana).
Proprio quest'ultima considerazione sul petrolio dovrebbe portare ad
estendere ulteriormente l'orizzonte, dalla sfera regionale a quella
mondiale e globale. Purtroppo questo ulteriore passo viene compiuto di
rado, ed i fenomeni su questa scala vengono sottovalutati o presentati
in forma edulcorata. Eppure essi riguardano argomenti della massima
importanza: il commercio mondiale, il debito estero, i flussi
migratori, le risorse del Pianeta e le materie prime. All'era del
bipolarismo e della guerra fredda e' succeduta non una fase monopolare,
come talvolta fa comodo pensare, bensi' un'epoca multipolare, che vede
affrontarsi (anche se non ancora sul piano militare, e spesso lontano
dai riflettori) colossi come la Cina, l'India, la Russia, l'Europa, e
la superpotenza leader degli Stati Uniti. A questi cinque giganti
(tutti localizzati nell'emisfero Nord) bisogna poi aggiungere le
multinazionali, nonche' tutto il Terzo Mondo, che malgrado sia
estremamente diviso sta prendendo coscienza della propria forza.
Desidero affrontare in particolare la questione delle risorse, e piu'
precisamente dell'energia, traendo spunto dallo studio pubblicato da
Alberto Di Fazio e che raccomando a tutti di leggere (A. Di Fazio, "Le
connessioni fra la guerra dei Balcani e la crisi energetica prossima
ventura", in IMBROGLI DI GUERRA, il libro di "Scienziate e scienziati
contro la guerra", Odradek 1999). Anche limitandoci a questa sola
questione, la situazione appare gia' terrificante. Da una parte, il
dato di fatto e' che non vengono quasi piu' scoperti nuovi giacimenti di
greggio; e che poiche' quelli noti fino ad oggi sono limitati, si
prevede che tra dieci anni circa comincera' il lento ed inesorabile
declino della produzione di petrolio che ci lascera' "a secco" fra
quaranta o cinquanta anni (con conseguente ritorno al carbone).
D'altra parte, bisogna cominciare a considerare anche l'aria come una
risorsa limitata: non tanto l'aria da respirare quanto quella da
inquinare. Il riscaldamento della Terra e la modifica del clima
avanzano sotto l'azione dell'effetto serra, ed aprono la strada a
disastri spaventosi quali l'innalzamento del livello del mare,
l'aumento della frequenza degli uragani, il propagarsi di pericolose
epidemie, la desertificazione, lo squilibrio nella produzione
agricola, eccetera. Il problema, anche se ignorato dal grande
pubblico, e' all'ordine del giorno nelle sedi dell'ONU, dove si
svolgono aspre negoziazioni sulla necessita' di limitare la
combustione, responsabile della maggior parte delle emissioni di
anidride carbonica. Il processo sotto accusa e' proprio quello della
produzione di energia.
Sia la fine delle risorse petrolifere sia le limitazioni alle
emissioni di anidride carbonica colpiscono al cuore il modello di
sviluppo vigente e universalmente celebrato: meno energia, infatti,
significa meno PIL, una conseguenza inaccettabile per un sistema
basato sull'aumento dei consumi e sulla CRESCITA perenne. Se da un
lato la soluzione apparentemente ovvia consiste nella drastica
riduzione del tenore di vita e del sistema di mercato in tutti i paesi
del mondo (in particolar modo in quelli piu' ricchi ed avanzati),
d'altra parte alcuni potrebbero ingenuamente pensare di potersi
"salvare" puntando sulle disuguaglianze e l'esclusione, costringendo
altri alla miseria. Questa sembra in effetti essere la politica
perseguita dagli Stati Uniti d'America, il che ne spiega la
propensione al dominio economico, politico e militare.
Le circostanze che favoriscono lo svilupparsi delle guerre sono
molteplici: e' troppo facile trincerarsi dietro a visioni parziali e
slogan semplicistici, quali quello della "guerra etnica" e della
"guerra per il petrolio". Quest'ultimo, in particolare, non ha
importanza solo per il suo valore economico, bensi' soprattutto per il
suo interesse strategico. Le guerre sono fenomeni complessi e sono
determinate da una serie di cause che agiscono a diversi livelli, come
in un sistema di sfere concentriche: sono le sfere piu' esterne a
determinare il comportamento ai livelli piu' interni (e raramente il
viceversa). La gravita' della situazione a livello di fattori globali
mette in evidenza la posta in gioco nello scontro fra le potenze. Di
fronte ad essa non vi sono diritti umani che tengano, e per i piu'
forti non possono esserci interventi che meritino di essere presi in
considerazione, se non vanno nella direzione della costruzione di una
gerarchia totalitaria di nazioni.
Concludendo, le guerre moderne sono allo stesso tempo la causa e
l'effetto della degradazione dell'ambiente sulla Terra, con la quale
sono avvolte in una pericolosa spirale che potrebbe portare la nave ad
affondare. In un goffo tentativo di salvaguardarsi dalle crisi
ambientali, alcuni stati percepiscono la guerra e l'oppressione come
gli unici strumenti utili per la propria sopravvivenza. E'
indispensabile, oltreche' urgente, sensibilizzare il pubblico sulla
tematica dei problemi globali, da cui viene accuratamente tenuto
all'oscuro. In particolare, bisogna puntare il dito sulla
responsabilita' del mondo scientifico, che invece di dedicarsi ad un
uso piu' razionale delle risorse e ad una piu' giusta distribuzione dei
frutti del lavoro dell'uomo, fornisce all'Impero le armi e le
innovazioni tecnologiche, nonche' l'impostazione di pensiero atta a
giustificarlo in tutte le sue azioni e malefatte (guerre "necessarie",
"chirurgiche" e "supertecnologiche"). La minaccia per l'Umanita' puo'
essere scongiurata soltanto se si prende coscienza del fatto che i
problemi vanno affrontati complessivamente e nell'interesse collettivo
di tutti gli abitanti del Pianeta.
Franco Marenco
--------- COORDINAMENTO ROMANO PER LA JUGOSLAVIA -----------
RIMSKI SAVEZ ZA JUGOSLAVIJU
e-mail: crj@... - URL: http://marx2001.org/crj
http://www.egroups.com/group/crj-mailinglist/
------------------------------------------------------------
E' uscito in questi giorni il numero di Febbraio 2000 de "l'Ernesto",
contenente un importante speciale sull'imperialismo. La rivista si
occupa di fornire materiali per un rilancio dell'analisi teorica
nell'ambiente comunista, con particolare attenzione al contesto
internazionale. Nei numeri passati sono stati pubblicati ad esempio
importanti articoli sulle vicende dell'Europa Orientale, dell'Asia
centrale e della Cina, con analisi rigorose - e coraggiose, assai
controcorrente rispetto al "pensiero unico" che paralizza la sinistra
sulle questioni internazionali.
L'ERNESTO - mensile comunista
direttore: Fosco Giannini
redazione: Via Lagrange 26, 28100 Novara, tel. (0321)468511
distribuzione: per abbonamento
per abbonarsi: versamento su c.c postale n. 18385104
annuale ordinario: lire 30.000
annuale sostenitore: lire 50.000
Dall'ultimo numero riceviamo, e volentieri diffondiamo, il seguente
contributo dedicato alle conseguenze ambientali della aggressione della
NATO contro la Repubblica Federale di Jugoslavia.
--------------------------------------------------------------
C'est trop facile quand les guerres sont finies
d'aller gueuler que c'etait la derniere.
Amis bourgeois vous me faites envie,
vous ne voyez donc point vos cimetieres.
(Jacques Brel, 1955)
Durante la guerra aggressiva condotta dal mondo occidentale e ricco
nei confronti della Jugoslavia, i colpi sono stati diretti soprattutto
verso le risorse economiche, gli stabilimenti produttivi, e le fonti
di energia. Evidentemente, gli obiettivi del bombardamento andavano
ben oltre quello dichiarato della difesa dei diritti umani: i nostri
governanti intendevano piegare un paese moderno e sviluppato, e farlo
regredire ad un livello da Terzo Mondo.
I terribili veleni che sono stati liberati nell'ambiente fanno
prefigurare una lenta agonia delle popolazioni balcaniche e del
territorio, ben oltre la durata dell'azione militare propriamente
detta. Con il bombardamento di impianti chimici e raffinerie sono
state immesse nell'aria e nei fiumi grandi concentrazioni di
pericolosi cancerogeni quali cloruro di vinile monomero, benzopirene e
diossine, e di sostanze pericolose per il sistema respiratorio quali
ammoniaca e anidride solforosa. Quest'ultima e' anche la principale
responsabile del fenomeno delle piogge acide, che degradano le
foreste di tutta l'Europa Centrale. Bisogna anche considerare che
tutti questi composti procurano danni enormi alla produzione agricola,
e si inseriscono nella catena alimentare. Ma l'assoluto spregio per le
popolazioni da parte dei paesi della NATO e' simboleggiato dall'uso di
armi contenenti uranio impoverito, metallo debolmente radioattivo che
diventa cancerogeno quando viene inalato, in quanto si fissa per
sempre nei polmoni e nelle ossa, agendo lentamente ma inesorabilmente.
Il primo conflitto dell'era NATO si prefigura quindi come GUERRA
ECOLOGICA.
Inoltre, i bombardamenti incessanti da parte degli Stati Uniti e
dell'Europa, che per tre mesi dello scorso anno hanno martoriato il
territorio balcanico, hanno messo in evidenza la necessita' di
interpretare gli avvenimenti internazionali oltre la scala locale.
Possiamo affermare che gran parte del pubblico non ha gli strumenti
conoscitivi ed ideologici adatti a vedere oltre la sfera piu' interna
degli avvenimenti. Questa visione miope si limita alla questione dei
nazionalismi ("etnie diverse impregnate di odi atavici non possono
convivere"), delle vere o presunte violazioni dei diritti umani
("quanto e' cattivo Milosevic"), degli interessi affaristico-elettorali
dei leader dei paesi coinvolti nelle guerre ("la Russia bombarda la
Cecenia in vista delle prossime elezioni presidenziali") e ad
interpretazioni psicologiche ("gli USA bombardano Bagdad ogni
qualvolta torna alla ribalta il sexygate"). Tutte interpretazioni
estremamente elementari e semplificate, al punto che ci arrivano anche
i giornalisti ed i politicanti. Per chi decide la guerra e la pace,
questi aspetti sono del tutto marginali: essi hanno importanza solo
per la loro funzione psicologica nei confronti dell'opinione pubblica.
Chi e' piu' attento, tuttavia, non ha potuto non estendere la propria
visione per lo meno alla scala regionale. Non lo hanno fatto soltanto
le "frange estremiste" ed i "pacifisti politicizzati": questo passo,
anzi, e' stato compiuto soprattutto dagli strateghi militari, nonche'
dai settori piu' attenti del mondo imprenditoriale e della Farnesina
(insomma, quelli che amano definirsi "i geopolitici"). Con lo sguardo
concentrato sulla scala regionale, la visione cambia radicalmente. I
dati di fatto sono l'affermarsi della Turchia come potenza regionale,
la retrocessione di una Russia umiliata e costretta a cedere uno dopo
l'altro i territori dell'ex-URSS, e l'aggressivita' economica della
Germania riunificata. Emerge cosi' l'importanza fondamentale dei
Balcani come luogo di passaggio per le merci, fra la Mitteleuropa e la
Turchia cosi' come fra il Caucaso ed il Mediterraneo, e diventa
indispensabile prendere in considerazione i vicini pozzi di petrolio
del Mar Caspio, per il controllo dei quali e' in atto una competizione
formidabile che coinvolge stati e grosse imprese petrolifere (si veda,
per esempio, Michel Collon, POKER MENTEUR, Editions EPO, Bruxelles
1998, libro di cui e' in corso di preparazione la traduzione italiana).
Proprio quest'ultima considerazione sul petrolio dovrebbe portare ad
estendere ulteriormente l'orizzonte, dalla sfera regionale a quella
mondiale e globale. Purtroppo questo ulteriore passo viene compiuto di
rado, ed i fenomeni su questa scala vengono sottovalutati o presentati
in forma edulcorata. Eppure essi riguardano argomenti della massima
importanza: il commercio mondiale, il debito estero, i flussi
migratori, le risorse del Pianeta e le materie prime. All'era del
bipolarismo e della guerra fredda e' succeduta non una fase monopolare,
come talvolta fa comodo pensare, bensi' un'epoca multipolare, che vede
affrontarsi (anche se non ancora sul piano militare, e spesso lontano
dai riflettori) colossi come la Cina, l'India, la Russia, l'Europa, e
la superpotenza leader degli Stati Uniti. A questi cinque giganti
(tutti localizzati nell'emisfero Nord) bisogna poi aggiungere le
multinazionali, nonche' tutto il Terzo Mondo, che malgrado sia
estremamente diviso sta prendendo coscienza della propria forza.
Desidero affrontare in particolare la questione delle risorse, e piu'
precisamente dell'energia, traendo spunto dallo studio pubblicato da
Alberto Di Fazio e che raccomando a tutti di leggere (A. Di Fazio, "Le
connessioni fra la guerra dei Balcani e la crisi energetica prossima
ventura", in IMBROGLI DI GUERRA, il libro di "Scienziate e scienziati
contro la guerra", Odradek 1999). Anche limitandoci a questa sola
questione, la situazione appare gia' terrificante. Da una parte, il
dato di fatto e' che non vengono quasi piu' scoperti nuovi giacimenti di
greggio; e che poiche' quelli noti fino ad oggi sono limitati, si
prevede che tra dieci anni circa comincera' il lento ed inesorabile
declino della produzione di petrolio che ci lascera' "a secco" fra
quaranta o cinquanta anni (con conseguente ritorno al carbone).
D'altra parte, bisogna cominciare a considerare anche l'aria come una
risorsa limitata: non tanto l'aria da respirare quanto quella da
inquinare. Il riscaldamento della Terra e la modifica del clima
avanzano sotto l'azione dell'effetto serra, ed aprono la strada a
disastri spaventosi quali l'innalzamento del livello del mare,
l'aumento della frequenza degli uragani, il propagarsi di pericolose
epidemie, la desertificazione, lo squilibrio nella produzione
agricola, eccetera. Il problema, anche se ignorato dal grande
pubblico, e' all'ordine del giorno nelle sedi dell'ONU, dove si
svolgono aspre negoziazioni sulla necessita' di limitare la
combustione, responsabile della maggior parte delle emissioni di
anidride carbonica. Il processo sotto accusa e' proprio quello della
produzione di energia.
Sia la fine delle risorse petrolifere sia le limitazioni alle
emissioni di anidride carbonica colpiscono al cuore il modello di
sviluppo vigente e universalmente celebrato: meno energia, infatti,
significa meno PIL, una conseguenza inaccettabile per un sistema
basato sull'aumento dei consumi e sulla CRESCITA perenne. Se da un
lato la soluzione apparentemente ovvia consiste nella drastica
riduzione del tenore di vita e del sistema di mercato in tutti i paesi
del mondo (in particolar modo in quelli piu' ricchi ed avanzati),
d'altra parte alcuni potrebbero ingenuamente pensare di potersi
"salvare" puntando sulle disuguaglianze e l'esclusione, costringendo
altri alla miseria. Questa sembra in effetti essere la politica
perseguita dagli Stati Uniti d'America, il che ne spiega la
propensione al dominio economico, politico e militare.
Le circostanze che favoriscono lo svilupparsi delle guerre sono
molteplici: e' troppo facile trincerarsi dietro a visioni parziali e
slogan semplicistici, quali quello della "guerra etnica" e della
"guerra per il petrolio". Quest'ultimo, in particolare, non ha
importanza solo per il suo valore economico, bensi' soprattutto per il
suo interesse strategico. Le guerre sono fenomeni complessi e sono
determinate da una serie di cause che agiscono a diversi livelli, come
in un sistema di sfere concentriche: sono le sfere piu' esterne a
determinare il comportamento ai livelli piu' interni (e raramente il
viceversa). La gravita' della situazione a livello di fattori globali
mette in evidenza la posta in gioco nello scontro fra le potenze. Di
fronte ad essa non vi sono diritti umani che tengano, e per i piu'
forti non possono esserci interventi che meritino di essere presi in
considerazione, se non vanno nella direzione della costruzione di una
gerarchia totalitaria di nazioni.
Concludendo, le guerre moderne sono allo stesso tempo la causa e
l'effetto della degradazione dell'ambiente sulla Terra, con la quale
sono avvolte in una pericolosa spirale che potrebbe portare la nave ad
affondare. In un goffo tentativo di salvaguardarsi dalle crisi
ambientali, alcuni stati percepiscono la guerra e l'oppressione come
gli unici strumenti utili per la propria sopravvivenza. E'
indispensabile, oltreche' urgente, sensibilizzare il pubblico sulla
tematica dei problemi globali, da cui viene accuratamente tenuto
all'oscuro. In particolare, bisogna puntare il dito sulla
responsabilita' del mondo scientifico, che invece di dedicarsi ad un
uso piu' razionale delle risorse e ad una piu' giusta distribuzione dei
frutti del lavoro dell'uomo, fornisce all'Impero le armi e le
innovazioni tecnologiche, nonche' l'impostazione di pensiero atta a
giustificarlo in tutte le sue azioni e malefatte (guerre "necessarie",
"chirurgiche" e "supertecnologiche"). La minaccia per l'Umanita' puo'
essere scongiurata soltanto se si prende coscienza del fatto che i
problemi vanno affrontati complessivamente e nell'interesse collettivo
di tutti gli abitanti del Pianeta.
Franco Marenco
--------- COORDINAMENTO ROMANO PER LA JUGOSLAVIA -----------
RIMSKI SAVEZ ZA JUGOSLAVIJU
e-mail: crj@... - URL: http://marx2001.org/crj
http://www.egroups.com/group/crj-mailinglist/
------------------------------------------------------------
LA CINA HA RAGIONE!
"Il governo americano dovrebbe tener d'occhio i problemi relativi ai
diritti umani all'interno degli USA, occuparsi delle sue faccende e
smetterla di interferire negli affari interni degli altri paesi
utilizzando il pretesto dei diritti umani"
(Agenzia di informazione Xinhua, Inside China Today Daily Brief
Tue, Feb. 29, 2000 - http://www.insidechina.com/ )
> Quote of the Day: "The American government needs to
> keep an eye on its own human rights problems, mind
> its own business and stop interfering in the internal
> affairs of other countries by utilizing the human
> rights question" -- Xinhua news agency, the
> government's Information Office of the State Council.
--------- COORDINAMENTO ROMANO PER LA JUGOSLAVIA -----------
RIMSKI SAVEZ ZA JUGOSLAVIJU
e-mail: crj@... - URL: http://marx2001.org/crj
http://www.egroups.com/group/crj-mailinglist/
------------------------------------------------------------
"Il governo americano dovrebbe tener d'occhio i problemi relativi ai
diritti umani all'interno degli USA, occuparsi delle sue faccende e
smetterla di interferire negli affari interni degli altri paesi
utilizzando il pretesto dei diritti umani"
(Agenzia di informazione Xinhua, Inside China Today Daily Brief
Tue, Feb. 29, 2000 - http://www.insidechina.com/ )
> Quote of the Day: "The American government needs to
> keep an eye on its own human rights problems, mind
> its own business and stop interfering in the internal
> affairs of other countries by utilizing the human
> rights question" -- Xinhua news agency, the
> government's Information Office of the State Council.
--------- COORDINAMENTO ROMANO PER LA JUGOSLAVIA -----------
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------------------------------------------------------------
* Quanti sono i soldati delle truppe di occupazione in Kosmet (Albanian
Daily News / AFP / Notizie Est)
* Bilancio della distruzione delle chiese cristiano-ortodosse nel Kosmet
per opera dell'UCKFOR (THE MONTREAL GAZETTE)
---
I NUMERI DELLA KFOR IN KOSOVO
("Albanian Daily News", 29 febbraio 2000)
(trad. su "Notizie Est" #307, 1/3/2000)
BRUXELLES - La KFOR, la forza multinazionale di
mantenimento della pace, ha attualmente in
Kosovo 37.200 soldati, mentre altri 5.600
forniscono supporto logistico in Macedonia,
Albania e Grecia.
Secondo le ultime cifre fornite dalla NATO, in
Kosovo gli Stati Uniti hanno il numero piu' alto
di soldati dispiegati sul campo, con 5.400
effettivi, seguiti dall'Italia (4.200), dalla
Germania (3.900), dalla Francia (3.900), dalla
Russia (3.150) e dalla Gran Bretagna (3.000).
Nel totale di 36 stati che contribuiscono alla
missione, gli altri paesi che hanno fornito
contingenti sostanziosi sono stati l'Olanda
(1.400), gli Emirati Arabi Uniti (1.300), il
Canada (1.100), la Grecia (1.100), la Norvegia
(1.000) e la Spagna (900). I paesi NATO coprono
circa i quattro quinti degli effettivi totali,
con circa 30.000 uomini.
I contingenti di supporto si trovano in
Macedonia, dove ci sono 4.000 militari KFOR, in
Albania, dove ve ne sono 1.400, e in Grecia,
dove sono 100.
Il Kosovo e' stato diviso in cinque settori,
ognuno sotto il comando di una diversa forza
partecipante: i francesi nel settore nord, gli
americani in quello est, i tedeschi in quello
sud, gli italiani in quello ovest e i britanni
in quello centrale.
La KFOR attualmente e' amministrata dal
Landcent, le forze di terra NATO nell'Europa
Centrale, con sede a Heidelberg, in Germania,
sotto il comando del generale tedesco Klaus
Reinhardt. Lo stato maggiore della KFOR e'
composto da circa 1.500 uomini di tutte le
nazionalita'.
Il Landcent verra' sostituito in aprile dallo
stato maggiore dell'Eurocorps, formato da
ufficiali di Belgio, Francia, Germania e Spagna.
La KFOR sara' a partire da allora comandata dal
generale spagnolo Juan Ortuno, che e' diventato
comandante dell'Eurocorps il 26 novembre 1999.
Eternera Mailing List - http://get.to/eternera
KFOR troop numbers in Kosovo
BRUSSELS, Feb 24 (AFP) - KFOR, the multinational peacekeeping
force in Kosovo, currently has 37,200 troops deployed in the
southern Serbian province and a further 5,600 troops providing
logistical support in Macedonia, Albania and Greece.
According to the latest figures supplied by NATO, the United
States has the largest number of soldiers deployed, with 5,400
troops in Kosovo, followed by Italy (4,200), Germany (3,900), France
(3,900), Russia (3,150) and Britain (3,000).
Among a total of 36 contributing nations, substantial
contingents have been provided by the Netherlands (1,400), the
United Arab Emirates (1,300), Canada (1,100), Greece (1,100), Norway
(1,000) and Spain (900).
NATO countries account for around four-fifths of the total,
contributing some 30,000 troops.
Support teams are based in Macedonia, where there are 4,100 KFOR
troops, Albania where there are 1,400 and Greece with 100.
The province has been divided into five sectors, each under the
command of a different contributing force: French in the northern
sector, American in the east, German in the south, Italian in the
west and British in the centre.
KFOR is currently administered from Landcent, NATO's land forces
in central Europe based at Heidelberg, in Germany, under the overall
command of German General Klaus Reinhardt.
The KFOR general staff comprises around 1,500 men of all
nationalities.
The Eurocorps general staff, comprising officers from Belgium,
France, Germany, Luxembourg and Spain, is due to take over from
Landcent in April.
KFOR will then be headed by Spanish General Juan Ortuno, who
took over as commander of Eurocorps on November 26, 1999.
---
THE MONTREAL GAZETTE, Sunday, February 27, 2000
God's houses in ruins: The world keeps silent as Serb churches,
monasteries are
destroyed in
Kosovo under noses of peacekeepers
MARK ABLEY
The Gazette
The Orthodox Church of St. Nicholas, in the Kosovo village Banjska, was
probably not an international treasure.
As far as we know, it was just a modest house of God in an area dotted
with the same.
But no one may ever be sure. On Jan. 30, 11 kilograms of explosives were
detonated at the altar,
leaving much of the building in ruins.
The explosion forms part of a sad and continuing pattern. Since a wary
peace took shape in Kosovo in June 1999, nearly 80 of its Orthodox
churches and monasteries are known to have suffered heavy damage or
destruction. The total may be higher, given that a lot of churches are
located in remote areas where few, if any, Serbs still live.
These attacks did not occur during the North Atlantic Treaty
Organization's
bombing campaign
last spring. They have happened since the return of Kosovo's Albanian
majority. Extremists, usually assumed to be linked to the Kosovo
Liberation Army, have carried out a systematic campaign of destruction
under the eyes of international peacekeepers.
The unanswered question is why this devastation has caused so little
outcry.
British and French
media have paid some attention to the attacks; but the North American
media have carried few reports. Dozens of non-profit groups are now
working in Kosovo; they have said next to nothing.
"The Western world is rather fed up with the Balkans," suggested Colin
Kaiser, chief of the unit for southeast Europe and the Arab states in
UNESCO's Division of Cultural Heritage. "The wars, first in Croatia,
then
in Bosnia and most recently in Kosovo, became more and more intense in
terms of damage. But the cumulative effect has been that the Western
sensibility to it all has been dulled."
True enough. But beyond that, it also seems true that after the wars of
the past decade, few Westerners dare to sympathize with anything
Serbian.
Last September, Bishop Artemije, the head of the Orthodox diocese of
Raska and
Prizren, charged
that while the first aim of the Kosovo Albanians "is to expel all Serbs,
the second is to eradicate all traces and witnesses that could serve as
evidence that the Serbs have existed at all.
"But who and what are the witnesses? Churches, monasteries and holy
places. So
they set out to
destroy the witnesses, to obliterate the traces. In 21/2 months more
than 70
monasteries and
churches were burned or demolished. Among them were the churches built
by
our illustrious and holy ancestors in the 12th, 13th and 14th centuries.
The churches and monasteries, which survived 500 years of Turkish
occupation, did not endure two months in the presence of a 50,000-strong
international 'peacekeeping' force."
Peacekeeping troops from the United Arab Emirates, serving in the United
Nations' multinational
KFOR mission, had been stationed near the Church of St. Nicholas. But in
late January they withdrew, leaving the church unprotected. It was soon
blown to pieces.
The presence of the UN soldiers has slowed the rate of destruction in
recent months, but foreign troops can provide no guarantee of safety. On
Jan. 14, for instance, the Church of St. Elias, in a village called
Cernica, was partly destroyed by explosives. It stood just 70 metres
from
a checkpoint of U.S. soldiers.
Almost everyone would agree that the destruction of St. Elias's and St.
Nicholas's churches is regrettable. But what has so far escaped much
notice, particularly in North America, is that dozens of the earlier
victims were not just Serbian village churches, but buildings of great
beauty and historical significance. Among them:
- The Church of the Holy Virgin in Musutiste, built in 1315. Frescoes
painted in the following years were among the finest examples of
medieval
wall-painting in the entire region. The church was looted, burned and
mined by explosives.
- The Church of St. Nicholas in Prizren, which is said to date to 1348
or
earlier, and which contained medieval icons. Five explosives went off,
causing extensive damage.
- The Monastery of the Holy Trinity near Musutiste, built from 1465 on.
It
held a unique library of manuscripts as well as a collection of recent
icons. The monastery was first plundered, then burned and finally
leveled
with explosives.
- The Monastery of the Holy Archangels in Gornje Nerodimjle, built in
the
14th century, renewed and extended in 1700. The monastery was looted and
burned; a great pine tree, said to date from 1336, was chopped down and
burned; the cemetery was desecrated.
The stories go on and on. The pattern is undeniable - and for once, no
one
is even trying to claim that Yugoslavia's notorious president, Slobodan
Milosevic, is behind it.
So far, thanks to a 24-hour guard by foreign soldiers, the greatest of
all
treasures in the region - the monastic churches of Gracanica and Decani
-
have survived. Writers have waxed eloquent about them for generations;
Rebecca West, for one, called Gracanica "as religious a building as
Chartres Cathedral. The thought and feeling behind it were as complex.
There is in these frescoes, as in the parent works of Byzantium, the
height of accomplishment."
Some of the buildings were jewels of European civilization. Now they are
rubble.
- - -
Throughout the Balkans, politics and art, history and myth, oppression
and
religion are intertwined. The ruined Orthodox buildings of Kosovo were
not
only centres of worship and art; they were political symbols.
Since the mid-1980s, writes Michael Sells, professor of comparative
religion at
Haverford
College in Pennsylvania, "Serb nationalists have manipulated concern for
the (Kosovo) shrines to motivate, justify and implement 'ethnic
cleansing'
and annihilation of centuries of non-Serb artistic and religious
monuments.
"In exploiting Serbian monasteries and the heritage they represented to
foment hate and violence, they desecrated a great Serbian heritage that
deserves better."
It must also be said that if the KLA is behind the devastation, it's
following
a path already
trod by Serbs themselves. In Sarajevo, Banja Luka and other Bosnian
cities, the
Serbs blew up
historic mosques and Islamic shrines, as well as burning the Oriental
Institute and the National Library.
Moreover, between March and June last year, while NATO was bombing
Serbia and
hundreds of
thousands of Albanian-speaking Kosovars were seeking foreign refuge,
many
buildings in Kosovo
were subject to deliberate Serbian attack.
The main targets, however, do not seem to have been mosques. Serbian
forces
aimed most of their
destruction at Albanian houses and marketplaces.
Now the Serbs are reaping the whirlwind. Since the Kosovars poured back
into their ravaged homeland, any buildings where Serbs lived or prayed
have been vulnerable - even if they were homes built in Ottoman style
during the long centuries of Turkish rule.
Another of the recently damaged buildings is the Kosovo Battle Memorial,
built on the famous battleground of 1389. That losing fight against the
invading Turks became a cornerstone of Serbian memory and folk history.
It
also became a useful symbol for Milosevic when he wanted to stir up
nationalist fervour in the 1980s.
In recent months, the Yugoslav government has bitterly protested against
the desecration of Orthodox buildings in Kosovo. But the protests have
fallen on deaf ears.
"I don't know how many times we have said this already," complained
Ljiljana
Milojevic
Borovcanin, first counselor at the Yugoslav embassy in Ottawa. "We have
raised the issue at the United Nations and also bilaterally, with the
countries participating in KFOR."
Those countries include Canada. About 1,450 Canadian troops are now in
Kosovo, serving mostly in the central and northern areas alongside
soldiers from Britain, Finland,
Norway, Sweden and the
Czech Republic. The international community has a lot at stake in the
peacekeepers' success.
Under KFOR, Kosovo has been divided into five sectors, each run by a
NATO-led
brigade. The
peacekeeping force is made up of 42,500 soldiers from 28 countries, in
addition to a further 7,500 troops based in neighbouring countries. For
each soldier in the KFOR mission, only about two Serbs remain in Kosovo.
Borovcanin says she has spoken to Canadian officials about the
continuing
destruction of
Orthodox churches, "and the response was always diplomatic. The Canadian
government says it
regrets all the damage, but at no time will it take any action.
"Yet it's the non-implementation of the UN resolution that has enabled
this barbarism to occur."
She was alluding to Security Council Resolution 1244. Under its terms,
the
mandate of the KFOR troops involves "demilitarizing the Kosovo
Liberation
Army (KLA) and other armed Kosovo Albanian groups - establishing a
secure
environment in which refugees and displaced persons can return home in
safety - (and) ensuring public safety and order."
UNESCO has been in touch with KFOR leaders, Kaiser told The Gazette.
"We provided them with lists of heritage sites that were much longer
than what
they could
actually handle. We were told that they have many responsibilities, and
can't possibly station soldiers in front of every monastery."
Speaking from Pristina last week, KFOR spokesman Lt.-Commander Philip
Anido said that "KFOR and its soldiers have static guards on the sites
that are active. Some of the churches are guarded by moving patrols, and
it's up to the brigade commander to decide on the level of sensitivity
and
the level of risk."
About 800,000 Albanian refugees are thought to have fled Kosovo before
and
during the war last spring. Perhaps it's not surprising that Canada – a
full participant in the NATO bombing campaign - should be reluctant to
speak out publicly against the Kosovo Albanians whom it spent so much
time, effort and money in helping.
Canada even contributed $200,000 to help pay for a cultural festival in
Kosovo last September. On hand along with international stars like
Mikhail
Baryshnikov, Meryl Streep and Elton John was the Cape Breton choir Men
of
the Deeps, flown in to sing coal-mining songs.
"Canada is helping rebuild Kosovo," Foreign Affairs Minister Lloyd
Axworthy
said at the time.
"That rebuilding effort must not only focus on bricks and mortar; we
must also
help rebuild the
human spirit."
But as elements of the KLA were quick to realize, the best way to crush
the spirit of Kosovo's remaining Serbs was to destroy significant chunks
of their bricks and mortar. The day after the cultural festival ended,
the
14th-century church of Saints Cosma and Damian in the village of Zociste
was razed. The church was noted for its frescoes of Old Testament
prophets.
On the same day, near the town of Vitina, the remnants of the
14th-century
monastery of the Holy
Archangel Gabriel were destroyed by explosives. The monastery had
already been
looted and
burned.
So much for the human spirit.
- - -
What is surprising, if not downright shocking, is that the destruction
of
churches and monasteries in Kosovo has aroused so little attention from
international groups that are supposedly dedicated to the preservation
of
cultural treasures.
To an outsider, it looks very much as though the ancient buildings and
artworks are somehow tainted by their association with present-day
Serbia.
When it comes to the monasteries and churches of Kosovo, silence has
become an unofficial policy.
Consider the following:
- The World Monuments Fund (a private, non-profit group based in New
York and
funded extensively
by American Express) placed no Kosovo buildings on its recent list of
the
100 most endangered sites around the world.
- The fund has given money for architectural restoration and
preservation to
165 projects in 51
countries - not including Kosovo. Its Web site includes no mention of
Kosovo, and a request for an interview with its president, Bonnie
Burnham,
was turned down.
- If you believe the Web site of the International Centre for the Study
of
the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property, this awkwardly
named group is a "catalyst for action." But it has remained silent about
the dangers to cultural property in Kosovo. An E-mail asking for an
explanation went unanswered.
- At UNESCO's headquarters in Paris last July, a six-day official
meeting took
place under the
auspices of the Convention Concerning the Protection of the World
Cultural and
Natural Heritage.
Member nations debated the threats to heritage sites in no fewer than 55
countries, including
Canada (a proposed open-pit mine near Jasper National Park came under
scrutiny); but Kosovo received only a brief general mention.
UNESCO did sponsor two missions of inquiry to Kosovo in July and
November. Yet
Colin Kaiser, who
led one of them, admitted that "UNESCO is not tooled to work quickly for
emergencies."
Part of the problem, he said, is that proper documentation is not
available for
Kosovo. The
agency intends to resume work there in co-operation with a Swedish group
called Cultural Heritage Without Borders.
"But we can't become involved in saying who did what," Kaiser
emphasized.
"UNESCO cannot take
sides."
- Last April, at the height of the war in Kosovo, a statement went out
from the International Committee of the Blue Shield (a joint endeavour
that unites librarians, archivists, museum curators and preservation
officials). The statement expressed a generalized "concern about all
damage to the cultural heritage of the peoples of Yugoslavia." Once the
war was over, the Blue Shield Committee had nothing more to say.
Last week, Manus Brinkman, the secretary-general of the International
Council of Museums, told The Gazette that "ICBS has not issued any new
appeals, because the first one is still as valuable as ever."
Asked about the response to the April statement, Brinkman said that
"there have
been a lot of
positive reactions and the appeal invoked much discussion. Sadly enough,
there was no reaction from the parties involved in the fighting in
Kosovo,
neither from the official Serbian or Albanian side, nor from NATO."
- Canada is one of many nations represented on ICOMOS, the International
Council on Monuments
and Sites, whose aim is "the conservation of the world's historic
monuments and
sites." The Web
site of ICOMOS Canada includes statements from 1997 onward. None
mentions
Kosovo.
The Canadian group's administrative secretary, Victoria Angel, said that
ICOMOS Greece has tried to raise awareness about the cultural monuments
in
Kosovo. But Greece was not one of the NATO members that bombed
Yugoslavia;
and anyway, a little-known non-profit group based in Athens can scarcely
be expected to kindle public attention in other countries.
"North America is still stuck with the message that there's a good guy
and
a bad guy in Kosovo," said Dinu Bumbaru, the head of Heritage Montreal
and
a vice-president of ICOMOS Canada. "And what the good guy does at the
end
of the movie is fine with us."
Bumbaru noted that while a great deal of information is available about
the Kosovo destruction, especially on the Internet, "there's no
communications campaign. Frankly I just wonder if, in the West, this is
of
interest."
In 1992, following Yugoslavian attacks on the magnificent Croatian city
Dubrovnik during a previous Balkan war, Bumbaru led a UNESCO-sponsored
mission to assess the damage. International funds were provided to help
Croatia, and Dubrovnik has largely been rebuilt.
But Croatia was widely seen as a victim, so, in the case of Dubrovnik,
it
was politically easy for other countries to do the right thing.
The Serbs, on the other hand, were widely seen as aggressors. Now
they're
outnumbered in Kosovo
nearly 20 to 1; and in Kaiser's words, "the problem is that ultimately,
the defence of anything depends upon local people.
"Ideally, both Albanians and Serbs in Kosovo will realize that the loss
of
the monasteries and churches, like the loss of the mosques and Ottoman
houses, will impoverish the whole area."
But that's a remote ideal. In the meantime, there appears to be no
political
will outside Kosovo
to stand up for an Orthodox heritage so fraught with beauty, so redolent
of pain.
- Reporter Mark Abley can be reached at (514) 987-2555 or by E-mail at
mabley@....
--------- COORDINAMENTO ROMANO PER LA JUGOSLAVIA -----------
RIMSKI SAVEZ ZA JUGOSLAVIJU
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------------------------------------------------------------
Daily News / AFP / Notizie Est)
* Bilancio della distruzione delle chiese cristiano-ortodosse nel Kosmet
per opera dell'UCKFOR (THE MONTREAL GAZETTE)
---
I NUMERI DELLA KFOR IN KOSOVO
("Albanian Daily News", 29 febbraio 2000)
(trad. su "Notizie Est" #307, 1/3/2000)
BRUXELLES - La KFOR, la forza multinazionale di
mantenimento della pace, ha attualmente in
Kosovo 37.200 soldati, mentre altri 5.600
forniscono supporto logistico in Macedonia,
Albania e Grecia.
Secondo le ultime cifre fornite dalla NATO, in
Kosovo gli Stati Uniti hanno il numero piu' alto
di soldati dispiegati sul campo, con 5.400
effettivi, seguiti dall'Italia (4.200), dalla
Germania (3.900), dalla Francia (3.900), dalla
Russia (3.150) e dalla Gran Bretagna (3.000).
Nel totale di 36 stati che contribuiscono alla
missione, gli altri paesi che hanno fornito
contingenti sostanziosi sono stati l'Olanda
(1.400), gli Emirati Arabi Uniti (1.300), il
Canada (1.100), la Grecia (1.100), la Norvegia
(1.000) e la Spagna (900). I paesi NATO coprono
circa i quattro quinti degli effettivi totali,
con circa 30.000 uomini.
I contingenti di supporto si trovano in
Macedonia, dove ci sono 4.000 militari KFOR, in
Albania, dove ve ne sono 1.400, e in Grecia,
dove sono 100.
Il Kosovo e' stato diviso in cinque settori,
ognuno sotto il comando di una diversa forza
partecipante: i francesi nel settore nord, gli
americani in quello est, i tedeschi in quello
sud, gli italiani in quello ovest e i britanni
in quello centrale.
La KFOR attualmente e' amministrata dal
Landcent, le forze di terra NATO nell'Europa
Centrale, con sede a Heidelberg, in Germania,
sotto il comando del generale tedesco Klaus
Reinhardt. Lo stato maggiore della KFOR e'
composto da circa 1.500 uomini di tutte le
nazionalita'.
Il Landcent verra' sostituito in aprile dallo
stato maggiore dell'Eurocorps, formato da
ufficiali di Belgio, Francia, Germania e Spagna.
La KFOR sara' a partire da allora comandata dal
generale spagnolo Juan Ortuno, che e' diventato
comandante dell'Eurocorps il 26 novembre 1999.
Eternera Mailing List - http://get.to/eternera
KFOR troop numbers in Kosovo
BRUSSELS, Feb 24 (AFP) - KFOR, the multinational peacekeeping
force in Kosovo, currently has 37,200 troops deployed in the
southern Serbian province and a further 5,600 troops providing
logistical support in Macedonia, Albania and Greece.
According to the latest figures supplied by NATO, the United
States has the largest number of soldiers deployed, with 5,400
troops in Kosovo, followed by Italy (4,200), Germany (3,900), France
(3,900), Russia (3,150) and Britain (3,000).
Among a total of 36 contributing nations, substantial
contingents have been provided by the Netherlands (1,400), the
United Arab Emirates (1,300), Canada (1,100), Greece (1,100), Norway
(1,000) and Spain (900).
NATO countries account for around four-fifths of the total,
contributing some 30,000 troops.
Support teams are based in Macedonia, where there are 4,100 KFOR
troops, Albania where there are 1,400 and Greece with 100.
The province has been divided into five sectors, each under the
command of a different contributing force: French in the northern
sector, American in the east, German in the south, Italian in the
west and British in the centre.
KFOR is currently administered from Landcent, NATO's land forces
in central Europe based at Heidelberg, in Germany, under the overall
command of German General Klaus Reinhardt.
The KFOR general staff comprises around 1,500 men of all
nationalities.
The Eurocorps general staff, comprising officers from Belgium,
France, Germany, Luxembourg and Spain, is due to take over from
Landcent in April.
KFOR will then be headed by Spanish General Juan Ortuno, who
took over as commander of Eurocorps on November 26, 1999.
---
THE MONTREAL GAZETTE, Sunday, February 27, 2000
God's houses in ruins: The world keeps silent as Serb churches,
monasteries are
destroyed in
Kosovo under noses of peacekeepers
MARK ABLEY
The Gazette
The Orthodox Church of St. Nicholas, in the Kosovo village Banjska, was
probably not an international treasure.
As far as we know, it was just a modest house of God in an area dotted
with the same.
But no one may ever be sure. On Jan. 30, 11 kilograms of explosives were
detonated at the altar,
leaving much of the building in ruins.
The explosion forms part of a sad and continuing pattern. Since a wary
peace took shape in Kosovo in June 1999, nearly 80 of its Orthodox
churches and monasteries are known to have suffered heavy damage or
destruction. The total may be higher, given that a lot of churches are
located in remote areas where few, if any, Serbs still live.
These attacks did not occur during the North Atlantic Treaty
Organization's
bombing campaign
last spring. They have happened since the return of Kosovo's Albanian
majority. Extremists, usually assumed to be linked to the Kosovo
Liberation Army, have carried out a systematic campaign of destruction
under the eyes of international peacekeepers.
The unanswered question is why this devastation has caused so little
outcry.
British and French
media have paid some attention to the attacks; but the North American
media have carried few reports. Dozens of non-profit groups are now
working in Kosovo; they have said next to nothing.
"The Western world is rather fed up with the Balkans," suggested Colin
Kaiser, chief of the unit for southeast Europe and the Arab states in
UNESCO's Division of Cultural Heritage. "The wars, first in Croatia,
then
in Bosnia and most recently in Kosovo, became more and more intense in
terms of damage. But the cumulative effect has been that the Western
sensibility to it all has been dulled."
True enough. But beyond that, it also seems true that after the wars of
the past decade, few Westerners dare to sympathize with anything
Serbian.
Last September, Bishop Artemije, the head of the Orthodox diocese of
Raska and
Prizren, charged
that while the first aim of the Kosovo Albanians "is to expel all Serbs,
the second is to eradicate all traces and witnesses that could serve as
evidence that the Serbs have existed at all.
"But who and what are the witnesses? Churches, monasteries and holy
places. So
they set out to
destroy the witnesses, to obliterate the traces. In 21/2 months more
than 70
monasteries and
churches were burned or demolished. Among them were the churches built
by
our illustrious and holy ancestors in the 12th, 13th and 14th centuries.
The churches and monasteries, which survived 500 years of Turkish
occupation, did not endure two months in the presence of a 50,000-strong
international 'peacekeeping' force."
Peacekeeping troops from the United Arab Emirates, serving in the United
Nations' multinational
KFOR mission, had been stationed near the Church of St. Nicholas. But in
late January they withdrew, leaving the church unprotected. It was soon
blown to pieces.
The presence of the UN soldiers has slowed the rate of destruction in
recent months, but foreign troops can provide no guarantee of safety. On
Jan. 14, for instance, the Church of St. Elias, in a village called
Cernica, was partly destroyed by explosives. It stood just 70 metres
from
a checkpoint of U.S. soldiers.
Almost everyone would agree that the destruction of St. Elias's and St.
Nicholas's churches is regrettable. But what has so far escaped much
notice, particularly in North America, is that dozens of the earlier
victims were not just Serbian village churches, but buildings of great
beauty and historical significance. Among them:
- The Church of the Holy Virgin in Musutiste, built in 1315. Frescoes
painted in the following years were among the finest examples of
medieval
wall-painting in the entire region. The church was looted, burned and
mined by explosives.
- The Church of St. Nicholas in Prizren, which is said to date to 1348
or
earlier, and which contained medieval icons. Five explosives went off,
causing extensive damage.
- The Monastery of the Holy Trinity near Musutiste, built from 1465 on.
It
held a unique library of manuscripts as well as a collection of recent
icons. The monastery was first plundered, then burned and finally
leveled
with explosives.
- The Monastery of the Holy Archangels in Gornje Nerodimjle, built in
the
14th century, renewed and extended in 1700. The monastery was looted and
burned; a great pine tree, said to date from 1336, was chopped down and
burned; the cemetery was desecrated.
The stories go on and on. The pattern is undeniable - and for once, no
one
is even trying to claim that Yugoslavia's notorious president, Slobodan
Milosevic, is behind it.
So far, thanks to a 24-hour guard by foreign soldiers, the greatest of
all
treasures in the region - the monastic churches of Gracanica and Decani
-
have survived. Writers have waxed eloquent about them for generations;
Rebecca West, for one, called Gracanica "as religious a building as
Chartres Cathedral. The thought and feeling behind it were as complex.
There is in these frescoes, as in the parent works of Byzantium, the
height of accomplishment."
Some of the buildings were jewels of European civilization. Now they are
rubble.
- - -
Throughout the Balkans, politics and art, history and myth, oppression
and
religion are intertwined. The ruined Orthodox buildings of Kosovo were
not
only centres of worship and art; they were political symbols.
Since the mid-1980s, writes Michael Sells, professor of comparative
religion at
Haverford
College in Pennsylvania, "Serb nationalists have manipulated concern for
the (Kosovo) shrines to motivate, justify and implement 'ethnic
cleansing'
and annihilation of centuries of non-Serb artistic and religious
monuments.
"In exploiting Serbian monasteries and the heritage they represented to
foment hate and violence, they desecrated a great Serbian heritage that
deserves better."
It must also be said that if the KLA is behind the devastation, it's
following
a path already
trod by Serbs themselves. In Sarajevo, Banja Luka and other Bosnian
cities, the
Serbs blew up
historic mosques and Islamic shrines, as well as burning the Oriental
Institute and the National Library.
Moreover, between March and June last year, while NATO was bombing
Serbia and
hundreds of
thousands of Albanian-speaking Kosovars were seeking foreign refuge,
many
buildings in Kosovo
were subject to deliberate Serbian attack.
The main targets, however, do not seem to have been mosques. Serbian
forces
aimed most of their
destruction at Albanian houses and marketplaces.
Now the Serbs are reaping the whirlwind. Since the Kosovars poured back
into their ravaged homeland, any buildings where Serbs lived or prayed
have been vulnerable - even if they were homes built in Ottoman style
during the long centuries of Turkish rule.
Another of the recently damaged buildings is the Kosovo Battle Memorial,
built on the famous battleground of 1389. That losing fight against the
invading Turks became a cornerstone of Serbian memory and folk history.
It
also became a useful symbol for Milosevic when he wanted to stir up
nationalist fervour in the 1980s.
In recent months, the Yugoslav government has bitterly protested against
the desecration of Orthodox buildings in Kosovo. But the protests have
fallen on deaf ears.
"I don't know how many times we have said this already," complained
Ljiljana
Milojevic
Borovcanin, first counselor at the Yugoslav embassy in Ottawa. "We have
raised the issue at the United Nations and also bilaterally, with the
countries participating in KFOR."
Those countries include Canada. About 1,450 Canadian troops are now in
Kosovo, serving mostly in the central and northern areas alongside
soldiers from Britain, Finland,
Norway, Sweden and the
Czech Republic. The international community has a lot at stake in the
peacekeepers' success.
Under KFOR, Kosovo has been divided into five sectors, each run by a
NATO-led
brigade. The
peacekeeping force is made up of 42,500 soldiers from 28 countries, in
addition to a further 7,500 troops based in neighbouring countries. For
each soldier in the KFOR mission, only about two Serbs remain in Kosovo.
Borovcanin says she has spoken to Canadian officials about the
continuing
destruction of
Orthodox churches, "and the response was always diplomatic. The Canadian
government says it
regrets all the damage, but at no time will it take any action.
"Yet it's the non-implementation of the UN resolution that has enabled
this barbarism to occur."
She was alluding to Security Council Resolution 1244. Under its terms,
the
mandate of the KFOR troops involves "demilitarizing the Kosovo
Liberation
Army (KLA) and other armed Kosovo Albanian groups - establishing a
secure
environment in which refugees and displaced persons can return home in
safety - (and) ensuring public safety and order."
UNESCO has been in touch with KFOR leaders, Kaiser told The Gazette.
"We provided them with lists of heritage sites that were much longer
than what
they could
actually handle. We were told that they have many responsibilities, and
can't possibly station soldiers in front of every monastery."
Speaking from Pristina last week, KFOR spokesman Lt.-Commander Philip
Anido said that "KFOR and its soldiers have static guards on the sites
that are active. Some of the churches are guarded by moving patrols, and
it's up to the brigade commander to decide on the level of sensitivity
and
the level of risk."
About 800,000 Albanian refugees are thought to have fled Kosovo before
and
during the war last spring. Perhaps it's not surprising that Canada – a
full participant in the NATO bombing campaign - should be reluctant to
speak out publicly against the Kosovo Albanians whom it spent so much
time, effort and money in helping.
Canada even contributed $200,000 to help pay for a cultural festival in
Kosovo last September. On hand along with international stars like
Mikhail
Baryshnikov, Meryl Streep and Elton John was the Cape Breton choir Men
of
the Deeps, flown in to sing coal-mining songs.
"Canada is helping rebuild Kosovo," Foreign Affairs Minister Lloyd
Axworthy
said at the time.
"That rebuilding effort must not only focus on bricks and mortar; we
must also
help rebuild the
human spirit."
But as elements of the KLA were quick to realize, the best way to crush
the spirit of Kosovo's remaining Serbs was to destroy significant chunks
of their bricks and mortar. The day after the cultural festival ended,
the
14th-century church of Saints Cosma and Damian in the village of Zociste
was razed. The church was noted for its frescoes of Old Testament
prophets.
On the same day, near the town of Vitina, the remnants of the
14th-century
monastery of the Holy
Archangel Gabriel were destroyed by explosives. The monastery had
already been
looted and
burned.
So much for the human spirit.
- - -
What is surprising, if not downright shocking, is that the destruction
of
churches and monasteries in Kosovo has aroused so little attention from
international groups that are supposedly dedicated to the preservation
of
cultural treasures.
To an outsider, it looks very much as though the ancient buildings and
artworks are somehow tainted by their association with present-day
Serbia.
When it comes to the monasteries and churches of Kosovo, silence has
become an unofficial policy.
Consider the following:
- The World Monuments Fund (a private, non-profit group based in New
York and
funded extensively
by American Express) placed no Kosovo buildings on its recent list of
the
100 most endangered sites around the world.
- The fund has given money for architectural restoration and
preservation to
165 projects in 51
countries - not including Kosovo. Its Web site includes no mention of
Kosovo, and a request for an interview with its president, Bonnie
Burnham,
was turned down.
- If you believe the Web site of the International Centre for the Study
of
the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property, this awkwardly
named group is a "catalyst for action." But it has remained silent about
the dangers to cultural property in Kosovo. An E-mail asking for an
explanation went unanswered.
- At UNESCO's headquarters in Paris last July, a six-day official
meeting took
place under the
auspices of the Convention Concerning the Protection of the World
Cultural and
Natural Heritage.
Member nations debated the threats to heritage sites in no fewer than 55
countries, including
Canada (a proposed open-pit mine near Jasper National Park came under
scrutiny); but Kosovo received only a brief general mention.
UNESCO did sponsor two missions of inquiry to Kosovo in July and
November. Yet
Colin Kaiser, who
led one of them, admitted that "UNESCO is not tooled to work quickly for
emergencies."
Part of the problem, he said, is that proper documentation is not
available for
Kosovo. The
agency intends to resume work there in co-operation with a Swedish group
called Cultural Heritage Without Borders.
"But we can't become involved in saying who did what," Kaiser
emphasized.
"UNESCO cannot take
sides."
- Last April, at the height of the war in Kosovo, a statement went out
from the International Committee of the Blue Shield (a joint endeavour
that unites librarians, archivists, museum curators and preservation
officials). The statement expressed a generalized "concern about all
damage to the cultural heritage of the peoples of Yugoslavia." Once the
war was over, the Blue Shield Committee had nothing more to say.
Last week, Manus Brinkman, the secretary-general of the International
Council of Museums, told The Gazette that "ICBS has not issued any new
appeals, because the first one is still as valuable as ever."
Asked about the response to the April statement, Brinkman said that
"there have
been a lot of
positive reactions and the appeal invoked much discussion. Sadly enough,
there was no reaction from the parties involved in the fighting in
Kosovo,
neither from the official Serbian or Albanian side, nor from NATO."
- Canada is one of many nations represented on ICOMOS, the International
Council on Monuments
and Sites, whose aim is "the conservation of the world's historic
monuments and
sites." The Web
site of ICOMOS Canada includes statements from 1997 onward. None
mentions
Kosovo.
The Canadian group's administrative secretary, Victoria Angel, said that
ICOMOS Greece has tried to raise awareness about the cultural monuments
in
Kosovo. But Greece was not one of the NATO members that bombed
Yugoslavia;
and anyway, a little-known non-profit group based in Athens can scarcely
be expected to kindle public attention in other countries.
"North America is still stuck with the message that there's a good guy
and
a bad guy in Kosovo," said Dinu Bumbaru, the head of Heritage Montreal
and
a vice-president of ICOMOS Canada. "And what the good guy does at the
end
of the movie is fine with us."
Bumbaru noted that while a great deal of information is available about
the Kosovo destruction, especially on the Internet, "there's no
communications campaign. Frankly I just wonder if, in the West, this is
of
interest."
In 1992, following Yugoslavian attacks on the magnificent Croatian city
Dubrovnik during a previous Balkan war, Bumbaru led a UNESCO-sponsored
mission to assess the damage. International funds were provided to help
Croatia, and Dubrovnik has largely been rebuilt.
But Croatia was widely seen as a victim, so, in the case of Dubrovnik,
it
was politically easy for other countries to do the right thing.
The Serbs, on the other hand, were widely seen as aggressors. Now
they're
outnumbered in Kosovo
nearly 20 to 1; and in Kaiser's words, "the problem is that ultimately,
the defence of anything depends upon local people.
"Ideally, both Albanians and Serbs in Kosovo will realize that the loss
of
the monasteries and churches, like the loss of the mosques and Ottoman
houses, will impoverish the whole area."
But that's a remote ideal. In the meantime, there appears to be no
political
will outside Kosovo
to stand up for an Orthodox heritage so fraught with beauty, so redolent
of pain.
- Reporter Mark Abley can be reached at (514) 987-2555 or by E-mail at
mabley@....
--------- COORDINAMENTO ROMANO PER LA JUGOSLAVIA -----------
RIMSKI SAVEZ ZA JUGOSLAVIJU
e-mail: crj@... - URL: http://marx2001.org/crj
http://www.egroups.com/group/crj-mailinglist/
------------------------------------------------------------
B92 20/2/2000 ---------------------------------
VANDALI CONTRO IL CONSOLATO DELLA RFJ A VUKOVAR
FRY Consulate damaged in Vukovar
CROATIA, Sunday - The FRY Consulate in Vukovar was damaged yesterday
during riots which took place before and after a local league football
match. Seven policemen were injured and numerous supporters arrested
during clashes between fans and police.
AP 20/2/2000 ---------------------------
CONVERGENZE TRA RF DI JUGOSLAVIA E LIBIA
Serbia's and Libya's top officials find much in common
February 20, 2000 Web posted at: 4:54 PM EST (2154 GMT)
BELGRADE, Yugoslavia (AP) -- Serbia's vice premier and Libya's deputy
foreign minister called Sunday for a joint Arab-Orthodox Christian front
against "American hegemonism," a government news release said.
Serbia's far-right vice premier, Vojislav Seselj, met with Abdelah
Beh-Yallah of Lybia, and both urged "closer cooperation between states
that value independence, freedom and territorial integrity," said a
statement released after the meeting.
"Orthodox and Arab countries need to join forces to create a common
strategy against American hegemonism," the statement said. "Europe must
free itself from American influence so that its peoples and states can
live in peace, harmony and religious tolerance."
Libya was an exception among Arab countries in speaking out against last
year's NATO military intervention to end the crackdown by Serb forces
against ethnic Albanians, who are Muslim.
Lybia had close ties with the former Yugoslavia which, after its 1991
breakup, continued in the form of the present-day rump Yugoslav
federation consisting of Serbia and Montenegro.
Policies pursued by Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic and his Libyan
counterpart, Moammer Gadhafi, have led both countries into international
isolation.
"Yugoslavia and Serbia appreciate the clear stand of Lybia and its
president who openly condemned NATO aggression against Yugoslavia," the
release issued in Belgrade said.
TIMES 21/2/2000 ------------------------------------
IN DECLINO IL MORALE DELLE TRUPPE TEDESCHE IN KOSMET
The Times (London)
Monday February 21 2000
Germans sent home
THE morale of German soldiers in Kosovo is beginning to crumble (Roger
Boyes writes). At least 90 soldiers, including 4 officers, have been
sent home because of disciplinary problems, according to Welt am
Sonntag. Another 55, including 6 officers, have been sent back from the
Sfor contingent in Bosnia. The cases are said to stem from alcohol and
drug abuse, but there have also been sexual violations. In Kosovo two
drunken German soldiers yelled racist comments at Albanians. Albanian
soldiers intervened, a fight ensued and the Germans were flown out.
B92 21/2/2000 ----------------------------------
DODIK SEMPRE PIU' ISOLATO NELLA REPUBLIKA SRPSKA
Chaos in Republic of Srpska Parliament
BANJA LUKA, Monday - The Chairman of the Bosnian Serb Republic's ruling
Sloga
Coalition, Prime Minister Milorad Dodik, today demanded that the
president of
the Parliament, Petar Djokic, return the coalition's mandate. Dodik told
media that the coalition was considering options for a new parliamentary
president. Dodik said that he had received written resignations from
Socialist Party ministers but had not accepted them. He added that the
ministers had agreed to remain within the government. The Sloga
Coalition's
presidency today met without the Socialist Party representative.
YDS 21/2/2000 -------------
VANDALISMO KFOR A MITROVICA
SERBIAN PROVINCE OF KOSOVO AND METOHIJA
BRUTAL AND BARBARIC ACT BY KFOR
KOSOVSKA MITROVICA, February 21 (Tanjug) - Jovica Jovanovic, a member of
the subcommittee for administration and legislature of the Yugoslav
committee for cooperation with the United Nations mission in Kosovo and
Metohija province, said on Sunday that the search of apartments and
institutions in northern Kosovska Mitrovica by international force KFOR
U.S. and German troops was a brutal, barbaric and uncivilized act.
Jovanovic told reporters he had been present during a search of the
Faculty of Technology. He saw troops break down with axes the doors of a
laboratory and other premises.
Jovanovic also toured the school of technology which had also been a
target of KFOR's barbaric activities.
He said it was not by accident that the barbaric action was carried out
by
U.S. and German troops. The presence of numerous foreign reporters and
TV
crew at the very time when the action took place, and their on-the-spot
reporting is proof that this was all stage-managed, Jovanovc said.
The leading players in this action - U.S. and German troops - were not
picked at random, because there are no more Serbs in the parts of Kosovo
and Metohija where these troops are deployed, he said.
Jovanovic said it was an act of ultimate cynicism when French troops
brought the principal of the School of Technology about a dozen cylinder
locks and padlocks to compensate for the incurred damage.
LA SINISTRA UNITA JUGOSLAVA (JUL) INCONTRA LE FORZE
DELLA SINISTRA LATINOAMERICANA A MANAGUA
LATIN AMERICA - LEFT - CONFERENCE
YUGOSLAV LEFT OFFICIALS ATTEND CONFERENCE OF LATIN AMERICAN LEFTIST
PARTIES
MEXICO, February 21 (Tanjug) - The ninth conference of Latin American
leftist parties called the Sao Paulo Forum has opened in Nicaragua's
capital Managua, with a delegation of the Yugoslav Left (JUL) also
attending the conference.
The three-day conference, that is to focus on the Left's role in the new
century, was opened by Secretary-General of the Sandinista National
Liberation Front Daniel Ortega.
Officials of 98 parties in 36 countries are to review issues concerning
the uniting of leftist parties in the world and ways of how to oppose
attempts to impose neo-liberalism and the new world order.
A series of proposals were put forth on the promotion of cooperation
between Latin American and European leftist parties.
The JUL delegation, headed by secretary of the party's directorate in
charge of public relations Danilo Pantovic, is attending the forum in
the
capacity of observer. Pantovic has already met with officials of a large
number of South and Central American parties.
TACI "IL SERPENTE" POTREBBE ESSERE DENUNCIATO AL TRIBUNALE DELL'AIA
HAGUE TRIBUNAL HAS DISCREDITING INFORMATION ABOUT THAQI
LONDON, February 21 (Tanjug) - The U.N. war crimes tribunal in The Hague
has discrediting information about leader of the ethnic Albanian
terrorist
organisation calling itself Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) Hashim Thaqi,
The
Observer weekly of London has said.
The weekly's Pristina-based reporter asked recently the U.N.
administration in the chief city of Serbia's Kosovo and Metohija
province
why the court had not made any moves on the strength of that
information.
He was informed that it was not realistic to do so at this point. A U.N.
official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said that it was not
in
the interests of the United Nations to instigate legal proceedings
against
Thaqi at this point.
The tribunal has launched an investigation also against Agim Ceku,
former
KLA commander and currently commander of the so-called Kosovo Protection
Corps, for his involvement in war crimes committed during hostilities in
Croatia, according to earlier reports in London. Ceku had served as a
brigadier general in the Croatian army.
Diplomatic circles in London say that the tribunal has launched a secret
investigation against Ramus Haradinaj, Ceku's deputy, who has committed
war
crimes in Kosovo and Metohija as a KLA member.
These are all people with whom top Western and NATO officials have
almost
daily contacts so that one cannot but speculate about the international
community's true intentions in Kosovo and Metohija.
ANSA 23/2/2000 -------------------------------------------
CECENIA: CAPI GUERRIGLIA VOGLIONO FUGGIRE IN KOSOVO, MOSCA
(ANSA) - MOSCA, 23 FEB - Informazioni su presunti piani di
alcuni capi della guerriglia islamica cecena di fuggire
nell'inquieta regione jugoslava a maggioranza albanese del
Kosovo sono state raccolte dai servizi segreti russi (Fsb). Lo
affermano oggi fonti dello stesso Fsb all'agenzia Interfax.
Secondo tali fonti, i miliziani ceceni avrebbero da tempo
''rapporti'' con i separatisti albanesi dell'Uck e alcuni di
loro avrebbero anche combattuto al fianco di questi ultimi nel
passato nella regione balcanica.
L'obiettivo dei capi ceceni sarebbe ora quello di trasferire
i loro familiari dalla repubblica caucasica, ormai in gran parte
riconquistata dalla truppe russe. Lo Fsb e' tornato inoltre a
ipotizzare un possibile progetto di dirottamento aereo da parte
di alcuni guerriglieri, forse proprio allo scopo di fuggire
verso il Kosovo.
Un tale progetto e' attribuito dai servizi segreti di Mosca
all'ex presidente ceceno Zelimkhan Iandarbiev - ospitato
peraltro attualmente in Pakistan - e da un secondo dirigente dei
separatisti, Movladi Udugov.
Fonti di stampa ed esponenti serbi avevano gia' parlato di
recente di un possibile trasferimento di capi ceceni e di loro
parenti nel Kosovo, dandolo in parte per gia' avvenuto.(ANSA).
LR 23-FEB-00 11:50
TANJUG 23/2/2000 -----------------------------
SOLIDARIETA' DAL GHANA PER LA RF DI JUGOSLAVIA
http://www.tanjug.co.yu/Arhiva/2000/Feb%20-%2000/23-02e03.html
Tanjug (Yu)
February 23, 2000
Ghana -- national solidarity with Yugoslavia
ACCRA -- Yugoslavia's ambassador in Accra briefed the Ghanaian
parliament on Tuesday on the consequences of NATO's March-June 1999
aggression on Yugoslavia and the latest developments in the U.N.-ruled
Serbian (Yugoslav) province of Kosovo-Metohija.
Presenting to Parliament's Foreign Relations Committee Yugoslavia's
White Book of documentary evidence on the aggression, Ambassador Milena
Lukovic Jovanovic said the aggression "was the worst crime against
humanity and peace since the Second World War."
Committee Chairman Kofi Ator emphasised Ghana's support for Yugoslavia's
sovereignty and territorial integrity and for its request that the U.N.
Security Council's Resolution 1244 on Kosovo- Metohija be consistently
implemented.
Ghana had condemned the aggression and expressed solidarity with
Yugoslavia, and would, in line with its principled policy, continue to
support Yugoslavia in the defence of its legitimate state and national
interests, he said.
The Ghanaian parliamentarians expressed indignation at and condemnation
of the NATO air strikes on Yugoslavia and admiration for the Serbian
people who bravely defended their sovereignty and territorial integrity.
REUTERS 24/2/2000 ----------------------------------
http://www.timesofindia.com/today/24worl49/htm
LA FYROM IN ALLERTA PER L'ACCRESCERSI DELLA TENSIONE
IN SERBIA MERIDIONALE
Thursday february 24, 2000
Macedonian army on alert along Serbia border
SKOPJEL: The Macedonian army said on Wednesday it had
raised its level of combat readiness along its border
with southern Serbia, after an upsurge of ethnic
violence in Kosovo.
"We are cautious because of events in the north and
for this reason the combat readiness of the Kumanovo
corps was raised to a higher level two days ago," army
spokesman Gjorgji Trendafilov told Reuters.
"Our border patrols are more frequent and our guards
are reinforced as well as the control on the border,"
he said. "From the other side of the border things can
happen which can get out of control."
Trendafilov, who did not specify which events in the
north he was referring to, stressed that the army was
not sending new troops to the border region.
On Monday, NATO Secretary-General George Robertson
said the alliance was monitoring a build-up of
Yugoslav forces in areas of southern Serbia where he
said there was "clearly rising tension".
Robertson was referring to the
Bujanovac-Presevo-Medvedja region, lying just east of
Kosovo and largely populated by ethnic Albanians. The
region lies north of Macedonia.
NATO sources said the report concerned four companies
of well-armed Interior Ministry police which had been
moved into the region, where recent local reports have
warned of mounting fear and violence.
The Yugoslav army, a completely separate institution
to the Interior Ministry troops, has denied any
build-up.
"Of course there are no additional troops of ours in
the territory of Presevo," the commander of
Yugoslavia's Third Army, Colonel-General Vladimir
Lazarevic, was quoted by Belgrade daily Vecernje
Novosti as saying on Wednesday.
"We have our border units there which very efficiently
secure the state border with Macedonia. They prevent
four to five illegal crossings daily in this border
area," he said.
There has also been fresh violence this month in the
northern Kosovo town of Mitrovica. On Monday, ethnic
Albanian protesters clashed with NATO-led peacekeepers
there.
Outbreaks of fighting in the city have left nine
people dead and more than 20 wounded in February,
including two French soldiers shot in gun battles.
The Macedonian army last raised its combat readiness
during last year's Kosovo war, when NATO bombed
Yugoslavia to halt its repression of the province's
ethnic Albanian majority. It also stepped up its
readiness during civil disturbances in neighbouring
Albania in the spring of 1997. (Reuters)
REUTERS 23/2/2000 --------------------------------------
GLI STROZZINI GLOBALI AUMENTANO LE PRESSIONI SULLA FYROM
World Bank Urges Macedonia Reforms Ahead Of Talks
SKOPJE, Feb 23, 2000 -- (Reuters) The World Bank told
Macedonia on Tuesday to step up reforms to qualify for
the agency's $40 million assistance later this year.
"Macedonia must speed up reforms in the social,
pension and labor sectors, as well as reforms in the
financial and enterprise sectors," World Bank Director
for Macedonia and Turkey Ajay Chhibber told a news
conference in Skopje.
Talks on a Financial and Enterprise Sector Adjustment
Loan (FESAL) were expected to begin by early April and
to end in May.
The pace of reforms and ability to transparently
restructure the largest loss-makers in the country
will decide the bank's future assistance, he said.
"The government ability to sell or liquidate the
deficit-ridden companies without incurring large
liabilities on the budget will determine the Bank's
ability to support Macedonia under a FESAL
arrangement," Chhibber said.
"The world Bank likes to urge the liquidation or a
sale of these enterprises in the most transparent
way," he said.
Macedonia has lagged behind a schedule to sell or
close at least seven large loss-making firms including
nickel producer Feni from Kavadarci.
TANJUG 24/2/2000 ------------------------------------------
SULLA STAMPA ISRAELIANA A QUALCUNO E' RITORNATA LA MEMORIA:
PARALLELI CON LA POLITICA NAZISTA NEI BALCANI
www.serbia-info.com/news
"Haarecu": NATO aggression similar to Hitler's crimes
February 24, 2000
NATO bombing of civilian facilities
Tel Aviv, February 24th (Tanjug) - The manner in which NATO committed
its aggression on FR Yugoslavia last year is very similar to the crimes
committed by Hitler's policy in this country, stated the historian, Anat
Peri, in the text "Let the truth be heard", published today in the
prominent Israeli "Haarecu" daily.
Simultaneously with the forming of the ustasha NDH (The Independent
State of Croatia) and the giving over of Kosmet to the fascistic
Albanian regime, Hitler requested that all Serbs opposing nazis be
expelled. Germany and the US have now, as Hitler did then, encouraged
the separation of Croatia and the expulsion of the Serbian population
from the Croatian territory, stated Peri.
The US has armed the Albanian army, encouraged it to attack FRY and take
over the control over parts of Kosmet, the southern Serbian province,
and launch attacks on Serbian soldiers. Aside from that, the US
supported the Albanian terrorists and mafia, while it accused the
Albanian intellectuals from Kosmet of collaborating with Serbs, reminded
the Israeli historian.
Peri said that today, Ibrahim Rugova, the leader of the Kosmet
Albanians, fears for his life because of the terrorists, which the US
supported and enabled to rule. These terrorists, proteges of the US, are
the murderers of, not only Serbs, but also Albanians, which are opposed
to violence. This is why there are many similarities between the
policies of NATO and Hitler, stated Peri.
It is in NATO's interest that there be violence between the small
nations in Yugoslavia in order for them to justify their policy of
enslavement, stated Peri, adding that any decent man must confess that
the only way to achieve peace in Kosmet is through extensive
negotiations between Serbs and ethnic-Albanians, as it is the only way
of achieving peace between the Palestinians and the Israelis.
The NATO aggression on FRY did not, as the aggressors claimed, protect
the lives of Albanians, but with it, the last Russian ally in Europe was
attacked, and from the territory of Kosmet, after the arrival of the
KFOR and UNMIK forces, the majority of the Serbian population was
expelled, the remaining Serbs are being murdered on daily basis, and the
representatives of KFOR and UNMIK are not interested in avoiding this,
said Peri.
B92 24/2/2000 -----------------------------
OPERAZIONE ANTI-PROSTITUZIONE IN MONTENEGRO
Montenegro deports foreign sex workers
PODGORICA, Thursday - Montenegrin police last night deported more than
seventy Russian, Moldavian and Ukrainian prostitutes, all of whom had
been
arrested in a raid over several days on cafes and clubs along the
Adriatic
Coast. Podgorica daily Vijesti reported that teams of police arrested
girls
in night clubs who were engaged in prostitution and striptease. Their
working
permits were annulled on the basis that they had violated the law on
foreign
residents. According to unofficial sources, the international community
had
asked Montenegro to crush the illegal white slave trade which was
working
from East to West through Montenegro.
REUTERS 25/2/2000 ---------------------------------------
NELLA FYROM SCOPERTO ARSENALE DEI NAZIONALISTI SCHIPETARI
Macedonian police find arms destined for Kosovo-TV
SKOPJE, Feb 25 (Reuters) - Macedonian police have uncovered a
cache of weapons destined for Kosovo in an Albanian-populated village
in the Balkan country, Macedonian television reported on Friday.
Privately-owned SITEL television said 120 cases with Kalashnikov
automatic rifles and Skorpion handguns and two tonnes of ammunition
had been found in a hotel in the southern village of Kravari.
The hotel owner and an Albanian citizen had been arrested, the
television said, quoting police sources. Another private television
station, A-1 TV, carried a similar report.
Police were not immediately available for comment.
Both stations said the weapons were smuggled in on mountain tracks
from Albania and were bound for Kosovo, the Yugoslav province to the
north which is now under de facto international rule.
Police had also found 40 kg (88 lbs) of marijuana, they said.
A-1 TV said the police acted after a routine check near Skopje
revealed 10 Kalashnikovs in a car driven by an Albanian man. SITEL
said police searches for more weapons were under way.
Kosovo has seen a recent upsurge in ethnic violence, particularly in
the northern town of Mitrovica, a major flashpoint between hostile
Serb and ethnic Albanian communities.
Earlier this week, the Macedonian army said it had raised its level
of combat readiness along its border with Serbia.
Albanians account for about one third of Macedonia's population of
roughly two million people.
AFP 25/2/2000 ----------------------------------
IVANOV: COSA CI STANNO A FARE I RUSSI IN KOSMET?
http://www.centraleurope.com/news.php3?id=138270
Russia Might Withdraw Its Troops From Kosovo, Says
Ivanov
MOSCOW, Feb 26, 2000 -- (Agence France Presse) Russia
might withdraw its troops from NATO's KFOR
peacekeeping force in Kosovo in protest at the way it
is operated, Russian Security Council chief Sergei
Ivanov said via the Interfax news agency.
"A thought comes to mind: should we maintain the
presence of the Russian contingent and spend valuable
public money to be spectators," Ivanov said.
"We have a number of grievances" regarding the
international peacekeeping operation in Kosovo, he
said, adding that the province was in the process of
losing its multi-national character.
Of 800 deaths in the past six months, 700 were Serbs,
Ivanov noted.
Russia said Wednesday that KFOR and the UN mission in
Kosovo were incapable of ending violence in the region
or guaranteeing even minimal security for the Serb
population.
Moscow also protested the announcement by NATO of KFOR
military exercises in March, to which Russia was not
invited.
Some 3,600 Russian soldiers are currently taking part
in KFOR operations. ((c) 2000 Agence France Presse)
IWPR #119, 25/2/2000 ---------------
SULLE DIVISIONI TRA I SERBO-BOSNIACI
BOSNIAN SERB DIVISIONS WIDEN
Republika Srpska was again plunged into political turmoil this week
after a
key member of the government coalition quit.
By Janez Kovac in Sarajevo
The Bosnian Serb entity is on the brink of political chaos following the
withdrawal of the Socialist Party from the ruling pro-western coalition.
The move, allegedly orchestrated by the Yugoslav President Slobodan
Milosevic, has widened the growing rift between Bosnian Serb politicians
and
delivered a blow to the international community's efforts to promote
political stability.
Republika Srpska has already been without a head of state for almost a
year.
Hard-line president Nikola Poplasen was dismissed last March by Bosnia's
top
international mediator for obstructing the peace process.
The withdrawal of the Socialist Party of Republika Srpska (SPRS) from
the
Sloga (Unity) coalition came after Bosnian Serb Premier Milorad Dodik
sacked
two senior SPRS officials from his government. The main board of the
SPRS
blamed Dodik for its decision to quit.
The move, a consequence of the ongoing power-struggle in the Unity
coalition, left Dodik with a minority government, which can survive only
with the strong support of international organisations in Bosnia.
Ever since it was set up in 1997, the Unity coalition was anything but
politically united, often reflecting an old Serb saying, "two Serbs -
three
political parties." Its members never really shared a common political
agenda. They were nationalists and political opportunists thrown
together
with international backing to topple Radovan Karadzic's hard-line
Serbian
Democratic Party (SDS).
Sloga succeeded in ousting the SDS and the Radical Party from positions
of
power, but a "monster" had been created, which international officials
were
either unable or too incompetent to control.
Through its main agency in Bosnia, the Office of the High
Representative,
the international community gave Sloga and its frontman, Milorad Dodik,
unconditional support.
Dodik and the coalition did improve the situation in Republika Srpska
somewhat, but mainly through western donations and loans. They remained
opportunists, however, and continued fighting each other for power.
Dodik
has maintained the upper hand in the struggle thanks to western backing.
This despite Sloga being mired in corruption, never fully accepting the
vision of a united Bosnia as drafted in the Dayton Peace Accord, nor
properly implementing one of its key conditions - the return of refugees
to
the Bosnian Serb-held areas.
The international community also turned a blind eye to Dodik's personal
shortcomings, allowing him to bully and replace his opponents as long as
he
was keeping the two nationalist parties - the SDS and the Radical Party
-
outside of government.
The international community also saw Dodik and his coalition as
important
weapons against Milosevic.
Dodik and other top Sloga officials publicly criticised Milosevic on
numerous occasions and gradually severed ties between Yugoslavia and
Republika Srpska, jeopardising Milosevic's self-proclaimed position as
leader of all Balkan Serbs.
But the arrangement backfired many times, putting western agencies in
often
awkward and sometimes absurd positions.
Along the way, Dodik made few friends and many enemies. He even lost
support
from political parties in the other Bosnian entity, the Bosnian
Federation.
At the same time, Milosevic increased his efforts to undermine Dodik and
Sloga, usually acting either through the hard-line SDS and Radical
parties,
or through the SPRS. A part of the SPRS, apparently led by party
vice-president Dragutin Ilic, remained loyal to Milosevic and close to
his
Socialist Party of Serbia.
As soon as SPRS announced its decision to step out of the coalition, key
Sloga leaders, Dodik and Biljana Plavsic, accused Republika Srpska
socialists of caving into pressure from Milosevic. They implied that
some of
the SPRS officials recently visited Belgrade and were taking directions
from
the Yugoslav president.
"I had hoped that SPRS would liberate itself from Serbia's pressure,"
Plavsic said, adding that the party's withdrawal from government was
"irresponsible" because it showed it was following "petty personal
interests" rather than those of all Bosnian Serbs and Republika Srpska.
"SPRS is not Sloga, but only a part of Sloga," Dodik said. And in an
attempt
to persuade the public that Republika Srpska was not facing a crisis, he
insisted the coalition would continue working.
Yet despite his words, everybody - western organisations and Bosnian
citizens alike - are aware the entity is entering its deepest political
crisis since the pro-Karadzic hard-liners were removed from power.
International support, however, should ensure that Dodik remains in
power
without serious challenges. But only for as long as Republika Srpska has
a
vacant presidential post, as only the head of state can propose a new
premier.
Meanwhile, the Bosnian Serb parliament will remain deadlocked with
political
factions unable to muster enough votes to push through decisions.
The most important consequence of the current chaos is that it could
open
the way for the re-emergence of the SDS in Bosnia's general election
scheduled for October.
The SDS, which has undergone key personnel changes since Karadzic was
leader, is now a solid opposition party, which sometimes behaves more
democratically than Sloga.
But although the SDS now appears to be quite different from the war
mongering party of old - its reappearance in the corridors of power
would
definitively alarm international organisations in Bosnia. But even
worse, it
would immediately boost ethnic tensions sky-high throughout Bosnia.
Janez Kovac is a regular contributor to IWPR from Sarajevo.
TANJUG 26/2/2000 -----------------------
RF DI JUGOSLAVIA ED IRAN SI RIAVVICINANO
http://www.tanjug.co.yu/Arhiva/2000/Feb%20-%2000/26-02e04.html
Tanjug (Yu)
February 26, 2000
Yugoslavia, Iran form closer links
BELGRADE -- The promotion of all forms of cooperation of FR Yugoslavia
and Iran, notably in the field of information, and the creation of
conditions for the Yugoslav and Iranian people, through authentic
information and without the mediation of global, world media, to inform
themselves about the most important events -- is of interest for both
friendly countries, it was mutually assessed at the talks held Friday
between Yugoslav Information Minister Goran Matic and the Iranian
Embassy charge d'affaires in Belgrade, Javad Moradkhan.
Moradkhan said that there was a need to a strengthen cooperation in the
field of the media with a view to authentically informing the publics in
the two countries, and to open correspondency offices of the Iranian
News Agency in Belgrade and of TANJUG in Teheran.
Matic, assessing that the future of the world was in a multipolar
society and that every people has the right to chose its govermment,
said that was the foundation the Yugoslav society was based on.
Matic said that Yugoslavia will open the door for better cooperation in
the field of information with Iran, pointing that action should be taken
against the terror of global media, who attempt to pit against one
another peoples, influence processes and the election of governments in
spite of the will of the people in certain countries.
B92 26/2/2000 -----------
"AIUTI" USA AL MONTENEGRO
US to provide Montenegro with flour and wheat supplies
MONTENEGRO, Saturday - The US will provide Montenegro with 500,000 tons
of
flour, Montenegrin Minister of Agriculture Milutin Simovic told the
press
today. On his return from an official visit to America, Simovic told the
press that in April the US would also supply Montenegro with 350,000
tons of
wheat which would ensure an adequate bread supply on the Montenegrin
market
and keep the cost of bread at current levels. During his visit, Simovic
signed several contracts aimed at boosting Montenegrin agriculture.
TENDENZE CENTRIFUGHE IN VOJVODINA
Vojvodina to become one of six Serbian Federal units
NOVI SAD, Saturday - The League of Vojvodina Social Democrats at their
third
congress in Novi Sad today adopted a resolution according to which
Vojvodina
will become one of the six Serbian Federal units, the other five being
Sumadija, Belgrade, Southeastern Serbia, Sandzak and Kosovo. In his
speech at
the congress, leader of the League of Vojvodina Social Democrats, Nenad
Canak
said that their aim was not to separate Vojvodina from Serbia, but to
redefine relations between Serbia and Vojvodina. Foreign guests who had
been
invited to attend the congress failed to show having been refused visas.
TELEGRAPH 26/2/2000 ---------------------
IRREDENTISMO PAN-ALBANESE ALL'OPERA ORMAI
ANCHE FUORI DAL KOSMET
The Telegraph (UK)
ISSUE 1737Saturday 26 February 2000
Fresh violence in Yugoslavia is blamed on ethnic Albanians
By Gillian Sandford in Bujanovac and Julius Strauss
ETHNIC Albanian extremists are suspected of being behind a fresh wave of
ethnic violence that has broken out in remote settlements of southern
Yugoslavia.
Although the villages concerned are close to Kosovo, ethnic Albanians,
Serbs and gipsies have lived peacefully there alongside each other for
years.
During the Nato air strikes last year, the Serbian authorities largely
ignored the area and local Albanians say some of them were protected by
their Serbian neighbours from the nationalism sweeping the country.
But now explosions, beatings, searches and tit-for-tat killings are
threatening to tear apart fragile communities and provoke new clashes
between Serbs and ethnic Albanians that could destabilise the entire
region. At the heart of the trouble is Bujanovac, a village consisting
of 55 per cent ethnic Albanians and 45 per cent Serbs and gipsies.
Although villagers crowd the market square as they always have, distrust
is beginning to permeate the atmosphere.
It is being registered far beyond Yugoslavia's borders. The Nato
Secretary-General, Lord Robertson, said recently: "There is clearly
rising tension in the southern part of Serbia and large numbers of
additional Yugoslav troops have moved into the area."
Asked about the reports of troop deployments, Stojanca Arsic, the mayor,
said: "We have stationary troops in Bujanovac. These are regular army
and they are doing their duty on a training programme."
In the village itself, there was little sign last week of a build-up of
Yugoslav forces. The only obvious activity consisted of four coachloads
of special police travelling north, apparently away from the border.
Yet there clearly had been violence. Nato and ethnic Albanian sources in
Kosovo said most of the responsibility lay with elements of the Kosovo
Liberation Army who are fighting for a unified Albania incorporating
parts of Macedonia and the territory populated by the 80,000 ethnic
Albanians still in Serbia.
The ethnic Albanian spiritual leader, Nexhmadin Saqipi, says that both
ethnic Albanian and Serbian extremists are worsening relations between
the two communities.
Mr Saqipi said: "During the bombing we helped each other. But now I am
afraid of these incidents escalating. The Serb mayor is a good man and
so is the local police commander. These events are all the results of
clashes between the politics of Belgrade and Pristina."
The violence in Bujanovac is a textbook example of the flash-fire nature
of Balkan ethnic strife. The trouble began after a local Albanian,
Shefket, returned from Kosovo and began fomenting trouble. In December a
bomb exploded at the Serbian elementary school. Two weeks later two
bombs went off in an Albanian and gipsy area.
Then in January the director of an Albanian school in the nearby village
of Muhovac was ambushed and killed on his way to work. Mr Arsic says he
was targeted because extremist Albanians considered him a collaborator.
A little later Shefket had an exchange of fire with Serb police and two
ethnic Albanian bystanders were killed. In retaliation, ethnic Albanians
claim, they are being roughed up by Serb police at checkpoints.
The violence in Bujanovac is part of a pattern of unrest spreading
through ethnic Albanian areas in Serbia and Macedonia.
In Presevo, local Albanians have reported that "outsiders" have arrived
to stoke up trouble with the Serbian police. They have been joined by
young Presevo men, some of whom fought in Kosovo.
British military sources in Kosovo say the KLA is also behind attacks on
Serb police units in other areas on the border, including one that left
two dead.
In neighbouring Macedonia, too, violence is spreading. Last month three
policemen were killed by ethnic Albanian gangsters who opened fire on
their car.
B92 27/2/2000 -----------------------
UN ALTRO SERBO FATTO FUORI A GNJILANE
Member of the Serbian Nation Council for Kosovo murdered in Gnjilane
KOSOVO, Sunday - Member of the Serbian Nation Council for Kosovo, Doctor
Josip Vasic was killed last night in the center of Gnjilane. An unknown
assailant fired four bullets at Vasic, the Serbian Nation Council for
Kosovo
headquarters stated today, condemning this murder as part of the
systematic
cleansing of Serbs from this region.
KFOR spokesman Philip Anido confirmed the murder of Serbian Doctor Josip
Vasic at a press conference in Pristina today. Anido said that Doctor
Vasic
died after being transferred to the American military hospital last
night.
ATTACCO DEI TERRORISTI N.A.T.O. (IRREDENTISTI PAN-ALBANESI)
CAUSA UN MORTO E TRE FERITI
One police officer killed and three injured in Albanian terrorist attack
in Konculj
BELGRADE, Sunday - Senior police officer, Slavisa Dimitrijevic was
killed and
a further three policemen injured during an attack carried out by Kosovo
Albanian terrorists on the road between Gnjilane and Bujanovac near the
village of Konculj ten kilometers from the Kosovo border last night, the
Serbian Ministry of Internal Affairs stated today. The three injured
policemen have been hospitalised but have been taken off the danger
list.
According to the statement issued by the police, the terrorists left the
territory of Kosovo and ambushed a Serbian police patrol using hand
grenades
and automatic weapons. The police patrol managed to return fire, killing
one
of the Albanian terrorists, Fatmir Idrisi, who according to police
sources,
is a member of the Kosovo protection Corps. All local roads in the area
have
been closed for security reasons.
KCNA 27/2/2000 --------------------------------
JOVANOVIC IN VISITA UFFICIALE IN COREA DEL NORD
Reception given for Yugoslav Foreign Minister
Pyongyang, February 27 (KCNA) -- The DPRK Foreign Ministry gave a
reception for the Foreign Minister of
the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and his party on a visit to Korea at
the
Mansudae Assembly Hall yesterday.
DPRK Foreign Minister Paek Nam Sun in his speech said that Korea
visit
of the Yugoslav Foreign Minister and
his party will mark a significant occasion in expanding and developing
the
excellent friendly relations between the
two peoples to a new higher stage.
Stressing that the friendly and cooperative relations between the
two
countries whose firm foundation was laid
by the great leader Kim Il Sung are now growing stronger and developing
under the particular care of the great
leader Kim Jong Il, he said:
The DPRK will, in the future, too, make every possible effort to
further consolidate and develop these
traditional relations in keeping with the demands of the present
developing
situation.
Yugoslav Foreign Minister Zivadin Jovanovic in his speech said that
the
Yugoslav leadership and people highly
appreciate the DPRK leadership and people for having condemned the
interference, pressure and aggressive
maneuvers of foreign forces against Yugoslavia and supported it in the
United Nations and the non-aligned
movement.
He said that Yugoslavia expresses full support to the Korean people
in
their struggle to reunify the country
independently and peacefully, true to the ten-point programme of the
great
unity of the whole nation for national
reunification set forth by Kim Il Sung and the five-point policy of
great
national unity advanced by Kim Jong Il.
He expressed the belief that the relations between the two countries
would further expand and develop in
political, economic, cultural and other fields.
B92 28/2/2000 -------------------------------------
ALTRI 180 NOMI NELLE LISTE DI PROSCRIZIONE DELLA UE
EU adds 180 names to Yugoslav black list
BRUSSELS, Monday - The European Union foreign ministers today added
another
180 names to the list of Yugoslav residents banned from entering EU
member
countries. EU officials said that the list, which now consists of about
780
names, consisted of people who were part of, or supported, the regime of
Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic.
The new list is remarkable for the inclusion of the names of 54 Yugoslav
judges, magistrates and prosecutors who have been prominent in the
vexatious
prosecution of the independent media and opposition politicians.
The ministers were also expected today to confirm the suspension of air
traffic sanctions against Yugoslavia. The procedure of formally lifting
the
sanctions was expected to take another two weeks.
UN AUTOBUS (PER FORTUNA VUOTO) SU DI UNA MINA
Serbian bus hits landmine in Kosovo
BELGRADE, Monday - A passenger bus was badly damaged when it hit a
landmine
in Kosovo this morning. The bus, belonging to the Raska transport firm
Jugoprevoz, was carrying no passengers at the time of the explosion. The
driver was unhurt by the blast which occurred when the rear of the bus
hit
the mine as it was leaving the northern zone of Kosovska Mitrovica. The
Commander of the French KFOR sector, General Pierre de Saqui de Sannes
described the incident as an act of blatant violence.
The Serb National Council described the attack on the bus as a terrorist
act,
claiming that the intention of the terrorists was to intimidate the Serb
population and ethnically cleanse the northern part of Kosovo. The
council
statement went on to say that it was no coincidence that the attack had
occurred on the same day that the Albanians were celebrating the
establishment of Albanian terrorist groups in Kosovo and making new
threats
against Serbs.
The London "Guardian" writes today that armed members of the
officially-disbanded Kosovo Liberation Army wearing camouflage suits
were
attacking Serb police along the Kosovo-Serbia border in order to provoke
a
response from Serb security forces and consequently NATO intervention.
The
British paper quotes a US KFOR officer as saying that international
forces
would enter the territory of Serbia proper if there were atrocities. The
definition of that term was still being worked on, the US officer added.
IN DIECIMILA CELEBRANO LA LOTTA PER LA GRANDE ALBANIA
SOTTO GLI OCCHI (E LA PROTEZIONE) DELLA N.A.T.O.
Kosovo guerrillas celebrate second anniversary
PRISTINA, Monday - Members of the Kosovo Protection Corps today
celebrated
the second anniversary of the first major conflict between the Kosovo
Liberation Army and members of the Yugoslav security forces. The clash
occurred in the Drenica villages of Likosane and Ciriz. The Kosovo
Protection
Corps is largely made up of former members of the officially-disbanded
Kosovo
Liberation Army. Today's rally involved about 10,000 Albanians, none of
whom
carried arms or wore KLA uniforms. The Corps Commander Agim Ceku did not
attend the celebrations.
LA N.A.T.O. PRONTA A NUOVE MANOVRE
NATO exercises in Kosovo
BRUSSELS, Monday - About 2,000 troops will participate in NATO
manoeuvres in
Kosovo in March and April, NATO Supreme Command announced today. The
troops
are part of NATO's strategic reserve and the land command exercises
codenamed
"Dynamic Response 2000" would demonstrate NATO's resolution to maintain
a
safe environment for Kosovo and its citizens according to NATO's
statement.
The exercises will involve six countries, Argentina, Italy, Holland,
Poland,
Romania and the US.
B92 29/2/2000 -----------------------------------------
STEVAN MIRKOVIC: E' ORA CHE L'ESERCITO PRENDA IL POTERE
Former Army head calls for coup
BELGRADE, Tuesday - The Army should seize power, disband the government,
the
parliament and political parties, arrest Milo Djukanovic and eliminate
Slobodan Milosevic, former Yugoslav People's Army chief Stevan Mirkovic
said
today. Mirkovic told Belgrade daily Danas that if Milosevic had put the
army
on alert in order to expand his authority, it would be unproductive
because
the army would not dare enter a conflict with Montenegrin security
forces.
The former army chief added that he did not believe the army would step
outside its authority for the sake of one man's power but if it were
needed
to establish order and discipline in the country that would be something
else
altogether.
AFP 29/2/2000 -----------------------
GRANDE FEELING TRA TURCHIA ED ALBANIA
Turkey Promises To Help Albania Modernize Its Army
TIRANA, Feb 29, 2000 -- (Agence France Presse) Turkish Prime Minister
Bulent Ecevit said Monday his country plans to give Albania more than
$120 million dollars over the next four years to help modernize its
army.
Ecevit, speaking at a joint press conference with Albanian counterpart
Ilir Meta during a two-day visit to Tirana, said Turkey saw an
up-to-date Albanian military as an important element for peace and
stability in the Balkans.
Ankara has already earmarked $41 million for the Albanian defense force
and planned to double that amount between now and 2004, Ecevit said,
adding that the change would also have a positive impact on the economy
of Albania, considered the poorest country in Europe.
An uprising in Albania in 1997 resulted in army weapons depots being
pillaged and around one million arms are believed to be in circulation.
Large parts of the country remain lawless.
Turkey, as a member of NATO, took part in the NATO bombardment of
Yugoslavia which eventually forced Yugoslav troops to end their
operation against ethnic Albanians in Kosovo and to pull out of the
Serbian province.
Albania shares a border with Kosovo to the north and both Albania and
Turkey have predominantly Muslim populations. ((c) 2000 Agence France
Presse)
REUTERS 29/2/2000 -------------------------------------
IL MINISTRO LAZIC DENUNCIA LO SPORCO GIOCO DEGLI U.S.A.
NELLA SERBIA MERIDIONALE
http://www.centraleurope.com/news.php3?id=138917
Serb Minister Sees US-Albanian Plot In South Serbia
BELGRADE, Feb 29, 2000 -- (Reuters) A Serbian minister
accused the United States and Kosovo Albanian
"terrorists" on Monday of planning to provoke conflict
in an Albanian-populated area of southern Serbia close
to Kosovo.
Djura Lazic, minister without portfolio, said recent
ethnic Albanian attacks in the region were part of a
plan to justify new NATO intervention and extend
Kosovo to this area of Serbia.
He said they were also designed to drive remaining
Serbs out of Kosovo, which is now under de facto
international rule.
"The aim is not only ethnic cleansing of Kosovo of
Serbs, Montenegrins, Gypsies, Gorans and other
non-Albanians but also provoking conflicts and the
fire of war in Bujanovac, Medvedja and Presevo," Lazic
told the official Tanjug news agency.
The three towns are in an area of Serbia just east of
Kosovo, still legally part of Yugoslavia.
Lazic also criticized NATO plans to hold a military
exercise in Kosovo in March, saying it would encourage
Albanian "terrorists" - the term used by Belgrade for
guerrillas of the Kosovo Liberation Army.
NATO said in Brussels that it would send more than
2,000 troops to Kosovo next month for a training
exercise intended to show its resolve to keep the
peace.
Western diplomats and politicians have accused
Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic of reinforcing
troops along the administrative border with Kosovo in
order to spread fear and drive out ethnic Albanians.
They have warned Belgrade the world will not tolerate
any attempt to destabilize the region further.
Belgrade says it is merely responding to "terrorism"
by Kosovo Albanians crossing the border.
On Sunday, Tanjug said a Serb policeman and an ethnic
Albanian guerrilla were killed in a shoot-out near
Bujanovac.
It said three other policemen were wounded after
"Albanian terrorists" crossed from Kosovo on Saturday
night and ambushed a police patrol with automatic
weapons and hand grenades.
Lazic said the aim of such attacks was to provoke Serb
police action and portray ethnic Albanians in the area
as being under threat, thus justifying new NATO
intervention.
Yugoslav forces withdrew from Kosovo last June after
11 weeks of NATO bombing to halt Belgrade's repression
of Kosovo's ethnic Albanian majority.
Also on Monday, the Yugoslav army denied accusations
it was massing troops in the area east of Kosovo.
"The Third Army command denies and emphatically
rejects all criticism and accusations that it is
allegedly conducting preparatory and provocative
actions directed against international forces in
Kosovo," said a statement.
====================================================================
NOTA DEL CRJ:
Le nostre selezioni di notizie non pretendono di informare
esaurientemente su tutti gli aspetti della problematica
jugoslava e balcanica, che e' vastissima, ma solamente di gettare
luce su alcune sfaccettature che non vengono trattate adeguatamente,
ne' potrebbero esserlo, dalla pubblicistica guerrafondaia attiva nel
nostro paese come in tutto l'Occidente.
Le notizie in lingua straniera sono introdotte da un nostro titolo
in italiano per facilitarne la consultazione.
I brani provengono da fonti diverse:
KCNA - E' l'agenzia della Repubblica Popolare di Corea
ANSA - E' la principale agenzia di stampa italiana
YDS - e' la "Yugoslav Daily Survey" del Ministero degli Esteri della
RFJ (cfr. http://www.mfa.gov.yu/ ).
B92 - sono le notizie che provengono dalla mailing list di RadioB2-92,
di orientamento antigovernativo e filo-occidentale:
> freeb92-e is an open mailing list for distribution of news by Radio
> B2-92. News bulletins are updated at 19.00 CET Monday to Friday and
> at 23.00 CET on Saturday and Sunday.
> For more information on FreeB92 and Radio B2-92, visit:
> http://www.freeb92.net/
REUTERS - sono i dispacci della omonima agenzia di informazione.
AFP - e' l'agenzia di stampa francese France Presse.
AP - e' l'agenzia statunitense Associated Press.
IWPR - e' il bollettino dell'Institute for War & Peace Reporting
<info@...>
> Balkan Crisis Report is supported by the Department for International
> Development, European Commission, Swedish International Development and
> Cooperation Agency, MacArthur Foundation, Press Now and the Carnegie
> Corporation. IWPR also acknowledges general support from the Ford
Foundation.
> *** VISIT IWPR ON-LINE: www.iwpr.net ***
SerbiaInfo - e' il bollettino del Ministero dell'Informazione della
Repubblica di Serbia: http://www.serbia-info.com
Tanjug - e' l'agenzia di stampa jugoslava: http://www.tanjug.co.yu
TUTTE LE FONTI SONO CITATE
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--------- COORDINAMENTO ROMANO PER LA JUGOSLAVIA -----------
RIMSKI SAVEZ ZA JUGOSLAVIJU
e-mail: crj@... - URL: http://marx2001.org/crj
http://www.egroups.com/group/crj-mailinglist/
------------------------------------------------------------
VANDALI CONTRO IL CONSOLATO DELLA RFJ A VUKOVAR
FRY Consulate damaged in Vukovar
CROATIA, Sunday - The FRY Consulate in Vukovar was damaged yesterday
during riots which took place before and after a local league football
match. Seven policemen were injured and numerous supporters arrested
during clashes between fans and police.
AP 20/2/2000 ---------------------------
CONVERGENZE TRA RF DI JUGOSLAVIA E LIBIA
Serbia's and Libya's top officials find much in common
February 20, 2000 Web posted at: 4:54 PM EST (2154 GMT)
BELGRADE, Yugoslavia (AP) -- Serbia's vice premier and Libya's deputy
foreign minister called Sunday for a joint Arab-Orthodox Christian front
against "American hegemonism," a government news release said.
Serbia's far-right vice premier, Vojislav Seselj, met with Abdelah
Beh-Yallah of Lybia, and both urged "closer cooperation between states
that value independence, freedom and territorial integrity," said a
statement released after the meeting.
"Orthodox and Arab countries need to join forces to create a common
strategy against American hegemonism," the statement said. "Europe must
free itself from American influence so that its peoples and states can
live in peace, harmony and religious tolerance."
Libya was an exception among Arab countries in speaking out against last
year's NATO military intervention to end the crackdown by Serb forces
against ethnic Albanians, who are Muslim.
Lybia had close ties with the former Yugoslavia which, after its 1991
breakup, continued in the form of the present-day rump Yugoslav
federation consisting of Serbia and Montenegro.
Policies pursued by Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic and his Libyan
counterpart, Moammer Gadhafi, have led both countries into international
isolation.
"Yugoslavia and Serbia appreciate the clear stand of Lybia and its
president who openly condemned NATO aggression against Yugoslavia," the
release issued in Belgrade said.
TIMES 21/2/2000 ------------------------------------
IN DECLINO IL MORALE DELLE TRUPPE TEDESCHE IN KOSMET
The Times (London)
Monday February 21 2000
Germans sent home
THE morale of German soldiers in Kosovo is beginning to crumble (Roger
Boyes writes). At least 90 soldiers, including 4 officers, have been
sent home because of disciplinary problems, according to Welt am
Sonntag. Another 55, including 6 officers, have been sent back from the
Sfor contingent in Bosnia. The cases are said to stem from alcohol and
drug abuse, but there have also been sexual violations. In Kosovo two
drunken German soldiers yelled racist comments at Albanians. Albanian
soldiers intervened, a fight ensued and the Germans were flown out.
B92 21/2/2000 ----------------------------------
DODIK SEMPRE PIU' ISOLATO NELLA REPUBLIKA SRPSKA
Chaos in Republic of Srpska Parliament
BANJA LUKA, Monday - The Chairman of the Bosnian Serb Republic's ruling
Sloga
Coalition, Prime Minister Milorad Dodik, today demanded that the
president of
the Parliament, Petar Djokic, return the coalition's mandate. Dodik told
media that the coalition was considering options for a new parliamentary
president. Dodik said that he had received written resignations from
Socialist Party ministers but had not accepted them. He added that the
ministers had agreed to remain within the government. The Sloga
Coalition's
presidency today met without the Socialist Party representative.
YDS 21/2/2000 -------------
VANDALISMO KFOR A MITROVICA
SERBIAN PROVINCE OF KOSOVO AND METOHIJA
BRUTAL AND BARBARIC ACT BY KFOR
KOSOVSKA MITROVICA, February 21 (Tanjug) - Jovica Jovanovic, a member of
the subcommittee for administration and legislature of the Yugoslav
committee for cooperation with the United Nations mission in Kosovo and
Metohija province, said on Sunday that the search of apartments and
institutions in northern Kosovska Mitrovica by international force KFOR
U.S. and German troops was a brutal, barbaric and uncivilized act.
Jovanovic told reporters he had been present during a search of the
Faculty of Technology. He saw troops break down with axes the doors of a
laboratory and other premises.
Jovanovic also toured the school of technology which had also been a
target of KFOR's barbaric activities.
He said it was not by accident that the barbaric action was carried out
by
U.S. and German troops. The presence of numerous foreign reporters and
TV
crew at the very time when the action took place, and their on-the-spot
reporting is proof that this was all stage-managed, Jovanovc said.
The leading players in this action - U.S. and German troops - were not
picked at random, because there are no more Serbs in the parts of Kosovo
and Metohija where these troops are deployed, he said.
Jovanovic said it was an act of ultimate cynicism when French troops
brought the principal of the School of Technology about a dozen cylinder
locks and padlocks to compensate for the incurred damage.
LA SINISTRA UNITA JUGOSLAVA (JUL) INCONTRA LE FORZE
DELLA SINISTRA LATINOAMERICANA A MANAGUA
LATIN AMERICA - LEFT - CONFERENCE
YUGOSLAV LEFT OFFICIALS ATTEND CONFERENCE OF LATIN AMERICAN LEFTIST
PARTIES
MEXICO, February 21 (Tanjug) - The ninth conference of Latin American
leftist parties called the Sao Paulo Forum has opened in Nicaragua's
capital Managua, with a delegation of the Yugoslav Left (JUL) also
attending the conference.
The three-day conference, that is to focus on the Left's role in the new
century, was opened by Secretary-General of the Sandinista National
Liberation Front Daniel Ortega.
Officials of 98 parties in 36 countries are to review issues concerning
the uniting of leftist parties in the world and ways of how to oppose
attempts to impose neo-liberalism and the new world order.
A series of proposals were put forth on the promotion of cooperation
between Latin American and European leftist parties.
The JUL delegation, headed by secretary of the party's directorate in
charge of public relations Danilo Pantovic, is attending the forum in
the
capacity of observer. Pantovic has already met with officials of a large
number of South and Central American parties.
TACI "IL SERPENTE" POTREBBE ESSERE DENUNCIATO AL TRIBUNALE DELL'AIA
HAGUE TRIBUNAL HAS DISCREDITING INFORMATION ABOUT THAQI
LONDON, February 21 (Tanjug) - The U.N. war crimes tribunal in The Hague
has discrediting information about leader of the ethnic Albanian
terrorist
organisation calling itself Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) Hashim Thaqi,
The
Observer weekly of London has said.
The weekly's Pristina-based reporter asked recently the U.N.
administration in the chief city of Serbia's Kosovo and Metohija
province
why the court had not made any moves on the strength of that
information.
He was informed that it was not realistic to do so at this point. A U.N.
official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said that it was not
in
the interests of the United Nations to instigate legal proceedings
against
Thaqi at this point.
The tribunal has launched an investigation also against Agim Ceku,
former
KLA commander and currently commander of the so-called Kosovo Protection
Corps, for his involvement in war crimes committed during hostilities in
Croatia, according to earlier reports in London. Ceku had served as a
brigadier general in the Croatian army.
Diplomatic circles in London say that the tribunal has launched a secret
investigation against Ramus Haradinaj, Ceku's deputy, who has committed
war
crimes in Kosovo and Metohija as a KLA member.
These are all people with whom top Western and NATO officials have
almost
daily contacts so that one cannot but speculate about the international
community's true intentions in Kosovo and Metohija.
ANSA 23/2/2000 -------------------------------------------
CECENIA: CAPI GUERRIGLIA VOGLIONO FUGGIRE IN KOSOVO, MOSCA
(ANSA) - MOSCA, 23 FEB - Informazioni su presunti piani di
alcuni capi della guerriglia islamica cecena di fuggire
nell'inquieta regione jugoslava a maggioranza albanese del
Kosovo sono state raccolte dai servizi segreti russi (Fsb). Lo
affermano oggi fonti dello stesso Fsb all'agenzia Interfax.
Secondo tali fonti, i miliziani ceceni avrebbero da tempo
''rapporti'' con i separatisti albanesi dell'Uck e alcuni di
loro avrebbero anche combattuto al fianco di questi ultimi nel
passato nella regione balcanica.
L'obiettivo dei capi ceceni sarebbe ora quello di trasferire
i loro familiari dalla repubblica caucasica, ormai in gran parte
riconquistata dalla truppe russe. Lo Fsb e' tornato inoltre a
ipotizzare un possibile progetto di dirottamento aereo da parte
di alcuni guerriglieri, forse proprio allo scopo di fuggire
verso il Kosovo.
Un tale progetto e' attribuito dai servizi segreti di Mosca
all'ex presidente ceceno Zelimkhan Iandarbiev - ospitato
peraltro attualmente in Pakistan - e da un secondo dirigente dei
separatisti, Movladi Udugov.
Fonti di stampa ed esponenti serbi avevano gia' parlato di
recente di un possibile trasferimento di capi ceceni e di loro
parenti nel Kosovo, dandolo in parte per gia' avvenuto.(ANSA).
LR 23-FEB-00 11:50
TANJUG 23/2/2000 -----------------------------
SOLIDARIETA' DAL GHANA PER LA RF DI JUGOSLAVIA
http://www.tanjug.co.yu/Arhiva/2000/Feb%20-%2000/23-02e03.html
Tanjug (Yu)
February 23, 2000
Ghana -- national solidarity with Yugoslavia
ACCRA -- Yugoslavia's ambassador in Accra briefed the Ghanaian
parliament on Tuesday on the consequences of NATO's March-June 1999
aggression on Yugoslavia and the latest developments in the U.N.-ruled
Serbian (Yugoslav) province of Kosovo-Metohija.
Presenting to Parliament's Foreign Relations Committee Yugoslavia's
White Book of documentary evidence on the aggression, Ambassador Milena
Lukovic Jovanovic said the aggression "was the worst crime against
humanity and peace since the Second World War."
Committee Chairman Kofi Ator emphasised Ghana's support for Yugoslavia's
sovereignty and territorial integrity and for its request that the U.N.
Security Council's Resolution 1244 on Kosovo- Metohija be consistently
implemented.
Ghana had condemned the aggression and expressed solidarity with
Yugoslavia, and would, in line with its principled policy, continue to
support Yugoslavia in the defence of its legitimate state and national
interests, he said.
The Ghanaian parliamentarians expressed indignation at and condemnation
of the NATO air strikes on Yugoslavia and admiration for the Serbian
people who bravely defended their sovereignty and territorial integrity.
REUTERS 24/2/2000 ----------------------------------
http://www.timesofindia.com/today/24worl49/htm
LA FYROM IN ALLERTA PER L'ACCRESCERSI DELLA TENSIONE
IN SERBIA MERIDIONALE
Thursday february 24, 2000
Macedonian army on alert along Serbia border
SKOPJEL: The Macedonian army said on Wednesday it had
raised its level of combat readiness along its border
with southern Serbia, after an upsurge of ethnic
violence in Kosovo.
"We are cautious because of events in the north and
for this reason the combat readiness of the Kumanovo
corps was raised to a higher level two days ago," army
spokesman Gjorgji Trendafilov told Reuters.
"Our border patrols are more frequent and our guards
are reinforced as well as the control on the border,"
he said. "From the other side of the border things can
happen which can get out of control."
Trendafilov, who did not specify which events in the
north he was referring to, stressed that the army was
not sending new troops to the border region.
On Monday, NATO Secretary-General George Robertson
said the alliance was monitoring a build-up of
Yugoslav forces in areas of southern Serbia where he
said there was "clearly rising tension".
Robertson was referring to the
Bujanovac-Presevo-Medvedja region, lying just east of
Kosovo and largely populated by ethnic Albanians. The
region lies north of Macedonia.
NATO sources said the report concerned four companies
of well-armed Interior Ministry police which had been
moved into the region, where recent local reports have
warned of mounting fear and violence.
The Yugoslav army, a completely separate institution
to the Interior Ministry troops, has denied any
build-up.
"Of course there are no additional troops of ours in
the territory of Presevo," the commander of
Yugoslavia's Third Army, Colonel-General Vladimir
Lazarevic, was quoted by Belgrade daily Vecernje
Novosti as saying on Wednesday.
"We have our border units there which very efficiently
secure the state border with Macedonia. They prevent
four to five illegal crossings daily in this border
area," he said.
There has also been fresh violence this month in the
northern Kosovo town of Mitrovica. On Monday, ethnic
Albanian protesters clashed with NATO-led peacekeepers
there.
Outbreaks of fighting in the city have left nine
people dead and more than 20 wounded in February,
including two French soldiers shot in gun battles.
The Macedonian army last raised its combat readiness
during last year's Kosovo war, when NATO bombed
Yugoslavia to halt its repression of the province's
ethnic Albanian majority. It also stepped up its
readiness during civil disturbances in neighbouring
Albania in the spring of 1997. (Reuters)
REUTERS 23/2/2000 --------------------------------------
GLI STROZZINI GLOBALI AUMENTANO LE PRESSIONI SULLA FYROM
World Bank Urges Macedonia Reforms Ahead Of Talks
SKOPJE, Feb 23, 2000 -- (Reuters) The World Bank told
Macedonia on Tuesday to step up reforms to qualify for
the agency's $40 million assistance later this year.
"Macedonia must speed up reforms in the social,
pension and labor sectors, as well as reforms in the
financial and enterprise sectors," World Bank Director
for Macedonia and Turkey Ajay Chhibber told a news
conference in Skopje.
Talks on a Financial and Enterprise Sector Adjustment
Loan (FESAL) were expected to begin by early April and
to end in May.
The pace of reforms and ability to transparently
restructure the largest loss-makers in the country
will decide the bank's future assistance, he said.
"The government ability to sell or liquidate the
deficit-ridden companies without incurring large
liabilities on the budget will determine the Bank's
ability to support Macedonia under a FESAL
arrangement," Chhibber said.
"The world Bank likes to urge the liquidation or a
sale of these enterprises in the most transparent
way," he said.
Macedonia has lagged behind a schedule to sell or
close at least seven large loss-making firms including
nickel producer Feni from Kavadarci.
TANJUG 24/2/2000 ------------------------------------------
SULLA STAMPA ISRAELIANA A QUALCUNO E' RITORNATA LA MEMORIA:
PARALLELI CON LA POLITICA NAZISTA NEI BALCANI
www.serbia-info.com/news
"Haarecu": NATO aggression similar to Hitler's crimes
February 24, 2000
NATO bombing of civilian facilities
Tel Aviv, February 24th (Tanjug) - The manner in which NATO committed
its aggression on FR Yugoslavia last year is very similar to the crimes
committed by Hitler's policy in this country, stated the historian, Anat
Peri, in the text "Let the truth be heard", published today in the
prominent Israeli "Haarecu" daily.
Simultaneously with the forming of the ustasha NDH (The Independent
State of Croatia) and the giving over of Kosmet to the fascistic
Albanian regime, Hitler requested that all Serbs opposing nazis be
expelled. Germany and the US have now, as Hitler did then, encouraged
the separation of Croatia and the expulsion of the Serbian population
from the Croatian territory, stated Peri.
The US has armed the Albanian army, encouraged it to attack FRY and take
over the control over parts of Kosmet, the southern Serbian province,
and launch attacks on Serbian soldiers. Aside from that, the US
supported the Albanian terrorists and mafia, while it accused the
Albanian intellectuals from Kosmet of collaborating with Serbs, reminded
the Israeli historian.
Peri said that today, Ibrahim Rugova, the leader of the Kosmet
Albanians, fears for his life because of the terrorists, which the US
supported and enabled to rule. These terrorists, proteges of the US, are
the murderers of, not only Serbs, but also Albanians, which are opposed
to violence. This is why there are many similarities between the
policies of NATO and Hitler, stated Peri.
It is in NATO's interest that there be violence between the small
nations in Yugoslavia in order for them to justify their policy of
enslavement, stated Peri, adding that any decent man must confess that
the only way to achieve peace in Kosmet is through extensive
negotiations between Serbs and ethnic-Albanians, as it is the only way
of achieving peace between the Palestinians and the Israelis.
The NATO aggression on FRY did not, as the aggressors claimed, protect
the lives of Albanians, but with it, the last Russian ally in Europe was
attacked, and from the territory of Kosmet, after the arrival of the
KFOR and UNMIK forces, the majority of the Serbian population was
expelled, the remaining Serbs are being murdered on daily basis, and the
representatives of KFOR and UNMIK are not interested in avoiding this,
said Peri.
B92 24/2/2000 -----------------------------
OPERAZIONE ANTI-PROSTITUZIONE IN MONTENEGRO
Montenegro deports foreign sex workers
PODGORICA, Thursday - Montenegrin police last night deported more than
seventy Russian, Moldavian and Ukrainian prostitutes, all of whom had
been
arrested in a raid over several days on cafes and clubs along the
Adriatic
Coast. Podgorica daily Vijesti reported that teams of police arrested
girls
in night clubs who were engaged in prostitution and striptease. Their
working
permits were annulled on the basis that they had violated the law on
foreign
residents. According to unofficial sources, the international community
had
asked Montenegro to crush the illegal white slave trade which was
working
from East to West through Montenegro.
REUTERS 25/2/2000 ---------------------------------------
NELLA FYROM SCOPERTO ARSENALE DEI NAZIONALISTI SCHIPETARI
Macedonian police find arms destined for Kosovo-TV
SKOPJE, Feb 25 (Reuters) - Macedonian police have uncovered a
cache of weapons destined for Kosovo in an Albanian-populated village
in the Balkan country, Macedonian television reported on Friday.
Privately-owned SITEL television said 120 cases with Kalashnikov
automatic rifles and Skorpion handguns and two tonnes of ammunition
had been found in a hotel in the southern village of Kravari.
The hotel owner and an Albanian citizen had been arrested, the
television said, quoting police sources. Another private television
station, A-1 TV, carried a similar report.
Police were not immediately available for comment.
Both stations said the weapons were smuggled in on mountain tracks
from Albania and were bound for Kosovo, the Yugoslav province to the
north which is now under de facto international rule.
Police had also found 40 kg (88 lbs) of marijuana, they said.
A-1 TV said the police acted after a routine check near Skopje
revealed 10 Kalashnikovs in a car driven by an Albanian man. SITEL
said police searches for more weapons were under way.
Kosovo has seen a recent upsurge in ethnic violence, particularly in
the northern town of Mitrovica, a major flashpoint between hostile
Serb and ethnic Albanian communities.
Earlier this week, the Macedonian army said it had raised its level
of combat readiness along its border with Serbia.
Albanians account for about one third of Macedonia's population of
roughly two million people.
AFP 25/2/2000 ----------------------------------
IVANOV: COSA CI STANNO A FARE I RUSSI IN KOSMET?
http://www.centraleurope.com/news.php3?id=138270
Russia Might Withdraw Its Troops From Kosovo, Says
Ivanov
MOSCOW, Feb 26, 2000 -- (Agence France Presse) Russia
might withdraw its troops from NATO's KFOR
peacekeeping force in Kosovo in protest at the way it
is operated, Russian Security Council chief Sergei
Ivanov said via the Interfax news agency.
"A thought comes to mind: should we maintain the
presence of the Russian contingent and spend valuable
public money to be spectators," Ivanov said.
"We have a number of grievances" regarding the
international peacekeeping operation in Kosovo, he
said, adding that the province was in the process of
losing its multi-national character.
Of 800 deaths in the past six months, 700 were Serbs,
Ivanov noted.
Russia said Wednesday that KFOR and the UN mission in
Kosovo were incapable of ending violence in the region
or guaranteeing even minimal security for the Serb
population.
Moscow also protested the announcement by NATO of KFOR
military exercises in March, to which Russia was not
invited.
Some 3,600 Russian soldiers are currently taking part
in KFOR operations. ((c) 2000 Agence France Presse)
IWPR #119, 25/2/2000 ---------------
SULLE DIVISIONI TRA I SERBO-BOSNIACI
BOSNIAN SERB DIVISIONS WIDEN
Republika Srpska was again plunged into political turmoil this week
after a
key member of the government coalition quit.
By Janez Kovac in Sarajevo
The Bosnian Serb entity is on the brink of political chaos following the
withdrawal of the Socialist Party from the ruling pro-western coalition.
The move, allegedly orchestrated by the Yugoslav President Slobodan
Milosevic, has widened the growing rift between Bosnian Serb politicians
and
delivered a blow to the international community's efforts to promote
political stability.
Republika Srpska has already been without a head of state for almost a
year.
Hard-line president Nikola Poplasen was dismissed last March by Bosnia's
top
international mediator for obstructing the peace process.
The withdrawal of the Socialist Party of Republika Srpska (SPRS) from
the
Sloga (Unity) coalition came after Bosnian Serb Premier Milorad Dodik
sacked
two senior SPRS officials from his government. The main board of the
SPRS
blamed Dodik for its decision to quit.
The move, a consequence of the ongoing power-struggle in the Unity
coalition, left Dodik with a minority government, which can survive only
with the strong support of international organisations in Bosnia.
Ever since it was set up in 1997, the Unity coalition was anything but
politically united, often reflecting an old Serb saying, "two Serbs -
three
political parties." Its members never really shared a common political
agenda. They were nationalists and political opportunists thrown
together
with international backing to topple Radovan Karadzic's hard-line
Serbian
Democratic Party (SDS).
Sloga succeeded in ousting the SDS and the Radical Party from positions
of
power, but a "monster" had been created, which international officials
were
either unable or too incompetent to control.
Through its main agency in Bosnia, the Office of the High
Representative,
the international community gave Sloga and its frontman, Milorad Dodik,
unconditional support.
Dodik and the coalition did improve the situation in Republika Srpska
somewhat, but mainly through western donations and loans. They remained
opportunists, however, and continued fighting each other for power.
Dodik
has maintained the upper hand in the struggle thanks to western backing.
This despite Sloga being mired in corruption, never fully accepting the
vision of a united Bosnia as drafted in the Dayton Peace Accord, nor
properly implementing one of its key conditions - the return of refugees
to
the Bosnian Serb-held areas.
The international community also turned a blind eye to Dodik's personal
shortcomings, allowing him to bully and replace his opponents as long as
he
was keeping the two nationalist parties - the SDS and the Radical Party
-
outside of government.
The international community also saw Dodik and his coalition as
important
weapons against Milosevic.
Dodik and other top Sloga officials publicly criticised Milosevic on
numerous occasions and gradually severed ties between Yugoslavia and
Republika Srpska, jeopardising Milosevic's self-proclaimed position as
leader of all Balkan Serbs.
But the arrangement backfired many times, putting western agencies in
often
awkward and sometimes absurd positions.
Along the way, Dodik made few friends and many enemies. He even lost
support
from political parties in the other Bosnian entity, the Bosnian
Federation.
At the same time, Milosevic increased his efforts to undermine Dodik and
Sloga, usually acting either through the hard-line SDS and Radical
parties,
or through the SPRS. A part of the SPRS, apparently led by party
vice-president Dragutin Ilic, remained loyal to Milosevic and close to
his
Socialist Party of Serbia.
As soon as SPRS announced its decision to step out of the coalition, key
Sloga leaders, Dodik and Biljana Plavsic, accused Republika Srpska
socialists of caving into pressure from Milosevic. They implied that
some of
the SPRS officials recently visited Belgrade and were taking directions
from
the Yugoslav president.
"I had hoped that SPRS would liberate itself from Serbia's pressure,"
Plavsic said, adding that the party's withdrawal from government was
"irresponsible" because it showed it was following "petty personal
interests" rather than those of all Bosnian Serbs and Republika Srpska.
"SPRS is not Sloga, but only a part of Sloga," Dodik said. And in an
attempt
to persuade the public that Republika Srpska was not facing a crisis, he
insisted the coalition would continue working.
Yet despite his words, everybody - western organisations and Bosnian
citizens alike - are aware the entity is entering its deepest political
crisis since the pro-Karadzic hard-liners were removed from power.
International support, however, should ensure that Dodik remains in
power
without serious challenges. But only for as long as Republika Srpska has
a
vacant presidential post, as only the head of state can propose a new
premier.
Meanwhile, the Bosnian Serb parliament will remain deadlocked with
political
factions unable to muster enough votes to push through decisions.
The most important consequence of the current chaos is that it could
open
the way for the re-emergence of the SDS in Bosnia's general election
scheduled for October.
The SDS, which has undergone key personnel changes since Karadzic was
leader, is now a solid opposition party, which sometimes behaves more
democratically than Sloga.
But although the SDS now appears to be quite different from the war
mongering party of old - its reappearance in the corridors of power
would
definitively alarm international organisations in Bosnia. But even
worse, it
would immediately boost ethnic tensions sky-high throughout Bosnia.
Janez Kovac is a regular contributor to IWPR from Sarajevo.
TANJUG 26/2/2000 -----------------------
RF DI JUGOSLAVIA ED IRAN SI RIAVVICINANO
http://www.tanjug.co.yu/Arhiva/2000/Feb%20-%2000/26-02e04.html
Tanjug (Yu)
February 26, 2000
Yugoslavia, Iran form closer links
BELGRADE -- The promotion of all forms of cooperation of FR Yugoslavia
and Iran, notably in the field of information, and the creation of
conditions for the Yugoslav and Iranian people, through authentic
information and without the mediation of global, world media, to inform
themselves about the most important events -- is of interest for both
friendly countries, it was mutually assessed at the talks held Friday
between Yugoslav Information Minister Goran Matic and the Iranian
Embassy charge d'affaires in Belgrade, Javad Moradkhan.
Moradkhan said that there was a need to a strengthen cooperation in the
field of the media with a view to authentically informing the publics in
the two countries, and to open correspondency offices of the Iranian
News Agency in Belgrade and of TANJUG in Teheran.
Matic, assessing that the future of the world was in a multipolar
society and that every people has the right to chose its govermment,
said that was the foundation the Yugoslav society was based on.
Matic said that Yugoslavia will open the door for better cooperation in
the field of information with Iran, pointing that action should be taken
against the terror of global media, who attempt to pit against one
another peoples, influence processes and the election of governments in
spite of the will of the people in certain countries.
B92 26/2/2000 -----------
"AIUTI" USA AL MONTENEGRO
US to provide Montenegro with flour and wheat supplies
MONTENEGRO, Saturday - The US will provide Montenegro with 500,000 tons
of
flour, Montenegrin Minister of Agriculture Milutin Simovic told the
press
today. On his return from an official visit to America, Simovic told the
press that in April the US would also supply Montenegro with 350,000
tons of
wheat which would ensure an adequate bread supply on the Montenegrin
market
and keep the cost of bread at current levels. During his visit, Simovic
signed several contracts aimed at boosting Montenegrin agriculture.
TENDENZE CENTRIFUGHE IN VOJVODINA
Vojvodina to become one of six Serbian Federal units
NOVI SAD, Saturday - The League of Vojvodina Social Democrats at their
third
congress in Novi Sad today adopted a resolution according to which
Vojvodina
will become one of the six Serbian Federal units, the other five being
Sumadija, Belgrade, Southeastern Serbia, Sandzak and Kosovo. In his
speech at
the congress, leader of the League of Vojvodina Social Democrats, Nenad
Canak
said that their aim was not to separate Vojvodina from Serbia, but to
redefine relations between Serbia and Vojvodina. Foreign guests who had
been
invited to attend the congress failed to show having been refused visas.
TELEGRAPH 26/2/2000 ---------------------
IRREDENTISMO PAN-ALBANESE ALL'OPERA ORMAI
ANCHE FUORI DAL KOSMET
The Telegraph (UK)
ISSUE 1737Saturday 26 February 2000
Fresh violence in Yugoslavia is blamed on ethnic Albanians
By Gillian Sandford in Bujanovac and Julius Strauss
ETHNIC Albanian extremists are suspected of being behind a fresh wave of
ethnic violence that has broken out in remote settlements of southern
Yugoslavia.
Although the villages concerned are close to Kosovo, ethnic Albanians,
Serbs and gipsies have lived peacefully there alongside each other for
years.
During the Nato air strikes last year, the Serbian authorities largely
ignored the area and local Albanians say some of them were protected by
their Serbian neighbours from the nationalism sweeping the country.
But now explosions, beatings, searches and tit-for-tat killings are
threatening to tear apart fragile communities and provoke new clashes
between Serbs and ethnic Albanians that could destabilise the entire
region. At the heart of the trouble is Bujanovac, a village consisting
of 55 per cent ethnic Albanians and 45 per cent Serbs and gipsies.
Although villagers crowd the market square as they always have, distrust
is beginning to permeate the atmosphere.
It is being registered far beyond Yugoslavia's borders. The Nato
Secretary-General, Lord Robertson, said recently: "There is clearly
rising tension in the southern part of Serbia and large numbers of
additional Yugoslav troops have moved into the area."
Asked about the reports of troop deployments, Stojanca Arsic, the mayor,
said: "We have stationary troops in Bujanovac. These are regular army
and they are doing their duty on a training programme."
In the village itself, there was little sign last week of a build-up of
Yugoslav forces. The only obvious activity consisted of four coachloads
of special police travelling north, apparently away from the border.
Yet there clearly had been violence. Nato and ethnic Albanian sources in
Kosovo said most of the responsibility lay with elements of the Kosovo
Liberation Army who are fighting for a unified Albania incorporating
parts of Macedonia and the territory populated by the 80,000 ethnic
Albanians still in Serbia.
The ethnic Albanian spiritual leader, Nexhmadin Saqipi, says that both
ethnic Albanian and Serbian extremists are worsening relations between
the two communities.
Mr Saqipi said: "During the bombing we helped each other. But now I am
afraid of these incidents escalating. The Serb mayor is a good man and
so is the local police commander. These events are all the results of
clashes between the politics of Belgrade and Pristina."
The violence in Bujanovac is a textbook example of the flash-fire nature
of Balkan ethnic strife. The trouble began after a local Albanian,
Shefket, returned from Kosovo and began fomenting trouble. In December a
bomb exploded at the Serbian elementary school. Two weeks later two
bombs went off in an Albanian and gipsy area.
Then in January the director of an Albanian school in the nearby village
of Muhovac was ambushed and killed on his way to work. Mr Arsic says he
was targeted because extremist Albanians considered him a collaborator.
A little later Shefket had an exchange of fire with Serb police and two
ethnic Albanian bystanders were killed. In retaliation, ethnic Albanians
claim, they are being roughed up by Serb police at checkpoints.
The violence in Bujanovac is part of a pattern of unrest spreading
through ethnic Albanian areas in Serbia and Macedonia.
In Presevo, local Albanians have reported that "outsiders" have arrived
to stoke up trouble with the Serbian police. They have been joined by
young Presevo men, some of whom fought in Kosovo.
British military sources in Kosovo say the KLA is also behind attacks on
Serb police units in other areas on the border, including one that left
two dead.
In neighbouring Macedonia, too, violence is spreading. Last month three
policemen were killed by ethnic Albanian gangsters who opened fire on
their car.
B92 27/2/2000 -----------------------
UN ALTRO SERBO FATTO FUORI A GNJILANE
Member of the Serbian Nation Council for Kosovo murdered in Gnjilane
KOSOVO, Sunday - Member of the Serbian Nation Council for Kosovo, Doctor
Josip Vasic was killed last night in the center of Gnjilane. An unknown
assailant fired four bullets at Vasic, the Serbian Nation Council for
Kosovo
headquarters stated today, condemning this murder as part of the
systematic
cleansing of Serbs from this region.
KFOR spokesman Philip Anido confirmed the murder of Serbian Doctor Josip
Vasic at a press conference in Pristina today. Anido said that Doctor
Vasic
died after being transferred to the American military hospital last
night.
ATTACCO DEI TERRORISTI N.A.T.O. (IRREDENTISTI PAN-ALBANESI)
CAUSA UN MORTO E TRE FERITI
One police officer killed and three injured in Albanian terrorist attack
in Konculj
BELGRADE, Sunday - Senior police officer, Slavisa Dimitrijevic was
killed and
a further three policemen injured during an attack carried out by Kosovo
Albanian terrorists on the road between Gnjilane and Bujanovac near the
village of Konculj ten kilometers from the Kosovo border last night, the
Serbian Ministry of Internal Affairs stated today. The three injured
policemen have been hospitalised but have been taken off the danger
list.
According to the statement issued by the police, the terrorists left the
territory of Kosovo and ambushed a Serbian police patrol using hand
grenades
and automatic weapons. The police patrol managed to return fire, killing
one
of the Albanian terrorists, Fatmir Idrisi, who according to police
sources,
is a member of the Kosovo protection Corps. All local roads in the area
have
been closed for security reasons.
KCNA 27/2/2000 --------------------------------
JOVANOVIC IN VISITA UFFICIALE IN COREA DEL NORD
Reception given for Yugoslav Foreign Minister
Pyongyang, February 27 (KCNA) -- The DPRK Foreign Ministry gave a
reception for the Foreign Minister of
the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and his party on a visit to Korea at
the
Mansudae Assembly Hall yesterday.
DPRK Foreign Minister Paek Nam Sun in his speech said that Korea
visit
of the Yugoslav Foreign Minister and
his party will mark a significant occasion in expanding and developing
the
excellent friendly relations between the
two peoples to a new higher stage.
Stressing that the friendly and cooperative relations between the
two
countries whose firm foundation was laid
by the great leader Kim Il Sung are now growing stronger and developing
under the particular care of the great
leader Kim Jong Il, he said:
The DPRK will, in the future, too, make every possible effort to
further consolidate and develop these
traditional relations in keeping with the demands of the present
developing
situation.
Yugoslav Foreign Minister Zivadin Jovanovic in his speech said that
the
Yugoslav leadership and people highly
appreciate the DPRK leadership and people for having condemned the
interference, pressure and aggressive
maneuvers of foreign forces against Yugoslavia and supported it in the
United Nations and the non-aligned
movement.
He said that Yugoslavia expresses full support to the Korean people
in
their struggle to reunify the country
independently and peacefully, true to the ten-point programme of the
great
unity of the whole nation for national
reunification set forth by Kim Il Sung and the five-point policy of
great
national unity advanced by Kim Jong Il.
He expressed the belief that the relations between the two countries
would further expand and develop in
political, economic, cultural and other fields.
B92 28/2/2000 -------------------------------------
ALTRI 180 NOMI NELLE LISTE DI PROSCRIZIONE DELLA UE
EU adds 180 names to Yugoslav black list
BRUSSELS, Monday - The European Union foreign ministers today added
another
180 names to the list of Yugoslav residents banned from entering EU
member
countries. EU officials said that the list, which now consists of about
780
names, consisted of people who were part of, or supported, the regime of
Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic.
The new list is remarkable for the inclusion of the names of 54 Yugoslav
judges, magistrates and prosecutors who have been prominent in the
vexatious
prosecution of the independent media and opposition politicians.
The ministers were also expected today to confirm the suspension of air
traffic sanctions against Yugoslavia. The procedure of formally lifting
the
sanctions was expected to take another two weeks.
UN AUTOBUS (PER FORTUNA VUOTO) SU DI UNA MINA
Serbian bus hits landmine in Kosovo
BELGRADE, Monday - A passenger bus was badly damaged when it hit a
landmine
in Kosovo this morning. The bus, belonging to the Raska transport firm
Jugoprevoz, was carrying no passengers at the time of the explosion. The
driver was unhurt by the blast which occurred when the rear of the bus
hit
the mine as it was leaving the northern zone of Kosovska Mitrovica. The
Commander of the French KFOR sector, General Pierre de Saqui de Sannes
described the incident as an act of blatant violence.
The Serb National Council described the attack on the bus as a terrorist
act,
claiming that the intention of the terrorists was to intimidate the Serb
population and ethnically cleanse the northern part of Kosovo. The
council
statement went on to say that it was no coincidence that the attack had
occurred on the same day that the Albanians were celebrating the
establishment of Albanian terrorist groups in Kosovo and making new
threats
against Serbs.
The London "Guardian" writes today that armed members of the
officially-disbanded Kosovo Liberation Army wearing camouflage suits
were
attacking Serb police along the Kosovo-Serbia border in order to provoke
a
response from Serb security forces and consequently NATO intervention.
The
British paper quotes a US KFOR officer as saying that international
forces
would enter the territory of Serbia proper if there were atrocities. The
definition of that term was still being worked on, the US officer added.
IN DIECIMILA CELEBRANO LA LOTTA PER LA GRANDE ALBANIA
SOTTO GLI OCCHI (E LA PROTEZIONE) DELLA N.A.T.O.
Kosovo guerrillas celebrate second anniversary
PRISTINA, Monday - Members of the Kosovo Protection Corps today
celebrated
the second anniversary of the first major conflict between the Kosovo
Liberation Army and members of the Yugoslav security forces. The clash
occurred in the Drenica villages of Likosane and Ciriz. The Kosovo
Protection
Corps is largely made up of former members of the officially-disbanded
Kosovo
Liberation Army. Today's rally involved about 10,000 Albanians, none of
whom
carried arms or wore KLA uniforms. The Corps Commander Agim Ceku did not
attend the celebrations.
LA N.A.T.O. PRONTA A NUOVE MANOVRE
NATO exercises in Kosovo
BRUSSELS, Monday - About 2,000 troops will participate in NATO
manoeuvres in
Kosovo in March and April, NATO Supreme Command announced today. The
troops
are part of NATO's strategic reserve and the land command exercises
codenamed
"Dynamic Response 2000" would demonstrate NATO's resolution to maintain
a
safe environment for Kosovo and its citizens according to NATO's
statement.
The exercises will involve six countries, Argentina, Italy, Holland,
Poland,
Romania and the US.
B92 29/2/2000 -----------------------------------------
STEVAN MIRKOVIC: E' ORA CHE L'ESERCITO PRENDA IL POTERE
Former Army head calls for coup
BELGRADE, Tuesday - The Army should seize power, disband the government,
the
parliament and political parties, arrest Milo Djukanovic and eliminate
Slobodan Milosevic, former Yugoslav People's Army chief Stevan Mirkovic
said
today. Mirkovic told Belgrade daily Danas that if Milosevic had put the
army
on alert in order to expand his authority, it would be unproductive
because
the army would not dare enter a conflict with Montenegrin security
forces.
The former army chief added that he did not believe the army would step
outside its authority for the sake of one man's power but if it were
needed
to establish order and discipline in the country that would be something
else
altogether.
AFP 29/2/2000 -----------------------
GRANDE FEELING TRA TURCHIA ED ALBANIA
Turkey Promises To Help Albania Modernize Its Army
TIRANA, Feb 29, 2000 -- (Agence France Presse) Turkish Prime Minister
Bulent Ecevit said Monday his country plans to give Albania more than
$120 million dollars over the next four years to help modernize its
army.
Ecevit, speaking at a joint press conference with Albanian counterpart
Ilir Meta during a two-day visit to Tirana, said Turkey saw an
up-to-date Albanian military as an important element for peace and
stability in the Balkans.
Ankara has already earmarked $41 million for the Albanian defense force
and planned to double that amount between now and 2004, Ecevit said,
adding that the change would also have a positive impact on the economy
of Albania, considered the poorest country in Europe.
An uprising in Albania in 1997 resulted in army weapons depots being
pillaged and around one million arms are believed to be in circulation.
Large parts of the country remain lawless.
Turkey, as a member of NATO, took part in the NATO bombardment of
Yugoslavia which eventually forced Yugoslav troops to end their
operation against ethnic Albanians in Kosovo and to pull out of the
Serbian province.
Albania shares a border with Kosovo to the north and both Albania and
Turkey have predominantly Muslim populations. ((c) 2000 Agence France
Presse)
REUTERS 29/2/2000 -------------------------------------
IL MINISTRO LAZIC DENUNCIA LO SPORCO GIOCO DEGLI U.S.A.
NELLA SERBIA MERIDIONALE
http://www.centraleurope.com/news.php3?id=138917
Serb Minister Sees US-Albanian Plot In South Serbia
BELGRADE, Feb 29, 2000 -- (Reuters) A Serbian minister
accused the United States and Kosovo Albanian
"terrorists" on Monday of planning to provoke conflict
in an Albanian-populated area of southern Serbia close
to Kosovo.
Djura Lazic, minister without portfolio, said recent
ethnic Albanian attacks in the region were part of a
plan to justify new NATO intervention and extend
Kosovo to this area of Serbia.
He said they were also designed to drive remaining
Serbs out of Kosovo, which is now under de facto
international rule.
"The aim is not only ethnic cleansing of Kosovo of
Serbs, Montenegrins, Gypsies, Gorans and other
non-Albanians but also provoking conflicts and the
fire of war in Bujanovac, Medvedja and Presevo," Lazic
told the official Tanjug news agency.
The three towns are in an area of Serbia just east of
Kosovo, still legally part of Yugoslavia.
Lazic also criticized NATO plans to hold a military
exercise in Kosovo in March, saying it would encourage
Albanian "terrorists" - the term used by Belgrade for
guerrillas of the Kosovo Liberation Army.
NATO said in Brussels that it would send more than
2,000 troops to Kosovo next month for a training
exercise intended to show its resolve to keep the
peace.
Western diplomats and politicians have accused
Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic of reinforcing
troops along the administrative border with Kosovo in
order to spread fear and drive out ethnic Albanians.
They have warned Belgrade the world will not tolerate
any attempt to destabilize the region further.
Belgrade says it is merely responding to "terrorism"
by Kosovo Albanians crossing the border.
On Sunday, Tanjug said a Serb policeman and an ethnic
Albanian guerrilla were killed in a shoot-out near
Bujanovac.
It said three other policemen were wounded after
"Albanian terrorists" crossed from Kosovo on Saturday
night and ambushed a police patrol with automatic
weapons and hand grenades.
Lazic said the aim of such attacks was to provoke Serb
police action and portray ethnic Albanians in the area
as being under threat, thus justifying new NATO
intervention.
Yugoslav forces withdrew from Kosovo last June after
11 weeks of NATO bombing to halt Belgrade's repression
of Kosovo's ethnic Albanian majority.
Also on Monday, the Yugoslav army denied accusations
it was massing troops in the area east of Kosovo.
"The Third Army command denies and emphatically
rejects all criticism and accusations that it is
allegedly conducting preparatory and provocative
actions directed against international forces in
Kosovo," said a statement.
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RFJ (cfr. http://www.mfa.gov.yu/ ).
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IWPR - e' il bollettino dell'Institute for War & Peace Reporting
<info@...>
> Balkan Crisis Report is supported by the Department for International
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Foundation.
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