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German Foreign Minister Calls for Permanent German Troop
Occupation of Yugoslavia
Fischer Warns: Yugoslavs Must Acquire Democratic Culture to Relate to
Germany
Prof. Chossudovsky Comments: US Accepts German Domination in Yugoslavia
Berlin (AP)Oct. 11, 2000
[Emperor's Clothes note: The following has been translated from the
printout of a German
language 'Associated Press' dispatch. For more details, see end of
article]
German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer, addressing Parliament on
Wednesday, expressed
his opinion that Germany should not only provide material help to
Yugoslavia but that the
Bundeswehr and non-military organizations should establish a permanent
presence there. He
declared that this was a unique chance to create a democracy in the
context of further
European unification.
Reunited Germany has a special responsibility for stabilizing democracy
in Serbia. Democracy,
said Mr. Fischer, is the basis for a lasting peace in the Balkans. But
the priority is for the
moment that the democratic changes be carried out peacefully and that
justice prevail. The
Western Balkans is a part of the European comprehensive responsibility.
It was truly correct at the time to stop Slobodan Milosevich's policy of
Greater Serbia and to
engage oneself on the side of the democratic opposition, says Joschka
Fischer. Now the bloody
murdering in the Balkans can be stopped. The Stability Pact has to be
used, among other things,
for the clearing of the Danube. Also democratic culture has to be built
up [in Serbia] to make
possible the normalization of relations between Germany and Serbia. The
first steps have been
taken through the lifting of the oil and the flight embargoes by the
European Union. Now
Serbia can be accompanied on its route toward Europe. In the words of
Fischer, all those who
have made themselves guilty of grave crimes have to be brought to
justice.
[Note: Original German text will be posted as soon as possible at
http://emperors-clothes.com/german/bundeswehr.htm ]
German Domination Slated for Yugoslavia
Interview with Michel Chossudovsky, Professor of Economics, University
of
Ottawa. Prof. Chossudovsky studies and writes about the effects of
International Monetary
Fund/NATO penetration of countries in transition.
Interview conducted by Max Sinclair
Sinclair: Some supporters of Kostunica are arguing, or hoping, that
somehow he can maneuver
around the United States because he has ties to Europe. That Europe is
getting away from US
domination and wants to be independent.
Chossudovsky: I think they're very naïve in that belief. Berlin and
Washington are working
hand in hand in this situation. They coordinate their respective foreign
policy initiatives.
Germany's secret service, the Bbundesnachrichten Dienst (BND)
collaborated closely with the
CIA in the various stages of the 78 day bombing of Yugoslavia, and also
after the bombing.
Everything indicates that what they want is to transform Yugoslavia into
a German
protectorate with German troops (and the Deutschmark) stationed on
Yugoslav soil, within
Germany's "lebensraum". This has been the fate of the other former
republics of Yugoslavia
including Macedonia and Croatia.
In Montenegro and Kosovo the Deutschmark has been established as legal
tender. In Kosovo
Germany's Commerzbank controls the entire commercial banking system. At
the same time it
is the Washington Group, which is a US Transnational linked up with the
US defence industry,
which controls the Trepca mines in northern Kosovo.
The Americans and their British allies have their eyes on Central Asia;
that is the deal. The
Caspian Sea basin and Central Asia are American territory. BP-AMOCO and
ARCO, the
world's largest Anglo-American oil consortium, is the major player in
the Caspian oil fields.
NATO's role, through GUUAM, the NATO-sponsored military alliance in this
area, is to
protect the pipeline routes from the Caucasus through the Balkans.
Germany is not an important player in the oil business. In return for
the US and Britain getting
the Caspian Sea Basin and Central Asia, Germany gets the Balkans and
parts of Eastern
Europe. The US and Germany seem to have agreed on this division of
territory and their
respective spheres of influence.
Sinclair: So they are fully united?
Chossudovsky: United in some regards, divided in others. There is a
major split between
Germany and the US in the defence industry. We see two competing defence
conglomerates.
The powerful Deutsche Aerospace which is part of Daimler is now allied
with France's
Aerospatiale Matra. In turn, British Aerospace is integrated into the US
military industrial
complex. It is in close relationship with major US defence contractors.
In other words the Western defence industry is split in two; the
Anglo-American axis and the
Franco-German axis. Incidentally in the oil business the Anglo-Americans
are also
competing with the French-Belgian-Italian consortium,
El-Aquitaine-Petrofina-ENI, which
also has links to the Iranian and Russian Oil companies.
Dinkic Attempts to Control Central Bank for the IMF
Chossudovsky: With regard to Yugoslavia, what they want is to impose the
Deutschmark,
which means Germany would dominate the monetary system. This requires
controlling the
Central Bank.
I think the biggest stake in Yugoslavia right now is over who does
control the Central Bank.
It appears that Mr. Mladjan Dinkic of the G17 group of economists has
assumed control of the
Bank. He has done this on behalf of the International Monetary Fund
(IMF)
If Yugoslavia is to retain national sovereignty, it is absolutely
essential that it regains
sovereignty over its bank and therefore its monetary policy. If
Kostunica and Dinkic and the
G-17 can hand over the Central Bank to the IMF, then the German banks
will come in as they
did in Kosovo and Bosnia . The IMF then acquires de facto control and
then we have a colonial
situation regardless of what might happen in the arena of party
politics. In other words, if the
IMF, through the G-17 economists, has control of the Central Bank in the
person of Mr.
Dinkic, then they control part of the key power in the country. If they
also get the position of
Finance Minister they have it all.
Mr. Dinkic appears to have assumed the functions of a Central Bank
governor without the
legally required parliamentary assent. There is evidence, publicly
available, that the IMF has
already begun wrecking the monetary system. For Yugoslavia to retain
sovereignty, its
monetary policy must be controlled by those answerable to parliament,
not to the IMF. This
means removing the Central Bank from Dinkic and his associates.
With regard to Yugoslavia the US, Germany and France collaborate.
Sinclair: The other day I read an article which suggested that Kostunica
has the backing of
France and so he can therefore play an independent role.
Chossudovsky: France and German go together. As I mentioned, their
defense industries are
fully integrated now. There's very close collaboration between the two.
That is the new axis.
France, Germany and Italy, on one side, and Britain and America on the
other.
Sinclair: So does this mean there is hope that the Serbs will be
protected from the U.S. by
France and Germany?
Chossudovsky: They won't; no no, they won't. Of course, there are many
disagreements and
conflicts between Germany and the US. In Albania, the Germans supported
the Democrats
and the US supported the Socialists. The Germans lost out. Germany's
giant mining
consortium Preussag, lost out to an Anglo-American mining company when
the Socialists
came in. Albania is one of the world's largest producers of chrome, you
see.
But with regard to Yugoslavia the US and German sides fully collaborate.
And mind you, the International Monetary Fund is run by a German now.
Let's be clear: in the
Balkans and Eastern Europe, the IMF is just as much an instrument of
German domination as
it is of American domination.
And then of course there are the historical implications of Germany once
more occupying
Yugoslavia. This of course has been an established goal of the German
Empire, including
during W.W.II.
Sinclair: Before we conclude could you talk a bit more about United
States and Central Asia?
Chossudovsky: Well the United States has extended into the Caucasus and
the Central Asian
Republics of the former Soviet Union; it also has its eyes on China.
Since the Asian crisis and
the IMF bailout in 1997, South Korea is becoming into a full fledged
colony of the US. The
powerful Korean business conglomerates (Hyundai, Samsung, Daewoo, Kia)
are being taken
over by U.S. financial interests. The Germans, including Deutsche Bank
and Commerzbank,
are also present in Korea, picking up the pieces. The US has 38,000
troops in Korea. The
Korean economy is being ransacked.
***
The Case of the Reluctant News Report
As far as we know, the 'AP' dispatch posted above was only distributed
in German. A reader
spotted it at Yahoo.com's German language site and emailed us his
English translation of an
excerpt as well as the web address where he'd found it. Following his
instructions we went to
http://de.news.yahoo.com/4/ and did a search for "Fischer will
Jugoslawien mit Bundeswehr
helfen" [Fischer wants Army to help Yugoslavia]. This took us to the web
address
"http://de.news.yahoo.com/001011/12/14aun.html" The url we there had the
right title, but the
link didn't work. The other links on the page worked fine. We contacted
a friend in Germany
who has access to 'AP' . He got a printout of the actual news dispatch
and sent us the text in
German and translated it to English. We will post the original German
soon.
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[Emperor's Clothes]
Further Reading
'U.S. Arrogance and Yugoslav Elections' at
http://emperors-clothes.com/engl.htm
'The International Monetary Fund And The Yugoslav Elections' at
http://emperors-clothes.com/analysis/1.htm
'Yugoslav Coup Unravels' at
http://emperors-clothes.com/articles/szamuely/unravels.htm
Two interviews relate first hand experience with the DOS terror:
* These Dindjic people are brown shirts' at
http://emperors-clothes.com/interviews/djindjic.htm
An interview conducted after the Oct. 5 coup
* 'On the list, they had me marked as a nationalist' at
http://emperors-clothes.com/interviews/onthelist.htm
Interview conducted before the Oct. 5 coup
---
COUNTER-REVOLUTIONARY DEVELOPMENTS IN YUGOSLAVIA: STRUGGLE CONTINUES
DESPITE
SETBACK IN BELGRADE
By Sara Flounders and John Catalinotto
11 Oct 2000--Faced with enormous pressure from the United States and its
NATO allies, a demonstration of 200,000 people in Belgrade demanding
that
he step down, and violent attacks by smaller organized paramilitary
units,
Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic resigned Oct. 6.
These events pose two questions of vital importance for the
working-class,
anti-war and progressive movements around the world.
The first is: Which side are you on? Was this a people's victory, as
the
corporate media claim, or a setback for the working class in Yugoslavia
and
worldwide?
The second question determines the outcome of this ongoing struggle:
Which
class will control the state--that is, the army, the police, the laws
and
the courts? Will the international capitalist class that controls the
World
Bank, the International Monetary Fund, the big investment banks and
the
multinational corporations also control all the levers of economic and
political life in Yugoslavia?
The mass demonstration gave the developments the appearance of a
revolutionary uprising. But it was a false appearance, for the event
was a
NATO-backed counter-revolutionary coup that is still incomplete and can
be
resisted.
NATO LEADERS CHEER KOSTUNICA
The most obvious indication of the character of what happened came from
the
leaders of the NATO countries that carried out the brutal 11-week
bombing
campaign against Yugoslavia last year. The wild cheering by U.S.
President
Bill Clinton, Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, British Prime
Minister
Tony Blair, German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder and his Green Party
Foreign
Minister Joshka Fischer should clarify the significance of last week's
events for anyone who thought that the vote for Vojislav Kostunica or
the
upheaval in Belgrade was a victory for democracy.
Drunk with their apparent success and anxious to take credit for it,
politicians from Washington to Berlin are now bragging about their
organized efforts to overturn the Milosevic government.
HERE ARE SOME EXAMPLES:
"Oct. 7, 2000 (Reuters)--Germany said on Saturday it had supported the
Yugoslav opposition with millions of marks in financial aid.
"Norway also said it had helped fund the Yugoslav opposition's election
campaign, which led to victory by opposition candidate Vojislav
Kostunica
and soon afterwards to the overthrow of strongman President Slobodan
Milosevic.
"[The German weekly] Der Spiegel said around $30 million, mostly from
the
United States, was channeled through an office in Budapest.
"Another 45 million marks ($20 million) from Germany and other Western
states went to cities that were under opposition control. Der Spiegel
said
the Foreign Ministry sent around 17 million marks through 16 German
towns,
which also contributed."
"Oct. 9, 2000 (Agence France Presse)--The chairman of the U.S. Joint
Chiefs
of Staff, General Henry Shelton, praised Bulgaria on Monday for helping
bring about the downfall of Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic."
Their tactics included pumping tens of millions of dollars into
opposition
parties in a starving economy distorted by eight years of sanctions.
Behind
this were open military threats to use NATO bombs and troops stationed
in
surrounding countries if Milosevic won, and well-advertised promises to
end
the sanctions and begin an era of peace and prosperity if Kostunica was
elected.
Kostunica is a minor anti-communist politician and professor of
constitutional law backed by 18 small and completely divergent parties
that
Washington cobbled together into the "Democratic Opposition of Serbia"
with
funds and arm- twisting. Kostunica ran on the economic program of the
Group
of 17, drafted by economists in Yugoslavia who work for the IMF and
World
Bank. Their "solutions" for Yugoslavia involve ending free medical care
and
all subsidies for rent, food and transportation.
They would transform the whole economy, with most industries rapidly
privatized and the profitable ones sold cheaply to foreign investors.
Even
in far more prosperous economies, this shock treatment has resulted in
massive layoffs.
One can look at how the living standards for the workers of
Yugoslavia's
neighbors, Romania and Bulgaria, plummeted after they opened their
economies to the imperialist banks and followed IMF rules.
But that seems to be exactly what Kostunica's forces have in mind.
Reuters
reported Oct. 10 that DOS economist Miroljub Labus said the IMF would
allow
Yugoslavia into the fold by Dec. 14 if the opposition forms its
government
soon.
ROLE OF THE SOCIALIST PARTY
Despite many concessions and compromises, Milosevic's Socialist Party
of
Serbia has struggled to maintain the independence of Yugoslavia. This
earned it the animosity of imperialist reaction worldwide. For 10 years
the
U.S. and European Union imperialists made every possible effort to
dismember the Yugoslav Socialist Federation and wipe out even the
memory of
this multinational state--while the SPS and its partner, the Yugoslav
United Left, resisted.
The corporate media demonized Milosevic, calling him a dictator. But he
and
his party were elected to their leadership role in Yugoslavia, won
respect
for leading the heroic Yugoslav people during the 11 weeks of fighting
NATO
aggression, and defended the Yugoslav economy from imperialist
penetration.
It's true that the SPS lost the active support of the working class,
its
original base. The party has so far been unable to mobilize street
demonstrations to defend itself while under attack. Still, Milosevic
won 2
million votes and the SPS still legally leads important parliamentary
bodies, including the Federal Yugoslav and Serb parliaments.
But it would be foolish to believe that Washington and its clients in
Yugoslavia will limit their tactics to parliamentary legality.
BATTLE FOR STATE POWER
In a period of peaceful competition and discussion, the 18 DOS parties
backing Kostunica would rapidly split apart. Kostunica is a monarchist
and
Serb nationalist, while other parties in the coalition are
anti-monarchist
and fight for independence for the provinces of Vojvodina and Sandja
from
Serbia.
In addition, any long period of peaceful political competition would
prove
Kostunica's economic program a bigger disaster for the Yugoslav workers
than the sanctions. And the inevitable evaporation of Yugoslav and Serb
sovereignty would outrage many of his current supporters.
That's why Washington and its agents are switching rapidly to
extralegal
methods to take over the whole state apparatus. They have targeted
essential government ministries, especially state security, police and
banking, and the entire media apparatus, while violently attacking the
SPS
and other left parties.
In the elections the Socialist Party and the United Left won control of
both houses of the Federal Parliament. Under the Yugoslav Constitution,
Parliament is legally more important than the presidency, a figurehead
position. Even more influential is the left-led Serb Parliament, which
the
DOS government has now maneuvered into calling new elections for
December.
The imperialist strategists are pushing to move quickly to command the
whole state, which also means purging the leadership of the police and
destroying the Yugoslav Army, which is rooted in the 1945 socialist
revolution and the anti-Nazi Partisan struggle.
Without an armed apparatus to defend themselves, the people and
especially
the workers of Yugoslavia will be at the mercy of the imperialist
bankers
and industrialists, who have NATO forces in Kosovo and surrounding
countries and their own agents in Belgrade.
IMPERIALISM'S EXTRALEGAL GANGS
The anti-Milosevic gangs have also attacked left parties and government
centers. Velimir Ilic, the mayor of Cacac and a deserter who refused to
cooperate with the Yugoslav Army during last year's resistance to NATO,
boa
sted to the New York Times that he organized anti-Milosevic commandos.
Ilic said: "We established a team of young professionals, paratroopers
from
the Yugoslav Army and young policemen, and we coordinated this with the
most elite units of the Interior Ministry Police in Belgrade. We got
martial arts experts and professional boxers to join us. We even had
plainclothes police coordinating with nearby towns."
Ilic told Agence France-Presse he had 2,000 people and that some were
armed. "A number of us had bulletproof vests and arms," he said. "Our
goal
was very clear, take control of the key institutions of the regime,
including parliament and the television." He didn't say if they were
paid,
and if so, where he got the money. But he claimed his forces, dressed
in
police uniforms, opened Parliament and sowed confusion in the police
ranks.
Inside, he introduced his gang to Zoran Djindjic, Kostunica's campaign
manager.
According to Michel Collon, correspondent of the Belgian weekly
Solidaire
reporting from Belgrade, Djindjic coordinated the attacks on Parliament
and
Serbian television. Djindjic used threats and pressure against
journalists
to take over the major public television, radio and print media,
including
the daily newspaper Politika.
Djindjic's gangsters also vandalized and wrecked the Belgrade
headquarters
of the SPS and the smaller New Communist Party of Yugoslavia shortly
after
the seizure of Parliament. In addition, homes of SPS activists have
been
burned in and near Belgrade, and there have been even more serious
incidents in the provinces.
THE STRUGGLE CONTINUES
On Oct. 10, the DOS leadership made an agreement with the Socialist
People's Party of Montenegro to make that party's leader, Pedrag
Bulatovic,
the new premier in the Federal Parliament of Yugoslavia. Bulatovic said
his
party, which had been aligned with Milosevic's SPS, wanted to form a
government with the DOS which "balances political forces in the federal
parliament."
Another dozen paragraphs would be needed to explain all the possible
parliamentary maneuvering. But this is really secondary. Washington and
its
agents will use every kind of pressure on individuals, political
parties
and the population as a whole to keep peaceful democratic competition
from
reversing its counter-revolution.
Collon and other reporters in Belgrade have noted that the population
was
disgusted by the burning of Parliament and the other violence. "Even
the
Kostunica supporters say they voted for a better life, not for
revenge."
But if the police and army withdraw from keeping order, only the active
organization of the left can defend its positions.
Yugoslavia's defense minister, Gen. Dragoljub Ojdanic, urged the SPS to
rally. In an open letter, Ojdanic warned the Serbs might otherwise face
extinction as a people. He said that "disunity among the Serbs is
inciting
the plans of our proven enemies" to occupy the country, referring to
NATO's
ties to the DOS.
Here in the United States it's important first that the left understand
that what happened Oct. 5-6 was a setback for the workers and for
Yugoslavia's sovereignty. What is called for is active solidarity with
those in Yugoslavia who continue to resist these counter-revolu tionary
developments, whether they be in the SPS, the other left parties, the
unions, or the army and the police.
Imperialism has ripped and clawed its way into a position of
considerable
power in Yugoslavia today. But the struggle continues.
The writers were organizers of this year's June 10 International War
Crimes
Tribunal in New York that exposed U.S./NATO crimes during the 78-day
bombing of Yugoslavia.
International Action Center
39 West 14th Street, Room 206
New York, NY 10011
email: iacenter@...
web: www.iacenter.org
CHECK OUT THE NEW SITE www.mumia2000.org
phone: 212 633-6646
fax: 212 633-2889
---
PRESIDENT KOSTUNICA FAVORS NAME SERBIAMONTENEGRO INSTEAD OF
YUGOSLAVIA
PARIS, Oct 14 (Tanjug). Yugoslav President Vojislav Kostunica
said
in an interview to FigaroMagazine that he would like to have the name
Yugoslavia replaced by SerbiaMontenegro.
"Back in 1992, when (former president Slobodan) Milosevic used
the
name Yugoslavia, I thought that name had become meaningless since the
Croats and Slovenes had left the community of South Slavs. If the
Serbian
and Montenegrin peoples want, we shall annul the name Yugoslavia",
Kostunica told the magazine's Saturday issue.
Kostunica himself favors the name SerbiaMontenegro. "It is a
rather long name, but it is shorter than the United Kingdom of Great
Britain and Northern Ireland", he noted.
President Kostunica advocates amending the national
Constitution.
"All aspects of this should be examined keeping in mind the difficulties
in
organizing a community of two members of very different sizes. Perhaps
the
term confederation would be more appropriate", Kostunica said.
"The values of traditional relations between France and Serbia
have been reborn", Kostunica said, adding that "providence itself has
placed France at the head of the European Union precisely at this
decisive
moment for us and Europe".
---
GROUP17PLUS CAN ENTER FEDERAL GOVERNMENT ONLY AS TEAM
BELGRADE, Oct 14 (Tanjug). The Group17plus can enter the future
federal government only as a team and this stance is not open to
negotiations, one of the leaders of this nongovernmental organization of
experts Miroljub Labus said.
Group17plus management board director and "acting" federal
prime
minister told Belgrade daily Blic that his thinktank would not bargain
on
this issue and that it would be no tragedy not to be a part of state
institutions.
"If we get an opportunity to form a government and take part in
reforms we shall do so as a team. If not, we shall continue to work
as a nongovernmental organization", Labus said.
According to Labus, the goal of the Group17plus is not to get
premiership or ministerial posts, but to open the country and create
normal
economic conditions as soon as possible to help people have a better
standard of living.
Labus described as rather successful the results the group has
achieved so far, adding that its present activities are geared for
maintaining a stable economic system. He underlined, however, that the
formation of a new government is a top priority, regardless of the
identity
of the future prime minister.
---
DS OFFICIAL SAYS YUGOSLAVIA, SERBIA NEED GOVERNMENTS OF EXPERTS
BELGRADE, Oct 13 (Tanjug) The Democratic Opposition of Serbia
(DOS) will not give up efforts to form governments of experts in Serbia
and
Yugoslavia capable of dealing with the accumulated problems, according
to a
DOS official on Friday.
"Yugoslavia must get a new government soon, if it is to be
included in international institutions, such as the International
Monetary
Fund (IMF) and the Balkan Stability Pact", Boris Tadic, vicepresident of
the Democratic Party (DS), which is a member of DOS, told a news
conference.
Tadic explained that, in this way, the state would regulate its
foreign indebtedness and obtain new credits necessary for
reconstruction.
"Foreign investors are showing great interest in the Yugoslav
economy. If we delay and procrastinate, they will turn away," he warned.
He added that those who are obstructing the formation of new
governments are blocking the start of economic reforms and of settling
numerous problems.
He went on to say that the deadline set by DOS to the Socialist
Party of Serbia (SPS) to resume talks on forming governments expires on
Friday, and warned that DOS would again organise protests "not to
destroy,
but to show that we have started building a civic society".
Speaking about cadre changes in the SPS, he said conservatives
and
hardliners had carried the day, as evident from Serbian Premier Mirko
Marjanovic's asking that the SPS, the leading party in this Yugoslav
republic's ruling coalition, keep its grip on the interior ministry.
He said that police officials with whom he had discussed
Marjanovic's request had dismissed it as "tragicomic", the Serbian
premier
having lost all political credibility.
---
YUGOSLAV PRESIDENT KOSTUNICA MEETS FRENCH PRESIDENT CHIRAC
BIARRITZ, Oct 14 (Tanjug). Yugoslav President Vojislav
Kostunica
conferred with French President Jacques Chirac Saturday in Biarritz, on
the
sidelines of the European Union summit.
On his arrival in Biarritz, Kostunica was welcomed by French
Foreign Minister Hubert Vedrine, who currently chairs the EU.
The informal EU summit has ended with the postponement of a
debate
on key institutional reforms of the EU and amidst uncertain prospects
for
the Middle East peace process.
The arrival of President Kostunica to a working lunch with the
European heads of state or government is considered by the French media
to
be an outstanding event in the otherwise gloomy political atmosphere of
a
conference without any great ambitions or results.
The presence of the Yugoslav president in Biarritz at the
invitation of President Chirac constitutes the first true recognition by
the EU after the lifting of the antiYugoslav sanctions, the French media
said.
On Friday, the first day of the summit, the participants
released
a sum of 200 million euros as emergency aid to Yugoslavia.
---
YUGOSLAVIA -US
O'BRIEN: ENTIRE REGION CAN NOW MOVE FORWARD
PODGORICA, Oct 14 (Tanjug). The special advisor of the US
president for the Balkans James O'Brien said at the end of his brief
visit
to Montenegro that the recent changes in Serbia had removed the
principal
sources of problems and that the entire region can now move forward
towards
building democracy, economic prosperity and integration with Europe.
Following a visit to Belgrade and talks with Yugoslav President
Vojislav Kostunica, O'Brien visited Montenegro's capital Podgorica late
Friday and conferred with President Milo Djukanovic on the current
developments after the change of power in Belgrade.
Djukanovic and O'Brien pointed to the importance of that change
for the transition process and democratization in Serbia, underlining
that
all this would have positive effects also on the reforms underway in
Montenegro and on the stability of the entire region.
It is now essential that the democratic authorities in
Montenegro
and the international community also contribute to the consolidation of
the
new authorities in Belgrade and to channelling the positive democratic
energy to the state institutions in Serbia, they said.
O'Brien said that the talks also focused on the prospects for
negotiating the future status of Montenegro and the future relations
between Serbia and Montenegro.
That process will take time and it will be carried out
simultaneously with the consolidation of democracy in Serbia. It is
essential that democratic Serbia play a role in that process too, he
said.
Asked by the press about a possible referendum on Montenegro's
independence, O'Brien said that Presidents Kostunica and Djukanovic had
both expressed readiness for talks and that both sides have shown
readiness
and will for examining all options for the future of the federation.
The US does not favour independence for Montenegro, as
possibilities exist for talks with the democratic forces in Belgrade,
which
are ready for an open and sincere dialogue. It will take time to iron
out
all differences, but democracy now exists on both sides, paving the way
for
resolving all problems in a democratic spirit, O'Brien said.
---
BULGARIA TODAY – YUGOSLAVIA TOMORROW!
“…and you will pick the fruit of grapevine and of olive tree you have
not
planted…”
The Old Testament
Today “SEGA”* screams from its first page: “EVERY SECOND BULGARIAN
MOTHER
BANISHES HER CHILD ABROAD”.
At one of his regular star-performances on the Bulgarian TV only some
days
ago, the USA deputy in Bulgaria, Governor Richard Miles, consoled
fatherly
the Bulgarians advising them not to cry about the young emigrants. “They
will come back, enriched with the experience, accumulated in the USA
when
life in Bulgaria gets better.”
Who drives the children of Bulgaria away?
The one who turned our life in hell the last ten years!
The young emigrants were the hope of our country, they are its
intellectual
treasure, created by their parents efforts and the efforts of the whole
society! That unique human potential has been built in the course of the
years through the Bulgarian social, health and educational systems –
deliberately and thouroughly annihilated today!
And now that same insatiate cannibal, who has plundered our country and
life, is most cynically consuming the children of Bulgaria without
having
invested even half a cent or a minimal effort to give them birth, to
raise
or educate them!
And later he will use them as janissaries for the full extermination of
their birth cradle – Bulgaria!
The cynicism of Governor Miles can be measured only with that of a rich
slave-owner from the South states – The United States now are acquiring
a
quality offspring raised in a foreign farm!
Why should Governor Miles “improve” life in the USA protectorate
Bulgaria?
And for whom, in fact, the USA Special Forces, IMF and WB, are
conducting
here their deadly “reforms” ruining both our people and Homeland?
After some years there will not be any young people here – there will
not be
children! And the old ones will be dead…
Don’t deceive yourselves: the rape of our Homeland is carried out only
and
solely in the interest of the Metropolis Beyond the Ocean and the
colonial
servants here, called a “political elite” – nobody knows why!
Madlen Kircheva, Blagovesta Doncheva
October 9, 2000 - Sofia, Bulgaria
(We have sent it to ALL Bulgarian media.
It was not published.
Surely the Slave-merchant Miles has said: "No! No! No!")
> http://emperors-clothes.com/news/occupation2.htm
German Foreign Minister Calls for Permanent German Troop
Occupation of Yugoslavia
Fischer Warns: Yugoslavs Must Acquire Democratic Culture to Relate to
Germany
Prof. Chossudovsky Comments: US Accepts German Domination in Yugoslavia
Berlin (AP)Oct. 11, 2000
[Emperor's Clothes note: The following has been translated from the
printout of a German
language 'Associated Press' dispatch. For more details, see end of
article]
German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer, addressing Parliament on
Wednesday, expressed
his opinion that Germany should not only provide material help to
Yugoslavia but that the
Bundeswehr and non-military organizations should establish a permanent
presence there. He
declared that this was a unique chance to create a democracy in the
context of further
European unification.
Reunited Germany has a special responsibility for stabilizing democracy
in Serbia. Democracy,
said Mr. Fischer, is the basis for a lasting peace in the Balkans. But
the priority is for the
moment that the democratic changes be carried out peacefully and that
justice prevail. The
Western Balkans is a part of the European comprehensive responsibility.
It was truly correct at the time to stop Slobodan Milosevich's policy of
Greater Serbia and to
engage oneself on the side of the democratic opposition, says Joschka
Fischer. Now the bloody
murdering in the Balkans can be stopped. The Stability Pact has to be
used, among other things,
for the clearing of the Danube. Also democratic culture has to be built
up [in Serbia] to make
possible the normalization of relations between Germany and Serbia. The
first steps have been
taken through the lifting of the oil and the flight embargoes by the
European Union. Now
Serbia can be accompanied on its route toward Europe. In the words of
Fischer, all those who
have made themselves guilty of grave crimes have to be brought to
justice.
[Note: Original German text will be posted as soon as possible at
http://emperors-clothes.com/german/bundeswehr.htm ]
German Domination Slated for Yugoslavia
Interview with Michel Chossudovsky, Professor of Economics, University
of
Ottawa. Prof. Chossudovsky studies and writes about the effects of
International Monetary
Fund/NATO penetration of countries in transition.
Interview conducted by Max Sinclair
Sinclair: Some supporters of Kostunica are arguing, or hoping, that
somehow he can maneuver
around the United States because he has ties to Europe. That Europe is
getting away from US
domination and wants to be independent.
Chossudovsky: I think they're very naïve in that belief. Berlin and
Washington are working
hand in hand in this situation. They coordinate their respective foreign
policy initiatives.
Germany's secret service, the Bbundesnachrichten Dienst (BND)
collaborated closely with the
CIA in the various stages of the 78 day bombing of Yugoslavia, and also
after the bombing.
Everything indicates that what they want is to transform Yugoslavia into
a German
protectorate with German troops (and the Deutschmark) stationed on
Yugoslav soil, within
Germany's "lebensraum". This has been the fate of the other former
republics of Yugoslavia
including Macedonia and Croatia.
In Montenegro and Kosovo the Deutschmark has been established as legal
tender. In Kosovo
Germany's Commerzbank controls the entire commercial banking system. At
the same time it
is the Washington Group, which is a US Transnational linked up with the
US defence industry,
which controls the Trepca mines in northern Kosovo.
The Americans and their British allies have their eyes on Central Asia;
that is the deal. The
Caspian Sea basin and Central Asia are American territory. BP-AMOCO and
ARCO, the
world's largest Anglo-American oil consortium, is the major player in
the Caspian oil fields.
NATO's role, through GUUAM, the NATO-sponsored military alliance in this
area, is to
protect the pipeline routes from the Caucasus through the Balkans.
Germany is not an important player in the oil business. In return for
the US and Britain getting
the Caspian Sea Basin and Central Asia, Germany gets the Balkans and
parts of Eastern
Europe. The US and Germany seem to have agreed on this division of
territory and their
respective spheres of influence.
Sinclair: So they are fully united?
Chossudovsky: United in some regards, divided in others. There is a
major split between
Germany and the US in the defence industry. We see two competing defence
conglomerates.
The powerful Deutsche Aerospace which is part of Daimler is now allied
with France's
Aerospatiale Matra. In turn, British Aerospace is integrated into the US
military industrial
complex. It is in close relationship with major US defence contractors.
In other words the Western defence industry is split in two; the
Anglo-American axis and the
Franco-German axis. Incidentally in the oil business the Anglo-Americans
are also
competing with the French-Belgian-Italian consortium,
El-Aquitaine-Petrofina-ENI, which
also has links to the Iranian and Russian Oil companies.
Dinkic Attempts to Control Central Bank for the IMF
Chossudovsky: With regard to Yugoslavia, what they want is to impose the
Deutschmark,
which means Germany would dominate the monetary system. This requires
controlling the
Central Bank.
I think the biggest stake in Yugoslavia right now is over who does
control the Central Bank.
It appears that Mr. Mladjan Dinkic of the G17 group of economists has
assumed control of the
Bank. He has done this on behalf of the International Monetary Fund
(IMF)
If Yugoslavia is to retain national sovereignty, it is absolutely
essential that it regains
sovereignty over its bank and therefore its monetary policy. If
Kostunica and Dinkic and the
G-17 can hand over the Central Bank to the IMF, then the German banks
will come in as they
did in Kosovo and Bosnia . The IMF then acquires de facto control and
then we have a colonial
situation regardless of what might happen in the arena of party
politics. In other words, if the
IMF, through the G-17 economists, has control of the Central Bank in the
person of Mr.
Dinkic, then they control part of the key power in the country. If they
also get the position of
Finance Minister they have it all.
Mr. Dinkic appears to have assumed the functions of a Central Bank
governor without the
legally required parliamentary assent. There is evidence, publicly
available, that the IMF has
already begun wrecking the monetary system. For Yugoslavia to retain
sovereignty, its
monetary policy must be controlled by those answerable to parliament,
not to the IMF. This
means removing the Central Bank from Dinkic and his associates.
With regard to Yugoslavia the US, Germany and France collaborate.
Sinclair: The other day I read an article which suggested that Kostunica
has the backing of
France and so he can therefore play an independent role.
Chossudovsky: France and German go together. As I mentioned, their
defense industries are
fully integrated now. There's very close collaboration between the two.
That is the new axis.
France, Germany and Italy, on one side, and Britain and America on the
other.
Sinclair: So does this mean there is hope that the Serbs will be
protected from the U.S. by
France and Germany?
Chossudovsky: They won't; no no, they won't. Of course, there are many
disagreements and
conflicts between Germany and the US. In Albania, the Germans supported
the Democrats
and the US supported the Socialists. The Germans lost out. Germany's
giant mining
consortium Preussag, lost out to an Anglo-American mining company when
the Socialists
came in. Albania is one of the world's largest producers of chrome, you
see.
But with regard to Yugoslavia the US and German sides fully collaborate.
And mind you, the International Monetary Fund is run by a German now.
Let's be clear: in the
Balkans and Eastern Europe, the IMF is just as much an instrument of
German domination as
it is of American domination.
And then of course there are the historical implications of Germany once
more occupying
Yugoslavia. This of course has been an established goal of the German
Empire, including
during W.W.II.
Sinclair: Before we conclude could you talk a bit more about United
States and Central Asia?
Chossudovsky: Well the United States has extended into the Caucasus and
the Central Asian
Republics of the former Soviet Union; it also has its eyes on China.
Since the Asian crisis and
the IMF bailout in 1997, South Korea is becoming into a full fledged
colony of the US. The
powerful Korean business conglomerates (Hyundai, Samsung, Daewoo, Kia)
are being taken
over by U.S. financial interests. The Germans, including Deutsche Bank
and Commerzbank,
are also present in Korea, picking up the pieces. The US has 38,000
troops in Korea. The
Korean economy is being ransacked.
***
The Case of the Reluctant News Report
As far as we know, the 'AP' dispatch posted above was only distributed
in German. A reader
spotted it at Yahoo.com's German language site and emailed us his
English translation of an
excerpt as well as the web address where he'd found it. Following his
instructions we went to
http://de.news.yahoo.com/4/ and did a search for "Fischer will
Jugoslawien mit Bundeswehr
helfen" [Fischer wants Army to help Yugoslavia]. This took us to the web
address
"http://de.news.yahoo.com/001011/12/14aun.html" The url we there had the
right title, but the
link didn't work. The other links on the page worked fine. We contacted
a friend in Germany
who has access to 'AP' . He got a printout of the actual news dispatch
and sent us the text in
German and translated it to English. We will post the original German
soon.
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Thanks for reading Emperor's Clothes. And thanks for helping. It's a
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www.tenc.net
[Emperor's Clothes]
Further Reading
'U.S. Arrogance and Yugoslav Elections' at
http://emperors-clothes.com/engl.htm
'The International Monetary Fund And The Yugoslav Elections' at
http://emperors-clothes.com/analysis/1.htm
'Yugoslav Coup Unravels' at
http://emperors-clothes.com/articles/szamuely/unravels.htm
Two interviews relate first hand experience with the DOS terror:
* These Dindjic people are brown shirts' at
http://emperors-clothes.com/interviews/djindjic.htm
An interview conducted after the Oct. 5 coup
* 'On the list, they had me marked as a nationalist' at
http://emperors-clothes.com/interviews/onthelist.htm
Interview conducted before the Oct. 5 coup
---
COUNTER-REVOLUTIONARY DEVELOPMENTS IN YUGOSLAVIA: STRUGGLE CONTINUES
DESPITE
SETBACK IN BELGRADE
By Sara Flounders and John Catalinotto
11 Oct 2000--Faced with enormous pressure from the United States and its
NATO allies, a demonstration of 200,000 people in Belgrade demanding
that
he step down, and violent attacks by smaller organized paramilitary
units,
Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic resigned Oct. 6.
These events pose two questions of vital importance for the
working-class,
anti-war and progressive movements around the world.
The first is: Which side are you on? Was this a people's victory, as
the
corporate media claim, or a setback for the working class in Yugoslavia
and
worldwide?
The second question determines the outcome of this ongoing struggle:
Which
class will control the state--that is, the army, the police, the laws
and
the courts? Will the international capitalist class that controls the
World
Bank, the International Monetary Fund, the big investment banks and
the
multinational corporations also control all the levers of economic and
political life in Yugoslavia?
The mass demonstration gave the developments the appearance of a
revolutionary uprising. But it was a false appearance, for the event
was a
NATO-backed counter-revolutionary coup that is still incomplete and can
be
resisted.
NATO LEADERS CHEER KOSTUNICA
The most obvious indication of the character of what happened came from
the
leaders of the NATO countries that carried out the brutal 11-week
bombing
campaign against Yugoslavia last year. The wild cheering by U.S.
President
Bill Clinton, Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, British Prime
Minister
Tony Blair, German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder and his Green Party
Foreign
Minister Joshka Fischer should clarify the significance of last week's
events for anyone who thought that the vote for Vojislav Kostunica or
the
upheaval in Belgrade was a victory for democracy.
Drunk with their apparent success and anxious to take credit for it,
politicians from Washington to Berlin are now bragging about their
organized efforts to overturn the Milosevic government.
HERE ARE SOME EXAMPLES:
"Oct. 7, 2000 (Reuters)--Germany said on Saturday it had supported the
Yugoslav opposition with millions of marks in financial aid.
"Norway also said it had helped fund the Yugoslav opposition's election
campaign, which led to victory by opposition candidate Vojislav
Kostunica
and soon afterwards to the overthrow of strongman President Slobodan
Milosevic.
"[The German weekly] Der Spiegel said around $30 million, mostly from
the
United States, was channeled through an office in Budapest.
"Another 45 million marks ($20 million) from Germany and other Western
states went to cities that were under opposition control. Der Spiegel
said
the Foreign Ministry sent around 17 million marks through 16 German
towns,
which also contributed."
"Oct. 9, 2000 (Agence France Presse)--The chairman of the U.S. Joint
Chiefs
of Staff, General Henry Shelton, praised Bulgaria on Monday for helping
bring about the downfall of Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic."
Their tactics included pumping tens of millions of dollars into
opposition
parties in a starving economy distorted by eight years of sanctions.
Behind
this were open military threats to use NATO bombs and troops stationed
in
surrounding countries if Milosevic won, and well-advertised promises to
end
the sanctions and begin an era of peace and prosperity if Kostunica was
elected.
Kostunica is a minor anti-communist politician and professor of
constitutional law backed by 18 small and completely divergent parties
that
Washington cobbled together into the "Democratic Opposition of Serbia"
with
funds and arm- twisting. Kostunica ran on the economic program of the
Group
of 17, drafted by economists in Yugoslavia who work for the IMF and
World
Bank. Their "solutions" for Yugoslavia involve ending free medical care
and
all subsidies for rent, food and transportation.
They would transform the whole economy, with most industries rapidly
privatized and the profitable ones sold cheaply to foreign investors.
Even
in far more prosperous economies, this shock treatment has resulted in
massive layoffs.
One can look at how the living standards for the workers of
Yugoslavia's
neighbors, Romania and Bulgaria, plummeted after they opened their
economies to the imperialist banks and followed IMF rules.
But that seems to be exactly what Kostunica's forces have in mind.
Reuters
reported Oct. 10 that DOS economist Miroljub Labus said the IMF would
allow
Yugoslavia into the fold by Dec. 14 if the opposition forms its
government
soon.
ROLE OF THE SOCIALIST PARTY
Despite many concessions and compromises, Milosevic's Socialist Party
of
Serbia has struggled to maintain the independence of Yugoslavia. This
earned it the animosity of imperialist reaction worldwide. For 10 years
the
U.S. and European Union imperialists made every possible effort to
dismember the Yugoslav Socialist Federation and wipe out even the
memory of
this multinational state--while the SPS and its partner, the Yugoslav
United Left, resisted.
The corporate media demonized Milosevic, calling him a dictator. But he
and
his party were elected to their leadership role in Yugoslavia, won
respect
for leading the heroic Yugoslav people during the 11 weeks of fighting
NATO
aggression, and defended the Yugoslav economy from imperialist
penetration.
It's true that the SPS lost the active support of the working class,
its
original base. The party has so far been unable to mobilize street
demonstrations to defend itself while under attack. Still, Milosevic
won 2
million votes and the SPS still legally leads important parliamentary
bodies, including the Federal Yugoslav and Serb parliaments.
But it would be foolish to believe that Washington and its clients in
Yugoslavia will limit their tactics to parliamentary legality.
BATTLE FOR STATE POWER
In a period of peaceful competition and discussion, the 18 DOS parties
backing Kostunica would rapidly split apart. Kostunica is a monarchist
and
Serb nationalist, while other parties in the coalition are
anti-monarchist
and fight for independence for the provinces of Vojvodina and Sandja
from
Serbia.
In addition, any long period of peaceful political competition would
prove
Kostunica's economic program a bigger disaster for the Yugoslav workers
than the sanctions. And the inevitable evaporation of Yugoslav and Serb
sovereignty would outrage many of his current supporters.
That's why Washington and its agents are switching rapidly to
extralegal
methods to take over the whole state apparatus. They have targeted
essential government ministries, especially state security, police and
banking, and the entire media apparatus, while violently attacking the
SPS
and other left parties.
In the elections the Socialist Party and the United Left won control of
both houses of the Federal Parliament. Under the Yugoslav Constitution,
Parliament is legally more important than the presidency, a figurehead
position. Even more influential is the left-led Serb Parliament, which
the
DOS government has now maneuvered into calling new elections for
December.
The imperialist strategists are pushing to move quickly to command the
whole state, which also means purging the leadership of the police and
destroying the Yugoslav Army, which is rooted in the 1945 socialist
revolution and the anti-Nazi Partisan struggle.
Without an armed apparatus to defend themselves, the people and
especially
the workers of Yugoslavia will be at the mercy of the imperialist
bankers
and industrialists, who have NATO forces in Kosovo and surrounding
countries and their own agents in Belgrade.
IMPERIALISM'S EXTRALEGAL GANGS
The anti-Milosevic gangs have also attacked left parties and government
centers. Velimir Ilic, the mayor of Cacac and a deserter who refused to
cooperate with the Yugoslav Army during last year's resistance to NATO,
boa
sted to the New York Times that he organized anti-Milosevic commandos.
Ilic said: "We established a team of young professionals, paratroopers
from
the Yugoslav Army and young policemen, and we coordinated this with the
most elite units of the Interior Ministry Police in Belgrade. We got
martial arts experts and professional boxers to join us. We even had
plainclothes police coordinating with nearby towns."
Ilic told Agence France-Presse he had 2,000 people and that some were
armed. "A number of us had bulletproof vests and arms," he said. "Our
goal
was very clear, take control of the key institutions of the regime,
including parliament and the television." He didn't say if they were
paid,
and if so, where he got the money. But he claimed his forces, dressed
in
police uniforms, opened Parliament and sowed confusion in the police
ranks.
Inside, he introduced his gang to Zoran Djindjic, Kostunica's campaign
manager.
According to Michel Collon, correspondent of the Belgian weekly
Solidaire
reporting from Belgrade, Djindjic coordinated the attacks on Parliament
and
Serbian television. Djindjic used threats and pressure against
journalists
to take over the major public television, radio and print media,
including
the daily newspaper Politika.
Djindjic's gangsters also vandalized and wrecked the Belgrade
headquarters
of the SPS and the smaller New Communist Party of Yugoslavia shortly
after
the seizure of Parliament. In addition, homes of SPS activists have
been
burned in and near Belgrade, and there have been even more serious
incidents in the provinces.
THE STRUGGLE CONTINUES
On Oct. 10, the DOS leadership made an agreement with the Socialist
People's Party of Montenegro to make that party's leader, Pedrag
Bulatovic,
the new premier in the Federal Parliament of Yugoslavia. Bulatovic said
his
party, which had been aligned with Milosevic's SPS, wanted to form a
government with the DOS which "balances political forces in the federal
parliament."
Another dozen paragraphs would be needed to explain all the possible
parliamentary maneuvering. But this is really secondary. Washington and
its
agents will use every kind of pressure on individuals, political
parties
and the population as a whole to keep peaceful democratic competition
from
reversing its counter-revolution.
Collon and other reporters in Belgrade have noted that the population
was
disgusted by the burning of Parliament and the other violence. "Even
the
Kostunica supporters say they voted for a better life, not for
revenge."
But if the police and army withdraw from keeping order, only the active
organization of the left can defend its positions.
Yugoslavia's defense minister, Gen. Dragoljub Ojdanic, urged the SPS to
rally. In an open letter, Ojdanic warned the Serbs might otherwise face
extinction as a people. He said that "disunity among the Serbs is
inciting
the plans of our proven enemies" to occupy the country, referring to
NATO's
ties to the DOS.
Here in the United States it's important first that the left understand
that what happened Oct. 5-6 was a setback for the workers and for
Yugoslavia's sovereignty. What is called for is active solidarity with
those in Yugoslavia who continue to resist these counter-revolu tionary
developments, whether they be in the SPS, the other left parties, the
unions, or the army and the police.
Imperialism has ripped and clawed its way into a position of
considerable
power in Yugoslavia today. But the struggle continues.
The writers were organizers of this year's June 10 International War
Crimes
Tribunal in New York that exposed U.S./NATO crimes during the 78-day
bombing of Yugoslavia.
International Action Center
39 West 14th Street, Room 206
New York, NY 10011
email: iacenter@...
web: www.iacenter.org
CHECK OUT THE NEW SITE www.mumia2000.org
phone: 212 633-6646
fax: 212 633-2889
---
PRESIDENT KOSTUNICA FAVORS NAME SERBIAMONTENEGRO INSTEAD OF
YUGOSLAVIA
PARIS, Oct 14 (Tanjug). Yugoslav President Vojislav Kostunica
said
in an interview to FigaroMagazine that he would like to have the name
Yugoslavia replaced by SerbiaMontenegro.
"Back in 1992, when (former president Slobodan) Milosevic used
the
name Yugoslavia, I thought that name had become meaningless since the
Croats and Slovenes had left the community of South Slavs. If the
Serbian
and Montenegrin peoples want, we shall annul the name Yugoslavia",
Kostunica told the magazine's Saturday issue.
Kostunica himself favors the name SerbiaMontenegro. "It is a
rather long name, but it is shorter than the United Kingdom of Great
Britain and Northern Ireland", he noted.
President Kostunica advocates amending the national
Constitution.
"All aspects of this should be examined keeping in mind the difficulties
in
organizing a community of two members of very different sizes. Perhaps
the
term confederation would be more appropriate", Kostunica said.
"The values of traditional relations between France and Serbia
have been reborn", Kostunica said, adding that "providence itself has
placed France at the head of the European Union precisely at this
decisive
moment for us and Europe".
---
GROUP17PLUS CAN ENTER FEDERAL GOVERNMENT ONLY AS TEAM
BELGRADE, Oct 14 (Tanjug). The Group17plus can enter the future
federal government only as a team and this stance is not open to
negotiations, one of the leaders of this nongovernmental organization of
experts Miroljub Labus said.
Group17plus management board director and "acting" federal
prime
minister told Belgrade daily Blic that his thinktank would not bargain
on
this issue and that it would be no tragedy not to be a part of state
institutions.
"If we get an opportunity to form a government and take part in
reforms we shall do so as a team. If not, we shall continue to work
as a nongovernmental organization", Labus said.
According to Labus, the goal of the Group17plus is not to get
premiership or ministerial posts, but to open the country and create
normal
economic conditions as soon as possible to help people have a better
standard of living.
Labus described as rather successful the results the group has
achieved so far, adding that its present activities are geared for
maintaining a stable economic system. He underlined, however, that the
formation of a new government is a top priority, regardless of the
identity
of the future prime minister.
---
DS OFFICIAL SAYS YUGOSLAVIA, SERBIA NEED GOVERNMENTS OF EXPERTS
BELGRADE, Oct 13 (Tanjug) The Democratic Opposition of Serbia
(DOS) will not give up efforts to form governments of experts in Serbia
and
Yugoslavia capable of dealing with the accumulated problems, according
to a
DOS official on Friday.
"Yugoslavia must get a new government soon, if it is to be
included in international institutions, such as the International
Monetary
Fund (IMF) and the Balkan Stability Pact", Boris Tadic, vicepresident of
the Democratic Party (DS), which is a member of DOS, told a news
conference.
Tadic explained that, in this way, the state would regulate its
foreign indebtedness and obtain new credits necessary for
reconstruction.
"Foreign investors are showing great interest in the Yugoslav
economy. If we delay and procrastinate, they will turn away," he warned.
He added that those who are obstructing the formation of new
governments are blocking the start of economic reforms and of settling
numerous problems.
He went on to say that the deadline set by DOS to the Socialist
Party of Serbia (SPS) to resume talks on forming governments expires on
Friday, and warned that DOS would again organise protests "not to
destroy,
but to show that we have started building a civic society".
Speaking about cadre changes in the SPS, he said conservatives
and
hardliners had carried the day, as evident from Serbian Premier Mirko
Marjanovic's asking that the SPS, the leading party in this Yugoslav
republic's ruling coalition, keep its grip on the interior ministry.
He said that police officials with whom he had discussed
Marjanovic's request had dismissed it as "tragicomic", the Serbian
premier
having lost all political credibility.
---
YUGOSLAV PRESIDENT KOSTUNICA MEETS FRENCH PRESIDENT CHIRAC
BIARRITZ, Oct 14 (Tanjug). Yugoslav President Vojislav
Kostunica
conferred with French President Jacques Chirac Saturday in Biarritz, on
the
sidelines of the European Union summit.
On his arrival in Biarritz, Kostunica was welcomed by French
Foreign Minister Hubert Vedrine, who currently chairs the EU.
The informal EU summit has ended with the postponement of a
debate
on key institutional reforms of the EU and amidst uncertain prospects
for
the Middle East peace process.
The arrival of President Kostunica to a working lunch with the
European heads of state or government is considered by the French media
to
be an outstanding event in the otherwise gloomy political atmosphere of
a
conference without any great ambitions or results.
The presence of the Yugoslav president in Biarritz at the
invitation of President Chirac constitutes the first true recognition by
the EU after the lifting of the antiYugoslav sanctions, the French media
said.
On Friday, the first day of the summit, the participants
released
a sum of 200 million euros as emergency aid to Yugoslavia.
---
YUGOSLAVIA -US
O'BRIEN: ENTIRE REGION CAN NOW MOVE FORWARD
PODGORICA, Oct 14 (Tanjug). The special advisor of the US
president for the Balkans James O'Brien said at the end of his brief
visit
to Montenegro that the recent changes in Serbia had removed the
principal
sources of problems and that the entire region can now move forward
towards
building democracy, economic prosperity and integration with Europe.
Following a visit to Belgrade and talks with Yugoslav President
Vojislav Kostunica, O'Brien visited Montenegro's capital Podgorica late
Friday and conferred with President Milo Djukanovic on the current
developments after the change of power in Belgrade.
Djukanovic and O'Brien pointed to the importance of that change
for the transition process and democratization in Serbia, underlining
that
all this would have positive effects also on the reforms underway in
Montenegro and on the stability of the entire region.
It is now essential that the democratic authorities in
Montenegro
and the international community also contribute to the consolidation of
the
new authorities in Belgrade and to channelling the positive democratic
energy to the state institutions in Serbia, they said.
O'Brien said that the talks also focused on the prospects for
negotiating the future status of Montenegro and the future relations
between Serbia and Montenegro.
That process will take time and it will be carried out
simultaneously with the consolidation of democracy in Serbia. It is
essential that democratic Serbia play a role in that process too, he
said.
Asked by the press about a possible referendum on Montenegro's
independence, O'Brien said that Presidents Kostunica and Djukanovic had
both expressed readiness for talks and that both sides have shown
readiness
and will for examining all options for the future of the federation.
The US does not favour independence for Montenegro, as
possibilities exist for talks with the democratic forces in Belgrade,
which
are ready for an open and sincere dialogue. It will take time to iron
out
all differences, but democracy now exists on both sides, paving the way
for
resolving all problems in a democratic spirit, O'Brien said.
---
BULGARIA TODAY – YUGOSLAVIA TOMORROW!
“…and you will pick the fruit of grapevine and of olive tree you have
not
planted…”
The Old Testament
Today “SEGA”* screams from its first page: “EVERY SECOND BULGARIAN
MOTHER
BANISHES HER CHILD ABROAD”.
At one of his regular star-performances on the Bulgarian TV only some
days
ago, the USA deputy in Bulgaria, Governor Richard Miles, consoled
fatherly
the Bulgarians advising them not to cry about the young emigrants. “They
will come back, enriched with the experience, accumulated in the USA
when
life in Bulgaria gets better.”
Who drives the children of Bulgaria away?
The one who turned our life in hell the last ten years!
The young emigrants were the hope of our country, they are its
intellectual
treasure, created by their parents efforts and the efforts of the whole
society! That unique human potential has been built in the course of the
years through the Bulgarian social, health and educational systems –
deliberately and thouroughly annihilated today!
And now that same insatiate cannibal, who has plundered our country and
life, is most cynically consuming the children of Bulgaria without
having
invested even half a cent or a minimal effort to give them birth, to
raise
or educate them!
And later he will use them as janissaries for the full extermination of
their birth cradle – Bulgaria!
The cynicism of Governor Miles can be measured only with that of a rich
slave-owner from the South states – The United States now are acquiring
a
quality offspring raised in a foreign farm!
Why should Governor Miles “improve” life in the USA protectorate
Bulgaria?
And for whom, in fact, the USA Special Forces, IMF and WB, are
conducting
here their deadly “reforms” ruining both our people and Homeland?
After some years there will not be any young people here – there will
not be
children! And the old ones will be dead…
Don’t deceive yourselves: the rape of our Homeland is carried out only
and
solely in the interest of the Metropolis Beyond the Ocean and the
colonial
servants here, called a “political elite” – nobody knows why!
Madlen Kircheva, Blagovesta Doncheva
October 9, 2000 - Sofia, Bulgaria
(We have sent it to ALL Bulgarian media.
It was not published.
Surely the Slave-merchant Miles has said: "No! No! No!")
---
> http://www.egroups.com/message/crj-mailinglist/525
---
* German Foreign Minister Calls for Permanent German Troop Occupation of
Yugoslavia (Emperor's Clothes)
- Fischer Warns: Yugoslavs Must Acquire Democratic Culture to Relate to
Germany
- Prof. Chossudovsky Comments: US Accepts German Domination in
Yugoslavia
http://emperors-clothes.com/news/occupation2.htm
http://emperors-clothes.com/news/occupation.htm
Original German text will be posted as soon as possible at
http://emperors-clothes.com/german/bundeswehr.htm>
* COUNTER-REVOLUTIONARY DEVELOPMENTS IN YUGOSLAVIA: STRUGGLE CONTINUES
DESPITE SETBACK IN BELGRADE
By Sara Flounders and John Catalinotto (IAC)
http://www.workers.org/ww/2000/yugoslavia1019.html
* PRESIDENT KOSTUNICA FAVORS NAME SERBIAMONTENEGRO INSTEAD OF YUGOSLAVIA
- PARIS, Oct 14 (Tanjug)
* GROUP17PLUS CAN ENTER FEDERAL GOVERNMENT ONLY AS TEAM - BELGRADE, Oct
14 (Tanjug)
* DS OFFICIAL SAYS YUGOSLAVIA, SERBIA NEED GOVERNMENTS OF EXPERTS -
BELGRADE, Oct 13 (Tanjug)
* YUGOSLAV PRESIDENT KOSTUNICA MEETS FRENCH PRESIDENT CHIRAC - BIARRITZ,
Oct 14 (Tanjug)
* YUGOSLAVIA -US: O'BRIEN: ENTIRE REGION CAN NOW MOVE FORWARD -
PODGORICA, Oct 14 (Tanjug)
* BULGARIA TODAY � YUGOSLAVIA TOMORROW!
Madlen Kircheva, Blagovesta Doncheva
October 9, 2000 - Sofia, Bulgaria
---
> http://www.egroups.com/message/crj-mailinglist/524
---
* Kostunica's Coup Unravels
Decline of The West, by George Szamuely
Antiwar.com - October 13, 2000
http://www.antiwar.com/szamuely/pf/p-sz101300.html
* THE CACAK PLOT
Veterans of the Belgrade demonstrations which toppled Milosevic claim
the
protests were planned with military precision
By Milenko Vasovic in Belgrade
(Institute for War and Peace Reporting, della cordata di Soros:
http://www.iwpr.net)
---
Vi alleghiamo qui sotto il comunicato della SKOJ, organizzazione
giovanile Nuovo partito Comunista di Jugoslavia (NKPJ) di Kitanovic.
Alle elezioni sono andati bene ma essi denunciano il furto dei seggi
nonche'
trucchi e brogli da parte delle commissioni elettorali delle quali
facevano
parte sia SPS-JUL che il DOS.
Denunciano anche la congiura sui media durante la campagna elettorale,
congiura in tutte le TV, sia vicine al DOS che quelle di SPS-JUL.
Piu' sotto alleghiamo anche un messaggio del "Movimento Operaio" di
Kraguievac.
(da Voce Operaia)
-
Comrades,
On the elections held on September 24th 2000. for both councils
of Federal
Parliament (Council of Citizens and Council of Republics),
Parliament of
Autonomou Province Vojvodina and local elections for
municipality councils,
SKOJ gave 1/3 of candidates on electoral lists of New Communist
Party of
Yugoslavia.
On the elections for Council of Citizens in 13 electoral units
(out of 27)
NKPJ won 39541 votes. Our opinion is that number of votes is
much bigger but
it is impossible to check results due the fact the DOS
supporters burnt down
all materials of Election Commission who's office was in the
building of
Federal Parliament.
Our candidates and activists were under constant pressure from
both
governmental and "democratic opposition" parties. Election
Commissions,
which consisted mainly SPS, JUL, DOS, SPO and SRS members (left
and right
bourgeois parties) refused to give materials that were
obligated to give
(ie. forms for applying candidates). Using different kinds of
manipulation,
they kept us out of run for Chamber of Republics.
On the elections for Parliament of Vojvodina province NKPJ won
around 15000
votes and won one seat. Suddenly, 40 more votes occurred and
all of them
were for SPS-JUL coalition which changed rate in favor of their
coalition.
On the local elections NKPJ won 12 seats in different
municipality councils.
Candidates of NKPJ had only 35 minutes to present themselves
and programme
of NKPJ on state medias. Private owned local medias were closed
for our
Party because owners are mostly from SPS, JUL or DOS.
If we consider all circumstances and political atmosphere under
which
elections took place we can say that NKPJ won a great support
of voters.
Secretariat of SKOJ for Informations
-
The situation is very confusing and chaotic - it is not clear
how is
the state still functioning nor who is giving the orders.
There is either the struggle within DOS for power or is the
provocation.
Either way, DOS is constantly losing credibility and they know
that.
That is the reason why they are trying to force exceptional
elections
for the republic assembly. There are lots of armed people
everywhere
and bodyguards of different parties. Some "leaders" with their
bodyguards go to the firms and create chaos, and then they
create
"crises headquarters" which takeover the firms and get their
unqualified friends on power. The solution must be found in a
week.
(Z.J., Kragujevac, 12/10/2000)
---
Bollettino di controinformazione del
Coordinamento Nazionale "La Jugoslavia Vivra'"
> http://digilander.iol.it/lajugoslaviavivra
I documenti distribuiti non rispecchiano necessariamente le
opinioni delle realta' che compongono il Coordinamento, ma vengono
fatti circolare per il loro contenuto informativo al solo scopo di
segnalazione e commento ("for fair use only")
Per contributi e segnalazioni: jugocoord@...
*** QUESTO SERVIZIO E' ANCORA IN FASE SPERIMENTALE ***
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
eCircle ti offre una nuova opportunita:
Il tuo sondaggio sul web sugli argomenti che preferisci
Facile da gestire e con rappresentazioni grafiche dei risultati.
E' facile, veloce e gratuito!
Da oggi su
http://www.ecircle.de/ad190521/www.ecircle.it
> http://www.egroups.com/message/crj-mailinglist/525
---
* German Foreign Minister Calls for Permanent German Troop Occupation of
Yugoslavia (Emperor's Clothes)
- Fischer Warns: Yugoslavs Must Acquire Democratic Culture to Relate to
Germany
- Prof. Chossudovsky Comments: US Accepts German Domination in
Yugoslavia
http://emperors-clothes.com/news/occupation2.htm
http://emperors-clothes.com/news/occupation.htm
Original German text will be posted as soon as possible at
http://emperors-clothes.com/german/bundeswehr.htm>
* COUNTER-REVOLUTIONARY DEVELOPMENTS IN YUGOSLAVIA: STRUGGLE CONTINUES
DESPITE SETBACK IN BELGRADE
By Sara Flounders and John Catalinotto (IAC)
http://www.workers.org/ww/2000/yugoslavia1019.html
* PRESIDENT KOSTUNICA FAVORS NAME SERBIAMONTENEGRO INSTEAD OF YUGOSLAVIA
- PARIS, Oct 14 (Tanjug)
* GROUP17PLUS CAN ENTER FEDERAL GOVERNMENT ONLY AS TEAM - BELGRADE, Oct
14 (Tanjug)
* DS OFFICIAL SAYS YUGOSLAVIA, SERBIA NEED GOVERNMENTS OF EXPERTS -
BELGRADE, Oct 13 (Tanjug)
* YUGOSLAV PRESIDENT KOSTUNICA MEETS FRENCH PRESIDENT CHIRAC - BIARRITZ,
Oct 14 (Tanjug)
* YUGOSLAVIA -US: O'BRIEN: ENTIRE REGION CAN NOW MOVE FORWARD -
PODGORICA, Oct 14 (Tanjug)
* BULGARIA TODAY � YUGOSLAVIA TOMORROW!
Madlen Kircheva, Blagovesta Doncheva
October 9, 2000 - Sofia, Bulgaria
---
> http://www.egroups.com/message/crj-mailinglist/524
---
* Kostunica's Coup Unravels
Decline of The West, by George Szamuely
Antiwar.com - October 13, 2000
http://www.antiwar.com/szamuely/pf/p-sz101300.html
* THE CACAK PLOT
Veterans of the Belgrade demonstrations which toppled Milosevic claim
the
protests were planned with military precision
By Milenko Vasovic in Belgrade
(Institute for War and Peace Reporting, della cordata di Soros:
http://www.iwpr.net)
---
Vi alleghiamo qui sotto il comunicato della SKOJ, organizzazione
giovanile Nuovo partito Comunista di Jugoslavia (NKPJ) di Kitanovic.
Alle elezioni sono andati bene ma essi denunciano il furto dei seggi
nonche'
trucchi e brogli da parte delle commissioni elettorali delle quali
facevano
parte sia SPS-JUL che il DOS.
Denunciano anche la congiura sui media durante la campagna elettorale,
congiura in tutte le TV, sia vicine al DOS che quelle di SPS-JUL.
Piu' sotto alleghiamo anche un messaggio del "Movimento Operaio" di
Kraguievac.
(da Voce Operaia)
-
Comrades,
On the elections held on September 24th 2000. for both councils
of Federal
Parliament (Council of Citizens and Council of Republics),
Parliament of
Autonomou Province Vojvodina and local elections for
municipality councils,
SKOJ gave 1/3 of candidates on electoral lists of New Communist
Party of
Yugoslavia.
On the elections for Council of Citizens in 13 electoral units
(out of 27)
NKPJ won 39541 votes. Our opinion is that number of votes is
much bigger but
it is impossible to check results due the fact the DOS
supporters burnt down
all materials of Election Commission who's office was in the
building of
Federal Parliament.
Our candidates and activists were under constant pressure from
both
governmental and "democratic opposition" parties. Election
Commissions,
which consisted mainly SPS, JUL, DOS, SPO and SRS members (left
and right
bourgeois parties) refused to give materials that were
obligated to give
(ie. forms for applying candidates). Using different kinds of
manipulation,
they kept us out of run for Chamber of Republics.
On the elections for Parliament of Vojvodina province NKPJ won
around 15000
votes and won one seat. Suddenly, 40 more votes occurred and
all of them
were for SPS-JUL coalition which changed rate in favor of their
coalition.
On the local elections NKPJ won 12 seats in different
municipality councils.
Candidates of NKPJ had only 35 minutes to present themselves
and programme
of NKPJ on state medias. Private owned local medias were closed
for our
Party because owners are mostly from SPS, JUL or DOS.
If we consider all circumstances and political atmosphere under
which
elections took place we can say that NKPJ won a great support
of voters.
Secretariat of SKOJ for Informations
-
The situation is very confusing and chaotic - it is not clear
how is
the state still functioning nor who is giving the orders.
There is either the struggle within DOS for power or is the
provocation.
Either way, DOS is constantly losing credibility and they know
that.
That is the reason why they are trying to force exceptional
elections
for the republic assembly. There are lots of armed people
everywhere
and bodyguards of different parties. Some "leaders" with their
bodyguards go to the firms and create chaos, and then they
create
"crises headquarters" which takeover the firms and get their
unqualified friends on power. The solution must be found in a
week.
(Z.J., Kragujevac, 12/10/2000)
---
Bollettino di controinformazione del
Coordinamento Nazionale "La Jugoslavia Vivra'"
> http://digilander.iol.it/lajugoslaviavivra
I documenti distribuiti non rispecchiano necessariamente le
opinioni delle realta' che compongono il Coordinamento, ma vengono
fatti circolare per il loro contenuto informativo al solo scopo di
segnalazione e commento ("for fair use only")
Per contributi e segnalazioni: jugocoord@...
*** QUESTO SERVIZIO E' ANCORA IN FASE SPERIMENTALE ***
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
eCircle ti offre una nuova opportunita:
Il tuo sondaggio sul web sugli argomenti che preferisci
Facile da gestire e con rappresentazioni grafiche dei risultati.
E' facile, veloce e gratuito!
Da oggi su
http://www.ecircle.de/ad190521/www.ecircle.it
After the Rain - How the West Lost the East -
http://www.geocities.com/vaksam/after.html
Courtesy Bill
World Bank Development News Thursday, October 12, 2000
WORLD BANK BACKS EARLY INVOLVEMENT WITH YUGOSLAVIA.
The World Bank said yesterday it supports early involvement with the new
Yugoslavian government, including setting up donor trusts to help the
fledgling democracy ahead of its becoming a member of the World Bank,
reports Reuters.
The World Bank board of directors "expressed their support for an early
involvement of the World Bank in supporting the positive response of the
international community" to the recent changes in Yugoslavia, the Bank
said in a statement.
"As a first step, once the new government has expressed its interest,
the
Bank would initiate preparations for Yugoslavia's membership by
assessing
the economic situation and exploring with the government options for the
settlement of (arrears)," the Bank added in its statement. Yugoslavia's
arrears at the World Bank amount to $1.7 billion and total $128 million
at
the IMF. The World Bank said those arrears would have to be cleared and
the nation would have to rejoin the IMF before it could rejoin the Bank.
Agence France-Presse and the Wall Street Journal also report.
Yugoslavia, led by strongman President Slobodan Milosevic, was cut off
by
the IMF in 1992 and the World Bank in 1993 for its role in a series of
Balkan wars and for refusing to pay money it owed on loans, Reuters
notes.
While paying arrears of more than $1.8 billion might seem insurmountable
to a cash-starved nation, the World Bank and the IMF have in the past
welcomed nations back as members by providing a fresh loan to help pay
arrears.
In its statement, the Bank gave no estimate of how long it might take to
negotiate new membership for Yugoslavia, except that it "will likely
take
some time."
Initially, the Bank plans to offer analytical and advisory support in
cooperation with the EU, the IMF and others, while it helps coordinate
assistance and works on a medium-term reform plan. Once arrears were
cleared and membership was in place, the Bank said it could provide new
loans to help the country work toward a lasting economic recovery after
more than a decade of strife, NATO bombings last year and sanctions.
"The
World Bank's possible role in (Yugoslavia) is based on the assumption
that
further internal politi cal consolidation is quickly achieved ... and
that this leads to the removal of international sanctions," the Bank
said.
A fresh injection of cash from the two international lenders after years
of isolation could prove invaluable in helping rebuild the country's
battered economy, which contracted by more than 20 percent last year.
Inflation in Yugoslavia topped 50 percent this year and unemployment is
close to 30 percent.
With a plunging currency, sky-high inflation and a crumbling
infrastructure, Yugoslavia would be a prime contender to benefit from
help
by the IMF and the World Bank, says the story. The two bodies not only
dispense loans, but also offer technical advice and pointers on building
solid foundations to make economies attractive to outside investors.
The news comes as the New York Times (p. A1) reports that US President
Bill Clinton will announce today that he is lifting many of the trade
and
economic sanctions against Yugoslavia. Citing senior administration
officials as their source, the NYT said Clinton will immediately end the
ban on American flights and an oil embargo against Yugoslavia.
Additional
sanctions will be lifted over the next several weeks. But
administration
officials said they would retain the so-called "outer wall" of sanctions
that prevent Yugoslavia from receiving aid from the IMF and the World
Bank, as well as some which prevent Milosevic and his cronies from
sending
assets overseas.
Meanwhile, reports the Financial Times (p.2), Yugoslavia is aiming to
raise up to $500 million from international donors to help finance
imports
of fuel and other essentials over the difficult winter months, according
to Miroljub Labus, head of the interim federal government. But more
important than the final sum is the speed with which aid can be
delivered,
he said.
Speaking a day after meeting French Foreign Minister Hubert V�drine and
moments before welcoming Bodo Hombach, head of the Southeast Europe
Stability Pact, Labus said, "It is important that this message is heard
everywhere. Much better we have $100 million right now than $500
million
in a year's time." It was vital that links were created quickly, he
said,
and that people saw the benefits [of a democratic regime].
German officials last night suggested that the EU could agree immediate
help worth some $100 million at the EU leaders summit in Biarritz this
weekend.
Labus, who is expected to remain head of the government if a multi-party
team is established, said the economy would be his priority. He wants
to
liberalize and create a market economy open to foreign aid, loans and
investment, and would not be dogmatic.
The news comes as AFP reports that the UN war crimes tribunal for the
former Yugoslavia said yesterday it would give Yugoslovia's new
leadership
some time to consolidate democracy-but still expected Belgrade to
eventually hand over Milosevic for trial. "I think we have to be
prepared
to give Kostunica time provided that in the end of the day all the
indictees are going to be surrendered to this tribunal," said Graham
Blewitt, deputy prosecutor of Hague-based International Criminal
Tribunal
for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY).
Further, a New York Times editorial (p. A30) notes Yugoslavia's economy
is now more than a decade behind the rest of Central and Eastern Europe
in
making the transition to market capitalism. Most of the privatizations
carried out in the Milosevic era consisted of handouts to political
supporters. Long before tough investment sanctions were imposed last
year, foreign businesses were avoiding Yugoslavia, put off by its
politicized courts, poor fiscal management and rusting industries.
Under
the best of circumstances, Yugoslavia will have a hard time catching up
with those countries that have gone through a decade of generally
successful reforms, like Poland and the Baltic states. At worst
Yugoslavia's economy could follow Russia's path to corruption and
decline.
To avoid that, the editorial says, Kostunica will have to temper his
Serbian nationalism with pragmatism and welcome substantial foreign
investment.
Remaining state-controlled businesses should be rapidly sold off.
Milosevic-era privatizations should be investigated and corrupt deals
renegotiated. The United States can help Kostunica by following
Europe's
lead and lifting most of the economic sanctions imposed during the
Milosevic years, a step President Clinton plans to take today.
Substantial emergency assistance will also be needed this winter.
Washington should be generous, the editorial concludes.
Commenting in the FT (p.17), Wolfgang Petritsch, high representative of
the Western nations in Bosnia and Herzegovina, writes that international
aid should not go to new Yugoslavian President Vojislav Kostunica unless
he extradites suspected Bosnian Serb criminals and gives full
recognition
and cooperation to the multi-ethnic Bosnian state.
Also commenting, Sheryle Bagwell writes in the Australian Financial
Review
that the West is likely to give Kostunica some breathing space to
demonstrate his democratic credentials.
Meanwhile, EBRD Chief Economist Willem Buiter writes in the Guardian
that
foreign financial support will depend heavily on direct investment with
significant support needed from international financial institutions
such
as the World Bank, the IMF and the EBRD. The EBRD has been active in
all
other countries of southeastern Europe. The expertise gained in other
post-war arenas such as Bosnia and Herzegovina can be useful in
Yugoslavia. It is a public institution using private sector projects as
its principal instrument. It has also played an important role in the
funding of public infrastructure. Basic infrastructure will have to be
initially funded with sovereign guarantees and blending multilateral and
bilateral concessionary finance. However, ultimately some sectors will
also have to be financed with private funding and participation.
---
IL NUOVO REGIME IN JUGOSLAVIA APRE LE PORTE ALLE
OPPORTUNITA' D'AFFARI
di Monica Larner - ("Italy Daily", supplemento dell'edizione italiana
dell''"International Herald Tribune" del 10 ottobre 2000)
[Le opportunita' d'affari per le aziende italiane in Jugoslavia, di cui
parla l'articolo qui sotto, non sono poi cosi' nuove. Tra i nomi di
grandi aziende che vi compaiono, Fiat, ENEL, Telecom e Impregilo
avevano gia' effettuato grandi investimenti, o trattato eventuali
affari,
con il regime di Milosevic. Ora hanno buone prospettive di
raccogliere i frutti di tali loro contatti passati]
Dopo la rivoluzione, arriva la ricostruzione - con tutto il suo
strascico di opportunita' d'affari. [...] Per l'Italia - il secondo
maggiore partner commerciale della Jugoslavia dopo la Germania -
la prossimita' geografica e i legami commerciali storici potrebbero
costituire un trampolino rispetto alla concorrenza. Se gli eventi
politici procederanno in Jugoslavia in maniera liscia, il futuro del
paese promette di essere ricco di provatizzazioni, con l'apertura
delle barriere commerciali e la stabilizzazione della valuta. Fino a
quando l'aspra situazione politica nel paese non si raffreddera',
molti membri della comunita' d'affari europea adotteranno un
approccio impostato all' "aspettiamo e vediamo", ma le prospettive
sembrano buone. "Dovra' passare molta acqua sotto i ponti prima
di sapere cosa accadra'", ha affermato il presidente dell'ICE,
Fabrizio Onida in un'intervista a "Italy Daily". "C'e' tuttavia
ottimismo". Egli ha aggiunto che le esportazioni italiane di prodotti
come scarpe, prodotti tessili e generi alimentari saranno le prime a
sfruttare l'occasione. "Gli investitori italiani in genere sono un po'
piu' lenti degli altri", ha affermato. "Ma l'avvio di privatizzazioni in
Jugoslavia potrebbe accendere la scintilla dell'interesse".
Alcune delle piu' note aziende italiane hanno gia' una presenza in
Jugoslavia, come la Fiat, la Iveco, l'Alitalia, la Telecom Italia,
Diesel
e Ferrero. Il Prodotto Interno Lordo della Jugoslavia e' stato stimato
come pari a 22 trilioni di lire dopo la guerra nel 1999, con una
diminuzione del 22% rispetto all'anno precedente. L'ICE prevede
che nel 2000 il PIL raggiungera' 26 trilioni di lire. Nel 1997 la
Telecom Italia aveva comprato una quota del 29% - che ora
corrisponde a un valore di 548 miliardi di lire - della Telecom
Serbia. A causa della guerra in Kosovo, il gigante italiano delle
telecomunicazioni ha perso circa un quarto del valore del suo
investimento iniziale, ma ora si trova di fronte a un mercato ad alta
crescita, che sicuramente continuera' a salire. La Telecom Italia
potrebbe infine vedere il suo investimento iniziale, che gli esperti a
suo tempo avevano definito "rischioso, ma coraggioso", fruttare
ricchi rendimenti. La Jugoslavia ha 2,2 milioni di clienti di linee
telefoniche fisse e solo 350.000 clienti che utilizzano telefonia
mobile, cifre che rendono molto forte il potenziale di nuovi
abbonamenti. Come richiede la legge, il 51% delle quote della
Telecom Serbia e' posseduto dal governo jugoslavo. [...]
Le privatizzazioni potrebbero spalancare la Jugoslavia agli
investimenti esteri. Molti settori, ivi inclusi i servizi pubblici per
l'energia, le infrastrutture e la gestione degli aeroporti, potrebbero
presto vedere licenziamenti di dipendenti ed essere ristrutturati per
dare spazio ai nuovi capitali provenienti dall'estero. Per esempio,
l'ENEL, l'ente statale per l'energia elettrica, potrebbe un giorno
prendere in considerazione di entrare in un mercato jugoslavo
dell'energia privatizzato, ha detto Onida. La societa' edile Impregilo
di Milano potrebbe concorrere per contratti per la ricostruzione
delle strade, dei ponti e delle gallerie danneggiati dalla guerra.
Aldo Fumagalli, presidente e amministratore delegato della Sol,
una societa' con sede a Monza che confeziona e distribuisce gas
come l'ossigeno, l'azoto e l'argon, afferma di essere ottimista sul
futuro della sua azienda in Jugoslavia. Con vendite per 400 miliardi
di lire e 1.050 dipendenti in tutto il mondo, la Sol e' gia' attiva
nella
penisola balcanica, ivi incluso il Kosovo. La Sol fornisce i gas
necessari per gli ospedali, le acciaierie, i cantieri navali e altri
settori. Due anni fa, il signor Fumagalli ha creato una rete di
distribuzione in tutta la Jugoslavia, sfruttando la sua rete integrata
gia' operativa nei paesi confinanti, con valute e relazioni
commerciali piu' solide. Cosi' facendo, la sua azienda e' stata tra le
altre cose in grado di aggirare le limitazioni imposte dall'embargo.
[...]
(Fonte: http://www.ecn.org/est/balcani )
---
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/articles/0,3266,43183,00.html
WORLD
APRIL 24, 2000 VOL. 155 NO. 16
The IMF: Dr. Death?
A case study of how the global banker's shock therapy helps economies
but hammers the poor
BY ERIC POOLEY
---
Bollettino di controinformazione del
Coordinamento Nazionale "La Jugoslavia Vivra'"
> http://digilander.iol.it/lajugoslaviavivra
I documenti distribuiti non rispecchiano necessariamente le
opinioni delle realta' che compongono il Coordinamento, ma vengono
fatti circolare per il loro contenuto informativo al solo scopo di
segnalazione e commento ("for fair use only")
Per contributi e segnalazioni: jugocoord@...
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http://www.geocities.com/vaksam/after.html
Courtesy Bill
World Bank Development News Thursday, October 12, 2000
WORLD BANK BACKS EARLY INVOLVEMENT WITH YUGOSLAVIA.
The World Bank said yesterday it supports early involvement with the new
Yugoslavian government, including setting up donor trusts to help the
fledgling democracy ahead of its becoming a member of the World Bank,
reports Reuters.
The World Bank board of directors "expressed their support for an early
involvement of the World Bank in supporting the positive response of the
international community" to the recent changes in Yugoslavia, the Bank
said in a statement.
"As a first step, once the new government has expressed its interest,
the
Bank would initiate preparations for Yugoslavia's membership by
assessing
the economic situation and exploring with the government options for the
settlement of (arrears)," the Bank added in its statement. Yugoslavia's
arrears at the World Bank amount to $1.7 billion and total $128 million
at
the IMF. The World Bank said those arrears would have to be cleared and
the nation would have to rejoin the IMF before it could rejoin the Bank.
Agence France-Presse and the Wall Street Journal also report.
Yugoslavia, led by strongman President Slobodan Milosevic, was cut off
by
the IMF in 1992 and the World Bank in 1993 for its role in a series of
Balkan wars and for refusing to pay money it owed on loans, Reuters
notes.
While paying arrears of more than $1.8 billion might seem insurmountable
to a cash-starved nation, the World Bank and the IMF have in the past
welcomed nations back as members by providing a fresh loan to help pay
arrears.
In its statement, the Bank gave no estimate of how long it might take to
negotiate new membership for Yugoslavia, except that it "will likely
take
some time."
Initially, the Bank plans to offer analytical and advisory support in
cooperation with the EU, the IMF and others, while it helps coordinate
assistance and works on a medium-term reform plan. Once arrears were
cleared and membership was in place, the Bank said it could provide new
loans to help the country work toward a lasting economic recovery after
more than a decade of strife, NATO bombings last year and sanctions.
"The
World Bank's possible role in (Yugoslavia) is based on the assumption
that
further internal politi cal consolidation is quickly achieved ... and
that this leads to the removal of international sanctions," the Bank
said.
A fresh injection of cash from the two international lenders after years
of isolation could prove invaluable in helping rebuild the country's
battered economy, which contracted by more than 20 percent last year.
Inflation in Yugoslavia topped 50 percent this year and unemployment is
close to 30 percent.
With a plunging currency, sky-high inflation and a crumbling
infrastructure, Yugoslavia would be a prime contender to benefit from
help
by the IMF and the World Bank, says the story. The two bodies not only
dispense loans, but also offer technical advice and pointers on building
solid foundations to make economies attractive to outside investors.
The news comes as the New York Times (p. A1) reports that US President
Bill Clinton will announce today that he is lifting many of the trade
and
economic sanctions against Yugoslavia. Citing senior administration
officials as their source, the NYT said Clinton will immediately end the
ban on American flights and an oil embargo against Yugoslavia.
Additional
sanctions will be lifted over the next several weeks. But
administration
officials said they would retain the so-called "outer wall" of sanctions
that prevent Yugoslavia from receiving aid from the IMF and the World
Bank, as well as some which prevent Milosevic and his cronies from
sending
assets overseas.
Meanwhile, reports the Financial Times (p.2), Yugoslavia is aiming to
raise up to $500 million from international donors to help finance
imports
of fuel and other essentials over the difficult winter months, according
to Miroljub Labus, head of the interim federal government. But more
important than the final sum is the speed with which aid can be
delivered,
he said.
Speaking a day after meeting French Foreign Minister Hubert V�drine and
moments before welcoming Bodo Hombach, head of the Southeast Europe
Stability Pact, Labus said, "It is important that this message is heard
everywhere. Much better we have $100 million right now than $500
million
in a year's time." It was vital that links were created quickly, he
said,
and that people saw the benefits [of a democratic regime].
German officials last night suggested that the EU could agree immediate
help worth some $100 million at the EU leaders summit in Biarritz this
weekend.
Labus, who is expected to remain head of the government if a multi-party
team is established, said the economy would be his priority. He wants
to
liberalize and create a market economy open to foreign aid, loans and
investment, and would not be dogmatic.
The news comes as AFP reports that the UN war crimes tribunal for the
former Yugoslavia said yesterday it would give Yugoslovia's new
leadership
some time to consolidate democracy-but still expected Belgrade to
eventually hand over Milosevic for trial. "I think we have to be
prepared
to give Kostunica time provided that in the end of the day all the
indictees are going to be surrendered to this tribunal," said Graham
Blewitt, deputy prosecutor of Hague-based International Criminal
Tribunal
for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY).
Further, a New York Times editorial (p. A30) notes Yugoslavia's economy
is now more than a decade behind the rest of Central and Eastern Europe
in
making the transition to market capitalism. Most of the privatizations
carried out in the Milosevic era consisted of handouts to political
supporters. Long before tough investment sanctions were imposed last
year, foreign businesses were avoiding Yugoslavia, put off by its
politicized courts, poor fiscal management and rusting industries.
Under
the best of circumstances, Yugoslavia will have a hard time catching up
with those countries that have gone through a decade of generally
successful reforms, like Poland and the Baltic states. At worst
Yugoslavia's economy could follow Russia's path to corruption and
decline.
To avoid that, the editorial says, Kostunica will have to temper his
Serbian nationalism with pragmatism and welcome substantial foreign
investment.
Remaining state-controlled businesses should be rapidly sold off.
Milosevic-era privatizations should be investigated and corrupt deals
renegotiated. The United States can help Kostunica by following
Europe's
lead and lifting most of the economic sanctions imposed during the
Milosevic years, a step President Clinton plans to take today.
Substantial emergency assistance will also be needed this winter.
Washington should be generous, the editorial concludes.
Commenting in the FT (p.17), Wolfgang Petritsch, high representative of
the Western nations in Bosnia and Herzegovina, writes that international
aid should not go to new Yugoslavian President Vojislav Kostunica unless
he extradites suspected Bosnian Serb criminals and gives full
recognition
and cooperation to the multi-ethnic Bosnian state.
Also commenting, Sheryle Bagwell writes in the Australian Financial
Review
that the West is likely to give Kostunica some breathing space to
demonstrate his democratic credentials.
Meanwhile, EBRD Chief Economist Willem Buiter writes in the Guardian
that
foreign financial support will depend heavily on direct investment with
significant support needed from international financial institutions
such
as the World Bank, the IMF and the EBRD. The EBRD has been active in
all
other countries of southeastern Europe. The expertise gained in other
post-war arenas such as Bosnia and Herzegovina can be useful in
Yugoslavia. It is a public institution using private sector projects as
its principal instrument. It has also played an important role in the
funding of public infrastructure. Basic infrastructure will have to be
initially funded with sovereign guarantees and blending multilateral and
bilateral concessionary finance. However, ultimately some sectors will
also have to be financed with private funding and participation.
---
IL NUOVO REGIME IN JUGOSLAVIA APRE LE PORTE ALLE
OPPORTUNITA' D'AFFARI
di Monica Larner - ("Italy Daily", supplemento dell'edizione italiana
dell''"International Herald Tribune" del 10 ottobre 2000)
[Le opportunita' d'affari per le aziende italiane in Jugoslavia, di cui
parla l'articolo qui sotto, non sono poi cosi' nuove. Tra i nomi di
grandi aziende che vi compaiono, Fiat, ENEL, Telecom e Impregilo
avevano gia' effettuato grandi investimenti, o trattato eventuali
affari,
con il regime di Milosevic. Ora hanno buone prospettive di
raccogliere i frutti di tali loro contatti passati]
Dopo la rivoluzione, arriva la ricostruzione - con tutto il suo
strascico di opportunita' d'affari. [...] Per l'Italia - il secondo
maggiore partner commerciale della Jugoslavia dopo la Germania -
la prossimita' geografica e i legami commerciali storici potrebbero
costituire un trampolino rispetto alla concorrenza. Se gli eventi
politici procederanno in Jugoslavia in maniera liscia, il futuro del
paese promette di essere ricco di provatizzazioni, con l'apertura
delle barriere commerciali e la stabilizzazione della valuta. Fino a
quando l'aspra situazione politica nel paese non si raffreddera',
molti membri della comunita' d'affari europea adotteranno un
approccio impostato all' "aspettiamo e vediamo", ma le prospettive
sembrano buone. "Dovra' passare molta acqua sotto i ponti prima
di sapere cosa accadra'", ha affermato il presidente dell'ICE,
Fabrizio Onida in un'intervista a "Italy Daily". "C'e' tuttavia
ottimismo". Egli ha aggiunto che le esportazioni italiane di prodotti
come scarpe, prodotti tessili e generi alimentari saranno le prime a
sfruttare l'occasione. "Gli investitori italiani in genere sono un po'
piu' lenti degli altri", ha affermato. "Ma l'avvio di privatizzazioni in
Jugoslavia potrebbe accendere la scintilla dell'interesse".
Alcune delle piu' note aziende italiane hanno gia' una presenza in
Jugoslavia, come la Fiat, la Iveco, l'Alitalia, la Telecom Italia,
Diesel
e Ferrero. Il Prodotto Interno Lordo della Jugoslavia e' stato stimato
come pari a 22 trilioni di lire dopo la guerra nel 1999, con una
diminuzione del 22% rispetto all'anno precedente. L'ICE prevede
che nel 2000 il PIL raggiungera' 26 trilioni di lire. Nel 1997 la
Telecom Italia aveva comprato una quota del 29% - che ora
corrisponde a un valore di 548 miliardi di lire - della Telecom
Serbia. A causa della guerra in Kosovo, il gigante italiano delle
telecomunicazioni ha perso circa un quarto del valore del suo
investimento iniziale, ma ora si trova di fronte a un mercato ad alta
crescita, che sicuramente continuera' a salire. La Telecom Italia
potrebbe infine vedere il suo investimento iniziale, che gli esperti a
suo tempo avevano definito "rischioso, ma coraggioso", fruttare
ricchi rendimenti. La Jugoslavia ha 2,2 milioni di clienti di linee
telefoniche fisse e solo 350.000 clienti che utilizzano telefonia
mobile, cifre che rendono molto forte il potenziale di nuovi
abbonamenti. Come richiede la legge, il 51% delle quote della
Telecom Serbia e' posseduto dal governo jugoslavo. [...]
Le privatizzazioni potrebbero spalancare la Jugoslavia agli
investimenti esteri. Molti settori, ivi inclusi i servizi pubblici per
l'energia, le infrastrutture e la gestione degli aeroporti, potrebbero
presto vedere licenziamenti di dipendenti ed essere ristrutturati per
dare spazio ai nuovi capitali provenienti dall'estero. Per esempio,
l'ENEL, l'ente statale per l'energia elettrica, potrebbe un giorno
prendere in considerazione di entrare in un mercato jugoslavo
dell'energia privatizzato, ha detto Onida. La societa' edile Impregilo
di Milano potrebbe concorrere per contratti per la ricostruzione
delle strade, dei ponti e delle gallerie danneggiati dalla guerra.
Aldo Fumagalli, presidente e amministratore delegato della Sol,
una societa' con sede a Monza che confeziona e distribuisce gas
come l'ossigeno, l'azoto e l'argon, afferma di essere ottimista sul
futuro della sua azienda in Jugoslavia. Con vendite per 400 miliardi
di lire e 1.050 dipendenti in tutto il mondo, la Sol e' gia' attiva
nella
penisola balcanica, ivi incluso il Kosovo. La Sol fornisce i gas
necessari per gli ospedali, le acciaierie, i cantieri navali e altri
settori. Due anni fa, il signor Fumagalli ha creato una rete di
distribuzione in tutta la Jugoslavia, sfruttando la sua rete integrata
gia' operativa nei paesi confinanti, con valute e relazioni
commerciali piu' solide. Cosi' facendo, la sua azienda e' stata tra le
altre cose in grado di aggirare le limitazioni imposte dall'embargo.
[...]
(Fonte: http://www.ecn.org/est/balcani )
---
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/articles/0,3266,43183,00.html
WORLD
APRIL 24, 2000 VOL. 155 NO. 16
The IMF: Dr. Death?
A case study of how the global banker's shock therapy helps economies
but hammers the poor
BY ERIC POOLEY
---
Bollettino di controinformazione del
Coordinamento Nazionale "La Jugoslavia Vivra'"
> http://digilander.iol.it/lajugoslaviavivra
I documenti distribuiti non rispecchiano necessariamente le
opinioni delle realta' che compongono il Coordinamento, ma vengono
fatti circolare per il loro contenuto informativo al solo scopo di
segnalazione e commento ("for fair use only")
Per contributi e segnalazioni: jugocoord@...
*** QUESTO SERVIZIO E' ANCORA IN FASE SPERIMENTALE ***
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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ON IDEOLOGICAL WARS IN AND OUT OF SERBIA
R.K.Kent
For sometime now one has had the opportunity to witness heated
discussions in and out of Serbia about its future. Two positions seem
to predominate. One uses the Serbs as a battering ram with which to pry
open the behind-the-scenes Capitalist conspiracies and prevent them
from having a global success. The other wants the Serbs to stop being
Serbs and ditch even patriotism in favor of becoming "normal" by
adopting a "free market" economy , "entering into Europe" and even
forming a "strategic alliance" with the United States.
The anti-Imperialist Left, best represented in the U.S. by Jared
Israel , wishes the Serbs to stand tall against the current U.S.
Corporate Fascists, bring their drive for the New World Order to an
insurmountable Balkan obstacle, put to shame NATO’s cowardly bomber
leaders and be prepared to suffer beyond the sufferings already
inflicted after eight years of economic sanctions, eleven weeks of
bombings, and the "cleansing" of some million Serbs from other parts of
the ex-Yugoslav space. Slobodan Milosevic remains the point man of this
tendency because he is regarded as a leader who would continue Serb
resistance to the U.S. Imperial domination and stick to a socialist
model of Serb economy.in contrast to the socially and economically
destructive Capitalist incursions through IMF, WTO and the like. The
Opposition to Milosevic has been quite simply bought with dollars and
marks carried in with suitcases. Most of its members, save Kostunuca as
a transient phenomenon, have "betrayed" the Serbs as a whole. To even
think, after being savagely bombed for eleven weeks by NATO, that this
major war crime under the Open Skies ought to be forgiven and forgotten
in favor of ingratiation with the "West," represents an unacceptable
degree of national humiliation.
At the other end of the spectrum one could easily find Zoiran Djindjic
in Serbia itself He advocates policies rooted in the premise that if
"you can’t lick’em join’em." Bust up the Yugoslav centralist
Federation, making Kosovo, Montenegro and Vojvodina Serbia’s co-equal.
Eliminate the position of "Federal" Presidency (out goes Kostunica by
eliminating his job). Become a partner to the U.S. "strategic
interests," with Yugoslavia as a NATO base ready to assist the coming
control of Eurasian Hartland with its vast oil resources. Put through
all of the G17 reform proposals. Let the German and U.S. corporations
take Serbia over. Turn the Serbs into a most desirable work force at
once skilled and cheap. Let them become avid consumers of imported
products many of which amout to no more than conspicuous consumption.
Long Live Capitalism in Serbia and milk and honey will flow. The
"Russkies did not stand with us" anyway, let’s have a new patron, Uncle
Sam, with maybe an insatiable Fritz der Katze right behind him. There
will be no more sanctions, no more suffereing. Period. The Serb people
want to join Europe. That is why they revolted.
(2)
If the choice were a simple one, trading the current suffering for a
period of immediate relief and some prosperity against a possibly less
comfortable economic future (without a certain date) , any logical
person would accept temporary relief against an uncertain future. Large
numbers of the unemployed with families to feed spell an irresistible
attraction not to think about new types of social and economic
dislocations. With a million refugees, with a per capita income fallen
to a pitiful level "The Economy Stupid" takes precedence over other
considerations. Who wants to go on forever resisting the remaining
super-Power when it is willing to reward dependency and punish
iundependence? No need to opt again for the "Heavenly Kingdom" through
repeated defeats as in 1389. Let’s go for the "Kingdom on the Earth"
this time and maybe, just maybe we will be laughing on our way to some
real banks.Fortunately , neither of the two action scenarios for the
future (Jared/Zoran} is full-proof and, as historians know only too
well from the study of history, predicting the future with accuracy
is, at best, a matter of luck and not of science.
As the finger- pointing goes on in Belgrade as to who is who’s "agent,"
it is necessary to mention a few cardinal facts. While the punitive and
basically cowardly NATO attacks came about and went on, Milosevic’s
refusal to knuckle under and yell "Uncle" makes him at once an
anti-Imperialist hero and a defender of the Serbs. If the second role
were unquestionably true no one in his right mind should fault him on
the former. Where one falls on this issue is of basic importance. Did
everything he has done really "defend the Serbs" or has he used this
role to maintain himself in power The basic facts are simple. His
amassing of power involved, inter alia, the stabbing in the back of his
mentor and friend, Stambolic. Until Yugoslavia started to break-up
Milosevic did not have the pedigree of an ardent Serb Nationalist.
After assuring the Serbs of Krajina and Bosnia of his unflagging support
not to live under Franjo Tudjman’s neo-Fascist Croatia or in Alija
Izetbegovic’s Islamic Republic he did not follow through. At Dayton, he
accepted the NATO occupation of Bosnia as well. Did he or did he not
have much choice once the U.S. joined the side of Croatia and the
Bosnian Muslims? Only fine historical tuning, with the proper chronology
and full documentation (written and oral) can provide the definitive
answer. But, the feeling among the Serb refugees from Krajina and Bosnia
is that Milosevic had abandoned them.
After 78 days of bombings he accepted the NATO occupation of Kosovo, an
integral part of Serbia and truncated Yugoslavia. Unprotected , despite
the presence of NATO troops and a U.N. Administration under a prominent
French Serbophobe, the Serbs were and are ethnically cleansed by
Albanian terror. Less than 100,000 remain today, encapsulated in ghettos
with a quasi-KFOR protection. No true Serb leader could have turned
Kosovo over to a NATO protectorate and an Albanian Colony of the United
States(now with its second bastion in Europe at Camp Bondsteel) without
losing support of his own people. Kostunica’s recent statement that
independence for Kosovo would destabilize the region reveals a profound
understanding of the problems involved precisely because he is a Serb
defender, a patriot as Kostunica describes himself. His request for the
return to Kosovo of Serb and other refugees turns the tables properly on
the NATO forces and puts him on the same moral pedestal occupied for so
long by Western Humanitarians who demanded everywhere the return of
refugees except those Serbs expelled from Kosovo via "justifiable
retribution." The Nationalist cacoon around Milosevic was crafted
(3)
to shield and perpetuate his hold on power , nothing much more. When the
anti-Imperialists find it necessary to line-up behind Milosevic (without
saying so openly) they are doing the same thing that the Imperialists
have done by constantly using him as a substitute for Serbs as a
whole.In short, Milosevic has never been nor is he now to be equated
with the Serbs as a people.
Throughout the years of punishments that hurt mainly the Serb people,
leaders of NATO, spearheaded by a pontificating U.S. Secretary of State
and the hysterical evangelist of 10 Downing Street, claimed repeatedly
that they are not "against the Serb people" but only against
"Milosevic." Now that he has fallen from power two major demands are
already throwing doubt
on this claim. To be eligible for re-inclusion into the Human Race the
Serbs must stop denying the atrocities committed by the Serb miliary and
para-military. They must not complain at the same time about what was
done to them to incite such atrocities. Moreover, they must deliver
Milosevic and other Serb "war criminals" to the Hague Tribunal. The only
division between the U.S. "strategists" and those of Western Europe
involves timing. The Europeans are for greater patience. Neither will
easily admit that the Hague Tribunal is a sham until and unless it
becomes increasingly painful and counterproductive to use it again and
again to "punish the Serbs." Its contention that the Serbs were mainly
indicted because they committed the earliest and numerically most
significant atrocities cannot withstand serious scrutiny.
This provides a rare opportunity for the new Serb Government to do
something that needs to be done. Yes, we are prepared to abandon the
denials but would you be willing to admit that the78 days of bombing
civilian targets constitute a war crime and a crime against humanity,
always assuming that you do regard the Serbs as humans? Next, all of
the accusations come from the NATO members. For example, the third
market-place massacre at Sarajevo, immediately attributed to the Serbs,
led, within hours, to the NATO bombings of Bosnian Serb positions. In
the same sense, the massacre attributed to the Serbs at Racak,
"galvanized" NATO to go into its "air war" over Yugoslavia. Now, it is a
known fact that a U.N. report in situ exculpated the Serbs for the third
-market- place massacre but the text was ordered into the "Secret" U.N.
file by the then Ambassador Mdeleine Albright. It is still there. At
Racak, the Serb police notified actually the U.S. special envoy Walker
that an attack will be launched on Racak as a KLA stronghold. The next
day, there were 47 bodies in an open mass-grave to which Mr. Walker and
the TV cameras were brought by the KLA. He declared at once. "this is a
masacre." After being routinely accused of re-burying bodies to hide
their massacres, the Serb suddenly did not even bury the bodies.
Moreover, the bodies had been moved as there were no spent cartridges at
the site. Ambassadsor Walker has a long record of involvement with
bodies and real massacres in Latin America
Items of this nature and their obvious proximity to acts of war against
the Serbs cannot condone a passive Serb acceptance of claims made by the
very people that bombed them Minimal fairness and logic would require
that the Serbs themselves undertake an investigation of claims made by
the NATO sources. If they prove to be accurate, no denials are in order.
The perpetrators should
(4)
be arrested and tried in Serbia’s courts without undue delays. At the
option of Serb judiciary, the guilty parties, sentenced at home ,
could be given the same range of sentences applicable to the Hague
Tribunal and up to 20 years. If the accusations prove to be unprovable
or yet false NATO owes the Serbs some apologies in these two particular
cases. Even Srebrenica requires a mixed fact-finding commission as there
are a host of questions never answered and a context never kicked -in.
How can a Democratic West refuse the right to the Serbs to investigate
its allegations against the Serbs before abandoning the denials, as
requested?
The men and women behind the 78 days of destruction from the air over
Yugoslavia know that they have committed a war crime and a crime against
humanity but will never admit to have so done. They know that the
bombing of Serbia took off the Imperial mask and earned a lot of
resentment around the globe. They are aware that a host of Citizens’
Tribunals in Europe and North America have found them guilty. The power
of these mini-Tribunals is entirely moral. They have no funds and no
chance for legal redress. In order to pull the moral rug from under them
and still justify their crimes as a "virtuous war" they are not likely
to be stupid enough to jump on "the Serbs" with a list of immediate
demands that simply restate all the Serbophobic desiderata before the
fall of Milosevic. A recently proposed Congressional bill by the
"two Joes," Biden and Lieberman wanted to do just that but was derailed
for the time being.
After a decade of structured, deliberate cerebral terror against them
the Serbs must be aware that thousands of men and women in the West, at
all levels, are infected with Serbophobia and make a good living through
Serb bashings. The Serbs still face the tyranny of scribal and
audio-visual clerks. It is the hardest kind of tyranny to cope with Many
people in the Western media not so infected simply parrot the same
unproven allegations without even knowing what they read or caring about
their adverse impact. Adverse first at home by promoting ethnic hate and
adverse
in the effect they continue to have on the bruised Serb psyche. There
has to be a counter attack in this area. Serbs in the diaspora must
amass by donations funds to engage a Public Relations Firm (other than
Ruder Finn) to go after the Serbophobes, clerks and all. Americans of
both Serb and other descents must be willing to bring class action suits
against any one or group engaged in hate-mongering against the Serbs as
a people. A number of laws already on books can help in that endeavor.
Congress should be urged to ban donations to its members by ethnicities
which promote hate-mongering and military interventions against other
ethnicities, as the Albanian PAC have done in the U.S., along with
Croatian and Bosnian Mulsim lobbies before them. Characteristically, no
Serb PAC donations came into play. The Public Relation firm of Ruder
Finn ,which sigle-handedly persuaded many Americans of Jewish faith that
the Serbs are neo-Nazi butchers, once proposed to defend the Serbs from
a poor image abroad but it was turned down.
The time has come to stop ideological struggles and accusations. Let us
concentrate on three basic goals. Getting substantial Reconstruction aid
from the West to undo the physical damage caused by NATO to the tune of
$100 billion should be one priority. Lifting all the sanctions
(5)
without delay instead of incrementally is the very next priority. Both
of these measures were firmly promised once Milosevic steps down, no ifs
and buts.It is delivery time. While the claim that Serbia under
Milosevic has had a socialist economy is at best a bad joke, let us all
work for a humane alleviation of Serbia’s economic woes while opposing
rapacious globalization.The Serbs have been traumatised enough. It is
healing time.The third basic goal must be the dissolution of the Hague
Tribunal for Yugoslavia. A substantial literature revealing its origins,
practices and nature should assist this endeavor but the American People
willhave to be informed about the truth in some very wide ways. They
need to be told that the only sure way to avoid future tragedies in the
ex-Yugoslav space is to help each of the major ethnicities to punish its
own "defenders" who did, in fact, commit war crimes and crimes against
humanity.
Apart from his devotion to the fight against U.S. Imperialism, Jared
Israel is admirable in his indefatigable digging for documentation. More
than anyone else, he has warned everyone that the Serbs are far from
being out of the Imperialist "drang nach Osten." This writer would like
to conclude on a note about Jared’s recovery of Milosevic’s "infamous"
Kosovo speech. After doing historical research for over three decades in
archival (and other) sources, if anything can be learned about written
documents it is that these almost invariably show how interpretations
and claims about their real contents seldom even approach what is in the
texts..But, to arrive at the value of any written source it must be
placed in its context. The Milosevic speech did not incite
hate-mongering against Kosovo’s Albanians.He did not make a fiery
nationalist speech meant to incite Serb revenge. He played the "Yugoslav
card"instead.
Equally, Milosevic did not abolish Kosovo’s autonomy as has been
constantly claimed. He suspended it in 1989, pending a return to some
sort of a pre-1974 modus vivendi between the Albanian ethnic majority
and all the other minorities at Kosovo. Just under a decade later, this
act was twisted so that Albanian separatists and the international drug
cartel that supports them could have the pretext for a guerrilla war
Their inspiration and hope for U.S. support came from the patronage of
Bob Dole but even more from Dayton. Since the constitutional revision
of 1974 the Kosovo Albanians used it to terrorize local Serbs and
induce them to leave Kosovo in ever greater numbers. But, that has been
the real practice since World War II as well as during Tito’s rule. It
even has much older antecedents which explain why a predominantly Serb
area, the birth-place of its culture and state. with an overwhelming
Serb majority, was gradually cleansed to reduce the Serbs to a minority
in their own home. It is a pity that the baby-boomers in the U.S. are
innocent of the true historical sequence of events at Kosovo. Yet, it is
far worse that they do not even care to know when they walk into a
situation as if nothing existed beforehand..
BERKELEY 11 OCTOBER 2000
---
----- Original Message -----
From: "john_peter maher" <jpmaher@...>
To: "john_peter maher" <jpmaher@...>
Sent: Wednesday, October 11, 2000 11:20
Subject: to the Guardian: Dubrovnik hoax again
Sir:
Your piece mentions the "...pounding of the beautiful Croatian town of
Dubrovnik in 1991. 'They used ships. Can you believe it?'...
This is a fraud. Who on your staff was bought by Ruder Finn? Since 1991
the press has dozens of times printed the hoax that the Pearl of the
Adriatic was reduced to rubble. Those stories were fakes. That Dubrovnik
has been rebuilt is exponentially fake. On March 25, 1992, I visited
Dubrovnik to see for myself the truth about the war. The Old City of
Dubrovnik was never destroyed. It was barely scratched.
Roof tiles blown off by concussion had all been replaced when I
visited the city TWO YEARS AGO, THREE MONTHS after the "destruction".
Your writer has a poor vocabulary in English. Buildings are "holed."
"Hoardings," which your Yank readers will not understand, is the British
equivalent of American "billboard." "Casing" is also wrong. The right
term would be (protective) "planking". The new tiles are decidedly not
"pink", but red.
Dubrovnik's destruction was an invention of PR companies in the hire of
the war criminals who broke up Yugoslavia without negotiations. The big
bombardment was from PR fakers, not navy guns. -- like the Kuwaiti
incubator babies hoax used by President Bush to stoke up war fever. PR
liars Hill & Knowlton, Ruder Finn, and Waterman Associates have earned
millions in fanning the flames of this war.
The press, that's you, belongs in the war crimes docket with the New
World Order thugs for churning out mendacious "news" stories about Serb
death camps and rape camps, abetting war and mayhem. The story of an
organized Serb rape policy is a racist fraud, like the Protocols of the
Elders of Zion, propagated to foment hatred and incite war against the
innocent. Though it's not polite any more to slander Afro-American or
Jews, Serbs are fair game for the lynch mob.
The "Serb-dominated federal navy" off Dubrovnik was commanded by
Admiral Stane Brovet, a Slovene. The target was not the Old City, but
the Napoleonic fort of St. Sergius far above Dubrovnik and hotels
outside the city walls, where Croatian forces were billeted and because
of the presence of refugees, had set up gun positions from which they
fired on the federal forces in order to provoke death and destruction.
Zagreb's aim was to provoke a Western attack on the Serbs. On December
5, 1991, Croatian forces mounted a mortar on a flat bed truck running
up and down the Stradun taking potshots at naval forces in order to
provoke counterfire.
The "Dubrovnik burning" pictures were shot with long lenses. This
compresses perspective, making it look like there is no distance between
objects that are quite separated in real space. Thus, columns of smoke
billowing up from the harbor are superimposed on the walled city. The
photographic effect is as staged as the stabbing of the lady showering
in Hitchcock's movie "Psycho."
That smoke was from the fuel tanks of two pleasure boats burning in the
Old Harbor -- outside, of course, the walls. Dubrovnik's Old City
never burned. Bullet holes along Stradun were from gunfire inside the
walls, at ground level at close range in a fight on the street between
rival Croatian factions. Scaffolding was set up in front of facades in
anticipation of the shooting to come. Video tapes of gunfire along the
ancient walls, run backward, show clearly that the puffs of gun smoke
are from outgoing, not incoming fire. "Western" reporters in Dubrovnik
since they cannot read Serbo-Croatian, do not mention the graffiti
calling for the lynching of Serbs: Srbe na vrbe (literally "[hang] the
Serbs on the willow trees"). My videotapes of Dubrovnik from March 25,
1992, have been aired on Chicago Cable Access TV, Channel 19. Want to
see them?
Croatian city? Tito made a gift of it to his native Croatia after WW II.
Dubrovnik was never before "Croatian."
The Byzantine decoration found by restorators beneath paint in the
Dominican monastery attests the Serbian and Greek origins of Dubrovnik.
This war is the latest chapter in the predation of Orthodox lands by the
Western Church. (I'm RC, by the way.) The only building in the Old City
of Ragusa to be gutted by explosives and fire was the one housing a
priceless collection of medireview manuscripts and icons. It was not
navy
guns that did the damage, but plastique and incendiary devices planted
on the spot by Croatian forces. Enter it on your map, across the street
from the Orthodox church, which you fail to note is Serbian. -- 3,000
Serb and 7,000 Croat refugees from Dubrovnik have taken refuge -- in
Belgrade.
J. P. Maher Ph.D. Emeritus Professor, Chicago
R.K.Kent
For sometime now one has had the opportunity to witness heated
discussions in and out of Serbia about its future. Two positions seem
to predominate. One uses the Serbs as a battering ram with which to pry
open the behind-the-scenes Capitalist conspiracies and prevent them
from having a global success. The other wants the Serbs to stop being
Serbs and ditch even patriotism in favor of becoming "normal" by
adopting a "free market" economy , "entering into Europe" and even
forming a "strategic alliance" with the United States.
The anti-Imperialist Left, best represented in the U.S. by Jared
Israel , wishes the Serbs to stand tall against the current U.S.
Corporate Fascists, bring their drive for the New World Order to an
insurmountable Balkan obstacle, put to shame NATO’s cowardly bomber
leaders and be prepared to suffer beyond the sufferings already
inflicted after eight years of economic sanctions, eleven weeks of
bombings, and the "cleansing" of some million Serbs from other parts of
the ex-Yugoslav space. Slobodan Milosevic remains the point man of this
tendency because he is regarded as a leader who would continue Serb
resistance to the U.S. Imperial domination and stick to a socialist
model of Serb economy.in contrast to the socially and economically
destructive Capitalist incursions through IMF, WTO and the like. The
Opposition to Milosevic has been quite simply bought with dollars and
marks carried in with suitcases. Most of its members, save Kostunuca as
a transient phenomenon, have "betrayed" the Serbs as a whole. To even
think, after being savagely bombed for eleven weeks by NATO, that this
major war crime under the Open Skies ought to be forgiven and forgotten
in favor of ingratiation with the "West," represents an unacceptable
degree of national humiliation.
At the other end of the spectrum one could easily find Zoiran Djindjic
in Serbia itself He advocates policies rooted in the premise that if
"you can’t lick’em join’em." Bust up the Yugoslav centralist
Federation, making Kosovo, Montenegro and Vojvodina Serbia’s co-equal.
Eliminate the position of "Federal" Presidency (out goes Kostunica by
eliminating his job). Become a partner to the U.S. "strategic
interests," with Yugoslavia as a NATO base ready to assist the coming
control of Eurasian Hartland with its vast oil resources. Put through
all of the G17 reform proposals. Let the German and U.S. corporations
take Serbia over. Turn the Serbs into a most desirable work force at
once skilled and cheap. Let them become avid consumers of imported
products many of which amout to no more than conspicuous consumption.
Long Live Capitalism in Serbia and milk and honey will flow. The
"Russkies did not stand with us" anyway, let’s have a new patron, Uncle
Sam, with maybe an insatiable Fritz der Katze right behind him. There
will be no more sanctions, no more suffereing. Period. The Serb people
want to join Europe. That is why they revolted.
(2)
If the choice were a simple one, trading the current suffering for a
period of immediate relief and some prosperity against a possibly less
comfortable economic future (without a certain date) , any logical
person would accept temporary relief against an uncertain future. Large
numbers of the unemployed with families to feed spell an irresistible
attraction not to think about new types of social and economic
dislocations. With a million refugees, with a per capita income fallen
to a pitiful level "The Economy Stupid" takes precedence over other
considerations. Who wants to go on forever resisting the remaining
super-Power when it is willing to reward dependency and punish
iundependence? No need to opt again for the "Heavenly Kingdom" through
repeated defeats as in 1389. Let’s go for the "Kingdom on the Earth"
this time and maybe, just maybe we will be laughing on our way to some
real banks.Fortunately , neither of the two action scenarios for the
future (Jared/Zoran} is full-proof and, as historians know only too
well from the study of history, predicting the future with accuracy
is, at best, a matter of luck and not of science.
As the finger- pointing goes on in Belgrade as to who is who’s "agent,"
it is necessary to mention a few cardinal facts. While the punitive and
basically cowardly NATO attacks came about and went on, Milosevic’s
refusal to knuckle under and yell "Uncle" makes him at once an
anti-Imperialist hero and a defender of the Serbs. If the second role
were unquestionably true no one in his right mind should fault him on
the former. Where one falls on this issue is of basic importance. Did
everything he has done really "defend the Serbs" or has he used this
role to maintain himself in power The basic facts are simple. His
amassing of power involved, inter alia, the stabbing in the back of his
mentor and friend, Stambolic. Until Yugoslavia started to break-up
Milosevic did not have the pedigree of an ardent Serb Nationalist.
After assuring the Serbs of Krajina and Bosnia of his unflagging support
not to live under Franjo Tudjman’s neo-Fascist Croatia or in Alija
Izetbegovic’s Islamic Republic he did not follow through. At Dayton, he
accepted the NATO occupation of Bosnia as well. Did he or did he not
have much choice once the U.S. joined the side of Croatia and the
Bosnian Muslims? Only fine historical tuning, with the proper chronology
and full documentation (written and oral) can provide the definitive
answer. But, the feeling among the Serb refugees from Krajina and Bosnia
is that Milosevic had abandoned them.
After 78 days of bombings he accepted the NATO occupation of Kosovo, an
integral part of Serbia and truncated Yugoslavia. Unprotected , despite
the presence of NATO troops and a U.N. Administration under a prominent
French Serbophobe, the Serbs were and are ethnically cleansed by
Albanian terror. Less than 100,000 remain today, encapsulated in ghettos
with a quasi-KFOR protection. No true Serb leader could have turned
Kosovo over to a NATO protectorate and an Albanian Colony of the United
States(now with its second bastion in Europe at Camp Bondsteel) without
losing support of his own people. Kostunica’s recent statement that
independence for Kosovo would destabilize the region reveals a profound
understanding of the problems involved precisely because he is a Serb
defender, a patriot as Kostunica describes himself. His request for the
return to Kosovo of Serb and other refugees turns the tables properly on
the NATO forces and puts him on the same moral pedestal occupied for so
long by Western Humanitarians who demanded everywhere the return of
refugees except those Serbs expelled from Kosovo via "justifiable
retribution." The Nationalist cacoon around Milosevic was crafted
(3)
to shield and perpetuate his hold on power , nothing much more. When the
anti-Imperialists find it necessary to line-up behind Milosevic (without
saying so openly) they are doing the same thing that the Imperialists
have done by constantly using him as a substitute for Serbs as a
whole.In short, Milosevic has never been nor is he now to be equated
with the Serbs as a people.
Throughout the years of punishments that hurt mainly the Serb people,
leaders of NATO, spearheaded by a pontificating U.S. Secretary of State
and the hysterical evangelist of 10 Downing Street, claimed repeatedly
that they are not "against the Serb people" but only against
"Milosevic." Now that he has fallen from power two major demands are
already throwing doubt
on this claim. To be eligible for re-inclusion into the Human Race the
Serbs must stop denying the atrocities committed by the Serb miliary and
para-military. They must not complain at the same time about what was
done to them to incite such atrocities. Moreover, they must deliver
Milosevic and other Serb "war criminals" to the Hague Tribunal. The only
division between the U.S. "strategists" and those of Western Europe
involves timing. The Europeans are for greater patience. Neither will
easily admit that the Hague Tribunal is a sham until and unless it
becomes increasingly painful and counterproductive to use it again and
again to "punish the Serbs." Its contention that the Serbs were mainly
indicted because they committed the earliest and numerically most
significant atrocities cannot withstand serious scrutiny.
This provides a rare opportunity for the new Serb Government to do
something that needs to be done. Yes, we are prepared to abandon the
denials but would you be willing to admit that the78 days of bombing
civilian targets constitute a war crime and a crime against humanity,
always assuming that you do regard the Serbs as humans? Next, all of
the accusations come from the NATO members. For example, the third
market-place massacre at Sarajevo, immediately attributed to the Serbs,
led, within hours, to the NATO bombings of Bosnian Serb positions. In
the same sense, the massacre attributed to the Serbs at Racak,
"galvanized" NATO to go into its "air war" over Yugoslavia. Now, it is a
known fact that a U.N. report in situ exculpated the Serbs for the third
-market- place massacre but the text was ordered into the "Secret" U.N.
file by the then Ambassador Mdeleine Albright. It is still there. At
Racak, the Serb police notified actually the U.S. special envoy Walker
that an attack will be launched on Racak as a KLA stronghold. The next
day, there were 47 bodies in an open mass-grave to which Mr. Walker and
the TV cameras were brought by the KLA. He declared at once. "this is a
masacre." After being routinely accused of re-burying bodies to hide
their massacres, the Serb suddenly did not even bury the bodies.
Moreover, the bodies had been moved as there were no spent cartridges at
the site. Ambassadsor Walker has a long record of involvement with
bodies and real massacres in Latin America
Items of this nature and their obvious proximity to acts of war against
the Serbs cannot condone a passive Serb acceptance of claims made by the
very people that bombed them Minimal fairness and logic would require
that the Serbs themselves undertake an investigation of claims made by
the NATO sources. If they prove to be accurate, no denials are in order.
The perpetrators should
(4)
be arrested and tried in Serbia’s courts without undue delays. At the
option of Serb judiciary, the guilty parties, sentenced at home ,
could be given the same range of sentences applicable to the Hague
Tribunal and up to 20 years. If the accusations prove to be unprovable
or yet false NATO owes the Serbs some apologies in these two particular
cases. Even Srebrenica requires a mixed fact-finding commission as there
are a host of questions never answered and a context never kicked -in.
How can a Democratic West refuse the right to the Serbs to investigate
its allegations against the Serbs before abandoning the denials, as
requested?
The men and women behind the 78 days of destruction from the air over
Yugoslavia know that they have committed a war crime and a crime against
humanity but will never admit to have so done. They know that the
bombing of Serbia took off the Imperial mask and earned a lot of
resentment around the globe. They are aware that a host of Citizens’
Tribunals in Europe and North America have found them guilty. The power
of these mini-Tribunals is entirely moral. They have no funds and no
chance for legal redress. In order to pull the moral rug from under them
and still justify their crimes as a "virtuous war" they are not likely
to be stupid enough to jump on "the Serbs" with a list of immediate
demands that simply restate all the Serbophobic desiderata before the
fall of Milosevic. A recently proposed Congressional bill by the
"two Joes," Biden and Lieberman wanted to do just that but was derailed
for the time being.
After a decade of structured, deliberate cerebral terror against them
the Serbs must be aware that thousands of men and women in the West, at
all levels, are infected with Serbophobia and make a good living through
Serb bashings. The Serbs still face the tyranny of scribal and
audio-visual clerks. It is the hardest kind of tyranny to cope with Many
people in the Western media not so infected simply parrot the same
unproven allegations without even knowing what they read or caring about
their adverse impact. Adverse first at home by promoting ethnic hate and
adverse
in the effect they continue to have on the bruised Serb psyche. There
has to be a counter attack in this area. Serbs in the diaspora must
amass by donations funds to engage a Public Relations Firm (other than
Ruder Finn) to go after the Serbophobes, clerks and all. Americans of
both Serb and other descents must be willing to bring class action suits
against any one or group engaged in hate-mongering against the Serbs as
a people. A number of laws already on books can help in that endeavor.
Congress should be urged to ban donations to its members by ethnicities
which promote hate-mongering and military interventions against other
ethnicities, as the Albanian PAC have done in the U.S., along with
Croatian and Bosnian Mulsim lobbies before them. Characteristically, no
Serb PAC donations came into play. The Public Relation firm of Ruder
Finn ,which sigle-handedly persuaded many Americans of Jewish faith that
the Serbs are neo-Nazi butchers, once proposed to defend the Serbs from
a poor image abroad but it was turned down.
The time has come to stop ideological struggles and accusations. Let us
concentrate on three basic goals. Getting substantial Reconstruction aid
from the West to undo the physical damage caused by NATO to the tune of
$100 billion should be one priority. Lifting all the sanctions
(5)
without delay instead of incrementally is the very next priority. Both
of these measures were firmly promised once Milosevic steps down, no ifs
and buts.It is delivery time. While the claim that Serbia under
Milosevic has had a socialist economy is at best a bad joke, let us all
work for a humane alleviation of Serbia’s economic woes while opposing
rapacious globalization.The Serbs have been traumatised enough. It is
healing time.The third basic goal must be the dissolution of the Hague
Tribunal for Yugoslavia. A substantial literature revealing its origins,
practices and nature should assist this endeavor but the American People
willhave to be informed about the truth in some very wide ways. They
need to be told that the only sure way to avoid future tragedies in the
ex-Yugoslav space is to help each of the major ethnicities to punish its
own "defenders" who did, in fact, commit war crimes and crimes against
humanity.
Apart from his devotion to the fight against U.S. Imperialism, Jared
Israel is admirable in his indefatigable digging for documentation. More
than anyone else, he has warned everyone that the Serbs are far from
being out of the Imperialist "drang nach Osten." This writer would like
to conclude on a note about Jared’s recovery of Milosevic’s "infamous"
Kosovo speech. After doing historical research for over three decades in
archival (and other) sources, if anything can be learned about written
documents it is that these almost invariably show how interpretations
and claims about their real contents seldom even approach what is in the
texts..But, to arrive at the value of any written source it must be
placed in its context. The Milosevic speech did not incite
hate-mongering against Kosovo’s Albanians.He did not make a fiery
nationalist speech meant to incite Serb revenge. He played the "Yugoslav
card"instead.
Equally, Milosevic did not abolish Kosovo’s autonomy as has been
constantly claimed. He suspended it in 1989, pending a return to some
sort of a pre-1974 modus vivendi between the Albanian ethnic majority
and all the other minorities at Kosovo. Just under a decade later, this
act was twisted so that Albanian separatists and the international drug
cartel that supports them could have the pretext for a guerrilla war
Their inspiration and hope for U.S. support came from the patronage of
Bob Dole but even more from Dayton. Since the constitutional revision
of 1974 the Kosovo Albanians used it to terrorize local Serbs and
induce them to leave Kosovo in ever greater numbers. But, that has been
the real practice since World War II as well as during Tito’s rule. It
even has much older antecedents which explain why a predominantly Serb
area, the birth-place of its culture and state. with an overwhelming
Serb majority, was gradually cleansed to reduce the Serbs to a minority
in their own home. It is a pity that the baby-boomers in the U.S. are
innocent of the true historical sequence of events at Kosovo. Yet, it is
far worse that they do not even care to know when they walk into a
situation as if nothing existed beforehand..
BERKELEY 11 OCTOBER 2000
---
----- Original Message -----
From: "john_peter maher" <jpmaher@...>
To: "john_peter maher" <jpmaher@...>
Sent: Wednesday, October 11, 2000 11:20
Subject: to the Guardian: Dubrovnik hoax again
Sir:
Your piece mentions the "...pounding of the beautiful Croatian town of
Dubrovnik in 1991. 'They used ships. Can you believe it?'...
This is a fraud. Who on your staff was bought by Ruder Finn? Since 1991
the press has dozens of times printed the hoax that the Pearl of the
Adriatic was reduced to rubble. Those stories were fakes. That Dubrovnik
has been rebuilt is exponentially fake. On March 25, 1992, I visited
Dubrovnik to see for myself the truth about the war. The Old City of
Dubrovnik was never destroyed. It was barely scratched.
Roof tiles blown off by concussion had all been replaced when I
visited the city TWO YEARS AGO, THREE MONTHS after the "destruction".
Your writer has a poor vocabulary in English. Buildings are "holed."
"Hoardings," which your Yank readers will not understand, is the British
equivalent of American "billboard." "Casing" is also wrong. The right
term would be (protective) "planking". The new tiles are decidedly not
"pink", but red.
Dubrovnik's destruction was an invention of PR companies in the hire of
the war criminals who broke up Yugoslavia without negotiations. The big
bombardment was from PR fakers, not navy guns. -- like the Kuwaiti
incubator babies hoax used by President Bush to stoke up war fever. PR
liars Hill & Knowlton, Ruder Finn, and Waterman Associates have earned
millions in fanning the flames of this war.
The press, that's you, belongs in the war crimes docket with the New
World Order thugs for churning out mendacious "news" stories about Serb
death camps and rape camps, abetting war and mayhem. The story of an
organized Serb rape policy is a racist fraud, like the Protocols of the
Elders of Zion, propagated to foment hatred and incite war against the
innocent. Though it's not polite any more to slander Afro-American or
Jews, Serbs are fair game for the lynch mob.
The "Serb-dominated federal navy" off Dubrovnik was commanded by
Admiral Stane Brovet, a Slovene. The target was not the Old City, but
the Napoleonic fort of St. Sergius far above Dubrovnik and hotels
outside the city walls, where Croatian forces were billeted and because
of the presence of refugees, had set up gun positions from which they
fired on the federal forces in order to provoke death and destruction.
Zagreb's aim was to provoke a Western attack on the Serbs. On December
5, 1991, Croatian forces mounted a mortar on a flat bed truck running
up and down the Stradun taking potshots at naval forces in order to
provoke counterfire.
The "Dubrovnik burning" pictures were shot with long lenses. This
compresses perspective, making it look like there is no distance between
objects that are quite separated in real space. Thus, columns of smoke
billowing up from the harbor are superimposed on the walled city. The
photographic effect is as staged as the stabbing of the lady showering
in Hitchcock's movie "Psycho."
That smoke was from the fuel tanks of two pleasure boats burning in the
Old Harbor -- outside, of course, the walls. Dubrovnik's Old City
never burned. Bullet holes along Stradun were from gunfire inside the
walls, at ground level at close range in a fight on the street between
rival Croatian factions. Scaffolding was set up in front of facades in
anticipation of the shooting to come. Video tapes of gunfire along the
ancient walls, run backward, show clearly that the puffs of gun smoke
are from outgoing, not incoming fire. "Western" reporters in Dubrovnik
since they cannot read Serbo-Croatian, do not mention the graffiti
calling for the lynching of Serbs: Srbe na vrbe (literally "[hang] the
Serbs on the willow trees"). My videotapes of Dubrovnik from March 25,
1992, have been aired on Chicago Cable Access TV, Channel 19. Want to
see them?
Croatian city? Tito made a gift of it to his native Croatia after WW II.
Dubrovnik was never before "Croatian."
The Byzantine decoration found by restorators beneath paint in the
Dominican monastery attests the Serbian and Greek origins of Dubrovnik.
This war is the latest chapter in the predation of Orthodox lands by the
Western Church. (I'm RC, by the way.) The only building in the Old City
of Ragusa to be gutted by explosives and fire was the one housing a
priceless collection of medireview manuscripts and icons. It was not
navy
guns that did the damage, but plastique and incendiary devices planted
on the spot by Croatian forces. Enter it on your map, across the street
from the Orthodox church, which you fail to note is Serbian. -- 3,000
Serb and 7,000 Croat refugees from Dubrovnik have taken refuge -- in
Belgrade.
J. P. Maher Ph.D. Emeritus Professor, Chicago
