(Version francaise: http://kosovo02.chiffonrouge.org )
What's Happening in Kosovo today?
A film that breaks the silence.
Interview:
Michel Collon and Vanessa Stojilkovic on
their new film
The Damned of Kosovo
(Interview: Antoine Renard. Translation:
Mick Collins)
++++++++++++++++++++++++
Chased from her apartment in Pristina,
Maria would not have had a life
except that she looked Albanian. Her
nephew, an interpretor for the UN, was
savagely murdered. Silvana's husband was
kidnapped, and she hasn't had any
news about him for two years. Stanimir's
home was burned down. What do
they have in common? They are Serbs and
live, or rather survive, in Kosovo.
Why don't the media talk more about this
region occupied by NATO? The new
film by Michel Collon and Vanessa
Stojilkovic breaks the silence. And sounds
an alarm to all people now threatened by
these wars of globalization. . . .
+++++++++++++++++++++
How did this film come to be?
Michel Collon. I did this report on
Kosovo to get a first hand look at the
current situation of the Serbs and other
national minorities. I remembered
what Bill Clinton said just as he began
the bombing of Yugoslavia: "Our
resolve is the only hope for the people of
Kosovo to be able to live in
their own country. Imagine if we closed
our eyes and if these people were
massacred, right on NATO's doorstep. It
would be discredited."
Clinton spoke of the Albanians. But
today, what about the Serbs and the
other national minorities, the Roma
[Gypsies], Gorans, Turks, Egyptians,
Muslims . . . who have lived in Kosovo for
centuries? Are they secure with
45,000 NATO troops in their country?
And what did you see?
Michel Collon. An accumulation of
suffering that no one could imagine here.
But the media don't speak to us about
Kosovo anymore. Isn't the situation
there under control?
Michel Collon. Quite the contrary! What I
saw was: bombing attacks,
assassinations, expulsions and the
destruction of homes, kidnappings and
families in anguish, constant threats.
The situation is overwhelming:
A veritable ethnic cleansing that has run
off a large part of the
non-Albanian population and has terrorized
those who've stayed.
What were you able to show concretely?
Michel Collon. About twenty interviews
give the victims a chance to speak
out. Their testimonies, dignified but
full of emotion, brought tears to my
eyes. It was absolutely necessary to pass
on their tragic message.
To break the media silence that currently
surrounds Kosovo.
Their fate is a terrible warning to all
people: an occupation by the US,
or by the NATO powers, is in no way a
solution. On the contrary,
it guarantees terrible suffering for all
the people of these occupied regions.
The presence of NATO troops has not put a
stop to the violence?
Michel Collon. Not only has it not
stopped the violence, but the film shows
several exclusive documents that reveal
NATO's complicity with the authors
of this violence: the militias of the KLA
separatists.
Did you have any problems in making the film?
Michel Collon. Of course, in such a
climate of terror, a Serb cameraman
is risking his life if he films in a
'non-Albanian' zone. But I had
the good fortune to work with a very
motivated crew. Some
very courageous people to whom I owe a
great deal.
Vanessa, how did you get involved in the project?
Vanessa Stojilkovic. At 25, I had already
tried several different jobs in
the photographic media, including being an
editor. After a contact through
the internet, Michel Collon offered me the
opportunity to re-start the
writing and editing of his film, which had
broken down because of some
health problems his previous director had.
I accepted immediately.
Because you're French but from Yugoslavia?
Vanessa Stojilkovic. Yes and no. Yes,
because in fact I had several members
of my family who died or suffered terribly
in this war. I was very
distressed by it. Then, this film allowed
me to fulfill the promise I had
made to them down there: To bring the
truth to the West. Unfortunately,
many of them are already dead and others
soon will be.
The stress of the war and the bombing
provoked enormous problems of
hypertension that they didn't have the
means to treat. And cancer is
growing at an alarming rate. People are
dying in misery. The toll of the
war for all of Yugoslavia is not just
reflected by the number of dead, but
also by the physical and psychological
conditions of those who survived.
And their lack of any future.
Michel Collon truly gave me a gift
when he offered me the primary
material of the interviews he put
together. And his cogent analyses that
tie this war, in such a clear fashion, to
the movement for globalization. In
assembling and shaping this material, I
was able to give voice to my pain,
to keep my promise, and to grieve.
Michel Collon. In fact it's Vanessa who
gave me a marvelous gift. I worked
four days on the filming. She worked four
months on the editing. Not at
all easy, as I am not a professional
filmmaker, and what I brought to the
film was in itself not really very
significant. Thanks to her, thanks to
her remarkable commitment, many people in
the world will be able to discover
a very important reality.
Does this film address itself only to the Serbs?
Vanessa Stojilkovic. Not at all! My
principal motivation was above all to
open the eyes of all the 'native¹ French
or all the people of Western Europe who have
been misinformed.
To make them aware, for example,
that we have been depriving the
non-Albanians of decent health care: People
are dying because they don't have anything
to treat them with, because they
don't have the necessary medical
equipment. That Serb children don't have
schools to go to. That a hundred churches
have been destroyed. And that
all this is still going on.
Is this a 'pro-Serb' film?
Michel Collon. No. First, it also states
the case for other national
minorities, those who have also been
persecuted, 'cleansed'. The Roma
(Gypsies), for example, chased off all
over Europe, these days. And
murdered in Kosovo. And also the Jews,
Gorans, Muslims, Turks, Egyptians...
Minorities about whom silence is
dominating. And then, many Albanians find
themselves equally victimized by a mafia
system based on terror. One of them was
able to testify in front of our
camera. He was persecuted because he
married a Serb!
In fact, I am neither pro-Serb, nor
pro-Albanian. I think that all
these people find themselves victims of
hidden strategies: The US wanted,
just like their allies, to destroy
Yugoslavia which they saw as too Leftist.
They wanted to control the oil routes that
pass precisely through there.
They wanted to install their super-base,
Camp Bondsteel. And they have
succeeded, by utilizing --no, by
themselves inciting-- this conflict between
the Serbs and the Albanians.
Do you know that presently Washington
has signed 99 year leases for all
the runways used by its bombers? Could
someone explain to us how these
bombers will help resolve the problems of
the people of Kosovo?
A much wider strategic objective, then?
Michel Collon. Exactly. This military
base brings the US bombers very
close to Moscow and to the Caucauses. It
is part of a larger plan of
encirclement, because Washington doesn't
think Putin and his current
positions will necessarily last forever.
And moreover, by breaking up
Yugoslavia as part of a global plan they
sent out this message to the people
of the world: If you resist
globalization, you will be destroyed.
An editorial in the New York Times
on the eve of the war had already
clearly stated this: "For globalization
to work, America must not demure
from acting like the omnipotent
super-power that it is. The invisible hand
of the market never functions without the
hidden fist. McDonalds cannot
prosper without McDonnel Douglas, the
builder of the F-15 fighter. And the
hidden fist that guarantees a secure world
for the technologies of the
Silicon Valley is called the US Army, Air
Force, Navy and Marines."
You have written several books on these
themes. Why a film?
Michel Collon. I realized that this
medium allows one to touch those who
don't read. And it is ideal for
stimulating debate. Each person can easily
give a cassette to a friend, a relative.
Or organize at his home a little
screening and discussion.
And this is urgent because Mr Bush has
announced that he will attack a
number of other countries. A great reason
for progressives to resume the
discussion of what happened in Yugoslavia.
Did the results of the NATO
intervention correspond to its promises?
Are there other hidden interests
here? Was public opinion manipulated by
the media lies?
Yugoslavia, is this a preview of what will
happen to Iraq, Palestine and others?
Michel Collon. Yes. Globalization,
that's the war, essentially. The
policies of the multinationals only widen
the gap between the rich and poor
on this planet. War became the number one
method to break their resistance.
The war against the Palestinians and the
Iraqis, 'Plan Columbia', the
interventionist agression against the
Congo, threats against Iran, Syria,
North Korea, all that is part of the same
global war.
Vanessa Stojilkovic. The young people
organized against globalization must
inform themselves more seriously on these
wars. A country that has used
chemical weapons like Agent Orange,
depleted uranium bombs and other such
filth can not be allowed to manipulate us
and to make us believe that it
waged this war for the liberties and the
rights of Man. We can't let them
rule the world and organize these wars in
the financial interests of the
multinationals. And I'm also angry at the
European nations that were
complicit and profited from this war.
This film is a testiment, a warning, a
call for help. For the people of
Kosovo and for all the people who are
threatened. The next time NATO or the
Euro Army prepare to bomb another country,
the people of the NATO countries
must rise up and intervene on a mass scale
to stop their governments.
A previous film, "Under NATO Bombs", was
translated into many languages.
What about this one?
Vanessa Stojilkovic. I have just finished
the Serbo-Croat version.
And other translations are in the works.
With the new technologies for
editing on computer, you can easily
replace one track on the editing, for
example, the voice-over track or the
subtitles, with another. We have
already started for translations in
Spanish, Russian, Dutch.
And we think that the English and Arabic
versions, maybe German and Italian,
will also be very useful. For all that,
and for a maximun distribution,
we're looking for help.
Because the fate inflicted on Yugoslavia
threatens other countries?
Michel Collon. Exactly. This film speaks
to all the people of the world.
Kosovo was a warning to the whole planet.
All people who do not want to
live on their knees, all countries who
want to determine their own
destinies, risk being hit by this global
war that Mr Bush and his pals are
planning. The only issue is to create a
huge international front of
resistence to this war.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++
To order:
Full Name: ..............................
Street number: : ...............................
City, Zip code : ...............................
Country : ..........................................
E-mail : .....................................
I want to order :
O ....... Copies in French of ³¹The Damned of Kosovo²
O ....... copies in Serbo-Croat
Wants information on other versions
O English O Spanish O Italian O Russian O Dutch O Arabic O German
Wants to help make this film known :
Suggestion : ......................................................
Send this back to :
michel.collon@...
For Spanish version (in Spanish, please!):
To : Manuel Espinar <mespinar@...>
What's Happening in Kosovo today?
A film that breaks the silence.
Interview:
Michel Collon and Vanessa Stojilkovic on
their new film
The Damned of Kosovo
(Interview: Antoine Renard. Translation:
Mick Collins)
++++++++++++++++++++++++
Chased from her apartment in Pristina,
Maria would not have had a life
except that she looked Albanian. Her
nephew, an interpretor for the UN, was
savagely murdered. Silvana's husband was
kidnapped, and she hasn't had any
news about him for two years. Stanimir's
home was burned down. What do
they have in common? They are Serbs and
live, or rather survive, in Kosovo.
Why don't the media talk more about this
region occupied by NATO? The new
film by Michel Collon and Vanessa
Stojilkovic breaks the silence. And sounds
an alarm to all people now threatened by
these wars of globalization. . . .
+++++++++++++++++++++
How did this film come to be?
Michel Collon. I did this report on
Kosovo to get a first hand look at the
current situation of the Serbs and other
national minorities. I remembered
what Bill Clinton said just as he began
the bombing of Yugoslavia: "Our
resolve is the only hope for the people of
Kosovo to be able to live in
their own country. Imagine if we closed
our eyes and if these people were
massacred, right on NATO's doorstep. It
would be discredited."
Clinton spoke of the Albanians. But
today, what about the Serbs and the
other national minorities, the Roma
[Gypsies], Gorans, Turks, Egyptians,
Muslims . . . who have lived in Kosovo for
centuries? Are they secure with
45,000 NATO troops in their country?
And what did you see?
Michel Collon. An accumulation of
suffering that no one could imagine here.
But the media don't speak to us about
Kosovo anymore. Isn't the situation
there under control?
Michel Collon. Quite the contrary! What I
saw was: bombing attacks,
assassinations, expulsions and the
destruction of homes, kidnappings and
families in anguish, constant threats.
The situation is overwhelming:
A veritable ethnic cleansing that has run
off a large part of the
non-Albanian population and has terrorized
those who've stayed.
What were you able to show concretely?
Michel Collon. About twenty interviews
give the victims a chance to speak
out. Their testimonies, dignified but
full of emotion, brought tears to my
eyes. It was absolutely necessary to pass
on their tragic message.
To break the media silence that currently
surrounds Kosovo.
Their fate is a terrible warning to all
people: an occupation by the US,
or by the NATO powers, is in no way a
solution. On the contrary,
it guarantees terrible suffering for all
the people of these occupied regions.
The presence of NATO troops has not put a
stop to the violence?
Michel Collon. Not only has it not
stopped the violence, but the film shows
several exclusive documents that reveal
NATO's complicity with the authors
of this violence: the militias of the KLA
separatists.
Did you have any problems in making the film?
Michel Collon. Of course, in such a
climate of terror, a Serb cameraman
is risking his life if he films in a
'non-Albanian' zone. But I had
the good fortune to work with a very
motivated crew. Some
very courageous people to whom I owe a
great deal.
Vanessa, how did you get involved in the project?
Vanessa Stojilkovic. At 25, I had already
tried several different jobs in
the photographic media, including being an
editor. After a contact through
the internet, Michel Collon offered me the
opportunity to re-start the
writing and editing of his film, which had
broken down because of some
health problems his previous director had.
I accepted immediately.
Because you're French but from Yugoslavia?
Vanessa Stojilkovic. Yes and no. Yes,
because in fact I had several members
of my family who died or suffered terribly
in this war. I was very
distressed by it. Then, this film allowed
me to fulfill the promise I had
made to them down there: To bring the
truth to the West. Unfortunately,
many of them are already dead and others
soon will be.
The stress of the war and the bombing
provoked enormous problems of
hypertension that they didn't have the
means to treat. And cancer is
growing at an alarming rate. People are
dying in misery. The toll of the
war for all of Yugoslavia is not just
reflected by the number of dead, but
also by the physical and psychological
conditions of those who survived.
And their lack of any future.
Michel Collon truly gave me a gift
when he offered me the primary
material of the interviews he put
together. And his cogent analyses that
tie this war, in such a clear fashion, to
the movement for globalization. In
assembling and shaping this material, I
was able to give voice to my pain,
to keep my promise, and to grieve.
Michel Collon. In fact it's Vanessa who
gave me a marvelous gift. I worked
four days on the filming. She worked four
months on the editing. Not at
all easy, as I am not a professional
filmmaker, and what I brought to the
film was in itself not really very
significant. Thanks to her, thanks to
her remarkable commitment, many people in
the world will be able to discover
a very important reality.
Does this film address itself only to the Serbs?
Vanessa Stojilkovic. Not at all! My
principal motivation was above all to
open the eyes of all the 'native¹ French
or all the people of Western Europe who have
been misinformed.
To make them aware, for example,
that we have been depriving the
non-Albanians of decent health care: People
are dying because they don't have anything
to treat them with, because they
don't have the necessary medical
equipment. That Serb children don't have
schools to go to. That a hundred churches
have been destroyed. And that
all this is still going on.
Is this a 'pro-Serb' film?
Michel Collon. No. First, it also states
the case for other national
minorities, those who have also been
persecuted, 'cleansed'. The Roma
(Gypsies), for example, chased off all
over Europe, these days. And
murdered in Kosovo. And also the Jews,
Gorans, Muslims, Turks, Egyptians...
Minorities about whom silence is
dominating. And then, many Albanians find
themselves equally victimized by a mafia
system based on terror. One of them was
able to testify in front of our
camera. He was persecuted because he
married a Serb!
In fact, I am neither pro-Serb, nor
pro-Albanian. I think that all
these people find themselves victims of
hidden strategies: The US wanted,
just like their allies, to destroy
Yugoslavia which they saw as too Leftist.
They wanted to control the oil routes that
pass precisely through there.
They wanted to install their super-base,
Camp Bondsteel. And they have
succeeded, by utilizing --no, by
themselves inciting-- this conflict between
the Serbs and the Albanians.
Do you know that presently Washington
has signed 99 year leases for all
the runways used by its bombers? Could
someone explain to us how these
bombers will help resolve the problems of
the people of Kosovo?
A much wider strategic objective, then?
Michel Collon. Exactly. This military
base brings the US bombers very
close to Moscow and to the Caucauses. It
is part of a larger plan of
encirclement, because Washington doesn't
think Putin and his current
positions will necessarily last forever.
And moreover, by breaking up
Yugoslavia as part of a global plan they
sent out this message to the people
of the world: If you resist
globalization, you will be destroyed.
An editorial in the New York Times
on the eve of the war had already
clearly stated this: "For globalization
to work, America must not demure
from acting like the omnipotent
super-power that it is. The invisible hand
of the market never functions without the
hidden fist. McDonalds cannot
prosper without McDonnel Douglas, the
builder of the F-15 fighter. And the
hidden fist that guarantees a secure world
for the technologies of the
Silicon Valley is called the US Army, Air
Force, Navy and Marines."
You have written several books on these
themes. Why a film?
Michel Collon. I realized that this
medium allows one to touch those who
don't read. And it is ideal for
stimulating debate. Each person can easily
give a cassette to a friend, a relative.
Or organize at his home a little
screening and discussion.
And this is urgent because Mr Bush has
announced that he will attack a
number of other countries. A great reason
for progressives to resume the
discussion of what happened in Yugoslavia.
Did the results of the NATO
intervention correspond to its promises?
Are there other hidden interests
here? Was public opinion manipulated by
the media lies?
Yugoslavia, is this a preview of what will
happen to Iraq, Palestine and others?
Michel Collon. Yes. Globalization,
that's the war, essentially. The
policies of the multinationals only widen
the gap between the rich and poor
on this planet. War became the number one
method to break their resistance.
The war against the Palestinians and the
Iraqis, 'Plan Columbia', the
interventionist agression against the
Congo, threats against Iran, Syria,
North Korea, all that is part of the same
global war.
Vanessa Stojilkovic. The young people
organized against globalization must
inform themselves more seriously on these
wars. A country that has used
chemical weapons like Agent Orange,
depleted uranium bombs and other such
filth can not be allowed to manipulate us
and to make us believe that it
waged this war for the liberties and the
rights of Man. We can't let them
rule the world and organize these wars in
the financial interests of the
multinationals. And I'm also angry at the
European nations that were
complicit and profited from this war.
This film is a testiment, a warning, a
call for help. For the people of
Kosovo and for all the people who are
threatened. The next time NATO or the
Euro Army prepare to bomb another country,
the people of the NATO countries
must rise up and intervene on a mass scale
to stop their governments.
A previous film, "Under NATO Bombs", was
translated into many languages.
What about this one?
Vanessa Stojilkovic. I have just finished
the Serbo-Croat version.
And other translations are in the works.
With the new technologies for
editing on computer, you can easily
replace one track on the editing, for
example, the voice-over track or the
subtitles, with another. We have
already started for translations in
Spanish, Russian, Dutch.
And we think that the English and Arabic
versions, maybe German and Italian,
will also be very useful. For all that,
and for a maximun distribution,
we're looking for help.
Because the fate inflicted on Yugoslavia
threatens other countries?
Michel Collon. Exactly. This film speaks
to all the people of the world.
Kosovo was a warning to the whole planet.
All people who do not want to
live on their knees, all countries who
want to determine their own
destinies, risk being hit by this global
war that Mr Bush and his pals are
planning. The only issue is to create a
huge international front of
resistence to this war.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++
To order:
Full Name: ..............................
Street number: : ...............................
City, Zip code : ...............................
Country : ..........................................
E-mail : .....................................
I want to order :
O ....... Copies in French of ³¹The Damned of Kosovo²
O ....... copies in Serbo-Croat
Wants information on other versions
O English O Spanish O Italian O Russian O Dutch O Arabic O German
Wants to help make this film known :
Suggestion : ......................................................
Send this back to :
michel.collon@...
For Spanish version (in Spanish, please!):
To : Manuel Espinar <mespinar@...>