Informazione
Sri Lanka need not yield to international law
– PNM tells Louise Arbour
(LankaTruth: 18th January 2008 23:40 S.L.T )
Sri Lankan Nation need not yield to so-called international law that would be brought against sovereignty of the Motherland states Patriotic National Movement.
PNM makes this observation in a statement issued against a statement made by Ms. Louise Arbour, U.N. High Commissioner for human rights regarding human rights situation in Sri Lanka. In its statement PNM points out that Ms. Louise Arbour has launched diplomatic terrorism against Sri Lanka.
The full text of the PNM statement:
"We believe that the whole Sri Lankan Nation should pay its attention to the serious statement made regarding Sri Lanka recently by Ms. Louise Arbour , head of U.N. High Commission for human rights.
In the relevant statement she had stated that violations by any party could entail individual criminal responsibility under international criminal law. She had emphasized that this law would be seriously effective on those in positions of command. She had said this emphasizing that according to international law all rights of civilians should be defended.
From this statement of Louis Arbour it is clear what agenda the western imperialist forces have conspired to carry out in Sri Lanka. We, from the very beginning, have indicated what plans Louise Arbour and her kind had aimed to be implemented in Sri Lanka when they tried to exaggerate the human rights situation in the country to the world and made various statements. What western imperialism and Louise Arbour and her kind want today is to deny to the Sri Lankan Nation the opportunity to bring about a final defeat to the murderous separatist terrorists, who are helpless and confined to a small area in Wanni and Killinochchi. In order to fulfill this villainous aim Louise Arbour and her kind put forward the so-called human rights issues.
In the statement we quoted above Louis Arbour directly threatens the political and military leaders who are involved in taking measures for national security. What she says in diplomatic language is that if anyone takes steps to liberate Wanni and Killinochchi they would be branded as war criminals and brought before international law. This is clearly a threat. It is terrorists who carry out threats. Hence, Louie Arbour has unleashed diplomatic terrorism against Sri Lankan state. Louise Arbour has unleashed this terrorism on behalf of murderous, separatist tiger terrorism.
The process of solving the internal issues of Sri Lanka is decided by the majority of its inhabitants. Any government that has come to power with people’s mandate is responsible in implementing the law of the land all over the country without any hindrance. It is presently done through legitimate armed forces. One of its tasks is to destroy the world’s most ruthless terrorist organizations that has proved to be an obstacle in implementing law and order in the country. It is the prerogative of the Sri Lankan government to fulfill this task. No organization or country in the world has the right to challenge this right in any manner. Louis Arbour and her kind should understand this. If they don’t comprehend this of their own, it is necessary to emphasize, that the day the patriotic masses in this country take action to close all offices that belong to various organizations of the UNO would be not very far away.
The administrators, military chiefs and all inhabitants in this country give allegiance only to law of this country. Sri Lankans don’t have to abide by a so-called international law that is brought up against the sovereignty of the country. None in Sri Lanka would be cowed down by the idiotic threats of Louise Arbour and her kind who are grief stricken at the defeats their tiger pals have been inflicted with. It is unfortunate for the UNO that Arbour and her kind have not been able to comprehend this.
However, it is the responsibility of all patriotic forces in this country to ‘nip in the bud’ the “diplomatic terrorism” Louise Arbour and her kind have attempted to unleash. We call upon all patriotic mass organizations to be alert to this threat and rally to defeat such attempts. We also call upon all responsible officials of the UNO in Sri Lanka, considering the safety of the employees of the UNO and its assets, to refrain from making such utter foolish statements that would enrage the people in this country. We would like to emphasize, by threatening with international law, Louise Arbour and her kind would never get the opportunity to reverse the struggle being carried out to create the atmosphere to implement the law of the land in every inch of the Sri Lankan soil and it is from Sri Lanka that they would get this latest experience. "
Sen. Francesco Martone
capogruppo Prc-Se Comm.ne Affari Esteri Senato
Sen. Giorgio Mele
capogruppo SD Comm.ne Affari Esteri Senato
Sen. Armando Cossutta
capogruppo PdCI-Verdi Comm.ne Affari Esteri Senato
Sen. Fosco Giannini
capogruppo Prc-Se Comm.ne Difesa Senato
Senatrice Silvana Pisa
capogrupp SD Comm.ne Difesa Senato
Senatrice Manuela Palermi
capogruppo PdCI-Verdi Commissione Difesa Senato
Sen. Josè Luiz Del Roio
Prc – Se
Senatrice Lidia Menapace
Prc-Se
Sen.Giovanni Russo Spena
Prc- Se
Sen.Cesare Salvi
SD
Senatrice Franca Rame
Gruppo Misto
Sen.Franco Turigliatto
Gruppo Misto-Sinistra Critica
Sen.Piero Di Siena
SD
Sen.Claudio Grassi
Prc-Se
Sen.Paolo Brutti
SD
Senatrice A.Maria Palermo
Prc-Se
Senatrice Olimpia Vano
Prc-Se
Senatrice M.Celeste Nardini
Prc-Se
Senatrice Haidi Gaggio Giuliani
Prc-Se
Senatrice Tiziana Valpiana
Prc-Se
Sen. Nuccio Jovene
SD
Sen. Giovanni Gonfalonieri
Prc-Se
Senatrice Anna Donati
PdCI-Verdi
Sen. Salvatore Allocco
Prc-Se
Sen.Fernando Rossi
Gruppo Misto
Sen.Giuseppe Di Lello
Prc-Se
Senatrice Silvana Amati
Partito Democratico -L’Ulivo
Sen.Raffaele Tecce
Prc- Se
Sen.Stefano Zuccherini
Prc-Se
Sen.Gianpaolo Silvestri
PdCI-Verdi
Senatrice Maria Pellegatta
PdCI – Verdi
Sen. Dino Tibaldi
PdCI-Verdi
Sen.Mauro Bulgarelli
PdCI-Verdi
Sen.Natale Ripamonti
PdCI-Verdi
Sen.Tommaso Sodano
Prc-Se
Senatrice Loredana De Petris
PdCI-Verdi
di Giulietto Chiesa *Dovrei mettere il punto interrogativo, per prudenza. Io non l'ho visto, non ho le prove. Ma chi lo dice è stata ammazzata e non era l'ultima arrivata sulla scena pachistana. E la sua morte, molto recente, mi pare come una conferma indiretta della validità della sua rivelazione. Per questo non metto il punto interrogativo. Lo mettano i maestri del giornalismo - italiano e mondiale - che hanno taciuto, insieme alle mille verità dell'11 settembre, anche questa notizia. Per oltre due mesi. Esattamente per due mesi e 11 giorni. Perchè questa notizia, con la "N" maiuscola, risale al 2 novembre 2007.
L'autrice si chiamava Benazir Bhutto. Il luogo della rivelazione il programma in lingua inglese di Al Jazeera "Over the World" condotto da David Frost, che appunto commenta con Benazir l'attentato dell'ottobre precedente che aveva fatto 158 morti, al suo primo ritorno in patria (clicca sulla foto per vedere il video).
Benazir dice, testualmente che "the man who murdered Osama bin Laden" è Omar Sheikh. Ho controllato (e molti prima di me): le labbra dicono proprio così. Qualcuno ricorderà che Omar Sheikh è quell'agente del servizio segreto militare pakistano ISI che trasferì 100 mila dollari a Mohammed Atta il giorno prima l'attentato dell'11/9. Qui finisce la notizia e comincia lo scandalo, anzi una matrioshka infinita di scandali, uno dentro l'altro.
Il primo è sbalorditivo. Al Jazeera ha la notizia in diretta. Il suo conduttore, David Frost, uomo esperto, sembra non accorgersene. Non interrompe Benazir, non chiede chiarimenti.
Il secondo scandalo è il silenzio di tutti i media occidentali (e ovviamente italiani). Anche se Benazir Bhutto avesse detto il falso la sua dichiarazione sarebbe stata una bomba atomica nel panorama mondiale.
Se non altro per essere smentita. Invece nulla. Silenzio. Non se ne sono accorti? Guardo sul contatore di You Tube, questa sera, 13 gennaio 2008, e vedo che 292.364 persone hanno visto quel video. Tutti meno i direttori di tutti i giornali e di tutte le tv dell'occidente. Altre decine di file tv, su You Tube, su Wikipedia, altrove, analizzano, commentano, da due mesi, e nessuno scrive una riga, nessuno dei media del "mainstream" dedica una riga, un 'immagine all'esplosione di interrogativi contenuta in quelle parole.
"L'Economist", illustre paravento quant'altri mai, ha appena dedicato una copertina del suo penultimo numero al Pakistan, definendolo "il luogo più pericoloso del mondo", ma non ha dedicato nemmeno una mezza riga a questa notizia.
E noi siamo tutti impegnati nella lotta mondiale contro il terrorismo, ma nessun governo, nemmeno il governo americano, nemmeno la Cia, nemmeno l'Fbi, si accorgono che colui che ci hanno additato come capo del terrorismo mondiale è stato ammazzato, o potrebbe essere stato ammazzato. Il presidente George Bush continua a ripetere le sue giaculatorie sul terrorismo e le sue minacce all'Iran e nessuno gli ha detto niente. Nemmeno quel dio sulla spalla del quale, quando è di cattivo umore, piange la mattina, dopo averlo pregato di scendere a fargli compagnia.
Non chiedono nemmeno di sapere quando, eventualmente, sarebbe stato ammazzato. Forse perchè qualcuno teme di avere mandato in onda una sua dichiarazione in video post mortem senza saperlo. Chissà se adesso Umberto Eco andrà a rivedere i suoi commenti sulla mancanza della "gola profonda" per l'11 settembre. Certo la povera Benazir Bhutto non era, finchè fu viva, una gola profonda. Lei non c'entrava con l'11 settembre.
Ma adesso a me risulta più chiaro perchè l'hanno ammazzata. Sapeva troppe cose e una di queste l'ha detta. Ed è bastata.
Il resto ci riguarda. Come possiamo tollerare ancora di essere costretti a lasciare nelle mani di bugiardi e cialtroni l'informazione nel nostro paese?
Emergenza Kosovo a 9 anni dalla “guerra umanitaria”
Giovedì 31 gennaio - Ore 17.00
Aula 8 della Facoltà di Lingue (II piano)
Via Garruba 4 – Bari
Intervengono
Ugo Villani, docente di Istituzioni di Diritto dell’Unione Europea, Università “La Sapienza”, e di Diritti Umani presso la Luiss
Nico Perrone, docente di Storia dell’America, Università di Bari
Dragan Mraovic, già console jugoslavo a Bari, opinionista collaboratore di Geopolitika, Dan e altre riviste
Augusto Ponzio, docente di Filosofia del linguaggio e Linguistica generale, Università di Bari
Silvia Godelli, assessore al Mediterraneo della Regione Puglia
Laura Marchetti, sottosegretaria al Ministero dell’ambiente
Introduce e coordina
Andrea Catone, associazione “Most za Beograd” – un ponte per Belgrado in terra di Bari
The Serbs have been demonised because they have consistently got in the way of the west's hegemonic ambitions in the region
On Cif last week Anna di Lellio, who was a political adviser to the former Kosovan prime minister and one-time Kosovan Liberation Army chief of staff, Agim Çeku, claimed that "Serbian nationalism briefly subdued after the fall of Milosevic" is back in full force with its "old tactics". Di Lellio offers very little evidence to back up her assertion, except a declaration from the Serbian parliament that - horror of horrors - the country is determined to defend its territorial integrity in compliance with international law.
What is undoubtedly "back in force" with all its "old tactics" is Serb-bashing, of which Di Lellio is only one of many culprits in the western media (including, it must sadly be said, Cif). The Serbs have been demonised not because they were the party most responsible for the wars of secession in the 1990s - they were not - but because they have consistently got in the way of the west's hegemonic ambitions in the region.
The west wanted Yugoslavia destroyed, with one militarily strong, independent state replaced by several weak and divided Nato/IMF/EU protectorates. "In post-cold war Europe no place remained for a large, independent-minded socialist state that resisted globalisation," admitted George Kenney, former Yugoslavia desk officer of the US state department.
The Serbs' great "crime" was not reading the script. Out of all the groups in the former Yugoslavia, the Serbs, whose population was spread across the country, had most to lose from the country's disintegration. At a meeting at The Hague in October 1991, the leaders of the six constituent republics were presented with a paper entitled "The End of Yugoslavia from the International Scene" by European Community "arbitrators". Only one of them - the Serb leader Slobodan Milosevic - refused to sign his country's death certificate. "Yugoslavia was not created by the consensus of six men and cannot be dissolved by the consensus of six men," he declared.
For his pro-Yugoslav stance, Milosevic was rewarded with over a decade of demonisation in the west's media. Despite his regular election victories in a country where 21 political parties freely operated, Milosevic was (and is) routinely labelled a "dictator", a description which even his consistently hostile biographer Adam LeBor concedes is "incorrect". Some of the attempts to incriminate Milosevic for events he played no part in have been ludicrous: in a Guardian article in 2006 Timothy Garton Ash, a professor of European studies, wrote of Slovenes "trying to break away from Slobodan Milosevic's Yugoslavia in 1991", even though the leader of Yugoslavia at the time was the Croat Ante Markovic (a correction to the claim was published).
In the standard western rewrite of history, Slobo and the Serbs were also to blame for the break-out of war in Bosnia. Yet the man who lit the blue touch paper for that brutal conflict war was not Milosevic, nor the Bosnian-Serb leaders, but the US ambassador Warren Zimmerman, who persuaded Bosnian separatist Alija Izetbegovic to renege on his signing of the 1992 Lisbon agreement, which had provided for the peaceful division of the republic.
Even after the 1995 Dayton agreement brought an end to a totally unnecessary conflict, there was to be no let up in the west's Serbophobia. In Kosovo, the west's strategic objectives meant them siding with the hardliners of the Kosovo Liberation Army, a group, officially classified as a terrorist organisation by the US state department.
No one, certainly no Serb of my acquaintance, denies that Serb forces committed atrocities in the Balkan wars and that those responsible should be held accountable in a court of law (though not one financed by the powers who illegally bombed their country less than 10 years ago). But what makes Serbs so incensed is that whereas Serbian atrocities have received the full glare of the western media spotlight, atrocities committed by other parties in the conflict are all but ignored.
While massive media attention focused on the relatively low-scale tit-for-tat hostilities between Yugoslav forces and the KLA in 1998/9, Operation Storm - where an estimated 200,000 Serbs were driven out of Croatia in an operation which received logistical and technical support from the US - is hardly mentioned. No publicity, either, for massacres such as the slaughter, on Orthodox Christmas Day 1993, of 49 Serbs in the village of Kravice, near Srebrenica. The town recently held a commemorative service to mark the 15th anniversary of the atrocity: no members of "the international community" were present.
Now, with Kosovo again in the headlines, the Serb-bashers are once more out in force. Once again, the dispute is being portrayed in Manichean terms. While much is made of the treatment of Kosovan Albanians by Yugoslav forces in 1998/9, little is said about the KLA's campaign of intimidation which led to an exodus of an estimated 200,000 Serbs, Roma, Bosnians, Jews and other minorities from the province after "the international community" moved in.
"Nowhere in Europe is there such segregation as Kosovo ... Nowhere else are there so many 'ethnically pure' towns and villages scattered across such a small province. Nowhere is there such a level of fear for so many minorities that they will be harassed simply for who they are. For the Serbs and 'other minorities', who suffer from expulsion from their homes, discrimination and restrictions on speaking their own language, the pattern of violence they have endured for so long may be about to be entrenched as law in the new Kosovo, as the future status talks continue."
Kriegermemoiren ausgewertet
Jürgen Elsässer:
Kriegslügen. Der NATO-Angriff auf Jugoslawien.
Vollständig aktualisierte Fassung. Verlag Kai Homilius, Berlin 2008, 198 Seiten, 12,80 Euro
Europe, Backing Germans, Accepts Yugoslav Breakup
In a triumph for German foreign policy, all 12 members of the European Community, as well as Austria and Switzerland, recognized the independence of the former Yugoslav republics of Slovenia and Croatia today.
In a series of separate statements, various European governments asserted that the Belgrade Government no longer had a right to rule the two republics.
"Slovenia and Croatia have held referendums that showed clearly that their people want independence," a statement issued by the Danish Foreign Ministry said. "It is now time to fulfill the desire their people have expressed."
In Belgrade, the Serbian-dominated Government denounced the decision on recognition as "contrary to the sovereign rights of Yugoslavia." The Government said it would continue to function until all six Yugoslav republics reached an agreement on their future relations.
But some diplomats said that today's move meant that Yugoslavia had effectively ceased to exist. A Victory for Germany
The action by the European Community marked an important diplomatic victory for Germany, which has vigorously supported Slovenian and Croatian independence. German officials announced last month that they would recognize the two republics regardless of the wishes of other European countries, and Foreign Minister Hans-Dietrich Genscher lobbied intensely for the breakup of Yugoslavia.
Mr. Genscher said in a radio interview today that he was "very happy" with his success. He asserted that Croatia "has achieved the highest imaginable standard of respect for minority rights."
Recognition of Croatia had been jeopardized at the last minute by the release of a European Community report questioning Croatia's commitment to respect the rights of ethnic minorities. The report, prepared by a former French Justice Minister, Robert Badinter, said Croatia should provide constitutional guarantees that human rights and minority rights would be observed. There are 600,000 Serbs among the 4.5 million residents of Croatia, and many of them rose up in rebellion after Croatia declared its independence last year. Croatian fascists slaughtered thousands of Serbs during World War II, and Serbs said they feared they would be victimized again if Croatia became independent. Human-Rights Guarantees
President Franjo Tudjman of Croatia was reported to have given last-minute guarantees that the rights of minorities would be respected in a letter to European Community leaders this week.
France and Britain, two of the countries that today announced recognition of the breakaway republics, said they would not send ambassadors to Croatia until human-rights issues were resolved.
"Implementation of recognition for Croatia presupposes certain conditions," Foreign Minister Roland Dumas of France told reporters in Paris after a Cabinet meeting.
But the 10 other European Community members said they would proceed swiftly to establish full diplomatic relations with Slovenia and Croatia.
Slovenia is at peace, and has for months been functioning as an independent state. But Croatia has been raked by civil war, and one-third of its territory is occupied by Serbian forces.
Leaders of Croatia and Slovenia today expressed gratitude for Germany's support. Foreign Minister Dimitrij Rupel of Slovenia said recognition of his republic's independence was due largely to "the wise policy of the German Government."
But Serbian leaders deplored the European Community's decision and singled out Germany for special criticism. Vladislav Jovanovic, the Serbian Foreign Minister, described Germany's role as "particularly negative," and said he regretted that other European Community leaders had decided to follow the German lead. Disconcerted Europeans
"It is a very serious precedent to encourage unilateral secession in one multinational state," Mr. Jovanovic said in an interview broadcast on British television.
Although most European governments favored eventual recognition of Slovenia and Croatia, some had sought to postpone today's announcement so recognition could be part of an overall peace settlement in the Balkans. But German officials insisted that recognition was the only way to force the Serbs to accept a settlement.
Germany's decision to press for quick recognition of the two republics, disregarding appeals from the United States and the United Nations, marked a new assertiveness that some Europeans find disconcerting.
"Germany is acting in a highly sensitive psychological environment," said a commentary this week in Bonn's principal newspaper, the General-Anzeiger. "The fear of German dominance and unilateralism has grown." Guardians of Security
Foreign Minister Genscher and other German officials say their support for Slovenian and Croatian independence reflects their belief in the principle of self-determination. They also view themselves as guardians of European security in the face of growing instability.
"Hanging on to structures that people no longer want raises tension in Europe," Mr. Genscher asserted last month.
As recently as a year ago, during the gulf war, Germany was criticized by its Western allies for its reluctance to assert itself on the world stage. But in recent months, German leaders have become convinced that there is a dangerous vacuum in Europe, and they have stepped forward to fill it.
Flushed with new self-confidence after unification, they brush aside assertions that they are seeking to rebuild Germany's traditional sphere of influence in central Europe, and insist that their goal is simply to defend democracy and stabilize an increasingly volatile continent.
Domestic politics has also played an important role in Germany's decision to press the cause of Slovenian and Croatian independence. Influential Catholic leaders, as well as the predominantly Catholic Christian Social Union, which is part of the ruling coalition, have strongly pressed the Government to defend Slovenia and Croatia. In addition, the 600,000 Croatians who live permanently in Germany have emerged as a highly vocal and effective lobby on behalf of their homeland.
After residents of Slovenia and Croatia voted for independence in special referendums, fighting broke out in both republics as the Serb-dominated Yugoslav Army sought to prevent them from seceding. The fighting ended quickly in Slovenia, where few Serbs live, but went on to claim thousands of lives and cause great destruction in Croatia.
Slovenia and Croatia are predominantly Catholic and have long historic ties to other nations in Central Europe. Much of the rest of what was Yugoslavia is either Orthodox Christian or Muslim, and was for centuries under the rule of Ottoman Turks.
With Slovenia and Croatia now independent, the fate of the other republics is in doubt. Serbia and its ally Montenegro have said they will seek to maintain some form of federation, but the other two republics, Macedonia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, are seeking independence. Age-Old Border Disputes
Greece strongly opposes recognition of Macedonia, fearing a renewal of age-old border disputes. Bosnia and Herzegovina, which is deeply divided by ethnic and religious hostility, presents the prospect of new factional violence.
Many European diplomats are perplexed by the question of under what circumstances their governments should recognize new nations. The European Community is facing decisions not only on Macedonia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, but also on republics of the former Soviet Union.
The community's decisions will be closely watched by secession-minded groups in many parts of Europe, including Slovakia, northern Italy, and regions of Spain, France and Belgium.
Among the other countries that said they had recognized Slovenia and Croatia or that they would do so on Thursday were Austria, Bulgaria, Canada, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Iceland, Malta, Norway, Poland, San Marino, Sweden, Switzerland, Ukraine and the Vatican.
(...)
(Abbiamo ripescato in internet due articoli scritti in queste giornate... di 16 anni fa.Erano i primi mesi della tragedia jugoslava, ed il fronte occidentale ancora non era completamente appiattito sulla linea antijugoslava e serbofobica che ha invece poi prevalso a causa di precise scelte geostrategiche.Così, il New York Times riferiva delle forzature tedesche e della opposizione dello stesso Segretario dell'ONU. Il governo Kohl-Genscher aveva preso in ostaggio il summit europeo di Maastricht dichiarando di voler riconoscere a tutti i costi le prime secessioni su base "etnica", per poter precipitare la Jugoslavia in un europeissimo lago di sangue...)December 15-16 ... 19911) THE NEW YORK TIMES - December 15, 1991:Moving Defiantly on Yugoslavia, Bonn Threatens Rift With Allies2) THE NEW YORK TIMES - December 16, 1991:U.N. Yields to Plans by Germany To Recognize Yugoslav Republics=== 1 ===
THE NEW YORK TIMES
December 15, 1991Moving Defiantly on Yugoslavia, Bonn Threatens Rift With Allies
By JOHN TAGLIABUE,
=== 2 ===THE NEW YORK TIMESDecember 16, 1991
U.N. Yields to Plans by Germany To Recognize Yugoslav Republics
By PAUL LEWIS,
=== 2 ===