Informazione
MEMORANDUM OF THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT OF THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF
YUGOSLAVIA CONCERNING THE MEMBERSHIP OF THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF
YUGOSLAVIA
IN THE UNITED NATIONS
I The Federal Republic of Yugoslavia is a Member State of the United
Nations.
1. Yugoslavia is a founding Member of the United Nations in accordance
with
Article 3 of the Charter of the United Nations. The Secretary-General of
the United Nations, as depositary of international treaties, lists it as
an
original Member in his annual reports (Multilateral Treaties Deposited
with
the Secretary-General).
2. Membership of Yugoslavia in the United Nations has not been
interrupted, so that the FR of Yugoslavia is a Member State of the
United
Nations.
3. There is no basis to limit the international legal continuity of the
FR
of Yugoslavia and its membership in the United Nations. All attempts to
do
so lack legal basis, are ill-intentioned and politically harmful and
represent the violation of the Charter of the United Nations. Any
initiatives to directly or indirectly challenge the membership of the
FRY
in the United Nations or challenge its existing membership rights are
aimed at: a) setting a precedent for extremely negative consequences for
the United Nations, principles of the United Nations and international
relations, as well as intimidating Member States; b) weakening the role
and credibility of the United Nations, particularly in the region of
southeastern Europe; c) preventing the stabilization of the situation in
the region of southeastern Europe, the implementation of the
Dayton/Paris agreement and UN SC resolution 1244 (1999); d) slowing
down
integration processes and multilateral cooperation in the Balkans, which
is
possible only with equal participation of the FRY
4. Representatives of the FR of Yugoslavia participated in the work of
the
United Nations General Assembly until 22 September 1992 and in the work
of
the UN Economic and Social Council until 28 April 1993. They continued
to
participate in the work of the UN Security Council and to appear before
the
International Court of Justice even after these dates.
5. United Nations General Assembly considers the FR of Yugoslavia its
Member State This position of the General Assembly was demonstrated
during
the adoption of resolution 49/19B on 23 December 1994 and 52/215 of 22
December 1997. in which it established Scale of assessments for the
apportionment of the expenses of the United Nations. In both
resolutions,
adopted by consensus, Yugoslavia was listed as a Member State and not as
a
non- Member like the Vatikan, Nauru, Switzerland and Tonga. Both
resolutions were adopted after resolution 47/1 of 22 September 1992,
when
decision was made not to allow Yugoslavia to participate in the work of
the
General Assembly. They were also adopted after General Assembly
resolution
48/88 (1993) calling upon the Secretariat to end the de facto working
status of the FR of Yugoslavia which did not produce any consequences
since
it was not possible because the FR of Yugoslavia does not have "the de
facto working status" and is a UN Member State.
6. UN General Assembly resolutions 49/19B and 52/215 point to the FR of
Yugoslavia. This is clear since the same resolution determines the scale
of
assessment for the former Yugoslav republics which became independent
States and UN Members - for Bosnia and Herzegovina, former Yugoslav
Republic of Macedonia, Republic of Croatia and the Republic of Slovenia.
The claim of the representatives of some States to the effect that the
UN
General Assembly in referring to Yugoslavia actually meant the SFRY, is
absurd. All the more so, since the representatives of those States claim
that the FR of Yugoslavia ceased to exist. If that were true, the
membership of that State in the United Nations would also have to end.
It
is clear that the General Assembly in 1994 and 1997 established the
scale
of assessment for all five states from the territory of the SFRY. So
when
it mentions Yugoslavia it can only pertain to the FR of Yugoslavia. It
is
the usual practice of the UN to use the country's shorter name. In these
resolutions, the Republic of Croatia has been referred to only as
Croatia,
the Republic of Slovenia as Slovenia and that is the case with almost
all
other States.
7. The Security Council also considers the FR of Yugoslavia to be a UN
Member State. Resolution 777 (1992) of 19 September 1992 is a result of
a
political compromise. During its adoption, Ambassador Vorontsov,
Permanent
Representative of the Russian Federation to the UN, said: "... we were
unable to agree with the proposal, put forward by some States, that the
Federal Republic of Yugoslavia should be excluded, formally or de facto,
from membership in the United Nations... The compromise that has been
reached - that the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia should not participate
in
the work of the General Assembly - may seem unsatisfactory to some.
Frankly, we would have preferred not to have recourse to such a measure
to
influence the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, because even without this
measure it is already experiencing sufficient pressure from the
international community in the form of economic sanctions... At the same
time, the decision to suspend the participation of the Federal Republic
of
Yugoslavia in the work of the General Assembly will in no way affect the
possibility of participation by the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in
the
work of the other organs of the United Nations, in particular the
Security
Council, nor will it affect the issuance of documents to it, the
functioning of the Permanent Mission of the Federal Republic of
Yugoslavia
to the United Nations or the keeping of the nameplate with the name
Yugoslavia in the General Assembly Hall and the rooms in which the
Assembly
s organs meet. In short, since the decision of the Security Council does
not provide for the expulsion of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia from
the United Nations, the measures taken with regard to it must remain
strictly within the limits of the decision we are taking today."
(Security
Council, Provisional Record of the 3116th, Meeting S/PV.3116, 19
September
1992, at 2-5).
Ambassador Li Daoyu, Permanent Representative of the People's Republic
of
China to the UN said on that occasion: "the resolution just adopted does
not mean the exclusion of Yugoslavia from the United Nations. The
nameplate
"Yugoslavia" will be kept in the General Assembly Hall. The Federal
Republic of Yugoslavia will continue its participation in the work of
United Nations bodies other than the General Assembly. The Federal
Republic
of Yugoslavia will continue to issue its documentation in the United
Nations." (Security Council, Provisional Record of the 3116th Meeting,
S/PV.3116, 19 September 1992, at 7).
It is clear that the Russian Federation and the PR of China during the
adoption of Security Council resolution 777 (1992) of 19 September 1992
considered that this resolution only made a recommendation to
temporarily
limit some of the membership rights of the FR of Yugoslavia as a UN
Member
State.
8. By adopting a new resolution 821 (1993) of 28 April 1993,
recommending
to the General Assembly to make a decision to the effect that the FR of
Yugoslavia does not take part in the work of the Economic and Social
Council, the Security Council confirmed that it considered the FR of
Yugoslavia a UN Member State. If then, on 28 April 1993, Security
Council
considered that the FR of Yugoslavia was not a UN Member State, it would
not have made a recommendation to the General Assembly to decide that
Yugoslavia does not take part in its work. Never in the UN practice has
Security Council of the United Nations made a recommendation to the
effect
that a non Member be prevented from taking part in the work of the
General
Assembly or Economic and Social Council. That would be totally absurd
and
senseless.
The way in which the Security Council calls the representatives
to
take part in its work does not prejudge its position regarding the
membership of the FR of Yugoslavia in the UN. This has been confirmed by
the Security Council Working Group in its report in regard to the
documents
of the Security Council and other procedural issues of 31 May 1995. This
report confirms that the representative of the FR of Yugoslavia took
part
in the work of the Security Council seating at the table with the
nameplate
of Yugoslavia. The representative of the FR of Yugoslavia, inter alia,
also
took part in the subsequent meetings of the UN Security Council, after
the
adoption of General Assembly resolution 47/1 of 22 September 1992: 16
November 1992; 19 February 1993; 17 April 1993; 20 April 1993; 29 June
1993; 9 August 1993; 14 February 1994; 21 April 1994; 27 April 1994; 23
September 1994; 30 September 1994; 8 November 1994; 12 January 1995; 21
April 1995; 31 March 1998 and 10 June 1999. etc.
9. The International Court of Justice has constantly listed the FR of
Yugoslavia in its annual publications after 1992, as a UN Member State.
10. UN Secretariat considers the FR of Yugoslavia to be a UN Member
State. The Under-Secretary General and the Legal Council of the United
Nations addressed a letter dated 29 September 1992 to the Permanent
Representatives of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia to the United
Nations
in response to their letter of 25 September 1992, stating, inter alia,
that
"While the General Assembly has stated unequivocally that the Federal
Republic of Yugoslavia ... cannot automatically continue the membership
of
the former Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in the United
Nations
and that the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia... should apply for
membership
in the United Nations, the only practical consequence that the
resolution
(47/1) draws is that the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.... shall not
participate in the work of the General Assembly. It is clear, therefore,
that representatives of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia... can no
longer
participate in the work of the General Assembly, its subsidiary organs,
nor
conference and meetings convened by it.
On the other hand, the resolution neither terminates nor suspends
Yugoslavia?s membership in the Organization. Consequently, the seat and
nameplate remain as before, but in Assembly bodies representatives of
the
Federal Republic of Yugoslavia... cannot sit behind the sign
"Yugoslavia".
Yugoslav Missions at United Nations Headquarters and offices may
continue
to function and may receive and circulate documents. At Headquarters,
the
Secretariat will continue to fly the flag of the old Yugoslavia, as it
is
the last flag of Yugoslavia used by the Secretariat. The resolution does
not take away the right of Yugoslavia to participate in the work of
organs
other than Assembly bodies." (A/47/485).
The representatives of some states, advocating the view that the FR
of Yugoslavia has dissolved and ceased to exist, claim that this
opinion
indicates that this is the membership of the SFRY in the United Nations.
This claim proves best that the thesis of discontinuity of the FRY in
the
United Nations is invalid. If the SFRY has dissolved and ceased to
exist,
its membership in international organizations would automatically cease
as
well. They maintain that the membership is not ended because the UN
bodies
did not make a decision to end its membership. However, this is absurd,
because the membership ends ipso jure, as a legal consequence of the
dissolution of a State and no decision to that effect is necessary.
After
the German Democratic Republic ceased to exist, the Security Council and
the General Assembly did not make any decision on termination of its
membership in the United Nations nor have they made any decision on
ending
the membership of the Czech and Slovak Federal Republic in the United
Nations.
11. UN Secretary-General regularly invites the FR of Yugoslavia as a
Member
State to fulfil its financial obligations towards the Organization which
Yugoslavia does.
12. In all agreements concluded between the FR of Yugoslavia and the
United
Nations after 1992, it is stated that the FR of Yugoslavia is a UN
Member
State, for example, in the Agreement on the status of the Office of the
High Commissioner for Human Rights in Belgrade, concluded by the
exchange
eof Notes between the FR of Yugoslavia and the UN High Commissioner for
Human Rights on 6 November 1998.
II The Federal Republic of Yugoslavia continues the international
personality of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
13. The Federal Republic of Yugoslavia has continued the international
legal personality of the Socialist Federative Republic of Yugoslavia.
The
Declaration adopted on 27 April 1992 at a joint session of delegates in
the
Federal Assembly, the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia and
the
Assembly of the Republic of Montenegro on the occasion of the
promulgation
of the Constitution of the FR of Yugoslavia, inter alia, states: "The
Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, continuing the State, international
legal
and political personality of the Socialist Federal Republic of
Yugoslavia,
shall strictly abide by all the commitments that the SFR of Yugoslavia
assumed internationally" (A/46/915, 7 May 1992).
14. The former Yugoslav Republics of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Republic of
Macedonia and the Republic of Croatia have confirmed the legal fact of
the
continuity of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.
Article 5 of the Agreement on Normalization of Relations
between
the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and the Republic of Croatia, signed
at
Belgrade on 23 August 1996, reads as follows:
"Proceeding from the historical fact that Serbia and Montenegro
existed as independent States before the creation of Yugoslavia, and
bearing in mind the fact that Yugoslavia has continued the international
personality of these states, the Republic of Croatia notes the existence
of
the State continuity of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.
"Proceeding from the historical fact of the existence of the
various forms of statal organization of Croatia in the past, the Federal
Republic of Yugoslavia notes the existence of the continuity of the
Croatian statehood.
The Contracting Parties are agreed to solve the issue of the
succession of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia on the basis
or
the rule of international law on succession of States and through
agreement." (The text of the Agreement on Normalization of Relations
between the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and the Republic of Croatia,
signed at Belgrade on 23 August 1996, is attached as annex to the letter
of
the Charge d'Affaires a.i. of the Permanent Mission of Yugoslavia to the
United Nations addressed to the Secretary-General, dated 29 August 1996,
A/51/318; S/1996/706, 29 August 1996).
There is a substantial difference between the State continuity
of
the FR of Yugoslavia and the continuation of the Croatian statehood. The
State continuity of the FR of Yugoslavia is based on the historical fact
that Serbia and Montenegro existed as independent States before the
creation of Yugoslavia and on the fact that the FR of Yugoslavia has
continued the international legal personality of these States. Quite
differently, in the past Croatia enjoyed various forms of statal
organization. It had the status of a Republic - a federal unit in the
Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, some part of today's Croatia
had
a sort of statal autonomy in the Austro-Hungarian Empire. But, before
armed
secession from Yugoslavia, it had no status of an independent State,
status
of a subject of international law. Accordingly, today's Republic of
Croatia can only continue the various forms of statal organization of
the
past but not the international legal personality.
Essentially, the same formula was used in the Joint Declaration
of
Presidents Slobodan Milo{evi} and Alija Izetbegovi}, made in Paris on 3
October 1996. Paragraph IV of the Joint Declaration reads as follows:
"The Federal Republic of Yugoslavia will respect the integrity
of
Bosnia and Herzegovina in accordance with the Dayton Agreement which
affirmed the continuity of various forms of statal organization of
Bosnia
and Herzegovina that the peoples of Bosnia and Herzegovina had during
their
history.
Bosnia and Herzegovina accepts the State continuity of the
Federal
Republic of Yugoslavia.
Both sides agree to resolve issues of succession on the basis
of
the rules of international law on succession of States and by
agreement."
(The Joint Declaration is attached as annex to the letter of the Charge
d'Affaires a.i. of the Permanent Mission of Yugoslavia to the United
Nations addressed to the Secretary-General, dated 7 October 1996,
A/51/461;
S/1996/830, 7 October 1996).
The text of Article 4 of the Agreement on the regulation of
relations and promotion of cooperation between the Federal Republic of
Yugoslavia and the Republic of Macedonia, signed in Belgrade on 8 April
1996, differs more in terms of terminology than that of substance:
"In the light of the fact that Serbia and Montenegro had
existed
as independent States before the creation of Yugoslavia, and in view of
the
fact that Yugoslavia continued the international legal personality of
these
States, the Republic of Macedonia respects the state continuity of the
Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.
In the light of the fact that during the National Liberation
war
and at the session of the Anti-Fascist Assembly of the National
Liberation
of Macedonia, the Macedonian people decided to organize the Republic of
Macedonia as a State and to join the Yugoslav Federation, and in view of
the fact that in the 1991 referendum the Macedonian people decided to
organize the Republic of Macedonia as a sovereign and independent State
and
appreciating the fact that this has been carried out in a peaceful
manner,
the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia respects the state continuity of the
Republic of Macedonia.
The Parties agree to resolve their mutual claims on ground of
succession to the former Yugoslavia by agreement." (The Agreement is
published as an annex to the letter of the Permanent Representative of
the
Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia to the United Nations addressed to
the President of the Security Council, dated 17 April 1996, S/1996/291,
17
April 1996).
In both cases, i.e. Yugoslavia and Macedonia, the Agreement
used
the same term "the state continuity". But, it is quite obvious that the
same terms have not the same meaning. Before its peaceful secession,
Macedonia existed as the Republic of Macedonia - a federal unit of the
Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. It did not exist as an
independent state, a subject of international law. For the first time in
history, it became such a subject after peaceful secession.
15. The United States implicitly confirmed the legal fact regarding the
international legal continuity of the FR of Yugoslavia. By its Note No.
C-42 of 5 May 1998, transmitted to the Federal Ministry of Foreign
Affairs,
the Embassy of the United States of America in Belgrade claimed the
extradition of Rifat Fteja, a Yugoslav citizen charged with several
criminal offences committed in the United States. The extradition
request
is based on the Extradition Treaty of 1901. Accordingly, the position of
the US Government is that the Extradition Treaty, concluded between the
Kingdom of Serbia and the United States of America on 12/25 October
1901,
is in force between the Kingdom of Serbia and the United States in 1998.
It
confirmed the international legal continuity of both States. Namely, if
the
FR of Yugoslavia is a new State, it should conclude a separate agreement
with the United States on succession in respect of bilateral treaties.
In
the absence of such an agreement, the United States considers the 1901
Treaty to be in force and, consequently, implicitly confirms the
international legal continuity of the FR of Yugoslavia. The fact of the
international legal continuity of the FR of Yugoslavia was also
confirmed
by exchange of Notes between the FR of Yugoslavia and the United States
(Notes Nos. 10763 and 22, respectively) in 1996 concerning the
establishment of the US Information Service Centre in Pri{tina. The
exchange of Notes shows that both sides consider that the Memorandum of
Understanding, signed between the Federative People's Republic of
Yugoslavia and the United States in Belgrade on 14 June 1961, to be
still
in force.
16. The largest number of other States have explicitly or implicitly
confirmed the international legal continuity of the FR of Yugoslavia.
This
is an obvious proof of the existence of unbroken-off diplomatic
relations
between the FR of Yugoslavia and 160 States with which the SFRY had
maintained diplomatic relations. The majority of States consider that
bilateral agreements entered into with the SFRY are in force also in
their
relations with the FR of Yugoslavia. Some Members States of the European
Union, such as Austria, Greece and the United Kingdom, have also
formally
recognized this fact through exchange of Notes, whereas some other, like
Italy, have done so by making a unilateral declaration. The former
Yugoslav
Republics, upon becoming independent States, have established diplomatic
relations with other States. This was not the case with the FR of
Yugoslavia, since it is not a new State. These States have entered
separately into agreements with third States on succession in respect of
bilateral treaties which existed between these third States and the
SFRY.
In contrast to them, the FR of Yugoslavia has not done so. The former
Yugoslav Republics have requested that they be recognized as independent
States. The FR of Yugoslavia has not made such a request.
17. The basis of the international legal personality of the FR of
Yugoslavia is the fact that Serbia and Montenegro existed as independent
States before the creation of Yugoslavia in 1918. Both States were
recognized as independent at the Berlin Congress in 1878. After
Yugoslavia
was created in 1918, all international treaties of the Kingdom of Serbia
remained in force and were valid on the enlarged territory of the
Kingdom
of Yugoslavia (Yearbook of the International Law Commission, 1974, vol.
II,
Part One, p. 208). The same applied to diplomatic relations as well.
18. The facts of the Yugoslav crisis cannot be associated with the
notion
of the dissolution of a State as defined under the Vienna Convention on
the
Succession of States in respect of State Property, Archives and Debts of
8
April 1983. The provisions of this Convention, although not containing
an
explicit definition of dissolution, point to an essential element of
this
notion, namely sequence of events. Dissolution and cessation of a State
come first and then new independent States emerge (Articles 18, 31 and
41
thereof). That was the sequence of events in the case of the Czech and
Slovak Federal Republic. It ceased to exist on 31 December 1992, and as
of
1 January 1993 they emerged as the independent Czech Republic and the
Slovak Republic. In its opinions, the Badinter Commission noted that the
SFR of Yugoslavia ceased to exist on 4 July 1992 (Opinion No. 8,
International Legal Materials, 1993, 1521) and that Croatia and Slovenia
became independent on 8 October 1991, while Bosnia and Herzegovina and
Macedonia gained their independence on 6 March 1992 and 17 November
1991,
respectively, and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia on 27 April 1992
(Opinion No. 11, Ibid., 1587). The above shows the absurdity of findings
of
the Badinter Commission. According to this Commission, all the five
States
first attained their independence and then the SFRY ceased to exist. How
much this fiction is artificial is illustrated by the fact that the date
of
the adoption of the new Constitution of the Federal Republic of
Yugoslavia
was taken as the date on which it became independent. It is fairly
uncommon
in international law to quality the change of constitutional
arrangements
in a State as that State becoming independent.
19. The opinions rendered by the Arbitration Commission of the Peace
Conference on the former Yugoslavia, the so-called Badinter Commission,
are
irrelevant. Although it was referred to as the Arbitration Commission,
the
Badinter Commission was not a Court of Arbitration in the international
legal sense, but rather an advisory body of the international conference
charged with the task of finding solutions for a peaceful outcome of the
Yugoslav crisis. The opinions rendered by it are not legally binding.
Taking into account that the majority of members of the Commission were
judges of constitutional courts, and not experts in international law,
these opinions are not based on international law from the strictly
professional point of view.
20. The opinions of the Badinter Commission are politically motivated
and
not grounded in international law. All insistence on an alleged
dissolution
of the SFRY and on the FR of Yugoslavia not being a Member of the United
Nations is politically ill-intentioned and legally unfounded. Membership
of
the FR of Yugoslavia in the United Nations has nothing to do with the
question of the succession of the SFRY. The Badinter Commission points
out
that the request of the FR of Yugoslavia to be the only successor State
is
unacceptable. This is yet another proof of the absurdity of the opinions
rendered by this Commission. The FR of Yugoslavia does not consider
itself
to be the only successor State, nor does it at all consider itself a
successor State. The successor States are the newly-created States, i.e.
Bosnia and Herzegovina, Republic of Macedonia, Republic of Croatia and
the
Republic of Slovenia. The FR of Yugoslavia is not a successor state but
an
old State which now exists on a shrunken territory. The FR of Yugoslavia
does not contest the status of successor States to the newly-created
States
of the former Yugoslavia and it is prepared to settle the question of
succession of the SFRY by an agreement entered into with these States in
accordance with international law. It has formally undertaken to do so
under the bilateral arrangements indicated below. It insists that the
negotiations on the succession of the SFRY that were abrogated following
the aggression of the Member States of the North Atlantic Treaty
Organization against Yugoslavia, be resumed within the framework of the
Peace Implementation Council. It sees the latest proposal, as put
forward
by Sir Arthur Watts, as a solid basis for a speedy resolution of this
issue
and has pointed out on several occasions already that it essentially
accepts and welcomes the new approach adopted by the Chief Negotiator in
these negotiations.
21. The Declaration of 27 April 1992 on international legal continuity
of
the FR of Yugoslavia has the legal relevance of a constitutional norm.
Therefore, all Yugoslav legal subjects and Government authorities are
obligated to respect it. All statements and acts of the Yugoslav
authorities contrary to it are null and void. In this respect, the
statement made by the then Prime Minister Milan Pani} in the UN General
Assembly on 22 September 1992 upon the adoption of General Assembly
resolution 47/1, in which he "formally sought membership in the United
Nations on behalf of the new Yugoslavia", is legally without effect.
Even
if the statement made by the Prime Minister had had any legal
significance, it could not have had any legal force since it was beside
the
point. The Federal Republic of Yugoslavia is a Member of the United
Nations
and, consequently, its application for membership in the United Nations
is
pointless.
Belgrade, 1 September 2000
YUGOSLAVIA CONCERNING THE MEMBERSHIP OF THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF
YUGOSLAVIA
IN THE UNITED NATIONS
I The Federal Republic of Yugoslavia is a Member State of the United
Nations.
1. Yugoslavia is a founding Member of the United Nations in accordance
with
Article 3 of the Charter of the United Nations. The Secretary-General of
the United Nations, as depositary of international treaties, lists it as
an
original Member in his annual reports (Multilateral Treaties Deposited
with
the Secretary-General).
2. Membership of Yugoslavia in the United Nations has not been
interrupted, so that the FR of Yugoslavia is a Member State of the
United
Nations.
3. There is no basis to limit the international legal continuity of the
FR
of Yugoslavia and its membership in the United Nations. All attempts to
do
so lack legal basis, are ill-intentioned and politically harmful and
represent the violation of the Charter of the United Nations. Any
initiatives to directly or indirectly challenge the membership of the
FRY
in the United Nations or challenge its existing membership rights are
aimed at: a) setting a precedent for extremely negative consequences for
the United Nations, principles of the United Nations and international
relations, as well as intimidating Member States; b) weakening the role
and credibility of the United Nations, particularly in the region of
southeastern Europe; c) preventing the stabilization of the situation in
the region of southeastern Europe, the implementation of the
Dayton/Paris agreement and UN SC resolution 1244 (1999); d) slowing
down
integration processes and multilateral cooperation in the Balkans, which
is
possible only with equal participation of the FRY
4. Representatives of the FR of Yugoslavia participated in the work of
the
United Nations General Assembly until 22 September 1992 and in the work
of
the UN Economic and Social Council until 28 April 1993. They continued
to
participate in the work of the UN Security Council and to appear before
the
International Court of Justice even after these dates.
5. United Nations General Assembly considers the FR of Yugoslavia its
Member State This position of the General Assembly was demonstrated
during
the adoption of resolution 49/19B on 23 December 1994 and 52/215 of 22
December 1997. in which it established Scale of assessments for the
apportionment of the expenses of the United Nations. In both
resolutions,
adopted by consensus, Yugoslavia was listed as a Member State and not as
a
non- Member like the Vatikan, Nauru, Switzerland and Tonga. Both
resolutions were adopted after resolution 47/1 of 22 September 1992,
when
decision was made not to allow Yugoslavia to participate in the work of
the
General Assembly. They were also adopted after General Assembly
resolution
48/88 (1993) calling upon the Secretariat to end the de facto working
status of the FR of Yugoslavia which did not produce any consequences
since
it was not possible because the FR of Yugoslavia does not have "the de
facto working status" and is a UN Member State.
6. UN General Assembly resolutions 49/19B and 52/215 point to the FR of
Yugoslavia. This is clear since the same resolution determines the scale
of
assessment for the former Yugoslav republics which became independent
States and UN Members - for Bosnia and Herzegovina, former Yugoslav
Republic of Macedonia, Republic of Croatia and the Republic of Slovenia.
The claim of the representatives of some States to the effect that the
UN
General Assembly in referring to Yugoslavia actually meant the SFRY, is
absurd. All the more so, since the representatives of those States claim
that the FR of Yugoslavia ceased to exist. If that were true, the
membership of that State in the United Nations would also have to end.
It
is clear that the General Assembly in 1994 and 1997 established the
scale
of assessment for all five states from the territory of the SFRY. So
when
it mentions Yugoslavia it can only pertain to the FR of Yugoslavia. It
is
the usual practice of the UN to use the country's shorter name. In these
resolutions, the Republic of Croatia has been referred to only as
Croatia,
the Republic of Slovenia as Slovenia and that is the case with almost
all
other States.
7. The Security Council also considers the FR of Yugoslavia to be a UN
Member State. Resolution 777 (1992) of 19 September 1992 is a result of
a
political compromise. During its adoption, Ambassador Vorontsov,
Permanent
Representative of the Russian Federation to the UN, said: "... we were
unable to agree with the proposal, put forward by some States, that the
Federal Republic of Yugoslavia should be excluded, formally or de facto,
from membership in the United Nations... The compromise that has been
reached - that the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia should not participate
in
the work of the General Assembly - may seem unsatisfactory to some.
Frankly, we would have preferred not to have recourse to such a measure
to
influence the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, because even without this
measure it is already experiencing sufficient pressure from the
international community in the form of economic sanctions... At the same
time, the decision to suspend the participation of the Federal Republic
of
Yugoslavia in the work of the General Assembly will in no way affect the
possibility of participation by the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in
the
work of the other organs of the United Nations, in particular the
Security
Council, nor will it affect the issuance of documents to it, the
functioning of the Permanent Mission of the Federal Republic of
Yugoslavia
to the United Nations or the keeping of the nameplate with the name
Yugoslavia in the General Assembly Hall and the rooms in which the
Assembly
s organs meet. In short, since the decision of the Security Council does
not provide for the expulsion of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia from
the United Nations, the measures taken with regard to it must remain
strictly within the limits of the decision we are taking today."
(Security
Council, Provisional Record of the 3116th, Meeting S/PV.3116, 19
September
1992, at 2-5).
Ambassador Li Daoyu, Permanent Representative of the People's Republic
of
China to the UN said on that occasion: "the resolution just adopted does
not mean the exclusion of Yugoslavia from the United Nations. The
nameplate
"Yugoslavia" will be kept in the General Assembly Hall. The Federal
Republic of Yugoslavia will continue its participation in the work of
United Nations bodies other than the General Assembly. The Federal
Republic
of Yugoslavia will continue to issue its documentation in the United
Nations." (Security Council, Provisional Record of the 3116th Meeting,
S/PV.3116, 19 September 1992, at 7).
It is clear that the Russian Federation and the PR of China during the
adoption of Security Council resolution 777 (1992) of 19 September 1992
considered that this resolution only made a recommendation to
temporarily
limit some of the membership rights of the FR of Yugoslavia as a UN
Member
State.
8. By adopting a new resolution 821 (1993) of 28 April 1993,
recommending
to the General Assembly to make a decision to the effect that the FR of
Yugoslavia does not take part in the work of the Economic and Social
Council, the Security Council confirmed that it considered the FR of
Yugoslavia a UN Member State. If then, on 28 April 1993, Security
Council
considered that the FR of Yugoslavia was not a UN Member State, it would
not have made a recommendation to the General Assembly to decide that
Yugoslavia does not take part in its work. Never in the UN practice has
Security Council of the United Nations made a recommendation to the
effect
that a non Member be prevented from taking part in the work of the
General
Assembly or Economic and Social Council. That would be totally absurd
and
senseless.
The way in which the Security Council calls the representatives
to
take part in its work does not prejudge its position regarding the
membership of the FR of Yugoslavia in the UN. This has been confirmed by
the Security Council Working Group in its report in regard to the
documents
of the Security Council and other procedural issues of 31 May 1995. This
report confirms that the representative of the FR of Yugoslavia took
part
in the work of the Security Council seating at the table with the
nameplate
of Yugoslavia. The representative of the FR of Yugoslavia, inter alia,
also
took part in the subsequent meetings of the UN Security Council, after
the
adoption of General Assembly resolution 47/1 of 22 September 1992: 16
November 1992; 19 February 1993; 17 April 1993; 20 April 1993; 29 June
1993; 9 August 1993; 14 February 1994; 21 April 1994; 27 April 1994; 23
September 1994; 30 September 1994; 8 November 1994; 12 January 1995; 21
April 1995; 31 March 1998 and 10 June 1999. etc.
9. The International Court of Justice has constantly listed the FR of
Yugoslavia in its annual publications after 1992, as a UN Member State.
10. UN Secretariat considers the FR of Yugoslavia to be a UN Member
State. The Under-Secretary General and the Legal Council of the United
Nations addressed a letter dated 29 September 1992 to the Permanent
Representatives of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia to the United
Nations
in response to their letter of 25 September 1992, stating, inter alia,
that
"While the General Assembly has stated unequivocally that the Federal
Republic of Yugoslavia ... cannot automatically continue the membership
of
the former Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in the United
Nations
and that the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia... should apply for
membership
in the United Nations, the only practical consequence that the
resolution
(47/1) draws is that the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.... shall not
participate in the work of the General Assembly. It is clear, therefore,
that representatives of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia... can no
longer
participate in the work of the General Assembly, its subsidiary organs,
nor
conference and meetings convened by it.
On the other hand, the resolution neither terminates nor suspends
Yugoslavia?s membership in the Organization. Consequently, the seat and
nameplate remain as before, but in Assembly bodies representatives of
the
Federal Republic of Yugoslavia... cannot sit behind the sign
"Yugoslavia".
Yugoslav Missions at United Nations Headquarters and offices may
continue
to function and may receive and circulate documents. At Headquarters,
the
Secretariat will continue to fly the flag of the old Yugoslavia, as it
is
the last flag of Yugoslavia used by the Secretariat. The resolution does
not take away the right of Yugoslavia to participate in the work of
organs
other than Assembly bodies." (A/47/485).
The representatives of some states, advocating the view that the FR
of Yugoslavia has dissolved and ceased to exist, claim that this
opinion
indicates that this is the membership of the SFRY in the United Nations.
This claim proves best that the thesis of discontinuity of the FRY in
the
United Nations is invalid. If the SFRY has dissolved and ceased to
exist,
its membership in international organizations would automatically cease
as
well. They maintain that the membership is not ended because the UN
bodies
did not make a decision to end its membership. However, this is absurd,
because the membership ends ipso jure, as a legal consequence of the
dissolution of a State and no decision to that effect is necessary.
After
the German Democratic Republic ceased to exist, the Security Council and
the General Assembly did not make any decision on termination of its
membership in the United Nations nor have they made any decision on
ending
the membership of the Czech and Slovak Federal Republic in the United
Nations.
11. UN Secretary-General regularly invites the FR of Yugoslavia as a
Member
State to fulfil its financial obligations towards the Organization which
Yugoslavia does.
12. In all agreements concluded between the FR of Yugoslavia and the
United
Nations after 1992, it is stated that the FR of Yugoslavia is a UN
Member
State, for example, in the Agreement on the status of the Office of the
High Commissioner for Human Rights in Belgrade, concluded by the
exchange
eof Notes between the FR of Yugoslavia and the UN High Commissioner for
Human Rights on 6 November 1998.
II The Federal Republic of Yugoslavia continues the international
personality of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
13. The Federal Republic of Yugoslavia has continued the international
legal personality of the Socialist Federative Republic of Yugoslavia.
The
Declaration adopted on 27 April 1992 at a joint session of delegates in
the
Federal Assembly, the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia and
the
Assembly of the Republic of Montenegro on the occasion of the
promulgation
of the Constitution of the FR of Yugoslavia, inter alia, states: "The
Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, continuing the State, international
legal
and political personality of the Socialist Federal Republic of
Yugoslavia,
shall strictly abide by all the commitments that the SFR of Yugoslavia
assumed internationally" (A/46/915, 7 May 1992).
14. The former Yugoslav Republics of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Republic of
Macedonia and the Republic of Croatia have confirmed the legal fact of
the
continuity of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.
Article 5 of the Agreement on Normalization of Relations
between
the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and the Republic of Croatia, signed
at
Belgrade on 23 August 1996, reads as follows:
"Proceeding from the historical fact that Serbia and Montenegro
existed as independent States before the creation of Yugoslavia, and
bearing in mind the fact that Yugoslavia has continued the international
personality of these states, the Republic of Croatia notes the existence
of
the State continuity of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.
"Proceeding from the historical fact of the existence of the
various forms of statal organization of Croatia in the past, the Federal
Republic of Yugoslavia notes the existence of the continuity of the
Croatian statehood.
The Contracting Parties are agreed to solve the issue of the
succession of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia on the basis
or
the rule of international law on succession of States and through
agreement." (The text of the Agreement on Normalization of Relations
between the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and the Republic of Croatia,
signed at Belgrade on 23 August 1996, is attached as annex to the letter
of
the Charge d'Affaires a.i. of the Permanent Mission of Yugoslavia to the
United Nations addressed to the Secretary-General, dated 29 August 1996,
A/51/318; S/1996/706, 29 August 1996).
There is a substantial difference between the State continuity
of
the FR of Yugoslavia and the continuation of the Croatian statehood. The
State continuity of the FR of Yugoslavia is based on the historical fact
that Serbia and Montenegro existed as independent States before the
creation of Yugoslavia and on the fact that the FR of Yugoslavia has
continued the international legal personality of these States. Quite
differently, in the past Croatia enjoyed various forms of statal
organization. It had the status of a Republic - a federal unit in the
Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, some part of today's Croatia
had
a sort of statal autonomy in the Austro-Hungarian Empire. But, before
armed
secession from Yugoslavia, it had no status of an independent State,
status
of a subject of international law. Accordingly, today's Republic of
Croatia can only continue the various forms of statal organization of
the
past but not the international legal personality.
Essentially, the same formula was used in the Joint Declaration
of
Presidents Slobodan Milo{evi} and Alija Izetbegovi}, made in Paris on 3
October 1996. Paragraph IV of the Joint Declaration reads as follows:
"The Federal Republic of Yugoslavia will respect the integrity
of
Bosnia and Herzegovina in accordance with the Dayton Agreement which
affirmed the continuity of various forms of statal organization of
Bosnia
and Herzegovina that the peoples of Bosnia and Herzegovina had during
their
history.
Bosnia and Herzegovina accepts the State continuity of the
Federal
Republic of Yugoslavia.
Both sides agree to resolve issues of succession on the basis
of
the rules of international law on succession of States and by
agreement."
(The Joint Declaration is attached as annex to the letter of the Charge
d'Affaires a.i. of the Permanent Mission of Yugoslavia to the United
Nations addressed to the Secretary-General, dated 7 October 1996,
A/51/461;
S/1996/830, 7 October 1996).
The text of Article 4 of the Agreement on the regulation of
relations and promotion of cooperation between the Federal Republic of
Yugoslavia and the Republic of Macedonia, signed in Belgrade on 8 April
1996, differs more in terms of terminology than that of substance:
"In the light of the fact that Serbia and Montenegro had
existed
as independent States before the creation of Yugoslavia, and in view of
the
fact that Yugoslavia continued the international legal personality of
these
States, the Republic of Macedonia respects the state continuity of the
Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.
In the light of the fact that during the National Liberation
war
and at the session of the Anti-Fascist Assembly of the National
Liberation
of Macedonia, the Macedonian people decided to organize the Republic of
Macedonia as a State and to join the Yugoslav Federation, and in view of
the fact that in the 1991 referendum the Macedonian people decided to
organize the Republic of Macedonia as a sovereign and independent State
and
appreciating the fact that this has been carried out in a peaceful
manner,
the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia respects the state continuity of the
Republic of Macedonia.
The Parties agree to resolve their mutual claims on ground of
succession to the former Yugoslavia by agreement." (The Agreement is
published as an annex to the letter of the Permanent Representative of
the
Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia to the United Nations addressed to
the President of the Security Council, dated 17 April 1996, S/1996/291,
17
April 1996).
In both cases, i.e. Yugoslavia and Macedonia, the Agreement
used
the same term "the state continuity". But, it is quite obvious that the
same terms have not the same meaning. Before its peaceful secession,
Macedonia existed as the Republic of Macedonia - a federal unit of the
Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. It did not exist as an
independent state, a subject of international law. For the first time in
history, it became such a subject after peaceful secession.
15. The United States implicitly confirmed the legal fact regarding the
international legal continuity of the FR of Yugoslavia. By its Note No.
C-42 of 5 May 1998, transmitted to the Federal Ministry of Foreign
Affairs,
the Embassy of the United States of America in Belgrade claimed the
extradition of Rifat Fteja, a Yugoslav citizen charged with several
criminal offences committed in the United States. The extradition
request
is based on the Extradition Treaty of 1901. Accordingly, the position of
the US Government is that the Extradition Treaty, concluded between the
Kingdom of Serbia and the United States of America on 12/25 October
1901,
is in force between the Kingdom of Serbia and the United States in 1998.
It
confirmed the international legal continuity of both States. Namely, if
the
FR of Yugoslavia is a new State, it should conclude a separate agreement
with the United States on succession in respect of bilateral treaties.
In
the absence of such an agreement, the United States considers the 1901
Treaty to be in force and, consequently, implicitly confirms the
international legal continuity of the FR of Yugoslavia. The fact of the
international legal continuity of the FR of Yugoslavia was also
confirmed
by exchange of Notes between the FR of Yugoslavia and the United States
(Notes Nos. 10763 and 22, respectively) in 1996 concerning the
establishment of the US Information Service Centre in Pri{tina. The
exchange of Notes shows that both sides consider that the Memorandum of
Understanding, signed between the Federative People's Republic of
Yugoslavia and the United States in Belgrade on 14 June 1961, to be
still
in force.
16. The largest number of other States have explicitly or implicitly
confirmed the international legal continuity of the FR of Yugoslavia.
This
is an obvious proof of the existence of unbroken-off diplomatic
relations
between the FR of Yugoslavia and 160 States with which the SFRY had
maintained diplomatic relations. The majority of States consider that
bilateral agreements entered into with the SFRY are in force also in
their
relations with the FR of Yugoslavia. Some Members States of the European
Union, such as Austria, Greece and the United Kingdom, have also
formally
recognized this fact through exchange of Notes, whereas some other, like
Italy, have done so by making a unilateral declaration. The former
Yugoslav
Republics, upon becoming independent States, have established diplomatic
relations with other States. This was not the case with the FR of
Yugoslavia, since it is not a new State. These States have entered
separately into agreements with third States on succession in respect of
bilateral treaties which existed between these third States and the
SFRY.
In contrast to them, the FR of Yugoslavia has not done so. The former
Yugoslav Republics have requested that they be recognized as independent
States. The FR of Yugoslavia has not made such a request.
17. The basis of the international legal personality of the FR of
Yugoslavia is the fact that Serbia and Montenegro existed as independent
States before the creation of Yugoslavia in 1918. Both States were
recognized as independent at the Berlin Congress in 1878. After
Yugoslavia
was created in 1918, all international treaties of the Kingdom of Serbia
remained in force and were valid on the enlarged territory of the
Kingdom
of Yugoslavia (Yearbook of the International Law Commission, 1974, vol.
II,
Part One, p. 208). The same applied to diplomatic relations as well.
18. The facts of the Yugoslav crisis cannot be associated with the
notion
of the dissolution of a State as defined under the Vienna Convention on
the
Succession of States in respect of State Property, Archives and Debts of
8
April 1983. The provisions of this Convention, although not containing
an
explicit definition of dissolution, point to an essential element of
this
notion, namely sequence of events. Dissolution and cessation of a State
come first and then new independent States emerge (Articles 18, 31 and
41
thereof). That was the sequence of events in the case of the Czech and
Slovak Federal Republic. It ceased to exist on 31 December 1992, and as
of
1 January 1993 they emerged as the independent Czech Republic and the
Slovak Republic. In its opinions, the Badinter Commission noted that the
SFR of Yugoslavia ceased to exist on 4 July 1992 (Opinion No. 8,
International Legal Materials, 1993, 1521) and that Croatia and Slovenia
became independent on 8 October 1991, while Bosnia and Herzegovina and
Macedonia gained their independence on 6 March 1992 and 17 November
1991,
respectively, and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia on 27 April 1992
(Opinion No. 11, Ibid., 1587). The above shows the absurdity of findings
of
the Badinter Commission. According to this Commission, all the five
States
first attained their independence and then the SFRY ceased to exist. How
much this fiction is artificial is illustrated by the fact that the date
of
the adoption of the new Constitution of the Federal Republic of
Yugoslavia
was taken as the date on which it became independent. It is fairly
uncommon
in international law to quality the change of constitutional
arrangements
in a State as that State becoming independent.
19. The opinions rendered by the Arbitration Commission of the Peace
Conference on the former Yugoslavia, the so-called Badinter Commission,
are
irrelevant. Although it was referred to as the Arbitration Commission,
the
Badinter Commission was not a Court of Arbitration in the international
legal sense, but rather an advisory body of the international conference
charged with the task of finding solutions for a peaceful outcome of the
Yugoslav crisis. The opinions rendered by it are not legally binding.
Taking into account that the majority of members of the Commission were
judges of constitutional courts, and not experts in international law,
these opinions are not based on international law from the strictly
professional point of view.
20. The opinions of the Badinter Commission are politically motivated
and
not grounded in international law. All insistence on an alleged
dissolution
of the SFRY and on the FR of Yugoslavia not being a Member of the United
Nations is politically ill-intentioned and legally unfounded. Membership
of
the FR of Yugoslavia in the United Nations has nothing to do with the
question of the succession of the SFRY. The Badinter Commission points
out
that the request of the FR of Yugoslavia to be the only successor State
is
unacceptable. This is yet another proof of the absurdity of the opinions
rendered by this Commission. The FR of Yugoslavia does not consider
itself
to be the only successor State, nor does it at all consider itself a
successor State. The successor States are the newly-created States, i.e.
Bosnia and Herzegovina, Republic of Macedonia, Republic of Croatia and
the
Republic of Slovenia. The FR of Yugoslavia is not a successor state but
an
old State which now exists on a shrunken territory. The FR of Yugoslavia
does not contest the status of successor States to the newly-created
States
of the former Yugoslavia and it is prepared to settle the question of
succession of the SFRY by an agreement entered into with these States in
accordance with international law. It has formally undertaken to do so
under the bilateral arrangements indicated below. It insists that the
negotiations on the succession of the SFRY that were abrogated following
the aggression of the Member States of the North Atlantic Treaty
Organization against Yugoslavia, be resumed within the framework of the
Peace Implementation Council. It sees the latest proposal, as put
forward
by Sir Arthur Watts, as a solid basis for a speedy resolution of this
issue
and has pointed out on several occasions already that it essentially
accepts and welcomes the new approach adopted by the Chief Negotiator in
these negotiations.
21. The Declaration of 27 April 1992 on international legal continuity
of
the FR of Yugoslavia has the legal relevance of a constitutional norm.
Therefore, all Yugoslav legal subjects and Government authorities are
obligated to respect it. All statements and acts of the Yugoslav
authorities contrary to it are null and void. In this respect, the
statement made by the then Prime Minister Milan Pani} in the UN General
Assembly on 22 September 1992 upon the adoption of General Assembly
resolution 47/1, in which he "formally sought membership in the United
Nations on behalf of the new Yugoslavia", is legally without effect.
Even
if the statement made by the Prime Minister had had any legal
significance, it could not have had any legal force since it was beside
the
point. The Federal Republic of Yugoslavia is a Member of the United
Nations
and, consequently, its application for membership in the United Nations
is
pointless.
Belgrade, 1 September 2000
...da Tamara, di Torino, appena rientrata dalla Jugoslavia:
> La visita alla Zastava è stata
> bellissima, stanno producendo, e ho anche incontarto alcune famiglie di
> bambini adottati a distanza, tar cui la "mia", era come se ci consocessimo
> da sempre! Sono stata anche tra i profughi serbi dal Kosovo, gli stessi
> dell'anno scorso, e là veramente è triste, e poi ho visto una bellissima
> Belgrado, piena di vita, confusione traffico, sono starordinari e spesso
> abbiamo aprlato con la gente che incontarvo del aftto che priam o poi
> bisogna che si riformi qualche specie di confederazione, non si può stare
> separati, mi è stato difficlie tornare a casa, sai cosa c'è laggiu' di
> straordinario? che pensano ancora, analizzano, fanno funzionare il
> cervello, insomma sono vivi, a volte qui dopo avere visto come la genta
> abbai bevuto al propaganda televisiva mi sembrano tutti morti, oppure sono
> semplicemente in malafede. Sono giuste le osservazioni sul Montenegro, vedo
> già qui tra la gente con cui parlo con cui alvoro che sta venendo fuori
> l'idea che la Jugoslavia stia togliendo l'autonoomia al Montenegro, ma come
> fanno a ri-beversi la stessa menzogna del kosovo? Penso che siano in relatà
> in malafede, e che ormai siamo in un paese profondamente colonialista, mi
> ha detto un anziano professore che gestiva un campo profughi dal Kosovo a
> Kraljevo che l'assalto alla Jugoslavia è stata una grossissima sconfitta
> della classe operaia europea, che non ha ne' saputo ma neppure voluto
> opporsi, capire...
> ...ho parlato con parecchie
> persone , gente qualsiasi e tutti cercavano di capire cosa era successo al
> mondo, e alla Jugoslavia, molti raccontavano le loro idee sulle cause della
> guerra, ci ahnno bommbardato perchè siamo l'unico paese che nello spazio
> dall'occidente alla Cina non vuole entrare nelal NATO, a Rambouillet ci
> hanno chiesto di dare del territorio jugoslavo alla NATO per le basi in
> cambio di un aiuto sulla questione del Kosovo e noi abbiamo rinunciato al
> Kosovo pur di non dare loro le basi, pur di non rinunciare alla nostra
> sovranità, e si sa cosa vuol dire per i Serbi dare il Kosovo, è la culla
> della nostra civiltà, ma la Jugoslavia vale di più, perchè la Jugoslavia è
> la terra della libertà, e noi siamo fatio così, combattiamo sempre per la
> libertà, prima o poi il mondo capirà che cosa ci è stato fatto, e
> soprattutto che ci hanno offesi dipingendoci come il contrario di quello
> che siamo, ci hanno bombardato perchè vogliono far passare il corridoio 8
> per il Kosovo, con il gas dal Caucaso, ci hanno bombardato perchè al
> finanziere Soros interessa la miniera di Trepca, perchè è la più bella
> miiera d'Europa di Piombo e Zinco, la più facile da coltivare, e forse le
> startegie energetiche stanno cambaindo e non sarà più il petrolio la
> materia prima più importante, e poi Soros vuole controllare i Balcani e
> finanzia l'opposizione, e Trepca è il simbolo della ipocrisia occidentale e
> del fatto che l'Europa si stia americanizzando: a Trepca ci hanno scacciato
> con i mitra e la maschere antigas, antiinquinamento, facendo finat che
> stavamo inquinando, proprio loro che hanno provocato con le loro bombe una
> vera e propria catastrofe ambiemntale, la loro ipocrisia è la stessa che
> hanno utilizzato quando hanno giustificato le loro bombe con l'aiuto ai
> profughi albanesi, questo è fascismo di una nuova specie, fascismo
> "umanitario", infido e ipocrita, un fascismo ancora peggiore di quello di
> Hitler e Mussolini, perchè ben nascosto, ma il resto del mondo, e
> soprattutto quei paesi che dovrebbero capire dove sta il loro vero
> interesse, alla fine capiranno che la dignità vale più di un paio di jeans,
> ci bombardano perchè la Jugoslavia è un paese ancora ricco, nonostante
> tutto, di cibo sano, di acqua, e l'acqua e la natura sono la futura
> ricchezza del mondo, ci bombardano per consumare le loro riserve di armi,
> ci bombardano perchè gli americani sanno di non avere cultura alle loro
> origini, ma un genocidio, e sanno che noi invece siamo un paese antico, con
> radici, e loro vorrebbero fare del mondo intero un fast food, e disprezzano
> la bellezza della natura, perchè la Jugoslavia intera, quella di una volta,
> era un paese bellissimo, e ce l'hanno disfatto, ed è anche colpa nostra, di
> tutti noi jugoslavi, ma in fondo l'abbaimo capito e non passerà molto che
> ce la faremo a ritrovarci, perchè siamo lo stesso popolo. Dopo le elezioni
> americane ci ribombarderanno con la scusa del Montenegro, ma questa volta
> saranno solo gli Inglesi e gli Americani (questo è l'unico punto su cui non
> mi trovo d'accordo, credo che non saranno solo gli anglo-americani a
> bombardare, dati gli enormi interessi coloniali di europei ed italiani in
> particolare, del resto la Zastava è stata bombardata proprio dagli Italiani).
> Non so se puoi trarre qualcosa da queste idee, che non sono le mie ma
> quelle di juigoslavi che ho trovato sul terno, in autobus, nelle case dove
> sono stata, è importante ascoltarli, perchè qui siamo messi molto male...
(5/6 settembre 2000)
--------- COORDINAMENTO ROMANO PER LA JUGOSLAVIA -----------
RIMSKI SAVEZ ZA JUGOSLAVIJU
e-mail: crj@... - URL: http://marx2001.org/crj
http://www.egroups.com/group/crj-mailinglist/
------------------------------------------------------------
> La visita alla Zastava è stata
> bellissima, stanno producendo, e ho anche incontarto alcune famiglie di
> bambini adottati a distanza, tar cui la "mia", era come se ci consocessimo
> da sempre! Sono stata anche tra i profughi serbi dal Kosovo, gli stessi
> dell'anno scorso, e là veramente è triste, e poi ho visto una bellissima
> Belgrado, piena di vita, confusione traffico, sono starordinari e spesso
> abbiamo aprlato con la gente che incontarvo del aftto che priam o poi
> bisogna che si riformi qualche specie di confederazione, non si può stare
> separati, mi è stato difficlie tornare a casa, sai cosa c'è laggiu' di
> straordinario? che pensano ancora, analizzano, fanno funzionare il
> cervello, insomma sono vivi, a volte qui dopo avere visto come la genta
> abbai bevuto al propaganda televisiva mi sembrano tutti morti, oppure sono
> semplicemente in malafede. Sono giuste le osservazioni sul Montenegro, vedo
> già qui tra la gente con cui parlo con cui alvoro che sta venendo fuori
> l'idea che la Jugoslavia stia togliendo l'autonoomia al Montenegro, ma come
> fanno a ri-beversi la stessa menzogna del kosovo? Penso che siano in relatà
> in malafede, e che ormai siamo in un paese profondamente colonialista, mi
> ha detto un anziano professore che gestiva un campo profughi dal Kosovo a
> Kraljevo che l'assalto alla Jugoslavia è stata una grossissima sconfitta
> della classe operaia europea, che non ha ne' saputo ma neppure voluto
> opporsi, capire...
> ...ho parlato con parecchie
> persone , gente qualsiasi e tutti cercavano di capire cosa era successo al
> mondo, e alla Jugoslavia, molti raccontavano le loro idee sulle cause della
> guerra, ci ahnno bommbardato perchè siamo l'unico paese che nello spazio
> dall'occidente alla Cina non vuole entrare nelal NATO, a Rambouillet ci
> hanno chiesto di dare del territorio jugoslavo alla NATO per le basi in
> cambio di un aiuto sulla questione del Kosovo e noi abbiamo rinunciato al
> Kosovo pur di non dare loro le basi, pur di non rinunciare alla nostra
> sovranità, e si sa cosa vuol dire per i Serbi dare il Kosovo, è la culla
> della nostra civiltà, ma la Jugoslavia vale di più, perchè la Jugoslavia è
> la terra della libertà, e noi siamo fatio così, combattiamo sempre per la
> libertà, prima o poi il mondo capirà che cosa ci è stato fatto, e
> soprattutto che ci hanno offesi dipingendoci come il contrario di quello
> che siamo, ci hanno bombardato perchè vogliono far passare il corridoio 8
> per il Kosovo, con il gas dal Caucaso, ci hanno bombardato perchè al
> finanziere Soros interessa la miniera di Trepca, perchè è la più bella
> miiera d'Europa di Piombo e Zinco, la più facile da coltivare, e forse le
> startegie energetiche stanno cambaindo e non sarà più il petrolio la
> materia prima più importante, e poi Soros vuole controllare i Balcani e
> finanzia l'opposizione, e Trepca è il simbolo della ipocrisia occidentale e
> del fatto che l'Europa si stia americanizzando: a Trepca ci hanno scacciato
> con i mitra e la maschere antigas, antiinquinamento, facendo finat che
> stavamo inquinando, proprio loro che hanno provocato con le loro bombe una
> vera e propria catastrofe ambiemntale, la loro ipocrisia è la stessa che
> hanno utilizzato quando hanno giustificato le loro bombe con l'aiuto ai
> profughi albanesi, questo è fascismo di una nuova specie, fascismo
> "umanitario", infido e ipocrita, un fascismo ancora peggiore di quello di
> Hitler e Mussolini, perchè ben nascosto, ma il resto del mondo, e
> soprattutto quei paesi che dovrebbero capire dove sta il loro vero
> interesse, alla fine capiranno che la dignità vale più di un paio di jeans,
> ci bombardano perchè la Jugoslavia è un paese ancora ricco, nonostante
> tutto, di cibo sano, di acqua, e l'acqua e la natura sono la futura
> ricchezza del mondo, ci bombardano per consumare le loro riserve di armi,
> ci bombardano perchè gli americani sanno di non avere cultura alle loro
> origini, ma un genocidio, e sanno che noi invece siamo un paese antico, con
> radici, e loro vorrebbero fare del mondo intero un fast food, e disprezzano
> la bellezza della natura, perchè la Jugoslavia intera, quella di una volta,
> era un paese bellissimo, e ce l'hanno disfatto, ed è anche colpa nostra, di
> tutti noi jugoslavi, ma in fondo l'abbaimo capito e non passerà molto che
> ce la faremo a ritrovarci, perchè siamo lo stesso popolo. Dopo le elezioni
> americane ci ribombarderanno con la scusa del Montenegro, ma questa volta
> saranno solo gli Inglesi e gli Americani (questo è l'unico punto su cui non
> mi trovo d'accordo, credo che non saranno solo gli anglo-americani a
> bombardare, dati gli enormi interessi coloniali di europei ed italiani in
> particolare, del resto la Zastava è stata bombardata proprio dagli Italiani).
> Non so se puoi trarre qualcosa da queste idee, che non sono le mie ma
> quelle di juigoslavi che ho trovato sul terno, in autobus, nelle case dove
> sono stata, è importante ascoltarli, perchè qui siamo messi molto male...
(5/6 settembre 2000)
--------- COORDINAMENTO ROMANO PER LA JUGOSLAVIA -----------
RIMSKI SAVEZ ZA JUGOSLAVIJU
e-mail: crj@... - URL: http://marx2001.org/crj
http://www.egroups.com/group/crj-mailinglist/
------------------------------------------------------------
LA SOCIETA' DELLA PROPAGANDA
Concludiamo con questo contributo, apparso sul volume "Imbrogli di
guerra" (Odradek 1999), la carrellata critica sull'atteggiamento servile
e guerrafondaio della gran parte del ceto intellettuale italiano, e non
solo, in occasione della guerra di aggressione della NATO contro la RF
di Jugoslavia nel 1999. I documenti precedenti si trovano alle pagine:
http://www.egroups.com/message/crj-mailinglist/319
http://www.egroups.com/message/crj-mailinglist/322
http://www.egroups.com/message/crj-mailinglist/329
http://www.egroups.com/message/crj-mailinglist/370
"Imbrogli di guerra" contiene gli Atti del primo incontro del Comitato
Scienziate/i contro la guerra, tenutosi nel giugno 1999. Il volume e'
ormai esaurito nelle librerie, ma tutti i contributi posso finalmente
essere letti sul sito internet del Comitato, in formato PostScript
compresso e PDF. Dalla home page del sito (che e' stata spostata ad un
nuovo indirizzo, http://www.iac.rm.cnr.it/~spweb/) basta cliccare sulla
copertina del libro per accedere ai contributi dei vari autori.
Un caloroso ringraziamento al curatore del libro, Franco Marenco,
per il materiale inviatoci.
Il Comitato Scienziate/i contro la guerra ha tenuto recentemente un
nuovo convegno a Torino, del quale saranno pure pubblicati presto gli
Atti, sempre per le edizioni Odradek.
---
SCIENZA E GUERRA "FIN DE SIECLE"
di Andrea Martocchia (1)
In questo intervento si vuole analizzare il problema della scienza nella
contemporanea realtà
bellica da tre punti di vista: dal punto di vista culturale e
sociologico, laddove la scienza è intesa
nell'accezione più vasta, cioè come insieme delle attività di formazione
e trasmissione della
conoscenza; dal punto di vista della ``categoria'' o ``corporazione'' di
chi fa scienza, riferendosi
cioè al lavoro intellettuale ed al mondo della ricerca in senso stretto;
e da quello del progresso
tecnologico, cioè essenzialmente degli armamenti.
I problemi affrontati sono vasti e complessi, e perciò possono soltanto
essere sfiorati in questa
sede. Mi limiterò a suggerire degli spunti di riflessione, soprattutto
sui primi due aspetti,
riguardanti il ruolo del sapere e della conoscenza nella nostra società,
fornendo ove possibile
riferimenti per un approfondimento ulteriore.
Scienza come conoscenza
Incominciamo dallo stretto significato etimologico della parola scienza.
Il concetto di scienza
richiama la conoscenza, il sapere, l'analisi e la ricerca. È un concetto
valido in tutti i tempi ed in
tutte le culture, ma nella sua accezione più stretta con esso si indica
un filone di matrice
prettamente occidentale, di derivazione greca, sostanziatosi con il
Rinascimento e giunto ad una
teorizzazione precisa con la definizione del ``metodo galileiano'' o
``sperimentale''. Da alcuni
decenni, questa più stretta accezione del termine ``scienza'' è stata
sottoposta a svariate critiche
ed il paradigma è entrato in crisi nella nostra cultura. Non provo
nemmeno ad abbozzare un
excursus attraverso la nascita della meccanica quantistica, la
termodinamica, la teoria della
complessità, ecc., poiché la crisi della concezione positivistica, ma
anche popperiana, della
scienza è cosa ben nota.
Quello che intendo sostenere è che negli ultimi anni stiamo assistendo
ad una devastante crisi
della ``scienza'', intesa anche nella sua accezione più larga. Nella
società delle comunicazioni di
massa siamo silenziosamente ma inesorabilmente arrivati ad una crisi dei
criteri e dei fondamenti
della conoscenza, intesa come categoria generale, e quindi della
suddivisione del lavoro
intellettuale. A mio avviso, il problema non è solamente epistemologico,
bensì è diventato un
problema sociale e politico di grave rilevanza. Questa crisi si può
analizzare a vari livelli. Partirò
dal livello più ``esterno'', cioè dal piano della comunicazione sociale.
Informazione e propaganda
Negli anni Sessanta i situazionisti definivano la nostra società -- la
società capitalistica
avanzata, dove la mercificazione permea ogni attività umana
destrutturandone contenuti e
significati -- come ``società dello spettacolo''. Da alcuni anni, in
seguito a quello che è stato
chiamato ``crollo del muro di Berlino'' (l'annessione della DDR da parte
della Repubblica Federale
Tedesca e la crisi generalizzata del socialismo di stato), dalla
``società dello spettacolo'' siamo
precipitati rapidamente nella ``società della propaganda''.
Nella fase attuale, la guerra è all'ordine del giorno: sia come fenomeno
che riguarda le relazioni fra
stati, ovvero fra stati e strutture sovranazionali (Nazioni Unite, Banca
Mondiale, Fondo Monetario
Internazionale, NATO, Unione Europea, ecc.), sia all'interno di ogni
stato nel senso della rottura
del ``contratto sociale''. Questa rinnovata conflittualità tra ceti
sociali, tra culture e tra
popolazioni, tra centri e periferie, tra chi detiene i mezzi di
produzione e chi lavora duramente già a
dodici anni, non rappresenta ovviamente qualcosa di completamente nuovo,
ma caratterizza
nettamente la fase post-1989. Dopo il 1989 non c'è più lo
``spettacolo'', nel senso situazionista, a
rappresentare il conflitto sociale, mistificandolo: c'è viceversa un
bombardamento
propagandistico-pubblicitario che accompagna l'attacco diretto, aperto e
senza infingimenti
contro le conquiste di almeno cent'anni di lotte dei lavoratori (sfascio
dello stato sociale e
neoliberismo), contro le stesse forme istituzionali atte alla mediazione
dei conflitti (dalla nostra
Costituzione alle Nazioni Unite, dai partiti ai sindacati), nonché
l'attacco armato contro popoli e
stati che frappongono ostacoli a quella che viene detta eufemisticamente
``globalizzazione'', cioè
la fase suprema dell'espansione del grande capitale: l'Imperialismo.
In questa fase il conflitto all'interno della società opulenta non si
traveste più con lo
``spettacolo'', ma si palesa nella pura ``propaganda''. Quella
propaganda che in Italia, ad esempio,
sanziona attraverso svariate campagne di stampa la svendita del
patrimonio pubblico, compresa la
cessione all'imprenditoria straniera di settori strategici come le
telecomunicazioni
(privatizzazione di Telecom), la privatizzazione del sistema
pensionistico, il presidenzialismo
bipolarista già teorizzato nel Piano di Rinascita Nazionale della P2, e
così via. Tutti fatti decantati
e celebrati come ``inevitabili'' e ``necessari''.
Ricordo che fino agli anni Ottanta la politica in TV si faceva solo
nelle tribune elettorali, o si
leggeva su certi giornali. Da un certo punto in poi gli uomini politici
hanno preso il posto dei
presentatori televisivi (da Giuliano Ferrara a tutti i conduttori e
partecipanti dei vari talk-show),
mentre i presentatori ed imbonitori televisivi sono diventati uomini
politici (per tacere di
Berlusconi, ricordo ad esempio Sgarbi o personaggi dello spettacolo che
sempre più spesso
diventano candidati alle elezioni). Si è stabilita una commistione tra i
due versanti (spettacolare e
politico), per cui i ragionamenti sulla legge maggioritaria non si fanno
più in Parlamento, né
tantomeno nelle sezioni di partito, ma si fanno, anzi si spacciano sugli
schermi televisivi.
In questo contesto, è assolutamente normale che tutte le fasi delle
operazioni militari che ad
esempio il nostro paese conduce, ormai a ripetizione da anni, contro i
dittatori ed i barbari di turno
(Libano, Iraq, Somalia, Albania, Jugoslavia), siano accompagnate da
operazioni massmediatiche
dal carattere profondamente disinformativo. I nostri giornali non solo
non riportano quasi mai
reportage originali e dettagliati da questo o quel paese, come invece è
d'uso sulla grande stampa
francese o tedesca, pure schieratissima, ma in generale danno per
scontate una serie di
informazioni di base, sulle quali si costruisce poi tutto il
ragionamento
giornalistico-propagandistico.
Per limitarci al caso jugoslavo: i nostri giornali non hanno mai
descritto se e che cosa sia stato
abrogato dell'autonomia del Kosovo nel 1989, ma ripetono ossessivamente
che ``Milosevic ha
tolto l'autonomia al Kosovo''. Il che è da una parte falso, perché non
fu Milosevic ma la
Presidenza collegiale di quella che era la Repubblica Federativa e
Socialista di Jugoslavia,
compresi Sloveni, e Croati, e dall'altro è fuorviante perché l'autonomia
della regione non fu
abrogata tout-court, ma furono tolti soltanto il diritto di veto che
questa aveva rispetto alle
decisioni della Repubblica di Serbia e le altre prerogative di
semi-statualità, mentre fu ad esempio
conservato il bilinguismo.(2) Allo stesso modo, si ripete
incessantemente che sarebbe esistito un
piano di ``pulizia etnica'' da parte della leadership serba, piano che
sarebbe stato formulato in un
Memorandum e declamato da Milosevic nel suo discorso a Campo dei Merli
il 28 giugno del 1989.
Ma il Memorandum non lo ha letto quasi nessuno, poiché solo Limes ne ha
pubblicato degli stralci,
e chi lo ha letto sa che c'è scritto esattamente il contrario; quanto al
discorso di Milosevic, non è
stato mai tradotto in italiano, così come Milosevic non è stato mai
intervistato sui nostri giornali.
Dopodiché si accusa Milosevic perché, all'inizio dei bombardamenti fa
chiudere Radio B52
(scusate, volevo dire B92), finanziata dalla Fondazione Soros, che ha
tra i suoi sponsor anche
Hillary Clinton. E, in nome della libertà di informazione, si bombarda
la televisione serba con i
giornalisti dentro.
Carattere militare della trasmissione di informazioni
In queste circostanze, il meccanismo della disinformazione nei
mass-media è un meccanismo di
carattere militare. Non è dovuto soltanto ad incompetenza o eccesso di
zelo di certi giornalisti, e
fa si che la distinzione tra il vero ed il falso diventi ardua per lo
``spettatore''. Notizie false come
quella del bombardamento di Lubiana (1991), quella degli stupri di massa
in Bosnia (1993), quella
delle fosse comuni di Orahovac in Kosovo (1998) o le notizie delle
stragi di Sarajevo, subito
attribuite ai Serbi nonostante i dubbi ed i successivi rapporti ONU
smentissero queste
attribuzioni, dimostrano che è esistita in questi anni, e continua
adesso per il Kosovo, una
campagna di diffamazione antiserba, mirata evidentemente a creare
tensione per giustificare
l'intervento armato in quei territori. Non a caso il bersaglio di questa
campagna sono i Serbi, in
quanto popolazione maggioritaria di quella che era la Repubblica
Federativa e Socialista di
Jugoslavia, i quali vivendo sparpagliati un po' dappertutto tra le varie
Repubbliche meno di tutti
avevano interesse alla frammentazione ed allo sfascio del proprio paese.
Per questa campagna disinformativa le parti in conflitto (secessionisti
sloveni, croati,
bosniaco-musulmani, albanesi) si sono avvalse del lavoro di agenzie
specializzate come la Ruder
& Finn Public Global Affairs,(3) la quale attraverso lauti finanziamenti
da paesi terzi fa passare solo
``verità'' di comodo. A contribuire a questo colossale travisamento dei
fatti sono impegnate però
anche alcune istituzioni internazionali: il caso più clamoroso è stato
forse quello del capo della
missione OSCE William Walker e della ``strage di Racak''. Vi sono
coinvolte anche molte ONG
ed organizzazioni pseudo-umanitarie assai attive in questi anni, come
pure la potentissima lobby
di Soros.
Chi conosce questi terribili retroscena sa dunque che i nostri
quotidiani sono da prendere tutti
indistintamente cum grano salis, tenendo in mano la matita rossa e blu,
conservando
religiosamente gli articoli che sembrano significativi e facendo
raffronti a giorni e mesi di distanza.
La persona comune, che non si è mai interessata di un certo argomento
che all'improvviso assurge
agli onori delle prime pagine, è sola dinanzi al bombardamento
informativo. Su di lei ricade per
intero la responsabilità di scegliersi le fonti, fra libri, siti
internet, riviste che non seguano una linea
``di massa'', e anche materiali d'archivio e rapporti o ricordi
personali. In questa situazione la
vera informazione è un fai-da-te. La responsabilità della formazione
della conoscenza e del
sapere ricade interamente sul singolo, che dovrà impegnarsi da solo a
raccogliere, valutare e
sperimentare, proprio secondo il metodo sperimentale di Galileo. Non
esiste oggi come oggi
nessuna ``garanzia di affidabilità'' per i mezzi di informazione: siamo
in pieno medioevo. Quanto
sopra vale anche e soprattutto per i quotidiani ``di tradizione
democratica'', a causa del fatto che
molto spesso essi usano meccanicamente i dispacci d'agenzia, senza avere
inviati sul posto, e
soprattutto si avvalgono della collaborazione di elementi influenti di
quel ceto intellettuale che, io
credo, è soggetto oggi ad una terribile crisi di ruolo e di identità.
Gli ``esperti''
Penso in particolare a certi pseudo-esperti, veri azzeccagarbugli, che
in questi anni hanno
certosinamente capovolto i fatti sulla guerra jugoslava. Costoro sono
riusciti, ad esempio, a
sostenere e caldeggiare la frammentazione della Repubblica Federativa e
Socialista di Jugoslavia
con la giustificazione paradossale che le popolazioni devono vivere
insieme e senza odii reciproci !
Secondo loro, la Federazione andava spezzettata per liberare questi o
quegli altri dall'oppressione
centralista, benché in Jugoslavia i diritti delle minoranze fossero
ampiamente riconosciuti: si
trattava della realtà più avanzata a livello mondiale da quel punto di
vista. In nome della
``autodeterminazione dei popoli'', questi commentatori hanno combattuto
aspramente contro
l'autodeterminazione dei Serbi in Croazia e Bosnia, indicandoli come
aggressori... però poi
appoggiano l'autodeterminazione dei kosovari di lingua albanese,
glissando sul carattere
revanscista ed ultranazionalista del movimento grandealbanese, e
sottolineando ad ogni pié
sospinto la differenza ``etnica'' tra questi e quegli altri. Da una
parte dicono che bisogna difendere
il carattere multietnico di questo o quel territorio, e dall'altra si
contraddicono clamorosamente
evidenziando la presunta necessità di spezzettare, creando nuovi
confini.
Laddove le differenze etniche non esistono, questi pseudo-esperti se le
inventano: così ha fatto
la sua comparsa la ``differenza etnica'' tra Serbi, Croati e Musulmani
di Bosnia, mentre è noto che
la differenza fra queste popolazioni è solo di carattere
storico-religioso (come tra tedeschi
cattolici e tedeschi evangelici). La differenza linguistica, ad esempio,
è irrilevante. Tutto questo
non lo fa solamente un intellettuale di destra come Bettiza, ma anche un
Predrag Matvejevic su
tutti i giornali e le riviste di sinistra. Matvejevic è professore di
lingue slave, eppure va in giro a
teorizzare una presunta differenza tra la lingua serba e quella croata,
rendendo un ottimo servizio
alla nuova vulgata dei nazionalismi. Un'altra specialità di questi
``esperti'' è il non dire: ad
esempio Stefano Bianchini, storico, riesce a scrivere centinaia di
articoli sulla guerra in Bosnia,
senza mai dire che questa è scoppiata nell'aprile del 1992 perché i
rappresentanti croati e
musulmani alla Conferenza di Lisbona furono spinti dalla diplomazia USA
a ritirare la loro firma dal
Piano Cutileiro, già sottoscritto, il quale prevedeva la
cantonalizzazione della Bosnia. Questo
piano, se applicato avrebbe evitato tre anni di guerra civile (per non
parlare delle operazioni di
appoggio militare e finanziamento alla leadership bosniaco-musulmana).
Bianchini scrive anche
decine di articoli sul Kosovo senza mai parlare delle miniere e del
problema geopolitico dei
``corridoi''. E rapidamente cadranno nell'oblio le critiche a quella che
è stata definita la
``trappola'' (o diktat) di Rambouillet, in seguito alla quale sono
iniziati i bombardamenti su tutto il
territorio serbo-montenegrino.
Ad altri ``esperti'' e ad altri fatti, spesso più rilevanti di quelli
che vengono ossessivamente
ripetuti, è costantemente negato lo spazio: non c'è stato sui giornali
ed in televisione alcun
approfondimento sui principali antefatti storici della guerra civile nei
Balcani. Una severa censura
copre tutto quello che riguarda il colonialismo italiano nell'area ed i
crimini di guerra commessi
dagli italiani durante le Seconda Guerra Mondiale,(4) compresi i campi
di concentramento sull'isola
di Rab/Arbe ed in Slovenia, nonché l'occupazione militare del Kosovo
annesso alla Grande
Albania fascista. Una ricerca storica rigorosa e documentata come quella
di Marco Aurelio Rivelli
sui crimini del clericonazismo ustascia nella Croazia di Pavelic e
Stepinac è stata pubblicata
fortunosamente solo nella primavera di quest'anno.(5) Questi sono solo
alcuni esempi che
dimostrano la difficoltà estrema della trasmissione delle conoscenze e
delle ricerche storiche in
questo clima di guerra.
Da una parte, quindi, il perverso ruolo degli ``esperti'' sui mezzi di
informazione. Dall'altra una
vera censura, più o meno volontaria, e comunque strutturale: sono gli
aspetti più evidenti della
devastante crisi nella trasmissione della conoscenza tra addetti ai
lavori e pubblico, crisi in atto
nella società in cui viviamo proprio per il modo in cui è strutturata.
Solo a colui al quale viene
attribuito, massmediaticamente, il ruolo di ``esperto'' è affidato il
compito di interpretare e
raccontare, e solo la sua voce conta. Quello che dice l' ``esperto''
viene riprodotto e ripetuto in
maniera praticamente totalitaria, mentre voci diverse ed interpretazioni
divergenti hanno
raramente la possibilità di esprimersi -- attraverso la pubblicazione di
un articolo o di un libro --.
A causa della rigida strutturazione per competenze e per feudi del
lavoro intellettuale, se non sei
``nella parrocchia giusta'' non passi. Questo lo sa chiunque abbia
provato a farsi pubblicare
qualcosa (che fosse un articolo od una raccolta di poesie) senza potersi
giovare della conoscenza
o dell'appoggio di qualche personaggio influente.
Notiamo che, non a caso, nella nostra società mediatica il ruolo della
scienza e dello scienziato è
celebrato continuamente, al punto che alcuni scienziati di fama hanno il
loro posto fisso nei
dibattiti: si pensi a Zichichi, a Hack. La voce dello scienziato, e in
generale la voce dell'esperto o
di colui che assume il ruolo di esperto nel carosello massmediatico,
assume valore in sé e per sé.
Se a costui viene attribuita una sufficiente autorevolezza, può anche
debordare in campi del tutto
diversi da quello di competenza. L'esperto può allora diventare
tuttologo, ed andare a proclamare
che i Serbi sono nazionalisti per natura, anzi per codice genetico,
anche se lui non ha mai parlato
personalmente con un serbo in tutta la sua vita. Questo tipo di ruolo,
praticamente sacrale,
dell'esperto è la negazione stessa del concetto di ``scienza'', intesa
in senso stretto, ed è la
negazione di fatto di quella che dovrebbe essere la funzione sociale
dello scienziato, dell'esperto,
del ricercatore, dell'intellettuale: colui che ricerca, colui che
verifica la fonte, l'informazione o il
fenomeno in oggetto.
Imposture intellettuali
Questa ``garanzia di credibilità'' dell'esperto vale dal mondo delle
scienze naturali nel senso delle
scienze umanistiche (ad esempio Zichichi che parla di Dio) ma anche in
senso inverso, quando il
filosofo e il romanziere assumono il linguaggio delle scienze naturali,
lo manipolano a piacimento,
ed il tutto causa situazioni al limite del paradosso e del ridicolo. Ha
suscitato molto scalpore, per
esempio, la beffa di Alan Sokal. Questo fisico statunitense spedì alcuni
anni fa un complicato
articolo ad una rivista di sociologia, che lo accettò per la
pubblicazione. Dopo alcune settimane
Sokal in un altro articolo smentiva completamente il precedente,
svelando la beffa: aveva usato a
casaccio complicate citazioni di vari autori, filosofi e sociologi di
scuola postmoderna, creando un
pezzo incomprensibile, perché privo di senso, ma affascinante. Ed era
stato preso sul serio ! La
beffa di Sokal ha chiarito in modo incontestabile che la figura dell'
``esperto'', nella nostra società
delle comunicazioni di massa, è un puro specchietto per le allodole: non
solo per il mondo
``profano'', ma anche all'interno dell'ambiente specialistico a causa
del livello estremo di
settorializzazione delle varie discipline.
Recentemente, Sokal ha pubblicato un altro libro insieme ad un collega
belga,(6) nel quale contesta in
maniera organica e rigorosa il linguaggio ed il metodo usati da tutta
un'area di pensiero, quella
appunto postmoderna, popolata da tanti intellettuali francesi eredi
dello strutturalismo, e rivendica
la necessità del metodo razionale, sperimentale e dimostrativo. Il
libro, che si intitola ``Imposture
intellettuali'', è secondo me una pietra miliare di questa fase storica,
in quanto mette a nudo lo
sfascio completo del pensiero analitico contemporaneo. E così si
scoprono gli altarini dei ``finti
esperti'', che nascondono la loro vuotezza sotto ad una cortina fumogena
fatta di parole, il cui solo
valore, nel modo in cui questi le usano, è nel suono che hanno.
L'attacco di Sokal colpisce al cuore un'area di intellettualismo del
tutto speculativo ed
antirazionalista, che ha i suoi capisaldi in Francia. Non a caso la
società francese, che
rappresentava negli anni Sessanta l'osservatorio del movimento
situazionista, e che era da questo
interpretata correttamente come ``società dello spettacolo'', è anche la
società dove più sfrenata
è la mercificazione culturale (si pensi a Parigi, al continuo
supermercato di idee ed avvenimenti
culturali...). Quella francese è la società dove dall'onda lunga del
Sessantotto antiautoritario si è
sviluppata la corrente di pensiero dei ``nuovi filosofi'', nucleo di
elaborazione del ``pensiero
debole'' antirazionalista che ha furoreggiato durante tutto il riflusso
degli anni '80. Non è un
caso che questi ex-nuovi filosofi sessantottini francesi siano oggi in
prima fila nella polemica
antijugoslava: Daniel Cohen-Bendit, Bernard Henry-Levy, André
Glucksmann, e pure quel
Finkielkraut che un giorno appoggia l'ultranazionalismo croato
sentenziando quali siano i popoli
civili e quali i barbari, ed il giorno dopo rivaluta certi personaggi
della Repubblica di Vichy. Una
corrente di pensiero ``differenzialista'', impegnata in tutti questi
anni a cercare ciò che divide
anziché a valorizzare ciò che unisce, non a caso violentemente
partigiana delle secessioni
jugoslave.
Non è un caso che il libro ``Imposture intellettuali'' venga
violentemente attaccato sul Manifesto,
giornale che ha attinto dal ``pensiero debole'', dalla ``complessità'' e
da un certo antirazionalismo
per almeno 15 anni, nell'ambito di un processo di decostruzione ed
abbandono del marxismo (non
solo del leninismo). Questo quotidiano è l'espressione di un'area
intellettuale affascinata dal
pensiero ``differenzialista'' e postmoderno, ma con enormi difficoltà di
comprensione della fase
politica post-1989, e dello squartamento della Jugoslavia in
particolare. Sul Manifesto lo
squartamento della Repubblica Federativa e Socialista di Jugoslavia è
stato visto troppo spesso
come un processo dovuto a pulsioni nazionalistiche congenite, sorvolando
sulle cause strutturali,
strategiche, materiali, internazionali. Non è un caso, dicevo, che il
Manifesto attacchi il libro di
Sokal e Bricmont definendolo addirittura ``un'operazione di `pulizia
epistemologica', di violenza
paragonabile a pulizie balcaniche''.(7) Viceversa, è logico che il
Manifesto si esprima con tale
virulenza, quasi mostrandosi offeso, perché rivendicando l'importanza
del metodo
scientifico-dimostrativo e del linguaggio razionale gli autori del libro
pongono un problema che
travalica il merito delle scienze esatte e delle altre discipline
specialistiche (sociologia, filosofia,
ecc.). Sokal e Bricmont pongono un problema che riguarda tutta la
suddivisione del lavoro
intellettuale nella società in cui viviamo, e che riguarda pure, e
pesantemente, i giornalisti che in
questi anni hanno pubblicato menzogne pensando che la verifica delle
informazioni e delle fonti
fosse un'appendice accessoria di un sistema massmediatico nel quale
quello che conta è ben
altro: anche diffondere menzogne sulle ``pulizie etniche'' e sulle
guerre imperialiste è considerato
lecito perché ``il concetto di verità è fluttuante''; e ``in nome della
libertà di espressione'' due più
due fa quattro ma può fare anche tre o cinque. Izetbegovic è stato in
carcere sei anni nella
Repubblica Federativa e Socialista di Jugoslavia per istigazione
all'odio tra le nazionalità e per
aver scritto la ``Dichiarazione Islamica'', eppure lo si può appoggiare
come difensore di Sarajevo
multietnica.(8)
Un clima decadente
In realtà se l'informazione è il regno dell'arbitrio, e la trasmissione
delle conoscenze è regolata
sempre più da meccanismi perversi e ``blindati'', allora la nostra
società non è democratica né
libera: è decadente, come decadente era il clima intellettuale che aprì
la strada al fascismo. Come
allora, gli intellettuali e gli scienziati non svolgono più il ruolo che
a loro compete, e stanno lì a
creare una cortina fumogena che rende impossibile la conoscenza dei
fatti, rende arduo accedere
a tutti gli elementi per valutare, e rende possibili (e magari
giustificati) la devastazione e il
bombardamento prolungato per 78 giorni di un paese già vittima di un
embargo ingiusto.
Non parlare dell'occupazione fascista del Kosovo durante le Seconda
Guerra Mondiale consente
di rioccuparlo oggi, nell'ambito di un'operazione di carattere
neocoloniale travestita da missione
umanitaria. Non parlare della natura mafiosa dell'UCK e dei suoi
rapporti con il traffico
internazionale di armi e di droga consente di presentarlo come un gruppo
di romantici guerriglieri
che forse faranno degli errori, ma certo non sono assassini per
vocazione, come i Serbi...
Questo clima decadente, sviluppatosi nella Francia post-sessantottina,
regna da anni
incontrastato in tutta Europa. Si tratta di un vero e proprio
totalitarismo, ben descritto ad esempio
da Peter Handke e da Regis Debray. Quest'ultimo in un recente articolo
ha analizzato e
commentato il linciaggio a cui è stato sottoposto a causa delle sue
posizioni critiche nei confronti
dell'aggressione contro la Jugoslavia: ``A quanto pare voi incarnate la
democrazia, lo spirito
d'apertura, la civiltà contro i nuovi barbari. Non è così. Siete il
volto attuale del
fanatismo''.(9) Debray si rivolge all'intellettualità francese di cui
sopra, ma il suo commento lo
possiamo riprendere qui in Italia ed applicare alla lobby dei vari
Sofri, Matvejevic, Dizdarevic, tutti
gli editorialisti dei grandi quotidiani e tutta l'area politica
trasversale centrata sul Partito Radicale
di Bonino-Pannella, vera punta di diamante del moderno fascismo,
razzista-sciovinista e
guerrafondaio.
``Ex-sinistra'' e responsabilità degli intellettuali
Rispetto a tutto questo il ceto intellettuale progressista è complice
consenziente, oppure è
paralizzato in quanto trova spazio solamente unendosi al coro. Un motivo
di questa paralisi
dell'intellettualità di sinistra consiste nel fatto che essa oggi come
oggi è dalla parte del potere:
non dimentichiamo che è il centrosinistra, che sono le socialdemocrazie
ad aver guidato in Europa
la recente aggressione contro la Jugoslavia. È proprio il ceto
intellettuale sedicente progressista la
vera base di appoggio dell'attuale classe di governo del nostro paese,
così come gli ambienti
universitari e della ricerca rappresentano la vera clientela
dell'attuale area di governo, laddove ad
esempio fino a dieci anni fa clientela, o base sociale, del governo
pentapartito era soprattutto il
parastato, tra i lavoratori statali ed i colletti bianchi
dell'industria. Ecco perché, a mio avviso,
l'ambiente universitario e della ricerca è rimasto sostanzialmente muto
negli scorsi mesi; ecco
perché la tradizione antimilitarista di certo mondo scientifico (USPID,
Pugwash, eccetera) è
defunta, come si faceva notare in una assemblea degli studenti di Fisica
di Roma alla ``Sapienza''
nel maggio 1999. Mentre con la guerra del Golfo la maggioranza dei
professori e ricercatori
scuotevano ancora le spalle preoccupati, e solo pochi di essi
pubblicavano articoli per avvalorare
la tesi folle delle ``bombe chirurgiche'', adesso l'opinione diffusa è
che il problema stia tutto nei
Serbi: la guerra è giusta anche se fa male, oppure è ingiusta ma il
problema resta Milosevic, che è
contemporaneamente comunista e fascista, liberista e statalista,
estremista e venduto,
nazionalista serbo e jugoslavista. Se non firma è esaltato, se firma è
doppiogiochista: insomma è
serbo e va annientato.
Il mondo delle baronie universitarie è il vero ``nocciolo duro'' di
questa classe dirigente, e dunque
non può esprimere una vera opposizione alla deriva bellica ed
autoritaria in atto. Per inciso, tutto il
mondo del lavoro è paralizzato dal fatto che, si dice, ``le sinistre
sono al governo'': perciò non
viene indetto nessuno sciopero contro la guerra, e chi indica la
contraddizione è un estremista,
anzi un ``terrorista''.
Veniamo dunque all'aspetto più ``interno'' del problema, cioè
all'atteggiamento del ceto
intellettuale e del mondo della ricerca. A mio parere, una crisi sociale
e morale investe l'ambiente
dei ricercatori, la comunità scientifica nel suo complesso e le
convenzioni ed il linguaggio che essa
usa per la comunicazione al suo interno. A causa della crescente
settorializzazione delle
competenze, tutte le società a capitalismo avanzato si strutturano in
feudi e ghetti, il cui
interscambio conoscitivo è demandato a personaggi, i suddetti
``esperti'', i quali hanno spazio sui
mass-media e nei consessi dove le informazioni si dovrebbero
trasmettere.
Considerando ad esempio il mio campo specifico di ricerca,
l'astrofisica, rimango sempre più
spesso stupefatto dal crescente livello di autoreferenzialità di certe
correnti di ricerca, e dalla
strutturazione profondamente rigida e chiusa di gruppi e comunità.
Sempre più spesso si ascoltano
frasi del tipo ``non chiedetemi spiegazioni su X perché non sono un
esperto'', anche se
l'argomento X del quale non si intende parlare è profondamente connesso
con la propria
competenza e la propria ricerca. C'è un timore quasi religioso rispetto
al rischio di invadere
``campi altrui'', ed una crescente tendenza al solipsismo, accentuata
anche dal tipo di tecnologie
in uso (il fatto di stare inchiodati dinanzi al computer). In un grosso
progetto di ricerca è difficile
che un partecipante sappia con esattezza di cosa si stia occupando un
altro, e questo a causa
della ``complessità'' del problema affrontato e dei mezzi per studiarlo.
Talvolta l'incomunicabilità
non deriva nemmeno dall'effettiva divisione del lavoro, ma da pura e
meschina rivalità e
concorrenzialità tra gruppi, anzi tra parrocchie, cosicché indirizzi di
ricerca innovativi ed
interpretazioni alternative sono presi in considerazione con estrema
difficoltà. Un tipico esempio è
la cosmologia ``standard'', divenuta un enorme pachiderma sia dal punto
di vista teorico che da
quello sperimentale, sulla quale operano tantissimi ricercatori e
gruppi, con una complicata
strutturazione dei progetti e dei finanziamenti: ebbene la cosmologia
``standard'' assomiglia
sempre di più all'universo tolemaico, al quale si vanno aggiungendo
epicicli ed ipotesi ad hoc per
tappare le falle che si aprono sempre più spesso (teorie
dell'inflazione, e via discorrendo). Il
rapporto con linee di pensiero alternative, pure assai sviluppate
(teorie stazionarie, teoria di
Alfven) è inesistente, e le pubblicazioni ed i contributi in quel senso
vengono accolti con una
risatina saccente, quando non vengono semplicemente ignorati. Ma questo
non vale solamente per
la cosmologia: nel campo dell'astrofisica relativistica, stanno uscendo
a ripetizione articoli che
ipotizzano meccanismi alternativi per gli AGN e gli oggetti compatti, ed
ormai esiste addirittura
una letteratura che nega l'esistenza dei buchi neri. Questa letteratura
viene semplicemente
scansata con fastidio.
A cosa serve la scienza ?
È evidente che questo clima interno all'ambiente scientifico e
intellettuale è il riflesso di un clima
culturale più generale, che non esito a definire fascista, clima che ha
accompagnato questi anni nei
quali la guerra è ritornata ``normale''. La guerra è come il pane
quotidiano, e con la Carta
Costituzionale si fanno... aereoplanini. In questo clima, la ``scienza''
e la ``conoscenza'' vengono
certo celebrate ed evocate, ma per stravolgerne il compito ed il
significato, ovvero per
strumentalizzarle. Per il pubblico il ruolo delle scienze naturali e
della tecnologia si riduce alla
sperimentazione di sofisticati sistemi d'arma, alla menzogna
propagandistica della ``guerra
chirurgica'' e delle ``bombe intelligenti'', e all'evocazione misteriosa
dell'impiego di uranio
impoverito, fosforo combinato, sistemi a puntamento laser, e via
discorrendo. Tutto questo
nell'ambito di una sacralizzazione del portato scientifico-tecnologico
che è la precisa negazione
del significato stesso di scienza e di progresso scientifico e di quel
metodo sperimentale che
imporrebbe la verifica sulle affermazioni, e del concetto di avanzamento
tecnologico che dovrebbe
servire ad una più giusta distribuzione dei frutti del lavoro dell'uomo.
Note
(1) Sissa-Isas, Trieste
(2) Meno che mai si chiarisce perché sia stata abrogata la ``autonomia
speciale'' del Kosovo, tacendo su quello che è successo nella zona per
tutta la durata degli anni Ottanta e facendo incominciare la storia dal
1989...
(3) Il problema della disinformazione strategica nel caso jugoslavo fu
posto in termini chiari per la prima volta da Jacques Merlino nel libro
``Le verità jugoslave non sono tutte buone a dirsi'' (ed. Albin Michel,
1993), ancora non tradotto in italiano, nel quale si elencano i legami
tra i settori che conducono la disinformazione, le lobby ebraiche
statunitensi ed i lauti finanziamenti provenienti da certi paesi
islamici.
(4) Si pensi ad esempio alla censura sul documentario della BBC
riguardante questi crimini, la cui versione italiana, curata dal regista
Massimo Sani con il contributo di storici importanti come Claudio
Pavone, è tuttora chiusa a chiave in un cassetto della RAI.
(5) M.A. Rivelli, ``L' Arcivescovo del genocidio'', Ed. Kaos 1999. Si
noti che il protagonista del libro, il vescovo Stepinac
collaborazionista del nazismo croato, è stato beatificato da papa
Wojtyla il 3 ottobre scorso, durante la visita del pontefice in Croazia.
(6) Sokal, Bricmont: Imposture intellettuali, Ed. Garzanti, 1999.
(7) ``La pulizia epistemologica'', di Marco D'Eramo, il Manifesto,
16/6/1999.
(8) Si noti che durante il conflitto nessuno aveva spiegato, nemmeno sul
Manifesto, che alcuni quartieri di Sarajevo erano a maggioranza serba e
semplicemente non volevano entrare a far parte della Bosnia di
Izetbegovic; cosicché in seguito agli accordi di Dayton centinaia
di migliaia di Serbi hanno abbandonato quei quartieri (1996), nella
totale indifferenza degli intellettuali che pure avevano per anni
parlato di ``Sarajevo multietnica''.
(9) ``Una macchina da guerra'', di R. Debray, su Le Monde Diplomatique
del giugno 1999.
---
Imbrogli di guerra - Scienziate e scienziati contro la guerra
© 1999 Odradek Edizioni SRL
http://www.iac.rm.cnr.it/~spweb/
scienzaepace@...
[ Nota tecnica:
Per visualizzare sia i file PostScript sia i file PDF si puo'
usare il software della Aladdin, disponibile gratuitamente
in rete (http://www.cs.wisc.edu/~ghost/):
- Per Unix/Linux/e simili e per VMS: installare ghostscript e gv
- Per Windows: installare ghostscript e gsview
(installazione semplicissima)
Inoltre, i soli PDF possono essere visionati con il famoso "Acrobat
Reader" (http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep.html).
I file PostScript devono prima essere decompressi
con gunzip (linux/unix) o winzip (windows), mentre i PDF no. ]
--------- COORDINAMENTO ROMANO PER LA JUGOSLAVIA -----------
RIMSKI SAVEZ ZA JUGOSLAVIJU
e-mail: crj@... - URL: http://marx2001.org/crj
http://www.egroups.com/group/crj-mailinglist/
------------------------------------------------------------
Concludiamo con questo contributo, apparso sul volume "Imbrogli di
guerra" (Odradek 1999), la carrellata critica sull'atteggiamento servile
e guerrafondaio della gran parte del ceto intellettuale italiano, e non
solo, in occasione della guerra di aggressione della NATO contro la RF
di Jugoslavia nel 1999. I documenti precedenti si trovano alle pagine:
http://www.egroups.com/message/crj-mailinglist/319
http://www.egroups.com/message/crj-mailinglist/322
http://www.egroups.com/message/crj-mailinglist/329
http://www.egroups.com/message/crj-mailinglist/370
"Imbrogli di guerra" contiene gli Atti del primo incontro del Comitato
Scienziate/i contro la guerra, tenutosi nel giugno 1999. Il volume e'
ormai esaurito nelle librerie, ma tutti i contributi posso finalmente
essere letti sul sito internet del Comitato, in formato PostScript
compresso e PDF. Dalla home page del sito (che e' stata spostata ad un
nuovo indirizzo, http://www.iac.rm.cnr.it/~spweb/) basta cliccare sulla
copertina del libro per accedere ai contributi dei vari autori.
Un caloroso ringraziamento al curatore del libro, Franco Marenco,
per il materiale inviatoci.
Il Comitato Scienziate/i contro la guerra ha tenuto recentemente un
nuovo convegno a Torino, del quale saranno pure pubblicati presto gli
Atti, sempre per le edizioni Odradek.
---
SCIENZA E GUERRA "FIN DE SIECLE"
di Andrea Martocchia (1)
In questo intervento si vuole analizzare il problema della scienza nella
contemporanea realtà
bellica da tre punti di vista: dal punto di vista culturale e
sociologico, laddove la scienza è intesa
nell'accezione più vasta, cioè come insieme delle attività di formazione
e trasmissione della
conoscenza; dal punto di vista della ``categoria'' o ``corporazione'' di
chi fa scienza, riferendosi
cioè al lavoro intellettuale ed al mondo della ricerca in senso stretto;
e da quello del progresso
tecnologico, cioè essenzialmente degli armamenti.
I problemi affrontati sono vasti e complessi, e perciò possono soltanto
essere sfiorati in questa
sede. Mi limiterò a suggerire degli spunti di riflessione, soprattutto
sui primi due aspetti,
riguardanti il ruolo del sapere e della conoscenza nella nostra società,
fornendo ove possibile
riferimenti per un approfondimento ulteriore.
Scienza come conoscenza
Incominciamo dallo stretto significato etimologico della parola scienza.
Il concetto di scienza
richiama la conoscenza, il sapere, l'analisi e la ricerca. È un concetto
valido in tutti i tempi ed in
tutte le culture, ma nella sua accezione più stretta con esso si indica
un filone di matrice
prettamente occidentale, di derivazione greca, sostanziatosi con il
Rinascimento e giunto ad una
teorizzazione precisa con la definizione del ``metodo galileiano'' o
``sperimentale''. Da alcuni
decenni, questa più stretta accezione del termine ``scienza'' è stata
sottoposta a svariate critiche
ed il paradigma è entrato in crisi nella nostra cultura. Non provo
nemmeno ad abbozzare un
excursus attraverso la nascita della meccanica quantistica, la
termodinamica, la teoria della
complessità, ecc., poiché la crisi della concezione positivistica, ma
anche popperiana, della
scienza è cosa ben nota.
Quello che intendo sostenere è che negli ultimi anni stiamo assistendo
ad una devastante crisi
della ``scienza'', intesa anche nella sua accezione più larga. Nella
società delle comunicazioni di
massa siamo silenziosamente ma inesorabilmente arrivati ad una crisi dei
criteri e dei fondamenti
della conoscenza, intesa come categoria generale, e quindi della
suddivisione del lavoro
intellettuale. A mio avviso, il problema non è solamente epistemologico,
bensì è diventato un
problema sociale e politico di grave rilevanza. Questa crisi si può
analizzare a vari livelli. Partirò
dal livello più ``esterno'', cioè dal piano della comunicazione sociale.
Informazione e propaganda
Negli anni Sessanta i situazionisti definivano la nostra società -- la
società capitalistica
avanzata, dove la mercificazione permea ogni attività umana
destrutturandone contenuti e
significati -- come ``società dello spettacolo''. Da alcuni anni, in
seguito a quello che è stato
chiamato ``crollo del muro di Berlino'' (l'annessione della DDR da parte
della Repubblica Federale
Tedesca e la crisi generalizzata del socialismo di stato), dalla
``società dello spettacolo'' siamo
precipitati rapidamente nella ``società della propaganda''.
Nella fase attuale, la guerra è all'ordine del giorno: sia come fenomeno
che riguarda le relazioni fra
stati, ovvero fra stati e strutture sovranazionali (Nazioni Unite, Banca
Mondiale, Fondo Monetario
Internazionale, NATO, Unione Europea, ecc.), sia all'interno di ogni
stato nel senso della rottura
del ``contratto sociale''. Questa rinnovata conflittualità tra ceti
sociali, tra culture e tra
popolazioni, tra centri e periferie, tra chi detiene i mezzi di
produzione e chi lavora duramente già a
dodici anni, non rappresenta ovviamente qualcosa di completamente nuovo,
ma caratterizza
nettamente la fase post-1989. Dopo il 1989 non c'è più lo
``spettacolo'', nel senso situazionista, a
rappresentare il conflitto sociale, mistificandolo: c'è viceversa un
bombardamento
propagandistico-pubblicitario che accompagna l'attacco diretto, aperto e
senza infingimenti
contro le conquiste di almeno cent'anni di lotte dei lavoratori (sfascio
dello stato sociale e
neoliberismo), contro le stesse forme istituzionali atte alla mediazione
dei conflitti (dalla nostra
Costituzione alle Nazioni Unite, dai partiti ai sindacati), nonché
l'attacco armato contro popoli e
stati che frappongono ostacoli a quella che viene detta eufemisticamente
``globalizzazione'', cioè
la fase suprema dell'espansione del grande capitale: l'Imperialismo.
In questa fase il conflitto all'interno della società opulenta non si
traveste più con lo
``spettacolo'', ma si palesa nella pura ``propaganda''. Quella
propaganda che in Italia, ad esempio,
sanziona attraverso svariate campagne di stampa la svendita del
patrimonio pubblico, compresa la
cessione all'imprenditoria straniera di settori strategici come le
telecomunicazioni
(privatizzazione di Telecom), la privatizzazione del sistema
pensionistico, il presidenzialismo
bipolarista già teorizzato nel Piano di Rinascita Nazionale della P2, e
così via. Tutti fatti decantati
e celebrati come ``inevitabili'' e ``necessari''.
Ricordo che fino agli anni Ottanta la politica in TV si faceva solo
nelle tribune elettorali, o si
leggeva su certi giornali. Da un certo punto in poi gli uomini politici
hanno preso il posto dei
presentatori televisivi (da Giuliano Ferrara a tutti i conduttori e
partecipanti dei vari talk-show),
mentre i presentatori ed imbonitori televisivi sono diventati uomini
politici (per tacere di
Berlusconi, ricordo ad esempio Sgarbi o personaggi dello spettacolo che
sempre più spesso
diventano candidati alle elezioni). Si è stabilita una commistione tra i
due versanti (spettacolare e
politico), per cui i ragionamenti sulla legge maggioritaria non si fanno
più in Parlamento, né
tantomeno nelle sezioni di partito, ma si fanno, anzi si spacciano sugli
schermi televisivi.
In questo contesto, è assolutamente normale che tutte le fasi delle
operazioni militari che ad
esempio il nostro paese conduce, ormai a ripetizione da anni, contro i
dittatori ed i barbari di turno
(Libano, Iraq, Somalia, Albania, Jugoslavia), siano accompagnate da
operazioni massmediatiche
dal carattere profondamente disinformativo. I nostri giornali non solo
non riportano quasi mai
reportage originali e dettagliati da questo o quel paese, come invece è
d'uso sulla grande stampa
francese o tedesca, pure schieratissima, ma in generale danno per
scontate una serie di
informazioni di base, sulle quali si costruisce poi tutto il
ragionamento
giornalistico-propagandistico.
Per limitarci al caso jugoslavo: i nostri giornali non hanno mai
descritto se e che cosa sia stato
abrogato dell'autonomia del Kosovo nel 1989, ma ripetono ossessivamente
che ``Milosevic ha
tolto l'autonomia al Kosovo''. Il che è da una parte falso, perché non
fu Milosevic ma la
Presidenza collegiale di quella che era la Repubblica Federativa e
Socialista di Jugoslavia,
compresi Sloveni, e Croati, e dall'altro è fuorviante perché l'autonomia
della regione non fu
abrogata tout-court, ma furono tolti soltanto il diritto di veto che
questa aveva rispetto alle
decisioni della Repubblica di Serbia e le altre prerogative di
semi-statualità, mentre fu ad esempio
conservato il bilinguismo.(2) Allo stesso modo, si ripete
incessantemente che sarebbe esistito un
piano di ``pulizia etnica'' da parte della leadership serba, piano che
sarebbe stato formulato in un
Memorandum e declamato da Milosevic nel suo discorso a Campo dei Merli
il 28 giugno del 1989.
Ma il Memorandum non lo ha letto quasi nessuno, poiché solo Limes ne ha
pubblicato degli stralci,
e chi lo ha letto sa che c'è scritto esattamente il contrario; quanto al
discorso di Milosevic, non è
stato mai tradotto in italiano, così come Milosevic non è stato mai
intervistato sui nostri giornali.
Dopodiché si accusa Milosevic perché, all'inizio dei bombardamenti fa
chiudere Radio B52
(scusate, volevo dire B92), finanziata dalla Fondazione Soros, che ha
tra i suoi sponsor anche
Hillary Clinton. E, in nome della libertà di informazione, si bombarda
la televisione serba con i
giornalisti dentro.
Carattere militare della trasmissione di informazioni
In queste circostanze, il meccanismo della disinformazione nei
mass-media è un meccanismo di
carattere militare. Non è dovuto soltanto ad incompetenza o eccesso di
zelo di certi giornalisti, e
fa si che la distinzione tra il vero ed il falso diventi ardua per lo
``spettatore''. Notizie false come
quella del bombardamento di Lubiana (1991), quella degli stupri di massa
in Bosnia (1993), quella
delle fosse comuni di Orahovac in Kosovo (1998) o le notizie delle
stragi di Sarajevo, subito
attribuite ai Serbi nonostante i dubbi ed i successivi rapporti ONU
smentissero queste
attribuzioni, dimostrano che è esistita in questi anni, e continua
adesso per il Kosovo, una
campagna di diffamazione antiserba, mirata evidentemente a creare
tensione per giustificare
l'intervento armato in quei territori. Non a caso il bersaglio di questa
campagna sono i Serbi, in
quanto popolazione maggioritaria di quella che era la Repubblica
Federativa e Socialista di
Jugoslavia, i quali vivendo sparpagliati un po' dappertutto tra le varie
Repubbliche meno di tutti
avevano interesse alla frammentazione ed allo sfascio del proprio paese.
Per questa campagna disinformativa le parti in conflitto (secessionisti
sloveni, croati,
bosniaco-musulmani, albanesi) si sono avvalse del lavoro di agenzie
specializzate come la Ruder
& Finn Public Global Affairs,(3) la quale attraverso lauti finanziamenti
da paesi terzi fa passare solo
``verità'' di comodo. A contribuire a questo colossale travisamento dei
fatti sono impegnate però
anche alcune istituzioni internazionali: il caso più clamoroso è stato
forse quello del capo della
missione OSCE William Walker e della ``strage di Racak''. Vi sono
coinvolte anche molte ONG
ed organizzazioni pseudo-umanitarie assai attive in questi anni, come
pure la potentissima lobby
di Soros.
Chi conosce questi terribili retroscena sa dunque che i nostri
quotidiani sono da prendere tutti
indistintamente cum grano salis, tenendo in mano la matita rossa e blu,
conservando
religiosamente gli articoli che sembrano significativi e facendo
raffronti a giorni e mesi di distanza.
La persona comune, che non si è mai interessata di un certo argomento
che all'improvviso assurge
agli onori delle prime pagine, è sola dinanzi al bombardamento
informativo. Su di lei ricade per
intero la responsabilità di scegliersi le fonti, fra libri, siti
internet, riviste che non seguano una linea
``di massa'', e anche materiali d'archivio e rapporti o ricordi
personali. In questa situazione la
vera informazione è un fai-da-te. La responsabilità della formazione
della conoscenza e del
sapere ricade interamente sul singolo, che dovrà impegnarsi da solo a
raccogliere, valutare e
sperimentare, proprio secondo il metodo sperimentale di Galileo. Non
esiste oggi come oggi
nessuna ``garanzia di affidabilità'' per i mezzi di informazione: siamo
in pieno medioevo. Quanto
sopra vale anche e soprattutto per i quotidiani ``di tradizione
democratica'', a causa del fatto che
molto spesso essi usano meccanicamente i dispacci d'agenzia, senza avere
inviati sul posto, e
soprattutto si avvalgono della collaborazione di elementi influenti di
quel ceto intellettuale che, io
credo, è soggetto oggi ad una terribile crisi di ruolo e di identità.
Gli ``esperti''
Penso in particolare a certi pseudo-esperti, veri azzeccagarbugli, che
in questi anni hanno
certosinamente capovolto i fatti sulla guerra jugoslava. Costoro sono
riusciti, ad esempio, a
sostenere e caldeggiare la frammentazione della Repubblica Federativa e
Socialista di Jugoslavia
con la giustificazione paradossale che le popolazioni devono vivere
insieme e senza odii reciproci !
Secondo loro, la Federazione andava spezzettata per liberare questi o
quegli altri dall'oppressione
centralista, benché in Jugoslavia i diritti delle minoranze fossero
ampiamente riconosciuti: si
trattava della realtà più avanzata a livello mondiale da quel punto di
vista. In nome della
``autodeterminazione dei popoli'', questi commentatori hanno combattuto
aspramente contro
l'autodeterminazione dei Serbi in Croazia e Bosnia, indicandoli come
aggressori... però poi
appoggiano l'autodeterminazione dei kosovari di lingua albanese,
glissando sul carattere
revanscista ed ultranazionalista del movimento grandealbanese, e
sottolineando ad ogni pié
sospinto la differenza ``etnica'' tra questi e quegli altri. Da una
parte dicono che bisogna difendere
il carattere multietnico di questo o quel territorio, e dall'altra si
contraddicono clamorosamente
evidenziando la presunta necessità di spezzettare, creando nuovi
confini.
Laddove le differenze etniche non esistono, questi pseudo-esperti se le
inventano: così ha fatto
la sua comparsa la ``differenza etnica'' tra Serbi, Croati e Musulmani
di Bosnia, mentre è noto che
la differenza fra queste popolazioni è solo di carattere
storico-religioso (come tra tedeschi
cattolici e tedeschi evangelici). La differenza linguistica, ad esempio,
è irrilevante. Tutto questo
non lo fa solamente un intellettuale di destra come Bettiza, ma anche un
Predrag Matvejevic su
tutti i giornali e le riviste di sinistra. Matvejevic è professore di
lingue slave, eppure va in giro a
teorizzare una presunta differenza tra la lingua serba e quella croata,
rendendo un ottimo servizio
alla nuova vulgata dei nazionalismi. Un'altra specialità di questi
``esperti'' è il non dire: ad
esempio Stefano Bianchini, storico, riesce a scrivere centinaia di
articoli sulla guerra in Bosnia,
senza mai dire che questa è scoppiata nell'aprile del 1992 perché i
rappresentanti croati e
musulmani alla Conferenza di Lisbona furono spinti dalla diplomazia USA
a ritirare la loro firma dal
Piano Cutileiro, già sottoscritto, il quale prevedeva la
cantonalizzazione della Bosnia. Questo
piano, se applicato avrebbe evitato tre anni di guerra civile (per non
parlare delle operazioni di
appoggio militare e finanziamento alla leadership bosniaco-musulmana).
Bianchini scrive anche
decine di articoli sul Kosovo senza mai parlare delle miniere e del
problema geopolitico dei
``corridoi''. E rapidamente cadranno nell'oblio le critiche a quella che
è stata definita la
``trappola'' (o diktat) di Rambouillet, in seguito alla quale sono
iniziati i bombardamenti su tutto il
territorio serbo-montenegrino.
Ad altri ``esperti'' e ad altri fatti, spesso più rilevanti di quelli
che vengono ossessivamente
ripetuti, è costantemente negato lo spazio: non c'è stato sui giornali
ed in televisione alcun
approfondimento sui principali antefatti storici della guerra civile nei
Balcani. Una severa censura
copre tutto quello che riguarda il colonialismo italiano nell'area ed i
crimini di guerra commessi
dagli italiani durante le Seconda Guerra Mondiale,(4) compresi i campi
di concentramento sull'isola
di Rab/Arbe ed in Slovenia, nonché l'occupazione militare del Kosovo
annesso alla Grande
Albania fascista. Una ricerca storica rigorosa e documentata come quella
di Marco Aurelio Rivelli
sui crimini del clericonazismo ustascia nella Croazia di Pavelic e
Stepinac è stata pubblicata
fortunosamente solo nella primavera di quest'anno.(5) Questi sono solo
alcuni esempi che
dimostrano la difficoltà estrema della trasmissione delle conoscenze e
delle ricerche storiche in
questo clima di guerra.
Da una parte, quindi, il perverso ruolo degli ``esperti'' sui mezzi di
informazione. Dall'altra una
vera censura, più o meno volontaria, e comunque strutturale: sono gli
aspetti più evidenti della
devastante crisi nella trasmissione della conoscenza tra addetti ai
lavori e pubblico, crisi in atto
nella società in cui viviamo proprio per il modo in cui è strutturata.
Solo a colui al quale viene
attribuito, massmediaticamente, il ruolo di ``esperto'' è affidato il
compito di interpretare e
raccontare, e solo la sua voce conta. Quello che dice l' ``esperto''
viene riprodotto e ripetuto in
maniera praticamente totalitaria, mentre voci diverse ed interpretazioni
divergenti hanno
raramente la possibilità di esprimersi -- attraverso la pubblicazione di
un articolo o di un libro --.
A causa della rigida strutturazione per competenze e per feudi del
lavoro intellettuale, se non sei
``nella parrocchia giusta'' non passi. Questo lo sa chiunque abbia
provato a farsi pubblicare
qualcosa (che fosse un articolo od una raccolta di poesie) senza potersi
giovare della conoscenza
o dell'appoggio di qualche personaggio influente.
Notiamo che, non a caso, nella nostra società mediatica il ruolo della
scienza e dello scienziato è
celebrato continuamente, al punto che alcuni scienziati di fama hanno il
loro posto fisso nei
dibattiti: si pensi a Zichichi, a Hack. La voce dello scienziato, e in
generale la voce dell'esperto o
di colui che assume il ruolo di esperto nel carosello massmediatico,
assume valore in sé e per sé.
Se a costui viene attribuita una sufficiente autorevolezza, può anche
debordare in campi del tutto
diversi da quello di competenza. L'esperto può allora diventare
tuttologo, ed andare a proclamare
che i Serbi sono nazionalisti per natura, anzi per codice genetico,
anche se lui non ha mai parlato
personalmente con un serbo in tutta la sua vita. Questo tipo di ruolo,
praticamente sacrale,
dell'esperto è la negazione stessa del concetto di ``scienza'', intesa
in senso stretto, ed è la
negazione di fatto di quella che dovrebbe essere la funzione sociale
dello scienziato, dell'esperto,
del ricercatore, dell'intellettuale: colui che ricerca, colui che
verifica la fonte, l'informazione o il
fenomeno in oggetto.
Imposture intellettuali
Questa ``garanzia di credibilità'' dell'esperto vale dal mondo delle
scienze naturali nel senso delle
scienze umanistiche (ad esempio Zichichi che parla di Dio) ma anche in
senso inverso, quando il
filosofo e il romanziere assumono il linguaggio delle scienze naturali,
lo manipolano a piacimento,
ed il tutto causa situazioni al limite del paradosso e del ridicolo. Ha
suscitato molto scalpore, per
esempio, la beffa di Alan Sokal. Questo fisico statunitense spedì alcuni
anni fa un complicato
articolo ad una rivista di sociologia, che lo accettò per la
pubblicazione. Dopo alcune settimane
Sokal in un altro articolo smentiva completamente il precedente,
svelando la beffa: aveva usato a
casaccio complicate citazioni di vari autori, filosofi e sociologi di
scuola postmoderna, creando un
pezzo incomprensibile, perché privo di senso, ma affascinante. Ed era
stato preso sul serio ! La
beffa di Sokal ha chiarito in modo incontestabile che la figura dell'
``esperto'', nella nostra società
delle comunicazioni di massa, è un puro specchietto per le allodole: non
solo per il mondo
``profano'', ma anche all'interno dell'ambiente specialistico a causa
del livello estremo di
settorializzazione delle varie discipline.
Recentemente, Sokal ha pubblicato un altro libro insieme ad un collega
belga,(6) nel quale contesta in
maniera organica e rigorosa il linguaggio ed il metodo usati da tutta
un'area di pensiero, quella
appunto postmoderna, popolata da tanti intellettuali francesi eredi
dello strutturalismo, e rivendica
la necessità del metodo razionale, sperimentale e dimostrativo. Il
libro, che si intitola ``Imposture
intellettuali'', è secondo me una pietra miliare di questa fase storica,
in quanto mette a nudo lo
sfascio completo del pensiero analitico contemporaneo. E così si
scoprono gli altarini dei ``finti
esperti'', che nascondono la loro vuotezza sotto ad una cortina fumogena
fatta di parole, il cui solo
valore, nel modo in cui questi le usano, è nel suono che hanno.
L'attacco di Sokal colpisce al cuore un'area di intellettualismo del
tutto speculativo ed
antirazionalista, che ha i suoi capisaldi in Francia. Non a caso la
società francese, che
rappresentava negli anni Sessanta l'osservatorio del movimento
situazionista, e che era da questo
interpretata correttamente come ``società dello spettacolo'', è anche la
società dove più sfrenata
è la mercificazione culturale (si pensi a Parigi, al continuo
supermercato di idee ed avvenimenti
culturali...). Quella francese è la società dove dall'onda lunga del
Sessantotto antiautoritario si è
sviluppata la corrente di pensiero dei ``nuovi filosofi'', nucleo di
elaborazione del ``pensiero
debole'' antirazionalista che ha furoreggiato durante tutto il riflusso
degli anni '80. Non è un
caso che questi ex-nuovi filosofi sessantottini francesi siano oggi in
prima fila nella polemica
antijugoslava: Daniel Cohen-Bendit, Bernard Henry-Levy, André
Glucksmann, e pure quel
Finkielkraut che un giorno appoggia l'ultranazionalismo croato
sentenziando quali siano i popoli
civili e quali i barbari, ed il giorno dopo rivaluta certi personaggi
della Repubblica di Vichy. Una
corrente di pensiero ``differenzialista'', impegnata in tutti questi
anni a cercare ciò che divide
anziché a valorizzare ciò che unisce, non a caso violentemente
partigiana delle secessioni
jugoslave.
Non è un caso che il libro ``Imposture intellettuali'' venga
violentemente attaccato sul Manifesto,
giornale che ha attinto dal ``pensiero debole'', dalla ``complessità'' e
da un certo antirazionalismo
per almeno 15 anni, nell'ambito di un processo di decostruzione ed
abbandono del marxismo (non
solo del leninismo). Questo quotidiano è l'espressione di un'area
intellettuale affascinata dal
pensiero ``differenzialista'' e postmoderno, ma con enormi difficoltà di
comprensione della fase
politica post-1989, e dello squartamento della Jugoslavia in
particolare. Sul Manifesto lo
squartamento della Repubblica Federativa e Socialista di Jugoslavia è
stato visto troppo spesso
come un processo dovuto a pulsioni nazionalistiche congenite, sorvolando
sulle cause strutturali,
strategiche, materiali, internazionali. Non è un caso, dicevo, che il
Manifesto attacchi il libro di
Sokal e Bricmont definendolo addirittura ``un'operazione di `pulizia
epistemologica', di violenza
paragonabile a pulizie balcaniche''.(7) Viceversa, è logico che il
Manifesto si esprima con tale
virulenza, quasi mostrandosi offeso, perché rivendicando l'importanza
del metodo
scientifico-dimostrativo e del linguaggio razionale gli autori del libro
pongono un problema che
travalica il merito delle scienze esatte e delle altre discipline
specialistiche (sociologia, filosofia,
ecc.). Sokal e Bricmont pongono un problema che riguarda tutta la
suddivisione del lavoro
intellettuale nella società in cui viviamo, e che riguarda pure, e
pesantemente, i giornalisti che in
questi anni hanno pubblicato menzogne pensando che la verifica delle
informazioni e delle fonti
fosse un'appendice accessoria di un sistema massmediatico nel quale
quello che conta è ben
altro: anche diffondere menzogne sulle ``pulizie etniche'' e sulle
guerre imperialiste è considerato
lecito perché ``il concetto di verità è fluttuante''; e ``in nome della
libertà di espressione'' due più
due fa quattro ma può fare anche tre o cinque. Izetbegovic è stato in
carcere sei anni nella
Repubblica Federativa e Socialista di Jugoslavia per istigazione
all'odio tra le nazionalità e per
aver scritto la ``Dichiarazione Islamica'', eppure lo si può appoggiare
come difensore di Sarajevo
multietnica.(8)
Un clima decadente
In realtà se l'informazione è il regno dell'arbitrio, e la trasmissione
delle conoscenze è regolata
sempre più da meccanismi perversi e ``blindati'', allora la nostra
società non è democratica né
libera: è decadente, come decadente era il clima intellettuale che aprì
la strada al fascismo. Come
allora, gli intellettuali e gli scienziati non svolgono più il ruolo che
a loro compete, e stanno lì a
creare una cortina fumogena che rende impossibile la conoscenza dei
fatti, rende arduo accedere
a tutti gli elementi per valutare, e rende possibili (e magari
giustificati) la devastazione e il
bombardamento prolungato per 78 giorni di un paese già vittima di un
embargo ingiusto.
Non parlare dell'occupazione fascista del Kosovo durante le Seconda
Guerra Mondiale consente
di rioccuparlo oggi, nell'ambito di un'operazione di carattere
neocoloniale travestita da missione
umanitaria. Non parlare della natura mafiosa dell'UCK e dei suoi
rapporti con il traffico
internazionale di armi e di droga consente di presentarlo come un gruppo
di romantici guerriglieri
che forse faranno degli errori, ma certo non sono assassini per
vocazione, come i Serbi...
Questo clima decadente, sviluppatosi nella Francia post-sessantottina,
regna da anni
incontrastato in tutta Europa. Si tratta di un vero e proprio
totalitarismo, ben descritto ad esempio
da Peter Handke e da Regis Debray. Quest'ultimo in un recente articolo
ha analizzato e
commentato il linciaggio a cui è stato sottoposto a causa delle sue
posizioni critiche nei confronti
dell'aggressione contro la Jugoslavia: ``A quanto pare voi incarnate la
democrazia, lo spirito
d'apertura, la civiltà contro i nuovi barbari. Non è così. Siete il
volto attuale del
fanatismo''.(9) Debray si rivolge all'intellettualità francese di cui
sopra, ma il suo commento lo
possiamo riprendere qui in Italia ed applicare alla lobby dei vari
Sofri, Matvejevic, Dizdarevic, tutti
gli editorialisti dei grandi quotidiani e tutta l'area politica
trasversale centrata sul Partito Radicale
di Bonino-Pannella, vera punta di diamante del moderno fascismo,
razzista-sciovinista e
guerrafondaio.
``Ex-sinistra'' e responsabilità degli intellettuali
Rispetto a tutto questo il ceto intellettuale progressista è complice
consenziente, oppure è
paralizzato in quanto trova spazio solamente unendosi al coro. Un motivo
di questa paralisi
dell'intellettualità di sinistra consiste nel fatto che essa oggi come
oggi è dalla parte del potere:
non dimentichiamo che è il centrosinistra, che sono le socialdemocrazie
ad aver guidato in Europa
la recente aggressione contro la Jugoslavia. È proprio il ceto
intellettuale sedicente progressista la
vera base di appoggio dell'attuale classe di governo del nostro paese,
così come gli ambienti
universitari e della ricerca rappresentano la vera clientela
dell'attuale area di governo, laddove ad
esempio fino a dieci anni fa clientela, o base sociale, del governo
pentapartito era soprattutto il
parastato, tra i lavoratori statali ed i colletti bianchi
dell'industria. Ecco perché, a mio avviso,
l'ambiente universitario e della ricerca è rimasto sostanzialmente muto
negli scorsi mesi; ecco
perché la tradizione antimilitarista di certo mondo scientifico (USPID,
Pugwash, eccetera) è
defunta, come si faceva notare in una assemblea degli studenti di Fisica
di Roma alla ``Sapienza''
nel maggio 1999. Mentre con la guerra del Golfo la maggioranza dei
professori e ricercatori
scuotevano ancora le spalle preoccupati, e solo pochi di essi
pubblicavano articoli per avvalorare
la tesi folle delle ``bombe chirurgiche'', adesso l'opinione diffusa è
che il problema stia tutto nei
Serbi: la guerra è giusta anche se fa male, oppure è ingiusta ma il
problema resta Milosevic, che è
contemporaneamente comunista e fascista, liberista e statalista,
estremista e venduto,
nazionalista serbo e jugoslavista. Se non firma è esaltato, se firma è
doppiogiochista: insomma è
serbo e va annientato.
Il mondo delle baronie universitarie è il vero ``nocciolo duro'' di
questa classe dirigente, e dunque
non può esprimere una vera opposizione alla deriva bellica ed
autoritaria in atto. Per inciso, tutto il
mondo del lavoro è paralizzato dal fatto che, si dice, ``le sinistre
sono al governo'': perciò non
viene indetto nessuno sciopero contro la guerra, e chi indica la
contraddizione è un estremista,
anzi un ``terrorista''.
Veniamo dunque all'aspetto più ``interno'' del problema, cioè
all'atteggiamento del ceto
intellettuale e del mondo della ricerca. A mio parere, una crisi sociale
e morale investe l'ambiente
dei ricercatori, la comunità scientifica nel suo complesso e le
convenzioni ed il linguaggio che essa
usa per la comunicazione al suo interno. A causa della crescente
settorializzazione delle
competenze, tutte le società a capitalismo avanzato si strutturano in
feudi e ghetti, il cui
interscambio conoscitivo è demandato a personaggi, i suddetti
``esperti'', i quali hanno spazio sui
mass-media e nei consessi dove le informazioni si dovrebbero
trasmettere.
Considerando ad esempio il mio campo specifico di ricerca,
l'astrofisica, rimango sempre più
spesso stupefatto dal crescente livello di autoreferenzialità di certe
correnti di ricerca, e dalla
strutturazione profondamente rigida e chiusa di gruppi e comunità.
Sempre più spesso si ascoltano
frasi del tipo ``non chiedetemi spiegazioni su X perché non sono un
esperto'', anche se
l'argomento X del quale non si intende parlare è profondamente connesso
con la propria
competenza e la propria ricerca. C'è un timore quasi religioso rispetto
al rischio di invadere
``campi altrui'', ed una crescente tendenza al solipsismo, accentuata
anche dal tipo di tecnologie
in uso (il fatto di stare inchiodati dinanzi al computer). In un grosso
progetto di ricerca è difficile
che un partecipante sappia con esattezza di cosa si stia occupando un
altro, e questo a causa
della ``complessità'' del problema affrontato e dei mezzi per studiarlo.
Talvolta l'incomunicabilità
non deriva nemmeno dall'effettiva divisione del lavoro, ma da pura e
meschina rivalità e
concorrenzialità tra gruppi, anzi tra parrocchie, cosicché indirizzi di
ricerca innovativi ed
interpretazioni alternative sono presi in considerazione con estrema
difficoltà. Un tipico esempio è
la cosmologia ``standard'', divenuta un enorme pachiderma sia dal punto
di vista teorico che da
quello sperimentale, sulla quale operano tantissimi ricercatori e
gruppi, con una complicata
strutturazione dei progetti e dei finanziamenti: ebbene la cosmologia
``standard'' assomiglia
sempre di più all'universo tolemaico, al quale si vanno aggiungendo
epicicli ed ipotesi ad hoc per
tappare le falle che si aprono sempre più spesso (teorie
dell'inflazione, e via discorrendo). Il
rapporto con linee di pensiero alternative, pure assai sviluppate
(teorie stazionarie, teoria di
Alfven) è inesistente, e le pubblicazioni ed i contributi in quel senso
vengono accolti con una
risatina saccente, quando non vengono semplicemente ignorati. Ma questo
non vale solamente per
la cosmologia: nel campo dell'astrofisica relativistica, stanno uscendo
a ripetizione articoli che
ipotizzano meccanismi alternativi per gli AGN e gli oggetti compatti, ed
ormai esiste addirittura
una letteratura che nega l'esistenza dei buchi neri. Questa letteratura
viene semplicemente
scansata con fastidio.
A cosa serve la scienza ?
È evidente che questo clima interno all'ambiente scientifico e
intellettuale è il riflesso di un clima
culturale più generale, che non esito a definire fascista, clima che ha
accompagnato questi anni nei
quali la guerra è ritornata ``normale''. La guerra è come il pane
quotidiano, e con la Carta
Costituzionale si fanno... aereoplanini. In questo clima, la ``scienza''
e la ``conoscenza'' vengono
certo celebrate ed evocate, ma per stravolgerne il compito ed il
significato, ovvero per
strumentalizzarle. Per il pubblico il ruolo delle scienze naturali e
della tecnologia si riduce alla
sperimentazione di sofisticati sistemi d'arma, alla menzogna
propagandistica della ``guerra
chirurgica'' e delle ``bombe intelligenti'', e all'evocazione misteriosa
dell'impiego di uranio
impoverito, fosforo combinato, sistemi a puntamento laser, e via
discorrendo. Tutto questo
nell'ambito di una sacralizzazione del portato scientifico-tecnologico
che è la precisa negazione
del significato stesso di scienza e di progresso scientifico e di quel
metodo sperimentale che
imporrebbe la verifica sulle affermazioni, e del concetto di avanzamento
tecnologico che dovrebbe
servire ad una più giusta distribuzione dei frutti del lavoro dell'uomo.
Note
(1) Sissa-Isas, Trieste
(2) Meno che mai si chiarisce perché sia stata abrogata la ``autonomia
speciale'' del Kosovo, tacendo su quello che è successo nella zona per
tutta la durata degli anni Ottanta e facendo incominciare la storia dal
1989...
(3) Il problema della disinformazione strategica nel caso jugoslavo fu
posto in termini chiari per la prima volta da Jacques Merlino nel libro
``Le verità jugoslave non sono tutte buone a dirsi'' (ed. Albin Michel,
1993), ancora non tradotto in italiano, nel quale si elencano i legami
tra i settori che conducono la disinformazione, le lobby ebraiche
statunitensi ed i lauti finanziamenti provenienti da certi paesi
islamici.
(4) Si pensi ad esempio alla censura sul documentario della BBC
riguardante questi crimini, la cui versione italiana, curata dal regista
Massimo Sani con il contributo di storici importanti come Claudio
Pavone, è tuttora chiusa a chiave in un cassetto della RAI.
(5) M.A. Rivelli, ``L' Arcivescovo del genocidio'', Ed. Kaos 1999. Si
noti che il protagonista del libro, il vescovo Stepinac
collaborazionista del nazismo croato, è stato beatificato da papa
Wojtyla il 3 ottobre scorso, durante la visita del pontefice in Croazia.
(6) Sokal, Bricmont: Imposture intellettuali, Ed. Garzanti, 1999.
(7) ``La pulizia epistemologica'', di Marco D'Eramo, il Manifesto,
16/6/1999.
(8) Si noti che durante il conflitto nessuno aveva spiegato, nemmeno sul
Manifesto, che alcuni quartieri di Sarajevo erano a maggioranza serba e
semplicemente non volevano entrare a far parte della Bosnia di
Izetbegovic; cosicché in seguito agli accordi di Dayton centinaia
di migliaia di Serbi hanno abbandonato quei quartieri (1996), nella
totale indifferenza degli intellettuali che pure avevano per anni
parlato di ``Sarajevo multietnica''.
(9) ``Una macchina da guerra'', di R. Debray, su Le Monde Diplomatique
del giugno 1999.
---
Imbrogli di guerra - Scienziate e scienziati contro la guerra
© 1999 Odradek Edizioni SRL
http://www.iac.rm.cnr.it/~spweb/
scienzaepace@...
[ Nota tecnica:
Per visualizzare sia i file PostScript sia i file PDF si puo'
usare il software della Aladdin, disponibile gratuitamente
in rete (http://www.cs.wisc.edu/~ghost/):
- Per Unix/Linux/e simili e per VMS: installare ghostscript e gv
- Per Windows: installare ghostscript e gsview
(installazione semplicissima)
Inoltre, i soli PDF possono essere visionati con il famoso "Acrobat
Reader" (http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep.html).
I file PostScript devono prima essere decompressi
con gunzip (linux/unix) o winzip (windows), mentre i PDF no. ]
--------- COORDINAMENTO ROMANO PER LA JUGOSLAVIA -----------
RIMSKI SAVEZ ZA JUGOSLAVIJU
e-mail: crj@... - URL: http://marx2001.org/crj
http://www.egroups.com/group/crj-mailinglist/
------------------------------------------------------------
IL PARTITO NEONAZISTA OLANDESE CHIEDE MISURE DRASTICHE CONTRO LA RF DI
JUGOSLAVIA
The Dutch neo-Nazi Party, NNP ["Nederlandse Nationalistische Partij"],
says
on its web site, "Late News" page:
"The NNP wants extreme hard line measures against Yugoslavia. We do not
allow our compatriots to be treated like this by a corrupt country!"
They refer to this:
On 31 July, Dutch TV rebroadcast Serbian TV tapes of four Dutchmen,
arrested in Yugoslavia. On those tapes, they claimed to be an armed
"special unit" with violence and abduction plans.
The NNP "forgets" [like most 'big' media in The Netherlands] these four
are
not just "compatriots", but likely to be the NNP's fellow extreme
Rightists.
For whatever it is worth:
Dutch daily NRC-Handelsblad ["NRC-Business Paper"] of Tuesday 1 August
on
one of the arrested, Godfried de Rie:
"According to the Group for Anti-Fascist Research, KAFKA, his name, with
the same initials and place of residence [and also same address, as
confirmed by KAFKA to me], is on the list of members for 1995 of the
extreme Rightist [political party] CP'86. The [Dutch] Ministry of
Defence
confirms that De Rie was a conscript Army lance corporal, of 1989/8."
Today's NNP is a successor organization to the CP'86.
The CP'86 ["Center" Party, founded in 1986] political party was
notorious
for racism, violence, and open propaganda for Nazis like Adolf Hitler
and
Rudolf Hess. 13 year old Afro Caribbean boy Kerwin Duinmeijer, and
teenage
punk rock fan Michel Poyé, died at the hands of Dutch extreme Right
killers. In the 1990s, they sent Dutch mercenaries to Yugoslavia, to
fight
in extreme Right Croat units in Croatia and Bosnia.
Met vriendelijke groet/Best wishes,
Herman de Tollenaere
---
VISITA DEL MINISTRO DEGLI ESTERI DELLA RFJ A CUBA
JOVANOVIC A COLLOQUIO CON FIDEL CASTRO
>
>Radio Havana Cuba-29 August 2000 20:30
> Via NY Transfer News * All the News That Doesn't Fit
> Radio Havana Cuba - News Update - 29 August 2000 20:30
>
>*CUBAN PRESIDENT FIDEL CASTRO MEETS WITH YUGOSLAVIAN FOREIGN MINISTER
>
>Havana, August 29 (RHC)-- Cuban President Fidel Castro met with
>visiting Yugoslavian Foreign Minister Zivadin Jovanovic Monday
>evening in the Cuban capital.
>
>Speaking with reporters Tuesday morning, just before wrapping up his
>two-day visit to the island, the Yugoslav foreign minister said that
>it was a privilege to meet with the leader of the Cuban Revolution.
>Jovanovic stated that his personal encounter with Fidel Castro gave
>him another opportunity to express his appreciation for the
>solidarity shown by Cuba during last year's U.S.-led NATO attacks
>against his country. He also thanked the Cuban government and people
>for their continued support of Yugoslavia in international forums
>such as the United Nations and the Non-Aligned Movement.
>
>The Yugoslav foreign minister arrived in Havana on Sunday and met
>yesterday with his Cuban counterpart, Felipe Perez Roque. During his
>stay, Belgrade's top diplomat signed an agreement for the protection
>and promotion of mutual investments with the Cuban Minister of
>Foreign Investment and Economic Cooperation, Marta Lomas.
>
>Cuba affirmed that the visit of Zivaldin Jovanovic marks a new point
>in relations between Havana and Belgrade and reiterated the island's
>principled position concerning NATO's unjust war of aggression
>against Yugoslavia.
>Subject: Cuba Press release Aug 29
>PRESS RELEASE FOR ALL DIPLOMATIC MISSIONS.
> HAVANA, TUESDAY AUGUST 29 , 2000 RPM
>
>HAVANA.- Cuban Foreign Affairs Minister Felipe Perez Roque and
>Yugoslav Foreign Affairs Minister Zivadin Jovanovic ratified in
>Havana how relations between both countries are continuing well.
>"Without a doubt, this visit demonstrates a new moment in the
>deepening and encouragement of links between our peoples", said the
>Cuban Foreign Affairs Minister when meeting his Yugoslav counterpart
>at the Foreign Affairs Ministry Headquarters. Perez Roque also
>reiterated Cuba's solidarity and position during last year's
>air strikes in Yugoslavia by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization
>(NATO), led by the U.S. In reply to the welcoming speech by the Cuban
>Minister, Jovanovic - who arrived in Havana on Sunday - said he felt
>very flattered by his welcoming. The Yugoslav Foreign Affairs
>Minister explained yesterday that after the Millennium Summit his
>country expects the United Nations to play a stronger role, and more
>democratization of relations.
>YUGOSLAVIA - CUBA YUGOSLAV TALKS IN CUBA STRENGTHEN BILATERAL COOPERATION -
>MINISTER HAVANA, August 29 (Tanjug) - Visiting Yugoslav Foreign Minister
>Zivadin Jovanovic said on Monday the first round of Yugoslav-Cuban talks in
>Havana had been a useful and exhaustive exchange of views on topics of common
>interest. Speaking after meeting with his Cuban opposite number Felipe Perez
>Roque, Jovanovic said they had exchanged views on the current international
>situation, the situation in either country and further enhancement of
>bilateral relations. The Yugoslav Minister stressed the talks were very
>important for the consolidation of traditionally friendly ties between the two
>countries. Yugoslavia and Cuba are linked by shared goals in international
>relations, viz. the struggle for peace and equality of nations and states, and
>for a reaffirmation of the central role of the United Nations in international
>relations, he said. According to Jovanovic, they agreed that the future of
>mankind should be based on the principles of equality and respect for the
>territorial integrity and sovereignty of all countries. According to him, they
>also agreed about the impermissibility of the policy of interference in the
>internal affairs of other states and of the imposition of methods of internal
>development on sovereign states. He went on to say there were good prospects
>for strengthening Yugoslav-Cuban relations in politics, the economy, culture
>and other fields of mutual interest. Jovanovic paid tribute to the Cuban
>leadership, specifically to President Fidel Castro, for their understanding
>and open support for Yugoslavia at the time of last year's NATO aggression.
>*YUGOSLAVIA'S FOREIGN MINISTER IN HAVANA
>
>Havana, August 28 (RHC)-- Visiting Yugoslavian Foreign Minister
>Zivaldin Jovanovic, met Monday morning with his Cuban counterpart,
>Felipe Perez Roque. Speaking with reporters following the meeting,
>Jovanovic said that Cuba and Yugoslavia have a long history of
>solidarity and friendship and that his visit to the island is
>designed to help strengthen those cordial relations even more.
>
>Yugoslavia's top diplomat expressed his deepest appreciation for
>the solidarity shown by Cuba during last year's U.S.-led NATO attacks
>against the European nation. He also thanked the Cuban government and
>people for their continued support in international forums such as
>the United Nations and the Non-Aligned Movement.
>
>For his part, Cuban Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque affirmed that
>the visit of Zivaldin Jovanovic marks a new point in relations
>between Havana and Belgrade. And the Cuban foreign minister
>reiterated Cuba's principled position concerning NATO's "unjust war
>of aggression" against Yugoslavia.
>
>Earlier in the morning, the visiting Yugoslav official laid a wreath
>at the foot of the Jose Marti Monument at Havana's Plaza del la
>Revolucion. He also signed an agreement for the protection and
>promotion of mutual investments with the Cuban Minister of Foreign
>Investment and Economic Cooperation, Marta Lomas.
>
>The Yugoslavian foreign minister arrived in Havana on Sunday and is
>slated to wrap up his visit to the Cuban capital tomorrow, Tuesday.
>
>Subject: Cuba Press release Aug 28, 29
> FOR ALL DIPLOMATIC MISSIONS.
> HAVANA, MONDAY, AUGUST. 28 , 2000 RPM
>
>HAVANA.- Cuban Foreign Affairs Minister Felipe Perez Roque welcomed
>his Yugoslav counterpart Zivadin Jovanovic, who arrived yesterday on
>a three day work visit. The visitor is accompanied by a delegation
>of government officials and business people. During his stay in Cuba,
>Jovanovic will hold talks with the Cuban Foreign Affairs Minister and
>Minister for Foreign Investment and Economic Collaboration Marta
>Lomas. He will also visit places of historic, economic and cultural
>interest.
>YUGOSLAVIA - CUBA CUBA'S CASTRO RECEIVES YUGOSLAV FOREIGN MINISTER
>HAVANA, Aug 29 (Tanjug) - Cuban President Fidel Castro received on Monday
>Yugoslav Foreign Minister Zivadin Jovanovic, who conveyed greetings and a
>personal message from Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic. The talks were
>held in an open and frank climate and lasted for nearly 7 hours, beginning
>with a formal meeting late on Monday local time, and continuing through dinner
>given by Castro in honour of the Yugoslav guests. The two sides had a broad
>exchange of views on a wide spectrum of subjects of common interest. Castro
>showed an exceptionally good knowledge of the situation in Yugoslavia and
>expressed admiration for Yugoslavia's brave resistance to last year's NATO
>aggression and for the country's swift post-war reconstruction. He went on to
>say that Yugoslavia, by defending its own independence and sovereignty,
>defended other countries as well, which makes this struggle globally relevant.
>Castro also expressed full support for the policy of the Yugoslav government,
>especially its efforts to protect the country's sovereignty and independence,
>as well as its status in the United Nations and the Non-Aligned Movement. The
>two sides fully agreed on matters of further development of bilateral
>relations, on the international situation, and the two countries' cooperation
>in international forums, in particular in the United Nations and the
>Non-Aligned Movement. According to Castro, so far from discharging their
>mission in accordance with U.N. Resolution 1244, the international forces in
>the U.N.-run Serbian (Yugoslav) Kosovo-Metohija province have created chaos
>and complicated the situation. Kosovo-Metohija is an inseparable part of
>Yugoslavia, Castro stressed. He sent his greetings and respects to Milosevic,
>and promised to visit friendly Yugoslavia as soon as possible. Jovanovic, who
>arrived on an official visit to Cuba on Sunday, had earlier on Monday had
>talks with his host, Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque. After the meeting,
>Jovanovic was optimistic about further development of bilateral relations in
>the political, economic, cultural, and many other fields of mutual interest.
>Before the talks, Jovanovic had laid flowers at the monument commemorating
>Cuba's freedom fighter and poet Jose Marti, and toured the Jose Marti memorial
>complex. He also met with diplomatic mission chiefs accredited in Havana. Late
>on Monday, Jovanovic and Cuban Minister Marta Lomas signed an inter-state
>accord on enhancement of bilateral relations and investment protection.
>Jovanovic ends his visit to Cuba on Tuesday, with talks in Parliament and in
>the Communist Party of Cuba Central Committee.
>
>YUGOSLAV FOREIGN MINISTER ENDS TALKS IN CUBA HAVANA, Aug 29 (Tanjug) -
>Yugoslav Foreign Minister Zivadin Jovanovic met on Tuesday with senior
>officials of the Cuban parliament and the Communist Party of Cuba. Jovanovic's
>partners in talks on the last day of his official visit were Parliament Deputy
>Speaker Jaime Crombet and the party's Central Committee Foreign Relations
>Department head Jose Ramon Baleguer. The officials conveyed the support of the
>Cuban people and government for the Yugoslav people and their leaders, and
>best wishes for further development of comprehensive bilateral relations. The
>media coverage of Jovanovic's visit has been extensive, and the Yugoslav
>minister has been interviewed by leading Cuban media. Later on Tuesday,
>Jovanovic ends his official visit to Cuba, paid at the invitation of his
>counterpart Felipe Perez Roque, with whom he discussed further development of
>bilateral relations and the global political situation. The high-light of
>Jovanovic's intensive diplomatic contacts in Cuba was his reception by Cuban
>President Fidel Castro late on Monday. His talks with Castro reaffirmed
>Yugoslav-Cuban traditional friendship and identical views on bilateral matters
>and cooperation at international level.
---
SUL RAPPORTO TRA LA JUGOSLAVIA ED IL SISTEMA DELLA DIS-INFORMAZIONE
EUROPEO
>
>MATIC: YUGOSLAVIA DID NOT BREAK OFF RELATIONS WITH EUROPEAN MEDIA BELGRADE,
>Aug 30 (Tanjug).- Yugoslav Minister of Information Goran Matic said Wednesday
>he agreed to the proposal of the head of the European Broadcasting Union Tony
>Naets to resume cooperation with the EBU, as soon as the international
>community and the EBU start treating Yugoslavia as a an equal member. Matic
>also demanded that the EBU publicly condemn the war crimes committed by NATO,
>the US and the European Union against Serbia and Yugoslavia during last year's
>(March-June) aggression, and that it demand that the persons responsible be
>taken to justice. Naets's proposal contained in his letter of August 25 was
>motivated by the interest of foreign media in the forthcoming presidential and
>parliamentary elections in Yugoslavia scheduled for September 24. Naets in his
>letter pointed out that Yugoslavia's national broadcaster was one of the
>founding members of the EBU and that they had enjoyed long-standing
>cooperation. This is true, Matic said in his response, and underlined that
>Yugoslavia had done nothing to break off this cooperation. After last year's
>brutal and criminal NATO aggression on this sovereign state, we only refuse to
>cooperate with the countries that had instigated and organized the bombings
>which lasted two and a half months, killing innocent civilians and devastating
>Yugoslavia's infrastructure, Matic said. Sixteen journalists and other
>employees of Serbian Radio-Television (RTS) were killed on April 23, 1999,
>when NATO bombed central Belgrade, Matic recalled. Leaders of NATO, the US,
>Britain, France and Germany had publicly stated that the RTS had been a
>legitimate target, as the RTS had been defending Serbia's and Yugoslavia's
>state policy, Matic noted, underlining that that policy was in fact a policy
>of defending national sovereignty, territorial integrity and national
>identity. The EBU has never clearly condemned that crime committed by NATO,
>nor has it demanded that the organizers and perpetrators of that crime be
>taken to justice for war crimes. It has also not opposed the political
>decision that the RTS satellite broadcasts be taken off the air although the
>RTS had paid all its dues to that effect, Matic said. The goal of that
>decision was to prevent the world from seeing authentic pictures of the NATO
>and US crimes in Serbia and Yugoslavia, and to use media manipulations to get
>the world public opinion to approve the unlawful and criminal aggression on
>this sovereign European state, Matic said.
---
LA RF DI JUGOSLAVIA DENUNCIA I PROGETTI DI AMPUTAZIONE DEL KOSMET
>YUGOSLAVIA - KOSOVO-METOHIJA BELGRADE: CHANGE OF INTERNATIONAL BORDER IN
>KOSOVO-METOHIJA IS PLANNED BELGRADE, August 28 (Tanjug) - Preparations are
>being made in the U.N.-run Serbian (Yugoslav) Kosovo-Metohija province for de
>facto changing the internationally recognised and guaranteed state border,
>according to a senior Yugoslav Foreign Ministry official on Monday. To this
>end, Kosovo-Metohija is being systematically ethnically cleansed of its
>non-Albanians, with the collaboration of the international force KFor and the
>U.N. mission UNMIK, Assistant Foreign Minister Miroslav Milosevic said,
>briefing foreign diplomats in Belgrade. Milosevic described the situation in
>Kosovo-Metohija as disastrous, saying the violation of U.N. Resolution 1244
>and the Kumanovo Military-Technical Accord by KFor and UNMIK and their
>collusion with ethnic Albanian terrorists and separatists of the so-called
>Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) has plunged the Province in chaos, terrorism and
>all kinds of international organised crime. "I am sure it is no longer
>necessary to offer proof that a process of total Albanisation of
>Kosovo-Metohija is in progress under the patronage of or with direct logistic
>and other support from KFor and UNMIK, headed by Bernard Kouchner. "The fact
>that the worst crimes in this region since World War II are being committed
>under the U.N. flag should be a warning that the abuse of the United Nations
>for partial political interests might have incalculable consequences, because
>developments in the Province directly threaten stability in the region of
>southeast Europe and beyond", Milosevic said. He went on to say that the
>deliberate and systematic violation of U.N. Resolution 1244, among other
>things, totally exposes the strategy of individual international factors
>towards Yugoslavia and shows the true reasons for last year's NATO aggression.
>"The Yugoslav Government believes that the U.N. Security Council, from the
>point of view of its obligations under the U.N. Charter and Resolution 1244,
>is responsible for the present situation", he said. He added that the Council
>is also to blame for the constant violation of Yugoslavia's sovereignty and
>territorial integrity by KFor and UNMIK, headed by Bernard Kouchner. According
>to Milosevic, it is a fact that individual U.N. Security Council member-stats
>systematically sabotage its work, but this does not detract from the
>responsibility of all Council members. He went on to list a series of
>disastrous consequences of the violation of the resolution, as well as of the
>irresponsible attitude of the Council to this, especially as concerns the
>threat to the fundamental human right to life. "Over the past month, we have
>been witnessing an unprecedented escalation in crime targeting Serbs,
>Montenegrins, Romanies, Muslims, ethnic Turks, Goranies, ethnic Egyptians and
>other non-Albanians. "The main target of terrorist attacks now are children,
>which monstrous practice serves to intimidate the remaining non-Albanians and
>induce them to move out", Assistant Foreign Minister Milosevic said. He quoted
>that, from the time KFor and UNMIK were deployed to Kosovo-Metohija in June
>1999 until August 16, 2000, there were 5,089 terrorist attacks - 4,776
>targeting Serbs and other non-Albanians. Of the 1,041 murders, 910 victims
>were Serbs and Montenegrins. Milosevic pointed out that, despite opposition
>from much of the international community and many Security Council members,
>Bernard Kouchner has scheduled so-called local elections in Kosovo-Metohija
>for Oct. 28, although clearly not even the most elementary conditions exist
>for the polls to be democratic, free or fair. "The purpose of the elections is
>to give legitimity to a policy of fait accompli, to give common terrorists and
>separatists the semblance of legitimate representatives of all people in
>Kosovo-Metohija, and to complete the process of ethnic cleansing of the
>Province of its Serbs and other non-Albanians", he said. He stressed that
>Yugoslavia and its Republic of Serbia, just like most other U.N. members, will
>not accept the results of these elections, or any other UNMIK decisions that
>are in violation of Resolution 1244 and that do not respect Yugoslavia's
>sovereignty and territorial integrity. Another important feature of the
>present situation in Kosovo- Metohija, according to Milosevic, is an
>escalation of brutal plunder and usurpation of private and state property, in
>which KFor and UNMIK directly take part. He stressed that this gives an added
>impulse to the exodus of the remaining Serbs and other non-Albanians, quoting
>that more than 400 public companies and 1,000 private companies have been
>seized and wrested from their rightful owners in the Province. "A drastic
>example of usurpation was the storming of the Trepca lead smelter by strong
>KFor and UNMIK forces in the night of August 13-14. "Threatening massive use
>of force against the employees and peaceful civilians, they seized the
>production facilities that employ more than 2,000 Serbs and other
>non-Albanians. "Kfor and UNMIK, headed by Bernard Kouchner, are trying to
>conceal a total failure of the mission to Kosovo-Metohija, which clearly shows
>that it is not to be expected that they can make any radical changes in their
>behaviour in the direction of a strict implementation of U.N. Resolution 1244
>and the Military-Technical Accord, or that the U.N. Security Council will make
>them do it. "There is no excuse for KFor and UNMIK to stay on in the Province
>any longer", Assistant Foreign Minister Milosevic stressed. He went on to list
>the Yugoslav Federal Government's demands from the Security Council in this
>respect: to condemn and prevent further actions by Bernard Kouchner and KFor
>and UNMIK officials in violation of U.N. Resolution 1244, and establish their
>accountability; to take the necessary steps to indemnify Serbia and Yugoslavia
>for losses caused by UNMIK and KFor, especially to the people, the economy and
>the cultural heritage; to condemn in the strongest terms NATO's continued
>aggression on Yugoslavia through financial, political, media and military
>support for the ethnic Albanian separatists and terrorists in Kosovo-Metohija.
>Milosevic especially stressed that, on the U.N. mission's withdrawal, the
>Yugoslav Government is both able and willing to guarantee peace and the rule
>of law, protect the property and safety of all people in Kosovo-Metohija, and
>the full equality of all ethnic communities. The Government, he said, is also
>able and willing to secure an immediate return and redeployment of the
>Yugoslav Army and police in the Province and provide full protection for the
>internationally recognised Yugoslav borders, revive legal bodies of Provincial
>and local administration and the operation of all vital public services, and
>take the necessary steps for a safe and unhampered return of all displaced
>people. "Parallel with the emplacement of peace, law and personal safety for
>the entire population of the Province, the Governments of Yugoslavia and
>Serbia are willing to open a political process for defining 'substantial
>autonomy' under the law and the Constitution for this Serbian province as an
>inseparable part of the constitutional, legal and economic system of the
>Republic of Serbia, directly involving in the process legitimate
>representatives of the state and of all ethnic communities in the Province,
>and with the adequate representation of the U.N. Security Council", he said.
>
---
L'OCCIDENTE CERCA ARTIFICIALMENTE DI ACUIRE IL PROBLEMA DEL MONTENEGRO
http://www.washtimes.com/commentary/commentary-200082918740.htm
The Washington Times
August 29, 2000
Mounting anxiety in Montenegro
Nikolaos A. Stavrou
---
24 SU 24 LE TRASMISSIONI VIA SATELLITE DALLA JUGOSLAVIA
SERBIAN STATE TELEVISION STARTS 24HOUR SATELLITE BROADCASTS
BELGRADE, August 24 (Tanjug) Serbian state radio and
television
(RTS) as of Friday broadcasts round the clock via satellite for viewers
in
Europe, the RTS World Service director said on Friday.
Miodrag Popovic, also Serbia's Assistant Information Minister,
told a news conference at TANJUG's Press Centre in Belgrade the signal
has
been significantly intensified and has made reception possible even with
a
moderatesized satellite dish. "The signal is in the digital format,
of
excellent quality," which is a major feat for RTS, 90 percent of whose
transmitters were destroyed in last year's NATO aggression on
Yugoslavia,
Popovic said.
The programme is broadcast on Extress 3A Satellite at 11
degrees
west. The frequency is 11.518 GHz, vertical polarization, symbol flow
rate
16 Ms/s.
The signal can now be picked up throughout Europe, North
Africa,
and the Middle East, and the European part of Russia.
---
KFOR ED UNMIK VIOLANO SISTEMATICAMENTE LA RISOLUZIONE 1244,
PERCIO' SE NE DEVONO ANDARE DALLA RF DI JUGOSLAVIA
KFOR, UNMIK MUST LEAVE KOSOVOMETOHIJA YUGOSLAV AMBASSADOR
VIENNA, August 24 (Tanjug) Western pressure on Yugoslavia is
intensifying and tension is mounting, especially in its Kosovo Metohija
province, with the approach of Yugoslav parliamentary and presidential
elections and Serbian local polls, called for Sept. 24, according to
Yugoslavia's Ambassador to Austria on Thursday.
Rados Smiljkovic told a news conference in Vienna that, before
the
polls were called, some western media had claimed that the Yugoslav
Government is afraid of an election, while now they profess a doubt
about
the polls' regularity.
Smiljkovic said pressure from individual foreign factors on
Yugoslavia is more than just verbal.
For instance, it takes the form of brutal terrorist attacks,
like
those that have occurred and dangerously strained the situation in the
Yugoslav Republic of Serbia's U.N.administered KosovoMetohija in recent
weeks, he explained.
He went on to express doubt about the regularity of elections
which U.N. mission (UNMIK) chief Bernard Kuchner has called in
KosovoMetohija for October 28, although he had no authority to do so
under
the U.N. Security Council's Resolution 1244.
"The international force in KosovoMetohija (KFor) and UNMIK
have
failed dismally in their mission.
"The fact that local Serbs and other nonAlbanians have no
chance
of taking part in the Kouchner polls is proof positive that Resolution
1244
has been totally betrayed and abandoned by those sent to implement it
and
to restore normal multiethnic life, disrupted when NATO planes began
dropping depleted uranium warheads.
"Because of disastrous results of the international mission and
violation of Resolution 1244 we demand that KFor and UNMIK withdraw from
KosovoMetohija and allow competent Yugoslav and Serbian bodies to do
their
job under the constitution and protect the people.
"We regard as null and void all decisions taken by UNMIK so far
that contravene Resolution 1244 and infringe on the sovereignty and
territorial integrity of Serbia and Yugoslavia," Smiljkovic said.
---
SUL SEQUESTRO DA PARTE NATO DEL COMPLESSO METALLURGICO DI TREPCA:
L'INQUINAMENTO E' PEGGIORATO DOPO L'AZIONE DELLA NATO!
>KOSOVO-METOHIJA - TREPCA BERNARD KOUSHNER - AN ECOLOGICAL POLLUTION OF
KOSOVO
>AND METOHIJA, SERBIAN MINISTRY BELGRADE, August 20 - After a brutal taking
>over of a lead smelting plant, part of the Trepca mining complex, a
collection
>of about 40 mines that produce gold, silver, lead, zinc and cadmium (RMHK
>"Trepca") by the occupiers on Kosovo, with an excuse to do it due to
>ecological problems and ecological pollution, we would like to inform the
>public about the following facts: According to the "Regulations on marginal
>values, emission measuring methods, criterion for establishment of the
>measuring sites and data evidence" ("Sluzbeni Glasnik RS" 54/92) adopted by
>the Government of the Republic of Serbia and done in accordance with the
world
>standards (World Health Organization Recommendation) and regulations, one
of
>the measuring sites is Kosovska Mitrovica. Systematic measuring of basic
>polluting substances (soot, sulphur dioxide, sediment substances used for
>heavy metals determination - lead, cadmium, zinc, mercury, nickel, and
>chromium) were done in two measuring sites. Programme of the air quality in
>this city encompasses also special polluting substances as follows: phenol,
>PAH, ammonia, CS2 and H2S. Also Kosovska Mitrovica among six other cities
in
>the Republic of Serbia was included in monitoring of air quality influence
to
>human health. Measuring is realised by the Institute for Health Protection
in
>Kosovska Mitrovica. Air pollution on Kosovo and Metohija does not and did
not
>exceed allowed marginal values according to the Regulations on marginal
>values, because analyses were permanently carried out. Reasons of the
>occupiers for taking over a lead smelting plant (RMHK Trepca) have a
different
>background, so the story of ecological purposes is an outright lie. The
>greatest pollution existing on Kosovo and Metohija - ecological, mental and
>human is Bernard Koushner himself and the occupiers of Kosovo and Metohija.
>
>TREPCA WORKERS IN U.N.-RUN KOSOVO-METOHIJA AGAIN PROTEST TAKEOVER ZVECAN,
>August 21 (Tanjug) - Trepca lead smelter workers and residents of Kosovska
>Mitrovica protested again outside the smelting plant early on Monday
against
>the storming of the plant by the international force KFor in U.N.-run
>Kosovo-Metohija a week ago. Tioslav Lazarevic of the Trepca management
>addressed the assembled multitude and read out the demands of the
management
>and the trade unions that none of Trepca's employees must be moved out of
the
>north of that Serbian (Yugoslav) province. Lazarevic strongly condemned the
>seizure of Trepca by KFor and urged the workers to remain united and
continue
>their peaceful protests. Some 900 KFor troops stormed and seized the Trepca
>lead smelter on August. 14, while Trepca's General Manager Novak Bijelic
was
>exiled from Kosovo-Metohija on the orders of U.N. Civilian Mission (UNMIK)
>chief Bernard Kouchner.
FISH FLOAT BELLY UP IN KOSOVO-METOHIJA RIVER NEAR U.N.-SEIZED PLANT
LEPOSAVIC,
>Aug 16 (Tanjug) - Dead fish is carried on the current in the River Ibar in
>U.N.-run Kosovo-Metohija on Wednesday afternoon, according to a local
anglers'
>society. The society in Leposavic has told TANJUG that the fish is floating
>belly up in the stretch of the river from Zvecan, near the U.N.-run Serbian
>(Yugoslav) province's chief city of Pristina, to Leposavic. Local
inspectors
>have been notified of the incident, but have not sent a team to the scene.
No
>cause for the environmental disaster has been given, with U.N. mission
UNMIK
>officials silent about the matter. It is indicative, though, that the
disaster
>has occurred in the wake of Monday's storming of the Trepca lead smelter at
>Zvecan, allegedly for environmental reasons, by U.N. troops that patrol the
>seized plant and the banks of the Ibar daily, to keep Serbs away. There are
>also views that the pollution may have been caused by sabotage by ethnic
>Albanian extremists, or by an unskilled handling of the facility, which has
>been placed in ethnic Albanian hands under international force KFor and
UNMIK
>supervision
>SERBIAN PROVINCE OF KOSOVO AND METOHIJA ENVIRONMENT CANNOT BE PROTECTED AT
>ARMS BELGRADE, Aug 16 (Tanjug) - Environmental concerns alleged as the
reason
>for the international force KFor's storming of the Trepca lead smelter in
>Kosovo-Metohija on Monday boggle the mind, according to a Yugoslav minister
on
>Wednesday. One cannot but wonder how such a reason could prompt a brutal
armed
>operation, Minister of development, science and the environment Nada
Sljapic
>said in a statement. The statement was prompted by the violent takeover by
>KFor and the U.N. mission UNMIK of the Trepca lead smelter at Zvecan, in
the
>Yugoslav republic of Serbia's U.N.-run Kosovo-Metohija province. According
to
>Sljapic, UNMIK chief Bernard Kouchner's allegation of toxic fumes spewed
into
>the atmosphere by the plant would be funny if it were not cynical,
pathetic,
>unscrupulous and tragic. It is perfectly clear that the operation was
>undertaken in order to complete the takeover of all industrial facilities
in
>Kosovo-Metohija, said the statement, submitted to TANJUG. The use of armed
>force for environmental reasons raises many questions which should be
answered
>by Kouchner and by those who had the arrogance to undertake such an
operation
>against Trepca, Sljapic said. She wondered why the UNMIK chief does not
>publish radiation and toxic contamination levels resulting from last year's
>NATO air strikes on Yugoslavia, when civilian targets were shelled with
>depleted uranium bombs and damage to industrial facilities caused huge
leaks
>of harmful and toxic chemicals. Kouchner should also say why he is not
telling
>the U.N. army and police troops what kind of environment they are living in
>and which areas are contaminated with depleted uranium and other toxic
>chemicals with delayed action, she added. Environmental protection requires
>that serious steps be taken in Kosovo-Metohija and other parts of
Yugoslavia
>and the world, but these steps should not be taken with armed force and
>environmental concerns should not be a pretext for occupying and plundering
>property and expelling people, she stressed.
>
>SERBIAN TRADE UNIONS CONDEMN KFOR'S STORMING OF TREPCA BELGRADE, Aug 16
>(Tanjug) - Monday's storming by the international force Kfor of the Trepca
>smelting plant at Zvecan, Kosovo-Metohija, its seizure, expulsion and
>manhandling of its Serb employees violated all democratic principles and
many
>conventions, as well as the constitutions and laws of the countries whose
>troops took part in the operation, a Serbian trade union official said on
>Wednesday. Trade Union Council President Tomislav Banovic was speaking at a
>news conference in Belgrade. Trepca's employees, exposed as they are to
>persecution at the hands of ethnic Albanian extremists, are now being
denied
>by the European Union states at arms the right to work, to life and all
other
>rights guaranteed by the International Labour Organization (ILO), all
designed
>in the final analysis to detach Kosovo-Metohija from its parent Yugoslav
>republic of Serbia, Banovic averred. The Serbian Metal Workers' Union has
>appealed to the International Federation of Metal Workers' Unions for
>protection against discrimination and E.U. sanctions, and for being allowed
to
>prove their professional capacities.
>
>TREPCA MANAGEMENT URGES WORKERS TO IGNORE KFOR AND UNMIK PROVOCATIONS
KOSOVSKA
>MITROVICA, Aug 17 (Tanjug) - The management and the trade union of the
Trepca
>industrial complex in U.N.-ruled Kosovo-Metohija on Thursday urged their
>workers not to rise to provocations hurled by the U.N. force KFor and
mission
>UNMIK. Management and trade union representatives were meeting at Zvecan,
near
>this Serbian (Yugoslav) province's chief city of Pristina. The meeting was
not
>attended by Trepca General Manager Novak Bijelic, whom UNMIK chief Bernard
>Kouchner has ordered out of the province. The meeting discussed the
situation
>created in the wake of Monday's brutal seizure of Trepca's facilities at
>Zvecan and nearby Leposavic by KFor, a statement from the meeting said.
>According to the statement, Trepca's deputy general manager, executives,
and
>trade union leaders have been instructed to be outside the Zvecan plant
gates
>with the workers at 7 every morning, to help direct the workers' efforts to
>regain their rights, primarily the right to work. Only Trepca's general
>manager has the right to take actions to rectify the newly created
situation,
>it was decided at the meeting. Pending his decision, all actions and
decisions
>taken by anybody other than the legitimate management and executive bodies
of
>Trepca will be considered invalid and measures will be taken to block them,
>the statement said. It urged the workers to ignore provocations by Kfor and
>UNMIK, and to refuse to take the money offered them as a palliative, as
that
>would legalize the armed takeover of the facilities at Zvecan and
Leposavic.
>The statement was signed by Deputy General Manager Svetislav Milicevic and
>Trade Union leader Strahimir Vasic.
>
>KFOR'S SEIZURE OF TREPCA LEAVES 6,000 WORKERS JOBLESS BELGRADE, Aug 16
>(Tanjug) - Monday's storming of the Trepca facility at Zvecan,
>Kosovo-Metohija, by U.N. troops was an unprecedented crime that has left
more
>than 6,000 workers jobless, Kosovo-Metohija Chamber of Commerce officials
said
>on Wednesday. At a meeting in Belgrade, the Chamber's Board of Governors
>condemned the outrage and decided to request the international force KFor
and
>the U.N. mission UNMIK to restore the facility to its rightful owners and
let
>the workers restart production. The Board requested the governments of
>Yugoslavia and its republic of Serbia to make additional efforts in their
>contacts with U.N. and other international organizations, as well as
states,
>for a speedy restoration of some 400 state-owned companies and over 1,000
>firms owned by Serbs, Montenegrins, and other non-Albanians, to their
rightful
>owners. The Board also encouraged the Serbian and Yugoslav Chambers of
>Commerce to appeal to foreign partners to help Trepca shareholders regain
>control of the seized facilities. The Zvecan lead smelter was seized in an
>unprecedented operation by 3,000 ground troops with helicopter support,
>completing the takeover of all industrial facilities in the Serbian
>Kosovo-Metohija province, Chamber President Obrad Jankovic said. More than
>50,000 Serbs, Montenegrins, and other non-Albanians have been left jobless
in
>that U.N.-administered province so far. Since there were no grounds under
>either Yugoslav or international law for Trepca to be in the competence of
the
>international forces, Kfor and UNMIK eventually had to use force to seize
the
>company, the company's General Manager Novak Bijelic said. Bijelic went on
to
>say that UNMIK chief Bernard Kouchner's allegation of a high level of air
>pollution was nothing but a lie, since recent analyses of the air, soil and
>water in the locality have shown permissible pollution levels by European
>standards.
>
>TREPCA WORKERS AND PEOPLE IN KOSOVSKA MITROVICA PROTEST ZVECAN, Aug 16
>(Tanjug) - Trepca industrial complex employees and thousands of citizens of
>Kosovska Mitrovica and nearby Zvecan protested early on Wednesday against
U.N.
>troops' seizure on Monday of the Zvecan lead smelter in Kosovo-Metohija.
The
>Zvecan plant was stormed before dawn on Monday by troops of the
international
>force KFor and the U.N. mission UNMIK in this U.N.-run province of the
>Yugoslav republic of Serbia, in an unprecedented armed operation mounted
>against a civilian facility. Strong KFor and UNMIK police forces, most of
them
>wearing flak jackets, were concentrated outside the facility, and about
3,000
>armed troops were in Trepca's compounds in Kosovska Mitrovica and Zvecan
for
>the duration of the protest. Addressing the assembled protesters, Kosovska
>Mitrovica hospital executive Milan Ivanovic said KFor's violent takeover of
>Trepca was part of UNMIK chief Bernard Kouchner's strategy to drive Serbs
out
>of the north part of ethnically divided Kosovska Mitrovica. Ivanovic said
that
>UNMIK's allegation that Trepca was a threat to the environment and spewing
>lead into the atmosphere was a lie, and quoted the hospital's logs to show
>that "not a single case of lead poisoning has been recorded".
>
>KOSOVO-METOHIJA'S TREPCA WORKERS UNITED IN OPPOSING KFOR TAKEOVER ZVECAN,
Aug
>16 (Tanjug) - International force Kfor and U.N. mission UNMIK police troops
in
>Kosovo-Metohija on Wednesday blocked workers entering the Zvecan lead
smelter
>that was on Monday taken over by KFor at arms. According to Trepca
Assistant
>Director General Svetislav Pavlovic, speaking for TANJUG, the reason given
was
>that the workers had remained firm on their position that they would not
allow
>themselves to be classified as suitable or unsuitable by anybody.
>
--------- COORDINAMENTO ROMANO PER LA JUGOSLAVIA -----------
RIMSKI SAVEZ ZA JUGOSLAVIJU
e-mail: crj@... - URL: http://marx2001.org/crj
http://www.egroups.com/group/crj-mailinglist/
------------------------------------------------------------
JUGOSLAVIA
The Dutch neo-Nazi Party, NNP ["Nederlandse Nationalistische Partij"],
says
on its web site, "Late News" page:
"The NNP wants extreme hard line measures against Yugoslavia. We do not
allow our compatriots to be treated like this by a corrupt country!"
They refer to this:
On 31 July, Dutch TV rebroadcast Serbian TV tapes of four Dutchmen,
arrested in Yugoslavia. On those tapes, they claimed to be an armed
"special unit" with violence and abduction plans.
The NNP "forgets" [like most 'big' media in The Netherlands] these four
are
not just "compatriots", but likely to be the NNP's fellow extreme
Rightists.
For whatever it is worth:
Dutch daily NRC-Handelsblad ["NRC-Business Paper"] of Tuesday 1 August
on
one of the arrested, Godfried de Rie:
"According to the Group for Anti-Fascist Research, KAFKA, his name, with
the same initials and place of residence [and also same address, as
confirmed by KAFKA to me], is on the list of members for 1995 of the
extreme Rightist [political party] CP'86. The [Dutch] Ministry of
Defence
confirms that De Rie was a conscript Army lance corporal, of 1989/8."
Today's NNP is a successor organization to the CP'86.
The CP'86 ["Center" Party, founded in 1986] political party was
notorious
for racism, violence, and open propaganda for Nazis like Adolf Hitler
and
Rudolf Hess. 13 year old Afro Caribbean boy Kerwin Duinmeijer, and
teenage
punk rock fan Michel Poyé, died at the hands of Dutch extreme Right
killers. In the 1990s, they sent Dutch mercenaries to Yugoslavia, to
fight
in extreme Right Croat units in Croatia and Bosnia.
Met vriendelijke groet/Best wishes,
Herman de Tollenaere
---
VISITA DEL MINISTRO DEGLI ESTERI DELLA RFJ A CUBA
JOVANOVIC A COLLOQUIO CON FIDEL CASTRO
>
>Radio Havana Cuba-29 August 2000 20:30
> Via NY Transfer News * All the News That Doesn't Fit
> Radio Havana Cuba - News Update - 29 August 2000 20:30
>
>*CUBAN PRESIDENT FIDEL CASTRO MEETS WITH YUGOSLAVIAN FOREIGN MINISTER
>
>Havana, August 29 (RHC)-- Cuban President Fidel Castro met with
>visiting Yugoslavian Foreign Minister Zivadin Jovanovic Monday
>evening in the Cuban capital.
>
>Speaking with reporters Tuesday morning, just before wrapping up his
>two-day visit to the island, the Yugoslav foreign minister said that
>it was a privilege to meet with the leader of the Cuban Revolution.
>Jovanovic stated that his personal encounter with Fidel Castro gave
>him another opportunity to express his appreciation for the
>solidarity shown by Cuba during last year's U.S.-led NATO attacks
>against his country. He also thanked the Cuban government and people
>for their continued support of Yugoslavia in international forums
>such as the United Nations and the Non-Aligned Movement.
>
>The Yugoslav foreign minister arrived in Havana on Sunday and met
>yesterday with his Cuban counterpart, Felipe Perez Roque. During his
>stay, Belgrade's top diplomat signed an agreement for the protection
>and promotion of mutual investments with the Cuban Minister of
>Foreign Investment and Economic Cooperation, Marta Lomas.
>
>Cuba affirmed that the visit of Zivaldin Jovanovic marks a new point
>in relations between Havana and Belgrade and reiterated the island's
>principled position concerning NATO's unjust war of aggression
>against Yugoslavia.
>Subject: Cuba Press release Aug 29
>PRESS RELEASE FOR ALL DIPLOMATIC MISSIONS.
> HAVANA, TUESDAY AUGUST 29 , 2000 RPM
>
>HAVANA.- Cuban Foreign Affairs Minister Felipe Perez Roque and
>Yugoslav Foreign Affairs Minister Zivadin Jovanovic ratified in
>Havana how relations between both countries are continuing well.
>"Without a doubt, this visit demonstrates a new moment in the
>deepening and encouragement of links between our peoples", said the
>Cuban Foreign Affairs Minister when meeting his Yugoslav counterpart
>at the Foreign Affairs Ministry Headquarters. Perez Roque also
>reiterated Cuba's solidarity and position during last year's
>air strikes in Yugoslavia by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization
>(NATO), led by the U.S. In reply to the welcoming speech by the Cuban
>Minister, Jovanovic - who arrived in Havana on Sunday - said he felt
>very flattered by his welcoming. The Yugoslav Foreign Affairs
>Minister explained yesterday that after the Millennium Summit his
>country expects the United Nations to play a stronger role, and more
>democratization of relations.
>YUGOSLAVIA - CUBA YUGOSLAV TALKS IN CUBA STRENGTHEN BILATERAL COOPERATION -
>MINISTER HAVANA, August 29 (Tanjug) - Visiting Yugoslav Foreign Minister
>Zivadin Jovanovic said on Monday the first round of Yugoslav-Cuban talks in
>Havana had been a useful and exhaustive exchange of views on topics of common
>interest. Speaking after meeting with his Cuban opposite number Felipe Perez
>Roque, Jovanovic said they had exchanged views on the current international
>situation, the situation in either country and further enhancement of
>bilateral relations. The Yugoslav Minister stressed the talks were very
>important for the consolidation of traditionally friendly ties between the two
>countries. Yugoslavia and Cuba are linked by shared goals in international
>relations, viz. the struggle for peace and equality of nations and states, and
>for a reaffirmation of the central role of the United Nations in international
>relations, he said. According to Jovanovic, they agreed that the future of
>mankind should be based on the principles of equality and respect for the
>territorial integrity and sovereignty of all countries. According to him, they
>also agreed about the impermissibility of the policy of interference in the
>internal affairs of other states and of the imposition of methods of internal
>development on sovereign states. He went on to say there were good prospects
>for strengthening Yugoslav-Cuban relations in politics, the economy, culture
>and other fields of mutual interest. Jovanovic paid tribute to the Cuban
>leadership, specifically to President Fidel Castro, for their understanding
>and open support for Yugoslavia at the time of last year's NATO aggression.
>*YUGOSLAVIA'S FOREIGN MINISTER IN HAVANA
>
>Havana, August 28 (RHC)-- Visiting Yugoslavian Foreign Minister
>Zivaldin Jovanovic, met Monday morning with his Cuban counterpart,
>Felipe Perez Roque. Speaking with reporters following the meeting,
>Jovanovic said that Cuba and Yugoslavia have a long history of
>solidarity and friendship and that his visit to the island is
>designed to help strengthen those cordial relations even more.
>
>Yugoslavia's top diplomat expressed his deepest appreciation for
>the solidarity shown by Cuba during last year's U.S.-led NATO attacks
>against the European nation. He also thanked the Cuban government and
>people for their continued support in international forums such as
>the United Nations and the Non-Aligned Movement.
>
>For his part, Cuban Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque affirmed that
>the visit of Zivaldin Jovanovic marks a new point in relations
>between Havana and Belgrade. And the Cuban foreign minister
>reiterated Cuba's principled position concerning NATO's "unjust war
>of aggression" against Yugoslavia.
>
>Earlier in the morning, the visiting Yugoslav official laid a wreath
>at the foot of the Jose Marti Monument at Havana's Plaza del la
>Revolucion. He also signed an agreement for the protection and
>promotion of mutual investments with the Cuban Minister of Foreign
>Investment and Economic Cooperation, Marta Lomas.
>
>The Yugoslavian foreign minister arrived in Havana on Sunday and is
>slated to wrap up his visit to the Cuban capital tomorrow, Tuesday.
>
>Subject: Cuba Press release Aug 28, 29
> FOR ALL DIPLOMATIC MISSIONS.
> HAVANA, MONDAY, AUGUST. 28 , 2000 RPM
>
>HAVANA.- Cuban Foreign Affairs Minister Felipe Perez Roque welcomed
>his Yugoslav counterpart Zivadin Jovanovic, who arrived yesterday on
>a three day work visit. The visitor is accompanied by a delegation
>of government officials and business people. During his stay in Cuba,
>Jovanovic will hold talks with the Cuban Foreign Affairs Minister and
>Minister for Foreign Investment and Economic Collaboration Marta
>Lomas. He will also visit places of historic, economic and cultural
>interest.
>YUGOSLAVIA - CUBA CUBA'S CASTRO RECEIVES YUGOSLAV FOREIGN MINISTER
>HAVANA, Aug 29 (Tanjug) - Cuban President Fidel Castro received on Monday
>Yugoslav Foreign Minister Zivadin Jovanovic, who conveyed greetings and a
>personal message from Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic. The talks were
>held in an open and frank climate and lasted for nearly 7 hours, beginning
>with a formal meeting late on Monday local time, and continuing through dinner
>given by Castro in honour of the Yugoslav guests. The two sides had a broad
>exchange of views on a wide spectrum of subjects of common interest. Castro
>showed an exceptionally good knowledge of the situation in Yugoslavia and
>expressed admiration for Yugoslavia's brave resistance to last year's NATO
>aggression and for the country's swift post-war reconstruction. He went on to
>say that Yugoslavia, by defending its own independence and sovereignty,
>defended other countries as well, which makes this struggle globally relevant.
>Castro also expressed full support for the policy of the Yugoslav government,
>especially its efforts to protect the country's sovereignty and independence,
>as well as its status in the United Nations and the Non-Aligned Movement. The
>two sides fully agreed on matters of further development of bilateral
>relations, on the international situation, and the two countries' cooperation
>in international forums, in particular in the United Nations and the
>Non-Aligned Movement. According to Castro, so far from discharging their
>mission in accordance with U.N. Resolution 1244, the international forces in
>the U.N.-run Serbian (Yugoslav) Kosovo-Metohija province have created chaos
>and complicated the situation. Kosovo-Metohija is an inseparable part of
>Yugoslavia, Castro stressed. He sent his greetings and respects to Milosevic,
>and promised to visit friendly Yugoslavia as soon as possible. Jovanovic, who
>arrived on an official visit to Cuba on Sunday, had earlier on Monday had
>talks with his host, Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque. After the meeting,
>Jovanovic was optimistic about further development of bilateral relations in
>the political, economic, cultural, and many other fields of mutual interest.
>Before the talks, Jovanovic had laid flowers at the monument commemorating
>Cuba's freedom fighter and poet Jose Marti, and toured the Jose Marti memorial
>complex. He also met with diplomatic mission chiefs accredited in Havana. Late
>on Monday, Jovanovic and Cuban Minister Marta Lomas signed an inter-state
>accord on enhancement of bilateral relations and investment protection.
>Jovanovic ends his visit to Cuba on Tuesday, with talks in Parliament and in
>the Communist Party of Cuba Central Committee.
>
>YUGOSLAV FOREIGN MINISTER ENDS TALKS IN CUBA HAVANA, Aug 29 (Tanjug) -
>Yugoslav Foreign Minister Zivadin Jovanovic met on Tuesday with senior
>officials of the Cuban parliament and the Communist Party of Cuba. Jovanovic's
>partners in talks on the last day of his official visit were Parliament Deputy
>Speaker Jaime Crombet and the party's Central Committee Foreign Relations
>Department head Jose Ramon Baleguer. The officials conveyed the support of the
>Cuban people and government for the Yugoslav people and their leaders, and
>best wishes for further development of comprehensive bilateral relations. The
>media coverage of Jovanovic's visit has been extensive, and the Yugoslav
>minister has been interviewed by leading Cuban media. Later on Tuesday,
>Jovanovic ends his official visit to Cuba, paid at the invitation of his
>counterpart Felipe Perez Roque, with whom he discussed further development of
>bilateral relations and the global political situation. The high-light of
>Jovanovic's intensive diplomatic contacts in Cuba was his reception by Cuban
>President Fidel Castro late on Monday. His talks with Castro reaffirmed
>Yugoslav-Cuban traditional friendship and identical views on bilateral matters
>and cooperation at international level.
---
SUL RAPPORTO TRA LA JUGOSLAVIA ED IL SISTEMA DELLA DIS-INFORMAZIONE
EUROPEO
>
>MATIC: YUGOSLAVIA DID NOT BREAK OFF RELATIONS WITH EUROPEAN MEDIA BELGRADE,
>Aug 30 (Tanjug).- Yugoslav Minister of Information Goran Matic said Wednesday
>he agreed to the proposal of the head of the European Broadcasting Union Tony
>Naets to resume cooperation with the EBU, as soon as the international
>community and the EBU start treating Yugoslavia as a an equal member. Matic
>also demanded that the EBU publicly condemn the war crimes committed by NATO,
>the US and the European Union against Serbia and Yugoslavia during last year's
>(March-June) aggression, and that it demand that the persons responsible be
>taken to justice. Naets's proposal contained in his letter of August 25 was
>motivated by the interest of foreign media in the forthcoming presidential and
>parliamentary elections in Yugoslavia scheduled for September 24. Naets in his
>letter pointed out that Yugoslavia's national broadcaster was one of the
>founding members of the EBU and that they had enjoyed long-standing
>cooperation. This is true, Matic said in his response, and underlined that
>Yugoslavia had done nothing to break off this cooperation. After last year's
>brutal and criminal NATO aggression on this sovereign state, we only refuse to
>cooperate with the countries that had instigated and organized the bombings
>which lasted two and a half months, killing innocent civilians and devastating
>Yugoslavia's infrastructure, Matic said. Sixteen journalists and other
>employees of Serbian Radio-Television (RTS) were killed on April 23, 1999,
>when NATO bombed central Belgrade, Matic recalled. Leaders of NATO, the US,
>Britain, France and Germany had publicly stated that the RTS had been a
>legitimate target, as the RTS had been defending Serbia's and Yugoslavia's
>state policy, Matic noted, underlining that that policy was in fact a policy
>of defending national sovereignty, territorial integrity and national
>identity. The EBU has never clearly condemned that crime committed by NATO,
>nor has it demanded that the organizers and perpetrators of that crime be
>taken to justice for war crimes. It has also not opposed the political
>decision that the RTS satellite broadcasts be taken off the air although the
>RTS had paid all its dues to that effect, Matic said. The goal of that
>decision was to prevent the world from seeing authentic pictures of the NATO
>and US crimes in Serbia and Yugoslavia, and to use media manipulations to get
>the world public opinion to approve the unlawful and criminal aggression on
>this sovereign European state, Matic said.
---
LA RF DI JUGOSLAVIA DENUNCIA I PROGETTI DI AMPUTAZIONE DEL KOSMET
>YUGOSLAVIA - KOSOVO-METOHIJA BELGRADE: CHANGE OF INTERNATIONAL BORDER IN
>KOSOVO-METOHIJA IS PLANNED BELGRADE, August 28 (Tanjug) - Preparations are
>being made in the U.N.-run Serbian (Yugoslav) Kosovo-Metohija province for de
>facto changing the internationally recognised and guaranteed state border,
>according to a senior Yugoslav Foreign Ministry official on Monday. To this
>end, Kosovo-Metohija is being systematically ethnically cleansed of its
>non-Albanians, with the collaboration of the international force KFor and the
>U.N. mission UNMIK, Assistant Foreign Minister Miroslav Milosevic said,
>briefing foreign diplomats in Belgrade. Milosevic described the situation in
>Kosovo-Metohija as disastrous, saying the violation of U.N. Resolution 1244
>and the Kumanovo Military-Technical Accord by KFor and UNMIK and their
>collusion with ethnic Albanian terrorists and separatists of the so-called
>Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) has plunged the Province in chaos, terrorism and
>all kinds of international organised crime. "I am sure it is no longer
>necessary to offer proof that a process of total Albanisation of
>Kosovo-Metohija is in progress under the patronage of or with direct logistic
>and other support from KFor and UNMIK, headed by Bernard Kouchner. "The fact
>that the worst crimes in this region since World War II are being committed
>under the U.N. flag should be a warning that the abuse of the United Nations
>for partial political interests might have incalculable consequences, because
>developments in the Province directly threaten stability in the region of
>southeast Europe and beyond", Milosevic said. He went on to say that the
>deliberate and systematic violation of U.N. Resolution 1244, among other
>things, totally exposes the strategy of individual international factors
>towards Yugoslavia and shows the true reasons for last year's NATO aggression.
>"The Yugoslav Government believes that the U.N. Security Council, from the
>point of view of its obligations under the U.N. Charter and Resolution 1244,
>is responsible for the present situation", he said. He added that the Council
>is also to blame for the constant violation of Yugoslavia's sovereignty and
>territorial integrity by KFor and UNMIK, headed by Bernard Kouchner. According
>to Milosevic, it is a fact that individual U.N. Security Council member-stats
>systematically sabotage its work, but this does not detract from the
>responsibility of all Council members. He went on to list a series of
>disastrous consequences of the violation of the resolution, as well as of the
>irresponsible attitude of the Council to this, especially as concerns the
>threat to the fundamental human right to life. "Over the past month, we have
>been witnessing an unprecedented escalation in crime targeting Serbs,
>Montenegrins, Romanies, Muslims, ethnic Turks, Goranies, ethnic Egyptians and
>other non-Albanians. "The main target of terrorist attacks now are children,
>which monstrous practice serves to intimidate the remaining non-Albanians and
>induce them to move out", Assistant Foreign Minister Milosevic said. He quoted
>that, from the time KFor and UNMIK were deployed to Kosovo-Metohija in June
>1999 until August 16, 2000, there were 5,089 terrorist attacks - 4,776
>targeting Serbs and other non-Albanians. Of the 1,041 murders, 910 victims
>were Serbs and Montenegrins. Milosevic pointed out that, despite opposition
>from much of the international community and many Security Council members,
>Bernard Kouchner has scheduled so-called local elections in Kosovo-Metohija
>for Oct. 28, although clearly not even the most elementary conditions exist
>for the polls to be democratic, free or fair. "The purpose of the elections is
>to give legitimity to a policy of fait accompli, to give common terrorists and
>separatists the semblance of legitimate representatives of all people in
>Kosovo-Metohija, and to complete the process of ethnic cleansing of the
>Province of its Serbs and other non-Albanians", he said. He stressed that
>Yugoslavia and its Republic of Serbia, just like most other U.N. members, will
>not accept the results of these elections, or any other UNMIK decisions that
>are in violation of Resolution 1244 and that do not respect Yugoslavia's
>sovereignty and territorial integrity. Another important feature of the
>present situation in Kosovo- Metohija, according to Milosevic, is an
>escalation of brutal plunder and usurpation of private and state property, in
>which KFor and UNMIK directly take part. He stressed that this gives an added
>impulse to the exodus of the remaining Serbs and other non-Albanians, quoting
>that more than 400 public companies and 1,000 private companies have been
>seized and wrested from their rightful owners in the Province. "A drastic
>example of usurpation was the storming of the Trepca lead smelter by strong
>KFor and UNMIK forces in the night of August 13-14. "Threatening massive use
>of force against the employees and peaceful civilians, they seized the
>production facilities that employ more than 2,000 Serbs and other
>non-Albanians. "Kfor and UNMIK, headed by Bernard Kouchner, are trying to
>conceal a total failure of the mission to Kosovo-Metohija, which clearly shows
>that it is not to be expected that they can make any radical changes in their
>behaviour in the direction of a strict implementation of U.N. Resolution 1244
>and the Military-Technical Accord, or that the U.N. Security Council will make
>them do it. "There is no excuse for KFor and UNMIK to stay on in the Province
>any longer", Assistant Foreign Minister Milosevic stressed. He went on to list
>the Yugoslav Federal Government's demands from the Security Council in this
>respect: to condemn and prevent further actions by Bernard Kouchner and KFor
>and UNMIK officials in violation of U.N. Resolution 1244, and establish their
>accountability; to take the necessary steps to indemnify Serbia and Yugoslavia
>for losses caused by UNMIK and KFor, especially to the people, the economy and
>the cultural heritage; to condemn in the strongest terms NATO's continued
>aggression on Yugoslavia through financial, political, media and military
>support for the ethnic Albanian separatists and terrorists in Kosovo-Metohija.
>Milosevic especially stressed that, on the U.N. mission's withdrawal, the
>Yugoslav Government is both able and willing to guarantee peace and the rule
>of law, protect the property and safety of all people in Kosovo-Metohija, and
>the full equality of all ethnic communities. The Government, he said, is also
>able and willing to secure an immediate return and redeployment of the
>Yugoslav Army and police in the Province and provide full protection for the
>internationally recognised Yugoslav borders, revive legal bodies of Provincial
>and local administration and the operation of all vital public services, and
>take the necessary steps for a safe and unhampered return of all displaced
>people. "Parallel with the emplacement of peace, law and personal safety for
>the entire population of the Province, the Governments of Yugoslavia and
>Serbia are willing to open a political process for defining 'substantial
>autonomy' under the law and the Constitution for this Serbian province as an
>inseparable part of the constitutional, legal and economic system of the
>Republic of Serbia, directly involving in the process legitimate
>representatives of the state and of all ethnic communities in the Province,
>and with the adequate representation of the U.N. Security Council", he said.
>
---
L'OCCIDENTE CERCA ARTIFICIALMENTE DI ACUIRE IL PROBLEMA DEL MONTENEGRO
http://www.washtimes.com/commentary/commentary-200082918740.htm
The Washington Times
August 29, 2000
Mounting anxiety in Montenegro
Nikolaos A. Stavrou
---
24 SU 24 LE TRASMISSIONI VIA SATELLITE DALLA JUGOSLAVIA
SERBIAN STATE TELEVISION STARTS 24HOUR SATELLITE BROADCASTS
BELGRADE, August 24 (Tanjug) Serbian state radio and
television
(RTS) as of Friday broadcasts round the clock via satellite for viewers
in
Europe, the RTS World Service director said on Friday.
Miodrag Popovic, also Serbia's Assistant Information Minister,
told a news conference at TANJUG's Press Centre in Belgrade the signal
has
been significantly intensified and has made reception possible even with
a
moderatesized satellite dish. "The signal is in the digital format,
of
excellent quality," which is a major feat for RTS, 90 percent of whose
transmitters were destroyed in last year's NATO aggression on
Yugoslavia,
Popovic said.
The programme is broadcast on Extress 3A Satellite at 11
degrees
west. The frequency is 11.518 GHz, vertical polarization, symbol flow
rate
16 Ms/s.
The signal can now be picked up throughout Europe, North
Africa,
and the Middle East, and the European part of Russia.
---
KFOR ED UNMIK VIOLANO SISTEMATICAMENTE LA RISOLUZIONE 1244,
PERCIO' SE NE DEVONO ANDARE DALLA RF DI JUGOSLAVIA
KFOR, UNMIK MUST LEAVE KOSOVOMETOHIJA YUGOSLAV AMBASSADOR
VIENNA, August 24 (Tanjug) Western pressure on Yugoslavia is
intensifying and tension is mounting, especially in its Kosovo Metohija
province, with the approach of Yugoslav parliamentary and presidential
elections and Serbian local polls, called for Sept. 24, according to
Yugoslavia's Ambassador to Austria on Thursday.
Rados Smiljkovic told a news conference in Vienna that, before
the
polls were called, some western media had claimed that the Yugoslav
Government is afraid of an election, while now they profess a doubt
about
the polls' regularity.
Smiljkovic said pressure from individual foreign factors on
Yugoslavia is more than just verbal.
For instance, it takes the form of brutal terrorist attacks,
like
those that have occurred and dangerously strained the situation in the
Yugoslav Republic of Serbia's U.N.administered KosovoMetohija in recent
weeks, he explained.
He went on to express doubt about the regularity of elections
which U.N. mission (UNMIK) chief Bernard Kuchner has called in
KosovoMetohija for October 28, although he had no authority to do so
under
the U.N. Security Council's Resolution 1244.
"The international force in KosovoMetohija (KFor) and UNMIK
have
failed dismally in their mission.
"The fact that local Serbs and other nonAlbanians have no
chance
of taking part in the Kouchner polls is proof positive that Resolution
1244
has been totally betrayed and abandoned by those sent to implement it
and
to restore normal multiethnic life, disrupted when NATO planes began
dropping depleted uranium warheads.
"Because of disastrous results of the international mission and
violation of Resolution 1244 we demand that KFor and UNMIK withdraw from
KosovoMetohija and allow competent Yugoslav and Serbian bodies to do
their
job under the constitution and protect the people.
"We regard as null and void all decisions taken by UNMIK so far
that contravene Resolution 1244 and infringe on the sovereignty and
territorial integrity of Serbia and Yugoslavia," Smiljkovic said.
---
SUL SEQUESTRO DA PARTE NATO DEL COMPLESSO METALLURGICO DI TREPCA:
L'INQUINAMENTO E' PEGGIORATO DOPO L'AZIONE DELLA NATO!
>KOSOVO-METOHIJA - TREPCA BERNARD KOUSHNER - AN ECOLOGICAL POLLUTION OF
KOSOVO
>AND METOHIJA, SERBIAN MINISTRY BELGRADE, August 20 - After a brutal taking
>over of a lead smelting plant, part of the Trepca mining complex, a
collection
>of about 40 mines that produce gold, silver, lead, zinc and cadmium (RMHK
>"Trepca") by the occupiers on Kosovo, with an excuse to do it due to
>ecological problems and ecological pollution, we would like to inform the
>public about the following facts: According to the "Regulations on marginal
>values, emission measuring methods, criterion for establishment of the
>measuring sites and data evidence" ("Sluzbeni Glasnik RS" 54/92) adopted by
>the Government of the Republic of Serbia and done in accordance with the
world
>standards (World Health Organization Recommendation) and regulations, one
of
>the measuring sites is Kosovska Mitrovica. Systematic measuring of basic
>polluting substances (soot, sulphur dioxide, sediment substances used for
>heavy metals determination - lead, cadmium, zinc, mercury, nickel, and
>chromium) were done in two measuring sites. Programme of the air quality in
>this city encompasses also special polluting substances as follows: phenol,
>PAH, ammonia, CS2 and H2S. Also Kosovska Mitrovica among six other cities
in
>the Republic of Serbia was included in monitoring of air quality influence
to
>human health. Measuring is realised by the Institute for Health Protection
in
>Kosovska Mitrovica. Air pollution on Kosovo and Metohija does not and did
not
>exceed allowed marginal values according to the Regulations on marginal
>values, because analyses were permanently carried out. Reasons of the
>occupiers for taking over a lead smelting plant (RMHK Trepca) have a
different
>background, so the story of ecological purposes is an outright lie. The
>greatest pollution existing on Kosovo and Metohija - ecological, mental and
>human is Bernard Koushner himself and the occupiers of Kosovo and Metohija.
>
>TREPCA WORKERS IN U.N.-RUN KOSOVO-METOHIJA AGAIN PROTEST TAKEOVER ZVECAN,
>August 21 (Tanjug) - Trepca lead smelter workers and residents of Kosovska
>Mitrovica protested again outside the smelting plant early on Monday
against
>the storming of the plant by the international force KFor in U.N.-run
>Kosovo-Metohija a week ago. Tioslav Lazarevic of the Trepca management
>addressed the assembled multitude and read out the demands of the
management
>and the trade unions that none of Trepca's employees must be moved out of
the
>north of that Serbian (Yugoslav) province. Lazarevic strongly condemned the
>seizure of Trepca by KFor and urged the workers to remain united and
continue
>their peaceful protests. Some 900 KFor troops stormed and seized the Trepca
>lead smelter on August. 14, while Trepca's General Manager Novak Bijelic
was
>exiled from Kosovo-Metohija on the orders of U.N. Civilian Mission (UNMIK)
>chief Bernard Kouchner.
FISH FLOAT BELLY UP IN KOSOVO-METOHIJA RIVER NEAR U.N.-SEIZED PLANT
LEPOSAVIC,
>Aug 16 (Tanjug) - Dead fish is carried on the current in the River Ibar in
>U.N.-run Kosovo-Metohija on Wednesday afternoon, according to a local
anglers'
>society. The society in Leposavic has told TANJUG that the fish is floating
>belly up in the stretch of the river from Zvecan, near the U.N.-run Serbian
>(Yugoslav) province's chief city of Pristina, to Leposavic. Local
inspectors
>have been notified of the incident, but have not sent a team to the scene.
No
>cause for the environmental disaster has been given, with U.N. mission
UNMIK
>officials silent about the matter. It is indicative, though, that the
disaster
>has occurred in the wake of Monday's storming of the Trepca lead smelter at
>Zvecan, allegedly for environmental reasons, by U.N. troops that patrol the
>seized plant and the banks of the Ibar daily, to keep Serbs away. There are
>also views that the pollution may have been caused by sabotage by ethnic
>Albanian extremists, or by an unskilled handling of the facility, which has
>been placed in ethnic Albanian hands under international force KFor and
UNMIK
>supervision
>SERBIAN PROVINCE OF KOSOVO AND METOHIJA ENVIRONMENT CANNOT BE PROTECTED AT
>ARMS BELGRADE, Aug 16 (Tanjug) - Environmental concerns alleged as the
reason
>for the international force KFor's storming of the Trepca lead smelter in
>Kosovo-Metohija on Monday boggle the mind, according to a Yugoslav minister
on
>Wednesday. One cannot but wonder how such a reason could prompt a brutal
armed
>operation, Minister of development, science and the environment Nada
Sljapic
>said in a statement. The statement was prompted by the violent takeover by
>KFor and the U.N. mission UNMIK of the Trepca lead smelter at Zvecan, in
the
>Yugoslav republic of Serbia's U.N.-run Kosovo-Metohija province. According
to
>Sljapic, UNMIK chief Bernard Kouchner's allegation of toxic fumes spewed
into
>the atmosphere by the plant would be funny if it were not cynical,
pathetic,
>unscrupulous and tragic. It is perfectly clear that the operation was
>undertaken in order to complete the takeover of all industrial facilities
in
>Kosovo-Metohija, said the statement, submitted to TANJUG. The use of armed
>force for environmental reasons raises many questions which should be
answered
>by Kouchner and by those who had the arrogance to undertake such an
operation
>against Trepca, Sljapic said. She wondered why the UNMIK chief does not
>publish radiation and toxic contamination levels resulting from last year's
>NATO air strikes on Yugoslavia, when civilian targets were shelled with
>depleted uranium bombs and damage to industrial facilities caused huge
leaks
>of harmful and toxic chemicals. Kouchner should also say why he is not
telling
>the U.N. army and police troops what kind of environment they are living in
>and which areas are contaminated with depleted uranium and other toxic
>chemicals with delayed action, she added. Environmental protection requires
>that serious steps be taken in Kosovo-Metohija and other parts of
Yugoslavia
>and the world, but these steps should not be taken with armed force and
>environmental concerns should not be a pretext for occupying and plundering
>property and expelling people, she stressed.
>
>SERBIAN TRADE UNIONS CONDEMN KFOR'S STORMING OF TREPCA BELGRADE, Aug 16
>(Tanjug) - Monday's storming by the international force Kfor of the Trepca
>smelting plant at Zvecan, Kosovo-Metohija, its seizure, expulsion and
>manhandling of its Serb employees violated all democratic principles and
many
>conventions, as well as the constitutions and laws of the countries whose
>troops took part in the operation, a Serbian trade union official said on
>Wednesday. Trade Union Council President Tomislav Banovic was speaking at a
>news conference in Belgrade. Trepca's employees, exposed as they are to
>persecution at the hands of ethnic Albanian extremists, are now being
denied
>by the European Union states at arms the right to work, to life and all
other
>rights guaranteed by the International Labour Organization (ILO), all
designed
>in the final analysis to detach Kosovo-Metohija from its parent Yugoslav
>republic of Serbia, Banovic averred. The Serbian Metal Workers' Union has
>appealed to the International Federation of Metal Workers' Unions for
>protection against discrimination and E.U. sanctions, and for being allowed
to
>prove their professional capacities.
>
>TREPCA MANAGEMENT URGES WORKERS TO IGNORE KFOR AND UNMIK PROVOCATIONS
KOSOVSKA
>MITROVICA, Aug 17 (Tanjug) - The management and the trade union of the
Trepca
>industrial complex in U.N.-ruled Kosovo-Metohija on Thursday urged their
>workers not to rise to provocations hurled by the U.N. force KFor and
mission
>UNMIK. Management and trade union representatives were meeting at Zvecan,
near
>this Serbian (Yugoslav) province's chief city of Pristina. The meeting was
not
>attended by Trepca General Manager Novak Bijelic, whom UNMIK chief Bernard
>Kouchner has ordered out of the province. The meeting discussed the
situation
>created in the wake of Monday's brutal seizure of Trepca's facilities at
>Zvecan and nearby Leposavic by KFor, a statement from the meeting said.
>According to the statement, Trepca's deputy general manager, executives,
and
>trade union leaders have been instructed to be outside the Zvecan plant
gates
>with the workers at 7 every morning, to help direct the workers' efforts to
>regain their rights, primarily the right to work. Only Trepca's general
>manager has the right to take actions to rectify the newly created
situation,
>it was decided at the meeting. Pending his decision, all actions and
decisions
>taken by anybody other than the legitimate management and executive bodies
of
>Trepca will be considered invalid and measures will be taken to block them,
>the statement said. It urged the workers to ignore provocations by Kfor and
>UNMIK, and to refuse to take the money offered them as a palliative, as
that
>would legalize the armed takeover of the facilities at Zvecan and
Leposavic.
>The statement was signed by Deputy General Manager Svetislav Milicevic and
>Trade Union leader Strahimir Vasic.
>
>KFOR'S SEIZURE OF TREPCA LEAVES 6,000 WORKERS JOBLESS BELGRADE, Aug 16
>(Tanjug) - Monday's storming of the Trepca facility at Zvecan,
>Kosovo-Metohija, by U.N. troops was an unprecedented crime that has left
more
>than 6,000 workers jobless, Kosovo-Metohija Chamber of Commerce officials
said
>on Wednesday. At a meeting in Belgrade, the Chamber's Board of Governors
>condemned the outrage and decided to request the international force KFor
and
>the U.N. mission UNMIK to restore the facility to its rightful owners and
let
>the workers restart production. The Board requested the governments of
>Yugoslavia and its republic of Serbia to make additional efforts in their
>contacts with U.N. and other international organizations, as well as
states,
>for a speedy restoration of some 400 state-owned companies and over 1,000
>firms owned by Serbs, Montenegrins, and other non-Albanians, to their
rightful
>owners. The Board also encouraged the Serbian and Yugoslav Chambers of
>Commerce to appeal to foreign partners to help Trepca shareholders regain
>control of the seized facilities. The Zvecan lead smelter was seized in an
>unprecedented operation by 3,000 ground troops with helicopter support,
>completing the takeover of all industrial facilities in the Serbian
>Kosovo-Metohija province, Chamber President Obrad Jankovic said. More than
>50,000 Serbs, Montenegrins, and other non-Albanians have been left jobless
in
>that U.N.-administered province so far. Since there were no grounds under
>either Yugoslav or international law for Trepca to be in the competence of
the
>international forces, Kfor and UNMIK eventually had to use force to seize
the
>company, the company's General Manager Novak Bijelic said. Bijelic went on
to
>say that UNMIK chief Bernard Kouchner's allegation of a high level of air
>pollution was nothing but a lie, since recent analyses of the air, soil and
>water in the locality have shown permissible pollution levels by European
>standards.
>
>TREPCA WORKERS AND PEOPLE IN KOSOVSKA MITROVICA PROTEST ZVECAN, Aug 16
>(Tanjug) - Trepca industrial complex employees and thousands of citizens of
>Kosovska Mitrovica and nearby Zvecan protested early on Wednesday against
U.N.
>troops' seizure on Monday of the Zvecan lead smelter in Kosovo-Metohija.
The
>Zvecan plant was stormed before dawn on Monday by troops of the
international
>force KFor and the U.N. mission UNMIK in this U.N.-run province of the
>Yugoslav republic of Serbia, in an unprecedented armed operation mounted
>against a civilian facility. Strong KFor and UNMIK police forces, most of
them
>wearing flak jackets, were concentrated outside the facility, and about
3,000
>armed troops were in Trepca's compounds in Kosovska Mitrovica and Zvecan
for
>the duration of the protest. Addressing the assembled protesters, Kosovska
>Mitrovica hospital executive Milan Ivanovic said KFor's violent takeover of
>Trepca was part of UNMIK chief Bernard Kouchner's strategy to drive Serbs
out
>of the north part of ethnically divided Kosovska Mitrovica. Ivanovic said
that
>UNMIK's allegation that Trepca was a threat to the environment and spewing
>lead into the atmosphere was a lie, and quoted the hospital's logs to show
>that "not a single case of lead poisoning has been recorded".
>
>KOSOVO-METOHIJA'S TREPCA WORKERS UNITED IN OPPOSING KFOR TAKEOVER ZVECAN,
Aug
>16 (Tanjug) - International force Kfor and U.N. mission UNMIK police troops
in
>Kosovo-Metohija on Wednesday blocked workers entering the Zvecan lead
smelter
>that was on Monday taken over by KFor at arms. According to Trepca
Assistant
>Director General Svetislav Pavlovic, speaking for TANJUG, the reason given
was
>that the workers had remained firm on their position that they would not
allow
>themselves to be classified as suitable or unsuitable by anybody.
>
--------- COORDINAMENTO ROMANO PER LA JUGOSLAVIA -----------
RIMSKI SAVEZ ZA JUGOSLAVIJU
e-mail: crj@... - URL: http://marx2001.org/crj
http://www.egroups.com/group/crj-mailinglist/
------------------------------------------------------------
>-------------------------
>Via Workers World News Service
>Reprinted from the Aug. 24, 2000
>issue of Workers World newspaper
>-------------------------
>
>U.S. court rules against Serb leader
>
>THE RAPE CHARGE & WASHINGTON'S WAR PROPAGANDA
>
>By Sara Flounders
>
>On Aug. 10, a federal court in New York ruled that Radovan
>Karadzic, the Bosnian Serb leader during the civil war in
>Bosnia seven years ago, must pay $745 million in damages for
>the crimes of rape, torture and genocide committed during
>the civil war.
>
>Of course, no money is expected to be recovered. The charge
>was originally filed in 1993 for propaganda purposes at the
>height of the Bosnian civil war. The decision seven years
>later received the full front page and three inside pages of
>coverage in the Aug. 11 edition of Newsday, and wide
>attention in other media.
>
>How could a U.S. federal court in New York even have
>jurisdiction over what happened in another country to people
>who had no connection to the United States?
>
>This "trial" is part of a continuing effort to give the U.S.
>government the basis to charge and convict leaders of any
>country that is the target of CIA destabilization. It
>revived all the charges that were used to justify U.S.
>military intervention and occupation in the Balkans.
>
>Karadzic is not charged with committing any of the crimes
>directly. He is charged as the leader of a government that
>has been a target of continuing demonization.
>
>Karadzic could not travel to New York or present any defense
>in this one-sided trial. He is in hiding in Bosnia after
>being indicted on similar charges at the court established
>at The Hague by U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright--
>the so-called International Criminal Tribunal for the Former
>Yugoslavia.
>
>Of course, no testimony presented in the U.S. federal court
>in New York or the Tribunal based at The Hague even
>mentioned Washington's role in manufacturing the break-up of
>the Yugoslav Federation, fomenting the civil war and bombing
>civilians in Bosnia and Yugoslavia.
>
>But the criminal role of the United States, Germany and
>other Western governments has been well documented by
>people's tribunals in New York, Berlin, Rome, Athens, Moscow
>and Kiev, Ukraine, over the past year.
>
>NATO BASES THE REAL GOAL
>The charges of genocide and mass rapes in Bosnia were the
>beginning of a massive, well-orchestrated public relations
>campaign to demand U.S./NATO intervention in the Balkans.
>
>Claiming to be a force for peace and stability in a bloody
>civil war, the Pentagon has now established a whole network
>of military bases in Bosnia, Croatia, Macedonia, Kosovo,
>Hungary and the Czech Republic.
>
>Serb towns in Bosnia were the targets of more than 4,000
>U.S. bombings in 1994 and 1995. In 1999 the Pentagon and
>NATO bombed Yugoslavia for 78 days.
>
>The charge of rape made against the Serbs shaped the views
>of millions of people who previously had little interest in
>the Balkans.
>
>In late 1992 and early 1993, sensational news reports
>charged that mass rapes were a planned, deliberate strategy
>of the Bosnian Serb leadership.
>
>Women are the first victims in every war. Rape and the
>degrading abuse of women are all too often carried out as a
>stamp of conquest by invading armies imbued with patriarchal
>attitudes.
>
>But the charge of rape has also often been consciously used
>as an essential prop of war propaganda. The supposed defense
>of women is used to mobilize armies and to galvanize blind
>hatred.
>
>A LIE REPEATED BECOMES FACT
>
>Without any examination of the highly biased sources, the
>major Western media gave lurid descriptions of rape camps
>where it was claimed that between 20,000 and 100,000 Muslim
>and Croatian women were raped. This crystallized the public
>view that Serbs were the evil aggressors and Muslims and
>Croatians the helpless victims.
>
>The charge that 30,000 women and girls had been raped
>originated with the foreign minister of Bosnia, Haris
>Silajdzic, in order to stall peace talks in Geneva in late
>1992.
>
>In January 1993 the Warburton Report authorized by the
>European Community estimated that 20,000 Muslim women had
>been raped as part of a Serb strategy of conquest. This
>report was widely cited as an authoritative, independent
>source.
>
>No coverage was given to a dissenting member of the
>investigative team--European Parliament President Simone
>Veil--who revealed that the estimate of 20,000 rapes was
>based on interviews with only four victims, two women and
>two men.
>
>The Croatian Ministry of Health in Zagreb was the main
>source on which the Warburton Report based its estimate of
>20,000 rapes.
>
>Because the charge of systematic Serbian rapes of Muslim and
>Croatian women has been repeated so often, it is now
>accepted as an undisputed fact.
>
>Publications vied with each other for sensationalized
>accounts. USA Today told the story of a 5-month-old baby who
>was supposedly the result of Serbian rape. The New York
>Times carried a photo story with the caption, "Two-month-old
>baby girl born to a teen-age Muslim woman after she was
>raped in a Serbian detention camp." The war was not yet nine
>months old.
>
>Ms. Magazine ran a cover story that accused Bosnian Serb
>forces of raping for the purpose of producing pornographic
>films. No such films were ever found and the charges were
>not supported by the findings of Helsinki Watch or Human
>Rights Watch.
>
>CROATIAN (DIS)INFORMATION CENTER
>
>The woman who was the star witness and main media
>spokesperson in the New York trial and judgment, Jadranka
>Cigelj, is a paid propagandist who worked for the Croatian
>Information Center.
>
>She was well known in radical Croatian nationalist circles.
>She was also the vice-chair of Croatian President Franjo
>Tudjman's fascist HDZ Party.
>
>The HDZ is closely linked to the Ustashe Party that led
>Croatia during the Nazi occupation in World War II.
>
>Perhaps because of her fascist political background, in
>interviews Cigelj always brands the Serbs as "far worse than
>the Nazis."
>
>Cigelj's rape charges are extensively quoted in almost all
>articles and testimony on rapes in Bosnia. However, her
>accounts have changed several times.
>
>Thomas Deichmann, a German researcher and journalist, has
>documented Cigelj's varied testimony and her political
>background in a chapter of the book, "War, Lies and
>Videotape," published by the International Action Center.
>
>In one publication produced by the Croatian Information
>Center, Cigelj charged that a Serbian reserve officer raped
>her. In a later article with Roy Gutman of Newsday, she
>charged that Zeljko Mejakic, the Serbian commander of a
>refugee camp, and two camp guards raped her.
>
>Later, in a German publication, her story changed again. She
>testified in the highly publicized case of another man,
>former Serbian soldier Jezdimir Topic, who faced deportation
>from the United States in 1999.
>
>Cigelj offered to become a key prosecution witness against
>another Serb, Dusan Tadic, at the Hague Tribunal. She was
>rejected because she was seen as an unreliable source.
>
>However, Cigelj has been featured in documentaries, received
>financial awards, and was the main spokesperson of a 25-city
>U.S. tour organized by Amnesty International.
>
>None of the discrepancies in her story or her right-wing
>political activities was reported in the coverage of her
>testimony against Radovan Karadzic.
>
>CAPITALISM PROMOTES SEXUAL SLAVERY
>
>Nowhere in Newsday's three pages of coverage recounting
>charges of Serbian rapes in Bosnia were the conditions women
>face today under NATO occupation even mentioned.
>
>Throughout Eastern and Central Europe, in Russia and the
>former Soviet republics, the chaos and dislocation of the
>capitalist market have eroded the enormous gains women made
>under socialism.
>
>A decade ago these countries guaranteed full employment and
>two years paid maternity leave. Now unemployment of 30-40
>percent is the norm. Health care and child-care services
>have collapsed.
>
>Women's organizations were understandably outraged by the
>lurid reports concerning mass rapes in Bosnia seven years
>ago. They would make a contribution if they focused their
>resources on exposing the conditions for women living under
>U.S. domination today.
>
>U.S. troops and bases do not protect women. They exist to
>protect the extraction of profits for giant capitalist
>institutions. In every U.S. military operation an entire sex
>industry of bars, strip joints and brothels is created
>around the bases.
>
>This experience of Vietnam, Thailand, Korea and the
>Philippines is now the reality around U.S. bases in Tuxla,
>Bosnia, and at Camp Bondsteel in Kosovo.
>
>At the United Nations Beijing Plus Five Conference of 10,000
>women in June, the worldwide status of women was examined.
>It was estimated that more than half-a-million women from
>Central and Eastern Europe are shipped abroad each year as
>part of the worldwide trafficking in prostitutes. Bosnia was
>cited as one of the worst examples. (New York Times, June
>11)
>
>Flounders is co-director of the International Action Center
>in New York. Background materials for this article appeared
>in two IAC books, "NATO in the Balkans" and "War, Lies and
>Videotape," both available at leftbooks.com.
>
>- END -
>
>(Copyleft Workers World Service: Everyone is permitted to
>copy and distribute verbatim copies of this document, but
>changing it is not allowed. For more information contact
>Workers World, 55 W. 17 St., NY, NY 10011; via e-mail:
>ww@.... For subscription info send message to:
>info@.... Web: http://www.workers.org)
>
>
--------- COORDINAMENTO ROMANO PER LA JUGOSLAVIA -----------
RIMSKI SAVEZ ZA JUGOSLAVIJU
e-mail: crj@... - URL: http://marx2001.org/crj
http://www.egroups.com/group/crj-mailinglist/
------------------------------------------------------------
>Via Workers World News Service
>Reprinted from the Aug. 24, 2000
>issue of Workers World newspaper
>-------------------------
>
>U.S. court rules against Serb leader
>
>THE RAPE CHARGE & WASHINGTON'S WAR PROPAGANDA
>
>By Sara Flounders
>
>On Aug. 10, a federal court in New York ruled that Radovan
>Karadzic, the Bosnian Serb leader during the civil war in
>Bosnia seven years ago, must pay $745 million in damages for
>the crimes of rape, torture and genocide committed during
>the civil war.
>
>Of course, no money is expected to be recovered. The charge
>was originally filed in 1993 for propaganda purposes at the
>height of the Bosnian civil war. The decision seven years
>later received the full front page and three inside pages of
>coverage in the Aug. 11 edition of Newsday, and wide
>attention in other media.
>
>How could a U.S. federal court in New York even have
>jurisdiction over what happened in another country to people
>who had no connection to the United States?
>
>This "trial" is part of a continuing effort to give the U.S.
>government the basis to charge and convict leaders of any
>country that is the target of CIA destabilization. It
>revived all the charges that were used to justify U.S.
>military intervention and occupation in the Balkans.
>
>Karadzic is not charged with committing any of the crimes
>directly. He is charged as the leader of a government that
>has been a target of continuing demonization.
>
>Karadzic could not travel to New York or present any defense
>in this one-sided trial. He is in hiding in Bosnia after
>being indicted on similar charges at the court established
>at The Hague by U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright--
>the so-called International Criminal Tribunal for the Former
>Yugoslavia.
>
>Of course, no testimony presented in the U.S. federal court
>in New York or the Tribunal based at The Hague even
>mentioned Washington's role in manufacturing the break-up of
>the Yugoslav Federation, fomenting the civil war and bombing
>civilians in Bosnia and Yugoslavia.
>
>But the criminal role of the United States, Germany and
>other Western governments has been well documented by
>people's tribunals in New York, Berlin, Rome, Athens, Moscow
>and Kiev, Ukraine, over the past year.
>
>NATO BASES THE REAL GOAL
>The charges of genocide and mass rapes in Bosnia were the
>beginning of a massive, well-orchestrated public relations
>campaign to demand U.S./NATO intervention in the Balkans.
>
>Claiming to be a force for peace and stability in a bloody
>civil war, the Pentagon has now established a whole network
>of military bases in Bosnia, Croatia, Macedonia, Kosovo,
>Hungary and the Czech Republic.
>
>Serb towns in Bosnia were the targets of more than 4,000
>U.S. bombings in 1994 and 1995. In 1999 the Pentagon and
>NATO bombed Yugoslavia for 78 days.
>
>The charge of rape made against the Serbs shaped the views
>of millions of people who previously had little interest in
>the Balkans.
>
>In late 1992 and early 1993, sensational news reports
>charged that mass rapes were a planned, deliberate strategy
>of the Bosnian Serb leadership.
>
>Women are the first victims in every war. Rape and the
>degrading abuse of women are all too often carried out as a
>stamp of conquest by invading armies imbued with patriarchal
>attitudes.
>
>But the charge of rape has also often been consciously used
>as an essential prop of war propaganda. The supposed defense
>of women is used to mobilize armies and to galvanize blind
>hatred.
>
>A LIE REPEATED BECOMES FACT
>
>Without any examination of the highly biased sources, the
>major Western media gave lurid descriptions of rape camps
>where it was claimed that between 20,000 and 100,000 Muslim
>and Croatian women were raped. This crystallized the public
>view that Serbs were the evil aggressors and Muslims and
>Croatians the helpless victims.
>
>The charge that 30,000 women and girls had been raped
>originated with the foreign minister of Bosnia, Haris
>Silajdzic, in order to stall peace talks in Geneva in late
>1992.
>
>In January 1993 the Warburton Report authorized by the
>European Community estimated that 20,000 Muslim women had
>been raped as part of a Serb strategy of conquest. This
>report was widely cited as an authoritative, independent
>source.
>
>No coverage was given to a dissenting member of the
>investigative team--European Parliament President Simone
>Veil--who revealed that the estimate of 20,000 rapes was
>based on interviews with only four victims, two women and
>two men.
>
>The Croatian Ministry of Health in Zagreb was the main
>source on which the Warburton Report based its estimate of
>20,000 rapes.
>
>Because the charge of systematic Serbian rapes of Muslim and
>Croatian women has been repeated so often, it is now
>accepted as an undisputed fact.
>
>Publications vied with each other for sensationalized
>accounts. USA Today told the story of a 5-month-old baby who
>was supposedly the result of Serbian rape. The New York
>Times carried a photo story with the caption, "Two-month-old
>baby girl born to a teen-age Muslim woman after she was
>raped in a Serbian detention camp." The war was not yet nine
>months old.
>
>Ms. Magazine ran a cover story that accused Bosnian Serb
>forces of raping for the purpose of producing pornographic
>films. No such films were ever found and the charges were
>not supported by the findings of Helsinki Watch or Human
>Rights Watch.
>
>CROATIAN (DIS)INFORMATION CENTER
>
>The woman who was the star witness and main media
>spokesperson in the New York trial and judgment, Jadranka
>Cigelj, is a paid propagandist who worked for the Croatian
>Information Center.
>
>She was well known in radical Croatian nationalist circles.
>She was also the vice-chair of Croatian President Franjo
>Tudjman's fascist HDZ Party.
>
>The HDZ is closely linked to the Ustashe Party that led
>Croatia during the Nazi occupation in World War II.
>
>Perhaps because of her fascist political background, in
>interviews Cigelj always brands the Serbs as "far worse than
>the Nazis."
>
>Cigelj's rape charges are extensively quoted in almost all
>articles and testimony on rapes in Bosnia. However, her
>accounts have changed several times.
>
>Thomas Deichmann, a German researcher and journalist, has
>documented Cigelj's varied testimony and her political
>background in a chapter of the book, "War, Lies and
>Videotape," published by the International Action Center.
>
>In one publication produced by the Croatian Information
>Center, Cigelj charged that a Serbian reserve officer raped
>her. In a later article with Roy Gutman of Newsday, she
>charged that Zeljko Mejakic, the Serbian commander of a
>refugee camp, and two camp guards raped her.
>
>Later, in a German publication, her story changed again. She
>testified in the highly publicized case of another man,
>former Serbian soldier Jezdimir Topic, who faced deportation
>from the United States in 1999.
>
>Cigelj offered to become a key prosecution witness against
>another Serb, Dusan Tadic, at the Hague Tribunal. She was
>rejected because she was seen as an unreliable source.
>
>However, Cigelj has been featured in documentaries, received
>financial awards, and was the main spokesperson of a 25-city
>U.S. tour organized by Amnesty International.
>
>None of the discrepancies in her story or her right-wing
>political activities was reported in the coverage of her
>testimony against Radovan Karadzic.
>
>CAPITALISM PROMOTES SEXUAL SLAVERY
>
>Nowhere in Newsday's three pages of coverage recounting
>charges of Serbian rapes in Bosnia were the conditions women
>face today under NATO occupation even mentioned.
>
>Throughout Eastern and Central Europe, in Russia and the
>former Soviet republics, the chaos and dislocation of the
>capitalist market have eroded the enormous gains women made
>under socialism.
>
>A decade ago these countries guaranteed full employment and
>two years paid maternity leave. Now unemployment of 30-40
>percent is the norm. Health care and child-care services
>have collapsed.
>
>Women's organizations were understandably outraged by the
>lurid reports concerning mass rapes in Bosnia seven years
>ago. They would make a contribution if they focused their
>resources on exposing the conditions for women living under
>U.S. domination today.
>
>U.S. troops and bases do not protect women. They exist to
>protect the extraction of profits for giant capitalist
>institutions. In every U.S. military operation an entire sex
>industry of bars, strip joints and brothels is created
>around the bases.
>
>This experience of Vietnam, Thailand, Korea and the
>Philippines is now the reality around U.S. bases in Tuxla,
>Bosnia, and at Camp Bondsteel in Kosovo.
>
>At the United Nations Beijing Plus Five Conference of 10,000
>women in June, the worldwide status of women was examined.
>It was estimated that more than half-a-million women from
>Central and Eastern Europe are shipped abroad each year as
>part of the worldwide trafficking in prostitutes. Bosnia was
>cited as one of the worst examples. (New York Times, June
>11)
>
>Flounders is co-director of the International Action Center
>in New York. Background materials for this article appeared
>in two IAC books, "NATO in the Balkans" and "War, Lies and
>Videotape," both available at leftbooks.com.
>
>- END -
>
>(Copyleft Workers World Service: Everyone is permitted to
>copy and distribute verbatim copies of this document, but
>changing it is not allowed. For more information contact
>Workers World, 55 W. 17 St., NY, NY 10011; via e-mail:
>ww@.... For subscription info send message to:
>info@.... Web: http://www.workers.org)
>
>
--------- COORDINAMENTO ROMANO PER LA JUGOSLAVIA -----------
RIMSKI SAVEZ ZA JUGOSLAVIJU
e-mail: crj@... - URL: http://marx2001.org/crj
http://www.egroups.com/group/crj-mailinglist/
------------------------------------------------------------
FORZA NUOVA VERSO IL SUICIDIO
Attraverso il loro sito internet (http://www.forzanuova.org/) i
militanti della organizzazione neonazista Forza Nuova annunciano che
presto metteranno se stessi "in condizioni di non nuocere". Fra i "Punti
Fermi" del loro programma per la rinascita nazionale infatti scrivono:
"...Vanno inoltre messi in condizione di non nuocere i gruppi la cui
fedeltà a potenze o lobby antiitaliane è chiara e conclamata.
Le potenze straniere resesi responsabili tramite propri agenti o
servizi segreti di omicidi o stragi nel nostro paese devono rispondere
del loro operato".
Il riferimento a Forza Nuova, organizzazione che annovera tra le sue
fila personaggi implicati nelle vicende dello stragismo atlantico in
Italia e che si e' diffusa velocemente grazie agli appoggi del servizio
segreto inglese, e' evidente.
(su FN, lo stragismo ed i rapporti con i servizi segreti stranieri si
veda ad esempio:
http://www.contropiani2000.org/documentazione/13FN/inchiesta_fn.htm
http://www.egroups.com/message/crj-mailinglist/401 )
--------- COORDINAMENTO ROMANO PER LA JUGOSLAVIA -----------
RIMSKI SAVEZ ZA JUGOSLAVIJU
e-mail: crj@... - URL: http://marx2001.org/crj
http://www.egroups.com/group/crj-mailinglist/
------------------------------------------------------------
Attraverso il loro sito internet (http://www.forzanuova.org/) i
militanti della organizzazione neonazista Forza Nuova annunciano che
presto metteranno se stessi "in condizioni di non nuocere". Fra i "Punti
Fermi" del loro programma per la rinascita nazionale infatti scrivono:
"...Vanno inoltre messi in condizione di non nuocere i gruppi la cui
fedeltà a potenze o lobby antiitaliane è chiara e conclamata.
Le potenze straniere resesi responsabili tramite propri agenti o
servizi segreti di omicidi o stragi nel nostro paese devono rispondere
del loro operato".
Il riferimento a Forza Nuova, organizzazione che annovera tra le sue
fila personaggi implicati nelle vicende dello stragismo atlantico in
Italia e che si e' diffusa velocemente grazie agli appoggi del servizio
segreto inglese, e' evidente.
(su FN, lo stragismo ed i rapporti con i servizi segreti stranieri si
veda ad esempio:
http://www.contropiani2000.org/documentazione/13FN/inchiesta_fn.htm
http://www.egroups.com/message/crj-mailinglist/401 )
--------- COORDINAMENTO ROMANO PER LA JUGOSLAVIA -----------
RIMSKI SAVEZ ZA JUGOSLAVIJU
e-mail: crj@... - URL: http://marx2001.org/crj
http://www.egroups.com/group/crj-mailinglist/
------------------------------------------------------------
FUNERALE DE "L'UNITA'" (segue)
Il giornale non esiste piu', ma i soldi girano che e' una bellezza,
grazie a tutte le "Feste" organizzate in giro per l'Italia!
Nostri compagni hanno fatto una visita a Bologna, dove
l'associazione "Skanderbeg" e' presente con il proprio stand alla
kermesse fieristico-culinaria, stand da cui, fra bandiere dell'UCK e
aquilotti vari, diffonde quotidianamente il verbo del Kosova
indipendente.
Sembra tra l'altro che proprio la "Skanderbeg" abbia intascato dalla
vecchia amministrazione felsinea £150.000.000 per un progetto di aiuti
alle giovani prostitute albanesi presenti nel capoluogo, soldi di cui a
tutt'oggi si ignora ancora quale sia stato il vero impiego. D'altronde,
nell'aprile del '99 questi grandi combattenti per la libertà muniti di
bandiere a stelle e strisce manifestavano in Piazza Maggiore a favore
dei bombardamenti Nato alla RFJ. Una nostra amica, che passando di lì
per caso fece timidamente notare a costoro che appariva quantomeno
autolesionista inneggiare proprio a chi li stava bombardando, si senti'
rimbeccare con un "vaffanculo troia!"
(Le puntate precedenti su:
http://www.egroups.com/message/crj-mailinglist/352
http://www.egroups.com/message/crj-mailinglist/345 )
--------- COORDINAMENTO ROMANO PER LA JUGOSLAVIA -----------
RIMSKI SAVEZ ZA JUGOSLAVIJU
e-mail: crj@... - URL: http://marx2001.org/crj
http://www.egroups.com/group/crj-mailinglist/
------------------------------------------------------------
Il giornale non esiste piu', ma i soldi girano che e' una bellezza,
grazie a tutte le "Feste" organizzate in giro per l'Italia!
Nostri compagni hanno fatto una visita a Bologna, dove
l'associazione "Skanderbeg" e' presente con il proprio stand alla
kermesse fieristico-culinaria, stand da cui, fra bandiere dell'UCK e
aquilotti vari, diffonde quotidianamente il verbo del Kosova
indipendente.
Sembra tra l'altro che proprio la "Skanderbeg" abbia intascato dalla
vecchia amministrazione felsinea £150.000.000 per un progetto di aiuti
alle giovani prostitute albanesi presenti nel capoluogo, soldi di cui a
tutt'oggi si ignora ancora quale sia stato il vero impiego. D'altronde,
nell'aprile del '99 questi grandi combattenti per la libertà muniti di
bandiere a stelle e strisce manifestavano in Piazza Maggiore a favore
dei bombardamenti Nato alla RFJ. Una nostra amica, che passando di lì
per caso fece timidamente notare a costoro che appariva quantomeno
autolesionista inneggiare proprio a chi li stava bombardando, si senti'
rimbeccare con un "vaffanculo troia!"
(Le puntate precedenti su:
http://www.egroups.com/message/crj-mailinglist/352
http://www.egroups.com/message/crj-mailinglist/345 )
--------- COORDINAMENTO ROMANO PER LA JUGOSLAVIA -----------
RIMSKI SAVEZ ZA JUGOSLAVIJU
e-mail: crj@... - URL: http://marx2001.org/crj
http://www.egroups.com/group/crj-mailinglist/
------------------------------------------------------------
EX-FRANCIA
Nel giro di pochi giorni in Francia due avvenimenti hanno pesantemente
messo all'ordine del giorno la concreta possibilita' della dissoluzione
del paese in un arcipelago di gabbie etniche.
Da una parte, un Ministro del governo si e' dimesso perche' contrario al
progetto di "devolution" corsicana, appoggiato dal resto dell'esecutivo,
progetto simile a quelli allo studio per L'Italia (ricordiamo che e'
stato lo stesso Bill Clinton a dare il beneplacito alcuni mesi fa
parlando di "devolution dell'Italia settentrionale").
Contemporaneamente giunge la notizia che grandi magnati
dell'imprenditoria e del sistema della (dis)informazione in Europa hanno
sponsorizzato l'inizio delle trasmissioni di una rete TV in lingua
bretone, che si ripromettere di rinforzare la conoscenza dell'ormai
disusato ed artificiale idioma, di coltivare i sentimenti
zoo-etno-identitari di 8 milioni di ex-francesi, e di portare avanti la
cultura "celtica" collegandosi ad altre simili istanze dal sapore
neonazista in giro nel vecchio continente.
Ricordiamo che in base alla stessa filosofia la Francia negli ultimi
anni ha attivamente contribuito allo squartamento della Jugoslavia ed
allo scatenarsi della guerra fratricida su quel territorio: chi di
micronazionalismo ferisce, di micronazionalismo perisce?
(Sul problema del progetto nazista di dissoluzione del vecchio
continente in un arcipelago di gabbie etniche, con relativa distruzione
dei diritti di cittadinanza e delle conquiste dei lavoratori negli
ultimi 150 anni attraverso l'introduzione del federalismo fiscale,
l'abolizione dei contratti nazionali di lavoro, del sistema sanitario
nazionale eccetera, si legga ad esempio:
Europa: unione e disgregazione - dal bollettino "Quemada"
http://www.marx2001.org/nuovaunita/jugo/crj/m_l/130799C.htm )
---
Breton language flourishes in new TV channel
By John Lichfield
The Independent, 31 August 2000
Tune in to the WestEnders of Europe. The first Breton
television station, and the first regional interest TV station of
any kind in France, goes on air tomorrow evening.
TV Breizh, which will broadcast throughout France in
simultaneous Breton and French-language versions, is no
amateurish community station with radical views and low
production values. It is backed by some of the biggest names
in media, including Rupert Murdoch, Silvio Berlusconi and the
most recognised face on French television, the newsreader
Patrick Poivre d'Arvor.
The station promises up to six hours of new Bretonlanguage
programming each day, as well as Celtic-interest films such
as Braveheart and (less obviously) James Bond, dubbed into
Breton.
The intention is to make money, but also to satisfy the growing
demand of the 4.2 million Bretons (8 million in France as a
whole) for institutions that recognise their linguistic and
cultural identity.
Patrick Le Lay, the founding father of TV Breizh, said: "If we
satisfy this legitimate aspiration before it becomes a hardline
demand, we will be contributing to the moderation of the
debate." Mr Le Lay, born in Brittany and better known as a
businessman than a regional sentimentalist, heads TF1, the
most popular French channel. His personal contacts brought
in Mr Murdoch's News International (13 per cent of the £10m
capital), Mr Berlusconi (13 per cent) and another Breton-born
tycoon, the famously unsentimental Francois Pinault (27 per
cent). Mr Pinault is proprietor of, among many things, Gucci
and Christie's auction house.
TV Breizh, broadcasting 17 hours a day from a converted naval
canteen on the harbour-front at Lorient in southern Brittany,
arrives at a critical moment in the regional and linguistic
debate in France.
The proposals from Lionel Jospin, the Prime Minister, for
limited autonomy for Corsica - including the teaching of the
Corsican language in state schools - have led to matching
demands from other regions, especially Brittany.
Bretons say their language, which has affinities with Welsh
and Cornish, is older than French and has been deliberately
suppressed by the state since the First World War, and is
spoken by less than 10 per cent of the Breton population.
There is now a vogue for relearning the language among
educated Bretons and a resurgence of interest in Breton
music. The station aims to separate this interest in what Mr Le
Lay calls "Celtitude" from the extreme demands of fringe
groups such as the Breton Liberation Army, which killed a
woman when it set a bomb outside a McDonald's restaurant
near Rennes in April.
Ideologues of French republican centralism - such as the
former interior minister Jean-Pierre Chevènement, who
resigned this week - take the view that any manifestation of
regional identity or minority languages is a threat to the French
state. But there is now a growing alternative establishment
view that it would be sensible to adopt a more flexible
definition of "France".
The Breton station's backers have other motives, including in
Mr Murdoch's case gaining a toe-hold in the fiercely protected
French TV market. They also hope that, with a modest budget
of £8m a year and only 50 employees, TV Breizh will prove a
commercial success.
It will be available to satellite dish owners throughout France
and, on cable, to the 2.7 million homes in the five Breton
départements and to viewers in Paris.
The 4.2 million population of Brittany proper - including
Loire-Atlantique, historically Breton but severed from the
region by the French state - is larger than that of Ireland or
Wales and not far behind Scotland. Mr Le Lay hopes TV Breizh
will become part of a Celtic network, swapping and
commissioning programmes with RTE of Ireland and BBC
Scotland and Wales.
"Our ambition is Europe-wide, to work for the development of
Celtic culture, the inherited wealth of the populations of [the]
extreme west of Europe," said Mr Le Lay.
--------- COORDINAMENTO ROMANO PER LA JUGOSLAVIA -----------
RIMSKI SAVEZ ZA JUGOSLAVIJU
e-mail: crj@... - URL: http://marx2001.org/crj
http://www.egroups.com/group/crj-mailinglist/
------------------------------------------------------------
Nel giro di pochi giorni in Francia due avvenimenti hanno pesantemente
messo all'ordine del giorno la concreta possibilita' della dissoluzione
del paese in un arcipelago di gabbie etniche.
Da una parte, un Ministro del governo si e' dimesso perche' contrario al
progetto di "devolution" corsicana, appoggiato dal resto dell'esecutivo,
progetto simile a quelli allo studio per L'Italia (ricordiamo che e'
stato lo stesso Bill Clinton a dare il beneplacito alcuni mesi fa
parlando di "devolution dell'Italia settentrionale").
Contemporaneamente giunge la notizia che grandi magnati
dell'imprenditoria e del sistema della (dis)informazione in Europa hanno
sponsorizzato l'inizio delle trasmissioni di una rete TV in lingua
bretone, che si ripromettere di rinforzare la conoscenza dell'ormai
disusato ed artificiale idioma, di coltivare i sentimenti
zoo-etno-identitari di 8 milioni di ex-francesi, e di portare avanti la
cultura "celtica" collegandosi ad altre simili istanze dal sapore
neonazista in giro nel vecchio continente.
Ricordiamo che in base alla stessa filosofia la Francia negli ultimi
anni ha attivamente contribuito allo squartamento della Jugoslavia ed
allo scatenarsi della guerra fratricida su quel territorio: chi di
micronazionalismo ferisce, di micronazionalismo perisce?
(Sul problema del progetto nazista di dissoluzione del vecchio
continente in un arcipelago di gabbie etniche, con relativa distruzione
dei diritti di cittadinanza e delle conquiste dei lavoratori negli
ultimi 150 anni attraverso l'introduzione del federalismo fiscale,
l'abolizione dei contratti nazionali di lavoro, del sistema sanitario
nazionale eccetera, si legga ad esempio:
Europa: unione e disgregazione - dal bollettino "Quemada"
http://www.marx2001.org/nuovaunita/jugo/crj/m_l/130799C.htm )
---
Breton language flourishes in new TV channel
By John Lichfield
The Independent, 31 August 2000
Tune in to the WestEnders of Europe. The first Breton
television station, and the first regional interest TV station of
any kind in France, goes on air tomorrow evening.
TV Breizh, which will broadcast throughout France in
simultaneous Breton and French-language versions, is no
amateurish community station with radical views and low
production values. It is backed by some of the biggest names
in media, including Rupert Murdoch, Silvio Berlusconi and the
most recognised face on French television, the newsreader
Patrick Poivre d'Arvor.
The station promises up to six hours of new Bretonlanguage
programming each day, as well as Celtic-interest films such
as Braveheart and (less obviously) James Bond, dubbed into
Breton.
The intention is to make money, but also to satisfy the growing
demand of the 4.2 million Bretons (8 million in France as a
whole) for institutions that recognise their linguistic and
cultural identity.
Patrick Le Lay, the founding father of TV Breizh, said: "If we
satisfy this legitimate aspiration before it becomes a hardline
demand, we will be contributing to the moderation of the
debate." Mr Le Lay, born in Brittany and better known as a
businessman than a regional sentimentalist, heads TF1, the
most popular French channel. His personal contacts brought
in Mr Murdoch's News International (13 per cent of the £10m
capital), Mr Berlusconi (13 per cent) and another Breton-born
tycoon, the famously unsentimental Francois Pinault (27 per
cent). Mr Pinault is proprietor of, among many things, Gucci
and Christie's auction house.
TV Breizh, broadcasting 17 hours a day from a converted naval
canteen on the harbour-front at Lorient in southern Brittany,
arrives at a critical moment in the regional and linguistic
debate in France.
The proposals from Lionel Jospin, the Prime Minister, for
limited autonomy for Corsica - including the teaching of the
Corsican language in state schools - have led to matching
demands from other regions, especially Brittany.
Bretons say their language, which has affinities with Welsh
and Cornish, is older than French and has been deliberately
suppressed by the state since the First World War, and is
spoken by less than 10 per cent of the Breton population.
There is now a vogue for relearning the language among
educated Bretons and a resurgence of interest in Breton
music. The station aims to separate this interest in what Mr Le
Lay calls "Celtitude" from the extreme demands of fringe
groups such as the Breton Liberation Army, which killed a
woman when it set a bomb outside a McDonald's restaurant
near Rennes in April.
Ideologues of French republican centralism - such as the
former interior minister Jean-Pierre Chevènement, who
resigned this week - take the view that any manifestation of
regional identity or minority languages is a threat to the French
state. But there is now a growing alternative establishment
view that it would be sensible to adopt a more flexible
definition of "France".
The Breton station's backers have other motives, including in
Mr Murdoch's case gaining a toe-hold in the fiercely protected
French TV market. They also hope that, with a modest budget
of £8m a year and only 50 employees, TV Breizh will prove a
commercial success.
It will be available to satellite dish owners throughout France
and, on cable, to the 2.7 million homes in the five Breton
départements and to viewers in Paris.
The 4.2 million population of Brittany proper - including
Loire-Atlantique, historically Breton but severed from the
region by the French state - is larger than that of Ireland or
Wales and not far behind Scotland. Mr Le Lay hopes TV Breizh
will become part of a Celtic network, swapping and
commissioning programmes with RTE of Ireland and BBC
Scotland and Wales.
"Our ambition is Europe-wide, to work for the development of
Celtic culture, the inherited wealth of the populations of [the]
extreme west of Europe," said Mr Le Lay.
--------- COORDINAMENTO ROMANO PER LA JUGOSLAVIA -----------
RIMSKI SAVEZ ZA JUGOSLAVIJU
e-mail: crj@... - URL: http://marx2001.org/crj
http://www.egroups.com/group/crj-mailinglist/
------------------------------------------------------------
* CANOSA - BARI - TORRITA TIBERINA - CAGLIARI - TRIESTE
* COORDINAMENTO NAZIONALE "LA JUGOSLAVIA VIVRA'"
===
CANOSA DI PUGLIA E BARI
Most za Beograd - Un ponte per Belgrado in terra di Bari
Associazione culturale di solidarietà con la popolazione jugoslava
c/o Rdb via M. Cristina di Savoia 40, 70126 BARI
tel/fax 0805562663 e-mail: ponte@... Web: www.isf.it/ponte
conto corrente postale n. 13087754 Codice Fiscale 93242490725
SABATO 2 SETTEMBRE ORE 21.00
CANOSA DI PUGLIA
P.ZZA S. SABINO
(ALL'INTERNO DELLA FESTA DI LIBERAZIONE)
GIORNATA DI SOLIDARIETA' CON LA POPOLAZIONE JUGOSLAVA
PROIEZIONE DEL VIDEO:
"SERBI DA MORIRE" DI FULVIO GRIMALDI
LETTURA DI POESIE DAL LIBRO "GLI ASSASSINI DELLA TENEREZZA"
MOSTRA FOTOGRAFICA
MERCATINO DI OGGETTI AUTOPRODOTTI, IL CUI RICAVATO SARA' DEVOLUTO AI
LAVORATORI DELLA ZASTAVA DI KRAGUJEVAC BOMBARDATA DALLA NATO
INCONTRO-DIBATTITO SUL TEMA "IL COSIDDETTO INTERVENTO UMANITARIO DELLA
NATO
NEI BALCANI"
INTERVENGONO
ANDREA CATONE, PRESIDENTE DELL'ASSOCIAZIONE MOST ZA BEOGRAD
NICO PERRONE, DOCENTE UNIVERSITARIO DI STORIA DEGLI STATI UNITI
MODERA: NUNZIO GALANTE, RESPONSABILE DEI GIOVANI COMUNISTI
MOST ZA BEOGRAD, in collaborazione con il CENTRO INTERCULTURALE ABUSUAN:
BARI MERCOLEDI' 6 SETTEMBRE ORE 20.30
AUDITORIUM DELLA VALLISA (strada Vallisa, CITTA' VECCHIA)
Dalla Libia a Cuba, dall'Iraq alla Jugoslavia, gli embargo costituiscono
una terribile arma di guerra "a bassa
intensità", utilizzata quando la guerra dei missili e delle bombe è
finita. Essi rappresentano una sorta di "punizione"
del tutto arbitraria per le scelte politiche di un popolo e comportano
per il paese colpito la mancanza di generi
fondamentali, a partire dal cibo, dai medicinali e da tutto quanto è
necessario alla sopravvivenza quotidiana.
Tale "punizione" sta colpendo dal 1991 il popolo iracheno, e ha
già provocato la morte di circa 1.500.000
persone. Adesso la stessa arma viene usata contro le popolazioni della
Federazione Jugoslava, dove pure sta
mietendo molte vittime, specie tra anziani, ammalati, bambini.
Subordinare, come hanno più volte dichiarato esponenti dei Governi
della Comunità Europea, la ricostruzione
della Jugoslavia al quadro politico interno, oltre che moralmente
inaccettabile, è contrario ad ogni norma del diritto
internazionale.
Infatti il diritto alla vita, al cibo, alle cure mediche, alla
difesa contro il freddo, ed anche allo sviluppo economico
e ad un ambiente salubre, sono diritti sanciti da convenzioni
internazionali validi per tutti gli esseri umani,
indipendentemente da considerazioni politiche; la Carta delle nazioni
Unite riserva l'applicazione di sanzioni
economiche al Consiglio di Sicurezza e solo in dipendenza di situazioni
di pericolo per la sicurezza internazionale.
La stessa assemblea generale delle Nazioni unite ha più volte condannato
l'applicazione di sanzioni economiche
unilaterali da parte di Stati o gruppi di Stati con finalità politiche.
Per la solidarietà e l'amicizia tra i popoli
Per l'abolizione degli embargo
Per rompere il muro dell'isolamento in cui questi paesi sono costretti
Per allargare la rete della solidarietà aderendo alle iniziative di
"adozioni a distanza" e raccolta di medicinali
Il giornalista Fulvio Grimaldi,
di ritorno dalla Jugoslavia e da un recente viaggio in Iraq
presenta in prima assoluta il video
POPOLI DI TROPPO: EMBARGO!
seguirà
IRAQ GENOCIDIO NELL'EDEN
intermezzi dell'associazione teatrale Grammelot di Molfetta:
Le 15 bugie di Jamie Shea
Gott mit uns: intervista al generale Wesley Clark
Carla dei miracoli alla corte dell'Aja
===
TORRITA TIBERINA
COMUNICATO STAMPA DEL CONVOGLIO DI SOLIDARIETA' GIORGIANA MASI E RADIO
CITTA' APERTA
IL 23 E 24 SETTEMBRE 2000 A TORRITA TIBERINA (ROMA) SI TERRA' UNA 2
GIORNI CONTRO L'EMBARGO ALLA JUGOSLAVIA.
QUEST'INIZIATIVA E' UNA TAPPA PER LA COSTRUZIONE DI UN PERCORSO COMUNE
PORTATO AVANTI INSIEME AD ALTRE ASSOCIAZIONI CHE PREVEDE IL 21 OTTOBRE
UNA MANIFESTAZIONE NAZIONALE A ROMA CONTRO L'EMBARGO ALLA JUGOSLAVIA E
PER LA FINE DI OTTOBRE LA PARTENZA DI UN CONVOGLIO DI MASSA VERSO LA
JUGOSLAVIA CHE ROMPERA' SIMBOLICAMENTE L'EMBARGO.
PROGRAMMA DELLA 2 GIORNI
SABATO 23 SETTEMBRE
ORE 16,00 AL CASTELLO BARONALE DIBATTITO SU GUERRA E EMBARGO
ORE 19,00 PROIEZIONE VIDEO- POPOLI DI TROPPO...EMBARGO (di F. Grimaldi)
MEDIATIC REDEMPTION (di E. Giardino)-
L'EMBARGO UCCIDE UCCIDI L'EMBARGO (Convoglio di Solidarietà
Internazionalista Giorgiana Masi e Radio Città Aperta)
ORE 20,00-TEATRO ALL'ANFITEATRO
ORE 21,00 ALLA PIAZZA CENTRALE CONCERTO CON: JACKIN THE BOX-INDACO+F.DI
GIACOMO
DOMENICA 24 SETTEMBRE
ORE 9,00- DISCESA IN CANOA DEL TEVERE-VISITA ALLA RISERVA NATURALE
TEVERE FARFA-PRESENTAZIONE PROGETTO ARCHEOLOGICO DI TORRITA TIBERINA
CON PASSEGGIATA AI SITI
ORE 16,OO TEATRO PER I BAMBINI
ORE 17,30-MUSICA CON I TITUBANDA
ORE 19,00-TEATRO
ORE 21,00-CONCERTO DI MASSIMO CARRANO (PERCUSSIONI)
ORE 22,00 ESTRAZIONE DELLA LOTTERIA
ORE 22,30 CONCERTO CON NIKOLA DIKLIE (FOLK TURBO DALLA JUGOSLAVIA)
PER CHI VUOLE SOGGIORNARE E' DISPONIBILE UNO SPAZIO CAMPEGGIO, INOLTRE
E' POSSIBILE PORTARE MATERIALI DA DESTINARE ALLA JUGOSLAVIA
IL RICAVATO DELL'INIZIATIVA ANDRA' A SOSTEGNO DEL PROGETTO "UNA CASA
PER SASHA" PORTATO AVANTI DAL CONVOGLIO DI SOLIDARIETA'
INTERNAZIONALISTA GIORGIANA MASI E DA RADIO CITTA' APERTA CHE PREVEDE
LA COSTRUZIONE DI ALCUNE CASE PER I RIFUGIATI IN JUGO
---
LEZIONE DI CIVILTA' (da "Il Manifesto" del 9/8/2000)
Torrita Tiberina, è un piccolo comune di frontiera tra
la provincia di Roma e quella di Rieti. Un piccolo
comune che ha fatto un passo da gigante ma soprattutto
un passo di grande civiltà. Da sabato scorso Torrita
Tiberina ha sei nuovi "Amici". E' stato il Convoglio
di solidarietà internazionalista Giorgiana Masi a
presentare al comune romano una proposta che prevede
un patto di amicizia e solidarietà con i comuni
jugoslavi (serbi cattivi) di: Backa Topola: Sicevo;
Priepolje; Nova Varos; Bela Palanka e Pirot. Tutti e
sei i comuni hanno una particolarità, lì moltissimi
profughi (i serbi invisibili) hanno trovato rifugio,
molti sono arrivati dal Kosovo cacciati dall'Uck
rivestito con altro nome e altra uniforme sotto
l'occhio cieco della Kfor, altri sono quelli
dimenticati scacciati dalle Bande ustasa dell'ormai
defunto Tudjman. La proposta presentata al comune di
Torrita prevedeva inoltre una mozione contro la guerra
e contro l'embargo alla Jugoslavia e verso tutti i
Paesi che sono colpiti da questa mannaia . La proposta
è stata dibattuta sabato 29 luglio. Il consigliere
comunale e vicesindaco Marco Giometti (prc) ha
presentato l'ordine del giorno che ha subito trovato
un muro da parte dei Ds che, tramite il consigliere
"Papa", hanno dichiarato "inammissibile un ordine del
giorno che prevede un patto di solidarietà e di
amicizia con dei comuni di uno stato governato da un
macellaio sanguinario" "e inoltre lo stesso ordine del
giorno non prevede un riconoscimento "del valore che
hanno avuto Onu, esercito, Forze dell'Ordine e
Protezione civile nel portare e garantire la pace". A
questo punto, dopo aver verbalizzato il dissenso dei
Ds e i motivi, L'odg viene approvato. Viene data la
parola al Convoglio di solidarietà internazionalista
Giorgiana Masi che uno ad uno smonta i tasselli di
un'impostazione che nella sostanza vuole giustificare
e legittimare l'intervento umanitario o, che dir si
voglia, "la dolorosa necessità" . "Quello che è
mancato e continua a mancare è proprio il ruolo
dell'Onu con sistematiche violazioni del diritto
internazionale. Il nostro esercito ha forse sganciato
bombe più umanitarie degli altri eserciti Nato? Le
forze dell'ordine in Kosovo non sembra abbiano fatto
molto per impedire le scorrerie dell'ex Uck che hanno
già provocato migliaia di morti e centinaia di
migliaia di profughi, per quanto riguarda la
Protezione civile e la Missione Arcobaleno la storia è
già scritta sui verbali dei tribunali. Il giorno
successivo si è svolta la cerimonia ufficiale al
Castello del dodicesimo secolo di Torrita Tiberina ma
i sindaci jugoslavi non sono potuti venire in quanto
le lungaggini burocratiche per ottenere il visto
necessario per poter entrare in Italia non hanno reso
possibile la loro presenza. Le pergamene vengono
consegnate dal sindaco di Torrita Tiberina, Luciano
Forconi (indipendente), all'incaricato d'affari della
Rf di Jugoslavia che provvederà a farle controfirmare
ai sindaci dei 6 comuni. Alla cerimonia hanno
partecipato anche Radio Città Aperta, Fabio Sebastiani
di Liberazione e Vittorio Tranquilli di Abc
Solidarietà e pace il quale ha ribadito la necessità
di una battaglia contro l'embargo perché questo è un
crimine contro i più deboli , inoltre ha rilanciato
l'iniziativa che sta portando avanti insieme al
manifesto che prevede l'acquisto di strumenti per il
monitoraggio dell'inquinamento a Pancevo. La cerimonia
finisce con un annuncio del Convoglio "Giorgiana Masi"
che donerà al comune di Torrita Tiberina 78 alberi di
Castagno che rappresentano i 78 giorni di
bombardamento Nato sulla Jugoslavia, saranno piantati
"a cerchi concentrici" in maniera che ogni aereo che
passerà dall'alto vedrà il simbolo che ha
contraddistinto il popolo jugoslavo durante i raid "il
Target". Sarà questo il primo "Bosco della Pace", un
monumento vivente da cui le future generazioni
potranno trarre un'insegnamento su quelli che sono
stati gli errori e gli orrori che moltissimi non
avrebbero mai immaginato di vedere nel cuore della
"Civile Europa", quegli errori che in maniera umile
dovrebbero riconoscere anche coloro che si ostinano a
giustificare "'Intervento umanitario".
Il 23 e 24 settembre 2000 a Torrita Tiberina una 2
giorni contro l'embargo alla Jugoslavia con numerosi
gruppi musicali e teatrali e una discesa in canoa del
Tevere.
- Il 21 ottobre, giorno della strage nazista (avvenuta
nel 1941 dove persero la vita trucidate oltre 7000
persone) di Kragujevac città della Zastava giornata
mondiale a sostegno della Jugoslavia a Roma
manifestazione nazionale indetta dalla Jugocoord.
- Il 27 ottobre: la Jugoslavia vivrà - Carovana di
massa per rompere l'embargo alla Jugoslavia, una nave
per la vita che partirà dall'Italia carica di aiuti
proibiti alla quale parteciperanno delegazioni di
tutto il mondo.
- 31 marzo 2001 - Una casa per Sasa - Apertura del
cantiere a Backa Topola per costruire alcune case per
i rifugiati.
Convoglio di solidarietà internazionalista Giorgiana
Masi
===
COMITATO CONTRO LA GUERRA di Cagliari
LEMBARGO UCCIDE
UCCIDI LEMBARGO
Le sanzioni che sottopongono la Jugoslavia a disperate condizioni di
sopravvivenza debbono essere ritirate.
Ci rivolgiamo a tutti coloro che rifiutano la violenza nei confronti dei
popoli.
Intendiamo formare un vasto fronte di solidariet contro gli embarghi,
moderno strumento di sterminio dei popoli,
PER
linvio in Jugoslavia di medicine e strumenti diagnostici e chirurgici
"ladozione" dei malati pi gravi
laiuto medico e alimentare ai profughi del Kossovo monoetnico e
rifugiati
nella martoriata Serbia
Il Comitato Contro la Guerra di Cagliari aderisce alle iniziative
proposte
dalla rete nazionale dellassociazionismo di base e dalle realt
antagoniste
raccolta di medicinali - punti di raccolta presso
COBAS, via Donizetti 52 a Cagliari (tel. 070 485378 070 454999)
ASCE, vico I San Nicol a Selargius (tel. 070 846281)
manifestazione nazionale del 1 ottobre a ROMA, CONTRO GLI EMBARGHI
convoglio di solidarieta e di disubbidienza civile e sfida allarroganza
NATO, che il 27 ottobre 2000 partir da Bari su di una nave slovena, per
sbarcare nel Montenegro e proseguire poi in treno per Belgrado. Qui, i
medicinali raccolti, saranno consegnati agli operai della fabbrica
Zastava, ricostruita dagli operai a impossibilitata a commercializzare
i
suoi prodotti a causa delle sanzioni NATO).
APPUNTAMENTI A CAGLIARI:
venerd 1 settembre ore 19: RIUNIONE comitato c/o COBAS
via Donizetti 52, Cagliari
lunbed 9 ottobre: Conferenza stampa
mercoled 11 ottobre: ASSEMBLEA "Embarghi come e perch" ERSU CAGLIARI
mercoled 18 ottobre: MANIFESTAZIONE CITTADINA a CAGLIARI
riferimenti: tel 070 485378 070 454999
===
TRIESTE
ASSOCIAZIONE INTERNAZIONALISMO E SOLIDARIETA' - TRIESTE
CAMPAGNA D'AUTUNNO - ROMPIAMO L'EMBARGO !
LA JUGOSLAVIA VIVRA' !
Internazionalismo e Solidarietà è un'associazione aperta formata da un
gruppo di cittadini di Trieste, provenienti da diverse esperienze
politiche e sociali, ritrovatisi nella necessità di perseguire un'azione
di denuncia delle attuali scelte di politica estera portate avanti in
varie parti del mondo dal nostro Paese e dalle alleanze
politico-militari
di cui è membro, e di solidarietà verso i popoli vittime di queste
politiche imperialiste e neocoloniali.
In questa fase storica il capitalismo attua quella che viene definita
"globalizzazione" - del mercato, dei saperi, dell'economia e della
politica - attraverso pressioni economiche ed interventi militari, con
strumenti nazionali (anche di parte italiana!) o internazionali (NATO,
UE,
...). Nei paesi che si assoggettano a tali politiche ciò significa
rapina
delle risorse, ulteriore impoverimento delle classi povere, corruzione
della classe dirigente, perdita dell'autonomia politica ed economica.
Per
gli altri ci sono gli embarghi e le bombe.
In questo quadro l'associazione attualmente è impegnata in iniziative di
solidarietà verso i popoli della Jugoslavia, di contatto tra lavoratori
delle due sponde dell'Adriatico e di controinformazione sulla realtà
balcanica, scenario su cui si è scatenata la disinformazione di guerra e
la violenza prima delle sanzioni economiche, poi dei bombardamenti sulle
città ed ora dell'embargo.
Internazionalismo e Solidarietà ha rapporti costanti con altre
associazioni in Italia, in Europa e nel mondo, e sulla questione
jugoslava
aderisce al Coordinamento Nazionale "La Jugoslavia vivrà", recentemente
costituitosi (vedi sotto).
Le prossime iniziative in cui è impegnata Internazionalismo e
Solidarietà
insieme a tutto il Coordinamento Nazionale prevedono:
* in settembre iniziative locali di informazione e di raccolta di
materiali e fondi da destinare a vari progetti di solidarietà, tra i
quali
la prosecuzione della campagna di adozioni a distanza a favore di
famiglie
e minori in difficoltà a causa dell'aggre ssione Nato e dell'embargo;
* in ottobre due giornate internazionali contro l'embargo alla
Jugoslavia
nel 59mo anniversario della strage nazista di Kragujevac;
* fine ottobre - primi di novembre: partenza di un convoglio - nave
internazionale carico di merci vietate dall'embargo da destinare a varie
zone della Jugoslavia, tra cui Kragujevac, Backa Topola, Kosovska
Mitrovica.
PROSSIME INIZIATIVE A TRIESTE
26 Agosto - 3 settembre, P.zza Hortis
In occasione della Festa di Liberazione di P.zza Hortis l'Associazione è
presente nella festa con un banco informativo, di raccolta di materiali
e
fondi, di moduli per le adozioni a distanza. I compagni
dell'Associazione
sono a disposizione per illustrare le iniziative in corso e con un
elenco
dei materiali e dei medicinali di importanza primaria e urgente.
Nel corso della festa l'Associazione si propone intervenire al dibattito
sulla attuale situazione internazionale e sugli embarghi promosso
nell'ambito della festa.
8 e 9 Settembre, Bottega del mondo e Androna degli Orti
"Jugoslavia: progetti di solidarietà" - Una due-giorni di dibattito e di
musica in solidarietà con la Jugoslavia.
Il giorno 8 settembre presso 'La bottega del mondo' verrà organizzato un
incontro-dibattito sulla situazione jugoslava, con la proiezione di
video
e diapositive, testimonianze del recente viaggio in Jugoslavia del
Convoglio Giorgiana Masi (Roma).
Il giorno 9 settembre MUSICA IN PIAZZA a Androna degli Orti: danze
serbe,
il gruppo Estensione Est di Monfalcone (Balkan Rock), musicisti serbi.
Sarà presente la comunità serba di Trieste.
Intervengono e promuovono l'incontro il Convoglio di Solidarietà
Internazionalista Giorgiana Masi, Radio Città Aperta (Roma), Ass. Senza
Confini - Brez Meja, Associazione Bioest, ABC Solidarietà e Pace(Roma),
Mediterraneo Folk Club.
VI ASPETTIAMO A P.ZZA HORTIS, BOTTEGA DEL MONDO, ANDRONA DEGLI ORTI
PARTECIPATE IN MASSA E PORTATE MATERIALI E IDEE !
Internazionalismo e Solidarietà - INFO tel. 040416855
e-mail: glr_y@...
===
Coordinamento Nazionale "La Jugoslavia vivrà"
L'embargo uccide come le bombe, come l'uranio, come l'indifferenza
Rompiamo l'embargo contro la Jugoslavia!
Con pretesti vergognosamente definiti "umanitari" gli USA e la NATO
hanno
aggredito la Jugoslavia, paese sovrano non disposto ad accettare le
ricette del Fondo Monetario Internazionale, allo scopo di imporre il
proprio dominio coloniale sui Balcani.
La Jugoslavia è stata prima sottoposta, da USA ed Unione Europea, ad 8
anni di sanzioni economiche ed infine bombardata. Fabbriche, ponti,
centrali elettriche, scuole, ospedali ed abitazioni civili sono stati
distrutti, mentre a causa dell'inquinamento di aria, acque e terreni
agricoli c'è una crescente diffusione di turbe psichiche e gravi
malattie
che colpiscono particolarmente i più deboli, ad iniziare dai bambini.
La popolazione jugoslava, come quella irachena, oltre ad aver subito gli
effetti di nuove micidiali armi di distruzione di massa, sta tuttora
scontando un infame embargo che la priva di beni e strumenti
indispensabili alla propria sopravvivenza. Questo em bargo rappresenta
un
vero e proprio atto di guerra il cui fine è quello di ottenere la resa
dei
cittadini jugoslavi costringendoli a scelte politiche allineate ai
diktat
del nuovo ordine mondiale dell'imperialismo USA-NATO.
Di fronte alla disinformazione strategica, alla criminale partecipazione
del governo italiano all'aggressione con basi militari, uomini e mezzi
per
la guerra prima e per l'occupazione del Kosovo poi, all'ambiguità di
parte
della sinistra e dei movimenti p acifisti, molti comitati contro la
guerra
ed associazioni di solidarietà con il popolo jugoslavo si sono
costituiti
nel:
Coordinamento Nazionale "La Jugoslavia vivrà"
Difendiamo l'integrità territoriale e la multietnicità della Repubblica
Federale di Jugoslavia!
Basta con le aggressioni contro gli stati che non si allineano al nuovo
ordine mondiale!
La Jugoslavia vivrà!
Il Coordinamento Nazionale invita ad aderire alle seguenti iniziative
per
rompere l'embargo
- A partire dall'inizio del mese di settembre, presidi cittadini di
controinformazione e raccolta di materiali (medicinali, viveri, beni
sottoposti a regime di embargo) per la Jugoslavia
- 21/22 ottobre giornate internazionali di lotta contro l'embargo e la
NATO
- inizio novembre partenza della nave di solidarietà contro tutti gli
embarghi dal porto di Bari verso il Montenegro e prosecuzione della
carovana fino a Belgrado
e-mail del Coordinamento Nazionale: Ova adresa el. pošte je zaštićena od spambotova. Omogućite JavaScript da biste je videli.
C/C ABI 07601 CAB 02400 N° conto 13437421
--------- COORDINAMENTO ROMANO PER LA JUGOSLAVIA -----------
RIMSKI SAVEZ ZA JUGOSLAVIJU
e-mail: crj@... - URL: http://marx2001.org/crj
http://www.egroups.com/group/crj-mailinglist/
------------------------------------------------------------
* COORDINAMENTO NAZIONALE "LA JUGOSLAVIA VIVRA'"
===
CANOSA DI PUGLIA E BARI
Most za Beograd - Un ponte per Belgrado in terra di Bari
Associazione culturale di solidarietà con la popolazione jugoslava
c/o Rdb via M. Cristina di Savoia 40, 70126 BARI
tel/fax 0805562663 e-mail: ponte@... Web: www.isf.it/ponte
conto corrente postale n. 13087754 Codice Fiscale 93242490725
SABATO 2 SETTEMBRE ORE 21.00
CANOSA DI PUGLIA
P.ZZA S. SABINO
(ALL'INTERNO DELLA FESTA DI LIBERAZIONE)
GIORNATA DI SOLIDARIETA' CON LA POPOLAZIONE JUGOSLAVA
PROIEZIONE DEL VIDEO:
"SERBI DA MORIRE" DI FULVIO GRIMALDI
LETTURA DI POESIE DAL LIBRO "GLI ASSASSINI DELLA TENEREZZA"
MOSTRA FOTOGRAFICA
MERCATINO DI OGGETTI AUTOPRODOTTI, IL CUI RICAVATO SARA' DEVOLUTO AI
LAVORATORI DELLA ZASTAVA DI KRAGUJEVAC BOMBARDATA DALLA NATO
INCONTRO-DIBATTITO SUL TEMA "IL COSIDDETTO INTERVENTO UMANITARIO DELLA
NATO
NEI BALCANI"
INTERVENGONO
ANDREA CATONE, PRESIDENTE DELL'ASSOCIAZIONE MOST ZA BEOGRAD
NICO PERRONE, DOCENTE UNIVERSITARIO DI STORIA DEGLI STATI UNITI
MODERA: NUNZIO GALANTE, RESPONSABILE DEI GIOVANI COMUNISTI
MOST ZA BEOGRAD, in collaborazione con il CENTRO INTERCULTURALE ABUSUAN:
BARI MERCOLEDI' 6 SETTEMBRE ORE 20.30
AUDITORIUM DELLA VALLISA (strada Vallisa, CITTA' VECCHIA)
Dalla Libia a Cuba, dall'Iraq alla Jugoslavia, gli embargo costituiscono
una terribile arma di guerra "a bassa
intensità", utilizzata quando la guerra dei missili e delle bombe è
finita. Essi rappresentano una sorta di "punizione"
del tutto arbitraria per le scelte politiche di un popolo e comportano
per il paese colpito la mancanza di generi
fondamentali, a partire dal cibo, dai medicinali e da tutto quanto è
necessario alla sopravvivenza quotidiana.
Tale "punizione" sta colpendo dal 1991 il popolo iracheno, e ha
già provocato la morte di circa 1.500.000
persone. Adesso la stessa arma viene usata contro le popolazioni della
Federazione Jugoslava, dove pure sta
mietendo molte vittime, specie tra anziani, ammalati, bambini.
Subordinare, come hanno più volte dichiarato esponenti dei Governi
della Comunità Europea, la ricostruzione
della Jugoslavia al quadro politico interno, oltre che moralmente
inaccettabile, è contrario ad ogni norma del diritto
internazionale.
Infatti il diritto alla vita, al cibo, alle cure mediche, alla
difesa contro il freddo, ed anche allo sviluppo economico
e ad un ambiente salubre, sono diritti sanciti da convenzioni
internazionali validi per tutti gli esseri umani,
indipendentemente da considerazioni politiche; la Carta delle nazioni
Unite riserva l'applicazione di sanzioni
economiche al Consiglio di Sicurezza e solo in dipendenza di situazioni
di pericolo per la sicurezza internazionale.
La stessa assemblea generale delle Nazioni unite ha più volte condannato
l'applicazione di sanzioni economiche
unilaterali da parte di Stati o gruppi di Stati con finalità politiche.
Per la solidarietà e l'amicizia tra i popoli
Per l'abolizione degli embargo
Per rompere il muro dell'isolamento in cui questi paesi sono costretti
Per allargare la rete della solidarietà aderendo alle iniziative di
"adozioni a distanza" e raccolta di medicinali
Il giornalista Fulvio Grimaldi,
di ritorno dalla Jugoslavia e da un recente viaggio in Iraq
presenta in prima assoluta il video
POPOLI DI TROPPO: EMBARGO!
seguirà
IRAQ GENOCIDIO NELL'EDEN
intermezzi dell'associazione teatrale Grammelot di Molfetta:
Le 15 bugie di Jamie Shea
Gott mit uns: intervista al generale Wesley Clark
Carla dei miracoli alla corte dell'Aja
===
TORRITA TIBERINA
COMUNICATO STAMPA DEL CONVOGLIO DI SOLIDARIETA' GIORGIANA MASI E RADIO
CITTA' APERTA
IL 23 E 24 SETTEMBRE 2000 A TORRITA TIBERINA (ROMA) SI TERRA' UNA 2
GIORNI CONTRO L'EMBARGO ALLA JUGOSLAVIA.
QUEST'INIZIATIVA E' UNA TAPPA PER LA COSTRUZIONE DI UN PERCORSO COMUNE
PORTATO AVANTI INSIEME AD ALTRE ASSOCIAZIONI CHE PREVEDE IL 21 OTTOBRE
UNA MANIFESTAZIONE NAZIONALE A ROMA CONTRO L'EMBARGO ALLA JUGOSLAVIA E
PER LA FINE DI OTTOBRE LA PARTENZA DI UN CONVOGLIO DI MASSA VERSO LA
JUGOSLAVIA CHE ROMPERA' SIMBOLICAMENTE L'EMBARGO.
PROGRAMMA DELLA 2 GIORNI
SABATO 23 SETTEMBRE
ORE 16,00 AL CASTELLO BARONALE DIBATTITO SU GUERRA E EMBARGO
ORE 19,00 PROIEZIONE VIDEO- POPOLI DI TROPPO...EMBARGO (di F. Grimaldi)
MEDIATIC REDEMPTION (di E. Giardino)-
L'EMBARGO UCCIDE UCCIDI L'EMBARGO (Convoglio di Solidarietà
Internazionalista Giorgiana Masi e Radio Città Aperta)
ORE 20,00-TEATRO ALL'ANFITEATRO
ORE 21,00 ALLA PIAZZA CENTRALE CONCERTO CON: JACKIN THE BOX-INDACO+F.DI
GIACOMO
DOMENICA 24 SETTEMBRE
ORE 9,00- DISCESA IN CANOA DEL TEVERE-VISITA ALLA RISERVA NATURALE
TEVERE FARFA-PRESENTAZIONE PROGETTO ARCHEOLOGICO DI TORRITA TIBERINA
CON PASSEGGIATA AI SITI
ORE 16,OO TEATRO PER I BAMBINI
ORE 17,30-MUSICA CON I TITUBANDA
ORE 19,00-TEATRO
ORE 21,00-CONCERTO DI MASSIMO CARRANO (PERCUSSIONI)
ORE 22,00 ESTRAZIONE DELLA LOTTERIA
ORE 22,30 CONCERTO CON NIKOLA DIKLIE (FOLK TURBO DALLA JUGOSLAVIA)
PER CHI VUOLE SOGGIORNARE E' DISPONIBILE UNO SPAZIO CAMPEGGIO, INOLTRE
E' POSSIBILE PORTARE MATERIALI DA DESTINARE ALLA JUGOSLAVIA
IL RICAVATO DELL'INIZIATIVA ANDRA' A SOSTEGNO DEL PROGETTO "UNA CASA
PER SASHA" PORTATO AVANTI DAL CONVOGLIO DI SOLIDARIETA'
INTERNAZIONALISTA GIORGIANA MASI E DA RADIO CITTA' APERTA CHE PREVEDE
LA COSTRUZIONE DI ALCUNE CASE PER I RIFUGIATI IN JUGO
---
LEZIONE DI CIVILTA' (da "Il Manifesto" del 9/8/2000)
Torrita Tiberina, è un piccolo comune di frontiera tra
la provincia di Roma e quella di Rieti. Un piccolo
comune che ha fatto un passo da gigante ma soprattutto
un passo di grande civiltà. Da sabato scorso Torrita
Tiberina ha sei nuovi "Amici". E' stato il Convoglio
di solidarietà internazionalista Giorgiana Masi a
presentare al comune romano una proposta che prevede
un patto di amicizia e solidarietà con i comuni
jugoslavi (serbi cattivi) di: Backa Topola: Sicevo;
Priepolje; Nova Varos; Bela Palanka e Pirot. Tutti e
sei i comuni hanno una particolarità, lì moltissimi
profughi (i serbi invisibili) hanno trovato rifugio,
molti sono arrivati dal Kosovo cacciati dall'Uck
rivestito con altro nome e altra uniforme sotto
l'occhio cieco della Kfor, altri sono quelli
dimenticati scacciati dalle Bande ustasa dell'ormai
defunto Tudjman. La proposta presentata al comune di
Torrita prevedeva inoltre una mozione contro la guerra
e contro l'embargo alla Jugoslavia e verso tutti i
Paesi che sono colpiti da questa mannaia . La proposta
è stata dibattuta sabato 29 luglio. Il consigliere
comunale e vicesindaco Marco Giometti (prc) ha
presentato l'ordine del giorno che ha subito trovato
un muro da parte dei Ds che, tramite il consigliere
"Papa", hanno dichiarato "inammissibile un ordine del
giorno che prevede un patto di solidarietà e di
amicizia con dei comuni di uno stato governato da un
macellaio sanguinario" "e inoltre lo stesso ordine del
giorno non prevede un riconoscimento "del valore che
hanno avuto Onu, esercito, Forze dell'Ordine e
Protezione civile nel portare e garantire la pace". A
questo punto, dopo aver verbalizzato il dissenso dei
Ds e i motivi, L'odg viene approvato. Viene data la
parola al Convoglio di solidarietà internazionalista
Giorgiana Masi che uno ad uno smonta i tasselli di
un'impostazione che nella sostanza vuole giustificare
e legittimare l'intervento umanitario o, che dir si
voglia, "la dolorosa necessità" . "Quello che è
mancato e continua a mancare è proprio il ruolo
dell'Onu con sistematiche violazioni del diritto
internazionale. Il nostro esercito ha forse sganciato
bombe più umanitarie degli altri eserciti Nato? Le
forze dell'ordine in Kosovo non sembra abbiano fatto
molto per impedire le scorrerie dell'ex Uck che hanno
già provocato migliaia di morti e centinaia di
migliaia di profughi, per quanto riguarda la
Protezione civile e la Missione Arcobaleno la storia è
già scritta sui verbali dei tribunali. Il giorno
successivo si è svolta la cerimonia ufficiale al
Castello del dodicesimo secolo di Torrita Tiberina ma
i sindaci jugoslavi non sono potuti venire in quanto
le lungaggini burocratiche per ottenere il visto
necessario per poter entrare in Italia non hanno reso
possibile la loro presenza. Le pergamene vengono
consegnate dal sindaco di Torrita Tiberina, Luciano
Forconi (indipendente), all'incaricato d'affari della
Rf di Jugoslavia che provvederà a farle controfirmare
ai sindaci dei 6 comuni. Alla cerimonia hanno
partecipato anche Radio Città Aperta, Fabio Sebastiani
di Liberazione e Vittorio Tranquilli di Abc
Solidarietà e pace il quale ha ribadito la necessità
di una battaglia contro l'embargo perché questo è un
crimine contro i più deboli , inoltre ha rilanciato
l'iniziativa che sta portando avanti insieme al
manifesto che prevede l'acquisto di strumenti per il
monitoraggio dell'inquinamento a Pancevo. La cerimonia
finisce con un annuncio del Convoglio "Giorgiana Masi"
che donerà al comune di Torrita Tiberina 78 alberi di
Castagno che rappresentano i 78 giorni di
bombardamento Nato sulla Jugoslavia, saranno piantati
"a cerchi concentrici" in maniera che ogni aereo che
passerà dall'alto vedrà il simbolo che ha
contraddistinto il popolo jugoslavo durante i raid "il
Target". Sarà questo il primo "Bosco della Pace", un
monumento vivente da cui le future generazioni
potranno trarre un'insegnamento su quelli che sono
stati gli errori e gli orrori che moltissimi non
avrebbero mai immaginato di vedere nel cuore della
"Civile Europa", quegli errori che in maniera umile
dovrebbero riconoscere anche coloro che si ostinano a
giustificare "'Intervento umanitario".
Il 23 e 24 settembre 2000 a Torrita Tiberina una 2
giorni contro l'embargo alla Jugoslavia con numerosi
gruppi musicali e teatrali e una discesa in canoa del
Tevere.
- Il 21 ottobre, giorno della strage nazista (avvenuta
nel 1941 dove persero la vita trucidate oltre 7000
persone) di Kragujevac città della Zastava giornata
mondiale a sostegno della Jugoslavia a Roma
manifestazione nazionale indetta dalla Jugocoord.
- Il 27 ottobre: la Jugoslavia vivrà - Carovana di
massa per rompere l'embargo alla Jugoslavia, una nave
per la vita che partirà dall'Italia carica di aiuti
proibiti alla quale parteciperanno delegazioni di
tutto il mondo.
- 31 marzo 2001 - Una casa per Sasa - Apertura del
cantiere a Backa Topola per costruire alcune case per
i rifugiati.
Convoglio di solidarietà internazionalista Giorgiana
Masi
===
COMITATO CONTRO LA GUERRA di Cagliari
LEMBARGO UCCIDE
UCCIDI LEMBARGO
Le sanzioni che sottopongono la Jugoslavia a disperate condizioni di
sopravvivenza debbono essere ritirate.
Ci rivolgiamo a tutti coloro che rifiutano la violenza nei confronti dei
popoli.
Intendiamo formare un vasto fronte di solidariet contro gli embarghi,
moderno strumento di sterminio dei popoli,
PER
linvio in Jugoslavia di medicine e strumenti diagnostici e chirurgici
"ladozione" dei malati pi gravi
laiuto medico e alimentare ai profughi del Kossovo monoetnico e
rifugiati
nella martoriata Serbia
Il Comitato Contro la Guerra di Cagliari aderisce alle iniziative
proposte
dalla rete nazionale dellassociazionismo di base e dalle realt
antagoniste
raccolta di medicinali - punti di raccolta presso
COBAS, via Donizetti 52 a Cagliari (tel. 070 485378 070 454999)
ASCE, vico I San Nicol a Selargius (tel. 070 846281)
manifestazione nazionale del 1 ottobre a ROMA, CONTRO GLI EMBARGHI
convoglio di solidarieta e di disubbidienza civile e sfida allarroganza
NATO, che il 27 ottobre 2000 partir da Bari su di una nave slovena, per
sbarcare nel Montenegro e proseguire poi in treno per Belgrado. Qui, i
medicinali raccolti, saranno consegnati agli operai della fabbrica
Zastava, ricostruita dagli operai a impossibilitata a commercializzare
i
suoi prodotti a causa delle sanzioni NATO).
APPUNTAMENTI A CAGLIARI:
venerd 1 settembre ore 19: RIUNIONE comitato c/o COBAS
via Donizetti 52, Cagliari
lunbed 9 ottobre: Conferenza stampa
mercoled 11 ottobre: ASSEMBLEA "Embarghi come e perch" ERSU CAGLIARI
mercoled 18 ottobre: MANIFESTAZIONE CITTADINA a CAGLIARI
riferimenti: tel 070 485378 070 454999
===
TRIESTE
ASSOCIAZIONE INTERNAZIONALISMO E SOLIDARIETA' - TRIESTE
CAMPAGNA D'AUTUNNO - ROMPIAMO L'EMBARGO !
LA JUGOSLAVIA VIVRA' !
Internazionalismo e Solidarietà è un'associazione aperta formata da un
gruppo di cittadini di Trieste, provenienti da diverse esperienze
politiche e sociali, ritrovatisi nella necessità di perseguire un'azione
di denuncia delle attuali scelte di politica estera portate avanti in
varie parti del mondo dal nostro Paese e dalle alleanze
politico-militari
di cui è membro, e di solidarietà verso i popoli vittime di queste
politiche imperialiste e neocoloniali.
In questa fase storica il capitalismo attua quella che viene definita
"globalizzazione" - del mercato, dei saperi, dell'economia e della
politica - attraverso pressioni economiche ed interventi militari, con
strumenti nazionali (anche di parte italiana!) o internazionali (NATO,
UE,
...). Nei paesi che si assoggettano a tali politiche ciò significa
rapina
delle risorse, ulteriore impoverimento delle classi povere, corruzione
della classe dirigente, perdita dell'autonomia politica ed economica.
Per
gli altri ci sono gli embarghi e le bombe.
In questo quadro l'associazione attualmente è impegnata in iniziative di
solidarietà verso i popoli della Jugoslavia, di contatto tra lavoratori
delle due sponde dell'Adriatico e di controinformazione sulla realtà
balcanica, scenario su cui si è scatenata la disinformazione di guerra e
la violenza prima delle sanzioni economiche, poi dei bombardamenti sulle
città ed ora dell'embargo.
Internazionalismo e Solidarietà ha rapporti costanti con altre
associazioni in Italia, in Europa e nel mondo, e sulla questione
jugoslava
aderisce al Coordinamento Nazionale "La Jugoslavia vivrà", recentemente
costituitosi (vedi sotto).
Le prossime iniziative in cui è impegnata Internazionalismo e
Solidarietà
insieme a tutto il Coordinamento Nazionale prevedono:
* in settembre iniziative locali di informazione e di raccolta di
materiali e fondi da destinare a vari progetti di solidarietà, tra i
quali
la prosecuzione della campagna di adozioni a distanza a favore di
famiglie
e minori in difficoltà a causa dell'aggre ssione Nato e dell'embargo;
* in ottobre due giornate internazionali contro l'embargo alla
Jugoslavia
nel 59mo anniversario della strage nazista di Kragujevac;
* fine ottobre - primi di novembre: partenza di un convoglio - nave
internazionale carico di merci vietate dall'embargo da destinare a varie
zone della Jugoslavia, tra cui Kragujevac, Backa Topola, Kosovska
Mitrovica.
PROSSIME INIZIATIVE A TRIESTE
26 Agosto - 3 settembre, P.zza Hortis
In occasione della Festa di Liberazione di P.zza Hortis l'Associazione è
presente nella festa con un banco informativo, di raccolta di materiali
e
fondi, di moduli per le adozioni a distanza. I compagni
dell'Associazione
sono a disposizione per illustrare le iniziative in corso e con un
elenco
dei materiali e dei medicinali di importanza primaria e urgente.
Nel corso della festa l'Associazione si propone intervenire al dibattito
sulla attuale situazione internazionale e sugli embarghi promosso
nell'ambito della festa.
8 e 9 Settembre, Bottega del mondo e Androna degli Orti
"Jugoslavia: progetti di solidarietà" - Una due-giorni di dibattito e di
musica in solidarietà con la Jugoslavia.
Il giorno 8 settembre presso 'La bottega del mondo' verrà organizzato un
incontro-dibattito sulla situazione jugoslava, con la proiezione di
video
e diapositive, testimonianze del recente viaggio in Jugoslavia del
Convoglio Giorgiana Masi (Roma).
Il giorno 9 settembre MUSICA IN PIAZZA a Androna degli Orti: danze
serbe,
il gruppo Estensione Est di Monfalcone (Balkan Rock), musicisti serbi.
Sarà presente la comunità serba di Trieste.
Intervengono e promuovono l'incontro il Convoglio di Solidarietà
Internazionalista Giorgiana Masi, Radio Città Aperta (Roma), Ass. Senza
Confini - Brez Meja, Associazione Bioest, ABC Solidarietà e Pace(Roma),
Mediterraneo Folk Club.
VI ASPETTIAMO A P.ZZA HORTIS, BOTTEGA DEL MONDO, ANDRONA DEGLI ORTI
PARTECIPATE IN MASSA E PORTATE MATERIALI E IDEE !
Internazionalismo e Solidarietà - INFO tel. 040416855
e-mail: glr_y@...
===
Coordinamento Nazionale "La Jugoslavia vivrà"
L'embargo uccide come le bombe, come l'uranio, come l'indifferenza
Rompiamo l'embargo contro la Jugoslavia!
Con pretesti vergognosamente definiti "umanitari" gli USA e la NATO
hanno
aggredito la Jugoslavia, paese sovrano non disposto ad accettare le
ricette del Fondo Monetario Internazionale, allo scopo di imporre il
proprio dominio coloniale sui Balcani.
La Jugoslavia è stata prima sottoposta, da USA ed Unione Europea, ad 8
anni di sanzioni economiche ed infine bombardata. Fabbriche, ponti,
centrali elettriche, scuole, ospedali ed abitazioni civili sono stati
distrutti, mentre a causa dell'inquinamento di aria, acque e terreni
agricoli c'è una crescente diffusione di turbe psichiche e gravi
malattie
che colpiscono particolarmente i più deboli, ad iniziare dai bambini.
La popolazione jugoslava, come quella irachena, oltre ad aver subito gli
effetti di nuove micidiali armi di distruzione di massa, sta tuttora
scontando un infame embargo che la priva di beni e strumenti
indispensabili alla propria sopravvivenza. Questo em bargo rappresenta
un
vero e proprio atto di guerra il cui fine è quello di ottenere la resa
dei
cittadini jugoslavi costringendoli a scelte politiche allineate ai
diktat
del nuovo ordine mondiale dell'imperialismo USA-NATO.
Di fronte alla disinformazione strategica, alla criminale partecipazione
del governo italiano all'aggressione con basi militari, uomini e mezzi
per
la guerra prima e per l'occupazione del Kosovo poi, all'ambiguità di
parte
della sinistra e dei movimenti p acifisti, molti comitati contro la
guerra
ed associazioni di solidarietà con il popolo jugoslavo si sono
costituiti
nel:
Coordinamento Nazionale "La Jugoslavia vivrà"
Difendiamo l'integrità territoriale e la multietnicità della Repubblica
Federale di Jugoslavia!
Basta con le aggressioni contro gli stati che non si allineano al nuovo
ordine mondiale!
La Jugoslavia vivrà!
Il Coordinamento Nazionale invita ad aderire alle seguenti iniziative
per
rompere l'embargo
- A partire dall'inizio del mese di settembre, presidi cittadini di
controinformazione e raccolta di materiali (medicinali, viveri, beni
sottoposti a regime di embargo) per la Jugoslavia
- 21/22 ottobre giornate internazionali di lotta contro l'embargo e la
NATO
- inizio novembre partenza della nave di solidarietà contro tutti gli
embarghi dal porto di Bari verso il Montenegro e prosecuzione della
carovana fino a Belgrado
e-mail del Coordinamento Nazionale: Ova adresa el. pošte je zaštićena od spambotova. Omogućite JavaScript da biste je videli.
C/C ABI 07601 CAB 02400 N° conto 13437421
--------- COORDINAMENTO ROMANO PER LA JUGOSLAVIA -----------
RIMSKI SAVEZ ZA JUGOSLAVIJU
e-mail: crj@... - URL: http://marx2001.org/crj
http://www.egroups.com/group/crj-mailinglist/
------------------------------------------------------------
ON THE PUNISHING CULTURE, GLOBALIZATION, SOVEREIGNTY AND GEOPOLITICS
R.K.Kent
The collapse of the Soviet Union at the end of the 1980’s created a
moment in time when a very real friendship could have been forged
between the American. and Slavic peoples of Russia and the Ukraine.
Together with United Europe, this would have been a formidable alliance
for stability for decades to come. During the years of Cold War, there
grew in the United States a huge industry with two major components
actually threatened by the fall of an enemy that not only united them
but which provided the very reason for their continuous growth and
power.The two components are the" Military-Industrial Complex" focused
on the Pentagon and the "Intelligence Community" with the CIA at its
center. Both have outgrown even the Behemoth, commanding mega-billion
dollar budgets. Both are taking huge chunks of tax payers’ moneys,
beyond any reasonable defense needs, for rather dubious undertakings in
the name of "National Security" and "National Interest." Both are
creating ever new "enemies" abroad. Neither is willing to shed the
"Cold -War" mentality. Their "New" NATO is , on the one hand, an
oxymoron really useless in Europe, "reinvented" to perfect hi-tech
warfare in missions that give the appearance of victories while making
the situations worse, even insoluble. It also provides the frameworks
for going to war while by-passing Congress as well as assuring the U.S.
domination of Europe. There is an added bonus to the"
Military-Industrial Complex" through the transfer of U.S.-built weapons
systems to NATO’s "new members" guaranteed by loans from Uncle Sam which
will be ultimately repaid not by European but by American tax payers..
The Pentagon-CIA Galaxy is mocking a Democracy that lasted two
centuries and became the bastion of freedom against all emerging
totalitarian ideologies . Its erosion in America did not come with a
sudden military coup d’etat but with an endemic duping and manipulation
of the American People. Major decisions in foreign policy are now made
by a power elite, in secrecy. without any real care for a population
that votes and foots the bills.So far, for example, the monetary outlays
covering just the first serious U.S. enagement in Southeastern Europe
have run past $20 billion, with no end in sight and with results that
contradict most of the anticipated "benefits." Never in a period of
general peace have the White House and to a somewhat lesser extent
Congress been more willing to yield to the unelected foreign-policy
"experts" than duruing the Clinton Administration. Of the 47 U.S.
military interventions abroad since 1945 , 33 have taken place in the
last eight years. This transformation of Athens into Sparta is
parallelled by the increasing use of an Intelligence Establishment to
penetrate our own audio-visual and scribal media precisely in order to
misinform and disinform the American People in respect to the real
purposes of an action abroad.
(2)
In the Cold War, the CIA was mandated to confine its activities to the
external world. . Specific legislatiion even excluded a similar
domestic role. This has changed in a major way, disregarding
legislation just as a monarchical President violates the Constitution by
waging a foreign war
without the consent and approval of Congress.It does not even seem to
matter any longer. The attempt to impeach President Clinton over the
Lewinsky scandal seems almost comical in comparison with the type of
Constitutional violation that could, some day, lead to World War III
What disturbs too, "We," the people, are actually paying the high
salaries of hundreds of inadequately -educated, bloody -minded and
pretentious foreign-policy "thinkers" and "shapers" who, with rare
exceptions, perceive" US" as imbeciles badly in need of their
enlightened services. . Nothing illustrates more dramatically the
results of this growing Evil than our entry into the deconstruction of
Second Yugoslavia (1945-1991} and the deliberate trasnformation of
an ally in two World Wars, the Serbs, into an "enemy," served as a
great "achievement" with a "victory at Kosovo."
First, the secrecy factor. When the decision to enter into the
ex-Yugoslav space was made, the American People were in no mood to
support this involvement in a faraway area hardly close to a vital
national interest. As late as November 1994, after more than a year of
our actual intelligence and military presence in Croatia and Bosnia, the
Pentagon vigorously denied all the mounting reports to the contrary in
the Europen Press. Here was a major foreign-policy decision, with
implications far beyond even the entire Balkan Peninsula, well hidden
from the American People. When this could no longer continue it became
necessary to endow actions of the U.S. "team" with a moralistic
mythology and promote a well-orchestrated and constantly escalating
satanization of a newly designated "enemy," the Serbs.Only, this
mythology was not directed at the "enemy." Its target has been from the
start the home audience. There was a long -term purpose in deforming
the Serbs beyond recognition. It was to pave the ground for a more
substantial military operation against Serbia somewhere down the road.
In 1993, a would-be "international" Criminal Tribunal was set up at the
Hague to deal with war crimes and crimes against humanity in
ex-Yugoslavia since 1991. To be sure, this Tribunal came out of the
U.N.and included jurists from different countries but it became in fact
a tool of our State Department’s drive to smear and punish the Serbs
collectively. . It was set up originally by Madeleine Albright who
secured the earliest funds and hand-picked the jurists neither of whom
came from any country apt to be pro-Serb In the beginning three years
of the Tribunal’s operation, all the indicted war criminals were Serbs
despite a tripartite civil war which was "re-defined" as a war between
states in order to "legitimize" the international competence of this
Tribunal. Even three more years down the road, as a few Croats and
Bosnian Muslims were indicted too none had anything to do with crimes
against the Serbs but only against one another. The Tribunal
established, in a pseudo-legalistic sense, that the Serbs are eternal
aggressors in the Yugoslav space and never the victims of anyone
else’s aggression .Although the Tribunal was hatched behind closed
doors to mask its anti-Serb purpose and although its prosecutors and
supporters enageged in every kind of casuistry to keep the mask on, its
practice pulled the mask down.A
(3)
Tribunal’s major and specific disregard of crimes against the Serbs
cannot successfully put the mask back on. Between August 1991 and
February 1992, Croatia’s Army and para-military carried out the first
massive "ethnic cleansing" after World War II. This took place in
Western Slavonia, producing some 40,000 Serb refugees, several thousand
deaths and the systematic destruction of all Orthodox Churches. So far,
after seven years of the Tribunal , no one has been indicted .
Similarly, a major and self-admitted war criminal among the Bosnian
Muslims, thriving in the U. S. .dominated town of Tuzla, is not even on
the "secret" Tribunal list. A similar record applies to the military
leader of the KLA at Kosovo, saluted today by NATO troops. It has just
come to light that this ostensibly "dignified judicial body" has been
engaged int abeting the kidnapping by mercenaries of alleged "Serb
criminals" from the still-sovereign Yugoslavia.
Amid the claims that the U.S. team for Yugoslavia worked "hard" for
peace , its actions reveal just the opposite. The U.S. Ambassdor to
Yugoslavia scuttled an agreed-upon tripartite (Serbs,Croats,Bosnian
Muslims) peace treaty, arrived at Lisbon in February 1992, on behalf of
the European Community. In January 1993, Cyrus Vance and Lord David Owen
presented to all three parties in the conflicts an intelligent and
workable plan for a lasting peace. It listed ten constitutional
principles, it provided for a precise and detailed accord on how to
stop armed hostilities and offered a new map. It did not take long for
the Clinton Administration to kill this too. It claimed that the Plan
"rewarded Serb aggression" in Bosnia. The truth is at hundred-and
-eighty degrees from this brazen misinformation since the legitimate
Serb land-holdings in Bosnia were reduced from 63% to 4l%, hardly a
"reward’" to say nothing of the presence of an all-around and not
exclusively Serb aggression. Even Richard Holbrooke, no "Serb
apologist," recommended that the Vance-Owen Plan be approved. Instead
David Owen was ridiculed as "Lord Owensky" to tar him with a pro-Serb
and hence unacceptable bias. ..
The Clinton Cabinet simply did not want peace. It opted to prolong the
civil war and give the New NATO a violent "pedigree." Some "robust"
bombing of the Bosnian Serb targets would establish NATO’s "credibility"
and "validate" its serious nature. Still, a dramatic event to trigger a
protracted bombing mission was badly needed. As an ABC crew just
happened to be in situ to film, there took place the so-called "third
market place massacre" at Sarajevo. Within hours, NATO planes wre in the
air in a campaign that lasted about three weeks killing and maiming
about a thousand Serb .civilians. A fresh UN report exculpated the Serbs
and placed the blame for this particular carnage on the Bosnian Muslim
side.The U.S. Ambassador to the U.N., Madeleine Albright, demanded that
the report be kept secret. It remains secret to this day but its major
conclusion was leaked out by Mr. Akashi, a respected U.N. official.
The latest example of a neurotic and virtually uncontrollable desire to
violently "punish" "the Serbs in Serbia came at the Rambouillet
Conference in February and early March 1999. To Madeleine Albright
surprise, the Serbs were willing to restore autonomy to Kosovo as the
U.S.
(4)
plan demanded. But, the Albanian KLA leader Hashim Thaci would not sign
for autnomy. He wanted independence instead. At this point Madeleine
came up with the "Appendix B" to the plan. It demanded that the Serbs
agree to an impossible condition, the occupation of all of Yugoslavia,
including Belgrade, by NATO troops. As the Serb delegation walked out,
Thaci signed the Plan and the bombing mission was cosmetically
"legalized." Madeleine would quip long after the 78 days of destruction
from the air in Serbia and Kosovo that "we raised the bar (at
Rambouillet) so that Milosevic could not jump over it; Yugoslavia needed
a little bombing." There was also another "massacre" blamed on the
Serbs, at Racak, a KLA stronghold, one that "galvanized" the
"International Community" as Madeleine put it, into punishing the
Serbs. It was a blatantly doctored, non-event, "certified" by none
other than a local U.S. envoy with long years of service in areas
replete with Latin American massacres that were quite real.
When all the dust settled, the U.S. had allied itself in ex-Yugoslavia
with the successors of WWII anti-American extreme nationalists in
Croatia, Bosnia and Kosovo while blaming its long-time, repeated
allies, the Serbs, and a single man for all the ills except bad
weather. It is absolutely clear that no massive blood-letting would have
taken place in ex-Yugoslavia without the meddling of Clinton’s team.
Similarly, the" humanitarian intervention" at Kosovo was a sham
predicated on exaggerated claims of mass executions and mass graves,
"genocide," ranging in figures from 100,000 to 10,000 dead Albanians and
no Serb victims at all from a guerrilla war carried out by the armed
branch of an international drug cartel in the name of "Liberation" As
events subsequent to the NATO occupation of Kosovo have shown, nothing
that has happened
since June 1999 should allow for continued support extended to a KLA
now in disguise. Yet, Kosovo and its Albanian ethnics have been turned
over to the drug dealers, white slavers and smugglers. Albanian mafiosi
and extortion-minded youths are rampant. Despite this, Hashim Thaci,
the KLA civilian leader, who has so far assassinated at least half a
dozen of his political opponents without pulling the trigger himself,
has attended the Democratic Convention in Los Amgeles. on kissin’ terms
with Madeleine Albright . This is perverse and obscene theater yearning
for a Bertold Brecht and his" Arturo Ui " with Thachi in disguise ,
Kurt Weil and an American version of the" Thre Penny Opera," featuring
a female Mack The Knife as the body of a Serb is oozing blood and The
Fat Lady sings like Lotte Lenya
Globalization and
Sovereignty
Why did the Clinton team really jump into ex-Yugoslavia? Why was
everything done to dismantle it? Why were the civil armed conflicts
promoted in the name of peace? Why was an open support for Human Rights
of one group used to deny Human Rights of another? Why were the Serbs
targeted from the outset as the sole aggressor, an enemy to be defetaed
even before any of the atrocities assigned to them took place? Why did
they become subhuman through an orchestrated
(5)
international satanization, not just after May-June 1992 (start of
Bosnian war) but even three years earlier?
Floating bits and pieces of the U.S. entry into the Balkans suggest
numerous strands and imputs. There is the" German Connection. " Early in
the 1990’s a US-German cooperation for the Balkans developed to involve
the CIA and its German counterpart, the BND. It seemed that Germany’s
Industrial giants wanted to transform Yugoslavia into half a dozen
statelets that could easily be dominated as extensions of the German
economy. There is another dimension to the German "drang nach"
Yugoslavia, namely re-alliance with successors of the Third Reich’s
local allies in Croatia, Bosnia and Kosovo, and revenge against the
Serbs as contributors to the Third Reich’s ultimate defeat in WWII. But,
that was revived mainly within Croatia and through a very large Croat
diaspora in West Germany. A nagging fact has somehow fallen out of the
loop. As Yugoslavia began to disintegrate, first in Slovenia. dozens of
German firms rushed to sign commercial agreements even with Serbia.
Despite a revanchist mentality of some of West German officials, its
Industry did not need a war against Serbia to eventually dominate the
industrial part of its economy. Hundreds of thousands of skilled Serb
workers would have welcomed good paying jobs created by German capital
and management. Nor was the government of Serbia opposed to economic
modernization with Germany’s help. Over 150,000 Serbs were working in
West Germany as well.
There was also an "Ideological Connection." With active support of the
Vatican, Germany and Margaret Thatcher President Reagan wanted to
dismantle all the lingering "neo-Communist" regimes in Europe. When
Yugoslavia began to disintegrate, the Slovenes and Croats were
.certified at once as "Democrats." The Serbs remained "Communists"
despite the fact that both Presidents Kuchan of Slovenia and Tudjman of
Croatia had been active and prominent members
of the Yugoslav League of Communists for decades. In this new political
"universe." Serbia was set-up as one of the earliest candidates for
economic and political destabilization. A joint U.S.-German plan
surfaced in 1998 for cooperation between the CIA and the BND going back
to 1991-1992 to "get to the Serbs." Called by its code name "Operation
Roots," it aimed at stripping Serbia of Kosovo, Montenegro and
Vojvodina, removing Yugoslavia from the map altogether and denying its
full re-entry into the U.N.
Economic sanctions were imposed on Serbia in 1992 and have not been
removed to-date despite all kinds of evidence that they punished mainly
the children, the old, the infirm and the middle class. The sanctions
made it easier to attribute all the deficiencies of an entrenched
bureaucracy to "foreign meddling," solidifying in power the very
"undesirable" leaders whose fall was most intensely desired in
Washington. That exactly the same happened in Iraq hardly prevented the
bombings from going on to this day. That the Serbs , as a people who
never harmed America’s interests and who sided with the U.S. in two
major wars, were being punished way out of proportion to the alleged
egregious crimes of some Serbs, hardly caused insomnia to the "shapers"
of this cruel policy. The mentors, some of whom would express contrived
horror when
(6)
a Bosnian or a Kosovo Muslim suffered from Serb thugs, could be nowhere
near a crisis of conscience as our Tomahawks and bombs killed about
3,000 Serbs, mainimg three times the number, destroyed their
infrastructure and poisoned their environment with lasting mutants and
toxins. To kick one to death while one is down reflects aberrant
individual behavior but does not come out as a recognizable American
cultural and national trait.With a million refugees now in Serbia,
"cleansed" from other parts of ex-Yugoslavia with tacit and active
support of the Clinton foreign-policy team, with eight years of
deliberately cruel sanctions imposed on Serbia, after 78 days of
destruction, this team, spearheaded by an extreme and verifiable
Serbophobe, is still seeking to punish the Serbs and destabilize them
even into a civil war. Something has decidedly changed in Washington to
produce a vindictive and twisted mentality that cannot be called
"American" at all.
Indeed, this leads directly into the factor of "Bloody-Mindedness." Its
most prominent exponent has been Madeleine Albright, the self-styled
champion of Universal Human Rights, a championship that cannot withstand
serious scrutiny. Her retort to Leslie Stahl in "60 Minutes" that the
punishment meted out to Iraq was worth the cost of 500,000 child deaths
, is only the tip of a deeper and wider phenomenon, a Punishing Culture
which emerged with Mr.Clinton in the White House. Where regional and
overseas Empires collapsed by imposing on and seeking to maintain
direct rule over recalcitrant foreign populations, the modern Clintonian
Imperial version is "global" in scope, overtly benign and informal and
hence difficult to pinpoint. It is not rooted in territorial
acquisitions and it avoids expenses associated with direct rule.Instead,
an Imperialism of "Free Trade" and super-imposed "Liberal Democracy" is
to Globalize and unite the whole world, do away with the pernicious
influence of history, put to death all forms of Nationalism(with
endless help from George Soros), bring an end to the" impediment" of
Sovereignty, transpose the limitless new" Electronic Universe" into
unlimited economic domination of mega-corporations, oligopolies and
cartels and assure that social and political engeneering will "explain"
this New World Order as a" benefit" to all.
This formula is not, however, a self-generating inducement to " join
Globalization or be left out of its benefits," as Thomas Freedman would
have it.The electronic- communication -and- information -Globalization
can be universally beneficial. Its economic counterpart can easly hurt
the many for the benefit of few . Right now about a fifth of the total
world population owns some 80 % of the global resources.An uncontolled,
rampant economic Globalization would polarize even further.It would thus
in the long run inexorably come to face certain defeat itself as
resistance movements crop-up everywhere in resurgent
and"globally-induced" Nationalisms.In effect, as one critic puts it,
Globalization "requires submission, faith, worshjp and new rites."
Globaliztion "has become a new kind of Totalitarianism ." This is not
admitted but . "Globalization" in toto must be accepted and anyone or
anything that blocks in any way the total submission to it must be
physically punished to the limits of endurance, must undergo cerebral
(7)
terror, must be psychologically re-programmed, educated anew
("pierevaspitach" Soviet-style) without exception, pity, sorrow or
remorse.
.If one cannot logically grasp why the Serbs have ben denied any rights
at all (self-determination in Krajina and Bosnia, self-defense at
Kosovo} it is because they have been turned not only into
the sole "aggressors" in ex-Yugoslavia. Years of premeditated
satanization have mutated them internationally into present-day
"untermenchen" (subhumans) Subhumans cannot, by definition,
have Human Rights. A state deprived de facto of its Sovereignty
becomes a "zone" that can be violated with arrogance and impunity,
from the air or by exacerbating internal turmoil. If some of the more
powerful states still retain Sovereignty all the others can be declared
not to" deserve" it for a variety of reasons, including externally
decreed forms of "internal oppression" which more than "justify"
"humanitarian" interventions. . In what looks like another of Albright’s
"brilliant" ideas to finish-off the Serbs, the State Department is
establishing an office in Hungary to "run" the
opposition to Milosevic in Serbia. It does not take a doctorate in
Political Science to perceive at once that this plays right into
Milosevic’s hands and represents the kiss of death to bring even a
candidate of united Serb opposition to power in his place. It is also
likely to pave the ground for a
civil war in Serbia, possibly and even probably its real goal so that
Serbia can be occupied by NATO troops to "bring peace to the Serb
people," another " virtuous "gesture, strangling them with affection of
a boa constrictor. .
A recent attempt to hook-up "historically" periods of would-be "
dilution" in America’s Sovereignty with moments of economic
prosperity came from the pen of a high-ranking ex-member of the
Intelligence "Community," General Odom. Writing in the Wall Street
Journal, now as a Yale Professor, the General comes up short on both
Economics and History. .Economic prosperity is hardly incompatible with
Sovereignty. Moreover, without an iron-clad respect of Sovereignty,
International Law , as it has evolved since the time of its Dutch
founder Grotius, is replaced by something atavistic even in its most
modern, virtual-reality sense, namely that Might is Right. When the
"requirements" of the New World Order are added to this throw-back, the
Ends come to justify the Means employed and we have in effect a return
to Fascism with its Mussolinian and Hitlerite strands.
All of this comes with an Orwellian Language, too. . You can murder
civilians from 15,000 feet in the air. and call it "collateral
damage." You can call a one-way bombing campaign without harming the
bombers an "air war" as if it consisted of areal combat between two
equal and opposing air-forces. You can endow the shells tipped in
depleted uranium with a humanitarian purpose. You can take a mass of
refugees you have helped create in a major way and declare that they are
returning home thanks to your help without feeling uneasy about the
mutilation of logic. You can transform a communal into a "mass"grave and
advertise who is in it before any serious investigation can be carried
out. You can proclaim "genocide" where it does not exist by either
"re-defining it" or by cynically invoking the Jewish Holocaust in WWII
to "never let it happen again." You can insert Government "Psy-Ops"
into a major media outlet and put out the fairy
(8)
tale that they are on a "training mission." You can formally claim not
to be at war as you destroy a country from the air.
There are, in fact, no constraints to disinformation and no limits to
what can be used to deceive the American People, all in the name of
"extendeing Democracy" and"promoting Human Rights." A Democracy
leap-froging abroad while being gradually lost at home. Two of the
recent blatant examples of this manipulating process came on PBS-TV, one
before the "air war" and the other after it. The one in July 1998 was an
obvious attampt to launder the Kosovo" Liberation "Army’s criminality.
In this way, the American public would not be likely to oppose a NATO
intervention slated to help the"Kosovar" "freedom fighters." Sentaor
Lieberman, now the Democratic Vice-Presidential nominee, went as far as
to claim that the KLA fought for "American Values." This was not too
long after even the State Department had branded the KLA as "terrorists
."A recent checking of PAC contributions in Congress reveals that
Senator Lieberman received $10,000 from the Albanian diaspora in the
U.S.
The other example, in two parts, sought to transform the destruction
of Serbia into a "Virtuous War" through subtle but outrageous
propaganda using the techniques which turn Dr. Goebbels into a rank
amateur. While all three endeavors were exposed and ripped to shreds
there was "no response" from the PBS-TV funded by tax payers’ money.
Yet, behind the emerging Punishing Culture and the New World Order there
is something older, something that the Nazis have discredited but
something that has come to dominate many in the foreign policy
power-elite whose members are perpetualluy fighting their own
intellectual boredom and personal inconsquence with some sort of a
"coherent world view" that makes them feel "superior," "special"and
out of reach to the incompetent "ordinary" citizens.That "something" is
"Geopolitics," term first proposed by a Swede (Rudolf Kjellen ) in 1900
but going back as an emerging "discipline" into the mid-Nineteenth
Century.
Geopolitics
Although "Geopolitics" never transcended the pseudo-scientific self
there is a an aura to it as a "discipline." No reputable American
university offers it as such but , to demystify "Geopolitcs" and come
to understand to what uses this would-be "science" can be put, a
background outline becomes essential. Its real developers are two
Germans (Karl Ritter and Friedrich Ratzel) and three Frenchmen ( Pierre
Vidal de La Bache, Jean Brunhes and Albert Demangeon). By way of an
over-simplified explanation, these developers tried to show the
inevitable relationships of geography, space and demography, resources
and political history. Nonetheless, they failed to converge as a single
school in the aftermath of the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-1871. The
French side maintained that, in the multitude of components that enter
into geopolitical thought,
(9)
the human factor is both dominant and determining . It could be said
that the French geographers (and de La Bache was one of the greatest in
Europe) rejected the notion that the scientific, hence the ,
"rational," rules the world , through Universal Laws. They came up with
endless examples of the "humanistic," hence non-rational"modifiers"
acting as a sort of continuous trip-wire. This direction led to the
disappearence of Geopolitical intellectual endeavors in France. . The
discipline was "rescued" on the German side by a Prussian General (Karl
Haushofer) and at Oxford by a Scottish scholar (Halford Mackinder}. In
1904, he came out with the idea of "The Heartland" or the land mass of
continental Eurasia which could be threatened only by the surrounding
maritime powers in control of communications.A U.S. Admiral (Mahan}
combined Geopolitics with Strategic Thinking "perfecting" Mackinder.
>From there on, through one or more champions of naval power , the
world-subdivisions and power relationships become rather arcane,
"sliced" in a number of "equally valid" ways. . Yet, two things are
beyond dispute. Strategic concerns skewed Geopolitics in search of
world-dominance, " politicizing" its applications. They also figured in
pan-Germanism before World War I and in the Nazi ideology bwteen 1933
ans 1945. The geographico-scientific limitations of Geopolitics became
clear at the end of World War II. While intellactualy stimulating,
Geopolitical "determinism" fails to explain anything scientifically.
On the other side, yielding to whatever the politico-strategic views are
in demand at any given time, Geopolitics loses any real scientific
promise as it comes to justify national ambitions.
During the Cold War, there was a sort of Geopolitical Renaissance among
the U.S." strategic thinkers" coming up behind Admiral Mahan and his
even more influential naval-power follower , N.J.Spykman. Its
centerpiece was the idea that the U.S. naval strength could contain the
Eurasian giant, U.S.S.R. Coupled with the famous article of Mr.
"X"(George Kennan) it proved that Geopolitocal and Strategic thinking
could "win" in the long run. This sent Geopolitics into the
"strategic-thinking" overdrive. In 1978, Zbigniew Brzezunsky, the latest
American Geopolitical "guru" declared in Sweden that all of Europe was
now basically under the U.S. benevolent hegemony (he called it
"patronage"}. He added that "nothing endangering the American vital
interests" will be permitted to solidify in that region. Then he
proceeded to lay out "the law" in respect to the Balkans years before it
would be applied. The U.S. objectives in the Balkans as "Zbig" defined
them included a "New Order" (term which appears in one of the earliest
Geopolitical texts} fitting into the West; U.S. dominance in the Balkans
but in close cooperation with Germany in the "political reorganization"
of the Balkans (echoed by President Clinton recently as "deBalkanizing
the Balkans" after he did everything to re-Balkanize Yugoslavia);
special and detailed cooperation with Islamic states, especially
Turkey and Albania." Madeleine Albright was "Zbig’s" foremosr disciple
and what neither of them will admit, they both detest Orthodox Slavs,
primarily Russians (hiding it behid" opposition to Communism"} ut also
Russia’s closest "kin" in the Balkans, the Serbs.
(10)
One might be permited to conclude that a President without any
experience in foreign policy, a "Bubba " from Arkansas, despite his
stint as a Rhodes scholar, turned over his entire foreign policy in the
Balkans to a domineering , power-driven "expert." Madeleine Albright
who subdued even the Republican Secretary of Defense, Cohen, in her
neurotic drive to" punish the Serbs," a drive that might go back to her
childhood in Belgrade but one that has been as hidden as her own
awareness of Jewish antecedents in the Korbel family.The tragedy is that
both the Polish and Czech-born high ranking officials of the U.S.
Government made the distrust and even hate of Orthodox Slavs an integral
part of the U.S. world strategy and thus prevented forever the
possibility stated at the beginning of this essay.
If, after reading this text, there is anyone left who still believes in
all the sick propaganda about "the Serbs" as "neo-Nazi butchers" of the
Fin du Siecle, who still believes in "virtuous wars," who still supports
a new American Imperialism as a "humanitarian" enterprise, there is only
one conclusion left. An American People does not exist and our Political
Leaders have grasped this. We are getting exactly the government we
deserve.
.
Raymond K. Kent, Emeritus
History Department,
University of California,
Berkeley, CA. 94720
510/642-1971
.
--------- COORDINAMENTO ROMANO PER LA JUGOSLAVIA -----------
RIMSKI SAVEZ ZA JUGOSLAVIJU
e-mail: crj@... - URL: http://marx2001.org/crj
http://www.egroups.com/group/crj-mailinglist/
------------------------------------------------------------
R.K.Kent
The collapse of the Soviet Union at the end of the 1980’s created a
moment in time when a very real friendship could have been forged
between the American. and Slavic peoples of Russia and the Ukraine.
Together with United Europe, this would have been a formidable alliance
for stability for decades to come. During the years of Cold War, there
grew in the United States a huge industry with two major components
actually threatened by the fall of an enemy that not only united them
but which provided the very reason for their continuous growth and
power.The two components are the" Military-Industrial Complex" focused
on the Pentagon and the "Intelligence Community" with the CIA at its
center. Both have outgrown even the Behemoth, commanding mega-billion
dollar budgets. Both are taking huge chunks of tax payers’ moneys,
beyond any reasonable defense needs, for rather dubious undertakings in
the name of "National Security" and "National Interest." Both are
creating ever new "enemies" abroad. Neither is willing to shed the
"Cold -War" mentality. Their "New" NATO is , on the one hand, an
oxymoron really useless in Europe, "reinvented" to perfect hi-tech
warfare in missions that give the appearance of victories while making
the situations worse, even insoluble. It also provides the frameworks
for going to war while by-passing Congress as well as assuring the U.S.
domination of Europe. There is an added bonus to the"
Military-Industrial Complex" through the transfer of U.S.-built weapons
systems to NATO’s "new members" guaranteed by loans from Uncle Sam which
will be ultimately repaid not by European but by American tax payers..
The Pentagon-CIA Galaxy is mocking a Democracy that lasted two
centuries and became the bastion of freedom against all emerging
totalitarian ideologies . Its erosion in America did not come with a
sudden military coup d’etat but with an endemic duping and manipulation
of the American People. Major decisions in foreign policy are now made
by a power elite, in secrecy. without any real care for a population
that votes and foots the bills.So far, for example, the monetary outlays
covering just the first serious U.S. enagement in Southeastern Europe
have run past $20 billion, with no end in sight and with results that
contradict most of the anticipated "benefits." Never in a period of
general peace have the White House and to a somewhat lesser extent
Congress been more willing to yield to the unelected foreign-policy
"experts" than duruing the Clinton Administration. Of the 47 U.S.
military interventions abroad since 1945 , 33 have taken place in the
last eight years. This transformation of Athens into Sparta is
parallelled by the increasing use of an Intelligence Establishment to
penetrate our own audio-visual and scribal media precisely in order to
misinform and disinform the American People in respect to the real
purposes of an action abroad.
(2)
In the Cold War, the CIA was mandated to confine its activities to the
external world. . Specific legislatiion even excluded a similar
domestic role. This has changed in a major way, disregarding
legislation just as a monarchical President violates the Constitution by
waging a foreign war
without the consent and approval of Congress.It does not even seem to
matter any longer. The attempt to impeach President Clinton over the
Lewinsky scandal seems almost comical in comparison with the type of
Constitutional violation that could, some day, lead to World War III
What disturbs too, "We," the people, are actually paying the high
salaries of hundreds of inadequately -educated, bloody -minded and
pretentious foreign-policy "thinkers" and "shapers" who, with rare
exceptions, perceive" US" as imbeciles badly in need of their
enlightened services. . Nothing illustrates more dramatically the
results of this growing Evil than our entry into the deconstruction of
Second Yugoslavia (1945-1991} and the deliberate trasnformation of
an ally in two World Wars, the Serbs, into an "enemy," served as a
great "achievement" with a "victory at Kosovo."
First, the secrecy factor. When the decision to enter into the
ex-Yugoslav space was made, the American People were in no mood to
support this involvement in a faraway area hardly close to a vital
national interest. As late as November 1994, after more than a year of
our actual intelligence and military presence in Croatia and Bosnia, the
Pentagon vigorously denied all the mounting reports to the contrary in
the Europen Press. Here was a major foreign-policy decision, with
implications far beyond even the entire Balkan Peninsula, well hidden
from the American People. When this could no longer continue it became
necessary to endow actions of the U.S. "team" with a moralistic
mythology and promote a well-orchestrated and constantly escalating
satanization of a newly designated "enemy," the Serbs.Only, this
mythology was not directed at the "enemy." Its target has been from the
start the home audience. There was a long -term purpose in deforming
the Serbs beyond recognition. It was to pave the ground for a more
substantial military operation against Serbia somewhere down the road.
In 1993, a would-be "international" Criminal Tribunal was set up at the
Hague to deal with war crimes and crimes against humanity in
ex-Yugoslavia since 1991. To be sure, this Tribunal came out of the
U.N.and included jurists from different countries but it became in fact
a tool of our State Department’s drive to smear and punish the Serbs
collectively. . It was set up originally by Madeleine Albright who
secured the earliest funds and hand-picked the jurists neither of whom
came from any country apt to be pro-Serb In the beginning three years
of the Tribunal’s operation, all the indicted war criminals were Serbs
despite a tripartite civil war which was "re-defined" as a war between
states in order to "legitimize" the international competence of this
Tribunal. Even three more years down the road, as a few Croats and
Bosnian Muslims were indicted too none had anything to do with crimes
against the Serbs but only against one another. The Tribunal
established, in a pseudo-legalistic sense, that the Serbs are eternal
aggressors in the Yugoslav space and never the victims of anyone
else’s aggression .Although the Tribunal was hatched behind closed
doors to mask its anti-Serb purpose and although its prosecutors and
supporters enageged in every kind of casuistry to keep the mask on, its
practice pulled the mask down.A
(3)
Tribunal’s major and specific disregard of crimes against the Serbs
cannot successfully put the mask back on. Between August 1991 and
February 1992, Croatia’s Army and para-military carried out the first
massive "ethnic cleansing" after World War II. This took place in
Western Slavonia, producing some 40,000 Serb refugees, several thousand
deaths and the systematic destruction of all Orthodox Churches. So far,
after seven years of the Tribunal , no one has been indicted .
Similarly, a major and self-admitted war criminal among the Bosnian
Muslims, thriving in the U. S. .dominated town of Tuzla, is not even on
the "secret" Tribunal list. A similar record applies to the military
leader of the KLA at Kosovo, saluted today by NATO troops. It has just
come to light that this ostensibly "dignified judicial body" has been
engaged int abeting the kidnapping by mercenaries of alleged "Serb
criminals" from the still-sovereign Yugoslavia.
Amid the claims that the U.S. team for Yugoslavia worked "hard" for
peace , its actions reveal just the opposite. The U.S. Ambassdor to
Yugoslavia scuttled an agreed-upon tripartite (Serbs,Croats,Bosnian
Muslims) peace treaty, arrived at Lisbon in February 1992, on behalf of
the European Community. In January 1993, Cyrus Vance and Lord David Owen
presented to all three parties in the conflicts an intelligent and
workable plan for a lasting peace. It listed ten constitutional
principles, it provided for a precise and detailed accord on how to
stop armed hostilities and offered a new map. It did not take long for
the Clinton Administration to kill this too. It claimed that the Plan
"rewarded Serb aggression" in Bosnia. The truth is at hundred-and
-eighty degrees from this brazen misinformation since the legitimate
Serb land-holdings in Bosnia were reduced from 63% to 4l%, hardly a
"reward’" to say nothing of the presence of an all-around and not
exclusively Serb aggression. Even Richard Holbrooke, no "Serb
apologist," recommended that the Vance-Owen Plan be approved. Instead
David Owen was ridiculed as "Lord Owensky" to tar him with a pro-Serb
and hence unacceptable bias. ..
The Clinton Cabinet simply did not want peace. It opted to prolong the
civil war and give the New NATO a violent "pedigree." Some "robust"
bombing of the Bosnian Serb targets would establish NATO’s "credibility"
and "validate" its serious nature. Still, a dramatic event to trigger a
protracted bombing mission was badly needed. As an ABC crew just
happened to be in situ to film, there took place the so-called "third
market place massacre" at Sarajevo. Within hours, NATO planes wre in the
air in a campaign that lasted about three weeks killing and maiming
about a thousand Serb .civilians. A fresh UN report exculpated the Serbs
and placed the blame for this particular carnage on the Bosnian Muslim
side.The U.S. Ambassador to the U.N., Madeleine Albright, demanded that
the report be kept secret. It remains secret to this day but its major
conclusion was leaked out by Mr. Akashi, a respected U.N. official.
The latest example of a neurotic and virtually uncontrollable desire to
violently "punish" "the Serbs in Serbia came at the Rambouillet
Conference in February and early March 1999. To Madeleine Albright
surprise, the Serbs were willing to restore autonomy to Kosovo as the
U.S.
(4)
plan demanded. But, the Albanian KLA leader Hashim Thaci would not sign
for autnomy. He wanted independence instead. At this point Madeleine
came up with the "Appendix B" to the plan. It demanded that the Serbs
agree to an impossible condition, the occupation of all of Yugoslavia,
including Belgrade, by NATO troops. As the Serb delegation walked out,
Thaci signed the Plan and the bombing mission was cosmetically
"legalized." Madeleine would quip long after the 78 days of destruction
from the air in Serbia and Kosovo that "we raised the bar (at
Rambouillet) so that Milosevic could not jump over it; Yugoslavia needed
a little bombing." There was also another "massacre" blamed on the
Serbs, at Racak, a KLA stronghold, one that "galvanized" the
"International Community" as Madeleine put it, into punishing the
Serbs. It was a blatantly doctored, non-event, "certified" by none
other than a local U.S. envoy with long years of service in areas
replete with Latin American massacres that were quite real.
When all the dust settled, the U.S. had allied itself in ex-Yugoslavia
with the successors of WWII anti-American extreme nationalists in
Croatia, Bosnia and Kosovo while blaming its long-time, repeated
allies, the Serbs, and a single man for all the ills except bad
weather. It is absolutely clear that no massive blood-letting would have
taken place in ex-Yugoslavia without the meddling of Clinton’s team.
Similarly, the" humanitarian intervention" at Kosovo was a sham
predicated on exaggerated claims of mass executions and mass graves,
"genocide," ranging in figures from 100,000 to 10,000 dead Albanians and
no Serb victims at all from a guerrilla war carried out by the armed
branch of an international drug cartel in the name of "Liberation" As
events subsequent to the NATO occupation of Kosovo have shown, nothing
that has happened
since June 1999 should allow for continued support extended to a KLA
now in disguise. Yet, Kosovo and its Albanian ethnics have been turned
over to the drug dealers, white slavers and smugglers. Albanian mafiosi
and extortion-minded youths are rampant. Despite this, Hashim Thaci,
the KLA civilian leader, who has so far assassinated at least half a
dozen of his political opponents without pulling the trigger himself,
has attended the Democratic Convention in Los Amgeles. on kissin’ terms
with Madeleine Albright . This is perverse and obscene theater yearning
for a Bertold Brecht and his" Arturo Ui " with Thachi in disguise ,
Kurt Weil and an American version of the" Thre Penny Opera," featuring
a female Mack The Knife as the body of a Serb is oozing blood and The
Fat Lady sings like Lotte Lenya
Globalization and
Sovereignty
Why did the Clinton team really jump into ex-Yugoslavia? Why was
everything done to dismantle it? Why were the civil armed conflicts
promoted in the name of peace? Why was an open support for Human Rights
of one group used to deny Human Rights of another? Why were the Serbs
targeted from the outset as the sole aggressor, an enemy to be defetaed
even before any of the atrocities assigned to them took place? Why did
they become subhuman through an orchestrated
(5)
international satanization, not just after May-June 1992 (start of
Bosnian war) but even three years earlier?
Floating bits and pieces of the U.S. entry into the Balkans suggest
numerous strands and imputs. There is the" German Connection. " Early in
the 1990’s a US-German cooperation for the Balkans developed to involve
the CIA and its German counterpart, the BND. It seemed that Germany’s
Industrial giants wanted to transform Yugoslavia into half a dozen
statelets that could easily be dominated as extensions of the German
economy. There is another dimension to the German "drang nach"
Yugoslavia, namely re-alliance with successors of the Third Reich’s
local allies in Croatia, Bosnia and Kosovo, and revenge against the
Serbs as contributors to the Third Reich’s ultimate defeat in WWII. But,
that was revived mainly within Croatia and through a very large Croat
diaspora in West Germany. A nagging fact has somehow fallen out of the
loop. As Yugoslavia began to disintegrate, first in Slovenia. dozens of
German firms rushed to sign commercial agreements even with Serbia.
Despite a revanchist mentality of some of West German officials, its
Industry did not need a war against Serbia to eventually dominate the
industrial part of its economy. Hundreds of thousands of skilled Serb
workers would have welcomed good paying jobs created by German capital
and management. Nor was the government of Serbia opposed to economic
modernization with Germany’s help. Over 150,000 Serbs were working in
West Germany as well.
There was also an "Ideological Connection." With active support of the
Vatican, Germany and Margaret Thatcher President Reagan wanted to
dismantle all the lingering "neo-Communist" regimes in Europe. When
Yugoslavia began to disintegrate, the Slovenes and Croats were
.certified at once as "Democrats." The Serbs remained "Communists"
despite the fact that both Presidents Kuchan of Slovenia and Tudjman of
Croatia had been active and prominent members
of the Yugoslav League of Communists for decades. In this new political
"universe." Serbia was set-up as one of the earliest candidates for
economic and political destabilization. A joint U.S.-German plan
surfaced in 1998 for cooperation between the CIA and the BND going back
to 1991-1992 to "get to the Serbs." Called by its code name "Operation
Roots," it aimed at stripping Serbia of Kosovo, Montenegro and
Vojvodina, removing Yugoslavia from the map altogether and denying its
full re-entry into the U.N.
Economic sanctions were imposed on Serbia in 1992 and have not been
removed to-date despite all kinds of evidence that they punished mainly
the children, the old, the infirm and the middle class. The sanctions
made it easier to attribute all the deficiencies of an entrenched
bureaucracy to "foreign meddling," solidifying in power the very
"undesirable" leaders whose fall was most intensely desired in
Washington. That exactly the same happened in Iraq hardly prevented the
bombings from going on to this day. That the Serbs , as a people who
never harmed America’s interests and who sided with the U.S. in two
major wars, were being punished way out of proportion to the alleged
egregious crimes of some Serbs, hardly caused insomnia to the "shapers"
of this cruel policy. The mentors, some of whom would express contrived
horror when
(6)
a Bosnian or a Kosovo Muslim suffered from Serb thugs, could be nowhere
near a crisis of conscience as our Tomahawks and bombs killed about
3,000 Serbs, mainimg three times the number, destroyed their
infrastructure and poisoned their environment with lasting mutants and
toxins. To kick one to death while one is down reflects aberrant
individual behavior but does not come out as a recognizable American
cultural and national trait.With a million refugees now in Serbia,
"cleansed" from other parts of ex-Yugoslavia with tacit and active
support of the Clinton foreign-policy team, with eight years of
deliberately cruel sanctions imposed on Serbia, after 78 days of
destruction, this team, spearheaded by an extreme and verifiable
Serbophobe, is still seeking to punish the Serbs and destabilize them
even into a civil war. Something has decidedly changed in Washington to
produce a vindictive and twisted mentality that cannot be called
"American" at all.
Indeed, this leads directly into the factor of "Bloody-Mindedness." Its
most prominent exponent has been Madeleine Albright, the self-styled
champion of Universal Human Rights, a championship that cannot withstand
serious scrutiny. Her retort to Leslie Stahl in "60 Minutes" that the
punishment meted out to Iraq was worth the cost of 500,000 child deaths
, is only the tip of a deeper and wider phenomenon, a Punishing Culture
which emerged with Mr.Clinton in the White House. Where regional and
overseas Empires collapsed by imposing on and seeking to maintain
direct rule over recalcitrant foreign populations, the modern Clintonian
Imperial version is "global" in scope, overtly benign and informal and
hence difficult to pinpoint. It is not rooted in territorial
acquisitions and it avoids expenses associated with direct rule.Instead,
an Imperialism of "Free Trade" and super-imposed "Liberal Democracy" is
to Globalize and unite the whole world, do away with the pernicious
influence of history, put to death all forms of Nationalism(with
endless help from George Soros), bring an end to the" impediment" of
Sovereignty, transpose the limitless new" Electronic Universe" into
unlimited economic domination of mega-corporations, oligopolies and
cartels and assure that social and political engeneering will "explain"
this New World Order as a" benefit" to all.
This formula is not, however, a self-generating inducement to " join
Globalization or be left out of its benefits," as Thomas Freedman would
have it.The electronic- communication -and- information -Globalization
can be universally beneficial. Its economic counterpart can easly hurt
the many for the benefit of few . Right now about a fifth of the total
world population owns some 80 % of the global resources.An uncontolled,
rampant economic Globalization would polarize even further.It would thus
in the long run inexorably come to face certain defeat itself as
resistance movements crop-up everywhere in resurgent
and"globally-induced" Nationalisms.In effect, as one critic puts it,
Globalization "requires submission, faith, worshjp and new rites."
Globaliztion "has become a new kind of Totalitarianism ." This is not
admitted but . "Globalization" in toto must be accepted and anyone or
anything that blocks in any way the total submission to it must be
physically punished to the limits of endurance, must undergo cerebral
(7)
terror, must be psychologically re-programmed, educated anew
("pierevaspitach" Soviet-style) without exception, pity, sorrow or
remorse.
.If one cannot logically grasp why the Serbs have ben denied any rights
at all (self-determination in Krajina and Bosnia, self-defense at
Kosovo} it is because they have been turned not only into
the sole "aggressors" in ex-Yugoslavia. Years of premeditated
satanization have mutated them internationally into present-day
"untermenchen" (subhumans) Subhumans cannot, by definition,
have Human Rights. A state deprived de facto of its Sovereignty
becomes a "zone" that can be violated with arrogance and impunity,
from the air or by exacerbating internal turmoil. If some of the more
powerful states still retain Sovereignty all the others can be declared
not to" deserve" it for a variety of reasons, including externally
decreed forms of "internal oppression" which more than "justify"
"humanitarian" interventions. . In what looks like another of Albright’s
"brilliant" ideas to finish-off the Serbs, the State Department is
establishing an office in Hungary to "run" the
opposition to Milosevic in Serbia. It does not take a doctorate in
Political Science to perceive at once that this plays right into
Milosevic’s hands and represents the kiss of death to bring even a
candidate of united Serb opposition to power in his place. It is also
likely to pave the ground for a
civil war in Serbia, possibly and even probably its real goal so that
Serbia can be occupied by NATO troops to "bring peace to the Serb
people," another " virtuous "gesture, strangling them with affection of
a boa constrictor. .
A recent attempt to hook-up "historically" periods of would-be "
dilution" in America’s Sovereignty with moments of economic
prosperity came from the pen of a high-ranking ex-member of the
Intelligence "Community," General Odom. Writing in the Wall Street
Journal, now as a Yale Professor, the General comes up short on both
Economics and History. .Economic prosperity is hardly incompatible with
Sovereignty. Moreover, without an iron-clad respect of Sovereignty,
International Law , as it has evolved since the time of its Dutch
founder Grotius, is replaced by something atavistic even in its most
modern, virtual-reality sense, namely that Might is Right. When the
"requirements" of the New World Order are added to this throw-back, the
Ends come to justify the Means employed and we have in effect a return
to Fascism with its Mussolinian and Hitlerite strands.
All of this comes with an Orwellian Language, too. . You can murder
civilians from 15,000 feet in the air. and call it "collateral
damage." You can call a one-way bombing campaign without harming the
bombers an "air war" as if it consisted of areal combat between two
equal and opposing air-forces. You can endow the shells tipped in
depleted uranium with a humanitarian purpose. You can take a mass of
refugees you have helped create in a major way and declare that they are
returning home thanks to your help without feeling uneasy about the
mutilation of logic. You can transform a communal into a "mass"grave and
advertise who is in it before any serious investigation can be carried
out. You can proclaim "genocide" where it does not exist by either
"re-defining it" or by cynically invoking the Jewish Holocaust in WWII
to "never let it happen again." You can insert Government "Psy-Ops"
into a major media outlet and put out the fairy
(8)
tale that they are on a "training mission." You can formally claim not
to be at war as you destroy a country from the air.
There are, in fact, no constraints to disinformation and no limits to
what can be used to deceive the American People, all in the name of
"extendeing Democracy" and"promoting Human Rights." A Democracy
leap-froging abroad while being gradually lost at home. Two of the
recent blatant examples of this manipulating process came on PBS-TV, one
before the "air war" and the other after it. The one in July 1998 was an
obvious attampt to launder the Kosovo" Liberation "Army’s criminality.
In this way, the American public would not be likely to oppose a NATO
intervention slated to help the"Kosovar" "freedom fighters." Sentaor
Lieberman, now the Democratic Vice-Presidential nominee, went as far as
to claim that the KLA fought for "American Values." This was not too
long after even the State Department had branded the KLA as "terrorists
."A recent checking of PAC contributions in Congress reveals that
Senator Lieberman received $10,000 from the Albanian diaspora in the
U.S.
The other example, in two parts, sought to transform the destruction
of Serbia into a "Virtuous War" through subtle but outrageous
propaganda using the techniques which turn Dr. Goebbels into a rank
amateur. While all three endeavors were exposed and ripped to shreds
there was "no response" from the PBS-TV funded by tax payers’ money.
Yet, behind the emerging Punishing Culture and the New World Order there
is something older, something that the Nazis have discredited but
something that has come to dominate many in the foreign policy
power-elite whose members are perpetualluy fighting their own
intellectual boredom and personal inconsquence with some sort of a
"coherent world view" that makes them feel "superior," "special"and
out of reach to the incompetent "ordinary" citizens.That "something" is
"Geopolitics," term first proposed by a Swede (Rudolf Kjellen ) in 1900
but going back as an emerging "discipline" into the mid-Nineteenth
Century.
Geopolitics
Although "Geopolitics" never transcended the pseudo-scientific self
there is a an aura to it as a "discipline." No reputable American
university offers it as such but , to demystify "Geopolitcs" and come
to understand to what uses this would-be "science" can be put, a
background outline becomes essential. Its real developers are two
Germans (Karl Ritter and Friedrich Ratzel) and three Frenchmen ( Pierre
Vidal de La Bache, Jean Brunhes and Albert Demangeon). By way of an
over-simplified explanation, these developers tried to show the
inevitable relationships of geography, space and demography, resources
and political history. Nonetheless, they failed to converge as a single
school in the aftermath of the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-1871. The
French side maintained that, in the multitude of components that enter
into geopolitical thought,
(9)
the human factor is both dominant and determining . It could be said
that the French geographers (and de La Bache was one of the greatest in
Europe) rejected the notion that the scientific, hence the ,
"rational," rules the world , through Universal Laws. They came up with
endless examples of the "humanistic," hence non-rational"modifiers"
acting as a sort of continuous trip-wire. This direction led to the
disappearence of Geopolitical intellectual endeavors in France. . The
discipline was "rescued" on the German side by a Prussian General (Karl
Haushofer) and at Oxford by a Scottish scholar (Halford Mackinder}. In
1904, he came out with the idea of "The Heartland" or the land mass of
continental Eurasia which could be threatened only by the surrounding
maritime powers in control of communications.A U.S. Admiral (Mahan}
combined Geopolitics with Strategic Thinking "perfecting" Mackinder.
>From there on, through one or more champions of naval power , the
world-subdivisions and power relationships become rather arcane,
"sliced" in a number of "equally valid" ways. . Yet, two things are
beyond dispute. Strategic concerns skewed Geopolitics in search of
world-dominance, " politicizing" its applications. They also figured in
pan-Germanism before World War I and in the Nazi ideology bwteen 1933
ans 1945. The geographico-scientific limitations of Geopolitics became
clear at the end of World War II. While intellactualy stimulating,
Geopolitical "determinism" fails to explain anything scientifically.
On the other side, yielding to whatever the politico-strategic views are
in demand at any given time, Geopolitics loses any real scientific
promise as it comes to justify national ambitions.
During the Cold War, there was a sort of Geopolitical Renaissance among
the U.S." strategic thinkers" coming up behind Admiral Mahan and his
even more influential naval-power follower , N.J.Spykman. Its
centerpiece was the idea that the U.S. naval strength could contain the
Eurasian giant, U.S.S.R. Coupled with the famous article of Mr.
"X"(George Kennan) it proved that Geopolitocal and Strategic thinking
could "win" in the long run. This sent Geopolitics into the
"strategic-thinking" overdrive. In 1978, Zbigniew Brzezunsky, the latest
American Geopolitical "guru" declared in Sweden that all of Europe was
now basically under the U.S. benevolent hegemony (he called it
"patronage"}. He added that "nothing endangering the American vital
interests" will be permitted to solidify in that region. Then he
proceeded to lay out "the law" in respect to the Balkans years before it
would be applied. The U.S. objectives in the Balkans as "Zbig" defined
them included a "New Order" (term which appears in one of the earliest
Geopolitical texts} fitting into the West; U.S. dominance in the Balkans
but in close cooperation with Germany in the "political reorganization"
of the Balkans (echoed by President Clinton recently as "deBalkanizing
the Balkans" after he did everything to re-Balkanize Yugoslavia);
special and detailed cooperation with Islamic states, especially
Turkey and Albania." Madeleine Albright was "Zbig’s" foremosr disciple
and what neither of them will admit, they both detest Orthodox Slavs,
primarily Russians (hiding it behid" opposition to Communism"} ut also
Russia’s closest "kin" in the Balkans, the Serbs.
(10)
One might be permited to conclude that a President without any
experience in foreign policy, a "Bubba " from Arkansas, despite his
stint as a Rhodes scholar, turned over his entire foreign policy in the
Balkans to a domineering , power-driven "expert." Madeleine Albright
who subdued even the Republican Secretary of Defense, Cohen, in her
neurotic drive to" punish the Serbs," a drive that might go back to her
childhood in Belgrade but one that has been as hidden as her own
awareness of Jewish antecedents in the Korbel family.The tragedy is that
both the Polish and Czech-born high ranking officials of the U.S.
Government made the distrust and even hate of Orthodox Slavs an integral
part of the U.S. world strategy and thus prevented forever the
possibility stated at the beginning of this essay.
If, after reading this text, there is anyone left who still believes in
all the sick propaganda about "the Serbs" as "neo-Nazi butchers" of the
Fin du Siecle, who still believes in "virtuous wars," who still supports
a new American Imperialism as a "humanitarian" enterprise, there is only
one conclusion left. An American People does not exist and our Political
Leaders have grasped this. We are getting exactly the government we
deserve.
.
Raymond K. Kent, Emeritus
History Department,
University of California,
Berkeley, CA. 94720
510/642-1971
.
--------- COORDINAMENTO ROMANO PER LA JUGOSLAVIA -----------
RIMSKI SAVEZ ZA JUGOSLAVIJU
e-mail: crj@... - URL: http://marx2001.org/crj
http://www.egroups.com/group/crj-mailinglist/
------------------------------------------------------------
NEOLIBERALISM - THE BALKANS SCENARIO
The following paper attempts to address the subject of neoloberalism as
dominant ethos imposed by the West on, for one, Bosnia. Neoliberalism
being
carried out in the Balkans scenario under the guise of 'humanitarian'
intervention with that intervention effected through an overwhelming
media
propaganda campaign of global dimension devised principally by public
relations companies on behalf of such diverse clients as the Vatican,
oil
rich families of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Brunei and wealthy business men
and
women in Germany and the United States of America.
In order to gain some understanding of the complexities inherent to the
recent war in the Balkans and events thereafter it is of vital
importance
to jettison propaganda masquerading as information foist upon the public
by
unscrupulous and venal opinion makers.
"Contrary to common assumptions", writes Australian scholar Alex Carey,
"propaganda plays an important role - and certainly a more covert and
sophisticated role - in technologically advanced democratic societies,
where the maintenance of the existing powers and privileges is
vulnerable
to popular opinion".
Propaganda has a long and dishonourable tradition in the West. As early
as
1933 the Nazis turned for guidance to Ivy Lee the US pioneer of public
relations. Lee's firm was hired for $25,000 a year by the German Dye
Trust,
I,G, Farben which invited him to visit Germany to meet Hitler and
Hitler's
propaganda minister Josef Goebbels and other Nazi Government officials.
Lee's 28 year old son, James Lee, went to work for Farben in Berlin for
$33,000 a year.
An employee of Lee's firm drafted a report suggesting that Joachim von
Ribbentrop, the German general who later became Hitler's foreign
minister,
"undertake a definite campaign to clarify the American mind" by
"speaking
over the radio to the American people" and writing "a considered article
for an important American publication".
So. Then as Now. He who pays the Piper calls the Tune.
In essence PR companies have been charged with mounting and sustaining a
case against, for example, the Serbs as international pariahs to justify
Western military intervention in ex Yugoslavia. In fact in the Balkans
scenario, the Serbs have simply been in the way in that they have
represented an impediment to the take over of territories rich in
mineral
and oil deposits and human resources and offering enormous potential to
outside interests in terms of political and strategic spheres of
influence
at the heart of Europe. (1).
The lie projected by the persuaders was that the Serbs were the
"aggressor"
in ex Yugoslavia. Invaders commandeering other peoples territories. For
example, PR firms via the Western media told the world that the Serbs
had
invaded and illegally occupied 70% of Bosnian territory.
Nothing could be further from the truth. The truth, casualty of war, is
that indigenous Bosnian Serbs owned, resided on and farmed some 68% of
Bosnian territory prior to the outbreak of this war. (2).
>From the seemingly bottomless coffers associated with oil, military and
drugs barons in the West, US and British-based PR firms have received
vast
sums of money to organise propaganda campaigns on behalf of their
clients
in the Balkans - The Izetbegovic administration in Sarajevo, the Tudjman
government in Zagreb and the heroin mafia New York-based Albanian|Kosovo
Separatist Movement. (Source: US Department of Justice).
This is what James Harff, Director of the Washington-based PR firm Ruder
&
Finn Global Public Affairs company had to say to Jacques Merlino a
respectable associate editor of France's Channel Two - "To be frank I
can
tell you that the vast majority of Americans wondered in which AFRICAN
country to locate Bosnia. No one could understand what was going on in
Bosnia", he said. Mr Harff in acknowledging the general public's lack of
comprehension of issues related to Bosnia exults over the golden
opportunity this presented to people such as himself. "In one shot", he
said, "we were able to offer a simple story a history of good guys and
the
bad guys".
In the Channel Two interview, the PR firm boss went on to describe in
some
detail how the demonisation of the Serbs was achieved. Principally he
said
through the spreading of false rumour and unsubstantiated reports of
atrocities and war crimes. Omission of the more salient facts to a story
often achieved the effect of scapegoating Serbs. "There were all sorts
of
reasons", said James Harff, "why the Jewish intellectuals and
organisations
were hostile to the Croats and Bosnian Muslims. Our challenge was to
obtain
a reversal of this situation. We succeeded in doing so, in a masterly
manner, between the 2nd and 5th of August 1992, when the New York paper
Newsday led with a story on Serbian camps". French newsman Jacques
Merlino
said that Elie Wiesel told him that there was no comparison between the
Nazi slaughter houses of World War Two and the prison camps where
Muslims
and Croats had been held prisoner by Serbs. Wiesel had visited these
prisoner of war camps in ex Yugoslavia.
James Harff went on to speak gleefully of how Ruder & Finn had jumped on
the "death camp" potential of the Newsday report which carried with the
story a photograph which had tugged at the world's heart strings. This
was
of a horribly emaciated man. The world's assumption was that this man
was a
Muslim who had been starved and mistreated by Serb prison guards. The
truth
behind this photograph has only just been published. (See over).
James Harff again ... "We convened 3 major Jewish organisations. B'nai
B'Riths Anti Defamation League, the American Jewish Committee and the
American Jewish Congress. We suggested to them that they print an
insert
in the New York Times and organise a protest in front of the UN
building.
This really worked. The engagement of Jewish organisations on the side
of
the Bosnian Muslims was a super poker play", Harff said. He continued -
"Immediately thereafter we were able to associate the Serbs with the
Nazis
in public opinion. It was not long before there was a clear change in
the
press language with emotional terms like "concentration camps" evoking
Nazi
Germany and the gas chambers at Auschwitz", Harff concluded. In his book
"The Truth From Yugoslavia is not Being Reported Honestly" published by
Albin Michel SA in Paris in 1993, Jacques Merlino also mentioned that as
a
result of the "concentration camp" story, many Jewish MP's put their
signatures to the famous collective letter, headed by Margaret Thatcher,
to
the Wall Street Journal in September 1993, calling on the West to arm
the
Muslims and bomb the Serbs.
No one has so transgressed the rules pertaining to good taste by going
so
far as to suggest, that Mrs Thatcher, pace her arms dealing son Mark,
may
have had something of a vested interest in plumping for the arming of a
supposedly unarmed Muslim and Croatian military force in ex Yugoslavia.
Only writers of the calibre of Jonathon Swift or in our day Kurt
Vonnegut
or Joseph Heller could do justice to the subject matter here. Slaughter
House 5 and Catch 22 expose the myths associated with so-called "just
wars".
War is just war. It is nothing more and nothing less.
War has never been anything other than slaughter of human and animal
life -
It is destruction of the environment. Capitalism cannot exist without an
enemy. It must create an enemy to justify its 'just' wars. No enemy - No
excuse for military intervention - No intervention - No commercial take
over - No arms profits.
*Arms* - In the Balkans alone, since the late 1980's, vast fortunes
have
been made by mainly US and German arms companies. Mortars to MiG fighter
aircraft have been shipped to the region via various 'aid' agencies, the
UN
and even NATO for use against the Serbs by the "defenceless"
Muslim|Croat
Armies. (Refer Defense & Foreign Affairs Strategic Policy DFASP of
Act|Nov
1992 and UN reports). Bill Clinton, The Irish Times 30.8.94 - "Despite
the
UN Arms Embargo the CIA will continue to send arms to the Bosnian
Muslims".
During the course of their violent war of secession from the Socialist
Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in 1991|92 Croat and Muslim separatist
forces in synchronised attacks took siege of all Yugoslav People's Army
(JNA) barracks across Croatia and Bosnia rendering the JNA useless in
its
defense of civilians in most areas. (These actions are detailed in the
book
"Breaking of Yugoslavia and Armed Secession of Croatia" by Dusan Vilic
and
Bosko Todorovic. The book contains copies of authentic military
transcripts). Simon Wiesenthal, Director of the Jewish Documentation
Centre
Vienna - Slobodna Bosna Sarajevo 21.5.97 - "There were factories of
military ammunition and weapons throughout the country, and when the war
in
Yugoslavia started, everybody had ammunition and weapons, everybody was
armed".
Bosnian Muslim businessmen already owned the arms factories in Gorazde -
Local Muslim forces backed by foreign Mujahedin had launched massive
attacks on Serb communities around Gorazde during 1991|92 - 2 years
before
the media began to talk of Serb attacks on Gorazde.
(The media did not mention that Muslim forces used the tops of high
buildings, to include the hospital in Gorazde, as military
installations.
(Read: The Truth About Gorazde - Task Force on Terrorism &
Unconventional
Warfare - US House of Representatives Washington 14.5.94).
In November 1996 under its new PROGRAMME FOR BOSNIA so called, the US
launched another megabucks ($400 million of them) military training and
equipment programme for the Muslim|Croat Federation Armies. This is what
is
duplicitously known as 'Aid'.
Arms and the Man. With Peace verboten.
'Retired' US Generals have been training Muslim and Croat forces in
Bosnia
for years.
There are those who fervently believe that war could have been avoided
in
the Balkans had it not been for the imperialist actions of a supremely
arrogant cabal of Western capitalists.
With their obscene race to effect 'independence' for Croatia et al,
their
insane need to sweep away the last crumbs of socialism in Yugoslavia and
grab the markets there, they caused this terrible war. A war which
brought
chaos, horror and loss of every kind to all the peoples of the ex SFR of
Yugoslavia. Furthermore, their use of special agents to carry out
terrorist
attacks and rig election results has ensured the placing in to power of
fascist leaders who are dedicated to suppression of working class and
poorer populations in the region. These entrepreneurs, their hired thugs
in
the field and those in the media who promoted their case, are the true
War
Criminals in the Balkans scenario.
Whilst on the subject of Fascism|Capitalism - This is what the President
of
Croatia Franjo Tudjman had to say in support for the Nazi 'ideology' in
his book titled "Wastelands of History" - "Genocide is a natural
phenomenon, in harmony with the societal and mythologically divine
nature.
Genocide is not only permitted, it is recommended even commanded by the
word of the Almighty, whether it is useful for the survival or the
restoration of the Kingdom of the Chosen Nation, or for the presersation
and the spreading of its one and only correst faith".
The curriculum vitae for the President of the other new Western created
puppet state or Banana Republic in the Balkans, Alija Izetbegovic, reads
thus -
"As a teenager he co founded Bosnia's version of "Hitler Youth", the
"Young
Muslims". Helped establish the Nazi Muslim SS Khanjar Division which was
responsible for appalling atrocities in Yugoslavia in the1940's. 1946:
Arrested and jailed for 3 years for founding the fascist journal
MUDZAHID.
Played major role as ABWEHR and special GESTAPO agent during World War
II.
In 1983 arrested and jailed for 6 years for anti-social fascist
activities.
President Izetbegovic has exploited and abused the Muslim faith to the
detriment of the Muslim people of Bosnia. Here is his "Islamic
Declaration"
which was reprinted in Sarajevo in 1990: "There can be no peace or
coexistence between the Islamic faith and non-Islamic faith and
institutions. The Islamic movement must and can take power as soon as it
is
morally and numerically strong enough, not only to destroy the
non-Islamic
power, but to build up a new Islamic one ..."
Nazism is represented at highest order to this day in ex Yugoslavia.
Upon
achieving power in 1991 Tudjman surrounded himself with fellow right
wing
extremists. These included ageing former operatives with the World War
II
Croatian Nazi regime. Some of whom had been incorporated into service
during the Cold War era with Western Intelligence Agencies. Perhaps the
most sinister figure to emerge, though certainly not from the shadows in
recent times since he lived the good life in Australia for 50 years, is
one
Dinko Sakic. Sakic was the last Commander of the Jasenovac extermination
camp in Croatia. On Sakic's return to Croatia in 1991, Tudjman appointed
him to a Senior position in the Croat Government. Tudjman gave Ustashe
member Julienne Bushich, who in September 1976 took part in the hijack
of a
TWA airliner, the job of adviser to the Croatian Ambassador to
Washington.
Her husband Zvonko, also a Croat member of the Ustashe Nazi forces, is
serving a life term for planting a bomb at New York's main railway
station.
Many more high ranking Nazi|Ustashe members were appointed to positions
in
the Tudjman Government. Despite efforts by the powers that be to
diminish
the horrors perpetrated by the Nazi forces during the 1940's amd
attempts
by certain writers in the West to re write history pertaining to that
time,
people nevertheless across the world manage to learn about what happened
in
camps such as Auschwitz, Dachau etc. There has though been a very
successful conspiracy by forces in the West to totally censor the
holocaust
which took place in Yugoslavia during the 1940's. (3).
The subject of censorship regards the Yugoslav Holocaust was raised in
Belgrade by organisers of ceremonies held recently to mark the May 9th
1945
end to World War II in Europe. The Belgrade Daily Tanjug wrote on 8th of
May last - "The unconditional surrender of Germany on May 9th 1945,
officially ended WWII in Europe, the bloodiest military conflict in the
history of mankind. WWII spilled into Yugoslavia when a dawn bombardment
rocked Belgrade on April 6th, 1941, followed by an invasion of German,
Italian, Hungarian, Bulgarian and Albanian troops, that eventually
reached
900,000. Croatian fascist leaders, known as Ustashes, allied themselves
to
Hitler (and the Vatican), proclaiming the clerico-fascist Independent
State
of Croatia on April 10th 1941. The Ustahse aimed to purge multi-ethnic
Croatia, then populated by about 1.5 million Serbs, by converting to
Catholicism about one third of the Serbs, routing one third, and
exterminating the rest. The extermination of hundreds of thousands
Serbs
followed diligently. About 700,000 Serbs, Jews, Gypsies and anti-fascist
Croatians were killed most brutally in the Jasenovac concentration camp
alone. More than 17,000 children perished in separate death camps for
children. WWII was waged by 61 nations - a total of 2.1 billion people,
which was 96% of the world's population. Over 50 million people died, 30
million of them civilians. About 12 million perished in the camps.
Yugoslavia lost 1.7 million people, most of them Serbs and about 400,000
were wounded. Belgrade was the only city in Europe that had 2 death
camps,
Sajmiste and Banjica, in which 80,000 patriots were executed". End
quote.
Director of the Jewish Documentation Centre in Vienna Simon Wiesenthal
in
an interview on 21st May last in which he too highlighted the cover up
on
facts about the suffering of people in Yugoslavia during WWII said -
"The
Croat ustashe committed horrendous crimes. Many thousands of Serb
civilians, innocent people, were killed by the Ustashe at Jasenovac
death
camp". Simon Wiesenthal told the Independent Sarajevo review Slobodna
Bosna
- "Serbs saved Jews many times". He also went on to recall the horrors
suffered by the Serb, Jews and Gypsy people at the hands of the Nazis.
(4).
Continuing on the theme of censorhip, , holocaust, media and Public
Relations firms - PR company Ruder & Finn et al failed to suck all
Jewish
organisations into the rediculous anti socialist | anti Serb whirlpool
regards Bosnia -
For example - in March 1995 the "World Affairs" journal published the
following: Quote - While the "Jewish Frontier", along with all advocates
of
humane behaviour, abhors the slaughter in Bosnia, we feel it appropriate
to
publish a statement by survivors of Buchenwald on the historic
background
of the Serb-Bosnian conflict sent to us by John Ranz, Chairman of
Survivors
of the Buchenwald Concentration Camp group based in the USA: "The
gigantic
campaign to brainwash America by our media against the Serbian people is
just incredible, with its daily dose of one-sided information and
outright
lies. It is an outstanding achievement by the powerful public relations
Madison Avenue 'Boys' who have at their disposal large amounts of money
provided by a coalition of US and Middle Eastern oil countries. To our
shame, the Izetbegovic Government in Sarajevo, with its powerful
backers,
seem even to convince some Jewish 'leaders' who indirectly help the
murderers of our people in their war to subjugate the Serbs. We are not
being told that the Croatian Nazi collaborators and the Bosnian SS
Khanjar
Muslim units killed 95% of the Jewish people in Yugoslavia during WWII.
We
are not being told that the same Bosnian_Muslim and Croat Nazi allies
massacred 900,000 Serbs and the entire Gypsy population (20,000 or
more)of
men, women and children, just as they did to the Jews. Every Jew, every
victim of Nazism and every human being ought to know and understand why
the
Serbs are so desperately fighting against such powerful forces and why
they
adopted our post Holocaust slogan of 'Never Again'. Our media does not
tell
us that the Bosnian Muslims had two SS Divisions fighting at Stalingrad
on
the side of the Nazis, in the most crucial battle that decided a Nazi
victory or defeat. What is today's reality? The murderers of Jews, Serbs
and Gypsies are back from the US, Canada, Argentina and Australia where
they fled after WWII. These criminals were never punished. There were no
trials of Nazi criminals in Yugoslavia after the war. They are now
restoring Nazi symbols (in Croatia and Bosnia); they eliminated
anti-Nazi
anti-fascist monuments. Their military units use Nazi slogans like 'Sieg
Heil'. The international Nazi organisation , the International Brigade
(including the US Branch) announced a drive for volunteers to fight in
Bosnia and Croatia against the Serbs, the Communists and the Jews. (See
the
US Nazi organ 'The New Order' of January|February 1993, copies are
available on request). The Serbs fought the Nazis, they paid a terrible
price for standing at the side of the Allies against Hitler. They saved
many allied soldiers including hundreds of American fliers. They
welcomed
Jewish partisand as brothers.
Hitler bombed the Serbs for their stubborn resistance. Are our President
and NATO going in the same direction (instead of finding a peaceful
solution)? I shudder to think of it. Hitler and Clinton, no, it cannot
be".
John Ranz, Chairman of Survivors of the Buchenwald Concentration Camp in
"World Affairs" London March 1995.
Belgrade Daily Tanjug 6th April 1996 - "Some 2,270 people died when the
Germans began their dawn bombing raids on Belgrade on 6th April 1941.
According to German statisticians, 484
************************************************************
The Latin America Solidarity Centre (LASC) is an initiative
for cultural promotion, development education and
campaigning solidarity, linking Ireland and Latin America.
LASC 5 Merrion Row, Dublin 2, Ireland
Phone and Fax: +353-1-6760435
email: lasc@...
Email services kindly donated by Ireland On Line.
************************************************************
Belgrade Daily Tanjug 6th April 1996 - "Some 2,270 people died when the
Germans began their dawn bombing raids on Belgrade on 6th April 1941.
According to German statisticians, 484 bombers dropped 360 tonnes of
bombs.
About 700 buildings, including the central post office and the railway
station were destroyed and 1,700 buildings were damaged in the bombings.
The total of 350,000 books were destroyed in the raids. During the 11
day
April war, 136 Yugoslav pilots were killed and 80 German aircraft were
downed. Serbian Information Bureau in Dublin 14th August 1993 - "As we
wait
for the first American bombs and missiles to fall on Serbian so-called
military targets in Bosnia, we remember US bombing raids on Yugoslavia
in
WWII. It was Orthodox Easter Sunday morning 1943 and a beautiful sunny,
cloudless day, when US bombers made their first appearance over
Belgrade.
Their targets: bridges over the River Sava, railway yards, German
barracks
etc. Their first direct hit? THE MATERNITY HOSPITAL in the centre of
Belgrade, with a large RED CROSS painted on its roof. Thousands of
Belgrade
citizens died that Easter morning, while the German military targets
remained largely undamaged. One four storey building in the residential
centre of Belgrade, destroyed in the US raid, is today the US Embassy in
Yugoslavia. Similar fate awaited the citizens of towns like Kraljevo,
Leskovac etc. Can we expect that the first "Military" target destroyed
in
Bosnia will be a hospital, school, homes and vital services? Of course,
today's technology is far more advanced, and the missiles hit the
intended
targets; tell that to the dead school children in Baghdad, the British
soldiers in their armoured vehicle in the desert, the residents and
staff
of the El Rashid Hotel inBaghdad, or the Somali civilians in the 'WAR
LORD'S HQ" in Mogadishu! When the p ower of the "mighty dollar" falls,
military thuggery follows. The anti-nuclear protests of the sixties were
inevitably accompanied by the slogan `'Yankee Go Home". Maybe it's time
they did". End Quote. SIB Dublin.
*OPERATION DELIBERATE FORCE * - On 29th August 1995, NATO war planes
backed by British, French and Muslim ground troops began a week long
series
of attacks on Serbian centres in Bosnia. Hundreds of civilia;ns died in
these attacks. Hospitals, schools, homes, bridges and civilian vital
services facilities were deliberately targetted and destroyed. This NATO
Blitzkrieg was titled 'Operation Deliberate force' and was coordinated
by
the US War Ship John F `kennedy moored at the time in the Adriatic Sea.
NATO's use of radioactive ammunition has ruined farmlands and people
continue to die from the effects of this ammunition. (The Allied Forces
dropped 88,500 tons of bombs on Baghdad in January and February 1991 -
US
warships joined in with further bombing raids in the form of long
distance
missiles etc. As part of their weaponry the Allies used what they
euphemistically called depleted uranium tipped rockets or tank busters.
Nuclear weapons in short. United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority reports
show that allied armies left at least 40 tons of depleted uranium on the
Gulf war battlefield, leaving vast areas of southern Iraq and much of
Kuwait polluted by radioactive waste. Tank ammunition alone contained
enough radioactive material, the International Committee of Radiology
Protection estimates, to cause "500,000 potential deaths if inhaled". PR
firm Hill & Knowleton received £11+ million from the Kuwaiti Royal
Family
to promote Allied intervention in the "war").
To return to the Bosnian scenario - Lisbon newspaper "Diaria de Noticias
(9.2.96) said of UN|NATO "Operation Deliberate Force" - "NATO DROPPED
MORE
BOMBS ON BOSNIAN SERB COMMUNITIES IN AUGUST AND SEPTEMBER 1995 THAN THE
GERMANS DID ON LONDON DURING WORLD WAR II"
On the 10th February 1994, six months prior to the execution of
"Operation
Deliverate Force", the London Independent wrote - "US A-10 tankbusters
armed with 30mm cannon that fire depleted uranium shells would be the
most
likely to be used against the few Bosnian Serb tanks. Laser-guided bombs
would be used against artillery positions, ammunition dumps and other
slightly 'softer' targets". The London Independent, 7.2.94 - "The
laser-guided bomb is the favourite and is mouned on the British Spartans
in
a special turret. The local forces would probably not know they were
'lases' until they went blind or were hit by a bomb". On the day that
this
article was published, on behalf of the people of so-called neutral
Ireland, the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs Mr
Dick
Spring endorsed NATO raids and the use of these weapons against the
Bosnian
Serbs. The BBC 13.2.94 - An American air pilot based in Italy poised to
hit
Serb positions in Bosnia said quote - "NATO pilots expect collateral
damage
but will try to stay with an acceptable level of collateral damage and
keep
the killing of neutrals at a minimum". The Irish Times 23.11.94 - "7
children and a pregnant woman were killed when NATO jets bombed a
factory
in the UN 'safe haven' of Bihac yesterday". 4.9.95 - Belgrade Daily
Tanjug
stated that "NATO used nuclear, toxic and cluster bombs on Serb civilian
centres and facilities in Bosnia". The Irish Times 30.8.95 - "The
Tanaiste
and Minister for Foreign Affairs in Ireland Mr Spring, said the 'NATO
bombing of Bosnian Serb positions was justified in view of the shelling
of
the Market place in Sarajevo earlier this week".
The pretext for UN\NATO attacks on the Serbs being alleged Serb
responsibility for the shelling of the Market market in Sarajevo on
28.8.95.
*MARKET PLACE ETC ATTACKS* - `of the August 1995 market bombing, the
Defence & Foreign Affairs Strategic Policy vol XXIII No 7-8 of
July|August
1995 states - "Once again, the Sarajevo administration planted a charge
in
the market place in the city and when it was detonated with considerable
loss of life, it was blamed on the Bosnian Serba as a "mortar attack"
against innocent civilians. US intelligence sources told this journal
that
there was no radar tracking of an incoming round (although radar was in
place). There was also no collateral damage consistent with an incoming
round. And, just as was proven and stated by UN observers after the
previous market place "mortar attack", it was clear that this was also a
pre-placed charge by the Izetbegovic people designed to sacrifice their
own
citizens so that blame could be placed on the Bosnian Serbs, just before
important peace talks were to begin". A woman who witnessed the August
95
attack on Markale market from her flat window describes in her statement
to
the UN how she watched TV crews and ambulances converge on the market
PRIOR
to the explosion.
This was not the first time the leader of the Sarajevo or Bosnian
government, Alija Izetbegovic , had ordered the carrying out, with the
hiring of special agents, of atrocities against mainly innocent Muslim
people in Sarajevo. People in high places in the West knew full well
that
Izetbegovic agents bore responsibility for attacks on civilians in the
market, cemetery, food and water queues - as well as for sniper attacks
on
civilians and UN personnel in Sarajevo. Izetbegovic's army has carried
out
the most notorious of attacks on Muslim communities in Bosnia. Hitherto
these attacks were blamed on the Serbs. Shamefully Western politiicians
and
journalists conspired to prevent this information being broadcast to the
world at large.
An earlier attack in February 1994 on the Markale market claimed 68
lives.
This explosion was also described by the Defence & Foreign Affairs group
in
its July|August 95 report as a pre-placed mine set in place by agents of
the Izetbegovic Bosnian Govt. Despite the publication to a vast number
of
foreign journalists, the UN document which detailed facts and Muslim
Govt
culpability for this terrible crime, the document was used by one
Western
journalist only, Bernard Volker of the French TFI Network. Volker was
persecuted for broadcasting the UN document but has since been fully
vindicated as other military and UN personnel have gradually opened up
on
Bosnian Muslim Govt responsibility for this attack.
Realpolitik prevails - The late French President Francois Miterrand
states
in his book L'Annees des Adieux that the (now ex) UN Secretary General
Boutros Boutros Ghali had told him that he had irrefutable evidence as
to
Bosnian Govt culpability for the Markale bombings. This evidence not
revealed then for reasons of political expendiency.
Yet an earlier atrocity covered so explicitly by ex BBC reporter Martin
Bell, was the explosion in May 1992 which killed people queueing for
bread
in Sarajevo's Vase Miskin Street. Martin Bell in his report on what
became
known as the Bread Queue Massacre, blamed the Serbs for this crime. On
st
September 1992, 4 months after the Vase Miskin Street bombing, the
Republican group for the Investigation of Terrorism of the US Congress
issued a previously confidential report which details Bosnian Muslim
Govt
culpability for the Vase Miskin Street bombing. How often did viewers to
BBC coverage of the war in Bosnia hear Martin Bell speak of 'Sniper
Alley'
- Serbs as snipers - Muslims as victims. (5).
n its report of 29th Sebruary 1996 the Defence & Foreign Affairs group
in
London spoke further on the subject of pre-placed mines and the use by
the
Bosnian Govt of special foreign agents. Quote - "Very reliable sources
in
Sarajevo have confirmed that the number of mujahedin - foreign Islamist
mercenaries - fighting in Bosnia-Herzegovina in support of the
Izetbegovic
administration is between 15,000 and 20,000. About half the mujahedin
number in the country make up the Khanjar Division". (As per the Nazi SS
Khanjar of the 1940's). "One senior US Congressman said of the mujahedin
-
'We know that the Izetbegovic people have been as barbarous as any in
the
Balkans, and yet the White House will not hear of anyone in the US Govt
or,
for that matter, among the NATO partners attempting to bring any Muslim
war
criminals to justice'. NATO troops did, however, raid one Iranian-run
terrorist camp in Bosnia-Herzegovina in February 1996, finding, among
other
things, booby-trapped toys which were to be planted in the countryside".
The Defence report went on to say that mujahedin activities in and
around
Sarajevo had led to some 60,000 indigenous Serb civilians fleaing from
that
city by late February 1996 to avoid living under an Izetbegovic-led
administration. Many Serbs had already left Sarajevo during the course
of
this war. By the end of 1992 40,000 Serb civilians had fled their homes
in
Sarajevo.
Another example of genocide against civilian Muslim communities carried
out
by the Bosnian Government was the August 1994 ground attack on the UN
"safe haven" of Bihac. Over 500 Muslim civilians died in the raids and
over
600,000 people were forced to flea the enclave. Many Serb people were
also
killed in the attacks. The Bosnian Government was assisted in its
assaults
by special forces rented from the US and Saudi Governments. The
so-called
rebel Muslim forces of Bihac represented the poorer peasant Muslim and
Serb
populations of that region. Serb and Bihac Muslim forces fought
together
here against the Western backed Bosnian Governemnt and the Western
backed
Croatian Government. Serb and Muslim forces fought together in several
areas in Bosnia against Western mercenary imperialist forces.
*MERCENARIES* - According to the Belgrade daily 'Politika' of
8.12.1994,
all warring sides in the ex Yugoslavia have had mercenaries from across
the
world fighting with them. The Serbs have been backed by hundreds of
Russian
volunteer soldiers - 300 of whom have been reported killed in action.
The
Croatian and Muslim sides have been supported by mercenaries from France
(French Foreign Leagion) Italy, Germany, Poland, England, the USA,
Indonesia, Algeria, Syria, Libya, Iran, Saudi Arabia. The 'Politika'
said
that the mercenary forces fighting with the Croat and Muslim forces had
been recruited mainly from Western-based Nazi organisations. The daily
said
that German authorities, for one, when questioned about mercenaries in
the
Balkans, had paid no heed to a massive number of its citizens joining
the
************************************************************
The Latin America Solidarity Centre (LASC) is an initiative
for cultural promotion, development education and
campaigning solidarity, linking Ireland and Latin America.
LASC 5 Merrion Row, Dublin 2, Ireland
Phone and Fax: +353-1-6760435
email: lasc@...
Email services kindly donated by Ireland On Line.
************************************************************
Croatian Army and that only on one occasion in 1992, the German Criminal
Bureau had said that a - quote - "considerable number of German
right-wing
extremists had participated in the Croatian struggle against Serb
communists".
In fact foreign mercenaries have operated in the Balkans on the payroll
of
wealthy businessmen and Western Governments anxious to effect
'independence' for the now ex Yugoslav states. Australian Ustashe forces
trained with the Australian Army in Aubury|Wodonga for decades prior to
returning to Yugoslavia to carry out terrorist activities against Serbs,
Croats or anyone protesting against the breakup of Yugoslavia. Their key
function was to create distrust and hatred between the thnic communities
in
the region. Between 1983 and 1992, the various anti Yugoslav|pro
separatist
mercenaries tortured and killed some 14,000 Serb people and effected the
"ethnic cleansing" of over 250,000 Serbs from their Krajinan an `Bosnian
homelands. It was not uncommon for these psychopaths to film their
monstrous crimes. One Italian born mercenary Roberto dela Feve happily
admitted in an interview with Epoca in 1995 that he had made billions of
liras from the sale of the tapes on the Western European black market.
The
videos show Serbs being raped and murdered by Italian, German, French
and
mujahedin mercenaries. Feve is with the 109th Nazi 'International
Brigade'
stationed in Rijeka and is paid by the Croat Government.
The Vienna daily Taeglich Alles - 15.8.95 wrote of British mercenaries
who
founded a 'Travel Agency' with branch offices in Munich and Zagreb who
were
offering 'Serb hunts' in Croatia.
Living Marxism Magazine May 1993 journalist Joan Phillips wrote of one
British mercenary, Robert Loftus, who went to Bosnia in 1992 to work
for
the Bosnian Muslim Government. In the report, Loftus is exposed as
having
sold stories of "Serb atrocities" to Western journalists. Loftus admits
in
his diary that he was a mercenary, receiving money for fighting with the
Muslism. His diary reveals that he had no hard evidence for his atrocity
stories. One of the reporters Loftus worked for was an American, Roy
Gutman. Gutman was US Newsday's European Bureau Chief at the time - Soon
after making himself famous and richer by publishing Loftus's totally
fabricated stories of "Serb run death camps", "Serb mass rape", "Serb
concentration camps" etc, Gutman won America's top press award, the
Pulitzer Prize. (6).
(On 5.8.92 Penny Marshall (ITN) with her cameraman Jeremy Irvin
and
fellow reporter Ian Williams (ITN) and Martin Bell's mate Ed Vulliamy
(The
Guardian) visited Trnopolje camp in Bosnia. Their "Belsen '92" picture
of
Fikret Alic supposedly "behind barbed wire fence in Serb death camp" won
Marshall's team armfulls of prizes to include the BAFTA Award. For the
truth behind this story refer the articles "The Picture That Fooled The
World" LM Mag Feb 97 and "The Mag ITN Wants To Gag" LM Mag 98 March
1997.
*OPERATION STORM* _ In August 1995, Croat and Muslim government forces
backed by special US troops launched a massive attack on mainly Serbian
communities in Krajina. This combined action, coordinated by the USS JF
Kennedy and assisted by NATO jets finally finished the job Hitler had
set
out to do in the 1940's via the Ustashe. They totally "cleansed" the
Krajina of all but a handfull of its Serbian population. Thousands of
civilians died in these attacks and another 300,000 people fled ahead of
the raids. Hundreds of people died when Muslim and US forces launched
ground attacks on the fleeing Serb refugees. Croat MiG fighter planes
bombed the miles and miles long trail of refugees. Many people died in
these air attacks, many more are still missing. 'Operation Storm' has
been
described in the F
Defence & Foreign Affairs Strategic Policy report of September 1995 as
"A
WAR CRIM MORE THAN WORTHY OF THE NAME".
*REFUGEES* _ Muslim refugees from Bosnia have been accorded assistance
in
their host countries and quite rightly. They have also been granted
unlimited media attention wherein they have had the opportunity to speak
of
their experience of war. What though of the plight of hundreds of
thousands
of Serb, Muslim, Croat, Romany and other refugees who have sought refuge
in
the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia? Red Cross figures published on 1st
Febuary 1993 show that 575,000 people had registered as refugees in the
FR
Yugoslavia. Statistics show the ethnic breakdown of refugees from the
war
zones of ex Yugoslavia as follows: Serbs 84.2% (484,000) Muslims 6.2%
(36,000) Croats 1.6% (9,000) Other meaning Albanians, Jews, Gypsies,
Bulgarians, Hungarians etc 8% (46,000). The 1997 census on refugees
living
in the FR Yugoslavia shows that there are now over 650,000 registered
refugees in that country. Only the number of Croatian refugees had
dropped
(from 9 to 3,000 people. Due to the criminal UN sanctions on RF
Yugoslavia
, over 20,000 people have died due to lack of vital medicines and foods.
That figure to end of 1994 only. Many of the victims of sanctions come
from
people within the refugee community. Despite pleas from the current High
Commissioner for Refugees for urgent aid for Yugoslavia, instead of an
increase in aid or a total lifting of UN sanctions on that state,
international aid organisations have been instructed by the UN bosses to
stop all aid - even the little that was getting in to the country has
now
virtually stopped.
*THE HAGUE TRIBUNAL* _ As Dr Raymond Kent, Emeritus Professor of
History,
University of California Berkley and Sec. for Americans for
International
Justice Committee wrote in an open letter and petition published in 'Den
Haag' 23.7.96: The Hague Tribunal on war crimes in ex Yugsoslavia "had
been conceived in mischief, and motivated by political expediency and
might
for right'. Dr Kent went on to explain that the court existed only for
Serbs. The reason the Hague Tribunal refuses to put Dr Radovan Karadzic
and Gen Ratko Mladic on the stand, despite their appeals for a Hearing,
is
that they (the ex Serb leaders) know too much - Who the real criminals
are
in Bosnia - What the UN, NATO and other Western agencies have been up to
during the time of their involvement in the Balkans war. Who is running
the heroin trade in the region ..... This would all be exposed to the
Tribunal.
All cases against Serbs so far brought before the Tribunal have
collapsed
due to lack of hard evidence and exposure of dirty tricks.
(1) Under the Contact Group Plan (CGP) the Serbs agreed to relinquish
21%
of their ancestral lands in Bosnia to the Muslim|Croat Federation. Under
the CGP for Bosnia the Muslim|Croat Federation stand to gain 70 to 100%
of
all lead, zinc, ore, bauxite, salt, magnesite, asbestos, dolomite, OIL,
coal and lignite deposits. 75% of existing hydro electric power
facilities
and 78% of all thermal power plants. 13 Serb cities. Serb roads and
waterways would be cut off allowing no access to industrial facilities.
The
biggest railway juncture at Dodoj with river ports would become property
of the Muslim|Croat Fed. Under the CGP, Serbs would lose most of their
hospitals, ALL ARMS FACTORIES WOULD BE RETAINED BY THE MUSLIM|CROAT
FEDERATION and all river valleys would become territory of the
Federation.
Elizabeth Morrisey of Kleinman International Consultants NY said in
November 1995 "SERBIA CAN OFFER CHEAP, SKILLED LABOUR, A MARKET OF 10.5
MILLION PEOPLE AND A UNIQUE POSITION IN THE HEART OF THE BALKANS".
(2) Land inhabited by indigenous Bosnian Serbs, which, with a stroke of
a
pen (in Brussels), on the 6th April 1992, was illegally and
unconstitutionally annexed to the newly declared 'independent' state of
Bosnia. Just months earlier, the same situation had been forced on the
Serbian communities of the Krajina. With the stroke of a pen, Krajinan
Serb
homelands were summarily, illegally and unconstitutionally annexed to
the
newly declared 'independent' state of Croatia. The Serbs though were not
supposed to complain about becoming overnight second class inhabitants
of a
foreign state let alone take up arms.
(3) The German|Vatican backed Ustashe were the clero-fascist forces of
the
Independent state of Croatia in the 1940's. The Muslim SS Khanjar
forces
were allied to the Ustashe against the anti fascist Partisan volunteers.
(4) Read: "The Yugoslav Auschwitz and the Vatican" by Vladimir Dedijer.
(5)
UN report of 1.8.95 shows Bosnin Govt agents to be responsible for
sniping
attacks. They had been operating from atop Bosnian Govt buildings in
Sarajevo. The sniping stopped when the UN threatened the Muslims with
publication of its reports on Markale etc attacks. (6) Rape in Bosnia -
Final UN etc reports show less than 300 victims. Not 60,000, Bosnian
Govt
subitted 126 cases to the UN. Also read: "Censored -The News That didn't
Make the News and Why. 1996 Project Censored Year Book 20th Anniv -Ed
by
Carl Jensen|Walter Cronkite Seven Stories Press. War Crimes Reports plus
"The Truth About Srebrenica" available from PAW Dublin Fax 2806185.
************************************************************
The Latin America Solidarity Centre (LASC) is an initiative
for cultural promotion, development education and
campaigning solidarity, linking Ireland and Latin America.
LASC 5 Merrion Row, Dublin 2, Ireland
Phone and Fax: +353-1-6760435
email: lasc@...
Email services kindly donated by Ireland On Line.
************************************************************
--------- COORDINAMENTO ROMANO PER LA JUGOSLAVIA -----------
RIMSKI SAVEZ ZA JUGOSLAVIJU
e-mail: crj@... - URL: http://marx2001.org/crj
http://www.egroups.com/group/crj-mailinglist/
------------------------------------------------------------
The following paper attempts to address the subject of neoloberalism as
dominant ethos imposed by the West on, for one, Bosnia. Neoliberalism
being
carried out in the Balkans scenario under the guise of 'humanitarian'
intervention with that intervention effected through an overwhelming
media
propaganda campaign of global dimension devised principally by public
relations companies on behalf of such diverse clients as the Vatican,
oil
rich families of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Brunei and wealthy business men
and
women in Germany and the United States of America.
In order to gain some understanding of the complexities inherent to the
recent war in the Balkans and events thereafter it is of vital
importance
to jettison propaganda masquerading as information foist upon the public
by
unscrupulous and venal opinion makers.
"Contrary to common assumptions", writes Australian scholar Alex Carey,
"propaganda plays an important role - and certainly a more covert and
sophisticated role - in technologically advanced democratic societies,
where the maintenance of the existing powers and privileges is
vulnerable
to popular opinion".
Propaganda has a long and dishonourable tradition in the West. As early
as
1933 the Nazis turned for guidance to Ivy Lee the US pioneer of public
relations. Lee's firm was hired for $25,000 a year by the German Dye
Trust,
I,G, Farben which invited him to visit Germany to meet Hitler and
Hitler's
propaganda minister Josef Goebbels and other Nazi Government officials.
Lee's 28 year old son, James Lee, went to work for Farben in Berlin for
$33,000 a year.
An employee of Lee's firm drafted a report suggesting that Joachim von
Ribbentrop, the German general who later became Hitler's foreign
minister,
"undertake a definite campaign to clarify the American mind" by
"speaking
over the radio to the American people" and writing "a considered article
for an important American publication".
So. Then as Now. He who pays the Piper calls the Tune.
In essence PR companies have been charged with mounting and sustaining a
case against, for example, the Serbs as international pariahs to justify
Western military intervention in ex Yugoslavia. In fact in the Balkans
scenario, the Serbs have simply been in the way in that they have
represented an impediment to the take over of territories rich in
mineral
and oil deposits and human resources and offering enormous potential to
outside interests in terms of political and strategic spheres of
influence
at the heart of Europe. (1).
The lie projected by the persuaders was that the Serbs were the
"aggressor"
in ex Yugoslavia. Invaders commandeering other peoples territories. For
example, PR firms via the Western media told the world that the Serbs
had
invaded and illegally occupied 70% of Bosnian territory.
Nothing could be further from the truth. The truth, casualty of war, is
that indigenous Bosnian Serbs owned, resided on and farmed some 68% of
Bosnian territory prior to the outbreak of this war. (2).
>From the seemingly bottomless coffers associated with oil, military and
drugs barons in the West, US and British-based PR firms have received
vast
sums of money to organise propaganda campaigns on behalf of their
clients
in the Balkans - The Izetbegovic administration in Sarajevo, the Tudjman
government in Zagreb and the heroin mafia New York-based Albanian|Kosovo
Separatist Movement. (Source: US Department of Justice).
This is what James Harff, Director of the Washington-based PR firm Ruder
&
Finn Global Public Affairs company had to say to Jacques Merlino a
respectable associate editor of France's Channel Two - "To be frank I
can
tell you that the vast majority of Americans wondered in which AFRICAN
country to locate Bosnia. No one could understand what was going on in
Bosnia", he said. Mr Harff in acknowledging the general public's lack of
comprehension of issues related to Bosnia exults over the golden
opportunity this presented to people such as himself. "In one shot", he
said, "we were able to offer a simple story a history of good guys and
the
bad guys".
In the Channel Two interview, the PR firm boss went on to describe in
some
detail how the demonisation of the Serbs was achieved. Principally he
said
through the spreading of false rumour and unsubstantiated reports of
atrocities and war crimes. Omission of the more salient facts to a story
often achieved the effect of scapegoating Serbs. "There were all sorts
of
reasons", said James Harff, "why the Jewish intellectuals and
organisations
were hostile to the Croats and Bosnian Muslims. Our challenge was to
obtain
a reversal of this situation. We succeeded in doing so, in a masterly
manner, between the 2nd and 5th of August 1992, when the New York paper
Newsday led with a story on Serbian camps". French newsman Jacques
Merlino
said that Elie Wiesel told him that there was no comparison between the
Nazi slaughter houses of World War Two and the prison camps where
Muslims
and Croats had been held prisoner by Serbs. Wiesel had visited these
prisoner of war camps in ex Yugoslavia.
James Harff went on to speak gleefully of how Ruder & Finn had jumped on
the "death camp" potential of the Newsday report which carried with the
story a photograph which had tugged at the world's heart strings. This
was
of a horribly emaciated man. The world's assumption was that this man
was a
Muslim who had been starved and mistreated by Serb prison guards. The
truth
behind this photograph has only just been published. (See over).
James Harff again ... "We convened 3 major Jewish organisations. B'nai
B'Riths Anti Defamation League, the American Jewish Committee and the
American Jewish Congress. We suggested to them that they print an
insert
in the New York Times and organise a protest in front of the UN
building.
This really worked. The engagement of Jewish organisations on the side
of
the Bosnian Muslims was a super poker play", Harff said. He continued -
"Immediately thereafter we were able to associate the Serbs with the
Nazis
in public opinion. It was not long before there was a clear change in
the
press language with emotional terms like "concentration camps" evoking
Nazi
Germany and the gas chambers at Auschwitz", Harff concluded. In his book
"The Truth From Yugoslavia is not Being Reported Honestly" published by
Albin Michel SA in Paris in 1993, Jacques Merlino also mentioned that as
a
result of the "concentration camp" story, many Jewish MP's put their
signatures to the famous collective letter, headed by Margaret Thatcher,
to
the Wall Street Journal in September 1993, calling on the West to arm
the
Muslims and bomb the Serbs.
No one has so transgressed the rules pertaining to good taste by going
so
far as to suggest, that Mrs Thatcher, pace her arms dealing son Mark,
may
have had something of a vested interest in plumping for the arming of a
supposedly unarmed Muslim and Croatian military force in ex Yugoslavia.
Only writers of the calibre of Jonathon Swift or in our day Kurt
Vonnegut
or Joseph Heller could do justice to the subject matter here. Slaughter
House 5 and Catch 22 expose the myths associated with so-called "just
wars".
War is just war. It is nothing more and nothing less.
War has never been anything other than slaughter of human and animal
life -
It is destruction of the environment. Capitalism cannot exist without an
enemy. It must create an enemy to justify its 'just' wars. No enemy - No
excuse for military intervention - No intervention - No commercial take
over - No arms profits.
*Arms* - In the Balkans alone, since the late 1980's, vast fortunes
have
been made by mainly US and German arms companies. Mortars to MiG fighter
aircraft have been shipped to the region via various 'aid' agencies, the
UN
and even NATO for use against the Serbs by the "defenceless"
Muslim|Croat
Armies. (Refer Defense & Foreign Affairs Strategic Policy DFASP of
Act|Nov
1992 and UN reports). Bill Clinton, The Irish Times 30.8.94 - "Despite
the
UN Arms Embargo the CIA will continue to send arms to the Bosnian
Muslims".
During the course of their violent war of secession from the Socialist
Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in 1991|92 Croat and Muslim separatist
forces in synchronised attacks took siege of all Yugoslav People's Army
(JNA) barracks across Croatia and Bosnia rendering the JNA useless in
its
defense of civilians in most areas. (These actions are detailed in the
book
"Breaking of Yugoslavia and Armed Secession of Croatia" by Dusan Vilic
and
Bosko Todorovic. The book contains copies of authentic military
transcripts). Simon Wiesenthal, Director of the Jewish Documentation
Centre
Vienna - Slobodna Bosna Sarajevo 21.5.97 - "There were factories of
military ammunition and weapons throughout the country, and when the war
in
Yugoslavia started, everybody had ammunition and weapons, everybody was
armed".
Bosnian Muslim businessmen already owned the arms factories in Gorazde -
Local Muslim forces backed by foreign Mujahedin had launched massive
attacks on Serb communities around Gorazde during 1991|92 - 2 years
before
the media began to talk of Serb attacks on Gorazde.
(The media did not mention that Muslim forces used the tops of high
buildings, to include the hospital in Gorazde, as military
installations.
(Read: The Truth About Gorazde - Task Force on Terrorism &
Unconventional
Warfare - US House of Representatives Washington 14.5.94).
In November 1996 under its new PROGRAMME FOR BOSNIA so called, the US
launched another megabucks ($400 million of them) military training and
equipment programme for the Muslim|Croat Federation Armies. This is what
is
duplicitously known as 'Aid'.
Arms and the Man. With Peace verboten.
'Retired' US Generals have been training Muslim and Croat forces in
Bosnia
for years.
There are those who fervently believe that war could have been avoided
in
the Balkans had it not been for the imperialist actions of a supremely
arrogant cabal of Western capitalists.
With their obscene race to effect 'independence' for Croatia et al,
their
insane need to sweep away the last crumbs of socialism in Yugoslavia and
grab the markets there, they caused this terrible war. A war which
brought
chaos, horror and loss of every kind to all the peoples of the ex SFR of
Yugoslavia. Furthermore, their use of special agents to carry out
terrorist
attacks and rig election results has ensured the placing in to power of
fascist leaders who are dedicated to suppression of working class and
poorer populations in the region. These entrepreneurs, their hired thugs
in
the field and those in the media who promoted their case, are the true
War
Criminals in the Balkans scenario.
Whilst on the subject of Fascism|Capitalism - This is what the President
of
Croatia Franjo Tudjman had to say in support for the Nazi 'ideology' in
his book titled "Wastelands of History" - "Genocide is a natural
phenomenon, in harmony with the societal and mythologically divine
nature.
Genocide is not only permitted, it is recommended even commanded by the
word of the Almighty, whether it is useful for the survival or the
restoration of the Kingdom of the Chosen Nation, or for the presersation
and the spreading of its one and only correst faith".
The curriculum vitae for the President of the other new Western created
puppet state or Banana Republic in the Balkans, Alija Izetbegovic, reads
thus -
"As a teenager he co founded Bosnia's version of "Hitler Youth", the
"Young
Muslims". Helped establish the Nazi Muslim SS Khanjar Division which was
responsible for appalling atrocities in Yugoslavia in the1940's. 1946:
Arrested and jailed for 3 years for founding the fascist journal
MUDZAHID.
Played major role as ABWEHR and special GESTAPO agent during World War
II.
In 1983 arrested and jailed for 6 years for anti-social fascist
activities.
President Izetbegovic has exploited and abused the Muslim faith to the
detriment of the Muslim people of Bosnia. Here is his "Islamic
Declaration"
which was reprinted in Sarajevo in 1990: "There can be no peace or
coexistence between the Islamic faith and non-Islamic faith and
institutions. The Islamic movement must and can take power as soon as it
is
morally and numerically strong enough, not only to destroy the
non-Islamic
power, but to build up a new Islamic one ..."
Nazism is represented at highest order to this day in ex Yugoslavia.
Upon
achieving power in 1991 Tudjman surrounded himself with fellow right
wing
extremists. These included ageing former operatives with the World War
II
Croatian Nazi regime. Some of whom had been incorporated into service
during the Cold War era with Western Intelligence Agencies. Perhaps the
most sinister figure to emerge, though certainly not from the shadows in
recent times since he lived the good life in Australia for 50 years, is
one
Dinko Sakic. Sakic was the last Commander of the Jasenovac extermination
camp in Croatia. On Sakic's return to Croatia in 1991, Tudjman appointed
him to a Senior position in the Croat Government. Tudjman gave Ustashe
member Julienne Bushich, who in September 1976 took part in the hijack
of a
TWA airliner, the job of adviser to the Croatian Ambassador to
Washington.
Her husband Zvonko, also a Croat member of the Ustashe Nazi forces, is
serving a life term for planting a bomb at New York's main railway
station.
Many more high ranking Nazi|Ustashe members were appointed to positions
in
the Tudjman Government. Despite efforts by the powers that be to
diminish
the horrors perpetrated by the Nazi forces during the 1940's amd
attempts
by certain writers in the West to re write history pertaining to that
time,
people nevertheless across the world manage to learn about what happened
in
camps such as Auschwitz, Dachau etc. There has though been a very
successful conspiracy by forces in the West to totally censor the
holocaust
which took place in Yugoslavia during the 1940's. (3).
The subject of censorship regards the Yugoslav Holocaust was raised in
Belgrade by organisers of ceremonies held recently to mark the May 9th
1945
end to World War II in Europe. The Belgrade Daily Tanjug wrote on 8th of
May last - "The unconditional surrender of Germany on May 9th 1945,
officially ended WWII in Europe, the bloodiest military conflict in the
history of mankind. WWII spilled into Yugoslavia when a dawn bombardment
rocked Belgrade on April 6th, 1941, followed by an invasion of German,
Italian, Hungarian, Bulgarian and Albanian troops, that eventually
reached
900,000. Croatian fascist leaders, known as Ustashes, allied themselves
to
Hitler (and the Vatican), proclaiming the clerico-fascist Independent
State
of Croatia on April 10th 1941. The Ustahse aimed to purge multi-ethnic
Croatia, then populated by about 1.5 million Serbs, by converting to
Catholicism about one third of the Serbs, routing one third, and
exterminating the rest. The extermination of hundreds of thousands
Serbs
followed diligently. About 700,000 Serbs, Jews, Gypsies and anti-fascist
Croatians were killed most brutally in the Jasenovac concentration camp
alone. More than 17,000 children perished in separate death camps for
children. WWII was waged by 61 nations - a total of 2.1 billion people,
which was 96% of the world's population. Over 50 million people died, 30
million of them civilians. About 12 million perished in the camps.
Yugoslavia lost 1.7 million people, most of them Serbs and about 400,000
were wounded. Belgrade was the only city in Europe that had 2 death
camps,
Sajmiste and Banjica, in which 80,000 patriots were executed". End
quote.
Director of the Jewish Documentation Centre in Vienna Simon Wiesenthal
in
an interview on 21st May last in which he too highlighted the cover up
on
facts about the suffering of people in Yugoslavia during WWII said -
"The
Croat ustashe committed horrendous crimes. Many thousands of Serb
civilians, innocent people, were killed by the Ustashe at Jasenovac
death
camp". Simon Wiesenthal told the Independent Sarajevo review Slobodna
Bosna
- "Serbs saved Jews many times". He also went on to recall the horrors
suffered by the Serb, Jews and Gypsy people at the hands of the Nazis.
(4).
Continuing on the theme of censorhip, , holocaust, media and Public
Relations firms - PR company Ruder & Finn et al failed to suck all
Jewish
organisations into the rediculous anti socialist | anti Serb whirlpool
regards Bosnia -
For example - in March 1995 the "World Affairs" journal published the
following: Quote - While the "Jewish Frontier", along with all advocates
of
humane behaviour, abhors the slaughter in Bosnia, we feel it appropriate
to
publish a statement by survivors of Buchenwald on the historic
background
of the Serb-Bosnian conflict sent to us by John Ranz, Chairman of
Survivors
of the Buchenwald Concentration Camp group based in the USA: "The
gigantic
campaign to brainwash America by our media against the Serbian people is
just incredible, with its daily dose of one-sided information and
outright
lies. It is an outstanding achievement by the powerful public relations
Madison Avenue 'Boys' who have at their disposal large amounts of money
provided by a coalition of US and Middle Eastern oil countries. To our
shame, the Izetbegovic Government in Sarajevo, with its powerful
backers,
seem even to convince some Jewish 'leaders' who indirectly help the
murderers of our people in their war to subjugate the Serbs. We are not
being told that the Croatian Nazi collaborators and the Bosnian SS
Khanjar
Muslim units killed 95% of the Jewish people in Yugoslavia during WWII.
We
are not being told that the same Bosnian_Muslim and Croat Nazi allies
massacred 900,000 Serbs and the entire Gypsy population (20,000 or
more)of
men, women and children, just as they did to the Jews. Every Jew, every
victim of Nazism and every human being ought to know and understand why
the
Serbs are so desperately fighting against such powerful forces and why
they
adopted our post Holocaust slogan of 'Never Again'. Our media does not
tell
us that the Bosnian Muslims had two SS Divisions fighting at Stalingrad
on
the side of the Nazis, in the most crucial battle that decided a Nazi
victory or defeat. What is today's reality? The murderers of Jews, Serbs
and Gypsies are back from the US, Canada, Argentina and Australia where
they fled after WWII. These criminals were never punished. There were no
trials of Nazi criminals in Yugoslavia after the war. They are now
restoring Nazi symbols (in Croatia and Bosnia); they eliminated
anti-Nazi
anti-fascist monuments. Their military units use Nazi slogans like 'Sieg
Heil'. The international Nazi organisation , the International Brigade
(including the US Branch) announced a drive for volunteers to fight in
Bosnia and Croatia against the Serbs, the Communists and the Jews. (See
the
US Nazi organ 'The New Order' of January|February 1993, copies are
available on request). The Serbs fought the Nazis, they paid a terrible
price for standing at the side of the Allies against Hitler. They saved
many allied soldiers including hundreds of American fliers. They
welcomed
Jewish partisand as brothers.
Hitler bombed the Serbs for their stubborn resistance. Are our President
and NATO going in the same direction (instead of finding a peaceful
solution)? I shudder to think of it. Hitler and Clinton, no, it cannot
be".
John Ranz, Chairman of Survivors of the Buchenwald Concentration Camp in
"World Affairs" London March 1995.
Belgrade Daily Tanjug 6th April 1996 - "Some 2,270 people died when the
Germans began their dawn bombing raids on Belgrade on 6th April 1941.
According to German statisticians, 484
************************************************************
The Latin America Solidarity Centre (LASC) is an initiative
for cultural promotion, development education and
campaigning solidarity, linking Ireland and Latin America.
LASC 5 Merrion Row, Dublin 2, Ireland
Phone and Fax: +353-1-6760435
email: lasc@...
Email services kindly donated by Ireland On Line.
************************************************************
Belgrade Daily Tanjug 6th April 1996 - "Some 2,270 people died when the
Germans began their dawn bombing raids on Belgrade on 6th April 1941.
According to German statisticians, 484 bombers dropped 360 tonnes of
bombs.
About 700 buildings, including the central post office and the railway
station were destroyed and 1,700 buildings were damaged in the bombings.
The total of 350,000 books were destroyed in the raids. During the 11
day
April war, 136 Yugoslav pilots were killed and 80 German aircraft were
downed. Serbian Information Bureau in Dublin 14th August 1993 - "As we
wait
for the first American bombs and missiles to fall on Serbian so-called
military targets in Bosnia, we remember US bombing raids on Yugoslavia
in
WWII. It was Orthodox Easter Sunday morning 1943 and a beautiful sunny,
cloudless day, when US bombers made their first appearance over
Belgrade.
Their targets: bridges over the River Sava, railway yards, German
barracks
etc. Their first direct hit? THE MATERNITY HOSPITAL in the centre of
Belgrade, with a large RED CROSS painted on its roof. Thousands of
Belgrade
citizens died that Easter morning, while the German military targets
remained largely undamaged. One four storey building in the residential
centre of Belgrade, destroyed in the US raid, is today the US Embassy in
Yugoslavia. Similar fate awaited the citizens of towns like Kraljevo,
Leskovac etc. Can we expect that the first "Military" target destroyed
in
Bosnia will be a hospital, school, homes and vital services? Of course,
today's technology is far more advanced, and the missiles hit the
intended
targets; tell that to the dead school children in Baghdad, the British
soldiers in their armoured vehicle in the desert, the residents and
staff
of the El Rashid Hotel inBaghdad, or the Somali civilians in the 'WAR
LORD'S HQ" in Mogadishu! When the p ower of the "mighty dollar" falls,
military thuggery follows. The anti-nuclear protests of the sixties were
inevitably accompanied by the slogan `'Yankee Go Home". Maybe it's time
they did". End Quote. SIB Dublin.
*OPERATION DELIBERATE FORCE * - On 29th August 1995, NATO war planes
backed by British, French and Muslim ground troops began a week long
series
of attacks on Serbian centres in Bosnia. Hundreds of civilia;ns died in
these attacks. Hospitals, schools, homes, bridges and civilian vital
services facilities were deliberately targetted and destroyed. This NATO
Blitzkrieg was titled 'Operation Deliberate force' and was coordinated
by
the US War Ship John F `kennedy moored at the time in the Adriatic Sea.
NATO's use of radioactive ammunition has ruined farmlands and people
continue to die from the effects of this ammunition. (The Allied Forces
dropped 88,500 tons of bombs on Baghdad in January and February 1991 -
US
warships joined in with further bombing raids in the form of long
distance
missiles etc. As part of their weaponry the Allies used what they
euphemistically called depleted uranium tipped rockets or tank busters.
Nuclear weapons in short. United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority reports
show that allied armies left at least 40 tons of depleted uranium on the
Gulf war battlefield, leaving vast areas of southern Iraq and much of
Kuwait polluted by radioactive waste. Tank ammunition alone contained
enough radioactive material, the International Committee of Radiology
Protection estimates, to cause "500,000 potential deaths if inhaled". PR
firm Hill & Knowleton received £11+ million from the Kuwaiti Royal
Family
to promote Allied intervention in the "war").
To return to the Bosnian scenario - Lisbon newspaper "Diaria de Noticias
(9.2.96) said of UN|NATO "Operation Deliberate Force" - "NATO DROPPED
MORE
BOMBS ON BOSNIAN SERB COMMUNITIES IN AUGUST AND SEPTEMBER 1995 THAN THE
GERMANS DID ON LONDON DURING WORLD WAR II"
On the 10th February 1994, six months prior to the execution of
"Operation
Deliverate Force", the London Independent wrote - "US A-10 tankbusters
armed with 30mm cannon that fire depleted uranium shells would be the
most
likely to be used against the few Bosnian Serb tanks. Laser-guided bombs
would be used against artillery positions, ammunition dumps and other
slightly 'softer' targets". The London Independent, 7.2.94 - "The
laser-guided bomb is the favourite and is mouned on the British Spartans
in
a special turret. The local forces would probably not know they were
'lases' until they went blind or were hit by a bomb". On the day that
this
article was published, on behalf of the people of so-called neutral
Ireland, the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs Mr
Dick
Spring endorsed NATO raids and the use of these weapons against the
Bosnian
Serbs. The BBC 13.2.94 - An American air pilot based in Italy poised to
hit
Serb positions in Bosnia said quote - "NATO pilots expect collateral
damage
but will try to stay with an acceptable level of collateral damage and
keep
the killing of neutrals at a minimum". The Irish Times 23.11.94 - "7
children and a pregnant woman were killed when NATO jets bombed a
factory
in the UN 'safe haven' of Bihac yesterday". 4.9.95 - Belgrade Daily
Tanjug
stated that "NATO used nuclear, toxic and cluster bombs on Serb civilian
centres and facilities in Bosnia". The Irish Times 30.8.95 - "The
Tanaiste
and Minister for Foreign Affairs in Ireland Mr Spring, said the 'NATO
bombing of Bosnian Serb positions was justified in view of the shelling
of
the Market place in Sarajevo earlier this week".
The pretext for UN\NATO attacks on the Serbs being alleged Serb
responsibility for the shelling of the Market market in Sarajevo on
28.8.95.
*MARKET PLACE ETC ATTACKS* - `of the August 1995 market bombing, the
Defence & Foreign Affairs Strategic Policy vol XXIII No 7-8 of
July|August
1995 states - "Once again, the Sarajevo administration planted a charge
in
the market place in the city and when it was detonated with considerable
loss of life, it was blamed on the Bosnian Serba as a "mortar attack"
against innocent civilians. US intelligence sources told this journal
that
there was no radar tracking of an incoming round (although radar was in
place). There was also no collateral damage consistent with an incoming
round. And, just as was proven and stated by UN observers after the
previous market place "mortar attack", it was clear that this was also a
pre-placed charge by the Izetbegovic people designed to sacrifice their
own
citizens so that blame could be placed on the Bosnian Serbs, just before
important peace talks were to begin". A woman who witnessed the August
95
attack on Markale market from her flat window describes in her statement
to
the UN how she watched TV crews and ambulances converge on the market
PRIOR
to the explosion.
This was not the first time the leader of the Sarajevo or Bosnian
government, Alija Izetbegovic , had ordered the carrying out, with the
hiring of special agents, of atrocities against mainly innocent Muslim
people in Sarajevo. People in high places in the West knew full well
that
Izetbegovic agents bore responsibility for attacks on civilians in the
market, cemetery, food and water queues - as well as for sniper attacks
on
civilians and UN personnel in Sarajevo. Izetbegovic's army has carried
out
the most notorious of attacks on Muslim communities in Bosnia. Hitherto
these attacks were blamed on the Serbs. Shamefully Western politiicians
and
journalists conspired to prevent this information being broadcast to the
world at large.
An earlier attack in February 1994 on the Markale market claimed 68
lives.
This explosion was also described by the Defence & Foreign Affairs group
in
its July|August 95 report as a pre-placed mine set in place by agents of
the Izetbegovic Bosnian Govt. Despite the publication to a vast number
of
foreign journalists, the UN document which detailed facts and Muslim
Govt
culpability for this terrible crime, the document was used by one
Western
journalist only, Bernard Volker of the French TFI Network. Volker was
persecuted for broadcasting the UN document but has since been fully
vindicated as other military and UN personnel have gradually opened up
on
Bosnian Muslim Govt responsibility for this attack.
Realpolitik prevails - The late French President Francois Miterrand
states
in his book L'Annees des Adieux that the (now ex) UN Secretary General
Boutros Boutros Ghali had told him that he had irrefutable evidence as
to
Bosnian Govt culpability for the Markale bombings. This evidence not
revealed then for reasons of political expendiency.
Yet an earlier atrocity covered so explicitly by ex BBC reporter Martin
Bell, was the explosion in May 1992 which killed people queueing for
bread
in Sarajevo's Vase Miskin Street. Martin Bell in his report on what
became
known as the Bread Queue Massacre, blamed the Serbs for this crime. On
st
September 1992, 4 months after the Vase Miskin Street bombing, the
Republican group for the Investigation of Terrorism of the US Congress
issued a previously confidential report which details Bosnian Muslim
Govt
culpability for the Vase Miskin Street bombing. How often did viewers to
BBC coverage of the war in Bosnia hear Martin Bell speak of 'Sniper
Alley'
- Serbs as snipers - Muslims as victims. (5).
n its report of 29th Sebruary 1996 the Defence & Foreign Affairs group
in
London spoke further on the subject of pre-placed mines and the use by
the
Bosnian Govt of special foreign agents. Quote - "Very reliable sources
in
Sarajevo have confirmed that the number of mujahedin - foreign Islamist
mercenaries - fighting in Bosnia-Herzegovina in support of the
Izetbegovic
administration is between 15,000 and 20,000. About half the mujahedin
number in the country make up the Khanjar Division". (As per the Nazi SS
Khanjar of the 1940's). "One senior US Congressman said of the mujahedin
-
'We know that the Izetbegovic people have been as barbarous as any in
the
Balkans, and yet the White House will not hear of anyone in the US Govt
or,
for that matter, among the NATO partners attempting to bring any Muslim
war
criminals to justice'. NATO troops did, however, raid one Iranian-run
terrorist camp in Bosnia-Herzegovina in February 1996, finding, among
other
things, booby-trapped toys which were to be planted in the countryside".
The Defence report went on to say that mujahedin activities in and
around
Sarajevo had led to some 60,000 indigenous Serb civilians fleaing from
that
city by late February 1996 to avoid living under an Izetbegovic-led
administration. Many Serbs had already left Sarajevo during the course
of
this war. By the end of 1992 40,000 Serb civilians had fled their homes
in
Sarajevo.
Another example of genocide against civilian Muslim communities carried
out
by the Bosnian Government was the August 1994 ground attack on the UN
"safe haven" of Bihac. Over 500 Muslim civilians died in the raids and
over
600,000 people were forced to flea the enclave. Many Serb people were
also
killed in the attacks. The Bosnian Government was assisted in its
assaults
by special forces rented from the US and Saudi Governments. The
so-called
rebel Muslim forces of Bihac represented the poorer peasant Muslim and
Serb
populations of that region. Serb and Bihac Muslim forces fought
together
here against the Western backed Bosnian Governemnt and the Western
backed
Croatian Government. Serb and Muslim forces fought together in several
areas in Bosnia against Western mercenary imperialist forces.
*MERCENARIES* - According to the Belgrade daily 'Politika' of
8.12.1994,
all warring sides in the ex Yugoslavia have had mercenaries from across
the
world fighting with them. The Serbs have been backed by hundreds of
Russian
volunteer soldiers - 300 of whom have been reported killed in action.
The
Croatian and Muslim sides have been supported by mercenaries from France
(French Foreign Leagion) Italy, Germany, Poland, England, the USA,
Indonesia, Algeria, Syria, Libya, Iran, Saudi Arabia. The 'Politika'
said
that the mercenary forces fighting with the Croat and Muslim forces had
been recruited mainly from Western-based Nazi organisations. The daily
said
that German authorities, for one, when questioned about mercenaries in
the
Balkans, had paid no heed to a massive number of its citizens joining
the
************************************************************
The Latin America Solidarity Centre (LASC) is an initiative
for cultural promotion, development education and
campaigning solidarity, linking Ireland and Latin America.
LASC 5 Merrion Row, Dublin 2, Ireland
Phone and Fax: +353-1-6760435
email: lasc@...
Email services kindly donated by Ireland On Line.
************************************************************
Croatian Army and that only on one occasion in 1992, the German Criminal
Bureau had said that a - quote - "considerable number of German
right-wing
extremists had participated in the Croatian struggle against Serb
communists".
In fact foreign mercenaries have operated in the Balkans on the payroll
of
wealthy businessmen and Western Governments anxious to effect
'independence' for the now ex Yugoslav states. Australian Ustashe forces
trained with the Australian Army in Aubury|Wodonga for decades prior to
returning to Yugoslavia to carry out terrorist activities against Serbs,
Croats or anyone protesting against the breakup of Yugoslavia. Their key
function was to create distrust and hatred between the thnic communities
in
the region. Between 1983 and 1992, the various anti Yugoslav|pro
separatist
mercenaries tortured and killed some 14,000 Serb people and effected the
"ethnic cleansing" of over 250,000 Serbs from their Krajinan an `Bosnian
homelands. It was not uncommon for these psychopaths to film their
monstrous crimes. One Italian born mercenary Roberto dela Feve happily
admitted in an interview with Epoca in 1995 that he had made billions of
liras from the sale of the tapes on the Western European black market.
The
videos show Serbs being raped and murdered by Italian, German, French
and
mujahedin mercenaries. Feve is with the 109th Nazi 'International
Brigade'
stationed in Rijeka and is paid by the Croat Government.
The Vienna daily Taeglich Alles - 15.8.95 wrote of British mercenaries
who
founded a 'Travel Agency' with branch offices in Munich and Zagreb who
were
offering 'Serb hunts' in Croatia.
Living Marxism Magazine May 1993 journalist Joan Phillips wrote of one
British mercenary, Robert Loftus, who went to Bosnia in 1992 to work
for
the Bosnian Muslim Government. In the report, Loftus is exposed as
having
sold stories of "Serb atrocities" to Western journalists. Loftus admits
in
his diary that he was a mercenary, receiving money for fighting with the
Muslism. His diary reveals that he had no hard evidence for his atrocity
stories. One of the reporters Loftus worked for was an American, Roy
Gutman. Gutman was US Newsday's European Bureau Chief at the time - Soon
after making himself famous and richer by publishing Loftus's totally
fabricated stories of "Serb run death camps", "Serb mass rape", "Serb
concentration camps" etc, Gutman won America's top press award, the
Pulitzer Prize. (6).
(On 5.8.92 Penny Marshall (ITN) with her cameraman Jeremy Irvin
and
fellow reporter Ian Williams (ITN) and Martin Bell's mate Ed Vulliamy
(The
Guardian) visited Trnopolje camp in Bosnia. Their "Belsen '92" picture
of
Fikret Alic supposedly "behind barbed wire fence in Serb death camp" won
Marshall's team armfulls of prizes to include the BAFTA Award. For the
truth behind this story refer the articles "The Picture That Fooled The
World" LM Mag Feb 97 and "The Mag ITN Wants To Gag" LM Mag 98 March
1997.
*OPERATION STORM* _ In August 1995, Croat and Muslim government forces
backed by special US troops launched a massive attack on mainly Serbian
communities in Krajina. This combined action, coordinated by the USS JF
Kennedy and assisted by NATO jets finally finished the job Hitler had
set
out to do in the 1940's via the Ustashe. They totally "cleansed" the
Krajina of all but a handfull of its Serbian population. Thousands of
civilians died in these attacks and another 300,000 people fled ahead of
the raids. Hundreds of people died when Muslim and US forces launched
ground attacks on the fleeing Serb refugees. Croat MiG fighter planes
bombed the miles and miles long trail of refugees. Many people died in
these air attacks, many more are still missing. 'Operation Storm' has
been
described in the F
Defence & Foreign Affairs Strategic Policy report of September 1995 as
"A
WAR CRIM MORE THAN WORTHY OF THE NAME".
*REFUGEES* _ Muslim refugees from Bosnia have been accorded assistance
in
their host countries and quite rightly. They have also been granted
unlimited media attention wherein they have had the opportunity to speak
of
their experience of war. What though of the plight of hundreds of
thousands
of Serb, Muslim, Croat, Romany and other refugees who have sought refuge
in
the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia? Red Cross figures published on 1st
Febuary 1993 show that 575,000 people had registered as refugees in the
FR
Yugoslavia. Statistics show the ethnic breakdown of refugees from the
war
zones of ex Yugoslavia as follows: Serbs 84.2% (484,000) Muslims 6.2%
(36,000) Croats 1.6% (9,000) Other meaning Albanians, Jews, Gypsies,
Bulgarians, Hungarians etc 8% (46,000). The 1997 census on refugees
living
in the FR Yugoslavia shows that there are now over 650,000 registered
refugees in that country. Only the number of Croatian refugees had
dropped
(from 9 to 3,000 people. Due to the criminal UN sanctions on RF
Yugoslavia
, over 20,000 people have died due to lack of vital medicines and foods.
That figure to end of 1994 only. Many of the victims of sanctions come
from
people within the refugee community. Despite pleas from the current High
Commissioner for Refugees for urgent aid for Yugoslavia, instead of an
increase in aid or a total lifting of UN sanctions on that state,
international aid organisations have been instructed by the UN bosses to
stop all aid - even the little that was getting in to the country has
now
virtually stopped.
*THE HAGUE TRIBUNAL* _ As Dr Raymond Kent, Emeritus Professor of
History,
University of California Berkley and Sec. for Americans for
International
Justice Committee wrote in an open letter and petition published in 'Den
Haag' 23.7.96: The Hague Tribunal on war crimes in ex Yugsoslavia "had
been conceived in mischief, and motivated by political expediency and
might
for right'. Dr Kent went on to explain that the court existed only for
Serbs. The reason the Hague Tribunal refuses to put Dr Radovan Karadzic
and Gen Ratko Mladic on the stand, despite their appeals for a Hearing,
is
that they (the ex Serb leaders) know too much - Who the real criminals
are
in Bosnia - What the UN, NATO and other Western agencies have been up to
during the time of their involvement in the Balkans war. Who is running
the heroin trade in the region ..... This would all be exposed to the
Tribunal.
All cases against Serbs so far brought before the Tribunal have
collapsed
due to lack of hard evidence and exposure of dirty tricks.
(1) Under the Contact Group Plan (CGP) the Serbs agreed to relinquish
21%
of their ancestral lands in Bosnia to the Muslim|Croat Federation. Under
the CGP for Bosnia the Muslim|Croat Federation stand to gain 70 to 100%
of
all lead, zinc, ore, bauxite, salt, magnesite, asbestos, dolomite, OIL,
coal and lignite deposits. 75% of existing hydro electric power
facilities
and 78% of all thermal power plants. 13 Serb cities. Serb roads and
waterways would be cut off allowing no access to industrial facilities.
The
biggest railway juncture at Dodoj with river ports would become property
of the Muslim|Croat Fed. Under the CGP, Serbs would lose most of their
hospitals, ALL ARMS FACTORIES WOULD BE RETAINED BY THE MUSLIM|CROAT
FEDERATION and all river valleys would become territory of the
Federation.
Elizabeth Morrisey of Kleinman International Consultants NY said in
November 1995 "SERBIA CAN OFFER CHEAP, SKILLED LABOUR, A MARKET OF 10.5
MILLION PEOPLE AND A UNIQUE POSITION IN THE HEART OF THE BALKANS".
(2) Land inhabited by indigenous Bosnian Serbs, which, with a stroke of
a
pen (in Brussels), on the 6th April 1992, was illegally and
unconstitutionally annexed to the newly declared 'independent' state of
Bosnia. Just months earlier, the same situation had been forced on the
Serbian communities of the Krajina. With the stroke of a pen, Krajinan
Serb
homelands were summarily, illegally and unconstitutionally annexed to
the
newly declared 'independent' state of Croatia. The Serbs though were not
supposed to complain about becoming overnight second class inhabitants
of a
foreign state let alone take up arms.
(3) The German|Vatican backed Ustashe were the clero-fascist forces of
the
Independent state of Croatia in the 1940's. The Muslim SS Khanjar
forces
were allied to the Ustashe against the anti fascist Partisan volunteers.
(4) Read: "The Yugoslav Auschwitz and the Vatican" by Vladimir Dedijer.
(5)
UN report of 1.8.95 shows Bosnin Govt agents to be responsible for
sniping
attacks. They had been operating from atop Bosnian Govt buildings in
Sarajevo. The sniping stopped when the UN threatened the Muslims with
publication of its reports on Markale etc attacks. (6) Rape in Bosnia -
Final UN etc reports show less than 300 victims. Not 60,000, Bosnian
Govt
subitted 126 cases to the UN. Also read: "Censored -The News That didn't
Make the News and Why. 1996 Project Censored Year Book 20th Anniv -Ed
by
Carl Jensen|Walter Cronkite Seven Stories Press. War Crimes Reports plus
"The Truth About Srebrenica" available from PAW Dublin Fax 2806185.
************************************************************
The Latin America Solidarity Centre (LASC) is an initiative
for cultural promotion, development education and
campaigning solidarity, linking Ireland and Latin America.
LASC 5 Merrion Row, Dublin 2, Ireland
Phone and Fax: +353-1-6760435
email: lasc@...
Email services kindly donated by Ireland On Line.
************************************************************
--------- COORDINAMENTO ROMANO PER LA JUGOSLAVIA -----------
RIMSKI SAVEZ ZA JUGOSLAVIJU
e-mail: crj@... - URL: http://marx2001.org/crj
http://www.egroups.com/group/crj-mailinglist/
------------------------------------------------------------
The Dissolution of Yugoslav Rock
by Kim Simpson
Throughout the 1970's and the 1980's, Yugoslavia boasted some of the
most
diverse and progressive rock music in Eastern Europe. During this
period,
state-run record labels like Jugoton and PGP RBT generated healthy
amounts of
rock recordings which were distributed and promoted throughout the
republics.
With the 1991 breakup of the pan-Yugoslav market, however, large-scale
record
production and distribution have been stifled
considerably. As a result, only a small influx of independent labels
throughout the region currently keep any hope alive for an eventual
revival
of Yugoslav rock and its audience (Janjatovic "Yugoslav" 1).
The music, drawing from a variety of ethnic influences, well reflected
the
country's make-up: a federation comprised of six independent republics,
each
having a culture and historical background different from the others.
Another
contributing factor was the way in which Tito's independent brand of
Socialism helped Yugoslavia maintain a (perhaps psychological) sense of
being
the most "westernized" of the Eastern bloc countries (Doder xiii).
Before 1991, both Zagreb-based Jugoton and PGP RBT in Belgrade actually
specialized in carrying various acts from all six republics. And while
the
labels, being state-run, weren't completely free from government
control,
they were granted generous amounts of leeway in relation to other
Eastern
European countries like Hungary, where specific rock groups were
officially
banned by the government on a regular basis (Pareles 13). But after the
breakup of Yugoslavia, the record industries of each republic have been
affected in different ways with only one common denominator-- an
isolation
from their neighboring republics (Janjatovic "Yugo slav" 1).
In the case of Croatia, musical isolationism appears to be the national
motive. Shortly after Croatia declared its independence in 1991, the
Jugoton
label transformed itself into Croatia records, cutting all non-Croatian
acts
from its roster. Oddly enough, the newly "democratic" government has
taken
tighter control over its company than was ever taken by
the communist regime, approving primarily music with nationalistic,
war-conscious themes. The result, naturally, has been a steady stream of
musical output with little to offer in the way of surprise (Meares).
Recently, one of the most popular releases by Croatia records was a song
called "My Homeland," recorded by "Croatian Band Aid," a group of
well-known
Croatian musicians. The song featured hymn- like music accompanied by
lyrics
that not only assert that "the stars are shining just for you/ the sky
is
always blue, mother country" but that "Europe is with us." The song more
or
less served in opening the floodgates for releases by Croatia records
with
strictly nationalistic overtones. After "My Homeland," for example, the
label
followed suit with the equally popular "Rock for Croatia," a 26-song CD
including many of the most well-known rock musicians in Croatia
(Janjatovic
"Yugoslav" 1).
According to Sinisa Skarica, director of the Croatia Records company,
the
releases are intended to boost people's morale. Not surprisingly, the
music
is popular with the Croatian troops, as the company has also made it a
point
to release material--songs like "Croatia Must Win" and "Go Guards, Smash
the
Bandits"--geared specifically for them. Musically, many of the songs
contain
elements of military marches or old traditional folk melodies identified
with
wars of the past (McKinsey 7).
In spite of such obstacles as heavy government control and a limited
market,
however, an active rock music scene still does exist within Croatia,
encouraging the emergence of privately-owned record labels. For example,
the
second annual Porin music awards show, the Croatian equivalent to the
Grammies, was held last April (Janjatovic "Global"). Considered the
"most
authoritative measure of recognition in the Croatian record business,"
the
winners are chosen among the nominees by a "distinguished panel" of more
than
400 music business professionals (musicians, publishers, record
executives,
and journalists). While this year's event, which was shown on national
network TV, was dominated by established rock group Parni Valjak, the
potential for recognition of more multi- cultural acts on independent
labels
is still a possibility within the show's framework.
One of the most appealing trademarks of independent labels throughout
the
entire Yugoslav region is their willingness to carry acts from different
republics. Blind Dog records in Zagreb, for example, recently signed
Lola V.
Stain, a Macedonian band special izing in the Byzantine-tinged folk
music
characteristic of their homeland. Their CD, entitled "The Loft" after a
novel
by Croatian novelist Danilo Kis, is a testament to the continued
association
of many Southern Slavs with their neighboring republics (Janjatovic
"Global").
Interestingly enough, the Communist-run country called Yugoslavia,
comprised
of Serbia and Montenegro, has the most promising independent record
scene of
all the former republics. An explanation for this may be a slightly
lower
sense of war hysteria since most of the fighting has taken place in
either
Bosnia or Croatia. Whatever the reason, several new and energetic labels
have
made considerable strides in balancing the nationalistic tendency of
popular
music in Serbia (Janjatovic "Labels"). One of the more notable releases
to
come out of Serbia recently is an eight CD compilation from Komuna, the
first
privately-owned record company in Serbia. The compilation, selected by
Belgrade rock critics Bogica Mijatovic and Petar Popovic, contains the
best
of 25 years of Yugoslav Rock. The CD's serve not only as a comprehensive
retrospective of a distinct musical era, but a sampler of the various
ethnic
influences that ran throughout the music (Janjatovic "Global").
Other young and agile independent labels, like Sorabia and Carlo, have
gotten
a jump on the major state-run company, PGP RBT, by signing much of the
newest
talent emerging throughout the country--most of them winners at the
"Fast
Bands of Serbia" festival. The festival, held for the first time this
year at
Belgrade's Youth Centre, was a four-day event full of rock videos and
live
performances, providing exposure for new bands like Dza Ili Bu and Bad
Musicians' Kids. For the past two years, these acts have been taken
under the
wing of a Television Serbia program called "Afirmator," allowing them to
make
their own videos. The festival offered a chronological presentation of
film
and video clips from the mid-60's to the present, then turned the stage
over
to up and coming local bands (Janjatovic "Labels").
The emergence of private record companies in Serbia has been a godsend
to
consumers who previously relied on the state-run record companies which
have
been "all but silenced," according to Belgrade rock critic Petar
Janjatovic,
by international trade sanctions (56). Labels like PGP RTB have been
reduced
to leasing out their plants, rather than letting them sit unused, since
the
availabillty of repertoire from Western labels has been altogether
halted by
the embargoes against Serbia and, with few exceptions, the company is
producing no Yugoslav records.
As Stanko Terzic, director of the company for the past fifteen years
puts it,
"I thought music knew no frontiers, but it is simply being prevented
from
reaching us." According to Terzic, the sanctions are "banning
cooperation"
and "making it impossible for PGP RTB to pay for licenses" and keep
Serbian
music fans up-to-date with what's going on in the world. "Young
audiences are
the biggest losers," he adds, "and I hope the sanctions will be
alleviated in
the field of culture." Terzic also believes the sanctions have prevented
the
label from saving the integrated rock scene that used to thrive in
Yugoslavia
(qtd. in Janjatovic "Labels" 56).
When foreign capital can again flow into the region, Terzic hopes that
PGP
RTB can step up CD production. "I'm also optimistic about reviving the
market
through what used to be Yugoslavia. Aside from the fact that it is in
our
common interest, obviously the music, emotions, and affinities of young
people throughout the former Yugoslavian republics are the same (qtd. in
Janjatovic "Labels" 56)."
Another result of Serbia's isolation from the rest of the world that
must be
mentioned is the immense popularity of "Turbo Folk," a homegrown musical
hybrid of Turkish and Slavic folk melodies, "disco beats, and Arabic
yowling," according to Belgrade critic Petar Lukovic (qtd. in "Balkan").
Turbo Folk singers are generally leggy women dressed in short sequined
minskirts, pushup bras and heavy makeup who socialize in the public
spotlight
with political figures and military thugs (Block 16).
Originally, in a period of particularly high Serbian chauvinism and
xenophobia, the form was endorsed and even promoted by the official
media as
an all-Serb alternative to outer influences. So popular has the genre
become,
in fact, that most discotheques have been replaced by "folkotheques,"
where
Turbo Folk is played exclusively (Chazan, Christian Science Monitor, 4).
If Turbo Folk has any one message in particular, according to Lukovic,
it's
"We're okay, sanctions cannot hurt us" (qtd. in "Balkan Blast" 88). The
lyrics vacillate between "dismal love songs," nationalistic boasting, or
just
plain boasting ("Coca-Cola, Marlboro and Suzuki/ Discotheques, Guitars
and
Bouzouki/ Nobody has it as good as me," is the chorus of one of the most
well-known hits) (Block 16). And while political boasting of the more
hard-
headed sort is actually part of Serbian tradition, as in songs such as
"Ko to
Kaze Ko to Laze Serbija je Mala (Whoever says that Serbia is small is a
liar)," never before have political themes been incorporated to such an
extent into the songs of the country's pop stars (Waters 7).
Naturally, Turbo Folk, funded largely by mafia money, is the most
thriving
record industry in Serbia. And inspite of recent campaigns led by
President
Slobodan Milosevic and Cultural Minister Nada Popovic-Persic to stamp it
out
and reintroduce Western culture into the Serbian mainstream, public
appetite
for the form doesn't appear to be fading (Nelson). As record executives
like
Nesa Jovanovic, business manager of ZAM, Serbia's largest folk recording
label see it, the "music is big business because it makes people happy"
(qtd.
in "Balkan Blast" 88). Even unfavorable critics like Lukovic see the
eventual
stamping out of Turbo Folk unlikely, as "the music was promoted as a
sedative
for the Serb population" in the first place (qtd. in "Balkan Blast" 88).
Along with the launching of a "Year of Culture" campaign, Cultural
Minister
Popovic-Perisic intends to attack what she refers to as "pseudo folk
music"
by taxing not only the actual recording of Turbo Folk, but store
cassettes as
well. She also plans on introducing a bill that will aim towards
destroying
for good the music's monopoly over radio and television. Popovic-Perisic
even
hopes to persuade the "noveau riche" who have funded Turbo Folk to
donate
some of their earnings to the "Year of Culture" cause, offering tax
incentives to all contributers (Block 16).
Needless to say, the Beograd intelligentsia supports Popovic-Perisic and
her
campaign. But another faction that appears to be standing behind the
Cultural
Minister are the fans of Yugoslav rock who still remain in Serbia. These
people believe that the stamping out of Turbo Folk just might give way,
once
again, to a rock scene that was put on hold so suddenly ("Balkan
Blast").
Many rock fans still bemoan the breakup of groups like Riblja Corba,
Crvena
Jabuka, and Plavi Orkestar--groups who once sold up to 500,000 copies of
their albums and toured the entire country two months at a time
(Janjatovic
"Yugoslav").
While a considerable amount of independent recording activity is taking
place
in Croatia and Serbia/Montenegro despite countless troubles, the
recording
industries of Bosnia-Hercegovina and Macedonia don't appear to be as
resilient. Needless to say, the violent situation in Bosnia is highly
unfavorable to most indus tries of any sort. And it's a shame--the
concentrated ethnic mix in Bosnia lent a rich, exotic air to much of
Bosnian
rock. Bands like Bijelo Dugme and Plavi Orkestar, two of the most
well-known
Yugoslav bands ever, have since broken up or moved out of the country.
Bijelo
Dugme bandleader Goran Bregovic, for example, one of the most creative
of
Bosnian rock musicians, moved to Paris and has been writing music for
film
director Emir Kusturica as well as others (Janjatovic "Yugoslav").
In the case of Macedonia, a sickly recording industry has been balanced
out
by a legacy, similar to Bosnia's, of colorful rock laced with
traditional
folk melodies and instruments. Established Macedonian bands like Leb i
Sol
remain popular throughout the Yugoslav region, having recently defied
ethnic
assumptions by playing three sold out shows at Belgrade's Sava Centre in
celebra tion of their "Live in New York" CD. Another group, Anastasia,
has
also found wide recognition by writing and performing the music for the
Macedonian film "Before the Rain," the soundtrack of which has been
released
by Poly Gram records (Janjatovic "Global").
Slovenia, the most western of all the former republics both
geographically
and culturally, has always been, as noted by journalist Robert Kaplan, a
bit
of a sideshow to the larger Yugoslav picture (13). In musical terms, a
good
illustration of this is Laibach, not only the prototypical Slovenian
band,
but also the most well-known Yugoslav band ever. Laibach has developed
its
worldwide industrial rock audience largely through its adherance to "New
Slovenian Art," a self-titled movement that smacks heavily of Western
artistic traditions along the lines of "art for art's sake" (Thompson
42-43).
The band is famous for dressing up in Nazi uniforms and re-working
classic
rock and pop songs, for example, into dark, "poker-faced," militaristic
marches (Suselj). While Slovenian musicians do have much to gain through
an
integrated Yugoslav audience, the example of Laibach shows that Western
acceptance may be found for them without the support of any of their
Slavic
neighbors.
Although independent labels continue to emerge throughout the former
Yugoslavia, the extent to which the Yugoslav record market may revive
itself
in a short period of time remains a tough question. According to
Slovenian
concert promoter Igor Vidmar, the country's emerging hard-currency music
market is only temporarily suspended. Vidmar, during a discussion on the
opportunities in Eastern Europe, said that Yugoslavia has a population
of 24
million with a strong interest in contemporary music--and convertible
dinars
to buy it with. Pointing to the fact that two regions have already
seceded
from Yugoslavia, Vidmar said he believed that when the situation
stabilized,
the nation would still be one market (Clark-Meads 76).
He further stated that there was already an "emerging network of
privately
owned record stores selling local indie product and imports." In
addition,
domestic record companies were well organized and "there are no record
pirates in Yugoslava," he declared. Vidmar outlined the geopgraphic
effects
of the civil war by saying it was highly localized and taking place
entirely
in Croatia. Vidmar appealed for the music industry and the world in
general
to take an approach to Yugoslavia that was as normal as possible as a
way of
calming militaristic attitudes. "Music can have a very positive role in
this
respect" (qtd. in Clark-Meads 76).
Indeed, it appears as though the only forces actively at work at
reuniting
the republics within Yugoslavia are rock musicians: Recently, concerts
in
Berlin and Prague featured Serbian bands Catherine the Great, Electric
Orgasm
and the Party-Breakers teamed up with other Croatian and Slovenian
bands. The
audience consisted primarily of refugees from all six republics. Serbian
band
Bad Musicians' Kids makes it a point to sing songs in Slovenian and
Croatian
as well as in Serbian. Another Serbian band, Dza Ili Bu, has a popular
song
called "Soon You'll Be Sweeping the Streets," in reference to Communist
government. Veteran Serbian band Galija recently released a single
covering a
song by Croatian band Film as well as a song by Indexi, a Sarajevo band,
and
the tenth release of the Serbian band Electric Orgasm is dedicated to
"all
our friends in Zagreb, Ljubljana, and Sarajevo, with whom we seem to
have
lost touch" (Janjatovic "Labels"). While such gestures may seem minute,
their
very existence in such hostile times are significant enough.
Also interesting is the development of gathering spots at dance clubs
throughout Europe for Yugoslavs of all "nationalities." The Nest in
London,
for example, holds gatherings for "Bosnians, Serbs, and Croats--gypsies,
students and refugees" every Saturday night. Politics are never
discussed,
and popular Yugoslav records, many of them reissues released by
independent
labels, from the 70's and 80's are played. It gives Yugoslavs an
opportunity
to talk about old times, sing folk songs they all know, and dance
traditional
dances from each others' republics (Ditmars 22). Such activity, not
surprisingly, is branded by Croatian and Serbian nationalists as
"Yugonostalgic," indicating a sense of betrayal to one's true homeland
(Moseley 21).
If there is to be a positive side at all to the conflict in Yugoslavia,
it
just might be this active emergence of private record labels, many of
them
run by "Yugonostalgists" who hold fast to the musical values that
initially
drove them into business, and provide those who remember a retrospective
look
at some of the richness and variety they used to have. As more and more
stress is put by each independent record company on carrying an
ethnically
diverse roster, more of this music may be availabe and play some minor
role,
perhaps, in reopening the perceptions of Yugoslav rock's original
audiences,
wherever they may be.
Works Cited
"Balkan Blast." The Economist. 9 Jul. 1994: 88.
Block, Robert. "Ethnic Cleansing's Balladeers Get Their Marching
Orders." The
Independent. 25 Sep. 1994: 16.
Chazan, Yigal. "Ex-Warmonger Milosevic Turns Culture-Vulture." The
Ottawa
Citizen. 8 Apr. 1995: 1.
Chazan, Yigal. "Popular Folk Music Strikes a Bad Chord Among Serb
Leaders."
Christian Science Monitor. 11 Jul. 1994: 4A.
Clark-Meads, Jeff. "Slavic Music Biz Ready For Battle Again; Civil War
Interrupts, Doesn't Deter, Promoter Says." Billboard. Nov 2/1991: 76.
Ditmars, Hadani. "The Good Old Days; Despite the Situation in Former
Yugoslavia, Serbs and Croats Still Meet in a London Club to Recall
Better
Days. Hadani Ditmars Joined Them." The Independent. Jul 13 1994: 22.
Doder, Dusko. The Yugoslavs. Random House: New York, 1978.
Janjatovic, Petar. "Yugoslav War Halts Growth of Local Music Biz."
Billboard.
11 July 1992: 1.
_________________. "Labels Unite Divided Market; New Bands, Scenes
Emerge in
Balkans." Billboard. Mar 13 1993: 56.
_________________. "Global Pulse: Croatia." Billboard. Apr 22, 1995.
Kaplan, Robert. "A Reader's Guide to the Balkans." The New York Times.
Apr 18
1993: 13.
McKinsey, Kitty. "Serbia May Be Winning War but Croatia Has Best Songs."
The
Gazette (Montreal). Dec 10 1991: 7B.
Meares, Richard. "Patriotic War Songs Replace Love on Rebel Croatia's
Airwaves." The Reuter Library Report. Nov 4 1991.
Moseley, Ray. "Media War Erupts i Yugoslavia." Chicago Tribune.Oct. 11
1991:
21C.
Nelson, Mark. "New Music of War Offers Serbs Escape With A Disco Beat."
Wall
Street Journal. 27 June 1995: 1A.
Pareles, Jon. "Rock Music of Eastern Europe: So Western, So Familiar, So
Old." The New York Times. Feb 28 1990: 13C.
Susmelj, Marta. "Laibach: The Ambassadors of 'Yugo Rock.'" Newsday. Feb
3,
1989.
Thompson, Mark. A Paper House: The Ending of Yugoslavia. New York:
Pantheon,
1992.
Waters, Tim . "Around the South Bay: A Big Name From Yugoslavia Wows 'Em
At
Revived Theater." Los Angeles Times. 25 Apr. 1985: 2.
STOP NATO: ¡NO PASARAN! - HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.COM
Date: Fri, 11 Aug 2000 14:37:46 EDT
--------- COORDINAMENTO ROMANO PER LA JUGOSLAVIA -----------
RIMSKI SAVEZ ZA JUGOSLAVIJU
e-mail: crj@... - URL: http://marx2001.org/crj
http://www.egroups.com/group/crj-mailinglist/
------------------------------------------------------------
by Kim Simpson
Throughout the 1970's and the 1980's, Yugoslavia boasted some of the
most
diverse and progressive rock music in Eastern Europe. During this
period,
state-run record labels like Jugoton and PGP RBT generated healthy
amounts of
rock recordings which were distributed and promoted throughout the
republics.
With the 1991 breakup of the pan-Yugoslav market, however, large-scale
record
production and distribution have been stifled
considerably. As a result, only a small influx of independent labels
throughout the region currently keep any hope alive for an eventual
revival
of Yugoslav rock and its audience (Janjatovic "Yugoslav" 1).
The music, drawing from a variety of ethnic influences, well reflected
the
country's make-up: a federation comprised of six independent republics,
each
having a culture and historical background different from the others.
Another
contributing factor was the way in which Tito's independent brand of
Socialism helped Yugoslavia maintain a (perhaps psychological) sense of
being
the most "westernized" of the Eastern bloc countries (Doder xiii).
Before 1991, both Zagreb-based Jugoton and PGP RBT in Belgrade actually
specialized in carrying various acts from all six republics. And while
the
labels, being state-run, weren't completely free from government
control,
they were granted generous amounts of leeway in relation to other
Eastern
European countries like Hungary, where specific rock groups were
officially
banned by the government on a regular basis (Pareles 13). But after the
breakup of Yugoslavia, the record industries of each republic have been
affected in different ways with only one common denominator-- an
isolation
from their neighboring republics (Janjatovic "Yugo slav" 1).
In the case of Croatia, musical isolationism appears to be the national
motive. Shortly after Croatia declared its independence in 1991, the
Jugoton
label transformed itself into Croatia records, cutting all non-Croatian
acts
from its roster. Oddly enough, the newly "democratic" government has
taken
tighter control over its company than was ever taken by
the communist regime, approving primarily music with nationalistic,
war-conscious themes. The result, naturally, has been a steady stream of
musical output with little to offer in the way of surprise (Meares).
Recently, one of the most popular releases by Croatia records was a song
called "My Homeland," recorded by "Croatian Band Aid," a group of
well-known
Croatian musicians. The song featured hymn- like music accompanied by
lyrics
that not only assert that "the stars are shining just for you/ the sky
is
always blue, mother country" but that "Europe is with us." The song more
or
less served in opening the floodgates for releases by Croatia records
with
strictly nationalistic overtones. After "My Homeland," for example, the
label
followed suit with the equally popular "Rock for Croatia," a 26-song CD
including many of the most well-known rock musicians in Croatia
(Janjatovic
"Yugoslav" 1).
According to Sinisa Skarica, director of the Croatia Records company,
the
releases are intended to boost people's morale. Not surprisingly, the
music
is popular with the Croatian troops, as the company has also made it a
point
to release material--songs like "Croatia Must Win" and "Go Guards, Smash
the
Bandits"--geared specifically for them. Musically, many of the songs
contain
elements of military marches or old traditional folk melodies identified
with
wars of the past (McKinsey 7).
In spite of such obstacles as heavy government control and a limited
market,
however, an active rock music scene still does exist within Croatia,
encouraging the emergence of privately-owned record labels. For example,
the
second annual Porin music awards show, the Croatian equivalent to the
Grammies, was held last April (Janjatovic "Global"). Considered the
"most
authoritative measure of recognition in the Croatian record business,"
the
winners are chosen among the nominees by a "distinguished panel" of more
than
400 music business professionals (musicians, publishers, record
executives,
and journalists). While this year's event, which was shown on national
network TV, was dominated by established rock group Parni Valjak, the
potential for recognition of more multi- cultural acts on independent
labels
is still a possibility within the show's framework.
One of the most appealing trademarks of independent labels throughout
the
entire Yugoslav region is their willingness to carry acts from different
republics. Blind Dog records in Zagreb, for example, recently signed
Lola V.
Stain, a Macedonian band special izing in the Byzantine-tinged folk
music
characteristic of their homeland. Their CD, entitled "The Loft" after a
novel
by Croatian novelist Danilo Kis, is a testament to the continued
association
of many Southern Slavs with their neighboring republics (Janjatovic
"Global").
Interestingly enough, the Communist-run country called Yugoslavia,
comprised
of Serbia and Montenegro, has the most promising independent record
scene of
all the former republics. An explanation for this may be a slightly
lower
sense of war hysteria since most of the fighting has taken place in
either
Bosnia or Croatia. Whatever the reason, several new and energetic labels
have
made considerable strides in balancing the nationalistic tendency of
popular
music in Serbia (Janjatovic "Labels"). One of the more notable releases
to
come out of Serbia recently is an eight CD compilation from Komuna, the
first
privately-owned record company in Serbia. The compilation, selected by
Belgrade rock critics Bogica Mijatovic and Petar Popovic, contains the
best
of 25 years of Yugoslav Rock. The CD's serve not only as a comprehensive
retrospective of a distinct musical era, but a sampler of the various
ethnic
influences that ran throughout the music (Janjatovic "Global").
Other young and agile independent labels, like Sorabia and Carlo, have
gotten
a jump on the major state-run company, PGP RBT, by signing much of the
newest
talent emerging throughout the country--most of them winners at the
"Fast
Bands of Serbia" festival. The festival, held for the first time this
year at
Belgrade's Youth Centre, was a four-day event full of rock videos and
live
performances, providing exposure for new bands like Dza Ili Bu and Bad
Musicians' Kids. For the past two years, these acts have been taken
under the
wing of a Television Serbia program called "Afirmator," allowing them to
make
their own videos. The festival offered a chronological presentation of
film
and video clips from the mid-60's to the present, then turned the stage
over
to up and coming local bands (Janjatovic "Labels").
The emergence of private record companies in Serbia has been a godsend
to
consumers who previously relied on the state-run record companies which
have
been "all but silenced," according to Belgrade rock critic Petar
Janjatovic,
by international trade sanctions (56). Labels like PGP RTB have been
reduced
to leasing out their plants, rather than letting them sit unused, since
the
availabillty of repertoire from Western labels has been altogether
halted by
the embargoes against Serbia and, with few exceptions, the company is
producing no Yugoslav records.
As Stanko Terzic, director of the company for the past fifteen years
puts it,
"I thought music knew no frontiers, but it is simply being prevented
from
reaching us." According to Terzic, the sanctions are "banning
cooperation"
and "making it impossible for PGP RTB to pay for licenses" and keep
Serbian
music fans up-to-date with what's going on in the world. "Young
audiences are
the biggest losers," he adds, "and I hope the sanctions will be
alleviated in
the field of culture." Terzic also believes the sanctions have prevented
the
label from saving the integrated rock scene that used to thrive in
Yugoslavia
(qtd. in Janjatovic "Labels" 56).
When foreign capital can again flow into the region, Terzic hopes that
PGP
RTB can step up CD production. "I'm also optimistic about reviving the
market
through what used to be Yugoslavia. Aside from the fact that it is in
our
common interest, obviously the music, emotions, and affinities of young
people throughout the former Yugoslavian republics are the same (qtd. in
Janjatovic "Labels" 56)."
Another result of Serbia's isolation from the rest of the world that
must be
mentioned is the immense popularity of "Turbo Folk," a homegrown musical
hybrid of Turkish and Slavic folk melodies, "disco beats, and Arabic
yowling," according to Belgrade critic Petar Lukovic (qtd. in "Balkan").
Turbo Folk singers are generally leggy women dressed in short sequined
minskirts, pushup bras and heavy makeup who socialize in the public
spotlight
with political figures and military thugs (Block 16).
Originally, in a period of particularly high Serbian chauvinism and
xenophobia, the form was endorsed and even promoted by the official
media as
an all-Serb alternative to outer influences. So popular has the genre
become,
in fact, that most discotheques have been replaced by "folkotheques,"
where
Turbo Folk is played exclusively (Chazan, Christian Science Monitor, 4).
If Turbo Folk has any one message in particular, according to Lukovic,
it's
"We're okay, sanctions cannot hurt us" (qtd. in "Balkan Blast" 88). The
lyrics vacillate between "dismal love songs," nationalistic boasting, or
just
plain boasting ("Coca-Cola, Marlboro and Suzuki/ Discotheques, Guitars
and
Bouzouki/ Nobody has it as good as me," is the chorus of one of the most
well-known hits) (Block 16). And while political boasting of the more
hard-
headed sort is actually part of Serbian tradition, as in songs such as
"Ko to
Kaze Ko to Laze Serbija je Mala (Whoever says that Serbia is small is a
liar)," never before have political themes been incorporated to such an
extent into the songs of the country's pop stars (Waters 7).
Naturally, Turbo Folk, funded largely by mafia money, is the most
thriving
record industry in Serbia. And inspite of recent campaigns led by
President
Slobodan Milosevic and Cultural Minister Nada Popovic-Persic to stamp it
out
and reintroduce Western culture into the Serbian mainstream, public
appetite
for the form doesn't appear to be fading (Nelson). As record executives
like
Nesa Jovanovic, business manager of ZAM, Serbia's largest folk recording
label see it, the "music is big business because it makes people happy"
(qtd.
in "Balkan Blast" 88). Even unfavorable critics like Lukovic see the
eventual
stamping out of Turbo Folk unlikely, as "the music was promoted as a
sedative
for the Serb population" in the first place (qtd. in "Balkan Blast" 88).
Along with the launching of a "Year of Culture" campaign, Cultural
Minister
Popovic-Perisic intends to attack what she refers to as "pseudo folk
music"
by taxing not only the actual recording of Turbo Folk, but store
cassettes as
well. She also plans on introducing a bill that will aim towards
destroying
for good the music's monopoly over radio and television. Popovic-Perisic
even
hopes to persuade the "noveau riche" who have funded Turbo Folk to
donate
some of their earnings to the "Year of Culture" cause, offering tax
incentives to all contributers (Block 16).
Needless to say, the Beograd intelligentsia supports Popovic-Perisic and
her
campaign. But another faction that appears to be standing behind the
Cultural
Minister are the fans of Yugoslav rock who still remain in Serbia. These
people believe that the stamping out of Turbo Folk just might give way,
once
again, to a rock scene that was put on hold so suddenly ("Balkan
Blast").
Many rock fans still bemoan the breakup of groups like Riblja Corba,
Crvena
Jabuka, and Plavi Orkestar--groups who once sold up to 500,000 copies of
their albums and toured the entire country two months at a time
(Janjatovic
"Yugoslav").
While a considerable amount of independent recording activity is taking
place
in Croatia and Serbia/Montenegro despite countless troubles, the
recording
industries of Bosnia-Hercegovina and Macedonia don't appear to be as
resilient. Needless to say, the violent situation in Bosnia is highly
unfavorable to most indus tries of any sort. And it's a shame--the
concentrated ethnic mix in Bosnia lent a rich, exotic air to much of
Bosnian
rock. Bands like Bijelo Dugme and Plavi Orkestar, two of the most
well-known
Yugoslav bands ever, have since broken up or moved out of the country.
Bijelo
Dugme bandleader Goran Bregovic, for example, one of the most creative
of
Bosnian rock musicians, moved to Paris and has been writing music for
film
director Emir Kusturica as well as others (Janjatovic "Yugoslav").
In the case of Macedonia, a sickly recording industry has been balanced
out
by a legacy, similar to Bosnia's, of colorful rock laced with
traditional
folk melodies and instruments. Established Macedonian bands like Leb i
Sol
remain popular throughout the Yugoslav region, having recently defied
ethnic
assumptions by playing three sold out shows at Belgrade's Sava Centre in
celebra tion of their "Live in New York" CD. Another group, Anastasia,
has
also found wide recognition by writing and performing the music for the
Macedonian film "Before the Rain," the soundtrack of which has been
released
by Poly Gram records (Janjatovic "Global").
Slovenia, the most western of all the former republics both
geographically
and culturally, has always been, as noted by journalist Robert Kaplan, a
bit
of a sideshow to the larger Yugoslav picture (13). In musical terms, a
good
illustration of this is Laibach, not only the prototypical Slovenian
band,
but also the most well-known Yugoslav band ever. Laibach has developed
its
worldwide industrial rock audience largely through its adherance to "New
Slovenian Art," a self-titled movement that smacks heavily of Western
artistic traditions along the lines of "art for art's sake" (Thompson
42-43).
The band is famous for dressing up in Nazi uniforms and re-working
classic
rock and pop songs, for example, into dark, "poker-faced," militaristic
marches (Suselj). While Slovenian musicians do have much to gain through
an
integrated Yugoslav audience, the example of Laibach shows that Western
acceptance may be found for them without the support of any of their
Slavic
neighbors.
Although independent labels continue to emerge throughout the former
Yugoslavia, the extent to which the Yugoslav record market may revive
itself
in a short period of time remains a tough question. According to
Slovenian
concert promoter Igor Vidmar, the country's emerging hard-currency music
market is only temporarily suspended. Vidmar, during a discussion on the
opportunities in Eastern Europe, said that Yugoslavia has a population
of 24
million with a strong interest in contemporary music--and convertible
dinars
to buy it with. Pointing to the fact that two regions have already
seceded
from Yugoslavia, Vidmar said he believed that when the situation
stabilized,
the nation would still be one market (Clark-Meads 76).
He further stated that there was already an "emerging network of
privately
owned record stores selling local indie product and imports." In
addition,
domestic record companies were well organized and "there are no record
pirates in Yugoslava," he declared. Vidmar outlined the geopgraphic
effects
of the civil war by saying it was highly localized and taking place
entirely
in Croatia. Vidmar appealed for the music industry and the world in
general
to take an approach to Yugoslavia that was as normal as possible as a
way of
calming militaristic attitudes. "Music can have a very positive role in
this
respect" (qtd. in Clark-Meads 76).
Indeed, it appears as though the only forces actively at work at
reuniting
the republics within Yugoslavia are rock musicians: Recently, concerts
in
Berlin and Prague featured Serbian bands Catherine the Great, Electric
Orgasm
and the Party-Breakers teamed up with other Croatian and Slovenian
bands. The
audience consisted primarily of refugees from all six republics. Serbian
band
Bad Musicians' Kids makes it a point to sing songs in Slovenian and
Croatian
as well as in Serbian. Another Serbian band, Dza Ili Bu, has a popular
song
called "Soon You'll Be Sweeping the Streets," in reference to Communist
government. Veteran Serbian band Galija recently released a single
covering a
song by Croatian band Film as well as a song by Indexi, a Sarajevo band,
and
the tenth release of the Serbian band Electric Orgasm is dedicated to
"all
our friends in Zagreb, Ljubljana, and Sarajevo, with whom we seem to
have
lost touch" (Janjatovic "Labels"). While such gestures may seem minute,
their
very existence in such hostile times are significant enough.
Also interesting is the development of gathering spots at dance clubs
throughout Europe for Yugoslavs of all "nationalities." The Nest in
London,
for example, holds gatherings for "Bosnians, Serbs, and Croats--gypsies,
students and refugees" every Saturday night. Politics are never
discussed,
and popular Yugoslav records, many of them reissues released by
independent
labels, from the 70's and 80's are played. It gives Yugoslavs an
opportunity
to talk about old times, sing folk songs they all know, and dance
traditional
dances from each others' republics (Ditmars 22). Such activity, not
surprisingly, is branded by Croatian and Serbian nationalists as
"Yugonostalgic," indicating a sense of betrayal to one's true homeland
(Moseley 21).
If there is to be a positive side at all to the conflict in Yugoslavia,
it
just might be this active emergence of private record labels, many of
them
run by "Yugonostalgists" who hold fast to the musical values that
initially
drove them into business, and provide those who remember a retrospective
look
at some of the richness and variety they used to have. As more and more
stress is put by each independent record company on carrying an
ethnically
diverse roster, more of this music may be availabe and play some minor
role,
perhaps, in reopening the perceptions of Yugoslav rock's original
audiences,
wherever they may be.
Works Cited
"Balkan Blast." The Economist. 9 Jul. 1994: 88.
Block, Robert. "Ethnic Cleansing's Balladeers Get Their Marching
Orders." The
Independent. 25 Sep. 1994: 16.
Chazan, Yigal. "Ex-Warmonger Milosevic Turns Culture-Vulture." The
Ottawa
Citizen. 8 Apr. 1995: 1.
Chazan, Yigal. "Popular Folk Music Strikes a Bad Chord Among Serb
Leaders."
Christian Science Monitor. 11 Jul. 1994: 4A.
Clark-Meads, Jeff. "Slavic Music Biz Ready For Battle Again; Civil War
Interrupts, Doesn't Deter, Promoter Says." Billboard. Nov 2/1991: 76.
Ditmars, Hadani. "The Good Old Days; Despite the Situation in Former
Yugoslavia, Serbs and Croats Still Meet in a London Club to Recall
Better
Days. Hadani Ditmars Joined Them." The Independent. Jul 13 1994: 22.
Doder, Dusko. The Yugoslavs. Random House: New York, 1978.
Janjatovic, Petar. "Yugoslav War Halts Growth of Local Music Biz."
Billboard.
11 July 1992: 1.
_________________. "Labels Unite Divided Market; New Bands, Scenes
Emerge in
Balkans." Billboard. Mar 13 1993: 56.
_________________. "Global Pulse: Croatia." Billboard. Apr 22, 1995.
Kaplan, Robert. "A Reader's Guide to the Balkans." The New York Times.
Apr 18
1993: 13.
McKinsey, Kitty. "Serbia May Be Winning War but Croatia Has Best Songs."
The
Gazette (Montreal). Dec 10 1991: 7B.
Meares, Richard. "Patriotic War Songs Replace Love on Rebel Croatia's
Airwaves." The Reuter Library Report. Nov 4 1991.
Moseley, Ray. "Media War Erupts i Yugoslavia." Chicago Tribune.Oct. 11
1991:
21C.
Nelson, Mark. "New Music of War Offers Serbs Escape With A Disco Beat."
Wall
Street Journal. 27 June 1995: 1A.
Pareles, Jon. "Rock Music of Eastern Europe: So Western, So Familiar, So
Old." The New York Times. Feb 28 1990: 13C.
Susmelj, Marta. "Laibach: The Ambassadors of 'Yugo Rock.'" Newsday. Feb
3,
1989.
Thompson, Mark. A Paper House: The Ending of Yugoslavia. New York:
Pantheon,
1992.
Waters, Tim . "Around the South Bay: A Big Name From Yugoslavia Wows 'Em
At
Revived Theater." Los Angeles Times. 25 Apr. 1985: 2.
STOP NATO: ¡NO PASARAN! - HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.COM
Date: Fri, 11 Aug 2000 14:37:46 EDT
--------- COORDINAMENTO ROMANO PER LA JUGOSLAVIA -----------
RIMSKI SAVEZ ZA JUGOSLAVIJU
e-mail: crj@... - URL: http://marx2001.org/crj
http://www.egroups.com/group/crj-mailinglist/
------------------------------------------------------------
Jugocoord su Telegram
Jugocoord su Facebook