Informazione
Lettera inviata al "Manifesto" il 19/6/2000:
Osservo con molte perplessita' lo schierarsi di associazioni di
volontariato per un impegno, di per se nobile, in favore dello sviluppo
democratico in Jugoslavia, chiedendomi quanto tale impegno non abbia a
che fare, in realta', con l'ossimoro "Guerra Umanitaria". Quanto, cioe',
la guerra non sia frutto di un albero nato dal seme dell'ingerenza
umanitaria, fatta apparentemente in buona fede e per solidarieta' ma, in
realta', pericolosa perche' va ad innescare un processo incontrollabile
di effetti e reazioni a catena. Se la guerra e' stato il suo frutto
velenoso, non bastera' potarlo, quell'albero!
Vedere poi come, in modo parallelo ed ufficiale, l'Italia sposi il
progetto UNHOPS, organismo delle Nazioni Unite per aiuti allo sviluppo
delle citta' jugoslave rette dall'opposizione, cioe' quasi tutte (altro
"ossimoro", perche' e' difficile capire come in un paese governato da un
novello "Hitler" possano esistere giunte di opposizione...), fa un po'
pensare.
Perche' quando ci si muove in quel senso, ci sono miliardi da gestire e
da spendere ma dietro suggerimento di chi, in realta', la guerra l'ha
fatta e ha causato il dramma che si tenta di arginare. E allora, dove
sta la contro-informazione, la denuncia, la ferma opposizione alla
guerra e alle politiche espansioniste se poi, di contro, si sta al gioco
della perdizione-distruzione con relativa redenzione-ricostruzione? E
perche', allora, non si fa la stessa cosa in Iraq? Forse, in Iraq, non
ci sono citta' rette dall'opposizione? Forse, laggiu', il novello Hitler
e' un po' piu' Hitler dell'altro? E in Kosovo, terra UCK, e' stato
raggiunto un livello accettabile di democrazia e di convivenza
multietnica? Li' televisioni e radio e giornali sono esempi di
obbiettivita'?
Credo che un'associazione che lavori nel campo della solidarieta'
internazionale debba chiedersi se il proprio impegno non serva, qualche
volta, a celebrare l'opportunismo di chi andrebbe, in realta',
processato per crimini contro l'umanita'. Le scelte sono anche politiche
e sono fondamentali.
Fra i partecipanti UNHOPS c'e' il governo italiano e con le associazioni
tratta un certo Umberto Ranieri, ex sottosegretario agli Esteri durante
la guerra NATO e suo energico sostenitore. Vagliera' i progetti da
finanziare... Qualcuno se lo ricorda ancora, o e' meglio per tutti
dimenticare?
Alessandro Di Meo, Roma
-
Lettera inviata al "Manifesto" il 23/7/2000:
FARE DEL BENE A CHI?
Lo spunto di questa lettera è l'intervento di Marcello Cini pubblicato
in
ultima sul manifesto di giovedì 20 luglio dal titolo "Perché no?
Facciamoci
del bene", in cui l'eminente teorico della scienza discetta sulla
opportunità che un gruppo di suoi amici tornino a rappresentare
l'alleanza
di centrosinistra nella malaugurata previsione di una vittoria
elettorale
della destra.
Sarebbe oltremodo opportuno che qualcuno (magari un giornalista
vero)
voglia oggi ricordare ai lettori che tra i poveri "orfani dell'alleanza
di
centro sinistra" figurano nomi che hanno sostenuto a pieno titolo, come
partecipanti al governo D'Alema, ovvero come silenti spettatori
dell'evento, l'aggressione bellica alla Jugoslavia dello scorso anno,
che
nelle colonne di questo giornale è stata compiutamente descritta e
condannata. Perciò non sto qui a ricordare le conseguenze ecologiche,
sanitarie ed economiche di questa guerra, visto che molti partecipanti
al
"salotto" si considerano ecologisti formati. E' tuttavia spiacevole e
deludente che tali "protagonisti" cerchino ancora credibilità nella
confusione della disinformazione o nel segreto dell'urna, ma è
soprattutto
offensivo per chi è stato e sarà ancora colpito da questa e da altre
guerre, senza neppure il barlume di un riscatto di umana giustizia.
Un consiglio, invece, per molti di coloro che sono passati al
centro o che
non riescono più a rifarsi una verginità politica a sinistra: sarebbe
più
opportuno che, perduti dietro ai compromessi, se non riescono più a fare
il
lavoro per cui si sono un dì qualificati, si dirigessero direttamente
all'indirizzo di Berlusconi, come altri hanno già fatto in un recente
passato; oggi, infatti, se ci sono cose di cui ha bisogno la sinistra,
queste sono ancora la chiarezza e completezza dell'informazione e la
reale
solidarietà, che ci permettono di collaborare tra "diversi"; il resto
predicato da Cini lo si può considerare "un furbetto giochetto di
Ermete"...
Mauro Cristaldi, Roma
--------- COORDINAMENTO ROMANO PER LA JUGOSLAVIA -----------
RIMSKI SAVEZ ZA JUGOSLAVIJU
e-mail: crj@... - URL: http://marx2001.org/crj
http://www.egroups.com/group/crj-mailinglist/
------------------------------------------------------------
Osservo con molte perplessita' lo schierarsi di associazioni di
volontariato per un impegno, di per se nobile, in favore dello sviluppo
democratico in Jugoslavia, chiedendomi quanto tale impegno non abbia a
che fare, in realta', con l'ossimoro "Guerra Umanitaria". Quanto, cioe',
la guerra non sia frutto di un albero nato dal seme dell'ingerenza
umanitaria, fatta apparentemente in buona fede e per solidarieta' ma, in
realta', pericolosa perche' va ad innescare un processo incontrollabile
di effetti e reazioni a catena. Se la guerra e' stato il suo frutto
velenoso, non bastera' potarlo, quell'albero!
Vedere poi come, in modo parallelo ed ufficiale, l'Italia sposi il
progetto UNHOPS, organismo delle Nazioni Unite per aiuti allo sviluppo
delle citta' jugoslave rette dall'opposizione, cioe' quasi tutte (altro
"ossimoro", perche' e' difficile capire come in un paese governato da un
novello "Hitler" possano esistere giunte di opposizione...), fa un po'
pensare.
Perche' quando ci si muove in quel senso, ci sono miliardi da gestire e
da spendere ma dietro suggerimento di chi, in realta', la guerra l'ha
fatta e ha causato il dramma che si tenta di arginare. E allora, dove
sta la contro-informazione, la denuncia, la ferma opposizione alla
guerra e alle politiche espansioniste se poi, di contro, si sta al gioco
della perdizione-distruzione con relativa redenzione-ricostruzione? E
perche', allora, non si fa la stessa cosa in Iraq? Forse, in Iraq, non
ci sono citta' rette dall'opposizione? Forse, laggiu', il novello Hitler
e' un po' piu' Hitler dell'altro? E in Kosovo, terra UCK, e' stato
raggiunto un livello accettabile di democrazia e di convivenza
multietnica? Li' televisioni e radio e giornali sono esempi di
obbiettivita'?
Credo che un'associazione che lavori nel campo della solidarieta'
internazionale debba chiedersi se il proprio impegno non serva, qualche
volta, a celebrare l'opportunismo di chi andrebbe, in realta',
processato per crimini contro l'umanita'. Le scelte sono anche politiche
e sono fondamentali.
Fra i partecipanti UNHOPS c'e' il governo italiano e con le associazioni
tratta un certo Umberto Ranieri, ex sottosegretario agli Esteri durante
la guerra NATO e suo energico sostenitore. Vagliera' i progetti da
finanziare... Qualcuno se lo ricorda ancora, o e' meglio per tutti
dimenticare?
Alessandro Di Meo, Roma
-
Lettera inviata al "Manifesto" il 23/7/2000:
FARE DEL BENE A CHI?
Lo spunto di questa lettera è l'intervento di Marcello Cini pubblicato
in
ultima sul manifesto di giovedì 20 luglio dal titolo "Perché no?
Facciamoci
del bene", in cui l'eminente teorico della scienza discetta sulla
opportunità che un gruppo di suoi amici tornino a rappresentare
l'alleanza
di centrosinistra nella malaugurata previsione di una vittoria
elettorale
della destra.
Sarebbe oltremodo opportuno che qualcuno (magari un giornalista
vero)
voglia oggi ricordare ai lettori che tra i poveri "orfani dell'alleanza
di
centro sinistra" figurano nomi che hanno sostenuto a pieno titolo, come
partecipanti al governo D'Alema, ovvero come silenti spettatori
dell'evento, l'aggressione bellica alla Jugoslavia dello scorso anno,
che
nelle colonne di questo giornale è stata compiutamente descritta e
condannata. Perciò non sto qui a ricordare le conseguenze ecologiche,
sanitarie ed economiche di questa guerra, visto che molti partecipanti
al
"salotto" si considerano ecologisti formati. E' tuttavia spiacevole e
deludente che tali "protagonisti" cerchino ancora credibilità nella
confusione della disinformazione o nel segreto dell'urna, ma è
soprattutto
offensivo per chi è stato e sarà ancora colpito da questa e da altre
guerre, senza neppure il barlume di un riscatto di umana giustizia.
Un consiglio, invece, per molti di coloro che sono passati al
centro o che
non riescono più a rifarsi una verginità politica a sinistra: sarebbe
più
opportuno che, perduti dietro ai compromessi, se non riescono più a fare
il
lavoro per cui si sono un dì qualificati, si dirigessero direttamente
all'indirizzo di Berlusconi, come altri hanno già fatto in un recente
passato; oggi, infatti, se ci sono cose di cui ha bisogno la sinistra,
queste sono ancora la chiarezza e completezza dell'informazione e la
reale
solidarietà, che ci permettono di collaborare tra "diversi"; il resto
predicato da Cini lo si può considerare "un furbetto giochetto di
Ermete"...
Mauro Cristaldi, Roma
--------- COORDINAMENTO ROMANO PER LA JUGOSLAVIA -----------
RIMSKI SAVEZ ZA JUGOSLAVIJU
e-mail: crj@... - URL: http://marx2001.org/crj
http://www.egroups.com/group/crj-mailinglist/
------------------------------------------------------------
IN THE INFORMATION WAR, A VICTORY FOR PEACE
Reflections on the one year anniversary of the US/NATO bombing of
Yugoslavia
Text of a speech given to Dayton Peace Action, Dayton, Ohio, 3/21/00
By Geoff Berne
It's a privilege to have been asked by Dayton Peace Action to speak
regarding this past year of war in Yugoslavia.
An organization like yours that's dedicated to peace is a rare one in
the landscape of today's geopolitics in which stronger countries like
ours are said to have "national interests" that justify going to war. A
person who is for peace signals that he most likely does not have a
multinational investment portfolio and probably doesn't care whether the
bulk of Americans who invest in foreign enterprises and ventures prosper
or not. If you reject the notion that nations such as ours have the
right to send troops to protect the investment of capital in a foreign
country like Kuwait or Yugoslavia, you'll be looked on as a clueless
individual who somehow hasn't gotten the message that investment in the
economies of foreign countries is the life's blood of our American
system, a thing that Americans who own stocks are ready to die for, or
kill for, even if you are not. May you, notwithstanding, continue to
carry the peace banner.
I have spent the past year being one of a chorus of people that has
raised an outcry about the Balkan war on the internet, and has refused
to let the matter die as the media and our national leadership try to
move on to other things. What anybody who has followed the war on the
web has quickly realized is that it has caused a crisis of consistency
for people of every political inclination: from so-called Democratic
Socialists (many of whom vigorously supported the bombing of a socialist
country) to conservative libertarians (who supposedly believe in a free
market economy but defended Yugoslavia - a country bombed for its
refusal to adopt a free market economy).
Somehow through the confusion of seeing right and left trade their
traditional positions on the justness of war an antiwar computer
consensus emerged that demanded to be heard and became a factor that had
to be reckoned with. Within mere months, the war opposition that had
taken root among the public bubbled to the surface in the House of
Representatives last May in a tie vote registering no-confidence in the
administration's war policy, 213-213, a vote followed just a few weeks
later by an abrupt halt in the bombing. Can one recall a more dramatic
triumph of democracy than in this affirmation of the goal of peace by
the representatives of the people?
The Pentagon fought the information war in the Balkans using the old
media: newspapers and TV. They failed to stir the traditional pro-war,
patriotic fervor, however, because, increasingly, public opinion is
being shaped today not by TV but by computer.
As compared with their support for action against the Ayatollah Khomeini
in Iran and against Saddam Hussein in Iraq, the public's reaction to
this war was to sit on its hands and turn away from the kiddie cartoon
version of a war in Yugoslavia that the video media crafted with the
help of military and CIA psychological operations specialists who
literally occupied CNN newsrooms and production facilities. Even in
spite of all that effort, like a big budget Hollywood movie that nobody
went to see, "Operation Allied Force" was a disaster at the box office.
Does anybody even remember that corny name?
As we approach the one year anniversary of the start of NATO bombing of
Yugoslavia three days from now, let's take satisfaction that the war has
been such an embarrassing subject that not a single presidential
candidate from the two major parties has so much as mentioned it! Given
the fact that the war was undeclared and indeed that the word "war" was
not even used to describe an operation that involved 40,000 Western
bombing sorties, the uprooting of a million people, ten thousand
civilian deaths, and the destruction of 1,500 towns and 40 per cent of
the buildings in Kosovo alone by the NATO bombing - to the point that
1.2 billion dollars would now be needed to rebuild housing in Kosovo
alone - given the fact that even with all that bloodshed and destruction
NATO was able to destroy only 13 Yugoslavian tanks, and is it any wonder
"Kosovo" is a war regarding which no major political candidate has dared
speak its name?
Odds are, however, that this issue will not stay quiet very much longer
because, for one thing, the war is still going on and in fact heating up
with every passing day, and furthermore those who originally set it in
motion had grandiose goals that are still far from being achieved, goals
that can only be achieved by a confrontation with Yugoslavia's
unyielding regime.
As far as the war still going on is concerned, indications are that
another call by the United States for a resumption of bombing and
perhaps ground operations will be made in the very near future. A
blockade of the Republic of Montenegro set up early this month by the
Milosevic government seems to set the stage for yet another U.S./NATO
rescue mission. This time it would be on behalf of the government of
Montenegro President Milo Djukanovic, the king of European cigarette
smuggling, who is expected to follow in the footsteps of Slovenia,
Macedonia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, and (soon to be added to this
list, Kosovo), and stage a secession from the Yugoslav federation.
Also indicative that the war is recharging is the renewal of Albanian
aggressive acts, not only against Serb civilians but this time even
against NATO/UN peacekeeping personnel. Persecution, bombings, and
killings of Serbs by revenge-minded Albanians have taken place under the
nose of and with the apparent protection of the greatly overmatched UN
international peacekeepers. In a sign of the underwhelming international
support that there is for the Balkan mission, the UN countries who
supposedly pledged to provide a total of 5,000 troops to police the
streets of Kosovo instead only provided 2500. In the past few weeks,
everyone in a position of authority in relation to Kosovo, from UN
Secretary General Kofi Annan on down, has proclaimed the area to be out
of control. Either a mono-racial Albanian state entirely "cleansed" of
Serbs will emerge in Kosovo, a republic that NATO at war's end had
agreed would remain as a territorial part of the Federal Republic of
Yugoslavia, or Kosovo will be partitioned as in Bosnia and Cold War
Berlin.
Incredible as it may seem, NATO had gone to war without first having in
place a game plan for postwar occupation of a country that it invaded
and occupied. Now that it has total authority, it's making up a new
script each day as it goes along. Ten years is the minimum forecast I
have read for how long this travesty of an occupation will last, and
some have said fifty. Its mission compromised to the core, its authority
mocked by their having served as protectors to the gangland violence of
its Kosovo Albanian dependents, the UN occupation and security force has
reduced retiring NATO commander Clark to putting out desperate calls for
more troops - and caused NATO's own field officers and monitors to warn
that troops may now be needed to quell these same Albanians that we
embraced and set up as a fighting force in the first place.
On February 13th, in the city of Mitrovica where 50,000 of the remaining
100,000 Serbs who have not yet been driven out of Kosovo still live, UN
personnel were overmatched by sniper fire and crowds throwing rocks and
grenades in a march on the city that's known for its prized Trepca
mineral mines. Wresting control of the mines and their 17 billion tons
of coal reserves, plus lead, zinc, cadmium, silver, and gold treasures
from the government in Belgrade has been seen as a goal not just of the
Albanian insurgents of Kosovo but also of the international industrial
and investment interests who stand poised to reap major benefits from
NATO dominion over the area.
The mines have been called "the most valuable piece of real estate in
the Balkans." Many of Kosovo's pro-secession Albanians who had worked in
the mines were weeded out and replaced with Poles, Czechs, and Serbs by
the Milosevic administration in the 1980's after having committed a
spate of strikes, sabotage incidents, and violence against
fellow-Albanian miners who remained loyal to the government in Belgrade.
The guns of insurgents who fought for the KLA and for secession of
Kosovo from Yugoslavia are still targeted on these fellow -Albanians
"traitors" who remain pro-Belgrade and whom they would like to oust from
the mines. The 70,000 Albanians who rallied in Mitrovica have plainly
lost patience with the UN occupation which they had expected would
re-establish employment in the mines for Albanians who are pro-KLA.
Obviously the mines are not just a flashpoint, they are the flashpoint
for any future hostilities in Kosovo.
The Trepca mines first attracted notice in the early days of the war
when NATO spokesmen alleged that they held one thousand bodies of
Albanian victims of Serb ethnic murders. The Mirror of London wrote
that the name Trepca would "live alongside those of Belsen, Auschwitz
and Treblinka, etched in the memories of those whose loved ones met a
bestial end in true Nazi Final Solution fashion." But in the aftermath
of the bombing ceasefire investigators for the International Criminal
Tribunal on the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) found no human remains there at
all!
If the name Trepca continues to live in infamy it will be as a symbol
not of genocide but of the official invention of a fake genocide to
justify war against a nation that had committed no offense other than a
refusal to allow the major Western nations to plunder it.
Along with Trepca all other evidence of Serb genocide has collapsed, the
100,000 ethnic murders of which "Mr." Milosevic was accused by Defense
Secretary Cohen were pure invention as admitted even by hardliner Adem
Demaci of the KLA who put the figure at closer to seven thousand.
However, the ICTY forensic teams who were sent to look for bodies wound
up actually finding remains of only a few hundred persons and even these
bodies were conceded to have been likely insurgent combat troops rather
than innocent civilians. At the very most, the ICTY teams estimated
that the total count of bodies found would be something like 2,000. No
less an authority than KLA "minister" Hashim Thaci has himself now
admitted that the notorious so-called "massacre" at Racak, the incident
that outraged the world and gained world support for NATO action, was
the result of a bald-faced provocation by KLA terrorists who used the
photographed bodies of their own snipers as "proof" of a Serbian ethnic
bloodbath.
While this is not news on the television media, which refuse to report
these revelations, it's big news on the internet where official lies and
disinformation are routinely deflated in a matter of hours after being
proclaimed. Indeed, in spite of NATO's seeming media advantage, the
winners of the information age's first internet war have been the forces
of peace! A determined information-gathering resistance movement on the
internet has grown in influence over this past year to such a point that
it has succeeded in stripping away the humanitarian fig leaf that NATO
wore when the war first started and with it all credibility of the
governments of nineteen of the most powerful countries in the world.
That is a big, big accomplishment.
Hence while a new war, even an expanded war, has perhaps never been so
close, the power of those who seek peace has never seemed greater,
either.
The next time this country goes to war, whether in the Balkans or
against some small, defenseless country elsewhere on the planet, how can
our pretense of humanitarian motive be believed now that internet
researchers have exposed our hidden intentions in Yugoslavia and forced
revisions of the official spin on that war to be made in the historical
record?
The entrance of the U.S. into the Balkans was shocking when it happened
because of our trampling of international war codes, treaties, and rules
of conduct taken for granted for decades, and even centuries. The UN
Security Council - out of business. The Geneva Convention prohibiting
aggression against civilian populations - null and void. The War Powers
Act forbidding foreign military intervention without Congressional
authorization - never heard of it. I even read that we had violated the
Treaty of Westphalia of 1648! The internet revolution broke down the
mystique of foreign affairs expertise, allowing citizens like ourselves
to have technical information such as this. Now we have an opportunity
to sort through the sheer mountain of data, and, if we stay the course,
to find out exactly what goes on inside the Leviathan of the war
machine, and exactly how a nightmarish war such as we have seen in
Yugoslavia is made from drawing board through fait accompli.
It's exactly appropriate that among the most influential sources of
truth about this war have been two websites, the absolutely essential
antiwar.com and one entitled The Emperor's New Clothes - www.tenc.com.
Here are just some of the revelations with which that latter website and
others have succeeded in tearing away the aura of righteous purpose in
which the makers of the NATO war on Yugoslavia have vainly struggled to
clothe themselves.
By the time the bombing was two weeks old it was clear to anybody
following it on the internet that restoring ethnic harmony in Kosovo was
not the reason we were in Yugoslavia. Now a year later a consensus has
grown that what the U.S. had sought for Kosovo is for it to be a
permanent colonial protectorate, a launching pad for America to move
into the former Soviet bloc countries. Prior to the war, America had
military bases in 100 countries around the world but not Yugoslavia.
Yugoslavia was the very the last country in Europe without an American
base. Now, thanks to the war the largest American base in Europe is in
Kosovo.
Emperor's Clothes has published many entries by writer Diana Johnstone.
She characterizes Yugoslavia as "a testing ground and a metaphor for the
Soviet Union." In other words, American orchestration of the downfall of
Yugoslavia (by abetting the breakaway of its member republics) is only a
dress rehearsal for future usage of the same dismemberment strategy
against Russia. Supporting the idea that America is positioning itself
to revive the Cold War struggle against Russia are several articles on
Emperor's Clothes including a 1996 paper by Sean Gervasi which asserts
that America wants to have the status of a "European power," and to
expand eastward, eventually taking over the running and economic
exploitation of former east bloc countries such as the Ukraine, Georgia,
and Azerbaijan.
As long as four years ago Gervasi was proclaiming that far from being a
tightly knit partnership, the western alliance is falling apart. In his
analysis, fearing that the emergence of the European Union, of which the
U.S. is not a member, would make Germany rather than ourselves the
supreme power in Europe, the U.S. sought war in the Balkans to carve out
a post-Cold War domain for NATO, of which we are a member, and a way to
make NATO be the supreme power in Europe.
Gervasi's theory is as follows: worried that our fellow NATO countries
had only weakly supported American action in the Gulf War (with our
so-called allies relying almost wholly on American manpower and
firepower), the U.S. cooked up a Balkan crisis in order to lift NATO out
of its doldrums and establish American supremacy by dazzling our allies
with American high tech firepower. Implicit in this theory is that
America had acted in the hope that Europe would see that this country
sets the standard for military manufacture and would have to buy
American military goods.
As early as the 1980's American strategists were plotting ways that NATO
intervention against "rogue nations" would give the U.S. and its fellow
members of NATO a new cause. Just as the old empires of Europe
conquered whole continents in the name of a "civilizing mission," NATO
would roam the planet as protectors of human rights and as humanitarian
rescuers.
Another contributor to Emperor's Clothes (and other antiwar websites),
Michael
Chossudowsky, documents the way the U.S. used the American-controlled
International Monetary Fund, with its power of foreclosure as financial
lender, to smash the Yugoslavian economy, render that country helpless
against foreign takeover, and create such outrageous social and economic
conditions that military intervention by outside countries would seem
like the only solution.
Finally, once again from Emperor's Clothes, on March 12th we were
privileged to get the first American posting of investigations by the
major London newspapers and BBC television that show how America's CIA
created the pro-Albanian Kosovo Liberation Army to spread terror against
Serbia and the government in Belgrade. When Belgrade acted to stop the
shootings, burnings, and kidnappings by the KLA Western media portrayed
Belgrade's law & order measures as racial genocide against Albanians.
In such way the impression was created of a humanitarian crisis that
NATO used as cover for a military aggression.
Now one year after the initial bombing of Yugoslavia, America has
installed itself as an occupying power in Kosovo. Like Korea, like
Berlin and the two Germanies during the Cold War, Yugoslavia is now a
divided country with two republics (Bosnia and Kosovo) that are
protectorates run by outside international bodies mainly staffed by
Americans.
Is the United States simply getting carried away with its own
self-righteous sense of a mission to save mankind, as many anti-war
conservatives who hate the idea of governments acting on the basis of
paternalistic compassion, such as Pat Buchanan, charge, or is the U.S.
committing itself to interventionism because of some more practical and
self-interested motive?
We do not read much about it or hear about it in the major media, but
the internet has carried dozens of articles about the economic benefits
that the U.S. stands to reap from its presence in Kosovo: first of all
the U.S. seeks to build an oil pipeline from Azerbaijan in the former
Soviet Central Asia right across Kosovo and Croatia. With its domination
of Kosovo the U.S. would have control over the future main supply of oil
to the European continent.
And in Kosovo as in many other countries before it, America has sided
with factions that reap huge profits from the drug trade thus
implicitly suggesting that our government has a stake in that trade that
has become a vital form of military financing. First Afghanistan, then
the Nicaraguan contras, then Panama, and now it's our latest client,
Albania. 80 percent of Europe's heroin supply comes from Albania, which
has used drug sales to fund KLA expansion into Kosovo and made Kosovo an
indispensable link in the Albanian drug trade. Our armed forces are
being readied for an expedition to stop the drug trade in Colombia. Has
one word been said to suggest that the military in Kosovo might want to
stop the drug trade in Kosovo as well?
It's been hard for anyone who knows the truth about the KLA and drugs to
watch TV personalities such as Geraldo Rivera go to Albania and stand
side by side in solidarity with these anti-Serb rebels whom they
characterize as freedom fighters. Only on the internet do we discover
that these brave patriots are funded almost entirely by profits from
heroin and other major-scale organized crime activity including
prostitution.
Give credit to the internet resistance, then, for exposing truths such
as these about the war in Yugoslavia. In today's information wars,
computer truth forces are the modern day successors of the war
resistance of Yugoslavian partisans and chetniks who stood up to Hitler
during World War II.
In just three days we will mark the one year anniversary of NATO's air
invasion of Yugoslavia on March 24, 1999. It so happens that that date
coincides with another anniversary, the birth of Yugoslavian resistance
to Adolf Hitler on March 26-27, 1941. On that date after Hitler had
struck a deal with Yugoslavia's Prince Regent, Yugoslavia's armed forces
rose up and overthrew his government, as crowds spat on the German
minister's car. Allow me to quote from William L. Shirer's classic
account of the years of the Third Reich:
"The coup in Belgrade threw Adolf Hitler into one of the wildest rages
of his entire life. He took it as a personal affront and in his fury
made sudden decisions which would prove utterly disastrous to the
fortunes of the Third Reich. Yugoslavia (he said) would be crushed with
'unmerciful harshness.' He ordered Goering to 'destroy Belgrade in
attacks by waves' with bombers operating from Hungarian air bases." He
then postponed his invasion of Russia by four weeks thus guaranteeing
that it would end in failure and the snows of the Russian winter.
The bombing of Belgrade by the Luftwaffe began on April 6, 1941, razing
the city to the ground and killing 17,000 civilians. In an eerie
forshadowing of today's tradition of giving each war its own
action-movie title such as "Operation Desert Storm" in Iraq and
"Operation Allied Force" in Kosovo, Hitler's air attack on Yugoslavia
was called "Operation Punishment." On April 13, 1941, Yugoslavia was
overwhelmed by the German blitz, and the army surrendered at Sarajevo.
Under the occupation industrialist Alfried von Krupp and Reichsmarshall
Hermann Goering personally divided up the spoils of Yugoslavia's
precious mines. However the Yugoslavian partisans, consisting primarily
of Serbs, fought on, resisting all foreign domination including, after
the war, that of the Soviet Union.
Of all the countries that were overrun by Hitler's armies, Yugoslavia
set a unique example in fighting back and offering armed resistance.
The heroic resistance to military aggression demonstrated by the Serbs
of Yugoslavia, which started with Serbia's declaration of independence
after World War I and has now withstood three invasions including
NATO's, should not only not be forgotten, but should inspire us today.
Yugoslavia is once again being eyed as an outpost for the west in
Central Europe, a fortified American emplacement in readiness for war
with Russia. The stubborn Serbs of that country have shown that they
will endure any suffering to prevent their land from being used for such
a scenario. We must find the strength to match the Serbs in their
heritage of resistance to war, and it looks as though we will be called
upon to do so if, as appears likely, NATO's war against Yugoslavia
intensifies in the very near future.
--------- COORDINAMENTO ROMANO PER LA JUGOSLAVIA -----------
RIMSKI SAVEZ ZA JUGOSLAVIJU
e-mail: crj@... - URL: http://marx2001.org/crj
http://www.egroups.com/group/crj-mailinglist/
------------------------------------------------------------
Reflections on the one year anniversary of the US/NATO bombing of
Yugoslavia
Text of a speech given to Dayton Peace Action, Dayton, Ohio, 3/21/00
By Geoff Berne
It's a privilege to have been asked by Dayton Peace Action to speak
regarding this past year of war in Yugoslavia.
An organization like yours that's dedicated to peace is a rare one in
the landscape of today's geopolitics in which stronger countries like
ours are said to have "national interests" that justify going to war. A
person who is for peace signals that he most likely does not have a
multinational investment portfolio and probably doesn't care whether the
bulk of Americans who invest in foreign enterprises and ventures prosper
or not. If you reject the notion that nations such as ours have the
right to send troops to protect the investment of capital in a foreign
country like Kuwait or Yugoslavia, you'll be looked on as a clueless
individual who somehow hasn't gotten the message that investment in the
economies of foreign countries is the life's blood of our American
system, a thing that Americans who own stocks are ready to die for, or
kill for, even if you are not. May you, notwithstanding, continue to
carry the peace banner.
I have spent the past year being one of a chorus of people that has
raised an outcry about the Balkan war on the internet, and has refused
to let the matter die as the media and our national leadership try to
move on to other things. What anybody who has followed the war on the
web has quickly realized is that it has caused a crisis of consistency
for people of every political inclination: from so-called Democratic
Socialists (many of whom vigorously supported the bombing of a socialist
country) to conservative libertarians (who supposedly believe in a free
market economy but defended Yugoslavia - a country bombed for its
refusal to adopt a free market economy).
Somehow through the confusion of seeing right and left trade their
traditional positions on the justness of war an antiwar computer
consensus emerged that demanded to be heard and became a factor that had
to be reckoned with. Within mere months, the war opposition that had
taken root among the public bubbled to the surface in the House of
Representatives last May in a tie vote registering no-confidence in the
administration's war policy, 213-213, a vote followed just a few weeks
later by an abrupt halt in the bombing. Can one recall a more dramatic
triumph of democracy than in this affirmation of the goal of peace by
the representatives of the people?
The Pentagon fought the information war in the Balkans using the old
media: newspapers and TV. They failed to stir the traditional pro-war,
patriotic fervor, however, because, increasingly, public opinion is
being shaped today not by TV but by computer.
As compared with their support for action against the Ayatollah Khomeini
in Iran and against Saddam Hussein in Iraq, the public's reaction to
this war was to sit on its hands and turn away from the kiddie cartoon
version of a war in Yugoslavia that the video media crafted with the
help of military and CIA psychological operations specialists who
literally occupied CNN newsrooms and production facilities. Even in
spite of all that effort, like a big budget Hollywood movie that nobody
went to see, "Operation Allied Force" was a disaster at the box office.
Does anybody even remember that corny name?
As we approach the one year anniversary of the start of NATO bombing of
Yugoslavia three days from now, let's take satisfaction that the war has
been such an embarrassing subject that not a single presidential
candidate from the two major parties has so much as mentioned it! Given
the fact that the war was undeclared and indeed that the word "war" was
not even used to describe an operation that involved 40,000 Western
bombing sorties, the uprooting of a million people, ten thousand
civilian deaths, and the destruction of 1,500 towns and 40 per cent of
the buildings in Kosovo alone by the NATO bombing - to the point that
1.2 billion dollars would now be needed to rebuild housing in Kosovo
alone - given the fact that even with all that bloodshed and destruction
NATO was able to destroy only 13 Yugoslavian tanks, and is it any wonder
"Kosovo" is a war regarding which no major political candidate has dared
speak its name?
Odds are, however, that this issue will not stay quiet very much longer
because, for one thing, the war is still going on and in fact heating up
with every passing day, and furthermore those who originally set it in
motion had grandiose goals that are still far from being achieved, goals
that can only be achieved by a confrontation with Yugoslavia's
unyielding regime.
As far as the war still going on is concerned, indications are that
another call by the United States for a resumption of bombing and
perhaps ground operations will be made in the very near future. A
blockade of the Republic of Montenegro set up early this month by the
Milosevic government seems to set the stage for yet another U.S./NATO
rescue mission. This time it would be on behalf of the government of
Montenegro President Milo Djukanovic, the king of European cigarette
smuggling, who is expected to follow in the footsteps of Slovenia,
Macedonia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, and (soon to be added to this
list, Kosovo), and stage a secession from the Yugoslav federation.
Also indicative that the war is recharging is the renewal of Albanian
aggressive acts, not only against Serb civilians but this time even
against NATO/UN peacekeeping personnel. Persecution, bombings, and
killings of Serbs by revenge-minded Albanians have taken place under the
nose of and with the apparent protection of the greatly overmatched UN
international peacekeepers. In a sign of the underwhelming international
support that there is for the Balkan mission, the UN countries who
supposedly pledged to provide a total of 5,000 troops to police the
streets of Kosovo instead only provided 2500. In the past few weeks,
everyone in a position of authority in relation to Kosovo, from UN
Secretary General Kofi Annan on down, has proclaimed the area to be out
of control. Either a mono-racial Albanian state entirely "cleansed" of
Serbs will emerge in Kosovo, a republic that NATO at war's end had
agreed would remain as a territorial part of the Federal Republic of
Yugoslavia, or Kosovo will be partitioned as in Bosnia and Cold War
Berlin.
Incredible as it may seem, NATO had gone to war without first having in
place a game plan for postwar occupation of a country that it invaded
and occupied. Now that it has total authority, it's making up a new
script each day as it goes along. Ten years is the minimum forecast I
have read for how long this travesty of an occupation will last, and
some have said fifty. Its mission compromised to the core, its authority
mocked by their having served as protectors to the gangland violence of
its Kosovo Albanian dependents, the UN occupation and security force has
reduced retiring NATO commander Clark to putting out desperate calls for
more troops - and caused NATO's own field officers and monitors to warn
that troops may now be needed to quell these same Albanians that we
embraced and set up as a fighting force in the first place.
On February 13th, in the city of Mitrovica where 50,000 of the remaining
100,000 Serbs who have not yet been driven out of Kosovo still live, UN
personnel were overmatched by sniper fire and crowds throwing rocks and
grenades in a march on the city that's known for its prized Trepca
mineral mines. Wresting control of the mines and their 17 billion tons
of coal reserves, plus lead, zinc, cadmium, silver, and gold treasures
from the government in Belgrade has been seen as a goal not just of the
Albanian insurgents of Kosovo but also of the international industrial
and investment interests who stand poised to reap major benefits from
NATO dominion over the area.
The mines have been called "the most valuable piece of real estate in
the Balkans." Many of Kosovo's pro-secession Albanians who had worked in
the mines were weeded out and replaced with Poles, Czechs, and Serbs by
the Milosevic administration in the 1980's after having committed a
spate of strikes, sabotage incidents, and violence against
fellow-Albanian miners who remained loyal to the government in Belgrade.
The guns of insurgents who fought for the KLA and for secession of
Kosovo from Yugoslavia are still targeted on these fellow -Albanians
"traitors" who remain pro-Belgrade and whom they would like to oust from
the mines. The 70,000 Albanians who rallied in Mitrovica have plainly
lost patience with the UN occupation which they had expected would
re-establish employment in the mines for Albanians who are pro-KLA.
Obviously the mines are not just a flashpoint, they are the flashpoint
for any future hostilities in Kosovo.
The Trepca mines first attracted notice in the early days of the war
when NATO spokesmen alleged that they held one thousand bodies of
Albanian victims of Serb ethnic murders. The Mirror of London wrote
that the name Trepca would "live alongside those of Belsen, Auschwitz
and Treblinka, etched in the memories of those whose loved ones met a
bestial end in true Nazi Final Solution fashion." But in the aftermath
of the bombing ceasefire investigators for the International Criminal
Tribunal on the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) found no human remains there at
all!
If the name Trepca continues to live in infamy it will be as a symbol
not of genocide but of the official invention of a fake genocide to
justify war against a nation that had committed no offense other than a
refusal to allow the major Western nations to plunder it.
Along with Trepca all other evidence of Serb genocide has collapsed, the
100,000 ethnic murders of which "Mr." Milosevic was accused by Defense
Secretary Cohen were pure invention as admitted even by hardliner Adem
Demaci of the KLA who put the figure at closer to seven thousand.
However, the ICTY forensic teams who were sent to look for bodies wound
up actually finding remains of only a few hundred persons and even these
bodies were conceded to have been likely insurgent combat troops rather
than innocent civilians. At the very most, the ICTY teams estimated
that the total count of bodies found would be something like 2,000. No
less an authority than KLA "minister" Hashim Thaci has himself now
admitted that the notorious so-called "massacre" at Racak, the incident
that outraged the world and gained world support for NATO action, was
the result of a bald-faced provocation by KLA terrorists who used the
photographed bodies of their own snipers as "proof" of a Serbian ethnic
bloodbath.
While this is not news on the television media, which refuse to report
these revelations, it's big news on the internet where official lies and
disinformation are routinely deflated in a matter of hours after being
proclaimed. Indeed, in spite of NATO's seeming media advantage, the
winners of the information age's first internet war have been the forces
of peace! A determined information-gathering resistance movement on the
internet has grown in influence over this past year to such a point that
it has succeeded in stripping away the humanitarian fig leaf that NATO
wore when the war first started and with it all credibility of the
governments of nineteen of the most powerful countries in the world.
That is a big, big accomplishment.
Hence while a new war, even an expanded war, has perhaps never been so
close, the power of those who seek peace has never seemed greater,
either.
The next time this country goes to war, whether in the Balkans or
against some small, defenseless country elsewhere on the planet, how can
our pretense of humanitarian motive be believed now that internet
researchers have exposed our hidden intentions in Yugoslavia and forced
revisions of the official spin on that war to be made in the historical
record?
The entrance of the U.S. into the Balkans was shocking when it happened
because of our trampling of international war codes, treaties, and rules
of conduct taken for granted for decades, and even centuries. The UN
Security Council - out of business. The Geneva Convention prohibiting
aggression against civilian populations - null and void. The War Powers
Act forbidding foreign military intervention without Congressional
authorization - never heard of it. I even read that we had violated the
Treaty of Westphalia of 1648! The internet revolution broke down the
mystique of foreign affairs expertise, allowing citizens like ourselves
to have technical information such as this. Now we have an opportunity
to sort through the sheer mountain of data, and, if we stay the course,
to find out exactly what goes on inside the Leviathan of the war
machine, and exactly how a nightmarish war such as we have seen in
Yugoslavia is made from drawing board through fait accompli.
It's exactly appropriate that among the most influential sources of
truth about this war have been two websites, the absolutely essential
antiwar.com and one entitled The Emperor's New Clothes - www.tenc.com.
Here are just some of the revelations with which that latter website and
others have succeeded in tearing away the aura of righteous purpose in
which the makers of the NATO war on Yugoslavia have vainly struggled to
clothe themselves.
By the time the bombing was two weeks old it was clear to anybody
following it on the internet that restoring ethnic harmony in Kosovo was
not the reason we were in Yugoslavia. Now a year later a consensus has
grown that what the U.S. had sought for Kosovo is for it to be a
permanent colonial protectorate, a launching pad for America to move
into the former Soviet bloc countries. Prior to the war, America had
military bases in 100 countries around the world but not Yugoslavia.
Yugoslavia was the very the last country in Europe without an American
base. Now, thanks to the war the largest American base in Europe is in
Kosovo.
Emperor's Clothes has published many entries by writer Diana Johnstone.
She characterizes Yugoslavia as "a testing ground and a metaphor for the
Soviet Union." In other words, American orchestration of the downfall of
Yugoslavia (by abetting the breakaway of its member republics) is only a
dress rehearsal for future usage of the same dismemberment strategy
against Russia. Supporting the idea that America is positioning itself
to revive the Cold War struggle against Russia are several articles on
Emperor's Clothes including a 1996 paper by Sean Gervasi which asserts
that America wants to have the status of a "European power," and to
expand eastward, eventually taking over the running and economic
exploitation of former east bloc countries such as the Ukraine, Georgia,
and Azerbaijan.
As long as four years ago Gervasi was proclaiming that far from being a
tightly knit partnership, the western alliance is falling apart. In his
analysis, fearing that the emergence of the European Union, of which the
U.S. is not a member, would make Germany rather than ourselves the
supreme power in Europe, the U.S. sought war in the Balkans to carve out
a post-Cold War domain for NATO, of which we are a member, and a way to
make NATO be the supreme power in Europe.
Gervasi's theory is as follows: worried that our fellow NATO countries
had only weakly supported American action in the Gulf War (with our
so-called allies relying almost wholly on American manpower and
firepower), the U.S. cooked up a Balkan crisis in order to lift NATO out
of its doldrums and establish American supremacy by dazzling our allies
with American high tech firepower. Implicit in this theory is that
America had acted in the hope that Europe would see that this country
sets the standard for military manufacture and would have to buy
American military goods.
As early as the 1980's American strategists were plotting ways that NATO
intervention against "rogue nations" would give the U.S. and its fellow
members of NATO a new cause. Just as the old empires of Europe
conquered whole continents in the name of a "civilizing mission," NATO
would roam the planet as protectors of human rights and as humanitarian
rescuers.
Another contributor to Emperor's Clothes (and other antiwar websites),
Michael
Chossudowsky, documents the way the U.S. used the American-controlled
International Monetary Fund, with its power of foreclosure as financial
lender, to smash the Yugoslavian economy, render that country helpless
against foreign takeover, and create such outrageous social and economic
conditions that military intervention by outside countries would seem
like the only solution.
Finally, once again from Emperor's Clothes, on March 12th we were
privileged to get the first American posting of investigations by the
major London newspapers and BBC television that show how America's CIA
created the pro-Albanian Kosovo Liberation Army to spread terror against
Serbia and the government in Belgrade. When Belgrade acted to stop the
shootings, burnings, and kidnappings by the KLA Western media portrayed
Belgrade's law & order measures as racial genocide against Albanians.
In such way the impression was created of a humanitarian crisis that
NATO used as cover for a military aggression.
Now one year after the initial bombing of Yugoslavia, America has
installed itself as an occupying power in Kosovo. Like Korea, like
Berlin and the two Germanies during the Cold War, Yugoslavia is now a
divided country with two republics (Bosnia and Kosovo) that are
protectorates run by outside international bodies mainly staffed by
Americans.
Is the United States simply getting carried away with its own
self-righteous sense of a mission to save mankind, as many anti-war
conservatives who hate the idea of governments acting on the basis of
paternalistic compassion, such as Pat Buchanan, charge, or is the U.S.
committing itself to interventionism because of some more practical and
self-interested motive?
We do not read much about it or hear about it in the major media, but
the internet has carried dozens of articles about the economic benefits
that the U.S. stands to reap from its presence in Kosovo: first of all
the U.S. seeks to build an oil pipeline from Azerbaijan in the former
Soviet Central Asia right across Kosovo and Croatia. With its domination
of Kosovo the U.S. would have control over the future main supply of oil
to the European continent.
And in Kosovo as in many other countries before it, America has sided
with factions that reap huge profits from the drug trade thus
implicitly suggesting that our government has a stake in that trade that
has become a vital form of military financing. First Afghanistan, then
the Nicaraguan contras, then Panama, and now it's our latest client,
Albania. 80 percent of Europe's heroin supply comes from Albania, which
has used drug sales to fund KLA expansion into Kosovo and made Kosovo an
indispensable link in the Albanian drug trade. Our armed forces are
being readied for an expedition to stop the drug trade in Colombia. Has
one word been said to suggest that the military in Kosovo might want to
stop the drug trade in Kosovo as well?
It's been hard for anyone who knows the truth about the KLA and drugs to
watch TV personalities such as Geraldo Rivera go to Albania and stand
side by side in solidarity with these anti-Serb rebels whom they
characterize as freedom fighters. Only on the internet do we discover
that these brave patriots are funded almost entirely by profits from
heroin and other major-scale organized crime activity including
prostitution.
Give credit to the internet resistance, then, for exposing truths such
as these about the war in Yugoslavia. In today's information wars,
computer truth forces are the modern day successors of the war
resistance of Yugoslavian partisans and chetniks who stood up to Hitler
during World War II.
In just three days we will mark the one year anniversary of NATO's air
invasion of Yugoslavia on March 24, 1999. It so happens that that date
coincides with another anniversary, the birth of Yugoslavian resistance
to Adolf Hitler on March 26-27, 1941. On that date after Hitler had
struck a deal with Yugoslavia's Prince Regent, Yugoslavia's armed forces
rose up and overthrew his government, as crowds spat on the German
minister's car. Allow me to quote from William L. Shirer's classic
account of the years of the Third Reich:
"The coup in Belgrade threw Adolf Hitler into one of the wildest rages
of his entire life. He took it as a personal affront and in his fury
made sudden decisions which would prove utterly disastrous to the
fortunes of the Third Reich. Yugoslavia (he said) would be crushed with
'unmerciful harshness.' He ordered Goering to 'destroy Belgrade in
attacks by waves' with bombers operating from Hungarian air bases." He
then postponed his invasion of Russia by four weeks thus guaranteeing
that it would end in failure and the snows of the Russian winter.
The bombing of Belgrade by the Luftwaffe began on April 6, 1941, razing
the city to the ground and killing 17,000 civilians. In an eerie
forshadowing of today's tradition of giving each war its own
action-movie title such as "Operation Desert Storm" in Iraq and
"Operation Allied Force" in Kosovo, Hitler's air attack on Yugoslavia
was called "Operation Punishment." On April 13, 1941, Yugoslavia was
overwhelmed by the German blitz, and the army surrendered at Sarajevo.
Under the occupation industrialist Alfried von Krupp and Reichsmarshall
Hermann Goering personally divided up the spoils of Yugoslavia's
precious mines. However the Yugoslavian partisans, consisting primarily
of Serbs, fought on, resisting all foreign domination including, after
the war, that of the Soviet Union.
Of all the countries that were overrun by Hitler's armies, Yugoslavia
set a unique example in fighting back and offering armed resistance.
The heroic resistance to military aggression demonstrated by the Serbs
of Yugoslavia, which started with Serbia's declaration of independence
after World War I and has now withstood three invasions including
NATO's, should not only not be forgotten, but should inspire us today.
Yugoslavia is once again being eyed as an outpost for the west in
Central Europe, a fortified American emplacement in readiness for war
with Russia. The stubborn Serbs of that country have shown that they
will endure any suffering to prevent their land from being used for such
a scenario. We must find the strength to match the Serbs in their
heritage of resistance to war, and it looks as though we will be called
upon to do so if, as appears likely, NATO's war against Yugoslavia
intensifies in the very near future.
--------- 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 FATAL FLAWS UNDERLYING NATO'S INTERVENTION IN YUGOSLAVIA
By Lt Gen Satish Nambiar (Retd.)
(First Force Commander and Head of Mission of the United Nations Forces
deployed in the former Yugoslavia 03 Mar92 to 02 Mar 93. Former Deputy
Chief of Staff, Indian Army. Currently, Director of the United Services
Insitution of India.)
My year long experience as the Force Commander and Head of Mission of
the
United Nations Forces deployed in the former Yugoslavia has given me an
understanding of the fatal flaws of US/NATO policies in the troubled
region.
It was obvious to most people following events in the Balkans since the
beginning of the decade, and particularly after the fighting that
resulted
in the emergence of Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina and the former
Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, that Kosovo was a 'powder keg' waiting
to
explode. The West appears to have learnt all the wrong lessons from the
previous wars and applied it to Kosovo.
(1) Portraying the Serbs as evil and everybody else as good was not only
counterproductive but also dishonest. According to my experience all
sides were guilty but only the Serbs would admit that they were no
angels
while the others would insist that they were. With 28, 000 forces under
me and with constant contacts with UNHCR and the International Red Cross
officials, we did not witness any genocide beyond killings and massacres
on all sides that are typical of such conflict conditions. I believe
none
of my successors and their forces saw anything on the scale claimed by
the
media.
(2) It was obvious to me that if Slovenians, Croatians and Bosniaks had
the right to secede from Yugoslavia, then the Serbs of Croatia and
Bosnia
had an equal right to secede. The experience of partitions in Ireland
and
India has not be pleasant but in the Yugoslavia case, the state had
already been taken apart anyway. It made little sense to me that if
multiethnic Yugoslavia was not tenable that multiethnic Bosnia could be
made tenable. The former internal boundaries of Yugoslavia which had no
validity under international law should have been redrawn when it was
taken apart by the West, just as it was in the case of Ireland in 1921
and
Punjab and Bengal in India in 1947. Failure to acknowledge this has led
to the problem of Kosovo as an integral part of Serbia.
(3) It is ironic that the Dayton Agreement on Bosnia was not
fundamentally
different from the Lisbon Plan drawn up by Portuguese Foreign Minister
Cuteliero and British representative Lord Carrington to which all three
sides had agreed before any killings had taken place, or even the
Vance-Owen Plan which Karadzic was willing to sign. One of the main
problems was that there was an unwillingness on the part of the American
administration to concede that Serbs had legitimate grievances and
rights.
I recall State Department official George Kenny turning up like all
other
American officials, spewing condemnations of the Serbs for aggression
and
genocide. I offered to give him an escort and to go see for himself
that
none of what he proclaimed was true. He accepted my offer and
thereafter
he made a radical turnaround.. Other Americans continued to see and
hear
what they wanted to see and hear from one side, while ignoring the other
side. Such behaviour does not produce peace but more conflict.
(4) I felt that Yugoslavia was a media-generated tragedy. The Western
media sees international crises in black and white, sensationalizing
incidents for public consumption. From what I can see now, all Serbs
have
been driven out of Croatia and the Muslim-Croat Federation, I believe
almost 850,000 of them. And yet the focus is on 500,000 Albanians (at
last count) who have been driven out of Kosovo. Western policies have
led
to an ethnically pure Greater Croatia, and an ethnically pure Muslim
statelet in Bosnia. Therefore, why not an ethnically pure Serbia?
Failure to address these double standards has led to the current one.
As I watched the ugly tragedy unfold in the case of Kosovo while
visiting
the US in early to mid March 1999, I could see the same pattern
emerging.
In my experience with similar situations in India in such places as
Kashmir, Punjab, Assam, Nagaland, and elsewhere, it is the essential
strategy of those ethnic groups who wish to secede to provoke the state
authorities. Killings of policemen is usually a standard operating
procedure by terrorists since that usually invites overwhelming state
retaliation, just as I am sure it does in the United States.
I do not believe the Belgrade government had prior intention of driving
out all Albanians from Kosovo. It may have decided to implement
Washington's own "Krajina Plan" only if NATO bombed, or these expulsions
could be spontaneous acts of revenge and retaliation by Serb forces in
the
field because of the bombing. The OSCE Monitors were not doing too
badly,
and the Yugoslav Government had, after all, indicated its willings to
abide by nearly all the provisions of the Rambouillet "Agreement" on
aspects like cease-fire, greater autonomy to the Albanians, and so on.
But they insisted that the status of Kosovo as part of Serbia was not
negotiable, and they would not agree to stationing NATO forces on the
soil
of Yugoslavia. This is precisely what India would have done under the
same circumstances. It was the West that proceeded to escalate the
situation into the current senseless bombing campaign that smacks more
of
hurt egos, and revenge and retaliation. NATO's massive bombing intended
to terrorize Serbia into submission appears no different from the
morality
of actions of Serb forces in Kosovo.
Ultimatums were issued to Yugoslavia that unless the terms of an
agreement
drawn up at Rambouillet were signed, NATO would undertake bombing.
Ultimatums do not constitute diplomacy. They are acts of war. The
Albanians of Kosovo who want independence, were coaxed and cajoled into
putting their signatures to a document motivated with the hope of NATO
bombing of Serbs and independence later. With this signature, NATO
assumed all the legal and moral authority to undertake military
operations
against a country that had, at worst, been harsh on its own people. On
24th March 1999, NATO launched attacks with cruise missiles and bombs,
on
Yugoslavia, a sovereign state, a founding member of the United Nations
and
the Non Aligned Movement; and against a people who were at the forefront
of the fight against Nazi Germany and other fascist forces during World
War Two. I consider these current actions unbecoming of great powers.
It is appropriate to touch on the humanitarian dimension for it is the
innocent who are being subjected to displacement, pain and misery.
Unfortunately, this is the tragic and inevitable outcome of all such
situations of civil war, insurgencies, rebel movements, and terrorist
activity. History is replete with examples of such suffering; whether
it
be the American Civil War, Northern Ireland, the Basque movement in
Spain,
Chechnya, Angola, Cambodia, and so many other cases; the indiscriminate
bombing of civilian centres during World War Two; Hiroshima and
Nagasaki;
Vietnam. The list is endless. I feel that this tragedy could have been
prevented if NATO's ego and credibility had not been given the highest
priority instead of the genuine grievances of Serbs in addition to
Albanians.
Notwithstanding all that one hears and sees on CNN and BBC, and other
Western agencies, and in the daily briefings of the NATO authorities,
the
blame for the humanitarian crisis that has arisen cannot be placed at
the
door of the Yugoslav authorities alone. The responsibility rests mainly
at NATO's doors. In fact, if I am to go by my own experience as the
First
Force Commander and Head of Mission of the United Nations forces in the
former Yugoslavia, from March 1992 to March 1993, handling operations in
Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, and Macedonia, I would say that reports put
out in the electronic media are largely responsible for provoking this
tragedy.
Where does all this leave the international community which for the
record
does not comprise of the US, the West and its newfound Muslim allies?
The
portents for the future, at least in the short term, are bleak indeed.
The United Nations has been made totally redundant, ineffective, and
impotent. The Western world, led by the USA, will lay down the moral
values that the rest of the world must adhere to; it does not matter
that
they themselves do not adhere to the same values when it does not suit
them. National sovereignty and territorial integrity have no sanctity.
And finally, secessionist movements, which often start with terrorist
activity, will get greater encouragement. One can only hope that good
sense will prevail, hopefully sooner rather than later.
Lt General Satish Nambiar Director, USI, New Delhi
6 April 1999
--------- COORDINAMENTO ROMANO PER LA JUGOSLAVIA -----------
RIMSKI SAVEZ ZA JUGOSLAVIJU
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------------------------------------------------------------
By Lt Gen Satish Nambiar (Retd.)
(First Force Commander and Head of Mission of the United Nations Forces
deployed in the former Yugoslavia 03 Mar92 to 02 Mar 93. Former Deputy
Chief of Staff, Indian Army. Currently, Director of the United Services
Insitution of India.)
My year long experience as the Force Commander and Head of Mission of
the
United Nations Forces deployed in the former Yugoslavia has given me an
understanding of the fatal flaws of US/NATO policies in the troubled
region.
It was obvious to most people following events in the Balkans since the
beginning of the decade, and particularly after the fighting that
resulted
in the emergence of Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina and the former
Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, that Kosovo was a 'powder keg' waiting
to
explode. The West appears to have learnt all the wrong lessons from the
previous wars and applied it to Kosovo.
(1) Portraying the Serbs as evil and everybody else as good was not only
counterproductive but also dishonest. According to my experience all
sides were guilty but only the Serbs would admit that they were no
angels
while the others would insist that they were. With 28, 000 forces under
me and with constant contacts with UNHCR and the International Red Cross
officials, we did not witness any genocide beyond killings and massacres
on all sides that are typical of such conflict conditions. I believe
none
of my successors and their forces saw anything on the scale claimed by
the
media.
(2) It was obvious to me that if Slovenians, Croatians and Bosniaks had
the right to secede from Yugoslavia, then the Serbs of Croatia and
Bosnia
had an equal right to secede. The experience of partitions in Ireland
and
India has not be pleasant but in the Yugoslavia case, the state had
already been taken apart anyway. It made little sense to me that if
multiethnic Yugoslavia was not tenable that multiethnic Bosnia could be
made tenable. The former internal boundaries of Yugoslavia which had no
validity under international law should have been redrawn when it was
taken apart by the West, just as it was in the case of Ireland in 1921
and
Punjab and Bengal in India in 1947. Failure to acknowledge this has led
to the problem of Kosovo as an integral part of Serbia.
(3) It is ironic that the Dayton Agreement on Bosnia was not
fundamentally
different from the Lisbon Plan drawn up by Portuguese Foreign Minister
Cuteliero and British representative Lord Carrington to which all three
sides had agreed before any killings had taken place, or even the
Vance-Owen Plan which Karadzic was willing to sign. One of the main
problems was that there was an unwillingness on the part of the American
administration to concede that Serbs had legitimate grievances and
rights.
I recall State Department official George Kenny turning up like all
other
American officials, spewing condemnations of the Serbs for aggression
and
genocide. I offered to give him an escort and to go see for himself
that
none of what he proclaimed was true. He accepted my offer and
thereafter
he made a radical turnaround.. Other Americans continued to see and
hear
what they wanted to see and hear from one side, while ignoring the other
side. Such behaviour does not produce peace but more conflict.
(4) I felt that Yugoslavia was a media-generated tragedy. The Western
media sees international crises in black and white, sensationalizing
incidents for public consumption. From what I can see now, all Serbs
have
been driven out of Croatia and the Muslim-Croat Federation, I believe
almost 850,000 of them. And yet the focus is on 500,000 Albanians (at
last count) who have been driven out of Kosovo. Western policies have
led
to an ethnically pure Greater Croatia, and an ethnically pure Muslim
statelet in Bosnia. Therefore, why not an ethnically pure Serbia?
Failure to address these double standards has led to the current one.
As I watched the ugly tragedy unfold in the case of Kosovo while
visiting
the US in early to mid March 1999, I could see the same pattern
emerging.
In my experience with similar situations in India in such places as
Kashmir, Punjab, Assam, Nagaland, and elsewhere, it is the essential
strategy of those ethnic groups who wish to secede to provoke the state
authorities. Killings of policemen is usually a standard operating
procedure by terrorists since that usually invites overwhelming state
retaliation, just as I am sure it does in the United States.
I do not believe the Belgrade government had prior intention of driving
out all Albanians from Kosovo. It may have decided to implement
Washington's own "Krajina Plan" only if NATO bombed, or these expulsions
could be spontaneous acts of revenge and retaliation by Serb forces in
the
field because of the bombing. The OSCE Monitors were not doing too
badly,
and the Yugoslav Government had, after all, indicated its willings to
abide by nearly all the provisions of the Rambouillet "Agreement" on
aspects like cease-fire, greater autonomy to the Albanians, and so on.
But they insisted that the status of Kosovo as part of Serbia was not
negotiable, and they would not agree to stationing NATO forces on the
soil
of Yugoslavia. This is precisely what India would have done under the
same circumstances. It was the West that proceeded to escalate the
situation into the current senseless bombing campaign that smacks more
of
hurt egos, and revenge and retaliation. NATO's massive bombing intended
to terrorize Serbia into submission appears no different from the
morality
of actions of Serb forces in Kosovo.
Ultimatums were issued to Yugoslavia that unless the terms of an
agreement
drawn up at Rambouillet were signed, NATO would undertake bombing.
Ultimatums do not constitute diplomacy. They are acts of war. The
Albanians of Kosovo who want independence, were coaxed and cajoled into
putting their signatures to a document motivated with the hope of NATO
bombing of Serbs and independence later. With this signature, NATO
assumed all the legal and moral authority to undertake military
operations
against a country that had, at worst, been harsh on its own people. On
24th March 1999, NATO launched attacks with cruise missiles and bombs,
on
Yugoslavia, a sovereign state, a founding member of the United Nations
and
the Non Aligned Movement; and against a people who were at the forefront
of the fight against Nazi Germany and other fascist forces during World
War Two. I consider these current actions unbecoming of great powers.
It is appropriate to touch on the humanitarian dimension for it is the
innocent who are being subjected to displacement, pain and misery.
Unfortunately, this is the tragic and inevitable outcome of all such
situations of civil war, insurgencies, rebel movements, and terrorist
activity. History is replete with examples of such suffering; whether
it
be the American Civil War, Northern Ireland, the Basque movement in
Spain,
Chechnya, Angola, Cambodia, and so many other cases; the indiscriminate
bombing of civilian centres during World War Two; Hiroshima and
Nagasaki;
Vietnam. The list is endless. I feel that this tragedy could have been
prevented if NATO's ego and credibility had not been given the highest
priority instead of the genuine grievances of Serbs in addition to
Albanians.
Notwithstanding all that one hears and sees on CNN and BBC, and other
Western agencies, and in the daily briefings of the NATO authorities,
the
blame for the humanitarian crisis that has arisen cannot be placed at
the
door of the Yugoslav authorities alone. The responsibility rests mainly
at NATO's doors. In fact, if I am to go by my own experience as the
First
Force Commander and Head of Mission of the United Nations forces in the
former Yugoslavia, from March 1992 to March 1993, handling operations in
Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, and Macedonia, I would say that reports put
out in the electronic media are largely responsible for provoking this
tragedy.
Where does all this leave the international community which for the
record
does not comprise of the US, the West and its newfound Muslim allies?
The
portents for the future, at least in the short term, are bleak indeed.
The United Nations has been made totally redundant, ineffective, and
impotent. The Western world, led by the USA, will lay down the moral
values that the rest of the world must adhere to; it does not matter
that
they themselves do not adhere to the same values when it does not suit
them. National sovereignty and territorial integrity have no sanctity.
And finally, secessionist movements, which often start with terrorist
activity, will get greater encouragement. One can only hope that good
sense will prevail, hopefully sooner rather than later.
Lt General Satish Nambiar Director, USI, New Delhi
6 April 1999
--------- COORDINAMENTO ROMANO PER LA JUGOSLAVIA -----------
RIMSKI SAVEZ ZA JUGOSLAVIJU
e-mail: crj@... - URL: http://marx2001.org/crj
http://www.egroups.com/group/crj-mailinglist/
------------------------------------------------------------
George Kenney
HOW MEDIA MISINFORMATION LED TO BOSNIAN INTERVENTION
in "Living Marxism" (London), April, 1997
Was it inevitable that the West
intervened militarily in Bosnia's civil war, taking sides against the
Serbs, and then occupying the country? I doubt it. Was it right? No,
not insofar as careful, objective, after-the-fact investigation of key
media events was lacking.
The first turning point, that led straightaway to the introduction of
Western troops,coincided with ITN's broadcast of images of what was
widely
assumed to be a concentration camp, at the Bosnian Serb-run Trnopolje
refugee collection centre in August 1992. Now, in a stunning
development,
Thomas Deichmann has discovered that those ITN images 'fooled the
world'.
To understand the impact that those misleading ITN pictures had, one
must
look at the atmosphere of July/August in Washington. Beginning with his
19 July articles on the Serb-run detention centres at Manjaca and
Omarska,
Roy Gutman of Newsday began filing a series of storiesbased, he
minimally
acknowledged at that time, only on second and third-hand accountsthat
culminated in his charge in several stories filed from 2-5 August that
the
Bosnian Serbs were operating 'Nazi-style' (his words) death camps for
non-Serb prisoners of war.
As the Yugoslav desk officer at the State Department, I knew about these
stories before they were printed, because Gutman had contacted the then
US
Consulate General in Zagreb to tell officials of his suspicions and ask
for help in corroborating his findings.
Specifically, he wanted US spy satellites to determine whether a 'death
camp' was in operation. Nobody took this request seriously, but I knew
such reports could create a public relations firestorm, so I made a
special effort to keep the highest levels of the State Department's
management, including Deputy Secretary Lawrence Eagleburger's office,
informed of his work. I did not, however, think management paid much or
enough attention before Gutman's story broke.
Among other tasks, I was responsible for drafting press materials, which
mainly involved preparing State Department Spokeswoman Margaret Tutwiler
for her daily noon press briefing. Tutwiler, who was Secretary James
Baker's closest confidant and unofficially the second most influential
person at State, felt that the USA should have been doing considerably
more to stop, or at least suppress, the civil war in Bosnia. Alone
among
senior officials in her surreptitious dissent, she drew constant
attention
to the war's worst aspects, hoping to spur the administration to greater
action if for no other reason than Baker's fear of bad press. At my
initiative, she had already used the term 'ethnic cleansing' in mid-May
to
describe Bosnian Serb actions, introducing this previously unknown
revilement into the vernacular. Frequent use of this sort of lurid
language conditioned the press into a Pavlovian yearning for ever more
shocking news of atrocities.
On Tuesday, 4 August Assistant Secretary for European Affairs Tom Niles
was scheduled to give routine testimony to the House International
Relations European Subcommittee, and in carrying out this obligation he
badly erred, compounding public outcry about Gutman's 'death camps'
report. Inexplicably, Niles decided to stonewall instead of earnestly
declaring that we knew little, but took the matter seriously and were
looking into it. The subcommittee responded poorly, with Niles
particularly enraging its presiding member, Tom Lantos, a survivor of
pro-Nazi Hungarian concentration camps. Adding to public frustrations,
Niles' comments appeared to differ from what Tutwiler's assistant
Richard
Boucher told the press pool at the State Department the day beforethat
the
USA knew about the Gutman stories. Boucher had meant only that US
officials read newspapers, but the leading papers unanimously (and
mistakenly) reported that he said State had independent confirmation
from
its intelligence sources. Reporters, smelling a cover-up, launched into
full-throated choruses of 'what did they know, and when did they know
it?'
More importantly, they asked, 'what is the USA going to do?'.
The truth was, the State Department knew very little. The real scandal
was that it did not want to know more, because whatever could have been
learned might also have brought new obligations to do something
(anything). But by early 1992 the White House had decided not to incur
the least substantive responsibility for the Yugoslav crisis, in order
to
avoid a Vietnam-like slippery slope and messy foreign entanglements
during
an election. We did not know whether minor measures might have brought
results, but had no will to experiment. Yugoslavia, in the US
government's view, was Europe's problem; the State Department was
determined it should stay that way. In any case, by mid-week the State
Department's public affairs officials were in a nuclear panic. The
Yugoslav desk was asked, twice, to review its files about what we knew
on
'death camps', and I gave Boucher a thick folder to photocopy of
telegrams
from my unofficial, personal file on Bosnia. There was not much
information therenothing confirming Gutman's storyand the State
Department
struggled to find words to get out of the hole it had dug for itself.
We
had to explain our limited knowledge and say something more than 'we do
not like concentration camps', but less than 'we intend to invade Bosnia
and shut them down'.
Sensing an opportunity to attack President George Bush, on 5 August
then-candidate Bill Clinton renewed his call for the USA, through the
United Nations, to bomb Bosnian Serb positions. The US Senate began
consideration of a symbolic vote (eventually approved) to permit the use
of force to ensure aid deliveries and access to the camps. Even high
Vatican officials, speaking unofficially for the Pope, noted parallels
between Nazi atrocities and Bosnian camps, and called for military
intervention 'to hold back the hand of the aggressor'.
A kind of hysteria swept through the Washington press corps. Few
outsiders believed State was trying to tell the truth. After I resigned
over policy in late August, senior Clinton campaign officials speedily
approached me regarding the camps issue, seeking advice on whether they
should pursue spy satellite records which the administration allegedly
ignored. I told them not to waste their time. And for years afterwards
journalists continued to ask me about 'the cover-up'.
On Wednesday 5 August, in an effort to quell the burgeoning
Boucher/Niles
'cover-up' story and regain control of the press, Deputy Secretary
Eagleburger's office issued a clarification of the State Department's
position, including an appeal for 'war crimes investigations' into
reports
of atrocities in Bosnian detention centres. Immune to his efforts,
extremely harsh press criticism continued to mount from every quarter.
On
Thursday, President George Bush issued an ill-prepared statement urging
the United Nations Security Council to authorise the use of 'all
necessary
measures' to ensure relief deliveries, but stopped short of calling for
the use of force to release prisoners. British and French officials
responded that his statement was a reaction to political concerns in the
USA. Meanwhile, further inflaming the public outcry, Serb forces
stepped
up their attacks on Sarajevo.
At almost exactly the moment of President Bush's call to arms, ITN's
pictures first aired. I do not know whether senior State Department
officials saw or learned of them that day, but I viewed them, to the
best
of my recollection, with a handful of colleagues on Friday morning or
possibly early afternoon, in the office of European Bureau's chief of
public affairs. We were unanimous, from our respective
mid-to-mid-senior
level vantage points, that the tape was ruinous for the Bush
administration's hands-off policy and could not but result in
significant
US actions. The notion that 'we have got to do something' echoed down
State's corridors.
At the start of the week possible critical policy shifts were dimly
perceived and highly tentative, but by week's end ITN's graphic
portrayal
of what was interpreted as a 'Balkan Holocaust' probably ensured that
those shifts became irreversible. Those shifts remain fundamental to
policy to this day. On 13 August the UN Security Council passed
Resolutions 770 and
771, which for the first time authorised the international use of force
in
Bosnia and promised to punish war criminals, the precursors of the
current
international occupation of Bosnia and the International War Crimes
Tribunal at the Hague. On the 14th, the United Nations Human Rights
Commission appointed former Polish Prime Minister Tadeusz Mazowiecki, a
highly pious Catholic, as Special Rapporteur for Human Rights in the
Former Yugoslavia, a position from which he tended to target only
Bosnian
Serbs. And, on the
18th, Britain reversed itself and pledged to send 1800 soldiers to
Bosnia
for humanitarian aid operations, the first step towards what became by
mid-September a UNSC approved, enlarged UN Protection Force mission in
Bosnia the seed that sprouted into IFOR and now SFOR.
Lost in the shuffle was any understanding of what was actually going on
in
the camps, who ran them, and why. Official Washington and the US press
almost completely ignored an International Committee of the Red Cross
report issued on 4 August, describing ICRC visits to 10 camps and their
finding of blatant human rights violations by all sides. And though the
Serbs did indeed, as the ICRC said, run more camps, it was not
disproportionately more. In the rush to convict the Serbs in the court
of
public opinion, the press paid no more attention to other, later reports
throughout the war, up to and after the Dayton agreement, of hellish
Croat
and Muslim run camps. Nor did the press understand that each side had
strong incentives to hold at least some prisoners for exchanges.
Medieval xenophobes reincarnated as high-tech cowboys, Western opinion
leaders fixated their fear and anger against the unknown. Defying
reason
and logic, a myth of a Serb perpetrated Holocaust, coupled with the
refusal to even acknowledge atrocities against Serbs, became
conventional
wisdom. This was the first instance and future model for post-modern
imperialistic intervention to determine the winner in a bloody civil
war.
Washington loves to go to war in August. The florid atmosphere of
August
1992, though not (yet) exactly a shooting match, comprised a more than
satisfactory propaganda war, vaguely reassuring those who lost their
bearings with the end of the Cold War, together with a new generation of
journalists who needed a fraught, dirty conflict on which to cut their
teeth. Bosnia made excellent sport.
It is no surprise, after all, that the temptation for news organisations
to try to change policy, when they knew how easily they could, was
overwhelming.
George Kenney resigned from the US State Department in August 1992, in
protest at the Bush Administration's policy towards the former
Yugoslavia.
This is his personal account of how the bogus interpretation which the
world placed upon ITN's pictures of Trnopolje camp helped to put
Washington on a war footing.
--------- COORDINAMENTO ROMANO PER LA JUGOSLAVIA -----------
RIMSKI SAVEZ ZA JUGOSLAVIJU
e-mail: crj@... - URL: http://marx2001.org/crj
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------------------------------------------------------------
HOW MEDIA MISINFORMATION LED TO BOSNIAN INTERVENTION
in "Living Marxism" (London), April, 1997
Was it inevitable that the West
intervened militarily in Bosnia's civil war, taking sides against the
Serbs, and then occupying the country? I doubt it. Was it right? No,
not insofar as careful, objective, after-the-fact investigation of key
media events was lacking.
The first turning point, that led straightaway to the introduction of
Western troops,coincided with ITN's broadcast of images of what was
widely
assumed to be a concentration camp, at the Bosnian Serb-run Trnopolje
refugee collection centre in August 1992. Now, in a stunning
development,
Thomas Deichmann has discovered that those ITN images 'fooled the
world'.
To understand the impact that those misleading ITN pictures had, one
must
look at the atmosphere of July/August in Washington. Beginning with his
19 July articles on the Serb-run detention centres at Manjaca and
Omarska,
Roy Gutman of Newsday began filing a series of storiesbased, he
minimally
acknowledged at that time, only on second and third-hand accountsthat
culminated in his charge in several stories filed from 2-5 August that
the
Bosnian Serbs were operating 'Nazi-style' (his words) death camps for
non-Serb prisoners of war.
As the Yugoslav desk officer at the State Department, I knew about these
stories before they were printed, because Gutman had contacted the then
US
Consulate General in Zagreb to tell officials of his suspicions and ask
for help in corroborating his findings.
Specifically, he wanted US spy satellites to determine whether a 'death
camp' was in operation. Nobody took this request seriously, but I knew
such reports could create a public relations firestorm, so I made a
special effort to keep the highest levels of the State Department's
management, including Deputy Secretary Lawrence Eagleburger's office,
informed of his work. I did not, however, think management paid much or
enough attention before Gutman's story broke.
Among other tasks, I was responsible for drafting press materials, which
mainly involved preparing State Department Spokeswoman Margaret Tutwiler
for her daily noon press briefing. Tutwiler, who was Secretary James
Baker's closest confidant and unofficially the second most influential
person at State, felt that the USA should have been doing considerably
more to stop, or at least suppress, the civil war in Bosnia. Alone
among
senior officials in her surreptitious dissent, she drew constant
attention
to the war's worst aspects, hoping to spur the administration to greater
action if for no other reason than Baker's fear of bad press. At my
initiative, she had already used the term 'ethnic cleansing' in mid-May
to
describe Bosnian Serb actions, introducing this previously unknown
revilement into the vernacular. Frequent use of this sort of lurid
language conditioned the press into a Pavlovian yearning for ever more
shocking news of atrocities.
On Tuesday, 4 August Assistant Secretary for European Affairs Tom Niles
was scheduled to give routine testimony to the House International
Relations European Subcommittee, and in carrying out this obligation he
badly erred, compounding public outcry about Gutman's 'death camps'
report. Inexplicably, Niles decided to stonewall instead of earnestly
declaring that we knew little, but took the matter seriously and were
looking into it. The subcommittee responded poorly, with Niles
particularly enraging its presiding member, Tom Lantos, a survivor of
pro-Nazi Hungarian concentration camps. Adding to public frustrations,
Niles' comments appeared to differ from what Tutwiler's assistant
Richard
Boucher told the press pool at the State Department the day beforethat
the
USA knew about the Gutman stories. Boucher had meant only that US
officials read newspapers, but the leading papers unanimously (and
mistakenly) reported that he said State had independent confirmation
from
its intelligence sources. Reporters, smelling a cover-up, launched into
full-throated choruses of 'what did they know, and when did they know
it?'
More importantly, they asked, 'what is the USA going to do?'.
The truth was, the State Department knew very little. The real scandal
was that it did not want to know more, because whatever could have been
learned might also have brought new obligations to do something
(anything). But by early 1992 the White House had decided not to incur
the least substantive responsibility for the Yugoslav crisis, in order
to
avoid a Vietnam-like slippery slope and messy foreign entanglements
during
an election. We did not know whether minor measures might have brought
results, but had no will to experiment. Yugoslavia, in the US
government's view, was Europe's problem; the State Department was
determined it should stay that way. In any case, by mid-week the State
Department's public affairs officials were in a nuclear panic. The
Yugoslav desk was asked, twice, to review its files about what we knew
on
'death camps', and I gave Boucher a thick folder to photocopy of
telegrams
from my unofficial, personal file on Bosnia. There was not much
information therenothing confirming Gutman's storyand the State
Department
struggled to find words to get out of the hole it had dug for itself.
We
had to explain our limited knowledge and say something more than 'we do
not like concentration camps', but less than 'we intend to invade Bosnia
and shut them down'.
Sensing an opportunity to attack President George Bush, on 5 August
then-candidate Bill Clinton renewed his call for the USA, through the
United Nations, to bomb Bosnian Serb positions. The US Senate began
consideration of a symbolic vote (eventually approved) to permit the use
of force to ensure aid deliveries and access to the camps. Even high
Vatican officials, speaking unofficially for the Pope, noted parallels
between Nazi atrocities and Bosnian camps, and called for military
intervention 'to hold back the hand of the aggressor'.
A kind of hysteria swept through the Washington press corps. Few
outsiders believed State was trying to tell the truth. After I resigned
over policy in late August, senior Clinton campaign officials speedily
approached me regarding the camps issue, seeking advice on whether they
should pursue spy satellite records which the administration allegedly
ignored. I told them not to waste their time. And for years afterwards
journalists continued to ask me about 'the cover-up'.
On Wednesday 5 August, in an effort to quell the burgeoning
Boucher/Niles
'cover-up' story and regain control of the press, Deputy Secretary
Eagleburger's office issued a clarification of the State Department's
position, including an appeal for 'war crimes investigations' into
reports
of atrocities in Bosnian detention centres. Immune to his efforts,
extremely harsh press criticism continued to mount from every quarter.
On
Thursday, President George Bush issued an ill-prepared statement urging
the United Nations Security Council to authorise the use of 'all
necessary
measures' to ensure relief deliveries, but stopped short of calling for
the use of force to release prisoners. British and French officials
responded that his statement was a reaction to political concerns in the
USA. Meanwhile, further inflaming the public outcry, Serb forces
stepped
up their attacks on Sarajevo.
At almost exactly the moment of President Bush's call to arms, ITN's
pictures first aired. I do not know whether senior State Department
officials saw or learned of them that day, but I viewed them, to the
best
of my recollection, with a handful of colleagues on Friday morning or
possibly early afternoon, in the office of European Bureau's chief of
public affairs. We were unanimous, from our respective
mid-to-mid-senior
level vantage points, that the tape was ruinous for the Bush
administration's hands-off policy and could not but result in
significant
US actions. The notion that 'we have got to do something' echoed down
State's corridors.
At the start of the week possible critical policy shifts were dimly
perceived and highly tentative, but by week's end ITN's graphic
portrayal
of what was interpreted as a 'Balkan Holocaust' probably ensured that
those shifts became irreversible. Those shifts remain fundamental to
policy to this day. On 13 August the UN Security Council passed
Resolutions 770 and
771, which for the first time authorised the international use of force
in
Bosnia and promised to punish war criminals, the precursors of the
current
international occupation of Bosnia and the International War Crimes
Tribunal at the Hague. On the 14th, the United Nations Human Rights
Commission appointed former Polish Prime Minister Tadeusz Mazowiecki, a
highly pious Catholic, as Special Rapporteur for Human Rights in the
Former Yugoslavia, a position from which he tended to target only
Bosnian
Serbs. And, on the
18th, Britain reversed itself and pledged to send 1800 soldiers to
Bosnia
for humanitarian aid operations, the first step towards what became by
mid-September a UNSC approved, enlarged UN Protection Force mission in
Bosnia the seed that sprouted into IFOR and now SFOR.
Lost in the shuffle was any understanding of what was actually going on
in
the camps, who ran them, and why. Official Washington and the US press
almost completely ignored an International Committee of the Red Cross
report issued on 4 August, describing ICRC visits to 10 camps and their
finding of blatant human rights violations by all sides. And though the
Serbs did indeed, as the ICRC said, run more camps, it was not
disproportionately more. In the rush to convict the Serbs in the court
of
public opinion, the press paid no more attention to other, later reports
throughout the war, up to and after the Dayton agreement, of hellish
Croat
and Muslim run camps. Nor did the press understand that each side had
strong incentives to hold at least some prisoners for exchanges.
Medieval xenophobes reincarnated as high-tech cowboys, Western opinion
leaders fixated their fear and anger against the unknown. Defying
reason
and logic, a myth of a Serb perpetrated Holocaust, coupled with the
refusal to even acknowledge atrocities against Serbs, became
conventional
wisdom. This was the first instance and future model for post-modern
imperialistic intervention to determine the winner in a bloody civil
war.
Washington loves to go to war in August. The florid atmosphere of
August
1992, though not (yet) exactly a shooting match, comprised a more than
satisfactory propaganda war, vaguely reassuring those who lost their
bearings with the end of the Cold War, together with a new generation of
journalists who needed a fraught, dirty conflict on which to cut their
teeth. Bosnia made excellent sport.
It is no surprise, after all, that the temptation for news organisations
to try to change policy, when they knew how easily they could, was
overwhelming.
George Kenney resigned from the US State Department in August 1992, in
protest at the Bush Administration's policy towards the former
Yugoslavia.
This is his personal account of how the bogus interpretation which the
world placed upon ITN's pictures of Trnopolje camp helped to put
Washington on a war footing.
--------- COORDINAMENTO ROMANO PER LA JUGOSLAVIA -----------
RIMSKI SAVEZ ZA JUGOSLAVIJU
e-mail: crj@... - URL: http://marx2001.org/crj
http://www.egroups.com/group/crj-mailinglist/
------------------------------------------------------------
BISSETT pred americkim congresom 19 jula 2000:
SPEAKING NOTES: CONGRESSIONAL HEARING
I AM PLEASED FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO APPEAR BEFORE YOU TODAY. AS A FORMER
CANADIAN DIPLOMAT IT IS A SPECIAL PRIVILEGE TO HAVE BEEN INVITED BY
CONGRESSMAN KUCINICH TO SPEAK TO YOU ABOUT KOSOVO.
I BELIEVE THAT NATO’S MILITARY INTERVENTION IN YUGOSLAVIA LAST YEAR WAS
A DREADFUL MISTAKE. INDEED I WOULD CHARACTERIZE IT AS A HISTORICAL
MISCALCULATION. A MISCALCULATION THAT WILL HAVE SERIOUS LONG-RANGE
IMPLICATIONS FOR THE FRAMEWORK OF INTERNATIONAL PEACE AND SECURITY.
KOSOVO MARKS A TURNING POINT FOR THE NATO COUNTRIES. THEY CHOSE TO
ABANDON THE FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES UPON WHICH THE ALLIANCE WAS FOUNDED.
THE IMPLICATIONS OF THIS FOR ALL OF US ARE SERIOUS AND FOREBODING.
WHEN PRINCIPLES ARE ABANDONED WHAT REMAINS IS EXPEDIENCYAND
OPORTUNISM.THESE ARE NOT SUITABLE PILLARS UPON WHICH A VIABLE ALLIANCE
CAN BE SUSTAINED.
AS A PRACTICING DIPLOMAT WHO SERVED HIS COUNTRY FOR 37 YEARS I DO NOT
CONSIDER MYSELF A WIDE-EYED IDEALIST. NEVERTHELESS, I AM A STRONG
BELIEVER IN DEMOCRACY.I DO RESPECT THE RULE OF LAW, I BELIEVE IN HUMAN
RIGHTS AND HAVE STRONGLY DEFENDED ALL OF THE BASIC PRINCIPLES THAT MY
COUNTRY AND YOURS HAVE STOOD FOR AND FOUGHT FOR THROUGH SO MANY YEARS.
NATO’S BOMBING OF YUGOSLAVIA SHATTERED THOSE BASIC PRINCIPLES. NOT ONLY
WAS THE BOMBING ILLEGAL AND CONTRARY TO EVERY PRECEPT OF INTERNATIONAL
LAW BUT IT WAS A DIRECT CONTRADICTION OF ARTICLE ONE OF NATO’S OWN
TREATY, WHICH STATES UNIQUIVICALLY THAT NATO WILL NEVER USE FORCE OR
INDEED EVEN THREATEN TO USE FORCE TO RESOLVE INTERNATIONAL DISPUTES.
ARTICLE ONE OF THE TREATY ALSO EMPHASIZES NATO’S COMMITMENT TO
INTERNATIONAL PEACE, SECURITY AND JUSTICE AND ITS ADHERENCE TO THE
PRINCIPLES OF THE UN CHARTER. ALL OF THIS WAS CYNICALLY CAST ASIDE BY
THE NATO MILITARY STRIKE AGAINST YUGOSLAVIA.
NATO BROKE ALL THE GROUND RULES IN KOSOVO.ITS AGGRESSIVE MILITARY
INTERVENTION INTO THE AFFAIRS OF A SOVEREIGN STATE WITHOUT SECURITY
COUNCIL OR AT LEAST UN GENERAL ASSEMBLY AUTHORITY MARKED AN OMINOUS
TURNING POINT IN THE CONDUCT OF INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS.
TO MANY PEOPLE IN THE FREE WORLD [AND I INCLUDE MYSELF AMONG THESE] NATO
WAS MORE THAN JUST A STRONG MILITARY POWER ACTING AS THE FIRST LINE OF
DEFENCE AGAINST COMMUNIST TYRANNY. IT WAS AN ORGANIZATION THAT STOOD FOR
THE RULE OF LAW, FOR DEMOCRATIC INSTITUTIONS… FOR ALL OF THOSE THINGS
THAT DISTINGUISHED THE WESTERN DEMOCRACIES FROM THE COMMUNIST AND NAZI
DICTATORSHIPS.
NATO WAS A POWERFUL MORAL FORCE.IT ACTED AS A SYMBOL OF HOPE FOR THE
CIVILIZED WORLD. A SYMBOL OF HOPE NOT ONLY FOR THOSE OF US IN THE WEST
BUT ALSO FOR THE MILLIONS CAUGHT BEHIND THE IRON CURTAIN AND FOR MANY
OTHERS AROUND THE GLOBE.
THE BOMBING OF YUGOSLAVIA DESTROYED THAT SYMBOL. NOW WE HAVE LOST THE
MORAL HIGH GROUND. OUR NEW SET OF POLITICAL LEADERS, THE CLINTONS, THE
BLAIRS, THE SCHROEDERS, THE CHRETIENS, HAVE PROVEN THEMSELVES TO HAVE
ABOUT AS MUCH RESPECT FOR THE RULE OF LAW AND THE TRUTH AS THE FORMER
COMMUNIST PARTY BOSSES OF THE OLD SOVIET EMPIRE.THIS IS THE REAL TRAGEDY
OF KOSOVO.
. OUR POLITICAL LEADERS LIED TO US ABOUT KOSOVO. WE WERE TOLD THAT MASS
MURDERS WERE TAKING PLACE THERE. YOUR SECRETARY OF DEFENCE, MR. COHEN
TOLD US THAT 100,000 ALBANIAN KOSOVARS HAD PERISHED. TONY BLAIR, THE
BRITISH PRIME MINISTER, SPOKE OF GENOCIDE. WE WERE LED TO BELIEVE THAT
MILOSOVIC WAS PLANNING TO ETHNICALLY CLEANSE ALL OF THE ALBANIANS FROM
KOSOVO THROUGH A DEVILISH PLAN CODE-NAMED "OPERATION HORSESHOE."
WE WERE TOLD THAT A MASSACRE OF 45 ALBANIAN CIVILIANS HAD OCURRED IN
THE VILLAGE OF RACAK. INDEED IT WAS THIS INCIDENT THAT SPARKED THE
SUBSEQUENT BOMBING CAMPAIGN.WE WERE ALSO TOLD THAT THE BOMBING CAMPAIGN
HAD INFLICTED A CRIPPLING DEFEAT ON THE SERB WAR MACHINE. NATO SPOKES
PEOPLE AND MUCH OF THE MEDIA CONTINUE TO HAIL THE BOMBING OF YUGOSLAVIA
AS A TRIUMPHANT VICTORY.
THESE ARE LIES. WE NOW KNOW THAT THE TOTAL CASUALTIES IN KOSOVO BEFORE
THE BOMBING [BOTH ALBANIAN AND SERB] AMOUNTED TO APPROXIMATELY 2000.THIS
IS HARDLY MASS MURDER OR GENOCIDE AND NOT A SURPRISING FIGURE GIVEN THAT
AN ARMED REBELLION HAD BEEN TAKING PLACE IN KOSOVO FOR SEVERAL YEARS.
THE SO-CALLED, "OPERATION HORSESHOE," HAS BEEN REVEALED AS A COMPLETE
FALSEHOOD FABRICATED BY THE GERMAN DEFENCE MINISTER RUDOLPH SCHARPING TO
SWING FALTERING GERMAN PUBLIC OPINION BEHIND THE BOMBING CAMPAIGN.THERE
IS NOT A SHRED OF EVIDENCE TO SUGGEST THAT MILOSOVIC PLANNED BEFORE THE
BOMBING TO CLEANSE KOSOVO OF ITS ALBANIAN POPULATION.
FURTHERMORE, IT NOW SEEMS THAT THE RACAK MASSACRE MAY NEVER HAVE
HAPPENED.FROM THE OUTSET THERE HAS BEEN STRONG SUSPICION THAT THIS
INCIDENT HAD BEEN ENGINEERED BY THE KLA TO APPEAR AS AN EXECUTION OF
INNOCENT CIVILIANS.FRENCH JOURNALISTS ON THE GROUND CHALLENGED GENERAL
WALKERS DECLARATION THAT A MASSACRE HAD TAKEN PLACE.
MORE RECENTLY ON MARCH 24 OF THIS YEAR, GERMAN INVESTIGATIVE REPORTERS
FROM THE BERLIN ZEITUNG HAVE WRITTEN THAT AUTOPSY REPORTS TO WHICH THEY
HAVE GAINED ACCESS REVEAL NO EVIDENCE OF THE VICTIMS HAVING BEEN
EXECUTED AT CLOSE RANGE.
AS FOR NATO’s AIR WAR VICTORY OVER THE SERB ARMY WE KNOW FROM A
SUPRESSED US AIRFORCE REPORT PUBLICIZED IN THE MAY 15 ISSUE OF NEWSWEEK
MAGAZINE THAT THE NUMBER OF MILITARY TARGETS DESTROYED BY NATO AIR
STRIKES, "WAS A TINY FRACTION OF THOSE CLAIMED." THE REPORT DECLARED
THERE WERE ONLY 58 CONFIRMED STRIKES BY NATO PILOTS NOT THE PREVIOUSLY
744 AS CLAIMED BY NATO.
I AM SORRY TO SAY I FULLY EXPECT WE WILL FIND AS TIME GOES BY THAT MORE
LIES AND FALSEHOODS WILL BE REVEALED ABOUT THE KOSOVO WAR.
THE REALIZATION THAT OUR POLITICAL LEADERS CANNOT BE TRUSTED TO TELL
THE TRUTH MAY NOT COME AS A COMPLETE SURPRISE TO THOSE OF YOU FAMILIAR
WITH THE POLITICAL PROCESS. NEVERTHELESS IT IS NOT A COMFORTING THOUGHT.
IT IS ESPECIALLY DISTRESSING WHEN THE LIES INVOLVE FOREIGN POLICY
ISSUES. THESE ARE ISSUES FREQUENTLY DEALING WITH MATTERS OF LIFE AND
DEATH, OF WAR AND PEACE, OF THE DESTRUCTION OF CITIES AND THE
DISPLACEMENT OF PEOPLE AND OF THE WELLBEING OF OUR OWN SONS AND
DAUGHTERS WHO SERVE IN THE MILITARY FORCES.
AS THE CANADIAN AMBASSADOR TO YUGOSLAVIA FROM 1990 TO1992 I WITNESSED AT
FIRST HAND HOW WESTERN DIPLOMATIC INEPTITUDE AND CLUMSINESS HASTENED THE
BREAKUP OF YUGOSLAVIA AND CONTRIBUTED TO THE DREADFUL VIOLENCE AND
BLOODSHED THAT FOLLOWED THE DISINTEGRATION OF THE COUNTRY. HERE ARE A
FEW EXAMPLES:
THE FINANCIAL AND MILITARY SUPPORT GIVEN TO THE SEPERATIST
REPUBLICS BY SOME WESTERN GOVERNMENTS WHICH ENCOURAGED THEM TO BREAK
AWAY BY FORCEFUL MEANS WITHOUT ANY SERIOUS ATTEMPT AT NEGOTIATING THE
TERMS OF SECESSION IN A NON-VIOLENT MANNER.
THE PREMATURE RECOGNITION OF SLOVENIA AND CROATIA BEFORE ANY
GUARANTEES OF CIVIL AND HUMAN RIGHTS WERE GIVEN TO THE SERBIAN
POPULATION OF CROATIA WHICH, BECAUSE OF THE HORRENDOUS EVENTS THAT
OCURRED THERE DURING THE SECOND WORLD WAR, MADE CIVIL WAR INEVITABLE.
. THE ENCOURAGEMENT OF ALIA IZETBEGOVIC TO WITHDRAW HIS
SIGNATURE FROM THE SO-CALLED LISBON AGREEMENT AND TO PROCEED WITH A
REFERENDUM ON INDEPENDENCE IN BOSNIA WHICH EVERYONE KNEW WOULD LEAD TO
THE DEATH AND DISPLACEMENT OF THOUSANDS.
THE EARLY IDENTIFICATION OF THE SERBS AS THE ONLY BAD GUYS IN THE
BALKANS AND THE PORTRAYAL OF THEM BY THE WESTERN MEDIA AS BARBARIC
SAVAGES COMPRIMIZED ATTEMPTS BY THE WESTERN POWERS TO DEAL WITH THESE
ISSUES OBJECTIVELY.
THESE EXAMPLES DEMONSTRATE HOW WESTERN DIPLOMATIC INEPTITUDE ENSURED
THAT THE BREAKUP OF YUGOSLAVIA WOULD BE ACCOMPANIED BY LARGE SCALE
KILLING AND THE DISPLACEMENT OF ETHNIC POPULATIONS.YUGOSLAVIA WAS AN
AVOIDABLE WAR.IT WAS MADE UNAVOIDABLE BY THE CYNICAL NATURE OF WESTERN
DIPLOMATIC INTERVENTION.
KOSOVO, HOWEVER, PRESENTS AN ENTIRELY DIFFERENT SCENARIO. KOSOVO WAS NOT
THE RESULT OF DIPLOMATIC FAILURE. SERIOUS DIPLOMATIC EFFORTS WERE NOT
TRIED. NATO UNDER THE LEADERSHIP OF THE UNITED STATES CHOSE TO DISCARD
ANY SERIOUS ATTEMPT AT FINDING A DIPLOMATIC SOLUTION IN FAVOR OF USING
FORCE AND VIOLENCE. BOMBING WAS THE INSTURMENT OF CHOICE.
THE TERMS OF THE ULTIMATION ISSUED AT RAMBOUILLET WERE CLEARLY DESIGNED
TO ENSURE THAT THE SERBIAN SIDE WOULD FIND IT IMPOSSIBLE TO ACCEPT
THEM.THE TRICK WAS TO KEEP THE MEDDLESOME RUSSIANS AND THE UNITED
NATIONS OUT OF THE ACTION AND THUS AVOID THE RISK THAT DIPLOMATIC
OPTIONS MIGHT BE OFFERED WHICH WOULD HAVE AVOIDED THE USE OF DEADLY
FORCE. NATO NEEDED ITS WAR. THE ASUMPTION APPEARED TO BE THAT AFTER A
FEW DAYS OF BOMBING THE YUGOSLAVS WOULD BE FORCED TO ACCEPT THE TERMS OF
RAMBOUILLET.
AS THE BOMBING CONTINUED NATO WAS FORCED TO SWITCH ITS TARGETTING TO THE
CIVILIAN INFRASTRUCTURE. PUBLIC OPINION IN THE EUROPEAN COUNTRIES BEGAN
TO OPPOSE THE WAR.NATO BECAME DESPERATE TO FIND A WAY OUT OF THE MESS
THEY HAD CREATED. THE ALLIANCE THAT HAD REJECTED DIPLOMACY AS AN OPTION
WAS FORCED IRONICALLY TO FIND A DIPLOMATIC SOLUTION. EVEN MORE
IRONICALLY, THEY HAD TO TURN TO THE RUSSIANS AND THE UNITED NATIONS TO
FIX IT FOR THEM.
THIS WAS DONE BY GETTING NATO TO DROP THE TWO CONDITIONS THEY HAD
INCLUDED AT RAMBOUILLET FOR THE PURPOSE OF ENSURING A SERB REJECTION;
NAMELY, THE ACCEPTANCE OF NATO TROOPS THROUGHOUT YUGOSLAVIA AND THE
HOLDING OF A REFERENDUM ON AUTONOMY FOR KOSOVO. WHEN NATO DROPPED THE
TWO CONDITIONS THAT HAD CAUSED THE WAR, MILOSOVIC READILY ACCEPTED THE
PEACE TERMS OUTLINED BY UNITED NATIONS RESOLUTION 1244. SO MUCH FOR THE
NATO VICTORY!
I AM AFRAID THAT JUST AS NATO MISMANAGED THE WAR IN KOSOVO THEY WILL
MISMANAGE THE PEACE. THE EVENTS THAT HAVE TAKEN PLACE THERE SINCE THE
FIGHTING STOPPED IS NOT ENCOURAGING.DESPITE THE PRESENCE OF 40,000 NATO
AND UN FORCES, MURDER AND KIDNAPPING, BURNING OF CHURCHES AND THE ETHNIC
CLEANSING OF SERBS, ROMANS AND MUSLIM SLAVS CONTINUES ALMOST ON A DAILY
BASIS. IT SEEMS EVIDENT THAT IT IS THE KLA NOT NATO OR THE UN THAT IS
GOVERNING KOSOVO.
THE STABILITY OF THE BALKANS HAS NEVER BEEN SO PRECARIOUS. ALBANIAN
DREAMS OF UNITING ALL OF THEIR PEOPLE IN ONE TERRITORY HAS BEEN
ENCOURAGED BY THE KOSOVO DEBACLE.THE FORMER REPUBLIC OF MACEDONIA WITH
ITS LARGE ALBANIAN POPULATION IS A POTENTIAL POWDER KEG.THE ALBANIANS
ARE INCREASING DEMANDS FORFOR SELF-DETERMINATION AND POSSIBLE SECESSION.
SERBIA, CRIPPLED ECONOMICALLY AND PSYCHOLOGICALLY IS FESTERING WITH
BITTERNESS AND HOSTILITY.ENCUMBERED BY A GOVERNMENT INCREASINGLY
ISOLATED FROM THE PEOPLE AND DESPERATE TO REMAIN IN POWER BY ANY MEANS,
THE COUNTRY IS RIPE FOR CIVIL WAR. IT STILL HAS ONE OF THE MOST POWERFUL
ARMIES IN EUROPE. SHOULD RELATIONS WITH MONTENEGRO CONTINUE TO
DETERIORATE WE COULD SEE ANOTHER ARMED CONFLICT BREAKOUT WITH ALL OF THE
TERRIBLE CONSEQUENCES OF INTERNECINE STUGGLE.
GIVEN THE TRACK RECORD OF THE WESTERN DEMOCRACIES IN YUGOSLAVIA I AM NOT
OPTIMISTIC THAT THEY WILL RESPOND TO THE CHALLENGES THERE WITH GOOD
SENSE AND GOOD DIPLOMACY. THEIR TENDENCY TO OVER SIMPLIFY COMPLICATED
SITUATIONS, THEIR COMPULSION TO IDENTIFY FOR TV AUDIENCES GOOD GUYS AND
BAD GUYS, THEIR AVOIDANCE OF TELLING THE TRUTH TO THEIR OWN CITIZENS
ABOUT THE REAL ISSUES. THESE CHARACTERISTICS OF OUR PRESENT DAY
LEADERSHIP DO NOT INSPIRE ME WITH HOPE ABOUT THE FUTURE OF THE BALKANS.
EVEN MORE DISTURBING IS THE REALITY THAT IN OUR NEW UNIPOLAR WORLD THE
OVERWHELMING MILITARY POWER OF THE UNITED STATES SEEMS TO LEAD IT
INEVITABLY TO RESORT TO FORCE IN THE RESOLUTION OF INTERNATIONAL
DISPUTES RATHER THAN TO USE ITS STRENGTH AND INFLUENCE TO BRING ABOUT
JUST AND EQUITABLE SOLUTIONS.WHY GO THROUGH THE DIFFICULT AND LENGTHY
PROCESS OF DIPLOMATIC NEGOTIATIONS WHEN YOU CAN THREATEN TO BOMB FROM
15000 FEET WITH NO RISK OF AMERICAN CASUALTIES?
AS A LONG-RANGE POLICY THISAPPROACH COULD BE DISASTEROUS.HISTORY
ENDURES AND POWER RELATIONSHIPS CHANGE.NOBODY RESPECTS A BULLY OR
ADMIRES SOMEONE THAT DOESN’T PLAY BY THE RULES. AS THE SAYING GOES,
"WHAT GOES AROUND COMES AROUND."THERE WILL INEVITABLY BE A DAY WHEN THE
UNITED STATES WILL WANT TO BE ABLE TO RELY ON AN INTERNATIONAL SECURITY
FRAMEWORK THAT IS FAIR AND ABIDES BY THE RULE OF LAW.
I THINK WE CAN LEARN FROM KOSOVO. LET US NOT TURN OUR BACKS ON THE
PRINCIPLES THAT HAVE SERVED US SO WELL IN THE PAST. LET US ABIDE BY THE
RULES OF THE UN CHARTER EVEN WHILE WE STRIVE TO REFORM THAT BODY. LET US
BE RELUCTANT TO INTERVENE IN THE DOMESTIC AFFAIRS OF A SOVEREIGN STATE
WITHOUT SECURITY COUNCIL OR GENERAL ASSEMBLY APPROVAL. LET US TRY TO
STAY OUT OF CIVIL WARS UNLESS OUR OWN VITAL INTERESTS ARE AT STAKE OR IF
WE MUST INTERVENE LET US DO SO OBJECTIVELY IN AN EFFORT TO RESOLVE THE
DISPUTE BY PEACEFUL MEANS.
I WOULD HOPE THAT KOSOVO HAS TAUGHT US TO BE MORE DEMANDING OF OUR
POLITICAL LEADERS. IN THE CASE OF MY OWN COUNTRY CANADIANS WOKE UP ONE
MORNING LAST MARCH TO FIND THAT CANADIAN PILOTS WERE BOMBING YUGOSLAVIA.
THERE HAD BEEN NO DECLARATION OF WAR, NO DEBATE IN OUR PARLIAMENT. WE
WERE BOMBING A COUNTRY THAT PRESENTED NO THREAT TO CANADA. A COUNTRY
THAT HAD FOUGHT ALONG SIDE OF US IN TWO WORLD WARS.THE VAST MAJORITY OF
CANADIANS HAD NO IDEAOF WHERE KOSOVO WAS OR WHAT WERE THE ISSUES.
WE WERE ASKED TO SIMPLY ACCEPT THE FACT THAT WE WERE ON THE SIDE OF THE
GOOD GUYS.AFTER ALL WE WERE A DEMOCRACY AND COULD NOT STAND BY WHILE
THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE WERE BEING MURDERED IN KOSOVO.
MOREOVER WE WERE PART OF THE NATO TEAM AND EVERYONE KNEW THAT NATO WAS
THERE TO REPRESENT THE RULE OF LAW, DEMOCRACY AND THE PRINCIPLES OF THE
UNITED NATIONS CHARTER. IF WE WERE BOMBING FELLOW HUMAN BEINGS IN
BELGRADE, NOVI SAD OR PANCEVO AT LEAST WE WERE DOING IT FOR HUMANITARIAN
REASONS SO IT MUST BE OK.THIS IS THE MESSAGE THE CANADIAN POLITICAL
LEADERS WERE TELLING CANADIANS ABOUT KOSOVO.I FOUND THIS PRETTY
DISTURBING STUFF.
I THINK KOSOVO SHOULD HAVE ALSO TAUGHT US TO ACCEPT THE REALITY THAT
THOSE WHO STRUGGLE FOR SELF- DETERMINATION ARE STRUGGLING FOR TERRITORY.
THE ONE IS INTRINSICALLY BOUND UP WITH THE OTHER. PRESIDENT HAVEL OF THE
CZECH REPUBLIC RECEIVED A STANDING OVATION IN THE CANADIAN PARLIAMENT
WHEN HE DECLARED THAT KOSOVO WAS THE FIRST WAR IN HISTORY FOUGHT FOR
HUMAN VALUES RATHER THAN TERITORY. HE WAS WRONG. THE STRUGGLE IN KOSOVO
WAS ALL ABOUT TERRITORY AND WHO SHOULD CONTROL IT –SERBS OR ALBANIANS.
THAT STRUGGLE IS NOT YET SETTLED.
--------- COORDINAMENTO ROMANO PER LA JUGOSLAVIA -----------
RIMSKI SAVEZ ZA JUGOSLAVIJU
e-mail: crj@... - URL: http://marx2001.org/crj
http://www.egroups.com/group/crj-mailinglist/
------------------------------------------------------------
SPEAKING NOTES: CONGRESSIONAL HEARING
I AM PLEASED FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO APPEAR BEFORE YOU TODAY. AS A FORMER
CANADIAN DIPLOMAT IT IS A SPECIAL PRIVILEGE TO HAVE BEEN INVITED BY
CONGRESSMAN KUCINICH TO SPEAK TO YOU ABOUT KOSOVO.
I BELIEVE THAT NATO’S MILITARY INTERVENTION IN YUGOSLAVIA LAST YEAR WAS
A DREADFUL MISTAKE. INDEED I WOULD CHARACTERIZE IT AS A HISTORICAL
MISCALCULATION. A MISCALCULATION THAT WILL HAVE SERIOUS LONG-RANGE
IMPLICATIONS FOR THE FRAMEWORK OF INTERNATIONAL PEACE AND SECURITY.
KOSOVO MARKS A TURNING POINT FOR THE NATO COUNTRIES. THEY CHOSE TO
ABANDON THE FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES UPON WHICH THE ALLIANCE WAS FOUNDED.
THE IMPLICATIONS OF THIS FOR ALL OF US ARE SERIOUS AND FOREBODING.
WHEN PRINCIPLES ARE ABANDONED WHAT REMAINS IS EXPEDIENCYAND
OPORTUNISM.THESE ARE NOT SUITABLE PILLARS UPON WHICH A VIABLE ALLIANCE
CAN BE SUSTAINED.
AS A PRACTICING DIPLOMAT WHO SERVED HIS COUNTRY FOR 37 YEARS I DO NOT
CONSIDER MYSELF A WIDE-EYED IDEALIST. NEVERTHELESS, I AM A STRONG
BELIEVER IN DEMOCRACY.I DO RESPECT THE RULE OF LAW, I BELIEVE IN HUMAN
RIGHTS AND HAVE STRONGLY DEFENDED ALL OF THE BASIC PRINCIPLES THAT MY
COUNTRY AND YOURS HAVE STOOD FOR AND FOUGHT FOR THROUGH SO MANY YEARS.
NATO’S BOMBING OF YUGOSLAVIA SHATTERED THOSE BASIC PRINCIPLES. NOT ONLY
WAS THE BOMBING ILLEGAL AND CONTRARY TO EVERY PRECEPT OF INTERNATIONAL
LAW BUT IT WAS A DIRECT CONTRADICTION OF ARTICLE ONE OF NATO’S OWN
TREATY, WHICH STATES UNIQUIVICALLY THAT NATO WILL NEVER USE FORCE OR
INDEED EVEN THREATEN TO USE FORCE TO RESOLVE INTERNATIONAL DISPUTES.
ARTICLE ONE OF THE TREATY ALSO EMPHASIZES NATO’S COMMITMENT TO
INTERNATIONAL PEACE, SECURITY AND JUSTICE AND ITS ADHERENCE TO THE
PRINCIPLES OF THE UN CHARTER. ALL OF THIS WAS CYNICALLY CAST ASIDE BY
THE NATO MILITARY STRIKE AGAINST YUGOSLAVIA.
NATO BROKE ALL THE GROUND RULES IN KOSOVO.ITS AGGRESSIVE MILITARY
INTERVENTION INTO THE AFFAIRS OF A SOVEREIGN STATE WITHOUT SECURITY
COUNCIL OR AT LEAST UN GENERAL ASSEMBLY AUTHORITY MARKED AN OMINOUS
TURNING POINT IN THE CONDUCT OF INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS.
TO MANY PEOPLE IN THE FREE WORLD [AND I INCLUDE MYSELF AMONG THESE] NATO
WAS MORE THAN JUST A STRONG MILITARY POWER ACTING AS THE FIRST LINE OF
DEFENCE AGAINST COMMUNIST TYRANNY. IT WAS AN ORGANIZATION THAT STOOD FOR
THE RULE OF LAW, FOR DEMOCRATIC INSTITUTIONS… FOR ALL OF THOSE THINGS
THAT DISTINGUISHED THE WESTERN DEMOCRACIES FROM THE COMMUNIST AND NAZI
DICTATORSHIPS.
NATO WAS A POWERFUL MORAL FORCE.IT ACTED AS A SYMBOL OF HOPE FOR THE
CIVILIZED WORLD. A SYMBOL OF HOPE NOT ONLY FOR THOSE OF US IN THE WEST
BUT ALSO FOR THE MILLIONS CAUGHT BEHIND THE IRON CURTAIN AND FOR MANY
OTHERS AROUND THE GLOBE.
THE BOMBING OF YUGOSLAVIA DESTROYED THAT SYMBOL. NOW WE HAVE LOST THE
MORAL HIGH GROUND. OUR NEW SET OF POLITICAL LEADERS, THE CLINTONS, THE
BLAIRS, THE SCHROEDERS, THE CHRETIENS, HAVE PROVEN THEMSELVES TO HAVE
ABOUT AS MUCH RESPECT FOR THE RULE OF LAW AND THE TRUTH AS THE FORMER
COMMUNIST PARTY BOSSES OF THE OLD SOVIET EMPIRE.THIS IS THE REAL TRAGEDY
OF KOSOVO.
. OUR POLITICAL LEADERS LIED TO US ABOUT KOSOVO. WE WERE TOLD THAT MASS
MURDERS WERE TAKING PLACE THERE. YOUR SECRETARY OF DEFENCE, MR. COHEN
TOLD US THAT 100,000 ALBANIAN KOSOVARS HAD PERISHED. TONY BLAIR, THE
BRITISH PRIME MINISTER, SPOKE OF GENOCIDE. WE WERE LED TO BELIEVE THAT
MILOSOVIC WAS PLANNING TO ETHNICALLY CLEANSE ALL OF THE ALBANIANS FROM
KOSOVO THROUGH A DEVILISH PLAN CODE-NAMED "OPERATION HORSESHOE."
WE WERE TOLD THAT A MASSACRE OF 45 ALBANIAN CIVILIANS HAD OCURRED IN
THE VILLAGE OF RACAK. INDEED IT WAS THIS INCIDENT THAT SPARKED THE
SUBSEQUENT BOMBING CAMPAIGN.WE WERE ALSO TOLD THAT THE BOMBING CAMPAIGN
HAD INFLICTED A CRIPPLING DEFEAT ON THE SERB WAR MACHINE. NATO SPOKES
PEOPLE AND MUCH OF THE MEDIA CONTINUE TO HAIL THE BOMBING OF YUGOSLAVIA
AS A TRIUMPHANT VICTORY.
THESE ARE LIES. WE NOW KNOW THAT THE TOTAL CASUALTIES IN KOSOVO BEFORE
THE BOMBING [BOTH ALBANIAN AND SERB] AMOUNTED TO APPROXIMATELY 2000.THIS
IS HARDLY MASS MURDER OR GENOCIDE AND NOT A SURPRISING FIGURE GIVEN THAT
AN ARMED REBELLION HAD BEEN TAKING PLACE IN KOSOVO FOR SEVERAL YEARS.
THE SO-CALLED, "OPERATION HORSESHOE," HAS BEEN REVEALED AS A COMPLETE
FALSEHOOD FABRICATED BY THE GERMAN DEFENCE MINISTER RUDOLPH SCHARPING TO
SWING FALTERING GERMAN PUBLIC OPINION BEHIND THE BOMBING CAMPAIGN.THERE
IS NOT A SHRED OF EVIDENCE TO SUGGEST THAT MILOSOVIC PLANNED BEFORE THE
BOMBING TO CLEANSE KOSOVO OF ITS ALBANIAN POPULATION.
FURTHERMORE, IT NOW SEEMS THAT THE RACAK MASSACRE MAY NEVER HAVE
HAPPENED.FROM THE OUTSET THERE HAS BEEN STRONG SUSPICION THAT THIS
INCIDENT HAD BEEN ENGINEERED BY THE KLA TO APPEAR AS AN EXECUTION OF
INNOCENT CIVILIANS.FRENCH JOURNALISTS ON THE GROUND CHALLENGED GENERAL
WALKERS DECLARATION THAT A MASSACRE HAD TAKEN PLACE.
MORE RECENTLY ON MARCH 24 OF THIS YEAR, GERMAN INVESTIGATIVE REPORTERS
FROM THE BERLIN ZEITUNG HAVE WRITTEN THAT AUTOPSY REPORTS TO WHICH THEY
HAVE GAINED ACCESS REVEAL NO EVIDENCE OF THE VICTIMS HAVING BEEN
EXECUTED AT CLOSE RANGE.
AS FOR NATO’s AIR WAR VICTORY OVER THE SERB ARMY WE KNOW FROM A
SUPRESSED US AIRFORCE REPORT PUBLICIZED IN THE MAY 15 ISSUE OF NEWSWEEK
MAGAZINE THAT THE NUMBER OF MILITARY TARGETS DESTROYED BY NATO AIR
STRIKES, "WAS A TINY FRACTION OF THOSE CLAIMED." THE REPORT DECLARED
THERE WERE ONLY 58 CONFIRMED STRIKES BY NATO PILOTS NOT THE PREVIOUSLY
744 AS CLAIMED BY NATO.
I AM SORRY TO SAY I FULLY EXPECT WE WILL FIND AS TIME GOES BY THAT MORE
LIES AND FALSEHOODS WILL BE REVEALED ABOUT THE KOSOVO WAR.
THE REALIZATION THAT OUR POLITICAL LEADERS CANNOT BE TRUSTED TO TELL
THE TRUTH MAY NOT COME AS A COMPLETE SURPRISE TO THOSE OF YOU FAMILIAR
WITH THE POLITICAL PROCESS. NEVERTHELESS IT IS NOT A COMFORTING THOUGHT.
IT IS ESPECIALLY DISTRESSING WHEN THE LIES INVOLVE FOREIGN POLICY
ISSUES. THESE ARE ISSUES FREQUENTLY DEALING WITH MATTERS OF LIFE AND
DEATH, OF WAR AND PEACE, OF THE DESTRUCTION OF CITIES AND THE
DISPLACEMENT OF PEOPLE AND OF THE WELLBEING OF OUR OWN SONS AND
DAUGHTERS WHO SERVE IN THE MILITARY FORCES.
AS THE CANADIAN AMBASSADOR TO YUGOSLAVIA FROM 1990 TO1992 I WITNESSED AT
FIRST HAND HOW WESTERN DIPLOMATIC INEPTITUDE AND CLUMSINESS HASTENED THE
BREAKUP OF YUGOSLAVIA AND CONTRIBUTED TO THE DREADFUL VIOLENCE AND
BLOODSHED THAT FOLLOWED THE DISINTEGRATION OF THE COUNTRY. HERE ARE A
FEW EXAMPLES:
THE FINANCIAL AND MILITARY SUPPORT GIVEN TO THE SEPERATIST
REPUBLICS BY SOME WESTERN GOVERNMENTS WHICH ENCOURAGED THEM TO BREAK
AWAY BY FORCEFUL MEANS WITHOUT ANY SERIOUS ATTEMPT AT NEGOTIATING THE
TERMS OF SECESSION IN A NON-VIOLENT MANNER.
THE PREMATURE RECOGNITION OF SLOVENIA AND CROATIA BEFORE ANY
GUARANTEES OF CIVIL AND HUMAN RIGHTS WERE GIVEN TO THE SERBIAN
POPULATION OF CROATIA WHICH, BECAUSE OF THE HORRENDOUS EVENTS THAT
OCURRED THERE DURING THE SECOND WORLD WAR, MADE CIVIL WAR INEVITABLE.
. THE ENCOURAGEMENT OF ALIA IZETBEGOVIC TO WITHDRAW HIS
SIGNATURE FROM THE SO-CALLED LISBON AGREEMENT AND TO PROCEED WITH A
REFERENDUM ON INDEPENDENCE IN BOSNIA WHICH EVERYONE KNEW WOULD LEAD TO
THE DEATH AND DISPLACEMENT OF THOUSANDS.
THE EARLY IDENTIFICATION OF THE SERBS AS THE ONLY BAD GUYS IN THE
BALKANS AND THE PORTRAYAL OF THEM BY THE WESTERN MEDIA AS BARBARIC
SAVAGES COMPRIMIZED ATTEMPTS BY THE WESTERN POWERS TO DEAL WITH THESE
ISSUES OBJECTIVELY.
THESE EXAMPLES DEMONSTRATE HOW WESTERN DIPLOMATIC INEPTITUDE ENSURED
THAT THE BREAKUP OF YUGOSLAVIA WOULD BE ACCOMPANIED BY LARGE SCALE
KILLING AND THE DISPLACEMENT OF ETHNIC POPULATIONS.YUGOSLAVIA WAS AN
AVOIDABLE WAR.IT WAS MADE UNAVOIDABLE BY THE CYNICAL NATURE OF WESTERN
DIPLOMATIC INTERVENTION.
KOSOVO, HOWEVER, PRESENTS AN ENTIRELY DIFFERENT SCENARIO. KOSOVO WAS NOT
THE RESULT OF DIPLOMATIC FAILURE. SERIOUS DIPLOMATIC EFFORTS WERE NOT
TRIED. NATO UNDER THE LEADERSHIP OF THE UNITED STATES CHOSE TO DISCARD
ANY SERIOUS ATTEMPT AT FINDING A DIPLOMATIC SOLUTION IN FAVOR OF USING
FORCE AND VIOLENCE. BOMBING WAS THE INSTURMENT OF CHOICE.
THE TERMS OF THE ULTIMATION ISSUED AT RAMBOUILLET WERE CLEARLY DESIGNED
TO ENSURE THAT THE SERBIAN SIDE WOULD FIND IT IMPOSSIBLE TO ACCEPT
THEM.THE TRICK WAS TO KEEP THE MEDDLESOME RUSSIANS AND THE UNITED
NATIONS OUT OF THE ACTION AND THUS AVOID THE RISK THAT DIPLOMATIC
OPTIONS MIGHT BE OFFERED WHICH WOULD HAVE AVOIDED THE USE OF DEADLY
FORCE. NATO NEEDED ITS WAR. THE ASUMPTION APPEARED TO BE THAT AFTER A
FEW DAYS OF BOMBING THE YUGOSLAVS WOULD BE FORCED TO ACCEPT THE TERMS OF
RAMBOUILLET.
AS THE BOMBING CONTINUED NATO WAS FORCED TO SWITCH ITS TARGETTING TO THE
CIVILIAN INFRASTRUCTURE. PUBLIC OPINION IN THE EUROPEAN COUNTRIES BEGAN
TO OPPOSE THE WAR.NATO BECAME DESPERATE TO FIND A WAY OUT OF THE MESS
THEY HAD CREATED. THE ALLIANCE THAT HAD REJECTED DIPLOMACY AS AN OPTION
WAS FORCED IRONICALLY TO FIND A DIPLOMATIC SOLUTION. EVEN MORE
IRONICALLY, THEY HAD TO TURN TO THE RUSSIANS AND THE UNITED NATIONS TO
FIX IT FOR THEM.
THIS WAS DONE BY GETTING NATO TO DROP THE TWO CONDITIONS THEY HAD
INCLUDED AT RAMBOUILLET FOR THE PURPOSE OF ENSURING A SERB REJECTION;
NAMELY, THE ACCEPTANCE OF NATO TROOPS THROUGHOUT YUGOSLAVIA AND THE
HOLDING OF A REFERENDUM ON AUTONOMY FOR KOSOVO. WHEN NATO DROPPED THE
TWO CONDITIONS THAT HAD CAUSED THE WAR, MILOSOVIC READILY ACCEPTED THE
PEACE TERMS OUTLINED BY UNITED NATIONS RESOLUTION 1244. SO MUCH FOR THE
NATO VICTORY!
I AM AFRAID THAT JUST AS NATO MISMANAGED THE WAR IN KOSOVO THEY WILL
MISMANAGE THE PEACE. THE EVENTS THAT HAVE TAKEN PLACE THERE SINCE THE
FIGHTING STOPPED IS NOT ENCOURAGING.DESPITE THE PRESENCE OF 40,000 NATO
AND UN FORCES, MURDER AND KIDNAPPING, BURNING OF CHURCHES AND THE ETHNIC
CLEANSING OF SERBS, ROMANS AND MUSLIM SLAVS CONTINUES ALMOST ON A DAILY
BASIS. IT SEEMS EVIDENT THAT IT IS THE KLA NOT NATO OR THE UN THAT IS
GOVERNING KOSOVO.
THE STABILITY OF THE BALKANS HAS NEVER BEEN SO PRECARIOUS. ALBANIAN
DREAMS OF UNITING ALL OF THEIR PEOPLE IN ONE TERRITORY HAS BEEN
ENCOURAGED BY THE KOSOVO DEBACLE.THE FORMER REPUBLIC OF MACEDONIA WITH
ITS LARGE ALBANIAN POPULATION IS A POTENTIAL POWDER KEG.THE ALBANIANS
ARE INCREASING DEMANDS FORFOR SELF-DETERMINATION AND POSSIBLE SECESSION.
SERBIA, CRIPPLED ECONOMICALLY AND PSYCHOLOGICALLY IS FESTERING WITH
BITTERNESS AND HOSTILITY.ENCUMBERED BY A GOVERNMENT INCREASINGLY
ISOLATED FROM THE PEOPLE AND DESPERATE TO REMAIN IN POWER BY ANY MEANS,
THE COUNTRY IS RIPE FOR CIVIL WAR. IT STILL HAS ONE OF THE MOST POWERFUL
ARMIES IN EUROPE. SHOULD RELATIONS WITH MONTENEGRO CONTINUE TO
DETERIORATE WE COULD SEE ANOTHER ARMED CONFLICT BREAKOUT WITH ALL OF THE
TERRIBLE CONSEQUENCES OF INTERNECINE STUGGLE.
GIVEN THE TRACK RECORD OF THE WESTERN DEMOCRACIES IN YUGOSLAVIA I AM NOT
OPTIMISTIC THAT THEY WILL RESPOND TO THE CHALLENGES THERE WITH GOOD
SENSE AND GOOD DIPLOMACY. THEIR TENDENCY TO OVER SIMPLIFY COMPLICATED
SITUATIONS, THEIR COMPULSION TO IDENTIFY FOR TV AUDIENCES GOOD GUYS AND
BAD GUYS, THEIR AVOIDANCE OF TELLING THE TRUTH TO THEIR OWN CITIZENS
ABOUT THE REAL ISSUES. THESE CHARACTERISTICS OF OUR PRESENT DAY
LEADERSHIP DO NOT INSPIRE ME WITH HOPE ABOUT THE FUTURE OF THE BALKANS.
EVEN MORE DISTURBING IS THE REALITY THAT IN OUR NEW UNIPOLAR WORLD THE
OVERWHELMING MILITARY POWER OF THE UNITED STATES SEEMS TO LEAD IT
INEVITABLY TO RESORT TO FORCE IN THE RESOLUTION OF INTERNATIONAL
DISPUTES RATHER THAN TO USE ITS STRENGTH AND INFLUENCE TO BRING ABOUT
JUST AND EQUITABLE SOLUTIONS.WHY GO THROUGH THE DIFFICULT AND LENGTHY
PROCESS OF DIPLOMATIC NEGOTIATIONS WHEN YOU CAN THREATEN TO BOMB FROM
15000 FEET WITH NO RISK OF AMERICAN CASUALTIES?
AS A LONG-RANGE POLICY THISAPPROACH COULD BE DISASTEROUS.HISTORY
ENDURES AND POWER RELATIONSHIPS CHANGE.NOBODY RESPECTS A BULLY OR
ADMIRES SOMEONE THAT DOESN’T PLAY BY THE RULES. AS THE SAYING GOES,
"WHAT GOES AROUND COMES AROUND."THERE WILL INEVITABLY BE A DAY WHEN THE
UNITED STATES WILL WANT TO BE ABLE TO RELY ON AN INTERNATIONAL SECURITY
FRAMEWORK THAT IS FAIR AND ABIDES BY THE RULE OF LAW.
I THINK WE CAN LEARN FROM KOSOVO. LET US NOT TURN OUR BACKS ON THE
PRINCIPLES THAT HAVE SERVED US SO WELL IN THE PAST. LET US ABIDE BY THE
RULES OF THE UN CHARTER EVEN WHILE WE STRIVE TO REFORM THAT BODY. LET US
BE RELUCTANT TO INTERVENE IN THE DOMESTIC AFFAIRS OF A SOVEREIGN STATE
WITHOUT SECURITY COUNCIL OR GENERAL ASSEMBLY APPROVAL. LET US TRY TO
STAY OUT OF CIVIL WARS UNLESS OUR OWN VITAL INTERESTS ARE AT STAKE OR IF
WE MUST INTERVENE LET US DO SO OBJECTIVELY IN AN EFFORT TO RESOLVE THE
DISPUTE BY PEACEFUL MEANS.
I WOULD HOPE THAT KOSOVO HAS TAUGHT US TO BE MORE DEMANDING OF OUR
POLITICAL LEADERS. IN THE CASE OF MY OWN COUNTRY CANADIANS WOKE UP ONE
MORNING LAST MARCH TO FIND THAT CANADIAN PILOTS WERE BOMBING YUGOSLAVIA.
THERE HAD BEEN NO DECLARATION OF WAR, NO DEBATE IN OUR PARLIAMENT. WE
WERE BOMBING A COUNTRY THAT PRESENTED NO THREAT TO CANADA. A COUNTRY
THAT HAD FOUGHT ALONG SIDE OF US IN TWO WORLD WARS.THE VAST MAJORITY OF
CANADIANS HAD NO IDEAOF WHERE KOSOVO WAS OR WHAT WERE THE ISSUES.
WE WERE ASKED TO SIMPLY ACCEPT THE FACT THAT WE WERE ON THE SIDE OF THE
GOOD GUYS.AFTER ALL WE WERE A DEMOCRACY AND COULD NOT STAND BY WHILE
THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE WERE BEING MURDERED IN KOSOVO.
MOREOVER WE WERE PART OF THE NATO TEAM AND EVERYONE KNEW THAT NATO WAS
THERE TO REPRESENT THE RULE OF LAW, DEMOCRACY AND THE PRINCIPLES OF THE
UNITED NATIONS CHARTER. IF WE WERE BOMBING FELLOW HUMAN BEINGS IN
BELGRADE, NOVI SAD OR PANCEVO AT LEAST WE WERE DOING IT FOR HUMANITARIAN
REASONS SO IT MUST BE OK.THIS IS THE MESSAGE THE CANADIAN POLITICAL
LEADERS WERE TELLING CANADIANS ABOUT KOSOVO.I FOUND THIS PRETTY
DISTURBING STUFF.
I THINK KOSOVO SHOULD HAVE ALSO TAUGHT US TO ACCEPT THE REALITY THAT
THOSE WHO STRUGGLE FOR SELF- DETERMINATION ARE STRUGGLING FOR TERRITORY.
THE ONE IS INTRINSICALLY BOUND UP WITH THE OTHER. PRESIDENT HAVEL OF THE
CZECH REPUBLIC RECEIVED A STANDING OVATION IN THE CANADIAN PARLIAMENT
WHEN HE DECLARED THAT KOSOVO WAS THE FIRST WAR IN HISTORY FOUGHT FOR
HUMAN VALUES RATHER THAN TERITORY. HE WAS WRONG. THE STRUGGLE IN KOSOVO
WAS ALL ABOUT TERRITORY AND WHO SHOULD CONTROL IT –SERBS OR ALBANIANS.
THAT STRUGGLE IS NOT YET SETTLED.
--------- COORDINAMENTO ROMANO PER LA JUGOSLAVIA -----------
RIMSKI SAVEZ ZA JUGOSLAVIJU
e-mail: crj@... - URL: http://marx2001.org/crj
http://www.egroups.com/group/crj-mailinglist/
------------------------------------------------------------
1. http://www.egroups.com/message/crj-mailinglist/356?&start=330
IN THE INFORMATION WAR, A VICTORY FOR PEACE
Reflections on the one year anniversary of the US/NATO bombing of
Yugoslavia
Text of a speech given to Dayton Peace Action, Dayton, Ohio, 3/21/00
By Geoff Berne
2. http://www.egroups.com/message/crj-mailinglist/357
THE FATAL FLAWS UNDERLYING NATO'S INTERVENTION IN YUGOSLAVIA
By Lt Gen Satish Nambiar (Retd.)
(First Force Commander and Head of Mission of the United Nations Forces
deployed in the former Yugoslavia 03 Mar92 to 02 Mar 93. Former Deputy
Chief of Staff, Indian Army. Currently, Director of the United Services
Insitution of India.)
6 April 1999
3. http://www.egroups.com/message/crj-mailinglist/358
George Kenney
HOW MEDIA MISINFORMATION LED TO BOSNIAN INTERVENTION
in "Living Marxism" (London), April, 1997
4. http://www.egroups.com/message/crj-mailinglist/359
JAMES BISSETT in front of the US Congress, July 19, 2000:
SPEAKING NOTES: CONGRESSIONAL HEARING
--------- COORDINAMENTO ROMANO PER LA JUGOSLAVIA -----------
RIMSKI SAVEZ ZA JUGOSLAVIJU
e-mail: crj@... - URL: http://marx2001.org/crj
http://www.egroups.com/group/crj-mailinglist/
------------------------------------------------------------
IN THE INFORMATION WAR, A VICTORY FOR PEACE
Reflections on the one year anniversary of the US/NATO bombing of
Yugoslavia
Text of a speech given to Dayton Peace Action, Dayton, Ohio, 3/21/00
By Geoff Berne
2. http://www.egroups.com/message/crj-mailinglist/357
THE FATAL FLAWS UNDERLYING NATO'S INTERVENTION IN YUGOSLAVIA
By Lt Gen Satish Nambiar (Retd.)
(First Force Commander and Head of Mission of the United Nations Forces
deployed in the former Yugoslavia 03 Mar92 to 02 Mar 93. Former Deputy
Chief of Staff, Indian Army. Currently, Director of the United Services
Insitution of India.)
6 April 1999
3. http://www.egroups.com/message/crj-mailinglist/358
George Kenney
HOW MEDIA MISINFORMATION LED TO BOSNIAN INTERVENTION
in "Living Marxism" (London), April, 1997
4. http://www.egroups.com/message/crj-mailinglist/359
JAMES BISSETT in front of the US Congress, July 19, 2000:
SPEAKING NOTES: CONGRESSIONAL HEARING
--------- COORDINAMENTO ROMANO PER LA JUGOSLAVIA -----------
RIMSKI SAVEZ ZA JUGOSLAVIJU
e-mail: crj@... - URL: http://marx2001.org/crj
http://www.egroups.com/group/crj-mailinglist/
------------------------------------------------------------
dhkc wrote:
>
> URGENT ACTION REQUIRED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
>
> Özgür
>
> TAYAD
>
> (Association for the Families of Prisoners in Turkey)
>
> July 26, 2000 No: 67
>
>
>
> ATTACK IN BERGAMA PRISON (TURKEY)
>
> Yesterday afternoon the Bergama Prison Administration wanted to carry
> out a search of the political prisoners? wards on the pretext that
> ?there is a tunnel?. Previously prison guards had carried out searches
> but this time there were soldiers. A court case had opened concerning
> the photographs of the prisoners in Burdur whose bodies show traces of
> torture, and the continual threats directed towards prisoners caused
> the prisoners to expect an attack.
>
> The Prison Prosecutor at the Izmir Bar said in an interview: ?The
> politicals accept searches under certain conditions. It is not
> possible for us to accept conditions. We will wait until morning. If a
> search is not carried out it will be necessary for something to be
> done,? thus showing that a massacre of the political prisoners in
> Bergama Prison was planned. At the moment there are soldiers,
> bulldozers, fire brigade vehicles and ambulances in front of the
> prison. The demands of families, friends and lawyers of the prisoners
> to see the prisoners have been refused, also the state security forces
> are deliberately using their sirens all through the night and all
> morning as a way of causing suffering to the relatives who are waiting
> in front of the prison gates.The reason for this is also to drown out
> the noise of the massacre. According to the latest information we
> received this morning at 0840, gunshots were hearnd and the roof of
> the prison has been pierced with holes. Also all the roads leading to
> the prison were blocked and the relatives of the prisoners were not
> allowed to come closer to the prison.
>
> The Prison Prosecutor is telling lies. We are asking: during the whole
> time the prison wardens carried out searches, why was it now necessary
> for soldiers to carry out the searches? Why are bulldozers, ambulances
> and fire engines kept in readiness in front of the prison? As you know
> we are familiar with such scenes. We witnessed the same scenario
> yesterday in Ulucanlar and Burdur. Are they now trying to convert
> Bergama into another Ulucanlar or Burdur?
>
> July 26, 2000 No 68
>
> ATTACK ON BERGAMA PRISON? LATEST
>
> This morning at 0705, as happened in Burdur Prison, hundreds of
> soldiers and police started an attack against the prisoners using
> bulldozers and gas bombs.
>
> At 1000, the walls of four dormitories were completely smashed by
> bulldozers. The captives retreated to another and continued to resist
> to defend themselves against torture and massacre.
>
> This attack has been planned step by step. Most recently, when the
> photographs of the captives from Burdur Prison who had been subjected
> to torture were published in the press, the Bergama Prison Governor
> Nedim Elbistan threatened the captives, ?I will skewer you and turn
> this place into Ulucanlar.?
>
> The savagery in Ulucanlar has still not been forgotten, and the entire
> world has noticed what was done to our children in Burdur Prison. The
> operation to massacre and torture, which was initiated in Bergama
> Prison, must immediately be halted.
>
> We call upon all those who are against torture to mobilise to stop the
> attack in Bergama.
--
--------- COORDINAMENTO ROMANO PER LA JUGOSLAVIA -----------
RIMSKI SAVEZ ZA JUGOSLAVIJU
e-mail: crj@... - URL: http://marx2001.org/crj
http://www.egroups.com/group/crj-mailinglist/
------------------------------------------------------------
>
> URGENT ACTION REQUIRED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
>
> Özgür
>
> TAYAD
>
> (Association for the Families of Prisoners in Turkey)
>
> July 26, 2000 No: 67
>
>
>
> ATTACK IN BERGAMA PRISON (TURKEY)
>
> Yesterday afternoon the Bergama Prison Administration wanted to carry
> out a search of the political prisoners? wards on the pretext that
> ?there is a tunnel?. Previously prison guards had carried out searches
> but this time there were soldiers. A court case had opened concerning
> the photographs of the prisoners in Burdur whose bodies show traces of
> torture, and the continual threats directed towards prisoners caused
> the prisoners to expect an attack.
>
> The Prison Prosecutor at the Izmir Bar said in an interview: ?The
> politicals accept searches under certain conditions. It is not
> possible for us to accept conditions. We will wait until morning. If a
> search is not carried out it will be necessary for something to be
> done,? thus showing that a massacre of the political prisoners in
> Bergama Prison was planned. At the moment there are soldiers,
> bulldozers, fire brigade vehicles and ambulances in front of the
> prison. The demands of families, friends and lawyers of the prisoners
> to see the prisoners have been refused, also the state security forces
> are deliberately using their sirens all through the night and all
> morning as a way of causing suffering to the relatives who are waiting
> in front of the prison gates.The reason for this is also to drown out
> the noise of the massacre. According to the latest information we
> received this morning at 0840, gunshots were hearnd and the roof of
> the prison has been pierced with holes. Also all the roads leading to
> the prison were blocked and the relatives of the prisoners were not
> allowed to come closer to the prison.
>
> The Prison Prosecutor is telling lies. We are asking: during the whole
> time the prison wardens carried out searches, why was it now necessary
> for soldiers to carry out the searches? Why are bulldozers, ambulances
> and fire engines kept in readiness in front of the prison? As you know
> we are familiar with such scenes. We witnessed the same scenario
> yesterday in Ulucanlar and Burdur. Are they now trying to convert
> Bergama into another Ulucanlar or Burdur?
>
> July 26, 2000 No 68
>
> ATTACK ON BERGAMA PRISON? LATEST
>
> This morning at 0705, as happened in Burdur Prison, hundreds of
> soldiers and police started an attack against the prisoners using
> bulldozers and gas bombs.
>
> At 1000, the walls of four dormitories were completely smashed by
> bulldozers. The captives retreated to another and continued to resist
> to defend themselves against torture and massacre.
>
> This attack has been planned step by step. Most recently, when the
> photographs of the captives from Burdur Prison who had been subjected
> to torture were published in the press, the Bergama Prison Governor
> Nedim Elbistan threatened the captives, ?I will skewer you and turn
> this place into Ulucanlar.?
>
> The savagery in Ulucanlar has still not been forgotten, and the entire
> world has noticed what was done to our children in Burdur Prison. The
> operation to massacre and torture, which was initiated in Bergama
> Prison, must immediately be halted.
>
> We call upon all those who are against torture to mobilise to stop the
> attack in Bergama.
--
--------- COORDINAMENTO ROMANO PER LA JUGOSLAVIA -----------
RIMSKI SAVEZ ZA JUGOSLAVIJU
e-mail: crj@... - URL: http://marx2001.org/crj
http://www.egroups.com/group/crj-mailinglist/
------------------------------------------------------------
>
> FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF YUGOSLAVIA
>
> FEDERAL GOVERNMENT
>
> P R I O R I T Y
>
> humanitarian needs of FR Yugoslavia
>
> Belgrade, June 2000
>
> P R I O R I T Y
> humanitarian needs of FR Yugoslavia
>
> 1. GENERAL OVERVIEW OF THE CURRENT
> HUMANITARIAN SITUATION
>
> 1. The consequences of years-long sanctions, their
> continuation in the form of the so-called outer wall of sanctions and
> unilateral sanctions of particular countries or groups of countries, as
> well as NATO aggression against FR Yugoslavia, have had serious economic
> and social consequences on our country's population, but also on refugees
> and internally displaced persons who have found shelter in it. The
> cumulative "direct and indirect" material damage inflicted by the sanctions
> and NATO bombardment for the 1992-2010 period amounts to US$ 250 billion.
> According to incomplete data, the damage inflicted by NATO bombardment
> amounts to over US$ 100 billion.
>
> The period of 79 days of bombardment has left grave consequences
> in the lives of the population. In NATO aggression, more than 2,000 people
> were killed, more than 6,000 were wounded, and many have become invalids
> forever. Three million children were directly threatened by non-selective
> bombing of housing communities. They account for 30 per cent of all killed
> and 40 per cent of all wounded persons.
>
> The material destruction of economic, transport and housing
> infrastructure, hospitals, health care institutions, school facilities, and
> especially the power utilities system, has brought about a grave
> humanitarian situation in the country. More than 200 towns and villages
> were systematically bombed. As a result of the bombing, 200-250,000 people
> have become jobless.
>
> Especially serious damages have been inflicted in the
> environmental field, with long-term consequences for the health of the
> population. A drastic example was the use of graphite bombs that caused the
> collapse in the electric power distribution system, leaving millions of
> households without electricity and water supply.
>
> 2. In view of the fact that the hardest hit by the bombing
> were income generating industries, namely, our traditional export
> capacities: raw materials, energy, food, FR Yugoslavia appeals for the
> expansion of the notion of humanitarian assistance, so that it may cover
> reconstruction and revitalization of infrastructure for the purpose of
> meeting the basic needs of the population. This implies priority
> restoration and reconstruction of damaged and destroyed railroads, roads,
> bridges, housing facilities, collective refugee centers, schools, health
> care institutions, heating plants and energy transmission systems, as well
> as the provision of direct assistance in energy sources. The difficult
> humanitarian situation cannot be overcome without a considerable assistance
> of international community, especially humanitarian organizations from the
> UN system, but also bilaterally, in the long run.
>
> At the same time, FR Yugoslavia is facing the hitherto unheard of
> political and other forms of pressure, under hypocritical pretext that this
> is being done in the interest of democratization and promotion of human
> rights. This particularly refers to the attempts to replace the current
> system of distribution of humanitarian assistance through UNHCR and state
> authorities with the provision of assistance through some international
> non-governmental organizations, which is unacceptable for us.
> 2. THE SITUATION OF REFUGEES AND DISPLACED PERSON IN FR YUGOSLAVIA
>
> 1. Refugees from Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina also share
> the fate of our population. FR Yugoslavia presently provides care to some
> 700,000 refugees, which makes our country the first by the number of
> refugees in Europe.
>
> The largest number of refugees (about 90%) have been accommodated
> with families and in private homes. Ten percent (10%) of refugees have been
> accommodated in 550 collective accommodation centers. The largest
> concentration of refugees is to be found in Vojvodina and the broader area
> of Belgrade.
>
> Most collective centers (former children's resorts, abandoned
> schools, territorial defense objects, workers' barracks, culture centers,
> cooperative centers and other abandoned facilities) do not have appropriate
> conditions and fall behind the basic hygienic-sanitary living standards.
> During the NATO aggression, serious damages were inflicted on a large
> number of collective centers, necessitating reconstruction and adaptation
> of the existing and opening of new collective centers. The adaptation of
> these facilities would require US$ 250-300 per person, which our country
> will not be able to provide on its own.
>
> At the same time, bearing in mind the difficult economic and
> social situation in the country, there is an obvious continuing pressure
> towards opening new collective accommodation centers. Namely, a growing
> number of refugees have been leaving the impoverished families and private
> accommodation and demand to be accommodated in collective centers. The
> largest amount of funds intended for accommodation of refugees originates
> from the republican and federal budgets. In the past eight years, FR
> Yugoslavia spent more than 5% of its GNP for covering costs of refugees -
> accommodation, food, clothing, footwear, health care and social welfare,
> and education. In the 1991-1999 period, US$ 10.5 billion were spent for
> these purposes. International humanitarian relief covers only 10 per cent
> of the overall refugee subsistence.
>
> The costs of providing care to refugees in collective centers
> (accommodation and food only) for 1999 amounted to about US$ 23 million, in
> which UNHCR accounted for US$ 9 million. For the year 2000, UNHCR has
> envisaged US$ 12 million for these purposes.
>
> Of the total number of the so-called old refugees, 200,000 are
> children under 18. It is necessary to provide funds for the costs of their
> stay in preschool institutions, as well as for their education in
> elementary and secondary schools. Also, considerable funds would need to be
> allocated for medical treatment of refugees, procurement of the necessary
> medicaments and orthopedic aids.
>
> Otherwise, for one month only, it is necessary to provide 1,252
> tons of foods and 275 tons of hygienic items for 950,000 people (refugees
> and internally displaced persons).
>
> 2. An almost negligible number of refugees have thus far
> returned to Bosnia-Herzegovina and Croatia due the failure to implement the
> Dayton Agreement (Annex 7) and the Agreement on Normalization of Relations
> between the FR Yugoslavia and Croatia by these two countries.
>
> The return to Bosnia-Herzegovina has had marginal results. Of
> about 8,000 applications, only about 1,000 have been accepted, of which
> 1,050 persons returned to Bosnia-Herzegovina, with the assistance of UNHCR.
>
> The policy of the return of refugees to Croatia has also failed
> because of the absence of any serious support by the most important
> international factors. As a result, and based on the Protocol on the
> Procedure for Organized Return, signed on April 2, 1998, thus far 24,000
> refugees have submitted applications for return. Of this number, UNHCR
> organized the return of about 5,300 persons to Croatia and 5,400 returned
> on their own, whereas 9,300 persons are still waiting for the response of
> the Croatian side. What is unacceptable for us is the expectation of the
> international community that, in the absence of prerequisites for
> unhindered return to Bosnia-Herzegovina and Croatia, this process should be
> replaced by local integration. Yugoslavia is able to accept only a number
> of refugees who will not be able to return to the places from which they
> have been expelled. However, for their local integration, in would be
> necessary to secure funds for permanent accommodation, i.e. construction of
> apartments for accommodating refugees, which the FRY is nor able to provide
> on its own, without a considerable international assistance. At the same
> time, the response of donors for financing these projects is poor.
>
> In order to provide employment to refugees, it is necessary to
> invest in production programs of existing enterprises, as well as to open
> new ones, mostly in small-scale industries. This would require the amount
> of DM 5,000-8,000 per employee. All forms of investments are possible
> (grants, joint venture, share-holding companies, etc.) under the Law on
> Foreign Investments.
>
> 3. After the adoption of UN Security Council Resolution 1244
> and the deployment of KFOR and UNMIK civil administration, FR Yugoslavia
> has again faced a new exodus of Serb, Montenegrin and other non-Albanians
> from Kosovo and Metohija. According to the most recent data, based on the
> records prepared by UNHCR and the Commissioner for Refugees of the Republic
> of Serbia, 190,000 internally displaced persons from Kosovo and Metohija
> have been registered in the territory of the Republic of Serbia. With
> 31,000 registered internally displaced persons staying in the Republic of
> Montenegro, their total number amounts to over 220,000 persons. However, it
> has been observed that a considerable number of persons have not applied
> for registration for various reasons. By May 25, 2000, the Serbia Red Cross
> registered 260,715 internally displaced persons, indicating that their
> total number amounts to about 300,000.
>
> 4. The unsuccessful KFOR mission in the territory of Kosovo
> and Metohija has directly encouraged the implementation of the ethnic
> cleansing policy by Schipetar terrorists. From June 10, 1999 to March 31,
> 2000, more than 8,000 serious offenses were committed against Serbs and
> other non-Albanians, 4,564 of which were most serious crimes, 867 persons
> have been abducted or missing, 936 persons have been killed, and 876
> persons have been wounded. Several thousand Serb houses have been plundered
> or burnt and ethnic Albanian forcibly moved in a large number of them,
> including 250,000 nationals of the state of Albania who settled in Kosovo
> and Metohija. More than 85 monasteries, churches and other sacral objects
> of the Serbian Orthodox Church have been destroyed or damaged.
>
> In the territory of Kosovo and Metohija, more than 27,000 persons
> have been internally displaced. In order to provide care to this
> population, reception centers have been opened in Kosovo Polje and
> Leposavic. Organized assistance is provided to the threatened non-Albanian
> population in Kosovo, soup kitchens are opened and psychosocial support
> program and water supply programs, etc. are implemented.
>
> 5. Yugoslavia requests that the UN Secretary General and the
> SC take all necessary measures and steps in order that KFOR and UNMIK
> consistently meet their obligations stipulated in UN SC Resolution 1244
> concerning preservation of multi-ethnic and multi-confessional character of
> Kosovo and Metohija and guarantees for full security and protection of all
> inhabitants of Kosovo and Metohija, especially non-Albanian.
>
> The international community has shown efficiency when the return
> of ethnic Albanians to Kosovo and Metohija is concerned. In that
> connection, FR Yugoslavia expects the same international community to be
> equally efficient in the creation of security and other conditions for
> unhindered return of internally displaced persons of Serb and Montenegrin
> nationality, as well as other non-Albanians in Kosovo and Metohija.
>
> 3. HUMANITARIAN NEEDS IN THE FIELD OF
> HEALTH CARE
>
> More than 2,000 persons were killed in the NATO aggression and
> over 6,000 persons were wounded, mostly women, children and the elderly.
> About 200 persons have become invalids. During the aggression, 147 medical
> institutions were destroyed or damaged, with all their equipment and
> medicaments. In the coming period, it would be necessary to provide funds
> amounting to US$ 12.6 million for reconstruction of Clinical Hospital
> Center (KBC) "Dragisa Misovic", as well as health centers in Aleksinac and
> Prokuplje. In addition, the Agency for Country Reconstruction is also
> planning the reconstruction of the Gynecology-Obstetrics Clinic (GAK) in
> Belgrade, Clinical-Hospital Center - Gynecology Clinic in Belgrade, Health
> Center in Tutin, Psychiatric Clinic "Laza Lazarevic" in Belgrade,
> Army-Military Academy in Belgrade and Health Center in Kraljevo. For all
> these projects, it would be necessary to provide funds through donations of
> members of the Yugoslav diaspora, from foreign donors and assistance for
> reconstruction.
>
> The situation is further aggravated by extremely difficult
> circumstances regarding the provision of medicaments and medical supplies
> to health care institutions. The pharmaceutical industry in Yugoslavia will
> be able to revitalize its production at the pre-aggression level only if
> all domestic manufacturers are supplied with raw materials, precursors and
> spare parts, amounting to the value of DM 200 million. Considering that
> imported drugs account for 45,18 % of the domestic market, it will be
> necessary to provide more than DM 35 million for six-month needs of health
> care institutions in Serbia, and DM 29 million for dispensable medial
> supplies. There are also priority six-month needs concerning supplying
> laboratories and other diagnostic centers with chemicals, agents, serums
> and other equipment, amounting to US$ 2,000,000.
>
> Health Care Institutions in Serbia are also facing the shortage of
> many most essential medical instruments (500 defibrilators, 220 different
> ultrasonic instruments, 900 different types of EKG equipment, 150
> reanimation kits, 150 tables for reanimation of infants, 200 different
> types of incubators, 400 ambulances, anesthesia equipment, etc.
>
> In addition to the above stated, already noticeable are big
> difficulties or impossibility to provide hemo-dialysis for over 4,500
> patients; internist, surgical and radiological diagnostics and therapy for
> 90,000 cancer patients, diagnostics and therapy for 200,000 diabetes
> patients, 300,000 heart patients, 30,000 psychiatric patients and 600
> hemophilia patients. There has also been a considerable increase in
> respiratory and gastro-intestinal diseases.
>
> Humanitarian assistance arriving from abroad had the character of
> an additional factor in the regular medical supplies. Despite the fact that
> the scope of this assistance was big, its structure did not fully meet the
> needs of the medical services, namely, humanitarian shipments mostly
> contained essential drugs, i.e. drugs for the broadest indication areas.
> Other types of specific drugs, which are most frequently very costly and
> are not manufactured in our country and are necessary in modern farmaco -
> therapy accounted for small quantities.
>
> A big problem in the distribution of humanitarian aid was the
> shortage of finances for procurement of agents and other dispensable
> supplies required for examination and quality control of the drugs and
> medical supplies that arrived. This slowed down the delivery of
> humanitarian assistance to health care institutions.
> 4. PRIORITY HUMANITARIAN NEEDS IN RECONSTRUCTION OF THE ELECTRIC POWER
> SYSTEM OF THE COUNTRY
>
> NATO aggression inflicted enormous direct damages to the electric
> power system of FR Yugoslavia, especially the part of the electric power
> system belonging to the Public Utilities of Serbia "Elektroprivreda Srbije"
> (EPS). It also sharpened all those problems that existed even before the
> aggression, namely, the postponement of most capital overhauls and other
> maintenance works in the previous period, depletion of the fuel reserves,
> intermediaries and spare parts, narrowing down of possibilities of their
> replenishment, the shortage of required finances for these procurements and
> works, etc.
>
> The greatest damage inflicted on the EPS power system affected its
> transmission capacities. The work towards their incapacitation is a
> priority in reconstruction.
>
> After the NATO aggression, EPS prepared a specification of the
> required equipment, which would amount to US$ 120 million.
>
> The arguments towards a high level of humanitarian needs in
> electric power equipment are related to the extremely unfavorable
> humanitarian consequences for the broadest masses of the population in the
> case of insufficient and irregular supply of electricity to consumers.
>
> Also, 81 percent of households and the largest number of
> institutions secure water from the public water supply system, which
> requires electricity as energy source.
>
> Considering the UN energy embargo, which is still in force, it should be
> pointed out that the equipment and material for eliminating the
> consequences of NATO aggression on the electricity transmission system, as
> well as for the overhaul and maintenance of all manufacturing capacities,
> are treated as humanitarian needs, as envisaged by the Resolution on
> Humanitarian Assistance to FR Yugoslavia, adopted by the UN General
> Assembly on December 15, 1999 by consensus.
> 5. PRIORITY HUMANITARIAN NEEDS IN THE AGRICULTURAL-FOOD COMPLEX
>
> Despite the extremely adverse consequences of multi-year economic
> embargo and a large number of refugees and displace persons, the
> agriculture of FR Yugoslavia succeeded in fulfilling its main tasks - to
> provide food for the population. However, direct and indirect consequences
> of NATO aggression caused a shortage of basic raw materials and finished
> products in the agriculture and food sector. Priority humanitarian needs
> include the needs of the primary agricultural production and livestock
> breeding, seed, milk power and basic paper products.
>
> For ensuring primary agricultural production in SR Yugoslavia in
> the year 2000, it is necessary to import the deficient quantity of plant
> protection agents, artificial fertilizers and raw materials for production
> of fertilizers in local plants.
>
> In the first and second quarter of 2000, it is necessary to
> provide 910,000 tons of fertilizers for sowing.
>
> For the procurement of the required quantities of imported
> fertilizers and raw materials for their production, as well as for the
> imports of the missing quantity of plant protection agents, it is necessary
> to provide the total of US$ 111,780,000.
>
> For the needs of livestock breeding, SR Yugoslavia is oriented to
> importation of fishmeal, a basic component in feed production. Veterinary
> drugs, premixes and crushed soy beans, can only be partly found in the
> country, for which reason a part of these products or substances for their
> manufacture need to be continuously imported, amounting to the value of US$
> 59,500,000.
>
> In food production, importation of milk powder has been marked as
> a priority humanitarian need. Annual needs in imported milk powder amount
> to 5,000 tons, or the value of US$ 10,000,000.
>
> For sowing vegetables and fodder crops, it is necessary to provide
> the necessary quantities of quality seed. The annual needs of imported seed
> amount to the value of US$ 8,000,000.
>
> For the needs of packaging and hygiene, it is necessary to provide
> particular types of paper. The annual needs in imported paper products
> amount to US$ 17,900,000.
>
> Priority humanitarian needs in the field of agriculture and food
> industry amount to the total of US$ 207,180,000 per annum.
>
> 6. PRIORITY HUMANITARIAN NEEDS IN THE FIELD
> OF HEALING THE CONSEQUENCES OF NATO
> BOMBING ON THE ENVIRONMENT
>
> The NATO aggression against FR Yugoslavia also had the
> characteristics of an ecological war. NATO bombing posed considerable
> threat to the environment at the local and regional levels. Enormous
> destruction of chemical and energy complexes, as well as the related
> infrastructure, was adversely reflected on the quality of the environment
> and were a violation of the proclaimed human rights on the safe and healthy
> environment.
>
> The gravest consequences for the environment, of both short-term
> and long-term nature, have been observed on the locations of the Southern
> industrial zone of Pancevo, Novi Sad Refinery, "Zastava" in Kragujevac,
> Mining-Smelting Basin (RTB) in Born, and their surroundings. The combustion
> of big quantities of chemicals, or crude oil and its derivatives has caused
> pollution in the surrounding lands, ground but also underground waters,
> threatening to jeopardize some important sources of drinkable water.
>
> The Federal Ministry for Science, Development and the Environment
> assessed that for the needs of recovery in the field of the environment
> (most important short-term and long-term program) it will be necessary to
> provide the minimum of US$ 100,000,000.
>
> 7. PRIORITY HUMANITARIAN NEEDS IN THE
> FIELD OF HOUSING INFRASTRUCTURE AND RECONSTRUCTION OF SCHOOL BUILDINGS
>
> NATO aggression completely destroyed about 500 housing objects and
> 800 public objects and 46 bridges. Also, about 25,000 housing units have
> been damaged, in 59 municipalities and towns in Serbia. The reconstruction
> of severely damaged individual housing objects (533), as well as collective
> housing objects (431) would require about US$ 27,000,000.
>
> Reconstruction of damaged schools would require about US$
> 25,000,000. The Agency for Country Reconstruction plans to reconstruct, in
> the coming period, 10 damaged schools in the municipalities Nova Varos,
> Belgrade, Novi Sad, Cuprija, Boljevac, as well as the building of the
> Engineering Faculty and students' dormitory in Nis.
>
---
NOT A SINGLE NAME MUST BE FORGOTTEN
http://www.emperors-clothes.com/misc/nota.htm
The killing of a math prodigy: SANJA MILENKOVIC
***
"Don't be crazy, mum. Who's going to drop bombs on a small town?"
These were the last words Sanja Milenkovic spoke before she left for a
walk
Sunday, May 30, 1999. No ordinary day. Day 68 of the NATO attack on
Yugoslavia.
It was a sunny, busy shopping day, Pentecost. Young people strolled on
the streets,
some went onto the local bridge they liked so much because it offered a
magnificent
view of the Morava river and surroundings. The roar of warplanes cut
short the life
of the bridge and of those residents including Sanja Milenkovic.
Sanja and her family, whom she loved most in the world besides math,
led a quiet life.
As a gifted child, who had been given many awards, she came from her
native village
of Donji Katun near Varvarin, to the capital, Belgrade, to enroll,
without an entrance
exam, in the Mathematics High School. There were, as publicized in
numerous
interviews, no insolvable math problems for her. She had won many
Yugoslav and
international prizes, and she was preparing for the Mathematics
Olympiad and surely
for another of her trophies of world importance. She could explain
everything logically
or in terms of mathematics. The New York Times and the Washington Post
wrote
about our Sanja, a Serb girl from Varvarin, describing her as the
greatest math talent
of today, killed by NATO bombs.
Sanja was very close to her mother Vesna. Vesna was 21 when she gave
birth to her
first child. At fifteen, Sanja was a pretty and bright girl. "Sanja was
like younger
sister to me; she was also my best friend," says Vesna.
When the NATO aggression against our country started, Sanja traveled
back to
Varvarin to be with her parents. Vesna and Sanja's dad, Zoran, believed
Sanja would
be much safer in a small place in the country where there were no
military
installations. But NATO targetsincluded hospitals, schools,
kindergarten, roads and
bridges. Cynical news of "collateral damage" came out of NATO
headquarters every
day. So Sanja was one of several thousand ordinary Serbian people who
died of
missiles targeting even insignificant bridges in small towns throughout
Yugoslavia.
One of them was the bridge in Varvarin. It led to the local Christian
Orthodox church
and therefore innocent civilians, who happened to be on it that sunny
May day, on the
Christian holiday of Pentecost, were killed. Sanja and two of her
friends were among
the victims.
It was a little past noon. The shopping day attracted more crowds than
usual. The
memorial liturgy was in progress at the Church of the Holy Mother at
that moment.
No one knew that up in the skies there were warplanes that already had
the bridge in
their sights and were ready to rain down death. In the 68 days of the
aggression,
people were used to being bombed by night. So, very few believed that
the 52-year
old bridge that was the town's lifeline and that did not straddle any
of the major
transport routes, would be picked. It is a three-hour drive to Kosovo
and Metohija
from there. It was exactly five minutes past one p.m. Vesna and Zoran
were fixing
lunch for their daughter when they heard a strong blast nearby. Vesna's
mum
immediately picked up the phone to check if it was still working. The
telephone lines
ran across the bridge. The phone was dead. She dashed into the car and
headed for
the bridge. She looked through the window searching for the loved face.
The river bank was deserted. The crowd had rn away fearing another
strike. Vesna
stood alone on the bank, calling out her daughter's name. And then she
saw Sanja.
She lay on a broken slab of the bridge, motionless. It was much later
that she was
told what had happened and how Sanja died. As the first missile hit the
bridge, its
footpath collapsed into the river. Sanja and her friends fell into the
water, as well.
Sanja was unharmed, while one of her friends had her arm broken and the
other a leg.
Like the rest of the pedestrians, Sanja could have reached the bank,
but she chose to
help her friends. Ten minutes after the initial attack, the NATO pilot
came back to
finish his job. The explosion had cut the bridge in half. The religious
service in the
church stopped and everyone rushed to help the wounded. The explosion
stopped
them in the process. Another seven people were killed. Sanja was struck
in the back
by a shrapnel. They put her into an ambulance. Her eyes were open for a
few more
minutes. Her father encouraged her to fight for her breath. A couple of
minutes later
Sanja's eyes closed. "I knew it was for ever," said her dad Zoran, "I
was hopeful,
nevertheless." The fight for Sanja's life went on in hospital, where
she was injected
with adrenaline shots. But death got the upper hand. Sanja lay
motionless in the pink
T-shirt that she had put on that morning. She was 15 and a half. The
following day
Jamie Shea held his regular press conference in faraway Brussels, as he
did every
day .
Sanja Milenkovic will not dream out her dreams. However strongly she
felt about
numerals and the logic of life, there can be no explanation for her
premature death.
Sanja's teachers and peers believe that, if it had been according to
the laws of
mathematics, Sanja's name would have been predestined to become famous
and be
inscribed in international yearbooks of the greatest mathematicians.
Those who died early and whom we were indebted to during their lifetime
oblige us to
remember them always. The name of Sanja Milenkovic will always be in
the minds of
those talented like herself. That was the reason why a Fund, named
after her, was
set up. The Fund serves to award scholarships/fellowships to young
gifted secondary
school students and university undergraduates in the field of math and
technical
sciences. The Fund was established at the initiative of Mr. Zivadin
Jovanovic,
Federal Minister for Foreign Affairs of the FR of Yugoslavia, and Mr.
Milutin
Mrkonjic, Director-General of the Country Reconstruction Directorate.
Sanja's granddad, Ljubomir Milenkovic, was appointed an honorary member
of the
Fund.
Twenty young people were awarded scholarships from the Fund on November
5,
1999. In addressing them, Minister Jovanovic said that this Fund was
set up to keep
the memory of Sanja alive and by keeping it alive to demonstrate our
attitude towards
the highest achievements and greatest successes in learning and
studies. The talents
now financed and yet to be financed by the "Sanja Milenkovic" Fund will
keep alive
the memory of a youth cut short prematurely and of wishes and dreams
left unfulfilled.
They will also keep alive the name of Sanja Milenkovic.
[Note from emperors-clothes: A reader in California has asked how
people can
contribute to this fund from outside Yugoslavia. We're making
inquiries.]
---
http://news.beograd.com/english/articles_and_opinion/djurdjevic/000711_nato_coverin_up_losses.html
New World Order
Bob Djurdjevic
11. July, 2000.
New World Order and the Serbs - Part XL
NATO COVERING UP LOSSES
In a story headlined "NATO Covering Up Own Losses," the Russian Agency
of
Political News (APN) reported on Apr. 29 that NATO had lost over 400
troops,
and over 60 aircraft during its 79-day war with Serbia. The estimates
reportedly based on Russian government figures, have been hushed up in
the
West by the New World Order lapdog media.
These are the highest figures so far of NATO's human casualties to
emerge
from the post-war post-mortems. We may believe them or treat them as
propaganda. But only fools would totally disregard them and choose to
believe in the fiction of the NATO "lie and deny" propagandists,
including
Bill Clinton, who declared to the nation last June that NATO had
suffered no
losses in combat.
The Russian article was written by an experienced military
correspondent,
Vladislav Shurygin, who has also reported on the Chechnya war. Shurygin
elaborates on an earlier Russian Defense Ministry report that was first
published in the Foreign Military Review and then by ITAR-TASS, one of
the
two official Russian government agencies.
Shurygin observes that NATO and the Pentagon had lied unabashedly, and
that
they continue to do so. He notes that it may take years for the U.S.
government to admit what it really lost in its war on Serbia. He says,
for
example, that NATO even lied regarding the number of combat sorties it
had
flown, let alone its own casualties. Instead of the claimed 35 000
flights,
the alliance actually flew only about 25 000, he says.
By way of a disclaimer, the APN editors said that Shurygin's piece was
the
"author's personal view" of the subject. But Shurygin is merely one of a
number of sources that have sprung up since the end of NATO's bombing
suggesting that NATO may be covering up significant losses it had
suffered
during its 79-day bombing of Serbia.
The pseudonym "Venik" may be a familiar term to wartime Truth in Media
and
Beograd.com readers. It was Venik who was the first to systematically
analyze and report the NATO losses in April 1999. And this source been
updating that information ever since. Here is Venik's latest
contribution on
the topic of NATO losses:
"According to a March 25, 2000, article published by the ITAR-TASS news
agency, Russian GRU (Main Intelligence Directorate) sources report that
during the Operation "Allied Force" NATO's air forces sustained losses
considerably higher than is officially acknowledged by NATO command.
According to GRU information, NATO lost three F-117A stealth bombers,
and at
least 40 other combat planes, and over 1,000 cruise missiles.
So far, NATO officials acknowledged losing three combat planes (the USAF
F-117A on March 27, the USMC AV-8B Harrier on May 1, and the
F-16CG-40-CF on
May 2), two attack helicopters (AH-64 Apache on April 26 and another
Apache
on May 5), between 30 and 32 unmanned reconnaissance vehicles, including
at
least 16 American, 7 German, and 5 French UAVs. Interestingly enough,
NATO
acknowledged all of the UAV losses mentioned by Yugoslav military
officials - 30 - and, perhaps, even more.
Official NATO reports and statements made by various NATO officials
indicate
that about 10 NATO planes made emergency landings. Two F-117As sustained
extensive damage (the F-117A 86-0837 was damaged on April 21 during
landing;
and another F-117A lost a part of its tail section due to a nearby SA-3
SAM
explosion). An RAF C-130K Hercules transport plane crashed on June 11 in
Albania. The aircraft was delivering a British SAS unit that was trying
to
beat Russian paratroopers to the Slatina base. The US Army OH-58 combat
reconnaissance helicopter crashed on May 26 in Bosnia...
In February British press was discussing a sharp shortage of operational
aircraft experienced by the Royal Air Force. The news first appeared in
the
January 23, 2000, 'Hundreds of Crippled Jets put RAF in Crisis' article
published by the London Observer. In particular, the article, based on
the
Observer's own investigation, outlines the following problems with the
RAF:
"Two out of three of the UK's 186 fleet of Tornado bombers are grounded;
Fewer than 40 per cent of other frontline aircraft, such as Harriers and
Jaguars, are ready to fly at short notice;
The Ministry of Defence has spent almost £1 billion developing a
laser-guided bombing system that does not work properly;
There is shortage of nearly 20 per cent of junior officer fast jet
pilots
and the RAF is having a severe problem in retaining trained pilots."
According to an ITAR-TASS review of the article published by the Foreign
Military Review magazine of the Russian Defense Ministry, Yugoslav
aviation
prevented the use of American AH-64 Apache attack helicopters during the
Kosovo conflict. The "NATO Losses in the War with Yugoslavia" article,
the
Foreign Military Review writes "... the biggest sensation was the number
of
troops lost by NATO. Not just NATO pilots were killed in Yugoslavia, but
also search-and-rescue troops that were tasked with locating downed
pilots.
Yugoslav air defenses have shot down no less than five NATO helicopters,
which (alone) resulted in deaths of about 100 troops of the Alliance."
According to the Foreign Military Review, the reason why Pentagon did
not
use Apaches in Kosovo "...had nothing to do with technical problems with
the
helicopters or insufficient training of their flight crews, as was often
stated by NATO officials. The only reason was the April 26, 1999 attack
carried out by Yugoslav "Galeb" fighters against "Rinas" airport located
near Albania's capital of Tirana, where the Apaches were based. That day
two
groups of these light helicopters were destroyed and over 10 helicopters
were damaged."
A similar operation was carried out by Yugoslav AF on April 18 against
the
airport in Tuzla, Bosnia, used as an emergency landing site for NATO
aircraft. As the result of this attack some 15 NATO aircraft were
destroyed
on the ground.
The Foreign Military Review writes: "Despite the fact that American
aircraft
dominated NATO operations, they weren't the only aircraft shot down by
Yugoslav air defenses. Among the destroyed aircraft were five German
"Tornadoes," several British "Harriers'" two French "Mirages," Belgian,
Dutch, and Canadian aircraft. On June 7 the USAF lost a B-52 strategic
bomber, while on May 20 a B-2A "Spirit" was shot down."
Looking at the eyewitness report listing compiled by aviation
enthusiasts in
Yugoslavia, we can find the following entry (#381) June 7, between 012
and
040, area between Slankamen and Indjija. 'One large bomber (most
probably
B-52) was shot down. Aircraft exploded after a direct SAM hit. Crew
killed'
."
Incredible as it may seem at a first glance to western audiences
accustomed
to lapping up the soap fed to them by the New World Order "lie and deny"
news spinners, the above estimates are not far off the contemporaneous
reports by the Greek media.
On Apr. 7, 1999, for example, the Athinaiki (The Athenian), an Athens
daily,
said in an article that NATO had already lost 88 soldiers. And that was
only
after two weeks of war! If NATO had lost 88 troops at the time when the
intensity of fighting was at a lower level than later on in the war,
then
its human casualties over the 11-week conflict might have been over
1,000,
had the same rate of attrition continued.
Whatever the actual number, it is certainly greater than zero, which is
what
Clinton, NATO and the Pentagon have been alleging. A steady stream of
new
factual information emanating from the Russian media, mostly based on
the
Russian official military sources (who were in a position to track
firsthand
the air and sea battlefields a year ago - Russia had two ships in the
Adriat
ic during the war monitoring the war through electronic surveillance),
serves to discredit such ludicrous claims by NATO and the Clinton
administration.
In fact, it would not surprise us if the Russian government were
engaging
here in a game of political blackmail and brinkmanship with the Clinton
administration, trying to gain some leverage in negotiations of other,
bigger issues, such as the Missile Defense Shield (see my column
"Dangerous
Nuclear Saber-Rattling"). All this, of course, in the hope of gaining
some
leverage before Clinton's visit to Moscow on June 4.
Since both Moscow and Washington know that if Russia were to release a
proof
(electronic surveillance recordings, for example) that back up its
claims
about the NATO losses, this would have a devastating effect on NATO/NWO
public. For, the whole world would then know that a tiny Yugoslav Army
had
whipped the arrogant and omnipotent aggressor, using some fairly
outdated
weaponry, but more than making up for it with cunning and bravery of its
officers and troops.
The only question that remains unanswered, however, is how did the
Clinton
administration manage to keep so many grieving American and other NATO
families silent about the losses of their loved ones? Or more pointedly,
did
it bribe them (pay them off) or intimidate them with threats or worse?
Several Truth in Media readers have come forth with their own
explanations.
We received the following feedback from Fernando (whose last name is
known
to TiM):
"I am an Australian born in Portugal, but have lived most of my life in
Angola (Africa) at a time that country was a Portuguese colony. Well,
there
was a war between the Portuguese and the Angolan freedom fighters(in the
1970s). When a Portuguese soldier died in action, his family were
informed
that he had had an accident! Usually a car accident or something
similar...
They never died in combat :-). Only at the end of the war, many families
knew that their loved ones were in fact killed in action.
So I reckon that the same may be happening with the American soldiers.
Their
families are probably being informed that their sons, brothers or
husbands
had unfortunate accidents. And those families don't usually know each
other,
and therefore can't compare notes. It's not difficult to tell lies to
400
families throughout a country with 260 million people. Most of those
families don't know about the existence of each other and therefore the
lies
can stand."
Another letter came to us from someone in the U.S. armed forces:
"Try this... A friend of mine's husband was an E6 in Delta Force. He was
killed in Somalia. Officially, he was never there and died of an
accident. A
captain I was friends with, was a Lieutenant in Somalia, and he told me
about the number of bodies going out... A lot more then 18 (the official
count).
My supply sergeant was a former Special Forces member, he told me they
lost
almost 50 people from Special Forces in Panama. The official death toll
was
15.
A fraternity brother of mine, who was an officer in the SEALs, died in
Central America, officially from a training accident. His family hired a
private investigator and found out his chopper had been shot down.
Please,
if you think our government doesn't control what you see and hear, you
are a
fool."
In short, what the preceding letter suggest is that Americans have zero
tolerance for losses in overseas expeditions of our neo-colonial
governments
(yes, George Bush's, not only Bill Clinton's). That's good. And that's
bad.
It's good, because most decent people in our country don't want to see
our
armed forces sacrificed in some distant country while occupying it on
behalf
of the New World Order, instead of defending America - the job they have
sworn to do.
It's bad, because so many of our fellow-citizens have become so gullible
through decades of brainwashing and dumbing-down of America. If such
Americans don't see something on TV, it didn't happen. Conversely, if
they
do see it on their screens, the "Wag the Dog"-type scenarios
notwithstanding, they gulp up the government's lies and deceptions as if
they were the Gospel truth.
Which makes it so easy for our Washington leaders and the establishment
media to fool the public. When the TV images of angry Somalies' dragging
the
bodies of dead American soldiers in October 1993 flashed across America'
s
TV screens, Clinton hurriedly ordered our troops out of that country.
But did Clinton stop sending our troops into harm's way? No, Sir. The
two
Clinton administrations continued, and even accelerated the (Bush's)
neo-colonial foreign policy on behalf of the "death merchants" and other
multinational corporations which profit from "perpetual wars for
perpetual
commerce." It's just that they never allowed any American casualties to
be
either reported or shown on our TV screens.
If you can't see them, they didn't happen. Right. If you're one of the
dumbed-down morons of the New World Order. For, only such morons
believed
Bill Clinton when he declared in his "victory speech" on June 10, 1999
that
NATO had suffered "no combat casualties" in its war with Serbia.
Copyright ©2000 beograd.com. All Rights Reserved.
--------- COORDINAMENTO ROMANO PER LA JUGOSLAVIA -----------
RIMSKI SAVEZ ZA JUGOSLAVIJU
e-mail: crj@... - URL: http://marx2001.org/crj
http://www.egroups.com/group/crj-mailinglist/
------------------------------------------------------------
> FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF YUGOSLAVIA
>
> FEDERAL GOVERNMENT
>
> P R I O R I T Y
>
> humanitarian needs of FR Yugoslavia
>
> Belgrade, June 2000
>
> P R I O R I T Y
> humanitarian needs of FR Yugoslavia
>
> 1. GENERAL OVERVIEW OF THE CURRENT
> HUMANITARIAN SITUATION
>
> 1. The consequences of years-long sanctions, their
> continuation in the form of the so-called outer wall of sanctions and
> unilateral sanctions of particular countries or groups of countries, as
> well as NATO aggression against FR Yugoslavia, have had serious economic
> and social consequences on our country's population, but also on refugees
> and internally displaced persons who have found shelter in it. The
> cumulative "direct and indirect" material damage inflicted by the sanctions
> and NATO bombardment for the 1992-2010 period amounts to US$ 250 billion.
> According to incomplete data, the damage inflicted by NATO bombardment
> amounts to over US$ 100 billion.
>
> The period of 79 days of bombardment has left grave consequences
> in the lives of the population. In NATO aggression, more than 2,000 people
> were killed, more than 6,000 were wounded, and many have become invalids
> forever. Three million children were directly threatened by non-selective
> bombing of housing communities. They account for 30 per cent of all killed
> and 40 per cent of all wounded persons.
>
> The material destruction of economic, transport and housing
> infrastructure, hospitals, health care institutions, school facilities, and
> especially the power utilities system, has brought about a grave
> humanitarian situation in the country. More than 200 towns and villages
> were systematically bombed. As a result of the bombing, 200-250,000 people
> have become jobless.
>
> Especially serious damages have been inflicted in the
> environmental field, with long-term consequences for the health of the
> population. A drastic example was the use of graphite bombs that caused the
> collapse in the electric power distribution system, leaving millions of
> households without electricity and water supply.
>
> 2. In view of the fact that the hardest hit by the bombing
> were income generating industries, namely, our traditional export
> capacities: raw materials, energy, food, FR Yugoslavia appeals for the
> expansion of the notion of humanitarian assistance, so that it may cover
> reconstruction and revitalization of infrastructure for the purpose of
> meeting the basic needs of the population. This implies priority
> restoration and reconstruction of damaged and destroyed railroads, roads,
> bridges, housing facilities, collective refugee centers, schools, health
> care institutions, heating plants and energy transmission systems, as well
> as the provision of direct assistance in energy sources. The difficult
> humanitarian situation cannot be overcome without a considerable assistance
> of international community, especially humanitarian organizations from the
> UN system, but also bilaterally, in the long run.
>
> At the same time, FR Yugoslavia is facing the hitherto unheard of
> political and other forms of pressure, under hypocritical pretext that this
> is being done in the interest of democratization and promotion of human
> rights. This particularly refers to the attempts to replace the current
> system of distribution of humanitarian assistance through UNHCR and state
> authorities with the provision of assistance through some international
> non-governmental organizations, which is unacceptable for us.
> 2. THE SITUATION OF REFUGEES AND DISPLACED PERSON IN FR YUGOSLAVIA
>
> 1. Refugees from Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina also share
> the fate of our population. FR Yugoslavia presently provides care to some
> 700,000 refugees, which makes our country the first by the number of
> refugees in Europe.
>
> The largest number of refugees (about 90%) have been accommodated
> with families and in private homes. Ten percent (10%) of refugees have been
> accommodated in 550 collective accommodation centers. The largest
> concentration of refugees is to be found in Vojvodina and the broader area
> of Belgrade.
>
> Most collective centers (former children's resorts, abandoned
> schools, territorial defense objects, workers' barracks, culture centers,
> cooperative centers and other abandoned facilities) do not have appropriate
> conditions and fall behind the basic hygienic-sanitary living standards.
> During the NATO aggression, serious damages were inflicted on a large
> number of collective centers, necessitating reconstruction and adaptation
> of the existing and opening of new collective centers. The adaptation of
> these facilities would require US$ 250-300 per person, which our country
> will not be able to provide on its own.
>
> At the same time, bearing in mind the difficult economic and
> social situation in the country, there is an obvious continuing pressure
> towards opening new collective accommodation centers. Namely, a growing
> number of refugees have been leaving the impoverished families and private
> accommodation and demand to be accommodated in collective centers. The
> largest amount of funds intended for accommodation of refugees originates
> from the republican and federal budgets. In the past eight years, FR
> Yugoslavia spent more than 5% of its GNP for covering costs of refugees -
> accommodation, food, clothing, footwear, health care and social welfare,
> and education. In the 1991-1999 period, US$ 10.5 billion were spent for
> these purposes. International humanitarian relief covers only 10 per cent
> of the overall refugee subsistence.
>
> The costs of providing care to refugees in collective centers
> (accommodation and food only) for 1999 amounted to about US$ 23 million, in
> which UNHCR accounted for US$ 9 million. For the year 2000, UNHCR has
> envisaged US$ 12 million for these purposes.
>
> Of the total number of the so-called old refugees, 200,000 are
> children under 18. It is necessary to provide funds for the costs of their
> stay in preschool institutions, as well as for their education in
> elementary and secondary schools. Also, considerable funds would need to be
> allocated for medical treatment of refugees, procurement of the necessary
> medicaments and orthopedic aids.
>
> Otherwise, for one month only, it is necessary to provide 1,252
> tons of foods and 275 tons of hygienic items for 950,000 people (refugees
> and internally displaced persons).
>
> 2. An almost negligible number of refugees have thus far
> returned to Bosnia-Herzegovina and Croatia due the failure to implement the
> Dayton Agreement (Annex 7) and the Agreement on Normalization of Relations
> between the FR Yugoslavia and Croatia by these two countries.
>
> The return to Bosnia-Herzegovina has had marginal results. Of
> about 8,000 applications, only about 1,000 have been accepted, of which
> 1,050 persons returned to Bosnia-Herzegovina, with the assistance of UNHCR.
>
> The policy of the return of refugees to Croatia has also failed
> because of the absence of any serious support by the most important
> international factors. As a result, and based on the Protocol on the
> Procedure for Organized Return, signed on April 2, 1998, thus far 24,000
> refugees have submitted applications for return. Of this number, UNHCR
> organized the return of about 5,300 persons to Croatia and 5,400 returned
> on their own, whereas 9,300 persons are still waiting for the response of
> the Croatian side. What is unacceptable for us is the expectation of the
> international community that, in the absence of prerequisites for
> unhindered return to Bosnia-Herzegovina and Croatia, this process should be
> replaced by local integration. Yugoslavia is able to accept only a number
> of refugees who will not be able to return to the places from which they
> have been expelled. However, for their local integration, in would be
> necessary to secure funds for permanent accommodation, i.e. construction of
> apartments for accommodating refugees, which the FRY is nor able to provide
> on its own, without a considerable international assistance. At the same
> time, the response of donors for financing these projects is poor.
>
> In order to provide employment to refugees, it is necessary to
> invest in production programs of existing enterprises, as well as to open
> new ones, mostly in small-scale industries. This would require the amount
> of DM 5,000-8,000 per employee. All forms of investments are possible
> (grants, joint venture, share-holding companies, etc.) under the Law on
> Foreign Investments.
>
> 3. After the adoption of UN Security Council Resolution 1244
> and the deployment of KFOR and UNMIK civil administration, FR Yugoslavia
> has again faced a new exodus of Serb, Montenegrin and other non-Albanians
> from Kosovo and Metohija. According to the most recent data, based on the
> records prepared by UNHCR and the Commissioner for Refugees of the Republic
> of Serbia, 190,000 internally displaced persons from Kosovo and Metohija
> have been registered in the territory of the Republic of Serbia. With
> 31,000 registered internally displaced persons staying in the Republic of
> Montenegro, their total number amounts to over 220,000 persons. However, it
> has been observed that a considerable number of persons have not applied
> for registration for various reasons. By May 25, 2000, the Serbia Red Cross
> registered 260,715 internally displaced persons, indicating that their
> total number amounts to about 300,000.
>
> 4. The unsuccessful KFOR mission in the territory of Kosovo
> and Metohija has directly encouraged the implementation of the ethnic
> cleansing policy by Schipetar terrorists. From June 10, 1999 to March 31,
> 2000, more than 8,000 serious offenses were committed against Serbs and
> other non-Albanians, 4,564 of which were most serious crimes, 867 persons
> have been abducted or missing, 936 persons have been killed, and 876
> persons have been wounded. Several thousand Serb houses have been plundered
> or burnt and ethnic Albanian forcibly moved in a large number of them,
> including 250,000 nationals of the state of Albania who settled in Kosovo
> and Metohija. More than 85 monasteries, churches and other sacral objects
> of the Serbian Orthodox Church have been destroyed or damaged.
>
> In the territory of Kosovo and Metohija, more than 27,000 persons
> have been internally displaced. In order to provide care to this
> population, reception centers have been opened in Kosovo Polje and
> Leposavic. Organized assistance is provided to the threatened non-Albanian
> population in Kosovo, soup kitchens are opened and psychosocial support
> program and water supply programs, etc. are implemented.
>
> 5. Yugoslavia requests that the UN Secretary General and the
> SC take all necessary measures and steps in order that KFOR and UNMIK
> consistently meet their obligations stipulated in UN SC Resolution 1244
> concerning preservation of multi-ethnic and multi-confessional character of
> Kosovo and Metohija and guarantees for full security and protection of all
> inhabitants of Kosovo and Metohija, especially non-Albanian.
>
> The international community has shown efficiency when the return
> of ethnic Albanians to Kosovo and Metohija is concerned. In that
> connection, FR Yugoslavia expects the same international community to be
> equally efficient in the creation of security and other conditions for
> unhindered return of internally displaced persons of Serb and Montenegrin
> nationality, as well as other non-Albanians in Kosovo and Metohija.
>
> 3. HUMANITARIAN NEEDS IN THE FIELD OF
> HEALTH CARE
>
> More than 2,000 persons were killed in the NATO aggression and
> over 6,000 persons were wounded, mostly women, children and the elderly.
> About 200 persons have become invalids. During the aggression, 147 medical
> institutions were destroyed or damaged, with all their equipment and
> medicaments. In the coming period, it would be necessary to provide funds
> amounting to US$ 12.6 million for reconstruction of Clinical Hospital
> Center (KBC) "Dragisa Misovic", as well as health centers in Aleksinac and
> Prokuplje. In addition, the Agency for Country Reconstruction is also
> planning the reconstruction of the Gynecology-Obstetrics Clinic (GAK) in
> Belgrade, Clinical-Hospital Center - Gynecology Clinic in Belgrade, Health
> Center in Tutin, Psychiatric Clinic "Laza Lazarevic" in Belgrade,
> Army-Military Academy in Belgrade and Health Center in Kraljevo. For all
> these projects, it would be necessary to provide funds through donations of
> members of the Yugoslav diaspora, from foreign donors and assistance for
> reconstruction.
>
> The situation is further aggravated by extremely difficult
> circumstances regarding the provision of medicaments and medical supplies
> to health care institutions. The pharmaceutical industry in Yugoslavia will
> be able to revitalize its production at the pre-aggression level only if
> all domestic manufacturers are supplied with raw materials, precursors and
> spare parts, amounting to the value of DM 200 million. Considering that
> imported drugs account for 45,18 % of the domestic market, it will be
> necessary to provide more than DM 35 million for six-month needs of health
> care institutions in Serbia, and DM 29 million for dispensable medial
> supplies. There are also priority six-month needs concerning supplying
> laboratories and other diagnostic centers with chemicals, agents, serums
> and other equipment, amounting to US$ 2,000,000.
>
> Health Care Institutions in Serbia are also facing the shortage of
> many most essential medical instruments (500 defibrilators, 220 different
> ultrasonic instruments, 900 different types of EKG equipment, 150
> reanimation kits, 150 tables for reanimation of infants, 200 different
> types of incubators, 400 ambulances, anesthesia equipment, etc.
>
> In addition to the above stated, already noticeable are big
> difficulties or impossibility to provide hemo-dialysis for over 4,500
> patients; internist, surgical and radiological diagnostics and therapy for
> 90,000 cancer patients, diagnostics and therapy for 200,000 diabetes
> patients, 300,000 heart patients, 30,000 psychiatric patients and 600
> hemophilia patients. There has also been a considerable increase in
> respiratory and gastro-intestinal diseases.
>
> Humanitarian assistance arriving from abroad had the character of
> an additional factor in the regular medical supplies. Despite the fact that
> the scope of this assistance was big, its structure did not fully meet the
> needs of the medical services, namely, humanitarian shipments mostly
> contained essential drugs, i.e. drugs for the broadest indication areas.
> Other types of specific drugs, which are most frequently very costly and
> are not manufactured in our country and are necessary in modern farmaco -
> therapy accounted for small quantities.
>
> A big problem in the distribution of humanitarian aid was the
> shortage of finances for procurement of agents and other dispensable
> supplies required for examination and quality control of the drugs and
> medical supplies that arrived. This slowed down the delivery of
> humanitarian assistance to health care institutions.
> 4. PRIORITY HUMANITARIAN NEEDS IN RECONSTRUCTION OF THE ELECTRIC POWER
> SYSTEM OF THE COUNTRY
>
> NATO aggression inflicted enormous direct damages to the electric
> power system of FR Yugoslavia, especially the part of the electric power
> system belonging to the Public Utilities of Serbia "Elektroprivreda Srbije"
> (EPS). It also sharpened all those problems that existed even before the
> aggression, namely, the postponement of most capital overhauls and other
> maintenance works in the previous period, depletion of the fuel reserves,
> intermediaries and spare parts, narrowing down of possibilities of their
> replenishment, the shortage of required finances for these procurements and
> works, etc.
>
> The greatest damage inflicted on the EPS power system affected its
> transmission capacities. The work towards their incapacitation is a
> priority in reconstruction.
>
> After the NATO aggression, EPS prepared a specification of the
> required equipment, which would amount to US$ 120 million.
>
> The arguments towards a high level of humanitarian needs in
> electric power equipment are related to the extremely unfavorable
> humanitarian consequences for the broadest masses of the population in the
> case of insufficient and irregular supply of electricity to consumers.
>
> Also, 81 percent of households and the largest number of
> institutions secure water from the public water supply system, which
> requires electricity as energy source.
>
> Considering the UN energy embargo, which is still in force, it should be
> pointed out that the equipment and material for eliminating the
> consequences of NATO aggression on the electricity transmission system, as
> well as for the overhaul and maintenance of all manufacturing capacities,
> are treated as humanitarian needs, as envisaged by the Resolution on
> Humanitarian Assistance to FR Yugoslavia, adopted by the UN General
> Assembly on December 15, 1999 by consensus.
> 5. PRIORITY HUMANITARIAN NEEDS IN THE AGRICULTURAL-FOOD COMPLEX
>
> Despite the extremely adverse consequences of multi-year economic
> embargo and a large number of refugees and displace persons, the
> agriculture of FR Yugoslavia succeeded in fulfilling its main tasks - to
> provide food for the population. However, direct and indirect consequences
> of NATO aggression caused a shortage of basic raw materials and finished
> products in the agriculture and food sector. Priority humanitarian needs
> include the needs of the primary agricultural production and livestock
> breeding, seed, milk power and basic paper products.
>
> For ensuring primary agricultural production in SR Yugoslavia in
> the year 2000, it is necessary to import the deficient quantity of plant
> protection agents, artificial fertilizers and raw materials for production
> of fertilizers in local plants.
>
> In the first and second quarter of 2000, it is necessary to
> provide 910,000 tons of fertilizers for sowing.
>
> For the procurement of the required quantities of imported
> fertilizers and raw materials for their production, as well as for the
> imports of the missing quantity of plant protection agents, it is necessary
> to provide the total of US$ 111,780,000.
>
> For the needs of livestock breeding, SR Yugoslavia is oriented to
> importation of fishmeal, a basic component in feed production. Veterinary
> drugs, premixes and crushed soy beans, can only be partly found in the
> country, for which reason a part of these products or substances for their
> manufacture need to be continuously imported, amounting to the value of US$
> 59,500,000.
>
> In food production, importation of milk powder has been marked as
> a priority humanitarian need. Annual needs in imported milk powder amount
> to 5,000 tons, or the value of US$ 10,000,000.
>
> For sowing vegetables and fodder crops, it is necessary to provide
> the necessary quantities of quality seed. The annual needs of imported seed
> amount to the value of US$ 8,000,000.
>
> For the needs of packaging and hygiene, it is necessary to provide
> particular types of paper. The annual needs in imported paper products
> amount to US$ 17,900,000.
>
> Priority humanitarian needs in the field of agriculture and food
> industry amount to the total of US$ 207,180,000 per annum.
>
> 6. PRIORITY HUMANITARIAN NEEDS IN THE FIELD
> OF HEALING THE CONSEQUENCES OF NATO
> BOMBING ON THE ENVIRONMENT
>
> The NATO aggression against FR Yugoslavia also had the
> characteristics of an ecological war. NATO bombing posed considerable
> threat to the environment at the local and regional levels. Enormous
> destruction of chemical and energy complexes, as well as the related
> infrastructure, was adversely reflected on the quality of the environment
> and were a violation of the proclaimed human rights on the safe and healthy
> environment.
>
> The gravest consequences for the environment, of both short-term
> and long-term nature, have been observed on the locations of the Southern
> industrial zone of Pancevo, Novi Sad Refinery, "Zastava" in Kragujevac,
> Mining-Smelting Basin (RTB) in Born, and their surroundings. The combustion
> of big quantities of chemicals, or crude oil and its derivatives has caused
> pollution in the surrounding lands, ground but also underground waters,
> threatening to jeopardize some important sources of drinkable water.
>
> The Federal Ministry for Science, Development and the Environment
> assessed that for the needs of recovery in the field of the environment
> (most important short-term and long-term program) it will be necessary to
> provide the minimum of US$ 100,000,000.
>
> 7. PRIORITY HUMANITARIAN NEEDS IN THE
> FIELD OF HOUSING INFRASTRUCTURE AND RECONSTRUCTION OF SCHOOL BUILDINGS
>
> NATO aggression completely destroyed about 500 housing objects and
> 800 public objects and 46 bridges. Also, about 25,000 housing units have
> been damaged, in 59 municipalities and towns in Serbia. The reconstruction
> of severely damaged individual housing objects (533), as well as collective
> housing objects (431) would require about US$ 27,000,000.
>
> Reconstruction of damaged schools would require about US$
> 25,000,000. The Agency for Country Reconstruction plans to reconstruct, in
> the coming period, 10 damaged schools in the municipalities Nova Varos,
> Belgrade, Novi Sad, Cuprija, Boljevac, as well as the building of the
> Engineering Faculty and students' dormitory in Nis.
>
---
NOT A SINGLE NAME MUST BE FORGOTTEN
http://www.emperors-clothes.com/misc/nota.htm
The killing of a math prodigy: SANJA MILENKOVIC
***
"Don't be crazy, mum. Who's going to drop bombs on a small town?"
These were the last words Sanja Milenkovic spoke before she left for a
walk
Sunday, May 30, 1999. No ordinary day. Day 68 of the NATO attack on
Yugoslavia.
It was a sunny, busy shopping day, Pentecost. Young people strolled on
the streets,
some went onto the local bridge they liked so much because it offered a
magnificent
view of the Morava river and surroundings. The roar of warplanes cut
short the life
of the bridge and of those residents including Sanja Milenkovic.
Sanja and her family, whom she loved most in the world besides math,
led a quiet life.
As a gifted child, who had been given many awards, she came from her
native village
of Donji Katun near Varvarin, to the capital, Belgrade, to enroll,
without an entrance
exam, in the Mathematics High School. There were, as publicized in
numerous
interviews, no insolvable math problems for her. She had won many
Yugoslav and
international prizes, and she was preparing for the Mathematics
Olympiad and surely
for another of her trophies of world importance. She could explain
everything logically
or in terms of mathematics. The New York Times and the Washington Post
wrote
about our Sanja, a Serb girl from Varvarin, describing her as the
greatest math talent
of today, killed by NATO bombs.
Sanja was very close to her mother Vesna. Vesna was 21 when she gave
birth to her
first child. At fifteen, Sanja was a pretty and bright girl. "Sanja was
like younger
sister to me; she was also my best friend," says Vesna.
When the NATO aggression against our country started, Sanja traveled
back to
Varvarin to be with her parents. Vesna and Sanja's dad, Zoran, believed
Sanja would
be much safer in a small place in the country where there were no
military
installations. But NATO targetsincluded hospitals, schools,
kindergarten, roads and
bridges. Cynical news of "collateral damage" came out of NATO
headquarters every
day. So Sanja was one of several thousand ordinary Serbian people who
died of
missiles targeting even insignificant bridges in small towns throughout
Yugoslavia.
One of them was the bridge in Varvarin. It led to the local Christian
Orthodox church
and therefore innocent civilians, who happened to be on it that sunny
May day, on the
Christian holiday of Pentecost, were killed. Sanja and two of her
friends were among
the victims.
It was a little past noon. The shopping day attracted more crowds than
usual. The
memorial liturgy was in progress at the Church of the Holy Mother at
that moment.
No one knew that up in the skies there were warplanes that already had
the bridge in
their sights and were ready to rain down death. In the 68 days of the
aggression,
people were used to being bombed by night. So, very few believed that
the 52-year
old bridge that was the town's lifeline and that did not straddle any
of the major
transport routes, would be picked. It is a three-hour drive to Kosovo
and Metohija
from there. It was exactly five minutes past one p.m. Vesna and Zoran
were fixing
lunch for their daughter when they heard a strong blast nearby. Vesna's
mum
immediately picked up the phone to check if it was still working. The
telephone lines
ran across the bridge. The phone was dead. She dashed into the car and
headed for
the bridge. She looked through the window searching for the loved face.
The river bank was deserted. The crowd had rn away fearing another
strike. Vesna
stood alone on the bank, calling out her daughter's name. And then she
saw Sanja.
She lay on a broken slab of the bridge, motionless. It was much later
that she was
told what had happened and how Sanja died. As the first missile hit the
bridge, its
footpath collapsed into the river. Sanja and her friends fell into the
water, as well.
Sanja was unharmed, while one of her friends had her arm broken and the
other a leg.
Like the rest of the pedestrians, Sanja could have reached the bank,
but she chose to
help her friends. Ten minutes after the initial attack, the NATO pilot
came back to
finish his job. The explosion had cut the bridge in half. The religious
service in the
church stopped and everyone rushed to help the wounded. The explosion
stopped
them in the process. Another seven people were killed. Sanja was struck
in the back
by a shrapnel. They put her into an ambulance. Her eyes were open for a
few more
minutes. Her father encouraged her to fight for her breath. A couple of
minutes later
Sanja's eyes closed. "I knew it was for ever," said her dad Zoran, "I
was hopeful,
nevertheless." The fight for Sanja's life went on in hospital, where
she was injected
with adrenaline shots. But death got the upper hand. Sanja lay
motionless in the pink
T-shirt that she had put on that morning. She was 15 and a half. The
following day
Jamie Shea held his regular press conference in faraway Brussels, as he
did every
day .
Sanja Milenkovic will not dream out her dreams. However strongly she
felt about
numerals and the logic of life, there can be no explanation for her
premature death.
Sanja's teachers and peers believe that, if it had been according to
the laws of
mathematics, Sanja's name would have been predestined to become famous
and be
inscribed in international yearbooks of the greatest mathematicians.
Those who died early and whom we were indebted to during their lifetime
oblige us to
remember them always. The name of Sanja Milenkovic will always be in
the minds of
those talented like herself. That was the reason why a Fund, named
after her, was
set up. The Fund serves to award scholarships/fellowships to young
gifted secondary
school students and university undergraduates in the field of math and
technical
sciences. The Fund was established at the initiative of Mr. Zivadin
Jovanovic,
Federal Minister for Foreign Affairs of the FR of Yugoslavia, and Mr.
Milutin
Mrkonjic, Director-General of the Country Reconstruction Directorate.
Sanja's granddad, Ljubomir Milenkovic, was appointed an honorary member
of the
Fund.
Twenty young people were awarded scholarships from the Fund on November
5,
1999. In addressing them, Minister Jovanovic said that this Fund was
set up to keep
the memory of Sanja alive and by keeping it alive to demonstrate our
attitude towards
the highest achievements and greatest successes in learning and
studies. The talents
now financed and yet to be financed by the "Sanja Milenkovic" Fund will
keep alive
the memory of a youth cut short prematurely and of wishes and dreams
left unfulfilled.
They will also keep alive the name of Sanja Milenkovic.
[Note from emperors-clothes: A reader in California has asked how
people can
contribute to this fund from outside Yugoslavia. We're making
inquiries.]
---
http://news.beograd.com/english/articles_and_opinion/djurdjevic/000711_nato_coverin_up_losses.html
New World Order
Bob Djurdjevic
11. July, 2000.
New World Order and the Serbs - Part XL
NATO COVERING UP LOSSES
In a story headlined "NATO Covering Up Own Losses," the Russian Agency
of
Political News (APN) reported on Apr. 29 that NATO had lost over 400
troops,
and over 60 aircraft during its 79-day war with Serbia. The estimates
reportedly based on Russian government figures, have been hushed up in
the
West by the New World Order lapdog media.
These are the highest figures so far of NATO's human casualties to
emerge
from the post-war post-mortems. We may believe them or treat them as
propaganda. But only fools would totally disregard them and choose to
believe in the fiction of the NATO "lie and deny" propagandists,
including
Bill Clinton, who declared to the nation last June that NATO had
suffered no
losses in combat.
The Russian article was written by an experienced military
correspondent,
Vladislav Shurygin, who has also reported on the Chechnya war. Shurygin
elaborates on an earlier Russian Defense Ministry report that was first
published in the Foreign Military Review and then by ITAR-TASS, one of
the
two official Russian government agencies.
Shurygin observes that NATO and the Pentagon had lied unabashedly, and
that
they continue to do so. He notes that it may take years for the U.S.
government to admit what it really lost in its war on Serbia. He says,
for
example, that NATO even lied regarding the number of combat sorties it
had
flown, let alone its own casualties. Instead of the claimed 35 000
flights,
the alliance actually flew only about 25 000, he says.
By way of a disclaimer, the APN editors said that Shurygin's piece was
the
"author's personal view" of the subject. But Shurygin is merely one of a
number of sources that have sprung up since the end of NATO's bombing
suggesting that NATO may be covering up significant losses it had
suffered
during its 79-day bombing of Serbia.
The pseudonym "Venik" may be a familiar term to wartime Truth in Media
and
Beograd.com readers. It was Venik who was the first to systematically
analyze and report the NATO losses in April 1999. And this source been
updating that information ever since. Here is Venik's latest
contribution on
the topic of NATO losses:
"According to a March 25, 2000, article published by the ITAR-TASS news
agency, Russian GRU (Main Intelligence Directorate) sources report that
during the Operation "Allied Force" NATO's air forces sustained losses
considerably higher than is officially acknowledged by NATO command.
According to GRU information, NATO lost three F-117A stealth bombers,
and at
least 40 other combat planes, and over 1,000 cruise missiles.
So far, NATO officials acknowledged losing three combat planes (the USAF
F-117A on March 27, the USMC AV-8B Harrier on May 1, and the
F-16CG-40-CF on
May 2), two attack helicopters (AH-64 Apache on April 26 and another
Apache
on May 5), between 30 and 32 unmanned reconnaissance vehicles, including
at
least 16 American, 7 German, and 5 French UAVs. Interestingly enough,
NATO
acknowledged all of the UAV losses mentioned by Yugoslav military
officials - 30 - and, perhaps, even more.
Official NATO reports and statements made by various NATO officials
indicate
that about 10 NATO planes made emergency landings. Two F-117As sustained
extensive damage (the F-117A 86-0837 was damaged on April 21 during
landing;
and another F-117A lost a part of its tail section due to a nearby SA-3
SAM
explosion). An RAF C-130K Hercules transport plane crashed on June 11 in
Albania. The aircraft was delivering a British SAS unit that was trying
to
beat Russian paratroopers to the Slatina base. The US Army OH-58 combat
reconnaissance helicopter crashed on May 26 in Bosnia...
In February British press was discussing a sharp shortage of operational
aircraft experienced by the Royal Air Force. The news first appeared in
the
January 23, 2000, 'Hundreds of Crippled Jets put RAF in Crisis' article
published by the London Observer. In particular, the article, based on
the
Observer's own investigation, outlines the following problems with the
RAF:
"Two out of three of the UK's 186 fleet of Tornado bombers are grounded;
Fewer than 40 per cent of other frontline aircraft, such as Harriers and
Jaguars, are ready to fly at short notice;
The Ministry of Defence has spent almost £1 billion developing a
laser-guided bombing system that does not work properly;
There is shortage of nearly 20 per cent of junior officer fast jet
pilots
and the RAF is having a severe problem in retaining trained pilots."
According to an ITAR-TASS review of the article published by the Foreign
Military Review magazine of the Russian Defense Ministry, Yugoslav
aviation
prevented the use of American AH-64 Apache attack helicopters during the
Kosovo conflict. The "NATO Losses in the War with Yugoslavia" article,
the
Foreign Military Review writes "... the biggest sensation was the number
of
troops lost by NATO. Not just NATO pilots were killed in Yugoslavia, but
also search-and-rescue troops that were tasked with locating downed
pilots.
Yugoslav air defenses have shot down no less than five NATO helicopters,
which (alone) resulted in deaths of about 100 troops of the Alliance."
According to the Foreign Military Review, the reason why Pentagon did
not
use Apaches in Kosovo "...had nothing to do with technical problems with
the
helicopters or insufficient training of their flight crews, as was often
stated by NATO officials. The only reason was the April 26, 1999 attack
carried out by Yugoslav "Galeb" fighters against "Rinas" airport located
near Albania's capital of Tirana, where the Apaches were based. That day
two
groups of these light helicopters were destroyed and over 10 helicopters
were damaged."
A similar operation was carried out by Yugoslav AF on April 18 against
the
airport in Tuzla, Bosnia, used as an emergency landing site for NATO
aircraft. As the result of this attack some 15 NATO aircraft were
destroyed
on the ground.
The Foreign Military Review writes: "Despite the fact that American
aircraft
dominated NATO operations, they weren't the only aircraft shot down by
Yugoslav air defenses. Among the destroyed aircraft were five German
"Tornadoes," several British "Harriers'" two French "Mirages," Belgian,
Dutch, and Canadian aircraft. On June 7 the USAF lost a B-52 strategic
bomber, while on May 20 a B-2A "Spirit" was shot down."
Looking at the eyewitness report listing compiled by aviation
enthusiasts in
Yugoslavia, we can find the following entry (#381) June 7, between 012
and
040, area between Slankamen and Indjija. 'One large bomber (most
probably
B-52) was shot down. Aircraft exploded after a direct SAM hit. Crew
killed'
."
Incredible as it may seem at a first glance to western audiences
accustomed
to lapping up the soap fed to them by the New World Order "lie and deny"
news spinners, the above estimates are not far off the contemporaneous
reports by the Greek media.
On Apr. 7, 1999, for example, the Athinaiki (The Athenian), an Athens
daily,
said in an article that NATO had already lost 88 soldiers. And that was
only
after two weeks of war! If NATO had lost 88 troops at the time when the
intensity of fighting was at a lower level than later on in the war,
then
its human casualties over the 11-week conflict might have been over
1,000,
had the same rate of attrition continued.
Whatever the actual number, it is certainly greater than zero, which is
what
Clinton, NATO and the Pentagon have been alleging. A steady stream of
new
factual information emanating from the Russian media, mostly based on
the
Russian official military sources (who were in a position to track
firsthand
the air and sea battlefields a year ago - Russia had two ships in the
Adriat
ic during the war monitoring the war through electronic surveillance),
serves to discredit such ludicrous claims by NATO and the Clinton
administration.
In fact, it would not surprise us if the Russian government were
engaging
here in a game of political blackmail and brinkmanship with the Clinton
administration, trying to gain some leverage in negotiations of other,
bigger issues, such as the Missile Defense Shield (see my column
"Dangerous
Nuclear Saber-Rattling"). All this, of course, in the hope of gaining
some
leverage before Clinton's visit to Moscow on June 4.
Since both Moscow and Washington know that if Russia were to release a
proof
(electronic surveillance recordings, for example) that back up its
claims
about the NATO losses, this would have a devastating effect on NATO/NWO
public. For, the whole world would then know that a tiny Yugoslav Army
had
whipped the arrogant and omnipotent aggressor, using some fairly
outdated
weaponry, but more than making up for it with cunning and bravery of its
officers and troops.
The only question that remains unanswered, however, is how did the
Clinton
administration manage to keep so many grieving American and other NATO
families silent about the losses of their loved ones? Or more pointedly,
did
it bribe them (pay them off) or intimidate them with threats or worse?
Several Truth in Media readers have come forth with their own
explanations.
We received the following feedback from Fernando (whose last name is
known
to TiM):
"I am an Australian born in Portugal, but have lived most of my life in
Angola (Africa) at a time that country was a Portuguese colony. Well,
there
was a war between the Portuguese and the Angolan freedom fighters(in the
1970s). When a Portuguese soldier died in action, his family were
informed
that he had had an accident! Usually a car accident or something
similar...
They never died in combat :-). Only at the end of the war, many families
knew that their loved ones were in fact killed in action.
So I reckon that the same may be happening with the American soldiers.
Their
families are probably being informed that their sons, brothers or
husbands
had unfortunate accidents. And those families don't usually know each
other,
and therefore can't compare notes. It's not difficult to tell lies to
400
families throughout a country with 260 million people. Most of those
families don't know about the existence of each other and therefore the
lies
can stand."
Another letter came to us from someone in the U.S. armed forces:
"Try this... A friend of mine's husband was an E6 in Delta Force. He was
killed in Somalia. Officially, he was never there and died of an
accident. A
captain I was friends with, was a Lieutenant in Somalia, and he told me
about the number of bodies going out... A lot more then 18 (the official
count).
My supply sergeant was a former Special Forces member, he told me they
lost
almost 50 people from Special Forces in Panama. The official death toll
was
15.
A fraternity brother of mine, who was an officer in the SEALs, died in
Central America, officially from a training accident. His family hired a
private investigator and found out his chopper had been shot down.
Please,
if you think our government doesn't control what you see and hear, you
are a
fool."
In short, what the preceding letter suggest is that Americans have zero
tolerance for losses in overseas expeditions of our neo-colonial
governments
(yes, George Bush's, not only Bill Clinton's). That's good. And that's
bad.
It's good, because most decent people in our country don't want to see
our
armed forces sacrificed in some distant country while occupying it on
behalf
of the New World Order, instead of defending America - the job they have
sworn to do.
It's bad, because so many of our fellow-citizens have become so gullible
through decades of brainwashing and dumbing-down of America. If such
Americans don't see something on TV, it didn't happen. Conversely, if
they
do see it on their screens, the "Wag the Dog"-type scenarios
notwithstanding, they gulp up the government's lies and deceptions as if
they were the Gospel truth.
Which makes it so easy for our Washington leaders and the establishment
media to fool the public. When the TV images of angry Somalies' dragging
the
bodies of dead American soldiers in October 1993 flashed across America'
s
TV screens, Clinton hurriedly ordered our troops out of that country.
But did Clinton stop sending our troops into harm's way? No, Sir. The
two
Clinton administrations continued, and even accelerated the (Bush's)
neo-colonial foreign policy on behalf of the "death merchants" and other
multinational corporations which profit from "perpetual wars for
perpetual
commerce." It's just that they never allowed any American casualties to
be
either reported or shown on our TV screens.
If you can't see them, they didn't happen. Right. If you're one of the
dumbed-down morons of the New World Order. For, only such morons
believed
Bill Clinton when he declared in his "victory speech" on June 10, 1999
that
NATO had suffered "no combat casualties" in its war with Serbia.
Copyright ©2000 beograd.com. All Rights Reserved.
--------- COORDINAMENTO ROMANO PER LA JUGOSLAVIA -----------
RIMSKI SAVEZ ZA JUGOSLAVIJU
e-mail: crj@... - URL: http://marx2001.org/crj
http://www.egroups.com/group/crj-mailinglist/
------------------------------------------------------------
GENEROSA UNMIK LIBERA SUBITO PRESUNTO ASSASSINO DI TRE PERSONE
http://www.centraleurope.com/yugoslaviatoday/news.php3?id=182518§ion=kosovo
Kosovo Albanian Triple Murder Suspect Released without
Charge
PRISTINA, Jul 26, 2000 -- (Agence France Presse) An
ethnic Albanian accused of carrying out one of
Kosovo's bloodiest post-war attacks on Serbian
civilians has been released without charge, a senior
UN policeman told AFP Tuesday.
Afrim Zeqiri was arrested after three Serbs, including
a four-year-old child, were shot dead in Cernica,
southeast Kosovo, on May 28 by a single gunman armed
with an assault rifle...
---
TRE NUOVI MORTI AMMAZZATI IN KOSMET
<< 3 Serb Men Shot in Kosovo Attack
.c The Associated Press
By ROBERT H. REID
PRISTINA, Yugoslavia (AP) - Gunmen shot and wounded three Serb men
during a
late-night attack in the sector of Kosovo under control of American
peacekeepers, the U.S. military reported Saturday.
The three Serbs were shot about 10:30 p.m. Friday near a cemetery in
Kosovska Kamenica, an ethnically mixed town jointly patrolled by Russian
and
American troops, a U.S. statement said.
The three were evacuated to the U.S. military hospital at Camp
Bondsteel
where they were reported in serious but stable condition with multiple
gunshot wounds.
Several ethnic Albanians were questioned as witnesses but were
released,
according to NATO spokesman Maj. Scott Slaten. No further details were
released.
Attacks by ethnic Albanians against Serbs have continued despite the
presence of NATO-led troops and U.N. police, who took control of the
Serb
province in June 1999 from Yugoslav forces withdrawing after the 78-day
NATO
bombing of Yugoslavia.
On Saturday, about 150 Serbs held a memorial service to mark the deaths
of
14 villagers slain in a wheat field a year ago, among the bloodiest
ethnic
attacks since NATO moved into Kosovo.
The victims of the massacre were found by a British patrol July 23,
1999
after automatic weapons fire was heard near the town of Gracko, some 10
miles
south of the capital, Pristina. Thirteen people were found lying in a
circle
next to their harvester while another man was slumped over his tractor
150
yards away.
Serbs blamed ethnic Albanian militants for the attack and accused
peacekeepers of failing to heed their pleas for protection during the
harvest
season. The massacre also dashed early hopes that the peacekeeping
mission
would be able to impose ethnic tolerance in the strife-torn province.
Saturday's service was closely watched by Finnish and Norwegian
peacekeepers, the private Beta news agency said. Serbs attending
expressed
bitterness that NATO and U.N. authorities in the province had failed to
find
those responsible for the attack, the report said.
Meanwhile, the publisher of an Albanian-language newspaper said he
would
refuse to pay a fine for violating regulations on publishing personal
information on alleged war criminals.
Belul Beqaj declared that his newspaper, Dita, would ignore an order to
pay
a fine of $11,900 by Tuesday and suggested the paper would not change
its
policy of publishing names of those they believe were involved in war
crimes.
As long as those people are free, Beqaj said, ``the freedom and
stability of
Kosovo will be endangered.''
The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe fined Dita for
repeatedly violating a U.N. regulation against accusing individuals who
have
not been charged with a crime of being war criminals or publishing other
information that could make them targets of retribution.
AP-NY-07-22-00 1726EDT
---
L'OSCE PREPARA ELEZIONI ILLEGITTIME IN KOSMET PER OTTOBRE
OSCE set to avoid violence in Kosovo elections
PRISTINA, Yugoslavia, July 25 (Reuters) - The U.N.-led administration in
Kosovo said on Tuesday it would enforce a ``zero tolerance'' policy on
violence and intimidation during a municipal election planned for
October....
For the full text of this story, <A
HREF="aol://4344:30.L100NIHm.7218930.648997655">click here</A>.
---
ANCORA AZIONI DEI TERRORISTI DELLA NATO NELLA SERBIA MERIDIONALE
Terror unter NATO-Schutz
(Neue Angriffe auf Südserbien)
(Von Rainer Rupp)
In Sofia warnte kürzlich Oberstleutnant Kiril Kirilow, Kommandant einer
bulgarischen Einheit der UNO-Polizei im Kosovo, dass die Albaner große
Anstrengungen unternähmen, sich zu bewaffnen. In einem Interview mit der
Tageszeitung Duma in Sofia erklärte er, dass es als UNO-Polizist "sehr
schwierig ist, sich den Albanern in den Weg zu stellen" und dass als
Resultat "viele unschuldige Serben unter Repression und Terror der
Kosovo-Albaner gelitten haben". ("Kosovo Albanians keep on arming
themselves", July 19, 2000, AFP)
Damit hat Oberstleutnant Kirilow praktisch die Unfähigkeit der
UNO-Mission im Kosovo (UNMIK) bestätigt, die nicht-albanische
Bevölkerung zu schützen. Über die Mitglieder des Kosovo-Schutz-Korps
sagte er, dass "viele ihre UCK-Angewohnheiten noch nicht abgelegt"
hätten, weshalb "zahlreiche ethnische Albaner von der sogenannten UCK
verhaftet worden" seien. Allerdings werden sie von den albanischen
Untersuchungsrichtern umgehend wieder auf freien Fuß gesetzt. Kirilow
warnte jedoch, dass nicht nur Serben und ethnische Minderheiten im
Kosovo großer Gefahr ausgesetzt wären sondern auch die Mitglieder der
zahlreichen internationalen nicht-Regierungsorganisationen.
In der Zwischenzeit sorgt der obskure Ableger der UCK-Terroristen, die
selbsternannte "Befreiungsarmee für Presevo, Medvedja und Bujanovac" für
neuen Unruhe entlang der Bezirksgrenze zwischen Südserbien und Kosovo ".
Die auf mindestens 200 Mitglieder geschätzte UC-PMB-Gruppe operiert
hauptsächlich aus dem Dorf Dobrosin, das im fünf Kilometer breiten
entmilitarisierten Grenzstreifen zwischen Kosovo und Serbien proper nur
einige Hundert Meter von der amerikanischen KFOR-Zone liegt. Da
serbisches Militär nicht in dem entmilitarisierten Grenzstreifen
operieren darf, und die Amerikaner für einen solchen Fall wiederholt mit
schwerwiegenden Folgen gedroht haben, führen die Terroristen der UCPMB
ihre Überfälle auf die südserbischen Dörfer und Städte praktisch unter
dem Schutz der US-Truppen aus, um die von ihnen als Ost-Kosovo
bezeichneten Region zu "befreien".
Letzte Woche gab es wieder vermehrte Zwischenfälle und Mörserüberfälle
auf serbische Polizeiposten Dabei wurden allein drei Polizisten am
Montag verwundet. Am Dienstag wurden ein weiterer Polizist und zwei
junge Mädchen durch einen Feuerüberfall der UCPMB verwundet. Insgesamt
sind seit Ende des NATO-Überfalls auf Jugoslawien 50 Zwischenfälle
registriert worden bei denen etwa 15 Menschen getötet und über 20
verwundet wurden. Noch stellen die Angreifer die größte Zahl der Toten.
Einer der Terroristen, die am 27 Februar dieses Jahres ein Polizeiauto
aus dem Hinterhalt angriffen, konnte anhand seiner Uniform und der bei
ihm gefundenen Papiere einwandfrei als ehem. UCK-Bandit und aktuelles
Mitglied des angeblich demilitarisierten Kosovo-Schutz-Korps
identifiziert werden.
Als Resultat der erneut aufflackernden Kämpfe und der allgemeinen
Verunsicherung der mehrheitlich ethnischen Albanern, die in diesem Teil
Südserbiens leben, sollen mittlerweile bis zu 60% der Bevölkerung die
Region verlassen haben und zumeist zu Verwandten ins Kosovo gegangen
sein. ("Daily shootings spark fear in village near Kosovo", July 19,
2000, Web posted at: 11:28 AM EDT (1528 GMT), KONCULJ, Yugoslavia
(Reuters)
Anderswo im Kosovo wurden in den letzten Tagen ein serbischer Bauer und
seine Frau beim Heu machen auf dem Feld von vier albanischen Gangstern
mit automatischen Waffen beschossen und schwer verletzt. Ein Haus in
einem serbischen Dorf in Nord-Kosovo wurde von einer von der Schulter
abgefeuerten Rakete getroffen. Wie durch ein Wunder wurde niemand
verletzt. An einer anderen Stelle gingen britische Truppen einem
serbischen Hinweis nach und fanden und zerstörten ein weitverzweigtes
Bunkersystem der UCK, das scheinbar noch für geheime Trainingszwecke
benutzt wurde.
Saarbrücken den 25.7.00
http://www.albaniannews.com
Albanian Daily News
July 21, 2000
Serb Policemen Wounded in Kosovo Border Incident
VRANJE, Serbia - Three Serb policemen were wounded
overnight in a heavy mortar attack in a buffer zone
separating southern Serbia from Kosovo, a Serbian
official said on Tuesday.
“Last night between 2000 and 2030 around 35 mortar
shells landed near the Konculj (police) checkpoint,”
investigative judge of the Vranje District Court
Slavoljub Mihajlovic told Reuters.
“One of the shells landed next to the checkpoint
itself and three policemen were wounded. Two were
lightly wounded and the third, who had a piece of
shrapnel in his neck, has been sent for treatment to
Belgrade military hospital,” he said.
Mihajlovic, who is also investigating three more
incidents that took place in the area over the past 10
days, said he could not tell exactly who was behind
the attack, but added: “It was probably Albanian
terrorists.”
He said the attacks came from the direction of
Dobrosin, a village in the five-km (three-mile) wide
demilitarised belt, set up after the Yugoslav army and
Serbian police withdrew from Kosovo, following the
arrival of international NATO-led peacekeepers.
The village of Konculj also lies in the buffer zone
between territory controlled by Yugoslav forces and
Kosovo.
According to Belgrade independent Beta news agency,
the last reported shelling was the 49th incident in
the buffer zone and the 14th attack on the local
police checkpoint in Konculj in the past year.
The area of southern Serbia adjoining Kosovo has a
large ethnic Albanian population and has suffered
increased ethnic violence, which Yugoslav authorities
blame on a spillover of “Albanian terrorism” from
Kosovo.
An ethnic Albanian armed group calling itself the
Presevo, Medvedja and Bujanovac Liberation Army, named
after three municipalities in the area, is believed to
have been involved in several clashes with Serbian
police in the past year.
The group is believed to have its headquarters in
Dobrosin. (Reuters)
---
NUOVO COMANDANTE PER LE TRUPPE STATUNITENSI IN KOSMET
Troops in Kosovo Get New Commander
.c The Associated Press
By ALISON MUTLER
CAMP BONDSTEEL, Yugoslavia (AP) - Brig. Gen. Dennis E. Hardy took
command of
U.S. forces in Kosovo on Tuesday, saying he intends to advance the peace
process and leave Kosovo ``as a land of peace and prosperity.''
Hardy assumed the reins at an outdoor ceremony at Camp Bondsteel, the
main
U.S. camp in this Serbian province where 5,500 U.S. troops are
stationed. He
takes over from Brig. Gen. Randal M. Tieszen, who leaves the post after
two
months to become Chief of Staff of V Corps in Heidelberg, Germany, where
he
will be in charge of 50,000 troops.
In a speech at the handover ceremony, Hardy said he wants to eventually
``turn this nation back over to the Kosovars ... as a land of peace and
prosperity.''
Troops would likely remain in the province for ``a matter of years,'' he
said. He added that Kosovo needs to establish a working economy,
implement
law and order, develop its political and social systems and improve
ethnic
relations.
Tieszen, the outgoing commander, warned that ``constant, senseless
violence''
could tear apart the province and harm its people and their livelihoods
for
generations to come.
``If you do not solve this, you and your children are condemned to a
future
without prosperity, peace and contentment,'' he said in a stern warning
to
Kosovars.
The U.N. and NATO took control of Kosovo after the alliance's 78-day
bombing
campaign in 1999 to punish Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic for his
18-month repression of ethnic Albanians, who form the majority in
Kosovo.
Since the fighting ended, violence between the province's ethnic
Albanians
and Serbs has persisted, hindering the formation of a multiethnic
society.
AP-NY-07-25-00 1013EDT
---
ALBANESI POSSONO ENTRARE SENZA VISTO IN MONTENEGRO
Yugoslav army again lets Albanians into Montenegro
BOZAJ, Yugoslavia, July 25 (Reuters) - The Yugoslav army allowed
Albanians to
enter Montenegro without visas on Tuesday after reportedly turning away
hundreds of people at this border crossing the previous day.
A Reuters reporter who visited the Bozaj crossing in the morning said
people
travelling between Albania and Montenegro were let through without any
problems since late on Monday....
For the full text of this story, <A
HREF="aol://4344:30.L100NJ9t.370282.649006375">click here</A>
Yugo army kicks Albanian visitors from Montenegro
SHKODER, Albania, July 24 (Reuters) - Albanian police said on Monday
that the
Yugoslav army had turned away hundreds of Albanians trying to visit
Montenegro, Serbia's reluctant partner in the Yugoslav federation.
The action by the army, loyal to Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic,
contravenes an accord between Montenegro and Albania under which
Albanians do
not need a visa to visit their northern neighbour.
``The Yugoslav army has turned back all Albanian citizens who crossed
into
Montenegro on the pretext they did not have a federal visa,'' said local
police chief Zija Hasa.
Yugoslavia severed diplomatic relations with Albania after NATO launched
an
air campaign against its bases last March to stop the Kosovo conflict,
saying
that Albania had helped the alliance attack its territory.
Some 300 Albanians were forced back at the Yugoslav army checkpoint at
Bozaj,
three kilometres (2 miles) from the border crossing where Montenegrin
police
had let them through.
Those turned back said there were three times as many troops, tanks and
armoured cars than usual at the army checkpoint, which had been
reinforced
with concrete.
``Belgrade wants to keep fires burning in the Balkans,'' Albanian
foreign
ministry spokesman Sokol Gjoka told reporters, adding that the
government was
closely monitoring the situation.
Montenegrin radio, monitored in the northern Albanian town of Shkoder,
also
said that some 1,000 Albanians on holiday in Montenegro had been told to
return home by July 30.
11:44 07-24-00
---
RELAZIONI BILATERALI TRA IRAQ E RF DI JUGOSLAVIA
Iraq, Yugoslavia start trade talks
BAGHDAD, July 25 (Reuters) - Iraq and Yugoslavia started trade talks to
cement economic cooperation between the two countries, the official
Iraqi
News Agency reported on Tuesday.
INA said the talks were chaired by Iraqi Trade Minister Mohammed Mehdi
Saleh
and his Yugoslav counterpart Borislav Vulkovic....
For the full text of this story, <A
HREF="aol://4344:30.L100NJEh.7247456.649007698">click here</A>
YUGOSLAV MINISTER VISITS IRAQ
BAGHDAD, July 25 (Tanjug) A Yugoslav state and economic
delegation, headed by federal Foreign Trade Minister Borislav Vukovic,
started an official visit to Iraq on Tuesday, the Yugoslav Foreign
Ministry
said.
At a session at the Iraqi Trade Ministry, attended by senior
representatives of the Yugoslav ministries and some 50 Yugoslav
businessmen
and bankers, and by their Iraqi counterparts, Vukovic and Iraq's Trade
Minister Mohammed Meldi Saleh, gave joint instructions whose aim are
concrete agreements within the Oil for Food Program and the securing of
conditions for expanding the presence of the Yugoslav economy on the
Iraqi
market.
During the morning, Vukovic met separately with Iraqi Vice
Prime
Minister Hikmet Al Azavi, who is also Finance Minister, and with the
governor of the Central Bank of Iraq.
The talks focused on bilateral cooperation and its financial
aspects. Both sides expressed readiness for the two countries' financial
institutions to find the best ways for giving banking support to the
economies of Yugoslavia and Iraq and their cooperation.
Both sides confirmed that their businessmen would do everything
to
realize cooperation goals, personally set by the presidents of
Yugoslavia
and Iraq Slobodan Milosevic and Saddam Hussein respectively.
---
AUMENTO SPESE MILITARI NELLA RF DI JUGOSLAVIA
FROM THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF YUGOSLAVIA
PARLIAMENT APPROVES ADDITIONAL 2BL DINARS FOR NATIONAL DEFENSE
BELGRADE, July 25 (Tanjug) Both chambers of the Federal
Parliament adopted at an emergency session on Tuesday amendments to the
Law
on additional financing of national defense in the year 2000, and set up
a
federal elections commission and a monitoring committee for implementing
the elections.
The amendments to the Law on financing national defense will
secure an additional two billion dinars for the Yugoslav Army from
August
until the end of the year.
Yugoslav Deputy Premier Jovan Zebic presented the proposed
amendments to both chambers.
The federal budget for this year is 22,522 million dinars,
including 16,382 million for the Yugoslav Army, Zebic said. A special
federal Law on additional financing earmarked another 3.2 billion dinars
for the Yugoslav Army, to cover part of the emergency expenditures
resulting from the 1999 NATO aggression on Yugoslavia, he said.
This brings the sum earmarked for the Yugoslav Army this year
to a
total of 19.5 billion dinars, Zebic said.
---
RAPPORTI ECONOMICI TRA RF DI JUGOSLAVIA E CINA
YUGOSLAVIA - CHINA
YUGOSLAV AND CHINESE BUSINESSMEN SIGN COOPERATION PROTOCOL
BELGRADE, July 25 (Tanjug) The vicepresident of the Yugoslav
Chamber of Commerce (PKJ) and his counterpart at the Chinese Council for
Promoting International Trade of the Hebei province, Drago Sofranc and
Shuo
Jingchen respectively, signed in Belgrade on Tuesday a Protocol on
Cooperation.
The Protocol, which aims to further strengthen and develop
economic relations between Yugoslavia and China, was signed at the
closure
of a visit by a Chinese economic delegation to Yugoslavia. It represents
a
more concrete form of an Agreement signed by the two countries' chambers
of
economy last September in Beijing.
Under the Protocol, the two countries will make efforts for
establishing and developing all forms of economic cooperation. Since
both
sides are jointly interested in agriculture, Yugoslav businessmen will
be
able to supply the Chinese market with farming machinery.
Chinese businessmen, on the other hand, want to invest in the
Yugoslav textile industry and are interested in importing Yugoslav
beechtimber and copper.
Yugoslav and Chinese economists should also establish closer
cooperation in the spheres of engineering, the chemical industry and
tourism.
---
IMBOSCATA CONTRO AGRICOLTORE SERBO IN KOSMET
KOSOVO AND METOHIJA - TERRORISM
ETHNIC ALBANIAN EXTREMISTS AMBUSH SERB FARMER
GNJILANE, SERBIA, July 24 (Tanjug) Dragan Peric, a Serb farmer
from the village of Prekovac, near Novo Brdo in eastern KosovoMetohija,
was
wounded when he was ambushed in his field which he was working with this
wife and child.
Ethnic Albanian extremists opened automatic gunfire on the
Peric
family last Wednesday, the ChurchNational Board of Gnjilane said on
Monday.
Dragan was immediately transferred to the hospital in Gracanica
and is out of danger.
The subsequent investigation launched by the international
forces
in KosovoMetohija (KFOR) determined that there were two attackers but
their
identity so far remains unknown.
---
BOMBA NEL CENTRO DI MITROVICA
BOMB EXPLODES IN CENTRAL KOSOVSKA MITROVICA
KOSOVSKA MITROVICA, SERBIA, July 24 (Tanjug) A strong
explosion
shook the northern, Serb part of the ethnically divided city of Kosovska
Mitrovica at 4:50 a.m. Monday.
The blast damaged 11 vehicles, but no one was hurt. The
UNMIK
police made a very superficial report about the incident since the head
of
the UNMIK police, a Nigerian, arrived at the scene of the explosion
without
a pen and paper.
Pistol and automatic gunfire were heard from the southern part
of
the city until late on Saturday night.
---
SULLA RIFORMA COSTITUZIONALE NELLA RF DI JUGOSLAVIA
FROM THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF YUGOSLAVIA
YUGOSLAV PARLIAMENT ADOPTED PACKAGE OF ELECTION LAWS
BELGRADE, July 24 (Tanjug) The deputies of the Yugoslav
parliament's two chambers adopted at separate sessions held on Monday a
package of election laws which secure all the electoral rights of the
citizens.
The special sessions, held at the instigation of the federal
government, adopted the Law on the Election and Ending of the Mandate of
the President of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, the Law on the
Election of Deputies to the Chamber of the Republics (Upper House) of
the
federal parliament, the Law on Electoral Units for the Election of
Deputies
to the Chamber of Deputies (Lower House) of the federal parliament and
changes and amendments to the Law on the Election of Deputies to the
Chamber of Citizens of the federal parliament.
Under the Law on the Election of the President of Yugoslavia,
the
citizens will vote for the president directly at elections.
Presidential candidates can be nominated by political parties,
other political organizations and groups of citizens if they manage to
collect at least 25,000 signatures of the electorate.
These elections will be called by the speaker of the federal
parliament's Chamber of Citizens and all activities linked to them will
be
carried out by the Federal Election Committee.
The mandate of the president of Yugoslav ends in case of death,
acquittal or resignation.
An acquittal requires the votes of twothirds of deputies in
each
of the federal parliament's chambers. The federal parliament can
release
the president from office when the Federal Constitutional Court
determines
that he has violated the Constitution. The acquittal proposal must be
submitted by at least one half of the total of federal MPs in each of
the
two chambers.
The Law on the Election of Deputies to the Chamber of the
Republics says that the deputies are elected by direct secret ballot of
the
electorate.
The MPs will be elected within the electoral units the
Republic
of Serbia will be one election unit and Montenegro another, and in each
20
deputies will be elected.
These elections are called by the president of Yugoslavia and
they
can be held no less than 45 days, or more than 90 days since they are
announced.
The candidates can be nominated by registered political
parties,
separately or jointly, as well as by groups of citizens.
Changes and amendments to the Law on the Election of Deputies
to
the Chamber of Citizens have not fundamentally changed the way of
electing
the MPs for this chamber.
The Law on the Electoral Units for the Election of Deputies to
the
Chamber of Citizens of the federal parliament sets, however, that the
Republic of Montenegro is a single electoral unit in which 30 deputies
are
elected.
The Republic of Serbia elects 108 deputies in 26 electoral
units.
Citizens of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia from Kosovo and
Metohija will vote in the electoral units Prokuplje and Vranje (Serbia).
ROMANIAN PAPER ON CONSTITUTIONAL CHANGES IN YUGOSLAVIA
BUCHAREST, July 24 (Tanjug) The Romanian paper Azi on Monday
described as "very strange" harsh Western criticism of the recent
constitutional changes in Yugoslavia saying that these changes lead
towards
"the expansion of the democratic foundations" for the election of the
country's president.
According to the paper, the West's problem is that public
opinion
polls show that Slobodan Milosevic is set to win at the presidential
elections which, Azi stated, is "a real nightmare for all who bombed
Yugoslavia."
On March 24, 1999 NATO launched an aggression on the Federal
Republic of Yugoslavia. During the 11week air raids, over 2,000
civilians
were killed and huge material damage was inflicted.
In a text titled "The truth about the NATO aggression on
Yugoslavia is emerging", the Romanian paper quoted the British press and
its recent publication of claims by former Assistant Defence Secretary
Lord
Gilbert that NATO had always nurtured a wish for waging a war in
KosovoMetohija and that this is why Yugoslavia was deliberately given
unacceptable conditions.
FEDERAL GOVERNMENT PROPOSAL ON ELECTION OF YUGOSLAV PRESIDENT
AND FEDERAL DEPUTIES
BELGRADE, July 18 (Tanjug) A federal government session,
chaired
by Prime Minister Momir Bulatovic, has determined draft laws on the
election of the president of Yugoslavia and federal deputies to the
federal
parliament's Chamber of Republics, the federal Information Ministry said
on
Tuesday.
Also determined were a draft law on changes and additions to
the
law on the election of federal deputies to the federal parliament's
Chamber
of Citizens and a draft law on electoral units for the election of
federal
deputies to the Chamber of Citizens.
The draft laws are based on the recently adopted amendments to
the
Yugoslav Constitution which calls for the direct election to the top
state
functions in the country. The draft laws are founded on legal solutions
and
democratic norms and standards contained therein.
The federal government demanded that the parliament session on
these draft laws is held on July 24, the statement said.
YUGOSLAV PARLIAMENT TO HOLD SPECIAL SESSION ON MONDAY
BELGRADE, July 18 (Tanjug) The speaker of the Yugoslav
parliament's Chambers of Republics and Citizens, Srdja Bozovic and
Milomir
Minic respectively, have scheduled for July 24 a special session of the
two
chambers, the federal parliament's press service has said.
The sessions will debate election laws submitted by the federal
government, the statement said.
The federal government has sent to the parliament draft laws on
the election of the president of Yugoslavia and the election of federal
deputies to the Chamber of Republics.
---
DAL CAMPO INTERNAZIONALE SUL MONTE ZLATIBOR
INTERNATIONAL CAMP OF FRIENDSHIP - SESSION
YUGOSLAVIA HAS PAID THE PRICE OF NEW WORLD ORDER
BELGRADE, July 24 (Tanjug) The Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
is
one of the countries which has suffered the consequences of the new
world
order, as reflected in the economic and political spheres, Belgrade
School
of Economy Professor, Dr. Oskar Kovac, said on Monday in the village of
Sirogojno on Mt. Zlatibor, western Serbia.
Kovac told a session of the International Camp of Friendship
that
this has resulted in the dissolution of all federations in eastern and
central Europe, leading towards the new economic order which protects
the
interests of the developed countries and acts at the expense of the
underdeveloped.
Kovac explained that the less developed countries have been
affected by the debt crisis caused by creditors from the developed part
of
the world.
Yugoslavia has also paid this price since it has been
additionally
burdened, as opposed to other countries, by the trade sanctions which,
from
1991 1997, have resulted in damages amounting to 100 billion dollars.
This
figure was doubled by the 1999 NATO aggression on Yugoslavia.
Kovac recalled that Yugoslavia has submitted a request with the
International Court of Justice for war compensation which, he warned,
would
accumulate until paid.
COLLON: HUGE MEDIA LIES PRECEDED AGGRESSION ON YUGOSLAVIA
BELGRADE, July 24 (Tanjug) All wars initiated by the western
powers, including the 1999 war in Yugoslavia, were preceded by huge
media
lies aimed at deceiving the public and forcing it to consent to a
foreign
intervention, belgian publicist Michel Collon said on Monday in the
village
of Sirogojno on Mt Zlatibor, western Serbia.
The existence of alleged mass graves in Kosovo and Metohija and
the stagemanaged massacre in Racak are good examples of media
manipulations
by the new world order, Collon set out at a session of the International
Camp of Friendship in Sirogojno.
"People living in the West do not entirely believe our media
which
depend on multinational corporations. Their great influence on
journalists
and program policies exert considerable pressure on the overall
information
sphere," Collon stated.
Underscoring that people in the West are not presented with
enough
real information about the developments in Yugoslavia, Collon called on
Yugoslav colleagues and citizens to secure fresh and timely information
to
foreign journalists and others who want to learn "the real truth" via
the
Internet and in other ways.
YUGOSLAVIA FOR JOINING EUROPE AND WORLD MARKET
SIROGOJNO, July 22 (Tanjug) Yugoslavia is paying a very high
price for its natural aspiration to be independent, and its geographic
position, riches, and the capabilities of its labor force, direct it
toward
joining Europe and the world market, Yugoslav Minister for Cooperation
with
International Financial Organizations Borka Vucic said in the western
Serbian town of Sirogojno on Saturday.
Speaking on the third day of work of an International
Friendship
Camp which is under way in this town on Mt. Zlatibor, Minister Vucic
said
that, unfortunately, the policy practised by part of the international
community under dictate of the United States does not allow Yugoslavia
to
realize its potentials.
Nevertheless, the policy of sanctions and isolation is a policy
that does not look far into the future, and therefore cannot last long,
Vucic said.
COLON: FRONT FOR DEFENCE OF WORLD PEACE SHOULD BE CREATED
BELGRADE, July 20 (Tanjug) The Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
bravely opposed last year's NATO aggression, but the war against this
country has not ended in view of the continuing pressures, threats,
blackmail and sanctions, prominent Belgian publicist Michel Colon said
in
an interview to Radio Yugoslavia on Thursday.
Colon charged the West with the continuation of "the attempts
to
cause a civil war in Yugoslavia" and expressed concern over Western
public
opinion which "is being manipulated."
Asked about the character of the socalled humanitarian
intervention by the Western countries, Colon set out that "one should
not
forget the fact that the same people who are speaking about sending
humanitarian aid to the Kosovo Albanians, supported the bombing of the
Kurd
refugees in Turkey and armed various fascist movements throughout the
world." He added that it is very important to create a front for the
defence of peace in the world.
Colon is currently visiting the village of Sirogojno, on Mt.
Zlatibor in western Serbia, and the International Camp of Friendship
organized by the Patriotic Alliance of the Youth of Yugoslavia.
---
BULGARIA: CRITICA DEI SOCIALISTI ALLE POSIZIONI "NATISTE" DEL GOVERNO
NATO AGGRESSION - INTERNATIONAL REACTIONS
BSP FOR PEACEFUL RESOLVING OF BALKAN CONFLICTS
SOFIA, July 24 (Tanjug) The Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP)
officially announced on Monday that it has rejected a government report
on
national security for the year 1999 which will be presented at the
national
parliament on Tuesday.
Bulgarian socialists warn that the ruling rightist League of
Democratic Forces (SDS), led by Prime Minister Ivan Kostov, is trying to
use this report to legalize its decision of that year to grant use of
air
corridors to NATO aircraft engaged in military operations in
neighbouring
Yugoslavia and thus prove that the government decisions had been good.
This
does not correspond to the truth, the BSP said.
Instead of the government report, Bulgarian socialists will
offer
their own document for adoption by parliament in which they say the
destabilization in the region has not been overcome yet.
---
LE ELEZIONI IN JUGOSLAVIA IL 24 SETTEMBRE ?
ELECTIONS IN FR YUGOSLAVIA ON SEPTEMBER 24
BELGRADE, July 23, 2000 (I-Net)
Today the Democratic Alternative has stated, relying on sources
in the Yugoslav Left circles, that the federal elections in FR
Yugoslavia would take place on September 24.
LOCAL AND FEDERAL ELECTIONS IN ONE "PACKAGE"
BELGRADE, July 23, 2000 (BLIC)
In case that socialists decide to wait "the high time", the dead
line for holding of federal and local elections would be end of this
or beginning of the next year.
In recent days, however, there are rumors that elections for
both houses of the federal Parliament and the president of Yugoslavia
might be called as early as next week, after acceptance of electoral
laws at the federal level. This means that elections might be held in
the second half of September or beginning of October.
---
IMMOBILI IN VENDITA PER FINANZIARE LE CASSE DELLO STATO
INVITATION FOR BUYING APARTMENTS
BELGRADE, July 23, 2000 (BLIC)
Serbian Government and Head Office for Country's Reconstruction
sent, through yesterday's edition of "Politika" daily, a public
invitation for buying apartments from " the programme 10.000
apartments in 2000, which are being built in the Republic of Serbia".
Juristic and physical persons can answer the bidding for buyng
apartments.
---
LA RFJ NON STAMPERA' MONETA INDISCRIMINATAMENTE
FROM THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF YUGOSLAVIA
PM BULATOVIC: YUGOSLAVIA RESOLVED NOT TO PRINT ANY UNSECURED MONEY
BELGRADE, July 22 (Tanjug) Yugoslav Prime Minister Momir
Bulatovic has said the country could be absolutely satisfied and proud
of
the results achieved in the necessary reconstruction and renewal of the
country following last year's NATO aggression, as well as the
demonstrated
enthusiasm and economic efficiency in that work.
Speaking in an interview to the magazine Ekonomski signali
(Economic Signals), Bulatovic said that last year had been completed
relatively successfully from the aspect of macro economic factors, since
the NATO bombs and war expenditures had seriously violated the material
resources and it had been necessary to invest huge efforts into the
required renewal.
"We managed to produce sufficient quantities of food, and now
we
are investing efforts to secure also power stability, since an oil
embargo
is still in effect against Yugoslavia, in addition to the damaged
refineries (in the NATO air strikes)," he said, indicating there were
also
serious problems in the gas supply.
Bulatovic criticized some negative views on Yugoslavia's
determination to reaffirm its role in the movement of nonaligned
countries
and develop relations with countries with which it has maintained
longterm
friendly political relations, but where economic cooperation has
flagged.
"The former Yugoslavia had also realized its biggest deals in
Libya, Egypt, Iraq and other countries of the Near and Far East,"
Bulatovic
pointed out. It is becoming quite evident at this time that cooperation
with international financial institutions has not secured essential
economic prosperity or progress to any country, he said.
Speaking about financial affairs, Bulatovic underscored the
country's determination to maintain a restrictive monetary policy and
the
condition that any activity or expenditure must be financed strictly
from
real sources.
The fluctuation of the money mass depends on the economic
moment
and need not be inflatory in itself, unless money is printed to cover
various state deficits, Bulatovic said.
---
76 SERBI IMPRIGIONATI IN CROAZIA IN QUANTO SERBI
SERBS IMPRISONED IN CROATIA NOT RELEASED
BELGRADE, July 22 (Tanjug) Yugoslav government Commission for
Humanitarian Issues and Missing Persons President Maksim Korac on Friday
expressed dissatisfaction with the results of a meeting with the
Croatian
Commission for the Imprisoned and Missing on the fate of 76 Serbs
imprisoned in Croatia.
Korac underscored that they had discussed the release of Serbs
captured by Croatian army or police in 1995, during the seizing of the
Republic of Serb Krajina, at the meeting in Zagreb on July 19 and 20.
He said the two commissions had failed to reach agreement
because
the Croatian side had set many additional demands as a condition for
their
release.
Yugoslavia is currently searching for 3,372 persons, including
3,277 that went missing in the territory of Croatia during the 19911995
armed conflicts, and 95 persons in the federation of BosniaHerzegovina.
The 3,277 persons that went missing in Croatia include 576
persons
from the entire territory of the former Yugoslav federation, while 2,701
Serbs went missing in actions by the Croatian army in the Republic of
Serb
Krajina. Only 13 persons have been found of the total number of those
who
went missing in Croatia 9 Serbs and 4 persons from other republics of
the
former Yugoslav federation.
The Croatian side is searching for a total of 1,620 persons who
went missing in the territory of the former Yugoslavia. They have
submitted
54 request to the Belgrade government on the grounds of reports that
these
persons are in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.
---
TRE SERBI IN GALERA PER UN ANNO, MA I COLPEVOLI ERANO STATUNITENSI
KOSOVO AND METOHIJA - INTERNATIONAL REACTIONS
SHAMEFUL ACTION BY U.S. MILITARY
GNJILANE, July 22 (Tanjug) Three Serbs, father Miroljub
Momcilovic, 60, and his sons Jugoslav, 32, and Boban, 25, have been
incarcerated in the prison of the U.S. military base Bondsteel near
Gnjilane, Serbia's Kosovo and Metohija province, for a full year it now
appears without any reason.
International Judge Patrice de Charette has revealed the
existence
of a document of the United States army which clearly shows that U.S.
snipers shot two ethnic Albanians from an observation tower in Kosovo
and
Metohija on July 20, 1999, while the Momcilovices have been charged with
killing one of these men.
De Charette said the 130page explosive document would
definitely
overturn this shameful court process. Already on Monday, when the trial
continues, the court will most probably lift all charges against them
and
the Momcilovices will be released, he said.
Justice will be served, but only partly. Why was the document
released by the U.S. military after a full year. And, more importantly,
who
will make up to the Momcilovices for the 12 months of incarceration,
humilation and abuse.
---
KOSOVO: NON SONO VALIDI I PASSAGGI DI PROPRIETA'
CONTRACTS ON REAL ESTATE TRANSACTIONS IN KOSOVO LEGALLY INVALID
BELGRADE, July 21 (Tanjug) The Serbian Ministries of Justice
and
Finance said in a statement on Friday that UNMIK, especially since the
appointment of Bernard Kuchner as General Administrator of the U.N.
Mission, has passed a number of regulations on property transactions,
nullifying several laws of the republic of Serbia, in particular, the
Special Law on Property Transactions, aimed to preserve ethnic diversity
among the population of the southSerbian province.
This resulted in frequent usurpation of the property belonging
to
Serbs and other nonAlbanians, in favour of ethnic Albanians, as well as
the
usurpation of property of the republic of Serbia, in favour of the U.N.
Mission in Kosovo and Metohija.
As more than 350,000 Serbs, Montenegrins, and nonAlbanians have
been ousted from Kosovo and Metohija, and their houses, flats, and
estates
illegally seized by ethnic Albanians, all contracts on real estate
transactions are made under pressure and coercion, which renders them
null
and void, the statement said.
---
KOSOVO: CHIESTO UN INTERVENTO DELL'UNESCO PER LE DISTRUZIONI IN ATTO
F.R. YUGOSLAVIA - UNESCO
YUGOSLAV AMBASSADOR DEMANDS UNESCO PROTECTION FOR MONUMENTS IN
KOSOVO AND METOHIJA
PARIS, July 21 (Tanjug) Yugoslavia's ambassador at UNESCO
(U.N.
Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization), Nada PopovicPerisic,
on
Friday sent an appeal, following a vandal attack by ethnic Albanian
extremists on the church of St. Ilija in the village of Pomazetim, in
Kosovo and Metohija, to UNESCO DirectorGeneral Koitishiro Macuuru to
openly
denounce this terrorist act and take all steps for the protection and
preservation of sacral and cultural monuments in KosovoMetohija.
Recalling that the church of StIlija had previously been mined
and
torched on August 3, 1999, and that in the night between July 16 and 17,
2000 it was razed to the ground, PopovicPerisic said that in question is
"another in a series of vandal acts which aim to speed up the ethnic
cleansing of the remaining Serbs and other nonAlbanians in Kosovo and
Metohija."
So far in Kosovo and Metohija destroyed have been 87
monasteries,
churches and other sacral facilities.
---
L'UNMIK RESTITUISCA LE MINIERE DI TREPCA
TREPCA MINING COMPLEX DEMANDS FROM UNMIK TO RETURN SEIZED CAPACITIES
ZVECAN, July 21 (Tanjug) The president of the board of
managers
of the Trepca MiningMetalurgyChemical Complex, Milos Milosavljevic, met
in
Skopje, Macedonia, with the representatives of the U.N. civilian mission
(UNMIK) in Kosovo and Metohija to discuss problems arising from the
seizure
of a part Trepca's property by ethnic Albanian extremists after the
arrival
of KFOR in June 1999.
Milosavljevic told Tanjug that he had rejected the attempts,
all
groundless and exerted through pressures, by UNMIK representatives to
take
over control of Trepca.
UNMIK's claims that it is trying to protect Trepca property are
unacceptable because the part of the production facilities seized by the
ethnic Albanians, with the help of KFOR and UNMIK, from the legal owners
have been seriously damaged or completely ruined, Milosavljevic set out.
In Kosovo and Metohija in operation are only those capacities
which are available to the legally elected Trepca management,
Milosavljevic
stated.
The Trepca board of managers rejected UNMIK's intention to take
over the Complex, which is a jointstock company with legally elected
bodies. At the latest session, demands were made for the return of the
forcefully seized mines and installations so that production could be
organized and staff employed regardless of nationality.
ILLEGAL SEIZURE OF TREPCA COMPLEX WILL BE DISASTROUS
BELGRADE, July 19 (Tanjug) The board of managers of the
MiningMetallurgy Complex Trepca in Serbia's southern KosovoMetohija
province said on Wednesday that UNMIK's intention to take over the
management of this complex would result in a total collapse of
production.
According to a report by the federal Information Ministry,
since
the arrival of the international missions (KFOR and UNMIK) in
KosovoMetohija, the only operational facilities in Trepca have been
those
available to its management, while those controlled by KFOR and UNMIK
are
totally out of operation.
"Any forceful and illegal takeover of Trepca would have
disastrous
consequences and would be the responsibility of UNMIK and its
representatives," the Trepca management said in a statement.
They demanded from UNMIK to carry out the demand made by
shareholders at a meeting on August 28, 1999 that the seized Trepca
mines
and installations should be returned to the Complex so that it could
organize production and engage staff regardless of their nationality.
The Trepca management reiterated its standing call to ethnic
Albanians to apply for jobs in the Complex, since this is in keeping
with
the wishes of the shareholders, the statement said.
---
I ROM ACCUSANO I TERRORISTI PAN-ALBANESI DI GENOCIDIO
KOSOVO AND METOHIJA - TERRORISM
ROMANIES ACCUSE ETHNIC ALBANIANS OF GENOCIDE IN KOSOVO AND METOHIJA
BERLIN, July 21 (Tanjug) Ethnic Albanians in Kosovo and
Metohija
are systematically persecuting and killing Romanies, thus forcing
138,000
Romanies out of the total of 370,000 in Serbia's southern province to
flee
abroad, the representative of the Kosovo and Metohija Romanies in
Germany,
Agron Osmani, said on Thursday at a congress of south German Romanies in
Esslingen, close to Stuttgart.
Osmani was also driven away from Kosovo and Metohija eight
months
ago and found shelter in Germany.
Osmani directly accused the members of the terrorist KLA
(Kosovo
Liberation Army) of genocide, giving as proof that KLA killed the entire
Romany population of a village a total of 300 persons including infants
and the elderly.
UNMIK and KFOR, however, are doing nothing, or almost nothing,
to
prevent the atrocities of the ethnic Albanian extremists and terrorists,
Osmani set out adding that the West is no longer speaking about the fate
of
the Romanies in Kosovo and Metohija.
---
677 SERBI MANCANO ALL'APPELLO PER LA OPERAZIONE "TEMPESTA"
CROATIA - STORM - REACTIONS
677 SERBS KILLED OR MISSING DURING CROATIAN OPERATION STORM
ZAGREB, July 21 (Tanjug) During and immediately following
Croatia's militarypolice operation Storm launched against the Serbs in
1995, 677 persons were either killed or went missing, are the latest
data
obtained by the Croatian Helsinki Board (HHO).
This shows that Krajina, where the operation was conducted, has
practically been ethnically cleansed.
The latest HHO report about the atrocities committed in this
operation, says that 267 persons were killed in the former Sector North
(Banija and Kordun). Last year HHO announced that 410 persons had been
killed in Sector South (Knin region).
HHO said that all data were verified in the field and gathered
from eyewitnesses.
The brutality of the Croatian troops during Storm is also
demonstrated in the fact that 76 persons were killed when Serb refugee
columns came under fire from Croat planes, tanks or crossfire.
According to the HHO report, the Croatian army was joined in
its
crimes against the Serbs in the region of Dvor by units of the
BosniaHerzegovina Army Fifth Corps.
In the region of Vrginmost, Karlovci, Slunj and Vojnic almost
the
same number of Serbs were killed in refugee columns and in their own
homes.
The report underscored that operation Storm drove away about
200,000 people, leaving a mere 8,500 mainly elderly persons.
HHO pointed out that the number of killed and missing persons
is
not final and that it is still gathering data.
---
KOSOVSKA MITROVICA: IL CASO VUKOVIC
SERBIAN PROVINCE OF KOSOVO AND METOHIJA
SERB DALIBOR VUKOVIC RELEASED FROM JAIL
KOSOVSKA MITROVICA, July 20 (Tanjug) Dalibor Vukovic, a Serb
student from Kosovska Mitrovica, held in custody by the UNMIK police
since
Sunday at their police station in northern Kosovska Mitrovica, was
released
on Thursday, Tanjug learned from Serb sources in this city.
Vukovic's arrest sparked off daily protests of Serbs in
Kosovska
Mitrovica.
UNMIK arrested Vukovic allegedly because he took part in a
fight
with an ethnic Albanian six months ago. The fight ended without any
serious
consequences.
EXPECTED RELEASE OF SERB STUDENT VUKOVIC
KOSOVSKA MITROVICA, July 20 (Tanjug) Several thousand Serbs
gathered on Wednesday evening before the police station of the U.N.
mission
in KosovoMetohija (UNMIK) to protest the conduct of the UNMIK police and
demand the release of Serbian medical student Dalibor Vukovic.
The protesters were addressed by one of the Serb leaders,
Oliver
Ivanovic, who expressed hope that Vukovic would be set free on Thursday
since this is when the 72 hours required by procedure for interrogation
will expire.
The protest ended peacefully and without incident.
SERBS DEMAND REPLACEMENT OF KOSOVSKA MITROVICA UNMIK POLICE CHIEF
KOSOVSKA MITROVICA, July 19 (Tanjug) Several thousand Serbs
rallied outside the UNMIK police station in northern Kosovska Mitrovica
late on Tuesday and demanded the unconditional release of medical
student
Dalibor Vukovic and the replacement of UNMIK police chief for this
Kosovo
and Metohija town, Benot Belanger of Canada.
Kosovska Mitrovica regional Serb National Council Executive
Committee member Marko Jaksic told the rally that Belanger took office a
month ago and immediately started dealing with Serbs.
"The police commander is arresting the innocent and not the
culprits. That is why I urge you to sign a petition for the replacement
of
Commander Belange," Jaksic said. He proposed that similar rallies be
held
every noon and evening.
Inviting the people to peaceful but determined and continuous
protests, Jaksic said "neither KFOR nor humanitarian organizations are
to
blame for this situation, but exclusively the UNMIK police, in fact, its
commander."
Saturday, 22 July 2000
NATO steps up force in unruly Serb area
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
KOSOVSKA MITROVICA, Yugoslavia - The NATO-led peacekeeping force
increased its presence yesterday in the Serb part of this divided city
after Serb leaders warned of further protests.
Demonstrations will continue if the United Nations takes "undemocratic"
actions such as the arrest earlier this week of an activist whose
subsequent detention triggered rioting and protests, the Serbs said.
The Serb-dominated north bank of the Ibar River was calm yesterday, one
day after Dalibor Vukovic, 24, was freed without bail. An ethnic
Albanian judge released him until a hearing to be held within two weeks.
He is accused of arson, theft and assault in the burning of an ethnic
Albanian's car last month.
U.N. spokeswoman Susan Manuel said that as a condition of his release,
Vukovic was ordered not to associate with "undesirable groups," which
she said meant Serb militants who watch over the main bridge linking the
Serb and ethnic Albanian parts of the city.
Vukovic was one of the Serb "bridge watchers."
Although the charges were not dropped, Serbs hailed Vukovic's release as
a victory because it galvanized the Serb community here in Kosovo's most
ethnically tense city. The four-day confrontation also underscored the
tenuous hold that the United Nations and the NATO-led peacekeeping
command maintain over the largest Serb community left in Kosovo.
Vukovic's arrest Monday night triggered rioting in which several people,
including Serbs and U.N. policemen, were injured. Attacks against U.N.
vehicles forced U.N. police to suspend patrols for a while.
Angry Serbs stole weapons from U.N. policemen, made off with computers
from a suburban police station and ransacked at least one policeman's
apartment. The crisis led Daan Everts, Kosovo head of the Organization
for Security and Cooperation in Europe, to warn that the credibility of
the international mission here was at stake.
With U.N. police seemingly unable to control the situation, the
commander of the NATO-led Kosovo Force, Lt. Gen. Juan Ortuno, announced
yesterday that KFOR was increasing its military presence in the Serb
area "to affirm the rule of law."
He would not say how many troops were being deployed.
---
CROAZIA E MONTENEGRO SEMPRE PIU' VICINI - FORSE VOGLIONO RICOSTRUIRE LA
JUGOSLAVIA, MA STAVOLTA COME FEUDO STATUNITENSE
Croatia, Montenegro plan to ease trade and visas
By Julijana Mojsilovic
PODGORICA, Yugoslavia, July 20 (Reuters) - Croatia and Montenegro said
they
had discussed liberalising bilateral trade, visa and border policies
during a
landmark diplomatic exchange on Thursday.
Croatian Foreign Minister Tonino Picula -- the first top Croatian
official to
visit the coastal Yugoslav republic since the violent break-up of the
former
federation -- told reporters agreements might be signed by September.
His visit is likely to upset Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic, who
is
already angered by attempts by the pro-Western government of Montenegro
to
escape his control.
``We suggested protocols on free trade to ease the trade of our goods
without
taxes, on the liberalisation of the visa regime...and we will also
regulate
border policy to ease the flow of people and goods,'' Picula said.
The visit followed a meeting last month between Montenegrin President
Milo
Djukanovic and Croatian head of state Stjepan Mesic in Dubrovnik on the
Croatian coast.
Djukanovic apologised to the Croats for the role fighters from his
republic
played in a war against Croatia's secession from Yugoslavia in 1991.
VISIT EXPECTED TO DRAW CRITICISM
Pro-Milosevic political forces in Montenegro criticised the apology and
are
likely to also condemn the Thursday's visit as another step towards
Montenegrin independence from Belgrade.
The tiny mountainous republic is the last one left in Yugoslavia, along
with
Serbia, after Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Macedonia broke away in the
early
1990s.
Montenegro's leaders have been threatening a referendum on independence
if
Belgrade continues to resist reforms to give it more equality within the
federation, but have been held back by the West, which fears another
Balkan
conflict.
In carefully worded statements, the two ministers avoided comments on
Milosevic-led Yugoslavia and focused instead on bilateral cooperation
regardless of Belgrade.
``This visit will, I hope, lead us into a period of extraordinary
relations
with Croatia,'' said Montenegrin Foreign Minister Branko Lukovac.
Picula said he and Lukovac had also signed a joint statement pledging to
cooperate to resolve a dispute over the Prevlaka peninsula border
region, now
under the United Nations' control and claimed by both Croatia and
Yugoslavia.
09:54 07-20-00
---
PROSEGUE LA RICOSTRUZIONE DELLA RFJ DEVASTATA DA NOI ITALIANI
RECONSTRUCTION OF COUNTRY SUCCESSFUL AND WITHIN SET TIMETABLE
BELGRADE, July 18 (Tanjug) The board of managers of the
Directorate for the Reconstruction of the Country met on Tuesday in the
Serbian government building. The session was chaired by Serbian Premier
Mirko Marjanovic, who is also the president of the Directorate's board
of
managers, the Serbian Information Ministry has said.
The session concluded that the reconstruction of the country is
being realized successfully and in keeping with the set timetable. Since
the start of the work on the reconstruction of the country until July
11,
2000, work has been completed on 143 construction sites. Built have been
41
road bridges, 15 rail bridges, one highway, three roads, five deviations
on
the road infrastructure, 567 housing facilities, while repaired were 270
housing facilities, built and repaired four heating plants, ten schools
and
six health institutions, two farms and 17 other public facilities.
Work is currently underway on 67 construction sites six road
infrastructure facilities, two rail infrastructure facilities and 57
apartment buildings.
The Directorate board of managers also discussed the
realization
of the strategic national project of building 100,000 apartments in the
first decade of the 21st century. Concluded was that the model for the
financing of the building and sale of the apartments, as well as the
agreement between the four major banks, secure all the necessary
conditions
for the successful construction of 10,000 apartments in the year 2000.
Work
has already started on the building of apartments in 92 cities and towns
throughout Serbia and should be completed by the end of the year.
INTERNATIONAL TENDER FOR NEW BRIDGE IN NOVI SAD
BELGRADE, July 18 (Tanjug) The committee for evaluating
applications at the international tender for a new design of the new
bridge
over the Danube in Novi Sad, capital of Serbia's northern province, met
on
Tuesday.
The rail and road bridge in Novi Sad was destroyed by NATO
bombs
during the 1999 MarchJune aggression on Yugoslavia.
All 11 bids from Yugoslavia and seven from abroad will receive
equal treatment regarding the traffic and technical designs for the
bridge's structure, as well as prices, aesthetical aspects.
This is the third time the committee has met. It announced that
all tenders would be presented to the public at exhibitions in Novi Sad
and
Belgrade.
The Serbian government and the republican Directorate for
Reconstruction called the tender in late March. The applicants include
experts from Russia, China, Japan, Slovenia and a FrancoBelgian team of
engineers.
CONSTRUCTION OF 100,000 APARTMENTS BEGINS IN 89 SERBIAN CITIES
BELGRADE, July 17 (Tanjug) The Serbian government met in
session
on Monday, chaired by Prime Minister Mirko Marjanovic, and concluded
that
the strategic national project on the construction of 100,000 apartments
in
the first decade of the 21st century was successfully being realized,
said
a statement by the republican Ministry of Information.
The construction of 10,000 apartments has begun in 89 cities
and
towns throughout Serbia and they will all be completed by the end of the
year.
Through the realization of this strategic development project,
the
Serbian government is creating conditions to realize the economic
interests
of public companies and to give strong impetus to Serbia's economy
through
real financing, engagement of banks, and organizing locations.
A hundred construction companies with over 150,000 workers are
already engaged on the realization of this project, as well as hundreds
of
subcontractors, manufacturers of building materials, and many firms of
the
associated industries. All in all, a total of some 500,000 workers from
all
over the republic are engaged on this project, the statement said.
---
PROTESTA DEI TURCO-CIPRIOTI DEMOCRATICI
http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/world/2000/0719/wor10.htm
The Irish Times
Wednesday, July 19, 2000
Turkish Cypriots protest over role of the military
By Michael Jansen, in Nicosia
The streets and squares of the Turkish Cypriot sector
of Nicosia were filled with protesters last night as
preparations continued for tomorrow's celebrations of
the 26th anniversary of the Turkish army's invasion
and occupation of the north of the island...
---
ISTITUITA ONOREFICENZA PER GLI OCCUPATORI DEL KOSMET
http://www.af.mil/news/Jul2000/n20000711_001042.html
SECDEF approves NATO Medal for Kosovo operations
Released: 11 Jul 2000
RANDOLPH AIR FORCE BASE, Texas (AFPN) -- The Secretary of Defense
recently approved the wear of the NATO Medal by U.S. service members and
civilians for operations related to Kosovo.
Eligibility criteria for the medal are:
* Participation in NATO operations related to Kosovo (Oct. 13, 1998 to a
date to be determined) for 30 days (continuous or accumulated) in the
area of eligibility. The AOE is the land, at seas, or in the air space
of Kosovo; other territories of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY:
Serbia, Montenegro, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Slovenia);
Albania, Macedonia, and the Adriatic and Ionian seas.
* Aircrews participating in OPERATION Allied Force between March 24,
1999-June 10, 1999 with 15 sorties into Kosovo and FRY.
* Aircrews who didn't participate in OAF, accumulate one day of
qualifying service for the first sortie flown on any day.
* Wounded or injured and requiring subsequent evacuation from the
defined AOE, regardless of time in the area.
* 90 days (continuous or accumulated) within the territories of Italy,
Greece, and Hungary in direct support of NATO operations conducted in
the AOE.
Air Force Personnel Center officials say only one NATO Medal/ribbon is
authorized for wear. "Therefore, service members will wear the NATO
Medal they were awarded first and should they become eligible for the
other NATO Medal, it would be indicated by a bronze service star on the
first NATO Medal. U.S. service members are not authorized the wear of
numeric symbols on either NATO Medal."
Members and/or units who believe they are authorized the award should
provide documentation, such as copies of official orders and travel
vouchers, decorations, EPRs/OPRs, flight logs, etc., that assign them to
one of the approved operations to their servicing military personnel
flight career enhancement element to verify their entitlement. (Courtesy
of AFPC News Service)
RELATED SITE
** NATO Medal
** Air Force Personnel Center
** NATO
For more on this subject, try the Air Force Link Search Engine.
---
1999: PROVOCAZIONE DI NAZISTI E POLIZIA IN GERMANIA CONTRO GLI
ANTIMILITARISTI
Organisierte Provokation in Zusammenarbeit von Nazis, Polizei und Presse
gegen Antikriegsdemonstration in Hamburg
(diesen Beitrag erhielten wir von der Internationalen
jugoslawien-Solidarität Hamburg)
Während der 78 Tage andauernden Bombardements der Nato gegen Jugoslawien
fand in Hamburg jeden Tag um 19 Uhr eine Protestkundgebung auf dem
Gänsemarkt mit anschließender Demonstration statt. Die Teilnehmerzahl
schwankte zwischen 500 und 2000.
Diese Kundgebungen und Demonstrationen wurden in sämtlichen Medien –
Zeitungen, Rundfunk und Fernsehen – komplett unterschlagen, obwohl immer
wieder Kameraleute und Reporter vor Ort waren. So auch an einem Tag im
April. Die Demonstration sollte diesmal zum britischen Generalkonsulat
gehen
und war so von der Polizei und der Demoleitung vereinbart:
Gänsemarkt-Dammtorstraße-Esplanade-Alsterufer-Konsulat. Am Alsterufer
Ecke
Alster-Terrassen hieß es plötzlich seitens der Polizei eine
Solidaritätsdemo
wolle sich unserem Zug anschließen und würde sich aus Richtung
Alster-Terrassen kommend einreihen. Die Pressevertreter waren
offensichtlich
genauso wie die Polizei darüber informiert und waren bereits mit Kameras
und
Fotoapparaten genau an dem Punkt, wo das Zusammentreffen geplant war,
postiert.
Unsere Demoleitung war bis zu diesem Moment nicht darüber informiert
worden – weder seitens dieser „Demonstration“ noch seitens der Polizei,
was
entgegen jeder bisherigen Praxis war. Niemand konnte sich daher erklären
um
wen es sich handeln würde.
Wir sahen die „Solidaritätsdemo“ auf unseren Zug zukommen und glaubten
eine
spontane kleine Demo von 20 bis 30 Personen von vielleicht Autonomen
Gruppen
vor uns zu haben. Transparente und Parolen waren gegen den Krieg und die
Nato gerichtet, in roter und schwarzer Schrift. Bis auf 30 Meter an uns
herangekommen wurden sie freudig von uns begrüßt, die Fotoapparate der
postierten „Reporter“ klickten, die Kameras liefen. Dann wurde jedoch
schnell (Gehabe, Kleidung und Fahne) klar: es handelte sich um Neonazis
aus
Bergedorf!
Dies löste natürlich unter unseren Demonstranten erhebliche Verwirrung
aus.
Während die wenigen Deutschen unter uns sofort versuchten die Nazis
hinauszudrängen und „Nazis raus!“ riefen, blieb vielen Jugoslawen unklar
was
geschehen war und weshalb es plötzlich Ärger gab. Schließlich erklärte
sich
die Polizei bereit die Nazis abzudrängen – die gewünschten Bilder
„Serben
begrüßen Neonazis“ waren ja bereits im Kasten. Unsere Demo setzte sich
wie
geplant bis zum britischen Konsulat fort, die Presse ging nach hause.
Die Neonazis zogen noch zum Kriegerdenkmal am Stephansplatz
(„Deutschland
muss leben, und wenn wir sterben müssen“) und hielten eine Kundgebung
nach
dem Motto „kein deutsches Blut auf dem Balkan vergießen“ ab.
Solltet Ihr in irgendwo in der Presse über den Vorfall gelesen haben,
bittet
leitet es sofort an uns weiter:
Hamburg, 3. Juli 2000
Internationale Jugoslawien Solidarität
C/o Magda Thürey Zentrum
Lindenallee 72
20259 Hamburg
--------- COORDINAMENTO ROMANO PER LA JUGOSLAVIA -----------
RIMSKI SAVEZ ZA JUGOSLAVIJU
e-mail: crj@... - URL: http://marx2001.org/crj
http://www.egroups.com/group/crj-mailinglist/
------------------------------------------------------------
http://www.centraleurope.com/yugoslaviatoday/news.php3?id=182518§ion=kosovo
Kosovo Albanian Triple Murder Suspect Released without
Charge
PRISTINA, Jul 26, 2000 -- (Agence France Presse) An
ethnic Albanian accused of carrying out one of
Kosovo's bloodiest post-war attacks on Serbian
civilians has been released without charge, a senior
UN policeman told AFP Tuesday.
Afrim Zeqiri was arrested after three Serbs, including
a four-year-old child, were shot dead in Cernica,
southeast Kosovo, on May 28 by a single gunman armed
with an assault rifle...
---
TRE NUOVI MORTI AMMAZZATI IN KOSMET
<< 3 Serb Men Shot in Kosovo Attack
.c The Associated Press
By ROBERT H. REID
PRISTINA, Yugoslavia (AP) - Gunmen shot and wounded three Serb men
during a
late-night attack in the sector of Kosovo under control of American
peacekeepers, the U.S. military reported Saturday.
The three Serbs were shot about 10:30 p.m. Friday near a cemetery in
Kosovska Kamenica, an ethnically mixed town jointly patrolled by Russian
and
American troops, a U.S. statement said.
The three were evacuated to the U.S. military hospital at Camp
Bondsteel
where they were reported in serious but stable condition with multiple
gunshot wounds.
Several ethnic Albanians were questioned as witnesses but were
released,
according to NATO spokesman Maj. Scott Slaten. No further details were
released.
Attacks by ethnic Albanians against Serbs have continued despite the
presence of NATO-led troops and U.N. police, who took control of the
Serb
province in June 1999 from Yugoslav forces withdrawing after the 78-day
NATO
bombing of Yugoslavia.
On Saturday, about 150 Serbs held a memorial service to mark the deaths
of
14 villagers slain in a wheat field a year ago, among the bloodiest
ethnic
attacks since NATO moved into Kosovo.
The victims of the massacre were found by a British patrol July 23,
1999
after automatic weapons fire was heard near the town of Gracko, some 10
miles
south of the capital, Pristina. Thirteen people were found lying in a
circle
next to their harvester while another man was slumped over his tractor
150
yards away.
Serbs blamed ethnic Albanian militants for the attack and accused
peacekeepers of failing to heed their pleas for protection during the
harvest
season. The massacre also dashed early hopes that the peacekeeping
mission
would be able to impose ethnic tolerance in the strife-torn province.
Saturday's service was closely watched by Finnish and Norwegian
peacekeepers, the private Beta news agency said. Serbs attending
expressed
bitterness that NATO and U.N. authorities in the province had failed to
find
those responsible for the attack, the report said.
Meanwhile, the publisher of an Albanian-language newspaper said he
would
refuse to pay a fine for violating regulations on publishing personal
information on alleged war criminals.
Belul Beqaj declared that his newspaper, Dita, would ignore an order to
pay
a fine of $11,900 by Tuesday and suggested the paper would not change
its
policy of publishing names of those they believe were involved in war
crimes.
As long as those people are free, Beqaj said, ``the freedom and
stability of
Kosovo will be endangered.''
The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe fined Dita for
repeatedly violating a U.N. regulation against accusing individuals who
have
not been charged with a crime of being war criminals or publishing other
information that could make them targets of retribution.
AP-NY-07-22-00 1726EDT
---
L'OSCE PREPARA ELEZIONI ILLEGITTIME IN KOSMET PER OTTOBRE
OSCE set to avoid violence in Kosovo elections
PRISTINA, Yugoslavia, July 25 (Reuters) - The U.N.-led administration in
Kosovo said on Tuesday it would enforce a ``zero tolerance'' policy on
violence and intimidation during a municipal election planned for
October....
For the full text of this story, <A
HREF="aol://4344:30.L100NIHm.7218930.648997655">click here</A>.
---
ANCORA AZIONI DEI TERRORISTI DELLA NATO NELLA SERBIA MERIDIONALE
Terror unter NATO-Schutz
(Neue Angriffe auf Südserbien)
(Von Rainer Rupp)
In Sofia warnte kürzlich Oberstleutnant Kiril Kirilow, Kommandant einer
bulgarischen Einheit der UNO-Polizei im Kosovo, dass die Albaner große
Anstrengungen unternähmen, sich zu bewaffnen. In einem Interview mit der
Tageszeitung Duma in Sofia erklärte er, dass es als UNO-Polizist "sehr
schwierig ist, sich den Albanern in den Weg zu stellen" und dass als
Resultat "viele unschuldige Serben unter Repression und Terror der
Kosovo-Albaner gelitten haben". ("Kosovo Albanians keep on arming
themselves", July 19, 2000, AFP)
Damit hat Oberstleutnant Kirilow praktisch die Unfähigkeit der
UNO-Mission im Kosovo (UNMIK) bestätigt, die nicht-albanische
Bevölkerung zu schützen. Über die Mitglieder des Kosovo-Schutz-Korps
sagte er, dass "viele ihre UCK-Angewohnheiten noch nicht abgelegt"
hätten, weshalb "zahlreiche ethnische Albaner von der sogenannten UCK
verhaftet worden" seien. Allerdings werden sie von den albanischen
Untersuchungsrichtern umgehend wieder auf freien Fuß gesetzt. Kirilow
warnte jedoch, dass nicht nur Serben und ethnische Minderheiten im
Kosovo großer Gefahr ausgesetzt wären sondern auch die Mitglieder der
zahlreichen internationalen nicht-Regierungsorganisationen.
In der Zwischenzeit sorgt der obskure Ableger der UCK-Terroristen, die
selbsternannte "Befreiungsarmee für Presevo, Medvedja und Bujanovac" für
neuen Unruhe entlang der Bezirksgrenze zwischen Südserbien und Kosovo ".
Die auf mindestens 200 Mitglieder geschätzte UC-PMB-Gruppe operiert
hauptsächlich aus dem Dorf Dobrosin, das im fünf Kilometer breiten
entmilitarisierten Grenzstreifen zwischen Kosovo und Serbien proper nur
einige Hundert Meter von der amerikanischen KFOR-Zone liegt. Da
serbisches Militär nicht in dem entmilitarisierten Grenzstreifen
operieren darf, und die Amerikaner für einen solchen Fall wiederholt mit
schwerwiegenden Folgen gedroht haben, führen die Terroristen der UCPMB
ihre Überfälle auf die südserbischen Dörfer und Städte praktisch unter
dem Schutz der US-Truppen aus, um die von ihnen als Ost-Kosovo
bezeichneten Region zu "befreien".
Letzte Woche gab es wieder vermehrte Zwischenfälle und Mörserüberfälle
auf serbische Polizeiposten Dabei wurden allein drei Polizisten am
Montag verwundet. Am Dienstag wurden ein weiterer Polizist und zwei
junge Mädchen durch einen Feuerüberfall der UCPMB verwundet. Insgesamt
sind seit Ende des NATO-Überfalls auf Jugoslawien 50 Zwischenfälle
registriert worden bei denen etwa 15 Menschen getötet und über 20
verwundet wurden. Noch stellen die Angreifer die größte Zahl der Toten.
Einer der Terroristen, die am 27 Februar dieses Jahres ein Polizeiauto
aus dem Hinterhalt angriffen, konnte anhand seiner Uniform und der bei
ihm gefundenen Papiere einwandfrei als ehem. UCK-Bandit und aktuelles
Mitglied des angeblich demilitarisierten Kosovo-Schutz-Korps
identifiziert werden.
Als Resultat der erneut aufflackernden Kämpfe und der allgemeinen
Verunsicherung der mehrheitlich ethnischen Albanern, die in diesem Teil
Südserbiens leben, sollen mittlerweile bis zu 60% der Bevölkerung die
Region verlassen haben und zumeist zu Verwandten ins Kosovo gegangen
sein. ("Daily shootings spark fear in village near Kosovo", July 19,
2000, Web posted at: 11:28 AM EDT (1528 GMT), KONCULJ, Yugoslavia
(Reuters)
Anderswo im Kosovo wurden in den letzten Tagen ein serbischer Bauer und
seine Frau beim Heu machen auf dem Feld von vier albanischen Gangstern
mit automatischen Waffen beschossen und schwer verletzt. Ein Haus in
einem serbischen Dorf in Nord-Kosovo wurde von einer von der Schulter
abgefeuerten Rakete getroffen. Wie durch ein Wunder wurde niemand
verletzt. An einer anderen Stelle gingen britische Truppen einem
serbischen Hinweis nach und fanden und zerstörten ein weitverzweigtes
Bunkersystem der UCK, das scheinbar noch für geheime Trainingszwecke
benutzt wurde.
Saarbrücken den 25.7.00
http://www.albaniannews.com
Albanian Daily News
July 21, 2000
Serb Policemen Wounded in Kosovo Border Incident
VRANJE, Serbia - Three Serb policemen were wounded
overnight in a heavy mortar attack in a buffer zone
separating southern Serbia from Kosovo, a Serbian
official said on Tuesday.
“Last night between 2000 and 2030 around 35 mortar
shells landed near the Konculj (police) checkpoint,”
investigative judge of the Vranje District Court
Slavoljub Mihajlovic told Reuters.
“One of the shells landed next to the checkpoint
itself and three policemen were wounded. Two were
lightly wounded and the third, who had a piece of
shrapnel in his neck, has been sent for treatment to
Belgrade military hospital,” he said.
Mihajlovic, who is also investigating three more
incidents that took place in the area over the past 10
days, said he could not tell exactly who was behind
the attack, but added: “It was probably Albanian
terrorists.”
He said the attacks came from the direction of
Dobrosin, a village in the five-km (three-mile) wide
demilitarised belt, set up after the Yugoslav army and
Serbian police withdrew from Kosovo, following the
arrival of international NATO-led peacekeepers.
The village of Konculj also lies in the buffer zone
between territory controlled by Yugoslav forces and
Kosovo.
According to Belgrade independent Beta news agency,
the last reported shelling was the 49th incident in
the buffer zone and the 14th attack on the local
police checkpoint in Konculj in the past year.
The area of southern Serbia adjoining Kosovo has a
large ethnic Albanian population and has suffered
increased ethnic violence, which Yugoslav authorities
blame on a spillover of “Albanian terrorism” from
Kosovo.
An ethnic Albanian armed group calling itself the
Presevo, Medvedja and Bujanovac Liberation Army, named
after three municipalities in the area, is believed to
have been involved in several clashes with Serbian
police in the past year.
The group is believed to have its headquarters in
Dobrosin. (Reuters)
---
NUOVO COMANDANTE PER LE TRUPPE STATUNITENSI IN KOSMET
Troops in Kosovo Get New Commander
.c The Associated Press
By ALISON MUTLER
CAMP BONDSTEEL, Yugoslavia (AP) - Brig. Gen. Dennis E. Hardy took
command of
U.S. forces in Kosovo on Tuesday, saying he intends to advance the peace
process and leave Kosovo ``as a land of peace and prosperity.''
Hardy assumed the reins at an outdoor ceremony at Camp Bondsteel, the
main
U.S. camp in this Serbian province where 5,500 U.S. troops are
stationed. He
takes over from Brig. Gen. Randal M. Tieszen, who leaves the post after
two
months to become Chief of Staff of V Corps in Heidelberg, Germany, where
he
will be in charge of 50,000 troops.
In a speech at the handover ceremony, Hardy said he wants to eventually
``turn this nation back over to the Kosovars ... as a land of peace and
prosperity.''
Troops would likely remain in the province for ``a matter of years,'' he
said. He added that Kosovo needs to establish a working economy,
implement
law and order, develop its political and social systems and improve
ethnic
relations.
Tieszen, the outgoing commander, warned that ``constant, senseless
violence''
could tear apart the province and harm its people and their livelihoods
for
generations to come.
``If you do not solve this, you and your children are condemned to a
future
without prosperity, peace and contentment,'' he said in a stern warning
to
Kosovars.
The U.N. and NATO took control of Kosovo after the alliance's 78-day
bombing
campaign in 1999 to punish Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic for his
18-month repression of ethnic Albanians, who form the majority in
Kosovo.
Since the fighting ended, violence between the province's ethnic
Albanians
and Serbs has persisted, hindering the formation of a multiethnic
society.
AP-NY-07-25-00 1013EDT
---
ALBANESI POSSONO ENTRARE SENZA VISTO IN MONTENEGRO
Yugoslav army again lets Albanians into Montenegro
BOZAJ, Yugoslavia, July 25 (Reuters) - The Yugoslav army allowed
Albanians to
enter Montenegro without visas on Tuesday after reportedly turning away
hundreds of people at this border crossing the previous day.
A Reuters reporter who visited the Bozaj crossing in the morning said
people
travelling between Albania and Montenegro were let through without any
problems since late on Monday....
For the full text of this story, <A
HREF="aol://4344:30.L100NJ9t.370282.649006375">click here</A>
Yugo army kicks Albanian visitors from Montenegro
SHKODER, Albania, July 24 (Reuters) - Albanian police said on Monday
that the
Yugoslav army had turned away hundreds of Albanians trying to visit
Montenegro, Serbia's reluctant partner in the Yugoslav federation.
The action by the army, loyal to Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic,
contravenes an accord between Montenegro and Albania under which
Albanians do
not need a visa to visit their northern neighbour.
``The Yugoslav army has turned back all Albanian citizens who crossed
into
Montenegro on the pretext they did not have a federal visa,'' said local
police chief Zija Hasa.
Yugoslavia severed diplomatic relations with Albania after NATO launched
an
air campaign against its bases last March to stop the Kosovo conflict,
saying
that Albania had helped the alliance attack its territory.
Some 300 Albanians were forced back at the Yugoslav army checkpoint at
Bozaj,
three kilometres (2 miles) from the border crossing where Montenegrin
police
had let them through.
Those turned back said there were three times as many troops, tanks and
armoured cars than usual at the army checkpoint, which had been
reinforced
with concrete.
``Belgrade wants to keep fires burning in the Balkans,'' Albanian
foreign
ministry spokesman Sokol Gjoka told reporters, adding that the
government was
closely monitoring the situation.
Montenegrin radio, monitored in the northern Albanian town of Shkoder,
also
said that some 1,000 Albanians on holiday in Montenegro had been told to
return home by July 30.
11:44 07-24-00
---
RELAZIONI BILATERALI TRA IRAQ E RF DI JUGOSLAVIA
Iraq, Yugoslavia start trade talks
BAGHDAD, July 25 (Reuters) - Iraq and Yugoslavia started trade talks to
cement economic cooperation between the two countries, the official
Iraqi
News Agency reported on Tuesday.
INA said the talks were chaired by Iraqi Trade Minister Mohammed Mehdi
Saleh
and his Yugoslav counterpart Borislav Vulkovic....
For the full text of this story, <A
HREF="aol://4344:30.L100NJEh.7247456.649007698">click here</A>
YUGOSLAV MINISTER VISITS IRAQ
BAGHDAD, July 25 (Tanjug) A Yugoslav state and economic
delegation, headed by federal Foreign Trade Minister Borislav Vukovic,
started an official visit to Iraq on Tuesday, the Yugoslav Foreign
Ministry
said.
At a session at the Iraqi Trade Ministry, attended by senior
representatives of the Yugoslav ministries and some 50 Yugoslav
businessmen
and bankers, and by their Iraqi counterparts, Vukovic and Iraq's Trade
Minister Mohammed Meldi Saleh, gave joint instructions whose aim are
concrete agreements within the Oil for Food Program and the securing of
conditions for expanding the presence of the Yugoslav economy on the
Iraqi
market.
During the morning, Vukovic met separately with Iraqi Vice
Prime
Minister Hikmet Al Azavi, who is also Finance Minister, and with the
governor of the Central Bank of Iraq.
The talks focused on bilateral cooperation and its financial
aspects. Both sides expressed readiness for the two countries' financial
institutions to find the best ways for giving banking support to the
economies of Yugoslavia and Iraq and their cooperation.
Both sides confirmed that their businessmen would do everything
to
realize cooperation goals, personally set by the presidents of
Yugoslavia
and Iraq Slobodan Milosevic and Saddam Hussein respectively.
---
AUMENTO SPESE MILITARI NELLA RF DI JUGOSLAVIA
FROM THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF YUGOSLAVIA
PARLIAMENT APPROVES ADDITIONAL 2BL DINARS FOR NATIONAL DEFENSE
BELGRADE, July 25 (Tanjug) Both chambers of the Federal
Parliament adopted at an emergency session on Tuesday amendments to the
Law
on additional financing of national defense in the year 2000, and set up
a
federal elections commission and a monitoring committee for implementing
the elections.
The amendments to the Law on financing national defense will
secure an additional two billion dinars for the Yugoslav Army from
August
until the end of the year.
Yugoslav Deputy Premier Jovan Zebic presented the proposed
amendments to both chambers.
The federal budget for this year is 22,522 million dinars,
including 16,382 million for the Yugoslav Army, Zebic said. A special
federal Law on additional financing earmarked another 3.2 billion dinars
for the Yugoslav Army, to cover part of the emergency expenditures
resulting from the 1999 NATO aggression on Yugoslavia, he said.
This brings the sum earmarked for the Yugoslav Army this year
to a
total of 19.5 billion dinars, Zebic said.
---
RAPPORTI ECONOMICI TRA RF DI JUGOSLAVIA E CINA
YUGOSLAVIA - CHINA
YUGOSLAV AND CHINESE BUSINESSMEN SIGN COOPERATION PROTOCOL
BELGRADE, July 25 (Tanjug) The vicepresident of the Yugoslav
Chamber of Commerce (PKJ) and his counterpart at the Chinese Council for
Promoting International Trade of the Hebei province, Drago Sofranc and
Shuo
Jingchen respectively, signed in Belgrade on Tuesday a Protocol on
Cooperation.
The Protocol, which aims to further strengthen and develop
economic relations between Yugoslavia and China, was signed at the
closure
of a visit by a Chinese economic delegation to Yugoslavia. It represents
a
more concrete form of an Agreement signed by the two countries' chambers
of
economy last September in Beijing.
Under the Protocol, the two countries will make efforts for
establishing and developing all forms of economic cooperation. Since
both
sides are jointly interested in agriculture, Yugoslav businessmen will
be
able to supply the Chinese market with farming machinery.
Chinese businessmen, on the other hand, want to invest in the
Yugoslav textile industry and are interested in importing Yugoslav
beechtimber and copper.
Yugoslav and Chinese economists should also establish closer
cooperation in the spheres of engineering, the chemical industry and
tourism.
---
IMBOSCATA CONTRO AGRICOLTORE SERBO IN KOSMET
KOSOVO AND METOHIJA - TERRORISM
ETHNIC ALBANIAN EXTREMISTS AMBUSH SERB FARMER
GNJILANE, SERBIA, July 24 (Tanjug) Dragan Peric, a Serb farmer
from the village of Prekovac, near Novo Brdo in eastern KosovoMetohija,
was
wounded when he was ambushed in his field which he was working with this
wife and child.
Ethnic Albanian extremists opened automatic gunfire on the
Peric
family last Wednesday, the ChurchNational Board of Gnjilane said on
Monday.
Dragan was immediately transferred to the hospital in Gracanica
and is out of danger.
The subsequent investigation launched by the international
forces
in KosovoMetohija (KFOR) determined that there were two attackers but
their
identity so far remains unknown.
---
BOMBA NEL CENTRO DI MITROVICA
BOMB EXPLODES IN CENTRAL KOSOVSKA MITROVICA
KOSOVSKA MITROVICA, SERBIA, July 24 (Tanjug) A strong
explosion
shook the northern, Serb part of the ethnically divided city of Kosovska
Mitrovica at 4:50 a.m. Monday.
The blast damaged 11 vehicles, but no one was hurt. The
UNMIK
police made a very superficial report about the incident since the head
of
the UNMIK police, a Nigerian, arrived at the scene of the explosion
without
a pen and paper.
Pistol and automatic gunfire were heard from the southern part
of
the city until late on Saturday night.
---
SULLA RIFORMA COSTITUZIONALE NELLA RF DI JUGOSLAVIA
FROM THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF YUGOSLAVIA
YUGOSLAV PARLIAMENT ADOPTED PACKAGE OF ELECTION LAWS
BELGRADE, July 24 (Tanjug) The deputies of the Yugoslav
parliament's two chambers adopted at separate sessions held on Monday a
package of election laws which secure all the electoral rights of the
citizens.
The special sessions, held at the instigation of the federal
government, adopted the Law on the Election and Ending of the Mandate of
the President of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, the Law on the
Election of Deputies to the Chamber of the Republics (Upper House) of
the
federal parliament, the Law on Electoral Units for the Election of
Deputies
to the Chamber of Deputies (Lower House) of the federal parliament and
changes and amendments to the Law on the Election of Deputies to the
Chamber of Citizens of the federal parliament.
Under the Law on the Election of the President of Yugoslavia,
the
citizens will vote for the president directly at elections.
Presidential candidates can be nominated by political parties,
other political organizations and groups of citizens if they manage to
collect at least 25,000 signatures of the electorate.
These elections will be called by the speaker of the federal
parliament's Chamber of Citizens and all activities linked to them will
be
carried out by the Federal Election Committee.
The mandate of the president of Yugoslav ends in case of death,
acquittal or resignation.
An acquittal requires the votes of twothirds of deputies in
each
of the federal parliament's chambers. The federal parliament can
release
the president from office when the Federal Constitutional Court
determines
that he has violated the Constitution. The acquittal proposal must be
submitted by at least one half of the total of federal MPs in each of
the
two chambers.
The Law on the Election of Deputies to the Chamber of the
Republics says that the deputies are elected by direct secret ballot of
the
electorate.
The MPs will be elected within the electoral units the
Republic
of Serbia will be one election unit and Montenegro another, and in each
20
deputies will be elected.
These elections are called by the president of Yugoslavia and
they
can be held no less than 45 days, or more than 90 days since they are
announced.
The candidates can be nominated by registered political
parties,
separately or jointly, as well as by groups of citizens.
Changes and amendments to the Law on the Election of Deputies
to
the Chamber of Citizens have not fundamentally changed the way of
electing
the MPs for this chamber.
The Law on the Electoral Units for the Election of Deputies to
the
Chamber of Citizens of the federal parliament sets, however, that the
Republic of Montenegro is a single electoral unit in which 30 deputies
are
elected.
The Republic of Serbia elects 108 deputies in 26 electoral
units.
Citizens of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia from Kosovo and
Metohija will vote in the electoral units Prokuplje and Vranje (Serbia).
ROMANIAN PAPER ON CONSTITUTIONAL CHANGES IN YUGOSLAVIA
BUCHAREST, July 24 (Tanjug) The Romanian paper Azi on Monday
described as "very strange" harsh Western criticism of the recent
constitutional changes in Yugoslavia saying that these changes lead
towards
"the expansion of the democratic foundations" for the election of the
country's president.
According to the paper, the West's problem is that public
opinion
polls show that Slobodan Milosevic is set to win at the presidential
elections which, Azi stated, is "a real nightmare for all who bombed
Yugoslavia."
On March 24, 1999 NATO launched an aggression on the Federal
Republic of Yugoslavia. During the 11week air raids, over 2,000
civilians
were killed and huge material damage was inflicted.
In a text titled "The truth about the NATO aggression on
Yugoslavia is emerging", the Romanian paper quoted the British press and
its recent publication of claims by former Assistant Defence Secretary
Lord
Gilbert that NATO had always nurtured a wish for waging a war in
KosovoMetohija and that this is why Yugoslavia was deliberately given
unacceptable conditions.
FEDERAL GOVERNMENT PROPOSAL ON ELECTION OF YUGOSLAV PRESIDENT
AND FEDERAL DEPUTIES
BELGRADE, July 18 (Tanjug) A federal government session,
chaired
by Prime Minister Momir Bulatovic, has determined draft laws on the
election of the president of Yugoslavia and federal deputies to the
federal
parliament's Chamber of Republics, the federal Information Ministry said
on
Tuesday.
Also determined were a draft law on changes and additions to
the
law on the election of federal deputies to the federal parliament's
Chamber
of Citizens and a draft law on electoral units for the election of
federal
deputies to the Chamber of Citizens.
The draft laws are based on the recently adopted amendments to
the
Yugoslav Constitution which calls for the direct election to the top
state
functions in the country. The draft laws are founded on legal solutions
and
democratic norms and standards contained therein.
The federal government demanded that the parliament session on
these draft laws is held on July 24, the statement said.
YUGOSLAV PARLIAMENT TO HOLD SPECIAL SESSION ON MONDAY
BELGRADE, July 18 (Tanjug) The speaker of the Yugoslav
parliament's Chambers of Republics and Citizens, Srdja Bozovic and
Milomir
Minic respectively, have scheduled for July 24 a special session of the
two
chambers, the federal parliament's press service has said.
The sessions will debate election laws submitted by the federal
government, the statement said.
The federal government has sent to the parliament draft laws on
the election of the president of Yugoslavia and the election of federal
deputies to the Chamber of Republics.
---
DAL CAMPO INTERNAZIONALE SUL MONTE ZLATIBOR
INTERNATIONAL CAMP OF FRIENDSHIP - SESSION
YUGOSLAVIA HAS PAID THE PRICE OF NEW WORLD ORDER
BELGRADE, July 24 (Tanjug) The Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
is
one of the countries which has suffered the consequences of the new
world
order, as reflected in the economic and political spheres, Belgrade
School
of Economy Professor, Dr. Oskar Kovac, said on Monday in the village of
Sirogojno on Mt. Zlatibor, western Serbia.
Kovac told a session of the International Camp of Friendship
that
this has resulted in the dissolution of all federations in eastern and
central Europe, leading towards the new economic order which protects
the
interests of the developed countries and acts at the expense of the
underdeveloped.
Kovac explained that the less developed countries have been
affected by the debt crisis caused by creditors from the developed part
of
the world.
Yugoslavia has also paid this price since it has been
additionally
burdened, as opposed to other countries, by the trade sanctions which,
from
1991 1997, have resulted in damages amounting to 100 billion dollars.
This
figure was doubled by the 1999 NATO aggression on Yugoslavia.
Kovac recalled that Yugoslavia has submitted a request with the
International Court of Justice for war compensation which, he warned,
would
accumulate until paid.
COLLON: HUGE MEDIA LIES PRECEDED AGGRESSION ON YUGOSLAVIA
BELGRADE, July 24 (Tanjug) All wars initiated by the western
powers, including the 1999 war in Yugoslavia, were preceded by huge
media
lies aimed at deceiving the public and forcing it to consent to a
foreign
intervention, belgian publicist Michel Collon said on Monday in the
village
of Sirogojno on Mt Zlatibor, western Serbia.
The existence of alleged mass graves in Kosovo and Metohija and
the stagemanaged massacre in Racak are good examples of media
manipulations
by the new world order, Collon set out at a session of the International
Camp of Friendship in Sirogojno.
"People living in the West do not entirely believe our media
which
depend on multinational corporations. Their great influence on
journalists
and program policies exert considerable pressure on the overall
information
sphere," Collon stated.
Underscoring that people in the West are not presented with
enough
real information about the developments in Yugoslavia, Collon called on
Yugoslav colleagues and citizens to secure fresh and timely information
to
foreign journalists and others who want to learn "the real truth" via
the
Internet and in other ways.
YUGOSLAVIA FOR JOINING EUROPE AND WORLD MARKET
SIROGOJNO, July 22 (Tanjug) Yugoslavia is paying a very high
price for its natural aspiration to be independent, and its geographic
position, riches, and the capabilities of its labor force, direct it
toward
joining Europe and the world market, Yugoslav Minister for Cooperation
with
International Financial Organizations Borka Vucic said in the western
Serbian town of Sirogojno on Saturday.
Speaking on the third day of work of an International
Friendship
Camp which is under way in this town on Mt. Zlatibor, Minister Vucic
said
that, unfortunately, the policy practised by part of the international
community under dictate of the United States does not allow Yugoslavia
to
realize its potentials.
Nevertheless, the policy of sanctions and isolation is a policy
that does not look far into the future, and therefore cannot last long,
Vucic said.
COLON: FRONT FOR DEFENCE OF WORLD PEACE SHOULD BE CREATED
BELGRADE, July 20 (Tanjug) The Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
bravely opposed last year's NATO aggression, but the war against this
country has not ended in view of the continuing pressures, threats,
blackmail and sanctions, prominent Belgian publicist Michel Colon said
in
an interview to Radio Yugoslavia on Thursday.
Colon charged the West with the continuation of "the attempts
to
cause a civil war in Yugoslavia" and expressed concern over Western
public
opinion which "is being manipulated."
Asked about the character of the socalled humanitarian
intervention by the Western countries, Colon set out that "one should
not
forget the fact that the same people who are speaking about sending
humanitarian aid to the Kosovo Albanians, supported the bombing of the
Kurd
refugees in Turkey and armed various fascist movements throughout the
world." He added that it is very important to create a front for the
defence of peace in the world.
Colon is currently visiting the village of Sirogojno, on Mt.
Zlatibor in western Serbia, and the International Camp of Friendship
organized by the Patriotic Alliance of the Youth of Yugoslavia.
---
BULGARIA: CRITICA DEI SOCIALISTI ALLE POSIZIONI "NATISTE" DEL GOVERNO
NATO AGGRESSION - INTERNATIONAL REACTIONS
BSP FOR PEACEFUL RESOLVING OF BALKAN CONFLICTS
SOFIA, July 24 (Tanjug) The Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP)
officially announced on Monday that it has rejected a government report
on
national security for the year 1999 which will be presented at the
national
parliament on Tuesday.
Bulgarian socialists warn that the ruling rightist League of
Democratic Forces (SDS), led by Prime Minister Ivan Kostov, is trying to
use this report to legalize its decision of that year to grant use of
air
corridors to NATO aircraft engaged in military operations in
neighbouring
Yugoslavia and thus prove that the government decisions had been good.
This
does not correspond to the truth, the BSP said.
Instead of the government report, Bulgarian socialists will
offer
their own document for adoption by parliament in which they say the
destabilization in the region has not been overcome yet.
---
LE ELEZIONI IN JUGOSLAVIA IL 24 SETTEMBRE ?
ELECTIONS IN FR YUGOSLAVIA ON SEPTEMBER 24
BELGRADE, July 23, 2000 (I-Net)
Today the Democratic Alternative has stated, relying on sources
in the Yugoslav Left circles, that the federal elections in FR
Yugoslavia would take place on September 24.
LOCAL AND FEDERAL ELECTIONS IN ONE "PACKAGE"
BELGRADE, July 23, 2000 (BLIC)
In case that socialists decide to wait "the high time", the dead
line for holding of federal and local elections would be end of this
or beginning of the next year.
In recent days, however, there are rumors that elections for
both houses of the federal Parliament and the president of Yugoslavia
might be called as early as next week, after acceptance of electoral
laws at the federal level. This means that elections might be held in
the second half of September or beginning of October.
---
IMMOBILI IN VENDITA PER FINANZIARE LE CASSE DELLO STATO
INVITATION FOR BUYING APARTMENTS
BELGRADE, July 23, 2000 (BLIC)
Serbian Government and Head Office for Country's Reconstruction
sent, through yesterday's edition of "Politika" daily, a public
invitation for buying apartments from " the programme 10.000
apartments in 2000, which are being built in the Republic of Serbia".
Juristic and physical persons can answer the bidding for buyng
apartments.
---
LA RFJ NON STAMPERA' MONETA INDISCRIMINATAMENTE
FROM THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF YUGOSLAVIA
PM BULATOVIC: YUGOSLAVIA RESOLVED NOT TO PRINT ANY UNSECURED MONEY
BELGRADE, July 22 (Tanjug) Yugoslav Prime Minister Momir
Bulatovic has said the country could be absolutely satisfied and proud
of
the results achieved in the necessary reconstruction and renewal of the
country following last year's NATO aggression, as well as the
demonstrated
enthusiasm and economic efficiency in that work.
Speaking in an interview to the magazine Ekonomski signali
(Economic Signals), Bulatovic said that last year had been completed
relatively successfully from the aspect of macro economic factors, since
the NATO bombs and war expenditures had seriously violated the material
resources and it had been necessary to invest huge efforts into the
required renewal.
"We managed to produce sufficient quantities of food, and now
we
are investing efforts to secure also power stability, since an oil
embargo
is still in effect against Yugoslavia, in addition to the damaged
refineries (in the NATO air strikes)," he said, indicating there were
also
serious problems in the gas supply.
Bulatovic criticized some negative views on Yugoslavia's
determination to reaffirm its role in the movement of nonaligned
countries
and develop relations with countries with which it has maintained
longterm
friendly political relations, but where economic cooperation has
flagged.
"The former Yugoslavia had also realized its biggest deals in
Libya, Egypt, Iraq and other countries of the Near and Far East,"
Bulatovic
pointed out. It is becoming quite evident at this time that cooperation
with international financial institutions has not secured essential
economic prosperity or progress to any country, he said.
Speaking about financial affairs, Bulatovic underscored the
country's determination to maintain a restrictive monetary policy and
the
condition that any activity or expenditure must be financed strictly
from
real sources.
The fluctuation of the money mass depends on the economic
moment
and need not be inflatory in itself, unless money is printed to cover
various state deficits, Bulatovic said.
---
76 SERBI IMPRIGIONATI IN CROAZIA IN QUANTO SERBI
SERBS IMPRISONED IN CROATIA NOT RELEASED
BELGRADE, July 22 (Tanjug) Yugoslav government Commission for
Humanitarian Issues and Missing Persons President Maksim Korac on Friday
expressed dissatisfaction with the results of a meeting with the
Croatian
Commission for the Imprisoned and Missing on the fate of 76 Serbs
imprisoned in Croatia.
Korac underscored that they had discussed the release of Serbs
captured by Croatian army or police in 1995, during the seizing of the
Republic of Serb Krajina, at the meeting in Zagreb on July 19 and 20.
He said the two commissions had failed to reach agreement
because
the Croatian side had set many additional demands as a condition for
their
release.
Yugoslavia is currently searching for 3,372 persons, including
3,277 that went missing in the territory of Croatia during the 19911995
armed conflicts, and 95 persons in the federation of BosniaHerzegovina.
The 3,277 persons that went missing in Croatia include 576
persons
from the entire territory of the former Yugoslav federation, while 2,701
Serbs went missing in actions by the Croatian army in the Republic of
Serb
Krajina. Only 13 persons have been found of the total number of those
who
went missing in Croatia 9 Serbs and 4 persons from other republics of
the
former Yugoslav federation.
The Croatian side is searching for a total of 1,620 persons who
went missing in the territory of the former Yugoslavia. They have
submitted
54 request to the Belgrade government on the grounds of reports that
these
persons are in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.
---
TRE SERBI IN GALERA PER UN ANNO, MA I COLPEVOLI ERANO STATUNITENSI
KOSOVO AND METOHIJA - INTERNATIONAL REACTIONS
SHAMEFUL ACTION BY U.S. MILITARY
GNJILANE, July 22 (Tanjug) Three Serbs, father Miroljub
Momcilovic, 60, and his sons Jugoslav, 32, and Boban, 25, have been
incarcerated in the prison of the U.S. military base Bondsteel near
Gnjilane, Serbia's Kosovo and Metohija province, for a full year it now
appears without any reason.
International Judge Patrice de Charette has revealed the
existence
of a document of the United States army which clearly shows that U.S.
snipers shot two ethnic Albanians from an observation tower in Kosovo
and
Metohija on July 20, 1999, while the Momcilovices have been charged with
killing one of these men.
De Charette said the 130page explosive document would
definitely
overturn this shameful court process. Already on Monday, when the trial
continues, the court will most probably lift all charges against them
and
the Momcilovices will be released, he said.
Justice will be served, but only partly. Why was the document
released by the U.S. military after a full year. And, more importantly,
who
will make up to the Momcilovices for the 12 months of incarceration,
humilation and abuse.
---
KOSOVO: NON SONO VALIDI I PASSAGGI DI PROPRIETA'
CONTRACTS ON REAL ESTATE TRANSACTIONS IN KOSOVO LEGALLY INVALID
BELGRADE, July 21 (Tanjug) The Serbian Ministries of Justice
and
Finance said in a statement on Friday that UNMIK, especially since the
appointment of Bernard Kuchner as General Administrator of the U.N.
Mission, has passed a number of regulations on property transactions,
nullifying several laws of the republic of Serbia, in particular, the
Special Law on Property Transactions, aimed to preserve ethnic diversity
among the population of the southSerbian province.
This resulted in frequent usurpation of the property belonging
to
Serbs and other nonAlbanians, in favour of ethnic Albanians, as well as
the
usurpation of property of the republic of Serbia, in favour of the U.N.
Mission in Kosovo and Metohija.
As more than 350,000 Serbs, Montenegrins, and nonAlbanians have
been ousted from Kosovo and Metohija, and their houses, flats, and
estates
illegally seized by ethnic Albanians, all contracts on real estate
transactions are made under pressure and coercion, which renders them
null
and void, the statement said.
---
KOSOVO: CHIESTO UN INTERVENTO DELL'UNESCO PER LE DISTRUZIONI IN ATTO
F.R. YUGOSLAVIA - UNESCO
YUGOSLAV AMBASSADOR DEMANDS UNESCO PROTECTION FOR MONUMENTS IN
KOSOVO AND METOHIJA
PARIS, July 21 (Tanjug) Yugoslavia's ambassador at UNESCO
(U.N.
Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization), Nada PopovicPerisic,
on
Friday sent an appeal, following a vandal attack by ethnic Albanian
extremists on the church of St. Ilija in the village of Pomazetim, in
Kosovo and Metohija, to UNESCO DirectorGeneral Koitishiro Macuuru to
openly
denounce this terrorist act and take all steps for the protection and
preservation of sacral and cultural monuments in KosovoMetohija.
Recalling that the church of StIlija had previously been mined
and
torched on August 3, 1999, and that in the night between July 16 and 17,
2000 it was razed to the ground, PopovicPerisic said that in question is
"another in a series of vandal acts which aim to speed up the ethnic
cleansing of the remaining Serbs and other nonAlbanians in Kosovo and
Metohija."
So far in Kosovo and Metohija destroyed have been 87
monasteries,
churches and other sacral facilities.
---
L'UNMIK RESTITUISCA LE MINIERE DI TREPCA
TREPCA MINING COMPLEX DEMANDS FROM UNMIK TO RETURN SEIZED CAPACITIES
ZVECAN, July 21 (Tanjug) The president of the board of
managers
of the Trepca MiningMetalurgyChemical Complex, Milos Milosavljevic, met
in
Skopje, Macedonia, with the representatives of the U.N. civilian mission
(UNMIK) in Kosovo and Metohija to discuss problems arising from the
seizure
of a part Trepca's property by ethnic Albanian extremists after the
arrival
of KFOR in June 1999.
Milosavljevic told Tanjug that he had rejected the attempts,
all
groundless and exerted through pressures, by UNMIK representatives to
take
over control of Trepca.
UNMIK's claims that it is trying to protect Trepca property are
unacceptable because the part of the production facilities seized by the
ethnic Albanians, with the help of KFOR and UNMIK, from the legal owners
have been seriously damaged or completely ruined, Milosavljevic set out.
In Kosovo and Metohija in operation are only those capacities
which are available to the legally elected Trepca management,
Milosavljevic
stated.
The Trepca board of managers rejected UNMIK's intention to take
over the Complex, which is a jointstock company with legally elected
bodies. At the latest session, demands were made for the return of the
forcefully seized mines and installations so that production could be
organized and staff employed regardless of nationality.
ILLEGAL SEIZURE OF TREPCA COMPLEX WILL BE DISASTROUS
BELGRADE, July 19 (Tanjug) The board of managers of the
MiningMetallurgy Complex Trepca in Serbia's southern KosovoMetohija
province said on Wednesday that UNMIK's intention to take over the
management of this complex would result in a total collapse of
production.
According to a report by the federal Information Ministry,
since
the arrival of the international missions (KFOR and UNMIK) in
KosovoMetohija, the only operational facilities in Trepca have been
those
available to its management, while those controlled by KFOR and UNMIK
are
totally out of operation.
"Any forceful and illegal takeover of Trepca would have
disastrous
consequences and would be the responsibility of UNMIK and its
representatives," the Trepca management said in a statement.
They demanded from UNMIK to carry out the demand made by
shareholders at a meeting on August 28, 1999 that the seized Trepca
mines
and installations should be returned to the Complex so that it could
organize production and engage staff regardless of their nationality.
The Trepca management reiterated its standing call to ethnic
Albanians to apply for jobs in the Complex, since this is in keeping
with
the wishes of the shareholders, the statement said.
---
I ROM ACCUSANO I TERRORISTI PAN-ALBANESI DI GENOCIDIO
KOSOVO AND METOHIJA - TERRORISM
ROMANIES ACCUSE ETHNIC ALBANIANS OF GENOCIDE IN KOSOVO AND METOHIJA
BERLIN, July 21 (Tanjug) Ethnic Albanians in Kosovo and
Metohija
are systematically persecuting and killing Romanies, thus forcing
138,000
Romanies out of the total of 370,000 in Serbia's southern province to
flee
abroad, the representative of the Kosovo and Metohija Romanies in
Germany,
Agron Osmani, said on Thursday at a congress of south German Romanies in
Esslingen, close to Stuttgart.
Osmani was also driven away from Kosovo and Metohija eight
months
ago and found shelter in Germany.
Osmani directly accused the members of the terrorist KLA
(Kosovo
Liberation Army) of genocide, giving as proof that KLA killed the entire
Romany population of a village a total of 300 persons including infants
and the elderly.
UNMIK and KFOR, however, are doing nothing, or almost nothing,
to
prevent the atrocities of the ethnic Albanian extremists and terrorists,
Osmani set out adding that the West is no longer speaking about the fate
of
the Romanies in Kosovo and Metohija.
---
677 SERBI MANCANO ALL'APPELLO PER LA OPERAZIONE "TEMPESTA"
CROATIA - STORM - REACTIONS
677 SERBS KILLED OR MISSING DURING CROATIAN OPERATION STORM
ZAGREB, July 21 (Tanjug) During and immediately following
Croatia's militarypolice operation Storm launched against the Serbs in
1995, 677 persons were either killed or went missing, are the latest
data
obtained by the Croatian Helsinki Board (HHO).
This shows that Krajina, where the operation was conducted, has
practically been ethnically cleansed.
The latest HHO report about the atrocities committed in this
operation, says that 267 persons were killed in the former Sector North
(Banija and Kordun). Last year HHO announced that 410 persons had been
killed in Sector South (Knin region).
HHO said that all data were verified in the field and gathered
from eyewitnesses.
The brutality of the Croatian troops during Storm is also
demonstrated in the fact that 76 persons were killed when Serb refugee
columns came under fire from Croat planes, tanks or crossfire.
According to the HHO report, the Croatian army was joined in
its
crimes against the Serbs in the region of Dvor by units of the
BosniaHerzegovina Army Fifth Corps.
In the region of Vrginmost, Karlovci, Slunj and Vojnic almost
the
same number of Serbs were killed in refugee columns and in their own
homes.
The report underscored that operation Storm drove away about
200,000 people, leaving a mere 8,500 mainly elderly persons.
HHO pointed out that the number of killed and missing persons
is
not final and that it is still gathering data.
---
KOSOVSKA MITROVICA: IL CASO VUKOVIC
SERBIAN PROVINCE OF KOSOVO AND METOHIJA
SERB DALIBOR VUKOVIC RELEASED FROM JAIL
KOSOVSKA MITROVICA, July 20 (Tanjug) Dalibor Vukovic, a Serb
student from Kosovska Mitrovica, held in custody by the UNMIK police
since
Sunday at their police station in northern Kosovska Mitrovica, was
released
on Thursday, Tanjug learned from Serb sources in this city.
Vukovic's arrest sparked off daily protests of Serbs in
Kosovska
Mitrovica.
UNMIK arrested Vukovic allegedly because he took part in a
fight
with an ethnic Albanian six months ago. The fight ended without any
serious
consequences.
EXPECTED RELEASE OF SERB STUDENT VUKOVIC
KOSOVSKA MITROVICA, July 20 (Tanjug) Several thousand Serbs
gathered on Wednesday evening before the police station of the U.N.
mission
in KosovoMetohija (UNMIK) to protest the conduct of the UNMIK police and
demand the release of Serbian medical student Dalibor Vukovic.
The protesters were addressed by one of the Serb leaders,
Oliver
Ivanovic, who expressed hope that Vukovic would be set free on Thursday
since this is when the 72 hours required by procedure for interrogation
will expire.
The protest ended peacefully and without incident.
SERBS DEMAND REPLACEMENT OF KOSOVSKA MITROVICA UNMIK POLICE CHIEF
KOSOVSKA MITROVICA, July 19 (Tanjug) Several thousand Serbs
rallied outside the UNMIK police station in northern Kosovska Mitrovica
late on Tuesday and demanded the unconditional release of medical
student
Dalibor Vukovic and the replacement of UNMIK police chief for this
Kosovo
and Metohija town, Benot Belanger of Canada.
Kosovska Mitrovica regional Serb National Council Executive
Committee member Marko Jaksic told the rally that Belanger took office a
month ago and immediately started dealing with Serbs.
"The police commander is arresting the innocent and not the
culprits. That is why I urge you to sign a petition for the replacement
of
Commander Belange," Jaksic said. He proposed that similar rallies be
held
every noon and evening.
Inviting the people to peaceful but determined and continuous
protests, Jaksic said "neither KFOR nor humanitarian organizations are
to
blame for this situation, but exclusively the UNMIK police, in fact, its
commander."
Saturday, 22 July 2000
NATO steps up force in unruly Serb area
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
KOSOVSKA MITROVICA, Yugoslavia - The NATO-led peacekeeping force
increased its presence yesterday in the Serb part of this divided city
after Serb leaders warned of further protests.
Demonstrations will continue if the United Nations takes "undemocratic"
actions such as the arrest earlier this week of an activist whose
subsequent detention triggered rioting and protests, the Serbs said.
The Serb-dominated north bank of the Ibar River was calm yesterday, one
day after Dalibor Vukovic, 24, was freed without bail. An ethnic
Albanian judge released him until a hearing to be held within two weeks.
He is accused of arson, theft and assault in the burning of an ethnic
Albanian's car last month.
U.N. spokeswoman Susan Manuel said that as a condition of his release,
Vukovic was ordered not to associate with "undesirable groups," which
she said meant Serb militants who watch over the main bridge linking the
Serb and ethnic Albanian parts of the city.
Vukovic was one of the Serb "bridge watchers."
Although the charges were not dropped, Serbs hailed Vukovic's release as
a victory because it galvanized the Serb community here in Kosovo's most
ethnically tense city. The four-day confrontation also underscored the
tenuous hold that the United Nations and the NATO-led peacekeeping
command maintain over the largest Serb community left in Kosovo.
Vukovic's arrest Monday night triggered rioting in which several people,
including Serbs and U.N. policemen, were injured. Attacks against U.N.
vehicles forced U.N. police to suspend patrols for a while.
Angry Serbs stole weapons from U.N. policemen, made off with computers
from a suburban police station and ransacked at least one policeman's
apartment. The crisis led Daan Everts, Kosovo head of the Organization
for Security and Cooperation in Europe, to warn that the credibility of
the international mission here was at stake.
With U.N. police seemingly unable to control the situation, the
commander of the NATO-led Kosovo Force, Lt. Gen. Juan Ortuno, announced
yesterday that KFOR was increasing its military presence in the Serb
area "to affirm the rule of law."
He would not say how many troops were being deployed.
---
CROAZIA E MONTENEGRO SEMPRE PIU' VICINI - FORSE VOGLIONO RICOSTRUIRE LA
JUGOSLAVIA, MA STAVOLTA COME FEUDO STATUNITENSE
Croatia, Montenegro plan to ease trade and visas
By Julijana Mojsilovic
PODGORICA, Yugoslavia, July 20 (Reuters) - Croatia and Montenegro said
they
had discussed liberalising bilateral trade, visa and border policies
during a
landmark diplomatic exchange on Thursday.
Croatian Foreign Minister Tonino Picula -- the first top Croatian
official to
visit the coastal Yugoslav republic since the violent break-up of the
former
federation -- told reporters agreements might be signed by September.
His visit is likely to upset Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic, who
is
already angered by attempts by the pro-Western government of Montenegro
to
escape his control.
``We suggested protocols on free trade to ease the trade of our goods
without
taxes, on the liberalisation of the visa regime...and we will also
regulate
border policy to ease the flow of people and goods,'' Picula said.
The visit followed a meeting last month between Montenegrin President
Milo
Djukanovic and Croatian head of state Stjepan Mesic in Dubrovnik on the
Croatian coast.
Djukanovic apologised to the Croats for the role fighters from his
republic
played in a war against Croatia's secession from Yugoslavia in 1991.
VISIT EXPECTED TO DRAW CRITICISM
Pro-Milosevic political forces in Montenegro criticised the apology and
are
likely to also condemn the Thursday's visit as another step towards
Montenegrin independence from Belgrade.
The tiny mountainous republic is the last one left in Yugoslavia, along
with
Serbia, after Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Macedonia broke away in the
early
1990s.
Montenegro's leaders have been threatening a referendum on independence
if
Belgrade continues to resist reforms to give it more equality within the
federation, but have been held back by the West, which fears another
Balkan
conflict.
In carefully worded statements, the two ministers avoided comments on
Milosevic-led Yugoslavia and focused instead on bilateral cooperation
regardless of Belgrade.
``This visit will, I hope, lead us into a period of extraordinary
relations
with Croatia,'' said Montenegrin Foreign Minister Branko Lukovac.
Picula said he and Lukovac had also signed a joint statement pledging to
cooperate to resolve a dispute over the Prevlaka peninsula border
region, now
under the United Nations' control and claimed by both Croatia and
Yugoslavia.
09:54 07-20-00
---
PROSEGUE LA RICOSTRUZIONE DELLA RFJ DEVASTATA DA NOI ITALIANI
RECONSTRUCTION OF COUNTRY SUCCESSFUL AND WITHIN SET TIMETABLE
BELGRADE, July 18 (Tanjug) The board of managers of the
Directorate for the Reconstruction of the Country met on Tuesday in the
Serbian government building. The session was chaired by Serbian Premier
Mirko Marjanovic, who is also the president of the Directorate's board
of
managers, the Serbian Information Ministry has said.
The session concluded that the reconstruction of the country is
being realized successfully and in keeping with the set timetable. Since
the start of the work on the reconstruction of the country until July
11,
2000, work has been completed on 143 construction sites. Built have been
41
road bridges, 15 rail bridges, one highway, three roads, five deviations
on
the road infrastructure, 567 housing facilities, while repaired were 270
housing facilities, built and repaired four heating plants, ten schools
and
six health institutions, two farms and 17 other public facilities.
Work is currently underway on 67 construction sites six road
infrastructure facilities, two rail infrastructure facilities and 57
apartment buildings.
The Directorate board of managers also discussed the
realization
of the strategic national project of building 100,000 apartments in the
first decade of the 21st century. Concluded was that the model for the
financing of the building and sale of the apartments, as well as the
agreement between the four major banks, secure all the necessary
conditions
for the successful construction of 10,000 apartments in the year 2000.
Work
has already started on the building of apartments in 92 cities and towns
throughout Serbia and should be completed by the end of the year.
INTERNATIONAL TENDER FOR NEW BRIDGE IN NOVI SAD
BELGRADE, July 18 (Tanjug) The committee for evaluating
applications at the international tender for a new design of the new
bridge
over the Danube in Novi Sad, capital of Serbia's northern province, met
on
Tuesday.
The rail and road bridge in Novi Sad was destroyed by NATO
bombs
during the 1999 MarchJune aggression on Yugoslavia.
All 11 bids from Yugoslavia and seven from abroad will receive
equal treatment regarding the traffic and technical designs for the
bridge's structure, as well as prices, aesthetical aspects.
This is the third time the committee has met. It announced that
all tenders would be presented to the public at exhibitions in Novi Sad
and
Belgrade.
The Serbian government and the republican Directorate for
Reconstruction called the tender in late March. The applicants include
experts from Russia, China, Japan, Slovenia and a FrancoBelgian team of
engineers.
CONSTRUCTION OF 100,000 APARTMENTS BEGINS IN 89 SERBIAN CITIES
BELGRADE, July 17 (Tanjug) The Serbian government met in
session
on Monday, chaired by Prime Minister Mirko Marjanovic, and concluded
that
the strategic national project on the construction of 100,000 apartments
in
the first decade of the 21st century was successfully being realized,
said
a statement by the republican Ministry of Information.
The construction of 10,000 apartments has begun in 89 cities
and
towns throughout Serbia and they will all be completed by the end of the
year.
Through the realization of this strategic development project,
the
Serbian government is creating conditions to realize the economic
interests
of public companies and to give strong impetus to Serbia's economy
through
real financing, engagement of banks, and organizing locations.
A hundred construction companies with over 150,000 workers are
already engaged on the realization of this project, as well as hundreds
of
subcontractors, manufacturers of building materials, and many firms of
the
associated industries. All in all, a total of some 500,000 workers from
all
over the republic are engaged on this project, the statement said.
---
PROTESTA DEI TURCO-CIPRIOTI DEMOCRATICI
http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/world/2000/0719/wor10.htm
The Irish Times
Wednesday, July 19, 2000
Turkish Cypriots protest over role of the military
By Michael Jansen, in Nicosia
The streets and squares of the Turkish Cypriot sector
of Nicosia were filled with protesters last night as
preparations continued for tomorrow's celebrations of
the 26th anniversary of the Turkish army's invasion
and occupation of the north of the island...
---
ISTITUITA ONOREFICENZA PER GLI OCCUPATORI DEL KOSMET
http://www.af.mil/news/Jul2000/n20000711_001042.html
SECDEF approves NATO Medal for Kosovo operations
Released: 11 Jul 2000
RANDOLPH AIR FORCE BASE, Texas (AFPN) -- The Secretary of Defense
recently approved the wear of the NATO Medal by U.S. service members and
civilians for operations related to Kosovo.
Eligibility criteria for the medal are:
* Participation in NATO operations related to Kosovo (Oct. 13, 1998 to a
date to be determined) for 30 days (continuous or accumulated) in the
area of eligibility. The AOE is the land, at seas, or in the air space
of Kosovo; other territories of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY:
Serbia, Montenegro, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Slovenia);
Albania, Macedonia, and the Adriatic and Ionian seas.
* Aircrews participating in OPERATION Allied Force between March 24,
1999-June 10, 1999 with 15 sorties into Kosovo and FRY.
* Aircrews who didn't participate in OAF, accumulate one day of
qualifying service for the first sortie flown on any day.
* Wounded or injured and requiring subsequent evacuation from the
defined AOE, regardless of time in the area.
* 90 days (continuous or accumulated) within the territories of Italy,
Greece, and Hungary in direct support of NATO operations conducted in
the AOE.
Air Force Personnel Center officials say only one NATO Medal/ribbon is
authorized for wear. "Therefore, service members will wear the NATO
Medal they were awarded first and should they become eligible for the
other NATO Medal, it would be indicated by a bronze service star on the
first NATO Medal. U.S. service members are not authorized the wear of
numeric symbols on either NATO Medal."
Members and/or units who believe they are authorized the award should
provide documentation, such as copies of official orders and travel
vouchers, decorations, EPRs/OPRs, flight logs, etc., that assign them to
one of the approved operations to their servicing military personnel
flight career enhancement element to verify their entitlement. (Courtesy
of AFPC News Service)
RELATED SITE
** NATO Medal
** Air Force Personnel Center
** NATO
For more on this subject, try the Air Force Link Search Engine.
---
1999: PROVOCAZIONE DI NAZISTI E POLIZIA IN GERMANIA CONTRO GLI
ANTIMILITARISTI
Organisierte Provokation in Zusammenarbeit von Nazis, Polizei und Presse
gegen Antikriegsdemonstration in Hamburg
(diesen Beitrag erhielten wir von der Internationalen
jugoslawien-Solidarität Hamburg)
Während der 78 Tage andauernden Bombardements der Nato gegen Jugoslawien
fand in Hamburg jeden Tag um 19 Uhr eine Protestkundgebung auf dem
Gänsemarkt mit anschließender Demonstration statt. Die Teilnehmerzahl
schwankte zwischen 500 und 2000.
Diese Kundgebungen und Demonstrationen wurden in sämtlichen Medien –
Zeitungen, Rundfunk und Fernsehen – komplett unterschlagen, obwohl immer
wieder Kameraleute und Reporter vor Ort waren. So auch an einem Tag im
April. Die Demonstration sollte diesmal zum britischen Generalkonsulat
gehen
und war so von der Polizei und der Demoleitung vereinbart:
Gänsemarkt-Dammtorstraße-Esplanade-Alsterufer-Konsulat. Am Alsterufer
Ecke
Alster-Terrassen hieß es plötzlich seitens der Polizei eine
Solidaritätsdemo
wolle sich unserem Zug anschließen und würde sich aus Richtung
Alster-Terrassen kommend einreihen. Die Pressevertreter waren
offensichtlich
genauso wie die Polizei darüber informiert und waren bereits mit Kameras
und
Fotoapparaten genau an dem Punkt, wo das Zusammentreffen geplant war,
postiert.
Unsere Demoleitung war bis zu diesem Moment nicht darüber informiert
worden – weder seitens dieser „Demonstration“ noch seitens der Polizei,
was
entgegen jeder bisherigen Praxis war. Niemand konnte sich daher erklären
um
wen es sich handeln würde.
Wir sahen die „Solidaritätsdemo“ auf unseren Zug zukommen und glaubten
eine
spontane kleine Demo von 20 bis 30 Personen von vielleicht Autonomen
Gruppen
vor uns zu haben. Transparente und Parolen waren gegen den Krieg und die
Nato gerichtet, in roter und schwarzer Schrift. Bis auf 30 Meter an uns
herangekommen wurden sie freudig von uns begrüßt, die Fotoapparate der
postierten „Reporter“ klickten, die Kameras liefen. Dann wurde jedoch
schnell (Gehabe, Kleidung und Fahne) klar: es handelte sich um Neonazis
aus
Bergedorf!
Dies löste natürlich unter unseren Demonstranten erhebliche Verwirrung
aus.
Während die wenigen Deutschen unter uns sofort versuchten die Nazis
hinauszudrängen und „Nazis raus!“ riefen, blieb vielen Jugoslawen unklar
was
geschehen war und weshalb es plötzlich Ärger gab. Schließlich erklärte
sich
die Polizei bereit die Nazis abzudrängen – die gewünschten Bilder
„Serben
begrüßen Neonazis“ waren ja bereits im Kasten. Unsere Demo setzte sich
wie
geplant bis zum britischen Konsulat fort, die Presse ging nach hause.
Die Neonazis zogen noch zum Kriegerdenkmal am Stephansplatz
(„Deutschland
muss leben, und wenn wir sterben müssen“) und hielten eine Kundgebung
nach
dem Motto „kein deutsches Blut auf dem Balkan vergießen“ ab.
Solltet Ihr in irgendwo in der Presse über den Vorfall gelesen haben,
bittet
leitet es sofort an uns weiter:
Hamburg, 3. Juli 2000
Internationale Jugoslawien Solidarität
C/o Magda Thürey Zentrum
Lindenallee 72
20259 Hamburg
--------- 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'"
Il PCI e' stato sotterrato da Occhetto & co., il PDS sciolto nella
indefinita entita' denominata "Democratici di Sinistra", il giornale -
uno dei peggiori nel panorama attuale della nostra stampa - dopo anni di
"paghi due e ti accatti la videocassetta" e' posto dinanzi al bivio:
diventare definitivamente un giornaletto commerciale oppure chiudere i
battenti. Eppure, il rituale stanco della "Festa dell'Unita'" viene
riproposto regolarmente in tante localita' italiane.
Abbiamo fatto un salto, a Roma, alle Terme di Caracalla: una vera e
propria fiera, un mercatino; tra uno stand commerciale e l'altro,
sopravvive ancora qualche rappresentanza politica: Cuba (ci e' andato
anche il Papa, quindi sono autorizzati!), il Kurdistan (Ocalan vive
ormai forse solo di vita vegetativa grazie ai capolavori diplomatici di
Fassino-D'Alema), il Tibet (NON la Cina! Il Tibet, piede di porco
statunitense in Cina).
Sulla Jugoslavia, due dibattiti. Venerdi sera, 8 (otto) ascoltatori per
un tale Vlatko Sekulovic (Unione Socialdemocratica), certo piu' popolare
in Italia che non in Serbia, forse l'unico serbo del mondo ad avere la
faccia tosta di appoggiare le sanzioni occidentali che - secondo lui -
"fermano Milosevic... gli negano i soldi che ha rubato" (Umberto Ranieri
ha avuto il buon gusto di non presentarsi al dibattito); e poi ieri sera
(lunedi 24/7/00) una triste presentazione per il libro di Giulio Marcon,
responsabile dell'ICS, dinanzi a decine di persone che bevevano o
mangiavano qualcosa in attesa della musica. A fargli da spalla, il
solito Predrag Matvejevic con le solite autocitazioni su asilo ed esilio
(lui che ha cittadinanza plurima e case su entrambe le sponde
dell'Adriatico), come al solito zitto come una tomba sui crimini
dell'UCKFOR nel Kosmet (e non solo); e poi l'ambasciatore sloveno, che
con il suo governo dopo aver spaccato la RFSJ lavora al riconoscimento
del Montenegro indipendente - e traspariva dalle dichiarazioni davvero
surreali.
Marcon ha parlato forse per tre minuti prima dell'inizio del pianobar.
--------- 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 PCI e' stato sotterrato da Occhetto & co., il PDS sciolto nella
indefinita entita' denominata "Democratici di Sinistra", il giornale -
uno dei peggiori nel panorama attuale della nostra stampa - dopo anni di
"paghi due e ti accatti la videocassetta" e' posto dinanzi al bivio:
diventare definitivamente un giornaletto commerciale oppure chiudere i
battenti. Eppure, il rituale stanco della "Festa dell'Unita'" viene
riproposto regolarmente in tante localita' italiane.
Abbiamo fatto un salto, a Roma, alle Terme di Caracalla: una vera e
propria fiera, un mercatino; tra uno stand commerciale e l'altro,
sopravvive ancora qualche rappresentanza politica: Cuba (ci e' andato
anche il Papa, quindi sono autorizzati!), il Kurdistan (Ocalan vive
ormai forse solo di vita vegetativa grazie ai capolavori diplomatici di
Fassino-D'Alema), il Tibet (NON la Cina! Il Tibet, piede di porco
statunitense in Cina).
Sulla Jugoslavia, due dibattiti. Venerdi sera, 8 (otto) ascoltatori per
un tale Vlatko Sekulovic (Unione Socialdemocratica), certo piu' popolare
in Italia che non in Serbia, forse l'unico serbo del mondo ad avere la
faccia tosta di appoggiare le sanzioni occidentali che - secondo lui -
"fermano Milosevic... gli negano i soldi che ha rubato" (Umberto Ranieri
ha avuto il buon gusto di non presentarsi al dibattito); e poi ieri sera
(lunedi 24/7/00) una triste presentazione per il libro di Giulio Marcon,
responsabile dell'ICS, dinanzi a decine di persone che bevevano o
mangiavano qualcosa in attesa della musica. A fargli da spalla, il
solito Predrag Matvejevic con le solite autocitazioni su asilo ed esilio
(lui che ha cittadinanza plurima e case su entrambe le sponde
dell'Adriatico), come al solito zitto come una tomba sui crimini
dell'UCKFOR nel Kosmet (e non solo); e poi l'ambasciatore sloveno, che
con il suo governo dopo aver spaccato la RFSJ lavora al riconoscimento
del Montenegro indipendente - e traspariva dalle dichiarazioni davvero
surreali.
Marcon ha parlato forse per tre minuti prima dell'inizio del pianobar.
--------- COORDINAMENTO ROMANO PER LA JUGOSLAVIA -----------
RIMSKI SAVEZ ZA JUGOSLAVIJU
e-mail: crj@... - URL: http://marx2001.org/crj
http://www.egroups.com/group/crj-mailinglist/
------------------------------------------------------------
Assemblea nazionale di Mestre (15 luglio) di solidarietà con i
lavoratori jugoslavi e contro l?embargo
RELAZIONE DI RUZICA MILOSAVLJEVIC,
presidente del Sindacato Unitario del Gruppo Zastava,
in Italia dal 5 al 18 luglio 2000.
La Zastava è stata motore di sviluppo del paese ma ora, dopo 10 anni di
sanzioni e di embargo, lotta per la sopravvivenza ed
ha perso molte fabbriche rimaste fuori dal territorio dell?attuale
Jugoslavia, e tutta la produzione rimasta è stata portata
a Kragujevac. Con l?embargo dell?ultimo anno ha poi praticamente perso
la possibilità di produrre perchè non può più
effettuare scambi di merci con l?estero per procurarsi materiali e
quella che era la produzione giornaliera è diventata la
produzione annuale: ci può dunque essere solo sopravvivenza in attesa
della fine dell?embargo, dato che solo qualche paese
dell?area balcanica acquista qualcosa della sua produzione. I
bombardamenti del 9 e del 12 aprile ?99 hanno distrutto 6
stabilimenti ed è cessata la produzione: sono rimasti senza lavoro
36.000 dipendenti, senza parlare dell?indotto che un
tempo coinvolgeva fino a 240.000 lavoratori. I danni sono stati enormi
per tutto il tessuto sociale: al di là della volontà,
la forza dei lavoratori per la ricostruzione e la ripresa della
produzione è stata molto limitata per la mancanza di
investimenti e di fondi. Un decreto del Governo ha stabilito che tutti i
lavoratori della Jugoslavia devolvano un giorno di
lavoro al mese per costituire un fondo di solidarietà per la
ricostruzione del paese e delle fabbriche, dando la priorità a
case,elettricità, ospedali, scuole e ponti, quindi alla Zastava va il
5,3 di questo magro fondo. Tuttavia nell?anno appena
trascorso è stata realizzata la prima fase della ricostruzione, che ha
dato la priorità alla riattivazione della centrale
termica, che serviva tutta la città di Kragujevac riscaldando case,
scuole ed ogni altro edificio pubblico. 12.000 lavoratori
della fabbrica, dotati anche di varie altre capacità, specie
nell?edilizia, si sono inoltre volontariamente impegnati a
sgomberarla dalle macerie, aggravate da diverse violentissime alluvioni
(dopo la fine dei bombardamenti è piovuto
ininterrottamente per 28 giorni), e a rifare le coperture degli edifici
e i vetri alle finestre, lavorando notte e giorno, col
caldo e col freddo, praticamente senza attrezzature.Ora negli impianti
che erano stati distrutti è ripresa la produzione, ma
è necessario aumentare la produttività (molto bassa, ovviamente), e
ripristinare il reparto forgiatura, distrutto all?80%;
ci sono gravissimi problemi per rimettere in funzione gli impianti,
perchè le ditte straniere non possono inviare gli
indispensabili ricambi; solo 600 lavoratori possono lavorare come prima
dei bombardamenti, (e lo fanno a
rotazione,quando ciò è possibile, per distribuire al massimo il reddito
fra le famiglie). I maggiori problemi sono nella
fabbrica di automobili, che occupava 580.000 m.q. e aveva 3 linee di
produzione: ora una linea serve per 3 modelli e produce
18.000 vetture contro le 240.000 di un tempo. Il reparto di
lastroferratura è stato ricostruito adeguando le linee alla
produzione attuale. Molto difficile la situazione del reparto
verniciatura auto (colpito), mentre la situazione è diversa
per i camion.
La ricostruzione richiederà diversi anni, ma non si vedono sbocchi
futuri, data la pesantezza dell?embargo che viene
continuamente aggravato da nuove proibizioni della Unione Europea circa
l?import/export: proprio in questi giorni è stata
pubblicata una ?lista bianca? di 190 imprese che possono commerciare con
l?estero, tutte piccole e private , cosa che fa
temere che la Zastava sarà sulla ?lista nera?, impossibilitata a
qualunque scambio di merci, e quindi definitivamente
condannata (cambi e motori le venivano dall?IVECO), dopo essere già
stata distrutta 3 volte.
I lavoratori della Zastava, che nell?89 era stata la prima a firmare il
contratto collettivo di lavoro che garantiva un salario
minimo di 850 marchi al mese, ora sono per il 50% in aspettativa e
percepiscono 20 DM, contrattando ogni mese con lo
Stato aiuti in generi di prima necessità (olio, zucchero, farina), per
circa altri 20 DM, (che però non sempre ci sono).
Quelli impiegati ricevono 120 DM e viene applicata la rotazione, ma non
sempre è possibile e alcuni operai sono fuori da
10 anni. Se si considera che per vivere occorre un minimo di 300 DM,non
ci sono le condizioni per la sopravvivenza.
Da anni non si pagano acqua, energia e simili, ma tutto viene scritto
per un pagamento futuro che nessuno sarà in grado di
affrontare.
Intanto per fortuna c?è la solidarietà internazionale dei lavoratori
tedeschi e italiani, al di là delle differenze politiche,
che ha un grande valore morale oltre che economico in questa durissima
lotta per la sopravvivenza. Gli aiuti servono
prioritariamente di 3 tipi: 1°- materiali e fondi per la ricostruzione e
la ripresa dell?economia distrutta: senza lavoro è
impossibile la vita. La IG Metal e altre grandi fabbriche tedesche sono
impegnate nel progetto di far pervenire pezzi utili
agli impianti e hanno fornito un tornio di 12 metri di tipo molto
specifico, mai avuto in Zastava ( ce ne sono due in tutta la
Jugoslavia; c?è inoltre il tentativo di fare un contratto per ottenere
parti per il funzionamento di centrali termiche e
miniere. Questi sono aiuti molto importanti, perchè per la fabbrica
l?isolamento è mortale.
2° - Data l?impossibilità delle cure mediche serve aiuto economico
diretto per medicinali e attrezzature del presidio
sanitario che ha buone professionalità e copriva il livello diagnostico,
ma le sue macchine vecchie di 20 anni, essendo vicino
ai reparti colpiti, sono andate fuori funzione. Non è più possibile fare
diagnosi. La CGIL italiana ha procurato un
apparecchio per mammografia (una donna su due ha tumori al seno), e
dalla Germania sono giunte lastre e attrezzature
dentistiche e cardiologiche: tutto ciò è stato trasferito all?ospedale
di Kragujevac che serve 800.000 abitanti e sarà molto
utile perchè lo stato di salute generale è molto grave; l?età media dei
lavoratori della Zastava è di 43 anni perchè da 10 anni
non ci sono più assunzioni di giovani, e inoltre la fabbrica non è più
riscaldata a causa dei costi, per decisione dei lavoratori
stessi. A questo si sono aggiunte le bombe, il PCB, l?uranio impoverito.
Dagli esami del sangue la salute risulta in
condizioni allarmanti, e il problema più grave è che, se è difficile
fare diagnosi (l?embargo proibisce di importare anche il
tubo per le schermografie), poi non ci sono farmaci e sostanze per
fabbricarli (le poche fabbriche jugoslave sono state
bombardate anch?esse).Le farmacie di stato sono vuote, quelle private
hanno prezzi inavvicinabili, i medicinali sono
garantiti dal mercato nero e lo sfruttamento è terribile, perciò, per
combatterlo, coi farmaci fatti arrivare con gli aiuti è
stata formata una farmacia ?umanitaria?, severissimamente controllata,
per i lavoratori, gli ex lavoratori e le loro
famiglie, (cioè 2/3 della città). Gravissima la proliferazione di
carcinomi, si è all?inizio di una vera epidemia, e le diagnosi
sono difficili a causa della vecchiezza degli apparecchi; inoltre non
c?è produzione di terapie: gli ospedali, dove i tumori
sono curati gratuitamente per legge, non possono fare altro che mandare
a casa i malati: c?è quindi un?infinità di tragedie
personali, senza speranza, e la paura che i più saranno abbandonati a se
stessi. Il presidio sanitario della Zastava, che ha
sempre funzionato molto bene nel campo della protezione sul lavoro,
tramite diagnosi veloci ed esami sistematici,
soprattutto del sangue, ha constatato che sono in forte aumento i
bambini sofferenti di asma da stress, diabete (per la cura
del quale manca l?insulina), ed epilessia, e che si diffondono nuove
malattie, quali la leucopenia (malattia del sangue).
Forti sono le paure per settembre, quando si riapriranno le scuole: ci
saranno gravissimi problemi per il riscaldamento e
aumenteranno le malattie delle vie respiratorie.
3°- molto importante si è rivelato il sistema degli affidi a distanza,
praticato solo dall?Italia, che ha dato ottimi
risultati, aiutando a sopravvivere le famiglie poste nelle peggiori
condizioni: data la situazione generale il Sindacato ha
dovuto con molta fatica individuare criteri generali per la loro
selezione, che sono stati accettati senza nessuna critica o
polemica da tutti gli operai; fino ad ora le adozioni sono 1.140, ma i
bambini in attesa sono 10.000, e sono i più bisognosi
tra i bisognosi. Solo chi ha visto può realmente rendersi conto della
lotta che combatte anche solo per sopravvivere una
famiglia, mediamente di quattro persone, con l?equivalente di 20.000
lire al mese.
In questa terribile situazione la gente è molto unita e solidale e non
si è verificato alcun problema fra le 34 ?etnie? presenti
fra i lavoratori, così come non ce ne erano mai stati in precedenza:
serbi, rom, albanesi, ebrei, turchi, kossovari, croati,
goranci, ecc: hanno sempre lavorato e vissuto insieme, e continuano a
farlo, aiutandosi a vicenda. Al Sindacato Unitario del
Gruppo Zastava aderisce il 92% dei lavoratori, al di là delle diverse
opinioni politiche, e il Sindacato si occupa delle loro
condizioni di vita e di lavoro, senza porre nessuna altra questione. Le
scelte politiche dei singoli non possono mettere in
discussione il loro diritto al lavoro e alla vita, che potrà avere
qualche speranza solo se verrà tolto subito questo terribile
embargo contro i lavoratori che condanna a morte indiscriminatamente una
intera popolazione, da sempre multietnica.
Questo è l?aiuto veramente fondamentale, indispensabile per la
sopravvivenza del popolo jugoslavo: gli aiuti possono in
qualche (limitato) modo alleviare l?attesa, ma solo i mezzi delle
nazioni possono intervenire sui tanti tipi di
inquinamento e avvelenamento del suolo, dell?acqua e dell?aria causati
dai bombardamenti della NATO, che l?embargo
rende impossibile perfino monitorare.
Il popolo jugoslavo non può capire questo accanimento, ma non vuole
odiare nessuno:solo augura che quello che gli è
accaduto non succeda a nessun altro popolo.
(Sperando di essere riuscita a riportare il più fedelmente possibile le
parole della Presidente del Sindacato Unitario del
Gruppo della Zastava, mi scuso per le possibili incomprensioni in
materia di carattere tecnico. Paola Ferroni, tel.
051/955069)
Un ringraziamento a "Un ponte per in terra di Bari" per la diffusione
del testo
--------- COORDINAMENTO ROMANO PER LA JUGOSLAVIA -----------
RIMSKI SAVEZ ZA JUGOSLAVIJU
e-mail: crj@... - URL: http://marx2001.org/crj
http://www.egroups.com/group/crj-mailinglist/
------------------------------------------------------------
lavoratori jugoslavi e contro l?embargo
RELAZIONE DI RUZICA MILOSAVLJEVIC,
presidente del Sindacato Unitario del Gruppo Zastava,
in Italia dal 5 al 18 luglio 2000.
La Zastava è stata motore di sviluppo del paese ma ora, dopo 10 anni di
sanzioni e di embargo, lotta per la sopravvivenza ed
ha perso molte fabbriche rimaste fuori dal territorio dell?attuale
Jugoslavia, e tutta la produzione rimasta è stata portata
a Kragujevac. Con l?embargo dell?ultimo anno ha poi praticamente perso
la possibilità di produrre perchè non può più
effettuare scambi di merci con l?estero per procurarsi materiali e
quella che era la produzione giornaliera è diventata la
produzione annuale: ci può dunque essere solo sopravvivenza in attesa
della fine dell?embargo, dato che solo qualche paese
dell?area balcanica acquista qualcosa della sua produzione. I
bombardamenti del 9 e del 12 aprile ?99 hanno distrutto 6
stabilimenti ed è cessata la produzione: sono rimasti senza lavoro
36.000 dipendenti, senza parlare dell?indotto che un
tempo coinvolgeva fino a 240.000 lavoratori. I danni sono stati enormi
per tutto il tessuto sociale: al di là della volontà,
la forza dei lavoratori per la ricostruzione e la ripresa della
produzione è stata molto limitata per la mancanza di
investimenti e di fondi. Un decreto del Governo ha stabilito che tutti i
lavoratori della Jugoslavia devolvano un giorno di
lavoro al mese per costituire un fondo di solidarietà per la
ricostruzione del paese e delle fabbriche, dando la priorità a
case,elettricità, ospedali, scuole e ponti, quindi alla Zastava va il
5,3 di questo magro fondo. Tuttavia nell?anno appena
trascorso è stata realizzata la prima fase della ricostruzione, che ha
dato la priorità alla riattivazione della centrale
termica, che serviva tutta la città di Kragujevac riscaldando case,
scuole ed ogni altro edificio pubblico. 12.000 lavoratori
della fabbrica, dotati anche di varie altre capacità, specie
nell?edilizia, si sono inoltre volontariamente impegnati a
sgomberarla dalle macerie, aggravate da diverse violentissime alluvioni
(dopo la fine dei bombardamenti è piovuto
ininterrottamente per 28 giorni), e a rifare le coperture degli edifici
e i vetri alle finestre, lavorando notte e giorno, col
caldo e col freddo, praticamente senza attrezzature.Ora negli impianti
che erano stati distrutti è ripresa la produzione, ma
è necessario aumentare la produttività (molto bassa, ovviamente), e
ripristinare il reparto forgiatura, distrutto all?80%;
ci sono gravissimi problemi per rimettere in funzione gli impianti,
perchè le ditte straniere non possono inviare gli
indispensabili ricambi; solo 600 lavoratori possono lavorare come prima
dei bombardamenti, (e lo fanno a
rotazione,quando ciò è possibile, per distribuire al massimo il reddito
fra le famiglie). I maggiori problemi sono nella
fabbrica di automobili, che occupava 580.000 m.q. e aveva 3 linee di
produzione: ora una linea serve per 3 modelli e produce
18.000 vetture contro le 240.000 di un tempo. Il reparto di
lastroferratura è stato ricostruito adeguando le linee alla
produzione attuale. Molto difficile la situazione del reparto
verniciatura auto (colpito), mentre la situazione è diversa
per i camion.
La ricostruzione richiederà diversi anni, ma non si vedono sbocchi
futuri, data la pesantezza dell?embargo che viene
continuamente aggravato da nuove proibizioni della Unione Europea circa
l?import/export: proprio in questi giorni è stata
pubblicata una ?lista bianca? di 190 imprese che possono commerciare con
l?estero, tutte piccole e private , cosa che fa
temere che la Zastava sarà sulla ?lista nera?, impossibilitata a
qualunque scambio di merci, e quindi definitivamente
condannata (cambi e motori le venivano dall?IVECO), dopo essere già
stata distrutta 3 volte.
I lavoratori della Zastava, che nell?89 era stata la prima a firmare il
contratto collettivo di lavoro che garantiva un salario
minimo di 850 marchi al mese, ora sono per il 50% in aspettativa e
percepiscono 20 DM, contrattando ogni mese con lo
Stato aiuti in generi di prima necessità (olio, zucchero, farina), per
circa altri 20 DM, (che però non sempre ci sono).
Quelli impiegati ricevono 120 DM e viene applicata la rotazione, ma non
sempre è possibile e alcuni operai sono fuori da
10 anni. Se si considera che per vivere occorre un minimo di 300 DM,non
ci sono le condizioni per la sopravvivenza.
Da anni non si pagano acqua, energia e simili, ma tutto viene scritto
per un pagamento futuro che nessuno sarà in grado di
affrontare.
Intanto per fortuna c?è la solidarietà internazionale dei lavoratori
tedeschi e italiani, al di là delle differenze politiche,
che ha un grande valore morale oltre che economico in questa durissima
lotta per la sopravvivenza. Gli aiuti servono
prioritariamente di 3 tipi: 1°- materiali e fondi per la ricostruzione e
la ripresa dell?economia distrutta: senza lavoro è
impossibile la vita. La IG Metal e altre grandi fabbriche tedesche sono
impegnate nel progetto di far pervenire pezzi utili
agli impianti e hanno fornito un tornio di 12 metri di tipo molto
specifico, mai avuto in Zastava ( ce ne sono due in tutta la
Jugoslavia; c?è inoltre il tentativo di fare un contratto per ottenere
parti per il funzionamento di centrali termiche e
miniere. Questi sono aiuti molto importanti, perchè per la fabbrica
l?isolamento è mortale.
2° - Data l?impossibilità delle cure mediche serve aiuto economico
diretto per medicinali e attrezzature del presidio
sanitario che ha buone professionalità e copriva il livello diagnostico,
ma le sue macchine vecchie di 20 anni, essendo vicino
ai reparti colpiti, sono andate fuori funzione. Non è più possibile fare
diagnosi. La CGIL italiana ha procurato un
apparecchio per mammografia (una donna su due ha tumori al seno), e
dalla Germania sono giunte lastre e attrezzature
dentistiche e cardiologiche: tutto ciò è stato trasferito all?ospedale
di Kragujevac che serve 800.000 abitanti e sarà molto
utile perchè lo stato di salute generale è molto grave; l?età media dei
lavoratori della Zastava è di 43 anni perchè da 10 anni
non ci sono più assunzioni di giovani, e inoltre la fabbrica non è più
riscaldata a causa dei costi, per decisione dei lavoratori
stessi. A questo si sono aggiunte le bombe, il PCB, l?uranio impoverito.
Dagli esami del sangue la salute risulta in
condizioni allarmanti, e il problema più grave è che, se è difficile
fare diagnosi (l?embargo proibisce di importare anche il
tubo per le schermografie), poi non ci sono farmaci e sostanze per
fabbricarli (le poche fabbriche jugoslave sono state
bombardate anch?esse).Le farmacie di stato sono vuote, quelle private
hanno prezzi inavvicinabili, i medicinali sono
garantiti dal mercato nero e lo sfruttamento è terribile, perciò, per
combatterlo, coi farmaci fatti arrivare con gli aiuti è
stata formata una farmacia ?umanitaria?, severissimamente controllata,
per i lavoratori, gli ex lavoratori e le loro
famiglie, (cioè 2/3 della città). Gravissima la proliferazione di
carcinomi, si è all?inizio di una vera epidemia, e le diagnosi
sono difficili a causa della vecchiezza degli apparecchi; inoltre non
c?è produzione di terapie: gli ospedali, dove i tumori
sono curati gratuitamente per legge, non possono fare altro che mandare
a casa i malati: c?è quindi un?infinità di tragedie
personali, senza speranza, e la paura che i più saranno abbandonati a se
stessi. Il presidio sanitario della Zastava, che ha
sempre funzionato molto bene nel campo della protezione sul lavoro,
tramite diagnosi veloci ed esami sistematici,
soprattutto del sangue, ha constatato che sono in forte aumento i
bambini sofferenti di asma da stress, diabete (per la cura
del quale manca l?insulina), ed epilessia, e che si diffondono nuove
malattie, quali la leucopenia (malattia del sangue).
Forti sono le paure per settembre, quando si riapriranno le scuole: ci
saranno gravissimi problemi per il riscaldamento e
aumenteranno le malattie delle vie respiratorie.
3°- molto importante si è rivelato il sistema degli affidi a distanza,
praticato solo dall?Italia, che ha dato ottimi
risultati, aiutando a sopravvivere le famiglie poste nelle peggiori
condizioni: data la situazione generale il Sindacato ha
dovuto con molta fatica individuare criteri generali per la loro
selezione, che sono stati accettati senza nessuna critica o
polemica da tutti gli operai; fino ad ora le adozioni sono 1.140, ma i
bambini in attesa sono 10.000, e sono i più bisognosi
tra i bisognosi. Solo chi ha visto può realmente rendersi conto della
lotta che combatte anche solo per sopravvivere una
famiglia, mediamente di quattro persone, con l?equivalente di 20.000
lire al mese.
In questa terribile situazione la gente è molto unita e solidale e non
si è verificato alcun problema fra le 34 ?etnie? presenti
fra i lavoratori, così come non ce ne erano mai stati in precedenza:
serbi, rom, albanesi, ebrei, turchi, kossovari, croati,
goranci, ecc: hanno sempre lavorato e vissuto insieme, e continuano a
farlo, aiutandosi a vicenda. Al Sindacato Unitario del
Gruppo Zastava aderisce il 92% dei lavoratori, al di là delle diverse
opinioni politiche, e il Sindacato si occupa delle loro
condizioni di vita e di lavoro, senza porre nessuna altra questione. Le
scelte politiche dei singoli non possono mettere in
discussione il loro diritto al lavoro e alla vita, che potrà avere
qualche speranza solo se verrà tolto subito questo terribile
embargo contro i lavoratori che condanna a morte indiscriminatamente una
intera popolazione, da sempre multietnica.
Questo è l?aiuto veramente fondamentale, indispensabile per la
sopravvivenza del popolo jugoslavo: gli aiuti possono in
qualche (limitato) modo alleviare l?attesa, ma solo i mezzi delle
nazioni possono intervenire sui tanti tipi di
inquinamento e avvelenamento del suolo, dell?acqua e dell?aria causati
dai bombardamenti della NATO, che l?embargo
rende impossibile perfino monitorare.
Il popolo jugoslavo non può capire questo accanimento, ma non vuole
odiare nessuno:solo augura che quello che gli è
accaduto non succeda a nessun altro popolo.
(Sperando di essere riuscita a riportare il più fedelmente possibile le
parole della Presidente del Sindacato Unitario del
Gruppo della Zastava, mi scuso per le possibili incomprensioni in
materia di carattere tecnico. Paola Ferroni, tel.
051/955069)
Un ringraziamento a "Un ponte per in terra di Bari" per la diffusione
del testo
--------- COORDINAMENTO ROMANO PER LA JUGOSLAVIA -----------
RIMSKI SAVEZ ZA JUGOSLAVIJU
e-mail: crj@... - URL: http://marx2001.org/crj
http://www.egroups.com/group/crj-mailinglist/
------------------------------------------------------------
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