Informazione
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
http://www.egroups.com/group/crj-mailinglist/
------------------------------------------------------------
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/
------------------------------------------------------------
PAGLIACCIO E BUFFONE
(si veda anche:
http://www.egroups.com/message/crj-mailinglist/330?&start=301 )
Domanda: "Perche' non la sentiamo dire pubblicamente che queste vergogne
[le violenze continue in Kosmet contro i non-albanesi e contro gli
albanesi democratici] devono finire?..."
LORD GEORGE ROBERTSON (*): "Per 10 anni, da quando Milosevic e' al
potere, sono stati negati i piu' elementari diritti... una
discriminazione sistematica che potremmo anche chiamare apartheid
[sembra quasi di sentire Alberto L'Abate, n.d.CRJ]... L'OSCE ci ha detto
che i serbi colpivano appositamente i bambini... si proprio un anno fa
trafiggevano i bambini sulla punta delle baionette allo scopo di
terrorizzare la popolazione civile... Ecco quello che stava succedendo,
ecco quello che e' successo per piu' di 50 anni [SIC!!!]..."
Fonti:
http://www.jonathandimbleby.co.uk/TX20000611_Robertson/transcript.html
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/europe/july-dec99/robertson_11-2.html
(*) Questo personaggio e' il Segretario generale della NATO.
--------- COORDINAMENTO ROMANO PER LA JUGOSLAVIA -----------
RIMSKI SAVEZ ZA JUGOSLAVIJU
e-mail: crj@... - URL: http://marx2001.org/crj
http://www.egroups.com/group/crj-mailinglist/
------------------------------------------------------------
(si veda anche:
http://www.egroups.com/message/crj-mailinglist/330?&start=301 )
Domanda: "Perche' non la sentiamo dire pubblicamente che queste vergogne
[le violenze continue in Kosmet contro i non-albanesi e contro gli
albanesi democratici] devono finire?..."
LORD GEORGE ROBERTSON (*): "Per 10 anni, da quando Milosevic e' al
potere, sono stati negati i piu' elementari diritti... una
discriminazione sistematica che potremmo anche chiamare apartheid
[sembra quasi di sentire Alberto L'Abate, n.d.CRJ]... L'OSCE ci ha detto
che i serbi colpivano appositamente i bambini... si proprio un anno fa
trafiggevano i bambini sulla punta delle baionette allo scopo di
terrorizzare la popolazione civile... Ecco quello che stava succedendo,
ecco quello che e' successo per piu' di 50 anni [SIC!!!]..."
Fonti:
http://www.jonathandimbleby.co.uk/TX20000611_Robertson/transcript.html
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/europe/july-dec99/robertson_11-2.html
(*) Questo personaggio e' il Segretario generale della NATO.
--------- COORDINAMENTO ROMANO PER LA JUGOSLAVIA -----------
RIMSKI SAVEZ ZA JUGOSLAVIJU
e-mail: crj@... - URL: http://marx2001.org/crj
http://www.egroups.com/group/crj-mailinglist/
------------------------------------------------------------
* Polonia: gli agricoltori contro l'Unione Europea (The Guardian)
* Lo stato della Russia (Golos Kommunista)
* La NATO ed il nazionalismo ungherese (The Rockford Institute)
* Polonia: i CRETTINs - COALITION OF ROBBERS AND EXPLOITERS OF
TECHNOLOGY TUMOR INFESTED NATIONS - stanno distruggendo il paese (M.
Glogoczowski)
* Romania: l'embargo contro la Jugoslavia e la politica interna (IWPR)
* Ucraina: Ritornano i latifondisti (STOPNATO)
* Ucraina: rispettati gli impegni con gli strozzini mondiali (Reuters)
* Romania: esercitazioni militari (US Army)
---
>Polish farmers declare war over EU membership
>
>Thousands of smallholders claim they are being pushed
>to the wall in the Warsaw government's rush to
>negotiate with Brussels on entry
>The European Commission: special report
>
>Tony Paterson in Augustow, north-east Poland
>Tuesday April 18, 2000
>The Guardian
>
>Poland's politicians may be embracing early membership
>of the European Union but its farmers are furious
>about the move, which could wipe out their
>livelihoods.
>
>This week, as the European commission finalises its
>draft plan for the inclusion of Poland, Hungary, the
>Czech Republic, Estonia, Slovenia and Cyprus in the
>union, many of the fields around Augustow remain a
>wasteland.
>
>"Polish agriculture is already ruined," said one
>farmer, Stanislaw Bojkowski, 67, who tills 50 acres
>near Augustow.
>
>"Farming was worthwhile under communism, but Warsaw's
>European Union madness is driving us out of business."
>
>
>He is not alone. According to estimates from the
>Polish Peasants' party, only 600,000 of the country's
>2m farms will survive the process of joining the EU.
>
>Yet Warsaw's liberal-conservative coalition government
>is adamant that Poland must join as soon as possible.
>
>Mr Bojkowski is cultivating only half of his land this
>year - he cannot afford the fertilisers needed for the
>rest.
>
>"The money I get for the wheat and potatoes I manage
>to produce hardly makes it worthwhile. The bulk of my
>income these days derives from my old-age pension," he
>said.
>
>Two miles away, Mieczyslaw Suchocki, 43, has tried to
>offset his farming losses by taking a share in a
>grocery store.
>
>In the 1980s his 74-acre farm, producing potatoes,
>wheat and tobacco, was subsidised by the state. A
>single tobacco crop earned Mr Suchocki enough to buy a
>car.
>
>Now the terms of growing are set by the multinational
>British American Tobacco company. "Starting next year,
>BAT is only buying tobacco from farmers who plant and
>dry it with the special drying equipment we can buy
>from them.
>
>"I would need a $10,000 loan to purchase the equipment
>and I simply can't afford it. Producing tobacco on a
>small scale is out," he said.
>
>The collapse of small-scale farming is a dilemma faced
>by all the EU candidate countries but it is acute in
>Poland, where some 26% of the working population is in
>agriculture.
>
>Roman Jagielinski of the Polish Peasants' party argues
>that the state must make social security provision for
>farmers forced out of business. He wants the rest to
>receive subsidies from Brussels.
>
>But Brussels has so far turned a deaf ear. The common
>agricultural policy subsidy budget, which amounts to
>more than £25bn a year in direct aid to EU farmers,
>has been fixed until 2006.
>
>It contains no provision for EU candidate countries,
>although Poland is still aiming for a 2003 entry date.
>
>
>The anger of Polish farmers boiled over last year,
>when the militant agricultural workers' union
>Samoobrona (Self- Defence) staged countrywide protests
>against the flood of cheap EU imports.
>
>This persuaded Warsaw to temporarily ban grain imports
>and raise the amounts paid for home-grown pork.
>
>But the moves were not enough to satisfy Samoobrona's
>leader, Andrej Lepper, who will run as a candidate in
>the presidential election this autumn.
>
>"Poland is not being treated as a partner by the EU.
>We are simply being used as a dumping ground for their
>surplus products," he said.
>
>Two-thirds of large farm owners recently declared
>their readiness to take part in further militant
>protests.
---
L?état de la Russie
Selon le rapport des Nations unies, à présent la Russie est 71ème sur
174 pays, sur l?échelle du
Potentiel de développent humain. Le plus grand et, en ressources
naturelles, un des plus riches
pays dans le monde, avec une population des mieux éduquées, la Russie
traîne derrière le
Venezuela, le Panama, le Mexique, Grenade, la Malaisie, Cuba, la
Biélorussie, Fiji, la Thaïlande et
la Roumanie sur la liste des Nations unies.... Peut-être, néanmoins, que
la Russie puisse être
«fière» d?un meilleur niveau de vie que la Lituanie, l?Ukraine et la
plupart des pays dans le
Caucase et l?Asie centrale...
Le Produit national brut par habitant est tombé à la 116 place (!) dans
la liste des pays - après
avoir été la seconde puissance industrielle dans le monde.... Tels pays
que le Barbados, la
République Dominicaine, la Turquie, le Liban, le Gabon , Trinidad,
Panama et l?Île Maurice
produisent actuellement plus par tête d?habitant que la Russie! Dans 13
pays ce taux est dix fois
supérieur à celui de la Russie, alors qu?au Luxembourg et en Suisse il
est de 16 fois supérieur!
Les Russes aujourd?hui mangent moins et vivent moins longtemps qu?en
1970. Alors, l?espérance
de vie était en général de 68,7 ans, maintenant elle est de 66,6.
Entre temps le gouvernement russe se prépare à retarder l?âge de départ
en retraite, pour les
hommes de 60 à 65 ans, et pour les femmes de 55 à 65. La plupart des
hommes russes, ne vivront
pas assez longtemps pour prendre leurs retraites... C?est précisément
l?objet de cette réforme:
économiser de l?argent sur les retraites!). Actuellement les habitants
de pays tels que le Panama,
le Costa Rica, le Honduras et le Surinam ont commencé à vivre plus
longtemps!
Les Russes consomment maintenant moins de calories que les Tunisiens,
les Algériens, les
Malais, les Indonésiens, les Turcs, les Iraniens, les Chiliens e les
Argentins.
En même temps la Russie détient le plus grand taux d?incarcération dans
le monde 1538 sur
100.000 habitants. Le petit Swaziland vient en seconde place, avec
presque la moitié de ce taux,
967...
La Russie est aussi un des pays en tête en ce qui concerne le nombre de
suicides. Chaque année
73 hommes et 14 femmes sur 100.000 de la population se suicident, suit
la Lituanie avec 79
hommes et 15 femmes. À noter que d?autres pays de l?Europe de l?Est et
de la Baltique suivent la
Russie de très près....Voilà le «bonheur» des réformes?
Selon des enquêtes sociologiques, la plupart des femmes russes ont un
sentiment «d?horreur et
renoncent à vouloir vivre» quand elles se découvrent enceinte.
Eh bien, merci beaucoup pour cet «avenir brillant» de notre nation,
Monsieur Gorby et K!
(source Golos Kommunista, avril 2000)
[Traduit par I.R et A.M.]
Diffuso dalla Editions Democrite, Francia
---
The Rockford Institute
July 3, 2000
NATO AND NASCENT HUNGARIAN REVISIONISM
by Gabriel Neagu
In his remarkable article “Bad treaty that won’t go away,” published in
The Washington Times on June 4
(www.washtimes.com), Balint Vazsonyi, director of the Center for the
American Founding, made an impassioned and
unrestrained plea for the revision of the Treaty of Trianon, named for
the palace in Versailles where peace was concluded
between Hungary and the Entente powers in 1920. Dr. Vazsonyi’s article
is a timely prompt to appraise NATO’s impact on
the geopolitical architecture of the Danubian basin, with particular
reference to Hungary’s nascent revisionism
The article contains references to non-Hungarian ethnic groups that are
conceited and in poor taste, if not grossly insulting. If,
for example, “Slovaks had lived in the Northern counties of Hungary for
a thousand years, and their only path to social
advancement was to become Hungarianized,” there is no more to say about
their right to self-determination. If Transylvania as
a Hungarian province “had everything, including enormous historic
importance to Hungary,” it is implicit that no such
importance can be attached to its original and all-time majority
inhabitants, the Romanians. The statement that “the towns, the
great centers in Slovakia, in Transylvania, in Vojvodina were not built
by Slovaks, Rumanians or Serbs” is disingenuous:
pre-Hungarian Europeans did not wait for the Hungarians to build their
towns, schools, churches, and societies.
Something is wrong when a director of the “Center for the American
Founding” states that “something is not right about the
manner in which the plight and cultural destruction of the Hungarian
millions in Slovakia, Romania and Serbia has been
ignored.” How many millions of Hungarians were destroyed in Slovakia,
Romania, and Serbia? When and where? On what
sources is that audacious claim based? In Serbia Hungarians have enjoyed
for decades – and still do, even under the
disgraceful Mr. Milosevic - the rights and privileges on par with any
West European country’s treatment of its minorities.
Romania’s Hungarian minority has grown in numbers since Trianon. At the
same time, Hungary’s Romanian minority -
numerous at the end of World War I - has decreased dramatically. “There
is nothing to show for the untold suffering of
millions of Hungarians,” laments Dr. Vazsonyi. But his attempt to
include his compatriots in the list of approved victimhood
rests on the flimsiest of grounds.
An optimist might say that Dr. Vazsonyi is a harmless nostalgist, that
his irredentist dreams cannot be taken seriously in view of
Hungary’s desire to become integrated in the political and defense
structures of “the West.” But will NATO curb or boost
Hungary’s revisionism? The record is ominous: NATO is Washington’s
military arm and, after its aggression against
Yugoslavia, a criminal organization. Washington has developed one of the
most sophisticated webs of deceitful relationships in
human history. By virtue of wielding ultimate power, Washington remains
its key puppeteer. When there was a USSR, the
U.S. did make elaborate efforts to feed the illusion that international
organizations were not its own instruments, but real
international forums. A decade ago Washington attacked Iraq only after
having maneuvered the UN into giving its blessing and
the “international community” into “building a consensus.” Such finesse
is no longer needed.
Like father, like son: the “new” NATO has violated its own charter, the
US Constitution, the UN Charter, international laws
and conventions, and has committed war crimes. Its policy is based on
double standards, duplicity, and favoritism. Even in the
old days NATO did not have a history of restraining its more bellicose
members. What did NATO do to prevent its member
Turkey from invading northern Cyprus in 1974? It still keeps that
territory under illegal military occupation, but NATO does
not look offended. More recently, Washington and London have declared
no-fly zones in northern and southern Iraq, claiming
that they want to protect the Kurds in the north and Shiites in the
south against Saddam. However, Turkey is allowed to
violate Iraq’s borders and to murder with impunity the Kurds in northern
Iraq. And only a few weeks ago, acting as UN
Security Council proxies of Washington, NATO members USA, France, and
Britain banned Yugoslavia from an international
discussion on the future of the Balkans and, implicitly, of Yugoslavia
itself. In their warped view of the world, if they disdain a
country, that country should not be allowed to discuss its own future,
let alone have a say in deciding it.
Such spirit of NATO encourages an openly revisionist Hungarian policy.
According to a Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
(RFE/RL) report of October 21, 1998,
“After just a few months in office, it has become clear that the
new Orban government is taking a more vigorous
approach to supporting the claims of ethnic Hungarians living in
the neighboring countries of Romania, Slovakia and
former Yugoslavia.” (Hungary: New Government Feels Responsible For
Minorities Abroad by Kitty McKinsey)
Citing only Hungarian sources, the RFE/RL report went on to enumerate
many Hungarian claims, which were uncritically
presented as legitimate. Hungarian Undersecretary of State Tibor Szabo
was approvingly quoted as saying that “the Hungarian
nation does indeed not coincide with the borders of Hungary.” Given that
RFE/RL is one of Washington’s basest propaganda
agencies, the biased views presented by that report might well be just
another expression of Washington’s preferences. It does
not mind Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban declaring that “the
Constitution of Hungary defines our responsibility for
Hungarians living outside the borders” at the conference Hungary and
Hungarian Minorities Living Abroad in February
1999. In plain language, this implies Hungary’s constitutional “right”
of direct interference in its neighbors’ internal affairs,
which is very different from the normal, and legitimate, concern for the
well-being of one’s compatriots in other countries.
In conclusion, NATO will not curb Hungary’s revisionism if it can
contribute to the destruction of national sovereignty and of
the historically constituted national states. Some Hungarians may hope
to ride on the coat-tails of the project, but they, too, will
be its victims. The NWO seeks a world in which a minuscule, rootless,
and unprincipled financial oligarchy will exploit
everybody, without respect for borders, traditions, religions, cultures,
nations, or any other loyalty that can withstand the
upcoming enslavement. Its “democracy” and “human rights” are strictly
selective (the Serbs, for example, have none), and they
are invoked – to reward or to punish – only inasmuch as they serve the
oligarchy’s interests.
The phenomenon is not new. When the late Rumanian dictator Nicolae
Ceausescu was deemed to serve the interests of the
then still concealed NWO, the Queen of England decorated him and treated
him to a tour of London in her own blazoned
carriage. His appalling human rights record was deemed irrelevant. But
when he paid off Romania’s international debt and
started turning a profit in an economy that was not based on “free
market” fallacies, he became a “nationalist” and was
dispatched by the Romanian subsidiary of the globalist project.
New NATO member Hungary undoubtedly feels encouraged in its revisionism.
It should remember that any short-term
rewards may soon prove to have carried an exorbitant price tag.
Mr. Neagu, a native of Rumania and a former Radio Free Europe analyst,
writes from Washington D.C.
---
The speech of Marek Glogoczowski, a Poland's representative at the
European
Future Congress held at Bratislava, July 2nd, 2000.
The economic and social reality we encounter at present in Poland is
much
the same as the one, described before me, by representatives of
Slovakia,
Estonia and Latvia. In particular, our Estonian friend told us that his
country is producing only 40 percent of food it consumes, and the rest
is
imported from European Union. In "communist" posteriority Poland had
well
developed agriculture, but due to "reforms" it also follows this pattern
of
development: ten years ago milk production in my country attained 16
millions tons, and last year it has dropped to only 8 millions. The same
holds in practically all other industries, and due to it, imports exceed
exports up to 12 billions dollars per year. This means that every
working
man and woman in my country receives from the West yearly up to thousand
dollars high "subvention" to his salary. My monthly salary - as of an
academic lecturer in philosophy - is precisely 200 dollars, which means
that it is in half "sponsored" by the West, which since ten years takes
care for the Poland's development. It is evident that for this,
"implanted"
by Coalition of Global Investors, Polish national debt, we will pay in
the
future with remnants of our national treasures, our forests and
agriculture
lands, and even with our children and houses.
As a philosopher "proletarized" by the West, I would like to put some
professional light at the process of globalization, for it was not
invented
out of nothing. Everyone, who studied the Bible in more detail, knows
the
religious root of this process. The well known prophets of this Book,
like
Zechariah or Isaiah, prophesized the oncoming "Thousand years of
Unified,
Global Kingdom", where there will be "One Lord and one His name", and
the
"Nation or kingdom that will not serve Him shall be utterly laid waste".
As
show it statistics, in United States half of the population believes in
these prophecies. Therefore it is evident that such Bible-directed
public
automatically backs American government, which tries to realize orders
given by the Holy Scripture.
As the idea of "globalization of the Globe" is already more than 2,5
thousand years old, the idea of "Europeanization of Europe" is
relatively
fresh. It is a product of scientific revolution of last two hundred
years,
and it was elaborated with high transparency by French positivist
philosopher August Comte, in the middle of 19th century. According to
his
fertile ideas, European nations should be homogenized, and Europe
unified
in a form of a super-state, consisting of smaller Euro-regions, each
inhabited by about 3 million people. The imagined by Comte future
positivistic society should be divided in castes: atop should be a
narrow
elite of bankers and their associates, below soldiers performing the
role
of police damping eventual disorders, and underneath the caste of
proletarians, working essentially for the glory - and moral values - of
the
work. According to the proposal of this philosopher, members of lower
castes should have no permission to form their individual,
non-controlled
by rulers, views. We may say that in such "positivistic" society,
democracy
might be only decoracy, a decoration masking the utterly despotic
character
of the modern state. As pointed it out a known Polish philosopher Leszek
Kolakowski, August Comte was in large extend the prophet of fascist
movements characterizing first half of 20th century.
How does it look, in this religious and philosophical setting, Europe at
the eve of 21st century? All vital for us decisions are taken at
semi-secret meetings of various informal associations of bankers and
media
owners, such as the Bildberg Group. One of illustrious participants of
these semi-secret, big-business linked associations, an American
publicist
Thomas Friedman defined recently, in very transparent terms, goals of so
called "globalization of the Globe". He did it in "New York Times", only
four days before the start of "friendly bombings" of Yugoslavia:
"For globalization to work, America can't be afraid to act like the
almighty superpower that it is. The hidden hand of the market will never
work without the hidden fist. McDonalds cannot flourish without
McDonnel-Douglas, the maker of the F-15. And the hidden fist that keeps
the
world safe for the Silicon Valley technologies is called the US Army,
Navy,
air force and Marine Corps."
Here we have at least an overt statement what kind of totalitarian
future
prepares for us this "almighty" Coalition (in German Koalizion) of
Global
Investors, known in literature under the abbreviation of KGI. "Adapt
yourself to US-invented life technologies or perish". That's the
essential
message of our Corporate Masters.
Screening the list of participants of these semi-secret Bildberg
"seminars", we may find names of heirs of the last century "Robber
Barons",
which ravaged our Earth from New York to Shanghai. For this historical
reason I propose to supplant the KGI term by a more suggestive
abbreviation
CRETTIN (with double T) - COALITION OF ROBBERS AND EXPLOITERS OF
TECHNOLOGY
TUMOR INFESTED NATIONS.
For a keen observer it is evident that this, parasiting on our vanity
and
stupidity, CRETTIN (with double T) has a well developed internal
structure,
covering practically all aspects of our culture, our science, and even
our
religion. Here I would like to concentrate on commercial youth
organizations affiliated to the CRETTIN establishment. Those numerous -
at
least in Central and Eastern Europe - youth organizations are raising
specific "scouts", which efficiently facilitate the "liberal
transformation" of KGI targeted nations.
The "Invisible Leader" of these "scouts of commercial freedom" is with
no
doubt the wordily known financier and philanthropist George Soros, He is
a
kind of Baden Powell of our post-modernist times. For this reason I will
call the organized by him youth movement "Soros Jugend", in the memory
of
German youth organization in 30ies and 40ties. (As George Soros recalls
it
in his writings, during his adolescent times he belonged to the
Hungarian
analogue of Hitlerjugend. He even participated, as this organization
activist, in the deportation of Hungarian Jews towards Auschwitz.)
To the Soros-controlled panoply of organizations belong Open Society
Foundations, which play essential role in politics of many countries,
especially of those freshly liberated from communism. George Soros
revealed
himself, in his book "Underwriting Democracy" published in 1993, the
goal
of all these noble institutions. He informs there that (his idea was)
"the
creation of an international web ... at the heart of which will be the
computerized base of (personal) data, which enable the Western
Multinational Societies to find candidates, which they are searching
for".
In short, all these Soros-educated young men and women are prepared to
fulfil functions comparable to that of Japanese geishas. These Young
Urban
Professionals, thanks to their multiple, delicate social contacts with
bureaucracy in target countries, facilitate the implementation in their
homelands of KGI run businesses. According to information gathered by
Schiller's Institute, the George Soros right arm in European Commission
is
professor Romano Prodi. It means that "the web" of Soros-led politicians
embraces all the Europe: according to our information in Russia with
this
banker's "web" are linked ex-(vice)PM Tchoubais, Kirilenko and Niemcov.
In
Poland we speak overtly that Soros is in fact an "invisible emperor",
which
is trying, with the help of his Legion of Geishas (or "Scouts") of the
Open
Society, to unify Europe according to the pattern traced earlier by
Napoleon and Hitler. One wonders, how many years will survive this new
version of "Thousand Jahre Reich". Of course, I have a project how to
humanize this latest, logical accomplishment of our positive, born with
French Revolution, European dreams. This my proposal is contained at the
end of a longer article "Quo vadis Europe?" which I've prepared for the
Ljubljana Euro-Future meeting.
(Below is only its short outline. It is based on experiences of my
youth,
when Yugoslavia was for me a positive model of communisto-capitalistic
country, where people were living in much better way than in the nearby,
sterile Austria. To my surprise, a similar opinion has Austrian writer
Peter Handke, and also the French historian Yves Bataille, whom I met
for
the first time two years ago at Prague, at the Slavic Congress. Of
course I
will be happy to rebuild - and even extend - the country which I have in
my
positive memory. How to realize it? In last month's municipal elections
in
Montenegro, the victorious (in an overall score) coalition "Pro
Yugoslavia"
consisted of honest socialist, nationalist and even communist parties,
all
of which I have in esteem. Such an "alliance of retrogrades" stirs an
overt
hostility of ruling at present in Europe - and also in Montenegro -
coalition "For better life", which in reality realizes anti-social
interests of supranational financial gangsters, backed by local
Mafia-linked "geishas".
Why not to project the extension of Montenegrin "Pro Yugoslavia"
coalition
onto other European countries? What about the revitalization of the
project
of de Gaulle's dreamed "Europe of nations", from Mediterranean to the
Atlantic Ocean? All this may sound like an irresponsible dream, but to
all
renegades of student 1968 movement I want to recall a slogan written on
walls of Paris in May 1968 "Soyez réalistes, demandez l'impossible".
From
my own experience is evident that - in a long term - it is better to
stay
together with those who proved to be courageous, smart and honest, than
to
go "down the drain", together with those who proved to be greedy liars,
prfessional swindlers and cowards.)
P.S. Few days after my speech at Bratislava, where I proposed the term
"Coalition of Robbers and Exploiters" (CRE), I've found in N. Chmsky's
book
"What Uncle Sam Really Wants" a following, CRE related statement: "Who
is
going to win the race (in Eastern Europe) for robbery and exploitation.
Is
it going to be German-led Western Europe, or Japan, or the United
States?".
In fact it is a good question for the European Future Congress.
---
<< ROMANIAN SMUGGLING SCANDAL SPARKS POLITICAL TURMOIL
A political row has broken out in Romania over claims that senior
Romanian
politicians helped to organise the smuggling of oil to Yugoslav nearly
a
decade ago.
By Marian Chiriac in Bucharest
The scandal over illegal Romanian oil shipments to Yugoslavia during
the
Bosnian war has taken a new political twist with President Emil
Constantinescu accusing two prominent politicians of involvement in the
case.
Constantinescu alleges that his predecessor, Ion Iliescu, and former
Foreign
Minister, Teodor Melescanu, were involved in transporting the fuel, in
breach of a UN embargo against Yugolavia.
"Huge quantities of petrol were exported under the cover of the
darkness,"
Constantinescu said, claiming the Romanian secret service played a role
in
the smuggling, operating on "orders from above" - a clear reference to
the
country's former political leadership.
The president said Iliescu and Melescanu would be held responsible,
"regardless of whether they knew about it."
Melescanu immediately retaliated, accusing Constantinescu of attempting
to
discredit his rivals ahead of presidential elections in
November."Constantinescu is turning the presidential seat into a
soapbox
from which he can heap abuse on his political opponents," the former
minister said.
Without formally denying the accusations, Iliescu said the president's
remarks carried "a strong dose of electioneering." It was "unacceptable
and
dangerous" for the president to "take over the role of the judiciary,"
Iliescu said.
The smuggling operation followed the UN Security Council's decision in
1992
to impose an oil embargo on Yugoslavia to pressure Belgrade to stop
supplying fuel to the Bosnian Serbs.
Romanian police launched an investigation into the country's violations
of
the UN embargo three years ago. Local press reports earlier this year
said
Romanian investigators had established around 1,000 railway wagons
carrying
tonnes of fuel were smuggled across the Romanian-Serbian frontier at
Jimbolia.
According to the reports, secret service agents accompanied the trains,
which passed the Jimbolia crossing at night with their lights off.
"Operation Jimbolia blew a hole of $100 million in the public purse,"
the
daily paper, Evenimentul Zilei, reported. "The operation was financed
by the
state through preferential credits allotted to cronies of the former
government under the co-ordination of the Romanian Intelligence
Service."
Romanian judicial officials have refused to comment on the media
reports,
but say the investigation is continuing.
On July 5, however, former intelligence chief, Virgil Magureanu, said
in an
interview with the most popular daily paper Adevarul, "Romania's
violation
of the embargo against Yugoslavia was indeed a political decision, made
at
the highest level."
Magureanu said Western governments had also approved the shipments
because
the oil was meant only for humanitarian purposes. "Other countries like
Bulgaria, Hungary and Ukraine also carried out similar special
operations,"
he said.
Although international observers said UN rules had not been breached,
Romania is known to have a poor record of observing UN sanctions. The
embargo presented many people with an opportunity to ferry barrels of
oil
across the Danube in small boats. Hundreds of luxury villas, built on
the
proceeds of this lucrative trade, soon dotted the landscape.
But most Romanians look upon Constantinescu's sanction busting attack
on
Iliescu as nothing more than a political bluff. Iliescu was ousted by
the
reformist Constantinescu in the 1996 elections, but looks poised to win
back
the presidency in the November elections.
Constantinescu may also be sending a signal to the international
community
ahead of November's poll. Critics have accused Iliescu of maintaining
warm
relations with Yugoslav President, Slobodan Milosevic. "The allegations
against Iliescu are unlikely to enhance Romania's bid to join NATO and
the
European Union," says Eliade Balan of the daily paper, Romania Libera,
"but
they should serve as reminder his election victory could complicate the
situation in the Balkans."
Marian Chiriac is news editor at the MediaFax News Agency in Bucharest
and
editor of Foreign Policy, a quarterly published by the Romanian
Academic
Society. >>
Fonte: IWPR'S BALKAN CRISIS REPORT, NO. 156, July 14, 2000 www.iwpr.net
---
The landlord returns to the Ukraine
By Lem Harris
Before the breakup of the Soviet Union, the Ukraine, about the size of
France, was
known as the bread basket of the Soviet Union. Today, elimination of all
collective
farms is underway. Ukrainian President Kuchma, by decree, and with no
confirmation by
the Ukrainian Parliament, removed all financial support, including
production credit,
from all collective farms. The decree includes the privatization of all
collective
farm land by assigning all such land in equal shares to former members
of the
collective.
One does not need a crystal ball to foresee what will happen. The New
York Times
reports that one enterprising Cossack, Vasily Kluga, member of a
dissolved collective,
saw an opportunity and took advantage of it.
Kluga, along with other members of his collective received title to
acres of the
collective by an earlier decree. That was a first step in the "reform"
policy for
doing away with collectives and opening the way for private ownership of
farm land.
Kluga moved fast. He borrowed money from what the Times correspondent
characterized as
a local "oligarch," that is one of the local insiders who bought some
former
state-owned enterprise for a song and is now comfortably rich. With this
money, Kluga
bought enough five-acre shares from his fellow members of the collective
to accumulate
title to over 200 acres. He also acquired necessary implements at fire
sale prices. Of
course, Kluga's oligarch was no philanthropist. He charged 40-percent
interest on the
loan, but Kluga was able to pay it off out of his harvest.
Then Kluga made his big move. Like many others, his collective was
bankrupt. Their
bankruptcy was a direct result of government "reform" measures. Under
Soviet
conditions many collective farms were prosperous. I have visited
collective farms in
this very area near Poltava, where Kluga lives, as well as in many other
regions. On a
number of occasions I sat down with the accountant of a collective to
examine a farm's
financial reports.
On one such farm in the North Caucasus, I still have the figures for the
1984 season
showing the net profit of 2.5 million rubles for that year's operations.
That profit
was distributed as follows:
. 30 percent for new construction of roads and buildings
. 40 percent for new tractors, trucks and implements
. 15 percent for bonuses (usually a 13th month wage payment)
. vouchers covering low-cost vacations in mountain or seaside resorts
. and new facilities for improving living standards
. 15 percent to the state fund of the Ministry of Agriculture.
At that time, living standards on well-run collective farms were equal
to those of
working families in the cities. But not any more. In both Russia and the
Ukraine, the
collective farms were sabotaged. Then Russian President Boris Yeltsin
tried to issue
decrees like Kuchma, but the Communist-dominated Russian Congress
stopped him by
passing laws protecting the collectives. However, often collectives had
to wait many
months before receiving payment for their grain and other farm products
shipped to the
government. During the delay in payment, inflation dropped the value of
the ruble,
resulting in a heavy loss for the farms. Also, for many years Yeltsin
bypassed the
collectives by buying dairy and meat products from abroad, seriously
cutting in to the
sales of domestically grown products.
Kluga saw his chance when Kuchma issued a new decree last December
privatizing all
Ukrainian collective farms! The decree divided the title of the farms'
land equally
among the farm's members. All further support for the collective was
terminated.
At this point Kluga's collective offered him the chairmanship of the
farm. But Kluga
was not one to assume responsibility for the collective's large debt. So
he made a
counteroffer. The collective could become bankrupt, but he would rent
the land now
owned by the 120 members, about 1,200 acres, and pay this rent with
shares of his
harvest - a smart deal, worthy of a young Carnegie. In this way, the
Times reports, he
would bypass the collectives' debts and probably become owner of all the
collective's
land and equipment in about two years. The collective, with little other
choice,
accepted his offer and now Kluga controls 1,730 acres, nearly three
square miles of
rich farm land.
Of course all was not clear sailing for Kluga. He had to borrow $10,000
more from the
oligarch for fuel and additional equipment. "I am running a very big
risk in taking
another loan, for everything depends on a good harvest," he said. "If we
are lucky, it
will rain."
Kluga's fortunes will depend on much more than rain. More critical will
be how free
enterprise Ukraine will determine grain prices. Will the "reform" policy
copy the
American experience and hold grain prices down to levels below his
costs?
If Kluga survives one is tempted to say he represents the return of
"kulaks," the
farmers in czarist days who exploited their poor neighbors. Kluga is
already bigger
than any kulak. He is the new landlord, like the hated czarist
"pomestchoki."
Working for him are 20 of the best workers of the former collective.
These include
72-year-old Ivan Nimchin, a skilled combine harvester operator. "The old
system was
better," Nimchin said, "but it is nice to get a paycheck once more."
Nimchin reminded me of an old man I met on my most recent trip to
Russia. He was on
horseback, herding cattle on the open prairie somewhere in the North
Caucasus. His
clothing was badly torn. "Look at me," he said. "I get paid almost
nothing. Things
were better under communism."
Fonte: STOP NATO: ¡NO PASARAN! - HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.COM
---
Ukraine Meets Its First Half Debt Obligations in Full
KIEV, Jul 16, 2000 -- (Reuters) The Ukrainian government fully met its
debt
obligations in the first half of the year, paying $494 million of
foreign
debt and 1.075 billion hryvnias ($197.66 million) of domestic debt, the
prime
minister said on Friday.
"We as the government do not have any overdue payments either on
domestic
debts or foreign," Viktor Yushchenko told parliament. "The government
did not
receive a kopeck of foreign loans this year."
The International Monetary Fund and other lenders froze credits to
Ukraine
last September over slow reforms and the government has failed to
persuade
them to resume financing.
Yushchenko said a deal agreed in April to reschedule foreign debts did
not
increase the total amount of state debt. "Finally, Ukraine is living in
a
regime of reducing debts," he said.
The government restructured $2.37 billion in short-term commercial
obligations, converting the obligations into new seven-year Eurobonds
earlier
this year.
It still plans to restructure another $782 million in debts, including
$500
million to the Paris Club of sovereign creditors and $282 million to
Turkmenistan.
The government stopped payments on Paris Club debts in January but
cannot
formally approach the Paris Club until the IMF resumes disbursements.
Central Bank Chairman Volodymyr Stelmakh said earlier this month Ukraine
had
to spend $750 million on foreign debt payments in the second half of the
year.
Stelmakh said at the time that Ukraine had spent $955 million servicing
government and central bank foreign debt obligations in the first six
months
of the year.
(C)2000 Copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or
redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited
without the prior written consent of Reuters Limited.
---
Subject: U.S. sponsors disaster-relief exercise in Romania
Date: Tue, 18 Jul 2000 18:12:02 -0400
From: ArmyLINK News Story <armylinknews_sender@...>
To: ARMYLINKNEWS-L@...
Content-Length: 5211
Text Version
CONSTANTA, Romania (Army News Service, July 18, 2,000) --
Approximately 2,500 troops from 13 NATO and other partner nations are
participating this week in Exercise Rescue Eagle 2000 in areas
surrounding Constanta, Romania.
United States forces have joined participants and observers from
Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Georgia, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Moldova,
Slovakia and Turkey, Hungary and South Africa. The U.S. forces include a
large contingent from the Tennessee and Alabama Army National Guard.
U.S. Ambassador to Romania, Jim Rosapepe, visited the exercise
and participated in a mass casualty drill July 17. Rosapepe shed his
business suit and tie to don the apparel and simulated injuries of an
earthquake victim during the drill.
Wearing moulage to simulate a serious shoulder injury sustained
in a major earthquake, and wrapped in a shoulder sling, the ambassador
was processed and treated with other exercise participants before being
taken by helicopter to the field military hospital for further medical
treatment.
"...I was handled and treated by a combined team of American,
Romanian, and Moldaovan soldiers," he said. "I could see with my own
eyes the kind of cooperation that we have in the PfP (Partnership for
Peace) and in NATO."
Romania has expressed its interest in pursuing a path toward
eventual NATO membership, and the ambassador stressed the significance
of the Rescue Eagle exercise in supporting that vision.
"We in the United States in particular want Romania to be a
strong candidate for NATO membership and these types of exercises are
part of the process of strengthening Romania's candidacy for NATO,"
Rosapepe said. "I think you build relationships by working together, and
joint exercises of this sort are what it takes for our American
military, Romanian military, and other partners to develop the kind of
partnerships that lead to partnership and alliance," he said.
The exercise is designed to improve the ability of joint forces
to accomplish humanitarian assistance and disaster relief-type
operations, officials said, by using the scenario of a mock earthquake.
They said training objectives are specifically aimed at small units and
enhancing the abilities of forces to work together.
"This is part of our effort to try to help the Romanian Military
and our other partner countries to become modern, efficient and
interoperable with NATO," Rosapepe said. "The leaders of the government
of Romania, and the leaders of the United States very much want to
strengthen our relations-- particularly in the military realm -- and
bringing Rescue Eagle, which is one of the major exercises done in the
spirit of the Partnership for Peace this year, is a very important
signal."
During opening ceremonies for the exercise July 12, Constantin
Degeratu, consular of the President of Romania, stood alongside other
dignitaries to highlight the importance of the exercise before the
assembled nations' forces.
"It is a very important day because the exercise is occurring in
an unprecedented context, as today we are celebrating three years since
Romania and the United States signed a Strategic Partnership Agreement,"
Degeratu said. "I am confident that the experience accumulated [in this
training] allows us to start any kind of [humanitarian assistance]
activity from the same level as our partner nations."
Maj. Gen. David F. Bice, deputy commander of U.S. Marine Corps
Forces Europe, from Stuttgart, Germany, represented the lead U.S. unit,
and emphasized the significant future dividends the exercise will pay.
"There is an old saying that a warrior's biggest fear is letting his
buddies down," Bice said. "The result [of this training] is that we
[partner nations] can look to each other in times of disaster or
national crisis and say to ourselves, 'we won't let our partner nations
down.'"
The United States-sponsored, Romanian-hosted joint, combined exercise
will occur through July 20, and includes some 800 active-duty and
reserve U.S. soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines. The second largest
U.S. exercise of its kind this year in Europe, Rescue Eagle is being
conducted in the spirit of the Partnership for Peace Program.
The stabilizing effect of exercises of this sort was a common theme
throughout the opening ceremony.
"Through exercises of this sort our men and women in uniform can cement
the bonds of fraternity and teamwork which promote peace and stability
throughout this region of the world," Bice said.
Speaking from the site of a massive tent camp erected to house the
exercise participants, Gen. Mircea Chelaru, chief of the Romanian
General Staff, echoed the same sentiment.
"If this exercise has a main goal of intervention for humanitarian
assistance, then there is nothing more humanitarian than keeping and
preserving the peace status," Chelaru said.
"We're looking to have as many exercises here as we can," Ambassador
Rosapepe said. "Certainly the support that Romania provided to NATO in
bringing rapid end to the war in Kosovo last year increased the interest
that NATO has in exercises in the region."
Link to original news item:
http://www.dtic.mil/armylink/news/Jul2000/a20000718eagleex.html
--------- COORDINAMENTO ROMANO PER LA JUGOSLAVIA -----------
RIMSKI SAVEZ ZA JUGOSLAVIJU
e-mail: crj@... - URL: http://marx2001.org/crj
http://www.egroups.com/group/crj-mailinglist/
------------------------------------------------------------
* Lo stato della Russia (Golos Kommunista)
* La NATO ed il nazionalismo ungherese (The Rockford Institute)
* Polonia: i CRETTINs - COALITION OF ROBBERS AND EXPLOITERS OF
TECHNOLOGY TUMOR INFESTED NATIONS - stanno distruggendo il paese (M.
Glogoczowski)
* Romania: l'embargo contro la Jugoslavia e la politica interna (IWPR)
* Ucraina: Ritornano i latifondisti (STOPNATO)
* Ucraina: rispettati gli impegni con gli strozzini mondiali (Reuters)
* Romania: esercitazioni militari (US Army)
---
>Polish farmers declare war over EU membership
>
>Thousands of smallholders claim they are being pushed
>to the wall in the Warsaw government's rush to
>negotiate with Brussels on entry
>The European Commission: special report
>
>Tony Paterson in Augustow, north-east Poland
>Tuesday April 18, 2000
>The Guardian
>
>Poland's politicians may be embracing early membership
>of the European Union but its farmers are furious
>about the move, which could wipe out their
>livelihoods.
>
>This week, as the European commission finalises its
>draft plan for the inclusion of Poland, Hungary, the
>Czech Republic, Estonia, Slovenia and Cyprus in the
>union, many of the fields around Augustow remain a
>wasteland.
>
>"Polish agriculture is already ruined," said one
>farmer, Stanislaw Bojkowski, 67, who tills 50 acres
>near Augustow.
>
>"Farming was worthwhile under communism, but Warsaw's
>European Union madness is driving us out of business."
>
>
>He is not alone. According to estimates from the
>Polish Peasants' party, only 600,000 of the country's
>2m farms will survive the process of joining the EU.
>
>Yet Warsaw's liberal-conservative coalition government
>is adamant that Poland must join as soon as possible.
>
>Mr Bojkowski is cultivating only half of his land this
>year - he cannot afford the fertilisers needed for the
>rest.
>
>"The money I get for the wheat and potatoes I manage
>to produce hardly makes it worthwhile. The bulk of my
>income these days derives from my old-age pension," he
>said.
>
>Two miles away, Mieczyslaw Suchocki, 43, has tried to
>offset his farming losses by taking a share in a
>grocery store.
>
>In the 1980s his 74-acre farm, producing potatoes,
>wheat and tobacco, was subsidised by the state. A
>single tobacco crop earned Mr Suchocki enough to buy a
>car.
>
>Now the terms of growing are set by the multinational
>British American Tobacco company. "Starting next year,
>BAT is only buying tobacco from farmers who plant and
>dry it with the special drying equipment we can buy
>from them.
>
>"I would need a $10,000 loan to purchase the equipment
>and I simply can't afford it. Producing tobacco on a
>small scale is out," he said.
>
>The collapse of small-scale farming is a dilemma faced
>by all the EU candidate countries but it is acute in
>Poland, where some 26% of the working population is in
>agriculture.
>
>Roman Jagielinski of the Polish Peasants' party argues
>that the state must make social security provision for
>farmers forced out of business. He wants the rest to
>receive subsidies from Brussels.
>
>But Brussels has so far turned a deaf ear. The common
>agricultural policy subsidy budget, which amounts to
>more than £25bn a year in direct aid to EU farmers,
>has been fixed until 2006.
>
>It contains no provision for EU candidate countries,
>although Poland is still aiming for a 2003 entry date.
>
>
>The anger of Polish farmers boiled over last year,
>when the militant agricultural workers' union
>Samoobrona (Self- Defence) staged countrywide protests
>against the flood of cheap EU imports.
>
>This persuaded Warsaw to temporarily ban grain imports
>and raise the amounts paid for home-grown pork.
>
>But the moves were not enough to satisfy Samoobrona's
>leader, Andrej Lepper, who will run as a candidate in
>the presidential election this autumn.
>
>"Poland is not being treated as a partner by the EU.
>We are simply being used as a dumping ground for their
>surplus products," he said.
>
>Two-thirds of large farm owners recently declared
>their readiness to take part in further militant
>protests.
---
L?état de la Russie
Selon le rapport des Nations unies, à présent la Russie est 71ème sur
174 pays, sur l?échelle du
Potentiel de développent humain. Le plus grand et, en ressources
naturelles, un des plus riches
pays dans le monde, avec une population des mieux éduquées, la Russie
traîne derrière le
Venezuela, le Panama, le Mexique, Grenade, la Malaisie, Cuba, la
Biélorussie, Fiji, la Thaïlande et
la Roumanie sur la liste des Nations unies.... Peut-être, néanmoins, que
la Russie puisse être
«fière» d?un meilleur niveau de vie que la Lituanie, l?Ukraine et la
plupart des pays dans le
Caucase et l?Asie centrale...
Le Produit national brut par habitant est tombé à la 116 place (!) dans
la liste des pays - après
avoir été la seconde puissance industrielle dans le monde.... Tels pays
que le Barbados, la
République Dominicaine, la Turquie, le Liban, le Gabon , Trinidad,
Panama et l?Île Maurice
produisent actuellement plus par tête d?habitant que la Russie! Dans 13
pays ce taux est dix fois
supérieur à celui de la Russie, alors qu?au Luxembourg et en Suisse il
est de 16 fois supérieur!
Les Russes aujourd?hui mangent moins et vivent moins longtemps qu?en
1970. Alors, l?espérance
de vie était en général de 68,7 ans, maintenant elle est de 66,6.
Entre temps le gouvernement russe se prépare à retarder l?âge de départ
en retraite, pour les
hommes de 60 à 65 ans, et pour les femmes de 55 à 65. La plupart des
hommes russes, ne vivront
pas assez longtemps pour prendre leurs retraites... C?est précisément
l?objet de cette réforme:
économiser de l?argent sur les retraites!). Actuellement les habitants
de pays tels que le Panama,
le Costa Rica, le Honduras et le Surinam ont commencé à vivre plus
longtemps!
Les Russes consomment maintenant moins de calories que les Tunisiens,
les Algériens, les
Malais, les Indonésiens, les Turcs, les Iraniens, les Chiliens e les
Argentins.
En même temps la Russie détient le plus grand taux d?incarcération dans
le monde 1538 sur
100.000 habitants. Le petit Swaziland vient en seconde place, avec
presque la moitié de ce taux,
967...
La Russie est aussi un des pays en tête en ce qui concerne le nombre de
suicides. Chaque année
73 hommes et 14 femmes sur 100.000 de la population se suicident, suit
la Lituanie avec 79
hommes et 15 femmes. À noter que d?autres pays de l?Europe de l?Est et
de la Baltique suivent la
Russie de très près....Voilà le «bonheur» des réformes?
Selon des enquêtes sociologiques, la plupart des femmes russes ont un
sentiment «d?horreur et
renoncent à vouloir vivre» quand elles se découvrent enceinte.
Eh bien, merci beaucoup pour cet «avenir brillant» de notre nation,
Monsieur Gorby et K!
(source Golos Kommunista, avril 2000)
[Traduit par I.R et A.M.]
Diffuso dalla Editions Democrite, Francia
---
The Rockford Institute
July 3, 2000
NATO AND NASCENT HUNGARIAN REVISIONISM
by Gabriel Neagu
In his remarkable article “Bad treaty that won’t go away,” published in
The Washington Times on June 4
(www.washtimes.com), Balint Vazsonyi, director of the Center for the
American Founding, made an impassioned and
unrestrained plea for the revision of the Treaty of Trianon, named for
the palace in Versailles where peace was concluded
between Hungary and the Entente powers in 1920. Dr. Vazsonyi’s article
is a timely prompt to appraise NATO’s impact on
the geopolitical architecture of the Danubian basin, with particular
reference to Hungary’s nascent revisionism
The article contains references to non-Hungarian ethnic groups that are
conceited and in poor taste, if not grossly insulting. If,
for example, “Slovaks had lived in the Northern counties of Hungary for
a thousand years, and their only path to social
advancement was to become Hungarianized,” there is no more to say about
their right to self-determination. If Transylvania as
a Hungarian province “had everything, including enormous historic
importance to Hungary,” it is implicit that no such
importance can be attached to its original and all-time majority
inhabitants, the Romanians. The statement that “the towns, the
great centers in Slovakia, in Transylvania, in Vojvodina were not built
by Slovaks, Rumanians or Serbs” is disingenuous:
pre-Hungarian Europeans did not wait for the Hungarians to build their
towns, schools, churches, and societies.
Something is wrong when a director of the “Center for the American
Founding” states that “something is not right about the
manner in which the plight and cultural destruction of the Hungarian
millions in Slovakia, Romania and Serbia has been
ignored.” How many millions of Hungarians were destroyed in Slovakia,
Romania, and Serbia? When and where? On what
sources is that audacious claim based? In Serbia Hungarians have enjoyed
for decades – and still do, even under the
disgraceful Mr. Milosevic - the rights and privileges on par with any
West European country’s treatment of its minorities.
Romania’s Hungarian minority has grown in numbers since Trianon. At the
same time, Hungary’s Romanian minority -
numerous at the end of World War I - has decreased dramatically. “There
is nothing to show for the untold suffering of
millions of Hungarians,” laments Dr. Vazsonyi. But his attempt to
include his compatriots in the list of approved victimhood
rests on the flimsiest of grounds.
An optimist might say that Dr. Vazsonyi is a harmless nostalgist, that
his irredentist dreams cannot be taken seriously in view of
Hungary’s desire to become integrated in the political and defense
structures of “the West.” But will NATO curb or boost
Hungary’s revisionism? The record is ominous: NATO is Washington’s
military arm and, after its aggression against
Yugoslavia, a criminal organization. Washington has developed one of the
most sophisticated webs of deceitful relationships in
human history. By virtue of wielding ultimate power, Washington remains
its key puppeteer. When there was a USSR, the
U.S. did make elaborate efforts to feed the illusion that international
organizations were not its own instruments, but real
international forums. A decade ago Washington attacked Iraq only after
having maneuvered the UN into giving its blessing and
the “international community” into “building a consensus.” Such finesse
is no longer needed.
Like father, like son: the “new” NATO has violated its own charter, the
US Constitution, the UN Charter, international laws
and conventions, and has committed war crimes. Its policy is based on
double standards, duplicity, and favoritism. Even in the
old days NATO did not have a history of restraining its more bellicose
members. What did NATO do to prevent its member
Turkey from invading northern Cyprus in 1974? It still keeps that
territory under illegal military occupation, but NATO does
not look offended. More recently, Washington and London have declared
no-fly zones in northern and southern Iraq, claiming
that they want to protect the Kurds in the north and Shiites in the
south against Saddam. However, Turkey is allowed to
violate Iraq’s borders and to murder with impunity the Kurds in northern
Iraq. And only a few weeks ago, acting as UN
Security Council proxies of Washington, NATO members USA, France, and
Britain banned Yugoslavia from an international
discussion on the future of the Balkans and, implicitly, of Yugoslavia
itself. In their warped view of the world, if they disdain a
country, that country should not be allowed to discuss its own future,
let alone have a say in deciding it.
Such spirit of NATO encourages an openly revisionist Hungarian policy.
According to a Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
(RFE/RL) report of October 21, 1998,
“After just a few months in office, it has become clear that the
new Orban government is taking a more vigorous
approach to supporting the claims of ethnic Hungarians living in
the neighboring countries of Romania, Slovakia and
former Yugoslavia.” (Hungary: New Government Feels Responsible For
Minorities Abroad by Kitty McKinsey)
Citing only Hungarian sources, the RFE/RL report went on to enumerate
many Hungarian claims, which were uncritically
presented as legitimate. Hungarian Undersecretary of State Tibor Szabo
was approvingly quoted as saying that “the Hungarian
nation does indeed not coincide with the borders of Hungary.” Given that
RFE/RL is one of Washington’s basest propaganda
agencies, the biased views presented by that report might well be just
another expression of Washington’s preferences. It does
not mind Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban declaring that “the
Constitution of Hungary defines our responsibility for
Hungarians living outside the borders” at the conference Hungary and
Hungarian Minorities Living Abroad in February
1999. In plain language, this implies Hungary’s constitutional “right”
of direct interference in its neighbors’ internal affairs,
which is very different from the normal, and legitimate, concern for the
well-being of one’s compatriots in other countries.
In conclusion, NATO will not curb Hungary’s revisionism if it can
contribute to the destruction of national sovereignty and of
the historically constituted national states. Some Hungarians may hope
to ride on the coat-tails of the project, but they, too, will
be its victims. The NWO seeks a world in which a minuscule, rootless,
and unprincipled financial oligarchy will exploit
everybody, without respect for borders, traditions, religions, cultures,
nations, or any other loyalty that can withstand the
upcoming enslavement. Its “democracy” and “human rights” are strictly
selective (the Serbs, for example, have none), and they
are invoked – to reward or to punish – only inasmuch as they serve the
oligarchy’s interests.
The phenomenon is not new. When the late Rumanian dictator Nicolae
Ceausescu was deemed to serve the interests of the
then still concealed NWO, the Queen of England decorated him and treated
him to a tour of London in her own blazoned
carriage. His appalling human rights record was deemed irrelevant. But
when he paid off Romania’s international debt and
started turning a profit in an economy that was not based on “free
market” fallacies, he became a “nationalist” and was
dispatched by the Romanian subsidiary of the globalist project.
New NATO member Hungary undoubtedly feels encouraged in its revisionism.
It should remember that any short-term
rewards may soon prove to have carried an exorbitant price tag.
Mr. Neagu, a native of Rumania and a former Radio Free Europe analyst,
writes from Washington D.C.
---
The speech of Marek Glogoczowski, a Poland's representative at the
European
Future Congress held at Bratislava, July 2nd, 2000.
The economic and social reality we encounter at present in Poland is
much
the same as the one, described before me, by representatives of
Slovakia,
Estonia and Latvia. In particular, our Estonian friend told us that his
country is producing only 40 percent of food it consumes, and the rest
is
imported from European Union. In "communist" posteriority Poland had
well
developed agriculture, but due to "reforms" it also follows this pattern
of
development: ten years ago milk production in my country attained 16
millions tons, and last year it has dropped to only 8 millions. The same
holds in practically all other industries, and due to it, imports exceed
exports up to 12 billions dollars per year. This means that every
working
man and woman in my country receives from the West yearly up to thousand
dollars high "subvention" to his salary. My monthly salary - as of an
academic lecturer in philosophy - is precisely 200 dollars, which means
that it is in half "sponsored" by the West, which since ten years takes
care for the Poland's development. It is evident that for this,
"implanted"
by Coalition of Global Investors, Polish national debt, we will pay in
the
future with remnants of our national treasures, our forests and
agriculture
lands, and even with our children and houses.
As a philosopher "proletarized" by the West, I would like to put some
professional light at the process of globalization, for it was not
invented
out of nothing. Everyone, who studied the Bible in more detail, knows
the
religious root of this process. The well known prophets of this Book,
like
Zechariah or Isaiah, prophesized the oncoming "Thousand years of
Unified,
Global Kingdom", where there will be "One Lord and one His name", and
the
"Nation or kingdom that will not serve Him shall be utterly laid waste".
As
show it statistics, in United States half of the population believes in
these prophecies. Therefore it is evident that such Bible-directed
public
automatically backs American government, which tries to realize orders
given by the Holy Scripture.
As the idea of "globalization of the Globe" is already more than 2,5
thousand years old, the idea of "Europeanization of Europe" is
relatively
fresh. It is a product of scientific revolution of last two hundred
years,
and it was elaborated with high transparency by French positivist
philosopher August Comte, in the middle of 19th century. According to
his
fertile ideas, European nations should be homogenized, and Europe
unified
in a form of a super-state, consisting of smaller Euro-regions, each
inhabited by about 3 million people. The imagined by Comte future
positivistic society should be divided in castes: atop should be a
narrow
elite of bankers and their associates, below soldiers performing the
role
of police damping eventual disorders, and underneath the caste of
proletarians, working essentially for the glory - and moral values - of
the
work. According to the proposal of this philosopher, members of lower
castes should have no permission to form their individual,
non-controlled
by rulers, views. We may say that in such "positivistic" society,
democracy
might be only decoracy, a decoration masking the utterly despotic
character
of the modern state. As pointed it out a known Polish philosopher Leszek
Kolakowski, August Comte was in large extend the prophet of fascist
movements characterizing first half of 20th century.
How does it look, in this religious and philosophical setting, Europe at
the eve of 21st century? All vital for us decisions are taken at
semi-secret meetings of various informal associations of bankers and
media
owners, such as the Bildberg Group. One of illustrious participants of
these semi-secret, big-business linked associations, an American
publicist
Thomas Friedman defined recently, in very transparent terms, goals of so
called "globalization of the Globe". He did it in "New York Times", only
four days before the start of "friendly bombings" of Yugoslavia:
"For globalization to work, America can't be afraid to act like the
almighty superpower that it is. The hidden hand of the market will never
work without the hidden fist. McDonalds cannot flourish without
McDonnel-Douglas, the maker of the F-15. And the hidden fist that keeps
the
world safe for the Silicon Valley technologies is called the US Army,
Navy,
air force and Marine Corps."
Here we have at least an overt statement what kind of totalitarian
future
prepares for us this "almighty" Coalition (in German Koalizion) of
Global
Investors, known in literature under the abbreviation of KGI. "Adapt
yourself to US-invented life technologies or perish". That's the
essential
message of our Corporate Masters.
Screening the list of participants of these semi-secret Bildberg
"seminars", we may find names of heirs of the last century "Robber
Barons",
which ravaged our Earth from New York to Shanghai. For this historical
reason I propose to supplant the KGI term by a more suggestive
abbreviation
CRETTIN (with double T) - COALITION OF ROBBERS AND EXPLOITERS OF
TECHNOLOGY
TUMOR INFESTED NATIONS.
For a keen observer it is evident that this, parasiting on our vanity
and
stupidity, CRETTIN (with double T) has a well developed internal
structure,
covering practically all aspects of our culture, our science, and even
our
religion. Here I would like to concentrate on commercial youth
organizations affiliated to the CRETTIN establishment. Those numerous -
at
least in Central and Eastern Europe - youth organizations are raising
specific "scouts", which efficiently facilitate the "liberal
transformation" of KGI targeted nations.
The "Invisible Leader" of these "scouts of commercial freedom" is with
no
doubt the wordily known financier and philanthropist George Soros, He is
a
kind of Baden Powell of our post-modernist times. For this reason I will
call the organized by him youth movement "Soros Jugend", in the memory
of
German youth organization in 30ies and 40ties. (As George Soros recalls
it
in his writings, during his adolescent times he belonged to the
Hungarian
analogue of Hitlerjugend. He even participated, as this organization
activist, in the deportation of Hungarian Jews towards Auschwitz.)
To the Soros-controlled panoply of organizations belong Open Society
Foundations, which play essential role in politics of many countries,
especially of those freshly liberated from communism. George Soros
revealed
himself, in his book "Underwriting Democracy" published in 1993, the
goal
of all these noble institutions. He informs there that (his idea was)
"the
creation of an international web ... at the heart of which will be the
computerized base of (personal) data, which enable the Western
Multinational Societies to find candidates, which they are searching
for".
In short, all these Soros-educated young men and women are prepared to
fulfil functions comparable to that of Japanese geishas. These Young
Urban
Professionals, thanks to their multiple, delicate social contacts with
bureaucracy in target countries, facilitate the implementation in their
homelands of KGI run businesses. According to information gathered by
Schiller's Institute, the George Soros right arm in European Commission
is
professor Romano Prodi. It means that "the web" of Soros-led politicians
embraces all the Europe: according to our information in Russia with
this
banker's "web" are linked ex-(vice)PM Tchoubais, Kirilenko and Niemcov.
In
Poland we speak overtly that Soros is in fact an "invisible emperor",
which
is trying, with the help of his Legion of Geishas (or "Scouts") of the
Open
Society, to unify Europe according to the pattern traced earlier by
Napoleon and Hitler. One wonders, how many years will survive this new
version of "Thousand Jahre Reich". Of course, I have a project how to
humanize this latest, logical accomplishment of our positive, born with
French Revolution, European dreams. This my proposal is contained at the
end of a longer article "Quo vadis Europe?" which I've prepared for the
Ljubljana Euro-Future meeting.
(Below is only its short outline. It is based on experiences of my
youth,
when Yugoslavia was for me a positive model of communisto-capitalistic
country, where people were living in much better way than in the nearby,
sterile Austria. To my surprise, a similar opinion has Austrian writer
Peter Handke, and also the French historian Yves Bataille, whom I met
for
the first time two years ago at Prague, at the Slavic Congress. Of
course I
will be happy to rebuild - and even extend - the country which I have in
my
positive memory. How to realize it? In last month's municipal elections
in
Montenegro, the victorious (in an overall score) coalition "Pro
Yugoslavia"
consisted of honest socialist, nationalist and even communist parties,
all
of which I have in esteem. Such an "alliance of retrogrades" stirs an
overt
hostility of ruling at present in Europe - and also in Montenegro -
coalition "For better life", which in reality realizes anti-social
interests of supranational financial gangsters, backed by local
Mafia-linked "geishas".
Why not to project the extension of Montenegrin "Pro Yugoslavia"
coalition
onto other European countries? What about the revitalization of the
project
of de Gaulle's dreamed "Europe of nations", from Mediterranean to the
Atlantic Ocean? All this may sound like an irresponsible dream, but to
all
renegades of student 1968 movement I want to recall a slogan written on
walls of Paris in May 1968 "Soyez réalistes, demandez l'impossible".
From
my own experience is evident that - in a long term - it is better to
stay
together with those who proved to be courageous, smart and honest, than
to
go "down the drain", together with those who proved to be greedy liars,
prfessional swindlers and cowards.)
P.S. Few days after my speech at Bratislava, where I proposed the term
"Coalition of Robbers and Exploiters" (CRE), I've found in N. Chmsky's
book
"What Uncle Sam Really Wants" a following, CRE related statement: "Who
is
going to win the race (in Eastern Europe) for robbery and exploitation.
Is
it going to be German-led Western Europe, or Japan, or the United
States?".
In fact it is a good question for the European Future Congress.
---
<< ROMANIAN SMUGGLING SCANDAL SPARKS POLITICAL TURMOIL
A political row has broken out in Romania over claims that senior
Romanian
politicians helped to organise the smuggling of oil to Yugoslav nearly
a
decade ago.
By Marian Chiriac in Bucharest
The scandal over illegal Romanian oil shipments to Yugoslavia during
the
Bosnian war has taken a new political twist with President Emil
Constantinescu accusing two prominent politicians of involvement in the
case.
Constantinescu alleges that his predecessor, Ion Iliescu, and former
Foreign
Minister, Teodor Melescanu, were involved in transporting the fuel, in
breach of a UN embargo against Yugolavia.
"Huge quantities of petrol were exported under the cover of the
darkness,"
Constantinescu said, claiming the Romanian secret service played a role
in
the smuggling, operating on "orders from above" - a clear reference to
the
country's former political leadership.
The president said Iliescu and Melescanu would be held responsible,
"regardless of whether they knew about it."
Melescanu immediately retaliated, accusing Constantinescu of attempting
to
discredit his rivals ahead of presidential elections in
November."Constantinescu is turning the presidential seat into a
soapbox
from which he can heap abuse on his political opponents," the former
minister said.
Without formally denying the accusations, Iliescu said the president's
remarks carried "a strong dose of electioneering." It was "unacceptable
and
dangerous" for the president to "take over the role of the judiciary,"
Iliescu said.
The smuggling operation followed the UN Security Council's decision in
1992
to impose an oil embargo on Yugoslavia to pressure Belgrade to stop
supplying fuel to the Bosnian Serbs.
Romanian police launched an investigation into the country's violations
of
the UN embargo three years ago. Local press reports earlier this year
said
Romanian investigators had established around 1,000 railway wagons
carrying
tonnes of fuel were smuggled across the Romanian-Serbian frontier at
Jimbolia.
According to the reports, secret service agents accompanied the trains,
which passed the Jimbolia crossing at night with their lights off.
"Operation Jimbolia blew a hole of $100 million in the public purse,"
the
daily paper, Evenimentul Zilei, reported. "The operation was financed
by the
state through preferential credits allotted to cronies of the former
government under the co-ordination of the Romanian Intelligence
Service."
Romanian judicial officials have refused to comment on the media
reports,
but say the investigation is continuing.
On July 5, however, former intelligence chief, Virgil Magureanu, said
in an
interview with the most popular daily paper Adevarul, "Romania's
violation
of the embargo against Yugoslavia was indeed a political decision, made
at
the highest level."
Magureanu said Western governments had also approved the shipments
because
the oil was meant only for humanitarian purposes. "Other countries like
Bulgaria, Hungary and Ukraine also carried out similar special
operations,"
he said.
Although international observers said UN rules had not been breached,
Romania is known to have a poor record of observing UN sanctions. The
embargo presented many people with an opportunity to ferry barrels of
oil
across the Danube in small boats. Hundreds of luxury villas, built on
the
proceeds of this lucrative trade, soon dotted the landscape.
But most Romanians look upon Constantinescu's sanction busting attack
on
Iliescu as nothing more than a political bluff. Iliescu was ousted by
the
reformist Constantinescu in the 1996 elections, but looks poised to win
back
the presidency in the November elections.
Constantinescu may also be sending a signal to the international
community
ahead of November's poll. Critics have accused Iliescu of maintaining
warm
relations with Yugoslav President, Slobodan Milosevic. "The allegations
against Iliescu are unlikely to enhance Romania's bid to join NATO and
the
European Union," says Eliade Balan of the daily paper, Romania Libera,
"but
they should serve as reminder his election victory could complicate the
situation in the Balkans."
Marian Chiriac is news editor at the MediaFax News Agency in Bucharest
and
editor of Foreign Policy, a quarterly published by the Romanian
Academic
Society. >>
Fonte: IWPR'S BALKAN CRISIS REPORT, NO. 156, July 14, 2000 www.iwpr.net
---
The landlord returns to the Ukraine
By Lem Harris
Before the breakup of the Soviet Union, the Ukraine, about the size of
France, was
known as the bread basket of the Soviet Union. Today, elimination of all
collective
farms is underway. Ukrainian President Kuchma, by decree, and with no
confirmation by
the Ukrainian Parliament, removed all financial support, including
production credit,
from all collective farms. The decree includes the privatization of all
collective
farm land by assigning all such land in equal shares to former members
of the
collective.
One does not need a crystal ball to foresee what will happen. The New
York Times
reports that one enterprising Cossack, Vasily Kluga, member of a
dissolved collective,
saw an opportunity and took advantage of it.
Kluga, along with other members of his collective received title to
acres of the
collective by an earlier decree. That was a first step in the "reform"
policy for
doing away with collectives and opening the way for private ownership of
farm land.
Kluga moved fast. He borrowed money from what the Times correspondent
characterized as
a local "oligarch," that is one of the local insiders who bought some
former
state-owned enterprise for a song and is now comfortably rich. With this
money, Kluga
bought enough five-acre shares from his fellow members of the collective
to accumulate
title to over 200 acres. He also acquired necessary implements at fire
sale prices. Of
course, Kluga's oligarch was no philanthropist. He charged 40-percent
interest on the
loan, but Kluga was able to pay it off out of his harvest.
Then Kluga made his big move. Like many others, his collective was
bankrupt. Their
bankruptcy was a direct result of government "reform" measures. Under
Soviet
conditions many collective farms were prosperous. I have visited
collective farms in
this very area near Poltava, where Kluga lives, as well as in many other
regions. On a
number of occasions I sat down with the accountant of a collective to
examine a farm's
financial reports.
On one such farm in the North Caucasus, I still have the figures for the
1984 season
showing the net profit of 2.5 million rubles for that year's operations.
That profit
was distributed as follows:
. 30 percent for new construction of roads and buildings
. 40 percent for new tractors, trucks and implements
. 15 percent for bonuses (usually a 13th month wage payment)
. vouchers covering low-cost vacations in mountain or seaside resorts
. and new facilities for improving living standards
. 15 percent to the state fund of the Ministry of Agriculture.
At that time, living standards on well-run collective farms were equal
to those of
working families in the cities. But not any more. In both Russia and the
Ukraine, the
collective farms were sabotaged. Then Russian President Boris Yeltsin
tried to issue
decrees like Kuchma, but the Communist-dominated Russian Congress
stopped him by
passing laws protecting the collectives. However, often collectives had
to wait many
months before receiving payment for their grain and other farm products
shipped to the
government. During the delay in payment, inflation dropped the value of
the ruble,
resulting in a heavy loss for the farms. Also, for many years Yeltsin
bypassed the
collectives by buying dairy and meat products from abroad, seriously
cutting in to the
sales of domestically grown products.
Kluga saw his chance when Kuchma issued a new decree last December
privatizing all
Ukrainian collective farms! The decree divided the title of the farms'
land equally
among the farm's members. All further support for the collective was
terminated.
At this point Kluga's collective offered him the chairmanship of the
farm. But Kluga
was not one to assume responsibility for the collective's large debt. So
he made a
counteroffer. The collective could become bankrupt, but he would rent
the land now
owned by the 120 members, about 1,200 acres, and pay this rent with
shares of his
harvest - a smart deal, worthy of a young Carnegie. In this way, the
Times reports, he
would bypass the collectives' debts and probably become owner of all the
collective's
land and equipment in about two years. The collective, with little other
choice,
accepted his offer and now Kluga controls 1,730 acres, nearly three
square miles of
rich farm land.
Of course all was not clear sailing for Kluga. He had to borrow $10,000
more from the
oligarch for fuel and additional equipment. "I am running a very big
risk in taking
another loan, for everything depends on a good harvest," he said. "If we
are lucky, it
will rain."
Kluga's fortunes will depend on much more than rain. More critical will
be how free
enterprise Ukraine will determine grain prices. Will the "reform" policy
copy the
American experience and hold grain prices down to levels below his
costs?
If Kluga survives one is tempted to say he represents the return of
"kulaks," the
farmers in czarist days who exploited their poor neighbors. Kluga is
already bigger
than any kulak. He is the new landlord, like the hated czarist
"pomestchoki."
Working for him are 20 of the best workers of the former collective.
These include
72-year-old Ivan Nimchin, a skilled combine harvester operator. "The old
system was
better," Nimchin said, "but it is nice to get a paycheck once more."
Nimchin reminded me of an old man I met on my most recent trip to
Russia. He was on
horseback, herding cattle on the open prairie somewhere in the North
Caucasus. His
clothing was badly torn. "Look at me," he said. "I get paid almost
nothing. Things
were better under communism."
Fonte: STOP NATO: ¡NO PASARAN! - HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.COM
---
Ukraine Meets Its First Half Debt Obligations in Full
KIEV, Jul 16, 2000 -- (Reuters) The Ukrainian government fully met its
debt
obligations in the first half of the year, paying $494 million of
foreign
debt and 1.075 billion hryvnias ($197.66 million) of domestic debt, the
prime
minister said on Friday.
"We as the government do not have any overdue payments either on
domestic
debts or foreign," Viktor Yushchenko told parliament. "The government
did not
receive a kopeck of foreign loans this year."
The International Monetary Fund and other lenders froze credits to
Ukraine
last September over slow reforms and the government has failed to
persuade
them to resume financing.
Yushchenko said a deal agreed in April to reschedule foreign debts did
not
increase the total amount of state debt. "Finally, Ukraine is living in
a
regime of reducing debts," he said.
The government restructured $2.37 billion in short-term commercial
obligations, converting the obligations into new seven-year Eurobonds
earlier
this year.
It still plans to restructure another $782 million in debts, including
$500
million to the Paris Club of sovereign creditors and $282 million to
Turkmenistan.
The government stopped payments on Paris Club debts in January but
cannot
formally approach the Paris Club until the IMF resumes disbursements.
Central Bank Chairman Volodymyr Stelmakh said earlier this month Ukraine
had
to spend $750 million on foreign debt payments in the second half of the
year.
Stelmakh said at the time that Ukraine had spent $955 million servicing
government and central bank foreign debt obligations in the first six
months
of the year.
(C)2000 Copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or
redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited
without the prior written consent of Reuters Limited.
---
Subject: U.S. sponsors disaster-relief exercise in Romania
Date: Tue, 18 Jul 2000 18:12:02 -0400
From: ArmyLINK News Story <armylinknews_sender@...>
To: ARMYLINKNEWS-L@...
Content-Length: 5211
Text Version
CONSTANTA, Romania (Army News Service, July 18, 2,000) --
Approximately 2,500 troops from 13 NATO and other partner nations are
participating this week in Exercise Rescue Eagle 2000 in areas
surrounding Constanta, Romania.
United States forces have joined participants and observers from
Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Georgia, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Moldova,
Slovakia and Turkey, Hungary and South Africa. The U.S. forces include a
large contingent from the Tennessee and Alabama Army National Guard.
U.S. Ambassador to Romania, Jim Rosapepe, visited the exercise
and participated in a mass casualty drill July 17. Rosapepe shed his
business suit and tie to don the apparel and simulated injuries of an
earthquake victim during the drill.
Wearing moulage to simulate a serious shoulder injury sustained
in a major earthquake, and wrapped in a shoulder sling, the ambassador
was processed and treated with other exercise participants before being
taken by helicopter to the field military hospital for further medical
treatment.
"...I was handled and treated by a combined team of American,
Romanian, and Moldaovan soldiers," he said. "I could see with my own
eyes the kind of cooperation that we have in the PfP (Partnership for
Peace) and in NATO."
Romania has expressed its interest in pursuing a path toward
eventual NATO membership, and the ambassador stressed the significance
of the Rescue Eagle exercise in supporting that vision.
"We in the United States in particular want Romania to be a
strong candidate for NATO membership and these types of exercises are
part of the process of strengthening Romania's candidacy for NATO,"
Rosapepe said. "I think you build relationships by working together, and
joint exercises of this sort are what it takes for our American
military, Romanian military, and other partners to develop the kind of
partnerships that lead to partnership and alliance," he said.
The exercise is designed to improve the ability of joint forces
to accomplish humanitarian assistance and disaster relief-type
operations, officials said, by using the scenario of a mock earthquake.
They said training objectives are specifically aimed at small units and
enhancing the abilities of forces to work together.
"This is part of our effort to try to help the Romanian Military
and our other partner countries to become modern, efficient and
interoperable with NATO," Rosapepe said. "The leaders of the government
of Romania, and the leaders of the United States very much want to
strengthen our relations-- particularly in the military realm -- and
bringing Rescue Eagle, which is one of the major exercises done in the
spirit of the Partnership for Peace this year, is a very important
signal."
During opening ceremonies for the exercise July 12, Constantin
Degeratu, consular of the President of Romania, stood alongside other
dignitaries to highlight the importance of the exercise before the
assembled nations' forces.
"It is a very important day because the exercise is occurring in
an unprecedented context, as today we are celebrating three years since
Romania and the United States signed a Strategic Partnership Agreement,"
Degeratu said. "I am confident that the experience accumulated [in this
training] allows us to start any kind of [humanitarian assistance]
activity from the same level as our partner nations."
Maj. Gen. David F. Bice, deputy commander of U.S. Marine Corps
Forces Europe, from Stuttgart, Germany, represented the lead U.S. unit,
and emphasized the significant future dividends the exercise will pay.
"There is an old saying that a warrior's biggest fear is letting his
buddies down," Bice said. "The result [of this training] is that we
[partner nations] can look to each other in times of disaster or
national crisis and say to ourselves, 'we won't let our partner nations
down.'"
The United States-sponsored, Romanian-hosted joint, combined exercise
will occur through July 20, and includes some 800 active-duty and
reserve U.S. soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines. The second largest
U.S. exercise of its kind this year in Europe, Rescue Eagle is being
conducted in the spirit of the Partnership for Peace Program.
The stabilizing effect of exercises of this sort was a common theme
throughout the opening ceremony.
"Through exercises of this sort our men and women in uniform can cement
the bonds of fraternity and teamwork which promote peace and stability
throughout this region of the world," Bice said.
Speaking from the site of a massive tent camp erected to house the
exercise participants, Gen. Mircea Chelaru, chief of the Romanian
General Staff, echoed the same sentiment.
"If this exercise has a main goal of intervention for humanitarian
assistance, then there is nothing more humanitarian than keeping and
preserving the peace status," Chelaru said.
"We're looking to have as many exercises here as we can," Ambassador
Rosapepe said. "Certainly the support that Romania provided to NATO in
bringing rapid end to the war in Kosovo last year increased the interest
that NATO has in exercises in the region."
Link to original news item:
http://www.dtic.mil/armylink/news/Jul2000/a20000718eagleex.html
--------- COORDINAMENTO ROMANO PER LA JUGOSLAVIA -----------
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------------------------------------------------------------
UN TEDESCO PENSAVA CHE ADOLF HITLER FOSSE UN SERBO
Tra le ultime grida levatesi contro la dirigenza jugoslava - colpevole
di far passare in Parlamento, anziche' in TV e a colpi di referendum
come in Italia, le proprie riforme populiste - ci giungono quelle del
premier tedesco Schroeder: "Milosevic e' il nuovo Hitler - lasciatecelo
dire a noi, che ce ne intendiamo!"
Infatti Schroeder, che e' tra i responsabili dei bombardamenti della
NATO contro la RF di Jugoslavia e delle relative violazioni del diritto
tedesco ed internazionale, da circa due anni guida il suo paese alla
riconquista coloniale dei Balcani e dell'Europa orientale in continuita'
con Bismarck ed Hitler. In particolare, soldati tedeschi dopo 50 anni
nuovamente occupano il territorio kosovaro ed assistono alle operazioni
di pulizia etnica compiute dai loro alleati nazionalisti pan-albanesi.
> Milosevic copies Hitler's power grab - Schroeder
>
> By Gernot Heller
>
>
> OKINAWA, Japan, July 23 (Reuters) - Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder accused
> Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic on Sunday of grabbing power in Belgrade
> in the same way Adolf Hitler established the Nazi dictatorship in Germany in
> 1933.
>
> In the toughest foreign criticism to date, Schroeder said constitutional
> amendments Milosevic pushed through the Serb-dominated Yugoslav parliament
> this month were like the Enabling Act that gave Hitler sweeping powers.
>
> Schroeder's criticism came a day after he and Italian Prime Minister Giuliano
> Amato told the Group of Eight summit on this southerly Japanese island that
> the international community must not recognise any Yugoslav elections based
> on the new laws.
>
> A G8 statement on the Balkans voiced concern about the amendments, which
> opened the door for Milosevic to serve another eight years as president, and
> expressed support for the Western-leaning government in Montenegro.
>
> ``I don't want to beat around the bush,'' Schroeder told journalists at the
> summit. ``The constitutional amendments Milosevic has pushed through amount
> to an Enabling Act.
>
> ``We've already experienced that once before,'' he said in an ominous
> reference to the 1933-1945 Nazi period in Germany.
>
> Democratically elected in January 1933, Hitler soon pushed his Enabling Act
> through the Reichstag to establish his Nazi dictatorship. He promptly shut
> down the parliament, banned political parties and trade unions and sent about
> 200 deputies to concentration camps where 88 died.
>
> WEST FEARS MORE BALKAN CONFLICT
>
> Milosevic, an international pariah indicted for war crimes by a U.N.
> tribunal, had the constitution amended to let him win reelection when his
> present term expires in mid-2001.
>
> The amendments also introduced direct voting for the upper house of the
> federal parliament, thereby bypassing the assembly in the much smaller
> republic of Montenegro.
>
> The West worries that Milosevic is pushing Montenegro to hold a referendum on
> independence, a move that could spark off another Balkan conflict like the
> struggle for Kosovo last year and prompt Kosovo Albanians to seek their own
> state as well.
>
> Montenegran President Milo Djukanovic has said his republic, with only
> 650,000 inhabitants, would boycott federal elections held under the new rules
> because they denied it equality with 10-million-strong Serbia in the rump
> Yugoslav federation.
>
> Briefing journalists on Saturday, Schroeder's diplomatic adviser Michael
> Steiner said: ``The chancellor and Italian Prime Minister Amato stressed
> there could be no international recognition of any electoral results achieved
> on the basis of the recent constitutional changes that Milosevic has
> staged.''
>
> Steiner said both Schroeder and French President Jacques Chirac stressed that
> ``the reestablishment of democracy in Yugoslavia was in the interests of both
> the G8 and Europe.''
>
> The G8 includes the United States, Japan, Germany, France, Italy, Canada and
> Russia. At Chirac's request, the European Union plans to hold a conference in
> Croatia in November on security issues in the western Balkans.
>
> During a lively discussion on the Balkans, Steiner added, Russian President
> Vladimir Putin made clear he would join G8 efforts to pressure Milosevic
> towards more democracy but not try to press for sympathy for Belgrade as
> Moscow did during the Kosovo crisis.
>
> In that crisis, Moscow openly played the ``Slavic card'' by stressing the
> common heritage of Slavic languages and Orthodox Christian faith that Russia
> and Serbia shared.
>
> ``Putin wanted to say he is in the G8 boat and...is not ready to play a part
> on the other side,'' Steiner said. ``There will not be the G7 and a
> 'G-Eighth' who tries to win
>
> 01:32 07-23-00
--------- COORDINAMENTO ROMANO PER LA JUGOSLAVIA -----------
RIMSKI SAVEZ ZA JUGOSLAVIJU
e-mail: crj@... - URL: http://marx2001.org/crj
http://www.egroups.com/group/crj-mailinglist/
------------------------------------------------------------
Tra le ultime grida levatesi contro la dirigenza jugoslava - colpevole
di far passare in Parlamento, anziche' in TV e a colpi di referendum
come in Italia, le proprie riforme populiste - ci giungono quelle del
premier tedesco Schroeder: "Milosevic e' il nuovo Hitler - lasciatecelo
dire a noi, che ce ne intendiamo!"
Infatti Schroeder, che e' tra i responsabili dei bombardamenti della
NATO contro la RF di Jugoslavia e delle relative violazioni del diritto
tedesco ed internazionale, da circa due anni guida il suo paese alla
riconquista coloniale dei Balcani e dell'Europa orientale in continuita'
con Bismarck ed Hitler. In particolare, soldati tedeschi dopo 50 anni
nuovamente occupano il territorio kosovaro ed assistono alle operazioni
di pulizia etnica compiute dai loro alleati nazionalisti pan-albanesi.
> Milosevic copies Hitler's power grab - Schroeder
>
> By Gernot Heller
>
>
> OKINAWA, Japan, July 23 (Reuters) - Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder accused
> Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic on Sunday of grabbing power in Belgrade
> in the same way Adolf Hitler established the Nazi dictatorship in Germany in
> 1933.
>
> In the toughest foreign criticism to date, Schroeder said constitutional
> amendments Milosevic pushed through the Serb-dominated Yugoslav parliament
> this month were like the Enabling Act that gave Hitler sweeping powers.
>
> Schroeder's criticism came a day after he and Italian Prime Minister Giuliano
> Amato told the Group of Eight summit on this southerly Japanese island that
> the international community must not recognise any Yugoslav elections based
> on the new laws.
>
> A G8 statement on the Balkans voiced concern about the amendments, which
> opened the door for Milosevic to serve another eight years as president, and
> expressed support for the Western-leaning government in Montenegro.
>
> ``I don't want to beat around the bush,'' Schroeder told journalists at the
> summit. ``The constitutional amendments Milosevic has pushed through amount
> to an Enabling Act.
>
> ``We've already experienced that once before,'' he said in an ominous
> reference to the 1933-1945 Nazi period in Germany.
>
> Democratically elected in January 1933, Hitler soon pushed his Enabling Act
> through the Reichstag to establish his Nazi dictatorship. He promptly shut
> down the parliament, banned political parties and trade unions and sent about
> 200 deputies to concentration camps where 88 died.
>
> WEST FEARS MORE BALKAN CONFLICT
>
> Milosevic, an international pariah indicted for war crimes by a U.N.
> tribunal, had the constitution amended to let him win reelection when his
> present term expires in mid-2001.
>
> The amendments also introduced direct voting for the upper house of the
> federal parliament, thereby bypassing the assembly in the much smaller
> republic of Montenegro.
>
> The West worries that Milosevic is pushing Montenegro to hold a referendum on
> independence, a move that could spark off another Balkan conflict like the
> struggle for Kosovo last year and prompt Kosovo Albanians to seek their own
> state as well.
>
> Montenegran President Milo Djukanovic has said his republic, with only
> 650,000 inhabitants, would boycott federal elections held under the new rules
> because they denied it equality with 10-million-strong Serbia in the rump
> Yugoslav federation.
>
> Briefing journalists on Saturday, Schroeder's diplomatic adviser Michael
> Steiner said: ``The chancellor and Italian Prime Minister Amato stressed
> there could be no international recognition of any electoral results achieved
> on the basis of the recent constitutional changes that Milosevic has
> staged.''
>
> Steiner said both Schroeder and French President Jacques Chirac stressed that
> ``the reestablishment of democracy in Yugoslavia was in the interests of both
> the G8 and Europe.''
>
> The G8 includes the United States, Japan, Germany, France, Italy, Canada and
> Russia. At Chirac's request, the European Union plans to hold a conference in
> Croatia in November on security issues in the western Balkans.
>
> During a lively discussion on the Balkans, Steiner added, Russian President
> Vladimir Putin made clear he would join G8 efforts to pressure Milosevic
> towards more democracy but not try to press for sympathy for Belgrade as
> Moscow did during the Kosovo crisis.
>
> In that crisis, Moscow openly played the ``Slavic card'' by stressing the
> common heritage of Slavic languages and Orthodox Christian faith that Russia
> and Serbia shared.
>
> ``Putin wanted to say he is in the G8 boat and...is not ready to play a part
> on the other side,'' Steiner said. ``There will not be the G7 and a
> 'G-Eighth' who tries to win
>
> 01:32 07-23-00
--------- 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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