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SERB SOCIALISTS CALL 'AID' PROMISES SUCKER
BAIT

Socialist Party of Serbia blasts the
"Washington-has-Yugoslavia-over-a-barrel"
argument. [31 May 2001]

Yugoslav authorities - including Voyislav Koshtunitsa
and Zoran Djindjic - are going all out to push a law
through the Yugoslav Federal Parliament. That law
would legalize cooperation with the notorious Hague
War Crimes Tribunal. The Montenegrin Socialists, who
hold the decisive votes in Parliament, have so far held
firm against this law.

Meanwhile, many Yugoslavs believe the claim made by
the Belgrade authorities that if Yugoslavia does not
help railroad Yugoslav leaders to the Hague Tribunal,
the U.S. will prevent a June Donors' Conference from
giving Yugoslavia much-needed aid.

People are being tricked, says the Socialist Party of
Serbia. Here's their scathing refutation of the "we have
to do it because we're being financially blackmailed"
argument.

-- Jared Israel

WE ACCUSE:
AID PROMISES ARE A TRAITOROUS LIE!
Socialist Party of Serbia Statement, 31 May

For the leaders of a country to tell the people in that
country that they should extradite patriots in exchange
for money from the forces which have bombed that
country - is an outrage.

But for leaders of a country to pretend that they are
getting money from the bombers when they know
perfectly well they are not - to tell the people that they
should support the jailing of their patriots in exchange
for money which these leaders know does not exist -
this is the worst treason.

The present authorities in Belgrade are guilty of
treason.

No Donors' Conference has ever given any money to
any country. The term "Donors'' is itself a deception.
The proper title is ''Creditors' Conference.'' If a
"Donors' Conference" takes place in June it will be a
meeting of the banks that claim Yugoslavia owes them
money. The purpose of that meeting, like the purpose
of all Donors' Conferences, will be to plan how to sell
Yugoslav property so they can get back the money they
claim they are owed as quickly as possible.

To whom will they sell Yugoslav industries to get their
money? To themselves basically.

How much will they sell it for? Pennies on the dollar.

How much of the so-called Yugoslav debt will get paid
in this way? Very little.

What will happen to the industry that the 'Donors'
scoop up in this fashion? Wherever such industries
might compete with some industry from the 'Donor'
countries, the factories will be closed down.

Let us take an example that occurred in Hungary, a
country whose leaders have more than cooperated with
the U.S. The U.S. firm, General Electric, bought the big
light bulb factory in Hungary and closed it down. Now
Hungarians have to buy light bulbs imported by GE.

This has happened in dozens of countries.

Donors' Conferences helped plan the devastation of
the economies of:

* Ukraine - went from the bread basket of
Europe to being dependant on Western surplus
"food")

* Bulgaria - industry stripped and shut down)

* Russia - wages fell almost 90% overnight)

* Vietnam - after the "Donors' Conference" its
industry was stripped to raise the money to pay
off 'debts'. This was particularly vicious
because those 'debts' had been accumulated by
the puppet regime of South Vietnam. South
Vietnam incurred the 'debts' when it bought
weapons from the U.S. to fight Vietnamese
patriots!

That's what a Donors' Conference does.

Sometimes the real work takes place after the official
Conference is over, in meetings of the so-called Paris
and London Clubs, which are made up, respectively, of
big commercial and national banks from the US and
Europe.

But one thing no Donors' Conference has ever,
anywhere in the world done is give 1 billion dollars - or
in fact any money - to a country which supposedly
owes these banks money. If they do lend any money on
paper they immediately take it away.

That is, a little money may be lent with one hand, but it
will be immediately taken away with the other hand, to
"repay the debt."

This has already happened with millions of dollars
supposedly "given" to Yugoslavia by the international
community. As is reported in a text by Dr. Prof. Michel
Chossudovsky: "

"The [IMF] Board approved a loan [of] US $151
million under the IMF's policy on emergency
post-conflict assistance in support of a
program to stabilize the Federal Republic of
Yugoslavia's economy and help rebuild
administrative capacities. Of this amount, the
[Belgrade] authorities will draw... US $130
million to repay the bridge loans they received
[from Switzerland and Norway] to eliminate
arrears with the IMF."" (Quoted in "Economic
Terrorism," by Dr. Prof. Michel Chossudovsky)

In other words, the authorities in Belgrade borrowed
money from Switzerland and Norway to pay money
owed to the IMF. Then they borrowed money from the
IMF - and that was used to pay Switzerland and
Norway!

This is a con game.

Sometimes the truth about the phony "Donors'
Conferences" leaks out. Consider this excerpt from a
'Reuters' news dispatch. 'Reuters' lists all the terrible
things that will happen if Yugoslavia does not
cooperate. The first thing is:

1. "The US will oppose Yugoslav loans and
assistance from international financial
institutions such as the International Monetary
Fund and World Bank. At stake will be a
planned $260 million loan from the IMF to back
up reform of an economy on the verge of
collapse after years of sanctions and warfare."

NOTE that they speak of loan not gift. No donation
here!

And keep this in mind: every country that has relied on
these phony loans has suffered. For 8 years we had no
loans. But Rumania and Bulgaria which had loans lost
all their industry and now their unemployed come to
Yugoslavia looking for work. We will always be better
off helping ourselves than being saddled with parasites
from the International Monetary Fund and World Bank
who are in business to strip countries like ours of
everything we have sweated to build.

Here's the second 'disastrous' consequence of not
cooperating with Washington:

2. "[This will mean putting off] Belgrade's plans
to start negotiating a debt settlement with the
Paris Club of sovereign creditors and
commercial banks of the London Club... Of its
total $12.2 billion external debt, Yugoslavia
owes some $5 billion to the Paris Club and
around $3 billion to the London Club."
('Reuters', April 2, 2001)

The 'Reuters' article talks about the Donors'
Conference lending Yugoslavia $260 million. Based on
much past experience, this money may never be
loaned. But even if it were actually loaned to
Yugoslavia, it would immediately be used to pay back
part of the supposed debt. No money would go to the
economy or reach ordinary people.

And look at what else the article says won't happen if
Yugoslavia fails to cooperate:

* Failure to cooperate would mean putting off
"Belgrade's plans to start negotiating a debt settlement
with the Paris Club of sovereign creditors and
commercial banks of the London Club. "

How much money is involved in this debt that
Yugoslavia would not have the pleasure of starting to
repay?

"Of its total $12.2 billion external debt, Yugoslavia
owes some $5 billion to the Paris Club and around
$3 billion to the London Club." ('Reuters')

So the "international community" claims Yugoslavia
owes it at least $12 billion (US). And if Yugoslavia does
not hand over Milosevic it will not have the pleasure of
stripping all its industry to repay this debt. Wouldn't
that be terrible?

And how does the "international community" figure that
Yugoslavia owes it $12.2 billion dollars? This is almost
entirely interest on debts supposedly owed by the now
nonexistent Yugoslav Socialist Republic. Here is a
news report from Dec. 31, 1992, which explains it all:

"From: 'Facts on File World News Digest,'
December 31, 1992

"Headline: IMF Revokes Yugoslavia's
Membership

"Text: The International Monetary Fund
December 15 revoked Yugoslavia's membership
and apportioned the country's foreign debt
among what the financial institution designated
as Yugoslavia's five successor republics. The
IMF took the action on the grounds that
Yugoslavia had ceased to exist as a legal entity.

"Yugoslavia's foreign debt was about $15
billion, including $217 million owed to the IMF
and $2 billion owed to the World Bank.

"A total of 36.5% of the debt was apportioned to
Serbia-Montenegro, the new Yugoslav
federation, which the IMF treated as a single
republic. Croatia was deemed to owe 28.5% of
the debt; Bosnia-Herzegovina, 13.2%; Slovenia,
16.4%; and Macedonia, 5.4%."

[End of 'Facts on File' news dispatch]

So in 1992, the IMF simply decided to say that the
Federal Republic owed 5.475 billion US dollars. Since it
now says we owe over $12 billion, that means that
almost $7 billion of the supposed debt is interest! And
when did that interest get charged?

That interest got charged during the years of sanctions
imposed by the same international community that now
claims we owe all this interest!

Those sanctions hurt the Yugoslav economy to the tune
of billions of dollars U.S.

By what right do these men, who starved Yugoslavia
with sanctions, costing us billions, and then bombed
Yugoslavia, causing at least $60 billion in damage not
to mention the incalculable cost in human death and
suffering, the pain of relatives who lost loved ones, the
psychological damage to children, forced to hide in
shelters from bombs, the long term damage of depleted
uranium - how dare these starvers and bombers now
claim that Yugoslavia owes them money?

Who are these men?

A Donors' Conference would give no money to
Yugoslavia.

The only result would be: devastation of the Yugoslav
economy. The Donors would order a forced sale of
Yugoslavia's precious industries for pennies on the
dollar to the same bankers who make up the Donors'
Conference.

And when it was all over, the debt would still be there.

Because the money raised would be too little - as it is
always too little, in every country where these bankers
have imposed this scam - to pay the debt. Because you
see that is the whole idea. They use the inflated debt to
get hold of the industry, and when it is all over, they
leave the country, stripped of all it sweated for years to
build, of everything except - billions of dollars in debt.

We would gain nothing from this Donors' Conference.

But some things would be gone.

Our industry would be gone.

Our pride would be gone.

Our honor would be gone.

And our patriots, they would be gone as well, starting
with Mr. Milosevic, but not ending with him. Not ending
with him.

Let us not follow this fool's gold chase proposed by the
present authorities in Belgrade. Let us rely on
ourselves, on our integrity and our own hard work. Let
us trade with friends, not with thieves who try to break
us with the fake lure of suckers' gold.

When they speak of the urgency of this Donors'
Conference, the present authorities in Belgrade speak
with passion.

Their passion is real.

But it is not because they fear that if we do not go along
with their proposals, Yugoslavia will lose money that it
needs. On the contrary, they fear that if they do not
produce for their masters in Washington, they will be
punished.

For Washington has no friends, only future victims.

Washington has laid down the law to these Belgrade
authorities.

It has told them: you are taking too much time. Give us
Milosevic. Give us the patriots of the Yugoslav Army.
Give us those who fought us in Bosnia and Croatia.
Give them to us NOW. And give us everything of value
in Yugoslavia.

Because if you do not we will take you - the DOS
leaders - in their place.

- SPS, 31 May 2001

***

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