Subject: Circle Of Deception: Mapping The Human Rights Crowd In The
Balkans
Date: Mon, 23 Jul 2001 23:12:18 -0700 (PDT)
From: Rick Rozoff
[As the following contains scores of indispensible
hyperlinks, it's best viewed in its original version
at: http://www.swans.com/library/art7/ga110.html )
Swans
The Circle of Deception
Mapping the Human Rights Crowd in the Balkans
by Gilles d'Aymery
July 23, 2001
Following a conversation with a Serbian acquaintance
we investigated a report on the Destruction of
Evidence on Crimes against Kosovo Albanians that was
posted on balkanhr, the Balkan Human Rights List, that
he had found through the Balkan Academic News.
>>From there, one thing leading to another and following
Ariadne's thread, an unambiguous picture developed.
Some people and some organizations are at the center
of a vast circle of deception. They all look genuine,
many are certainly well-intentioned but behind the
veil of legitimacy and humanitarian concerns can be
found the same powerful people and organizations such
as the Open Society Institute of the billionaire and -
as always characterized - philanthropist, George
Soros, the Ford Foundation, the United States
Institute of Peace, the National Endowment for
Democracy and many more, financing and using a maze of
well known NGO's such as Human Rights Watch, Amnesty
International, the International Crisis Group, etc.,
as well as more obscure entities such as the Southeast
European Politics (SEEP), the Balkan Academic News
(BAN), the Consortium of Minority Resources (COMIR),
the Minority Rights Group International (MRG), the
Greek Helsinki Monitor (GHM) and myriad others. But,
among all of them, shining as the Southern star, is
George Soros who, like an immense Jules Verne octopus,
extends his tentacles all over Eastern Europe,
South-Eastern Europe, the Caucasus as well as the
republics of the former Soviet Union. With the help of
these various groups, their partners and associates,
all having laudable names, all receiving lavish
funding, and again quite possibly most of them
well-intentioned, they are able not only to shape but
to create the news, the agenda and public opinion to
further their aims which are, in short, the control of
the world, its natural resources and the furtherance
of their uniform ideal of a perfect world polity made
in America.
This paper goes through a maze of connections. As said
it starts with a report about the Destruction of
Evidence on Crimes against Kosovo Albanians that was
posted on the balkanhr Distribution List in May, 2001
and that covered the story -- disseminated by the main
media later on in June -- of a refrigerated truck full
of corpses that was pulled out of the Danube at the
Iron Gates near Kladovo, in Serbia, on 6 April 1999.
The report was unsigned. Its provenance, the message
said, was the Humanitarian Law Center by the way of
the Greek Helsinki Monitor. The next logical move was
to visit the Greek Helsinki Monitor that is a part of
The BALKAN Human Rights Web Pages. There, the report
was linked....back to the Balkan Human Rights List
(which was founded in February 2000 by....The BALKAN
Human Rights Web Pages)!
Facing our first circle we decided to visit the
Humanitarian Law Center but, after an hour or so, we
could not find the original report (at least
originally -- please see the Note at the end of this
report). So we went back to square one and decided to
visit the Balkan Academic News (BAN). BAN is part of
the Consortium of Minority Resources (COMIR) and
affiliated with Southeast European Politics (SEEP). It
is hosted by the Southeast European Politics (SEEP).
BAN has its own distribution list on Yahoo. The
creator of BAN is one Florian Bieber who happens to be
a co-editor of SEEP. SEEP is sponsored by the Albanian
Political Science Association, Tirana, Albania, the
Open Society Institute, Budapest, Hungary, Central
European University, Budapest, Hungary, and
Independent Macedonian Political Science Association,
Skopje, Macedonia (no Web site). SEEP's Web site also
happens to be hosted by the Central European
University (CEU). CEU was founded in 1994 by George
Soros. CEU's related institutions are the Open Society
Institute-Budapest and the Soros Foundations Network.
"The Open Society Institute-Budapest was established
in 1993 to develop and implement programs in the areas
of educational, social and legal reform in Central and
Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union.
OSI-Budapest is part of the Soros foundations network,
a group of autonomous organizations created and
supported by George Soros," says the Web site. Florian
Bieber, the co-editor of SEEP and creator of BAN
worked from October 1998 to June 2000 at CEU. He holds
a M.A. in Southeast European Studies from CEU (he
currently is a lecturer, Regional Masters Program in
Democracy and Human Rights at the University of
Sarajevo). If you take the time to carefully read his
resume you will notice his many connections.
The other two sponsors of SEEP are The Independent
Macedonian Political Science Association, Skopje,
Macedonia that has no Web site and the Albanian
Political Science Association, Tirana, Albania
(ALPSA). ALPSA, was founded in 2000 to "contribute to
the establishment and advancement of studies in all
branches of political science (comparative politics,
political economy and public choice, international
relations, political theory, public policy, area
studies, etc.) in Albanian-language institutions and
universities in Albania and elsewhere." ALPSA does not
provide any information about its funding. However,
two of its board members have a diploma from CEU and
the site mentions that the organization is a "joint
publisher of SEEP"
As said, BAN, aside from being affiliated with SEEP,
is part of the Consortium of Minority Resources
(COMIR). COMIR, says the Web site, is "an
Internet-based cooperative project that aims at
promoting the free flow of information and dialogue in
the field of ethnic relations, multicultural politics
and minority rights. COMIR aims to establish a
clearinghouse of information and activities relevant
to Europe (OSCE region) to support democratic
governance of multiethnic and multinational societies.
To this end, COMIR develops and promotes virtual
libraries, mailing lists, a database of full text
documents, training materials, etc. Major initiatives
include a Virtual Library, coordinated mailing lists,
a meta-search engine across founders' web sites, a
Minority Rights Practitioners Resource Pack, a best
practice database, curriculum development and advocacy
training." COMIR is hosted by The Local Government and
Public Service Reform Initiative (LGI). LGI "was
launched in January 1997 by the Board of the Open
Society Institute-Budapest. The Initiative replaces
the Institute for Local Government and Public Service
and builds on its achievements," says the Web site.
"The development of democratic and effective
government at sub-national levels [emphasis added]
remains one of the central tasks of the transition.
The sharing of expertise between countries can
contribute significantly to the reform process in the
region. The primary mission of LGI is to foster such
cross-border cooperation and to support and
disseminate throughout the region potentially
important policy studies which should have a
significant impact on public policy reform." COMIR is
theretofore hosted by George Soros' Open Society
Institute.
COMIR's partner sites are: Center of Documentation and
Information on Minorities in Europe - Southeast
Europe; Minority Rights Group MRG LGI MMCP; Local
Government and Public Service Reform Initiative;
European Centre for Minority Issues; Roma Rights
Center; Forum Institute for Social Studies; Balkan
Academic News; Human Rights Watch; Constitutional &
Legal Policy Institute; European Academy Bolzano/Bozen
and World Organisation Against Torture.
COMIR being a partner of the Greek Helsinki Monitor
(GHM), we decided to revisit GHM.
According to the Web site, "Greek Helsinki Monitor
(GHM) was founded in 1993 by members of Minority
Rights Group - Greece, affiliated to Minority Rights
Group - International since 1992. In 1993, GHM became
the Greek member of the International Helsinki
Federation. In 1998, GHM became a member of the
International Freedom of Expression Exchange (IFEX);
and in 2000 of the Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights
Network (EMHRN) and the Southeast Europe Media
Organization (SEEMO). GHM monitors, publishes and
lobbies on human rights issues in Greece and,
occasionally, in the Balkans. It has participated in
and often coordinated the monitoring of Greek and
Balkan media for stereotypes and hate speech. It has
prepared detailed reports on ethnonational,
ethnolinguistic, religious and immigrant communities,
in Greece; and on the Greek minorities in Albania and
Turkey. [...] Since 1997, in cooperation with the
European Roma Rights Center (ERRC), it runs a Roma
Office for Greece. Since 1997, it also operates the
Athens editorial office of the Alternative Information
Network (AIM), while in 2000 it launched the
electronic monthly "Dikaiomatika!" (Rightly!) in
Greek. In 1998, GHM was a co-founder of the Center of
Documentation and Information on Minorities in Europe
- Southeast Europe (CEDIME-SE) which operates a web
site (http://www.greekhelsinki.gr) and two web lists
covering human rights issues and comprehensive and
comparable presentations of all minorities in the
region. In 2000, CEDIME-SE was one of the co-founders
of the Consortium of Minority Resources (COMIR)."
"Greek Helsinki Monitor and Minority Rights Group -
Greece would like to acknowledge the sponsorship of
Open Society Institute, European Union's PHARE and
Euromosaic programs, Austrian Government - Federal
Chancellery, Nikos Dimou, "Artos Zois" Foundation,
European Roma Rights Center, Berghof Foundation for
Conflict Research, Aspen Institute Berlin,
International Helsinki Federation, Communication and
Political Research Society, Greek General Secretariat
for Youth, and a few others."
So, GHM is funded, among others, by OSI. But what of
the various "organizations" with which GHM is
associated?
Minority Rights Group International (MRG): MRG is a
"non-governmental organization based in London, UK,
MRG promotes the rights of ethnic, linguistic and
religious minorities." MRG does not disclose funding
and sponsorship but GHM mentions that at least
MRG-Greece is supported, among others, by OSI (see
above). It has a link to COMIR on its front page.
The European Roma Rights Center (ERRC): ERRC is "an
international public interest law organisation which
monitors the human rights situation of Roma and
provides legal defence in cases of human rights
abuse." Major sponsors are: Open Society Institute,
Ford Foundation, Charles Stewart Mott Foundation,
Ruben and Elisabeth Rausing Trust, Rockefeller
Brothers Fund, and J.M. Kaplan Fund.
Please note that while GHM is partly "sponsored" by
OSI, it is also partly "sponsored" by ERRC which in
turn is partly "sponsored" by....OSI!
International Freedom of Expression exchange (IFEX):
IFEX "was born in 1992 when many of the world's
leading freedom of expression organizations came
together in Montreal to discuss how best to further
their collective goals." IFEX support organizations
are: Canadian International Development Agency,
Canada; Open Society Institute, U.S.A.; Ministry of
Foreign Affairs, Denmark; The Ford Foundation, U.S.A.;
Freedom Forum, U.S.A.; Humanistic Institute for
Co-operation with Developing Countries (Hivos), The
Netherlands; Joyce Mertz-Gilmore Foundation, U.S.A;
Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Finland; Robert R.
McCormick Tribune Foundation, U.S.A.; Swedish
International Development Agency, Sweden; and United
Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural
Organization (UNESCO).
Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Network (EMHRN):
EMHRN, established in January 1997, "is a network of
human rights organisations based in more than 20
countries from the Euro-Mediterranean region."
Funding/sponsors are not disclosed. Among its members
are Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch (see
below).
GHM is also related to the Institute for War & Peace
Reporting (IWPR). "Founded in 1991, IWPR is an
independent educational charity based in the United
Kingdom." "IWPR supports democratisation and
development in crisis zones by providing an
international platform, professional training and
financial assistance to independent media, human
rights activists and other democratic voices." The
IWPR Web site acknowledges the following "private and
governmental foundations and agencies supporting its
regional reporting and media development activities:"
Carnegie Corporation of New York; Department for
International Development (UK); European Commission,
Foreign and Commonwealth Office; Freedom Forum; Ford
Foundation; National Endowment for Democracy;
Community Fund (UK); Open Society Institute; Press
Now; Samuel Rubin Foundation; Swedish International
Development and Cooperation Agency; US Institute for
Peace and Winston Foundation for World Peace.
GHM disseminates the reports of Human Rights Watch
(HRW) and is related to HRW at least through COMIR and
EMHRN. George Soros is known as the "financier of
HRW." For the readers who are not familiar with HRW we
recommend the report by Paul Treanor, Who is behind
Human Rights Watch? The European section of the Board
of HRW (or committee), called the Europe and Central
Asia Division is affiliated with the International
Helsinki Federation for Human Rights (the latter, by
the way, is financed by, among others, the Ford
Foundation. See
http://www.ihf-hr.org/about.htm#Funders).
The Council for the Defense of Human Rights and
Freedoms (funding unknown) publishes a weekly report
on the "situation of human rights and freedoms in
Kosova" [please note the spelling]. These reports are
disseminated by, among others, GHM and BAN.
So are the reports and analysis of the International
Crisis Group (ICG). ICG "is a private, multinational
organisation committed to strengthening the capacity
of the international community to anticipate,
understand and act to prevent and contain conflict."
Readers may recall the ICG report dated November 26,
1999 on Trepca: Making Sense of the Labyrinth which
advocated that UNMIK and KFOR take control of the
Trepca mining complex - which they did. ICG is an
intriguing organization that would deserve to be
reviewed on its own. ICG states on its Web site that
"Maintaining a diverse funding base is critical to
preserving ICG's political independence and
credibility." It adds that "ICG raises funds from
governments, charitable foundations, companies and
individual donors. The following governments currently
provide funding: Australia, Canada, Denmark, Finland,
France, Germany, Ireland, Japan, Luxembourg, the
Netherlands, Norway, the Republic of China (Taiwan)
[ed. please note how they characterize Taiwan],
Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. Foundation
and private sector donors include the Ansary
Foundation, the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation,
the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation, the Open Society
Institute, the Ploughshares Fund, the Sasakawa
Foundation, the Smith Richardson Foundation, the Ford
Foundation and the U.S. Institute of Peace."
The best way to form an opinion in regard to ICG's
"political independence and credibility" is to look at
its Board. Among its 50+ members are the following
names: Stephen Solarz (Vice-Chairman, ICG and former
U.S. Congressman); Morton Abramowitz (former U.S.
Assistant Secretary of State and former U.S.
Ambassador to Turkey); Kenneth Adelman (former US
Ambassador and Deputy Permanent Ambassador to the UN);
Richard Allen (former Head of US National Security
Council and National Security Advisor); Louise Arbour
(Supreme Court Judge, Canada and former Chief
Prosecutor, International Criminal Tribunal for former
Yugoslavia); Wesley Clark (former NATO Supreme Allied
Commander, Europe); Allan J. MacEachen (former Deputy
Prime Minister of Canada); Barbara McDougall (former
Secretary of State for External Affairs, Canada);
Wayne Owens (President, Center for Middle East Peace
and Economic Co-operation); George Soros (Chairman,
Open Society Institute); and Mortimer Zuckerman
(Chairman and Editor-in-Chief, U.S. News and World
Report).
So, from little-known organizations or people such as
SEEP, COMIR, BAN, GHM, IFEX, ERRC, etc. and Florian
Bieber to bigger fish like ICG, HRW, IPWR, etc., and
Louise Arbour, Morton Abramowitz or Wesley Clark -- to
cite just a few -- the agenda, the ideology, the
sources of funding are the same. They originate with
the Ford Foundation, the National Endowment for
Democracy, the US Institute for Peace, the Open
Society Institute and many, many more wealthy
institutions; and George Soros can invariably be found
at the epicenter of this concentric maze (which will
not surprise the readers who have read our August 2000
essay, Armies of Compassion: The Missionary, the
Businessman and the Military).
Not only do they shape and form opinion, they create
the news, they pay for -- they literally buy -- the
news to be shaped and created (remember the
"suitcases" of cash being funneled to the opposition
-- DOS, Otpor, B92, etc. -- before the Yugoslav
elections in October 2000?), to control how public
opinion is shaped and created; a public who has little
or no idea of how the news and their opinions are
created, sculpted like a fake Rodin, and from where
they really come. Total manipulation, total deception
and total mind control.
Pathetic, isn't it?
Note: To demonstrate the above with a case study we
are reviewing the Humanitarian Law Center (HLC) and
the report, "Destruction of Evidence on Crimes against
Kosovo Albanians," that was found on balkanhr, the
Balkan Human Rights List (but that originated with
HLC) in our next commentary, The Fabrication and
Dissemination of Deception.
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Balkans
Date: Mon, 23 Jul 2001 23:12:18 -0700 (PDT)
From: Rick Rozoff
[As the following contains scores of indispensible
hyperlinks, it's best viewed in its original version
at: http://www.swans.com/library/art7/ga110.html )
Swans
The Circle of Deception
Mapping the Human Rights Crowd in the Balkans
by Gilles d'Aymery
July 23, 2001
Following a conversation with a Serbian acquaintance
we investigated a report on the Destruction of
Evidence on Crimes against Kosovo Albanians that was
posted on balkanhr, the Balkan Human Rights List, that
he had found through the Balkan Academic News.
>>From there, one thing leading to another and following
Ariadne's thread, an unambiguous picture developed.
Some people and some organizations are at the center
of a vast circle of deception. They all look genuine,
many are certainly well-intentioned but behind the
veil of legitimacy and humanitarian concerns can be
found the same powerful people and organizations such
as the Open Society Institute of the billionaire and -
as always characterized - philanthropist, George
Soros, the Ford Foundation, the United States
Institute of Peace, the National Endowment for
Democracy and many more, financing and using a maze of
well known NGO's such as Human Rights Watch, Amnesty
International, the International Crisis Group, etc.,
as well as more obscure entities such as the Southeast
European Politics (SEEP), the Balkan Academic News
(BAN), the Consortium of Minority Resources (COMIR),
the Minority Rights Group International (MRG), the
Greek Helsinki Monitor (GHM) and myriad others. But,
among all of them, shining as the Southern star, is
George Soros who, like an immense Jules Verne octopus,
extends his tentacles all over Eastern Europe,
South-Eastern Europe, the Caucasus as well as the
republics of the former Soviet Union. With the help of
these various groups, their partners and associates,
all having laudable names, all receiving lavish
funding, and again quite possibly most of them
well-intentioned, they are able not only to shape but
to create the news, the agenda and public opinion to
further their aims which are, in short, the control of
the world, its natural resources and the furtherance
of their uniform ideal of a perfect world polity made
in America.
This paper goes through a maze of connections. As said
it starts with a report about the Destruction of
Evidence on Crimes against Kosovo Albanians that was
posted on the balkanhr Distribution List in May, 2001
and that covered the story -- disseminated by the main
media later on in June -- of a refrigerated truck full
of corpses that was pulled out of the Danube at the
Iron Gates near Kladovo, in Serbia, on 6 April 1999.
The report was unsigned. Its provenance, the message
said, was the Humanitarian Law Center by the way of
the Greek Helsinki Monitor. The next logical move was
to visit the Greek Helsinki Monitor that is a part of
The BALKAN Human Rights Web Pages. There, the report
was linked....back to the Balkan Human Rights List
(which was founded in February 2000 by....The BALKAN
Human Rights Web Pages)!
Facing our first circle we decided to visit the
Humanitarian Law Center but, after an hour or so, we
could not find the original report (at least
originally -- please see the Note at the end of this
report). So we went back to square one and decided to
visit the Balkan Academic News (BAN). BAN is part of
the Consortium of Minority Resources (COMIR) and
affiliated with Southeast European Politics (SEEP). It
is hosted by the Southeast European Politics (SEEP).
BAN has its own distribution list on Yahoo. The
creator of BAN is one Florian Bieber who happens to be
a co-editor of SEEP. SEEP is sponsored by the Albanian
Political Science Association, Tirana, Albania, the
Open Society Institute, Budapest, Hungary, Central
European University, Budapest, Hungary, and
Independent Macedonian Political Science Association,
Skopje, Macedonia (no Web site). SEEP's Web site also
happens to be hosted by the Central European
University (CEU). CEU was founded in 1994 by George
Soros. CEU's related institutions are the Open Society
Institute-Budapest and the Soros Foundations Network.
"The Open Society Institute-Budapest was established
in 1993 to develop and implement programs in the areas
of educational, social and legal reform in Central and
Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union.
OSI-Budapest is part of the Soros foundations network,
a group of autonomous organizations created and
supported by George Soros," says the Web site. Florian
Bieber, the co-editor of SEEP and creator of BAN
worked from October 1998 to June 2000 at CEU. He holds
a M.A. in Southeast European Studies from CEU (he
currently is a lecturer, Regional Masters Program in
Democracy and Human Rights at the University of
Sarajevo). If you take the time to carefully read his
resume you will notice his many connections.
The other two sponsors of SEEP are The Independent
Macedonian Political Science Association, Skopje,
Macedonia that has no Web site and the Albanian
Political Science Association, Tirana, Albania
(ALPSA). ALPSA, was founded in 2000 to "contribute to
the establishment and advancement of studies in all
branches of political science (comparative politics,
political economy and public choice, international
relations, political theory, public policy, area
studies, etc.) in Albanian-language institutions and
universities in Albania and elsewhere." ALPSA does not
provide any information about its funding. However,
two of its board members have a diploma from CEU and
the site mentions that the organization is a "joint
publisher of SEEP"
As said, BAN, aside from being affiliated with SEEP,
is part of the Consortium of Minority Resources
(COMIR). COMIR, says the Web site, is "an
Internet-based cooperative project that aims at
promoting the free flow of information and dialogue in
the field of ethnic relations, multicultural politics
and minority rights. COMIR aims to establish a
clearinghouse of information and activities relevant
to Europe (OSCE region) to support democratic
governance of multiethnic and multinational societies.
To this end, COMIR develops and promotes virtual
libraries, mailing lists, a database of full text
documents, training materials, etc. Major initiatives
include a Virtual Library, coordinated mailing lists,
a meta-search engine across founders' web sites, a
Minority Rights Practitioners Resource Pack, a best
practice database, curriculum development and advocacy
training." COMIR is hosted by The Local Government and
Public Service Reform Initiative (LGI). LGI "was
launched in January 1997 by the Board of the Open
Society Institute-Budapest. The Initiative replaces
the Institute for Local Government and Public Service
and builds on its achievements," says the Web site.
"The development of democratic and effective
government at sub-national levels [emphasis added]
remains one of the central tasks of the transition.
The sharing of expertise between countries can
contribute significantly to the reform process in the
region. The primary mission of LGI is to foster such
cross-border cooperation and to support and
disseminate throughout the region potentially
important policy studies which should have a
significant impact on public policy reform." COMIR is
theretofore hosted by George Soros' Open Society
Institute.
COMIR's partner sites are: Center of Documentation and
Information on Minorities in Europe - Southeast
Europe; Minority Rights Group MRG LGI MMCP; Local
Government and Public Service Reform Initiative;
European Centre for Minority Issues; Roma Rights
Center; Forum Institute for Social Studies; Balkan
Academic News; Human Rights Watch; Constitutional &
Legal Policy Institute; European Academy Bolzano/Bozen
and World Organisation Against Torture.
COMIR being a partner of the Greek Helsinki Monitor
(GHM), we decided to revisit GHM.
According to the Web site, "Greek Helsinki Monitor
(GHM) was founded in 1993 by members of Minority
Rights Group - Greece, affiliated to Minority Rights
Group - International since 1992. In 1993, GHM became
the Greek member of the International Helsinki
Federation. In 1998, GHM became a member of the
International Freedom of Expression Exchange (IFEX);
and in 2000 of the Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights
Network (EMHRN) and the Southeast Europe Media
Organization (SEEMO). GHM monitors, publishes and
lobbies on human rights issues in Greece and,
occasionally, in the Balkans. It has participated in
and often coordinated the monitoring of Greek and
Balkan media for stereotypes and hate speech. It has
prepared detailed reports on ethnonational,
ethnolinguistic, religious and immigrant communities,
in Greece; and on the Greek minorities in Albania and
Turkey. [...] Since 1997, in cooperation with the
European Roma Rights Center (ERRC), it runs a Roma
Office for Greece. Since 1997, it also operates the
Athens editorial office of the Alternative Information
Network (AIM), while in 2000 it launched the
electronic monthly "Dikaiomatika!" (Rightly!) in
Greek. In 1998, GHM was a co-founder of the Center of
Documentation and Information on Minorities in Europe
- Southeast Europe (CEDIME-SE) which operates a web
site (http://www.greekhelsinki.gr) and two web lists
covering human rights issues and comprehensive and
comparable presentations of all minorities in the
region. In 2000, CEDIME-SE was one of the co-founders
of the Consortium of Minority Resources (COMIR)."
"Greek Helsinki Monitor and Minority Rights Group -
Greece would like to acknowledge the sponsorship of
Open Society Institute, European Union's PHARE and
Euromosaic programs, Austrian Government - Federal
Chancellery, Nikos Dimou, "Artos Zois" Foundation,
European Roma Rights Center, Berghof Foundation for
Conflict Research, Aspen Institute Berlin,
International Helsinki Federation, Communication and
Political Research Society, Greek General Secretariat
for Youth, and a few others."
So, GHM is funded, among others, by OSI. But what of
the various "organizations" with which GHM is
associated?
Minority Rights Group International (MRG): MRG is a
"non-governmental organization based in London, UK,
MRG promotes the rights of ethnic, linguistic and
religious minorities." MRG does not disclose funding
and sponsorship but GHM mentions that at least
MRG-Greece is supported, among others, by OSI (see
above). It has a link to COMIR on its front page.
The European Roma Rights Center (ERRC): ERRC is "an
international public interest law organisation which
monitors the human rights situation of Roma and
provides legal defence in cases of human rights
abuse." Major sponsors are: Open Society Institute,
Ford Foundation, Charles Stewart Mott Foundation,
Ruben and Elisabeth Rausing Trust, Rockefeller
Brothers Fund, and J.M. Kaplan Fund.
Please note that while GHM is partly "sponsored" by
OSI, it is also partly "sponsored" by ERRC which in
turn is partly "sponsored" by....OSI!
International Freedom of Expression exchange (IFEX):
IFEX "was born in 1992 when many of the world's
leading freedom of expression organizations came
together in Montreal to discuss how best to further
their collective goals." IFEX support organizations
are: Canadian International Development Agency,
Canada; Open Society Institute, U.S.A.; Ministry of
Foreign Affairs, Denmark; The Ford Foundation, U.S.A.;
Freedom Forum, U.S.A.; Humanistic Institute for
Co-operation with Developing Countries (Hivos), The
Netherlands; Joyce Mertz-Gilmore Foundation, U.S.A;
Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Finland; Robert R.
McCormick Tribune Foundation, U.S.A.; Swedish
International Development Agency, Sweden; and United
Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural
Organization (UNESCO).
Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Network (EMHRN):
EMHRN, established in January 1997, "is a network of
human rights organisations based in more than 20
countries from the Euro-Mediterranean region."
Funding/sponsors are not disclosed. Among its members
are Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch (see
below).
GHM is also related to the Institute for War & Peace
Reporting (IWPR). "Founded in 1991, IWPR is an
independent educational charity based in the United
Kingdom." "IWPR supports democratisation and
development in crisis zones by providing an
international platform, professional training and
financial assistance to independent media, human
rights activists and other democratic voices." The
IWPR Web site acknowledges the following "private and
governmental foundations and agencies supporting its
regional reporting and media development activities:"
Carnegie Corporation of New York; Department for
International Development (UK); European Commission,
Foreign and Commonwealth Office; Freedom Forum; Ford
Foundation; National Endowment for Democracy;
Community Fund (UK); Open Society Institute; Press
Now; Samuel Rubin Foundation; Swedish International
Development and Cooperation Agency; US Institute for
Peace and Winston Foundation for World Peace.
GHM disseminates the reports of Human Rights Watch
(HRW) and is related to HRW at least through COMIR and
EMHRN. George Soros is known as the "financier of
HRW." For the readers who are not familiar with HRW we
recommend the report by Paul Treanor, Who is behind
Human Rights Watch? The European section of the Board
of HRW (or committee), called the Europe and Central
Asia Division is affiliated with the International
Helsinki Federation for Human Rights (the latter, by
the way, is financed by, among others, the Ford
Foundation. See
http://www.ihf-hr.org/about.htm#Funders).
The Council for the Defense of Human Rights and
Freedoms (funding unknown) publishes a weekly report
on the "situation of human rights and freedoms in
Kosova" [please note the spelling]. These reports are
disseminated by, among others, GHM and BAN.
So are the reports and analysis of the International
Crisis Group (ICG). ICG "is a private, multinational
organisation committed to strengthening the capacity
of the international community to anticipate,
understand and act to prevent and contain conflict."
Readers may recall the ICG report dated November 26,
1999 on Trepca: Making Sense of the Labyrinth which
advocated that UNMIK and KFOR take control of the
Trepca mining complex - which they did. ICG is an
intriguing organization that would deserve to be
reviewed on its own. ICG states on its Web site that
"Maintaining a diverse funding base is critical to
preserving ICG's political independence and
credibility." It adds that "ICG raises funds from
governments, charitable foundations, companies and
individual donors. The following governments currently
provide funding: Australia, Canada, Denmark, Finland,
France, Germany, Ireland, Japan, Luxembourg, the
Netherlands, Norway, the Republic of China (Taiwan)
[ed. please note how they characterize Taiwan],
Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. Foundation
and private sector donors include the Ansary
Foundation, the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation,
the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation, the Open Society
Institute, the Ploughshares Fund, the Sasakawa
Foundation, the Smith Richardson Foundation, the Ford
Foundation and the U.S. Institute of Peace."
The best way to form an opinion in regard to ICG's
"political independence and credibility" is to look at
its Board. Among its 50+ members are the following
names: Stephen Solarz (Vice-Chairman, ICG and former
U.S. Congressman); Morton Abramowitz (former U.S.
Assistant Secretary of State and former U.S.
Ambassador to Turkey); Kenneth Adelman (former US
Ambassador and Deputy Permanent Ambassador to the UN);
Richard Allen (former Head of US National Security
Council and National Security Advisor); Louise Arbour
(Supreme Court Judge, Canada and former Chief
Prosecutor, International Criminal Tribunal for former
Yugoslavia); Wesley Clark (former NATO Supreme Allied
Commander, Europe); Allan J. MacEachen (former Deputy
Prime Minister of Canada); Barbara McDougall (former
Secretary of State for External Affairs, Canada);
Wayne Owens (President, Center for Middle East Peace
and Economic Co-operation); George Soros (Chairman,
Open Society Institute); and Mortimer Zuckerman
(Chairman and Editor-in-Chief, U.S. News and World
Report).
So, from little-known organizations or people such as
SEEP, COMIR, BAN, GHM, IFEX, ERRC, etc. and Florian
Bieber to bigger fish like ICG, HRW, IPWR, etc., and
Louise Arbour, Morton Abramowitz or Wesley Clark -- to
cite just a few -- the agenda, the ideology, the
sources of funding are the same. They originate with
the Ford Foundation, the National Endowment for
Democracy, the US Institute for Peace, the Open
Society Institute and many, many more wealthy
institutions; and George Soros can invariably be found
at the epicenter of this concentric maze (which will
not surprise the readers who have read our August 2000
essay, Armies of Compassion: The Missionary, the
Businessman and the Military).
Not only do they shape and form opinion, they create
the news, they pay for -- they literally buy -- the
news to be shaped and created (remember the
"suitcases" of cash being funneled to the opposition
-- DOS, Otpor, B92, etc. -- before the Yugoslav
elections in October 2000?), to control how public
opinion is shaped and created; a public who has little
or no idea of how the news and their opinions are
created, sculpted like a fake Rodin, and from where
they really come. Total manipulation, total deception
and total mind control.
Pathetic, isn't it?
Note: To demonstrate the above with a case study we
are reviewing the Humanitarian Law Center (HLC) and
the report, "Destruction of Evidence on Crimes against
Kosovo Albanians," that was found on balkanhr, the
Balkan Human Rights List (but that originated with
HLC) in our next commentary, The Fabrication and
Dissemination of Deception.
---
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