International Committee to Defend Slobodan Milosevic *
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The URL for this article is:
http://www.icdsm.org/more/freezer1.htm
Subscribe to the ICDSM email list at
http://www.icdsm.org/maillist.htm Receive articles
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=======================================
The Freezer Truck Hoax
How NATO framed Slobodan Milosevic
* In Four Parts *
Part I: NATO's Problem
by Francisco J. Gil-White
[Posted 19 September 2002]
=======================================
During the war on Yugoslavia, NATO justified its shower
of bombs by claiming that Slobodan Milosevic was in the
process of killing as many as 100,000 Albanian
civilians. [1]
In late May 1999, during the bombing, the Hague
Tribunal issued an indictment against Slobodan
Milosevic for ?war crimes.?[2] Then after the bombing,
from June until November 1999, NATO and UN
investigators scoured Kosovo NATO looking for evidence
of mass murder so they could send Milosevic to The
Hague.
There was only one problem: NATO produced no evidence.
[START REUTERS QUOTE]
"UN investigators have exhumed 2,108 corpses in Kosovo
so far, but the true number of ethnic Albanian victims
may be much higher, the chief UN [War Crimes Tribunal]
prosecutor Carla del Ponte said on Wednesday."[3]
[END REUTERS QUOTE]
NATO had claimed up to 100,000 Albanian civilians were
killed by Milosevic's forces. But 2108 is only 2% of
100,000. Could NATO really be off by 98%?
No, it was worse.
*Before* the onset of bombing, NATO estimated that
fighting between the Yugoslav Army and the Kosovo
Liberation Army terrorists, or KLA, had resulted in
2000 deaths on all sides. [4] So, if they found 2108
corpses in their post-bombing investigation, then by
NATO's own numbers no more than 108 people had died
during NATO's attack.
So, NATO had produced only 108 out of the claimed
100,000? That is, they were off by 99.9%?
No, it was worse.
First, Del Ponte?s 2108 figure was of ?exhumed
corpses.? Thus it included not only Albanian civilians,
but Serbian civilians, KLA combat deaths, Serbian
combat deaths, NATO-bomb victims, KLA victims-everyone.
Moreover, we know that NATO dropped bombs primarily on
civilian targets, including convoys of tractors and
cars full of?*Albanian civilians* (see APPENDIX).
http://www.icdsm.org/more/freezer1app.htm
Finally, the KLA several times proudly claimed
responsibility for terrorist attacks against
uncooperative Albanian civilians. [5]
So we can't assume the "extra" 108 were all Albanian
civilians and we can't assume they were killed by
Serbian forces. We can't assume anything.
So what do we have? That, *using NATO?s own numbers*:
1. NATO?s estimate of murdered Albanian civilians was
off by 100%.
2. NATO?s bombs and KLA terrorism can easily account
for any Albanian civilians who might be among del
Ponte?s exhumed corpses.
Hence NATO's problem. Because the Hague Tribunal meant
to put *Slobodan Milosevic* on trial for war crimes-not
NATO, and not the KLA.
You may well ask: why is this a ?problem?? Why not just
drop the charges against Milosevic and try NATO and its
ally, the KLA, for war crimes?
Because that's not the function of the Hague Tribunal.
It was set up illegally and is funded by NATO for the
specific purpose of putting Serbs on trial, not NATO
officials. (See here, and here).
And thus on 13 June 2000, the Hague Tribunal announced
?that no investigation [will] be commenced by the OTP
[Office of The Prosecutor] in relation to the NATO
bombing campaign.?[6]
And that is why, in her November 1999 press conference,
Carla del Ponte, The Hague's chief prosecutor,
expressed the hope (!) that ?the true number of ethnic
Albanian victims may be much higher.?
But del Ponte?s hoped-for corpses did not materialize,
and by August 2000, as the UN and NATO forensic experts
wrapped up their investigations, the *total* body count
was still??under 3,000.?[7] Without the promised
cartloads of murdered Albanians, how were they going to
get Milosevic to The Hague?
NATO took a year trying to solve that one. And then
they came up with a solution. They suddenly 'realized'
that Milosevic?s forces had used freezer trucks to haul
thousands of murdered Albanians out of Kosovo, hiding
the bodies in Serbia.
Presto! Problem solved.
Never mind that before April 2001, in over two years of
investigations, this ?theory? *was never even heard
of*-not even hinted at; never mind that this 'theory'
was *patently absurd*; never mind that this 'theory'
was every so convenient for NATO.
Never mind that not *one shred* of evidence ever
existed to support this 'theory'?
On the ?strength? of this 'theory', Milosevic was
illegally abducted and sent to The Hague.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Up next I will do the following (if there is no link, I
am still working on that part):
PART 2. - I Examine the freezer-truck story on its own
terms and show that it defied all reason.
PART 3. - I show that the story was, in every respect,
*utterly false*.
To be precise, I will show that the whole thing was a
hoax perpetrated by the new, NATO-installed government
in Belgrade, in order to send Milosevic to The Hague
and please their masters. I will give proof.
PART 4. - I Examine how the mainstream Western press
*consciously lied* to the public concerning these
allegations.
I will show how the media enthusiastically and
lyrically grew and developed the freezer-truck story,
communicating with every turn of phrase that all its
important details were established fact, *always
disregarding available contrary evidence* including
evidence the press itself had already published.
To trace the details of the freezer-truck story is to
get an education in the structure and operation of a
vast propaganda system, colloquially known as the
Western free press.
FOOTNOTES
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[1] The Times (London), November 2, 1999, Tuesday,
Features, 553 words, Kosovo?s corpse count.
[2] In late May 1999, the Hague Tribunal decided to
indict Slobodan Milosevic for war crimes. See: The New
York Times, May 27, 1999, Thursday, Late Edition -
Final, Section A; Page 1; Column 6; Foreign Desk,
1323 words, "Crisis In The Balkans: The Indictment;
Tribunal Is Said To Cite Milosevic For War Crimes," By
Roger Cohen, Brussels, May 26
[3] Reuters, 11-10-99
[4] ?In Kosovo, an estimated 2000 people died from
February last year until March this year under
President Slobodan Milosevic's crackdown on ethnic
Albanian rebels.? The Daily Telegraph, June 5, 1999,
Saturday, WORLD; Pg. 20, 1026 words, Last hours of
an evil dream - But NATO leaders still wary of
Milosevic, Tom Hundley
[5] Here is an example: ?The clandestine Albanian
separatist movement Kosovo Liberation Army (UCK) has
vowed 'multiple vengeance for the innocent deaths' in
the Serbian region's central Drenica area, in a
statement published Wednesday?The UCK, a group that
wants the province to secede, has claimed
responsibility for numerous deadly attacks against
Serbian civilians and Albanians loyal to the Belgrade
regime.? Agence France Presse, March 04, 1998,
International news, 243 words, "Albanian separatists
vow 'multiple vengeance'"
[6] ?On the basis of the information available, the
committee recommends that no investigation be commenced
by the OTP in relation to the NATO bombing campaign or
incidents occurring during the campaign.?
This is the last, concluding line in: ICTY, Final
Report to the Prosecutor by the Committee established
to Review the NATO bombing Campaign Against the FRY,
PR/P.I.S./510-E, 13 June 2000
This document may be found in Krieger, H. (2001). The
Kosovo conflict and international law: An analytical
documentation 1974-1999, Cambridge International
Documents Series, Volume II. Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press. (pp.340-352).
[7] The Guardian, August 18, 2000, 989 words, "Serb
killings ?exaggerated? by west: Claims of up to 100,000
ethnic Albanians massacred in Kosovo revised to under
3,000 as exhumations near end," Jonathan Steele
* Francisco J. Gil-White is Assistant Professor of
Psychology at University of Pennsylvania and a fellow
in the Solomon Asch Center for Study of Ethnopolitical
Conflict. He specializes in ethnicity and the
psychology of ethnic conflict. He is Deputy Editor of
Emperor's Clothes.
---
***** Urgent Message from Sloboda (Freedom) Association
and the International Committee to Defend Slobodan
Milosevic!
The Freedom Association in Belgrade and the ICDSM,
based outside Yugoslavia, are the two organizations
formed at the request of Slobodan Milosevic to aid in
his defense.
Up until now our main work has been threefold. We have
publicized the truth about The Hague's phony trial. We
have organized research to help President Milosevic
expose NATO's lies. And we have initiated legal action
in the Dutch and European Courts.
Now our job has increased. The defense phase of the
"trial" starts in May 2003. No longer will Mr.
Milosevic be limited to cross-examining Hague
witnesses. The prosecution will be forced further onto
the defensive as victims of NATO's aggression and
experts from Yugoslavia and the NATO countries tell
what really happened and expose media lies. Moreover,
Mr. Milosevic will call leaders, from East and West,
some friendly and some hostile to the truth.
The controlled mass media will undoubtedly try to
suppress this testimony as they have tried to suppress
Mr. Milosevic's cross-examinations. Nevertheless this
phase of the "trial" will be the biggest international
forum ever to expose NATO's use of racism, violence and
lies to attack Yugoslavia.
We urgently need the help of all people who care about
what is happening in The Hague. Right now, Nico
Steijnen , the Dutch lawyer in the ICDSM, is waging
legal battles in the Dutch courts and before the
European Court, about which more news soon. These
efforts urgently require financial support. We now
maintain a small staff of Yugoslav lawyers in Holland,
assisting and advising Mr. Milosevic full-time. We need
to expand our Dutch facilities, perhaps bringing in a
non-Yugoslav attorney full-time. Definitely we must
guarantee that we have an office and office manager
available at all times, to compile and process evidence
and for meetings with witnesses and lawyers and as a
base for organizing press conferences.
All this costs money. And for this, we rely on those
who want Mr. Milosevic to have the best possible
support for attacking NATO's lies.
************
Here's how you can help...
************
* You may contribute by credit card. By the end of
September we will have an ICDSM secure server so you
can contribute directly on the Internet.
For now, you can contribute by credit card in two ways:
*
* Contribute by Credit Card over the Telephone
ICDSM office, USA: 1 617 916-1705
SLOBODA (Freedom) Association office, Belgrade: 381 63
279 819
* Contribute using PayPal at:
https://www.paypal.com/xclick/business=icdsm%40aol.com
PayPal accepts VISA and MasterCard
* Contribute by mail to:
ICDSM
831 Beacon St., #295
Newton Centre, MA 02459 (USA)
* Contribute by wire transfer to Sloboda Association
Intermediary:
UBS AG
Zurich, Switzerland
Swift Code: UBSWCHZH
Account with:
/ 756 - CHF
/ 840 - USD
/ 978 - EUR
Kmercijalna Banka AD
SV. Save 14, 11000 Belgrade, FR Yugoslavia
Swift Code: KOBBYUBG
Beneficiary: Account No. 5428-1246-16154-6
SLOBODA
Rajiceva 16, 11000 Belgrade, FR Yugoslavia
Thank you!
http://www.icdsm.org
www.icdsm.org
The URL for this article is:
http://www.icdsm.org/more/freezer1.htm
Subscribe to the ICDSM email list at
http://www.icdsm.org/maillist.htm Receive articles
posted at www.icdsm.org
=======================================
The Freezer Truck Hoax
How NATO framed Slobodan Milosevic
* In Four Parts *
Part I: NATO's Problem
by Francisco J. Gil-White
[Posted 19 September 2002]
=======================================
During the war on Yugoslavia, NATO justified its shower
of bombs by claiming that Slobodan Milosevic was in the
process of killing as many as 100,000 Albanian
civilians. [1]
In late May 1999, during the bombing, the Hague
Tribunal issued an indictment against Slobodan
Milosevic for ?war crimes.?[2] Then after the bombing,
from June until November 1999, NATO and UN
investigators scoured Kosovo NATO looking for evidence
of mass murder so they could send Milosevic to The
Hague.
There was only one problem: NATO produced no evidence.
[START REUTERS QUOTE]
"UN investigators have exhumed 2,108 corpses in Kosovo
so far, but the true number of ethnic Albanian victims
may be much higher, the chief UN [War Crimes Tribunal]
prosecutor Carla del Ponte said on Wednesday."[3]
[END REUTERS QUOTE]
NATO had claimed up to 100,000 Albanian civilians were
killed by Milosevic's forces. But 2108 is only 2% of
100,000. Could NATO really be off by 98%?
No, it was worse.
*Before* the onset of bombing, NATO estimated that
fighting between the Yugoslav Army and the Kosovo
Liberation Army terrorists, or KLA, had resulted in
2000 deaths on all sides. [4] So, if they found 2108
corpses in their post-bombing investigation, then by
NATO's own numbers no more than 108 people had died
during NATO's attack.
So, NATO had produced only 108 out of the claimed
100,000? That is, they were off by 99.9%?
No, it was worse.
First, Del Ponte?s 2108 figure was of ?exhumed
corpses.? Thus it included not only Albanian civilians,
but Serbian civilians, KLA combat deaths, Serbian
combat deaths, NATO-bomb victims, KLA victims-everyone.
Moreover, we know that NATO dropped bombs primarily on
civilian targets, including convoys of tractors and
cars full of?*Albanian civilians* (see APPENDIX).
http://www.icdsm.org/more/freezer1app.htm
Finally, the KLA several times proudly claimed
responsibility for terrorist attacks against
uncooperative Albanian civilians. [5]
So we can't assume the "extra" 108 were all Albanian
civilians and we can't assume they were killed by
Serbian forces. We can't assume anything.
So what do we have? That, *using NATO?s own numbers*:
1. NATO?s estimate of murdered Albanian civilians was
off by 100%.
2. NATO?s bombs and KLA terrorism can easily account
for any Albanian civilians who might be among del
Ponte?s exhumed corpses.
Hence NATO's problem. Because the Hague Tribunal meant
to put *Slobodan Milosevic* on trial for war crimes-not
NATO, and not the KLA.
You may well ask: why is this a ?problem?? Why not just
drop the charges against Milosevic and try NATO and its
ally, the KLA, for war crimes?
Because that's not the function of the Hague Tribunal.
It was set up illegally and is funded by NATO for the
specific purpose of putting Serbs on trial, not NATO
officials. (See here, and here).
And thus on 13 June 2000, the Hague Tribunal announced
?that no investigation [will] be commenced by the OTP
[Office of The Prosecutor] in relation to the NATO
bombing campaign.?[6]
And that is why, in her November 1999 press conference,
Carla del Ponte, The Hague's chief prosecutor,
expressed the hope (!) that ?the true number of ethnic
Albanian victims may be much higher.?
But del Ponte?s hoped-for corpses did not materialize,
and by August 2000, as the UN and NATO forensic experts
wrapped up their investigations, the *total* body count
was still??under 3,000.?[7] Without the promised
cartloads of murdered Albanians, how were they going to
get Milosevic to The Hague?
NATO took a year trying to solve that one. And then
they came up with a solution. They suddenly 'realized'
that Milosevic?s forces had used freezer trucks to haul
thousands of murdered Albanians out of Kosovo, hiding
the bodies in Serbia.
Presto! Problem solved.
Never mind that before April 2001, in over two years of
investigations, this ?theory? *was never even heard
of*-not even hinted at; never mind that this 'theory'
was *patently absurd*; never mind that this 'theory'
was every so convenient for NATO.
Never mind that not *one shred* of evidence ever
existed to support this 'theory'?
On the ?strength? of this 'theory', Milosevic was
illegally abducted and sent to The Hague.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Up next I will do the following (if there is no link, I
am still working on that part):
PART 2. - I Examine the freezer-truck story on its own
terms and show that it defied all reason.
PART 3. - I show that the story was, in every respect,
*utterly false*.
To be precise, I will show that the whole thing was a
hoax perpetrated by the new, NATO-installed government
in Belgrade, in order to send Milosevic to The Hague
and please their masters. I will give proof.
PART 4. - I Examine how the mainstream Western press
*consciously lied* to the public concerning these
allegations.
I will show how the media enthusiastically and
lyrically grew and developed the freezer-truck story,
communicating with every turn of phrase that all its
important details were established fact, *always
disregarding available contrary evidence* including
evidence the press itself had already published.
To trace the details of the freezer-truck story is to
get an education in the structure and operation of a
vast propaganda system, colloquially known as the
Western free press.
FOOTNOTES
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[1] The Times (London), November 2, 1999, Tuesday,
Features, 553 words, Kosovo?s corpse count.
[2] In late May 1999, the Hague Tribunal decided to
indict Slobodan Milosevic for war crimes. See: The New
York Times, May 27, 1999, Thursday, Late Edition -
Final, Section A; Page 1; Column 6; Foreign Desk,
1323 words, "Crisis In The Balkans: The Indictment;
Tribunal Is Said To Cite Milosevic For War Crimes," By
Roger Cohen, Brussels, May 26
[3] Reuters, 11-10-99
[4] ?In Kosovo, an estimated 2000 people died from
February last year until March this year under
President Slobodan Milosevic's crackdown on ethnic
Albanian rebels.? The Daily Telegraph, June 5, 1999,
Saturday, WORLD; Pg. 20, 1026 words, Last hours of
an evil dream - But NATO leaders still wary of
Milosevic, Tom Hundley
[5] Here is an example: ?The clandestine Albanian
separatist movement Kosovo Liberation Army (UCK) has
vowed 'multiple vengeance for the innocent deaths' in
the Serbian region's central Drenica area, in a
statement published Wednesday?The UCK, a group that
wants the province to secede, has claimed
responsibility for numerous deadly attacks against
Serbian civilians and Albanians loyal to the Belgrade
regime.? Agence France Presse, March 04, 1998,
International news, 243 words, "Albanian separatists
vow 'multiple vengeance'"
[6] ?On the basis of the information available, the
committee recommends that no investigation be commenced
by the OTP in relation to the NATO bombing campaign or
incidents occurring during the campaign.?
This is the last, concluding line in: ICTY, Final
Report to the Prosecutor by the Committee established
to Review the NATO bombing Campaign Against the FRY,
PR/P.I.S./510-E, 13 June 2000
This document may be found in Krieger, H. (2001). The
Kosovo conflict and international law: An analytical
documentation 1974-1999, Cambridge International
Documents Series, Volume II. Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press. (pp.340-352).
[7] The Guardian, August 18, 2000, 989 words, "Serb
killings ?exaggerated? by west: Claims of up to 100,000
ethnic Albanians massacred in Kosovo revised to under
3,000 as exhumations near end," Jonathan Steele
* Francisco J. Gil-White is Assistant Professor of
Psychology at University of Pennsylvania and a fellow
in the Solomon Asch Center for Study of Ethnopolitical
Conflict. He specializes in ethnicity and the
psychology of ethnic conflict. He is Deputy Editor of
Emperor's Clothes.
---
***** Urgent Message from Sloboda (Freedom) Association
and the International Committee to Defend Slobodan
Milosevic!
The Freedom Association in Belgrade and the ICDSM,
based outside Yugoslavia, are the two organizations
formed at the request of Slobodan Milosevic to aid in
his defense.
Up until now our main work has been threefold. We have
publicized the truth about The Hague's phony trial. We
have organized research to help President Milosevic
expose NATO's lies. And we have initiated legal action
in the Dutch and European Courts.
Now our job has increased. The defense phase of the
"trial" starts in May 2003. No longer will Mr.
Milosevic be limited to cross-examining Hague
witnesses. The prosecution will be forced further onto
the defensive as victims of NATO's aggression and
experts from Yugoslavia and the NATO countries tell
what really happened and expose media lies. Moreover,
Mr. Milosevic will call leaders, from East and West,
some friendly and some hostile to the truth.
The controlled mass media will undoubtedly try to
suppress this testimony as they have tried to suppress
Mr. Milosevic's cross-examinations. Nevertheless this
phase of the "trial" will be the biggest international
forum ever to expose NATO's use of racism, violence and
lies to attack Yugoslavia.
We urgently need the help of all people who care about
what is happening in The Hague. Right now, Nico
Steijnen , the Dutch lawyer in the ICDSM, is waging
legal battles in the Dutch courts and before the
European Court, about which more news soon. These
efforts urgently require financial support. We now
maintain a small staff of Yugoslav lawyers in Holland,
assisting and advising Mr. Milosevic full-time. We need
to expand our Dutch facilities, perhaps bringing in a
non-Yugoslav attorney full-time. Definitely we must
guarantee that we have an office and office manager
available at all times, to compile and process evidence
and for meetings with witnesses and lawyers and as a
base for organizing press conferences.
All this costs money. And for this, we rely on those
who want Mr. Milosevic to have the best possible
support for attacking NATO's lies.
************
Here's how you can help...
************
* You may contribute by credit card. By the end of
September we will have an ICDSM secure server so you
can contribute directly on the Internet.
For now, you can contribute by credit card in two ways:
*
* Contribute by Credit Card over the Telephone
ICDSM office, USA: 1 617 916-1705
SLOBODA (Freedom) Association office, Belgrade: 381 63
279 819
* Contribute using PayPal at:
https://www.paypal.com/xclick/business=icdsm%40aol.com
PayPal accepts VISA and MasterCard
* Contribute by mail to:
ICDSM
831 Beacon St., #295
Newton Centre, MA 02459 (USA)
* Contribute by wire transfer to Sloboda Association
Intermediary:
UBS AG
Zurich, Switzerland
Swift Code: UBSWCHZH
Account with:
/ 756 - CHF
/ 840 - USD
/ 978 - EUR
Kmercijalna Banka AD
SV. Save 14, 11000 Belgrade, FR Yugoslavia
Swift Code: KOBBYUBG
Beneficiary: Account No. 5428-1246-16154-6
SLOBODA
Rajiceva 16, 11000 Belgrade, FR Yugoslavia
Thank you!
http://www.icdsm.org