Social massacre in Serbia (3)
A. DEFENSE MINISTERS OF ISRAEL AND SERBIAMONTENEGRO SIGN COOPERATION
AGREEMENT
B. Links to Human Rights Watch documents on the mistreatment of
political prisoners in Serbia
C. OUTRAGEOUS REGIME ATTACKS CONTINUE
D. Massive Army purge has begun
E. SERBIAN SOLDIERS TO "PEACEKEEPING" MISSIONS: DOS AND OTPOR
"WHOLEHEARTEDLY SUPPORT"
F. The New Janissaries
How Low Can Serbia's Rulers Go? (N. Malic)
=== A ===
TADIC: POSSIBLE MILITARY COOPERATION WITH ISRAEL
TEL AVIV,July 30 (Beta)-Serbia&Montenegro Defense
Minister Boris Tadic said on July 30 that he had
talked with senior managers of the Izreali military
and aircraft industry about possible modes of
cooperation and that there was a possibility of
reaching an agreement.
Tadic told BETA in a telephone conversation that the
projects included a certain type of automatic rifle
produced by Serbia&Montenegro and unmanned aerial
vehicles.
Tadic said that these vehicles had important software
components, which could be produced in Serbia and
Montenegro. He added that they had also considered the
possibility of modernizing Russianmade helicopters,
which are commonly used in Serbia&Montenegro and the
neighboring countries.
Tadic, who is on a threeday visit to Israel, said that
an expert meeting had been scheduled, to discuss the
possibility of reaching an agreement with the Isreali
aircraft industry on one of these projects.
He said that he had talked with Izreali Prime Minister
Shimon Perez about the peace process in the Middle
East and the Balkans and the solutions that could be
applied in both cases.
DEFENSE MINISTERS OF ISRAEL AND SERBIAMONTENEGRO SIGN COOPERATION
AGREEMENT
TEL AVIV,July 31 (Beta)-Minister of Defense for
SerbiaMontenegro, Boris Tadic, and the Israeli defense
Minister Saul Mofaz, have signed an agreement on July
30 in Tel Aviv, about a collaboration between the two
ministries.
"We've analyzed the possibilities of
militaryindustrial cooperation, which was the goal of
this visit, modernizing helicopters, new antiterrorism
weapons, which are at a high technological level in
Israel", said Tadic during a telephone conversation
with Beta.
The Defense Minister for SerbiaMontenegro also said
that the results of the visits to Israel will be seen
after expert and work groups from the two countries
meet in Belgrade in September, where a finalization of
all the agreements will be made.
=== B ===
LINKS
to Human Rights Watch documents on the mistreatment of political
prisoners in Serbia:
Serbia: Run-Around on Prison Visits
http://staging.hrw.org/press/2003/05/serbia051403.htm
The Serbian authorities are obstructing efforts by Human Rights Watch
and other nongovernmental organizations to visit people arrested during
the state of emergency, Human Rights Watch said today.
May 14, 2003 Press Release
Serbia: Detainees’ Access to Lawyers Long Overdue
http://www.hrw.org/press/2003/05/serbia051003.htm
Serbia should ensure that all persons detained during the state of
emergency promptly get access to lawyers, Human Rights Watch said today.
May 10, 2003 Press Release
Serbia: End Complete Isolation of Detainees
http://hrw.org/press/2003/04/serbia070403.htm
Serbia Should Uphold Council of Europe Standards
Serbia should immediately end the isolation of those detained during
the ongoing state of emergency, Human Rights Watch said today.
April 7, 2003 Press Release
Serbia: Emergency Should Not Trump Basic Rights
http://hrw.org/press/2003/03/serbia032503.htm
Certain restrictions on rights imposed by the Serbian government in the
wake of the assassination of Prime Minister Djindjic may not be
justified under international law, Human Rights Watch said in a letter
(http://hrw.org/press/2003/03/serbia032503-ltr.htm) to Prime Minister
Zoran Zivkovic today.
March 25, 2003 Press Release
=== C ===
From: Vladimir Krsljanin / Sloboda Association
OUTRAGEOUS REGIME ATTACKS CONTINUE
Press Conference of Belgrade Lawyers Mr. Balsa Govedarica and Ms. Sanja
Pejovic
Belgrade, August 4, 2003.
The Belgrade media reported recently that ‘the interrogation of
Slobodan Milosevic by the Belgrade investigative judge is scheduled for
August 6 and 7 in The Hague tribunal’. It is supposed, but never
officially confirmed, that the interrogation is linked with the
“Stambolic case”. The media also quoted a statement of the Hague
tribunal spokesman Jim Landale saying that the interrogation ‘will not
be public, in spite the tribunal is not against the public hearing, but
Belgrade authorities demand that it shall be without public, in the
interest of the investigation’.
Both information have been condemned yesterday by Mr. Balsa Govedarica
and Ms. Sanja Pejovic, the Belgrade legal counsels of President
Milosevic in the “Stambolic” and other recently fabricated cases. They
have underlined that in spite their attempts, they had no insight into
court documents concerning the investigation against President
Milosevic, except the file number – Ki.P. No.1/03. In addition, they
have been orally informed by the investigative judge that he plans to
go to The Hague for the interrogation, but the judge refused to answer
whether he would accept the request of President Milosevic for public
interrogation, nor did he even explain what the interrogation is about.
According to the Hague tribunal rules, the interrogation is possible
only if the detainee agrees.
Govedarica and Pejovic stressed the lack of legality and morality in
the investigation, which makes their job as attorneys almost
impossible. Behind the behavior of the Belgrade authorities, the have
concluded, the obvious intention to make a moral and political
disqualification of President Milosevic is seen. The authorities
continue an illegal and morally unacceptable public campaign against
Slobodan Milosevic and his family and show no will to allow that his
arguments become public. The public campaign led by high government
officials (Interior Minister, Head of the governing coalition
Parliamentary Group) refers to “information obtained in the
investigation”, in spite all the information of the investigation have
been proclaimed “official secret” by the Belgrade District Court. Such
behavior of the authorities and of the Belgrade court violates
international and Serbian law. Under such conditions, when there are no
guarantees for a public and fair interrogation, Mr. Govedarica and Ms.
Pejovic will not travel to The Hague. It is expected that President
Milosevic will not agree to a non-public interrogation.
After launching a campaign of media lynching against President
Milosevic and his family in March 2003, during the “state of
emergency”, the Belgrade puppet regime filed “criminal charges” against
around a dozen of people as alleged perpetrators and inspirers of the
murder of Ivan Stambolic and the attempted murder of Vuk Draskovic.
Most of these persons are detained in Belgrade. According to the Law on
the Criminal Procedure, the investigative judge can make a decision to
launch an investigation against certain person, only after
interrogating that person. So, formally, we are dealing here only with
the “pre-investigation” procedure. An eventual indictment is only a
possible third step.
As we reported earlier
http://www.sloboda.org.yu/engleski/news/20030401-2.htm%c2%a0
and
http://www.sloboda.org.yu/engleski/news/20030401-1.htm
on March 31, President Milosevic stated at The Hague (we quote the
transcript):
President Slobodan Milosevic
Since we are again at the open session and the new witness has not come
yet, can I get the floor in relation to my requests?
Richard May
Yes.
President Slobodan Milosevic
So, first of all I repeat my request to allow my questioning and to
make it possible to be in public, since it is related to the media
campaign that is going on publicly. The retaliation against one’s wife
and children is something we remember from the darkest days of the last
century, from the darkest years of the last century! I also demand an
investigation about the involvement of this illegal prosecution in the
fabrication of untruths that are being launched. Besides that…
Richard May
Mr. Milosevic, I have stopped you already once. The events in Belgrade
are not something that this court deals with. If that would have any
direct influence to this trial, than we would take it into
consideration, but nothing you have said up to now shows that it has
any influence. You wanted to say something about your health. That’s
what we would like to hear.
President Slobodan Milosevic
I will tell you about the health, but direct influence is in their aim
to prevent my wife to give me her assistance and support. And above
that, I want to inform you that they have arrested several members of
the National Committee for my defense "SLOBODA" ("Freedom"), in spite
they have no ground for that. Accordingly, we deal here with an
orchestrated attempt to put pressure on me and my family since this
false Prosecution suffers a fiasco here every day. I consider as your
duty to establish the degree of their involvement.
Richard May
That is only your comment. There is absolutely no evidence to support
what you are saying. Maybe there are good reasons for some people to be
arrested. However, in this moment we will not deal with such
allegations.
-End quote-
So, using Nazi methods, Del Ponte’s prosecution and its Belgrade
servants separate President Milosevic from his wife and family and try
to discredit him with fabricated accusations without giving him a
chance to respond.
All this is done in order to undermine his successful and heroic
struggle for the truth at The Hague and its enormous political impact
on Serbian people.
The regime in Belgrade as the worst outrage in Serbian history has to
be exposed and attacked with all our weapons.
If not earlier than now! After the recent offer of Serbian Prime
Minister Zivkovic to send 1000 Serbian troops to Iraq, after the
military agreements signed with Israel and after the decision of the
Supreme Council of Defense to depose an unaccountable number of army
officers, the regime which sent Slobodan Milosevic to The Hague has to
be condemned by all as one of the worst US puppet cliques – in the same
line with Pinochet and the South African apartheid regime.
PROTEST AGAINST IT AND DEMAND FROM YUGOSLAV (“Serbia and Montenegro”,
as they now illegally call it) EMBASSIES AND CONSULATES THE STOP OF
VIOLATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS AND OF GROUNDLESS ATTACKS AGAINST PRESIDENT
SLOBODAN MILOSEVIC AND HIS FAMILY.
SLOBODAN MILOSEVIC IS A CHAMPION OF FREEDOM, JUSTICE AND PEOPLE’S
RESISTANCE.
Vladimir Krsljanin,
Sloboda/Freedom Association
---
YOUR HELP
The work for the defense of Slobodan Milosevic totally depends on your
donations.
For more details, see: http://www.sloboda.org.yu/finappeal.htm
Send a check to our address:
SLOBODA
Rajiceva 16, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia and Montenegro, Yugoslavia
or transfer your donation to our account using the instructions at:
http://www.sloboda.org.yu/pomocdet.htm
---
SLOBODA urgently needs your donation.
Please find the detailed instructions at:
http://www.sloboda.org.yu/pomoc.htm
To join or help this struggle, visit:
http://www.sloboda.org.yu/ (Sloboda/Freedom association)
http://www.icdsm.org/ (the international committee to defend Slobodan
Milosevic)
http://www.free-slobo.de/ (German section of ICDSM)
http://www.wpc-in.org/ (world peace council)
http://www.geocities.com/b_antinato/ (Balkan antiNATO center)
=== D ===
http://www.ptd.net/webnews/wed/cc/Qserbia-montenegro-army.R3Ai_Da2.html
Serbia and Montenegro dismiss 12 army generals
Saturday, 02-Aug-2003 12:30PM
BELGRADE, Aug 2 (AFP) - Serbia and Montenegro's Supreme Defence
Council, which is in charge of the army of the new union, has dismissed
12 army generals, including the chief of army intelligence, the
Politika daily reported Saturday.
The 12 included General Vladimir Lazarevic, who commanded the Pristina
corps that were responsible for the majority Albanian region of Kosovo
during the 11-week NATO bombing campaign on Yugoslavia in spring 1999,
the daily said.
The reasons for Lazarevic's dismissal were unclear, but it may be due
to rumours that some international officials have demanded it as a
condition for the country's integration into the European Union and the
NATO alliance, Politika said.
Serbia and Montenegro, a loose union that replaced federal Yugoslavia
in February, have applied for membership in NATO's Partnership for
Peace Programme, considered the first step towards full membership in
the alliance.
Lazarevic's departure was reportedly demanded due to his military
engagement in Kosovo during the 1998-99 war, particularly during the
NATO bombardment, Politika said.
According to the daily, international pressure may also be a reason for
dismissal of General Radoslav Skoric, chief of army's intelligence
service.
Defence Minister Boris Tadic would neither confirm or deny the reports
of the dismissal of the top army generals, but has said there would be
personnel changes as part of army reform.
http://www.b92.net/english/news/
index.php?&nav_category=&nav_id=24099&order=priority&style=headlines
B92 - August 6, 2003
Defence Council poised for massive army purge
BELGRADE -- Wednesday – Twenty generals and another
three hundred senior officers will be either retired
or replaced by the Supreme Defence Council at its
meeting tomorrow, B92 has learnt.
Unofficial sources say that the purge will begin at
the top, with the head of the National Defence Academy
and a number of corps commanders leading the way.
The list also includes the former commander of the
joint forces in southern Serbia, General Ninoslav Krstic.
B92’s source also confirmed that the head of military
intelligence, General Radoslav Skoric “will not keep
his job”.
Tomorrow’s meeting of the Defence Council will be held
in Meljine in Montenegro.
The three-man Council consists of Montenegrin
President Filip Vujanovic, acting Serbian president
Natasa Micic and federal President Svetozar Marovic,
who chairs the body.
Defence Minister Boris Tadic, who has proposed the
personnel changes, will also attend the meeting,
together with Chief of Staff Branko Krga and Marovic’s
security advisor, General Blagoje Grahovac.
http://www.b92.net/english/news/
index.php?&nav_category=&nav_id=24092&order=priority&style=headlines
Beta - August 6, 2003
Customs begins purge of border officers
BELGRADE -- Wednesday – The Customs Service has begun
a purge of employees at the Subotica Customs Office
near the Hungarian border.
Sixty customs officers have been sacked since the
beginning of August, on orders from the Ministry of
Finance.
“In a few months Subotica will be a gateway between
Serbia and Europe and we must put it into order,” said
Finance Minister Bozidar Djelic.
Djelic told media that some officers who had already
been dismissed were complaining about unjust
dismissal, despite being known to have taken advantage
of their position and living in ostentatious wealth.
“We will bring in new blood, young officers who will
take their jobs seriously and won’t use them to amass
private wealth but will work for the good of the state
and the society,” said the finance minister.
=== E ===
http://www.b92.net/english/news/
index.php?&nav_category=&nav_id=24098&order=priority&style=headlines
B92 - August 6, 2003
Zivkovic confirms peacekeeping offer
BELGRADE -- Wednesday – Serbian Prime Minister Zoran
Zivkovic tonight confirmed that he had discussed the
possibility of Serbia-Montenegro troops being deployed
in international peace missions during his recent
visit to the US.
Zivkovic told state media that the issue had been
raised by senior US official Jacques Klein.
“Our return to peacekeeping operations anywhere in the
world would primarily mean another political victory,”
said the prime minister, adding that there was also a
clear financial and development interest in such a
move.
He said that he expected a response to his offer in
the near future.
http://www.b92.net/english/news/
index.php?&nav_category=&nav_id=24083&order=priority&style=headlines
FoNet/Beta - August 6, 2003
Support for troop deployment, but precision needed
BELGRADE -- Wednesday -- Deputy Serbian Prime Minister
Zarko Korac said today that leaders of the country's
DOS ruling coalition wholeheartedly supported PM Zoran
Zivkovic's offer to send 1,000 troops of the
Serbia-Montenegro army to serve in the UN's
international peace missions.
Korac explained that the decision was made for
"political reasons" at a meeting of the government's
executive committee.
Fellow deputy PM Nebojsa Covic warned that the
government must be "very precise and careful" when
passing decisions to send soldiers to participate in
such missions.
Covic said that the issue should first be discussed
and carefully analysed, bearing in mind the events of
the past decade.
Covic supported Zivkovic's initiative in principle,
explaining that it was launched in an effort to hasten
the state union's accession to international
structures.
http://www.b92.net/english/news/
index.php?&nav_category=&nav_id=24094&order=priority&style=headlines
Beta - August 6, 2003
Otpor backs peace troop offer
Uzice -- Wednesday – The Otpor People’s Movement has
thrown its support behind Prime Minister Zivkovic’s
offer of federal troops for international peacekeeping
operations.
Otpor representative Srdjan Milivojevic said today
that, as a signatory to the UN Charter,
Serbia-Montenegro was obliged to take part in peace
operations.
Moreover, he said, troops would be better occupied in
crisis regions around the world than creating them at
home.
=== F ===
http://www.antiwar.com/malic/m080703.html
August 7, 2003
The New Janissaries
How Low Can Serbia's Rulers Go?
by Nebojsa Malic
This week, just as His Elevated Majesty was becoming increasingly testy
about all the questioning of his feeble rationalizations for the
Empire's Middle Eastern adventure – which has turned quite sour for the
troops on the ground – Washington received an unlikely morale booster.
It was announced that during hi late July visit to Washington, Serbian
Prime Minister Zoran Zivkovic offered 1000 Serbian troops for the
occupation of Iraq or Afghanistan – "any mission" His Majesty decides
on.
During the centuries of occupation, Ottoman Turks would regularly round
up young Serbs and other Balkans Christians, march them to Istanbul,
convert them to Islam and train them as the sultans' shock troops and
administrators. This was known as devshirme, or the "blood levy," and
these converts as janissaries. This conscription and forcible
conversion was considered a particularly painful episode in Serbian
history. Apparently, in the "new democracy," that has changed.
The Blood Offering
Zivkovic came to Washington in order to boost his flagging popularity
among Serbians by appearing to enjoy favor with the ultimate power.
Upon his return, he talked about "strategic partnership" and "end to
pressure and coercion," never mentioning the troops.
The Prime Minister's offer was revealed in a patronizing Washington
Post column this Monday. Even as it actually sought foreign mercenaries
to relieve the strain on its shock troops, the Empire was so scornful
of its groveling slaves that it treated the offer cautiously. The
columnist who reported it, one Jackson Diehl, was openly contemptuous.
One is tempted to treat Diehl himself with caution. He displays
appalling disrespect for facts by claiming NATO "crushed"
the Yugoslav Army in 1999 (it didn't), and that
Serbia was "the most frequent starting point for European wars in the
past 100 years" (it wasn't). He reported differently from Kosovo back
in 1986, when he still knew how. But given the Dossies' record of
prostrating Serbia (not so much themselves) before Washington, the
claim that Zivkovic offered troops is credible
enough.
Furthermore, news from Belgrade this past weekend was that Dossie
defense minister Boris Tadic purged the top brass, forcing into
retirement a perfectly competent general who humbled NATO in Kosovo, as
well as the head of Army Intelligence. While Tadic has pledged to purge
opposition to joining NATO's satellite program
"Partnership for Peace," these dismissals might be aimed specifically
at clearing the way for Zivkovic's troop offer.
"Partners" or Servants
Is it not enough that four years ago the Empire launched a war
of aggression against Serbia – accusing it of "invading"
its own territory – thus committing a clear-cut prima facie
war crime? Now the Serbs are expected to join Imperial
aggression against Afghanistan, Iraq, and God only knows who
else, and maybe even say, "thank you very much, may we have
another?" to the whole issue of NATO's barbaric bombing.
Perhaps not. Again, Zivkovic had not mentioned the troops at
all until Tuesday night, when the word got out on CNN. Serbian
media then re-broadcast the news, and it was all over the
Wednesday morning newspapers as well. Obviously, someone
in Washington talked. So much for the "strategic partnership,"
then.
So what now? With the Empire "considering" Zivkovic's
offer, how will Serbia react? Will the Women In Black protest
the deployment of Serbian conscripts to an Imperial war, the
way they protested "Serbian nationalist aggression"? Or is it
OK to die for foreign "democracy," but not for one's own
home? Don't bet on it. All the supposedly pro-peace and
human-rights NGOs are a pillar of Dossie (i.e. Imperial) power,
guided by nothing even remotely resembling a coherent
principle. Knowing which side their bread is buttered on, they
will stay silent.
Prattle aside, there will never be a "partnership" – strategic
or otherwise – between Serbia and the Empire. The neocons
want servants, not "partners;" compliance, not "cooperation."
Everything Washington needs in the Balkans, it has already
received from Serbia's hostile neighbors, and even its co-
habitant in the "union," Montenegro. Far from securing some
sort of preferential treatment, further groveling will only
invite further abuse. But that is yet another concept the
Dossies are incapable of comprehending.
A Power Struggle
Some clues as to why Zivkovic is courting support from
Washington come from Serbia itself. In late July, the
government managed to purge the Serbian central bank,
whose governor was leader of an opposition party. In place of
Mladjan Dinkic and his G17 associates – chiefly responsible
for the Dossies' economic program in 2000, be it noted – DOS
appointed Kori Udovicki, former Energy Minister notorious for soaking
the life savings of elderly Serbians by raising electricity
prices.
The departing governor accused two high-ranking advisors in
the Zivkovic government – and members of his Democratic
Party – of money-laundering. This pushed the already
scandal-ridden government's approval rating to new lows.
DOS-friendly analysts at Radio Netherlands speculated
this week that the scandal would herald a power struggle
within the Democratic Party, from which Zivkovic would emerge
stronger and ready to "confront the voters," but that is
highly unlikely. Dossies view elections as a vampire would
garlic and stakes – with a mixture of fear and loathing.
And with good reason. Their former Trojan horse Vojislav
Kostunica is enjoying rising poll numbers, a development the
Empire is observing with some concern. Erstwhile Djindjic
stooge Miroljub Labus is also polling well, though not
nearly as well as Kostunica. Both of them are just as committed
to "reforms" and service to the Empire, albeit somewhat
more subtly, as DOS. Empire's grip on Serbia is not in
jeopardy, unfortunately – only Zivkovic's.
Lessons from Another Vassal
Another recent visitor to Washington was the Macedonian KLA
leader Ali Ahmeti, until recently on the US terrorist blacklist.
His one-time nemesis, former interior minister Ljube
Boskovski, was meanwhile added to the blacklist. Neither
change was followed by an explanation, leaving the
Macedonians confused. They've done everything the US has
asked of them, and more, yet the Empire has persistently
favored the Albanian segregationists. While the Empire claims
to fight terrorism, it blacklists Macedonian security officials and
treats the leaders of terrorists ("murderous thugs," as NATO
chief Robertson called them) as statesmen.
Back in September 2001 it was obvious that US actions (or
rather, lack thereof) in Bosnia, Kosovo and Macedonia made
the "war on terror" as good as lost. For their part, Macedonians
learned a depressing lesson from their bitter experience:
sometimes, even being an obedient US vassal cannot save
you.
DOSta!
In fact, Zivkovic & Co. should read one of Wednesday’s
editorials in the Washington Times, composed by the known
Serbophobe Helle (Bering) Dale. Her "Are you being Serbed?"
asks how these uppity savages dare protest US hostility and
demand fair treatment, when the entire world knows they are
as racist, genocidal and criminal as Nazi Germany. Zivkovic
and his foreign minister, Svilanovic, yap to presstitutes
at Washington clubs over brandy and cigars, but it’s the people
they represent who suffer. Dale's verbal abuses are one thing,
but deaths in battle quite another. No number of dead Serbs
can ever appease the likes of Dale and her employers at the
Heritage Foundation and the Council of Foreign Relations.
Yet that’s what Zivkovic is trying to do.
DOS is nothing but a motley collection of irresponsible, corrupt,
statist kleptocrats, who came to power only because of the
public's resentment of the government they replaced – and
lots of bags filled with US taxpayers' cash. Ostensibly
"democrats," they've established a "domination of political and
economic life of which Slobodan Milosevic could only have
dreamed" (BHHRG). Whatever troubles beset Serbia before 5
October 2000, the situation today is entirely the fault of DOS.
Zivkovic's groveling offer of Serbian troops to help the Empire's
wars of conquest and occupation ought to be the last straw for
the people who simply cannot take any more social
engineering, deliberately malicious or otherwise.
It is time to show these lying, plundering quisling sleazebags
the door – preferably to Hell, or prison, but out of office
will do. Anyone else could run Serbia better, preferably
as little as possible, guaranteeing the Serbians their liberty
but otherwise not preventing them from improving their lives,
as all governments have done so far.
At some point during the Dossie reign, an anonymous
Belgrade street artist made a pun on the ruling band of thieves'
name: "DOSta," meaning "Enough of DOS." It's time the pun
becomes reality, before young Serbians start coming home in
body bags from once again serving a cruel conqueror.
Nebojsa Malic
A. DEFENSE MINISTERS OF ISRAEL AND SERBIAMONTENEGRO SIGN COOPERATION
AGREEMENT
B. Links to Human Rights Watch documents on the mistreatment of
political prisoners in Serbia
C. OUTRAGEOUS REGIME ATTACKS CONTINUE
D. Massive Army purge has begun
E. SERBIAN SOLDIERS TO "PEACEKEEPING" MISSIONS: DOS AND OTPOR
"WHOLEHEARTEDLY SUPPORT"
F. The New Janissaries
How Low Can Serbia's Rulers Go? (N. Malic)
=== A ===
TADIC: POSSIBLE MILITARY COOPERATION WITH ISRAEL
TEL AVIV,July 30 (Beta)-Serbia&Montenegro Defense
Minister Boris Tadic said on July 30 that he had
talked with senior managers of the Izreali military
and aircraft industry about possible modes of
cooperation and that there was a possibility of
reaching an agreement.
Tadic told BETA in a telephone conversation that the
projects included a certain type of automatic rifle
produced by Serbia&Montenegro and unmanned aerial
vehicles.
Tadic said that these vehicles had important software
components, which could be produced in Serbia and
Montenegro. He added that they had also considered the
possibility of modernizing Russianmade helicopters,
which are commonly used in Serbia&Montenegro and the
neighboring countries.
Tadic, who is on a threeday visit to Israel, said that
an expert meeting had been scheduled, to discuss the
possibility of reaching an agreement with the Isreali
aircraft industry on one of these projects.
He said that he had talked with Izreali Prime Minister
Shimon Perez about the peace process in the Middle
East and the Balkans and the solutions that could be
applied in both cases.
DEFENSE MINISTERS OF ISRAEL AND SERBIAMONTENEGRO SIGN COOPERATION
AGREEMENT
TEL AVIV,July 31 (Beta)-Minister of Defense for
SerbiaMontenegro, Boris Tadic, and the Israeli defense
Minister Saul Mofaz, have signed an agreement on July
30 in Tel Aviv, about a collaboration between the two
ministries.
"We've analyzed the possibilities of
militaryindustrial cooperation, which was the goal of
this visit, modernizing helicopters, new antiterrorism
weapons, which are at a high technological level in
Israel", said Tadic during a telephone conversation
with Beta.
The Defense Minister for SerbiaMontenegro also said
that the results of the visits to Israel will be seen
after expert and work groups from the two countries
meet in Belgrade in September, where a finalization of
all the agreements will be made.
=== B ===
LINKS
to Human Rights Watch documents on the mistreatment of political
prisoners in Serbia:
Serbia: Run-Around on Prison Visits
http://staging.hrw.org/press/2003/05/serbia051403.htm
The Serbian authorities are obstructing efforts by Human Rights Watch
and other nongovernmental organizations to visit people arrested during
the state of emergency, Human Rights Watch said today.
May 14, 2003 Press Release
Serbia: Detainees’ Access to Lawyers Long Overdue
http://www.hrw.org/press/2003/05/serbia051003.htm
Serbia should ensure that all persons detained during the state of
emergency promptly get access to lawyers, Human Rights Watch said today.
May 10, 2003 Press Release
Serbia: End Complete Isolation of Detainees
http://hrw.org/press/2003/04/serbia070403.htm
Serbia Should Uphold Council of Europe Standards
Serbia should immediately end the isolation of those detained during
the ongoing state of emergency, Human Rights Watch said today.
April 7, 2003 Press Release
Serbia: Emergency Should Not Trump Basic Rights
http://hrw.org/press/2003/03/serbia032503.htm
Certain restrictions on rights imposed by the Serbian government in the
wake of the assassination of Prime Minister Djindjic may not be
justified under international law, Human Rights Watch said in a letter
(http://hrw.org/press/2003/03/serbia032503-ltr.htm) to Prime Minister
Zoran Zivkovic today.
March 25, 2003 Press Release
=== C ===
From: Vladimir Krsljanin / Sloboda Association
OUTRAGEOUS REGIME ATTACKS CONTINUE
Press Conference of Belgrade Lawyers Mr. Balsa Govedarica and Ms. Sanja
Pejovic
Belgrade, August 4, 2003.
The Belgrade media reported recently that ‘the interrogation of
Slobodan Milosevic by the Belgrade investigative judge is scheduled for
August 6 and 7 in The Hague tribunal’. It is supposed, but never
officially confirmed, that the interrogation is linked with the
“Stambolic case”. The media also quoted a statement of the Hague
tribunal spokesman Jim Landale saying that the interrogation ‘will not
be public, in spite the tribunal is not against the public hearing, but
Belgrade authorities demand that it shall be without public, in the
interest of the investigation’.
Both information have been condemned yesterday by Mr. Balsa Govedarica
and Ms. Sanja Pejovic, the Belgrade legal counsels of President
Milosevic in the “Stambolic” and other recently fabricated cases. They
have underlined that in spite their attempts, they had no insight into
court documents concerning the investigation against President
Milosevic, except the file number – Ki.P. No.1/03. In addition, they
have been orally informed by the investigative judge that he plans to
go to The Hague for the interrogation, but the judge refused to answer
whether he would accept the request of President Milosevic for public
interrogation, nor did he even explain what the interrogation is about.
According to the Hague tribunal rules, the interrogation is possible
only if the detainee agrees.
Govedarica and Pejovic stressed the lack of legality and morality in
the investigation, which makes their job as attorneys almost
impossible. Behind the behavior of the Belgrade authorities, the have
concluded, the obvious intention to make a moral and political
disqualification of President Milosevic is seen. The authorities
continue an illegal and morally unacceptable public campaign against
Slobodan Milosevic and his family and show no will to allow that his
arguments become public. The public campaign led by high government
officials (Interior Minister, Head of the governing coalition
Parliamentary Group) refers to “information obtained in the
investigation”, in spite all the information of the investigation have
been proclaimed “official secret” by the Belgrade District Court. Such
behavior of the authorities and of the Belgrade court violates
international and Serbian law. Under such conditions, when there are no
guarantees for a public and fair interrogation, Mr. Govedarica and Ms.
Pejovic will not travel to The Hague. It is expected that President
Milosevic will not agree to a non-public interrogation.
After launching a campaign of media lynching against President
Milosevic and his family in March 2003, during the “state of
emergency”, the Belgrade puppet regime filed “criminal charges” against
around a dozen of people as alleged perpetrators and inspirers of the
murder of Ivan Stambolic and the attempted murder of Vuk Draskovic.
Most of these persons are detained in Belgrade. According to the Law on
the Criminal Procedure, the investigative judge can make a decision to
launch an investigation against certain person, only after
interrogating that person. So, formally, we are dealing here only with
the “pre-investigation” procedure. An eventual indictment is only a
possible third step.
As we reported earlier
http://www.sloboda.org.yu/engleski/news/20030401-2.htm%c2%a0
and
http://www.sloboda.org.yu/engleski/news/20030401-1.htm
on March 31, President Milosevic stated at The Hague (we quote the
transcript):
President Slobodan Milosevic
Since we are again at the open session and the new witness has not come
yet, can I get the floor in relation to my requests?
Richard May
Yes.
President Slobodan Milosevic
So, first of all I repeat my request to allow my questioning and to
make it possible to be in public, since it is related to the media
campaign that is going on publicly. The retaliation against one’s wife
and children is something we remember from the darkest days of the last
century, from the darkest years of the last century! I also demand an
investigation about the involvement of this illegal prosecution in the
fabrication of untruths that are being launched. Besides that…
Richard May
Mr. Milosevic, I have stopped you already once. The events in Belgrade
are not something that this court deals with. If that would have any
direct influence to this trial, than we would take it into
consideration, but nothing you have said up to now shows that it has
any influence. You wanted to say something about your health. That’s
what we would like to hear.
President Slobodan Milosevic
I will tell you about the health, but direct influence is in their aim
to prevent my wife to give me her assistance and support. And above
that, I want to inform you that they have arrested several members of
the National Committee for my defense "SLOBODA" ("Freedom"), in spite
they have no ground for that. Accordingly, we deal here with an
orchestrated attempt to put pressure on me and my family since this
false Prosecution suffers a fiasco here every day. I consider as your
duty to establish the degree of their involvement.
Richard May
That is only your comment. There is absolutely no evidence to support
what you are saying. Maybe there are good reasons for some people to be
arrested. However, in this moment we will not deal with such
allegations.
-End quote-
So, using Nazi methods, Del Ponte’s prosecution and its Belgrade
servants separate President Milosevic from his wife and family and try
to discredit him with fabricated accusations without giving him a
chance to respond.
All this is done in order to undermine his successful and heroic
struggle for the truth at The Hague and its enormous political impact
on Serbian people.
The regime in Belgrade as the worst outrage in Serbian history has to
be exposed and attacked with all our weapons.
If not earlier than now! After the recent offer of Serbian Prime
Minister Zivkovic to send 1000 Serbian troops to Iraq, after the
military agreements signed with Israel and after the decision of the
Supreme Council of Defense to depose an unaccountable number of army
officers, the regime which sent Slobodan Milosevic to The Hague has to
be condemned by all as one of the worst US puppet cliques – in the same
line with Pinochet and the South African apartheid regime.
PROTEST AGAINST IT AND DEMAND FROM YUGOSLAV (“Serbia and Montenegro”,
as they now illegally call it) EMBASSIES AND CONSULATES THE STOP OF
VIOLATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS AND OF GROUNDLESS ATTACKS AGAINST PRESIDENT
SLOBODAN MILOSEVIC AND HIS FAMILY.
SLOBODAN MILOSEVIC IS A CHAMPION OF FREEDOM, JUSTICE AND PEOPLE’S
RESISTANCE.
Vladimir Krsljanin,
Sloboda/Freedom Association
---
YOUR HELP
The work for the defense of Slobodan Milosevic totally depends on your
donations.
For more details, see: http://www.sloboda.org.yu/finappeal.htm
Send a check to our address:
SLOBODA
Rajiceva 16, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia and Montenegro, Yugoslavia
or transfer your donation to our account using the instructions at:
http://www.sloboda.org.yu/pomocdet.htm
---
SLOBODA urgently needs your donation.
Please find the detailed instructions at:
http://www.sloboda.org.yu/pomoc.htm
To join or help this struggle, visit:
http://www.sloboda.org.yu/ (Sloboda/Freedom association)
http://www.icdsm.org/ (the international committee to defend Slobodan
Milosevic)
http://www.free-slobo.de/ (German section of ICDSM)
http://www.wpc-in.org/ (world peace council)
http://www.geocities.com/b_antinato/ (Balkan antiNATO center)
=== D ===
http://www.ptd.net/webnews/wed/cc/Qserbia-montenegro-army.R3Ai_Da2.html
Serbia and Montenegro dismiss 12 army generals
Saturday, 02-Aug-2003 12:30PM
BELGRADE, Aug 2 (AFP) - Serbia and Montenegro's Supreme Defence
Council, which is in charge of the army of the new union, has dismissed
12 army generals, including the chief of army intelligence, the
Politika daily reported Saturday.
The 12 included General Vladimir Lazarevic, who commanded the Pristina
corps that were responsible for the majority Albanian region of Kosovo
during the 11-week NATO bombing campaign on Yugoslavia in spring 1999,
the daily said.
The reasons for Lazarevic's dismissal were unclear, but it may be due
to rumours that some international officials have demanded it as a
condition for the country's integration into the European Union and the
NATO alliance, Politika said.
Serbia and Montenegro, a loose union that replaced federal Yugoslavia
in February, have applied for membership in NATO's Partnership for
Peace Programme, considered the first step towards full membership in
the alliance.
Lazarevic's departure was reportedly demanded due to his military
engagement in Kosovo during the 1998-99 war, particularly during the
NATO bombardment, Politika said.
According to the daily, international pressure may also be a reason for
dismissal of General Radoslav Skoric, chief of army's intelligence
service.
Defence Minister Boris Tadic would neither confirm or deny the reports
of the dismissal of the top army generals, but has said there would be
personnel changes as part of army reform.
http://www.b92.net/english/news/
index.php?&nav_category=&nav_id=24099&order=priority&style=headlines
B92 - August 6, 2003
Defence Council poised for massive army purge
BELGRADE -- Wednesday – Twenty generals and another
three hundred senior officers will be either retired
or replaced by the Supreme Defence Council at its
meeting tomorrow, B92 has learnt.
Unofficial sources say that the purge will begin at
the top, with the head of the National Defence Academy
and a number of corps commanders leading the way.
The list also includes the former commander of the
joint forces in southern Serbia, General Ninoslav Krstic.
B92’s source also confirmed that the head of military
intelligence, General Radoslav Skoric “will not keep
his job”.
Tomorrow’s meeting of the Defence Council will be held
in Meljine in Montenegro.
The three-man Council consists of Montenegrin
President Filip Vujanovic, acting Serbian president
Natasa Micic and federal President Svetozar Marovic,
who chairs the body.
Defence Minister Boris Tadic, who has proposed the
personnel changes, will also attend the meeting,
together with Chief of Staff Branko Krga and Marovic’s
security advisor, General Blagoje Grahovac.
http://www.b92.net/english/news/
index.php?&nav_category=&nav_id=24092&order=priority&style=headlines
Beta - August 6, 2003
Customs begins purge of border officers
BELGRADE -- Wednesday – The Customs Service has begun
a purge of employees at the Subotica Customs Office
near the Hungarian border.
Sixty customs officers have been sacked since the
beginning of August, on orders from the Ministry of
Finance.
“In a few months Subotica will be a gateway between
Serbia and Europe and we must put it into order,” said
Finance Minister Bozidar Djelic.
Djelic told media that some officers who had already
been dismissed were complaining about unjust
dismissal, despite being known to have taken advantage
of their position and living in ostentatious wealth.
“We will bring in new blood, young officers who will
take their jobs seriously and won’t use them to amass
private wealth but will work for the good of the state
and the society,” said the finance minister.
=== E ===
http://www.b92.net/english/news/
index.php?&nav_category=&nav_id=24098&order=priority&style=headlines
B92 - August 6, 2003
Zivkovic confirms peacekeeping offer
BELGRADE -- Wednesday – Serbian Prime Minister Zoran
Zivkovic tonight confirmed that he had discussed the
possibility of Serbia-Montenegro troops being deployed
in international peace missions during his recent
visit to the US.
Zivkovic told state media that the issue had been
raised by senior US official Jacques Klein.
“Our return to peacekeeping operations anywhere in the
world would primarily mean another political victory,”
said the prime minister, adding that there was also a
clear financial and development interest in such a
move.
He said that he expected a response to his offer in
the near future.
http://www.b92.net/english/news/
index.php?&nav_category=&nav_id=24083&order=priority&style=headlines
FoNet/Beta - August 6, 2003
Support for troop deployment, but precision needed
BELGRADE -- Wednesday -- Deputy Serbian Prime Minister
Zarko Korac said today that leaders of the country's
DOS ruling coalition wholeheartedly supported PM Zoran
Zivkovic's offer to send 1,000 troops of the
Serbia-Montenegro army to serve in the UN's
international peace missions.
Korac explained that the decision was made for
"political reasons" at a meeting of the government's
executive committee.
Fellow deputy PM Nebojsa Covic warned that the
government must be "very precise and careful" when
passing decisions to send soldiers to participate in
such missions.
Covic said that the issue should first be discussed
and carefully analysed, bearing in mind the events of
the past decade.
Covic supported Zivkovic's initiative in principle,
explaining that it was launched in an effort to hasten
the state union's accession to international
structures.
http://www.b92.net/english/news/
index.php?&nav_category=&nav_id=24094&order=priority&style=headlines
Beta - August 6, 2003
Otpor backs peace troop offer
Uzice -- Wednesday – The Otpor People’s Movement has
thrown its support behind Prime Minister Zivkovic’s
offer of federal troops for international peacekeeping
operations.
Otpor representative Srdjan Milivojevic said today
that, as a signatory to the UN Charter,
Serbia-Montenegro was obliged to take part in peace
operations.
Moreover, he said, troops would be better occupied in
crisis regions around the world than creating them at
home.
=== F ===
http://www.antiwar.com/malic/m080703.html
August 7, 2003
The New Janissaries
How Low Can Serbia's Rulers Go?
by Nebojsa Malic
This week, just as His Elevated Majesty was becoming increasingly testy
about all the questioning of his feeble rationalizations for the
Empire's Middle Eastern adventure – which has turned quite sour for the
troops on the ground – Washington received an unlikely morale booster.
It was announced that during hi late July visit to Washington, Serbian
Prime Minister Zoran Zivkovic offered 1000 Serbian troops for the
occupation of Iraq or Afghanistan – "any mission" His Majesty decides
on.
During the centuries of occupation, Ottoman Turks would regularly round
up young Serbs and other Balkans Christians, march them to Istanbul,
convert them to Islam and train them as the sultans' shock troops and
administrators. This was known as devshirme, or the "blood levy," and
these converts as janissaries. This conscription and forcible
conversion was considered a particularly painful episode in Serbian
history. Apparently, in the "new democracy," that has changed.
The Blood Offering
Zivkovic came to Washington in order to boost his flagging popularity
among Serbians by appearing to enjoy favor with the ultimate power.
Upon his return, he talked about "strategic partnership" and "end to
pressure and coercion," never mentioning the troops.
The Prime Minister's offer was revealed in a patronizing Washington
Post column this Monday. Even as it actually sought foreign mercenaries
to relieve the strain on its shock troops, the Empire was so scornful
of its groveling slaves that it treated the offer cautiously. The
columnist who reported it, one Jackson Diehl, was openly contemptuous.
One is tempted to treat Diehl himself with caution. He displays
appalling disrespect for facts by claiming NATO "crushed"
the Yugoslav Army in 1999 (it didn't), and that
Serbia was "the most frequent starting point for European wars in the
past 100 years" (it wasn't). He reported differently from Kosovo back
in 1986, when he still knew how. But given the Dossies' record of
prostrating Serbia (not so much themselves) before Washington, the
claim that Zivkovic offered troops is credible
enough.
Furthermore, news from Belgrade this past weekend was that Dossie
defense minister Boris Tadic purged the top brass, forcing into
retirement a perfectly competent general who humbled NATO in Kosovo, as
well as the head of Army Intelligence. While Tadic has pledged to purge
opposition to joining NATO's satellite program
"Partnership for Peace," these dismissals might be aimed specifically
at clearing the way for Zivkovic's troop offer.
"Partners" or Servants
Is it not enough that four years ago the Empire launched a war
of aggression against Serbia – accusing it of "invading"
its own territory – thus committing a clear-cut prima facie
war crime? Now the Serbs are expected to join Imperial
aggression against Afghanistan, Iraq, and God only knows who
else, and maybe even say, "thank you very much, may we have
another?" to the whole issue of NATO's barbaric bombing.
Perhaps not. Again, Zivkovic had not mentioned the troops at
all until Tuesday night, when the word got out on CNN. Serbian
media then re-broadcast the news, and it was all over the
Wednesday morning newspapers as well. Obviously, someone
in Washington talked. So much for the "strategic partnership,"
then.
So what now? With the Empire "considering" Zivkovic's
offer, how will Serbia react? Will the Women In Black protest
the deployment of Serbian conscripts to an Imperial war, the
way they protested "Serbian nationalist aggression"? Or is it
OK to die for foreign "democracy," but not for one's own
home? Don't bet on it. All the supposedly pro-peace and
human-rights NGOs are a pillar of Dossie (i.e. Imperial) power,
guided by nothing even remotely resembling a coherent
principle. Knowing which side their bread is buttered on, they
will stay silent.
Prattle aside, there will never be a "partnership" – strategic
or otherwise – between Serbia and the Empire. The neocons
want servants, not "partners;" compliance, not "cooperation."
Everything Washington needs in the Balkans, it has already
received from Serbia's hostile neighbors, and even its co-
habitant in the "union," Montenegro. Far from securing some
sort of preferential treatment, further groveling will only
invite further abuse. But that is yet another concept the
Dossies are incapable of comprehending.
A Power Struggle
Some clues as to why Zivkovic is courting support from
Washington come from Serbia itself. In late July, the
government managed to purge the Serbian central bank,
whose governor was leader of an opposition party. In place of
Mladjan Dinkic and his G17 associates – chiefly responsible
for the Dossies' economic program in 2000, be it noted – DOS
appointed Kori Udovicki, former Energy Minister notorious for soaking
the life savings of elderly Serbians by raising electricity
prices.
The departing governor accused two high-ranking advisors in
the Zivkovic government – and members of his Democratic
Party – of money-laundering. This pushed the already
scandal-ridden government's approval rating to new lows.
DOS-friendly analysts at Radio Netherlands speculated
this week that the scandal would herald a power struggle
within the Democratic Party, from which Zivkovic would emerge
stronger and ready to "confront the voters," but that is
highly unlikely. Dossies view elections as a vampire would
garlic and stakes – with a mixture of fear and loathing.
And with good reason. Their former Trojan horse Vojislav
Kostunica is enjoying rising poll numbers, a development the
Empire is observing with some concern. Erstwhile Djindjic
stooge Miroljub Labus is also polling well, though not
nearly as well as Kostunica. Both of them are just as committed
to "reforms" and service to the Empire, albeit somewhat
more subtly, as DOS. Empire's grip on Serbia is not in
jeopardy, unfortunately – only Zivkovic's.
Lessons from Another Vassal
Another recent visitor to Washington was the Macedonian KLA
leader Ali Ahmeti, until recently on the US terrorist blacklist.
His one-time nemesis, former interior minister Ljube
Boskovski, was meanwhile added to the blacklist. Neither
change was followed by an explanation, leaving the
Macedonians confused. They've done everything the US has
asked of them, and more, yet the Empire has persistently
favored the Albanian segregationists. While the Empire claims
to fight terrorism, it blacklists Macedonian security officials and
treats the leaders of terrorists ("murderous thugs," as NATO
chief Robertson called them) as statesmen.
Back in September 2001 it was obvious that US actions (or
rather, lack thereof) in Bosnia, Kosovo and Macedonia made
the "war on terror" as good as lost. For their part, Macedonians
learned a depressing lesson from their bitter experience:
sometimes, even being an obedient US vassal cannot save
you.
DOSta!
In fact, Zivkovic & Co. should read one of Wednesday’s
editorials in the Washington Times, composed by the known
Serbophobe Helle (Bering) Dale. Her "Are you being Serbed?"
asks how these uppity savages dare protest US hostility and
demand fair treatment, when the entire world knows they are
as racist, genocidal and criminal as Nazi Germany. Zivkovic
and his foreign minister, Svilanovic, yap to presstitutes
at Washington clubs over brandy and cigars, but it’s the people
they represent who suffer. Dale's verbal abuses are one thing,
but deaths in battle quite another. No number of dead Serbs
can ever appease the likes of Dale and her employers at the
Heritage Foundation and the Council of Foreign Relations.
Yet that’s what Zivkovic is trying to do.
DOS is nothing but a motley collection of irresponsible, corrupt,
statist kleptocrats, who came to power only because of the
public's resentment of the government they replaced – and
lots of bags filled with US taxpayers' cash. Ostensibly
"democrats," they've established a "domination of political and
economic life of which Slobodan Milosevic could only have
dreamed" (BHHRG). Whatever troubles beset Serbia before 5
October 2000, the situation today is entirely the fault of DOS.
Zivkovic's groveling offer of Serbian troops to help the Empire's
wars of conquest and occupation ought to be the last straw for
the people who simply cannot take any more social
engineering, deliberately malicious or otherwise.
It is time to show these lying, plundering quisling sleazebags
the door – preferably to Hell, or prison, but out of office
will do. Anyone else could run Serbia better, preferably
as little as possible, guaranteeing the Serbians their liberty
but otherwise not preventing them from improving their lives,
as all governments have done so far.
At some point during the Dossie reign, an anonymous
Belgrade street artist made a pun on the ruling band of thieves'
name: "DOSta," meaning "Enough of DOS." It's time the pun
becomes reality, before young Serbians start coming home in
body bags from once again serving a cruel conqueror.
Nebojsa Malic