* SOROS IL "FILANTROPO"
STOP NATO: NO PASARAN! - HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.HOME-PAGE.ORG
Soros, the Philanthropist
George Soros is the typical case of the new speculative capital that is
entering in Hispano-America. In addition to his great purchase of the
lucrative Russian telephone monopoly Svyazinvest, in collaboration with
the
Deutsche Morgan Grenfel, where some people alleges that Soros has
earned billions speculating with the exchange rate in England and more
recently in Southeast Asia, where he and his cabal of speculators, aka
Quantum Group, “upset currencies in order to pursue his own political
agenda” (Malasyan PM’s words) in 1997. The currencies in the region were
drastically devalued in a few weeks and more than $100 billion in the
central
bank reserves of those countries were expended in a failed attempt to
defend their currencies. There was a net withdrawal of foreign funds
reaching $12 billion from South Korea, Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia and
the Philippines. In a year, $105 billion flowed out ($12 billion net
outflow in
1997 coming after a $93 billion net inflow in 1996), equivalent to 11%
of total
production in these countries. In the span of a few months, the overall
value
of stock markets in Asia fell by 60%.
The philanthropic incursions of Soros in East Europe helped him to
create
bridges with future politicians and intellectuals that later facilitated
lucrative
opportunities to him of investment in the purchase of companies in that
region.
Like it was to be expected, Soros is the first in front of the
speculative
outpost in Latin America. He found right opportunities to make a great
fortune under the Carlos Menem's regime. With an initial investment of
$10
million in 1990, his profits in real estate now surpass $550 million,
including
two towers of offices, two residential marinas in a de-luxe harbour
complex,
flats for sectors of high income and plans to reconvert the Market of
Supply
(Mercado de Abastos) of Buenos Aires. He has bought four of the six
biggest mall centres of Buenos Aires and a great sport complex and today
he is the biggest landowner and cattle dealer of Argentina. This last
one is a
result from an investment of $17 million in 400.000 hectares of land and
160,000 heads of cattle. At the beginning of 1997, with a profitability
of $90
million taken from that property, Soros bought another 60,000 hectares
of
agrarian land plus 87,000 heads of cattle. The value of the land has
been
duplicated in about two years and the American market "has been suddenly
opened" to exports of Argentinean beef meat for first time in 60 years.
And while the value of the land increased and his leasing business were
multiplying, Menem's regime was proclaiming its success to attract new
capitals. At the same time, general strikes were spreading to every
province
of Argentina and massive demonstrations of Health and Education Service
workers, usually exploited or unpaid, became frequent.
Mexico is another target for the speculative adventures of Soros, with
investments of $1,3 billion in real estate. Thus, while the standard of
life is
going down, the external predator arrives to catch the profits.
In Venezuela, Soros took control of numerous "automatic tellers"
networks
and a company of real estate whose capital surpasses $150 million (Fund
of Real Estate Values, FVI). In addition, he has shares in lucrative
companies of mining, textiles and electrical energy. Of course, he
financially help the opposition to Hugo Chavez's populist government.
In Brazil, he has shares for $245 million in privatised
telecommunication
company, Telebras, a majority share in Brazil Realty, and investments in
skyscrapers for business offices in the centre of Sao Paulo.
Like in his previous incursions, taking advantage - in association with
local
speculators- of the legal vacuum fomented by corrupt and repressive US-
backed regimes, Soros covered up his predatory actions with a
philanthropic faccade. In effect, while he was earning trillions at the
expense
of farmers and natives deprived of their land, Soros Foundation opened
an
office to offer free education to indigenous and street-children in
Guatemala
City.
Very Philanthropic.
Javier Bernal (copyleft 2000 - Feel free to forward as much as you can)
PS: To know more:
Latin America in the Time of Cholera : Electoral Politics, Market
Economics, and Permanent Crisis, by James Petras, Morris Morley
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0415905354/amazonatechelon
"George Soros buys Ukraine", by Connie Bruck in The New Yorker, 23
January 1995
http://www.ukar.org/soros01.shtml
"Beware of billionaires bearing gifts", by Richard C. Morais in Forbes 7
April
1997
If you've dimly wondered what is happening in Albania, we can, in a
brief
sentence, explain: George Soros' friends are coming out on top...
http://www.forbes.com/forbes/97/0407/5907082a.htm
---
* SOROS LANCIA UN FONDO DI INVESTIMENTO PER COMPRARSI I BALCANI
STOP NATO: ¡NO PASARAN! - HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.COM
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Berger, Munoz, Soros Launch Southeast Europe Equity Fund
Jul. 26, 2000 | 12:40 p.m.
To: National Desk
Contact: Lawrence Spinelli, 202-336-8690, or Timothy Harwood,
202-336-8744, both of OPIC
Web site: http://www.opic.gov
WASHINGTON, July 26 /U.S. Newswire/ -- Samuel R. Berger, Assistant to
the President for National Security Affairs, George Munoz, President and
CEO of the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC), and George
Soros, organizer of Soros Private Funds Management (SPFM), today
launched the Southeast Europe Equity Fund, a $150 million fund to
provide new business development, expansion, restructuring, and
privatization in the region.
At a ceremony in the Old Executive Office Building at the White House
marking the one-year anniversary of the Stability Pact for Southeast
Europe, Munoz and Soros signed an agreement on basic terms under which
SPFM is prepared to manage, and OPIC is prepared to provide financing
for, the fund.
``A year ago, after NATO won the war in Kosovo, more than 40 leaders
came together in Sarajevo determined to win the peace,´´ Berger
said. ``With the Stability Pact Summit, we launched a new partnership
between Southeast Europe and the international community to reverse the
habits of history, de-Balkanize the Balkans and work toward a peaceful
and stable region. We made clear that the nations of Southeast Europe
must undertake reforms to attract investment, and that they must work
together. Our efforts are working.´´
Berger noted that economic growth is accelerating throughout the region
and that the OPIC fund is one of a number of steps the United States has
taken over the past year to promote trade, investment, and economic
growth in Southeast Europe, as promised by President Clinton at the
Stability Pact Summit Pact last July. Berger said the United States will
continue to provide strong support, particularly for initiatives to
strengthen democracy and create sustainable economic growth.
Munoz said, ``I am pleased that we are taking another significant step
in demonstrating that Southeast Europe is an important region on which
we should focus our efforts, to enable it to rebuild and enter the
global marketplace as a full partner. The Southeast Europe Equity Fund
is an ideal vehicle to connect American institutional capital with
European entrepreneurs eager to help Americans tap their growing
markets. OPIC is pleased that Soros Private Funds Management has chosen
to send a strong, positive signal that Southeast Europe is open for
business.´´
Soros said, ``After all the horror and destruction wrought by the
Milosevic regime, the United States and the European Union are deeply
committed to ensuring a better future for the region. This creates
investment opportunities and private investment in turn can make an
important contribution to the region. OPIC is rendering a real service
by providing financing for this fund and I am happy to put my money
where they are putting theirs.´´
Congressman Benjamin A. Gilman (R-N.Y.), Chairman of the House
International Relations Committee, said, ``I am very pleased that this
new fund of the Overseas Private Investment Corporation will be able to
play a key role in mobilizing private sector support for the future
development of Southeast Europe. The Fund´s creation is as much a
recognition of the importance of this region´s vibrant new markets for
U.S. products as it is a reflection of our long-term support to its
emerging market economies. With the financial commitments of the
Fund´s management team already in place, it should quickly be able to
raise the capital needed to promote those projects demonstrating the
best corporate governance practices.´´
The fund will serve Albania, Bulgaria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia,
the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Romania, Slovenia, Montenegro
and Turkey - an emerging consumer market of 112 million people. Its
primary purpose will be to provide capital for new business development,
expansion, restructuring, and privatization.
Soros Private Funds Management was selected as fund manager by the OPIC
Board of Directors in June, concluding a transparent, seven-month
selection process by OPIC management. A Soros affiliate will commit $50
million in private equity, while OPIC will commit to provide a $100
million loan guaranty. Interests in the fund will not be offered to the
public.
OPIC currently provides more than $65 million in financing and insurance
for projects in Bulgaria, Croatia and Romania. Other OPIC-supported
funds have invested more than $30 million in the region.
``OPIC has taken a leadership role in responding to the Clinton
Administration´s Southeast Europe initiative to stabilize and
integrate the countries of southeast Europe into the transatlantic
community,´´ Munoz said. ``OPIC opened a southeast Europe regional
office in Zagreb last February, to serve as a focal point for
establishing potential joint venture partnerships between U.S. and
regional businesses. We will continue to support and encourage U.S.
investment in the region.´´
OPIC is a self-sustaining federal agency that sells investment products
to small, medium and large American businesses expanding into some 140
developing nations and emerging markets around the world. OPIC's
political risk insurance, project finance and investment funds fill a
commercial void, create a level playing field for U.S. businesses and
support development in emerging economies. Since 1971, OPIC has
supported $130 billion worth of investments that will generate $61
billion in U.S. exports and create more than 242,000 American jobs.
> http://my.aol.com/news/story.tmpl?table=n&cat=01&id=0007260631427097
Soros Fund Launches $150 Mln US-Backed Balkans Investment
Bloomberg News, Jul 26 2000 6:31PM
---
* ALTRI DOCUMENTI IMPORTANTI SU GEORGE SOROS:
> http://www.geocities.com/WallStreet/3880/
The unofficial George Soros Homepage
BIOGRAFIA NON-UFFICIALE DI GEORGE SOROS
> http://www.antiwar.com/justin/pf/p-j073100.html
Behind the Headlines by Justin Raimondo (July 31, 2000)
PROFITEERS OF EMPIRE CHENEY, SOROS, AND CO.
SOROS TRA I PROFITTATORI DELL'IMPERO
> http://www.tao.ca/fire/nettime/0788.html
George Soros on the Kosovo situation
Commencement Speech delivered by George Soros on May 27, 1999, at Paul
H.
Nitze School of Advanced International Studies, John Hopkins University.
1999: SOROS PARTECIPA ALLA CAMPAGNA DI DIFFAMAZIONE DELLA JUGOSLAVIA ED
APPOGGIA LE BOMBE UMANITARIE
> http://www.FreeRepublic.com/forum/a393bebad667e.htm
Soros opens Bank so Montenegro can be just liks Kosovo
June 2 1999 /PRNewswire/
SOROS APRE UNA BANCA IN MONTENEGRO
> http://geocities.com/CapitolHill/2890/
Center for Strategic Studies - Belgrade
SOROS NON HA IN MANO SOLAMENTE TUTTI I MEDIA DELL'OPPOSIZIONE, MA ANCHE
ISTITUZIONI DI RICERCA E PERSINO UN CENTRO DI STUDI STRATEGICI A
BELGRADO!
---
* IL MONDO DI SOROS
http://www.antiwar.com/rep/szamuely/szamuely50.html
Soros' World
by George Szamuely
New York Press, 8/22/00
Last week 900 NATO troops, under UN auspices, stormed into a smelting
factory at Zvecan in Kosovo and closed the place down. According to the
UN Interim Administration in Kosovo (UNMIK) chief, Bernard Kouchner,
pollution from the plant – part of the vast Trepca mining complex that
produces gold, silver, lead, zinc and cadmium – was raising lead
levels in the environment to 200 times World Health Organization norms.
"I would be a debauched person if I let this threat to the health of
children and pregnant women continue operating any longer," he
announced.
One wonders if the Frenchman managed to keep a straight face as he said
this. Kouchner is running the province on behalf of a NATO that littered
the place with cluster bombs and depleted uranium shells, that presided
over the expulsion of some 200,000 Serbs, that sent bridges crashing
into the Danube, that happily released clouds of toxic fumes from
bombed-out petrochemical factories into the atmosphere. The residents of
this town – particularly the women – showed their usual ingratitude
to their benefactors by throwing stones at them. Trepca is the leading
employer of Serbs in Kosovo and is Yugoslavia's chief exporter. The
protesters got the Los Angeles treatment: tear gas and rubber bullets.
The Yugoslav government disputes Kouchner's claims. Yugoslavia's record
for telling the truth is considerably better than NATO's. Seizure of
Zvecan gives UNMIK control of the Trepca mines. Already an agreement has
been signed with a group of major mining companies, ITT Kosovo
Consortium, to begin rehabilitation of the complex. Some $16 million is
forthcoming from the EU, the United States, France, Italy, Holland and
Sweden.
UNMIK, needless to say, does not have the right to take over property
that belongs to others. The agency was set up by UN Security Council
Resolution 1244; strangely enough, it remained silent on the matter of
stealing. However, as is the way with NATO, Kouchner simply issued a
decree last year: "UNMIK shall administer movable or immovable property,
including monies, bank accounts, and other property of, or registered in
the name of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia or the Republic of Serbia
or any of its organs, which is in the territory of Kosovo."
Interestingly enough, the seizure of Trepca had been urged on him as
long ago as last November by the International Crisis Group (ICG). The
ICG, invariably described in the media as an "independent" and "private"
think tank, is largely financed and run by the billionaire financier
George Soros. Its "independence" can be gauged by the fact that on its
board sits Louise Arbour, former chief prosecutor at that travesty of
justice, the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia;
as well as Wesley Clark, loony chief bomber from last year. Financial
support also comes from the governments of France, the UK and the U.S.
The ICG is a fascinating case study of the way human rights
organizations, governments and international corporations work hand in
glove these days. "Independent" figures like Soros identify a "crisis"
demanding urgent government attention. Governments act on them and then
parcel out the lucrative contracts to Soros and his pals. The Trepca
report begins with the usual tendentious boilerplate: "The future of
Trepca cuts to the heart of the Kosovars' identity. Its great mineral
wealth is the basis of the economy of Kosovo, but the complex is badly
run-down as a result of under-investment and over-exploitation by
governments in Belgrade… Trepca…is Kosovo's Berlin Wall. It has long
stood for Kosovar Albanians as the symbol of Serbian oppression and of
their own resistance." Therefore, "UNMIK…should implement a rapid and
categorical takeover of Trepca complex, including the immediate, total
shutdown of the environmentally hazardous facilities at Zvecan." There
is no question of turning the mines over to the Kosovar Albanians. And
forget about there being lots of jobs for the locals. Trepca is to be
rehabilitated and then divided up among foreign investors.
The report notes, with pleasure, that the KLA appears to be thoroughly
up-to-date on the issue of turning Kosovo over to international
financiers. George Soros has littered the world with innumerable think
tanks and foundations, all dedicated to promoting his nebulous notions
of the "open society." Cut away the pompous verbiage and what his
pronouncements amount to is that enlightened businessmen like himself
and enlightened governments with the appropriate globalist outlook
should help each other out. To hell with national sovereignty.
It is an outlook that has been happily in conformity with that of the
Clinton administration. And it has gone out of its way to be very
helpful to Soros. Last month, Soros Private Funds Management announced
that it will invest $50 million of its own equity in the Balkans. The
U.S. Overseas Private Investment Corp. will provide a loan guarantee for
another $100 million of investments. The Soros investment was chosen
over 16 other proposals.
Last December the Clinton administration ordered the U.S. Export-Import
Bank to delay approval of $500 million in credit guarantees to a Russian
company, Tyumen Oil, following complaints by Western investors,
including Soros, that they had been swindled. The U.S. Export-Import
Bank argued that the loan met all its financial criteria. After talking
to Soros, however, it was announced that it was not in the "national
interest" to go ahead with the loan "for the time being." Now comes the
seizure of Trepca. There is little mystery as to what it is our society
is "open" to.
--------- COORDINAMENTO ROMANO PER LA JUGOSLAVIA -----------
RIMSKI SAVEZ ZA JUGOSLAVIJU
e-mail: crj@... - URL: http://marx2001.org/crj
http://www.egroups.com/group/crj-mailinglist/
------------------------------------------------------------
STOP NATO: NO PASARAN! - HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.HOME-PAGE.ORG
Soros, the Philanthropist
George Soros is the typical case of the new speculative capital that is
entering in Hispano-America. In addition to his great purchase of the
lucrative Russian telephone monopoly Svyazinvest, in collaboration with
the
Deutsche Morgan Grenfel, where some people alleges that Soros has
earned billions speculating with the exchange rate in England and more
recently in Southeast Asia, where he and his cabal of speculators, aka
Quantum Group, “upset currencies in order to pursue his own political
agenda” (Malasyan PM’s words) in 1997. The currencies in the region were
drastically devalued in a few weeks and more than $100 billion in the
central
bank reserves of those countries were expended in a failed attempt to
defend their currencies. There was a net withdrawal of foreign funds
reaching $12 billion from South Korea, Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia and
the Philippines. In a year, $105 billion flowed out ($12 billion net
outflow in
1997 coming after a $93 billion net inflow in 1996), equivalent to 11%
of total
production in these countries. In the span of a few months, the overall
value
of stock markets in Asia fell by 60%.
The philanthropic incursions of Soros in East Europe helped him to
create
bridges with future politicians and intellectuals that later facilitated
lucrative
opportunities to him of investment in the purchase of companies in that
region.
Like it was to be expected, Soros is the first in front of the
speculative
outpost in Latin America. He found right opportunities to make a great
fortune under the Carlos Menem's regime. With an initial investment of
$10
million in 1990, his profits in real estate now surpass $550 million,
including
two towers of offices, two residential marinas in a de-luxe harbour
complex,
flats for sectors of high income and plans to reconvert the Market of
Supply
(Mercado de Abastos) of Buenos Aires. He has bought four of the six
biggest mall centres of Buenos Aires and a great sport complex and today
he is the biggest landowner and cattle dealer of Argentina. This last
one is a
result from an investment of $17 million in 400.000 hectares of land and
160,000 heads of cattle. At the beginning of 1997, with a profitability
of $90
million taken from that property, Soros bought another 60,000 hectares
of
agrarian land plus 87,000 heads of cattle. The value of the land has
been
duplicated in about two years and the American market "has been suddenly
opened" to exports of Argentinean beef meat for first time in 60 years.
And while the value of the land increased and his leasing business were
multiplying, Menem's regime was proclaiming its success to attract new
capitals. At the same time, general strikes were spreading to every
province
of Argentina and massive demonstrations of Health and Education Service
workers, usually exploited or unpaid, became frequent.
Mexico is another target for the speculative adventures of Soros, with
investments of $1,3 billion in real estate. Thus, while the standard of
life is
going down, the external predator arrives to catch the profits.
In Venezuela, Soros took control of numerous "automatic tellers"
networks
and a company of real estate whose capital surpasses $150 million (Fund
of Real Estate Values, FVI). In addition, he has shares in lucrative
companies of mining, textiles and electrical energy. Of course, he
financially help the opposition to Hugo Chavez's populist government.
In Brazil, he has shares for $245 million in privatised
telecommunication
company, Telebras, a majority share in Brazil Realty, and investments in
skyscrapers for business offices in the centre of Sao Paulo.
Like in his previous incursions, taking advantage - in association with
local
speculators- of the legal vacuum fomented by corrupt and repressive US-
backed regimes, Soros covered up his predatory actions with a
philanthropic faccade. In effect, while he was earning trillions at the
expense
of farmers and natives deprived of their land, Soros Foundation opened
an
office to offer free education to indigenous and street-children in
Guatemala
City.
Very Philanthropic.
Javier Bernal (copyleft 2000 - Feel free to forward as much as you can)
PS: To know more:
Latin America in the Time of Cholera : Electoral Politics, Market
Economics, and Permanent Crisis, by James Petras, Morris Morley
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0415905354/amazonatechelon
"George Soros buys Ukraine", by Connie Bruck in The New Yorker, 23
January 1995
http://www.ukar.org/soros01.shtml
"Beware of billionaires bearing gifts", by Richard C. Morais in Forbes 7
April
1997
If you've dimly wondered what is happening in Albania, we can, in a
brief
sentence, explain: George Soros' friends are coming out on top...
http://www.forbes.com/forbes/97/0407/5907082a.htm
---
* SOROS LANCIA UN FONDO DI INVESTIMENTO PER COMPRARSI I BALCANI
STOP NATO: ¡NO PASARAN! - HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.COM
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Berger, Munoz, Soros Launch Southeast Europe Equity Fund
Jul. 26, 2000 | 12:40 p.m.
To: National Desk
Contact: Lawrence Spinelli, 202-336-8690, or Timothy Harwood,
202-336-8744, both of OPIC
Web site: http://www.opic.gov
WASHINGTON, July 26 /U.S. Newswire/ -- Samuel R. Berger, Assistant to
the President for National Security Affairs, George Munoz, President and
CEO of the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC), and George
Soros, organizer of Soros Private Funds Management (SPFM), today
launched the Southeast Europe Equity Fund, a $150 million fund to
provide new business development, expansion, restructuring, and
privatization in the region.
At a ceremony in the Old Executive Office Building at the White House
marking the one-year anniversary of the Stability Pact for Southeast
Europe, Munoz and Soros signed an agreement on basic terms under which
SPFM is prepared to manage, and OPIC is prepared to provide financing
for, the fund.
``A year ago, after NATO won the war in Kosovo, more than 40 leaders
came together in Sarajevo determined to win the peace,´´ Berger
said. ``With the Stability Pact Summit, we launched a new partnership
between Southeast Europe and the international community to reverse the
habits of history, de-Balkanize the Balkans and work toward a peaceful
and stable region. We made clear that the nations of Southeast Europe
must undertake reforms to attract investment, and that they must work
together. Our efforts are working.´´
Berger noted that economic growth is accelerating throughout the region
and that the OPIC fund is one of a number of steps the United States has
taken over the past year to promote trade, investment, and economic
growth in Southeast Europe, as promised by President Clinton at the
Stability Pact Summit Pact last July. Berger said the United States will
continue to provide strong support, particularly for initiatives to
strengthen democracy and create sustainable economic growth.
Munoz said, ``I am pleased that we are taking another significant step
in demonstrating that Southeast Europe is an important region on which
we should focus our efforts, to enable it to rebuild and enter the
global marketplace as a full partner. The Southeast Europe Equity Fund
is an ideal vehicle to connect American institutional capital with
European entrepreneurs eager to help Americans tap their growing
markets. OPIC is pleased that Soros Private Funds Management has chosen
to send a strong, positive signal that Southeast Europe is open for
business.´´
Soros said, ``After all the horror and destruction wrought by the
Milosevic regime, the United States and the European Union are deeply
committed to ensuring a better future for the region. This creates
investment opportunities and private investment in turn can make an
important contribution to the region. OPIC is rendering a real service
by providing financing for this fund and I am happy to put my money
where they are putting theirs.´´
Congressman Benjamin A. Gilman (R-N.Y.), Chairman of the House
International Relations Committee, said, ``I am very pleased that this
new fund of the Overseas Private Investment Corporation will be able to
play a key role in mobilizing private sector support for the future
development of Southeast Europe. The Fund´s creation is as much a
recognition of the importance of this region´s vibrant new markets for
U.S. products as it is a reflection of our long-term support to its
emerging market economies. With the financial commitments of the
Fund´s management team already in place, it should quickly be able to
raise the capital needed to promote those projects demonstrating the
best corporate governance practices.´´
The fund will serve Albania, Bulgaria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia,
the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Romania, Slovenia, Montenegro
and Turkey - an emerging consumer market of 112 million people. Its
primary purpose will be to provide capital for new business development,
expansion, restructuring, and privatization.
Soros Private Funds Management was selected as fund manager by the OPIC
Board of Directors in June, concluding a transparent, seven-month
selection process by OPIC management. A Soros affiliate will commit $50
million in private equity, while OPIC will commit to provide a $100
million loan guaranty. Interests in the fund will not be offered to the
public.
OPIC currently provides more than $65 million in financing and insurance
for projects in Bulgaria, Croatia and Romania. Other OPIC-supported
funds have invested more than $30 million in the region.
``OPIC has taken a leadership role in responding to the Clinton
Administration´s Southeast Europe initiative to stabilize and
integrate the countries of southeast Europe into the transatlantic
community,´´ Munoz said. ``OPIC opened a southeast Europe regional
office in Zagreb last February, to serve as a focal point for
establishing potential joint venture partnerships between U.S. and
regional businesses. We will continue to support and encourage U.S.
investment in the region.´´
OPIC is a self-sustaining federal agency that sells investment products
to small, medium and large American businesses expanding into some 140
developing nations and emerging markets around the world. OPIC's
political risk insurance, project finance and investment funds fill a
commercial void, create a level playing field for U.S. businesses and
support development in emerging economies. Since 1971, OPIC has
supported $130 billion worth of investments that will generate $61
billion in U.S. exports and create more than 242,000 American jobs.
> http://my.aol.com/news/story.tmpl?table=n&cat=01&id=0007260631427097
Soros Fund Launches $150 Mln US-Backed Balkans Investment
Bloomberg News, Jul 26 2000 6:31PM
---
* ALTRI DOCUMENTI IMPORTANTI SU GEORGE SOROS:
> http://www.geocities.com/WallStreet/3880/
The unofficial George Soros Homepage
BIOGRAFIA NON-UFFICIALE DI GEORGE SOROS
> http://www.antiwar.com/justin/pf/p-j073100.html
Behind the Headlines by Justin Raimondo (July 31, 2000)
PROFITEERS OF EMPIRE CHENEY, SOROS, AND CO.
SOROS TRA I PROFITTATORI DELL'IMPERO
> http://www.tao.ca/fire/nettime/0788.html
George Soros on the Kosovo situation
Commencement Speech delivered by George Soros on May 27, 1999, at Paul
H.
Nitze School of Advanced International Studies, John Hopkins University.
1999: SOROS PARTECIPA ALLA CAMPAGNA DI DIFFAMAZIONE DELLA JUGOSLAVIA ED
APPOGGIA LE BOMBE UMANITARIE
> http://www.FreeRepublic.com/forum/a393bebad667e.htm
Soros opens Bank so Montenegro can be just liks Kosovo
June 2 1999 /PRNewswire/
SOROS APRE UNA BANCA IN MONTENEGRO
> http://geocities.com/CapitolHill/2890/
Center for Strategic Studies - Belgrade
SOROS NON HA IN MANO SOLAMENTE TUTTI I MEDIA DELL'OPPOSIZIONE, MA ANCHE
ISTITUZIONI DI RICERCA E PERSINO UN CENTRO DI STUDI STRATEGICI A
BELGRADO!
---
* IL MONDO DI SOROS
http://www.antiwar.com/rep/szamuely/szamuely50.html
Soros' World
by George Szamuely
New York Press, 8/22/00
Last week 900 NATO troops, under UN auspices, stormed into a smelting
factory at Zvecan in Kosovo and closed the place down. According to the
UN Interim Administration in Kosovo (UNMIK) chief, Bernard Kouchner,
pollution from the plant – part of the vast Trepca mining complex that
produces gold, silver, lead, zinc and cadmium – was raising lead
levels in the environment to 200 times World Health Organization norms.
"I would be a debauched person if I let this threat to the health of
children and pregnant women continue operating any longer," he
announced.
One wonders if the Frenchman managed to keep a straight face as he said
this. Kouchner is running the province on behalf of a NATO that littered
the place with cluster bombs and depleted uranium shells, that presided
over the expulsion of some 200,000 Serbs, that sent bridges crashing
into the Danube, that happily released clouds of toxic fumes from
bombed-out petrochemical factories into the atmosphere. The residents of
this town – particularly the women – showed their usual ingratitude
to their benefactors by throwing stones at them. Trepca is the leading
employer of Serbs in Kosovo and is Yugoslavia's chief exporter. The
protesters got the Los Angeles treatment: tear gas and rubber bullets.
The Yugoslav government disputes Kouchner's claims. Yugoslavia's record
for telling the truth is considerably better than NATO's. Seizure of
Zvecan gives UNMIK control of the Trepca mines. Already an agreement has
been signed with a group of major mining companies, ITT Kosovo
Consortium, to begin rehabilitation of the complex. Some $16 million is
forthcoming from the EU, the United States, France, Italy, Holland and
Sweden.
UNMIK, needless to say, does not have the right to take over property
that belongs to others. The agency was set up by UN Security Council
Resolution 1244; strangely enough, it remained silent on the matter of
stealing. However, as is the way with NATO, Kouchner simply issued a
decree last year: "UNMIK shall administer movable or immovable property,
including monies, bank accounts, and other property of, or registered in
the name of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia or the Republic of Serbia
or any of its organs, which is in the territory of Kosovo."
Interestingly enough, the seizure of Trepca had been urged on him as
long ago as last November by the International Crisis Group (ICG). The
ICG, invariably described in the media as an "independent" and "private"
think tank, is largely financed and run by the billionaire financier
George Soros. Its "independence" can be gauged by the fact that on its
board sits Louise Arbour, former chief prosecutor at that travesty of
justice, the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia;
as well as Wesley Clark, loony chief bomber from last year. Financial
support also comes from the governments of France, the UK and the U.S.
The ICG is a fascinating case study of the way human rights
organizations, governments and international corporations work hand in
glove these days. "Independent" figures like Soros identify a "crisis"
demanding urgent government attention. Governments act on them and then
parcel out the lucrative contracts to Soros and his pals. The Trepca
report begins with the usual tendentious boilerplate: "The future of
Trepca cuts to the heart of the Kosovars' identity. Its great mineral
wealth is the basis of the economy of Kosovo, but the complex is badly
run-down as a result of under-investment and over-exploitation by
governments in Belgrade… Trepca…is Kosovo's Berlin Wall. It has long
stood for Kosovar Albanians as the symbol of Serbian oppression and of
their own resistance." Therefore, "UNMIK…should implement a rapid and
categorical takeover of Trepca complex, including the immediate, total
shutdown of the environmentally hazardous facilities at Zvecan." There
is no question of turning the mines over to the Kosovar Albanians. And
forget about there being lots of jobs for the locals. Trepca is to be
rehabilitated and then divided up among foreign investors.
The report notes, with pleasure, that the KLA appears to be thoroughly
up-to-date on the issue of turning Kosovo over to international
financiers. George Soros has littered the world with innumerable think
tanks and foundations, all dedicated to promoting his nebulous notions
of the "open society." Cut away the pompous verbiage and what his
pronouncements amount to is that enlightened businessmen like himself
and enlightened governments with the appropriate globalist outlook
should help each other out. To hell with national sovereignty.
It is an outlook that has been happily in conformity with that of the
Clinton administration. And it has gone out of its way to be very
helpful to Soros. Last month, Soros Private Funds Management announced
that it will invest $50 million of its own equity in the Balkans. The
U.S. Overseas Private Investment Corp. will provide a loan guarantee for
another $100 million of investments. The Soros investment was chosen
over 16 other proposals.
Last December the Clinton administration ordered the U.S. Export-Import
Bank to delay approval of $500 million in credit guarantees to a Russian
company, Tyumen Oil, following complaints by Western investors,
including Soros, that they had been swindled. The U.S. Export-Import
Bank argued that the loan met all its financial criteria. After talking
to Soros, however, it was announced that it was not in the "national
interest" to go ahead with the loan "for the time being." Now comes the
seizure of Trepca. There is little mystery as to what it is our society
is "open" to.
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