URL for this article is http://emperors-clothes.com/analysis/1.htm
The International Monetary Fund And The Yugoslav Elections
by Michel Chossudovsky and Jared Israel (9-28-2000)
www.tenc.net
[Emperor's Clothes]
>"We want to be open colony and open society." G-17 coordinator VESELIN
>VUKOTIC interviewed on "The News Hour with Jim Lehrer", US Public
Television,
>July 14, 1999.
>
>How the International Monetary Fund and World Bank operate: "First, they
>force governments to do away with any social protections - subsidized food
or
>rent, free transportation, free medical care. Second, they force
businesses -
>public and private - into bankruptcy. Then these businesses are taken over
by
>a small clique of leveraged buyout speculators and other powerful foreign
>economic interests. They purchase the businesses at rock bottom prices.
This
>is called "Privatization through Liquidation" which is standard practice in
>the Balkans and Eastern Europe." (From the text below)
>
>Recently there's been a lot of interest in the economists in the Yugoslav
>group G-17. They wrote the Program adopted by the so-called "democratic"
>opposition and its Presidential candidate, Vojislav Kostunica. (For a
>discussion of that Program, see "US Arrogance & Yugoslav Elections" at
>www.emperors-clothes.com/engl.htm )
>
>The G-17 likes to give the impression it is independent and
>Yugoslav-oriented. In fact it is funded mainly through the Washington-based
>Center for International Private Enterprise (CIPE). CIPE describes itself
as
>"an affiliate of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce." But in fact it is "a core
>institute" of the National Endowment for Democracy which has nothing to do,
>as far as we can tell, with Democracy. Rather, the Endowment was created in
>1983 to solve a problem of Empire. People knew that the CIA bribed
>intellectuals and leaders and set up front groups to carry out US policy:
>
>"When these covert activities surfaced (as they inevitably did), the
fallout
>was devastating." ('Washington Post', Sept. 22, 1991).
>
>This is why Congress created the National Endowment for Democracy.
>
>Allen Weinstein, who planned the Endowment, said:
>
>"A lot of what we do today was done covertly 25 years ago by the CIA."
>('Washington Post', Sept. 21, 1991)
>
>The National Endowment for Democracy (a sort of CIA spin-off) controls and
>pays for the Center for International Private Enterprise which in turn
funds
>the G-17.
>
>Three of the leading members of G-17 are Washington-based staff members of
>the International Monetary Fund and World Bank. They are, Dusan Vujovic,
>Zeliko Bogetic and Branko Milanovic. In addition, G-17 coordinator
Professor
>Veselin Vukotic has worked closely with the World Bank. He was in charge of
>the World Bank "bankruptcy program" in Yugoslavia during 1989-1990, which
led
>to the devastation of the Yugoslav economy and set the stage for the
breakup
>of Yugoslavia. While on IMF/WB payrolls, they are heavily involved in
>politics in Serbia and Montenegro. Other members of the G-17 consult for
the
>World Bank and attend World Bank-organized meetings.
>
>The "democratic" opposition works with the G-17. It has endorsed the G-17
>Economic program. If it got into power, the G-17 economists would be in
>charge of remaking Yugoslavia. This is not a guess. The opposition Program
>calls for working closely with the International Monetary Fund. The Fund
>always insists that its men run the show. That is not open for negotiation.
>And the IMF's men can conveniently be found among the leading members of
G-17.
>
>On their Website, the G-17 states that their aim is to establish: "...a
>network of experts in all Serbian towns able to create and practically
>implement necessary changes in all fields of social life."
>
>This is not simply a group of economists. It is a network. The
International
>Monetary Fund and World Bank are using this network to impose their
policies
>on Yugoslavia. Meanwhile they tell everyone the fiction that G-17 is a
>home-grown alternative.
>
>G-17 Coordinator Mladjan Dinkic is right now on his way to Bulgaria to draw
>up a "Letter Of Intent" with his colleagues at the International Monetary
>Fund. This will be the first step toward enforcing IMF "economic medicine."
>"We hope they will accept it," Dinkic said to a Pacifica Radio reporter.
>
>Economic Medicine Worse than Russia and Ukraine
>
>What happens when the IMF takes over a country?
>
>One of writers, Prof. Chossudovsky, studies the International Monetary Fund
>and World Bank and what their policies do to countries. . The G-17 Economic
>Program contains the same measures they forced on Russia, the Ukraine,
>Bulgaria and Peru, and many others. The results: social and economic
>devastation.
>
>But Yugoslavia has resisted NATO's attack on its national sovereignty. So
the
>IMF will hit Yugoslavia with even harder economic medicine.
>
>Forced Bankruptcies and Mass Misery
>
>G-17 economists like to talk about "free markets" and "privatization." But
in
>fact their International Monetary Fund wrecks countries.
>
>First, they force governments to do away with any social protections -
>subsidized food or rent, free transportation, free medical care. Out the
>window.
>
>Second, they use economic manipulation and new laws to force businesses -
>public and private - into bankruptcy. Then these businesses are taken over
by
>a small clique of leveraged buyout speculators and other powerful foreign
>economic interests. They purchase the businesses at rock bottom prices.
This
>is called "Privatization through Liquidation" and it is standard practice
in
>the Balkans and Eastern Europe.
>
>A case in point: Yugoslavia, 1989
>
>The elder statesman of the G-17 is Professor Veselin Vukotic. Presently he
is
>one of the economic brains behind Montenegrin secessionism.
>
>But what was he doing before the breakup of Yugoslavia?
>
>In 1989 he was appointed Minister of Privatization under Yugoslav Premier
>Ante Markovic.
>
>Yugoslavs have bitter memories of 1989-1991. But do they "put a human face"
>on the nightmare? Perhaps people think the economic disaster resulted from
>"market mechanisms" or "incompetent government." In fact it resulted from a
>World Bank plan.
>
>People in Ante Markovic's government pulled the strings. In 1989-90,
>Professor Vukotic worked with his Cabinet colleagues and an army of Western
>lawyers and consultants. They imposed the Financial Operations Act. It was
a
>World Bank plan.
>
>Under this law, companies were carefully selected for bankruptcy or
>liquidation. They were forced to meet impossible conditions. In this way,
the
>World Bank, through the Ministry of Privatization headed by Professor
Vukotic
>orchestrated the breakup of fifty percent of Yugoslav industry. World Bank
>data confirms that under his direction more than 1100 industrial firms were
>wiped out from January 1989 to September 1990
>
>And that was only the beginning.
>
>Over 614,000 industrial workers were laid off out of 2.7 million. The areas
>hardest hit were: Serbia, including Kosovo, and Bosnia-Herzegovina and
>Macedonia. Real wages did a nose-dive. Social programs collapsed.
>Unemployment shot up.
>
>And now this same Professor Vukotic, a key man in the G-17, wants to return
>to power. When the IMF gets its jaws on a country it forces the government
to
>work under people who have already served the IMF and World Bank before.,
>People like Professor Vukotic. Vukotic could finish the job he started in
>1989 under the World Bank, a job ironically discontinued when economic
>sanctions were imposed in 1992. (Bulgaria would probably be better off
today
>if it had been hit with sanctions instead of with the International
Monetary
>Fund!)
>
>Giving Montenegrin Property to Foreign Speculators
>
>While Prof. Vukotic hopes to regain cabinet status in a "democratic"
>opposition government in Yugoslavia he has also been working closely with
the
>secessionist government of Montenegro. Montenegrin President Milo
Djukanovic,
>his former student, had put him in charge of the privatization program
which
>is auctioning off state property in Montenegro.
>
>Recently we found a US Commerce Department advertisement on the internet.
The
>title is: " Montenegro: Seeks Privatization Fund Managers."
>
>The advertisement explains that these Managers are needed in Montenegro,
>where US officials are "providing technical support" for so-called
>privatization. The managers would control "funds" that would take over
>ownership of what is now public property. The Managers could "restructure"
>these privatized companies - lay off the workers and sell the most valuable
>components. The Commerce department promises that this "should be quite
>profitable." Note how brazenly the U.S. Commerce Department celebrates
>turning Montenegrin property into foreign profit.
>
>Kosovo
>
>Professor Vukotic has also been vocal on the political and economic status
of
>Kosovo. Last June NATO marched into Kosovo, and the UCK (or Kosovo
Liberation
>Army) along with them. Wherever they went, they drove loyal Yugoslav
citizens
>from their homes, stole or destroyed their property and threatened them
with
>death. By June 26, the expulsions were at a peak.
>
>While Kosovo was devastated, Professor Vukotic said: "Kosovo should also
have
>its own currency." That's virtually the same as saying Kosovo should be a
>separate country. ('Associated Press,' June 26, 1999)
>
>The Deutschmark was adopted as legal tender and almost the entire banking
>system in Kosovo was handed over to Germanys Commerzbank A.G. And the G-17
>economists applaud
>
>The G-17 on the IMF-World Bank Payroll
>
>One of the most prominent members of the G-17 is Dr. Dusan Vujovic, a
senior
>economist at the World Bank. He acts as a link between the G-17 and
>Washington. He has been very active overseeing "reforms" in so-called
>"transition countries". In August 2000, Vujovic was put in charge of
>negotiating one of the World Bank's most deadly economic packages. It was
>imposed on the Ukraine, already devastated by earlier IMF-World Bank
reforms.
>
>What happened to the Ukraine? The Ukraine disaster started in the fall of
>1994. Prime Minister Vitali Masol signed an agreement with the
International
>Monetary Fund. In exchange for accepting "economic shock treatment" Ukraine
>got a 360 million dollar loan. That's a very small amount for a country..
>"Reforms" began in mid-October, 1994. The IMF ordered the Ukrainian
>authorities to end State controls over the currency exchange rate. This led
>to the collapse of the currency. The price of bread shot up overnight -
300%.
>Electricity- up 600%. Public transportation - up 900%.
>
>The population was forced to buy necessities based on "dollarized" prices.
>Meanwhile people were earning less than ten dollars a month. Credit was
>frozen. With electricity prices sky high and no credit, public and private
>industries were destroyed. The international speculators moved in like
sharks
>in a frenzy.
>
>Then in November 1994, World Bank negotiators were sent in to further
>"advise" the government. This time they overhauled Ukraine's agriculture.
The
>grain market was deregulated. This allowed the US to dump grain surpluses
on
>the Ukraine market. Ukraine went from being a grain exporter to begging for
>Food Aid from the European Union and the U.S. Thanks to the International
>Monetary Fund, Ukraine is now a starving political protectorate of the US
and
>Germany. And remember, Ukraine never did anything to offend the U.S.. It
>didn't rebel for 10 years, like Yugoslavia.
>
>The Case of Bulgaria
>
>Another key member of the G-17 is Dr. Zeliko Bogetic who holds a senior
>position at the International Monetary Fund. The International Monetary
Fund
>has been the doctor in many economic cures. The patient always dies. In
>1994-96, Bogetic participated on behalf of the IMF in forcing a structural
>adjustment program (SAP) on Bulgaria. All social defenses - price controls,
>subsidized food, housing and medical care - were stripped away.
>
>The program led to mass poverty and terrible suffering. By 1997, old age
>pensions (according to World Bank sources) had collapsed to two dollars a
>month. The World Bank admits that 90 percent of Bulgarians now live below
the
>poverty line but, they announce, much economic progress is being made.
>Perhaps when all the Bulgarians are dead they will announce the achievement
>of perfection.
>
>In early 2000, Bogetic was dispatched by the International Monetary Fund to
>Podgorica, Montenegro to advise the pro-secessionist government of
President
>Milo Djukanovic. Bogetic was to help set up a currency board modeled on
that
>of Bosnia under the Dayton Accord. Bogetic's advice was to stop using the
>Dinar, the Yugoslav currency. He said that under no circumstances should
>Montenegro establish a Central Bank. Now remember, the Djukanovic
government
>in Montenegro says it wants "independence" from Yugoslavia. But a Central
>Bank is the requirement for real independence. No, said Bogetic, that is
the
>"worst possible solution". So this "independence" really means "colony"!
>
>
>Bogetic would be the likely candidate for Yugoslav Central Bank Governor if
>the "democratic" opposition were to win. He'd do the same thing he's doing
in
>Montenegro. He'd establish a colonial style currency board linked to the
>Deutschmark. Then monetary policy would be controlled by the country's
>creditors. This would be a excellent for the creditors but very bad for the
>common people including local businessmen and farmers. It would make it
>impossible to finance economic reconstruction through the mobilization of
>Yugoslavia's own domestic resources. The country would be in a
straightjacket.
>
>If the "democratic opposition" came to power they have said they will
>introduce International Monetary Fund medicine. That's what they say in
their
>Program. But would this be the same medicine that the IMF have prescribed
for
>Russia, Bulgaria and Ukraine?
>
>Russia, Bulgaria and Ukraine cooperated fully with Washington. As nations,
>they never resisted being turned into colonies. Was the West merciful?
>Consider Russia. During the first year that the reforms were applied, which
>was 1992, wages collapsed by 86 percent. And in many of the countries of
the
>Balkans and Eastern Europe, economic activity has been cut in half. And
these
>are cooperative countries. As everyone knows, the U.S. is very annoyed with
>Yugoslavia. Yugoslavia has not been a good slave. It has not kissed the
hand
>of the bombers.
>
>History shows that if the International Monetary Fund gets hold of a
country
>that has been rebellious the treatment is vicious. And we are not talking
>about major rebels, like Yugoslavia. We are talking about very moderate
>rebels, like Peru.
>
>In Peru, the government of President Alan Garcia (1985-1990) refused to do
>some of what the International Monetary Fund ordered. In 1985, it decided
to
>pay international debts at a reduced rate. It instituted an economic
program
>that would help (instead of destroying) the economy.
>
>The International Monetary Fund Responds
>
>The country was immediately put on a black list by the . This disrupted
>Peru's foreign trade. It damaged the economy. It produced discontent.
>
>Enter Professor Alberto Fujimori. It was the 1990 elections. With help from
>Washington, Peru was having economic problems. Many people wanted change.
>Professor Fujimori was unknown. People felt he was "honest" and
"promising".
>He led a tiny party that had never held power. He was the winner in the
1990
>elections.
>
>Once in office, Fujimori caved in to the International Monetary Fund's
>demands. What followed was the most deadly economic "reform" in Latin
>American history. From one day to the next, the price of fuel increased by
31
>times (2,968 per cent). The price of bread increased more than twelve times
>(1,150 per cent).
>
>People could no longer afford to boil water. A cholera epidemic broke out.
>The social consequences were devastating. An agricultural worker in August
>1990 was paid $7.50 a month (US). That was enough to buy two hamburgers and
a
>drink at McDonalds. Consumer prices in Lima were higher than New York. Real
>earnings dropped by 60 per cent. By mid-1991 the standard of living had
>declined by 85 per cent compared to the levels in the 1970s.And this was
the
>just beginning of ten years of deadly reforms under Fujimori.
>
>And remember, Peru didn't really do anything. Just resisted a few
>International Monetary Fund Measures. But Yugoslavia? Yugoslavia resisted
>colonial domination by Germany during World War II and now by the U.S.A.
>
>Washington and Berlin would like nothing more than to make Yugoslavia an
>example of what happens when you resist. That is, they would like to make
it
>a "model" protectorate.
>
>Haven't the U.S. and Germany made this perfectly clear in Kosovo? A
>gangster-fascist regime with links to the drug trade has been installed.
And
>Western leaders are fully aware of the horror they have wrought in Kosovo.
UN
>Secretary General Kofi Annan received a special report about this. The
report
>was discussed by the British newspaper, The Observer':
>
>"Murder, torture and extortion: these are the extraordinary charges made
>against the UN's own Kosovo Protection Corps in a confidential United
Nations
>report written for Secretary-General Kofi Annan.
>
>"The KPC stands accused in the document, drawn up on 29 February, of
>'criminal activities - killings, ill-treatment/torture, illegal policing,
>abuse of authority, intimidation, breaches of political neutrality and
>hate-speech'. " (quoted in "How Will You Plead at your Trial, Mr. Annan?"
at
>http://emperors-clothes.com/news/howwill.htm )
>
>What would Washington do if it's G-17 employees got hold of Yugoslavia?
They
>would institute the most extreme economic "reforms". Prices would go sky
>high. Farmers would lose their land. Businesses would be bought up and
closed
>down.
>
>This kind of suffering produces ethnic tension. Washington would whip this
up
>by sending in their UCK (KLA) terrorists. Why does Washington keep the UCK
in
>power in Kosovo? Because they want to use them again. For what? They are
>incapable of fighting a real army. What are they good for?
>
>They are good for driving 350,000 unarmed civilians from their homes,
>kidnapping hundreds of people, killing hundreds or perhaps thousands. They
>can be used again in Serbia north of Kosovo - if the US gives them the nod.
>
>A Washington-controlled government would bring in NATO troops to "help keep
>order." The troops would never leave. The hunt for imaginary war criminals
>would go on, a thousand times worse than it is in the Bosnian Serb
Republic.
>Croatians, Bosnian Muslims and ethnic Albanians who fled to Serbia to
escape
>fascist persecution would be put on the list of phony war criminals. All
>loyal Yugoslavs would have to pay for their (imaginary) crimes so that
>"healing can begin."
>
>Every effort would be made to humiliate the people, to break their spirit,
>and to eliminate potential leaders of resistance.
>
>The example of post-war relations between the US and Vietnam is
informative.
>When the Vietnam War ended, the US government ordered an embargo which
>seriously hurt Vietnam, socially and economically. A few years ago,
>Washington agreed to lift the embargo following a secret agreement under
the
>Paris Club of official creditors. Vietnam agreed to pay the debts of the
>former South Vietnamese government. This was a puppet regime set up by
>Washington. It had gone into debt borrowing money from the US, money which
>was mainly used to buy weapons from the US to kill Vietnamese. And now
>Vietnam must repay Washington this odious debt.
>
>While Kostunica presents himself as a nationalist critical of NATO, he also
>wants to "normalise" Yugoslavia's relationship to the IMF and the OSCE. But
>these are "sister institutions", they work together in one big family. NATO
>is the "military arm" of Western financial interests. It does not operate
>independently but works in close consultation with Wall Street and the IMF.
>In Bosnia and Kosovo, NATO military repression is coordinated with actions
of
>the IMF and the World Bank.
>
>Under the IMF, the country would be transformed into a protectorate.
>"Economic warfare" would devastate the society. The Yugoslav people have
done
>remarkable work rebuilding what was destroyed by the NATO bombing last
year.
>But the IMF working through G-17 economists would work to liquidate
national
>industry . (We have seen a sample of this in Kosovo with the Trepca mining
>complex. It was handed over on a silver platter to the powerful "Washington
>Group", a US based construction, mining and defence contractor. The local
>employees have been discharged,)
>
>This economic assault would tend to increase ethnic tensions, providing
>opportunities for provocateurs. NATO could use the excuse of "age old
ethnic
>hatreds" to bring troops into the country. Meanwhile, as indicated in the
>G-17 Program, the IMF would order cuts in military spending. With a
weakened
>army it would be much more difficult to deal with the influx of Kosovo
>Liberation Army terrorists.
>
>Of course, the Yugoslav people could and undoubtedly would organize to
oppose
>these measures. But people should be aware that this can be the result of
>letting the International Monetary Fund get a grip on Yugoslavia.
>
>***
>
>Michel Chossudovsky is Professor of Economics at the University of Ottawa.
He
>is author of "The Globalization of Poverty, Impacts of IMF and World Bank
>Reforms," TWN, Penang and Zed Books, London, 1997. His special expertise is
>studying the consequences of the intervention by Western dominated economic
>institutions such as the IMF and the World Bank in Third World and former
>Socialist countries.
>
>Jared Israel, the editor of Emperor's Clothes, was a leader of the student
>antiwar movement in the 1960s. The Yugoslav resistance to U.S. government
>bullying inspired him to return to antiwar activity. He has written about
the
>struggle in the Balkans in newspapers around the world.
>
>To read articles by Chossudovsky or Israel go to
>http://emperors-clothes.com/artbyauth.html and click on "c" or "i"
>
>***
>
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>[Emperor's Clothes]
>
--------- COORDINAMENTO ROMANO PER LA JUGOSLAVIA -----------
RIMSKI SAVEZ ZA JUGOSLAVIJU
e-mail: crj@... - URL: http://marx2001.org/crj
http://www.egroups.com/group/crj-mailinglist/
------------------------------------------------------------
The International Monetary Fund And The Yugoslav Elections
by Michel Chossudovsky and Jared Israel (9-28-2000)
www.tenc.net
[Emperor's Clothes]
>"We want to be open colony and open society." G-17 coordinator VESELIN
>VUKOTIC interviewed on "The News Hour with Jim Lehrer", US Public
Television,
>July 14, 1999.
>
>How the International Monetary Fund and World Bank operate: "First, they
>force governments to do away with any social protections - subsidized food
or
>rent, free transportation, free medical care. Second, they force
businesses -
>public and private - into bankruptcy. Then these businesses are taken over
by
>a small clique of leveraged buyout speculators and other powerful foreign
>economic interests. They purchase the businesses at rock bottom prices.
This
>is called "Privatization through Liquidation" which is standard practice in
>the Balkans and Eastern Europe." (From the text below)
>
>Recently there's been a lot of interest in the economists in the Yugoslav
>group G-17. They wrote the Program adopted by the so-called "democratic"
>opposition and its Presidential candidate, Vojislav Kostunica. (For a
>discussion of that Program, see "US Arrogance & Yugoslav Elections" at
>www.emperors-clothes.com/engl.htm )
>
>The G-17 likes to give the impression it is independent and
>Yugoslav-oriented. In fact it is funded mainly through the Washington-based
>Center for International Private Enterprise (CIPE). CIPE describes itself
as
>"an affiliate of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce." But in fact it is "a core
>institute" of the National Endowment for Democracy which has nothing to do,
>as far as we can tell, with Democracy. Rather, the Endowment was created in
>1983 to solve a problem of Empire. People knew that the CIA bribed
>intellectuals and leaders and set up front groups to carry out US policy:
>
>"When these covert activities surfaced (as they inevitably did), the
fallout
>was devastating." ('Washington Post', Sept. 22, 1991).
>
>This is why Congress created the National Endowment for Democracy.
>
>Allen Weinstein, who planned the Endowment, said:
>
>"A lot of what we do today was done covertly 25 years ago by the CIA."
>('Washington Post', Sept. 21, 1991)
>
>The National Endowment for Democracy (a sort of CIA spin-off) controls and
>pays for the Center for International Private Enterprise which in turn
funds
>the G-17.
>
>Three of the leading members of G-17 are Washington-based staff members of
>the International Monetary Fund and World Bank. They are, Dusan Vujovic,
>Zeliko Bogetic and Branko Milanovic. In addition, G-17 coordinator
Professor
>Veselin Vukotic has worked closely with the World Bank. He was in charge of
>the World Bank "bankruptcy program" in Yugoslavia during 1989-1990, which
led
>to the devastation of the Yugoslav economy and set the stage for the
breakup
>of Yugoslavia. While on IMF/WB payrolls, they are heavily involved in
>politics in Serbia and Montenegro. Other members of the G-17 consult for
the
>World Bank and attend World Bank-organized meetings.
>
>The "democratic" opposition works with the G-17. It has endorsed the G-17
>Economic program. If it got into power, the G-17 economists would be in
>charge of remaking Yugoslavia. This is not a guess. The opposition Program
>calls for working closely with the International Monetary Fund. The Fund
>always insists that its men run the show. That is not open for negotiation.
>And the IMF's men can conveniently be found among the leading members of
G-17.
>
>On their Website, the G-17 states that their aim is to establish: "...a
>network of experts in all Serbian towns able to create and practically
>implement necessary changes in all fields of social life."
>
>This is not simply a group of economists. It is a network. The
International
>Monetary Fund and World Bank are using this network to impose their
policies
>on Yugoslavia. Meanwhile they tell everyone the fiction that G-17 is a
>home-grown alternative.
>
>G-17 Coordinator Mladjan Dinkic is right now on his way to Bulgaria to draw
>up a "Letter Of Intent" with his colleagues at the International Monetary
>Fund. This will be the first step toward enforcing IMF "economic medicine."
>"We hope they will accept it," Dinkic said to a Pacifica Radio reporter.
>
>Economic Medicine Worse than Russia and Ukraine
>
>What happens when the IMF takes over a country?
>
>One of writers, Prof. Chossudovsky, studies the International Monetary Fund
>and World Bank and what their policies do to countries. . The G-17 Economic
>Program contains the same measures they forced on Russia, the Ukraine,
>Bulgaria and Peru, and many others. The results: social and economic
>devastation.
>
>But Yugoslavia has resisted NATO's attack on its national sovereignty. So
the
>IMF will hit Yugoslavia with even harder economic medicine.
>
>Forced Bankruptcies and Mass Misery
>
>G-17 economists like to talk about "free markets" and "privatization." But
in
>fact their International Monetary Fund wrecks countries.
>
>First, they force governments to do away with any social protections -
>subsidized food or rent, free transportation, free medical care. Out the
>window.
>
>Second, they use economic manipulation and new laws to force businesses -
>public and private - into bankruptcy. Then these businesses are taken over
by
>a small clique of leveraged buyout speculators and other powerful foreign
>economic interests. They purchase the businesses at rock bottom prices.
This
>is called "Privatization through Liquidation" and it is standard practice
in
>the Balkans and Eastern Europe.
>
>A case in point: Yugoslavia, 1989
>
>The elder statesman of the G-17 is Professor Veselin Vukotic. Presently he
is
>one of the economic brains behind Montenegrin secessionism.
>
>But what was he doing before the breakup of Yugoslavia?
>
>In 1989 he was appointed Minister of Privatization under Yugoslav Premier
>Ante Markovic.
>
>Yugoslavs have bitter memories of 1989-1991. But do they "put a human face"
>on the nightmare? Perhaps people think the economic disaster resulted from
>"market mechanisms" or "incompetent government." In fact it resulted from a
>World Bank plan.
>
>People in Ante Markovic's government pulled the strings. In 1989-90,
>Professor Vukotic worked with his Cabinet colleagues and an army of Western
>lawyers and consultants. They imposed the Financial Operations Act. It was
a
>World Bank plan.
>
>Under this law, companies were carefully selected for bankruptcy or
>liquidation. They were forced to meet impossible conditions. In this way,
the
>World Bank, through the Ministry of Privatization headed by Professor
Vukotic
>orchestrated the breakup of fifty percent of Yugoslav industry. World Bank
>data confirms that under his direction more than 1100 industrial firms were
>wiped out from January 1989 to September 1990
>
>And that was only the beginning.
>
>Over 614,000 industrial workers were laid off out of 2.7 million. The areas
>hardest hit were: Serbia, including Kosovo, and Bosnia-Herzegovina and
>Macedonia. Real wages did a nose-dive. Social programs collapsed.
>Unemployment shot up.
>
>And now this same Professor Vukotic, a key man in the G-17, wants to return
>to power. When the IMF gets its jaws on a country it forces the government
to
>work under people who have already served the IMF and World Bank before.,
>People like Professor Vukotic. Vukotic could finish the job he started in
>1989 under the World Bank, a job ironically discontinued when economic
>sanctions were imposed in 1992. (Bulgaria would probably be better off
today
>if it had been hit with sanctions instead of with the International
Monetary
>Fund!)
>
>Giving Montenegrin Property to Foreign Speculators
>
>While Prof. Vukotic hopes to regain cabinet status in a "democratic"
>opposition government in Yugoslavia he has also been working closely with
the
>secessionist government of Montenegro. Montenegrin President Milo
Djukanovic,
>his former student, had put him in charge of the privatization program
which
>is auctioning off state property in Montenegro.
>
>Recently we found a US Commerce Department advertisement on the internet.
The
>title is: " Montenegro: Seeks Privatization Fund Managers."
>
>The advertisement explains that these Managers are needed in Montenegro,
>where US officials are "providing technical support" for so-called
>privatization. The managers would control "funds" that would take over
>ownership of what is now public property. The Managers could "restructure"
>these privatized companies - lay off the workers and sell the most valuable
>components. The Commerce department promises that this "should be quite
>profitable." Note how brazenly the U.S. Commerce Department celebrates
>turning Montenegrin property into foreign profit.
>
>Kosovo
>
>Professor Vukotic has also been vocal on the political and economic status
of
>Kosovo. Last June NATO marched into Kosovo, and the UCK (or Kosovo
Liberation
>Army) along with them. Wherever they went, they drove loyal Yugoslav
citizens
>from their homes, stole or destroyed their property and threatened them
with
>death. By June 26, the expulsions were at a peak.
>
>While Kosovo was devastated, Professor Vukotic said: "Kosovo should also
have
>its own currency." That's virtually the same as saying Kosovo should be a
>separate country. ('Associated Press,' June 26, 1999)
>
>The Deutschmark was adopted as legal tender and almost the entire banking
>system in Kosovo was handed over to Germanys Commerzbank A.G. And the G-17
>economists applaud
>
>The G-17 on the IMF-World Bank Payroll
>
>One of the most prominent members of the G-17 is Dr. Dusan Vujovic, a
senior
>economist at the World Bank. He acts as a link between the G-17 and
>Washington. He has been very active overseeing "reforms" in so-called
>"transition countries". In August 2000, Vujovic was put in charge of
>negotiating one of the World Bank's most deadly economic packages. It was
>imposed on the Ukraine, already devastated by earlier IMF-World Bank
reforms.
>
>What happened to the Ukraine? The Ukraine disaster started in the fall of
>1994. Prime Minister Vitali Masol signed an agreement with the
International
>Monetary Fund. In exchange for accepting "economic shock treatment" Ukraine
>got a 360 million dollar loan. That's a very small amount for a country..
>"Reforms" began in mid-October, 1994. The IMF ordered the Ukrainian
>authorities to end State controls over the currency exchange rate. This led
>to the collapse of the currency. The price of bread shot up overnight -
300%.
>Electricity- up 600%. Public transportation - up 900%.
>
>The population was forced to buy necessities based on "dollarized" prices.
>Meanwhile people were earning less than ten dollars a month. Credit was
>frozen. With electricity prices sky high and no credit, public and private
>industries were destroyed. The international speculators moved in like
sharks
>in a frenzy.
>
>Then in November 1994, World Bank negotiators were sent in to further
>"advise" the government. This time they overhauled Ukraine's agriculture.
The
>grain market was deregulated. This allowed the US to dump grain surpluses
on
>the Ukraine market. Ukraine went from being a grain exporter to begging for
>Food Aid from the European Union and the U.S. Thanks to the International
>Monetary Fund, Ukraine is now a starving political protectorate of the US
and
>Germany. And remember, Ukraine never did anything to offend the U.S.. It
>didn't rebel for 10 years, like Yugoslavia.
>
>The Case of Bulgaria
>
>Another key member of the G-17 is Dr. Zeliko Bogetic who holds a senior
>position at the International Monetary Fund. The International Monetary
Fund
>has been the doctor in many economic cures. The patient always dies. In
>1994-96, Bogetic participated on behalf of the IMF in forcing a structural
>adjustment program (SAP) on Bulgaria. All social defenses - price controls,
>subsidized food, housing and medical care - were stripped away.
>
>The program led to mass poverty and terrible suffering. By 1997, old age
>pensions (according to World Bank sources) had collapsed to two dollars a
>month. The World Bank admits that 90 percent of Bulgarians now live below
the
>poverty line but, they announce, much economic progress is being made.
>Perhaps when all the Bulgarians are dead they will announce the achievement
>of perfection.
>
>In early 2000, Bogetic was dispatched by the International Monetary Fund to
>Podgorica, Montenegro to advise the pro-secessionist government of
President
>Milo Djukanovic. Bogetic was to help set up a currency board modeled on
that
>of Bosnia under the Dayton Accord. Bogetic's advice was to stop using the
>Dinar, the Yugoslav currency. He said that under no circumstances should
>Montenegro establish a Central Bank. Now remember, the Djukanovic
government
>in Montenegro says it wants "independence" from Yugoslavia. But a Central
>Bank is the requirement for real independence. No, said Bogetic, that is
the
>"worst possible solution". So this "independence" really means "colony"!
>
>
>Bogetic would be the likely candidate for Yugoslav Central Bank Governor if
>the "democratic" opposition were to win. He'd do the same thing he's doing
in
>Montenegro. He'd establish a colonial style currency board linked to the
>Deutschmark. Then monetary policy would be controlled by the country's
>creditors. This would be a excellent for the creditors but very bad for the
>common people including local businessmen and farmers. It would make it
>impossible to finance economic reconstruction through the mobilization of
>Yugoslavia's own domestic resources. The country would be in a
straightjacket.
>
>If the "democratic opposition" came to power they have said they will
>introduce International Monetary Fund medicine. That's what they say in
their
>Program. But would this be the same medicine that the IMF have prescribed
for
>Russia, Bulgaria and Ukraine?
>
>Russia, Bulgaria and Ukraine cooperated fully with Washington. As nations,
>they never resisted being turned into colonies. Was the West merciful?
>Consider Russia. During the first year that the reforms were applied, which
>was 1992, wages collapsed by 86 percent. And in many of the countries of
the
>Balkans and Eastern Europe, economic activity has been cut in half. And
these
>are cooperative countries. As everyone knows, the U.S. is very annoyed with
>Yugoslavia. Yugoslavia has not been a good slave. It has not kissed the
hand
>of the bombers.
>
>History shows that if the International Monetary Fund gets hold of a
country
>that has been rebellious the treatment is vicious. And we are not talking
>about major rebels, like Yugoslavia. We are talking about very moderate
>rebels, like Peru.
>
>In Peru, the government of President Alan Garcia (1985-1990) refused to do
>some of what the International Monetary Fund ordered. In 1985, it decided
to
>pay international debts at a reduced rate. It instituted an economic
program
>that would help (instead of destroying) the economy.
>
>The International Monetary Fund Responds
>
>The country was immediately put on a black list by the . This disrupted
>Peru's foreign trade. It damaged the economy. It produced discontent.
>
>Enter Professor Alberto Fujimori. It was the 1990 elections. With help from
>Washington, Peru was having economic problems. Many people wanted change.
>Professor Fujimori was unknown. People felt he was "honest" and
"promising".
>He led a tiny party that had never held power. He was the winner in the
1990
>elections.
>
>Once in office, Fujimori caved in to the International Monetary Fund's
>demands. What followed was the most deadly economic "reform" in Latin
>American history. From one day to the next, the price of fuel increased by
31
>times (2,968 per cent). The price of bread increased more than twelve times
>(1,150 per cent).
>
>People could no longer afford to boil water. A cholera epidemic broke out.
>The social consequences were devastating. An agricultural worker in August
>1990 was paid $7.50 a month (US). That was enough to buy two hamburgers and
a
>drink at McDonalds. Consumer prices in Lima were higher than New York. Real
>earnings dropped by 60 per cent. By mid-1991 the standard of living had
>declined by 85 per cent compared to the levels in the 1970s.And this was
the
>just beginning of ten years of deadly reforms under Fujimori.
>
>And remember, Peru didn't really do anything. Just resisted a few
>International Monetary Fund Measures. But Yugoslavia? Yugoslavia resisted
>colonial domination by Germany during World War II and now by the U.S.A.
>
>Washington and Berlin would like nothing more than to make Yugoslavia an
>example of what happens when you resist. That is, they would like to make
it
>a "model" protectorate.
>
>Haven't the U.S. and Germany made this perfectly clear in Kosovo? A
>gangster-fascist regime with links to the drug trade has been installed.
And
>Western leaders are fully aware of the horror they have wrought in Kosovo.
UN
>Secretary General Kofi Annan received a special report about this. The
report
>was discussed by the British newspaper, The Observer':
>
>"Murder, torture and extortion: these are the extraordinary charges made
>against the UN's own Kosovo Protection Corps in a confidential United
Nations
>report written for Secretary-General Kofi Annan.
>
>"The KPC stands accused in the document, drawn up on 29 February, of
>'criminal activities - killings, ill-treatment/torture, illegal policing,
>abuse of authority, intimidation, breaches of political neutrality and
>hate-speech'. " (quoted in "How Will You Plead at your Trial, Mr. Annan?"
at
>http://emperors-clothes.com/news/howwill.htm )
>
>What would Washington do if it's G-17 employees got hold of Yugoslavia?
They
>would institute the most extreme economic "reforms". Prices would go sky
>high. Farmers would lose their land. Businesses would be bought up and
closed
>down.
>
>This kind of suffering produces ethnic tension. Washington would whip this
up
>by sending in their UCK (KLA) terrorists. Why does Washington keep the UCK
in
>power in Kosovo? Because they want to use them again. For what? They are
>incapable of fighting a real army. What are they good for?
>
>They are good for driving 350,000 unarmed civilians from their homes,
>kidnapping hundreds of people, killing hundreds or perhaps thousands. They
>can be used again in Serbia north of Kosovo - if the US gives them the nod.
>
>A Washington-controlled government would bring in NATO troops to "help keep
>order." The troops would never leave. The hunt for imaginary war criminals
>would go on, a thousand times worse than it is in the Bosnian Serb
Republic.
>Croatians, Bosnian Muslims and ethnic Albanians who fled to Serbia to
escape
>fascist persecution would be put on the list of phony war criminals. All
>loyal Yugoslavs would have to pay for their (imaginary) crimes so that
>"healing can begin."
>
>Every effort would be made to humiliate the people, to break their spirit,
>and to eliminate potential leaders of resistance.
>
>The example of post-war relations between the US and Vietnam is
informative.
>When the Vietnam War ended, the US government ordered an embargo which
>seriously hurt Vietnam, socially and economically. A few years ago,
>Washington agreed to lift the embargo following a secret agreement under
the
>Paris Club of official creditors. Vietnam agreed to pay the debts of the
>former South Vietnamese government. This was a puppet regime set up by
>Washington. It had gone into debt borrowing money from the US, money which
>was mainly used to buy weapons from the US to kill Vietnamese. And now
>Vietnam must repay Washington this odious debt.
>
>While Kostunica presents himself as a nationalist critical of NATO, he also
>wants to "normalise" Yugoslavia's relationship to the IMF and the OSCE. But
>these are "sister institutions", they work together in one big family. NATO
>is the "military arm" of Western financial interests. It does not operate
>independently but works in close consultation with Wall Street and the IMF.
>In Bosnia and Kosovo, NATO military repression is coordinated with actions
of
>the IMF and the World Bank.
>
>Under the IMF, the country would be transformed into a protectorate.
>"Economic warfare" would devastate the society. The Yugoslav people have
done
>remarkable work rebuilding what was destroyed by the NATO bombing last
year.
>But the IMF working through G-17 economists would work to liquidate
national
>industry . (We have seen a sample of this in Kosovo with the Trepca mining
>complex. It was handed over on a silver platter to the powerful "Washington
>Group", a US based construction, mining and defence contractor. The local
>employees have been discharged,)
>
>This economic assault would tend to increase ethnic tensions, providing
>opportunities for provocateurs. NATO could use the excuse of "age old
ethnic
>hatreds" to bring troops into the country. Meanwhile, as indicated in the
>G-17 Program, the IMF would order cuts in military spending. With a
weakened
>army it would be much more difficult to deal with the influx of Kosovo
>Liberation Army terrorists.
>
>Of course, the Yugoslav people could and undoubtedly would organize to
oppose
>these measures. But people should be aware that this can be the result of
>letting the International Monetary Fund get a grip on Yugoslavia.
>
>***
>
>Michel Chossudovsky is Professor of Economics at the University of Ottawa.
He
>is author of "The Globalization of Poverty, Impacts of IMF and World Bank
>Reforms," TWN, Penang and Zed Books, London, 1997. His special expertise is
>studying the consequences of the intervention by Western dominated economic
>institutions such as the IMF and the World Bank in Third World and former
>Socialist countries.
>
>Jared Israel, the editor of Emperor's Clothes, was a leader of the student
>antiwar movement in the 1960s. The Yugoslav resistance to U.S. government
>bullying inspired him to return to antiwar activity. He has written about
the
>struggle in the Balkans in newspapers around the world.
>
>To read articles by Chossudovsky or Israel go to
>http://emperors-clothes.com/artbyauth.html and click on "c" or "i"
>
>***
>
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