ALCUNE IMMAGINI DELLA MANIFESTAZIONE DI BELGRADO DELL'8 FEBBRAIO (in
formato JPG) ALLA URL:
> http://groups.yahoo.com/group/crj-mailinglist/message/775
...E NEL FRATTEMPO, AD ATENE:
> http://groups.yahoo.com/group/crj-mailinglist/message/776
---
The URL for his article is
http://emperors-clothes.com/articles/zorich/arrsol.htm
For a printer-friendly version of this article, please click here.
www.tenc.net
[Emperor's Clothes]
Belgrade Demands: 'Arrest Solana!'
By Milosh Zorich (Special to Emperor’s Clothes)
Belgrade, February 8, 2001
Today thousands demonstrated against the
arrival of former NATO leader Javier Solana,
sentenced by a Yugoslav court to 20 years in
prison for aggression against Yugoslavia and
crimes of war.
"The murderer returns to the scene of his crime" would best
describe the reactions of today’s Belgrade to the arrival of
Javier Solana. Currently a high EU official, Solana was the
NATO Secretary-General who in 1999 issued the order to
bomb Yugoslav towns and cities. The bombing destroyed
numerous civilian buildings, hospitals, schools, churches,
bridges, infrastructure and a passenger train...
Reporters estimated that last night’s protest drew several
thousand citizens. They burned an effigy resembling Solana,
stoned the US Embassy, laid a wreath on the heavily
damaged building of the Yugoslav Army’s General Staff
and lit thousands of candles to commemorate the victims of
NATO’s attacks that took place from March to June 1999.
Escorted by police, the demonstrators marched through
downtown Belgrade chanting "Solana-Satan!", "Solana –
murderer of innocents," "Out with the murderer!",
"NATO-Nazis!", "Serbia is awake" and "Arrest the
criminal."
The rally was joined by a large group of Greeks, who
traveled to Belgrade to protest the presence of NATO in
the Balkans.
Another rally was scheduled for this morning at 9 a.m.,
before the Federation Palace in New Belgrade, where the
three-member EU delegation met with President
Koshtunitsa and other government representatives. As the
demonstrators gathered, the police used force to arrest
Sinisha Vuchinich, chairman of the "Nikola Pashich"
Radical Party. Several hundred protesters dispersed after
10:30 a.m..
One question the new, legalist government cannot answer is
how to avoid arresting Solana, given that he was sentenced
to 20 years’ imprisonment by the Belgrade County Court
last year? Will their guest walk freely through the city and
tour the destroyed monuments? Will he meet with the
families of those killed by his "Merciful Angel"? Will he
talk with the scientists and physicians who are currently
seeking ways to avoid the long-term consequences of
depleted uranium poisoning from munitions launched
against Serbia?
According to district attorney Andria Milutinovich, who
prosecuted NATO leaders at the trial last year, the
presiding judge, Justice Verolub Rakitich, has not yet
finalized the very complex verdict. It is currently being
translated into four foreign languages, and has not yet been
served to the police, together with the warrant for Solana’s
arrest.
Protest rallies drew many citizens who did not belong to
any political party, but were united by their condemnation
of NATO crimes and belief that Solana was personally
responsible for them.
"I lost my husband and my brother. The West is responsible
for their deaths. And when I came to Serbia, NATO
destroyed my refuge. Solana must be punished," said Maria
Potkonyak, a retired Serb who was driven from Croatia
during Operation Storm in 1995.
"I lost my job," said Zdravko Yagich, a worker at the
bombed-out "Milan Blagoyevich" appliance factory.
"NATO took the bread from my family. I think Solana is a
common thug."
"NATO did a lot of damage to my country," said Stevan
Soch, a civil servant and father of three. "How will the
economy recover, how will the lost lives be recovered?
How can I feed my family in a devastated country? I would
like that murderer Solana to answer these questions for
me."
Interestingly enough, even the papers that have supported
the changes in Yugoslavia, that were critical of
Miloshevich and his regime, gave much room to
accusations against Solana and disapproved of his visit.
The daily "Glas Yavnosti" [Public Voice] for example, in
today’s edition quoted many citizens who demanded that
the government should not talk with Solana.
"Solana should be shown what was destroyed, then
arrested. Maybe we should organize some sort of
Hague-like trial for him, too," said student Milan Lukovich.
"He should be arrested right away, at the airport!" said lab
assistant Milena Stevanovich.
Seventeen-year-old high school student Ivan Maksimovich
said, "After all he’s done to us, I would have him shot in
front of the Parliament, but not before everyone had a
chance to spit on him."
The talks at Federation Palace were successful, to the
mutual pleasure of the EU visitors and the present
government.
-- Milosh Zorich, February 8, 2001
[translated by N. Malich]
Milosh Zorich is a Yugoslav journalist with many years
experience.
***
Further reading
1) 'Don't entertain him - arrest him!' Statement by
Michel Chossudovsky, Jared Israel and Nico Varkevisser
condemning Solana's visit to Belgrade at
http://emperors-clothes.com/docs/dem.htm
2) 'The Incorporation of Spain and Javier Solana Into
NATO by Javier Bernal at
http://emperors-clothes.com/articles/javier/solnato.htm
Yugoslav Journalists' Fund
Emperor's Clothes is trying to assist a few families of
Yugoslav journalists. These journalists are among the
many journalists who have literally been thrown out of
work when thugs took over all TV and radio stations
and newspapers during and after the Oct. 5th coup.
These attacks are part of the terror in 'democratic'
Serbia. We are providing some financial help; we need
to provide more.
It's really a privilege to be able to help these brave men
and women who are trying to report 'the other side'
within Yugoslavia and, through Emperor's Clothes and
other media, to the outside world.
Meanwhile, our own operating costs have increased.
(For instance, monthly fees for the superb news media
search engine Lexis have more than doubled.)
If you can make a contribution either to our general
expenses or specifically to help the Journalists' Fund,
please do. Any amount will help. To use our secure
server, please go to
http://www.emperors-clothes.com/howyour.htm#donate.
(If you use the secure server and wish your contribution
to go to the Journalists' Fund, please send us a note at
emperors1000@...
Or you can mail a check to Emperor's Clothes, P.O.
Box 610-321, Newton, MA 02461-0321.
Or call 617 916-1705 from 9-5, Eastern U.S. time and
ask for Bob. Thanks very much!
And please join our email list so we can keep you
informed.
www.tenc.net
[Emperor's Clothes]
---
E.U. WANTS BELGRADE COOPERATION WITH WAR CRIMES COURT, REFORMS
BELGRADE, February 8 (Tanjug) A visiting European Union
"troika"
on Thursday supported the new government in Belgrade and pledged further
assistance to Yugoslavia, expecting in return reforms and cooperation
with
the war crimes court in the Hague.
Swedish Foreign Minister Anna Lindh, whose country holds the
rotating E.U. presidency in this term, told a news conference Yugoslavia
was expected to carry out sweeping reforms, cooperate fully with the
Haguebased tribunal and release political prisoners.
The news conference was attended also by Commissioners Javier
Solana (foreign policy, security) and Chris Patten (foreign affairs),
and
Belgian Secretary of State Annemie Neyts.
Lindh described Thursday's talks with Yugoslav President
Vojislav
Kostunica and the Yugoslav republic of Serbia's Premier Zoran Djindjic
as
constructive and fruitful.
Asked what the European Union expected in connection with the
extradition of former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic to the
Haguebased court, Lindh said the Union did not think the matter could be
settled immediately, but did expect swift results.
Solana, in turn, said he had seen some buildings demolished by
NATO during its air campaign against Yugoslavia in 1999, when he was
NATO
secretarygeneral.
Asked what he felt at the sight of them, he said he was human
and
had feelings, that this was an important day for him and he did not wish
to
share his personal feelings, adding he had come to help Yugoslavia get
closer to Europe.
He said the "troika" had communicated to Kostunica, Djindjic
and
Foreign Minister Goran Svilanovic the Union's willingness to help the
Yugoslav and Serbian governments find a settlement for southern Serbia
within Serbia and Yugoslavia, without changing the borders.
He added that special efforts must be made to heal the economy
in
southern Serbia and open a dialogue between local Serbs and ethnic
Albanians, and added the "troika" had become convinced that the Serbian
and
Yugoslav governments shared these sentiments.
He said Europe was prepared, in consultation with Yugoslavia,
to
increase the number of its observers in southern Serbia.
Chris Patten, for his part, said about one million euros had
been
set aside for the humanitarian needs of the municipalities in the
region,
adding that the Union was open to cooperation with the Serbian
government
on their economic recovery.
Annemie Neyts of Belgium, which takes over the rotating E.U.
presidency in July, speaking about intraYugoslav federation relations,
said
the Belgrade government had again been assured the European Union
insists
on respect for all international borders.
Patten said it was necessary to open a serious and objective
dialogue, taking into account the positions of the Yugoslav government
and
the governments of its federal units Serbia and Montenegro.
---
http://emperors-clothes.com/articles/javier/solnato.htm
[Emperor's Clothes]
The Incorporation of Spain and Javier Solana Into NATO
[2-9-2001]
An Historical Analysis by Francisco Javier Bernal
mailto:asterion@...
One of the main contentions regarding Javier Solana
Madariaga's past is his presumed anti-NATO stance
during the 1980s. Although this volte-face from
alleged peace activist to born-again militarist has
been debated many times before, I think it is
necessary to put it into historical context.
In June 1980 U.S. President Jimmy Carter affirmed his
administration's conviction that Spanish membership in
NATO would significantly enhance the Organization's
defensive capability. During the Cold War, the
importance of Spain for NATO was clear due to its
great geo-strategic importance, particularly its
possession of the Canary Islands in the Atlantic
Ocean, of Ceuta and Melilla on the Moroccan coast,
next to the straight of Gibraltar, and of the Balearic
Islands in the Mediterranean Sea. It meant that Spain
controlled a vital maritime route. Moreover, it had
first-class facilities for air-force operations, like
Morón de la Frontera, an American base in Andalusia
that had been operative since 1953, following an
agreement between President Eisenhower and
Generalísimo Franco.
However, at that time the by then Spanish Prime
Minister, Adolfo Suárez, was not being very
"cooperative". Though coming from a conservative
party, the Union of the Democratic Centre (UCD), he
was conducting himself as an individual too
independent in his views, making contacts with Castro,
Qadhafi, Arafat and other pariah leaders. Of course,
something needed to be done: The Pentagon's impatience
with such disobedience soon resulted in its rattling
its sabers... In just two months, Suarez was the
victim of a smear campaign from inside his own party,
leading him to resign shortly thereafter. The
objective of the White House was to integrate Spain
into its military engines, even at the cost of
seriously damaging (or even aborting) the
constitutional process in the course of performing
this integration. In February 1981, an attempted coup
d'etat occurred: The U.S. Secretary of State,
Alexander Haig, affirmed publicly that "it was an
internal affair only of concern to Spain," despite the
publicly known active participation of agents from the
U.S. Embassy in the preparations of the military
pronunciamiento.
Solana's Socialist Workers Party (PSOE) had already
shown itself as very useful for the U.S. Secretary of
State's purposes, having promoted a vote of no
confidence in the parliament against PM Suárez. The
new UCD designated Prime Minister, the greatly
unpopular Calvo Sotelo, pushed the incorporation of
Spain into the Atlantic Alliance in the autumn of
1981. Of course, it was still not the ideal situation
for the Pentagon. Javier Solana, an old Fullbrighter,
accused of being a CIA man inside the PSOE structure
(see the book. 'Soberanos e Intervenidos, Estrategias
globales, americanos y españoles,' by Jaon Garces),
was the person who made the official presentation of
Felipe González (PSOE's Secretary General) to the US
Embassy in Madrid.
Washington was very much interested in controlling the
Spanish political scene, as it had done through the
efforts of U.S. Ambassador Frank Carlucci shortly
before in Portugal to "manage" the revolution of 25
April there, isolating people like Saraiva de Carvalho
and, mainly, Vasco Goncalves, and offering in exchange
blind support for "moderate democrats" like Costa
Gomes.
What the Spanish Socialist Party receivedas payment
was indirect financing for the next round of general
elections, via the omnipresent AFL-CIO trade union
federation, whose foreign activities peculiarly always
coincided with the State Department's and the CIA's
interests.
Anyway, if the Socialists wanted to win the elections
they needed to play the NATO card very wisely. Most of
the Spanish people were fiercely anti-NATO and any
different position would alienate the leftist voters.
(The Communist Party, PCE, had been the only real
political underground opposition during Franco's
dictatorship). The views of the PSOE on that matter
were always far from being clear. Even their slogan
for the 1982 campaign had a strange double meaning:
"OTAN, de entrada no" that could be understood as
"NATO. No incorporation" or "NATO, at first no; but
later..."
The Socialists also promised a referendum so that
Spaniards could decide whether they wanted their
country to remain inside NATO or not. After winning
the elections in October 1982, the Socialists changed
their position and the new government of Felipe
González quickly adopted a pro-NATO stance. Three
months later they signed an agreement for the renewal
of the US military bases in Spain. With each
succeeding day, they were making clear their NATOist
position: "The permanence in the alliance is a vital
step towards the consolidation of democracy"; "If
Spain wishes to join the EEC, then it has to be part
of the defense system of the West"; "NATO membership,
and joining the European Community, mean the end of
the traditional isolation of Spain."
González even threatened pensioners, telling them that
an eventual exit from the Alliance would mean "the end
of the Welfare State." Anyway, the Spanish people did
not want to swallow that so easily. In 1986, five
million Spaniards signed a petition for a referendum
on continued membership in the Alliance.
The referendum was held in March of 1986: The
Socialist government campaigned in favor of NATO, the
Communist Party and many other groups on the left
campaigned against it, and the Popular Party
(pro-NATO) adopted a contradictory position and asked
its voters to abstain. Of course Solana, González and
their acolytes were not going to give the electorate a
simple choice to make. That would be too easy and very
dangerous if they happened to choose "the wrong one."
They rephrased the question to be asked in the
following way: Do you consider it advisable for Spain
to remain in the Atlantic Alliance, provided that:
1) Spain will not be incorporated into NATO's
integrated military structure?
2) Spain would be a nuclear-free country?
3) American presence on Spanish territory would be
considerably reduced? Results: Yes: 52.5%; No: 39.8%;
Abstention: 40% of the electorate. Solana and Co. had
found a way to divide the strong anti-NATO feeling
among the country's majority. Many people believed in
their words again when they promised that "Spain will
never join the Common Command," keeping outside the
military structure; they also believed that any status
changes would require further referenda before being
approved. At the same time, the United States looked
aside while the Spanish Government profited from a
$280 million re-sale of American arms to Iran.
Spanish duties inside NATO would be restricted to:
1. Defence of the national territory.
2. Naval and aerial operations in the Eastern Atlantic
Ocean.
3. Control over the Strait of Gibraltar and its access
points.
4. Naval and aerial operations in the Western
Mediterranean Sea.
5. Control and defence of the air space of Spain and
adjacent areas.
6. Use of the national territory as a retreat or
multifunctional platform (traffic, support and
logistics).
According to the above points, any Spanish
collaboration in a future NATO aggression against
Yugoslavia would be illegal. However, on November 14,
1996, during the last Socialist term, one year after
Solana became NATO Criminal-in-Chief (sorry, I mean
NATO Secretary General), they rushed a law into the
Parliament to "authorise the government to negotiate
the terms for the incorporation into the new NATO
Joint Military Command," clearly breaking the previous
referendum's commitments. Javier Solana welcomed this
change with the words "It is time for Spain to assume
the role it should have inside the Alliance." In
regard to his old "anti-NATO" positions, he told the
Spanish language paper 'El Nuevo Herald' of Florida
that, "he - the same as Clinton or even the CIA
director, James Woolsey, himself - is a pacifist who
knew how to evolve with the new times," and (in
another interview given to 'El País' ) that "he was
proud to represent an Alliance dissociated from its
Cold War origins".
Some biographical details:
Javier Solana's brother, Luis Solana, was the first
Spanish Socialist politician to join the Trilateral
Commission;
Solana was the author of the Manifesto titled "50
reasons to say NO to NATO" that led to the Socialist
Party victory in the 1982 elections;
His favorite hobby is collecting guns.
---
Questa lista e' provvisoriamente curata da componenti
dell'ex Coordinamento Nazionale "La Jugoslavia Vivra'",
oggi "Comitato Promotore dell'Assemblea Antimperialista".
I documenti distribuiti non rispecchiano necessariamente le
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vengono fatti circolare per il loro contenuto informativo al
solo scopo di segnalazione e commento ("for fair use only").
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formato JPG) ALLA URL:
> http://groups.yahoo.com/group/crj-mailinglist/message/775
...E NEL FRATTEMPO, AD ATENE:
> http://groups.yahoo.com/group/crj-mailinglist/message/776
---
The URL for his article is
http://emperors-clothes.com/articles/zorich/arrsol.htm
For a printer-friendly version of this article, please click here.
www.tenc.net
[Emperor's Clothes]
Belgrade Demands: 'Arrest Solana!'
By Milosh Zorich (Special to Emperor’s Clothes)
Belgrade, February 8, 2001
Today thousands demonstrated against the
arrival of former NATO leader Javier Solana,
sentenced by a Yugoslav court to 20 years in
prison for aggression against Yugoslavia and
crimes of war.
"The murderer returns to the scene of his crime" would best
describe the reactions of today’s Belgrade to the arrival of
Javier Solana. Currently a high EU official, Solana was the
NATO Secretary-General who in 1999 issued the order to
bomb Yugoslav towns and cities. The bombing destroyed
numerous civilian buildings, hospitals, schools, churches,
bridges, infrastructure and a passenger train...
Reporters estimated that last night’s protest drew several
thousand citizens. They burned an effigy resembling Solana,
stoned the US Embassy, laid a wreath on the heavily
damaged building of the Yugoslav Army’s General Staff
and lit thousands of candles to commemorate the victims of
NATO’s attacks that took place from March to June 1999.
Escorted by police, the demonstrators marched through
downtown Belgrade chanting "Solana-Satan!", "Solana –
murderer of innocents," "Out with the murderer!",
"NATO-Nazis!", "Serbia is awake" and "Arrest the
criminal."
The rally was joined by a large group of Greeks, who
traveled to Belgrade to protest the presence of NATO in
the Balkans.
Another rally was scheduled for this morning at 9 a.m.,
before the Federation Palace in New Belgrade, where the
three-member EU delegation met with President
Koshtunitsa and other government representatives. As the
demonstrators gathered, the police used force to arrest
Sinisha Vuchinich, chairman of the "Nikola Pashich"
Radical Party. Several hundred protesters dispersed after
10:30 a.m..
One question the new, legalist government cannot answer is
how to avoid arresting Solana, given that he was sentenced
to 20 years’ imprisonment by the Belgrade County Court
last year? Will their guest walk freely through the city and
tour the destroyed monuments? Will he meet with the
families of those killed by his "Merciful Angel"? Will he
talk with the scientists and physicians who are currently
seeking ways to avoid the long-term consequences of
depleted uranium poisoning from munitions launched
against Serbia?
According to district attorney Andria Milutinovich, who
prosecuted NATO leaders at the trial last year, the
presiding judge, Justice Verolub Rakitich, has not yet
finalized the very complex verdict. It is currently being
translated into four foreign languages, and has not yet been
served to the police, together with the warrant for Solana’s
arrest.
Protest rallies drew many citizens who did not belong to
any political party, but were united by their condemnation
of NATO crimes and belief that Solana was personally
responsible for them.
"I lost my husband and my brother. The West is responsible
for their deaths. And when I came to Serbia, NATO
destroyed my refuge. Solana must be punished," said Maria
Potkonyak, a retired Serb who was driven from Croatia
during Operation Storm in 1995.
"I lost my job," said Zdravko Yagich, a worker at the
bombed-out "Milan Blagoyevich" appliance factory.
"NATO took the bread from my family. I think Solana is a
common thug."
"NATO did a lot of damage to my country," said Stevan
Soch, a civil servant and father of three. "How will the
economy recover, how will the lost lives be recovered?
How can I feed my family in a devastated country? I would
like that murderer Solana to answer these questions for
me."
Interestingly enough, even the papers that have supported
the changes in Yugoslavia, that were critical of
Miloshevich and his regime, gave much room to
accusations against Solana and disapproved of his visit.
The daily "Glas Yavnosti" [Public Voice] for example, in
today’s edition quoted many citizens who demanded that
the government should not talk with Solana.
"Solana should be shown what was destroyed, then
arrested. Maybe we should organize some sort of
Hague-like trial for him, too," said student Milan Lukovich.
"He should be arrested right away, at the airport!" said lab
assistant Milena Stevanovich.
Seventeen-year-old high school student Ivan Maksimovich
said, "After all he’s done to us, I would have him shot in
front of the Parliament, but not before everyone had a
chance to spit on him."
The talks at Federation Palace were successful, to the
mutual pleasure of the EU visitors and the present
government.
-- Milosh Zorich, February 8, 2001
[translated by N. Malich]
Milosh Zorich is a Yugoslav journalist with many years
experience.
***
Further reading
1) 'Don't entertain him - arrest him!' Statement by
Michel Chossudovsky, Jared Israel and Nico Varkevisser
condemning Solana's visit to Belgrade at
http://emperors-clothes.com/docs/dem.htm
2) 'The Incorporation of Spain and Javier Solana Into
NATO by Javier Bernal at
http://emperors-clothes.com/articles/javier/solnato.htm
Yugoslav Journalists' Fund
Emperor's Clothes is trying to assist a few families of
Yugoslav journalists. These journalists are among the
many journalists who have literally been thrown out of
work when thugs took over all TV and radio stations
and newspapers during and after the Oct. 5th coup.
These attacks are part of the terror in 'democratic'
Serbia. We are providing some financial help; we need
to provide more.
It's really a privilege to be able to help these brave men
and women who are trying to report 'the other side'
within Yugoslavia and, through Emperor's Clothes and
other media, to the outside world.
Meanwhile, our own operating costs have increased.
(For instance, monthly fees for the superb news media
search engine Lexis have more than doubled.)
If you can make a contribution either to our general
expenses or specifically to help the Journalists' Fund,
please do. Any amount will help. To use our secure
server, please go to
http://www.emperors-clothes.com/howyour.htm#donate.
(If you use the secure server and wish your contribution
to go to the Journalists' Fund, please send us a note at
emperors1000@...
Or you can mail a check to Emperor's Clothes, P.O.
Box 610-321, Newton, MA 02461-0321.
Or call 617 916-1705 from 9-5, Eastern U.S. time and
ask for Bob. Thanks very much!
And please join our email list so we can keep you
informed.
www.tenc.net
[Emperor's Clothes]
---
E.U. WANTS BELGRADE COOPERATION WITH WAR CRIMES COURT, REFORMS
BELGRADE, February 8 (Tanjug) A visiting European Union
"troika"
on Thursday supported the new government in Belgrade and pledged further
assistance to Yugoslavia, expecting in return reforms and cooperation
with
the war crimes court in the Hague.
Swedish Foreign Minister Anna Lindh, whose country holds the
rotating E.U. presidency in this term, told a news conference Yugoslavia
was expected to carry out sweeping reforms, cooperate fully with the
Haguebased tribunal and release political prisoners.
The news conference was attended also by Commissioners Javier
Solana (foreign policy, security) and Chris Patten (foreign affairs),
and
Belgian Secretary of State Annemie Neyts.
Lindh described Thursday's talks with Yugoslav President
Vojislav
Kostunica and the Yugoslav republic of Serbia's Premier Zoran Djindjic
as
constructive and fruitful.
Asked what the European Union expected in connection with the
extradition of former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic to the
Haguebased court, Lindh said the Union did not think the matter could be
settled immediately, but did expect swift results.
Solana, in turn, said he had seen some buildings demolished by
NATO during its air campaign against Yugoslavia in 1999, when he was
NATO
secretarygeneral.
Asked what he felt at the sight of them, he said he was human
and
had feelings, that this was an important day for him and he did not wish
to
share his personal feelings, adding he had come to help Yugoslavia get
closer to Europe.
He said the "troika" had communicated to Kostunica, Djindjic
and
Foreign Minister Goran Svilanovic the Union's willingness to help the
Yugoslav and Serbian governments find a settlement for southern Serbia
within Serbia and Yugoslavia, without changing the borders.
He added that special efforts must be made to heal the economy
in
southern Serbia and open a dialogue between local Serbs and ethnic
Albanians, and added the "troika" had become convinced that the Serbian
and
Yugoslav governments shared these sentiments.
He said Europe was prepared, in consultation with Yugoslavia,
to
increase the number of its observers in southern Serbia.
Chris Patten, for his part, said about one million euros had
been
set aside for the humanitarian needs of the municipalities in the
region,
adding that the Union was open to cooperation with the Serbian
government
on their economic recovery.
Annemie Neyts of Belgium, which takes over the rotating E.U.
presidency in July, speaking about intraYugoslav federation relations,
said
the Belgrade government had again been assured the European Union
insists
on respect for all international borders.
Patten said it was necessary to open a serious and objective
dialogue, taking into account the positions of the Yugoslav government
and
the governments of its federal units Serbia and Montenegro.
---
http://emperors-clothes.com/articles/javier/solnato.htm
[Emperor's Clothes]
The Incorporation of Spain and Javier Solana Into NATO
[2-9-2001]
An Historical Analysis by Francisco Javier Bernal
mailto:asterion@...
One of the main contentions regarding Javier Solana
Madariaga's past is his presumed anti-NATO stance
during the 1980s. Although this volte-face from
alleged peace activist to born-again militarist has
been debated many times before, I think it is
necessary to put it into historical context.
In June 1980 U.S. President Jimmy Carter affirmed his
administration's conviction that Spanish membership in
NATO would significantly enhance the Organization's
defensive capability. During the Cold War, the
importance of Spain for NATO was clear due to its
great geo-strategic importance, particularly its
possession of the Canary Islands in the Atlantic
Ocean, of Ceuta and Melilla on the Moroccan coast,
next to the straight of Gibraltar, and of the Balearic
Islands in the Mediterranean Sea. It meant that Spain
controlled a vital maritime route. Moreover, it had
first-class facilities for air-force operations, like
Morón de la Frontera, an American base in Andalusia
that had been operative since 1953, following an
agreement between President Eisenhower and
Generalísimo Franco.
However, at that time the by then Spanish Prime
Minister, Adolfo Suárez, was not being very
"cooperative". Though coming from a conservative
party, the Union of the Democratic Centre (UCD), he
was conducting himself as an individual too
independent in his views, making contacts with Castro,
Qadhafi, Arafat and other pariah leaders. Of course,
something needed to be done: The Pentagon's impatience
with such disobedience soon resulted in its rattling
its sabers... In just two months, Suarez was the
victim of a smear campaign from inside his own party,
leading him to resign shortly thereafter. The
objective of the White House was to integrate Spain
into its military engines, even at the cost of
seriously damaging (or even aborting) the
constitutional process in the course of performing
this integration. In February 1981, an attempted coup
d'etat occurred: The U.S. Secretary of State,
Alexander Haig, affirmed publicly that "it was an
internal affair only of concern to Spain," despite the
publicly known active participation of agents from the
U.S. Embassy in the preparations of the military
pronunciamiento.
Solana's Socialist Workers Party (PSOE) had already
shown itself as very useful for the U.S. Secretary of
State's purposes, having promoted a vote of no
confidence in the parliament against PM Suárez. The
new UCD designated Prime Minister, the greatly
unpopular Calvo Sotelo, pushed the incorporation of
Spain into the Atlantic Alliance in the autumn of
1981. Of course, it was still not the ideal situation
for the Pentagon. Javier Solana, an old Fullbrighter,
accused of being a CIA man inside the PSOE structure
(see the book. 'Soberanos e Intervenidos, Estrategias
globales, americanos y españoles,' by Jaon Garces),
was the person who made the official presentation of
Felipe González (PSOE's Secretary General) to the US
Embassy in Madrid.
Washington was very much interested in controlling the
Spanish political scene, as it had done through the
efforts of U.S. Ambassador Frank Carlucci shortly
before in Portugal to "manage" the revolution of 25
April there, isolating people like Saraiva de Carvalho
and, mainly, Vasco Goncalves, and offering in exchange
blind support for "moderate democrats" like Costa
Gomes.
What the Spanish Socialist Party receivedas payment
was indirect financing for the next round of general
elections, via the omnipresent AFL-CIO trade union
federation, whose foreign activities peculiarly always
coincided with the State Department's and the CIA's
interests.
Anyway, if the Socialists wanted to win the elections
they needed to play the NATO card very wisely. Most of
the Spanish people were fiercely anti-NATO and any
different position would alienate the leftist voters.
(The Communist Party, PCE, had been the only real
political underground opposition during Franco's
dictatorship). The views of the PSOE on that matter
were always far from being clear. Even their slogan
for the 1982 campaign had a strange double meaning:
"OTAN, de entrada no" that could be understood as
"NATO. No incorporation" or "NATO, at first no; but
later..."
The Socialists also promised a referendum so that
Spaniards could decide whether they wanted their
country to remain inside NATO or not. After winning
the elections in October 1982, the Socialists changed
their position and the new government of Felipe
González quickly adopted a pro-NATO stance. Three
months later they signed an agreement for the renewal
of the US military bases in Spain. With each
succeeding day, they were making clear their NATOist
position: "The permanence in the alliance is a vital
step towards the consolidation of democracy"; "If
Spain wishes to join the EEC, then it has to be part
of the defense system of the West"; "NATO membership,
and joining the European Community, mean the end of
the traditional isolation of Spain."
González even threatened pensioners, telling them that
an eventual exit from the Alliance would mean "the end
of the Welfare State." Anyway, the Spanish people did
not want to swallow that so easily. In 1986, five
million Spaniards signed a petition for a referendum
on continued membership in the Alliance.
The referendum was held in March of 1986: The
Socialist government campaigned in favor of NATO, the
Communist Party and many other groups on the left
campaigned against it, and the Popular Party
(pro-NATO) adopted a contradictory position and asked
its voters to abstain. Of course Solana, González and
their acolytes were not going to give the electorate a
simple choice to make. That would be too easy and very
dangerous if they happened to choose "the wrong one."
They rephrased the question to be asked in the
following way: Do you consider it advisable for Spain
to remain in the Atlantic Alliance, provided that:
1) Spain will not be incorporated into NATO's
integrated military structure?
2) Spain would be a nuclear-free country?
3) American presence on Spanish territory would be
considerably reduced? Results: Yes: 52.5%; No: 39.8%;
Abstention: 40% of the electorate. Solana and Co. had
found a way to divide the strong anti-NATO feeling
among the country's majority. Many people believed in
their words again when they promised that "Spain will
never join the Common Command," keeping outside the
military structure; they also believed that any status
changes would require further referenda before being
approved. At the same time, the United States looked
aside while the Spanish Government profited from a
$280 million re-sale of American arms to Iran.
Spanish duties inside NATO would be restricted to:
1. Defence of the national territory.
2. Naval and aerial operations in the Eastern Atlantic
Ocean.
3. Control over the Strait of Gibraltar and its access
points.
4. Naval and aerial operations in the Western
Mediterranean Sea.
5. Control and defence of the air space of Spain and
adjacent areas.
6. Use of the national territory as a retreat or
multifunctional platform (traffic, support and
logistics).
According to the above points, any Spanish
collaboration in a future NATO aggression against
Yugoslavia would be illegal. However, on November 14,
1996, during the last Socialist term, one year after
Solana became NATO Criminal-in-Chief (sorry, I mean
NATO Secretary General), they rushed a law into the
Parliament to "authorise the government to negotiate
the terms for the incorporation into the new NATO
Joint Military Command," clearly breaking the previous
referendum's commitments. Javier Solana welcomed this
change with the words "It is time for Spain to assume
the role it should have inside the Alliance." In
regard to his old "anti-NATO" positions, he told the
Spanish language paper 'El Nuevo Herald' of Florida
that, "he - the same as Clinton or even the CIA
director, James Woolsey, himself - is a pacifist who
knew how to evolve with the new times," and (in
another interview given to 'El País' ) that "he was
proud to represent an Alliance dissociated from its
Cold War origins".
Some biographical details:
Javier Solana's brother, Luis Solana, was the first
Spanish Socialist politician to join the Trilateral
Commission;
Solana was the author of the Manifesto titled "50
reasons to say NO to NATO" that led to the Socialist
Party victory in the 1982 elections;
His favorite hobby is collecting guns.
---
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