Informazione
I PARTIGIANI JUGOSLAVI NELLA RESISTENZA FRANCESE
-----Original Message-----
From: democrite <democrite@...>
Date: 16 May 1999 17:55
Subject: Yugoslavs in the French Resistance
>SMALL IN NUMBER, GREAT IN SACRIFICE
>
>YUGOSLAV IMMIGRATION
>
> Relatively speaking, Yugoslav immigrants died the most. Small in
>number, they were great in sacrifice. As early as 1939, at the time of
>mobilisation, more than 1,500 Yugoslavs had voluntarily joined the
>French army. Later, at the time of occupation, nearly 3,000 took part
>in the various Resistance movements. Everywhere, in Pas-de-Calais,
>Corrèze, Haute-Savoy, Moselle and Paris, Yugoslavs distinguished
>themselves by their bravery and courage. The attitude of the Yugoslav
>fighters and Resistance workers was always inspired by the strong
>friendship and sincere loyalty they felt towards the countries which
>welcomed them, and they gave ample proof of their attachment at the
>darkest times.
> At Nîmes, in the Maritime Alps, in the Ardennes and in Haute-Savoy,
>more than fifty Yugoslavs fell victim to Nazi barbarity. The first
>thing the Yugoslav Resistance fighters had done had been to direct their
>activity towards the Croatian troops dragooned into the ranks of the
>Wehrmacht. It was thanks to such action that near Grenoble, a Croatian
>unit blew up a depot where a large amount of ammunition and explosives
>were stored, killing many Germans.
> At Villefranche-de-Rouergue resided a regiment of engineers made up of
>about 1,300 Croats. They had ended up in this region - where the
>peasants reminded them of their far-off homeland by their sobriety and
>the homespun of their clothes - after having refused to leave for the
>Eastern front. These soldiers found it quite natural to consider France
>as a country of friends and the population was quick to recognise them
>as such. A mutual current of friendship soon formed. It was not long
>before the soldiers heard of the maquis and decided their duty was to
>act too. They thought up a plan of escape. But out of the 1,300, there
>was one traitor. Seeing they had been exposed, the others took action.
>After a judgement in the name of Tito, they shot their officers,
>occupied the town and proclaimed liberty. Immediately, Hitler's forces
>flooded in from the surrounding centres - Toulouse, Albi, Limoges and
>Rodez. The men hardly had time to split up into small groups and take
>to the maquis. They left the town together so that the population would
>not be trapped between two enemy fires, and took up position in the
>surrounding hills ready for an unequal battle.
> 200 Croats were killed in the fight. More than 400 were taken prisoner
>and shot in the barracks courtyard. The remaining 600 or so were able
>to escape and carried on fighting by the sides of the French Resistance
>fighters.
> In the Ardennes, there were groups of immigrant partisans. The
>"Marshal Tito" corp., of which two leaders died during combat, was made
>up of Yugoslavs. In the region of Nancy, on the road to Germany, it was
>groups of immigrants of Yugoslav origin and Soviet prisoners who had
>escaped, who prevented the Nazis from coming to the aid of Wehrmacht
>groups cut off from their bases. The names of these heroic brigades
>were "Paris Commune", "Stalingrad" and "Jelezniack".
> From the ranks of these fighters came Resistance leaders, like General
>Ljubomir ILITCH, who by their courage and their self-sacrifice in the
>struggle against the fascist occupying army, won the friendship of all
>the Resistance workers. In homage to the participation to the struggle
>of Yugoslavs against the common enemy, the French authorities gave the
>names of two of their heroes, MIRNIK and BOLTAR, who were shot by the
>Germans, to two streets in the towns of Avion (Pas-de-Calais) and
>Toulouse. In the South of France, near Toulouse, sixteen Yugoslav
>immigrant fighters were awarded either the War Cross or the Resistance
>Medal for their courage and dedication.
>
>GENERAL ILITCH
>
> General Ljubomir ILITCH, former commander in the International Brigades
>in Spain, commander of the F.F.I. of the resistance of immigrants in
>France during German occupation, and one of the most active organisers
>of the maquis guerrillas, tells in his memoirs how he managed to join
>the Resistance movement in France.
> "In 1940, the Germans and the Vichy leaders decided to shut up in the
>camps all the "troublesome" elements who had shown in the past true
>attachment to the cause of liberty, of democracy and, thus, to France.
>All the committed antifascists were thus imprisoned and their situation
>got worse as clandestine resistance became active and it transpired
>clearly what role all the foreigners living in France were to play! The
>Vichy and Gestapo jailers split the prisoners up into the "ringleaders",
>who were strong and thus a danger to them, and the majority who were
>less spirited, weakened as they were by hunger, deprivation and
>demoralisation. We "dangerous" ones were sent to the prison of Castres,
>which was used as a depot and as a station passed through by prisoners
>on their way to concentration camps in Germany. When we were undressed
>and stripped of our papers, baggage, family photos and even identity
>cards, we understood that our departure for the death camps was
>approaching. That was how the Germans arranged the papers of the
>political deportees and kept them carefully in their archives. Among us
>in prison there were also French officers and allies who had dropped by
>parachute, and Belgian and Polish officers, doing intelligence work for
>the allies. We were totally cut off from the outside world yet even then
>we were able to study all the obstacles in our way, the safety catches,
>the alarm bells and electronic alarm systems set up by the Germans in
>case of a possible escape. The escape took place in broad daylight,
>thanks to each one of us carrying out perfectly our tasks according to
>given instructions.
> There were 36 of us who escaped, plus two women from the English
>intelligence service. We made it to the mountains, and made those
>chasing us lose all trace of us. At last, after a week, we established
>contact with the clandestine maquis and partisans and got down to action
>at once. Four of us were Yugoslavs: we all wanted to join Tito without
>delay to fight in our own country. But the difficulties in leaving were
>great: we would have had to pass through Spain, and we had stayed there
>as volunteers in the International Brigades in '36 - '39. Our faces
>were known there... So while waiting to go, we all put ourselves at the
>disposal of the French Resistance and began to work together with the
>F.T.P."(1).
>
>Jean STANKOVITCH
>
> An article in the 4th September 1946 issue of "Le Havre Libre" recalled
>the memory of this young hero of Yugoslav origin.
> Born in Le Havre, Jean Stankovitch, after studying at Dicquemare
>school, was taken by the Obligatory Work Service in '43. Refusing
>immediately to go to Germany, he stayed for some time hidden in the town
>under the name of Jean Coquelin. However, the inaction to which his
>illegal situation constrained him was not suited to him. He suffered
>from it, and often opened up about his feelings to his friend Maurice
>Leboucher, who was to be much talked of later. Leboucher, understanding
>well that Jean Stankovitch was driven by a burning desire to make
>himself useful, did not hesitate to advise him to come and join him at
>the German submarine base, in Le Havre, where he was able to get him
>hired as electrician.
> Jean Stankovitch spent some time there, and enjoyed the good tricks his
>friend and himself played on the occupying forces, good tricks which
>could be called, in other words, sabotage. "They think I'm from an
>electricity school!" he would say to his close friends. And this trick
>alone was enough to thrill him.
> His mother, however, fearing bombings, soon decided to go and live in
>Belleville. Jean followed her, most unwillingly. But he could not
>remain inactive there either.
> And in the days following the arrival of the allies, he was glad to act
>as a courier for them, passing through the barricades that then isolated
>Le Havre. For, unknown to his mother, he was a member of the Resistance
>group "France before all". There he had met a young man, three years
>younger than him, and the two of them had fomented multiple projects to
>undermine German organisation wherever their modest means might be used,
>whenever the time came to get down to action.
> On Saturday 2nd September, when the tanks were officially announced,
>the two comrades could no longer keep still. Despite their families'
>advice to be cautious, they escaped and ran to meet the tanks. Bernard
>Lefebvre who was heading for Saint-Cyr was glad to be able to get a lift
>on a tank. He felt as if he was driving up the road of triumph.
> A few kilometres on, they heard that a volunteer was wanted to carry a
>letter from the allies' lines to a certain castle of Fontenay where
>there was still a German officer. Jean proposed himself, and set off at
>once in company of a young lady who spoke German. Once they got there,
>they were kept waiting for over an hour, after which they were chased
>away: the message was an order to surrender! Startled, the young lady
>and Jean Stankovitch found themselves in the road with bursts of fire
>beginning to rain down on them. They were amazed to still be alive, so
>much anger had they read in the eyes of the officer to whom they had
>unknowingly been assigned to propose capitulation. And even though they
>had failed in their mission, they were still glad to get away from their
>goal.
> That evening, after having served as liaison agents between the many
>Resistance groups, Jean and Bernard met up and, together with the other
>comrades, discussed besides the English tanks. It is not known how an
>Alsacian soldier managed to slip up to them and ask them to be kind
>enough to accept to serve as an intermediary between ten of his comrades
>and the Allies to whom they wanted to surrender. Promised that they
>would not be hurt, they decided to meet by a farm between 6.30 and
>7.00am. At the decided moment, Stankovitch and Lefevbre went to the
>place as arranged and waited. The firing from the barricades became
>heavier, and it was difficult for them to believe that the Alsacians
>would manage to get there under such an avalanche of bullets. And yet,
>since they had given their word, they were bent on keeping it, and tried
>to stay put. What happened in the moments which followed? Doubtless a
>shell exploding nearby or a low burst of gunfire took them by surprise.
>Both of them were touched. Bernard Lefebvre was killed outright and
>Jean Sankovitch, fatally wounded, died one hour later, after terrible
>suffering, at the first aid centre at Rolleville which he had been taken
>to.
>
>Sava KOVATCHEVITCH
>
> Sava Kovatchevitch, originally from the Lika district, had come to
>France in 1937 to earn a living and help his family a little. After
>occupying France, the Germans sent him to do labour in Düsseldorf,
>Germany. There, he began with the other workers to do sabotage, but the
>Gestapo was after him, especially as he was teaching the deported
>workers how to commit sabotage. He left at the moment he was about to
>be arrested. At the time, he was already in contact with Yugoslav and
>French prisoners and, alongside the patriots of Lorraine, was helping
>them.
> He was in Lorraine under the name "Pierre" and had a heavy, dangerous
>task. With the help of the patriots of Lorraine, he created a huge
>organization to get people through Germany and Lorraine towards France
>and its maquis. He made false identity papers with the help of the
>mayor of Baynville, Pierre Semmoni and Victor Florch, a post inspector
>in Nancy. Alongside the patriots from Lorraine - Emile Kodari, Louis
>Vagner, Albert Vaguer, Alphonse Vagner, Victor Picrona, Pierre Vagner,
>Jeannette Koisser, from Metz, and Louise Florch, also from Metz - Sava
>got men through into France and saved thier lives. French and Yugoslav
>prisoners in camps in Germany knew of this and those who escaped from
>the Stalag XII F. came to find him. He obtained them civilian clothes,
>false identity papers and food; he got them over the border and the
>rivers near Metz.
> Sava was discovered by Pavelitch's oustachis in charge of keeping tabs
>on the Croatian workers deported to Germany. The Gestapo arrested him
>and tortured him for 72 days , starving and beating him, so that he
>would denounce the organisation by which war prisoners, civilian
>deportees and saboteurs got away into France. This son of the Lika held
>out and never even thought of letting out anything at all.
> "If I must die, I may as well die as a man, and not tarnish my Lika, "
>Sava would say.
> In the end, the Gestapo sent him to join a labour company. He
>succeeded in escaping, and started his work once more, even more
>secretly than before. He was searched for intensely, and in August 1944
>the place became too hot beneath his feet and he was forced to leave.
>He made it to France and joined the maquis again.
>Among the Yugoslav fighters who died in action, let us mention:
>Dimitri KOTOUROVIC (1911 - 1944), former fighter in the International
>Brigades in Spain, initiator and organiser of the first F.T.P. (ndlt:
>Franc Tireur et Partisan) groups in Marseille. Was killed heroically at
>his post in April 1944.
>Victor FILIPIC, shot by the Gestapo after committing sabotage at
>Sallaumines.
>Sava PAVLICEK, killed while fighting on August 18th 1944 in Sauppe.
>Givorad BOGOSAVLJEVIC, killed by the Germans during battle in August
>1944 in Quincy-Voisins.
>Stanko NOVAKOVIC, killed in action at Verdun in August 1944.
>Michel ARIEFF, nicknamed "Tito", killed in action at Mausouées Farm in
>August 1944.
>Zika PETROVIC, 25 years old, escpaded war prisoner, killed in action in
>Meaux.
>Rudolf CUCEK and Victor ERJAVEC, two miners in Pas-de-Calais, together
>shot by the Germans.
>BRUNOVIC, from Bruay-en Artois, killed in action in August 1942.
>FAJS, from Bruay-en Artois, killed while he was opposing resistance to
>the police who had come to arrest him in May 1943.
>
>Notes:
>1. Quoted in "Unis" bulletin n° 52, 17.2.1946.
>(On les nommait des étrangers, Les immigrés dans la résistance, by
>Gaston Laroche, F.T.P.F. colonel, Boris Matline)
>
>Souvenir Franco-Soviétique,
>Jean LEVEQUE,
>Villa "Florelle",
>28410 BROUE
>
>Translated from the French by P.M.
>
>--
>Les "Editions Democrite" publient un mensuel en francais :
>> "Les dossiers du BIP" avec des traductions d'articles provenant de la
>> presse communiste(grecque, allemande, anglaise, turque, russe, espagnole,
>> portugaise...)sur des evenements qui interessent des lecteurs
>communistes.
>> Editions Democrite, 52, bld Roger Salengro, 93190 LIVRY-GARGAN, FRANCE
>> e-mail : democrite@...
>
--------- COORDINAMENTO ROMANO PER LA JUGOSLAVIA -----------
RIMSKI SAVEZ ZA JUGOSLAVIJU
e-mail: crj@... - URL: http://marx2001.org/crj
http://www.egroups.com/group/crj-mailinglist/
------------------------------------------------------------
-----Original Message-----
From: democrite <democrite@...>
Date: 16 May 1999 17:55
Subject: Yugoslavs in the French Resistance
>SMALL IN NUMBER, GREAT IN SACRIFICE
>
>YUGOSLAV IMMIGRATION
>
> Relatively speaking, Yugoslav immigrants died the most. Small in
>number, they were great in sacrifice. As early as 1939, at the time of
>mobilisation, more than 1,500 Yugoslavs had voluntarily joined the
>French army. Later, at the time of occupation, nearly 3,000 took part
>in the various Resistance movements. Everywhere, in Pas-de-Calais,
>Corrèze, Haute-Savoy, Moselle and Paris, Yugoslavs distinguished
>themselves by their bravery and courage. The attitude of the Yugoslav
>fighters and Resistance workers was always inspired by the strong
>friendship and sincere loyalty they felt towards the countries which
>welcomed them, and they gave ample proof of their attachment at the
>darkest times.
> At Nîmes, in the Maritime Alps, in the Ardennes and in Haute-Savoy,
>more than fifty Yugoslavs fell victim to Nazi barbarity. The first
>thing the Yugoslav Resistance fighters had done had been to direct their
>activity towards the Croatian troops dragooned into the ranks of the
>Wehrmacht. It was thanks to such action that near Grenoble, a Croatian
>unit blew up a depot where a large amount of ammunition and explosives
>were stored, killing many Germans.
> At Villefranche-de-Rouergue resided a regiment of engineers made up of
>about 1,300 Croats. They had ended up in this region - where the
>peasants reminded them of their far-off homeland by their sobriety and
>the homespun of their clothes - after having refused to leave for the
>Eastern front. These soldiers found it quite natural to consider France
>as a country of friends and the population was quick to recognise them
>as such. A mutual current of friendship soon formed. It was not long
>before the soldiers heard of the maquis and decided their duty was to
>act too. They thought up a plan of escape. But out of the 1,300, there
>was one traitor. Seeing they had been exposed, the others took action.
>After a judgement in the name of Tito, they shot their officers,
>occupied the town and proclaimed liberty. Immediately, Hitler's forces
>flooded in from the surrounding centres - Toulouse, Albi, Limoges and
>Rodez. The men hardly had time to split up into small groups and take
>to the maquis. They left the town together so that the population would
>not be trapped between two enemy fires, and took up position in the
>surrounding hills ready for an unequal battle.
> 200 Croats were killed in the fight. More than 400 were taken prisoner
>and shot in the barracks courtyard. The remaining 600 or so were able
>to escape and carried on fighting by the sides of the French Resistance
>fighters.
> In the Ardennes, there were groups of immigrant partisans. The
>"Marshal Tito" corp., of which two leaders died during combat, was made
>up of Yugoslavs. In the region of Nancy, on the road to Germany, it was
>groups of immigrants of Yugoslav origin and Soviet prisoners who had
>escaped, who prevented the Nazis from coming to the aid of Wehrmacht
>groups cut off from their bases. The names of these heroic brigades
>were "Paris Commune", "Stalingrad" and "Jelezniack".
> From the ranks of these fighters came Resistance leaders, like General
>Ljubomir ILITCH, who by their courage and their self-sacrifice in the
>struggle against the fascist occupying army, won the friendship of all
>the Resistance workers. In homage to the participation to the struggle
>of Yugoslavs against the common enemy, the French authorities gave the
>names of two of their heroes, MIRNIK and BOLTAR, who were shot by the
>Germans, to two streets in the towns of Avion (Pas-de-Calais) and
>Toulouse. In the South of France, near Toulouse, sixteen Yugoslav
>immigrant fighters were awarded either the War Cross or the Resistance
>Medal for their courage and dedication.
>
>GENERAL ILITCH
>
> General Ljubomir ILITCH, former commander in the International Brigades
>in Spain, commander of the F.F.I. of the resistance of immigrants in
>France during German occupation, and one of the most active organisers
>of the maquis guerrillas, tells in his memoirs how he managed to join
>the Resistance movement in France.
> "In 1940, the Germans and the Vichy leaders decided to shut up in the
>camps all the "troublesome" elements who had shown in the past true
>attachment to the cause of liberty, of democracy and, thus, to France.
>All the committed antifascists were thus imprisoned and their situation
>got worse as clandestine resistance became active and it transpired
>clearly what role all the foreigners living in France were to play! The
>Vichy and Gestapo jailers split the prisoners up into the "ringleaders",
>who were strong and thus a danger to them, and the majority who were
>less spirited, weakened as they were by hunger, deprivation and
>demoralisation. We "dangerous" ones were sent to the prison of Castres,
>which was used as a depot and as a station passed through by prisoners
>on their way to concentration camps in Germany. When we were undressed
>and stripped of our papers, baggage, family photos and even identity
>cards, we understood that our departure for the death camps was
>approaching. That was how the Germans arranged the papers of the
>political deportees and kept them carefully in their archives. Among us
>in prison there were also French officers and allies who had dropped by
>parachute, and Belgian and Polish officers, doing intelligence work for
>the allies. We were totally cut off from the outside world yet even then
>we were able to study all the obstacles in our way, the safety catches,
>the alarm bells and electronic alarm systems set up by the Germans in
>case of a possible escape. The escape took place in broad daylight,
>thanks to each one of us carrying out perfectly our tasks according to
>given instructions.
> There were 36 of us who escaped, plus two women from the English
>intelligence service. We made it to the mountains, and made those
>chasing us lose all trace of us. At last, after a week, we established
>contact with the clandestine maquis and partisans and got down to action
>at once. Four of us were Yugoslavs: we all wanted to join Tito without
>delay to fight in our own country. But the difficulties in leaving were
>great: we would have had to pass through Spain, and we had stayed there
>as volunteers in the International Brigades in '36 - '39. Our faces
>were known there... So while waiting to go, we all put ourselves at the
>disposal of the French Resistance and began to work together with the
>F.T.P."(1).
>
>Jean STANKOVITCH
>
> An article in the 4th September 1946 issue of "Le Havre Libre" recalled
>the memory of this young hero of Yugoslav origin.
> Born in Le Havre, Jean Stankovitch, after studying at Dicquemare
>school, was taken by the Obligatory Work Service in '43. Refusing
>immediately to go to Germany, he stayed for some time hidden in the town
>under the name of Jean Coquelin. However, the inaction to which his
>illegal situation constrained him was not suited to him. He suffered
>from it, and often opened up about his feelings to his friend Maurice
>Leboucher, who was to be much talked of later. Leboucher, understanding
>well that Jean Stankovitch was driven by a burning desire to make
>himself useful, did not hesitate to advise him to come and join him at
>the German submarine base, in Le Havre, where he was able to get him
>hired as electrician.
> Jean Stankovitch spent some time there, and enjoyed the good tricks his
>friend and himself played on the occupying forces, good tricks which
>could be called, in other words, sabotage. "They think I'm from an
>electricity school!" he would say to his close friends. And this trick
>alone was enough to thrill him.
> His mother, however, fearing bombings, soon decided to go and live in
>Belleville. Jean followed her, most unwillingly. But he could not
>remain inactive there either.
> And in the days following the arrival of the allies, he was glad to act
>as a courier for them, passing through the barricades that then isolated
>Le Havre. For, unknown to his mother, he was a member of the Resistance
>group "France before all". There he had met a young man, three years
>younger than him, and the two of them had fomented multiple projects to
>undermine German organisation wherever their modest means might be used,
>whenever the time came to get down to action.
> On Saturday 2nd September, when the tanks were officially announced,
>the two comrades could no longer keep still. Despite their families'
>advice to be cautious, they escaped and ran to meet the tanks. Bernard
>Lefebvre who was heading for Saint-Cyr was glad to be able to get a lift
>on a tank. He felt as if he was driving up the road of triumph.
> A few kilometres on, they heard that a volunteer was wanted to carry a
>letter from the allies' lines to a certain castle of Fontenay where
>there was still a German officer. Jean proposed himself, and set off at
>once in company of a young lady who spoke German. Once they got there,
>they were kept waiting for over an hour, after which they were chased
>away: the message was an order to surrender! Startled, the young lady
>and Jean Stankovitch found themselves in the road with bursts of fire
>beginning to rain down on them. They were amazed to still be alive, so
>much anger had they read in the eyes of the officer to whom they had
>unknowingly been assigned to propose capitulation. And even though they
>had failed in their mission, they were still glad to get away from their
>goal.
> That evening, after having served as liaison agents between the many
>Resistance groups, Jean and Bernard met up and, together with the other
>comrades, discussed besides the English tanks. It is not known how an
>Alsacian soldier managed to slip up to them and ask them to be kind
>enough to accept to serve as an intermediary between ten of his comrades
>and the Allies to whom they wanted to surrender. Promised that they
>would not be hurt, they decided to meet by a farm between 6.30 and
>7.00am. At the decided moment, Stankovitch and Lefevbre went to the
>place as arranged and waited. The firing from the barricades became
>heavier, and it was difficult for them to believe that the Alsacians
>would manage to get there under such an avalanche of bullets. And yet,
>since they had given their word, they were bent on keeping it, and tried
>to stay put. What happened in the moments which followed? Doubtless a
>shell exploding nearby or a low burst of gunfire took them by surprise.
>Both of them were touched. Bernard Lefebvre was killed outright and
>Jean Sankovitch, fatally wounded, died one hour later, after terrible
>suffering, at the first aid centre at Rolleville which he had been taken
>to.
>
>Sava KOVATCHEVITCH
>
> Sava Kovatchevitch, originally from the Lika district, had come to
>France in 1937 to earn a living and help his family a little. After
>occupying France, the Germans sent him to do labour in Düsseldorf,
>Germany. There, he began with the other workers to do sabotage, but the
>Gestapo was after him, especially as he was teaching the deported
>workers how to commit sabotage. He left at the moment he was about to
>be arrested. At the time, he was already in contact with Yugoslav and
>French prisoners and, alongside the patriots of Lorraine, was helping
>them.
> He was in Lorraine under the name "Pierre" and had a heavy, dangerous
>task. With the help of the patriots of Lorraine, he created a huge
>organization to get people through Germany and Lorraine towards France
>and its maquis. He made false identity papers with the help of the
>mayor of Baynville, Pierre Semmoni and Victor Florch, a post inspector
>in Nancy. Alongside the patriots from Lorraine - Emile Kodari, Louis
>Vagner, Albert Vaguer, Alphonse Vagner, Victor Picrona, Pierre Vagner,
>Jeannette Koisser, from Metz, and Louise Florch, also from Metz - Sava
>got men through into France and saved thier lives. French and Yugoslav
>prisoners in camps in Germany knew of this and those who escaped from
>the Stalag XII F. came to find him. He obtained them civilian clothes,
>false identity papers and food; he got them over the border and the
>rivers near Metz.
> Sava was discovered by Pavelitch's oustachis in charge of keeping tabs
>on the Croatian workers deported to Germany. The Gestapo arrested him
>and tortured him for 72 days , starving and beating him, so that he
>would denounce the organisation by which war prisoners, civilian
>deportees and saboteurs got away into France. This son of the Lika held
>out and never even thought of letting out anything at all.
> "If I must die, I may as well die as a man, and not tarnish my Lika, "
>Sava would say.
> In the end, the Gestapo sent him to join a labour company. He
>succeeded in escaping, and started his work once more, even more
>secretly than before. He was searched for intensely, and in August 1944
>the place became too hot beneath his feet and he was forced to leave.
>He made it to France and joined the maquis again.
>Among the Yugoslav fighters who died in action, let us mention:
>Dimitri KOTOUROVIC (1911 - 1944), former fighter in the International
>Brigades in Spain, initiator and organiser of the first F.T.P. (ndlt:
>Franc Tireur et Partisan) groups in Marseille. Was killed heroically at
>his post in April 1944.
>Victor FILIPIC, shot by the Gestapo after committing sabotage at
>Sallaumines.
>Sava PAVLICEK, killed while fighting on August 18th 1944 in Sauppe.
>Givorad BOGOSAVLJEVIC, killed by the Germans during battle in August
>1944 in Quincy-Voisins.
>Stanko NOVAKOVIC, killed in action at Verdun in August 1944.
>Michel ARIEFF, nicknamed "Tito", killed in action at Mausouées Farm in
>August 1944.
>Zika PETROVIC, 25 years old, escpaded war prisoner, killed in action in
>Meaux.
>Rudolf CUCEK and Victor ERJAVEC, two miners in Pas-de-Calais, together
>shot by the Germans.
>BRUNOVIC, from Bruay-en Artois, killed in action in August 1942.
>FAJS, from Bruay-en Artois, killed while he was opposing resistance to
>the police who had come to arrest him in May 1943.
>
>Notes:
>1. Quoted in "Unis" bulletin n° 52, 17.2.1946.
>(On les nommait des étrangers, Les immigrés dans la résistance, by
>Gaston Laroche, F.T.P.F. colonel, Boris Matline)
>
>Souvenir Franco-Soviétique,
>Jean LEVEQUE,
>Villa "Florelle",
>28410 BROUE
>
>Translated from the French by P.M.
>
>--
>Les "Editions Democrite" publient un mensuel en francais :
>> "Les dossiers du BIP" avec des traductions d'articles provenant de la
>> presse communiste(grecque, allemande, anglaise, turque, russe, espagnole,
>> portugaise...)sur des evenements qui interessent des lecteurs
>communistes.
>> Editions Democrite, 52, bld Roger Salengro, 93190 LIVRY-GARGAN, FRANCE
>> e-mail : democrite@...
>
--------- COORDINAMENTO ROMANO PER LA JUGOSLAVIA -----------
RIMSKI SAVEZ ZA JUGOSLAVIJU
e-mail: crj@... - URL: http://marx2001.org/crj
http://www.egroups.com/group/crj-mailinglist/
------------------------------------------------------------
AUDIZIONI ALLA COMMISSIONE ESTERI DEL PARLAMENTO CANADESE
I contribuiti che diffondiamo in questo messaggio vengono dal Canada. Si
tratta di alcune audizioni tenute ad Ottawa, alla Camera dei Comuni,
dinanzi allo Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International
Trade da parte di varie personalita' ritenute a vario titolo "informate
sui fatti" riguardo alla aggressione della NATO contro la Repubblica
Federale di Jugoslavia. In particolare, i contributi seguenti sono le
testimonianze di JAMES BISSET, ex-ambasciatore canadese a Belgrado, ora
"indesiderato" nella stessa ambasciata canadese a Belgrado, e SERGE
TRIFKOVIC, professore di storia, responsabile per gli esteri di
"Chronicles - Magazine of American Culture".
Tutti i documenti sono stati diffusi dalla lista STOPNATO@...
===
Author: James Bisset
Publisher/Date: February 2000
Title: Notes for address to Standing Committee Foreign Affairs and
International Trade (Ca)
1: Introduction
I wish to thank the committee for giving me the opportunity of speaking
this morning.
It is some comfort to know that although I was not allowed to speak to
anyone in the Canadian embassy in Belgrade during a recent visit there
that I am free to speak to members of the Canadian parliament.
I have been an out spoken critic of the NATO bombing of Yugoslavia. I
believe it to have been a tragic mistake -- a historic miscalculation
that will have far reaching implications.
When NATO bombs fell on Yugoslavia in the spring and summer of last year
they caused more than just death and destruction in that country. The
bombs also struck at the heart of international law and delivered a
serious blow to the framework of global security that since the end of
the second world war has protected all of us from the horrors of a
nuclear war.
Kosovo broke the ground rules for NATO engagement and the aggressive
military intervention by NATO into the affairs of a sovereign state for
other than defensive purposes marked an ominous turning point in the
aims and objectives of that organization. It is important that we
understand this and seek clarification as to whether this was a
"one-off" aberration or a signal of fundamental change in the nature and
purposes of the organization. This is something the committee might well
examine in the course of its work.
2: An Illegal War
NATO's war in Kosovo was conducted without the approval of the United
Nations Security Council. It was a violation of international law, the
United Nations charter and its own article 1, which requires NATO to
settle any international disputes by peaceful means and not to threaten
or use force, "in any manner inconsistent with the purposes of the
United Nations."
Apologists for NATO including our own foreign and defence ministers try
to avoid this issue by simply not mentioning it. There has been no
attempt to explain why the United Nations Security Council was ignored.
No effort to spell out under whose authority did NATO bomb Yugoslavia.
The ministers and their officials continue to justify the air strikes on
the grounds that the bombs were necessary to stop ethnic cleansing and
atrocities, despite all the evidence that by far the bulk of the ethnic
cleansing took place after the bombing not before it. It was the bombing
that triggered off the worst of the ethnic cleansing.
As for the atrocities it now seems that here again we were lied to about
the extent of the crimes commited. United States Secretary of Defence
Cohen told us that at least 100,000 Kosovars had perished. Tony Blair
spoke of genocide being carried out in Kosovo. The media relished in
these atrocity stories and printed every story told to them by Albanian,
"eye witnesses." The myth that the war was to stop ethnic cleansing and
atrocities contiues to be perpetrated by department spokesmen and large
parts of the media.
No one wants to defend atrocities and the numbers game in such
circumstances becomes sordid. Nevertheless numbers do become important
if they are used to justify military action against a sovereign state.
in the case of Kosovo it appears that about 2000 people were killed
there prior to the NATO bombing. considering that a civil war had been
underway since 1993 this is not a remarkable figure and compared with a
great many other hot spots hardly enough to warrant a 79-day bombing
campaign. It is also interesting to note that the UN tribunal
indictement of Milosovic of May 1999, cites only one incident of deaths
before the bombing -- the infamous Racak incident -- which itself is
challenged by French journalists who were on the ground there and
suspect a frame-up involving US General Walker who sounded the alarm.
The Kosovo "war" reveals disturbing evidence of how lies and duplicity
can mislead us into accepting things that we instinctively know to be
wrong. Jamie Shea and other NATO apologists have lied to us about the
bombing. The sad thing is that most of the Canadian media, and our
political representatives have accepted without question what has been
told to us by NATO and our own foreign affairs spokesmen.
3: An Unecessary War
perhaps the most serious charge against the NATO bombing of Yugoslavia
is that it was unnecessary. NATO chose bombing over diplomacy. Violence
over negotiation. NATO's leaders tried to convince us that dropping tons
of bombs on Yugoslavia was serving humanitarian purposes.
A UN Security Council resolution of October 1998 accepted by Yugoslavia,
authorized over 1300 monitors from the Organization for Security and
Cooperation in Europe [OSCE] to enter Kosovo and try to de-escalate the
fighting. from the accounts of a number of these monitors their task was
successful. While cease-fire violations continued on both sides the
intensity of the armed struggle was considerably abated.
The former Czech foreign minister, Jiri Dienstbier, and Canada's own
Rollie Keith of Vancouver -- both monitors for the OSCE on the ground in
Kosovo -- have publicly stated that there were no international refugees
over the last five months of the OSCE's presence in Kosovo and the
number of internally displaced only amounted to a few thousands in the
weeks leading up to the bombing.
The OSCE mission demonstrated that diplomacy and negotiation might well
have resolved the Kosovo problem without resorting to the use of force.
It was the failure of the United States to accept any flexibility in its
dealing with Belgrade in the weeks leading up to the war that spelled
diplomatic failure.
The adamant refusal of the USA to involve either the Russians or the
United Nations in the negotiations. The refusal to allow any other
intermediary to deal with Milosovic and finally the imposition of the
Rambouillet ultimatum which was clearly designed to ensure that
Yugoslavia had no choice but to refuse its insulting terms.
It is now generally accepted by those who have seen the Rambouillet
agreement that no sovereign state could have agreed to its conditions.
The insistence of allowing acess to all of Yugoslavia by NATO forces and
the demand that a referendum on autonomy be held within three years
guaranteed a Serbian rejection.
The Serbian parliament did, however, on March 23, state a willingness to
"examine the character and extent of an international presence in Kosovo
immediately after the signing of an autonomy accord acceptable to all
national communities in Kosovo, the local Serb minority included. " The
United States was not interested in pursuing this offer. NATO needed its
war. NATO's formal commitment to resolve international disputes by
peaceful means was thrown out the window.
The Rambouillet document itself was not easily obtained from NATO
sources. The chairman of the defence committee of the French National
Assembly asked for a copy shortly after the bombing commenced but was
not given a copy until a few days before the UN peace treaty was signed.
I hope that members of this committee have a copy to look at and will be
able to find out when and if Canada was informed of its conditions.
4: NATO's campaign a total failure
We have been asked to believe that the war in Kosovo was fought for
human rights. Indeed the president of the Czech republic received a
standing ovation in this House of Commons when he stated that Kosovo was
the first war fought for human values rather than territory. I suspect
even President Havel would have second thoughts about that statement now
that a large part of Yugoslav territory has in effect been handed over
to the Albanians.
The war allegedly to stop ethnic cleansing has not done so. Serbs
Gypsies, Jews, and Slav muslims are being forced out of Kosovo under the
eyes of 45,000 NATO troops. Murder and anarchy reigns supreme in Kosovo
as the KLA and criminal elements have taken charge. The United Nations
admits failure to control the situation and warns Serbs not to return.
The war allegedly to restore stability to the Balkans has done the
opposite.Yugoslavia's neighbors are in a state of turmoil. Montenegro is
on the edge of civil war. Macedonia is now worried that Kosovo has shown
the way for its own sizeable Albanian minority to demand
self-determination. Albania has been encouraged to strive harder to
fulfill its dream of greater Albania. Serbia itself has been ruined
economically. Embittered and disillusioned it feels betrayed and
alienated from the western democracies.
The illegal and unecessary war has alienated the other great nuclear
powers, Russia and China. These countries are now convinced that the
west cannot be trusted. NATO expansion eastward is seen as an aggressive
and hostile threat and will be answered by an increase in the nuclear
arsenal of both nations. After Kosovo who can with any conviction
convince them that NATO is purely a defensive alliance dedicated to
peace and to upholding the principles of the United Nations?
More seriously the NATO bombing has destroyed NATO's credibility. NATO
stood for more than just a powerful military organization. It stood for
peace; the rule of law, and democratic institutions. The bombing of
Yugoslavia threw all of that out the window.
No longer can NATO stand on the moral high ground. Its action in
Yugoslavia revealed it to be an aggressive military machine prepared to
ignore international law and intervene with deadly force in the internal
affairs of any state with whose actions or behaviour it does not agree.
5: Conclusions
There are those who believe that the long standing principle of state
sovereignty can be over ruled when human rights violations are taking
place in a country. Until Kosovo the ground rules for such intervention
called for Security Council authority before such action could be taken.
Apologists for NATO argue that it was unlikely Security Council
authority could have been obtained because of the veto power of China or
Russia. So it would appear rather than even try to get consent NATO took
upon itself the powers of the Security Council. I am not sure we should
all be comfortable with this development.
Undoubtedly there may be times when such intervention is justified and
immediately Rwanda comes to mind -- but intervention for humanitarian
reasons is a dangerous concept. Because who is to decide when to take
such action and under whose authority? Hitler intervened in
Czechoslovakia because he claimed the human rights of the Sudeten
Germans were being violated. Those who advocate a change in the current
rules for intervention are free to do so but until the rules change
should we not all obey the ones that still have legitimacy?
NATO made a serious mistake in Kosovo. Its bombing campaign was not only
an unmitigated disaster but it changed fundamentally the very nature and
purposes of the alliance. Does article 1 of the NATO treaty still stand?
Does NATO still undertake to settle any international disputes in which
it may become involved by peaceful means? Do the NATO countries still
undertake to refrain in their international relations from the threat or
use of force in any manner inconsistent with the purposes of the united
nations?
Kosovo should serve as a warning call that Canadian democracy needs a
shot in the arm to wake it up to the realities that foreign policy is
important--important because as happened one day last march Canadians
can wake up and find they are at war. Canadian pilots were bombing
Serbia. yet there was no declaration of war. The Canadian parliament was
not consulted. The majority of the Canadian people had no idea where
Kosovo was -- let alone understand why our aircraft were bombing cities
in a fellow nation state that had been a staunch ally during two world
wars.
It was not only Yugoslav soverignty that was violated by NATO's illegal
action. Canadian sovereignty was also abused. Canada had become involved
in a war without any member of the Canadian parliament or the Canadian
people being consulted.the ultimate expression of a nation's sovereignty
is the right to declare war. NATO abrogated this right.
If it essential that we give up some of our sovereignty as the price we
pay for membership in global institutons such as NATO then it is
mandatory that such institutions follow their own rules, respect thrule
of law, and operate within the generally accepted framework of the
United Nations charter. This NATO did not do. It is for this reason I
would suggest your committee must ask some tough questions about the
nature of Canada's involvement in the Kosovo war.
(James Bisset is the former Canadian ambassador to Yugoslavia, who was
recently physically barred by the Canadian government from entering the
embassy in Belgrade.)
===
Testimony by S. Trifkovic, House of Commons SCFAIT, Ottawa, 17/02/2000
GEO-POLITICAL IMPLICATIONS OF NATO INTERVENTION IN KOSOVO
Testimony by S. Trifkovic
Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Trade
House of Commons, Ottawa, February 17, 2000
The war waged by NATO against Yugoslavia in 1999 marks a significant
turning point, not only for America and NATO but also for “the West” as
a
whole. The principle of state sovereignty, and of the rule of law
itself, has
been subverted in the name of an allegedly humanitarian ideology. Facts
have been converted into fiction, and even the fictions invoked to
justify
the act are giving up all pretense to credibility. Old systems for the
protection of
national liberties, political, legal and economic, have now been
subverted into vehicles for their destruction. But so far from
demonstrating
the vigor of Western ruling elites in their ruthless pursuit of an
ideology of
multi-ethnic democracy and international human rights, the whole Balkan
entanglement may be as a disturbing revelation of those ruling elites’
moral and cultural decay. I shall therefore devote my remarks to the
consequences of the war for the emerging new international system, and –
ultimately – for the security and stability of the Western world itself.
Almost a decade separated ‘Desert Storm’ from ‘Humanitarian Bombing.’ In
1991 the Maastricht Treaty was signed, and the rest of the decade has
brought the gradual usurpation of traditional European sovereignty by a
corporate-controlled Brussels regime of unelected bureaucrats who now
feel
bold enough to tell Austria how to run its domestic affairs. On this
side
of the ocean we had the passage of NAFTA and in 1995 the Uruguay round
of GATT gave us the WTO. The nineties were thus a decade of gradual
foundation laying for the new international order. The denigration of
sovereign nationhood hypnotized the public into applauding the
dismantling
of the very institutions that offered the only hope of representative
empowerment. The process is sufficiently far advanced for President
Clinton to claim (“A Just and Necessary War,” NYT, May 23, 1999) that,
had
it not bombed Serbia, "NATO itself would have been discredited for
failing
to defend the very values that give it meaning."
The war was in fact both unjust and unnecessary, but the significance of
Mr. Clinton’s statement is in that he has openly declared null and void
the international system in existence ever since the Peace of Westphalia
(1648). It was an imperfect and often violated system, but nevertheless
it
provided the basis for international discourse from which only the
assorted red and black totalitarians have openly deviated. Since 24
March
1999 this is being replaced by the emerging Clinton Doctrine, a carbon
copy of the Brezhnev doctrine of limited sovereignty that supposedly
justified the Soviet-led occupation of Czechoslovakia in 1968. Like his
Soviet predecessor, Mr. Clinton used an abstract and ideologically
loaded
notion - that of universal “human rights” - as the pretext to violate
the law and
tradition. The Clinton Doctrine is rooted in the bipartisan hubris of
Washington’s foreign policy “elite,” tipsy on its own heady brew of the
“world’s last and only superpower.” Legal formalities are passé, and
moral
imperatives - never sacrosanct in international affairs - are replaced
by
a cynical exercise in situational morality, dependent on an actor’s
position within the superpower ’s value system.
And so imperial high-mindedness is back, but in a new form. Old
religion, national flags and nationalist rivalry play no part. But the
yearning
for excitement and importance, that took the British to Peking, Kabul
and
Khartoum, the French to Fashoda and Saigon, and the Americans to Manila,
has now re-emerged. As a result a war was waged on an independent nation
because it refused foreign troops on its soil. All other justifications
are post facto rationalizations. The powers that waged that war have
aided
and abetted secession by an ethnic minority, secession that – once
formally
effected - will render many European borders tentative. In the context
of
any other European nation the story would sound surreal. The Serbs,
however, have been demonized to the point where they must not presume to
be treated like others.
But the fact that the West could do anything it chose to the Serbs does
not explain why it should. It is hardly worth refuting, yet again, the
feeble excuses for intervention. “Humanitarian” argument has been
invoked.
But what about Kashmir, Sudan, Uganda, Angola, Sierra Leone, Sri Lanka,
Algeria? Properly videotaped and Amanpourized, each would be good for a
dozen “Kosovos”. There was no “genocide,” of course. Compared to the
killing fields of the Third World Kosovo was an unremarkable,
low-intensity conflict, uglier perhaps than Northern Ireland a decade
ago,
but much less so than Kurdistan. A total of 2,108 fatalities on all
sides
in Kosovo until June 1999, in a province of over two million, favorably
compares to the annual homicide tally of 450 in Washington D.C.
(population 600,000). Counting corpses is poor form, but bearing in mind
the brutalities and “ethnic cleansings” ignored by NATO - or even
condoned, notably in Croatia in 1995, or in eastern Turkey - it is clear
that “Kosovo” is not about universal principles. In Washington Abdullah
Ocalan is a terrorist, but KLA are freedom fighters.
What was it about, then? “Regional stability”, we were told next: if we
didn ’t stop the conflict it would engulf Macedonia, Greece, Turkey, the
whole of the Balkans in fact, with much of Europe to follow. But the
cure
- bombing Serbia into detaching an ethnically pure-Albanian Kosovo to
the
KLA narco-mafia, under NATO’s benevolent eye – will unleash a chain
reaction throughout the ex-Communist half of Europe. Its first victim
will be
the former Yugoslav republic of Macedonia, where the restive Albanian
minority comprises a third of the total population. And will the
Pristina
model not be demanded by the Hungarians in Rumania (more numerous
than Kosovo’s Albanians), and in southern Slovakia? What will stop the
Russians in the Ukraine, in Moldova, in Estonia, and in northern
Kazakhstan from following suit? Or the Serbs and Croats in the
chronically
unstable and unviable Dayton-Bosnia? And finally, when the Albanians get
their secession on the grounds of their numbers, will the same apply
when
the Latinos in southern California or Texas eventually outnumber their
Anglo
neighbors and start demanding bilingual statehood, leading to
reunification
with Mexico? Are Russia and China to threaten the United States with
bombing if Washington does not comply?
The outcome in Kosovo, for now, is in line with a deeply flawed model of
the new Balkan order that seeks to satisfy the aspirations of all ethnic
groups in former Yugoslavia - except the Serbs. This is a disastrous
strategy for all concerned. Even if forced into submission now, the
Serbs
shall have no stake in the ensuing order of things. Sooner or later they
will fight to recover Kosovo. The Carthaginian peace imposed on the
Serbs
today will cause chronic imbalance and strife for decades to come. It
will
entangle the West in a Balkan quagmire, and guarantee a new war as soon
as Mr. Clinton’s successors lose interest in underwriting the ill-gotten
gains
of America’s Balkan clients.
NATO has won, for now, but “the West” has lost. The war has undermined
the very principles that constitute the West, namely the rule of law.
The
notion of “human rights” can never provide a basis for either the rule
of
law or morality. “Universal human rights,” detached from any rootedness
in
time or place, will be open to the latest whim of outrage or the latest
fad for victimhood. The misguided effort to transform NATO from a
defensive alliance into a mini-U.N. with “out-of-area” self-appointed
responsibilities, is a certain road to more Bosnias and more Kosovos
down
the line. Now that the Clintonistas and NATO were “successful” in
Kosovo,
we can expect new and even more dangerous adventures elsewhere. But
next time around the Russians, Chinese, Indians and others will know
better than to buy the slogans about free markets and democratic human
rights, and the future of “the West” in the eventually inevitable
conflict may
be uncertain. Canada should ponder the implications of this course, and
gather the courage to say “no” to global interventionism – for its own
sake,
and for the sake of peace and stability in the world. Is it really
obliged to
watch in undissenting submission as a long, dangerous military
experiment
is mounted which will lead us to a real war for Central Asia? Will it
soon be
'defending' new KLAs against 'genocide' along Russia’s Islamic rim,
among
ethnic groups as yet unknown to the Western press that can provide a
series of excuses for intervention, all as good, that is as bad, as the
Kosovo
Albanian excuse?
Was Canada’s imperial history so sweet that it must seek another
imperial command-center, in Washington, to compensate for the loss of
London? Does Canada today feel comfortable with the emerging truth: that
it has less freedom of choice about war and peace than it did as a free
Dominion under the old Statute of Westminster? For there can be no doubt
that the war NATO was fighting in April and May 1999 was not intended,
or
willed, by anything which can be called the Alliance, when the use of
force
was plotted inside the Beltway in 1998.
It is worth asking how far this re-acquisition of minor imperial status
-
by Canada and other NATO members - is creating a media-led political
process that leaves national decision-making meaningless, beyond a
formal
cheer-leading function. It is also worth asking how it came to be that
the
chief war aim of NATO was 'keeping the Alliance together', what
disciplines it implies, and how easily, and bloodily, it can be
repeated.
The moral absolutism that was invoked by the proponents of intervention
as
a substitute for rational argument can no longer be sustained. Genuine
dilemmas about our human responsibility for one another must not be used
to reactivate the viral imperialism of the re-extended West. The more
arrogant the new doctrine, the greater the willingness to lie for the
truth. To be capable of “doing something” sustains moral self-respect,
if
we can suppress the thought that we are not so much moral actors as
consumers of predigested choices. At the onset of the Millenium we are
living in a virtual Coliseum where exotic and nasty troublemakers can be
killed not by lions but by the magical flying machines of the Imperium.
As
the candidates for punishment - or martyrdom - are pushed into the
arena,
many denizens of “the West” react to the show as imperial consumers, not
as citizens with a parliamentary right and a democratic duty to question
the proceedings.
May the results of your present inquiry prove me wrong. Thank you.
>>>>-----Original Message-----
>>>>From: Peter Bein [mailto:pbein@...]
>>>>Sent: February 10, 2000 4:16 PM
>>>>To: 'HilchJ@...'
>>>>Subject:
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>I am urging you that the following individuals be called to testify
before
>>>>the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Trade
(SCFAIT)
>>>>as expert witnesses re Canada's role in the conflict and
post-conflict
>>>>developments in Kosovo and Metohija. It is imperative that MPs in
SCAFIT
>>>>hear from and question experts who reflect all sides in this
conflict. The
>>>>MPs are already well acquainted with the perspectives of Canada's
military
>>>>and the Dept of Foreign Affairs, as their views were publicized for
many
>>>>months.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>Mr. James Bissett, Canada's former ambassador to Yugoslavia,
Bulgaria and
>>>>Albania.
>>>>
>>>>Dr. Michael Chossudovsky, professor of economics at the University
of
>>>>Ottawa.
>>>>
>>>>Mr. Roland Keith from Vancouver, B.C.,who was stationed in Kosovo
as a
>>>>monitor with the
>>>>Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe.
>>>>
>>>>Dr. Rosalie Bertell, Director of Research at the International
Institute
>>of
>>>>Concern for Public Health in Toronto.
>>>>
>>>>Prof. Dr. Hari Sharma, professor emeritus of chemistry at the
University
>>of
>>>>Waterloo, Ontario.
>>>>
>>>>Prof. Dr. Michael Mandel, professor of Law at Osgoode Hall Law
School ,
>>>>York
>>>>University, Toronto.
>>>>
>>>>Dr. Serge Trifkovic, an author, former university professor,
historian,
>>>>foreign affairs editor of the "Chronicles - Magazine of American
>>>>Culture".
>>>>
>>>>Mrs. Radmila Swann, a retired federal public servant and a founding
member
>>>>of
>>>>the Ottawa Heritage Society.
>>>>
>>>>Mr. Nikola Rajkovic, a law student and a founding member of the
Centre for
>>>>Peace in the Balkans in Toronto.
>>>>
>>>>I trust that testimonies of these people will add a great value to
the
>>>>hearings.
>>>>
>>>>Dr. Peter Bein, P.Eng.
>>>>Vancouver B.C.
>>>>tel. +604 822 1685
>>>>fax +604 822 3033
>>>>e-mail: pbein@...
>>>>
--------- COORDINAMENTO ROMANO PER LA JUGOSLAVIA -----------
RIMSKI SAVEZ ZA JUGOSLAVIJU
e-mail: crj@... - URL: http://marx2001.org/crj
http://www.egroups.com/group/crj-mailinglist/
------------------------------------------------------------
I contribuiti che diffondiamo in questo messaggio vengono dal Canada. Si
tratta di alcune audizioni tenute ad Ottawa, alla Camera dei Comuni,
dinanzi allo Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International
Trade da parte di varie personalita' ritenute a vario titolo "informate
sui fatti" riguardo alla aggressione della NATO contro la Repubblica
Federale di Jugoslavia. In particolare, i contributi seguenti sono le
testimonianze di JAMES BISSET, ex-ambasciatore canadese a Belgrado, ora
"indesiderato" nella stessa ambasciata canadese a Belgrado, e SERGE
TRIFKOVIC, professore di storia, responsabile per gli esteri di
"Chronicles - Magazine of American Culture".
Tutti i documenti sono stati diffusi dalla lista STOPNATO@...
===
Author: James Bisset
Publisher/Date: February 2000
Title: Notes for address to Standing Committee Foreign Affairs and
International Trade (Ca)
1: Introduction
I wish to thank the committee for giving me the opportunity of speaking
this morning.
It is some comfort to know that although I was not allowed to speak to
anyone in the Canadian embassy in Belgrade during a recent visit there
that I am free to speak to members of the Canadian parliament.
I have been an out spoken critic of the NATO bombing of Yugoslavia. I
believe it to have been a tragic mistake -- a historic miscalculation
that will have far reaching implications.
When NATO bombs fell on Yugoslavia in the spring and summer of last year
they caused more than just death and destruction in that country. The
bombs also struck at the heart of international law and delivered a
serious blow to the framework of global security that since the end of
the second world war has protected all of us from the horrors of a
nuclear war.
Kosovo broke the ground rules for NATO engagement and the aggressive
military intervention by NATO into the affairs of a sovereign state for
other than defensive purposes marked an ominous turning point in the
aims and objectives of that organization. It is important that we
understand this and seek clarification as to whether this was a
"one-off" aberration or a signal of fundamental change in the nature and
purposes of the organization. This is something the committee might well
examine in the course of its work.
2: An Illegal War
NATO's war in Kosovo was conducted without the approval of the United
Nations Security Council. It was a violation of international law, the
United Nations charter and its own article 1, which requires NATO to
settle any international disputes by peaceful means and not to threaten
or use force, "in any manner inconsistent with the purposes of the
United Nations."
Apologists for NATO including our own foreign and defence ministers try
to avoid this issue by simply not mentioning it. There has been no
attempt to explain why the United Nations Security Council was ignored.
No effort to spell out under whose authority did NATO bomb Yugoslavia.
The ministers and their officials continue to justify the air strikes on
the grounds that the bombs were necessary to stop ethnic cleansing and
atrocities, despite all the evidence that by far the bulk of the ethnic
cleansing took place after the bombing not before it. It was the bombing
that triggered off the worst of the ethnic cleansing.
As for the atrocities it now seems that here again we were lied to about
the extent of the crimes commited. United States Secretary of Defence
Cohen told us that at least 100,000 Kosovars had perished. Tony Blair
spoke of genocide being carried out in Kosovo. The media relished in
these atrocity stories and printed every story told to them by Albanian,
"eye witnesses." The myth that the war was to stop ethnic cleansing and
atrocities contiues to be perpetrated by department spokesmen and large
parts of the media.
No one wants to defend atrocities and the numbers game in such
circumstances becomes sordid. Nevertheless numbers do become important
if they are used to justify military action against a sovereign state.
in the case of Kosovo it appears that about 2000 people were killed
there prior to the NATO bombing. considering that a civil war had been
underway since 1993 this is not a remarkable figure and compared with a
great many other hot spots hardly enough to warrant a 79-day bombing
campaign. It is also interesting to note that the UN tribunal
indictement of Milosovic of May 1999, cites only one incident of deaths
before the bombing -- the infamous Racak incident -- which itself is
challenged by French journalists who were on the ground there and
suspect a frame-up involving US General Walker who sounded the alarm.
The Kosovo "war" reveals disturbing evidence of how lies and duplicity
can mislead us into accepting things that we instinctively know to be
wrong. Jamie Shea and other NATO apologists have lied to us about the
bombing. The sad thing is that most of the Canadian media, and our
political representatives have accepted without question what has been
told to us by NATO and our own foreign affairs spokesmen.
3: An Unecessary War
perhaps the most serious charge against the NATO bombing of Yugoslavia
is that it was unnecessary. NATO chose bombing over diplomacy. Violence
over negotiation. NATO's leaders tried to convince us that dropping tons
of bombs on Yugoslavia was serving humanitarian purposes.
A UN Security Council resolution of October 1998 accepted by Yugoslavia,
authorized over 1300 monitors from the Organization for Security and
Cooperation in Europe [OSCE] to enter Kosovo and try to de-escalate the
fighting. from the accounts of a number of these monitors their task was
successful. While cease-fire violations continued on both sides the
intensity of the armed struggle was considerably abated.
The former Czech foreign minister, Jiri Dienstbier, and Canada's own
Rollie Keith of Vancouver -- both monitors for the OSCE on the ground in
Kosovo -- have publicly stated that there were no international refugees
over the last five months of the OSCE's presence in Kosovo and the
number of internally displaced only amounted to a few thousands in the
weeks leading up to the bombing.
The OSCE mission demonstrated that diplomacy and negotiation might well
have resolved the Kosovo problem without resorting to the use of force.
It was the failure of the United States to accept any flexibility in its
dealing with Belgrade in the weeks leading up to the war that spelled
diplomatic failure.
The adamant refusal of the USA to involve either the Russians or the
United Nations in the negotiations. The refusal to allow any other
intermediary to deal with Milosovic and finally the imposition of the
Rambouillet ultimatum which was clearly designed to ensure that
Yugoslavia had no choice but to refuse its insulting terms.
It is now generally accepted by those who have seen the Rambouillet
agreement that no sovereign state could have agreed to its conditions.
The insistence of allowing acess to all of Yugoslavia by NATO forces and
the demand that a referendum on autonomy be held within three years
guaranteed a Serbian rejection.
The Serbian parliament did, however, on March 23, state a willingness to
"examine the character and extent of an international presence in Kosovo
immediately after the signing of an autonomy accord acceptable to all
national communities in Kosovo, the local Serb minority included. " The
United States was not interested in pursuing this offer. NATO needed its
war. NATO's formal commitment to resolve international disputes by
peaceful means was thrown out the window.
The Rambouillet document itself was not easily obtained from NATO
sources. The chairman of the defence committee of the French National
Assembly asked for a copy shortly after the bombing commenced but was
not given a copy until a few days before the UN peace treaty was signed.
I hope that members of this committee have a copy to look at and will be
able to find out when and if Canada was informed of its conditions.
4: NATO's campaign a total failure
We have been asked to believe that the war in Kosovo was fought for
human rights. Indeed the president of the Czech republic received a
standing ovation in this House of Commons when he stated that Kosovo was
the first war fought for human values rather than territory. I suspect
even President Havel would have second thoughts about that statement now
that a large part of Yugoslav territory has in effect been handed over
to the Albanians.
The war allegedly to stop ethnic cleansing has not done so. Serbs
Gypsies, Jews, and Slav muslims are being forced out of Kosovo under the
eyes of 45,000 NATO troops. Murder and anarchy reigns supreme in Kosovo
as the KLA and criminal elements have taken charge. The United Nations
admits failure to control the situation and warns Serbs not to return.
The war allegedly to restore stability to the Balkans has done the
opposite.Yugoslavia's neighbors are in a state of turmoil. Montenegro is
on the edge of civil war. Macedonia is now worried that Kosovo has shown
the way for its own sizeable Albanian minority to demand
self-determination. Albania has been encouraged to strive harder to
fulfill its dream of greater Albania. Serbia itself has been ruined
economically. Embittered and disillusioned it feels betrayed and
alienated from the western democracies.
The illegal and unecessary war has alienated the other great nuclear
powers, Russia and China. These countries are now convinced that the
west cannot be trusted. NATO expansion eastward is seen as an aggressive
and hostile threat and will be answered by an increase in the nuclear
arsenal of both nations. After Kosovo who can with any conviction
convince them that NATO is purely a defensive alliance dedicated to
peace and to upholding the principles of the United Nations?
More seriously the NATO bombing has destroyed NATO's credibility. NATO
stood for more than just a powerful military organization. It stood for
peace; the rule of law, and democratic institutions. The bombing of
Yugoslavia threw all of that out the window.
No longer can NATO stand on the moral high ground. Its action in
Yugoslavia revealed it to be an aggressive military machine prepared to
ignore international law and intervene with deadly force in the internal
affairs of any state with whose actions or behaviour it does not agree.
5: Conclusions
There are those who believe that the long standing principle of state
sovereignty can be over ruled when human rights violations are taking
place in a country. Until Kosovo the ground rules for such intervention
called for Security Council authority before such action could be taken.
Apologists for NATO argue that it was unlikely Security Council
authority could have been obtained because of the veto power of China or
Russia. So it would appear rather than even try to get consent NATO took
upon itself the powers of the Security Council. I am not sure we should
all be comfortable with this development.
Undoubtedly there may be times when such intervention is justified and
immediately Rwanda comes to mind -- but intervention for humanitarian
reasons is a dangerous concept. Because who is to decide when to take
such action and under whose authority? Hitler intervened in
Czechoslovakia because he claimed the human rights of the Sudeten
Germans were being violated. Those who advocate a change in the current
rules for intervention are free to do so but until the rules change
should we not all obey the ones that still have legitimacy?
NATO made a serious mistake in Kosovo. Its bombing campaign was not only
an unmitigated disaster but it changed fundamentally the very nature and
purposes of the alliance. Does article 1 of the NATO treaty still stand?
Does NATO still undertake to settle any international disputes in which
it may become involved by peaceful means? Do the NATO countries still
undertake to refrain in their international relations from the threat or
use of force in any manner inconsistent with the purposes of the united
nations?
Kosovo should serve as a warning call that Canadian democracy needs a
shot in the arm to wake it up to the realities that foreign policy is
important--important because as happened one day last march Canadians
can wake up and find they are at war. Canadian pilots were bombing
Serbia. yet there was no declaration of war. The Canadian parliament was
not consulted. The majority of the Canadian people had no idea where
Kosovo was -- let alone understand why our aircraft were bombing cities
in a fellow nation state that had been a staunch ally during two world
wars.
It was not only Yugoslav soverignty that was violated by NATO's illegal
action. Canadian sovereignty was also abused. Canada had become involved
in a war without any member of the Canadian parliament or the Canadian
people being consulted.the ultimate expression of a nation's sovereignty
is the right to declare war. NATO abrogated this right.
If it essential that we give up some of our sovereignty as the price we
pay for membership in global institutons such as NATO then it is
mandatory that such institutions follow their own rules, respect thrule
of law, and operate within the generally accepted framework of the
United Nations charter. This NATO did not do. It is for this reason I
would suggest your committee must ask some tough questions about the
nature of Canada's involvement in the Kosovo war.
(James Bisset is the former Canadian ambassador to Yugoslavia, who was
recently physically barred by the Canadian government from entering the
embassy in Belgrade.)
===
Testimony by S. Trifkovic, House of Commons SCFAIT, Ottawa, 17/02/2000
GEO-POLITICAL IMPLICATIONS OF NATO INTERVENTION IN KOSOVO
Testimony by S. Trifkovic
Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Trade
House of Commons, Ottawa, February 17, 2000
The war waged by NATO against Yugoslavia in 1999 marks a significant
turning point, not only for America and NATO but also for “the West” as
a
whole. The principle of state sovereignty, and of the rule of law
itself, has
been subverted in the name of an allegedly humanitarian ideology. Facts
have been converted into fiction, and even the fictions invoked to
justify
the act are giving up all pretense to credibility. Old systems for the
protection of
national liberties, political, legal and economic, have now been
subverted into vehicles for their destruction. But so far from
demonstrating
the vigor of Western ruling elites in their ruthless pursuit of an
ideology of
multi-ethnic democracy and international human rights, the whole Balkan
entanglement may be as a disturbing revelation of those ruling elites’
moral and cultural decay. I shall therefore devote my remarks to the
consequences of the war for the emerging new international system, and –
ultimately – for the security and stability of the Western world itself.
Almost a decade separated ‘Desert Storm’ from ‘Humanitarian Bombing.’ In
1991 the Maastricht Treaty was signed, and the rest of the decade has
brought the gradual usurpation of traditional European sovereignty by a
corporate-controlled Brussels regime of unelected bureaucrats who now
feel
bold enough to tell Austria how to run its domestic affairs. On this
side
of the ocean we had the passage of NAFTA and in 1995 the Uruguay round
of GATT gave us the WTO. The nineties were thus a decade of gradual
foundation laying for the new international order. The denigration of
sovereign nationhood hypnotized the public into applauding the
dismantling
of the very institutions that offered the only hope of representative
empowerment. The process is sufficiently far advanced for President
Clinton to claim (“A Just and Necessary War,” NYT, May 23, 1999) that,
had
it not bombed Serbia, "NATO itself would have been discredited for
failing
to defend the very values that give it meaning."
The war was in fact both unjust and unnecessary, but the significance of
Mr. Clinton’s statement is in that he has openly declared null and void
the international system in existence ever since the Peace of Westphalia
(1648). It was an imperfect and often violated system, but nevertheless
it
provided the basis for international discourse from which only the
assorted red and black totalitarians have openly deviated. Since 24
March
1999 this is being replaced by the emerging Clinton Doctrine, a carbon
copy of the Brezhnev doctrine of limited sovereignty that supposedly
justified the Soviet-led occupation of Czechoslovakia in 1968. Like his
Soviet predecessor, Mr. Clinton used an abstract and ideologically
loaded
notion - that of universal “human rights” - as the pretext to violate
the law and
tradition. The Clinton Doctrine is rooted in the bipartisan hubris of
Washington’s foreign policy “elite,” tipsy on its own heady brew of the
“world’s last and only superpower.” Legal formalities are passé, and
moral
imperatives - never sacrosanct in international affairs - are replaced
by
a cynical exercise in situational morality, dependent on an actor’s
position within the superpower ’s value system.
And so imperial high-mindedness is back, but in a new form. Old
religion, national flags and nationalist rivalry play no part. But the
yearning
for excitement and importance, that took the British to Peking, Kabul
and
Khartoum, the French to Fashoda and Saigon, and the Americans to Manila,
has now re-emerged. As a result a war was waged on an independent nation
because it refused foreign troops on its soil. All other justifications
are post facto rationalizations. The powers that waged that war have
aided
and abetted secession by an ethnic minority, secession that – once
formally
effected - will render many European borders tentative. In the context
of
any other European nation the story would sound surreal. The Serbs,
however, have been demonized to the point where they must not presume to
be treated like others.
But the fact that the West could do anything it chose to the Serbs does
not explain why it should. It is hardly worth refuting, yet again, the
feeble excuses for intervention. “Humanitarian” argument has been
invoked.
But what about Kashmir, Sudan, Uganda, Angola, Sierra Leone, Sri Lanka,
Algeria? Properly videotaped and Amanpourized, each would be good for a
dozen “Kosovos”. There was no “genocide,” of course. Compared to the
killing fields of the Third World Kosovo was an unremarkable,
low-intensity conflict, uglier perhaps than Northern Ireland a decade
ago,
but much less so than Kurdistan. A total of 2,108 fatalities on all
sides
in Kosovo until June 1999, in a province of over two million, favorably
compares to the annual homicide tally of 450 in Washington D.C.
(population 600,000). Counting corpses is poor form, but bearing in mind
the brutalities and “ethnic cleansings” ignored by NATO - or even
condoned, notably in Croatia in 1995, or in eastern Turkey - it is clear
that “Kosovo” is not about universal principles. In Washington Abdullah
Ocalan is a terrorist, but KLA are freedom fighters.
What was it about, then? “Regional stability”, we were told next: if we
didn ’t stop the conflict it would engulf Macedonia, Greece, Turkey, the
whole of the Balkans in fact, with much of Europe to follow. But the
cure
- bombing Serbia into detaching an ethnically pure-Albanian Kosovo to
the
KLA narco-mafia, under NATO’s benevolent eye – will unleash a chain
reaction throughout the ex-Communist half of Europe. Its first victim
will be
the former Yugoslav republic of Macedonia, where the restive Albanian
minority comprises a third of the total population. And will the
Pristina
model not be demanded by the Hungarians in Rumania (more numerous
than Kosovo’s Albanians), and in southern Slovakia? What will stop the
Russians in the Ukraine, in Moldova, in Estonia, and in northern
Kazakhstan from following suit? Or the Serbs and Croats in the
chronically
unstable and unviable Dayton-Bosnia? And finally, when the Albanians get
their secession on the grounds of their numbers, will the same apply
when
the Latinos in southern California or Texas eventually outnumber their
Anglo
neighbors and start demanding bilingual statehood, leading to
reunification
with Mexico? Are Russia and China to threaten the United States with
bombing if Washington does not comply?
The outcome in Kosovo, for now, is in line with a deeply flawed model of
the new Balkan order that seeks to satisfy the aspirations of all ethnic
groups in former Yugoslavia - except the Serbs. This is a disastrous
strategy for all concerned. Even if forced into submission now, the
Serbs
shall have no stake in the ensuing order of things. Sooner or later they
will fight to recover Kosovo. The Carthaginian peace imposed on the
Serbs
today will cause chronic imbalance and strife for decades to come. It
will
entangle the West in a Balkan quagmire, and guarantee a new war as soon
as Mr. Clinton’s successors lose interest in underwriting the ill-gotten
gains
of America’s Balkan clients.
NATO has won, for now, but “the West” has lost. The war has undermined
the very principles that constitute the West, namely the rule of law.
The
notion of “human rights” can never provide a basis for either the rule
of
law or morality. “Universal human rights,” detached from any rootedness
in
time or place, will be open to the latest whim of outrage or the latest
fad for victimhood. The misguided effort to transform NATO from a
defensive alliance into a mini-U.N. with “out-of-area” self-appointed
responsibilities, is a certain road to more Bosnias and more Kosovos
down
the line. Now that the Clintonistas and NATO were “successful” in
Kosovo,
we can expect new and even more dangerous adventures elsewhere. But
next time around the Russians, Chinese, Indians and others will know
better than to buy the slogans about free markets and democratic human
rights, and the future of “the West” in the eventually inevitable
conflict may
be uncertain. Canada should ponder the implications of this course, and
gather the courage to say “no” to global interventionism – for its own
sake,
and for the sake of peace and stability in the world. Is it really
obliged to
watch in undissenting submission as a long, dangerous military
experiment
is mounted which will lead us to a real war for Central Asia? Will it
soon be
'defending' new KLAs against 'genocide' along Russia’s Islamic rim,
among
ethnic groups as yet unknown to the Western press that can provide a
series of excuses for intervention, all as good, that is as bad, as the
Kosovo
Albanian excuse?
Was Canada’s imperial history so sweet that it must seek another
imperial command-center, in Washington, to compensate for the loss of
London? Does Canada today feel comfortable with the emerging truth: that
it has less freedom of choice about war and peace than it did as a free
Dominion under the old Statute of Westminster? For there can be no doubt
that the war NATO was fighting in April and May 1999 was not intended,
or
willed, by anything which can be called the Alliance, when the use of
force
was plotted inside the Beltway in 1998.
It is worth asking how far this re-acquisition of minor imperial status
-
by Canada and other NATO members - is creating a media-led political
process that leaves national decision-making meaningless, beyond a
formal
cheer-leading function. It is also worth asking how it came to be that
the
chief war aim of NATO was 'keeping the Alliance together', what
disciplines it implies, and how easily, and bloodily, it can be
repeated.
The moral absolutism that was invoked by the proponents of intervention
as
a substitute for rational argument can no longer be sustained. Genuine
dilemmas about our human responsibility for one another must not be used
to reactivate the viral imperialism of the re-extended West. The more
arrogant the new doctrine, the greater the willingness to lie for the
truth. To be capable of “doing something” sustains moral self-respect,
if
we can suppress the thought that we are not so much moral actors as
consumers of predigested choices. At the onset of the Millenium we are
living in a virtual Coliseum where exotic and nasty troublemakers can be
killed not by lions but by the magical flying machines of the Imperium.
As
the candidates for punishment - or martyrdom - are pushed into the
arena,
many denizens of “the West” react to the show as imperial consumers, not
as citizens with a parliamentary right and a democratic duty to question
the proceedings.
May the results of your present inquiry prove me wrong. Thank you.
>>>>-----Original Message-----
>>>>From: Peter Bein [mailto:pbein@...]
>>>>Sent: February 10, 2000 4:16 PM
>>>>To: 'HilchJ@...'
>>>>Subject:
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>I am urging you that the following individuals be called to testify
before
>>>>the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Trade
(SCFAIT)
>>>>as expert witnesses re Canada's role in the conflict and
post-conflict
>>>>developments in Kosovo and Metohija. It is imperative that MPs in
SCAFIT
>>>>hear from and question experts who reflect all sides in this
conflict. The
>>>>MPs are already well acquainted with the perspectives of Canada's
military
>>>>and the Dept of Foreign Affairs, as their views were publicized for
many
>>>>months.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>Mr. James Bissett, Canada's former ambassador to Yugoslavia,
Bulgaria and
>>>>Albania.
>>>>
>>>>Dr. Michael Chossudovsky, professor of economics at the University
of
>>>>Ottawa.
>>>>
>>>>Mr. Roland Keith from Vancouver, B.C.,who was stationed in Kosovo
as a
>>>>monitor with the
>>>>Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe.
>>>>
>>>>Dr. Rosalie Bertell, Director of Research at the International
Institute
>>of
>>>>Concern for Public Health in Toronto.
>>>>
>>>>Prof. Dr. Hari Sharma, professor emeritus of chemistry at the
University
>>of
>>>>Waterloo, Ontario.
>>>>
>>>>Prof. Dr. Michael Mandel, professor of Law at Osgoode Hall Law
School ,
>>>>York
>>>>University, Toronto.
>>>>
>>>>Dr. Serge Trifkovic, an author, former university professor,
historian,
>>>>foreign affairs editor of the "Chronicles - Magazine of American
>>>>Culture".
>>>>
>>>>Mrs. Radmila Swann, a retired federal public servant and a founding
member
>>>>of
>>>>the Ottawa Heritage Society.
>>>>
>>>>Mr. Nikola Rajkovic, a law student and a founding member of the
Centre for
>>>>Peace in the Balkans in Toronto.
>>>>
>>>>I trust that testimonies of these people will add a great value to
the
>>>>hearings.
>>>>
>>>>Dr. Peter Bein, P.Eng.
>>>>Vancouver B.C.
>>>>tel. +604 822 1685
>>>>fax +604 822 3033
>>>>e-mail: pbein@...
>>>>
--------- COORDINAMENTO ROMANO PER LA JUGOSLAVIA -----------
RIMSKI SAVEZ ZA JUGOSLAVIJU
e-mail: crj@... - URL: http://marx2001.org/crj
http://www.egroups.com/group/crj-mailinglist/
------------------------------------------------------------
VIVA IL RE D'ITALIA E D'ALBANIA
S.A.R. il Principe Emanuele Filiberto di Savoia, partito da Ginevra con
un volo privato, in qualita' di rappresentante dell'Ordine dei Santi
Maurizio e Lazzaro, antico ordine dinastico dei Savoia, si e' recato in
Albania per adottare 600 kosovari:
http://www.marx2001.org/crj/IM/kosovo.gif
Scortato dai Carabinieri del Regno, ha visitato i campi profughi:
http://www.marx2001.org/crj/IM/campo.jpg
dove ha contribuito alle operazioni di soccorso umanitario organizzate
nell'ambito della Missione Arcobaleno:
http://www.marx2001.org/crj/IM/campo2.jpg
http://www.marx2001.org/crj/IM/campo3.jpg
Peccato pero' che il giovine abbia una nonna serba... Cosi' tanto un bel
ragazzo...
(Fonte: http://www.geocities.com/CapitolHill/8261/ )
--------- COORDINAMENTO ROMANO PER LA JUGOSLAVIA -----------
RIMSKI SAVEZ ZA JUGOSLAVIJU
e-mail: crj@... - URL: http://marx2001.org/crj
http://www.egroups.com/group/crj-mailinglist/
------------------------------------------------------------
S.A.R. il Principe Emanuele Filiberto di Savoia, partito da Ginevra con
un volo privato, in qualita' di rappresentante dell'Ordine dei Santi
Maurizio e Lazzaro, antico ordine dinastico dei Savoia, si e' recato in
Albania per adottare 600 kosovari:
http://www.marx2001.org/crj/IM/kosovo.gif
Scortato dai Carabinieri del Regno, ha visitato i campi profughi:
http://www.marx2001.org/crj/IM/campo.jpg
dove ha contribuito alle operazioni di soccorso umanitario organizzate
nell'ambito della Missione Arcobaleno:
http://www.marx2001.org/crj/IM/campo2.jpg
http://www.marx2001.org/crj/IM/campo3.jpg
Peccato pero' che il giovine abbia una nonna serba... Cosi' tanto un bel
ragazzo...
(Fonte: http://www.geocities.com/CapitolHill/8261/ )
--------- COORDINAMENTO ROMANO PER LA JUGOSLAVIA -----------
RIMSKI SAVEZ ZA JUGOSLAVIJU
e-mail: crj@... - URL: http://marx2001.org/crj
http://www.egroups.com/group/crj-mailinglist/
------------------------------------------------------------
* Protesta formale della RF di Jugoslavia per il comportamento dei
soldati KFOR durante le perquisizioni a Mitrovica
* Scambio di accuse tra RF di Jugoslavia e NATO ("The Times of
India"/Reuters)
* Pesanti critiche dalla Cina all'atteggiamento di KFOR/UNMIK in Kosmet
* Comunicato del Partito Democratico della Serbia sull'appoggio
statunitense all'irredentismo panalbanese
* Italia: Comunicato di Voce Operaia sulla situazione a Mitrovica
* C'ERANO UNA VOLTA... "Circassians in Kosovo Polje in the Yugoslav
Federation" - storia sconosciuta di una delle comunita' nazionali
spazzate via dal Kosmet per mano dell'UCKFOR
---
STOP NATO: ¡NO PASARAN! - HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.HOME-PAGE.ORG
YUGOSLAVIA LODGES SHARP PROTEST WITH UN SECURITY COUNCIL
Yugoslavia lodged a sharp protest with the United Nations Security
Council late Monday on the occasion of the latest dramatic developments
in Kosovska Mitrovica which have been caused by ethnic Albanian
terrorists, but also members of the international force KFOR with their
arrogant behavour and brutal action of house-searching Serb districts of
this town in Serbia's Kosovo province.
The letter, sent to Security Council President Arnoldo Listre, the
Argentinian Ambassador, by the head of the Yugoslav mission to the
United Nations, Ambassador Vladislav Jovanovic, most strongly protested
and demanded that the council take immediate measures toward a
normalization of the situation in this town, immediately to curb the
terrorism of ethnic Albanians, vandalism, and lynching and liquidation
of Serbs and other non-Albanians.
The very course of events and building up of tensions confirm that this
is a pre-conceived action in which ethnic Albanians of Kosovska
Mitrovica, led by terrorists of the so-called Kosovo Liberation Army,
were joined by thousands of ethnic Albanians who arrived from Pristina,
the letter said.
It is perfectly clear that the concentrated attack was planned with the
objective of banishing Serbs, Montenegrins, Goranians, Muslims of Slav
extraction, and ethnic Turks from Kosovska Mitrovica, the only remaining
multi-national and multi-confessional town in Kosovo, in order to
complete the process of ethnic cleansing of non-Albanians who live in
isolation in enclaves in this Serbian province, said the letter.
Yugoslavia has already warned the Security Council on previous occasions
against the fiasco and inability of KFOR and UNMIK to realize their
obligations stemming from Resolution 1244, as well as the
Military-Technical Agreement.
In spite of Yugoslavia's warning and the fact that most of the Serb and
non-Albanian population have already been banished from Kosovo,
witnessed by these very same security forces and the civilian mission,
the KFOR and UNMIK have not only failed to do anything to prevent the
terrorism of ethnic Albanians and acts of vandalism, but have very often
been accomplices in these heinous acts.
The latest aggravation of the situation in Kosovska Mitrovica is due to
the totally unprovoked arrogant behaviour of KFOR towards Serbs in that
town, said the letter, proceeding to describe the destructive and brutal
behaviour of KFOR U.S. and German troops who broke down doors and
windows on schools and private houses in their house-search.
The action had evidently been planned in advance. U.S. troops arrived
from Gnjilane, and among them were ethnic Albanians in KFOR U.S.
uniforms, who were recognized by the local population.
Press representatives also appeared to be on the spot, reporting in
Albanian, as well as several crew of foreign TV stations. Leaflets were
dropped from a helicopter, urging Serbs to surrender their allegedly
concealed weapons.
The latest abuse of the about 4,500 Serbs in Kosovska Mitrovica is yet
more proof of the political double standards of the KFOR mission, warned
the letter sent by Yugoslavia to the Security Council.
---
Times of India
Wednesday 23 February 2000
Belgrade dismisses West's allegations on Kosovo
By Julijana Mojsilovic
BELGRADE: Yugoslavia dismissed Western officials' allegations that it
was stoking tensions in and around Kosovo and accused them on Tuesday of
supporting Albanian "terrorists" in the province.
"These people are behind the terrorism and separatism of Kosovo
Albanians. They have created the Kosovo Liberation Army and a crisis in
the Balkans to expand NATO to the region," Yugoslav Information Minister
Goran Matic said.
He was speaking a day after battles broke out between Western
peacekeepers and rioters when thousands of ethnic Albanians tried to
storm across a bridge in the centre of the flashpoint Kosovo city of
Mitrovica to reach the province's largest remaining Serb enclave.
On Sunday, NATO-led KFOR peacekeeping troops clashed with Mitrovica's
Serbs, angered by the troops' search of homes for weapons following
shootings and grenade attacks which killed nine people, both Serbs and
Albanians.
Richard Holbrooke, US ambassador to the UN, said in New York on Monday
that trouble was being fomented by the Yugoslav government, which was
forced by last year's NATO air war to surrender control of Kosovo.
NATO Secretary-General George Robertson said on Monday the military
alliance was also monitoring a Yugoslav troop build-up in other ethnic
Albanian areas of southern Serbia and would not tolerate a new conflict
there.
NATO Supreme Commander General Wesley Clark, visiting Albania, also
expressed concern about the area.
Matic counterattacked by accusing Holbrooke, Robertson and Clark of
wanting to expel remaining Serbs from Mitrovica in order to gain control
of a mine near the city, saying they were "in a gold rush".
"The three are demanding from ethnic Albanians to expel the remaining
non-Albanians from Mitrovica in order to get hold of the richest gold
mine in the Balkans," Matic said.
But it would not succeed, he said, adding that "Serbia is not
California".
He was referring to the Trepca lead and zinc mining complex, which
exploits ore also containing gold and silver. The complex is situated
north of Mitrovica in a Serb-dominated area. Serbia still controls four
of some 17 Trepca mines in Kosovo.
"These people are now doing everything to cover up their crimes," Matic
said of the leaders of NATO countries which took part in the
March-to-June air campaign against Belgrade.
The state news agency Tanjug reported that Yugoslavia lodged a sharp
protest with the UN Security Council late on Monday. "Yugoslavia has
already warned the Security Council on previous occasions against the
fiasco and inability of KFOR and the UN mission in Kosovo to realise
their obligations stemming from resolution 1244 as well as the
Military-Technical Agreement," it quoted the Yugoslav letter as saying.
(Reuters)
---
www.serbia-info.com/news
"Jiefan Jun Bao": West stirs ethnic Albanians up against Serbs
February 23, 2000
Concern for escalation of violation in Kosovo and
Metohija
Beijing, February 22nd - Chinese military daily
"Jiefan Jun Ban" condemned today "incapability of KFOR
and UNMIK in Kosovo" and appealed to the world
community to "prevent ethnic Albanian terrorism under
the auspices of the UN".
Reacting to "the latest separatist actions of ethnic
Albanian separatists in Kosovo, the military daily
warned that "West deliberately stirs up anger of
ethnic Albanians towards the Serbs in
Kosovo-Metohija".
"It is necessary to create the conditions for
political solution of Kosovo issue with full respect
of sovereignty and territorial integrity of FRY and
consistent implementation of the UN Security Council's
Resolution 1244", stressed today Chinese
representative for press Ju Ban Tzao, referring to the
latest wave of crime in Kosovo.
"It is obvious that the situation in Kosovo has
deteriorated since the arrival of the UN military and
civil mission last June", stated Ju, stressing this
was preceded by the NATO aggression against
Yugoslavia, headed by the US.
"The use of force against sovereign Yugoslavia not
only violated the UN Charter and the principles of the
international standards, but also turned out to be
utterly dangerous example of interference with the
interior business of a sovereign country" stated Ju,
expressing "China's deep concern regarding the
escalation of violence in Kosovo".
The military daily points out that "the inclined
policy of KFOR and UNMIK exerted pressure on Serbs and
supported ethnic Albanian extremists which created
additional tension in Kosovo".
"Tolerant attitude of KFOR and UNMIK towards extreme
ethnic Albanians now returns as a boomerang to the UN
military and civil mission in Kosovo" says Jiefan Jun
Bao, reminding that terrorist organization KLA is not
disarmed, but only transformed into so-called "Kosovo
Protective Corps".
"The world community insists on the fact that Kosovo
is an inseparable part of Yugoslavia, which
additionally enraged ethnic Albanian extremists due to
their separatist idea on independent Kosovo",
emphasizes the military paper.
Jiefan Jun Bao reminds that Yugoslavia has warned the
UN that the attacks of ethnic Albanian terrorists to
date have already caused tragic consequences and
victims in Kosovo.
Yugoslavia demands that the Security Council urgently
takes most energetic measures in order to immediately
stop the attacks on unprotected Serb population, says
Jiefan Jun Bao.
Bias of West and incapability of KFOR and UNMIK must
change fundamentally their transparent attitude and
consistently implement the Security Council's
Resolution 1244, otherwise they will face a dead-end
situation in inflamed Kosovo, warns the military
paper.
---
>
>Right-and Albright was just in Tirana on February 19 to meet with
>Hashim Thaci.
>http://news.excite.com/photo/img/r/albania/usa/20000219/tir09
>
>
>inf-@... wrote:
>original article:http://www.egroups.com/group/sorabia/?start=3307
>> Albright, Holbrooke and Clark Lead Albanians
>>
>> NATO and Washington have been warning for days that a solution to the
>> problem in Kosovska Mitrovica must be found. Since the exodus of more
>than
>> 200,000 Serbs and the harassment of those who remained in the
>province
>> resolved the Kosovo issue, Washington believes that the only thing to
>be
>> done is to cleanse the last significant Serb enclave by expelling the
>Serbs
>> from Mitrovica. It is important to note that the Mitrovica enclave is
>the
>> one linking Kosovo with the rest of Serbia. Washington is apparently
>> determined to carry out a U.S. plan in which only an ethnically
>"pure,"
>> Albanian Kosovo can be considered truly multi-ethnic.
>>
>> For that purpose, an Albanian march on Mitrovica was organised. Just
>like it
>> promoted several Albanian terrorists and criminals to high-ranking
>military
>> officers and diplomats in Rambouillet only to demilitarise them later
>and
>> turn them into commanders, political leaders and state dignitaries,
>> Washington has now decided to head the Albanian march on Mitrovica.
>Its true
>> goal is to ethnically cleanse the town of the Serbs rather than
>liberate it.
>>
>> The Albanian masses involved in the campaign on Mitrovica were not
>led by
>> Albanian criminal politicians like Hashim Thaqi, but rather the very
>top of
>> the U.S. diplomatic and military elite. After all that happened in
>Kosovo
>> before the eyes of the whole wide word, Madeleine Albright termed as
>> "tragedy" the events in Mitrovica only. Richard Holbrooke said that
>> Mitrovica was the hottest spot in Europe, and Wesley Clark guaranteed
>that
>> NATO would take "appropriate measures" to avoid the final division of
>> Mitrovica. Thereby, the trio making Washington's iron fist confirmed
>that it
>> was behind the Albanian march and barbarism of U.S. soldiers of KFOR
>in the
>> north of Mitrovica. Tomorrow, it can easily support another "Flash"
>or
>> "Storm" thanks to which Mitrovica would no longer be a divided town.
>To say
>> the truth, it would be a Serbless town, just like the whole of Kosovo
>after
>> all. Those on the Serb side failing to see this are both politically
>blind
>> and irresponsible.
>>
>> Belgrade, February 22, 2000
>>
>> Information Service of the Democratic Party of Serbia
>>
>
>
>------------------------------------------------------------------------
>Group Moderator: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
>page at http://www.egroups.com/list/sorabia
>for more informations about current situation in Serbia
http://www.sorabia.home.dhs.org
>
>
---
Comunicato di VOCE OPERAIA
22 febbraio
Uno spettacolo raccapricciante si è consumato a Kosovska Mitrovica sotto
gli occhi di chi li aveva aperti. Issando bandiere albanesi, Nato, UE, e
USA, i seguaci dell¹UCK (frazione Taci) hanno inscenato una marcia per
sradicare dal Kosovo non soli i serbi, ma tutte quelle minoranze,
nazionali e politiche, che rifiutano l¹albanizzazione forzata. Non si
tratta soltanto di ³pulizia etnica², abbiamo a che fare con una pulizia
sociale e politica, di una rappresaglia fanatica dal chiaro segno
reazionario e filo-occidentale. Ci vengono in mente tutti quei pagliacci
di sinistra che durante i bombardamenti NATO, con la scusa di difendere
i diritti albanesi, hanno sostenuto l¹UCK come legittima forza di
liberazione nazionale considerando, proprio come i regimi imperialisti,
il governo di Belgrado come il nemico numero uno. Allora dicevamo a
questo signori che la maggioranza degli albanesi del Kosovo, volenti o
no, erano un popolo di Crumiri (Crumiri, per chi non lo sapesse, erano
qui tunisini schierati coi colonialisti francesi durante la lotta per
l¹indipendenza) i quali, se avessero avuto la meglio, non avrebbero
affatto costruito un Nazione, ma un casino coloniale sotto diretto
protettorato NATO. Questi signori hanno avuto il ben servito.
Lo diciamo così, tanto per la cronaca, non perché speriamo in un loro
ripensamento. L¹autocritica non presuppone solo l¹intelligenza, ma
l¹onestà intellettuale, qualità che hanno lasciato sfracellare al suolo,
assieme alle bombe all¹uranio impoverito sganciate sulla Iugoslavia dai
bombardieri occidentali.
Dichiarazione di Voce Operaia
Sin dal giugno scorso, subito dopo gli Accordi di pace di Kumanovo, le
milizie dell¹UCK, sotto l¹ombrello e l¹indifferenza delle truppe
NATO-Kfor, hanno dato una sistematica caccia ai cittadini serbi, rom,
gorani (e albanesi anti-UCK), provocando la loro espulsione in massa dal
Kosovo. Questa vendetta, che ha gia¹ provocato centinaia di morti
e migliaia di feriti, contrariamente a quanto affermano i reticenti e
pudici mass media, non e¹ soltanto una ³pulizia etnica², èla seconda
fase della guerra civile che contrappone il nazionalismo kosovaro
filo-NATO e filo-USA a TUTTI coloro che si rifiutano di sottomettersi
alla supremazia dei nazionalisti più fanatici e di trasformare il
Kosovo e la Iugoslavia in protettorati della NATO.
Costretti a vivere in piccole enclaves, i serbi sono stati costretti,
anche a causa della complicita¹ delle truppe occidentali con i miliziani
dell¹UCK, ad autodifendersi per non soccombere. Nelle ultime settimane
la pressione dei nazionalisti albanesi oltranzisti si è concentrata su
Kosovska Mitrovica dove vivono, nel settore nord, assieme alla comunità
serba, rom, albanesi e altre minoranze. Queste comunita¹ dopo essere
state sottoposte ad ogni tipo di vessazione e umiliazione, sono state
fatte bersaglio di attacchi armati sanguinosi che hanno causato, nelle
ultime settimane, decine di morti. Le truppe Kfor hanno lasciato correre
e sono intervenute in forze solo quando gruppi armati serbi hanno
inflitto colpi pesantissimi alle forze UCK decidendo la chiusura del
ponte che collega le due parti della citta¹. La comunita¹ serba non
puo¹ essere lasciata sola: piaccia o no essa e¹ ora un avamposto non
solo cotro l¹UCK, ma pure contro l¹occupante NATO!
E¹ una trincea nella lotta contro l¹imperialismo!
Intenzionati a spazzare via ogni serbo dal Kosovo, i centri dirigenti
dell¹UCK dell¹ala di Taci, da Pristina, hanno cosi¹ ordinato una marcia
su Kosovska Mitrovica con l¹obbiettivo di occupare la parte nord della
citta¹. I manifestanti, tanto per far capire con chi stanno e in chi
sperano, innalzavano numerose bandiere degli USA, della NATO e della
Gran Bretagna e gridavano slogan invocando un piu¹ deciso impegno
nord-americano in Kosovo per fare piazza pulita dei serbi.
Nel momento in cui la marcia si avvicinava a Kosovska Mitrovica, le
truppe NATO sono state poste nella massima allerta, anche perche¹ quelle
iugoslave avevano fatto altrettanto ammassandosi ai bordi del Kosovo. Le
notizie dell¹ultima ora segnalano che la marcia degli albanesi,
attestatasi sul ponte oltre il quale centinaia di serbi formavano un
presidio, ha fatto dietrofront anche grazie all¹interposizione delle
truppe NATO-Kfor. Il peggio e¹ stato dunque per ora evitato. Ma solo
per ora.
E¹ infatti evidente che in Kosovo la NATO non ha mantenuto alcuna sua
promessa: non c¹è pace, non c¹è alcuna convivenza,
non c¹è alcuna tolleranza multietnica. Cio¹ a causa anzitutto del
tentativo degli albanesi UCK di cacciare tutti gli oppositori, tra cui i
serbi. E non ci sara¹ mai fino a quando la NATO continuera¹ a
sostenerli. E¹ infatti nell¹interesse della NATO che il Kosovo sia
ingovernabile, cosi¹ si potra¹ giusitificare un¹occupazione militare
permanente.
E questo e¹ l¹altro fattore devastante: la NATO non vuole rispettare gli
Accordi di pace (che prevedono che il Kosovo sia riconsegnato alle
autorita¹ iugoslave). Cio¹ portera¹ ad una nuova esplosione del
conflitto, poiche¹ il governo di Belgrado, almeno fino a quando non
cadra¹ in mano alle opposizioni filo-occidentali, e¹ deciso a far
rispettare gli accordi del giugno 1999.
Non ci sara¹ pace nei Balcani fino a quando la NATO vorra¹ imporre il
suo dominio!
PRIMO COMPITO:
RISPETTARE GLI ACCORDI DI KUMANOVO! FUORI LA NATO DALLA IUGOSLAVIA E
DAI BALCANI!
Non ci sara¹ pace fino a quando ogni nazione non avrà dignità e il
diritto di autodeterminarsi su basi
democratiche!
SECONDO COMPITO:
AUTODETERMINAZIONE IN UNA FEDERAZIONE ANTIMPERIALISTA!
Ci sara¹ pace solo quando saliranno al potere governi operai e popolari
e tutte le cricche capitaliste
saranno spazzate via!
TERZO COMPITO:
LOTTARE PER IL SOCIALISMO!
(per contatti: voceoperaia@...)
=============================================================
STOP NATO: ¡NO PASARAN! - HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.HOME-PAGE.ORG
Predrag Tosic <p-tosic@...> wrote
> Meaning, basically, of the same origin as the Basques?
You're right, Predrag. Also, the Iberian, pre-Roman, component is still
present in Spanish and
Portuguese (correct me, João, if I am wrong) languages: sounds as the
typical double /RR/, so
unpronounceable for english speaking people, for example.
>
> Frankly, I did tend to believe that most of the NORTH Caucasus
> indigenous peoples were Turkophonic.
You can have a look to this map, about Ethnography in the North
Caucasus.
http://www.geocities.com/SouthBeach/Marina/6150/ethno.jpg
>
> What other modern nations/ethnos belong to this group?
You can find Circassians (Cherkess) in Jordan (they are becoming a
powerful lobby group) and
Syria, but no longer in places as Kosovo Polje because they were forced
to leave to the Republic of
Adigeya (their ancestral homeland), inside Russian Federation, "thanks"
Albanian terrorism.
>
I enclose a pretty good article from a good Jordan friend.
------------------------
Circassians in Kosovo Polje in the Yugoslav Federation
The following article was extracted from "Les Tcherkesses du Kosovo
Polje en Yougoslavie" by
Niko Zupanic in The Journal of The International Institute of
Anthropology, the Paris session, first
section. It was translated and edited by Amjad Jaimoukhaf, a Circassian
intellectual from Jordan.
The ethnographers and historians are aware that the homeland of the
Circassians is along the
basin of the Kuban river in Ciscaucasia. They inhabited the
north-western part of the Caucasus.
The Circassians were divided into many tribes that spoke mutually
intelligible dialects:
Natuqwazh, Shapsugh, Abzakh, Bzhadugh, Hatuqwai, Beslanay, Mokhosh,
Temirgoy, Zhanay,
Egherukoy, Ubykh and Kabarday.
Their collective name was probably corrupted by the Turks from the
ancient Greek name
'kerxetai'. In the middle ages, the Russians used to refer to them by
the name Kossogh, which is
related to Kasag, the name by which the Ossetians call the Kabardians,
but also the Circassians
in general. The self designation of the Circassians is Adygha, which is
believed by linguists to be
related to the old name Zyghoy (strabon). It is believed that the
'Iazyghi', who were installed in
the territory between the rivers Tisa (Theiss) and the Danube not long
after the birth of Christ,
were a group of Zyghoy from the Caucasus, which name was transformed in
European Sarmatia by
adding first the prefix a- and then ia-.
The Circassians were until the 13th century a.d. pagan and free. They
were then subjugated by the
Georgians and christianised. In the first half of the 15th century they
overthrew the Georgian yoke,
but they were in continuous battle with the Tatars and they lost their
territory in the north.
Towards the middle of the 16th century the Kuban became their northern
frontier, because in 1570,
Ghirai, the khan of the Tatars, defeated them in a battle on the banks
of middle Kuban and forced
them to embrace Islam. Until that time, the Circassians settlements
stretched northwards to the
river Kama and some scattered groups were even found as far as the mouth
of the don.
The Circassians switched their religious allegiance very easily
according to the circumstances.
They had a superficial knowledge of Christianity and they were a mixture
of semi-pagans,
demi-muslims and some Christians.
The Circassians have always been distinguished by their intrepidity and
equine skills. They strictly
observed a code of hospitality and blood vengeance. The songs and tales
of the east celebrate the
beauty of Circassians maidens.
The Circassians put up a fierce resistance in their war with the
Russians, but they were eventually
defeated in 1864. Many of them were forced to leave their country and
resettle in the ottoman
empire: in Syria, Asia minor and the Balkan peninsula. Only a few
remained in their homeland,
about 110,000 people.
The majority of the Circassians who were established in the Balkan
peninsula were sent by the
ottoman authorities to the frontiers of the ancient duchy of Serbia to
reinforce its position there
and to terrorise the Serbs. During that time the Circassians were
established in Kosovo Polje
where the author visited them in 1924 and 1929. He counted about fifty
families, or about 250
people, for the majority had left for Asia minor and Syria.
The Circassians are very interesting for the Serbs, because the first
bearers of the name Serb
were aboriginal in the Caucasus, probably Circassians who crossed the
don at the time of the great
Sarmatian migration, together with the Ants, the Zichi (Kissi), the
Chorvats, the Vals, etc. They
co-mingled with the Slavs and established the first tribal
organisations. Undoubtedly these
Caucaso-sarmatian horsemen were assimilated in the mass of the Slav
population, but the names
of the tribes and the primitive structure of the state still exist to
this day.
>From their original Slav homeland at the confluence of the upper and middle Dniepr and of the
Pripet and the Boug, the Serbs immigrated to the confluence of the
middle Elbe and the Saale,
whence a group, which had a military organisation, resettled in Illyria
[NOTE from Javier: it's
pathetic the way Kosovo Albanian are trying to fake History, claiming
themselves to be
"descendants of the ancient Illyrian tribe of the Dardanians". See
http://www.unpo.org/member/kosova/kosova.html ] It was probably in 626
a.d., when
Constantinopla was besieged by the Avars and the Persians, that
Hercules, the Byzantine emperor
implored Samo, the Grand Duke of the Slavs, for help. The Croats and the
Serbs moved to the
Balkan peninsula, attacked the Avars from behind, delivered the Slavs
(Yugoslavs) who were
living there and saved Constantinopla, the Byzantine empire and eastern
Christendom.
After defeating the Avars, the Serbs established themselves in the
interior of Illyria at the lower
end of the indigenous Slavs. At their arrival in Illyria, the Serbs
spoke the same language as the
Serbs of Lusace, but being fewer in number than the native population,
they were linguistically
assimilated and they lost their north-west Slavic language.
The Circassians, who used to be one of the three principal nations in
the Caucasus, speak a
Japhetic language, which is not related to any other language group.
This means that they are not
Aryan, since these speak Indo-European languages. They may be allied to
the Basques in the
Pyrenees, who, before the advent of the Indo-Europeans, formed one
section of an organic chain
of related nations that stretched from Spain to the Caucasus. Those
nations were the Iberians, the
Legurs, the Etruscans, the Rets, the Pelasgians (an ancient pre-Aryan
race, which used to be
widely spread over the coasts and islands of the eastern Mediterranean
and Aegean, and believed
to have occupied Greece before the Hellenes), the Kars, the
Cappadochians, the Amazons (a race
of female warriors alleged to have existed in Scythia) , the Khalybs,
the Colchians, etc. These
peoples were violently replaced by the Indo-Europeans.
The circassians in Kosovo Polje are to be found in the following
villages: Gornje Stanovce, Donje
Stanovce, Velika Reka and Milosevo. Before the Turko-Serbian war of
1877-1878, there were
about 12,000 Circassians in the region. After the war the overwhelming
majority immigrated to
Syria and Asia minor. In 1912 and 1918 more people moved out, and the
author estimated that there
were only 250 circassians in the province by 1929. The present
population is estimated at 1,000.
References:
1. Niko Zupanic, 'Les Origines des Serbes', the origins of the Serbs.
Second session of the
International Institute of anthropology, pp. 227-229. Paris, 1926.
2. Niko Zupanic, 'Bela Srbija'. Zagreb, 1922; Les Serbes a Srbciste
(Macedoine), au vii siecle.
Extrait du Byzantion, t. Iv, p. 277-280. Liege, 1929.
3. T. R. Djordjevic, 'Cerkezi u Nasoj Zemlji', the circassians on our
territory. Glasnik Skopskog
Naucnog Drustva, t. Iii, p. 143. Skoplje, 1928.
------------
--------- COORDINAMENTO ROMANO PER LA JUGOSLAVIA -----------
RIMSKI SAVEZ ZA JUGOSLAVIJU
e-mail: crj@... - URL: http://marx2001.org/crj
http://www.egroups.com/group/crj-mailinglist/
------------------------------------------------------------
soldati KFOR durante le perquisizioni a Mitrovica
* Scambio di accuse tra RF di Jugoslavia e NATO ("The Times of
India"/Reuters)
* Pesanti critiche dalla Cina all'atteggiamento di KFOR/UNMIK in Kosmet
* Comunicato del Partito Democratico della Serbia sull'appoggio
statunitense all'irredentismo panalbanese
* Italia: Comunicato di Voce Operaia sulla situazione a Mitrovica
* C'ERANO UNA VOLTA... "Circassians in Kosovo Polje in the Yugoslav
Federation" - storia sconosciuta di una delle comunita' nazionali
spazzate via dal Kosmet per mano dell'UCKFOR
---
STOP NATO: ¡NO PASARAN! - HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.HOME-PAGE.ORG
YUGOSLAVIA LODGES SHARP PROTEST WITH UN SECURITY COUNCIL
Yugoslavia lodged a sharp protest with the United Nations Security
Council late Monday on the occasion of the latest dramatic developments
in Kosovska Mitrovica which have been caused by ethnic Albanian
terrorists, but also members of the international force KFOR with their
arrogant behavour and brutal action of house-searching Serb districts of
this town in Serbia's Kosovo province.
The letter, sent to Security Council President Arnoldo Listre, the
Argentinian Ambassador, by the head of the Yugoslav mission to the
United Nations, Ambassador Vladislav Jovanovic, most strongly protested
and demanded that the council take immediate measures toward a
normalization of the situation in this town, immediately to curb the
terrorism of ethnic Albanians, vandalism, and lynching and liquidation
of Serbs and other non-Albanians.
The very course of events and building up of tensions confirm that this
is a pre-conceived action in which ethnic Albanians of Kosovska
Mitrovica, led by terrorists of the so-called Kosovo Liberation Army,
were joined by thousands of ethnic Albanians who arrived from Pristina,
the letter said.
It is perfectly clear that the concentrated attack was planned with the
objective of banishing Serbs, Montenegrins, Goranians, Muslims of Slav
extraction, and ethnic Turks from Kosovska Mitrovica, the only remaining
multi-national and multi-confessional town in Kosovo, in order to
complete the process of ethnic cleansing of non-Albanians who live in
isolation in enclaves in this Serbian province, said the letter.
Yugoslavia has already warned the Security Council on previous occasions
against the fiasco and inability of KFOR and UNMIK to realize their
obligations stemming from Resolution 1244, as well as the
Military-Technical Agreement.
In spite of Yugoslavia's warning and the fact that most of the Serb and
non-Albanian population have already been banished from Kosovo,
witnessed by these very same security forces and the civilian mission,
the KFOR and UNMIK have not only failed to do anything to prevent the
terrorism of ethnic Albanians and acts of vandalism, but have very often
been accomplices in these heinous acts.
The latest aggravation of the situation in Kosovska Mitrovica is due to
the totally unprovoked arrogant behaviour of KFOR towards Serbs in that
town, said the letter, proceeding to describe the destructive and brutal
behaviour of KFOR U.S. and German troops who broke down doors and
windows on schools and private houses in their house-search.
The action had evidently been planned in advance. U.S. troops arrived
from Gnjilane, and among them were ethnic Albanians in KFOR U.S.
uniforms, who were recognized by the local population.
Press representatives also appeared to be on the spot, reporting in
Albanian, as well as several crew of foreign TV stations. Leaflets were
dropped from a helicopter, urging Serbs to surrender their allegedly
concealed weapons.
The latest abuse of the about 4,500 Serbs in Kosovska Mitrovica is yet
more proof of the political double standards of the KFOR mission, warned
the letter sent by Yugoslavia to the Security Council.
---
Times of India
Wednesday 23 February 2000
Belgrade dismisses West's allegations on Kosovo
By Julijana Mojsilovic
BELGRADE: Yugoslavia dismissed Western officials' allegations that it
was stoking tensions in and around Kosovo and accused them on Tuesday of
supporting Albanian "terrorists" in the province.
"These people are behind the terrorism and separatism of Kosovo
Albanians. They have created the Kosovo Liberation Army and a crisis in
the Balkans to expand NATO to the region," Yugoslav Information Minister
Goran Matic said.
He was speaking a day after battles broke out between Western
peacekeepers and rioters when thousands of ethnic Albanians tried to
storm across a bridge in the centre of the flashpoint Kosovo city of
Mitrovica to reach the province's largest remaining Serb enclave.
On Sunday, NATO-led KFOR peacekeeping troops clashed with Mitrovica's
Serbs, angered by the troops' search of homes for weapons following
shootings and grenade attacks which killed nine people, both Serbs and
Albanians.
Richard Holbrooke, US ambassador to the UN, said in New York on Monday
that trouble was being fomented by the Yugoslav government, which was
forced by last year's NATO air war to surrender control of Kosovo.
NATO Secretary-General George Robertson said on Monday the military
alliance was also monitoring a Yugoslav troop build-up in other ethnic
Albanian areas of southern Serbia and would not tolerate a new conflict
there.
NATO Supreme Commander General Wesley Clark, visiting Albania, also
expressed concern about the area.
Matic counterattacked by accusing Holbrooke, Robertson and Clark of
wanting to expel remaining Serbs from Mitrovica in order to gain control
of a mine near the city, saying they were "in a gold rush".
"The three are demanding from ethnic Albanians to expel the remaining
non-Albanians from Mitrovica in order to get hold of the richest gold
mine in the Balkans," Matic said.
But it would not succeed, he said, adding that "Serbia is not
California".
He was referring to the Trepca lead and zinc mining complex, which
exploits ore also containing gold and silver. The complex is situated
north of Mitrovica in a Serb-dominated area. Serbia still controls four
of some 17 Trepca mines in Kosovo.
"These people are now doing everything to cover up their crimes," Matic
said of the leaders of NATO countries which took part in the
March-to-June air campaign against Belgrade.
The state news agency Tanjug reported that Yugoslavia lodged a sharp
protest with the UN Security Council late on Monday. "Yugoslavia has
already warned the Security Council on previous occasions against the
fiasco and inability of KFOR and the UN mission in Kosovo to realise
their obligations stemming from resolution 1244 as well as the
Military-Technical Agreement," it quoted the Yugoslav letter as saying.
(Reuters)
---
www.serbia-info.com/news
"Jiefan Jun Bao": West stirs ethnic Albanians up against Serbs
February 23, 2000
Concern for escalation of violation in Kosovo and
Metohija
Beijing, February 22nd - Chinese military daily
"Jiefan Jun Ban" condemned today "incapability of KFOR
and UNMIK in Kosovo" and appealed to the world
community to "prevent ethnic Albanian terrorism under
the auspices of the UN".
Reacting to "the latest separatist actions of ethnic
Albanian separatists in Kosovo, the military daily
warned that "West deliberately stirs up anger of
ethnic Albanians towards the Serbs in
Kosovo-Metohija".
"It is necessary to create the conditions for
political solution of Kosovo issue with full respect
of sovereignty and territorial integrity of FRY and
consistent implementation of the UN Security Council's
Resolution 1244", stressed today Chinese
representative for press Ju Ban Tzao, referring to the
latest wave of crime in Kosovo.
"It is obvious that the situation in Kosovo has
deteriorated since the arrival of the UN military and
civil mission last June", stated Ju, stressing this
was preceded by the NATO aggression against
Yugoslavia, headed by the US.
"The use of force against sovereign Yugoslavia not
only violated the UN Charter and the principles of the
international standards, but also turned out to be
utterly dangerous example of interference with the
interior business of a sovereign country" stated Ju,
expressing "China's deep concern regarding the
escalation of violence in Kosovo".
The military daily points out that "the inclined
policy of KFOR and UNMIK exerted pressure on Serbs and
supported ethnic Albanian extremists which created
additional tension in Kosovo".
"Tolerant attitude of KFOR and UNMIK towards extreme
ethnic Albanians now returns as a boomerang to the UN
military and civil mission in Kosovo" says Jiefan Jun
Bao, reminding that terrorist organization KLA is not
disarmed, but only transformed into so-called "Kosovo
Protective Corps".
"The world community insists on the fact that Kosovo
is an inseparable part of Yugoslavia, which
additionally enraged ethnic Albanian extremists due to
their separatist idea on independent Kosovo",
emphasizes the military paper.
Jiefan Jun Bao reminds that Yugoslavia has warned the
UN that the attacks of ethnic Albanian terrorists to
date have already caused tragic consequences and
victims in Kosovo.
Yugoslavia demands that the Security Council urgently
takes most energetic measures in order to immediately
stop the attacks on unprotected Serb population, says
Jiefan Jun Bao.
Bias of West and incapability of KFOR and UNMIK must
change fundamentally their transparent attitude and
consistently implement the Security Council's
Resolution 1244, otherwise they will face a dead-end
situation in inflamed Kosovo, warns the military
paper.
---
>
>Right-and Albright was just in Tirana on February 19 to meet with
>Hashim Thaci.
>http://news.excite.com/photo/img/r/albania/usa/20000219/tir09
>
>
>inf-@... wrote:
>original article:http://www.egroups.com/group/sorabia/?start=3307
>> Albright, Holbrooke and Clark Lead Albanians
>>
>> NATO and Washington have been warning for days that a solution to the
>> problem in Kosovska Mitrovica must be found. Since the exodus of more
>than
>> 200,000 Serbs and the harassment of those who remained in the
>province
>> resolved the Kosovo issue, Washington believes that the only thing to
>be
>> done is to cleanse the last significant Serb enclave by expelling the
>Serbs
>> from Mitrovica. It is important to note that the Mitrovica enclave is
>the
>> one linking Kosovo with the rest of Serbia. Washington is apparently
>> determined to carry out a U.S. plan in which only an ethnically
>"pure,"
>> Albanian Kosovo can be considered truly multi-ethnic.
>>
>> For that purpose, an Albanian march on Mitrovica was organised. Just
>like it
>> promoted several Albanian terrorists and criminals to high-ranking
>military
>> officers and diplomats in Rambouillet only to demilitarise them later
>and
>> turn them into commanders, political leaders and state dignitaries,
>> Washington has now decided to head the Albanian march on Mitrovica.
>Its true
>> goal is to ethnically cleanse the town of the Serbs rather than
>liberate it.
>>
>> The Albanian masses involved in the campaign on Mitrovica were not
>led by
>> Albanian criminal politicians like Hashim Thaqi, but rather the very
>top of
>> the U.S. diplomatic and military elite. After all that happened in
>Kosovo
>> before the eyes of the whole wide word, Madeleine Albright termed as
>> "tragedy" the events in Mitrovica only. Richard Holbrooke said that
>> Mitrovica was the hottest spot in Europe, and Wesley Clark guaranteed
>that
>> NATO would take "appropriate measures" to avoid the final division of
>> Mitrovica. Thereby, the trio making Washington's iron fist confirmed
>that it
>> was behind the Albanian march and barbarism of U.S. soldiers of KFOR
>in the
>> north of Mitrovica. Tomorrow, it can easily support another "Flash"
>or
>> "Storm" thanks to which Mitrovica would no longer be a divided town.
>To say
>> the truth, it would be a Serbless town, just like the whole of Kosovo
>after
>> all. Those on the Serb side failing to see this are both politically
>blind
>> and irresponsible.
>>
>> Belgrade, February 22, 2000
>>
>> Information Service of the Democratic Party of Serbia
>>
>
>
>------------------------------------------------------------------------
>Group Moderator: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
>page at http://www.egroups.com/list/sorabia
>for more informations about current situation in Serbia
http://www.sorabia.home.dhs.org
>
>
---
Comunicato di VOCE OPERAIA
22 febbraio
Uno spettacolo raccapricciante si è consumato a Kosovska Mitrovica sotto
gli occhi di chi li aveva aperti. Issando bandiere albanesi, Nato, UE, e
USA, i seguaci dell¹UCK (frazione Taci) hanno inscenato una marcia per
sradicare dal Kosovo non soli i serbi, ma tutte quelle minoranze,
nazionali e politiche, che rifiutano l¹albanizzazione forzata. Non si
tratta soltanto di ³pulizia etnica², abbiamo a che fare con una pulizia
sociale e politica, di una rappresaglia fanatica dal chiaro segno
reazionario e filo-occidentale. Ci vengono in mente tutti quei pagliacci
di sinistra che durante i bombardamenti NATO, con la scusa di difendere
i diritti albanesi, hanno sostenuto l¹UCK come legittima forza di
liberazione nazionale considerando, proprio come i regimi imperialisti,
il governo di Belgrado come il nemico numero uno. Allora dicevamo a
questo signori che la maggioranza degli albanesi del Kosovo, volenti o
no, erano un popolo di Crumiri (Crumiri, per chi non lo sapesse, erano
qui tunisini schierati coi colonialisti francesi durante la lotta per
l¹indipendenza) i quali, se avessero avuto la meglio, non avrebbero
affatto costruito un Nazione, ma un casino coloniale sotto diretto
protettorato NATO. Questi signori hanno avuto il ben servito.
Lo diciamo così, tanto per la cronaca, non perché speriamo in un loro
ripensamento. L¹autocritica non presuppone solo l¹intelligenza, ma
l¹onestà intellettuale, qualità che hanno lasciato sfracellare al suolo,
assieme alle bombe all¹uranio impoverito sganciate sulla Iugoslavia dai
bombardieri occidentali.
Dichiarazione di Voce Operaia
Sin dal giugno scorso, subito dopo gli Accordi di pace di Kumanovo, le
milizie dell¹UCK, sotto l¹ombrello e l¹indifferenza delle truppe
NATO-Kfor, hanno dato una sistematica caccia ai cittadini serbi, rom,
gorani (e albanesi anti-UCK), provocando la loro espulsione in massa dal
Kosovo. Questa vendetta, che ha gia¹ provocato centinaia di morti
e migliaia di feriti, contrariamente a quanto affermano i reticenti e
pudici mass media, non e¹ soltanto una ³pulizia etnica², èla seconda
fase della guerra civile che contrappone il nazionalismo kosovaro
filo-NATO e filo-USA a TUTTI coloro che si rifiutano di sottomettersi
alla supremazia dei nazionalisti più fanatici e di trasformare il
Kosovo e la Iugoslavia in protettorati della NATO.
Costretti a vivere in piccole enclaves, i serbi sono stati costretti,
anche a causa della complicita¹ delle truppe occidentali con i miliziani
dell¹UCK, ad autodifendersi per non soccombere. Nelle ultime settimane
la pressione dei nazionalisti albanesi oltranzisti si è concentrata su
Kosovska Mitrovica dove vivono, nel settore nord, assieme alla comunità
serba, rom, albanesi e altre minoranze. Queste comunita¹ dopo essere
state sottoposte ad ogni tipo di vessazione e umiliazione, sono state
fatte bersaglio di attacchi armati sanguinosi che hanno causato, nelle
ultime settimane, decine di morti. Le truppe Kfor hanno lasciato correre
e sono intervenute in forze solo quando gruppi armati serbi hanno
inflitto colpi pesantissimi alle forze UCK decidendo la chiusura del
ponte che collega le due parti della citta¹. La comunita¹ serba non
puo¹ essere lasciata sola: piaccia o no essa e¹ ora un avamposto non
solo cotro l¹UCK, ma pure contro l¹occupante NATO!
E¹ una trincea nella lotta contro l¹imperialismo!
Intenzionati a spazzare via ogni serbo dal Kosovo, i centri dirigenti
dell¹UCK dell¹ala di Taci, da Pristina, hanno cosi¹ ordinato una marcia
su Kosovska Mitrovica con l¹obbiettivo di occupare la parte nord della
citta¹. I manifestanti, tanto per far capire con chi stanno e in chi
sperano, innalzavano numerose bandiere degli USA, della NATO e della
Gran Bretagna e gridavano slogan invocando un piu¹ deciso impegno
nord-americano in Kosovo per fare piazza pulita dei serbi.
Nel momento in cui la marcia si avvicinava a Kosovska Mitrovica, le
truppe NATO sono state poste nella massima allerta, anche perche¹ quelle
iugoslave avevano fatto altrettanto ammassandosi ai bordi del Kosovo. Le
notizie dell¹ultima ora segnalano che la marcia degli albanesi,
attestatasi sul ponte oltre il quale centinaia di serbi formavano un
presidio, ha fatto dietrofront anche grazie all¹interposizione delle
truppe NATO-Kfor. Il peggio e¹ stato dunque per ora evitato. Ma solo
per ora.
E¹ infatti evidente che in Kosovo la NATO non ha mantenuto alcuna sua
promessa: non c¹è pace, non c¹è alcuna convivenza,
non c¹è alcuna tolleranza multietnica. Cio¹ a causa anzitutto del
tentativo degli albanesi UCK di cacciare tutti gli oppositori, tra cui i
serbi. E non ci sara¹ mai fino a quando la NATO continuera¹ a
sostenerli. E¹ infatti nell¹interesse della NATO che il Kosovo sia
ingovernabile, cosi¹ si potra¹ giusitificare un¹occupazione militare
permanente.
E questo e¹ l¹altro fattore devastante: la NATO non vuole rispettare gli
Accordi di pace (che prevedono che il Kosovo sia riconsegnato alle
autorita¹ iugoslave). Cio¹ portera¹ ad una nuova esplosione del
conflitto, poiche¹ il governo di Belgrado, almeno fino a quando non
cadra¹ in mano alle opposizioni filo-occidentali, e¹ deciso a far
rispettare gli accordi del giugno 1999.
Non ci sara¹ pace nei Balcani fino a quando la NATO vorra¹ imporre il
suo dominio!
PRIMO COMPITO:
RISPETTARE GLI ACCORDI DI KUMANOVO! FUORI LA NATO DALLA IUGOSLAVIA E
DAI BALCANI!
Non ci sara¹ pace fino a quando ogni nazione non avrà dignità e il
diritto di autodeterminarsi su basi
democratiche!
SECONDO COMPITO:
AUTODETERMINAZIONE IN UNA FEDERAZIONE ANTIMPERIALISTA!
Ci sara¹ pace solo quando saliranno al potere governi operai e popolari
e tutte le cricche capitaliste
saranno spazzate via!
TERZO COMPITO:
LOTTARE PER IL SOCIALISMO!
(per contatti: voceoperaia@...)
=============================================================
STOP NATO: ¡NO PASARAN! - HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.HOME-PAGE.ORG
Predrag Tosic <p-tosic@...> wrote
> Meaning, basically, of the same origin as the Basques?
You're right, Predrag. Also, the Iberian, pre-Roman, component is still
present in Spanish and
Portuguese (correct me, João, if I am wrong) languages: sounds as the
typical double /RR/, so
unpronounceable for english speaking people, for example.
>
> Frankly, I did tend to believe that most of the NORTH Caucasus
> indigenous peoples were Turkophonic.
You can have a look to this map, about Ethnography in the North
Caucasus.
http://www.geocities.com/SouthBeach/Marina/6150/ethno.jpg
>
> What other modern nations/ethnos belong to this group?
You can find Circassians (Cherkess) in Jordan (they are becoming a
powerful lobby group) and
Syria, but no longer in places as Kosovo Polje because they were forced
to leave to the Republic of
Adigeya (their ancestral homeland), inside Russian Federation, "thanks"
Albanian terrorism.
>
I enclose a pretty good article from a good Jordan friend.
------------------------
Circassians in Kosovo Polje in the Yugoslav Federation
The following article was extracted from "Les Tcherkesses du Kosovo
Polje en Yougoslavie" by
Niko Zupanic in The Journal of The International Institute of
Anthropology, the Paris session, first
section. It was translated and edited by Amjad Jaimoukhaf, a Circassian
intellectual from Jordan.
The ethnographers and historians are aware that the homeland of the
Circassians is along the
basin of the Kuban river in Ciscaucasia. They inhabited the
north-western part of the Caucasus.
The Circassians were divided into many tribes that spoke mutually
intelligible dialects:
Natuqwazh, Shapsugh, Abzakh, Bzhadugh, Hatuqwai, Beslanay, Mokhosh,
Temirgoy, Zhanay,
Egherukoy, Ubykh and Kabarday.
Their collective name was probably corrupted by the Turks from the
ancient Greek name
'kerxetai'. In the middle ages, the Russians used to refer to them by
the name Kossogh, which is
related to Kasag, the name by which the Ossetians call the Kabardians,
but also the Circassians
in general. The self designation of the Circassians is Adygha, which is
believed by linguists to be
related to the old name Zyghoy (strabon). It is believed that the
'Iazyghi', who were installed in
the territory between the rivers Tisa (Theiss) and the Danube not long
after the birth of Christ,
were a group of Zyghoy from the Caucasus, which name was transformed in
European Sarmatia by
adding first the prefix a- and then ia-.
The Circassians were until the 13th century a.d. pagan and free. They
were then subjugated by the
Georgians and christianised. In the first half of the 15th century they
overthrew the Georgian yoke,
but they were in continuous battle with the Tatars and they lost their
territory in the north.
Towards the middle of the 16th century the Kuban became their northern
frontier, because in 1570,
Ghirai, the khan of the Tatars, defeated them in a battle on the banks
of middle Kuban and forced
them to embrace Islam. Until that time, the Circassians settlements
stretched northwards to the
river Kama and some scattered groups were even found as far as the mouth
of the don.
The Circassians switched their religious allegiance very easily
according to the circumstances.
They had a superficial knowledge of Christianity and they were a mixture
of semi-pagans,
demi-muslims and some Christians.
The Circassians have always been distinguished by their intrepidity and
equine skills. They strictly
observed a code of hospitality and blood vengeance. The songs and tales
of the east celebrate the
beauty of Circassians maidens.
The Circassians put up a fierce resistance in their war with the
Russians, but they were eventually
defeated in 1864. Many of them were forced to leave their country and
resettle in the ottoman
empire: in Syria, Asia minor and the Balkan peninsula. Only a few
remained in their homeland,
about 110,000 people.
The majority of the Circassians who were established in the Balkan
peninsula were sent by the
ottoman authorities to the frontiers of the ancient duchy of Serbia to
reinforce its position there
and to terrorise the Serbs. During that time the Circassians were
established in Kosovo Polje
where the author visited them in 1924 and 1929. He counted about fifty
families, or about 250
people, for the majority had left for Asia minor and Syria.
The Circassians are very interesting for the Serbs, because the first
bearers of the name Serb
were aboriginal in the Caucasus, probably Circassians who crossed the
don at the time of the great
Sarmatian migration, together with the Ants, the Zichi (Kissi), the
Chorvats, the Vals, etc. They
co-mingled with the Slavs and established the first tribal
organisations. Undoubtedly these
Caucaso-sarmatian horsemen were assimilated in the mass of the Slav
population, but the names
of the tribes and the primitive structure of the state still exist to
this day.
>From their original Slav homeland at the confluence of the upper and middle Dniepr and of the
Pripet and the Boug, the Serbs immigrated to the confluence of the
middle Elbe and the Saale,
whence a group, which had a military organisation, resettled in Illyria
[NOTE from Javier: it's
pathetic the way Kosovo Albanian are trying to fake History, claiming
themselves to be
"descendants of the ancient Illyrian tribe of the Dardanians". See
http://www.unpo.org/member/kosova/kosova.html ] It was probably in 626
a.d., when
Constantinopla was besieged by the Avars and the Persians, that
Hercules, the Byzantine emperor
implored Samo, the Grand Duke of the Slavs, for help. The Croats and the
Serbs moved to the
Balkan peninsula, attacked the Avars from behind, delivered the Slavs
(Yugoslavs) who were
living there and saved Constantinopla, the Byzantine empire and eastern
Christendom.
After defeating the Avars, the Serbs established themselves in the
interior of Illyria at the lower
end of the indigenous Slavs. At their arrival in Illyria, the Serbs
spoke the same language as the
Serbs of Lusace, but being fewer in number than the native population,
they were linguistically
assimilated and they lost their north-west Slavic language.
The Circassians, who used to be one of the three principal nations in
the Caucasus, speak a
Japhetic language, which is not related to any other language group.
This means that they are not
Aryan, since these speak Indo-European languages. They may be allied to
the Basques in the
Pyrenees, who, before the advent of the Indo-Europeans, formed one
section of an organic chain
of related nations that stretched from Spain to the Caucasus. Those
nations were the Iberians, the
Legurs, the Etruscans, the Rets, the Pelasgians (an ancient pre-Aryan
race, which used to be
widely spread over the coasts and islands of the eastern Mediterranean
and Aegean, and believed
to have occupied Greece before the Hellenes), the Kars, the
Cappadochians, the Amazons (a race
of female warriors alleged to have existed in Scythia) , the Khalybs,
the Colchians, etc. These
peoples were violently replaced by the Indo-Europeans.
The circassians in Kosovo Polje are to be found in the following
villages: Gornje Stanovce, Donje
Stanovce, Velika Reka and Milosevo. Before the Turko-Serbian war of
1877-1878, there were
about 12,000 Circassians in the region. After the war the overwhelming
majority immigrated to
Syria and Asia minor. In 1912 and 1918 more people moved out, and the
author estimated that there
were only 250 circassians in the province by 1929. The present
population is estimated at 1,000.
References:
1. Niko Zupanic, 'Les Origines des Serbes', the origins of the Serbs.
Second session of the
International Institute of anthropology, pp. 227-229. Paris, 1926.
2. Niko Zupanic, 'Bela Srbija'. Zagreb, 1922; Les Serbes a Srbciste
(Macedoine), au vii siecle.
Extrait du Byzantion, t. Iv, p. 277-280. Liege, 1929.
3. T. R. Djordjevic, 'Cerkezi u Nasoj Zemlji', the circassians on our
territory. Glasnik Skopskog
Naucnog Drustva, t. Iii, p. 143. Skoplje, 1928.
------------
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