Informazione
* 3/2/00: Tre morti albanesi e 20 feriti serbi in incidenti a Mitrovica
dopo l'attentato contro l'autobus (AP)
* 3/2/00: Attacco terroristico contro un autobus ("Il Manifesto")
* 3/2/00: Un migliaio di slavi-musulmani scappano dal Kosovo verso la
Serbia centrale (B92)
* 3/2/00: Programmate per marzo esercitazioni in Kosovo in vista della
prossima aggressione della NATO contro la RF di Jugoslavia (B92)
* 2/2/00: Due morti e cinque feriti in un attacco terroristico contro
l'autobus (B92)
* 2/2/00: Rugova disfa le sue istituzioni del "Kosova" (B92)
* 2/2/00: Liti tra fazioni albanesi, anche un morto ("Il Manifesto")
* 28/1/00: "Visita di Stato" di Thaci "il serpente" in Bulgaria (Tanjug)
* 29/1/00: 38 chili di eroina sequestrata su di un TIR albanese in
Bulgaria (Reuters)
* Il numero speciale di "National Geographic" dedicato al Kosovo: una
completa riscrittura della storia e della realta' attuale. Vergogna!
* Fondi tedeschi ed olandesi per aprire una Banca kosovara nuova di
zecca (IWPR 28/1/00)
* Civili schipetari sottoposti a maltrattamento da parte delle truppe
statunitensi presso Vitina (Washington Post 27/1/00)
* Iniziato il lavoro dell'UCKFOR nella nuova veste di "Corpo di
Protezione del Kosovo" (B92 22/1/00)
* Per la perquisizione, con sequestro di un arsenale, a casa del
fratello di Thaci e per le indagini su altri capibanda il portavoce UCK
Krasniqi e' infuriato; Kouchner e Reinhardt chiedono scusa (AFP 26/1/00)
---
Grenade thrown into Serb cafe in Kosovo
9.40 p.m. ET (249 GMT) February 3, 2000
KOSOVSKA MITROVICA, Yugoslavia (AP) — Violence erupted across this
Kosovo city violence Thursday night with two grenade attacks against
Serb cafes that left at least 20 people wounded and shootings that
claimed the lives of three ethnic Albanians.
The violence began when the two Albanian men were shot to death, the
multinational peacekeeping force in Kosovo said Friday.
Half an hour later, a grenade was thrown into a Serb cafe, wounding
between 10 and 15 customers, said Lt. Col. Henning Philipp, spokesman
for the multinational force known as KFOR.
Minutes later, an ethnic Albanian woman was shot to death. That killing
was followed shortly afterwards by a grenade attack on another Serb cafe
that wounded 10 customers, Philipp said.
A day before, a rocket attack on a U.N. bus carrying Serb civilians left
two Serbs dead and three injured.
The attacks comes as ethnic tensions remain high in Kosovo.
Authorities say many ethnic Albanians were killed by Serb forces during
Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic's 18-month crackdown against
separatists here. After NATO bombing forced the Serb troops to withdraw
last spring, ethnic Albanians began attacking Serbs as revenge.
---
"Il Manifesto" del 3/2/2000:
KOSOVO
ATTENTATO A UN BUS DI CIVILI SERBI: DUE MORTI
Ennesimo attentato (è ormai un appuntamento quasi giornaliero) nei
confronti dei pochi serbi
ormai rimasti in Kosovo. Un autobus pieno di civili serbi è stato
colpito ieri, infatti, da un razzo
anticarro lanciato dai soliti "sconosciuti". Nell'attentato, due
passeggeri sono morti e altri cinque
sono rimasti feriti.
Il bus, messo a disposizione dall'organizzazione umanitaria Unhcr delle
Nazioni unite, era partito
da Kosovska Mitrovica (la città kosovara divisa in due - una parte
serba, l'altra albanese -
dall'odio etnico), nel nord della regione, nel pomeriggio di ieri, per
raggiungere la cittadina di
Durakovca. Dopo aver percorso appena quindici chilometri è stato colpito
dal razzo,
presumibilmente scagliato da albanesi. Gli uomini della Kfor (la forza
di pace della Nato), che
stavano scortando il veicolo, impotenti di fronte all'ennesima
aggressione, non hanno potuto far
altro che organizzare i soccorsi per le vittime.
La Unhcr organizza servizi di trasporto per i serbi che vogliono
spostarsi da una parte all'altra del
Kosovo nonostante gli innumerevoli rischi. Ma sono (come pure le forze
della Kfor) sempre più in
balia delle bande albanesi dell'ex Uck, cui hanno dato legittimità, e
che proseguono nella
campagna di "pulizia etnica" dei serbi e dei rom (di cui spesso sono
vittime anche quegli albanesi
considerati "collaborazionisti"), cominciata alla fine della guerra. E
che ha portato all'esodo dei
serbi e dei rom dal Kosovo.
---
Muslims flee Kosovo (B92 3/2/00)
PRISTINA, Thursday - About a thousand residents, most of them Muslim,
had
left the region of Prizren and Gora in Kosovo to take refuge in Novi
Pazar in
Central Serbia, UNHCR representative Maki Shinohara said today.
Shinohara
told media that the UNHCR had suspended all bus transport in Kosovo,
adding
that the services would not be continued until yesterday's attack on a
UNHCR
bus had been completed.
---
Socialists on NATO exercises in Kosovo (B92 3/2/00)
BELGRADE, Thursday - NATO is the key factor for destabilisation in
south-east
Europe, Socialist Party spokesman Ivica Dacic told media today. Dacic
was
commenting on the announcement that NATO forces will be on manoeuvres in
Kosovo in March. Brussels has justified the exercises saying that they
are a
preparation for a possible deterioration of the situation in the
province.
---
Serbs die in rocket attack on Kosovo bus (B92 2/2/00)
KOSOVSKA MITROVICA, Wednesday - Two Serbs are dead and another five
wounded
after a rocket attack on a bus near Kosovska Mitrovica this afternoon.
International forces representative Philip Anido said the UNHCR bus was
being
escorted by KFOR. No further details are available.
---
Rugova disbands parallel institutions (B92 2/2/00)
PRISTINA, Wednesday - The President of the Democratic League of Kosovo,
Ibrahim Rugova, announced today that he had disbanded the Kosovo
Albanian
parallel state government of which he was president. Rugova and the
president
of the parallel Kosovo Albanian Parliament, Idriz Ajeti, told media
today
that all parallel state institutions in the province were dissolved
yesterday. These included the parallel government and parliament, the
office
of the president of Kosovo and all related political, security and
administrative structures.
---
"Il Manifesto", 2/2/00:
KOSOVO UCCISO DALL'UCK IL LEADER DI UN PARTITO KOSOVARO
Non parte il governo "misto"
Onu delusa. Gli albanesi non rinunciano alle istituzioni parallele
- R. ES. - PRISTINA
D oveva essere un salto di qualità nella vita pubblica del Kosovo, ma è
finito in battibecchi tra
fazioni kosovaro-albanesi e con i funzionari dell'Onu. Ieri era prevista
la nascita ufficiale del
Struttura amministrativa unitaria ad interim (Jias), una sorta di
governo misto Onu-kosovari della
provincia, con tanto di ministeri (19) e un comitato di presidenza alla
cui testa c'è il
plenipotenziario delle Nazioni unite, Bernard Kouchner, dotato di potere
di veto su qualsiasi
decisione del collegio. Un governo comunque provvisorio, nell'attesa
delle elezioni - la cui
convocazione slitta di mese in mese - e della nascita di un "governo
dell'autonomia" tutto
kosovaro, come prevede la risoluzione 1244 del Consiglio di sicurezza
dell'Onu.
E se la leadership dei serbo-kosovari aveva declinato in un primo
momento l'invito a parteciparvi
- anzi era uscita da tutti gli organi consultivi creati dall'Onu, per
protestare contro la
trasformazione dell'Uck nei Corpi di protezione del Kosovo - negli
ultimi giorni ci ha ripensato e
sta trattando coi funzionari Onu per il suo ingresso nel governo
provvisorio e per la creazione di
entità "comunali" speciali nelle poche zone dove sono concentrati i
serbo-kosovari.
Ieri dunque doveva essere una giornata speciale. Così non è stato.
Convocati a Pristina, i vari
rappresentanti albanesi hanno inscenato una delle loro consuete liti
alla presenza degli avviliti
funzionari Onu. Il punto è che le isituzioni parallele create nel 1989
dalla Lega democratica del
Kosovo di Ibrahim Rugova - presidenza, governo e parlamento kosovaro
"clandestini" -
dovrebbero ora sciogliersi con la nascita della nuova istituzione. In
realtà il parlamento non ha
deliberato alcun autoscioglimento, il che ha mandato su tutte le furie i
falchi ex Uck di Thaci -
che intanto nel silenzio di Onu e Nato governano di fatto gran parte dei
comuni della provincia,
imponendo la loro legge. La sessione di ieri è finita dunque in insulti
ed è stata aggiornata a data
da definirsi.
Non si fermano intanto i regolamenti di conti dell'ex Uck nella
provincia; case bruciate (di serbi)
nei dintorni di Pristina e l'omicidio di un politico kosovaro-albanese,
Hassim Chuse, capo del
minuscolo Partito democrativo riformista. Il suo corpo con tre
proiettili in testa è stato trovato non
lontano da Prizren. Risultava scomparso dal 18 gennaio. Rapimento ed
esecuzione di un
avversario politico nel miglior stile Uck, che non tollera rivali nei
suoi territori. (...)
---
www.serbia-info.com/news
Thaqi's "state visit" to Sofia-giving political legitimacy to a
terrorist
January 29, 2000
SOFIA, Jan 28 (Tanjug) - The ruling structures in Sofia, taking their
cue from their NATO "allies," are sinking deeper and deeper in their
policy towards the situation in Kosovo. An instance of this is an
invitation by Ivan Kosov, leader of the Bulgarian rightist Alliance of
Democratic Forces and prime minister, to Hashim Thaqi, former leader of
the ethnic Albanian terrorist and separatist Kosovo Liberation Army
(KLA), to visit Sofia.
It has been officially confirmed in Sofia that Thaqi is due here on
Saturday, and will be received by Kostov, a state of affairs which,
according to the Sofia newspaper 24 Casa, will make it a state visit."
This move has put the Bulgarian government in a position where it gives
political legitimacy to a man who is on an international wanted list for
terrorism. The Serbian police has earlier a warrant for the arrest of
Thaqui due to based suspicion that he had committed many grave crime
offences and several murders.
The Bulgarian government, however, is careful to steer clear of
mentioning this very important point in Thaqi's biography, whom it
describes as leader of the certain Kosovo Democratic Progress Party and
member of the provisional administrative council. This "provisional
government," set up by U.N. civilian mission (UNMIK) chief Bernard
Kouchner, is not recognized by Yugoslavia, if we exclude the Albanian
separatists.
Kostov's move, although at odds with international law, is not hard to
understand. The government in Sofia is trying by hook and by crook to
get close to and become a member of NATO and the European Union, and is
obviously willing to pay any price for a shortcut to Brussels. At the
time of NATO's aggression on Yugoslavia, Bulgarian government very
generously opened its air space to NATO planes, riggering a wave of
nationwide protests, which were especially bitter in Sofia. Protesters
condemned the country's officials, as well as U.S. President Bill
Clinton, telling the aggressors and their helpers that "the Balkans
belongs to the Balkan nations."
Evidently, the government in Sofia seems naively to believe that, if it
sells its sovereignty, it can get into NATO and the European Union more
easily and solve all its accumulated internal problems overnight.
However, at the recent Summit of the "fifteen" in Helsinki, Bulgaria
found itself in the second group of the country-candidates to enter EU,
which means it would have to wait at least 15 years, maybe longer. Ten
months ago, on the top meeting of 19 alliance countries in Washington,
it was clearly said that Bulgaria would not enter NATO easily and
swiftly.
The visit of Thaqi and Arben Xhaferi to Bulgaria has yet another
interesting aspect which the Bulgarian government will have to explain
to its citizens. Namely, Thaqui and Xhaferi, who are obviously trying to
project themselves as the Balkans' supreme Muslim leaders are to attend
a congress of the Rights and Freedoms Society, a party that rallies more
than a million ethnic Turks in Bulgaria. We should hope that Thaqi will
explain why even the Kosovo Turks have been targeted in ethnic Albanian
ethnic cleansing and forced conversion campaigns.
---
Sat, Jan 29 at Prague 03:45 pm, N.Y. 09:45 am
Bulgaria Seizes 38 Kg Heroin In Albanian Truck
SOFIA, Jan 29, 2000 -- (Reuters) Bulgarian customs said on Friday they
had seized 38.1 kg (84 lbs) of heroin hidden in an Albanian-registered
truck that was coming from Turkey.
Ivan Kutevski, spokesman for the Central Customs Directorate, told
Reuters the shipment was discovered at the Kapitan Andreevo border
checkpoint with Turkey and was hidden in the truck, which was
transporting metal doors.
The truck driver, a 43-year-old Albanian citizen, had been detained,
Kutevski added.
Crime experts said that the local street value of a dose of 0.250 grams
of heroin was between three levs ($1.5) and 10 levs.
Bulgaria, situated between Turkey, Greece, Macedonia, Yugoslavia and
Romania, lies on the so-called Balkan route for smuggling drugs from
Asia to Europe. Customs say a total of 261 kg of heroin were seized at
Bulgarian borders last year.
Earlier this month, Bulgaria opened the first office under a joint
United Nations - European Union project to fight drug trafficking in the
Balkans.
---
LA FINE DI "NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC"
Quello che segue e' un classico esempio di come la "political
correctness" puo' diventare "scorrettezza scientifica" senza colpo
ferire.
Una rivista prestigiosa come "National Geographic", anziche' descrivere
il patrimonio naturale, culturale ed etnico della regione del Kosmet,
sta facendo propaganda antijugoslava di basso profilo.
Non ho avuto purtroppo ancora occasione di avere la rivista fra le mani,
ma sarei veramente curioso di vedere cosa si dice dei monasteri
bizantini e della loro distruzione sistematica, che e' in corso (piu' di
80 sono gia' stati devastati dall'UCK grazie alla provvidenziale
disattenzione della KFOR... ed anche di tanti nostri "intellettuali di
servizio").
Andrea
------- Forwarded Message Follows -------
Date sent: Fri, 28 Jan 2000 13:33:41 -0500 (EST)
BCC to: From: sndlist@...
(balkanpeace automailer)
Subject: Mailing list 'Rapid_Response': National
Geographic
Visit us on http://www.balkanpeace.org
---------------------------------------------
Molimo vas da se obratite National Geographic-u za njihove odvratne lazi
o
Kosovu i Jugoslaviji!
Uvjerite se i sami o njihovim lazima na:
http://www.ngnews.com/kosovo/
Pisite im na:
ngsforum@...
Evo samo jednog od pisama koje smo dobili u Centru od ljudi koji su se
javili da nam skrenu paznju na februarsko izdanje:
From: jon & lillian
Subject: National Geographic: lies about yugoslavia
Date: Thu, 27 Jan 2000 22:06:30 -0500
Hello
We have a subscription to the National Geographic magazine and the
February issue has the most damning articles on Kosovo and Yugoslavia.
Just to begin with, all maps of Kosovo make it seem as if it is part
of
Albania. It is still part of Yugoslavia, which was part of the peace
accord signed at the end of the NATO bombing campaign.
The emphasis of the articles was on refugees, all on Kosovo, and never
once mentioned the fact the there are now one million refugees (acording
to the United Nations high commissioner) in Yugoslavia. There was a map
showing Kosovo and all the mass graves, hundreds of them. This, as we
have
found out lately is not true, which was verified by the FBI and RCMP,
among others.
Wherever the author of the article could, Serbians were slandered. You
must read it for yourself, it is too disturbing for me to quote all the
passages. It is American propoganda at some of its worst.
We have cancelled our subscription and written an e-mail. I urge
veryone
to write at:
ngsforum@... Jon
---
http://www.iwpr.net
WELCOME TO IWPR'S BALKAN CRISIS REPORT, NO. 111, January 28, 2000
(...)
NEW KOSOVO BANK TO KICK-START ECONOMY
Kosovo's first commercial bank pledges to promote economic growth in one
of
the poorest regions in Europe.
By Llazar Semini in Pristina
Metal, a foundry in Pristina, is doing good business following the end
of
the Kosovo war last June.
The company has ambitious expansion plans, but needs investors. "We are
looking for partners and money," said Ymer Qerkini, Metal's manager,
who,
like many Kosovo businessmen, hopes the region's new commercial bank
will
help their enterprises grow.
The Micro Enterprise Bank (MEB), the first bank to be licensed in Kosovo
since last year's conflict, is aiming to meet an urgent demand for
financial
services. The bank, which began operating last Monday, January 24, said
it
acquired 70 new clients the following day.
"A bank is an indispensable part of daily life and Kosovo needed one now
that life is back to normal," said MEB's general manager Koen Wasmus.
MEB, located near the headquarters of the United Nations Mission in
Kosovo,
was founded at the initiative of several international financial
institutions and investment companies, with substantial funding from the
Dutch and German governments.
The bank will provide account management, money transfers, loans and
cashless payment transactions to small enterprises, as well as
individual
customers. Its credits will range from 2,000 to 200,000 German marks,
with
an interest rate of 18 per cent per year.
"Kosovo's economic recovery will increasingly depend on the availability
of
basic banking services," said Horst Koehler, president of the European
Bank
of Reconstruction, one of MEB's backers. "The Micro Enterprise Bank does
just that, giving ordinary people the means to provide for their own
livelihoods without resorting to handouts.
" It will also serve as a dependable, commercial-oriented source of
credit
for small businesses, which will form the backbone of a resurgent
Kosovar
economy."
Wasmus said he considered Kosovo's economy "a pyramid with a broad base
of
small firms with very strong committed people," but he warned that some
bigger corporations would not survive as they needed large investment.
"We have thought that we should assist small enterprises with the aim of
turning them into medium-sized ones," he said. "That is why we decided
to
work from the base of this pyramid and strengthen that."
"We aim to stay in Kosovo for some time," Wasmus said, adding that MEB's
shareholders wanted to see their money back in five to ten years.
At the end of the Kosovo conflict last year, the region's financial
system
was in a shambles, so the MEB had to start from scratch. "We have
provided
intensive training to a number of young and highly motivated banking
trainees - most of whom had no previous banking experience," said
Wasmus.
"They received on-the-job training with similar micro-credit banks in
Albania and Bosnia."
MEB will be based in Pristina with a staff of 31 - 26 of whom are
Albanian.
Branches are due to open soon in Prizren (early February) and Peje
(March or
April). After three years, the bank is expected to have seven branches.
A spokesman for the International Finance Corporation, another of the
bank's
sponsors, said the project would create jobs and improve people's lives.
"A
major impediment to growth has been the lack of access to credit which
is
one of the main vehicles for promoting economic growth.
"By demonstrating the commercial viability of properly structured and
organized lending institutions, we can catalyze considerable private
investments to build credit and other financial services for many poor
people in Kosovo."
Llazar Semini is IWPR Project Manager in Pristina.
IWPR'S BALKAN CRISIS REPORT, NO. 111
---
STOP NATO: ¡NO PASARAN! - HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.HOME-PAGE.ORG
Army Probes Behavior of U.S. Soldiers in Kosovo
By R. Jeffrey Smith
Washington Post Foreign Service
Friday , January 28, 2000 ; A17
VITINA, Yugoslavia, Jan. 27 – Baki Ramadani slipped on
the ice that covered almost every street
in this city in eastern Kosovo three weeks ago and
accidentally jostled a U.S. Army soldier standing
guard at the NATO military base. Challenged to explain
himself, Ramadani signaled with his hands
because he is unable to speak or hear, as medical
documents stored in his breast pocket made clear.
Ramadani's efforts failed, however, and he quickly
found himself knocked to the ground, where the
soldier kicked him, striking him in the head,
according to his parents and two brothers. They said
they saw the bruises and got a description later from
Ramadani – who told them in sign language –
and from an ethnic Albanian friend of Ramadani who was
briefly arrested for attempting to intervene.
Army investigators flown here from a U.S. base in
Germany began a probe of the Jan. 6 incident this
week, along with several other allegations by ethnic
Albanians of mistreatment by U.S. soldiers –
including beatings, inappropriate body searches of
women and harassment.
The results of the investigation will not be released
for at least a week, but Western officials say the
investigators' goal is to examine what might have gone
awry with the U.S. peacekeeping mission in
this ethnically mixed and politically volatile city,
estranging some soldiers from the population they
came here to protect. It is the first large-scale
probe since NATO peacekeepers arrived last June
following the end of the allied air campaign against
Yugoslavia.
Already, the Army's "A" company, 3rd Battalion, 504th
Infantry, which was assigned here last
September, has been redeployed to another city, a
month sooner than normal.
Some Western officials say most of the tensions have
been provoked by former guerrillas with the
ethnic Albanian Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA), who
control the city and are resisting sharing
power and influence with either NATO troops or United
Nations administrators. The officials
suggest the charges have been largely manufactured to
discredit the U.S. troops, who have recently
arrested some prominent ethnic Albanians for
committing terrorist acts.
Before the war, Vitina was dominated by Serbs. Today
its population is 90 percent ethnic Albanian
as a result of the Albanians' post-war expulsion of
Serbs. The remaining 500 to 800 Serbs face a
persistent threat of grenade attacks, house burnings,
kidnappings or killings by ethnic Albanian
hard-liners, according to local and Western officials.
For some residents, "the war is not over," said Daut
Xhemajli, president of the municipal government
and a former official of the KLA, which waged a
guerrilla war to win Kosovo's independence from
Serbia, the dominant republic of Yugoslavia. The KLA
announced it was disbanding after NATO
troops entered the province following the withdrawal
of Serbian military and police forces.
Mirroring the attitude toward NATO forces throughout
Kosovo, U.S. troops arrived here to find an
enormous reservoir of public goodwill. As Ramadani's
father, Saqif, said, "we consider the
Americans our biggest friends" because of Washington's
tough policy toward Yugoslav President
Slobodan Milosevic. He said the family "didn't want to
make anything of this. . . . We hushed this
thing up."
But the beating – along with other alleged misconduct
– became a major topic of protest after U.S.
troops arrested Xhauit Hasani, a prominent ethnic
Albanian here who commanded a KLA unit.
Some Army officials say that ex-KLA rebels are
orchestrating the criticism to gain the
ex-commander's release from a holding cell at Camp
Bondsteel, the immense U.S. military
headquarters 10 miles northwest of here.
At the same time, some of the misconduct charges
appear to have merit, according to officials who
said they could not provide details. Moreover, they
acknowledge that the arrest here on Jan. 16 of
Army Staff Sgt. Frank J. Ronghi on charges of raping
and killing an 11-year-old ethnic Albanian girl
had undermined the morale and reputation of the "A"
company unit – even though local politicians
said they held only Ronghi responsible. Ronghi, 35, of
Niles, Ohio, is being held in investigative
custody at a military detention center in Mannheim,
Germany.
Many of the charges against the U.S. troops stem from
"A" company police activities on Jan. 6, one
of the weekly market days when hundreds of villagers
stream into the city. On that day, according to
allegations by a number of residents and local
officials, soldiers manhandled as many as eight people
and improperly patted some female ethnic Albanians
while searching for weapons among those in the
crowd.
Capt. Kevin Lambert, the "A" company commander,
declined to comment on the substance of the
charges, citing the probe. But he said the day was no
different than any other, and he had no reason
to suspect any wrongdoing until three days later, when
local officials organized a protest against
Hasani's arrest and raised the allegations for the
first time.
U.S. and local sources said that Hasani had attained
local fame during the war by smuggling arms
and food to KLA units through his home village of
Kluc, located at the Kosovo-Macedonia border.
U.S. soldiers arrested Hasani on a warrant issued by
Macedonian police, who had charged him with
murdering a Macedonian policeman last year. But they
also suspected Hasani and others, including
members of the provisional Kosovo government's
Interior Ministry, of being linked to recent acts of
violence against ethnic Albanians who bought homes or
businesses from Serbs and to a recent
grenade attack on a Serbian cafe.
After a visit here, a senior U.N. official said in a
memorandum to the top U.N. administrator that
NATO "has seized large amounts of heavy weaponry" from
ministry officials, and that the U.S.
peacekeepers suspected that ex-KLA fighters from
Vitina "planted an anti-tank mine" that killed a
U.S. soldier driving a jeep near the village of
Kamenica on Dec. 15. The mine evidently was meant
to detonate beneath trucks driven by Serbian residents
or Russian peacekeepers, other officials said.
Hasani was given a lie detector test at Camp
Bondsteel, according to his sons, Ramiz and Azem.
NATO troops have told them in recent days that Hasani
would be released, they said.
---
Kosovo Protection Corps begins work (B92 26/1/00)
PRISTINA, Wednesday - The Kosovo Protection Corps, the civil defence
force
formally constituted last week from former members of the outlawed
Kosovo
Liberation Army, began its official duties today clearing snow from in
front
of the Government Building in Pristina. Corps Commander Agim Ceku, UN
civilian mission chief Bernard Kouchner and KFOR Commander Klaus
Reinhardt
visited members of the new force as they began work.
---
Wed, Jan 26 at Prague 07:04 pm, N.Y. 01:04 pm
Kosovo Ex-Rebel Spokesman Compares Certain Peacekeepers To Serbs
PRISTINA, Jan 26, 2000 -- (Agence France Presse) Kosovo's international
administrators were accused Tuesday of using security tactics similar to
those of the 'Serbian criminals.'
The charges were made by Jakup Krasniqi, a spokesman for Kosovo's former
ethnic Albanian guerrillas, in letters to General Klaus Reinhardt,
commander of the international peacekeeping force KFOR, and UN
administration head Bernard Kouchner.
Krasniqi, of the Kosovo Democratic Progress Party of ex-rebel leader
Hashim Thaci, told AFP: "Certain acts by KFOR, in conjunction with the
UN police, remind us of the time of repression" under the Serbs.
He was referring to searches in recent weeks of figures who "symbolize
the resistance against Belgrade."
These included a search earlier this month of the house of Thaci's
brother, who fired a gun in public during New Year's eve celebrations.
Security forces found a large sum of money in various currencies and an
unlicensed gun in the house.
Krasniqi also accused KFOR of actions against former Kosovo Liberation
Army (KLA) commander Sulejman Selimi, and a relative of one of the
founders of the KLA, Adem Jashari, whose killing by Serb forces in 1997
sparked Albanian resistance.
"I still have trust in the NATO flag, in Mr. Kouchner and General
Reinhardt, but they should control their men," said Krasniqi.
Reinhardt and Kouchner apologised to Thaci for any inconvenience after
his brother and a bodyguard were briefly detained and ordered their men
to consult them before taking any more action against local leaders.
"Did the international forces come to Kosovo to help the Albanian people
who suffered the last holocaust of the century, or to carry on using, in
a slightly gentler form, the methods of the criminal Serb police"
Krasniqi wrote in the letter dated January 22.
He also accused certain forces within KFOR, including Russians, of
"receiving their orders directly from Belgrade." ((c) 2000 Agence France
Presse)
--------- COORDINAMENTO ROMANO PER LA JUGOSLAVIA -----------
RIMSKI SAVEZ ZA JUGOSLAVIJU
e-mail: crj@... - URL: http://marx2001.org/crj
------------------------------------------------------------
dopo l'attentato contro l'autobus (AP)
* 3/2/00: Attacco terroristico contro un autobus ("Il Manifesto")
* 3/2/00: Un migliaio di slavi-musulmani scappano dal Kosovo verso la
Serbia centrale (B92)
* 3/2/00: Programmate per marzo esercitazioni in Kosovo in vista della
prossima aggressione della NATO contro la RF di Jugoslavia (B92)
* 2/2/00: Due morti e cinque feriti in un attacco terroristico contro
l'autobus (B92)
* 2/2/00: Rugova disfa le sue istituzioni del "Kosova" (B92)
* 2/2/00: Liti tra fazioni albanesi, anche un morto ("Il Manifesto")
* 28/1/00: "Visita di Stato" di Thaci "il serpente" in Bulgaria (Tanjug)
* 29/1/00: 38 chili di eroina sequestrata su di un TIR albanese in
Bulgaria (Reuters)
* Il numero speciale di "National Geographic" dedicato al Kosovo: una
completa riscrittura della storia e della realta' attuale. Vergogna!
* Fondi tedeschi ed olandesi per aprire una Banca kosovara nuova di
zecca (IWPR 28/1/00)
* Civili schipetari sottoposti a maltrattamento da parte delle truppe
statunitensi presso Vitina (Washington Post 27/1/00)
* Iniziato il lavoro dell'UCKFOR nella nuova veste di "Corpo di
Protezione del Kosovo" (B92 22/1/00)
* Per la perquisizione, con sequestro di un arsenale, a casa del
fratello di Thaci e per le indagini su altri capibanda il portavoce UCK
Krasniqi e' infuriato; Kouchner e Reinhardt chiedono scusa (AFP 26/1/00)
---
Grenade thrown into Serb cafe in Kosovo
9.40 p.m. ET (249 GMT) February 3, 2000
KOSOVSKA MITROVICA, Yugoslavia (AP) — Violence erupted across this
Kosovo city violence Thursday night with two grenade attacks against
Serb cafes that left at least 20 people wounded and shootings that
claimed the lives of three ethnic Albanians.
The violence began when the two Albanian men were shot to death, the
multinational peacekeeping force in Kosovo said Friday.
Half an hour later, a grenade was thrown into a Serb cafe, wounding
between 10 and 15 customers, said Lt. Col. Henning Philipp, spokesman
for the multinational force known as KFOR.
Minutes later, an ethnic Albanian woman was shot to death. That killing
was followed shortly afterwards by a grenade attack on another Serb cafe
that wounded 10 customers, Philipp said.
A day before, a rocket attack on a U.N. bus carrying Serb civilians left
two Serbs dead and three injured.
The attacks comes as ethnic tensions remain high in Kosovo.
Authorities say many ethnic Albanians were killed by Serb forces during
Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic's 18-month crackdown against
separatists here. After NATO bombing forced the Serb troops to withdraw
last spring, ethnic Albanians began attacking Serbs as revenge.
---
"Il Manifesto" del 3/2/2000:
KOSOVO
ATTENTATO A UN BUS DI CIVILI SERBI: DUE MORTI
Ennesimo attentato (è ormai un appuntamento quasi giornaliero) nei
confronti dei pochi serbi
ormai rimasti in Kosovo. Un autobus pieno di civili serbi è stato
colpito ieri, infatti, da un razzo
anticarro lanciato dai soliti "sconosciuti". Nell'attentato, due
passeggeri sono morti e altri cinque
sono rimasti feriti.
Il bus, messo a disposizione dall'organizzazione umanitaria Unhcr delle
Nazioni unite, era partito
da Kosovska Mitrovica (la città kosovara divisa in due - una parte
serba, l'altra albanese -
dall'odio etnico), nel nord della regione, nel pomeriggio di ieri, per
raggiungere la cittadina di
Durakovca. Dopo aver percorso appena quindici chilometri è stato colpito
dal razzo,
presumibilmente scagliato da albanesi. Gli uomini della Kfor (la forza
di pace della Nato), che
stavano scortando il veicolo, impotenti di fronte all'ennesima
aggressione, non hanno potuto far
altro che organizzare i soccorsi per le vittime.
La Unhcr organizza servizi di trasporto per i serbi che vogliono
spostarsi da una parte all'altra del
Kosovo nonostante gli innumerevoli rischi. Ma sono (come pure le forze
della Kfor) sempre più in
balia delle bande albanesi dell'ex Uck, cui hanno dato legittimità, e
che proseguono nella
campagna di "pulizia etnica" dei serbi e dei rom (di cui spesso sono
vittime anche quegli albanesi
considerati "collaborazionisti"), cominciata alla fine della guerra. E
che ha portato all'esodo dei
serbi e dei rom dal Kosovo.
---
Muslims flee Kosovo (B92 3/2/00)
PRISTINA, Thursday - About a thousand residents, most of them Muslim,
had
left the region of Prizren and Gora in Kosovo to take refuge in Novi
Pazar in
Central Serbia, UNHCR representative Maki Shinohara said today.
Shinohara
told media that the UNHCR had suspended all bus transport in Kosovo,
adding
that the services would not be continued until yesterday's attack on a
UNHCR
bus had been completed.
---
Socialists on NATO exercises in Kosovo (B92 3/2/00)
BELGRADE, Thursday - NATO is the key factor for destabilisation in
south-east
Europe, Socialist Party spokesman Ivica Dacic told media today. Dacic
was
commenting on the announcement that NATO forces will be on manoeuvres in
Kosovo in March. Brussels has justified the exercises saying that they
are a
preparation for a possible deterioration of the situation in the
province.
---
Serbs die in rocket attack on Kosovo bus (B92 2/2/00)
KOSOVSKA MITROVICA, Wednesday - Two Serbs are dead and another five
wounded
after a rocket attack on a bus near Kosovska Mitrovica this afternoon.
International forces representative Philip Anido said the UNHCR bus was
being
escorted by KFOR. No further details are available.
---
Rugova disbands parallel institutions (B92 2/2/00)
PRISTINA, Wednesday - The President of the Democratic League of Kosovo,
Ibrahim Rugova, announced today that he had disbanded the Kosovo
Albanian
parallel state government of which he was president. Rugova and the
president
of the parallel Kosovo Albanian Parliament, Idriz Ajeti, told media
today
that all parallel state institutions in the province were dissolved
yesterday. These included the parallel government and parliament, the
office
of the president of Kosovo and all related political, security and
administrative structures.
---
"Il Manifesto", 2/2/00:
KOSOVO UCCISO DALL'UCK IL LEADER DI UN PARTITO KOSOVARO
Non parte il governo "misto"
Onu delusa. Gli albanesi non rinunciano alle istituzioni parallele
- R. ES. - PRISTINA
D oveva essere un salto di qualità nella vita pubblica del Kosovo, ma è
finito in battibecchi tra
fazioni kosovaro-albanesi e con i funzionari dell'Onu. Ieri era prevista
la nascita ufficiale del
Struttura amministrativa unitaria ad interim (Jias), una sorta di
governo misto Onu-kosovari della
provincia, con tanto di ministeri (19) e un comitato di presidenza alla
cui testa c'è il
plenipotenziario delle Nazioni unite, Bernard Kouchner, dotato di potere
di veto su qualsiasi
decisione del collegio. Un governo comunque provvisorio, nell'attesa
delle elezioni - la cui
convocazione slitta di mese in mese - e della nascita di un "governo
dell'autonomia" tutto
kosovaro, come prevede la risoluzione 1244 del Consiglio di sicurezza
dell'Onu.
E se la leadership dei serbo-kosovari aveva declinato in un primo
momento l'invito a parteciparvi
- anzi era uscita da tutti gli organi consultivi creati dall'Onu, per
protestare contro la
trasformazione dell'Uck nei Corpi di protezione del Kosovo - negli
ultimi giorni ci ha ripensato e
sta trattando coi funzionari Onu per il suo ingresso nel governo
provvisorio e per la creazione di
entità "comunali" speciali nelle poche zone dove sono concentrati i
serbo-kosovari.
Ieri dunque doveva essere una giornata speciale. Così non è stato.
Convocati a Pristina, i vari
rappresentanti albanesi hanno inscenato una delle loro consuete liti
alla presenza degli avviliti
funzionari Onu. Il punto è che le isituzioni parallele create nel 1989
dalla Lega democratica del
Kosovo di Ibrahim Rugova - presidenza, governo e parlamento kosovaro
"clandestini" -
dovrebbero ora sciogliersi con la nascita della nuova istituzione. In
realtà il parlamento non ha
deliberato alcun autoscioglimento, il che ha mandato su tutte le furie i
falchi ex Uck di Thaci -
che intanto nel silenzio di Onu e Nato governano di fatto gran parte dei
comuni della provincia,
imponendo la loro legge. La sessione di ieri è finita dunque in insulti
ed è stata aggiornata a data
da definirsi.
Non si fermano intanto i regolamenti di conti dell'ex Uck nella
provincia; case bruciate (di serbi)
nei dintorni di Pristina e l'omicidio di un politico kosovaro-albanese,
Hassim Chuse, capo del
minuscolo Partito democrativo riformista. Il suo corpo con tre
proiettili in testa è stato trovato non
lontano da Prizren. Risultava scomparso dal 18 gennaio. Rapimento ed
esecuzione di un
avversario politico nel miglior stile Uck, che non tollera rivali nei
suoi territori. (...)
---
www.serbia-info.com/news
Thaqi's "state visit" to Sofia-giving political legitimacy to a
terrorist
January 29, 2000
SOFIA, Jan 28 (Tanjug) - The ruling structures in Sofia, taking their
cue from their NATO "allies," are sinking deeper and deeper in their
policy towards the situation in Kosovo. An instance of this is an
invitation by Ivan Kosov, leader of the Bulgarian rightist Alliance of
Democratic Forces and prime minister, to Hashim Thaqi, former leader of
the ethnic Albanian terrorist and separatist Kosovo Liberation Army
(KLA), to visit Sofia.
It has been officially confirmed in Sofia that Thaqi is due here on
Saturday, and will be received by Kostov, a state of affairs which,
according to the Sofia newspaper 24 Casa, will make it a state visit."
This move has put the Bulgarian government in a position where it gives
political legitimacy to a man who is on an international wanted list for
terrorism. The Serbian police has earlier a warrant for the arrest of
Thaqui due to based suspicion that he had committed many grave crime
offences and several murders.
The Bulgarian government, however, is careful to steer clear of
mentioning this very important point in Thaqi's biography, whom it
describes as leader of the certain Kosovo Democratic Progress Party and
member of the provisional administrative council. This "provisional
government," set up by U.N. civilian mission (UNMIK) chief Bernard
Kouchner, is not recognized by Yugoslavia, if we exclude the Albanian
separatists.
Kostov's move, although at odds with international law, is not hard to
understand. The government in Sofia is trying by hook and by crook to
get close to and become a member of NATO and the European Union, and is
obviously willing to pay any price for a shortcut to Brussels. At the
time of NATO's aggression on Yugoslavia, Bulgarian government very
generously opened its air space to NATO planes, riggering a wave of
nationwide protests, which were especially bitter in Sofia. Protesters
condemned the country's officials, as well as U.S. President Bill
Clinton, telling the aggressors and their helpers that "the Balkans
belongs to the Balkan nations."
Evidently, the government in Sofia seems naively to believe that, if it
sells its sovereignty, it can get into NATO and the European Union more
easily and solve all its accumulated internal problems overnight.
However, at the recent Summit of the "fifteen" in Helsinki, Bulgaria
found itself in the second group of the country-candidates to enter EU,
which means it would have to wait at least 15 years, maybe longer. Ten
months ago, on the top meeting of 19 alliance countries in Washington,
it was clearly said that Bulgaria would not enter NATO easily and
swiftly.
The visit of Thaqi and Arben Xhaferi to Bulgaria has yet another
interesting aspect which the Bulgarian government will have to explain
to its citizens. Namely, Thaqui and Xhaferi, who are obviously trying to
project themselves as the Balkans' supreme Muslim leaders are to attend
a congress of the Rights and Freedoms Society, a party that rallies more
than a million ethnic Turks in Bulgaria. We should hope that Thaqi will
explain why even the Kosovo Turks have been targeted in ethnic Albanian
ethnic cleansing and forced conversion campaigns.
---
Sat, Jan 29 at Prague 03:45 pm, N.Y. 09:45 am
Bulgaria Seizes 38 Kg Heroin In Albanian Truck
SOFIA, Jan 29, 2000 -- (Reuters) Bulgarian customs said on Friday they
had seized 38.1 kg (84 lbs) of heroin hidden in an Albanian-registered
truck that was coming from Turkey.
Ivan Kutevski, spokesman for the Central Customs Directorate, told
Reuters the shipment was discovered at the Kapitan Andreevo border
checkpoint with Turkey and was hidden in the truck, which was
transporting metal doors.
The truck driver, a 43-year-old Albanian citizen, had been detained,
Kutevski added.
Crime experts said that the local street value of a dose of 0.250 grams
of heroin was between three levs ($1.5) and 10 levs.
Bulgaria, situated between Turkey, Greece, Macedonia, Yugoslavia and
Romania, lies on the so-called Balkan route for smuggling drugs from
Asia to Europe. Customs say a total of 261 kg of heroin were seized at
Bulgarian borders last year.
Earlier this month, Bulgaria opened the first office under a joint
United Nations - European Union project to fight drug trafficking in the
Balkans.
---
LA FINE DI "NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC"
Quello che segue e' un classico esempio di come la "political
correctness" puo' diventare "scorrettezza scientifica" senza colpo
ferire.
Una rivista prestigiosa come "National Geographic", anziche' descrivere
il patrimonio naturale, culturale ed etnico della regione del Kosmet,
sta facendo propaganda antijugoslava di basso profilo.
Non ho avuto purtroppo ancora occasione di avere la rivista fra le mani,
ma sarei veramente curioso di vedere cosa si dice dei monasteri
bizantini e della loro distruzione sistematica, che e' in corso (piu' di
80 sono gia' stati devastati dall'UCK grazie alla provvidenziale
disattenzione della KFOR... ed anche di tanti nostri "intellettuali di
servizio").
Andrea
------- Forwarded Message Follows -------
Date sent: Fri, 28 Jan 2000 13:33:41 -0500 (EST)
BCC to: From: sndlist@...
(balkanpeace automailer)
Subject: Mailing list 'Rapid_Response': National
Geographic
Visit us on http://www.balkanpeace.org
---------------------------------------------
Molimo vas da se obratite National Geographic-u za njihove odvratne lazi
o
Kosovu i Jugoslaviji!
Uvjerite se i sami o njihovim lazima na:
http://www.ngnews.com/kosovo/
Pisite im na:
ngsforum@...
Evo samo jednog od pisama koje smo dobili u Centru od ljudi koji su se
javili da nam skrenu paznju na februarsko izdanje:
From: jon & lillian
Subject: National Geographic: lies about yugoslavia
Date: Thu, 27 Jan 2000 22:06:30 -0500
Hello
We have a subscription to the National Geographic magazine and the
February issue has the most damning articles on Kosovo and Yugoslavia.
Just to begin with, all maps of Kosovo make it seem as if it is part
of
Albania. It is still part of Yugoslavia, which was part of the peace
accord signed at the end of the NATO bombing campaign.
The emphasis of the articles was on refugees, all on Kosovo, and never
once mentioned the fact the there are now one million refugees (acording
to the United Nations high commissioner) in Yugoslavia. There was a map
showing Kosovo and all the mass graves, hundreds of them. This, as we
have
found out lately is not true, which was verified by the FBI and RCMP,
among others.
Wherever the author of the article could, Serbians were slandered. You
must read it for yourself, it is too disturbing for me to quote all the
passages. It is American propoganda at some of its worst.
We have cancelled our subscription and written an e-mail. I urge
veryone
to write at:
ngsforum@... Jon
---
http://www.iwpr.net
WELCOME TO IWPR'S BALKAN CRISIS REPORT, NO. 111, January 28, 2000
(...)
NEW KOSOVO BANK TO KICK-START ECONOMY
Kosovo's first commercial bank pledges to promote economic growth in one
of
the poorest regions in Europe.
By Llazar Semini in Pristina
Metal, a foundry in Pristina, is doing good business following the end
of
the Kosovo war last June.
The company has ambitious expansion plans, but needs investors. "We are
looking for partners and money," said Ymer Qerkini, Metal's manager,
who,
like many Kosovo businessmen, hopes the region's new commercial bank
will
help their enterprises grow.
The Micro Enterprise Bank (MEB), the first bank to be licensed in Kosovo
since last year's conflict, is aiming to meet an urgent demand for
financial
services. The bank, which began operating last Monday, January 24, said
it
acquired 70 new clients the following day.
"A bank is an indispensable part of daily life and Kosovo needed one now
that life is back to normal," said MEB's general manager Koen Wasmus.
MEB, located near the headquarters of the United Nations Mission in
Kosovo,
was founded at the initiative of several international financial
institutions and investment companies, with substantial funding from the
Dutch and German governments.
The bank will provide account management, money transfers, loans and
cashless payment transactions to small enterprises, as well as
individual
customers. Its credits will range from 2,000 to 200,000 German marks,
with
an interest rate of 18 per cent per year.
"Kosovo's economic recovery will increasingly depend on the availability
of
basic banking services," said Horst Koehler, president of the European
Bank
of Reconstruction, one of MEB's backers. "The Micro Enterprise Bank does
just that, giving ordinary people the means to provide for their own
livelihoods without resorting to handouts.
" It will also serve as a dependable, commercial-oriented source of
credit
for small businesses, which will form the backbone of a resurgent
Kosovar
economy."
Wasmus said he considered Kosovo's economy "a pyramid with a broad base
of
small firms with very strong committed people," but he warned that some
bigger corporations would not survive as they needed large investment.
"We have thought that we should assist small enterprises with the aim of
turning them into medium-sized ones," he said. "That is why we decided
to
work from the base of this pyramid and strengthen that."
"We aim to stay in Kosovo for some time," Wasmus said, adding that MEB's
shareholders wanted to see their money back in five to ten years.
At the end of the Kosovo conflict last year, the region's financial
system
was in a shambles, so the MEB had to start from scratch. "We have
provided
intensive training to a number of young and highly motivated banking
trainees - most of whom had no previous banking experience," said
Wasmus.
"They received on-the-job training with similar micro-credit banks in
Albania and Bosnia."
MEB will be based in Pristina with a staff of 31 - 26 of whom are
Albanian.
Branches are due to open soon in Prizren (early February) and Peje
(March or
April). After three years, the bank is expected to have seven branches.
A spokesman for the International Finance Corporation, another of the
bank's
sponsors, said the project would create jobs and improve people's lives.
"A
major impediment to growth has been the lack of access to credit which
is
one of the main vehicles for promoting economic growth.
"By demonstrating the commercial viability of properly structured and
organized lending institutions, we can catalyze considerable private
investments to build credit and other financial services for many poor
people in Kosovo."
Llazar Semini is IWPR Project Manager in Pristina.
IWPR'S BALKAN CRISIS REPORT, NO. 111
---
STOP NATO: ¡NO PASARAN! - HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.HOME-PAGE.ORG
Army Probes Behavior of U.S. Soldiers in Kosovo
By R. Jeffrey Smith
Washington Post Foreign Service
Friday , January 28, 2000 ; A17
VITINA, Yugoslavia, Jan. 27 – Baki Ramadani slipped on
the ice that covered almost every street
in this city in eastern Kosovo three weeks ago and
accidentally jostled a U.S. Army soldier standing
guard at the NATO military base. Challenged to explain
himself, Ramadani signaled with his hands
because he is unable to speak or hear, as medical
documents stored in his breast pocket made clear.
Ramadani's efforts failed, however, and he quickly
found himself knocked to the ground, where the
soldier kicked him, striking him in the head,
according to his parents and two brothers. They said
they saw the bruises and got a description later from
Ramadani – who told them in sign language –
and from an ethnic Albanian friend of Ramadani who was
briefly arrested for attempting to intervene.
Army investigators flown here from a U.S. base in
Germany began a probe of the Jan. 6 incident this
week, along with several other allegations by ethnic
Albanians of mistreatment by U.S. soldiers –
including beatings, inappropriate body searches of
women and harassment.
The results of the investigation will not be released
for at least a week, but Western officials say the
investigators' goal is to examine what might have gone
awry with the U.S. peacekeeping mission in
this ethnically mixed and politically volatile city,
estranging some soldiers from the population they
came here to protect. It is the first large-scale
probe since NATO peacekeepers arrived last June
following the end of the allied air campaign against
Yugoslavia.
Already, the Army's "A" company, 3rd Battalion, 504th
Infantry, which was assigned here last
September, has been redeployed to another city, a
month sooner than normal.
Some Western officials say most of the tensions have
been provoked by former guerrillas with the
ethnic Albanian Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA), who
control the city and are resisting sharing
power and influence with either NATO troops or United
Nations administrators. The officials
suggest the charges have been largely manufactured to
discredit the U.S. troops, who have recently
arrested some prominent ethnic Albanians for
committing terrorist acts.
Before the war, Vitina was dominated by Serbs. Today
its population is 90 percent ethnic Albanian
as a result of the Albanians' post-war expulsion of
Serbs. The remaining 500 to 800 Serbs face a
persistent threat of grenade attacks, house burnings,
kidnappings or killings by ethnic Albanian
hard-liners, according to local and Western officials.
For some residents, "the war is not over," said Daut
Xhemajli, president of the municipal government
and a former official of the KLA, which waged a
guerrilla war to win Kosovo's independence from
Serbia, the dominant republic of Yugoslavia. The KLA
announced it was disbanding after NATO
troops entered the province following the withdrawal
of Serbian military and police forces.
Mirroring the attitude toward NATO forces throughout
Kosovo, U.S. troops arrived here to find an
enormous reservoir of public goodwill. As Ramadani's
father, Saqif, said, "we consider the
Americans our biggest friends" because of Washington's
tough policy toward Yugoslav President
Slobodan Milosevic. He said the family "didn't want to
make anything of this. . . . We hushed this
thing up."
But the beating – along with other alleged misconduct
– became a major topic of protest after U.S.
troops arrested Xhauit Hasani, a prominent ethnic
Albanian here who commanded a KLA unit.
Some Army officials say that ex-KLA rebels are
orchestrating the criticism to gain the
ex-commander's release from a holding cell at Camp
Bondsteel, the immense U.S. military
headquarters 10 miles northwest of here.
At the same time, some of the misconduct charges
appear to have merit, according to officials who
said they could not provide details. Moreover, they
acknowledge that the arrest here on Jan. 16 of
Army Staff Sgt. Frank J. Ronghi on charges of raping
and killing an 11-year-old ethnic Albanian girl
had undermined the morale and reputation of the "A"
company unit – even though local politicians
said they held only Ronghi responsible. Ronghi, 35, of
Niles, Ohio, is being held in investigative
custody at a military detention center in Mannheim,
Germany.
Many of the charges against the U.S. troops stem from
"A" company police activities on Jan. 6, one
of the weekly market days when hundreds of villagers
stream into the city. On that day, according to
allegations by a number of residents and local
officials, soldiers manhandled as many as eight people
and improperly patted some female ethnic Albanians
while searching for weapons among those in the
crowd.
Capt. Kevin Lambert, the "A" company commander,
declined to comment on the substance of the
charges, citing the probe. But he said the day was no
different than any other, and he had no reason
to suspect any wrongdoing until three days later, when
local officials organized a protest against
Hasani's arrest and raised the allegations for the
first time.
U.S. and local sources said that Hasani had attained
local fame during the war by smuggling arms
and food to KLA units through his home village of
Kluc, located at the Kosovo-Macedonia border.
U.S. soldiers arrested Hasani on a warrant issued by
Macedonian police, who had charged him with
murdering a Macedonian policeman last year. But they
also suspected Hasani and others, including
members of the provisional Kosovo government's
Interior Ministry, of being linked to recent acts of
violence against ethnic Albanians who bought homes or
businesses from Serbs and to a recent
grenade attack on a Serbian cafe.
After a visit here, a senior U.N. official said in a
memorandum to the top U.N. administrator that
NATO "has seized large amounts of heavy weaponry" from
ministry officials, and that the U.S.
peacekeepers suspected that ex-KLA fighters from
Vitina "planted an anti-tank mine" that killed a
U.S. soldier driving a jeep near the village of
Kamenica on Dec. 15. The mine evidently was meant
to detonate beneath trucks driven by Serbian residents
or Russian peacekeepers, other officials said.
Hasani was given a lie detector test at Camp
Bondsteel, according to his sons, Ramiz and Azem.
NATO troops have told them in recent days that Hasani
would be released, they said.
---
Kosovo Protection Corps begins work (B92 26/1/00)
PRISTINA, Wednesday - The Kosovo Protection Corps, the civil defence
force
formally constituted last week from former members of the outlawed
Kosovo
Liberation Army, began its official duties today clearing snow from in
front
of the Government Building in Pristina. Corps Commander Agim Ceku, UN
civilian mission chief Bernard Kouchner and KFOR Commander Klaus
Reinhardt
visited members of the new force as they began work.
---
Wed, Jan 26 at Prague 07:04 pm, N.Y. 01:04 pm
Kosovo Ex-Rebel Spokesman Compares Certain Peacekeepers To Serbs
PRISTINA, Jan 26, 2000 -- (Agence France Presse) Kosovo's international
administrators were accused Tuesday of using security tactics similar to
those of the 'Serbian criminals.'
The charges were made by Jakup Krasniqi, a spokesman for Kosovo's former
ethnic Albanian guerrillas, in letters to General Klaus Reinhardt,
commander of the international peacekeeping force KFOR, and UN
administration head Bernard Kouchner.
Krasniqi, of the Kosovo Democratic Progress Party of ex-rebel leader
Hashim Thaci, told AFP: "Certain acts by KFOR, in conjunction with the
UN police, remind us of the time of repression" under the Serbs.
He was referring to searches in recent weeks of figures who "symbolize
the resistance against Belgrade."
These included a search earlier this month of the house of Thaci's
brother, who fired a gun in public during New Year's eve celebrations.
Security forces found a large sum of money in various currencies and an
unlicensed gun in the house.
Krasniqi also accused KFOR of actions against former Kosovo Liberation
Army (KLA) commander Sulejman Selimi, and a relative of one of the
founders of the KLA, Adem Jashari, whose killing by Serb forces in 1997
sparked Albanian resistance.
"I still have trust in the NATO flag, in Mr. Kouchner and General
Reinhardt, but they should control their men," said Krasniqi.
Reinhardt and Kouchner apologised to Thaci for any inconvenience after
his brother and a bodyguard were briefly detained and ordered their men
to consult them before taking any more action against local leaders.
"Did the international forces come to Kosovo to help the Albanian people
who suffered the last holocaust of the century, or to carry on using, in
a slightly gentler form, the methods of the criminal Serb police"
Krasniqi wrote in the letter dated January 22.
He also accused certain forces within KFOR, including Russians, of
"receiving their orders directly from Belgrade." ((c) 2000 Agence France
Presse)
--------- COORDINAMENTO ROMANO PER LA JUGOSLAVIA -----------
RIMSKI SAVEZ ZA JUGOSLAVIJU
e-mail: crj@... - URL: http://marx2001.org/crj
------------------------------------------------------------
* ROMA: INIZIATIVE IN CANTIERE PER IL TRIBUNALE CONTRO I CRIMINI NATO
* PUGLIA: Calendario definitivo incontri con i delegati Zastava
* BOLOGNA: dibattito sabato 8/2 su "Imbrogli di guerra"
---
PER IL 24 MARZO PREPARIAMO UNA INIZIATIVA NAZIONALE A ROMA,
PER L'INCRIMINAZIONE DI D'ALEMA, PER LO SCIOGLIMENTO DELLA NATO, CONTRO
L'EMBARGO ALLA JUGOSLAVIA
RIUNIONE PREPARATORIA
VENERDI 4 FEBBRAIO 2000
ROMA VICOLO SCAVOLINO,61c/o Italia-Cuba
tribunale italiano contro i crimini della nato, convoglio di
solidarieta' giorgiana masi, un ponte per, coordinamento
romano per la jugoslavia, gamadi,servizio civile internazionale,
fondazione pasti,
per adesioni e informazioni
065181048
ROMA 28 GENNAIO 2000
COMUNICATO
SI E? SVOLTA OGGI LA RIUNIONE DEL TRIBUNALE ITALIANO INDIPENDENTE CONTRO
I CRIMINI DELLA NATO IN JUGOSLAVIA,
Per continuare le iniziative seguendo il metodo iniziale della nostra
attivita? si e? deciso nella riunione di oggi pomeriggio
di svolgere a Roma cinque iniziative preparatorie, che chiameremo
?sedute? , della riunione finale dove il ?tribunale
italiano processera? gli imputati? italiani, per poi partecipare
all?inizio di giugno della riunione internazionale di New
Yorkpromossa da Ramsey Clark.
Le cinque sedute italiane che si svolgeranno a Roma presso la libreria
del Manifesto in Via Tomacelli, avranno il seguente
calendario :
23 febbraio ore 17.00 - La violazione del diritto internazionale e
della Costituzione e delle leggi italiane.
3 marzo ore 17.00 ? Crimini contro l?ambiente, l?uranio impoverito, le
bombe a grappolo.
17 marzo ore 17.00 - La sovranita? nazionale, le basi militari e la
Nato in Italia
7 aprile ore 17.00 - L?attuale situazione nella Repubblica Federale
Yugoslava, gli effetti dell?embargo sulla
popolazione, la presenza delle forze occidentali nel territorio del
Kosmet, i crimini e la pulizia etnica contro i serbi.
21 aprile ore 17.00 - La disinformazione strategica, la missione
arcobaleno.
La sessione finale sara? probabilmente il 3 o il 4 giugno.
Fra le altre iniziative preannunciamo la prossima uscita di una
pubblicazione del Tribunale Italiano, inoltre cominciano ad
aumentare le iniziative in calendario in diverse parti di Italia, dopo
Pisa le prossime saranno il 5 febbraio a Perugia con
Falco Accame, Fulvio Grimaldi e Stefano de Angelis, e con data da
definire sono previste iniziative a Torino, Cagliari,
Lecco, Taranto
Tutti i comitati che volessero preparare iniziative possono mettersi in
contatto con noi.
A tutti i compagni e le associazioni che hanno aderito al Tribunale
Italiano ricordiamo che la quota di adesione necessaria
per lo svolgimento delle attivita? e? di lire 100.000 per i gruppi,
50.000 per i singoli.
La cifra con la causale ?per il tribunale??.? Devono essere inviate al
CCP 82046004.
Per contattarci tel.065181048, fax 068174010, e-mail
s.deangelis@..., pona@...
---
>
>
> UN PONTE PER BELGRADO IN TERRA DI BARI
>
> MOST ZA BEOGRAD NA ZEMLJI BARIJA Associazione culturale e di
> solidarietà con la popolazione jugoslava C/o RDB, via M. Cristina di
> Savoia 40, BARI tel/fax 0805562663 e-mail: ponte@... sito Web:
> www.isf.it/ponte
>
>
>
>
>
> Con i delegati della Zastava
>
>
>
> Su iniziativa del "Ponte per Belgrado in terra di Bari - associazione
> culturale di solidarietà con la popolazione jugoslava", del
> coordinamento nazionale RSU e di diverse altre associazioni saranno in
> Italia tre delegati della Zastava, la fabbrica di automobili di
> Kragujevac distrutta dai bombardamenti della NATO nella primavera
> dello scorso anno: Rajka Veljovic, Sreten Milicevic, Milan Doncic per
>
>
>
> - testimoniare della situazione in Jugoslavia distrutta dai
> bombardamenti della NATO e strangolata dall'embargo;
>
> - presentare il libro di ?poeti dilettanti contro la guerra? Gli
> assassini della tenerezza, illustrato con disegni di bambini di
> Kragujevac e con prefazione di Fulvio Grimaldi (edizioni La città del
> Sole, Napoli, L. 15.000), il ricavato delle cui vendite sarà devoluto
> in solidarietà ai lavoratori della Zastava;
>
> - trarre un primo bilancio dell'iniziativa di "adozione a distanza"
> dei bambini di Kragujevac;
>
> - discutere insieme con tutti i cittadini e i lavoratori che si
> sono opposti alla guerra della NATO il modo in cui promuovere e
> organizzare iniziative di solidarietà con la popolazione jugoslava;
>
> - partecipare ad iniziative di critica della guerra e contro
> l?embargo.
>
>
>
>
>
> Il programma in Puglia è il seguente
>
>
>
> Lunedì 7 febbraio, ore 17.00, Conversano, Municipio. Incontro con gli
> assessori alla cultura e alla solidarietà sociale
>
>
>
> Lunedì 7 febbraio, ore 19.00, Putignano sala Fidas, corso Vittorio
> Emanuele 61- Incontro organizzato dalle associazioni La Goccia,
> L?Isola che non c?è, Legambiente, Pax Christi, Porta Maggiore, con
> l?adesione delle sezioni locali di CGIL, CISL e UIL. Dibattito,
> proiezione del video di F. Grimaldi Serbi da morire e presentazione
> del libro Gli assassini della tenerezza.
>
>
>
> Martedì 8 febbraio, ore 10.20, all'ITG 'Pitagora' (C.so Cavour 249
> Bari). Incontro con le classi coinvolte nel progetto d'istituto
> "Critica della guerra e cultura della pace".
>
>
>
> Martedì 8 febbraio al Liceo scientifico 'Scacchi' (C.so Cavour 241
> Bari):
>
> ore 16.30, incontro con i sostenitori del progetto di adozione a
> distanza dei bambini di Kragujevac
>
> ore 18.00, sempre al Liceo 'Scacchi', testimonianze da un paese
> bombardato e sottoposto ad embargo;
>
> ore 19.00 presentazione del libro di poesie Gli assassini della
> tenerezza
>
>
>
> Mercoledì 9 febbraio, ore 9 Assemblea con i lavoratori della
> Serono-Pharma, Bari
>
> Mercoledì 9 febbraio ore 11.30, Putignano, incontro con gli studenti
> delle quinte classi del Liceo scientifico (via Turi 43)
>
> Mercoledì 9 febbraio, ore 18.30 Bisceglie Auditorium ex monastero di
> S. Croce, via G. Frisari 5. Intervengono: Franco Napoletano, sindaco
> della città, Luciana Sorgé, assessore alla pace e alla solidarietà
> sociale, Andrea Catone (Un ponte per Belgrado in terra di Bari),
> moderatrice Agata Diakoviez di Pax Christi.
>
>
>
> sabato 26 febbraio, Taranto, ore 17.00, Aula magna ITI "Righi" (via
> Dante), dibattito e presentazione del libro di poesie Gli assassini
> della tenerezza.
>
>
---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Wed, 2 Feb 2000 20:23:09 +0100
From: Comitato Cittadino Bologna <controguerra@...>
Reply-To: pck-yugoslavia@...
IMBROGLI DI GUERRA
Grdelica, 12 Aprile 1999, un F15 E "Strike Eagle" della US Air Force in
volo
sulla Jugoslavia colpisce un convoglio ferroviario uccidendo al-meno 14
persone. Nella conferenza stampa del giorno dopo il generale W. Clark
parlò
di "danni collaterali" giustificando l'errore del pilota a causa
dell'elevata velocità dell'operazione, documentata da un video, ed
inaugurando quel linguag-gio pieno di "interventi umanitari" e "bombe
intelligenti" che avrebbe do-vuto coprire con l'imbroglio le nefan-dezze
della guerra.
Menzogne: i video di quella strage sono stati alterati, aumentandone la
velocità per far risultare inevitabile l'errore del pilota ... Ma non è
l'unico "imbroglio":
Danni sanitari Danni ambientali
che colpiscono la Popolazione Civile, che si ripercuotono sull'intero
Pianeta e che colpiranno domani le Nuove Generazioni, vengono an-cora
spacciati dal Governo Italiano come "guerra giusta"
Il Comitato Cittadino contro la Guerra - Bologna - invita la
cit-tadinanza,
martedì 8 febbraio alle ore 21, presso la Sala Ben-jamin, via del
Pratello
n° 53, alla presentazione del volume:
"Imbrogli di Guerra" Scienziate e scienziati contro la guerra.
Contributi al
Seminario sulla guerra nei Balcani
ed. Odradek 1999
Interverranno:
- Vincenzo Caffarelli, ENEA-Casaccia Roma
- Alberto Di Fazio, Osservatorio Astronomico Roma
- Franco Marenco, CNR Roma
- Andrea Martocchia, SISSA-ISAS - Trieste
- Lucio Triolo, ENEA-Casaccia Roma
Comitato cittadino contro la guerra - v.Cuccoli 1/c - BO - t/f
051.50.31.80
email: controguerra@...
--------- COORDINAMENTO ROMANO PER LA JUGOSLAVIA -----------
RIMSKI SAVEZ ZA JUGOSLAVIJU
e-mail: crj@... - URL: http://marx2001.org/crj
** NO COPYRIGHT ! **
------------------------------------------------------------
* PUGLIA: Calendario definitivo incontri con i delegati Zastava
* BOLOGNA: dibattito sabato 8/2 su "Imbrogli di guerra"
---
PER IL 24 MARZO PREPARIAMO UNA INIZIATIVA NAZIONALE A ROMA,
PER L'INCRIMINAZIONE DI D'ALEMA, PER LO SCIOGLIMENTO DELLA NATO, CONTRO
L'EMBARGO ALLA JUGOSLAVIA
RIUNIONE PREPARATORIA
VENERDI 4 FEBBRAIO 2000
ROMA VICOLO SCAVOLINO,61c/o Italia-Cuba
tribunale italiano contro i crimini della nato, convoglio di
solidarieta' giorgiana masi, un ponte per, coordinamento
romano per la jugoslavia, gamadi,servizio civile internazionale,
fondazione pasti,
per adesioni e informazioni
065181048
ROMA 28 GENNAIO 2000
COMUNICATO
SI E? SVOLTA OGGI LA RIUNIONE DEL TRIBUNALE ITALIANO INDIPENDENTE CONTRO
I CRIMINI DELLA NATO IN JUGOSLAVIA,
Per continuare le iniziative seguendo il metodo iniziale della nostra
attivita? si e? deciso nella riunione di oggi pomeriggio
di svolgere a Roma cinque iniziative preparatorie, che chiameremo
?sedute? , della riunione finale dove il ?tribunale
italiano processera? gli imputati? italiani, per poi partecipare
all?inizio di giugno della riunione internazionale di New
Yorkpromossa da Ramsey Clark.
Le cinque sedute italiane che si svolgeranno a Roma presso la libreria
del Manifesto in Via Tomacelli, avranno il seguente
calendario :
23 febbraio ore 17.00 - La violazione del diritto internazionale e
della Costituzione e delle leggi italiane.
3 marzo ore 17.00 ? Crimini contro l?ambiente, l?uranio impoverito, le
bombe a grappolo.
17 marzo ore 17.00 - La sovranita? nazionale, le basi militari e la
Nato in Italia
7 aprile ore 17.00 - L?attuale situazione nella Repubblica Federale
Yugoslava, gli effetti dell?embargo sulla
popolazione, la presenza delle forze occidentali nel territorio del
Kosmet, i crimini e la pulizia etnica contro i serbi.
21 aprile ore 17.00 - La disinformazione strategica, la missione
arcobaleno.
La sessione finale sara? probabilmente il 3 o il 4 giugno.
Fra le altre iniziative preannunciamo la prossima uscita di una
pubblicazione del Tribunale Italiano, inoltre cominciano ad
aumentare le iniziative in calendario in diverse parti di Italia, dopo
Pisa le prossime saranno il 5 febbraio a Perugia con
Falco Accame, Fulvio Grimaldi e Stefano de Angelis, e con data da
definire sono previste iniziative a Torino, Cagliari,
Lecco, Taranto
Tutti i comitati che volessero preparare iniziative possono mettersi in
contatto con noi.
A tutti i compagni e le associazioni che hanno aderito al Tribunale
Italiano ricordiamo che la quota di adesione necessaria
per lo svolgimento delle attivita? e? di lire 100.000 per i gruppi,
50.000 per i singoli.
La cifra con la causale ?per il tribunale??.? Devono essere inviate al
CCP 82046004.
Per contattarci tel.065181048, fax 068174010, e-mail
s.deangelis@..., pona@...
---
>
>
> UN PONTE PER BELGRADO IN TERRA DI BARI
>
> MOST ZA BEOGRAD NA ZEMLJI BARIJA Associazione culturale e di
> solidarietà con la popolazione jugoslava C/o RDB, via M. Cristina di
> Savoia 40, BARI tel/fax 0805562663 e-mail: ponte@... sito Web:
> www.isf.it/ponte
>
>
>
>
>
> Con i delegati della Zastava
>
>
>
> Su iniziativa del "Ponte per Belgrado in terra di Bari - associazione
> culturale di solidarietà con la popolazione jugoslava", del
> coordinamento nazionale RSU e di diverse altre associazioni saranno in
> Italia tre delegati della Zastava, la fabbrica di automobili di
> Kragujevac distrutta dai bombardamenti della NATO nella primavera
> dello scorso anno: Rajka Veljovic, Sreten Milicevic, Milan Doncic per
>
>
>
> - testimoniare della situazione in Jugoslavia distrutta dai
> bombardamenti della NATO e strangolata dall'embargo;
>
> - presentare il libro di ?poeti dilettanti contro la guerra? Gli
> assassini della tenerezza, illustrato con disegni di bambini di
> Kragujevac e con prefazione di Fulvio Grimaldi (edizioni La città del
> Sole, Napoli, L. 15.000), il ricavato delle cui vendite sarà devoluto
> in solidarietà ai lavoratori della Zastava;
>
> - trarre un primo bilancio dell'iniziativa di "adozione a distanza"
> dei bambini di Kragujevac;
>
> - discutere insieme con tutti i cittadini e i lavoratori che si
> sono opposti alla guerra della NATO il modo in cui promuovere e
> organizzare iniziative di solidarietà con la popolazione jugoslava;
>
> - partecipare ad iniziative di critica della guerra e contro
> l?embargo.
>
>
>
>
>
> Il programma in Puglia è il seguente
>
>
>
> Lunedì 7 febbraio, ore 17.00, Conversano, Municipio. Incontro con gli
> assessori alla cultura e alla solidarietà sociale
>
>
>
> Lunedì 7 febbraio, ore 19.00, Putignano sala Fidas, corso Vittorio
> Emanuele 61- Incontro organizzato dalle associazioni La Goccia,
> L?Isola che non c?è, Legambiente, Pax Christi, Porta Maggiore, con
> l?adesione delle sezioni locali di CGIL, CISL e UIL. Dibattito,
> proiezione del video di F. Grimaldi Serbi da morire e presentazione
> del libro Gli assassini della tenerezza.
>
>
>
> Martedì 8 febbraio, ore 10.20, all'ITG 'Pitagora' (C.so Cavour 249
> Bari). Incontro con le classi coinvolte nel progetto d'istituto
> "Critica della guerra e cultura della pace".
>
>
>
> Martedì 8 febbraio al Liceo scientifico 'Scacchi' (C.so Cavour 241
> Bari):
>
> ore 16.30, incontro con i sostenitori del progetto di adozione a
> distanza dei bambini di Kragujevac
>
> ore 18.00, sempre al Liceo 'Scacchi', testimonianze da un paese
> bombardato e sottoposto ad embargo;
>
> ore 19.00 presentazione del libro di poesie Gli assassini della
> tenerezza
>
>
>
> Mercoledì 9 febbraio, ore 9 Assemblea con i lavoratori della
> Serono-Pharma, Bari
>
> Mercoledì 9 febbraio ore 11.30, Putignano, incontro con gli studenti
> delle quinte classi del Liceo scientifico (via Turi 43)
>
> Mercoledì 9 febbraio, ore 18.30 Bisceglie Auditorium ex monastero di
> S. Croce, via G. Frisari 5. Intervengono: Franco Napoletano, sindaco
> della città, Luciana Sorgé, assessore alla pace e alla solidarietà
> sociale, Andrea Catone (Un ponte per Belgrado in terra di Bari),
> moderatrice Agata Diakoviez di Pax Christi.
>
>
>
> sabato 26 febbraio, Taranto, ore 17.00, Aula magna ITI "Righi" (via
> Dante), dibattito e presentazione del libro di poesie Gli assassini
> della tenerezza.
>
>
---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Wed, 2 Feb 2000 20:23:09 +0100
From: Comitato Cittadino Bologna <controguerra@...>
Reply-To: pck-yugoslavia@...
IMBROGLI DI GUERRA
Grdelica, 12 Aprile 1999, un F15 E "Strike Eagle" della US Air Force in
volo
sulla Jugoslavia colpisce un convoglio ferroviario uccidendo al-meno 14
persone. Nella conferenza stampa del giorno dopo il generale W. Clark
parlò
di "danni collaterali" giustificando l'errore del pilota a causa
dell'elevata velocità dell'operazione, documentata da un video, ed
inaugurando quel linguag-gio pieno di "interventi umanitari" e "bombe
intelligenti" che avrebbe do-vuto coprire con l'imbroglio le nefan-dezze
della guerra.
Menzogne: i video di quella strage sono stati alterati, aumentandone la
velocità per far risultare inevitabile l'errore del pilota ... Ma non è
l'unico "imbroglio":
Danni sanitari Danni ambientali
che colpiscono la Popolazione Civile, che si ripercuotono sull'intero
Pianeta e che colpiranno domani le Nuove Generazioni, vengono an-cora
spacciati dal Governo Italiano come "guerra giusta"
Il Comitato Cittadino contro la Guerra - Bologna - invita la
cit-tadinanza,
martedì 8 febbraio alle ore 21, presso la Sala Ben-jamin, via del
Pratello
n° 53, alla presentazione del volume:
"Imbrogli di Guerra" Scienziate e scienziati contro la guerra.
Contributi al
Seminario sulla guerra nei Balcani
ed. Odradek 1999
Interverranno:
- Vincenzo Caffarelli, ENEA-Casaccia Roma
- Alberto Di Fazio, Osservatorio Astronomico Roma
- Franco Marenco, CNR Roma
- Andrea Martocchia, SISSA-ISAS - Trieste
- Lucio Triolo, ENEA-Casaccia Roma
Comitato cittadino contro la guerra - v.Cuccoli 1/c - BO - t/f
051.50.31.80
email: controguerra@...
--------- COORDINAMENTO ROMANO PER LA JUGOSLAVIA -----------
RIMSKI SAVEZ ZA JUGOSLAVIJU
e-mail: crj@... - URL: http://marx2001.org/crj
** NO COPYRIGHT ! **
------------------------------------------------------------
*** Fondo per lo sviluppo della democrazia, Belgrado: LETTERA APERTA
ALLA SIGNORA CARLA DAL PONTE (con traduzione in italiano)
*** R. Etinski, I. Cukalovic: L'AGGRESSIONE CONTRO LA RFJ ED IL DIRITTO
INTERNAZIONALE AL PASSAGGIO DEL SECOLO; LE TENDENZE GLOBALI NEL MONDO
*** M. Gee: I LEADERS OCCIDENTALI SONO CRIMINALI DI GUERRA?
Cronistoria del difficile tentativo di un gruppo di avvocati, guidati da
M. Mandel, per imporre al Tribunale dell'Aia di prendere in
considerazione le azioni genocide dei nostri governanti.
*** G. Samuely: PROCEDERE NEI CONFRONTI DELLA NATO
*** W.J. Rockler (ex-pubblico ministero del Tribunale di Norimberga che
giudico' i criminali nazisti): LA LEGGE SUI CRIMINI DI GUERRA SI APPLICA
ANCHE AGLI STATI UNITI
*** CILIEGINA !!! Carla Dal Ponte chiede agli imputati della NATO di
essere "piu' aggressivi" nel perseguire i criminali !!!
---
>Fund for the Development of Democracy
>11000 Beograd (YU), M. Birjuzova 13a
>Tel/Fax: +381 11/ 328 2898
>e-mail: fondbmb@...
>
>
>INTERNATIONAL CRIME TRIBUNAL FOR FORMER YUGOSLAVIA
>Chief Prosecutor Carla del Ponte
>AEGON Building, Churchillplein 1
>2517 JW
>The Hague (Netherlands
>
>Fax: +31 70/416 5345 Tel: 416 5000
>
>
>As the victims of international demonisation and isolation,
>
>Disposing with the data on a calculated dismemberment of the SFRY,
>ethical extermination and displacement of Serbs,
>
>Aware of organised demonisation and isolation of Serbs, deliberated to
>cover up the true reasons of Europes re-acrchitecturing and of the
>breach of the agreements from Westphalia, Versailles, Yalta, Triannon,
>
>Concerned over realising legal security,
>
>Familiar with the Tribunals regulations,
>
>As authorised initiators, we put forward a motion to the Tribunal on 18
>March 1999, six days before the bombing of Serbia started, to initiate
>proceedings against persons whom we consider organisers of Europes
>re-architecturing, notably responsible for the planning, preparing and
>committing of the crimes related to Articles 2-5 of the Tribunals
>Statute (killing Serbs because of their nationality, ethnicity or
>religious affiliation; intentionally causing great physical suffering,
>or undermining health of Serb nationals; subjecting Serb nationals to
>living conditions meant to bring forth their utter or partial physical
>destruction, ... etc.)
>
>Following your statement of 26 December 1999, that your justice shall
>not by-pass NATO officials, if they have violated regulations in the
>campaign against Serbia, and that legal proceedings shall be
>instituted also against them, we expect you to check the status of our
>motion regarding the responsibility, notably the role of Bill Clinton,
>NATO, Richard Holbrooke, Kofi Annan and Pope John Paul II in the
>dismemberment of the SFRY, displacement, ethnical cleansing,
>demonisation and international isolation of Serbs in the period June 25,
>1991 --March 18, 1999.
>
>Willing to believe that you yet wish to execute your office
>conscientiously and in accord with the rules of professional ethics,
>unlike your predecessors, we hope to soon see a response to our question
>
>and a decision to institute proceedings.
>
>Yours sincerely,
>BMB Fund
"
- In quanto vittime della demonizzazione e dell'isolamento
internazionale;
- avendo a disposizione i dati relativi allo smembramento programmato
della RFSJ, allo sterminio etico ed alla dispersione dei serbi;
- consci della demonizzazione e dell'isolamento organizzati a danno dei
serbi, mirati a coprire le vere ragioni della ristrutturazione
dell'Europa politica con la rottura degli accordi di Westphalia,
Versailles, Yalta, Triannon;
- preoccupati circa l'applicazione della sicurezza legale;
- essendo a conoscenza dei regolamenti di questo Tribunale;
In qualita' di suoi iniziatori indendiamo dare seguito alla Mozione
presentata al Tribunale il 18 marzo 1999, sei giorni prima dell'inizio
dei bombardamenti sulla Serbia, per dar vita ai procedimenti legali
contro quelle persone che consideriamo organizzatori della
ristrutturazione dell'Europa politica, in particolare responsabili della
pianificazione, preparazione ed esecuzione dei crimini di cui agli
Articoli 2-5 dello Statuto del Tribunale (uccisione di serbi in base
alla loro nazionalita', appartenenza etnica o religiosa; intenzionale
procuramento di gravi sofferenze fisiche o minaccia alla salute di
persone di nazionalita' serba; sottomissione dei serbi a condizioni di
vita atte a proseguire nella loro devastazione fisica totale o parziale,
eccetera).
In base alla sua dichiarazione del 26 dicembre 1999, per cui la
giustizia non dovrebbe scansarsi di fronte ai rappresentanti della NATO,
se questi hanno violato delle regole nella loro campagna contro la
Serbia, e che procedimenti legali sarebbero stati aperti anche contro di
loro, noi ci aspettiamo che Lei voglia considerare lo status della
nostra Mozione riguardante le responsabilita', in particolare il ruolo
di Bill Clinton, della NATO, di Richard Holbrooke, Kofi Annan e Papa
Giovanni Paolo II nello smembramento della RFSJ, nella dispersione,
pulizia etnica, demonizzazione ed isolamento internazionale dei serbi
nel periodo compreso tra il 25 giugno 1991 ed il 18 marzo 1999.
Nel desiderio di poter ritenere che Lei voglia ancora eseguire il suo
dovere coscienziosamente ed in accordo con le regole dell'etica
professionale, diversamente dai suoi predecessori, speriamo di vedere
presto un riscontro alla nostra richiesta e la decisione di aprire i
procedimenti.
Distinti saluti
Fondo BMB
"
---
Prof. Dr. Rodoljub Etinski
Prof. Dr. Ivan Cukalovic
AGGRESSION AGAINST THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF YUGOSLAVIA AND INTERNATIONAL
LAW AT A CROSSROADS OF CENTURIES AND GLOBAL INTERNATIONAL TRENDS
The basic and most important principles of international law,
forming
the basis of the United Nations, world peace and stability, have been
grossly
violated by the aggression of the NATO member States against the FR of
Yugoslavia. During this aggression, on 29 April 1999, the FR of
Yugoslavia
submitted an application and a request to the International Court of
Justice to
indicate preliminary measures against these States for gravest breaches
of
international law and for most serious crimes. Understandably, the
application
of our country was received with great attention worldwide, both by the
international public at large and even more by the international legal
profession, experts and scientific circles. A symbolic manifestation of
it was
the fact that the courtroom at the Palais de justice in the Hague was
packed
during the oral hearings held on 10-12 May 1999, regarding Yugoslavia's
request
for indication of temporary measures to stop the bombing.
The ICJ hearings were the focus of attention of the world media.
They
were attended by international lawyers, peace movement activists,
champions of
the cause against the use of depleted uranium from the remotest parts of
the
world and also by many people from the aggressor countries wishing to
support
and encourage representatives of the FR of Yugoslavia before the
Court(*1). All
ten respondent State appeared before the Court. On the benches for the
Respondents there sat representatives of the United States, Britain,
Germany,
France, Italy, the Netherlands, Canada, Belgium, Spain and Portugal. As
expected, they challenged the Court's jurisdiction in the case. This
fact
speaks for itself quite sufficiently. Why was it that these States were
reluctant at the time to accept the jurisdiction of the Court? Did they
doubt
that the Court, of whose fifteen judges six had the nationality of NATO
member
States, could be partial in favour of the FR of Yugoslavia?
In a situation where ten aggressor States rejected the Court's
jurisdiction, it did not accept the requested preliminary measures with
the
explanation that it did not find that it had a jurisdiction in these
cumulative
proceedings. The judges, however, were aware of the importance and
significance
of the dispute and in such a situation could not be silent on the
destruction
of a sovereign State, on daily deaths of civilians, women, children and
elderly
people. By its orders of 2 June 1999, the Court gave a "legal framework"
for
the settlement of the dispute. The Court indicated that all States which
appeared before it must fulfil their obligations under the United
Nations
Charter as well as those established under humanitarian law. The Court
used the
word "must", although it does not use such an imperative expression in
its
orders related to preliminary measures, in which it usually uses the
word
"should" so as to avoid prejudicing the adjudication. The Court,
further,
confirmed that the parties were bound to resolve the dispute by peaceful
means
in accordance with the UN Charter. Regardless of whether the
Respondents
accepted or refused the jurisdiction of the Court, the Court said, they
were
responsible for breaches of international law. Additionally, the Court
warned
the Respondents not to do anything that might complicate and widen the
dispute(*2). The Court set the deadline of 5 January 2000 for the FR of
Yugoslavia to submit its Memorial, which corresponds in our
jurisprudence to a
lawsuit, and the deadline of 5 July 2000 for the Respondents to submit
their
Counter-Memorials.
Besides competent Government authorities, prominent Yugoslav
experts in
some fields of law also participated in the preparation of the Yugoslav
Memorial. Its text was finalized with the help of the Federal Ministry
of
Foreign Affairs. It was elaborated on 350 pages and divided into four
parts.
The text of the Memorial is accompanied by documentary evidence
contained in a
separate annex, consisting of two volumes of the White Paper on NATO
Crimes,
described on 965 pages and published by the Federal Foreign Ministry.
Also
attached as an annex is the reprinted 1899 edition of the Department of
Foreign
Affairs of the Kingdom of Serbia entitled "Correspondence on the
Albanian
violence in the old Serbia 1898-1899" which comprises diplomatic
correspondence
of Mr. Stojan Novakovic, the then Serbian Envoy in Turkey, and deals
with the
crimes committed at that time by Albanian gangs against the Serbs in
Kosovo and
Metohija. These communications are important for understanding the
historical
background of problems in Kosovo and Metohija, i.e. to deny the argument
that
the problems started in 1989. Part I of the Memorial contains
information on
facts related to aerial bombardment and the genocide against the Serbs
and
persons belonging to other non-Albanian ethnic groups following the
deployment
of KFOR in Kosovo and Metohija. Part II presents the relevant law. Part
III is
devoted to the question of jurisdiction of the Court. The last part,
Part IV,
of the Yugoslav Memorial contains the application itself. The
application was
extended in comparison with the one submitted on 29 April 1999. Namely,
the
respondent States, as the States contributing to the Kosovo Force (KFOR)
under
United Nations Security Council resolution 1244 (1999), are obliged to
ensure
security for all the population of Kosovo and Metohija. They not only
failed to
do so, but failed to prevent the genocide of the Serb people and other
ethnic
groups living in Kosovo and Metohija, in breach of the obligation
established
by the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of
Genocide.
The extended application requested that the Court declare the respondent
States
responsible not only for breach of obligations committed by air strikes
but
also for breach of obligations committed through these failures or
omissions.
The case in point are the most important international obligations
including
the obligation not to use force against other States, not to interfere
in the
internal affairs of States, to respect the sovereignty of another State,
the
obligation to protect civilians, civilian facilities and other specially
protected facilities in international armed conflicts, the obligation
not to
use certain types of weapons, the obligation to protect the environment.
The
Court is requested to order these States to go back to the respect of
rights
and to carry out their obligations, as well as to compensate for the
damages.
Most of the Memorial is devoted to the information on the damage caused
by air
attacks that contains data on the destroyed bridges, residential
housing,
hospitals, roads, power supply system and material and other damage. The
Memorial cites information on the loss of lives of Sanja Milenkovic,
Milica
Rakic and other innocent and defenceless children, even though we know
that
such losses are irreparable.
The Yugoslav application was the subject of widespread interest
in the
world. Some people have asked how come that we submitted the application
to the
Court and yet we did not want to co-operate with it. In fact, there are
two
courts in the Hague: the International Court of Justice and the
International
Tribunal for the Prosecution of Persons Responsible for Grave Violations
of
International Humanitarian Law Committed in the Territories of the
Former
Yugoslavia Since 1991 (hereinafter: the International Criminal
Tribunal). These
are two fundamentally different courts, established at different
periods, in
different ways and for different reasons, and they have completely
dissimilar,
even opposite functions.
The International Court of Justice is the principal judicial
authority
of the United Nations, set up in 1945 under Article 92 of the UN
Charter(*3).
ICJ operates on the basis of its Statute, which forms an integral part
of the
Charter of the United Nations. All UN Member States are ipso facto
States
Parties to the Statute of the Court. The Court settles disputes between
States
and gives its opinions on legal matters of principle at the request of
the
Security Council, the General Assembly and an organization or body
authorized
by the General Assembly to seek an advisory opinion. The Court is based
on the
notion of sovereign equality of States, respect for the sovereignty and
independence of States, implying voluntary consent to the jurisdiction
of the
Court. Confidence in the ICJ, especially of small and medium-sized
countries,
has increased in the last twenty years. More and more States are
submitting
their disputes to the Court or are seeking its protection. Confidence in
this
Court has increased especially after the case Nicaragua v. the United
States of
America, concerning interference of the latter in the civil war in
Nicaragua,
ended by the Court declaring the United States responsible and obliged
to pay
the compensation. Thus, the Court has demonstrated that a small country
can win
a case against a large State. As a result of such an opinion of the
Court, it
is not favoured by those financing the United Nations, as reflected in
its
budget, number of personnel, etc.
Contrary to this, the Hague is also the site of the seat of the
International Criminal Tribunal, which often creates confusion and the
mixing
of the two institutions. The Tribunal is not very flattering for the
residents
of the Hague, and a Hague newspaper published some time ago a letter
from a
non-governmental organization proposing its residents to banish the
International Criminal Tribunal from this city, so that it may not
tarnish the
good reputation of the city as the seat of the headquarters of
respectable
international organizations. The International Criminal Tribunal was
established by Security Council resolution 827 (1993) with a purported
aim of
prosecuting serious violations of humanitarian law committed in the
territory
of the former Yugoslavia. Many international lawyers, Remsey Clark
included,
deny the validity of the establishment of the Tribunal by the decision
of the
Security Council. However, the composition, procedure, method of
funding,
gathering of evidence and bringing of indictments all indicate that the
International Criminal Tribunal is the tool of world power wielders,
which was
set up primarily with the political goal dictated, first and foremost,
by the
interests of those aspiring to an exclusive global power. The
composition of
judges sitting on the Tribunal does not reflect the geographic regions
as
elsewhere in the UN system, which is otherwise the practice and the rule
at the
United Nations. There is not a single Russian or a representative of
Orthodox
Christian nations, while representatives of some regions are
disproportionately
highly represented. The Tribunal has a budget and an administration that
are
several times those of the ICJ, a fact which speaks much of its
relationship
with the power wielders whose interests it protects. The Prosecutor of
the
International Criminal Tribunal has introduced the practice of sealed
indictments, unknown in any legal system. Indictees are tricked into
being
arrested lured by false promises, and sometimes by staging a show for
the
purposes of the media and interests standing behind these media. So
far, the
Tribunal mostly indicted and arrested Serbs. Those well-informed know
that the
Tribunal sticks to an unwritten formula: 70 per cent of Serbs, 25 per
cent of
Croats and 5 per cent of Muslims must be in its penitentiary unit or in
the
docks at any time(*4). Dr. Kovacevic died in detention because of the
lack of
appropriate care at the penitentiary unit, while the detainee Slavko
Dokmanovic
committed suicide. General Djukic died immediately after he had been
released
from prison. Indictees Simo Drljaca and Dragan Gagovic were killed
during the
action to arrest them. Gen. Momir Talic was arrested by means of
treachery as
he attended a meeting of military officials hoseds by the Organization
for
Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) in Vienna. In both cases
there are
serious indications that powers had been exceeded, but no one was held
responsible. The international community rightfully asks, if the goal is
really
justice and not the diktat of the mighty, why similar tribunals were not
established to prosecute the crimes committed in Vietnam, Grenada,
Panama,
Ethiopia, in other words, wherever the crimes were done by soldiers of
the
great Powers. A great many individuals like Nikolai Rishkov, Chairman of
the
Russian State Duma Commission for the gathering and collation of
information on
crimes committed during the NATO aggression against the FR of
Yugoslavia; Greek
attorney Likouresos; Prof. Mendel and fifteen other professors from
Canada;
Monsieur R. Monsigni from France; British Professor of International Law
Glen
Rangwell and others have asked the Hague Tribunal to bring indictments
against
those responsible for the crimes committed during the aggression against
the FR
of Yugoslavia, against persons coming from the United States, Germany,
Britain,
France, etc. Although the evidence on this is abundant, Tribunal's
Prosecutor
Carla del Ponte has not reacted by issuing indictments, regardless of
the fact
that evidence on the crimes is notorious, thus proving once again that
the
Tribunal is not impartial and even-handed.
The Tribunal was set up riding the wave of international
developments
that run contrary to those beginning in the Hague in 1899 and that bring
into
question the results of the development of international law. The idea
of
international criminal justice is not a new one. It appeared after the
First
World War. However, it was not before 1998 that a Statute of the
Permanent
Criminal Court was adopted at the UN Conference in Rome. This Statute
substantially differs from the Statute of the International Criminal
Tribunal.
The Rome Statute, like the Statute of the ICJ, is based on the principle
of
voluntary consent that stems from the sovereign equality of States. It
is valid
not only for one territory and one time, especially not for members of
one
nation, but for all the States which have accepted it and for all future
times.
It does not relate only to violations of humanitarian law but includes
also the
most serious international crime, that of aggression, and other crimes.
The
position of its Prosecutor is fundamentally different in comparison with
the
position of the Prosecutor envisaged under the Statute of the
International
Criminal Tribunal.
Someone has written that the International Criminal Tribunal
serves
allegedly as a Security Council's Disciplinary Commission. As a matter
of fact,
it serves as a Disciplinary Commission of some permanent members of the
Security Council. They refuse to accept the Permanent Criminal Court,
which
could put them in the dock.
In brief, there is a substantial difference between the ICJ and
ICT.
The FR of Yugoslavia has, therefore, addressed the ICJ whose practice
has
proven that it can resist the pressures of world power wielders, rather
than to
the ICT which is, in essence, an extended hand of the above-mentioned
power
wielders.
* * *
Footnotes:
1. The FR of Yugoslavia, in addition to Yugoslav lawyers, was
represented by
reputed international lawyers such as Ian Brownlie, Professor of
International
Law at OXFORD University, member of the United Nations International Law
Commission (ILC), one of the leading international lawyers and a man who
has,
over the past twenty years, most defended victims in the cases before
the ICJ;
Eric Soy, Professor of International Law at Louvun, Belgium, former
Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations for Legal Affairs; Paul de
Vart,
Professor of International Law at Open University in Amsterdam; and
Olivier
Corten, a young and talented international lawyer from the Open
University in
Brussels. These are respectable lawyers who have, despite the fact that
they
come from the respondent States, agreed to represent the FR of
Yugoslavia
before the Court.
2. The Court, on that occasion, suspended proceedings against the United
States
and Spain, considering that there were no chances that it established
its
jurisdiction in the later stages of the dispute, since these two States
have
excluded the jurisdiction of the Court as envisaged under the Genocide
Convention by their reservations, while it decided to resume proceedings
against the eight other States.
3. Its forerunner is the Permanent Court of International Justice which
was the
principal judicial authority of the League of Nations. The latter Court,
in
turn, was preceded by the Permanent Court of Arbitration, established at
the
First Hague Peace Conference in 1899. Indeed, the Department of Foreign
Affairs
of the Kingdom of Serbia prepared for that conference the above
publication
containing the diplomatic corresondence of Envoy Stojan Novakovic, but
it was
never forwarded to the Conference. The roots of the ICJ, therefore, go
back to
the end of the nineteenth century. This instrument of peaceful
settlement of
disputes has developed and strengthened alongside the development and
strengthening of contemporary international law, whose foundations have
been
codified in the constitution of the international community, i.e. the
Charter
of the United Nations. It is a mechanism on whose improvement worked the
best
lawyers of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The Kingdoms of
Serbia and
Montenegro, later the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, and Democratic Federative
Yugoslavia all the way to the present Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
have
continuously participated in this process. The Kingdoms of Serbia and
Montenegro participated at the First Hague Peace Conference in 1899 and
they
were parties to the Convention on the Permanent Court of Arbitration.
The
Kingdom of Yugoslavia, which resolved its disputes before the Permanent
Court
of International Justice, had its citizens among the judges of that
court.
Yugoslavia is a founding Member of the United Nations and as such, is
party to
the 1945 Statute of the International Court of Justice since 1945. Judge
Zoricic was a permanent judge of this Court.
4. Currently, the following Serbs are detained in the penitentiary unit
at
Scheweningen: Mladjo Radic, Miroslav Kvocka, Milojica Kos, Zoran Zigic,
Dragan
Kolund`ija, Damir Dosen, Milorad Krnojelac, Dragoljub Kunarac, Goran
Kovac,
Zoran Vukovic, Miroslav Tadic, Dusko Tadic, Goran Jelisic, Simo Zoric,
Brdjanin, Momir Talic, Svetislav Galic, Radoslav Krstic, Stevan
Todorovic and
Miroslav Simic; the following Croats: Zdravko Mucic, Vlatko, Marijan and
Zoran
Kupreskic, Vlado Santic, Drago Josipovic, Tihomir Blaskic, Dario Kordic,
Mario
Cerkez, Martinovic; and the following Muslims: Hazim Delic and Esad
Landzo.
AMBASCIATA DELLA REPUBBLICA FEDERALE
DI JUGOSLAVIA PRESSO LA SANTA SEDE
Via dei Monti Parioli, 20 - 00197 Roma
Tel: 06 3200 099/06 3214 998
Fax: 06 3204 530
E-Mail: sveta.stolica@...
---
STOP NATO: ¡NO PASARAN! - HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.HOME-PAGE.ORG
THE GLOBE AND MAIL, Saturday, January 29, 2000 p. A13
Are Western leaders war criminals?
Group wants top officials tried for NATO's bombing campaign
MARCUS GEE
The Globe and Mail
Is Jean Chretien a war criminal?
Michael Mandel says so, and he thinks he can prove it.
The Toronto law professor is in the vanguard of an international effort
to have the Prime Minister and 67 other Western leaders charged with war
crimes before a United Nations tribunal in The Hague.
Along with colleagues from Greece, Norway and Britain, he has compiled a
thick dossier of potential charges against the leaders for their conduct
in last spring's bombing campaign against Yugoslavia, an assault Prof.
Mandel calls a "coward's war."
Those charges include "willful killing," wanton destruction of cities,
town or villages," and waging unlawful war. Along with Mr. Chretien, the
dossier names Foreign Affairs Minister Lloyd Axworthy and Defence
Minister Art Eggleton.
"They might not match the archetype of a war criminal," Prof. Mandel
said, "but they snuffed out a lot of lives, and they should be condemned
for it."
The Mandel dossier now rests in the hands of Carla Del Ponte, the Swiss
lawyer who is the chief prosecutor for the UN International Tribunal for
the Former Yugoslavia. She must decid whether to launch a formal
investigation into the conduct of the North Atlantic Treaty organization
during the 78-day war.
Legal experts say that is unlikely. Ms. Del Ponte needs NATO's help to
gather evidence and apprehend suspected war criminals in Bosnia and
other parts of the former Yugoslavia. Indicting NATO leaders would hurt
that relationship.
But Prof. Mandel and his friends won't give up, and their relentless
campaign against NATO has caused a stir of discomfort in the alliance.
Cases such as his are precisely why the United States is so worried
about the spreading grasp of international law. Washington opposed the
creation of a new international criminal court partly because of
concerns that Americans might be hauled before it for overseas military
intervention such as the invasion of Grenada or the bombing of Cambodia
during the Vietnam War.
So when the tribunal revealed last month that it had prepared an
internal report on the accusations against NATO, the White House lashed
out. It said the idea of investigating NATO was "completely
unjustified." Ms. Del Ponte rushed to clarify things, saying that no
formal investigation of NATO was under way.
That prompted Prof. Mandel to write a sharp letter to Ms. Del Ponte,
urging her to take the accusations against NATO seriously.
"The tribunal has not given us much reason to trust in its
impartiality," said Prof. Mandel, who teaches at York University's
Osgoode Hall Law School.
An intense 51-year-old in black wire-framed glasses, he has thrown
himself into many causes over his 25 years of teaching, from the Israeli
peace movement to the international campaign for nuclear disarmament.
Few have seized him as powerfully as the campaign against NATO's war.
He was a visiting professor at the University of Bologna in Italy in
March when NATO started bombing Yugoslavia in an attempt, NATO said, to
stop President Slobodan Milosevic from crushing the ethnic Albanians in
the rebellious province of Kosovo.
As civilian casualties in Yugoslavia rose and Albanians fled Kosovo by
the hundreds of thousands, Prof. Mandel's anger grew.
As a peace activist, he was appalled by the use of overwhelming military
force against a far weaker adversary.
As a teacher of international law for 25 years, he was shocked by NATO's
decision to go ahead with their air strikes without the approval of the
UN Security Council.
As a Jew, he was offended that NATO justified the bombing by equating
what was happening to the Kosovo Albanians to what had happened to the
Jews of Europe in the Second World War – a grotesque comparison, he
says.
"It was a crime against the truth and a crime against the victims of the
Holocaust."
Returning to Canada, he began communicating by phone and e-mail with law
professors in other countries who opposed the war. Their original aim
was to end the bombing. "There was this horrible thing going on," Prof.
Mandel said, "and the question was how to stop it."
Now that the war is over, they want to hold NATO to account for its
actions. Drawing on Yugoslav government figures, Prof. Mandel says that
1,800 people were killed and 5,000 wounded in Yugoslavia during the
bombing campaign.
Many were children or old people. Flipping through a Yugoslav government
booklet filled with colour pictures of blackened bodies and horrifying
wounds, he recalls the long series of NATO accidents: the accidental
attack on a passenger train crossing a bridge, the accidental bombing of
a Belgrade hospital, the accidental destruction of a bridge filled with
people at the height of a busy market day.
He says he is not sure those were accidents at all, but even if they
were, NATO had to know that such things would happen. It went ahead
anyway.
"We believe they knowingly killed people with no justifiable excuse, and
that's murder," he said in an interview in his cramped university
office.
Under his interpretation of the laws of war, only two things could
excuse NATO's conduct: bombing for a lawful reason such as self-defence
or bombing without knowing their bombs would cause such carnage.
He dismisses both. NATO, he says, broke off negotiations with Mr.
Milosevic over Kosovo and started bombing without bothering about the
niceties of international law.
As for the casualties, NATO leaders said over and over that they knew
that some civilians would be killed as a side effect of the bombing.
Such "collateral damage" was, in their words, "inevitable."
Far from being a humanitarian intervention in defence of human rights,
Prof. Mandel says, the bombing was a deliberate attempt to terrorize the
Yugoslav population.
Few experts share that view. "I don't know of a campaign in history
where targets have been selected so painstakingly," said David Rudd,
executive director of the Canadian Institute of Strategic Studies. "NATO
had the power to level Serbia's cities, but it didn't."
Michael Byers, a Canadian who teaches law at Duke University, agrees
that the accidental casualties caused by NATO didn't compare with the
executions and mass expulsions carried out by Mr. Milosevic's forces.
All the same, he is glad that Prof. Mandel is pressing his case. "Of
course NATO doesn't like it," he said, "but if you accept that there
should be some kind of international legal system, you have to
understand that it applies to all sides, including yourself."
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Prosecute NATO
by George Szamuely
New York Press
1/25/99
"I must do my job, otherwise I am not independent, and the independence
of the prosecutor is the most important element... I just depend on the
law, and that's it." The noble sentiments are those of Carla Del Ponte,
chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former
Yugoslavia (ICTY). She'd just been asked whether she intended to
investigate the possibility that NATO might have committed war crimes
during its murderous bombing spree last year. What about those
smashed-up refugee convoys, the destroyed housing estates, the bridges
turned into rubble, trains full of dead passengers, devastated
monasteries, bombed electrical grids and tv stations, cluster bombs,
depleted uranium? What about all of that? "It's not my priority," she
explained, "because I have inquiries about genocide, about bodies who
are in mass graves, and that's what I am doing now."
Oh, that's all right then. These inquiries, carried out by NATO
government agencies like the FBI and Scotland Yard, have one objective
only: to nail NATO's enemies. Though the media likes to paint her as an
upright Katharine Hepburn type, Del Ponte is a shameless liar. She is
not "independent" in any sense whatsoever. Her Tribunal is a creature of
the United States. Established in 1993 by Resolution 827 of the UN
Security Council, its objective was to use the aura of "international
law" to persecute the Serbs. Startup funds of $6 million came courtesy
of the U.S. ambassador to the UN, Madeleine Albright. She also hired the
initial staff of 25 lawyers. As the president of the Tribunal, Judge
Gabrielle Kirk McDonald, explained in a speech at the U.S. Supreme Court
last April: "[W]e benefited from the strong support of concerned
governments and dedicated individuals such as Secretary Albright. As the
permanent representative to the United Nations, she had worked with
unceasing resolve to establish the Tribunal. Indeed, we often refer to
her as the 'Mother of the Tribunal.'" In May, before the Council on
Foreign Relations, she stated: "The U.S. Government has very generously
agreed to provide $500,000 and to help to encourage other states to
contribute. However, the moral imperative to end the violence in the
region is shared by all, including the corporate sector. I am pleased,
therefore, that a major corporation has recently donated computer
equipment worth $3 million."
During last year's bombing, moreover, Bill Clinton secured a $27 million
appropriation for the Tribunal. In other words, money is rolling in from
people who have a vested interest in the outcome of the trials. This is
a flagrant violation of the Statutes of the Tribunal. Article 32 states
that the "the expenses of the International Tribunal shall be borne by
the regular budget of the United Nations." Soon after NATO launched its
bombing campaign, Louise Arbour, Del Ponte's predecessor, appeared at a
press conference where British Foreign Secretary Robin Cook made a great
show of presenting her with a dossier of Serbian war crimes.
Last year, Prof. Michael Mandel of Toronto wrote to Arbour arguing that,
according to its Statutes, the Tribunal is obligated to investigate
NATO. Article 2, for instance, states that the Tribunal "shall have the
power to prosecute persons committing or ordering to be committed grave
breaches of the Geneva Conventions...willful killing...willfully causing
great suffering or serious injury to body or health; extensive
destruction and appropriation of property, not justified by military
necessity and carried out unlawfully and wantonly." Article 3 cites
"wanton destruction of cities, towns or villages, or devastation not
justified by military necessity" and the "attack, or bombardment, by
whatever means, of undefended towns, villages, dwellings, or
buildings..."
There is not the slightest chance that Del Ponte will investigate NATO's
war crimes. She cannot do it for a simple reason. Yugoslavia broke no
international laws whatsoever and got bombed. NATO broke every
international law in the book and still got to decide who had to stand
trial. And it is the NATO governments that pay her wages.
Here is a quick summary of just a few of the international laws NATO
violated: Article 2 (4) of the UN Charter states: "All Members shall
refrain in their international relations from the threat or use of force
against the territorial integrity or political independence of any
state." Article 39 states: "The Security Council shall determine the
existence of any threat to the peace, breach of the peace, or act of
aggression and shall make recommendations, or decide what measures shall
be taken." The Rambouillet Agreement, Serbia's refusal to sign which
provoked the bombing campaign, violated Article 51 of the 1969 Vienna
Convention on the Law of Treaties: "The expression of a State's consent
to be bound by a treaty which has been procured by the coercion of its
representative through acts or threats directed against him shall be
without legal effect." Not to mention the Geneva Convention and the
targeting of civilians.
Del Ponte's little court is a truly sinister organization. It operates
on the basis of sealed indictments, so that people do not even know if
there is an arrest warrant pending against them. They can be seized
anywhere and hauled off to the Hague. There, cut off from family,
friends and country, they can be held up to 90 days without being
charged. There is no bail or any form of release before trial. Detention
without trial could last several years. Mail is censored. Visits are
severely restricted. Trial witnesses can testify anonymously.
Prosecutors do not have to disclose the sources of their information.
Prosecutors may even appeal an acquittal and ensure that the accused
remain in detention during such an appeal.
The International Criminal Court for the former Yugoslavia serves for
the United States the same purpose courts of this nature served for
Hitler and Stalin: it terrorizes the opposition. A couple of weeks ago
the U.S. Export-Import Bank, the European Bank for Reconstruction and
Development (EBRD), the World Bank and the U.S.-based
Albanian-Macedonian-Bulgarian Oil Company (AMBO) met and resolved to
build an oil pipeline extending from the Bulgarian Black Sea across
Macedonia and Albania to Western Europe. This is what U.S. policy in the
Balkans is about. Anyone likely to object will find himself bombed and
then yanked off to the Hague–there to rot forever.
---
Chicago Tribune, Sec 2 Perspective, Sunday, May 23, 1999, pp1 and 5
WAR CRIMES LAW APPLIES TO U.S. TOO
by Walter J. Rockler
As justification for our murderously destructive bombing campaign in
Yugoslavia, it is of coarse necessary for the U.S. to charge that the
Serbs have engaged in inhuman conduct, and that President Slobodan
Milosevic, the head Serb demon, is a war criminal almost without peer.
President Clinton assures us of this in frequent briefings, during which
he engages in rhetorical combat with Milosevic. But shouting "war
criminal" only emphasizes that those who live in glass houses should be
careful about throwing stones.
We have engaged in fragrant military aggression, ceaselessly attacking a
small country primarily to demonstrate that we run the world. The
rationale that we are simply enforcing international morality, even if
it were true, would not excuse the military aggression and wide spread
killing that it entails. It also does not lessen the culpability of the
authors of this aggression.
As a primary source of international law, the judgment of the Nuremberg
Tribunal in the 1945-1946 case of the major Nazi war criminals is plain
and clear. Our leaders often invoke and praise the judgement, but
obviously have not read it. The International Court declared:
"To initiate a war of aggression, therefore, is not only an
international crime, it is the supreme international crime deferring
only from other war crimes in that it contains within itself the
accumulated evil of the whole."
At Nuremberg, the United States and Britain pressed the prosecution of
Nazi leaders for planing and initiating aggressive war. Supreme Court
Justice Robert Jackson, the head of American prosecution staff, asserted
"that launching a war aggression is a crime and that no political or
economic situation can justify it." He also declared that "if certain
acts in violation of treaties are crimes, they are crimes whether the
United States does them or whether Germany does them, and we are not
prepared to lay down a rule of criminal conduct against others which we
would not be willing to have invoked against us."
The United Nations Charter views aggression similarly. Articles 2(4) and
(7) prohibit interventions in the domestic jurisdiction of any country
and threats of force or the use of force by one state against the
another. The General Assembly of the UN in Resolution 2131, "declaration
on the Inadmissibility of Intervention," reinforced the view that a
forceful military intervention in any country is aggression and crime
without justification.
Putting a "NATO" label on aggressive policy and conduct does not give
that conduct any sanctity. This is simply a perversion of the North
Atlantic Treaty organization, formed as a defensive alliance under the
UN Charter. The North Atlantic Treaty pledged its signatories to
refrain from the threat or use of force in any manner inconsistent with
the purposes of the United Nations, and it explicitly recognized "the
primary responsibility of the Security Council (of United Nations) for
the maintenance of international peace and security." Obviously, in
bypassing UN approval for the current bombing, the U.S. and NATO have
violated the basic obligation.
>>From another standpoint of international law, the current conduct of the
bombing by United States and NATO constitutes a continued war crime.
Contrary to the beliefs of our war planners, unrestricted air bombing is
barred under international law. Bombing the "infrastructure" of a
country - waterworks, electricity, plants, bridges, factories,
television and radio locations -is not an attack limited to legitimate
military objectives. Our bombing has also caused an excessive loss of
life and injury to civilians, which violates another standard. We have
now killed hundreds, if not thousands, of Serbs, Montenegrins and
Albanians, even some Chinese, in our pursuit of humanitarian ideals.
In addition to shredding the UN Charter and perverting the purpose of
NATO, Clinton also has violated at least two provisions of the United
States Constitution. Under Article I, Section 8, of the Constitution,
Congress, not the president, holds the power to declare war and to
punish offenses against the law of nations. Alexander Hamilton in The
Federalist No. 69 pointed out one difference between a monarchy and the
presidency under the new form of government: A king could use his army
as he pleased; the president would have no such unlimited power. Under
Article VI of the Constitution, treaties, far from being mere scraps of
paper as we now deem them to be, are part of the supreme law of the
United States. Of course, these days a supine Congress, fascinated only
by details of sexual misconduct, can hardly be expected to enforce
constitutional requirements.
Nor can a great deal be expected from the media. Reports rely on
controlled handouts of the State Department, Pentagon and NATO, seeing
their duty as one adding colorful details to official intimations of
Serbs atrocities. Thus, the observation of a NATO press relations
officer that a freshly plowed field, seen from 30,000 feet up, might be
the site of a massacre has been disseminated as news.
The notion that humanitarian violations can be redressed with random
destruction and killing by advanced technological means is inherently
suspect. This is mere pretext for our arrogant assertion of dominance
and power in defiance of international law. We make the nonnegotiable
demands and rules, and implement them by military force. It is all
remindful of Henrik Ibsen's "Don't use that foreign word "ideals." We
have that excellent word "lies."
---------------------------------------------------------------
Walter J. Rockler, a Washington lawyer, was a prosecutor at Nuremberg
War Crimes Trial.
---
http://www.iwpr.net
TRIBUNAL UPDATE 160
Last Week in The Hague (January 17-22, 2000)
DEL PONTE ASKS NATO TO BE "MORE AGGRESSIVE"
In addition to visiting the EC, Prosecutor Carla Del Ponte also visited
NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organisation) headquarters in Brussels last
week.
During talks with NATO Secretary General Lord George Robertson and the
permanent representatives of the 19 member states, Del Ponte urged NATO
to be more aggressive in hunting down and arresting indictees, in
particular "the most wanted Radovan Karadzic", the former leader of the
Bosnian Serbs.
"He is the symbol of this year, the fugitive who has been longest on the
loose," Del Ponte said before adding that capturing him is "crucial for
a stable peace."
Addressing journalists after the meeting Del Ponte, Robertson said
NATO's commitment to apprehending all those indicted of war crimes in
Yugoslavia was "beyond question."
Robertson returned to the same question two days later when talking to
journalists at NATO headquarters.
Talking about his and NATO's priorities for the year 2000, Robertson
said it was essential that those indicted but still at large be brought
to The Hague for trial and concluded: "I have got a personal commitment
to making sure that they do."
British commandos, as members of SFOR, have carried out as many as 90%
of operations aimed at arresting people accused of war crimes. These
operations only really got underway after Robertson became British
Secretary of Defence in 1997. Karadzic and other accused still at large
should not, therefore, brush away or underestimate such "personal
commitment" from the NATO Secretary General.
Copyright (c) 2000 The Institute for War & Peace Reporting.
-
Tribunal Update 161
Issue 161: January 24-29, 2000
DEL PONTE DISMISSES CHARGES SHE "BACKPEDALLED" ON NATO DOSSIER.
In an interview with Tribunal Update last week we asked ICTY Chief
Prosecutor Carla Del Ponte to clarify the position on the famous
'dossier'
on alleged breaches of the Geneva Conventions by NATO forces during the
air
strikes on Serbia. We asked whether she had studied the evidence, drawn
any
conclusions and whether the fierce criticism levelled against her by
some in
Washington D.C. had caused her to "backpedal" on the issue as claimed by
U.S. Senator Jesse Helms.
"First I will tell you something - I never backpedal, never, never! If
the
press received it in some other way - that is another question. I am not
responsible for that. I have only one voice and I am always saying the
same!" Del Ponte declared.
"What I said in that interview [to London's Observer newspaper on
December
26, 1999] was that no formal investigation is opened against NATO, that
is,
against individuals of NATO. I said that to the journalist: No formal
inquiry! I said I have just received a preliminary report on the
documentation and complaints that [former Chief Prosecutor Louise]
Arbour
had received from many different sources."
"Second, I said I would read it and take a decision. But in the meantime
I
received professor Mandel here and he brought to me another pile of
documents. A few day before Christmas I received a group of members from
the
Russian parliament who brought me a lot of new documents. They told me
that
the Duma [Russian parliament] had created an inquiry commission, which
is
working together with Belgrade, so they have a lot of information."
"I gave all those documents to the same working group in our office to
analyse them. They are doing that now."
"In the meantime I studied the first report and for it I need some
answers
from NATO. So I was in Brussels and spoke with the people there and said
I
have some questions on which I needed answers. So now we are preparing
the
questions and we will send them to NATO."
"In the meantime I am waiting for the second report and an analysis of
the
other documentation. And after, when I finish my work on the preliminary
analysis of that, I will take a decision on whether I must or not open
an
investigation. That's the whole story. So I did not absolutely
backpedal! E
una bruta parola [It is an ugly word]: 'backpedalling'! And it is not my
way
of working. I pedal only forwards."
Copyright (c) 2000 The Institute for War & Peace Reporting.
--------- COORDINAMENTO ROMANO PER LA JUGOSLAVIA -----------
RIMSKI SAVEZ ZA JUGOSLAVIJU
e-mail: crj@... - URL: http://marx2001.org/crj
------------------------------------------------------------
ALLA SIGNORA CARLA DAL PONTE (con traduzione in italiano)
*** R. Etinski, I. Cukalovic: L'AGGRESSIONE CONTRO LA RFJ ED IL DIRITTO
INTERNAZIONALE AL PASSAGGIO DEL SECOLO; LE TENDENZE GLOBALI NEL MONDO
*** M. Gee: I LEADERS OCCIDENTALI SONO CRIMINALI DI GUERRA?
Cronistoria del difficile tentativo di un gruppo di avvocati, guidati da
M. Mandel, per imporre al Tribunale dell'Aia di prendere in
considerazione le azioni genocide dei nostri governanti.
*** G. Samuely: PROCEDERE NEI CONFRONTI DELLA NATO
*** W.J. Rockler (ex-pubblico ministero del Tribunale di Norimberga che
giudico' i criminali nazisti): LA LEGGE SUI CRIMINI DI GUERRA SI APPLICA
ANCHE AGLI STATI UNITI
*** CILIEGINA !!! Carla Dal Ponte chiede agli imputati della NATO di
essere "piu' aggressivi" nel perseguire i criminali !!!
---
>Fund for the Development of Democracy
>11000 Beograd (YU), M. Birjuzova 13a
>Tel/Fax: +381 11/ 328 2898
>e-mail: fondbmb@...
>
>
>INTERNATIONAL CRIME TRIBUNAL FOR FORMER YUGOSLAVIA
>Chief Prosecutor Carla del Ponte
>AEGON Building, Churchillplein 1
>2517 JW
>The Hague (Netherlands
>
>Fax: +31 70/416 5345 Tel: 416 5000
>
>
>As the victims of international demonisation and isolation,
>
>Disposing with the data on a calculated dismemberment of the SFRY,
>ethical extermination and displacement of Serbs,
>
>Aware of organised demonisation and isolation of Serbs, deliberated to
>cover up the true reasons of Europes re-acrchitecturing and of the
>breach of the agreements from Westphalia, Versailles, Yalta, Triannon,
>
>Concerned over realising legal security,
>
>Familiar with the Tribunals regulations,
>
>As authorised initiators, we put forward a motion to the Tribunal on 18
>March 1999, six days before the bombing of Serbia started, to initiate
>proceedings against persons whom we consider organisers of Europes
>re-architecturing, notably responsible for the planning, preparing and
>committing of the crimes related to Articles 2-5 of the Tribunals
>Statute (killing Serbs because of their nationality, ethnicity or
>religious affiliation; intentionally causing great physical suffering,
>or undermining health of Serb nationals; subjecting Serb nationals to
>living conditions meant to bring forth their utter or partial physical
>destruction, ... etc.)
>
>Following your statement of 26 December 1999, that your justice shall
>not by-pass NATO officials, if they have violated regulations in the
>campaign against Serbia, and that legal proceedings shall be
>instituted also against them, we expect you to check the status of our
>motion regarding the responsibility, notably the role of Bill Clinton,
>NATO, Richard Holbrooke, Kofi Annan and Pope John Paul II in the
>dismemberment of the SFRY, displacement, ethnical cleansing,
>demonisation and international isolation of Serbs in the period June 25,
>1991 --March 18, 1999.
>
>Willing to believe that you yet wish to execute your office
>conscientiously and in accord with the rules of professional ethics,
>unlike your predecessors, we hope to soon see a response to our question
>
>and a decision to institute proceedings.
>
>Yours sincerely,
>BMB Fund
"
- In quanto vittime della demonizzazione e dell'isolamento
internazionale;
- avendo a disposizione i dati relativi allo smembramento programmato
della RFSJ, allo sterminio etico ed alla dispersione dei serbi;
- consci della demonizzazione e dell'isolamento organizzati a danno dei
serbi, mirati a coprire le vere ragioni della ristrutturazione
dell'Europa politica con la rottura degli accordi di Westphalia,
Versailles, Yalta, Triannon;
- preoccupati circa l'applicazione della sicurezza legale;
- essendo a conoscenza dei regolamenti di questo Tribunale;
In qualita' di suoi iniziatori indendiamo dare seguito alla Mozione
presentata al Tribunale il 18 marzo 1999, sei giorni prima dell'inizio
dei bombardamenti sulla Serbia, per dar vita ai procedimenti legali
contro quelle persone che consideriamo organizzatori della
ristrutturazione dell'Europa politica, in particolare responsabili della
pianificazione, preparazione ed esecuzione dei crimini di cui agli
Articoli 2-5 dello Statuto del Tribunale (uccisione di serbi in base
alla loro nazionalita', appartenenza etnica o religiosa; intenzionale
procuramento di gravi sofferenze fisiche o minaccia alla salute di
persone di nazionalita' serba; sottomissione dei serbi a condizioni di
vita atte a proseguire nella loro devastazione fisica totale o parziale,
eccetera).
In base alla sua dichiarazione del 26 dicembre 1999, per cui la
giustizia non dovrebbe scansarsi di fronte ai rappresentanti della NATO,
se questi hanno violato delle regole nella loro campagna contro la
Serbia, e che procedimenti legali sarebbero stati aperti anche contro di
loro, noi ci aspettiamo che Lei voglia considerare lo status della
nostra Mozione riguardante le responsabilita', in particolare il ruolo
di Bill Clinton, della NATO, di Richard Holbrooke, Kofi Annan e Papa
Giovanni Paolo II nello smembramento della RFSJ, nella dispersione,
pulizia etnica, demonizzazione ed isolamento internazionale dei serbi
nel periodo compreso tra il 25 giugno 1991 ed il 18 marzo 1999.
Nel desiderio di poter ritenere che Lei voglia ancora eseguire il suo
dovere coscienziosamente ed in accordo con le regole dell'etica
professionale, diversamente dai suoi predecessori, speriamo di vedere
presto un riscontro alla nostra richiesta e la decisione di aprire i
procedimenti.
Distinti saluti
Fondo BMB
"
---
Prof. Dr. Rodoljub Etinski
Prof. Dr. Ivan Cukalovic
AGGRESSION AGAINST THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF YUGOSLAVIA AND INTERNATIONAL
LAW AT A CROSSROADS OF CENTURIES AND GLOBAL INTERNATIONAL TRENDS
The basic and most important principles of international law,
forming
the basis of the United Nations, world peace and stability, have been
grossly
violated by the aggression of the NATO member States against the FR of
Yugoslavia. During this aggression, on 29 April 1999, the FR of
Yugoslavia
submitted an application and a request to the International Court of
Justice to
indicate preliminary measures against these States for gravest breaches
of
international law and for most serious crimes. Understandably, the
application
of our country was received with great attention worldwide, both by the
international public at large and even more by the international legal
profession, experts and scientific circles. A symbolic manifestation of
it was
the fact that the courtroom at the Palais de justice in the Hague was
packed
during the oral hearings held on 10-12 May 1999, regarding Yugoslavia's
request
for indication of temporary measures to stop the bombing.
The ICJ hearings were the focus of attention of the world media.
They
were attended by international lawyers, peace movement activists,
champions of
the cause against the use of depleted uranium from the remotest parts of
the
world and also by many people from the aggressor countries wishing to
support
and encourage representatives of the FR of Yugoslavia before the
Court(*1). All
ten respondent State appeared before the Court. On the benches for the
Respondents there sat representatives of the United States, Britain,
Germany,
France, Italy, the Netherlands, Canada, Belgium, Spain and Portugal. As
expected, they challenged the Court's jurisdiction in the case. This
fact
speaks for itself quite sufficiently. Why was it that these States were
reluctant at the time to accept the jurisdiction of the Court? Did they
doubt
that the Court, of whose fifteen judges six had the nationality of NATO
member
States, could be partial in favour of the FR of Yugoslavia?
In a situation where ten aggressor States rejected the Court's
jurisdiction, it did not accept the requested preliminary measures with
the
explanation that it did not find that it had a jurisdiction in these
cumulative
proceedings. The judges, however, were aware of the importance and
significance
of the dispute and in such a situation could not be silent on the
destruction
of a sovereign State, on daily deaths of civilians, women, children and
elderly
people. By its orders of 2 June 1999, the Court gave a "legal framework"
for
the settlement of the dispute. The Court indicated that all States which
appeared before it must fulfil their obligations under the United
Nations
Charter as well as those established under humanitarian law. The Court
used the
word "must", although it does not use such an imperative expression in
its
orders related to preliminary measures, in which it usually uses the
word
"should" so as to avoid prejudicing the adjudication. The Court,
further,
confirmed that the parties were bound to resolve the dispute by peaceful
means
in accordance with the UN Charter. Regardless of whether the
Respondents
accepted or refused the jurisdiction of the Court, the Court said, they
were
responsible for breaches of international law. Additionally, the Court
warned
the Respondents not to do anything that might complicate and widen the
dispute(*2). The Court set the deadline of 5 January 2000 for the FR of
Yugoslavia to submit its Memorial, which corresponds in our
jurisprudence to a
lawsuit, and the deadline of 5 July 2000 for the Respondents to submit
their
Counter-Memorials.
Besides competent Government authorities, prominent Yugoslav
experts in
some fields of law also participated in the preparation of the Yugoslav
Memorial. Its text was finalized with the help of the Federal Ministry
of
Foreign Affairs. It was elaborated on 350 pages and divided into four
parts.
The text of the Memorial is accompanied by documentary evidence
contained in a
separate annex, consisting of two volumes of the White Paper on NATO
Crimes,
described on 965 pages and published by the Federal Foreign Ministry.
Also
attached as an annex is the reprinted 1899 edition of the Department of
Foreign
Affairs of the Kingdom of Serbia entitled "Correspondence on the
Albanian
violence in the old Serbia 1898-1899" which comprises diplomatic
correspondence
of Mr. Stojan Novakovic, the then Serbian Envoy in Turkey, and deals
with the
crimes committed at that time by Albanian gangs against the Serbs in
Kosovo and
Metohija. These communications are important for understanding the
historical
background of problems in Kosovo and Metohija, i.e. to deny the argument
that
the problems started in 1989. Part I of the Memorial contains
information on
facts related to aerial bombardment and the genocide against the Serbs
and
persons belonging to other non-Albanian ethnic groups following the
deployment
of KFOR in Kosovo and Metohija. Part II presents the relevant law. Part
III is
devoted to the question of jurisdiction of the Court. The last part,
Part IV,
of the Yugoslav Memorial contains the application itself. The
application was
extended in comparison with the one submitted on 29 April 1999. Namely,
the
respondent States, as the States contributing to the Kosovo Force (KFOR)
under
United Nations Security Council resolution 1244 (1999), are obliged to
ensure
security for all the population of Kosovo and Metohija. They not only
failed to
do so, but failed to prevent the genocide of the Serb people and other
ethnic
groups living in Kosovo and Metohija, in breach of the obligation
established
by the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of
Genocide.
The extended application requested that the Court declare the respondent
States
responsible not only for breach of obligations committed by air strikes
but
also for breach of obligations committed through these failures or
omissions.
The case in point are the most important international obligations
including
the obligation not to use force against other States, not to interfere
in the
internal affairs of States, to respect the sovereignty of another State,
the
obligation to protect civilians, civilian facilities and other specially
protected facilities in international armed conflicts, the obligation
not to
use certain types of weapons, the obligation to protect the environment.
The
Court is requested to order these States to go back to the respect of
rights
and to carry out their obligations, as well as to compensate for the
damages.
Most of the Memorial is devoted to the information on the damage caused
by air
attacks that contains data on the destroyed bridges, residential
housing,
hospitals, roads, power supply system and material and other damage. The
Memorial cites information on the loss of lives of Sanja Milenkovic,
Milica
Rakic and other innocent and defenceless children, even though we know
that
such losses are irreparable.
The Yugoslav application was the subject of widespread interest
in the
world. Some people have asked how come that we submitted the application
to the
Court and yet we did not want to co-operate with it. In fact, there are
two
courts in the Hague: the International Court of Justice and the
International
Tribunal for the Prosecution of Persons Responsible for Grave Violations
of
International Humanitarian Law Committed in the Territories of the
Former
Yugoslavia Since 1991 (hereinafter: the International Criminal
Tribunal). These
are two fundamentally different courts, established at different
periods, in
different ways and for different reasons, and they have completely
dissimilar,
even opposite functions.
The International Court of Justice is the principal judicial
authority
of the United Nations, set up in 1945 under Article 92 of the UN
Charter(*3).
ICJ operates on the basis of its Statute, which forms an integral part
of the
Charter of the United Nations. All UN Member States are ipso facto
States
Parties to the Statute of the Court. The Court settles disputes between
States
and gives its opinions on legal matters of principle at the request of
the
Security Council, the General Assembly and an organization or body
authorized
by the General Assembly to seek an advisory opinion. The Court is based
on the
notion of sovereign equality of States, respect for the sovereignty and
independence of States, implying voluntary consent to the jurisdiction
of the
Court. Confidence in the ICJ, especially of small and medium-sized
countries,
has increased in the last twenty years. More and more States are
submitting
their disputes to the Court or are seeking its protection. Confidence in
this
Court has increased especially after the case Nicaragua v. the United
States of
America, concerning interference of the latter in the civil war in
Nicaragua,
ended by the Court declaring the United States responsible and obliged
to pay
the compensation. Thus, the Court has demonstrated that a small country
can win
a case against a large State. As a result of such an opinion of the
Court, it
is not favoured by those financing the United Nations, as reflected in
its
budget, number of personnel, etc.
Contrary to this, the Hague is also the site of the seat of the
International Criminal Tribunal, which often creates confusion and the
mixing
of the two institutions. The Tribunal is not very flattering for the
residents
of the Hague, and a Hague newspaper published some time ago a letter
from a
non-governmental organization proposing its residents to banish the
International Criminal Tribunal from this city, so that it may not
tarnish the
good reputation of the city as the seat of the headquarters of
respectable
international organizations. The International Criminal Tribunal was
established by Security Council resolution 827 (1993) with a purported
aim of
prosecuting serious violations of humanitarian law committed in the
territory
of the former Yugoslavia. Many international lawyers, Remsey Clark
included,
deny the validity of the establishment of the Tribunal by the decision
of the
Security Council. However, the composition, procedure, method of
funding,
gathering of evidence and bringing of indictments all indicate that the
International Criminal Tribunal is the tool of world power wielders,
which was
set up primarily with the political goal dictated, first and foremost,
by the
interests of those aspiring to an exclusive global power. The
composition of
judges sitting on the Tribunal does not reflect the geographic regions
as
elsewhere in the UN system, which is otherwise the practice and the rule
at the
United Nations. There is not a single Russian or a representative of
Orthodox
Christian nations, while representatives of some regions are
disproportionately
highly represented. The Tribunal has a budget and an administration that
are
several times those of the ICJ, a fact which speaks much of its
relationship
with the power wielders whose interests it protects. The Prosecutor of
the
International Criminal Tribunal has introduced the practice of sealed
indictments, unknown in any legal system. Indictees are tricked into
being
arrested lured by false promises, and sometimes by staging a show for
the
purposes of the media and interests standing behind these media. So
far, the
Tribunal mostly indicted and arrested Serbs. Those well-informed know
that the
Tribunal sticks to an unwritten formula: 70 per cent of Serbs, 25 per
cent of
Croats and 5 per cent of Muslims must be in its penitentiary unit or in
the
docks at any time(*4). Dr. Kovacevic died in detention because of the
lack of
appropriate care at the penitentiary unit, while the detainee Slavko
Dokmanovic
committed suicide. General Djukic died immediately after he had been
released
from prison. Indictees Simo Drljaca and Dragan Gagovic were killed
during the
action to arrest them. Gen. Momir Talic was arrested by means of
treachery as
he attended a meeting of military officials hoseds by the Organization
for
Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) in Vienna. In both cases
there are
serious indications that powers had been exceeded, but no one was held
responsible. The international community rightfully asks, if the goal is
really
justice and not the diktat of the mighty, why similar tribunals were not
established to prosecute the crimes committed in Vietnam, Grenada,
Panama,
Ethiopia, in other words, wherever the crimes were done by soldiers of
the
great Powers. A great many individuals like Nikolai Rishkov, Chairman of
the
Russian State Duma Commission for the gathering and collation of
information on
crimes committed during the NATO aggression against the FR of
Yugoslavia; Greek
attorney Likouresos; Prof. Mendel and fifteen other professors from
Canada;
Monsieur R. Monsigni from France; British Professor of International Law
Glen
Rangwell and others have asked the Hague Tribunal to bring indictments
against
those responsible for the crimes committed during the aggression against
the FR
of Yugoslavia, against persons coming from the United States, Germany,
Britain,
France, etc. Although the evidence on this is abundant, Tribunal's
Prosecutor
Carla del Ponte has not reacted by issuing indictments, regardless of
the fact
that evidence on the crimes is notorious, thus proving once again that
the
Tribunal is not impartial and even-handed.
The Tribunal was set up riding the wave of international
developments
that run contrary to those beginning in the Hague in 1899 and that bring
into
question the results of the development of international law. The idea
of
international criminal justice is not a new one. It appeared after the
First
World War. However, it was not before 1998 that a Statute of the
Permanent
Criminal Court was adopted at the UN Conference in Rome. This Statute
substantially differs from the Statute of the International Criminal
Tribunal.
The Rome Statute, like the Statute of the ICJ, is based on the principle
of
voluntary consent that stems from the sovereign equality of States. It
is valid
not only for one territory and one time, especially not for members of
one
nation, but for all the States which have accepted it and for all future
times.
It does not relate only to violations of humanitarian law but includes
also the
most serious international crime, that of aggression, and other crimes.
The
position of its Prosecutor is fundamentally different in comparison with
the
position of the Prosecutor envisaged under the Statute of the
International
Criminal Tribunal.
Someone has written that the International Criminal Tribunal
serves
allegedly as a Security Council's Disciplinary Commission. As a matter
of fact,
it serves as a Disciplinary Commission of some permanent members of the
Security Council. They refuse to accept the Permanent Criminal Court,
which
could put them in the dock.
In brief, there is a substantial difference between the ICJ and
ICT.
The FR of Yugoslavia has, therefore, addressed the ICJ whose practice
has
proven that it can resist the pressures of world power wielders, rather
than to
the ICT which is, in essence, an extended hand of the above-mentioned
power
wielders.
* * *
Footnotes:
1. The FR of Yugoslavia, in addition to Yugoslav lawyers, was
represented by
reputed international lawyers such as Ian Brownlie, Professor of
International
Law at OXFORD University, member of the United Nations International Law
Commission (ILC), one of the leading international lawyers and a man who
has,
over the past twenty years, most defended victims in the cases before
the ICJ;
Eric Soy, Professor of International Law at Louvun, Belgium, former
Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations for Legal Affairs; Paul de
Vart,
Professor of International Law at Open University in Amsterdam; and
Olivier
Corten, a young and talented international lawyer from the Open
University in
Brussels. These are respectable lawyers who have, despite the fact that
they
come from the respondent States, agreed to represent the FR of
Yugoslavia
before the Court.
2. The Court, on that occasion, suspended proceedings against the United
States
and Spain, considering that there were no chances that it established
its
jurisdiction in the later stages of the dispute, since these two States
have
excluded the jurisdiction of the Court as envisaged under the Genocide
Convention by their reservations, while it decided to resume proceedings
against the eight other States.
3. Its forerunner is the Permanent Court of International Justice which
was the
principal judicial authority of the League of Nations. The latter Court,
in
turn, was preceded by the Permanent Court of Arbitration, established at
the
First Hague Peace Conference in 1899. Indeed, the Department of Foreign
Affairs
of the Kingdom of Serbia prepared for that conference the above
publication
containing the diplomatic corresondence of Envoy Stojan Novakovic, but
it was
never forwarded to the Conference. The roots of the ICJ, therefore, go
back to
the end of the nineteenth century. This instrument of peaceful
settlement of
disputes has developed and strengthened alongside the development and
strengthening of contemporary international law, whose foundations have
been
codified in the constitution of the international community, i.e. the
Charter
of the United Nations. It is a mechanism on whose improvement worked the
best
lawyers of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The Kingdoms of
Serbia and
Montenegro, later the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, and Democratic Federative
Yugoslavia all the way to the present Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
have
continuously participated in this process. The Kingdoms of Serbia and
Montenegro participated at the First Hague Peace Conference in 1899 and
they
were parties to the Convention on the Permanent Court of Arbitration.
The
Kingdom of Yugoslavia, which resolved its disputes before the Permanent
Court
of International Justice, had its citizens among the judges of that
court.
Yugoslavia is a founding Member of the United Nations and as such, is
party to
the 1945 Statute of the International Court of Justice since 1945. Judge
Zoricic was a permanent judge of this Court.
4. Currently, the following Serbs are detained in the penitentiary unit
at
Scheweningen: Mladjo Radic, Miroslav Kvocka, Milojica Kos, Zoran Zigic,
Dragan
Kolund`ija, Damir Dosen, Milorad Krnojelac, Dragoljub Kunarac, Goran
Kovac,
Zoran Vukovic, Miroslav Tadic, Dusko Tadic, Goran Jelisic, Simo Zoric,
Brdjanin, Momir Talic, Svetislav Galic, Radoslav Krstic, Stevan
Todorovic and
Miroslav Simic; the following Croats: Zdravko Mucic, Vlatko, Marijan and
Zoran
Kupreskic, Vlado Santic, Drago Josipovic, Tihomir Blaskic, Dario Kordic,
Mario
Cerkez, Martinovic; and the following Muslims: Hazim Delic and Esad
Landzo.
AMBASCIATA DELLA REPUBBLICA FEDERALE
DI JUGOSLAVIA PRESSO LA SANTA SEDE
Via dei Monti Parioli, 20 - 00197 Roma
Tel: 06 3200 099/06 3214 998
Fax: 06 3204 530
E-Mail: sveta.stolica@...
---
STOP NATO: ¡NO PASARAN! - HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.HOME-PAGE.ORG
THE GLOBE AND MAIL, Saturday, January 29, 2000 p. A13
Are Western leaders war criminals?
Group wants top officials tried for NATO's bombing campaign
MARCUS GEE
The Globe and Mail
Is Jean Chretien a war criminal?
Michael Mandel says so, and he thinks he can prove it.
The Toronto law professor is in the vanguard of an international effort
to have the Prime Minister and 67 other Western leaders charged with war
crimes before a United Nations tribunal in The Hague.
Along with colleagues from Greece, Norway and Britain, he has compiled a
thick dossier of potential charges against the leaders for their conduct
in last spring's bombing campaign against Yugoslavia, an assault Prof.
Mandel calls a "coward's war."
Those charges include "willful killing," wanton destruction of cities,
town or villages," and waging unlawful war. Along with Mr. Chretien, the
dossier names Foreign Affairs Minister Lloyd Axworthy and Defence
Minister Art Eggleton.
"They might not match the archetype of a war criminal," Prof. Mandel
said, "but they snuffed out a lot of lives, and they should be condemned
for it."
The Mandel dossier now rests in the hands of Carla Del Ponte, the Swiss
lawyer who is the chief prosecutor for the UN International Tribunal for
the Former Yugoslavia. She must decid whether to launch a formal
investigation into the conduct of the North Atlantic Treaty organization
during the 78-day war.
Legal experts say that is unlikely. Ms. Del Ponte needs NATO's help to
gather evidence and apprehend suspected war criminals in Bosnia and
other parts of the former Yugoslavia. Indicting NATO leaders would hurt
that relationship.
But Prof. Mandel and his friends won't give up, and their relentless
campaign against NATO has caused a stir of discomfort in the alliance.
Cases such as his are precisely why the United States is so worried
about the spreading grasp of international law. Washington opposed the
creation of a new international criminal court partly because of
concerns that Americans might be hauled before it for overseas military
intervention such as the invasion of Grenada or the bombing of Cambodia
during the Vietnam War.
So when the tribunal revealed last month that it had prepared an
internal report on the accusations against NATO, the White House lashed
out. It said the idea of investigating NATO was "completely
unjustified." Ms. Del Ponte rushed to clarify things, saying that no
formal investigation of NATO was under way.
That prompted Prof. Mandel to write a sharp letter to Ms. Del Ponte,
urging her to take the accusations against NATO seriously.
"The tribunal has not given us much reason to trust in its
impartiality," said Prof. Mandel, who teaches at York University's
Osgoode Hall Law School.
An intense 51-year-old in black wire-framed glasses, he has thrown
himself into many causes over his 25 years of teaching, from the Israeli
peace movement to the international campaign for nuclear disarmament.
Few have seized him as powerfully as the campaign against NATO's war.
He was a visiting professor at the University of Bologna in Italy in
March when NATO started bombing Yugoslavia in an attempt, NATO said, to
stop President Slobodan Milosevic from crushing the ethnic Albanians in
the rebellious province of Kosovo.
As civilian casualties in Yugoslavia rose and Albanians fled Kosovo by
the hundreds of thousands, Prof. Mandel's anger grew.
As a peace activist, he was appalled by the use of overwhelming military
force against a far weaker adversary.
As a teacher of international law for 25 years, he was shocked by NATO's
decision to go ahead with their air strikes without the approval of the
UN Security Council.
As a Jew, he was offended that NATO justified the bombing by equating
what was happening to the Kosovo Albanians to what had happened to the
Jews of Europe in the Second World War – a grotesque comparison, he
says.
"It was a crime against the truth and a crime against the victims of the
Holocaust."
Returning to Canada, he began communicating by phone and e-mail with law
professors in other countries who opposed the war. Their original aim
was to end the bombing. "There was this horrible thing going on," Prof.
Mandel said, "and the question was how to stop it."
Now that the war is over, they want to hold NATO to account for its
actions. Drawing on Yugoslav government figures, Prof. Mandel says that
1,800 people were killed and 5,000 wounded in Yugoslavia during the
bombing campaign.
Many were children or old people. Flipping through a Yugoslav government
booklet filled with colour pictures of blackened bodies and horrifying
wounds, he recalls the long series of NATO accidents: the accidental
attack on a passenger train crossing a bridge, the accidental bombing of
a Belgrade hospital, the accidental destruction of a bridge filled with
people at the height of a busy market day.
He says he is not sure those were accidents at all, but even if they
were, NATO had to know that such things would happen. It went ahead
anyway.
"We believe they knowingly killed people with no justifiable excuse, and
that's murder," he said in an interview in his cramped university
office.
Under his interpretation of the laws of war, only two things could
excuse NATO's conduct: bombing for a lawful reason such as self-defence
or bombing without knowing their bombs would cause such carnage.
He dismisses both. NATO, he says, broke off negotiations with Mr.
Milosevic over Kosovo and started bombing without bothering about the
niceties of international law.
As for the casualties, NATO leaders said over and over that they knew
that some civilians would be killed as a side effect of the bombing.
Such "collateral damage" was, in their words, "inevitable."
Far from being a humanitarian intervention in defence of human rights,
Prof. Mandel says, the bombing was a deliberate attempt to terrorize the
Yugoslav population.
Few experts share that view. "I don't know of a campaign in history
where targets have been selected so painstakingly," said David Rudd,
executive director of the Canadian Institute of Strategic Studies. "NATO
had the power to level Serbia's cities, but it didn't."
Michael Byers, a Canadian who teaches law at Duke University, agrees
that the accidental casualties caused by NATO didn't compare with the
executions and mass expulsions carried out by Mr. Milosevic's forces.
All the same, he is glad that Prof. Mandel is pressing his case. "Of
course NATO doesn't like it," he said, "but if you accept that there
should be some kind of international legal system, you have to
understand that it applies to all sides, including yourself."
---
STOP NATO: ¡NO PASARAN! - HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.HOME-PAGE.ORG
Prosecute NATO
by George Szamuely
New York Press
1/25/99
"I must do my job, otherwise I am not independent, and the independence
of the prosecutor is the most important element... I just depend on the
law, and that's it." The noble sentiments are those of Carla Del Ponte,
chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former
Yugoslavia (ICTY). She'd just been asked whether she intended to
investigate the possibility that NATO might have committed war crimes
during its murderous bombing spree last year. What about those
smashed-up refugee convoys, the destroyed housing estates, the bridges
turned into rubble, trains full of dead passengers, devastated
monasteries, bombed electrical grids and tv stations, cluster bombs,
depleted uranium? What about all of that? "It's not my priority," she
explained, "because I have inquiries about genocide, about bodies who
are in mass graves, and that's what I am doing now."
Oh, that's all right then. These inquiries, carried out by NATO
government agencies like the FBI and Scotland Yard, have one objective
only: to nail NATO's enemies. Though the media likes to paint her as an
upright Katharine Hepburn type, Del Ponte is a shameless liar. She is
not "independent" in any sense whatsoever. Her Tribunal is a creature of
the United States. Established in 1993 by Resolution 827 of the UN
Security Council, its objective was to use the aura of "international
law" to persecute the Serbs. Startup funds of $6 million came courtesy
of the U.S. ambassador to the UN, Madeleine Albright. She also hired the
initial staff of 25 lawyers. As the president of the Tribunal, Judge
Gabrielle Kirk McDonald, explained in a speech at the U.S. Supreme Court
last April: "[W]e benefited from the strong support of concerned
governments and dedicated individuals such as Secretary Albright. As the
permanent representative to the United Nations, she had worked with
unceasing resolve to establish the Tribunal. Indeed, we often refer to
her as the 'Mother of the Tribunal.'" In May, before the Council on
Foreign Relations, she stated: "The U.S. Government has very generously
agreed to provide $500,000 and to help to encourage other states to
contribute. However, the moral imperative to end the violence in the
region is shared by all, including the corporate sector. I am pleased,
therefore, that a major corporation has recently donated computer
equipment worth $3 million."
During last year's bombing, moreover, Bill Clinton secured a $27 million
appropriation for the Tribunal. In other words, money is rolling in from
people who have a vested interest in the outcome of the trials. This is
a flagrant violation of the Statutes of the Tribunal. Article 32 states
that the "the expenses of the International Tribunal shall be borne by
the regular budget of the United Nations." Soon after NATO launched its
bombing campaign, Louise Arbour, Del Ponte's predecessor, appeared at a
press conference where British Foreign Secretary Robin Cook made a great
show of presenting her with a dossier of Serbian war crimes.
Last year, Prof. Michael Mandel of Toronto wrote to Arbour arguing that,
according to its Statutes, the Tribunal is obligated to investigate
NATO. Article 2, for instance, states that the Tribunal "shall have the
power to prosecute persons committing or ordering to be committed grave
breaches of the Geneva Conventions...willful killing...willfully causing
great suffering or serious injury to body or health; extensive
destruction and appropriation of property, not justified by military
necessity and carried out unlawfully and wantonly." Article 3 cites
"wanton destruction of cities, towns or villages, or devastation not
justified by military necessity" and the "attack, or bombardment, by
whatever means, of undefended towns, villages, dwellings, or
buildings..."
There is not the slightest chance that Del Ponte will investigate NATO's
war crimes. She cannot do it for a simple reason. Yugoslavia broke no
international laws whatsoever and got bombed. NATO broke every
international law in the book and still got to decide who had to stand
trial. And it is the NATO governments that pay her wages.
Here is a quick summary of just a few of the international laws NATO
violated: Article 2 (4) of the UN Charter states: "All Members shall
refrain in their international relations from the threat or use of force
against the territorial integrity or political independence of any
state." Article 39 states: "The Security Council shall determine the
existence of any threat to the peace, breach of the peace, or act of
aggression and shall make recommendations, or decide what measures shall
be taken." The Rambouillet Agreement, Serbia's refusal to sign which
provoked the bombing campaign, violated Article 51 of the 1969 Vienna
Convention on the Law of Treaties: "The expression of a State's consent
to be bound by a treaty which has been procured by the coercion of its
representative through acts or threats directed against him shall be
without legal effect." Not to mention the Geneva Convention and the
targeting of civilians.
Del Ponte's little court is a truly sinister organization. It operates
on the basis of sealed indictments, so that people do not even know if
there is an arrest warrant pending against them. They can be seized
anywhere and hauled off to the Hague. There, cut off from family,
friends and country, they can be held up to 90 days without being
charged. There is no bail or any form of release before trial. Detention
without trial could last several years. Mail is censored. Visits are
severely restricted. Trial witnesses can testify anonymously.
Prosecutors do not have to disclose the sources of their information.
Prosecutors may even appeal an acquittal and ensure that the accused
remain in detention during such an appeal.
The International Criminal Court for the former Yugoslavia serves for
the United States the same purpose courts of this nature served for
Hitler and Stalin: it terrorizes the opposition. A couple of weeks ago
the U.S. Export-Import Bank, the European Bank for Reconstruction and
Development (EBRD), the World Bank and the U.S.-based
Albanian-Macedonian-Bulgarian Oil Company (AMBO) met and resolved to
build an oil pipeline extending from the Bulgarian Black Sea across
Macedonia and Albania to Western Europe. This is what U.S. policy in the
Balkans is about. Anyone likely to object will find himself bombed and
then yanked off to the Hague–there to rot forever.
---
Chicago Tribune, Sec 2 Perspective, Sunday, May 23, 1999, pp1 and 5
WAR CRIMES LAW APPLIES TO U.S. TOO
by Walter J. Rockler
As justification for our murderously destructive bombing campaign in
Yugoslavia, it is of coarse necessary for the U.S. to charge that the
Serbs have engaged in inhuman conduct, and that President Slobodan
Milosevic, the head Serb demon, is a war criminal almost without peer.
President Clinton assures us of this in frequent briefings, during which
he engages in rhetorical combat with Milosevic. But shouting "war
criminal" only emphasizes that those who live in glass houses should be
careful about throwing stones.
We have engaged in fragrant military aggression, ceaselessly attacking a
small country primarily to demonstrate that we run the world. The
rationale that we are simply enforcing international morality, even if
it were true, would not excuse the military aggression and wide spread
killing that it entails. It also does not lessen the culpability of the
authors of this aggression.
As a primary source of international law, the judgment of the Nuremberg
Tribunal in the 1945-1946 case of the major Nazi war criminals is plain
and clear. Our leaders often invoke and praise the judgement, but
obviously have not read it. The International Court declared:
"To initiate a war of aggression, therefore, is not only an
international crime, it is the supreme international crime deferring
only from other war crimes in that it contains within itself the
accumulated evil of the whole."
At Nuremberg, the United States and Britain pressed the prosecution of
Nazi leaders for planing and initiating aggressive war. Supreme Court
Justice Robert Jackson, the head of American prosecution staff, asserted
"that launching a war aggression is a crime and that no political or
economic situation can justify it." He also declared that "if certain
acts in violation of treaties are crimes, they are crimes whether the
United States does them or whether Germany does them, and we are not
prepared to lay down a rule of criminal conduct against others which we
would not be willing to have invoked against us."
The United Nations Charter views aggression similarly. Articles 2(4) and
(7) prohibit interventions in the domestic jurisdiction of any country
and threats of force or the use of force by one state against the
another. The General Assembly of the UN in Resolution 2131, "declaration
on the Inadmissibility of Intervention," reinforced the view that a
forceful military intervention in any country is aggression and crime
without justification.
Putting a "NATO" label on aggressive policy and conduct does not give
that conduct any sanctity. This is simply a perversion of the North
Atlantic Treaty organization, formed as a defensive alliance under the
UN Charter. The North Atlantic Treaty pledged its signatories to
refrain from the threat or use of force in any manner inconsistent with
the purposes of the United Nations, and it explicitly recognized "the
primary responsibility of the Security Council (of United Nations) for
the maintenance of international peace and security." Obviously, in
bypassing UN approval for the current bombing, the U.S. and NATO have
violated the basic obligation.
>>From another standpoint of international law, the current conduct of the
bombing by United States and NATO constitutes a continued war crime.
Contrary to the beliefs of our war planners, unrestricted air bombing is
barred under international law. Bombing the "infrastructure" of a
country - waterworks, electricity, plants, bridges, factories,
television and radio locations -is not an attack limited to legitimate
military objectives. Our bombing has also caused an excessive loss of
life and injury to civilians, which violates another standard. We have
now killed hundreds, if not thousands, of Serbs, Montenegrins and
Albanians, even some Chinese, in our pursuit of humanitarian ideals.
In addition to shredding the UN Charter and perverting the purpose of
NATO, Clinton also has violated at least two provisions of the United
States Constitution. Under Article I, Section 8, of the Constitution,
Congress, not the president, holds the power to declare war and to
punish offenses against the law of nations. Alexander Hamilton in The
Federalist No. 69 pointed out one difference between a monarchy and the
presidency under the new form of government: A king could use his army
as he pleased; the president would have no such unlimited power. Under
Article VI of the Constitution, treaties, far from being mere scraps of
paper as we now deem them to be, are part of the supreme law of the
United States. Of course, these days a supine Congress, fascinated only
by details of sexual misconduct, can hardly be expected to enforce
constitutional requirements.
Nor can a great deal be expected from the media. Reports rely on
controlled handouts of the State Department, Pentagon and NATO, seeing
their duty as one adding colorful details to official intimations of
Serbs atrocities. Thus, the observation of a NATO press relations
officer that a freshly plowed field, seen from 30,000 feet up, might be
the site of a massacre has been disseminated as news.
The notion that humanitarian violations can be redressed with random
destruction and killing by advanced technological means is inherently
suspect. This is mere pretext for our arrogant assertion of dominance
and power in defiance of international law. We make the nonnegotiable
demands and rules, and implement them by military force. It is all
remindful of Henrik Ibsen's "Don't use that foreign word "ideals." We
have that excellent word "lies."
---------------------------------------------------------------
Walter J. Rockler, a Washington lawyer, was a prosecutor at Nuremberg
War Crimes Trial.
---
http://www.iwpr.net
TRIBUNAL UPDATE 160
Last Week in The Hague (January 17-22, 2000)
DEL PONTE ASKS NATO TO BE "MORE AGGRESSIVE"
In addition to visiting the EC, Prosecutor Carla Del Ponte also visited
NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organisation) headquarters in Brussels last
week.
During talks with NATO Secretary General Lord George Robertson and the
permanent representatives of the 19 member states, Del Ponte urged NATO
to be more aggressive in hunting down and arresting indictees, in
particular "the most wanted Radovan Karadzic", the former leader of the
Bosnian Serbs.
"He is the symbol of this year, the fugitive who has been longest on the
loose," Del Ponte said before adding that capturing him is "crucial for
a stable peace."
Addressing journalists after the meeting Del Ponte, Robertson said
NATO's commitment to apprehending all those indicted of war crimes in
Yugoslavia was "beyond question."
Robertson returned to the same question two days later when talking to
journalists at NATO headquarters.
Talking about his and NATO's priorities for the year 2000, Robertson
said it was essential that those indicted but still at large be brought
to The Hague for trial and concluded: "I have got a personal commitment
to making sure that they do."
British commandos, as members of SFOR, have carried out as many as 90%
of operations aimed at arresting people accused of war crimes. These
operations only really got underway after Robertson became British
Secretary of Defence in 1997. Karadzic and other accused still at large
should not, therefore, brush away or underestimate such "personal
commitment" from the NATO Secretary General.
Copyright (c) 2000 The Institute for War & Peace Reporting.
-
Tribunal Update 161
Issue 161: January 24-29, 2000
DEL PONTE DISMISSES CHARGES SHE "BACKPEDALLED" ON NATO DOSSIER.
In an interview with Tribunal Update last week we asked ICTY Chief
Prosecutor Carla Del Ponte to clarify the position on the famous
'dossier'
on alleged breaches of the Geneva Conventions by NATO forces during the
air
strikes on Serbia. We asked whether she had studied the evidence, drawn
any
conclusions and whether the fierce criticism levelled against her by
some in
Washington D.C. had caused her to "backpedal" on the issue as claimed by
U.S. Senator Jesse Helms.
"First I will tell you something - I never backpedal, never, never! If
the
press received it in some other way - that is another question. I am not
responsible for that. I have only one voice and I am always saying the
same!" Del Ponte declared.
"What I said in that interview [to London's Observer newspaper on
December
26, 1999] was that no formal investigation is opened against NATO, that
is,
against individuals of NATO. I said that to the journalist: No formal
inquiry! I said I have just received a preliminary report on the
documentation and complaints that [former Chief Prosecutor Louise]
Arbour
had received from many different sources."
"Second, I said I would read it and take a decision. But in the meantime
I
received professor Mandel here and he brought to me another pile of
documents. A few day before Christmas I received a group of members from
the
Russian parliament who brought me a lot of new documents. They told me
that
the Duma [Russian parliament] had created an inquiry commission, which
is
working together with Belgrade, so they have a lot of information."
"I gave all those documents to the same working group in our office to
analyse them. They are doing that now."
"In the meantime I studied the first report and for it I need some
answers
from NATO. So I was in Brussels and spoke with the people there and said
I
have some questions on which I needed answers. So now we are preparing
the
questions and we will send them to NATO."
"In the meantime I am waiting for the second report and an analysis of
the
other documentation. And after, when I finish my work on the preliminary
analysis of that, I will take a decision on whether I must or not open
an
investigation. That's the whole story. So I did not absolutely
backpedal! E
una bruta parola [It is an ugly word]: 'backpedalling'! And it is not my
way
of working. I pedal only forwards."
Copyright (c) 2000 The Institute for War & Peace Reporting.
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The Criminal Race : The Demonization, Dehumanization and
Criminalization of the Serbian People.
http://www.abolishnato.com
Erin S. LaPorte - December 22, 1999
Florida State U. Student (Sr.) - Tallahassee, Florida, USA
"A whole nation and ethnic group - men, women and children
- appear to be incarcerated in a giant prison. Western policy and the
media campaign is such that ALL Serbs are being economically and
psychologically destroyed. The word "SERBS" has been made synonymous
with the word "EVIL."
Dr. Raju G.C. Thomas, from his essay "Dehumanizing a Nation:
The Balkans Conflict and International Reaction" (1993) p. 1.
CONTENTS
I. Introduction to Group Demonization and Dehumanization.
Here, I use the work of Sam Keen (1986) to explain the basic
sociology of enemy creation through demonizing propaganda.
II. The "subhuman Serbs" as NATO targets.
1. The role of modern mass communication in "national
interests."
2. Human deaths as "collateral damage" and other NATO
propaganda.
III. The "concentration camps" and "ethnic
cleansing" elements in anti-Serb propaganda.
1. The organized efforts to spread anti-Serb propaganda.
2. Making of the Trnopolje "concentration camp" and
those who were shamelessly fooled.
3. "Remember Srebrenica" themes and "Serb ethnic
cleansing" propaganda.
4. Elements of anti-Serb propaganda developed from the
"remember Srebrenica" theme.
IV. Denial of the Victimhood of the Serbs.
V. The Hague Tribunal : The Tribunal from Hell
1. The use of "international tribunals" to validate
labels.
2. Questionable proceedings of the Tribunal from Hell.
VI. Conclusion
VII. My Observations.
1. Racism in human rights activity in Kosovo and the
"international community."
2. Some suggestions to the Serbian people.
3. . . . and this work isn't done yet!
Footnotes and references to this paper.
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I. Introduction to Group Demonization and Dehumanization.
Most human groups and nations create an enemy to create a
sense of social solidarity and membership. The function of war
propaganda is to build social solidarity, to unite a nation or group
against "the Other, evil incarnate."
"In all propaganda, the face of the enemy is designed to
provide a focus for our hatred. He is the other. The outsider. The
alien. He is not human. If we can only kill him, we will be rid of all
within and without ourselves that is evil" (Keen 1986, p. 16).
The stuff that creates a sense of tribal loyalty and
patriotism is paranoia. Paranoia is far from being an occasional
pathology, but a normal condition. We direct hate and suspicion to
strangers and those who are unlike us. The paranoid myth of "the
threat" involves the dualistic Us versus Them, Good versus Evil, we
are good, they are bad. This paranoid myth that unites the group and
defines it, also permits the killing of the immoral, nonhuman members of
the "them," as well as the holy act of dying while killing the
"them" (Keen, 1986).
Humans normally don't kill other humans. The humans that
we intend to kill, eliminate or commit genocide against must be
dehumanized. "The enemy" must be reduced to ugly creatures that are
less than animals with ideas that must be destroyed. Propaganda of the
mass media is employed to create "the good," us and "the evil",
the them. The mass media is employed to justify the righteousness and
piety of "us" and the aggression and evilness of "the enemy."
This creates the fog of paranoia that cannot be cleared, even when
presented with the truth about the true intentions and true humanity of
"the enemy" (Keen 1986).
The propaganda that is used to demonized and dehumanize
"the enemy" often portrays "the enemy" with similar images, both
visual and written. "The enemy" is often portrayed as a beast or a
stone age throw-back with turned down lips and ruff facial features. He
is wild and animal like, engaging in behaviors and customs that are
strange to "us." In print "the enemy" has been portrayed as
dirty, crude, acting either under the influence of home-made liquor or
pure animal instincts (Stover and Peress 1998), combined with the
enemy's "strange" social customs, as in Eric Stover and Gilles
Peress book The Graves: Srebrencia and Vukovar. (1998) (1). These images
are replayed in many ways to create the negative stereotypes of "the
enemy" and only negative news about this demonized group is covered in
"the press" (Keen 1986, McCarus 1994). Speaking of the portrayal of
the enemy's "strange social customs," Sam Keen (1986) stated: He
will be portrayed as rude, crude and uncivilized. More than likely he
will be an irrational, dirty member of a horde organized at best on the
model of an ant heap (p. 43).
Once demonized and stripped of their humanity, it not only
makes it easier for the battlefield solider to kill the "faceless,
non-human enemy," it is also easier to indiscriminately kill any
member of "the enemy." Civilians in the demonized group become
targets, often unable to fight back and are easy prey for violence and
persecutions. They are easy prey for violence and harassment as a result
of knee-jurk, American- patriotic racism called jingoistic racism (2) (
Keen 1986; Burchfield 1997; McCarus 1994).
Since a group stripped of its humanity is not seen as having
human worth, they have no human rights. Such a demonized, out-group is
not deserving of the protections that other human groups are entitled
under international law and conventions. Such a development helps
powerful governments and military alliances, and their media outlets, to
justify the bombing and killing of civilians, and the ignoring of the
human rights of the demonized group ( Burchfield 1997). "They" may
have been the victims of war crimes committed against "them," but
war crimes against "them" are justified.
Lastly, according to Miller and Levin (1998), the media
project images of a "hierarchy of victims," that is, some victims
are more deserving of public attention, sympathy and out rage than other
victims. This projects the image that these "lesser victims"
lives' are of no value and are therefore less newsworthy.
Back to top.
Footnotes and references
II. The "subhuman Serbs" as NATO Targets.
1. The role of modern mass communication in "national
interests."
The media play very important roles in portraying members of
some groups as normal and others as Other. In particular, films and
television programs use the power of visual images to create and
reinforce stereotypic images of Others as scary and different (Zatz and
Mann, 1998, p.8).
While the family and education have a role to play in the
shaping and transmission of the common culture, this role is falling
more on the shoulders of the media and the government. Government is
playing more of a role in the culture, shaping and supporting the
cultural values regarding civil rights, criminal justice and so on. The
mass media are a great influence on the transmission and reinforcement
of some times heavily biased, cultural values ( Burchfield 1997, Ranney
1993). The most influential impact of mass communications in political
communication and political culture is television because of it's
visualness over radio, its visual and voice over newspapers (Ranney
1993).
Journalists will seek out governmental and military
officials when there is some perceived threat to the "national
interest." Many of these reporters rely on official sources, such as
foreign affairs offices and governmental employees. In order to
cultivate relationships with and "not offend" those "in the
know," the reporter reports "facts" he is given, even if he knows
that they are lies. The most esteemed journalists are the ones who are
the most servile. Hearsay is transformed into "the truth"
(Sadkovich, 1998). Often, however, these "facts" that military and
governmental officials put out as "truth" can be disputable and
become part of the propaganda and the process of demonization, or
re-demonization (Sadkovich 1998, Keen 1986).
There is one vivid example of this "reporting of facts"
from the NATO Alliance during it's rather questionable "Operation
Allied Force." The Paris based group, Reporters sans Frontieres (RSF)
chastised NATO for what it said was the Alliance's "distorting the
truth, attempts at misinformation" and "impossible to check
figures." RSF sited the example of the supposed wounding of
ethnic-Albanian leader Ibrahim Rugova, who then subsequently appeared
healthy on Serbian Television.
Air Commodore David Wilby had stated that the report of
Rugova's demise was from a "very reliable source." The "very
reliable source" that Air Commodore Wilby cited was a London -based
Kosovo Information Center, run by Kosovo exiles. Besides
(dis)information, RSF's report points out the "other features of
Western communication are approximate figures, debatable historical
references and the use of vocabulary that has the aim of making the
adversay appear monstrous. " (3)
2. Human deaths as "collateral damage" and other NATO
propaganda.
"When we know the Serbs did it, we say the Serbs did
it," said a NATO official . . .who spoke anonymously to an American
researcher. "When we don't know who did it, we say the Serbs did it.
And when we know the Serbs didn't do it, we say we don't know who
did it." (4)
Recall in Section I the ideas of both Burchfield (1997) and
Keen (1986). Once a group of humans is stripped of its humanity, such as
the Serbs, this "out group" is seen as "not worthy" of the same
protections granted to "in groups." This includes the human rights
and human worth of the demonized group. Also, according to Keen (1986),
the high tech weapons eliminate much of the demonization process and
make "the enemy" even less human : The atrocities committed from a
high altitude by bomber crews, directed from afar by technicians are not
so much inhuman as ahuman ( p.86). So long as we want to kill from a
distance with clean hands, we must refrain from imagining the
consequences of our weapons, and must completely eliminate any awareness
of the enemy as human (pp.86-87).
NATO officials in Brussels were truly conditioned by their
propaganda to kill "the Other," the "sub-human, ethnic cleansing,
Serbs," and coupled with the distance from Brussels to Belgrade, this
insulated the Alliance from the carnage in Yugoslavia, making bombing
the civil population all the more sanitary.
The results of dehumanizing propaganda and sanitary killing
of "the Other" came out of one NATO official in at least one press
briefing during "Operation Allied Force." During the April 9th press
briefing, CNN correspondent Patricia Kelly questioned Air Commodore
David Wilby's lack of concern for the civil population in and around a
Yugoslav car plant : ". . .your statement on the collateral damage to
civilian property in Kosovo seems to take no account of the fact that
there are still Serb civilians inside of Kosovo which NATO has also
pledged to protect in its early mission statements but the way you put
the information across makes it sound as if you are not particularly
bothered about their safety any longer."
In his reply to the charge, Wilby answers with a well worn
NATO statement, but then continues to describe possible Serb civilian
causalities in non-human terms:
". . .if I gave the impression that I was not concerned
about the loss of civilian life to the Serbian population, you know that
we have always said that we are not in any conflict with the Serbian
people and I am sorry if my emphasis came across slightly wrong to you."
"In terms of the car plant. . .as I have said to you, we
would look very carefully into the collateral damage or damage to
civilians before we attacked that particular plant." (5)
According to The White Book of NATO's Crimes , there were
several civilian homes hit by missiles that day, as well as the car
plant that employed 30,000, but no injuries or deaths were reported in
this publication. (6)
In yet another example that lead to protests by historical
experts was Tony Blair's (mis) use of the term "genocide" and the
characterization of Milosevic's government to that of Hitler's. (7)
The reasons for the NATO Alliance's questionable bombing campaign was
the "humanitarian disaster" of the ethnic Albanians that was created
by the "ethnic cleansing by the Serbs." The common figure being
batted around was 100,000 dead, with one mass grave in Ljubenic said to
contain 350 bodies. ("Remember Srebrenica?! Why those 'nasty, ethnic
cleansing, rapist Serbs' were back to their systematic ethnic cleansing
plans!")
What investigators found , or didn't find ( November 1999)
in Ljubenic was not 350 corpses, but seven(8) and a mine shaft said to
contain lots of corpses of massacred Albanians held none (9). Recently,
teams of forensic experts from Spain and Italy have found only about 200
graves or so with no signs of torture on those corpses the did find.(10)
People were leaving Kosovo because, like Serbia proper, it was being
attacked by NATO.(11) The NATO Alliance is starting to look very much
like an alliance of cheap, brutal war mongers, using propaganda and
outright lies as a justification for war.
However, during the NATO actions against the Yugoslav Serbs,
the West rehashed the same propaganda and old stereotypes of the Serbs
as the "butchers of the Balkans, ethnic cleansers" (Flounders 1998).
The US and NATO used these past anti-Serb propaganda and anti- Serb
stereotypes in an effort to create the social solidarity necessary to
keep the NATO countries' leaders and their publics supportive of the
Yugoslavia bombing campaign ( Keen 1986, Naslund, 1999).
These claims of the "systematic, ethnic cleansing and mass
murder plans" of the Serbs is not new. The anti-Serb propaganda
elements that were being recycled in the NATO action with regard to
Kosovo were the "remember Sreberinca" themes, which are highlighted
in the next section. There was alleged to have been 8,000 Muslim men
"systematically massacred by the Serbs" in Srebreinca, but only 460
bodies have been found (Kent 1998, Pumphrey 1998).
Some of the conscious in the West for the "bombing of
Milosevic" and the Yugoslav Serb civilian population was also
developed and maintained by sometimes concerted demonization and
dehumanization campaigns lead by American PR firms like Ruder Finn
Global Public Affairs(12) with "very important" clients, like the
Republic of Croatia.
Back to top.
Footnotes and references
III. The "concentration camps" and "ethnic
cleansing" elements in anti-Serb propaganda.
"Regrettably, that behavior (ethnic cleansing) is not
unprecedented in Balkan conflicts, and to say that it is a peculiarly
Serb behavior says more about the observer than the Balkans" (Charles
G. Boyd 1995, p.3).
Several groups have been demonized through the use of
propaganda during the 20th Century. Most notably, the Jews, Germans and
Japanese during the Second World War, the Russians during the Cold War,
the Arabs and Muslims during the 70's and the Gulf War. The newest
victims of Western, war- motivated propaganda are the Serbs (Keen 1986,
McCarus 1994, Kent 1999, Flounders 1998). There have been a few intense
media blitzes stemming "from the need to punish" the Serbs for their
insolence against the West and Washington (Kent 1999).
1. The organized efforts to spread anti- Serb propaganda.
Unlike the cartoons and posters of the previous wars, the
"media war" against the Serbs, as many have put it, is a sometimes
concerted, high tech one, incorporating mass communication technology
and public relations firms to demonize and dehumanize and the entire
ethnic group. The current concerted propaganda campaign against the
Serbs began back in the early '90's when the Western world media
heated up it's anti- Serb campaign with its portrayal of Serbs as
barbarians, drunken bandits and murders, even Nazi fascists. Current
political cartoons portray the Serbs as pigs, hyenas and neo-Nazi
monsters. (Thomas 1993, Flounders 1998, Deichmann 1998, Kent 1999).
There is now even an anti-Serb propaganda book, Stover and Peress' The
Graves , being use in the classroom of Florida State University in a
course on "human rights investigations" and this author is finding
that anti-Serb propaganda books with the "remember Srebrenica" theme
are becoming common place.
The current Western/NATO propaganda against the Serbs is an
organized one, involving public relations firms. Charly Reese of the
Orlando Sentinel wrote, ". . .the Serbs were and are up against
powerful American public relations firms, western intelligence agencies
and biased or incompetent Western reporters." Reese cited an interview
by French Two Television of James Harff of Ruder Finn Global Affairs,
the public relations firm that was representing the Muslim side. Harff,
who is Ruder Finn's director, boasted of getting the American Jews on
the side of Muslims after the Bosnian concentration camps hoax (Also
Deichmann, 1998, Flounders 1998). The public relations firm capitalized
on the high emotional content of the ITN "concentration camp" hoax
for the benefit of its clients, the Republic of Croatia, the Republic of
Bosnia-Herzegovina and the parliamentary oppsition in Kosovo. The
Washington based firm shows how the corporate media engages in a modern
propaganda campaign and demonstrates one of the concerted efforts to
demonize the Serbs :
Speed is vital. . .it is the first assertion that really
counts. All denial are ineffective. In a single move we were able to
present a simple story of good guys and bad guys which would hereafter
play itself. We won by targeting the Jewish audience. Almost immediately
there was a clear change of the lanague in the press, with use of words
with high emotional content such as 'ethnic cleansing, concertration
camps, etc., which evoke images of Nazi Germany and the gas chambers of
Auschwitz. No one could go against it without being accused of
revisionism. We really batted a thousand in full" (qtd. in Flounders
1998, pp.54, 55).
2. Making of the Trnopolje "concentration camp" and
those who were shamelessly fooled.
In his essay "The Picture that Fooled the World" (1998)
Thomas Deichman describes the "concentration camp" hoax in detail.
The now famous picture came from a video shot by Penny Marshall of ITN
of a refugee camp in Trnopolje on August 5th, 1992. In fact, Deichmann
has looked at the rest of the footage Marshall and her team shot that
contained the picture. What was used in the Marshell report - and what
wasn't - is revealing. What wasn't in the report was the openness of
the camp, the holes in the fences that Marshell and her crew went
through and that the refugees were free to leave anytime they wanted
(Dechmann, 1998).
What became the picture that Mike Jeremy of ITN pegged
"one of the key images of the war in the former Yugoslavia," (qtd.
in Deichmann, p. 170) was, in fact, presented as to the Western world as
something it was not, a concentration camp. The focus was on Fikret
Alic, who's protruding rib cage behind a fence conjured up images of
Nazi death camps. This "death camp" was a crude, sick lie and Fikret
Alic, who survived the war, was disturbed about the use of his image.
Through the use of camera angles, editing and the focus on
one rather emaciated fellow, the images of a "concentration camp"
were constructed for Western, anti-Serb propaganda consumption,
especially to the delight of the Ruder Finn PR firm (Deichmann 1998,
Flounders 1998).
James Harff of Ruder Finn shows his more of his "pride"
in getting the Anti-Defamation League and other Jewish organizations on
the side of Muslims using the "concentration camp " hoax:
"At the beginning of July 1992, New York Newsday came out
with the article on Serb camps. We jumped at the opportunity
immediately. We outwitted three big Jewish organizations - the B'nai
B'rith Anti-Defamation League, The American Jewish Committee and the
American Jewish Congress. In August, we suggested that they publish an
advertisement in the New York Times and organize demonstrations outside
the United Nations.
That was a tremendous coup. When the Jewish organizations
entered the game on the side of the [Muslim] Bosnians, we could promptly
equate the Serbs with the Nazis in the public mind. Nobody understood
what was happening in Yugoslavia. The great majority of Americans were
probably asking themselves in which African country Bosnia was
situated" (qtd. in Flounders 1998, p.55).
Those that were duped- and continue to be duped - are the
American Jewish groups, such as the Anti- Defamation League that,
according Thomas (1993) : "Using the Jewish Holocaust as their
exclusive domain and forgetting the holocaust of the Serbs, the American
Jewish Congress has gone overboard in their calls to bomb the Serbs" (
p. 2)
Thomas points out strongly that the American Jewish
community is actually participating in the genocide of Serbs. Promoting
dehumanizing anti-Serb propaganda is a horrible step by most victimized
ethnic group of the 20th Century- the Jews- to promote violence against
another ethnic group- the Serbs.
3. "Remember Srebrenica" themes and "Serb ethnic
cleansing" propaganda.
"Srebrenica provides an unexpected way precisely what is
wrong with both the media and the constant spreading of hate against the
Serbs" (Kent 1999, p.9).
"Ethnic cleansing" is more often, and falsely,
attributed to Serbs, while at the same time Serb victims of ethnic
cleansing, including at Srebrenica, are forgotten. Serb victims of
ethnic cleansing are either misidentified as another ethnicity or not
identified by an ethnicity. Often the fact that Serbs are also victims
of ethnic cleansing is downplayed or never reported. ( Kent 1999,
Dragnich 1995, Boyd 1995, Rohde 1997, Thomas 1993). Section IV
extensively covers denial of the victimhood of the Serbs by Western
governments and media.
Editors often suppress "pro-Serb" stories, but allow a
few favorable words to be said to give the appearance of "fair play"
(Kent 1999). These stories are often hidden or near the bottom, but then
it is accompanied by demonizing, anti-Serb text ( Kent 1999).
The "Serbophobes," as Kent (1999) calls them, not only
portray the Serbs as dirty, drunken, neo-Nazi monsters, but suppressed
stories defending the Serbs, including false charges and grand
exaggerations of alleged "genocide" (Kent 1999, Thomas 1993, ).
Western reporters and the Eric Stover types, according to Thomas (1993),
go into a frenzy over alleged "genocide" by Serbs and numbers of
Muslims or Croats killed are often inflated and amount to lies. The same
ilk could care less when the victims of ethnic cleansing and mass murder
are Serbs. What the Western propaganda machine drags up constantly are
the alleged atrocities by Serbs in the town of Srebernica (Kent 1999).
This is one of the towns in Eric Stover and Gillies Peress' The Graves
: Srebernica and Vukovar (1998) .
In this book, the Serbs are not only portrayed as a race of
dirty, drunken, animal, ethnic cleansers, but the mainly
photojournalistic work hides the victimization of the Serbs, as well as
portrays the Serbs as drunken, animalistic killers. Stover writes, " .
. . the shelling of towns and villages, mass deportations of Muslims and
Croats and the systematic destruction of their cultural property. . .
what the Serb leaders were intending to accomplish in Bosnia" (p.
137).
However, a good - and shorter than an entire book - example
of this method of anti-Serb stereotype reinforcement is also in the
March 25th, 1996 issue of the New York Times article by Alan Cowell.
Cowell's story was regarding the indictments by the International
Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) of three Bosinan
Muslims and a Bosnian Croat for involvement in a alleged "rape camp"
in which Serbs were the victims. One would not know that this is an
article about Serb victims and indictments issued for crimes committed
against Serbs by reading the article:
These are the first individuals indicted for crimes against
Bosnian Serb victims," the tribunal's spokesman, Christian Chartier
said. The indictment was "the first of its kind," it said.
The tribunal's investigations have been dominated by
inquires against Serbs, who investigators say pursued a systematic drive
to purge entire regions of Muslims and Croats, using murder and rape as
weapons in this process of 'ethnic cleansing.'
The tribunal has charged that many of the Serbian atrocities
reflected deliberate policies of the Bosnian Serb leadership, as opposed
to being crimes by rouge individuals . . . "
Even as today's indictments against the Serbs'
adversaries were made known, the United States' chief delegate to the
United Nations, Madeleine Albright, was visiting the site of suspected
mass graves near the central town of Srebrenica, where thousands of
Muslims are believed to have been massacred by Serbs last July." (13)
Was Cowell's story really about the ICTY indictments of
non-Serbs, or was the purpose of Cowell's article really about
something else - like anti-Serb stereotype reinforcement?!
4. Elements of anti-Serb propaganda developed from the
"remember Srebrenica" theme.
In Faces of the Enemy (1986) , on page 46, Sam Keen has
eight elements of decivilizing rhetoric he identified as being used by
former President Ronald Reagan to paint the image "Soviet savagery." I
have noted that much of the "remember Srebrenica" theme was, and
still is, being used as elements of anti-Serb propaganda. Borrowing on
Keen's idea of identifying elements of decivilizing rhetoric, and Eric
Stover's Serb bashing text in The Graves as a main sources, I have
created a list of elements in anti-Serb propaganda :
a.. The Serbs are not victims of "ethnic cleansing"
( p.137, implied).
b.. The Serbs break agreements (p. 121).
c.. The Serbs are rapists of Muslim women (p. 115) .
d.. The Serbs are "dirty, animalistic killers" ( pp.
105, 108, 103, 144, 156).
e.. The Serbs are usually drunk on brandy ( pp.105,
106,).
f.. The Serbs are "cold, cruel occupiers" (
pp.111-112, 130, 140 ).
g.. The Serbs have "strange, animal- like habits" (
pp.83-87, 122).
h.. The Serbs are the only perpetrators of "ethnic
cleansing and mass murder." Stover and Gilles' entire book portrays
this fallacy, but especially on pages 131, 137, 108.
What is also clear from Stover and Gilles' book is that
Bosnian Muslims are human beings, with human traits of concern for
family, have feelings of love and anger, suffer hunger and cold.
Contrast that to the animalistic Serbs who, in this obviously propaganda
book, are cold, cruel, unfeeling, and unmoved by the tears and fears of
the Bosnian Muslim human beings . The Serbs, as a group of human beings,
have their humanity ripped and stripped from then in The Graves. Eric
Stover and Gillies Pervess' The Graves : Sreberinca and Vukovar is an
excellent book for those who want get a good taste of what anti-Serb
propaganda and dehumanization is all about.
Closely related to the "remember Srebrenica" spin of
anti-Serb propaganda is the denial of the victimhood of the Serbs,
including and especially in Srebrenica, at the hands of Eric Stover's
"charismatic - 25 year old leader," Naser Oric.
Back to top.
Footnotes and references
IV. Denial of the victimhood of the Serbs.
"Massacres committed by Serbs are genocide, but not
massacres committed on Serbs. Ethnic cleansing by the Serbs is genocide,
but not that committed by the other side against Serbs" ( Thomas 1993,
p. 5).
Part of the demonization and dehumanization of the Serbs is
not only labels created through propaganda against them, but also the
removal of their victimhood. The funeral of a Serb girl was reported as
that of a Muslim and the rape of a Serb woman was reported as that of a
Muslim (Kent 1999, Thomas 1993).
"When pictures of Serbian victims are shown, their
ethnicity is not identified so as to give the impression that these are
Muslims or Croats. One American newspaper even took the picture of a
Serbian rape victim clearly identified in a caption in a Canadian
newspaper, then reprinted that picture under a caption identifying her
as a Muslim victim" ( Thomas 1993, p. 2 ).
Or the fact that the Serbs have also been victims of ethnic
cleansing is often never reported in Western media. According to Raymond
Kent, "For almost a year before the Serbs took Srebrenica. . . its
Bosnian (Muslim) government forces routinely raided the rural Serbs in
the surrounding countryside, committing all kinds of war crimes without
any fear that the T.V. screens of the outside world could be even a
silent witness" (p. 9 ).
On thing is for certain is that journalist and forensic
anthropologist Eric Stover and photojournalist Gilles Peress were not
there. In fact on page 117 of The Graves , Stover treats Naser Oric, the
local Bosnian Muslin leader suspected of burning over 200 Serbs villages
and brutally and beastly murdering Serbs in raids around Srebrenica
(Kent 1999, Rohde 1997) as a "charismatic, twenty - five year old
policeman" and the brutal, murderous raids as "the success of these
local raids." In the book Endgame (1997) David Rohde paints a picture
of Srebrenica's Serbs living in fear :
Srebrenica's Muslims and Naser Oric had played the United
Nations beautifully in 1993. When the Serbs were on the verge of taking
the town, they had tricked the West into saving them. The safe area was
a joke. For two years, the UN had fed the Muslims, sold them weapons and
done nothing as Naser Oric launched raids from a town that was supposed
to be "demilitarized." Serb villagers within 30 miles of Srebrenica
lived in constant fear, waiting to hear the voices in the night and then
smell smoke. Dozens of civilians had been burned alive in their homes by
Oric's men (p.15).
While I am not condoning any actions that may have been
perpetrated by the Bosinan Serb side, the marked difference between
Naser Oric and Ratko Mladic is that the latter has never been indicted
by the ICTY (Kent 1999) . On of the most grave injustices of Stover and
Gilles' The Graves is that it hides and denies Srebrenica's other
victims, the Bosnian Serbs, and implies that a "politically correct"
war criminal is a hero.
Currently, much of the coverage of "humanitarian
efforts" in Kosovo are often one-side, almost flat out ignorance the
human rights and war crimes violations by the Kosovo Albanian
population, especially the KLA ( the Kosovo, so-called "Liberation
Army ") against the Kosovo Serbs. The ICTY is doing little to
investigate and indict KLA and other Kosovo Albanians for their war
crimes and ethnic cleansing against the Kosovo Serbs and other
minorities(14). In the fashion of "remember Srebrenica" there were
accusations of "Serbian ethnic cleansing" that are now, once again,
turning out to be false(15). Also, as in Bosnia, when Serbs are the
victims, who cares.
As stated by Miller and Levin (1998) the mass media project
a "hierarchy of victims" in which some victims are more deserving of
attention and public outrage than others. The Serbs are quite noticeably
at the bottom of this hierarchy, if they are even on the chart at all.
When a mass grave is made up of Muslims and non-Serbs, the Western mass
media flock to it like vultures(16). When the mass grave is made up of
Serbs - who cares. When the Serbs are victims of ethnic cleansing - who
cares. The Serbs are subhumans - so who cares (Thomas 1993).
The above is commonly called "racism" and those involved
are commonly called "racists."
Denial of victimhood of the Serbs and treating war crimes
against them as if they are less deserving of investigation and
international attention is reflective of racism in the "international
community," the ICTY and the "human rights Serbophobes" (Kent
1999, p.8). The cameras were out and rolling to catch Ratko Mladic - but
not Naser Oric (Kent 1999). Being very concerned with the human rights
and humanitarian needs of one ethnic group, while flat out ignoring the
human rights violations against and the basic human needs of the other,
as is current in Kosovo, is RACIST, to say the least.
Back to top.
Footnotes and references
V. The Hague Tribunal : The Tribunal from Hell.
1. The use of "international tribunals" to validate
labels.
"A problematic individual or group is classified as an
instance of human refuse; the validity of the label is tested and
confirmed in public hearings or tribunals conducted by experts certified
in making defamatory pronouncements: legends are then woven by
mythmakers to 'explain' the necessity for the evil party being as it
is : these legends are passed on . . . as ontological truths, and
received by an audience which, not present during the initial steps, is
unable to fathom the fabricated nature of the evil; finally, the truth
of the myth is recognized (re-known) through its ritual dramatization in
armed engagements, domestic and foreign, against the evil object" (Aho
1994, pp.114-115).
In his book, This Thing of Darkness (1994), James Aho
discusses how this "evil" is created through imagery, validated and
made the stuff of myth and "common knowledge about 'the them.' "
In this way, the "evil" is socially constructed. This is how
criminality, delinquency, and even "war crimes" and "crimes
against humanity" are brought to life, made reality and confirmed.
The first step is naming or labeling. "Persons, acts or
situations are neither good nor evil. They come to be seen as such when.
. .they are so defined" (Aho 1994, p.28). The labels of "ethnic
cleansers" and "genocidal" are attributed to Serbs almost
exclusively by Western media (Thomas 1993, Kent 1999, Flounders 1998),
including by both NATO and the ICTY. However, the label of "ethnic
revenge" and not "ethnic cleansing" is fixed to Kosovo Albanians
engaging in similar acts of violence and ethnic cleansing that the Serbs
are almost exclusively accused of by NATO and the West. In this way, the
Western media can have its label of "ethnic cleansers" to safely
affix to the Serbs to once again demonize them at sometime in the
future.
The next step that Aho (1994) discusses that is of interest
here is the legitimization of the labels : "It is one thing to malign
others; it is another for such labels to 'stick.' If labels are to
adhere to the intended party, they must be validated. One vehicle for
effecting this is the public degradation ceremony. This is a formal
hearing, trial, inquisition or tribunal . . ." ( p. 29). The purpose
of the ICTY Tribunal from Hell - it's "official hearings,
investigators and panels of experts" - the mindlessly, bloody Richard
Goldstone ilk- is not justice, not in the least bit, but as stated by
James Aho (1994), to make the labels of "ethnic cleansers, war
criminals and mass murders" stick to the Serbian people.
2. Questionable proceedings of the Tribunal from Hell.
. When NATO and the Bosnian Muslims kidnapped Djordje Djukic
and another Yugoslav army officer, and spirited them to the Hague, it
was not about "justice." It was not about "justice" to
interrogate this seriously ill man, who was being denied basic medical
care for cancer, for up to 20 hours a day. It was not about
"justice" when the tribunal's judges laughed at the profession of
innocence from Djordje. The cruel and indifferent treatment of Djordje
at the hands of the ICTY Tribunal from Hell, was not about "justice"
(Cavoski 1997, Rubin 1996, Kent 1999).
Djordje Djukich was a non-combat, logistics officer and most
likely innocent of "crimes against humanity." The "trial" of
him, as a Bosnian Serb, was actually a trial of all people of Serb
descent. The "derogation ceremony" served to validate Western mass
media propaganda labels of the Bosnian Serbs as "genocidal, ethnic
cleansers and mass murders" (Kent 1999, Rubin 1996, Aho 1994,
Flounders 1998).
James Aho (1994) demonstrated how labels against
"problematic groups" are validated through a "derogation
ceremony," that is courts, trials, public hearings - or - in this case
- an international tribunal. The ICTY Tribunal from Hell performs this
function. According to Kent (1999) and Thomas (1993), who wrote his
essay as the ICTY was being formed:
What is being set up is nothing more than an 'Ad Hoc
International Kangaroo Court' decked with the frills of respectability
to pacify the historical and revengeful demands of an American-lead,
Western lynch mob. There appears to be no higher court of appeal for the
Serbs. In the minds of the Western and especially American media, Serbs
have already been tried and found guilty. They will accept no other
verdict. The international 'legal process' is a FORMALITY (p. 4).
The Western mass media, the Eric Stovers and Gillies Pervess
of the world, are rather selective about the mass graves they cover,(17)
much in the way the ICTY indicts "war criminals." That is, the ICTY
investigators essentially work for the prosecution looking to indict and
convict persons of a single ethnicity. This "court" issues almost
daily accusations to the world mass media against leaders of one
ethnicity and religion in a civil war with three sides. (Thomas 1993,
Kent 1999). The ICTY seems to depend on the mass media and anti-Serb
propaganda to feed and validate its existence, and the example below is
strong evidence of this dependency.
On one night of drunkenness, reporter and author Nebojsa
Jevric was asked by an American reporter who he would nominate as the
worst rapist of Muslim women. Jevric nominated Gruban of Bijelo Polje.
The American counterpart then forwarded Gruban's name to the "right
places." Soon, the world was flooded with wanted posters of "Serbian
war criminals" with the names of Radovan Karadzic, Ratko Mladic and
Gruban. Gruban al>
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Transfer interrupted!
ge : unknown - nationality : unknown - description : unknown
- address : unknown.
With no description, how then were NATO's troops going to
find this notorious Serb war criminal who had raped so many Muslim
women? They weren't. Gruban of Bijelo Polje was actually a character
from the famous novel, "Hero on a Donkey," by Miodrag Bulatovic.(18)
With lots of egg on its face, the ICTY withdrew the
indictment against Gruban.(19)
Another questionable act of the ICTY that served to validate
the Serbs as a "evil, genocidal people" was the issuance of an
indictment for "war crimes and genocide" against Slobodan Milosevic,
President of Yugoslavia, during NATO's "Operation Allied Force."
(20) This indictment- and the timing of it - served to validate - once
again - the Serbs as an "evil people." It derogated the Serbian
people as an ethnic group in need of "collective punishment" by NATO
bombs (Naslund 1999). The current revelations now coming out of Kosovo
are that there was no "systematic policy of mass murder or
genocide." (21)
The ICTY Tribunal from Hell is really is part of the
portrayal of "the Other," the Serbs, as the "evil, human
refuse." It is not only the demonstration of the "justness" of the
cause of NATO and the West, but serves to validate anti-Serb propaganda.
The ICTY, it's derogation ceremonies aimed almost exclusively at
Serbs, serves the function of validating the "evilness" of the Serbs
as a subhuman group and the "need" for Western/NATO intervention (
Keen 1986, Kent 1999, Thomas 1993, Binder 1996).
Some unfortunate Serbs, like Djordje Djukich, are kidnapped
and turned over to NATO's troops to be "processed to the Hague."
(22) (Of the people indicted by this "court" 46 are Serbs, 8 Croats and
one a Muslim.(23) ) "Even if innocent, the accused is contaminated -
his guilt, insanity, addiction, subversives, or apostasy 'confirmed in
the eyes of the masses' " (Aho 1994, p.29). The ICTY is the
"legitimization" process whereby the interest is not justice -
hardly - but the validation of damning labels (Aho 1994).
These unearned labels of Serbs as "genocidal murderers"
have now become "common knowledge" of modern society (Aho 1994) and
it has now been woven and accepted as fact are that the Serbs are
"Nazi-like, ethnic cleansing, rapist, mass murders" (Flounders
1998).
The Serbs that are now, have been, and will be in the
future, subjected to this Tribunal from Hell , the ICTY, have been
relegated to this cruel and inhuman role for the sake of validating
Western propaganda and demonizing labels by going through the James
Aho's (1994) "legitimization" process.
Back to top.
Footnotes and references.
VI. Conclusion
"When Milosevic gets up in the morning, he is counting his
losses. . ." (24)
No, Jamie Shea, actually it is the civil population of
Yugoslavia that is counting its losses, including the losses of friends,
family and co-workers (Naslund 1999, International Action Center 1999).
In the minds of NATO officials, like Jamie Shea and Air Commodore Wilby,
they truly were "bombing Milosevic." The process of demonization of
the Serb population to a deserving mass of "subhuman, rapist, ethnic
cleansers" was easy for the NATO Alliance, for these push button
warriors painted the face of Slobodan Milosevic, an "indicted war
criminal," on the face of every person living in Yugoslavia.
Therefore, the entire population of Yugoslavia stood indicted in mass as
"war criminals and ethnic cleansers of Kosovo," having been indicted
along with the FRY President by that instrument of label validation and
Serb derogation - the ICTY Tribunal from Hell.
Any support for the current Western/NATO Balkans missions is
built and maintained through the use of anti-Serb propaganda. As the
Western propaganda spin goes, the West has a "holy mission," (an
ethnocentric one), to bring "the bad" in line with "the good ,"
and doing what where it desires in the name of "democracy, peace and
security." To accomplish this, the main strategy of Western propaganda
was "good vs evil," and "aggressor vs. aggrieved" (Kent 1999;
Boyd 1995). Much of the motivation for NATO's attack on Yugoslavia was
to stop "the evil aggressors" in the name of "higher moral
standards," even if it ment playing dirty (Naslund 1999). These
self-righteous hypocrites the demonized an entire ethnic group,
attempted to force them to sign a "non- negotiable agreement," (25)
labeled its leaders as "war criminals," and then set out on a
criminal campaign of "collective punishment" by bombing an innocent,
civil population "back into the Stone Age" ( Keen 1986, Naslund
1999).
In the opening pages of this essay I demonstrated the basic
sociology of how a human group like the Serbs can be dehumanized through
the use of demonizing propaganda. I used authors James Aho (1994) and
Sam Keen and his classic Faces of the Enemy: Reflection of the Hostile
Imagination (1986) to demonstrate how one human group defines "the
Other" and paints "the Other" as with sub-human qualities through
the used of negative images: propaganda. Using the work of Sara
Flounders and Thomas Deichmann I demonstrated how the anti-Serb
propaganda campaign is a concerted one directed by chiefly the American
public relations firm Ruder Finn Global Affairs. Ruder Finn jumped on
Penny Marshell's and ITN's "concentration camp" hoax and is
quite boastful of fooling American Jewish Organizations, like the Anti-
Defamation League.
I would like to say- most strongly to those American Jewish
groups(26) that allowed themselves to be duped- and who continue to be
duped - by the likes of the Ruder Finn PR firm and are supportive of the
dehumanizing and violence against the Serbian ethnic group, SHAME ON YOU
- SHAME ON YOU- SHAME ON YOU! (To say this does not make me
anti-Semitic, but places blame where blame is due!)
Besides PR firms and major newspapers, there are now books
pushing anti-Serb propaganda. They often have "remember Srebrenica"
themes. One such book that does a fairly good job of painting the Serbs
as subhuman, smelly, drunken, ethnic cleansing animals is Eric Stover
and Gillies Peress' The Graves : Srebrenica and Vukovar (1998). I use
this book as a model of anti-Serb propaganda throughout this essay.
I also used James Aho's work This Thing of Darkness : A
Sociology of the Enemy (1994), along with that of Raymond Kent (1999),
Raju G.C. Thomas (1993), Kosta Cavoski (1997) Alfed Rubin (1996), and
Maria Naslund (1999) to demonstrate the true purpose of the
International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) : Serb
demonization and the validation of anti-Serb labels and Western/NATO
mass media propaganda through the use of this "official court in the
Hague" as a "derogation ceremony" against the Serbs.
At the ICTY in the Hague - the Tribunal from Hell - justice
is the last thing this judicial devil is seeking. It is set up to solely
seek out and indict Serbs for the purpose of validating anti-Serb
stereotypes and labels like "ethnic cleaners." The cruel treatment
of individual Serbs indicted by this Tribunal from Hell and kidnapped by
NATO is to indict and "put on trial" ALL persons of Serb descent.
NATO carried out the "collective punishment" of the
Serbs, rehashing "remember Srebrenica" elements of anti-Serb
propaganda, as well outright lies of "ethnic cleansing in Kosovo" to
bomb the Yugoslavian population. The "collective punishment" of the
Serbs now continues in Kosovo through the excuse of Kosovo Albanian
"ethnic revenge" against the Kosovo Serbs. The Kosovo Serbs and
other minorities are now the victims of Kosovo "Liberation Army"
ethnic cleansing, and the NATO and the ICTY could care less because the
victims of this "ethnic cleansing" are the deserving Serbs.
Lastly, please remember Srebrenica! Srebrencia is the
birthplace and hometown of many of the elements of current anti-Serb
propaganda. The propaganda elements of the Serbs as "ethnic cleansing,
mass murders and drunken, genocidal animals" were born in Srebrenica.
Please remember Srebrenica, as this is where, according to Kent (1999)
and others, the "Big Lie" about "Serb ethnic cleansing" was
born.(27) Also remember that there are Serb victims at Srebrenica, and
elsewhere, that the Western mass media, NATO, the ICTY and the rest of
the Serbophobic world ignores in a racist manner.
Back to top.
Footnotes and references.
VII. My Observations
Whereas recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal
and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the
foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world. Preamble,
Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948).
It is startling how much this does not apply to the Serbs.
According to Maria Naslund (1999) of the Transnational Foundation for
Peace and Future Research, there is an increasingly "politically
correct" human rights activism unfolding in the "international
community." Currently there is more attention placed on the returning
ethnic -Albanians to Kosovo than on the future of the 11 million people
inside Serbia. More people may have died under NATO bombs than were
killed by Yugoslavian and KLA units (Naslund 1999).
1. Racism in human rights activity in Kosovo and in the
"international community."
What I find the most offensive and anger provoking aspect of
anti-Serb propaganda, its resulting dehumanization, including the shady
activity of the ICTY , is the devaluing of the human rights of the Serbs
as compared to other Balkans ethnic groups, especially Muslims. The
Serbs are also the "less deserving victims" in Miller and Levin's
(1998) "hierarchy of victims," whose lives and suffering are less
deserving of outrage and public outcry when war crimes and ethnic
cleaning are committed against them by the Kosovo Albanians and the KLA.
What I have noted from the websites of "humanitarian"
and "human rights" organizations currently active in Kosovo is an
almost complete lack of equal value for the human rights of Kosovo Serbs
and other minorities as compared to that of Kosovo Albanians. Little is
currently being discussed with regard to this anti-Serb racism in the
human rights community, but Raymond Kent (1999) called these
"concerned human rights activists" working in the Balkans,
especially in concert with the ICTY, "human rights Serbophobes" (p.
8).
Also noteworthy from these "human rights" web sites are
the descriptions of "Serb atrocities" as compared to atrocities
committed on the Serbs. Recall that I demonstrated that there is a
denial of the vicitimhood of the Serbs as being on the receiving end of
ethnic cleansings and a concerted effort to portray the Serbs as having
a monopoly on "ethnic cleansing." However, descriptions and accounts
of alleged Serb violence on other ethnic groups highlights the ethnic
labels of all the groups involved, with "Serb atrocities" on other
groups being described in intricate detail.
On Doctors Without Boarders' web site
(www.dwb.org/missions/kosovo.htm). There are lots of stories related to
DWB's work with Kosovo Albanian refugees, including a study on the
Kosovo Albanian refugees, but little about the plight of Kosovo Serbs.
The Doctors Without Boarders' Kosovo webpage presents a good
example of this one sided concern for all humans in Kosovo in a
statement by an Austian physician in June 1999 who seemed to really not
know, or care, about the plight of the Kosovo Serbs and other minorities
from THEIR homes: "After working for months with Kosovar refugees and
knowing how much they have suffered, it the best feeling that you can
have to see them coming back to their country."
This racist tendency to place more concern on the
humanitarian needs and more value on the human rights of one ethnic
group over another is highly offensive. I have noted that on the web
sites of these "human groups" in the "international community"
there are more stories, regarding the return of Kosovo ethnic-Albanians
than to the ethnic cleansing and murder of Kosovo Serbs and other Kosovo
minorities. There is an obvious value by the "international
community" with the human rights of Kosovo Albanians, but there is not
the same value being placed on the human rights of the Serb population.
As in Stover and Gillies' The Graves , the Serbs are non- humans and
not worthy of the same human rights as Bosnian Muslims. Being concerned
with the human rights of Bosinan Muslims, Croats and Kosovo Albanians,
while ignoring the human rights of the Serbs is RACIST, plain and
simple!
Recall the ideas of Miller and Levin (1998). Mass media
project the image of a "hierarchy of victims," whereby some victims
are seen as being "more deserving" of outrage and public attention
than other, "lesser victims." Crimes against "lesser victims"
are deemed less newsworthy and the lives of "lesser victims," in
this case the Serbs, are not valued as much as Bosnian Muslims and
Kosovo Albanians. I have noted a tendency to explain the violence of
Kosovo Albanians on their Serb neighbors as "ethnic revenge" for
"Serbian ethnic cleansing" of Kosovo.
This "ethnic revenge" is also used to explain attacks on
Serb elderly and children, non- combatants who probably had nothing to
do with any Serb on Albanian violence in Kosovo during NATO's bombing
campaign. How could an elderly Serb couple murdered in their apartment
in Prizren - during KFOR occupation of Kosovo - have anything to do with
an alleged policy of Slobodan Milosevic? This racist devaluing of the
human rights of Kosovo Serbs and the acceptance of "ethnic revenge"
against ALL Kosovo Serbs is clear evidence of the racist "collective
punishment" aspect of NATO and the West's policy toward the Serbian
ethnic group that Maria Nasland touched upon in one of her two papers on
NATO intervention (28).
What I strongly suggest that those of us concerned with
racism in "the international community, human rights and humanitarian
groups," is to use the principle of "equal concern for the human rights
and human needs of ALL groups equally" as a measuring rod to weed out
those practicing racism. With this, we will find the human rights and
humanitarian hypocrites!
I strongly believe that the making of anti-Serb propaganda,
demonization and dehumanization by Western PR firms had, and still has,
a lot to do with the anti-Serb racism in "humanitarian aid and human
rights" and neglect of the human rights of the Serbs. As an American I
am ashamed and highly offended that my government is allowing foreign
governments to hire American PR firms like Ruder Finn to make and spread
the hate of an ethnic group. What if the Ku Klux Klan decided to hire
Ruder Finn Global Public Affairs to spread its message through out the
world?! Something needs to be done, perhaps legislatively, about
allowing groups and governments to hire American PR firms to create
ethnic hate through dehumanizing propaganda. This concerted spreading of
anti-Serb demonization, which lead to the dehumanization of the Serbian
ethnic group, had a strong part to play in the acceptance of the bombing
of the Yugoslav civil population, especially described as "the
Serbs" and "bombing Milosevic," in Washington, London and
Brussels.
2. Some suggestions to the Serbian people. First of all, the
Serbian people need to realizing that they are fighting a concerted
effort to demonize them and dehumanize them. They need to be prepared to
mount a counter- concerted efforts against this hate propaganda, but
there are also things the individual Serb living here in the West can
do. Some of the following was also done by Arab-American groups in the
face of anti-Arab propaganda.
A. Get into the classrooms and get involved in schools and
colleges! Find out just what kind of books and materials are being used
in classes on "human rights, world affairs, international studies and
ethnic conflicts." This also includes the reading and use of newspaper
articles, since Western newspapers are the biggest spreader of anti-Serb
propaganda.
Read the materials and ask : "What kind of image is being
painted about my people in this book?" Look very close at how the
material is worded and how much attention is given to various
situations. If a book, such as the anti-Serb propaganda book The Graves:
Srebreinca and Vukovar , is being used in a classroom as required
reading, as at Florida State University, this gives this book
legitimacy, including the images of Serbs as drunken, smelly, mass-
murdering animals. (29)
B. Get into the libraries and find out what is there and
donate Serbian cultural materials. This allows people in the community
to be able to have the chance to learn positive aspects of the Serbian
culture. Donate books on Serbian epic poetry, history and culture and
food. Put up websites devoted to educating people about the Serbian
culture.
C. Start an international Serbian Student Union. This will
help combat the use of books such as The Graves in classrooms. It will
help bring Serbian culture studies and Slavic studies into more
prominence on college campuses. It will encourage more Serbs into higher
education.
D. Start defining the unequal valuing of human rights of
Serbs by the "international community" as what it really is :
RACISM. It is racist to place an unequal value of the human rights of
one ethnic group over another. Here in America, we refer to the
devaluing of the constitutional rights of minority - Americans as
compared to white - Americans as "racism." The devaluing of one
ethnic group's human rights over another on the international level
ALSO needs to be called just what it is : RACISM! Human rights are for
ALL humans! Human rights are not "granted" by ANY government or
military alliance and are not for sale!
E. Start an organization for human rights for Serbs. We need
to form an organization that will speak up for the human rights of the
Serbian people. It would not only address the lack of concern for the
human rights of the Serbian people, but address racism in "human
rights activism" and the "international community."
This type of organization would demand that the
"international community" address its anti-Serb racism and demand
that the human rights of the Serbian people be valued just as much as
the rights of Bosnian Muslims and Kosovo Albanians.
3. . . .and this work isn't done yet!
After all these pages of bring together authors and scholars
in this research project, this labor of love, to expose the offensive
and outright inhuman anti-Serb propaganda working of the West, NATO and
the US, this is only the beginning! There are separate papers and books
that can and have been written on the Tribunal from Hell's role in
anti-Serb label validation, the "remember Srebrenica" theme to
anti-Serb propaganda, the denial of the victimhood of the Serbs, and
propaganda in NATO's Balkan missions.
There will be future additions to this work (and maybe
someday a book, God willing) when I find and add still more sources,
authors, scholars and writers. This is only a start in exposing the
rather extensive and organized efforts to demonize, dehumanized and
lessen the human rights of the Serbian people.
To be addressed later in next additions :
1. The exportation of Western ideas, and I don't mean
democracy! I mean the idea of some groups' human rights being of less
value than other groups. Yes - NATO has exported the ideas of ethnic
inequality and racism to the Balkans! Why is it that the human rights of
Kosovo Serbs are of less value than Kosovo Albanians? Well, I will be
addressing this in the future.
2. The idea of a "hierarchy of victims" and the Serbs as
being "less deserving" victims than other groups, namely Muslims. It
is OK for Muslims to kill Serbs, but not OK for Serbs to kill
Muslims.(30) While Miller and Levin (1998) was speaking of American
minorities, namely African-Americans, the "hierarchy of victims" can
be applied to the Serbs as being "less deserving" victims than
Muslims.
3. The notion of "ethnic revenge" being used to describe
the Kosovo Albanian's ethnic cleaning and their communities of their
Serb neighbors. "Ethnic revenge" is a Kosovo Albanian policy that is
of racist manner, as it is against ANY Serb, including children and
elderly, not just those who might been part of police and army units.
Back to top.
Footnotes and references.
Criminalization of the Serbian People.
http://www.abolishnato.com
Erin S. LaPorte - December 22, 1999
Florida State U. Student (Sr.) - Tallahassee, Florida, USA
"A whole nation and ethnic group - men, women and children
- appear to be incarcerated in a giant prison. Western policy and the
media campaign is such that ALL Serbs are being economically and
psychologically destroyed. The word "SERBS" has been made synonymous
with the word "EVIL."
Dr. Raju G.C. Thomas, from his essay "Dehumanizing a Nation:
The Balkans Conflict and International Reaction" (1993) p. 1.
CONTENTS
I. Introduction to Group Demonization and Dehumanization.
Here, I use the work of Sam Keen (1986) to explain the basic
sociology of enemy creation through demonizing propaganda.
II. The "subhuman Serbs" as NATO targets.
1. The role of modern mass communication in "national
interests."
2. Human deaths as "collateral damage" and other NATO
propaganda.
III. The "concentration camps" and "ethnic
cleansing" elements in anti-Serb propaganda.
1. The organized efforts to spread anti-Serb propaganda.
2. Making of the Trnopolje "concentration camp" and
those who were shamelessly fooled.
3. "Remember Srebrenica" themes and "Serb ethnic
cleansing" propaganda.
4. Elements of anti-Serb propaganda developed from the
"remember Srebrenica" theme.
IV. Denial of the Victimhood of the Serbs.
V. The Hague Tribunal : The Tribunal from Hell
1. The use of "international tribunals" to validate
labels.
2. Questionable proceedings of the Tribunal from Hell.
VI. Conclusion
VII. My Observations.
1. Racism in human rights activity in Kosovo and the
"international community."
2. Some suggestions to the Serbian people.
3. . . . and this work isn't done yet!
Footnotes and references to this paper.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
I. Introduction to Group Demonization and Dehumanization.
Most human groups and nations create an enemy to create a
sense of social solidarity and membership. The function of war
propaganda is to build social solidarity, to unite a nation or group
against "the Other, evil incarnate."
"In all propaganda, the face of the enemy is designed to
provide a focus for our hatred. He is the other. The outsider. The
alien. He is not human. If we can only kill him, we will be rid of all
within and without ourselves that is evil" (Keen 1986, p. 16).
The stuff that creates a sense of tribal loyalty and
patriotism is paranoia. Paranoia is far from being an occasional
pathology, but a normal condition. We direct hate and suspicion to
strangers and those who are unlike us. The paranoid myth of "the
threat" involves the dualistic Us versus Them, Good versus Evil, we
are good, they are bad. This paranoid myth that unites the group and
defines it, also permits the killing of the immoral, nonhuman members of
the "them," as well as the holy act of dying while killing the
"them" (Keen, 1986).
Humans normally don't kill other humans. The humans that
we intend to kill, eliminate or commit genocide against must be
dehumanized. "The enemy" must be reduced to ugly creatures that are
less than animals with ideas that must be destroyed. Propaganda of the
mass media is employed to create "the good," us and "the evil",
the them. The mass media is employed to justify the righteousness and
piety of "us" and the aggression and evilness of "the enemy."
This creates the fog of paranoia that cannot be cleared, even when
presented with the truth about the true intentions and true humanity of
"the enemy" (Keen 1986).
The propaganda that is used to demonized and dehumanize
"the enemy" often portrays "the enemy" with similar images, both
visual and written. "The enemy" is often portrayed as a beast or a
stone age throw-back with turned down lips and ruff facial features. He
is wild and animal like, engaging in behaviors and customs that are
strange to "us." In print "the enemy" has been portrayed as
dirty, crude, acting either under the influence of home-made liquor or
pure animal instincts (Stover and Peress 1998), combined with the
enemy's "strange" social customs, as in Eric Stover and Gilles
Peress book The Graves: Srebrencia and Vukovar. (1998) (1). These images
are replayed in many ways to create the negative stereotypes of "the
enemy" and only negative news about this demonized group is covered in
"the press" (Keen 1986, McCarus 1994). Speaking of the portrayal of
the enemy's "strange social customs," Sam Keen (1986) stated: He
will be portrayed as rude, crude and uncivilized. More than likely he
will be an irrational, dirty member of a horde organized at best on the
model of an ant heap (p. 43).
Once demonized and stripped of their humanity, it not only
makes it easier for the battlefield solider to kill the "faceless,
non-human enemy," it is also easier to indiscriminately kill any
member of "the enemy." Civilians in the demonized group become
targets, often unable to fight back and are easy prey for violence and
persecutions. They are easy prey for violence and harassment as a result
of knee-jurk, American- patriotic racism called jingoistic racism (2) (
Keen 1986; Burchfield 1997; McCarus 1994).
Since a group stripped of its humanity is not seen as having
human worth, they have no human rights. Such a demonized, out-group is
not deserving of the protections that other human groups are entitled
under international law and conventions. Such a development helps
powerful governments and military alliances, and their media outlets, to
justify the bombing and killing of civilians, and the ignoring of the
human rights of the demonized group ( Burchfield 1997). "They" may
have been the victims of war crimes committed against "them," but
war crimes against "them" are justified.
Lastly, according to Miller and Levin (1998), the media
project images of a "hierarchy of victims," that is, some victims
are more deserving of public attention, sympathy and out rage than other
victims. This projects the image that these "lesser victims"
lives' are of no value and are therefore less newsworthy.
Back to top.
Footnotes and references
II. The "subhuman Serbs" as NATO Targets.
1. The role of modern mass communication in "national
interests."
The media play very important roles in portraying members of
some groups as normal and others as Other. In particular, films and
television programs use the power of visual images to create and
reinforce stereotypic images of Others as scary and different (Zatz and
Mann, 1998, p.8).
While the family and education have a role to play in the
shaping and transmission of the common culture, this role is falling
more on the shoulders of the media and the government. Government is
playing more of a role in the culture, shaping and supporting the
cultural values regarding civil rights, criminal justice and so on. The
mass media are a great influence on the transmission and reinforcement
of some times heavily biased, cultural values ( Burchfield 1997, Ranney
1993). The most influential impact of mass communications in political
communication and political culture is television because of it's
visualness over radio, its visual and voice over newspapers (Ranney
1993).
Journalists will seek out governmental and military
officials when there is some perceived threat to the "national
interest." Many of these reporters rely on official sources, such as
foreign affairs offices and governmental employees. In order to
cultivate relationships with and "not offend" those "in the
know," the reporter reports "facts" he is given, even if he knows
that they are lies. The most esteemed journalists are the ones who are
the most servile. Hearsay is transformed into "the truth"
(Sadkovich, 1998). Often, however, these "facts" that military and
governmental officials put out as "truth" can be disputable and
become part of the propaganda and the process of demonization, or
re-demonization (Sadkovich 1998, Keen 1986).
There is one vivid example of this "reporting of facts"
from the NATO Alliance during it's rather questionable "Operation
Allied Force." The Paris based group, Reporters sans Frontieres (RSF)
chastised NATO for what it said was the Alliance's "distorting the
truth, attempts at misinformation" and "impossible to check
figures." RSF sited the example of the supposed wounding of
ethnic-Albanian leader Ibrahim Rugova, who then subsequently appeared
healthy on Serbian Television.
Air Commodore David Wilby had stated that the report of
Rugova's demise was from a "very reliable source." The "very
reliable source" that Air Commodore Wilby cited was a London -based
Kosovo Information Center, run by Kosovo exiles. Besides
(dis)information, RSF's report points out the "other features of
Western communication are approximate figures, debatable historical
references and the use of vocabulary that has the aim of making the
adversay appear monstrous. " (3)
2. Human deaths as "collateral damage" and other NATO
propaganda.
"When we know the Serbs did it, we say the Serbs did
it," said a NATO official . . .who spoke anonymously to an American
researcher. "When we don't know who did it, we say the Serbs did it.
And when we know the Serbs didn't do it, we say we don't know who
did it." (4)
Recall in Section I the ideas of both Burchfield (1997) and
Keen (1986). Once a group of humans is stripped of its humanity, such as
the Serbs, this "out group" is seen as "not worthy" of the same
protections granted to "in groups." This includes the human rights
and human worth of the demonized group. Also, according to Keen (1986),
the high tech weapons eliminate much of the demonization process and
make "the enemy" even less human : The atrocities committed from a
high altitude by bomber crews, directed from afar by technicians are not
so much inhuman as ahuman ( p.86). So long as we want to kill from a
distance with clean hands, we must refrain from imagining the
consequences of our weapons, and must completely eliminate any awareness
of the enemy as human (pp.86-87).
NATO officials in Brussels were truly conditioned by their
propaganda to kill "the Other," the "sub-human, ethnic cleansing,
Serbs," and coupled with the distance from Brussels to Belgrade, this
insulated the Alliance from the carnage in Yugoslavia, making bombing
the civil population all the more sanitary.
The results of dehumanizing propaganda and sanitary killing
of "the Other" came out of one NATO official in at least one press
briefing during "Operation Allied Force." During the April 9th press
briefing, CNN correspondent Patricia Kelly questioned Air Commodore
David Wilby's lack of concern for the civil population in and around a
Yugoslav car plant : ". . .your statement on the collateral damage to
civilian property in Kosovo seems to take no account of the fact that
there are still Serb civilians inside of Kosovo which NATO has also
pledged to protect in its early mission statements but the way you put
the information across makes it sound as if you are not particularly
bothered about their safety any longer."
In his reply to the charge, Wilby answers with a well worn
NATO statement, but then continues to describe possible Serb civilian
causalities in non-human terms:
". . .if I gave the impression that I was not concerned
about the loss of civilian life to the Serbian population, you know that
we have always said that we are not in any conflict with the Serbian
people and I am sorry if my emphasis came across slightly wrong to you."
"In terms of the car plant. . .as I have said to you, we
would look very carefully into the collateral damage or damage to
civilians before we attacked that particular plant." (5)
According to The White Book of NATO's Crimes , there were
several civilian homes hit by missiles that day, as well as the car
plant that employed 30,000, but no injuries or deaths were reported in
this publication. (6)
In yet another example that lead to protests by historical
experts was Tony Blair's (mis) use of the term "genocide" and the
characterization of Milosevic's government to that of Hitler's. (7)
The reasons for the NATO Alliance's questionable bombing campaign was
the "humanitarian disaster" of the ethnic Albanians that was created
by the "ethnic cleansing by the Serbs." The common figure being
batted around was 100,000 dead, with one mass grave in Ljubenic said to
contain 350 bodies. ("Remember Srebrenica?! Why those 'nasty, ethnic
cleansing, rapist Serbs' were back to their systematic ethnic cleansing
plans!")
What investigators found , or didn't find ( November 1999)
in Ljubenic was not 350 corpses, but seven(8) and a mine shaft said to
contain lots of corpses of massacred Albanians held none (9). Recently,
teams of forensic experts from Spain and Italy have found only about 200
graves or so with no signs of torture on those corpses the did find.(10)
People were leaving Kosovo because, like Serbia proper, it was being
attacked by NATO.(11) The NATO Alliance is starting to look very much
like an alliance of cheap, brutal war mongers, using propaganda and
outright lies as a justification for war.
However, during the NATO actions against the Yugoslav Serbs,
the West rehashed the same propaganda and old stereotypes of the Serbs
as the "butchers of the Balkans, ethnic cleansers" (Flounders 1998).
The US and NATO used these past anti-Serb propaganda and anti- Serb
stereotypes in an effort to create the social solidarity necessary to
keep the NATO countries' leaders and their publics supportive of the
Yugoslavia bombing campaign ( Keen 1986, Naslund, 1999).
These claims of the "systematic, ethnic cleansing and mass
murder plans" of the Serbs is not new. The anti-Serb propaganda
elements that were being recycled in the NATO action with regard to
Kosovo were the "remember Sreberinca" themes, which are highlighted
in the next section. There was alleged to have been 8,000 Muslim men
"systematically massacred by the Serbs" in Srebreinca, but only 460
bodies have been found (Kent 1998, Pumphrey 1998).
Some of the conscious in the West for the "bombing of
Milosevic" and the Yugoslav Serb civilian population was also
developed and maintained by sometimes concerted demonization and
dehumanization campaigns lead by American PR firms like Ruder Finn
Global Public Affairs(12) with "very important" clients, like the
Republic of Croatia.
Back to top.
Footnotes and references
III. The "concentration camps" and "ethnic
cleansing" elements in anti-Serb propaganda.
"Regrettably, that behavior (ethnic cleansing) is not
unprecedented in Balkan conflicts, and to say that it is a peculiarly
Serb behavior says more about the observer than the Balkans" (Charles
G. Boyd 1995, p.3).
Several groups have been demonized through the use of
propaganda during the 20th Century. Most notably, the Jews, Germans and
Japanese during the Second World War, the Russians during the Cold War,
the Arabs and Muslims during the 70's and the Gulf War. The newest
victims of Western, war- motivated propaganda are the Serbs (Keen 1986,
McCarus 1994, Kent 1999, Flounders 1998). There have been a few intense
media blitzes stemming "from the need to punish" the Serbs for their
insolence against the West and Washington (Kent 1999).
1. The organized efforts to spread anti- Serb propaganda.
Unlike the cartoons and posters of the previous wars, the
"media war" against the Serbs, as many have put it, is a sometimes
concerted, high tech one, incorporating mass communication technology
and public relations firms to demonize and dehumanize and the entire
ethnic group. The current concerted propaganda campaign against the
Serbs began back in the early '90's when the Western world media
heated up it's anti- Serb campaign with its portrayal of Serbs as
barbarians, drunken bandits and murders, even Nazi fascists. Current
political cartoons portray the Serbs as pigs, hyenas and neo-Nazi
monsters. (Thomas 1993, Flounders 1998, Deichmann 1998, Kent 1999).
There is now even an anti-Serb propaganda book, Stover and Peress' The
Graves , being use in the classroom of Florida State University in a
course on "human rights investigations" and this author is finding
that anti-Serb propaganda books with the "remember Srebrenica" theme
are becoming common place.
The current Western/NATO propaganda against the Serbs is an
organized one, involving public relations firms. Charly Reese of the
Orlando Sentinel wrote, ". . .the Serbs were and are up against
powerful American public relations firms, western intelligence agencies
and biased or incompetent Western reporters." Reese cited an interview
by French Two Television of James Harff of Ruder Finn Global Affairs,
the public relations firm that was representing the Muslim side. Harff,
who is Ruder Finn's director, boasted of getting the American Jews on
the side of Muslims after the Bosnian concentration camps hoax (Also
Deichmann, 1998, Flounders 1998). The public relations firm capitalized
on the high emotional content of the ITN "concentration camp" hoax
for the benefit of its clients, the Republic of Croatia, the Republic of
Bosnia-Herzegovina and the parliamentary oppsition in Kosovo. The
Washington based firm shows how the corporate media engages in a modern
propaganda campaign and demonstrates one of the concerted efforts to
demonize the Serbs :
Speed is vital. . .it is the first assertion that really
counts. All denial are ineffective. In a single move we were able to
present a simple story of good guys and bad guys which would hereafter
play itself. We won by targeting the Jewish audience. Almost immediately
there was a clear change of the lanague in the press, with use of words
with high emotional content such as 'ethnic cleansing, concertration
camps, etc., which evoke images of Nazi Germany and the gas chambers of
Auschwitz. No one could go against it without being accused of
revisionism. We really batted a thousand in full" (qtd. in Flounders
1998, pp.54, 55).
2. Making of the Trnopolje "concentration camp" and
those who were shamelessly fooled.
In his essay "The Picture that Fooled the World" (1998)
Thomas Deichman describes the "concentration camp" hoax in detail.
The now famous picture came from a video shot by Penny Marshall of ITN
of a refugee camp in Trnopolje on August 5th, 1992. In fact, Deichmann
has looked at the rest of the footage Marshall and her team shot that
contained the picture. What was used in the Marshell report - and what
wasn't - is revealing. What wasn't in the report was the openness of
the camp, the holes in the fences that Marshell and her crew went
through and that the refugees were free to leave anytime they wanted
(Dechmann, 1998).
What became the picture that Mike Jeremy of ITN pegged
"one of the key images of the war in the former Yugoslavia," (qtd.
in Deichmann, p. 170) was, in fact, presented as to the Western world as
something it was not, a concentration camp. The focus was on Fikret
Alic, who's protruding rib cage behind a fence conjured up images of
Nazi death camps. This "death camp" was a crude, sick lie and Fikret
Alic, who survived the war, was disturbed about the use of his image.
Through the use of camera angles, editing and the focus on
one rather emaciated fellow, the images of a "concentration camp"
were constructed for Western, anti-Serb propaganda consumption,
especially to the delight of the Ruder Finn PR firm (Deichmann 1998,
Flounders 1998).
James Harff of Ruder Finn shows his more of his "pride"
in getting the Anti-Defamation League and other Jewish organizations on
the side of Muslims using the "concentration camp " hoax:
"At the beginning of July 1992, New York Newsday came out
with the article on Serb camps. We jumped at the opportunity
immediately. We outwitted three big Jewish organizations - the B'nai
B'rith Anti-Defamation League, The American Jewish Committee and the
American Jewish Congress. In August, we suggested that they publish an
advertisement in the New York Times and organize demonstrations outside
the United Nations.
That was a tremendous coup. When the Jewish organizations
entered the game on the side of the [Muslim] Bosnians, we could promptly
equate the Serbs with the Nazis in the public mind. Nobody understood
what was happening in Yugoslavia. The great majority of Americans were
probably asking themselves in which African country Bosnia was
situated" (qtd. in Flounders 1998, p.55).
Those that were duped- and continue to be duped - are the
American Jewish groups, such as the Anti- Defamation League that,
according Thomas (1993) : "Using the Jewish Holocaust as their
exclusive domain and forgetting the holocaust of the Serbs, the American
Jewish Congress has gone overboard in their calls to bomb the Serbs" (
p. 2)
Thomas points out strongly that the American Jewish
community is actually participating in the genocide of Serbs. Promoting
dehumanizing anti-Serb propaganda is a horrible step by most victimized
ethnic group of the 20th Century- the Jews- to promote violence against
another ethnic group- the Serbs.
3. "Remember Srebrenica" themes and "Serb ethnic
cleansing" propaganda.
"Srebrenica provides an unexpected way precisely what is
wrong with both the media and the constant spreading of hate against the
Serbs" (Kent 1999, p.9).
"Ethnic cleansing" is more often, and falsely,
attributed to Serbs, while at the same time Serb victims of ethnic
cleansing, including at Srebrenica, are forgotten. Serb victims of
ethnic cleansing are either misidentified as another ethnicity or not
identified by an ethnicity. Often the fact that Serbs are also victims
of ethnic cleansing is downplayed or never reported. ( Kent 1999,
Dragnich 1995, Boyd 1995, Rohde 1997, Thomas 1993). Section IV
extensively covers denial of the victimhood of the Serbs by Western
governments and media.
Editors often suppress "pro-Serb" stories, but allow a
few favorable words to be said to give the appearance of "fair play"
(Kent 1999). These stories are often hidden or near the bottom, but then
it is accompanied by demonizing, anti-Serb text ( Kent 1999).
The "Serbophobes," as Kent (1999) calls them, not only
portray the Serbs as dirty, drunken, neo-Nazi monsters, but suppressed
stories defending the Serbs, including false charges and grand
exaggerations of alleged "genocide" (Kent 1999, Thomas 1993, ).
Western reporters and the Eric Stover types, according to Thomas (1993),
go into a frenzy over alleged "genocide" by Serbs and numbers of
Muslims or Croats killed are often inflated and amount to lies. The same
ilk could care less when the victims of ethnic cleansing and mass murder
are Serbs. What the Western propaganda machine drags up constantly are
the alleged atrocities by Serbs in the town of Srebernica (Kent 1999).
This is one of the towns in Eric Stover and Gillies Peress' The Graves
: Srebernica and Vukovar (1998) .
In this book, the Serbs are not only portrayed as a race of
dirty, drunken, animal, ethnic cleansers, but the mainly
photojournalistic work hides the victimization of the Serbs, as well as
portrays the Serbs as drunken, animalistic killers. Stover writes, " .
. . the shelling of towns and villages, mass deportations of Muslims and
Croats and the systematic destruction of their cultural property. . .
what the Serb leaders were intending to accomplish in Bosnia" (p.
137).
However, a good - and shorter than an entire book - example
of this method of anti-Serb stereotype reinforcement is also in the
March 25th, 1996 issue of the New York Times article by Alan Cowell.
Cowell's story was regarding the indictments by the International
Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) of three Bosinan
Muslims and a Bosnian Croat for involvement in a alleged "rape camp"
in which Serbs were the victims. One would not know that this is an
article about Serb victims and indictments issued for crimes committed
against Serbs by reading the article:
These are the first individuals indicted for crimes against
Bosnian Serb victims," the tribunal's spokesman, Christian Chartier
said. The indictment was "the first of its kind," it said.
The tribunal's investigations have been dominated by
inquires against Serbs, who investigators say pursued a systematic drive
to purge entire regions of Muslims and Croats, using murder and rape as
weapons in this process of 'ethnic cleansing.'
The tribunal has charged that many of the Serbian atrocities
reflected deliberate policies of the Bosnian Serb leadership, as opposed
to being crimes by rouge individuals . . . "
Even as today's indictments against the Serbs'
adversaries were made known, the United States' chief delegate to the
United Nations, Madeleine Albright, was visiting the site of suspected
mass graves near the central town of Srebrenica, where thousands of
Muslims are believed to have been massacred by Serbs last July." (13)
Was Cowell's story really about the ICTY indictments of
non-Serbs, or was the purpose of Cowell's article really about
something else - like anti-Serb stereotype reinforcement?!
4. Elements of anti-Serb propaganda developed from the
"remember Srebrenica" theme.
In Faces of the Enemy (1986) , on page 46, Sam Keen has
eight elements of decivilizing rhetoric he identified as being used by
former President Ronald Reagan to paint the image "Soviet savagery." I
have noted that much of the "remember Srebrenica" theme was, and
still is, being used as elements of anti-Serb propaganda. Borrowing on
Keen's idea of identifying elements of decivilizing rhetoric, and Eric
Stover's Serb bashing text in The Graves as a main sources, I have
created a list of elements in anti-Serb propaganda :
a.. The Serbs are not victims of "ethnic cleansing"
( p.137, implied).
b.. The Serbs break agreements (p. 121).
c.. The Serbs are rapists of Muslim women (p. 115) .
d.. The Serbs are "dirty, animalistic killers" ( pp.
105, 108, 103, 144, 156).
e.. The Serbs are usually drunk on brandy ( pp.105,
106,).
f.. The Serbs are "cold, cruel occupiers" (
pp.111-112, 130, 140 ).
g.. The Serbs have "strange, animal- like habits" (
pp.83-87, 122).
h.. The Serbs are the only perpetrators of "ethnic
cleansing and mass murder." Stover and Gilles' entire book portrays
this fallacy, but especially on pages 131, 137, 108.
What is also clear from Stover and Gilles' book is that
Bosnian Muslims are human beings, with human traits of concern for
family, have feelings of love and anger, suffer hunger and cold.
Contrast that to the animalistic Serbs who, in this obviously propaganda
book, are cold, cruel, unfeeling, and unmoved by the tears and fears of
the Bosnian Muslim human beings . The Serbs, as a group of human beings,
have their humanity ripped and stripped from then in The Graves. Eric
Stover and Gillies Pervess' The Graves : Sreberinca and Vukovar is an
excellent book for those who want get a good taste of what anti-Serb
propaganda and dehumanization is all about.
Closely related to the "remember Srebrenica" spin of
anti-Serb propaganda is the denial of the victimhood of the Serbs,
including and especially in Srebrenica, at the hands of Eric Stover's
"charismatic - 25 year old leader," Naser Oric.
Back to top.
Footnotes and references
IV. Denial of the victimhood of the Serbs.
"Massacres committed by Serbs are genocide, but not
massacres committed on Serbs. Ethnic cleansing by the Serbs is genocide,
but not that committed by the other side against Serbs" ( Thomas 1993,
p. 5).
Part of the demonization and dehumanization of the Serbs is
not only labels created through propaganda against them, but also the
removal of their victimhood. The funeral of a Serb girl was reported as
that of a Muslim and the rape of a Serb woman was reported as that of a
Muslim (Kent 1999, Thomas 1993).
"When pictures of Serbian victims are shown, their
ethnicity is not identified so as to give the impression that these are
Muslims or Croats. One American newspaper even took the picture of a
Serbian rape victim clearly identified in a caption in a Canadian
newspaper, then reprinted that picture under a caption identifying her
as a Muslim victim" ( Thomas 1993, p. 2 ).
Or the fact that the Serbs have also been victims of ethnic
cleansing is often never reported in Western media. According to Raymond
Kent, "For almost a year before the Serbs took Srebrenica. . . its
Bosnian (Muslim) government forces routinely raided the rural Serbs in
the surrounding countryside, committing all kinds of war crimes without
any fear that the T.V. screens of the outside world could be even a
silent witness" (p. 9 ).
On thing is for certain is that journalist and forensic
anthropologist Eric Stover and photojournalist Gilles Peress were not
there. In fact on page 117 of The Graves , Stover treats Naser Oric, the
local Bosnian Muslin leader suspected of burning over 200 Serbs villages
and brutally and beastly murdering Serbs in raids around Srebrenica
(Kent 1999, Rohde 1997) as a "charismatic, twenty - five year old
policeman" and the brutal, murderous raids as "the success of these
local raids." In the book Endgame (1997) David Rohde paints a picture
of Srebrenica's Serbs living in fear :
Srebrenica's Muslims and Naser Oric had played the United
Nations beautifully in 1993. When the Serbs were on the verge of taking
the town, they had tricked the West into saving them. The safe area was
a joke. For two years, the UN had fed the Muslims, sold them weapons and
done nothing as Naser Oric launched raids from a town that was supposed
to be "demilitarized." Serb villagers within 30 miles of Srebrenica
lived in constant fear, waiting to hear the voices in the night and then
smell smoke. Dozens of civilians had been burned alive in their homes by
Oric's men (p.15).
While I am not condoning any actions that may have been
perpetrated by the Bosinan Serb side, the marked difference between
Naser Oric and Ratko Mladic is that the latter has never been indicted
by the ICTY (Kent 1999) . On of the most grave injustices of Stover and
Gilles' The Graves is that it hides and denies Srebrenica's other
victims, the Bosnian Serbs, and implies that a "politically correct"
war criminal is a hero.
Currently, much of the coverage of "humanitarian
efforts" in Kosovo are often one-side, almost flat out ignorance the
human rights and war crimes violations by the Kosovo Albanian
population, especially the KLA ( the Kosovo, so-called "Liberation
Army ") against the Kosovo Serbs. The ICTY is doing little to
investigate and indict KLA and other Kosovo Albanians for their war
crimes and ethnic cleansing against the Kosovo Serbs and other
minorities(14). In the fashion of "remember Srebrenica" there were
accusations of "Serbian ethnic cleansing" that are now, once again,
turning out to be false(15). Also, as in Bosnia, when Serbs are the
victims, who cares.
As stated by Miller and Levin (1998) the mass media project
a "hierarchy of victims" in which some victims are more deserving of
attention and public outrage than others. The Serbs are quite noticeably
at the bottom of this hierarchy, if they are even on the chart at all.
When a mass grave is made up of Muslims and non-Serbs, the Western mass
media flock to it like vultures(16). When the mass grave is made up of
Serbs - who cares. When the Serbs are victims of ethnic cleansing - who
cares. The Serbs are subhumans - so who cares (Thomas 1993).
The above is commonly called "racism" and those involved
are commonly called "racists."
Denial of victimhood of the Serbs and treating war crimes
against them as if they are less deserving of investigation and
international attention is reflective of racism in the "international
community," the ICTY and the "human rights Serbophobes" (Kent
1999, p.8). The cameras were out and rolling to catch Ratko Mladic - but
not Naser Oric (Kent 1999). Being very concerned with the human rights
and humanitarian needs of one ethnic group, while flat out ignoring the
human rights violations against and the basic human needs of the other,
as is current in Kosovo, is RACIST, to say the least.
Back to top.
Footnotes and references
V. The Hague Tribunal : The Tribunal from Hell.
1. The use of "international tribunals" to validate
labels.
"A problematic individual or group is classified as an
instance of human refuse; the validity of the label is tested and
confirmed in public hearings or tribunals conducted by experts certified
in making defamatory pronouncements: legends are then woven by
mythmakers to 'explain' the necessity for the evil party being as it
is : these legends are passed on . . . as ontological truths, and
received by an audience which, not present during the initial steps, is
unable to fathom the fabricated nature of the evil; finally, the truth
of the myth is recognized (re-known) through its ritual dramatization in
armed engagements, domestic and foreign, against the evil object" (Aho
1994, pp.114-115).
In his book, This Thing of Darkness (1994), James Aho
discusses how this "evil" is created through imagery, validated and
made the stuff of myth and "common knowledge about 'the them.' "
In this way, the "evil" is socially constructed. This is how
criminality, delinquency, and even "war crimes" and "crimes
against humanity" are brought to life, made reality and confirmed.
The first step is naming or labeling. "Persons, acts or
situations are neither good nor evil. They come to be seen as such when.
. .they are so defined" (Aho 1994, p.28). The labels of "ethnic
cleansers" and "genocidal" are attributed to Serbs almost
exclusively by Western media (Thomas 1993, Kent 1999, Flounders 1998),
including by both NATO and the ICTY. However, the label of "ethnic
revenge" and not "ethnic cleansing" is fixed to Kosovo Albanians
engaging in similar acts of violence and ethnic cleansing that the Serbs
are almost exclusively accused of by NATO and the West. In this way, the
Western media can have its label of "ethnic cleansers" to safely
affix to the Serbs to once again demonize them at sometime in the
future.
The next step that Aho (1994) discusses that is of interest
here is the legitimization of the labels : "It is one thing to malign
others; it is another for such labels to 'stick.' If labels are to
adhere to the intended party, they must be validated. One vehicle for
effecting this is the public degradation ceremony. This is a formal
hearing, trial, inquisition or tribunal . . ." ( p. 29). The purpose
of the ICTY Tribunal from Hell - it's "official hearings,
investigators and panels of experts" - the mindlessly, bloody Richard
Goldstone ilk- is not justice, not in the least bit, but as stated by
James Aho (1994), to make the labels of "ethnic cleansers, war
criminals and mass murders" stick to the Serbian people.
2. Questionable proceedings of the Tribunal from Hell.
. When NATO and the Bosnian Muslims kidnapped Djordje Djukic
and another Yugoslav army officer, and spirited them to the Hague, it
was not about "justice." It was not about "justice" to
interrogate this seriously ill man, who was being denied basic medical
care for cancer, for up to 20 hours a day. It was not about
"justice" when the tribunal's judges laughed at the profession of
innocence from Djordje. The cruel and indifferent treatment of Djordje
at the hands of the ICTY Tribunal from Hell, was not about "justice"
(Cavoski 1997, Rubin 1996, Kent 1999).
Djordje Djukich was a non-combat, logistics officer and most
likely innocent of "crimes against humanity." The "trial" of
him, as a Bosnian Serb, was actually a trial of all people of Serb
descent. The "derogation ceremony" served to validate Western mass
media propaganda labels of the Bosnian Serbs as "genocidal, ethnic
cleansers and mass murders" (Kent 1999, Rubin 1996, Aho 1994,
Flounders 1998).
James Aho (1994) demonstrated how labels against
"problematic groups" are validated through a "derogation
ceremony," that is courts, trials, public hearings - or - in this case
- an international tribunal. The ICTY Tribunal from Hell performs this
function. According to Kent (1999) and Thomas (1993), who wrote his
essay as the ICTY was being formed:
What is being set up is nothing more than an 'Ad Hoc
International Kangaroo Court' decked with the frills of respectability
to pacify the historical and revengeful demands of an American-lead,
Western lynch mob. There appears to be no higher court of appeal for the
Serbs. In the minds of the Western and especially American media, Serbs
have already been tried and found guilty. They will accept no other
verdict. The international 'legal process' is a FORMALITY (p. 4).
The Western mass media, the Eric Stovers and Gillies Pervess
of the world, are rather selective about the mass graves they cover,(17)
much in the way the ICTY indicts "war criminals." That is, the ICTY
investigators essentially work for the prosecution looking to indict and
convict persons of a single ethnicity. This "court" issues almost
daily accusations to the world mass media against leaders of one
ethnicity and religion in a civil war with three sides. (Thomas 1993,
Kent 1999). The ICTY seems to depend on the mass media and anti-Serb
propaganda to feed and validate its existence, and the example below is
strong evidence of this dependency.
On one night of drunkenness, reporter and author Nebojsa
Jevric was asked by an American reporter who he would nominate as the
worst rapist of Muslim women. Jevric nominated Gruban of Bijelo Polje.
The American counterpart then forwarded Gruban's name to the "right
places." Soon, the world was flooded with wanted posters of "Serbian
war criminals" with the names of Radovan Karadzic, Ratko Mladic and
Gruban. Gruban al>
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Transfer interrupted!
ge : unknown - nationality : unknown - description : unknown
- address : unknown.
With no description, how then were NATO's troops going to
find this notorious Serb war criminal who had raped so many Muslim
women? They weren't. Gruban of Bijelo Polje was actually a character
from the famous novel, "Hero on a Donkey," by Miodrag Bulatovic.(18)
With lots of egg on its face, the ICTY withdrew the
indictment against Gruban.(19)
Another questionable act of the ICTY that served to validate
the Serbs as a "evil, genocidal people" was the issuance of an
indictment for "war crimes and genocide" against Slobodan Milosevic,
President of Yugoslavia, during NATO's "Operation Allied Force."
(20) This indictment- and the timing of it - served to validate - once
again - the Serbs as an "evil people." It derogated the Serbian
people as an ethnic group in need of "collective punishment" by NATO
bombs (Naslund 1999). The current revelations now coming out of Kosovo
are that there was no "systematic policy of mass murder or
genocide." (21)
The ICTY Tribunal from Hell is really is part of the
portrayal of "the Other," the Serbs, as the "evil, human
refuse." It is not only the demonstration of the "justness" of the
cause of NATO and the West, but serves to validate anti-Serb propaganda.
The ICTY, it's derogation ceremonies aimed almost exclusively at
Serbs, serves the function of validating the "evilness" of the Serbs
as a subhuman group and the "need" for Western/NATO intervention (
Keen 1986, Kent 1999, Thomas 1993, Binder 1996).
Some unfortunate Serbs, like Djordje Djukich, are kidnapped
and turned over to NATO's troops to be "processed to the Hague."
(22) (Of the people indicted by this "court" 46 are Serbs, 8 Croats and
one a Muslim.(23) ) "Even if innocent, the accused is contaminated -
his guilt, insanity, addiction, subversives, or apostasy 'confirmed in
the eyes of the masses' " (Aho 1994, p.29). The ICTY is the
"legitimization" process whereby the interest is not justice -
hardly - but the validation of damning labels (Aho 1994).
These unearned labels of Serbs as "genocidal murderers"
have now become "common knowledge" of modern society (Aho 1994) and
it has now been woven and accepted as fact are that the Serbs are
"Nazi-like, ethnic cleansing, rapist, mass murders" (Flounders
1998).
The Serbs that are now, have been, and will be in the
future, subjected to this Tribunal from Hell , the ICTY, have been
relegated to this cruel and inhuman role for the sake of validating
Western propaganda and demonizing labels by going through the James
Aho's (1994) "legitimization" process.
Back to top.
Footnotes and references.
VI. Conclusion
"When Milosevic gets up in the morning, he is counting his
losses. . ." (24)
No, Jamie Shea, actually it is the civil population of
Yugoslavia that is counting its losses, including the losses of friends,
family and co-workers (Naslund 1999, International Action Center 1999).
In the minds of NATO officials, like Jamie Shea and Air Commodore Wilby,
they truly were "bombing Milosevic." The process of demonization of
the Serb population to a deserving mass of "subhuman, rapist, ethnic
cleansers" was easy for the NATO Alliance, for these push button
warriors painted the face of Slobodan Milosevic, an "indicted war
criminal," on the face of every person living in Yugoslavia.
Therefore, the entire population of Yugoslavia stood indicted in mass as
"war criminals and ethnic cleansers of Kosovo," having been indicted
along with the FRY President by that instrument of label validation and
Serb derogation - the ICTY Tribunal from Hell.
Any support for the current Western/NATO Balkans missions is
built and maintained through the use of anti-Serb propaganda. As the
Western propaganda spin goes, the West has a "holy mission," (an
ethnocentric one), to bring "the bad" in line with "the good ,"
and doing what where it desires in the name of "democracy, peace and
security." To accomplish this, the main strategy of Western propaganda
was "good vs evil," and "aggressor vs. aggrieved" (Kent 1999;
Boyd 1995). Much of the motivation for NATO's attack on Yugoslavia was
to stop "the evil aggressors" in the name of "higher moral
standards," even if it ment playing dirty (Naslund 1999). These
self-righteous hypocrites the demonized an entire ethnic group,
attempted to force them to sign a "non- negotiable agreement," (25)
labeled its leaders as "war criminals," and then set out on a
criminal campaign of "collective punishment" by bombing an innocent,
civil population "back into the Stone Age" ( Keen 1986, Naslund
1999).
In the opening pages of this essay I demonstrated the basic
sociology of how a human group like the Serbs can be dehumanized through
the use of demonizing propaganda. I used authors James Aho (1994) and
Sam Keen and his classic Faces of the Enemy: Reflection of the Hostile
Imagination (1986) to demonstrate how one human group defines "the
Other" and paints "the Other" as with sub-human qualities through
the used of negative images: propaganda. Using the work of Sara
Flounders and Thomas Deichmann I demonstrated how the anti-Serb
propaganda campaign is a concerted one directed by chiefly the American
public relations firm Ruder Finn Global Affairs. Ruder Finn jumped on
Penny Marshell's and ITN's "concentration camp" hoax and is
quite boastful of fooling American Jewish Organizations, like the Anti-
Defamation League.
I would like to say- most strongly to those American Jewish
groups(26) that allowed themselves to be duped- and who continue to be
duped - by the likes of the Ruder Finn PR firm and are supportive of the
dehumanizing and violence against the Serbian ethnic group, SHAME ON YOU
- SHAME ON YOU- SHAME ON YOU! (To say this does not make me
anti-Semitic, but places blame where blame is due!)
Besides PR firms and major newspapers, there are now books
pushing anti-Serb propaganda. They often have "remember Srebrenica"
themes. One such book that does a fairly good job of painting the Serbs
as subhuman, smelly, drunken, ethnic cleansing animals is Eric Stover
and Gillies Peress' The Graves : Srebrenica and Vukovar (1998). I use
this book as a model of anti-Serb propaganda throughout this essay.
I also used James Aho's work This Thing of Darkness : A
Sociology of the Enemy (1994), along with that of Raymond Kent (1999),
Raju G.C. Thomas (1993), Kosta Cavoski (1997) Alfed Rubin (1996), and
Maria Naslund (1999) to demonstrate the true purpose of the
International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) : Serb
demonization and the validation of anti-Serb labels and Western/NATO
mass media propaganda through the use of this "official court in the
Hague" as a "derogation ceremony" against the Serbs.
At the ICTY in the Hague - the Tribunal from Hell - justice
is the last thing this judicial devil is seeking. It is set up to solely
seek out and indict Serbs for the purpose of validating anti-Serb
stereotypes and labels like "ethnic cleaners." The cruel treatment
of individual Serbs indicted by this Tribunal from Hell and kidnapped by
NATO is to indict and "put on trial" ALL persons of Serb descent.
NATO carried out the "collective punishment" of the
Serbs, rehashing "remember Srebrenica" elements of anti-Serb
propaganda, as well outright lies of "ethnic cleansing in Kosovo" to
bomb the Yugoslavian population. The "collective punishment" of the
Serbs now continues in Kosovo through the excuse of Kosovo Albanian
"ethnic revenge" against the Kosovo Serbs. The Kosovo Serbs and
other minorities are now the victims of Kosovo "Liberation Army"
ethnic cleansing, and the NATO and the ICTY could care less because the
victims of this "ethnic cleansing" are the deserving Serbs.
Lastly, please remember Srebrenica! Srebrencia is the
birthplace and hometown of many of the elements of current anti-Serb
propaganda. The propaganda elements of the Serbs as "ethnic cleansing,
mass murders and drunken, genocidal animals" were born in Srebrenica.
Please remember Srebrenica, as this is where, according to Kent (1999)
and others, the "Big Lie" about "Serb ethnic cleansing" was
born.(27) Also remember that there are Serb victims at Srebrenica, and
elsewhere, that the Western mass media, NATO, the ICTY and the rest of
the Serbophobic world ignores in a racist manner.
Back to top.
Footnotes and references.
VII. My Observations
Whereas recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal
and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the
foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world. Preamble,
Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948).
It is startling how much this does not apply to the Serbs.
According to Maria Naslund (1999) of the Transnational Foundation for
Peace and Future Research, there is an increasingly "politically
correct" human rights activism unfolding in the "international
community." Currently there is more attention placed on the returning
ethnic -Albanians to Kosovo than on the future of the 11 million people
inside Serbia. More people may have died under NATO bombs than were
killed by Yugoslavian and KLA units (Naslund 1999).
1. Racism in human rights activity in Kosovo and in the
"international community."
What I find the most offensive and anger provoking aspect of
anti-Serb propaganda, its resulting dehumanization, including the shady
activity of the ICTY , is the devaluing of the human rights of the Serbs
as compared to other Balkans ethnic groups, especially Muslims. The
Serbs are also the "less deserving victims" in Miller and Levin's
(1998) "hierarchy of victims," whose lives and suffering are less
deserving of outrage and public outcry when war crimes and ethnic
cleaning are committed against them by the Kosovo Albanians and the KLA.
What I have noted from the websites of "humanitarian"
and "human rights" organizations currently active in Kosovo is an
almost complete lack of equal value for the human rights of Kosovo Serbs
and other minorities as compared to that of Kosovo Albanians. Little is
currently being discussed with regard to this anti-Serb racism in the
human rights community, but Raymond Kent (1999) called these
"concerned human rights activists" working in the Balkans,
especially in concert with the ICTY, "human rights Serbophobes" (p.
8).
Also noteworthy from these "human rights" web sites are
the descriptions of "Serb atrocities" as compared to atrocities
committed on the Serbs. Recall that I demonstrated that there is a
denial of the vicitimhood of the Serbs as being on the receiving end of
ethnic cleansings and a concerted effort to portray the Serbs as having
a monopoly on "ethnic cleansing." However, descriptions and accounts
of alleged Serb violence on other ethnic groups highlights the ethnic
labels of all the groups involved, with "Serb atrocities" on other
groups being described in intricate detail.
On Doctors Without Boarders' web site
(www.dwb.org/missions/kosovo.htm). There are lots of stories related to
DWB's work with Kosovo Albanian refugees, including a study on the
Kosovo Albanian refugees, but little about the plight of Kosovo Serbs.
The Doctors Without Boarders' Kosovo webpage presents a good
example of this one sided concern for all humans in Kosovo in a
statement by an Austian physician in June 1999 who seemed to really not
know, or care, about the plight of the Kosovo Serbs and other minorities
from THEIR homes: "After working for months with Kosovar refugees and
knowing how much they have suffered, it the best feeling that you can
have to see them coming back to their country."
This racist tendency to place more concern on the
humanitarian needs and more value on the human rights of one ethnic
group over another is highly offensive. I have noted that on the web
sites of these "human groups" in the "international community"
there are more stories, regarding the return of Kosovo ethnic-Albanians
than to the ethnic cleansing and murder of Kosovo Serbs and other Kosovo
minorities. There is an obvious value by the "international
community" with the human rights of Kosovo Albanians, but there is not
the same value being placed on the human rights of the Serb population.
As in Stover and Gillies' The Graves , the Serbs are non- humans and
not worthy of the same human rights as Bosnian Muslims. Being concerned
with the human rights of Bosinan Muslims, Croats and Kosovo Albanians,
while ignoring the human rights of the Serbs is RACIST, plain and
simple!
Recall the ideas of Miller and Levin (1998). Mass media
project the image of a "hierarchy of victims," whereby some victims
are seen as being "more deserving" of outrage and public attention
than other, "lesser victims." Crimes against "lesser victims"
are deemed less newsworthy and the lives of "lesser victims," in
this case the Serbs, are not valued as much as Bosnian Muslims and
Kosovo Albanians. I have noted a tendency to explain the violence of
Kosovo Albanians on their Serb neighbors as "ethnic revenge" for
"Serbian ethnic cleansing" of Kosovo.
This "ethnic revenge" is also used to explain attacks on
Serb elderly and children, non- combatants who probably had nothing to
do with any Serb on Albanian violence in Kosovo during NATO's bombing
campaign. How could an elderly Serb couple murdered in their apartment
in Prizren - during KFOR occupation of Kosovo - have anything to do with
an alleged policy of Slobodan Milosevic? This racist devaluing of the
human rights of Kosovo Serbs and the acceptance of "ethnic revenge"
against ALL Kosovo Serbs is clear evidence of the racist "collective
punishment" aspect of NATO and the West's policy toward the Serbian
ethnic group that Maria Nasland touched upon in one of her two papers on
NATO intervention (28).
What I strongly suggest that those of us concerned with
racism in "the international community, human rights and humanitarian
groups," is to use the principle of "equal concern for the human rights
and human needs of ALL groups equally" as a measuring rod to weed out
those practicing racism. With this, we will find the human rights and
humanitarian hypocrites!
I strongly believe that the making of anti-Serb propaganda,
demonization and dehumanization by Western PR firms had, and still has,
a lot to do with the anti-Serb racism in "humanitarian aid and human
rights" and neglect of the human rights of the Serbs. As an American I
am ashamed and highly offended that my government is allowing foreign
governments to hire American PR firms like Ruder Finn to make and spread
the hate of an ethnic group. What if the Ku Klux Klan decided to hire
Ruder Finn Global Public Affairs to spread its message through out the
world?! Something needs to be done, perhaps legislatively, about
allowing groups and governments to hire American PR firms to create
ethnic hate through dehumanizing propaganda. This concerted spreading of
anti-Serb demonization, which lead to the dehumanization of the Serbian
ethnic group, had a strong part to play in the acceptance of the bombing
of the Yugoslav civil population, especially described as "the
Serbs" and "bombing Milosevic," in Washington, London and
Brussels.
2. Some suggestions to the Serbian people. First of all, the
Serbian people need to realizing that they are fighting a concerted
effort to demonize them and dehumanize them. They need to be prepared to
mount a counter- concerted efforts against this hate propaganda, but
there are also things the individual Serb living here in the West can
do. Some of the following was also done by Arab-American groups in the
face of anti-Arab propaganda.
A. Get into the classrooms and get involved in schools and
colleges! Find out just what kind of books and materials are being used
in classes on "human rights, world affairs, international studies and
ethnic conflicts." This also includes the reading and use of newspaper
articles, since Western newspapers are the biggest spreader of anti-Serb
propaganda.
Read the materials and ask : "What kind of image is being
painted about my people in this book?" Look very close at how the
material is worded and how much attention is given to various
situations. If a book, such as the anti-Serb propaganda book The Graves:
Srebreinca and Vukovar , is being used in a classroom as required
reading, as at Florida State University, this gives this book
legitimacy, including the images of Serbs as drunken, smelly, mass-
murdering animals. (29)
B. Get into the libraries and find out what is there and
donate Serbian cultural materials. This allows people in the community
to be able to have the chance to learn positive aspects of the Serbian
culture. Donate books on Serbian epic poetry, history and culture and
food. Put up websites devoted to educating people about the Serbian
culture.
C. Start an international Serbian Student Union. This will
help combat the use of books such as The Graves in classrooms. It will
help bring Serbian culture studies and Slavic studies into more
prominence on college campuses. It will encourage more Serbs into higher
education.
D. Start defining the unequal valuing of human rights of
Serbs by the "international community" as what it really is :
RACISM. It is racist to place an unequal value of the human rights of
one ethnic group over another. Here in America, we refer to the
devaluing of the constitutional rights of minority - Americans as
compared to white - Americans as "racism." The devaluing of one
ethnic group's human rights over another on the international level
ALSO needs to be called just what it is : RACISM! Human rights are for
ALL humans! Human rights are not "granted" by ANY government or
military alliance and are not for sale!
E. Start an organization for human rights for Serbs. We need
to form an organization that will speak up for the human rights of the
Serbian people. It would not only address the lack of concern for the
human rights of the Serbian people, but address racism in "human
rights activism" and the "international community."
This type of organization would demand that the
"international community" address its anti-Serb racism and demand
that the human rights of the Serbian people be valued just as much as
the rights of Bosnian Muslims and Kosovo Albanians.
3. . . .and this work isn't done yet!
After all these pages of bring together authors and scholars
in this research project, this labor of love, to expose the offensive
and outright inhuman anti-Serb propaganda working of the West, NATO and
the US, this is only the beginning! There are separate papers and books
that can and have been written on the Tribunal from Hell's role in
anti-Serb label validation, the "remember Srebrenica" theme to
anti-Serb propaganda, the denial of the victimhood of the Serbs, and
propaganda in NATO's Balkan missions.
There will be future additions to this work (and maybe
someday a book, God willing) when I find and add still more sources,
authors, scholars and writers. This is only a start in exposing the
rather extensive and organized efforts to demonize, dehumanized and
lessen the human rights of the Serbian people.
To be addressed later in next additions :
1. The exportation of Western ideas, and I don't mean
democracy! I mean the idea of some groups' human rights being of less
value than other groups. Yes - NATO has exported the ideas of ethnic
inequality and racism to the Balkans! Why is it that the human rights of
Kosovo Serbs are of less value than Kosovo Albanians? Well, I will be
addressing this in the future.
2. The idea of a "hierarchy of victims" and the Serbs as
being "less deserving" victims than other groups, namely Muslims. It
is OK for Muslims to kill Serbs, but not OK for Serbs to kill
Muslims.(30) While Miller and Levin (1998) was speaking of American
minorities, namely African-Americans, the "hierarchy of victims" can
be applied to the Serbs as being "less deserving" victims than
Muslims.
3. The notion of "ethnic revenge" being used to describe
the Kosovo Albanian's ethnic cleaning and their communities of their
Serb neighbors. "Ethnic revenge" is a Kosovo Albanian policy that is
of racist manner, as it is against ANY Serb, including children and
elderly, not just those who might been part of police and army units.
Back to top.
Footnotes and references.
I GRANDI DIFENSORI DEI DIRITTI UMANI / 2: BENITO MUSSOLINI
"L'Italia non 'aggredisce' le popolazioni etiopiche, ma le libera,
emancipa gli schiavi, ridistribuisce il grano razziato dalle orde del
Negus, apre strade, istituisce ambulatori, protegge i bambini
abbandonati, da' pane agli indigenti. Essa compie un'opera 'societaria'
nel vero senso della parola. Fa quello che la Societa' delle Nazioni
avrebbe dovuto fare, e che non ha fatto..."
B. Mussolini su "Il Popolo d'Italia", 25/10/1935; citato su "Che Fare"
n.ro 51, novembre/dicembre 1999
(Nelle puntate precedenti: Winston Churchill)
--------- COORDINAMENTO ROMANO PER LA JUGOSLAVIA -----------
RIMSKI SAVEZ ZA JUGOSLAVIJU
e-mail: crj@... - URL: http://marx2001.org/crj
** NO COPYRIGHT ! **
------------------------------------------------------------
"L'Italia non 'aggredisce' le popolazioni etiopiche, ma le libera,
emancipa gli schiavi, ridistribuisce il grano razziato dalle orde del
Negus, apre strade, istituisce ambulatori, protegge i bambini
abbandonati, da' pane agli indigenti. Essa compie un'opera 'societaria'
nel vero senso della parola. Fa quello che la Societa' delle Nazioni
avrebbe dovuto fare, e che non ha fatto..."
B. Mussolini su "Il Popolo d'Italia", 25/10/1935; citato su "Che Fare"
n.ro 51, novembre/dicembre 1999
(Nelle puntate precedenti: Winston Churchill)
--------- COORDINAMENTO ROMANO PER LA JUGOSLAVIA -----------
RIMSKI SAVEZ ZA JUGOSLAVIJU
e-mail: crj@... - URL: http://marx2001.org/crj
** NO COPYRIGHT ! **
------------------------------------------------------------
NON FA UNA PIEGA
Il consulente legale dell'Alleanza Atlantica Max Johnson ha
dichiarato ad Amnesty International che la Nato non ha sottoscritto
le Convenzioni di Ginevra e che pertanto "non dovrebbe essere
equiparata a uno Stato in termini di obblighi internazionali".
Per questa ragione la Nato non puo' mai contravvenire alle norme del
diritto internazionale umanitario in guerra, che vietano di uccidere i
civili, di distruggere le loro case, di effettuare bombardamenti
indiscriminati contro ospedali, scuole, di colpire la Croce Rossa,
eccetera, cioe' (ad esempio) tutti quegli atti che sono stati
effettivamente commessi per 78 giorni di seguito nella primavera 1999.
(informazione desunta a pagina 235 del libro "Crimini di guerra", uscito
in Italia in questi giorni a cura della associazione "Amani", e citata
da A. Marescotti in una lettera aperta a W. Veltroni passata sulla
mailing list di Peacelink)
--------- COORDINAMENTO ROMANO PER LA JUGOSLAVIA -----------
RIMSKI SAVEZ ZA JUGOSLAVIJU
e-mail: crj@... - URL: http://marx2001.org/crj
** NO COPYRIGHT ! **
------------------------------------------------------------
Il consulente legale dell'Alleanza Atlantica Max Johnson ha
dichiarato ad Amnesty International che la Nato non ha sottoscritto
le Convenzioni di Ginevra e che pertanto "non dovrebbe essere
equiparata a uno Stato in termini di obblighi internazionali".
Per questa ragione la Nato non puo' mai contravvenire alle norme del
diritto internazionale umanitario in guerra, che vietano di uccidere i
civili, di distruggere le loro case, di effettuare bombardamenti
indiscriminati contro ospedali, scuole, di colpire la Croce Rossa,
eccetera, cioe' (ad esempio) tutti quegli atti che sono stati
effettivamente commessi per 78 giorni di seguito nella primavera 1999.
(informazione desunta a pagina 235 del libro "Crimini di guerra", uscito
in Italia in questi giorni a cura della associazione "Amani", e citata
da A. Marescotti in una lettera aperta a W. Veltroni passata sulla
mailing list di Peacelink)
--------- COORDINAMENTO ROMANO PER LA JUGOSLAVIA -----------
RIMSKI SAVEZ ZA JUGOSLAVIJU
e-mail: crj@... - URL: http://marx2001.org/crj
** NO COPYRIGHT ! **
------------------------------------------------------------
IWPR #107, 14/01/2000 -------------------------
ACCUSE DI COLLUSIONE CON IL CRIMINE ORGANIZZATO
PER LA DESTRA DI GOVERNO DELLA MACEDONIA
CRIME AND POLITICS IN MACEDONIA
Opposition politicians and media have intensified accusations of
government
collusion with organised crime in Macedonia following the murder of
three
police officers on routine patrol.
By Zeljko Bajic in Skopje
During a routine patrol January 11, four Macedonian police officers
stopped
three cars in Aracinovo, a mainly ethnic Albanian village. While they
were
checking the first vehicle, the occupants of the other two cars opened
fire
with automatic weapons, killing three of the officers instantly. The
fourth
managed to escape with gunshot wounds.
The police authorities believe the cars were stolen and that the
occupants
were delivering them to Kosovo. The Macedonian media is full of
speculation
that the killers belonged to an Albanian criminal gang. Three ethnic
Albanian suspects have been named as Ibrahim Musa from Aracinovo, Nijazi
N.
from Skopje and Ibrahim N. from Kacanik. The village of Aracinovo has
long
been suspected of housing a roaring trade in smuggled cigarettes,
narcotics,
weapons and cars.
Leading Albanian and Macedonian politicians quickly issued conciliatory
public statements, in light of intensified public fear that the incident
will dramatically worsen the already tense relations between the ethnic
Macedonian and Albanian populations. It is only the latest in a string
of
violent incidents involving the police in which ethnic Albanians have
been
killed.
Arben Xhaferi, leader of the Democratic Party of Albanians (DPA) and the
dominant force in ethnic Albanian politics, stressed that the killings
should not become a political issue, and that the police should be
allowed
to complete their investigation. This view was re-iterated by Prime
Minister
Ljupco Georgievski, leader of the Internal Macedonian Revolutionary
Organisation-Democratic Party for Macedonian National Unity
(VMRO-DPMNE),
the leading member of the governing coalition.
Such a common position is notable in Macedonia, especially light of
previous
charges by the DPA that any accusations against Albanians for alleged
mafia
links are motivated by ethnic chauvinism.
The police statement following the incident was also notable.
Previously,
police authorities, which have always been closely tied to the political
interests of the ruling party, have placed blame elsewhere for violent
incidents. The current minister for police, Dosta Dimovska, is a
VMRO-DPMNE
party ideologue, who recently replaced Pavle Trajanov, the only
non-party
official to hold the top police post since Macedonia gained
independence.
Yet in a statement after the incident, the police accepted
responsibility
for the officers' deaths in the bungled raid. Macedonian radio reported
that
there might have been a leak from within the police alerting the
criminals
that a police inspection was imminent.
Nevertheless, politically independent media in Macedonia, such as
Dnevnik
daily, have accused the authorities of creating a party political police
force rather than an independent and professional one.
Other media have seen the Aracinovo case not as a harbinger of worsening
inter-ethnic relations but as proof of a dangerous and growing link
between
crime and politics. The Skopje independent daily Makedonija Denes, which
is
sympathetic to the opposition Liberal Democratic Party, has published a
complex analysis arguing that Macedonia is being increasingly drawn down
criminal paths leading to Kosovo, which it called "a black hole and home
to
the most shady deals in this part of the Balkans".
The paper accused the ruling coalition of controlling the profits and
flow
of money generated by such "shady deals". It alleged that there are
clearly
established rules governing who controls the smuggling of cigarettes,
who
enables narcotics trafficking and who participates in illegal arms
trade.
According to Makedonija Denes, about 70 per cent of illegal trades can
be
ascribed to the DPA, while the rest of the profit go into the pockets of
the
VMRO-DPMNE.
Similar accusations could be heard during the last session of parliament
just before New Year. The opposition Social Democratic Alliance accused
the
ruling coalition of reaching a "gentlemen's-mafia agreement" to prevent
internal, violent feuds. Opposition newspapers such as Start and
Utrinjski
Vesnik claimed that this agreement ensured that where the VMRO-DPMNE
dominated illegal business the DPA would not interfere, and vice-versa.
Opposition parties persistently accuse Georgievski of forming a
coalition
with a party, the DPA, which they allege is financed by the Albanian
mafia.
If it emerges that the mafia is behind the killings of the three police
officers in Aracinovo, such accusations of mafia links could put DPA
leader
Xhaferi in a very tight position. Having smugly declared during the
Kosovo
crisis that it was "keeping the situation under control" - that is,
firmly
monitoring Albanian radicalism and ties to Kosovo - the DPA will have a
difficult time convincing the media and the public that it does not know
what is going on in villages such as Aracinovo now.
Meantime, the lack of an adequate police and judicial system in Kosovo
only
encourages the rising crime rate in Macedonia. Despite the arrival of
KFOR
troops in Kosovo, civilian authority is still not functioning
effectively.
An effective international authority in Kosovo would provide a great
boost
for the Macedonian security services.
As it is, Kosovo remains open for unregulated and illegal business,
while
Macedonia's role as a key organising and transit point for criminal
activity
has grown. Thus, even if the Macedonian police were seriously to take on
the
forces of organised crimes, they are left to their own devices and have
little chance of success.
Zeljko Bajic is a journalist in Skopje.
B92 14/01/2000 ---------------------------
ESTESO IL MANDATO DELLA MISSIONE ONU SULLA
PENISOLA JUGOSLAVA DI PREKLAVA, AL CONFINE
CON LA CROAZIA
Prevlaka mission mandate extended
NEW YORK, Friday - The UN Security Council has extended the mandate of
the UN
monitoring mission on the Prevlaka Peninsula for another six months. The
mission, which monitors the disputed border between Yugoslavia and
Croatia on
the Adriatic Coast will now remain until at least July 15 this year. The
Security Council also called on Croatia and Yugoslavia to urgently
engage in
negotiations to resolve the border dispute.
B92 07/01/2000 ---------------------------
IL MINISTRO DEGLI ESTERI CECO SI CONSIDERA
INNOCENTE PER I CRIMINI DELLA NATO
I don't feel guilty: Czech foreign minister
PRAGUE, Friday - Czech Foreign Minister Jan Kavan told media last night
that
he felt no guilt for the NATO bombing of Yugoslavia, despite a proposal
by a
group of lawyers to charge 68 world leaders with war crimes over the
intervention. Kavan, who is charged along with Czech President Vaclav
Havel
said that his conscience was clear over all he had done during the
Kosovo
crisis, adding that he did not believe the Hague Tribunal would issue
indictments.
MANCA L'ACQUA IN JUGOSLAVIA
Yugoslavia facing water shortages
BELGRADE, Friday - More than a million people in Yugoslavia could be
without
water in the near future because of water table contamination caused by
NATO
bombing, Serbian Environment Ministry representative Gordana Brun said
today.
Oil released in attacks on storage depots was slowly seeping into the
water
table and could lead to massive contamination, said Brun, adding that
the
danger of contamination was particularly serious in the area of Novi
Sad,
capital of the northern province of Vojvodina.
SCISMA ALL'INCONTRARIO (FILO-VATICANO)
PER LA CHIESA ORTODOSSA MONTENEGRINA
Police ban Montenegrin Church service
PODGORICA, Friday - Police in the Montenegrin capital of Podgorica last
night
prevented members of the Montenegrin Orthodox Church from carrying out a
traditional ritual in front of the Court of King Nikola as part of last
night's Orthodox Christmas Eve ceremonies. Police later gave security as
the
reason for the ban, saying that priests and faithful of the majority
Serbian
Orthodox Church were inside the Court Chapel. After failing to persuade
police to allow the ceremony to go ahead, Montenegrin church members
performed the traditional ritual of burning oak branches in front of
police
cordons. Members of the Social Democratic Party, part of the
Montenegro's
governing coalition, attended the ceremony. Party President Zarko
Rakcevic
described the police intervention as a scandal, saying that he would
raise
the matter with the party's central committee.
PROTESTA DEI SERBI IN KOSMET
Serbs protest in Kosovo
PRISTINA, Friday - Angry Serbs from Bresje, near Kosovo Polje, today
threatened to block the main highway between Pristina and Pec. The
villagers
were protesting at an incident last night in which four Albanians gunned
down
local Serb Momcilo Velickovic in the courtyard of his home. Velickovic
was
reported today to be in a critical condition, awaiting transfer to Nis
hospital following surgery in a Russian mobile surgical unit.
Two Serb women were murdered by Albanian extremists in Prizren this
morning,
according to the local Centre for Peace and Tolerance. State media
report
that the two women were killed on their way to Christmas services at a
local
church. They are believed to have been Croatian Serb refugees from
Krajina.
In other incidents in Kosovo, Pristina correspondent Danijel Kovacevic
reports that a 39-year-old Serb woman was killed near Pec, and another
Serb
murdered in Kosovo Polje yesterday. Kovacevic also reports another three
Serbs beaten last night in Lipljane on their way to Christmas Eve
services at
a local church. KFOR reports today that ten people were arrested in
Kosovo
yesterday for illegal possession of weapons.
IL VINCITORE DELLE ELEZIONI CROATE IVICA RACAN
SEGUE LE ORME DEL SUO PREDECESSORE NELLA POLITICA DI
CATTIVO VICINATO CON LE ALTRE REPUBBLICHE EX-FEDERATE
Croatian PM designate against new Balkan federations
ZAGREB, Friday - The man elected to lead Croatia's new government, Ivica
Racan, said today that he would resist the Balkan element in Croatia's
political life. Racan said he would support cooperation and good
relations
with Croatia's neighbours, but was against any new federation of Balkan
countries because Croatia, which was at the same time a Mediterranean,
Middle
European and Balkan state, did not need "that kind of Balkans". The
prime-minister-to-be emphasised that his government was not running away
from
the region but was opposed to any union of a neo-Yugoslav nature.
B92 05/01/2000 --------------------
TRA QUALCHE SETTIMANA IL MONTENEGRO
ABBANDONERA' IL DINARO
Montenegro to drop dinar within weeks
PODGORICA, Wednesday - The Yugoslav dinar will no longer be official
currency
in Montenegro by the end of this month, a member of the Montenegrin
Monetary
Council said today. Dimitrije Vesovic told Podgorica daily "Pobjeda"
that the
withdrawal of the dinar was no longer a political decision but was
dictated
by practice, as there are no longer dinars in circulation in Montenegro
and
the money mass had been reduced to tens of millions of dinars. Vesovic
also
said that draft plans for establishment of the Montenegrin National Bank
were
in preparation and would be tabled in the republic's parliament.
RIPETUTE AZIONI DEI TERRORISTI NATO/UCK
FUORI DAL KOSMET, VERSO LA SERBIA CENTRALE
South Serbia "under attack"
KURSUMLIJA, Wednesday - Villagers from the southern Serbian municipality
of
Kursumlija today announced that they would organise a civil defence
force if
the number of police on the Kosovo border were not increased. Milos
Kujovic,
from the village of Matarovo, told Beta agency that a large group of
Albanians had attacked the village from across the border on December
12.
Kursumlija Municipal President Borivoje Urosevic told media that six
people
from the municipality had been killed in incidents on the Kosovo border,
adding that he had several times warned the Serbian government that
Kursumlija was still at war.
PRESA A BASTONATE ANZIANA SERBA-KOSOVARA
Elderly Serb woman beaten
KOSOVO POLJE - An elderly Serb woman who was beaten by a group of
Albanian
boys in Kosovo Polje did not report the attack to UN police for fear of
reprisals, the local Centre for Peace and Tolerance told media today.
The
centre statement added that a number of attacks, threats and burglaries
in
the area had gone unreported for the same reason.
The head of the United Nations civilian mission in Kosovo, Bernard
Kouchner,
is expected to discuss the security situation in Kosovo this evening
with
Serb leaders at the Gracanica monastery. The agenda will include the
possibility of establishing local self-management of Serb enclaves in
the
province.
YDS 04/01/2000 ----------------------------------
IL MINISTRO PER I PROFUGHI DELLA RFJ: I RIFUGIATI
VERRANNO RIMPATRIATI QUEST'ANNO
MINISTER MORINA: REFUGEES WILL BE REPATRIATED IN 2000
NIS, January 3 (Tanjug) - Yugoslav Minister for Refugee Affairs
expressed
hope on Monday that the political and overall situation in Yugoslavia
and
the region would be stabilised in the year 2000, allowing for the
repatriation of refugees and displaced people.
"I am sure the present dramatic situation in Kosovo and Metohija will
change and the truth and justice prevail, to allow for the return of
around
300,000 displaced people, driven from their ancestral hearths by ethnic
Albanian terrorists and extremists," Minister Bratislava Morina told
TANJUG.
Morina stressed the importance of implementing U.N. Resolution 1244,
which
was being violated precisely by the forces deployed to ensure peace,
security and equality for all ethnic communities in Kosovo and Metohija.
"I expect U.N. civilian mission (UNMIK) chief Bernard Kouchner to be
replaced soon and leave the southern Serbian province, where he has made
chaos and allowed the ethnic Albanian chauvinists to achieve their dream
of
an ethnically pure Kosovo and Metohija," she said.
ODALOVIC: SAREBBE ORA CHE LA COMUNITA' INTERNAZIONALE
FACESSE IL SUO DOVERE IN KOSOVO E METOHIJA
ODALOVIC: INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY MUST DO ITS DUTY IN KOSMET
JAGODINA, January 3 (Tanjug) - A Kosovo and Metohija Serbian assembly
official said on Monday that the international community must in the
year
2000 fully discharge its obligations undertaken in connection with that
U.N.-administered Serbian province.
Veljko Odalovic, who heads the Executive Board of the Serbian National
Assembly for Kosovo and Metohija, was speaking by phone for a local
television station in Jagodina, central Serbia.
Odalovic said the international community must guarantee the sovereignty
and territorial integrity of Yugoslavia and Serbia, and make it clear to
ethnic Albanian separatists that they will not be allowed to snatch away
Kosovo and Metohija.
"I hope the international community will realise the madness of its
policy
towards Serbia and Yugoslavia, and especially what is being done in
Kosovo
and Metohija, and that the violence of ethnic Albanian separatists which
has gone on under the wing of the international KFOR force and the U.N.
civilian mission (UNMIK) in the second half of 1999 will stop," he said.
The job the peace mission has done in Kosovo and Metohija so far has
left
the impression that it has been feeding the hope of separatist gangs
that
they can with violence create a state of their own in Kosovo and
Metohija,
according to Odalovic.
Since the U.N. forces' deployment, hundreds of people have been murdered
and abducted, hundreds of thousands have been displaced, tens of
thousands
of homes have been plundered and torched, he said.
This is "the only concrete result achieved by KFOR and UNMIK in Kosovo
and
Metohija," according to Odalovic.
He hoped that "displaced Serbs and other non-Albanians, as well as
displaced ethnic Albanians will this year start back for their homes and
jobs in Kosovo and Metohija, which they have been forced to leave since
mid-June under threat from ethnic Albanian terrorists".
Responsibility for their return should be taken by the U.N. forces which
had been deployed to Kosovo and Metohija with the mandate of providing
security for all living there, he stressed.
DUE MILIONI DI RIFUGIATI IN EUROPA
EUROPE IS FACED WITH TWO MILLION REFUGEES
BELGRADE, January 4 (Tanjug) - Two million refugees and displaced
persons
from Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia and the Yugoslav republic of Serbia's
Kosovo and Metohija province will spend 2000, the last year of this
century, far from their homes and scattered throughout the states
emerging
from the former Yugoslavia, in the heart of Europe.
Half of the figure are Serb refugees and displaced persons from
Bosnia-Herzegovina and Croatia (700,000) and Kosovo and Metohija
(300,000)
who have sought shelter in Yugoslavia which has for years been under the
regime of sanctions imposed by world power-wielders and which was
devastated still further during NATO's 78-day bombing campaign.
Yugoslavia is the only state in Europe where at least 500,000 refugees
have been sheltering at some point or another over the past eight years.
The country was faced with the biggest wave of refugees following the
outbreak of civil war in Bosnia-Herzegovina in 1992. Between 800,000 and
one million refugees sought shelter in Yugoslavia between early 1992 and
late 1993.
>From that point on, the country has been spending five percent of its
gross domestic product annually to provide refugees with accommodation,
food, clothing, footwear, health care and education.
International humanitarian organisations justified their belated action
by
a media campaign which was aimed at creating the impression that only
Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina were burdened with refugees and which
ignored those who had sought refuge in Yugoslavia.
The U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the E.U. humanitarian
bureau (ECHO), the World Food Programme and the International Federation
of
Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) offered assistance to
refugees
in Yugoslavia as late as late 1993 and 1994. Following a brief lull in
fighting in Bosnia-Herzegovina in 1993, new clashes between Moslems and
Croats broke out in 1994 but the international community was incapable
of
finding a real solution to stabilise the situation in the former
Yugoslav
republic and the entire region.
Operation Lightning that the Croatian army launched against Western
Slavonia on May 1, 1995, and Operation Storm, launched against Krajina
on
August 5, 1995, triggered another exodus of Serbs, tens of thousands of
them, mainly women, children and the elderly, who were shelled
continually
for seven days while trying to reach safety. Moreover, thousands of
Serbs
were killed during the Croatian army's two military campaigns.
At this point, only several thousand elderly Serbs live in Banija, Lika,
Kordun and northern Dalmatia, while as many as 300,000 Serbs from these
areas have sought shelter in Yugoslavia. More than 2,000 Serbs were
listed
missing during Operation Lightning and Operation Storm.
The exodus of Serbs was not over, however. Peace accords for
Bosnia-Herzegovina signed in Dayton and Paris in 1995 triggered another
wave of refugees from four Sarajevo districts that were given to the
Moslem-Croat federation under the accords.
Fifty thousand Serb refugees sought shelter in Yugoslavia after that,
while about 30,000 Serbs fled Sarajevo for the (Bosnian Serb) Republika
Srpska.
The international community's failure over the years to recognise the
fact
that at least 700,000 refugees and displaced persons are sheltering in
Yugoslavia and its favouring of refugees sheltering in
Bosnia-Herzegovina
and Croatia, prompted Belgrade to request that UNHCR conduct the
registration of refugees sheltering in the country.
The registration, which UNHCR carried out together with the Serbian
Refugee Commissioner in 1996, showed that 617,728 refugees and displaced
persons had regulated their status in Yugoslavia, while another 120,005
persons had applied to be registered as refugees.
Serbs account for nearly 500,000 of the total figure of refugees
sheltering in the country, Croats for 4,000, Moslems for 4,847, those
who
declare themselves as Yugoslavs for 7,900 and others for about 24,000.
The
registration of refugees in Yugoslavia, however, did not lead to bigger
humanitarian assistance. Quite the opposite was the case.
Consequently, in 1996, international humanitarian organisations provided
assistance to only 250,000 refugees in Yugoslavia who were in the most
critical position, including children under 18, people over 65, mothers
with children, chronically-ill and handicapped people and invalids.
According to an analysis by the humanitarian bureau of the Yugoslav Red
Cross, international humanitarian assistance met only the needs of 14.7
percent of the refugees sheltering in Yugoslavia in 1996.
The allegedly peaceful reintegration of Eastern Slavonia into Croatia
and
the end of the U.N. Transitional Administration in Eastern Slavonia
(UNTAES) mission triggered another exodus of about 40,000 Serbs who
sought
shelter in Yugoslavia.
As on previous occasions, world media, however, for the largest part
chose
to disregard this exodus of Serbs.
U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees Sadako Ogata said in Brussels in
1997
that it must not be forgotten that Yugoslavia had the highest number of
refugees, declaring 1998 the year of the repatriation of refugees.
Ogata said on that occasion that, under the UNHCR plan, 225,000 refugees
should return to Bosnia-Herzegovina and, of that figure, 20,000 Serbs
and
Croats should return to Sarajevo alone.
This goal was not achieved because both UNHCR and the international
community continued to favour Moslems and Croats in Bosnia-Herzegovina
and
Croatia, showing much greater understanding for them than for Serbs.
Last year, the hypocrisy and true colours of world power-wielders,
specifically the United States and NATO, were revealed in the most
striking
way. The U.S.-led NATO aggression on Yugoslavia caused more deaths, the
country's destruction and a new exodus of 300,000 Serbs, this time from
Kosovo and Metohija.
In a meeting of the working group for humanitarian affairs of the Peace
Implementation Council in Geneva on December 9, Ogata said that it was
unacceptable that Europe had two million refugees on the eve of the 21st
century.
She said that, in the year 2000, the international community's
imperative
must be to ensure the return of all refugees and displaced persons to
their
homes throughout the former Yugoslavia.
Commenting on humanitarian issues at the end of the century, president
of
the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) Cornelio Sommaruga
said
that he was shocked by the situation in the field.
Sommaruga said that the critical position of refugees in Europe was the
result of a series of political mistakes and the fiasco of governments
and
their policies as well as religious leaders.
For one million refugees and displaced persons in Yugoslavia the year
2000
will be yet another year of hope that they will return to their homes,
integrate into the Yugoslav society or seek their fortune in third
countries.
B92 03/01/2000 ----------------------
RITROVATO CADAVERE DOPO DUE SETTIMANE
CASA DI SERBI COLPITA DA UNA BOMBA A MANO
News from Kosovo
KOSOVO, Monday - The body of Slavoljub Radunovic who has been missing
since
17th December was found last night by international police near Pec
patriarchate, Beta reports today. One of the priests from the
patriarchate
told AFP news agency that 30-year-old psychiatric patient Radunovic went
missing after leaving the patriarchate for a walk two weeks ago.
Unknown attackers threw a hand grenade at a Serbian house in the village
of
Binca on Saturday night, radio amateurs told Beta today. The grenade
missed
the window and exploded on the terrace. Nobody was injured in the
incident.
ODALOVIC SPERA CHE SI PONGA FINE ALLA VIOLENZA
Odalovic expresses his hopes for an end to the violence in Kosovo
JAGODINA, Monday -- My hope is that the violence against Serbs and other
non
Albanian citizens in Kosovo will come to an end this year, President of
the
Serbian National Parliament of Kosovo, Veljko Odalovic said in an
interview
for TV Palma plus today. Odalovic said that he also hoped that the
international community would come to realise the nonsensical politics
it has
been pursuing regarding Yugoslavia and Kosovo, and that the year 2000
would
be the year when refugees and displaced people would return to there
homes in
Kosovo.
IL DINARO JUGOSLAVO SARA' TOLTO DALLA CIRCOLAZIONE IN MONTENEGRO
Yugoslavian dinar to be taken out of circulation in Montenegro
MONTENEGRO, Monday - The Yugoslavian dinar will be taken out of
circulation
in Montenegro this year, President of the Montenegrin Monetary Council
Bozidar Gazivoda announced today. Gazivoda also said that preparations
for
the establishment of the Montenegrin National Bank are currently
underway as
are preparations for the introduction of the southern republic's own
currency. The replacement of the dinar with a new currency would cost
Montenegro thirty five million German marks.
Commenting on Gazivoda's announcement, Montenegrin President Milo
Djukanovic's advisor Steve Henke said today that Montenegro should avoid
the
establishment of their own national bank since that would involve a
further
burden on the tax payer, one which the population may not be able to
withstand.
YDS 03/01/2000 -----------------------
RITROVATO CADAVERE MUTILATO PRESSO PEC
MUTILATED BODY OF SERB CIVILIAN FOUND IN PEC
PEC, January 3 (Tanjug) - The mutilated body of a Serb civilian, who had
been abducted by ethnic Albanian terrorists on December 17, was found on
Sunday near the seat of the Serbian Orthodox Church in Pec, in the west
of
the Yugoslav Republic of Serbia's Kosovo and Metohija Province.
The mutilated body of the victim, who had been abducted while doing the
shopping, indicates that he had been tortured before he was murdered,
radio
enthusiasts in Kosovo and Metohija reported.
ANCORA SACCHEGGI NELLE CASE SERBE PRESSO GNJILANE
ETHNIC ALBANIAN TERRORISTS CONTINUE TO PLUNDER SERB HOUSES IN GNJILANE
GNJILANE, January 3 (Tanjug) - Ethnic Albanian terrorists continued to
plunder before and after the New Year houses belonging to Serbs and
other
non-Albanians in Gnjilane, in the east of the Yugoslav Republic of
Serbia's
Kosovo and Metohija Province.
Radio enthusiasts quoted the local church-national board as saying that
ethnic Albanian criminals had stolen the entire furniture from one of
the
Serb houses.
The criminals continued to plunder that house even after troops of the
KFOR had sealed off the street where the house is located, gaining
access
to the house through the yards of ethnic Albanians living in the
neighbourhood.
During the New Year holidays, ethnic Albanian criminals plundered two
other Serb houses in Gnjilane.
Frequent power cuts, lasting even for 20 hours, make it easier for
ethnic
Albanians to plunder houses.
Serb villages near Gnjilane have for days been without power and water.
BOMBA A MANO CONTRO CASA DI SERBI
ETHNIC ALBANIAN TERRORISTS THROW HAND GRENADE AT SERB HOUSE
VITINA, January 3 (Tanjug) - Ethnic Albanian terrorists threw late on
Saturday a hand grenade at a Serb house in the mixedly-populated village
of
Binca at Vitina, in the southeast of the Yugoslav Republic of Serbia's
Kosovo and Metohija Province.
The grenade landed on the balcony of the house so that there were no
casualties, radio enthusiasts reported. The family living in the house
threw themselves on the floor as soon as they heard the grenade hit the
balcony so that shrapnel only shattered the windows.
Troops of the U.N. peacekeeping force KFOR who arrived at the scene only
established that there were no casualties taking no action against local
ethnic Albanian extremists responsible for the incident although their
identity is known to all in the village.
Dissatisfied with KFOR's attitude, Serbs in Vrbovac, the largest Serb
village in the Vitina area, have announced that they will form a Serb
protection corps because they can no longer rely on KFOR to offer them
protection.
FORZE UCK/KFOR IMPEGNATE NELLA INDIMIDAZIONE DEGLI
ESPONENTI DELLA MINORANZA DEI GORANI, IN KOSMET
KOSOVO-METOHIJA ALBANIAN KLA MEMBERS, U.N. POLICE RAID GORANY HOMES
DRAGAS, January 2 (Tanjug) - The ethnic Albanian so-called Kosovo
Liberation army (KLA), supported by U.N. police, raided on Sunday the
home
of a local official in the village of Vraniste outside Dragas in the
south
of U.N.-secured Kosovo-Metohija.
Without a warrant, they confiscated the hunting guns of Gora
Municipality
Secretary Mejdin Selmani, for which he holds a valid permit, a computer
with important files and other classified municipal documents, the
ethnic
Gorany Council said.
This is not the first time that U.N. forces in the Yugoslav Republic of
Serbia's Kosovo-Metohija Province have behaved arrogantly and violently
in
Vraniste, the Gorany Council said.
KLA troopers, escorted by U.N. police, daily raid Gorany homes, seeking
weapons which Goranies have, as agreed, turned
B92 02/01/2000 --------------------------------
BOMBA A MANO CONTRO LA CASA DI UNA FAMIGLIA ROM
A hand grenade was thrown at a Romanie house in Pec
KOSOVO, Sunday - A hand grenade was thrown at a Romanie house injuring
one
person and four Serb houses were burned to the ground in Pec yesterday
morning, KFOR stated today. Both incidents are under investigation.
Serbs from Gorazdevac blocked the road to Pec last night in protest at
an
attack on one Serb woman and her daughter which took place yesterday
afternoon. The woman and her daughter were shot at from a passing car.
Fortunately they were not injured in the incident.
ALAIN RICHARD PASSA IN RASSEGNA LE TRUPPE IN KOSMET
French Defense Minister arrives in Kosovo
KOSOVO, Sunday - French Defense Minister Alain Richard arrived in Kosovo
this
morning to visit French KFOR forces in the province. On arrival, Richard
went
straight to French KFOR headquarters in Pristina where he is due to meet
Head
of the UN Mission in Kosovo Bernard Kouchner and KFOR Commander Klaus
Reinhardt. During his stay in Kosovo, Richard plans to visit one Serb
and two
Albanian villages in the northern part of the province as well as the
town of
Kosovska Mitrovica where he is scheduled to meet with the Commander of
French
forces General Henri Payesa.
KOUCHNER: "IN KOSOVO SI INVESTE TROPPO POCO!"
Kouchner dissatisfied with lack of investment in Kosovo
KOSOVO, Sunday - Lack of funding has resulted in the postponing of
elections
in Kosovo, Head of the UN Mission Bernard Kouchner said today in his
first
interview of the New Year. Kouchner expressed his dissatisfaction with
the
current lack of money being invested in the province saying that UN
members
and European countries in particular should invest more money in Kosovo.
RILASCIATA LA SPIA DELLA ORGANIZZAZIONE "CARE"
Humanitarian worker Branko Jelen released from prison
ATLANTA, Sunday - The Yugoslav Government released CARE humanitarian
worker
Branko Jelen from prison on Friday. Branko Jelen was arrested for spying
during the NATO bombing campaign on Yugoslavia along with two Australian
activists Steve Pratt and Peter Wallace. Wallace and Pratt were given a
pardon by Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic three months ago.
President
of CARE Peter Bell expressed his gratitude at Jelen's release at the
same
time emphasising that none of the three who were arrested had ever been
spies.
IL PATRIARCA PAVLE IN TERRA SANTA
Patriarch Pavle leaves for the Holy Land
BELGRADE, Sunday -- Serbian Patriarch Pavle today left for the Holy Land
where he will take part in celebrating 2000 years of Christianity along
with
the heads of all Orthodox Churches, reports Beta. Mass will be said on
Orthodox Christmas day 7th January in Bethlehem. Prime Ministers and
Presidents of all Orthodox countries are expected to attend the
celebrations.
VUJANOVIC: SE IL REGIME NON CAMBIA SPACCHIAMO IL PAESE
Vujanovic: Democratic changes in Serbia will decide the future of the
FRY
MONTENEGRO, Sunday - Democratic changes in Serbia will decide the future
of
the FRY, said Montenegrin Prime Minister Filip Vujanovic in his
interview for
the BBC today. Vujanovic said that Montenegro would wait for the
eventual
formation of a new democratic Serbia to solve the current dispute
between
Montenegro and Serbia.
B92 31/12/1999 -------------------------------------
MILOSEVIC: SUL MONTENEGRO DECIDERANNO I MONTENEGRINI
Milosevic: Montenegro has the right to choose
BELGRADE, Friday - The people of Montenegro have the right to choose
life
outside Yugoslavia if they believe they will be better off, FRY
President
Slobodan Milosevic said in his interview for Belgrade daily Politika
today.
Milosevic also said that nobody could take Kosovo from Yugoslavia and
that
the presence of UN security forces in the province is only temporary and
must
be endured with great patience.
In an interview for B2 92 today, President of the Montenegrin People's
Party
Novak Kilibarda said that he paid no heed to Milosevic's statement
concerning
Montenegro and that if Milosevic was serious, he should distance himself
from
Seselj's fascistic statements regarding the southern republic.
VENTI CASE INCENDIATE IN UN REMOTO VILLAGGIO DEL KOSMET
ALTRE DUE PERSONE TROVATE CADAVERI
Twenty houses burned to the ground in remote village in Kosovo
KOSOVO, Friday - In a remote village under the control of the multi
national
brigade East, twenty houses were burnt to the ground last night, KFOR
announced today. KFOR representatives said that the fire brigade was
unable
to reach the village due to the poor state of the roads in the area.
Two male bodies were found in Trestenik and a further two in Srbica last
night. The bodies have not yet been identified.
DJUKANOVIC: IL MONTENEGRO CONTINUERA' SULLA STRADA DELLA
SVENDITA ALL'IMPERIALISMO OCCIDENTALE
Djukanovic: Montenegro will continue its progress towards
democratisation
MONTENEGRO, Friday - Montenegro will persevere in its aim to develop
democratic institutions, a free market, cooperation with neighbouring
countries and its progress towards European and transatlantic
integration,
Montenegrin President Milo Djukanovic said in his New Year address on
Montenegrin state television today. Djukanovic said that 1999 had
brought
many problems and difficulties and the self-destructive policies of the
Federal Government had lead Montenegro to the edge of war.
AFP 31/12/1999 -------------
MILOSEVIC ACCUSA L'OCCIDENTE
RFY: Milosevic dénonce la "culpabilité" de l'Occident envers la
Yougoslavie
BELGRADE (AFP) - Ven 31 Déc 99 - 8h33 heure de Paris - Le président
yougoslave Slobodan Milosevic a estimé que l'Occident devait tôt ou
tard reconnaître "sa culpabilité" envers la Yougoslavie, jugeant par
ailleurs que "le nouveau siècle sera plus juste et meilleur".
"L'Occident doit avoir le courage et la force morale d'affronter sa
culpabilité pour les crimes commis lors de l'agression contre la
Yougoslavie", a-t-il déclaré, parlant de la guerre aérienne
menée au début de cette année par l'OTAN dans une interview,
publiée vendredi par le quotidien Politika. "Plus il attendra, plus la
honte sera grande", a ajouté le président yougoslave.
L'opération aérienne de l'OTAN, déclenchée le 24 mars pour le
contraindre à accepter un accord sur le Kosovo et pour mettre fin aux
exactions des forces de Belgrade contre la population albanaise dans la
province, a fait plusieurs milliers de morts et a ravagé
l'infrastructure de la Yougoslavie.
"Au milieu de ce siècle, le fascisme a dû rendre des comptes devant
l'humanité. Je crois que ce monstre néofasciste n'échappera pas au
jugement de son époque, de l'humanité, de l'histoire contemporaine",
a dit M. Milosevic, parlant de l'OTAN.
Quant au 21ème siècle, le président yougoslave estime qu'il sera
"plus juste et meilleur" que le précédent. "Je crois que la tendance
positive qui s'est exprimée au 20ème siècle l'emportera sur la
tendance destructive qui s'est manifestée à un haut degré, surtout
à la fin de ce siècle", a déclaré M. Milosevic.
Bien sûr, "le danger de guerre est présent dans chaque partie de la
planète", et "la peur d'une guerre mondiale est présente à juste
titre parmi la population du globe", a-t-il observé, néanmoins,
continue-t-il, "je suis convaincu que le nouveau siècle sera plus
juste et meilleur".
Interrogé sur ses voeux pour l'an 2000 aux citoyens de la Yougoslavie
qui ont connu en 1999 le conflit entre les Albanais du Kosovo et les
forces de Belgrade, les sanctions occidentales et les bombardements de
l'OTAN, M. Milosevic a répondu: "Je souhaite la paix à notre pays".
"Qu'il se développe librement, rapidement, de manière moderne et
avec succès. Je lui souhaite de coopérer avec le monde entier, de
manière équitable et mutuellement profitable", a-t-il poursuivi. "Je
crois que notre peuple obtiendra au cours du prochain siècle la
tranquillité et le bien-être qu'il a mérités", a-t-il conclu.
© 1999 AFP
==================================================================
NOTA DEL CRJ: Le notizie in lingua straniera sono introdotte da un
nostro titolo in italiano per facilitarne la consultazione.
La nostra selezione di notizie contiene brani da fonti diverse:
YDS - e' la "Yugoslav Daily Survey" del Ministero degli Esteri della
RFJ (cfr. http://www.mfa.gov.yu/ ).
B92 - sono le notizie che provengono dalla mailing list di RadioB2-92,
di orientamento antigovernativo e filo-occidentale:
> freeb92-e is an open mailing list for distribution of news by Radio
> B2-92. News bulletins are updated at 19.00 CET Monday to Friday and
> at 23.00 CET on Saturday and Sunday.
> For more information on FreeB92 and Radio B2-92, visit:
> http://www.freeb92.net/
AFP - e' l'agenzia di stampa francese France Presse.
IWPR - e' il bollettino dell'Institute for War & Peace Reporting
<info@...>
> Balkan Crisis Report is supported by the Department for International
> Development, European Commission, Swedish International Development and
> Cooperation Agency, MacArthur Foundation, Press Now and the Carnegie
> Corporation. IWPR also acknowledges general support from the Ford
Foundation.
> *** VISIT IWPR ON-LINE: www.iwpr.net ***
--------- COORDINAMENTO ROMANO PER LA JUGOSLAVIA -----------
RIMSKI SAVEZ ZA JUGOSLAVIJU
e-mail: crj@... - URL: http://marx2001.org/crj
------------------------------------------------------------
ACCUSE DI COLLUSIONE CON IL CRIMINE ORGANIZZATO
PER LA DESTRA DI GOVERNO DELLA MACEDONIA
CRIME AND POLITICS IN MACEDONIA
Opposition politicians and media have intensified accusations of
government
collusion with organised crime in Macedonia following the murder of
three
police officers on routine patrol.
By Zeljko Bajic in Skopje
During a routine patrol January 11, four Macedonian police officers
stopped
three cars in Aracinovo, a mainly ethnic Albanian village. While they
were
checking the first vehicle, the occupants of the other two cars opened
fire
with automatic weapons, killing three of the officers instantly. The
fourth
managed to escape with gunshot wounds.
The police authorities believe the cars were stolen and that the
occupants
were delivering them to Kosovo. The Macedonian media is full of
speculation
that the killers belonged to an Albanian criminal gang. Three ethnic
Albanian suspects have been named as Ibrahim Musa from Aracinovo, Nijazi
N.
from Skopje and Ibrahim N. from Kacanik. The village of Aracinovo has
long
been suspected of housing a roaring trade in smuggled cigarettes,
narcotics,
weapons and cars.
Leading Albanian and Macedonian politicians quickly issued conciliatory
public statements, in light of intensified public fear that the incident
will dramatically worsen the already tense relations between the ethnic
Macedonian and Albanian populations. It is only the latest in a string
of
violent incidents involving the police in which ethnic Albanians have
been
killed.
Arben Xhaferi, leader of the Democratic Party of Albanians (DPA) and the
dominant force in ethnic Albanian politics, stressed that the killings
should not become a political issue, and that the police should be
allowed
to complete their investigation. This view was re-iterated by Prime
Minister
Ljupco Georgievski, leader of the Internal Macedonian Revolutionary
Organisation-Democratic Party for Macedonian National Unity
(VMRO-DPMNE),
the leading member of the governing coalition.
Such a common position is notable in Macedonia, especially light of
previous
charges by the DPA that any accusations against Albanians for alleged
mafia
links are motivated by ethnic chauvinism.
The police statement following the incident was also notable.
Previously,
police authorities, which have always been closely tied to the political
interests of the ruling party, have placed blame elsewhere for violent
incidents. The current minister for police, Dosta Dimovska, is a
VMRO-DPMNE
party ideologue, who recently replaced Pavle Trajanov, the only
non-party
official to hold the top police post since Macedonia gained
independence.
Yet in a statement after the incident, the police accepted
responsibility
for the officers' deaths in the bungled raid. Macedonian radio reported
that
there might have been a leak from within the police alerting the
criminals
that a police inspection was imminent.
Nevertheless, politically independent media in Macedonia, such as
Dnevnik
daily, have accused the authorities of creating a party political police
force rather than an independent and professional one.
Other media have seen the Aracinovo case not as a harbinger of worsening
inter-ethnic relations but as proof of a dangerous and growing link
between
crime and politics. The Skopje independent daily Makedonija Denes, which
is
sympathetic to the opposition Liberal Democratic Party, has published a
complex analysis arguing that Macedonia is being increasingly drawn down
criminal paths leading to Kosovo, which it called "a black hole and home
to
the most shady deals in this part of the Balkans".
The paper accused the ruling coalition of controlling the profits and
flow
of money generated by such "shady deals". It alleged that there are
clearly
established rules governing who controls the smuggling of cigarettes,
who
enables narcotics trafficking and who participates in illegal arms
trade.
According to Makedonija Denes, about 70 per cent of illegal trades can
be
ascribed to the DPA, while the rest of the profit go into the pockets of
the
VMRO-DPMNE.
Similar accusations could be heard during the last session of parliament
just before New Year. The opposition Social Democratic Alliance accused
the
ruling coalition of reaching a "gentlemen's-mafia agreement" to prevent
internal, violent feuds. Opposition newspapers such as Start and
Utrinjski
Vesnik claimed that this agreement ensured that where the VMRO-DPMNE
dominated illegal business the DPA would not interfere, and vice-versa.
Opposition parties persistently accuse Georgievski of forming a
coalition
with a party, the DPA, which they allege is financed by the Albanian
mafia.
If it emerges that the mafia is behind the killings of the three police
officers in Aracinovo, such accusations of mafia links could put DPA
leader
Xhaferi in a very tight position. Having smugly declared during the
Kosovo
crisis that it was "keeping the situation under control" - that is,
firmly
monitoring Albanian radicalism and ties to Kosovo - the DPA will have a
difficult time convincing the media and the public that it does not know
what is going on in villages such as Aracinovo now.
Meantime, the lack of an adequate police and judicial system in Kosovo
only
encourages the rising crime rate in Macedonia. Despite the arrival of
KFOR
troops in Kosovo, civilian authority is still not functioning
effectively.
An effective international authority in Kosovo would provide a great
boost
for the Macedonian security services.
As it is, Kosovo remains open for unregulated and illegal business,
while
Macedonia's role as a key organising and transit point for criminal
activity
has grown. Thus, even if the Macedonian police were seriously to take on
the
forces of organised crimes, they are left to their own devices and have
little chance of success.
Zeljko Bajic is a journalist in Skopje.
B92 14/01/2000 ---------------------------
ESTESO IL MANDATO DELLA MISSIONE ONU SULLA
PENISOLA JUGOSLAVA DI PREKLAVA, AL CONFINE
CON LA CROAZIA
Prevlaka mission mandate extended
NEW YORK, Friday - The UN Security Council has extended the mandate of
the UN
monitoring mission on the Prevlaka Peninsula for another six months. The
mission, which monitors the disputed border between Yugoslavia and
Croatia on
the Adriatic Coast will now remain until at least July 15 this year. The
Security Council also called on Croatia and Yugoslavia to urgently
engage in
negotiations to resolve the border dispute.
B92 07/01/2000 ---------------------------
IL MINISTRO DEGLI ESTERI CECO SI CONSIDERA
INNOCENTE PER I CRIMINI DELLA NATO
I don't feel guilty: Czech foreign minister
PRAGUE, Friday - Czech Foreign Minister Jan Kavan told media last night
that
he felt no guilt for the NATO bombing of Yugoslavia, despite a proposal
by a
group of lawyers to charge 68 world leaders with war crimes over the
intervention. Kavan, who is charged along with Czech President Vaclav
Havel
said that his conscience was clear over all he had done during the
Kosovo
crisis, adding that he did not believe the Hague Tribunal would issue
indictments.
MANCA L'ACQUA IN JUGOSLAVIA
Yugoslavia facing water shortages
BELGRADE, Friday - More than a million people in Yugoslavia could be
without
water in the near future because of water table contamination caused by
NATO
bombing, Serbian Environment Ministry representative Gordana Brun said
today.
Oil released in attacks on storage depots was slowly seeping into the
water
table and could lead to massive contamination, said Brun, adding that
the
danger of contamination was particularly serious in the area of Novi
Sad,
capital of the northern province of Vojvodina.
SCISMA ALL'INCONTRARIO (FILO-VATICANO)
PER LA CHIESA ORTODOSSA MONTENEGRINA
Police ban Montenegrin Church service
PODGORICA, Friday - Police in the Montenegrin capital of Podgorica last
night
prevented members of the Montenegrin Orthodox Church from carrying out a
traditional ritual in front of the Court of King Nikola as part of last
night's Orthodox Christmas Eve ceremonies. Police later gave security as
the
reason for the ban, saying that priests and faithful of the majority
Serbian
Orthodox Church were inside the Court Chapel. After failing to persuade
police to allow the ceremony to go ahead, Montenegrin church members
performed the traditional ritual of burning oak branches in front of
police
cordons. Members of the Social Democratic Party, part of the
Montenegro's
governing coalition, attended the ceremony. Party President Zarko
Rakcevic
described the police intervention as a scandal, saying that he would
raise
the matter with the party's central committee.
PROTESTA DEI SERBI IN KOSMET
Serbs protest in Kosovo
PRISTINA, Friday - Angry Serbs from Bresje, near Kosovo Polje, today
threatened to block the main highway between Pristina and Pec. The
villagers
were protesting at an incident last night in which four Albanians gunned
down
local Serb Momcilo Velickovic in the courtyard of his home. Velickovic
was
reported today to be in a critical condition, awaiting transfer to Nis
hospital following surgery in a Russian mobile surgical unit.
Two Serb women were murdered by Albanian extremists in Prizren this
morning,
according to the local Centre for Peace and Tolerance. State media
report
that the two women were killed on their way to Christmas services at a
local
church. They are believed to have been Croatian Serb refugees from
Krajina.
In other incidents in Kosovo, Pristina correspondent Danijel Kovacevic
reports that a 39-year-old Serb woman was killed near Pec, and another
Serb
murdered in Kosovo Polje yesterday. Kovacevic also reports another three
Serbs beaten last night in Lipljane on their way to Christmas Eve
services at
a local church. KFOR reports today that ten people were arrested in
Kosovo
yesterday for illegal possession of weapons.
IL VINCITORE DELLE ELEZIONI CROATE IVICA RACAN
SEGUE LE ORME DEL SUO PREDECESSORE NELLA POLITICA DI
CATTIVO VICINATO CON LE ALTRE REPUBBLICHE EX-FEDERATE
Croatian PM designate against new Balkan federations
ZAGREB, Friday - The man elected to lead Croatia's new government, Ivica
Racan, said today that he would resist the Balkan element in Croatia's
political life. Racan said he would support cooperation and good
relations
with Croatia's neighbours, but was against any new federation of Balkan
countries because Croatia, which was at the same time a Mediterranean,
Middle
European and Balkan state, did not need "that kind of Balkans". The
prime-minister-to-be emphasised that his government was not running away
from
the region but was opposed to any union of a neo-Yugoslav nature.
B92 05/01/2000 --------------------
TRA QUALCHE SETTIMANA IL MONTENEGRO
ABBANDONERA' IL DINARO
Montenegro to drop dinar within weeks
PODGORICA, Wednesday - The Yugoslav dinar will no longer be official
currency
in Montenegro by the end of this month, a member of the Montenegrin
Monetary
Council said today. Dimitrije Vesovic told Podgorica daily "Pobjeda"
that the
withdrawal of the dinar was no longer a political decision but was
dictated
by practice, as there are no longer dinars in circulation in Montenegro
and
the money mass had been reduced to tens of millions of dinars. Vesovic
also
said that draft plans for establishment of the Montenegrin National Bank
were
in preparation and would be tabled in the republic's parliament.
RIPETUTE AZIONI DEI TERRORISTI NATO/UCK
FUORI DAL KOSMET, VERSO LA SERBIA CENTRALE
South Serbia "under attack"
KURSUMLIJA, Wednesday - Villagers from the southern Serbian municipality
of
Kursumlija today announced that they would organise a civil defence
force if
the number of police on the Kosovo border were not increased. Milos
Kujovic,
from the village of Matarovo, told Beta agency that a large group of
Albanians had attacked the village from across the border on December
12.
Kursumlija Municipal President Borivoje Urosevic told media that six
people
from the municipality had been killed in incidents on the Kosovo border,
adding that he had several times warned the Serbian government that
Kursumlija was still at war.
PRESA A BASTONATE ANZIANA SERBA-KOSOVARA
Elderly Serb woman beaten
KOSOVO POLJE - An elderly Serb woman who was beaten by a group of
Albanian
boys in Kosovo Polje did not report the attack to UN police for fear of
reprisals, the local Centre for Peace and Tolerance told media today.
The
centre statement added that a number of attacks, threats and burglaries
in
the area had gone unreported for the same reason.
The head of the United Nations civilian mission in Kosovo, Bernard
Kouchner,
is expected to discuss the security situation in Kosovo this evening
with
Serb leaders at the Gracanica monastery. The agenda will include the
possibility of establishing local self-management of Serb enclaves in
the
province.
YDS 04/01/2000 ----------------------------------
IL MINISTRO PER I PROFUGHI DELLA RFJ: I RIFUGIATI
VERRANNO RIMPATRIATI QUEST'ANNO
MINISTER MORINA: REFUGEES WILL BE REPATRIATED IN 2000
NIS, January 3 (Tanjug) - Yugoslav Minister for Refugee Affairs
expressed
hope on Monday that the political and overall situation in Yugoslavia
and
the region would be stabilised in the year 2000, allowing for the
repatriation of refugees and displaced people.
"I am sure the present dramatic situation in Kosovo and Metohija will
change and the truth and justice prevail, to allow for the return of
around
300,000 displaced people, driven from their ancestral hearths by ethnic
Albanian terrorists and extremists," Minister Bratislava Morina told
TANJUG.
Morina stressed the importance of implementing U.N. Resolution 1244,
which
was being violated precisely by the forces deployed to ensure peace,
security and equality for all ethnic communities in Kosovo and Metohija.
"I expect U.N. civilian mission (UNMIK) chief Bernard Kouchner to be
replaced soon and leave the southern Serbian province, where he has made
chaos and allowed the ethnic Albanian chauvinists to achieve their dream
of
an ethnically pure Kosovo and Metohija," she said.
ODALOVIC: SAREBBE ORA CHE LA COMUNITA' INTERNAZIONALE
FACESSE IL SUO DOVERE IN KOSOVO E METOHIJA
ODALOVIC: INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY MUST DO ITS DUTY IN KOSMET
JAGODINA, January 3 (Tanjug) - A Kosovo and Metohija Serbian assembly
official said on Monday that the international community must in the
year
2000 fully discharge its obligations undertaken in connection with that
U.N.-administered Serbian province.
Veljko Odalovic, who heads the Executive Board of the Serbian National
Assembly for Kosovo and Metohija, was speaking by phone for a local
television station in Jagodina, central Serbia.
Odalovic said the international community must guarantee the sovereignty
and territorial integrity of Yugoslavia and Serbia, and make it clear to
ethnic Albanian separatists that they will not be allowed to snatch away
Kosovo and Metohija.
"I hope the international community will realise the madness of its
policy
towards Serbia and Yugoslavia, and especially what is being done in
Kosovo
and Metohija, and that the violence of ethnic Albanian separatists which
has gone on under the wing of the international KFOR force and the U.N.
civilian mission (UNMIK) in the second half of 1999 will stop," he said.
The job the peace mission has done in Kosovo and Metohija so far has
left
the impression that it has been feeding the hope of separatist gangs
that
they can with violence create a state of their own in Kosovo and
Metohija,
according to Odalovic.
Since the U.N. forces' deployment, hundreds of people have been murdered
and abducted, hundreds of thousands have been displaced, tens of
thousands
of homes have been plundered and torched, he said.
This is "the only concrete result achieved by KFOR and UNMIK in Kosovo
and
Metohija," according to Odalovic.
He hoped that "displaced Serbs and other non-Albanians, as well as
displaced ethnic Albanians will this year start back for their homes and
jobs in Kosovo and Metohija, which they have been forced to leave since
mid-June under threat from ethnic Albanian terrorists".
Responsibility for their return should be taken by the U.N. forces which
had been deployed to Kosovo and Metohija with the mandate of providing
security for all living there, he stressed.
DUE MILIONI DI RIFUGIATI IN EUROPA
EUROPE IS FACED WITH TWO MILLION REFUGEES
BELGRADE, January 4 (Tanjug) - Two million refugees and displaced
persons
from Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia and the Yugoslav republic of Serbia's
Kosovo and Metohija province will spend 2000, the last year of this
century, far from their homes and scattered throughout the states
emerging
from the former Yugoslavia, in the heart of Europe.
Half of the figure are Serb refugees and displaced persons from
Bosnia-Herzegovina and Croatia (700,000) and Kosovo and Metohija
(300,000)
who have sought shelter in Yugoslavia which has for years been under the
regime of sanctions imposed by world power-wielders and which was
devastated still further during NATO's 78-day bombing campaign.
Yugoslavia is the only state in Europe where at least 500,000 refugees
have been sheltering at some point or another over the past eight years.
The country was faced with the biggest wave of refugees following the
outbreak of civil war in Bosnia-Herzegovina in 1992. Between 800,000 and
one million refugees sought shelter in Yugoslavia between early 1992 and
late 1993.
>From that point on, the country has been spending five percent of its
gross domestic product annually to provide refugees with accommodation,
food, clothing, footwear, health care and education.
International humanitarian organisations justified their belated action
by
a media campaign which was aimed at creating the impression that only
Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina were burdened with refugees and which
ignored those who had sought refuge in Yugoslavia.
The U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the E.U. humanitarian
bureau (ECHO), the World Food Programme and the International Federation
of
Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) offered assistance to
refugees
in Yugoslavia as late as late 1993 and 1994. Following a brief lull in
fighting in Bosnia-Herzegovina in 1993, new clashes between Moslems and
Croats broke out in 1994 but the international community was incapable
of
finding a real solution to stabilise the situation in the former
Yugoslav
republic and the entire region.
Operation Lightning that the Croatian army launched against Western
Slavonia on May 1, 1995, and Operation Storm, launched against Krajina
on
August 5, 1995, triggered another exodus of Serbs, tens of thousands of
them, mainly women, children and the elderly, who were shelled
continually
for seven days while trying to reach safety. Moreover, thousands of
Serbs
were killed during the Croatian army's two military campaigns.
At this point, only several thousand elderly Serbs live in Banija, Lika,
Kordun and northern Dalmatia, while as many as 300,000 Serbs from these
areas have sought shelter in Yugoslavia. More than 2,000 Serbs were
listed
missing during Operation Lightning and Operation Storm.
The exodus of Serbs was not over, however. Peace accords for
Bosnia-Herzegovina signed in Dayton and Paris in 1995 triggered another
wave of refugees from four Sarajevo districts that were given to the
Moslem-Croat federation under the accords.
Fifty thousand Serb refugees sought shelter in Yugoslavia after that,
while about 30,000 Serbs fled Sarajevo for the (Bosnian Serb) Republika
Srpska.
The international community's failure over the years to recognise the
fact
that at least 700,000 refugees and displaced persons are sheltering in
Yugoslavia and its favouring of refugees sheltering in
Bosnia-Herzegovina
and Croatia, prompted Belgrade to request that UNHCR conduct the
registration of refugees sheltering in the country.
The registration, which UNHCR carried out together with the Serbian
Refugee Commissioner in 1996, showed that 617,728 refugees and displaced
persons had regulated their status in Yugoslavia, while another 120,005
persons had applied to be registered as refugees.
Serbs account for nearly 500,000 of the total figure of refugees
sheltering in the country, Croats for 4,000, Moslems for 4,847, those
who
declare themselves as Yugoslavs for 7,900 and others for about 24,000.
The
registration of refugees in Yugoslavia, however, did not lead to bigger
humanitarian assistance. Quite the opposite was the case.
Consequently, in 1996, international humanitarian organisations provided
assistance to only 250,000 refugees in Yugoslavia who were in the most
critical position, including children under 18, people over 65, mothers
with children, chronically-ill and handicapped people and invalids.
According to an analysis by the humanitarian bureau of the Yugoslav Red
Cross, international humanitarian assistance met only the needs of 14.7
percent of the refugees sheltering in Yugoslavia in 1996.
The allegedly peaceful reintegration of Eastern Slavonia into Croatia
and
the end of the U.N. Transitional Administration in Eastern Slavonia
(UNTAES) mission triggered another exodus of about 40,000 Serbs who
sought
shelter in Yugoslavia.
As on previous occasions, world media, however, for the largest part
chose
to disregard this exodus of Serbs.
U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees Sadako Ogata said in Brussels in
1997
that it must not be forgotten that Yugoslavia had the highest number of
refugees, declaring 1998 the year of the repatriation of refugees.
Ogata said on that occasion that, under the UNHCR plan, 225,000 refugees
should return to Bosnia-Herzegovina and, of that figure, 20,000 Serbs
and
Croats should return to Sarajevo alone.
This goal was not achieved because both UNHCR and the international
community continued to favour Moslems and Croats in Bosnia-Herzegovina
and
Croatia, showing much greater understanding for them than for Serbs.
Last year, the hypocrisy and true colours of world power-wielders,
specifically the United States and NATO, were revealed in the most
striking
way. The U.S.-led NATO aggression on Yugoslavia caused more deaths, the
country's destruction and a new exodus of 300,000 Serbs, this time from
Kosovo and Metohija.
In a meeting of the working group for humanitarian affairs of the Peace
Implementation Council in Geneva on December 9, Ogata said that it was
unacceptable that Europe had two million refugees on the eve of the 21st
century.
She said that, in the year 2000, the international community's
imperative
must be to ensure the return of all refugees and displaced persons to
their
homes throughout the former Yugoslavia.
Commenting on humanitarian issues at the end of the century, president
of
the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) Cornelio Sommaruga
said
that he was shocked by the situation in the field.
Sommaruga said that the critical position of refugees in Europe was the
result of a series of political mistakes and the fiasco of governments
and
their policies as well as religious leaders.
For one million refugees and displaced persons in Yugoslavia the year
2000
will be yet another year of hope that they will return to their homes,
integrate into the Yugoslav society or seek their fortune in third
countries.
B92 03/01/2000 ----------------------
RITROVATO CADAVERE DOPO DUE SETTIMANE
CASA DI SERBI COLPITA DA UNA BOMBA A MANO
News from Kosovo
KOSOVO, Monday - The body of Slavoljub Radunovic who has been missing
since
17th December was found last night by international police near Pec
patriarchate, Beta reports today. One of the priests from the
patriarchate
told AFP news agency that 30-year-old psychiatric patient Radunovic went
missing after leaving the patriarchate for a walk two weeks ago.
Unknown attackers threw a hand grenade at a Serbian house in the village
of
Binca on Saturday night, radio amateurs told Beta today. The grenade
missed
the window and exploded on the terrace. Nobody was injured in the
incident.
ODALOVIC SPERA CHE SI PONGA FINE ALLA VIOLENZA
Odalovic expresses his hopes for an end to the violence in Kosovo
JAGODINA, Monday -- My hope is that the violence against Serbs and other
non
Albanian citizens in Kosovo will come to an end this year, President of
the
Serbian National Parliament of Kosovo, Veljko Odalovic said in an
interview
for TV Palma plus today. Odalovic said that he also hoped that the
international community would come to realise the nonsensical politics
it has
been pursuing regarding Yugoslavia and Kosovo, and that the year 2000
would
be the year when refugees and displaced people would return to there
homes in
Kosovo.
IL DINARO JUGOSLAVO SARA' TOLTO DALLA CIRCOLAZIONE IN MONTENEGRO
Yugoslavian dinar to be taken out of circulation in Montenegro
MONTENEGRO, Monday - The Yugoslavian dinar will be taken out of
circulation
in Montenegro this year, President of the Montenegrin Monetary Council
Bozidar Gazivoda announced today. Gazivoda also said that preparations
for
the establishment of the Montenegrin National Bank are currently
underway as
are preparations for the introduction of the southern republic's own
currency. The replacement of the dinar with a new currency would cost
Montenegro thirty five million German marks.
Commenting on Gazivoda's announcement, Montenegrin President Milo
Djukanovic's advisor Steve Henke said today that Montenegro should avoid
the
establishment of their own national bank since that would involve a
further
burden on the tax payer, one which the population may not be able to
withstand.
YDS 03/01/2000 -----------------------
RITROVATO CADAVERE MUTILATO PRESSO PEC
MUTILATED BODY OF SERB CIVILIAN FOUND IN PEC
PEC, January 3 (Tanjug) - The mutilated body of a Serb civilian, who had
been abducted by ethnic Albanian terrorists on December 17, was found on
Sunday near the seat of the Serbian Orthodox Church in Pec, in the west
of
the Yugoslav Republic of Serbia's Kosovo and Metohija Province.
The mutilated body of the victim, who had been abducted while doing the
shopping, indicates that he had been tortured before he was murdered,
radio
enthusiasts in Kosovo and Metohija reported.
ANCORA SACCHEGGI NELLE CASE SERBE PRESSO GNJILANE
ETHNIC ALBANIAN TERRORISTS CONTINUE TO PLUNDER SERB HOUSES IN GNJILANE
GNJILANE, January 3 (Tanjug) - Ethnic Albanian terrorists continued to
plunder before and after the New Year houses belonging to Serbs and
other
non-Albanians in Gnjilane, in the east of the Yugoslav Republic of
Serbia's
Kosovo and Metohija Province.
Radio enthusiasts quoted the local church-national board as saying that
ethnic Albanian criminals had stolen the entire furniture from one of
the
Serb houses.
The criminals continued to plunder that house even after troops of the
KFOR had sealed off the street where the house is located, gaining
access
to the house through the yards of ethnic Albanians living in the
neighbourhood.
During the New Year holidays, ethnic Albanian criminals plundered two
other Serb houses in Gnjilane.
Frequent power cuts, lasting even for 20 hours, make it easier for
ethnic
Albanians to plunder houses.
Serb villages near Gnjilane have for days been without power and water.
BOMBA A MANO CONTRO CASA DI SERBI
ETHNIC ALBANIAN TERRORISTS THROW HAND GRENADE AT SERB HOUSE
VITINA, January 3 (Tanjug) - Ethnic Albanian terrorists threw late on
Saturday a hand grenade at a Serb house in the mixedly-populated village
of
Binca at Vitina, in the southeast of the Yugoslav Republic of Serbia's
Kosovo and Metohija Province.
The grenade landed on the balcony of the house so that there were no
casualties, radio enthusiasts reported. The family living in the house
threw themselves on the floor as soon as they heard the grenade hit the
balcony so that shrapnel only shattered the windows.
Troops of the U.N. peacekeeping force KFOR who arrived at the scene only
established that there were no casualties taking no action against local
ethnic Albanian extremists responsible for the incident although their
identity is known to all in the village.
Dissatisfied with KFOR's attitude, Serbs in Vrbovac, the largest Serb
village in the Vitina area, have announced that they will form a Serb
protection corps because they can no longer rely on KFOR to offer them
protection.
FORZE UCK/KFOR IMPEGNATE NELLA INDIMIDAZIONE DEGLI
ESPONENTI DELLA MINORANZA DEI GORANI, IN KOSMET
KOSOVO-METOHIJA ALBANIAN KLA MEMBERS, U.N. POLICE RAID GORANY HOMES
DRAGAS, January 2 (Tanjug) - The ethnic Albanian so-called Kosovo
Liberation army (KLA), supported by U.N. police, raided on Sunday the
home
of a local official in the village of Vraniste outside Dragas in the
south
of U.N.-secured Kosovo-Metohija.
Without a warrant, they confiscated the hunting guns of Gora
Municipality
Secretary Mejdin Selmani, for which he holds a valid permit, a computer
with important files and other classified municipal documents, the
ethnic
Gorany Council said.
This is not the first time that U.N. forces in the Yugoslav Republic of
Serbia's Kosovo-Metohija Province have behaved arrogantly and violently
in
Vraniste, the Gorany Council said.
KLA troopers, escorted by U.N. police, daily raid Gorany homes, seeking
weapons which Goranies have, as agreed, turned
B92 02/01/2000 --------------------------------
BOMBA A MANO CONTRO LA CASA DI UNA FAMIGLIA ROM
A hand grenade was thrown at a Romanie house in Pec
KOSOVO, Sunday - A hand grenade was thrown at a Romanie house injuring
one
person and four Serb houses were burned to the ground in Pec yesterday
morning, KFOR stated today. Both incidents are under investigation.
Serbs from Gorazdevac blocked the road to Pec last night in protest at
an
attack on one Serb woman and her daughter which took place yesterday
afternoon. The woman and her daughter were shot at from a passing car.
Fortunately they were not injured in the incident.
ALAIN RICHARD PASSA IN RASSEGNA LE TRUPPE IN KOSMET
French Defense Minister arrives in Kosovo
KOSOVO, Sunday - French Defense Minister Alain Richard arrived in Kosovo
this
morning to visit French KFOR forces in the province. On arrival, Richard
went
straight to French KFOR headquarters in Pristina where he is due to meet
Head
of the UN Mission in Kosovo Bernard Kouchner and KFOR Commander Klaus
Reinhardt. During his stay in Kosovo, Richard plans to visit one Serb
and two
Albanian villages in the northern part of the province as well as the
town of
Kosovska Mitrovica where he is scheduled to meet with the Commander of
French
forces General Henri Payesa.
KOUCHNER: "IN KOSOVO SI INVESTE TROPPO POCO!"
Kouchner dissatisfied with lack of investment in Kosovo
KOSOVO, Sunday - Lack of funding has resulted in the postponing of
elections
in Kosovo, Head of the UN Mission Bernard Kouchner said today in his
first
interview of the New Year. Kouchner expressed his dissatisfaction with
the
current lack of money being invested in the province saying that UN
members
and European countries in particular should invest more money in Kosovo.
RILASCIATA LA SPIA DELLA ORGANIZZAZIONE "CARE"
Humanitarian worker Branko Jelen released from prison
ATLANTA, Sunday - The Yugoslav Government released CARE humanitarian
worker
Branko Jelen from prison on Friday. Branko Jelen was arrested for spying
during the NATO bombing campaign on Yugoslavia along with two Australian
activists Steve Pratt and Peter Wallace. Wallace and Pratt were given a
pardon by Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic three months ago.
President
of CARE Peter Bell expressed his gratitude at Jelen's release at the
same
time emphasising that none of the three who were arrested had ever been
spies.
IL PATRIARCA PAVLE IN TERRA SANTA
Patriarch Pavle leaves for the Holy Land
BELGRADE, Sunday -- Serbian Patriarch Pavle today left for the Holy Land
where he will take part in celebrating 2000 years of Christianity along
with
the heads of all Orthodox Churches, reports Beta. Mass will be said on
Orthodox Christmas day 7th January in Bethlehem. Prime Ministers and
Presidents of all Orthodox countries are expected to attend the
celebrations.
VUJANOVIC: SE IL REGIME NON CAMBIA SPACCHIAMO IL PAESE
Vujanovic: Democratic changes in Serbia will decide the future of the
FRY
MONTENEGRO, Sunday - Democratic changes in Serbia will decide the future
of
the FRY, said Montenegrin Prime Minister Filip Vujanovic in his
interview for
the BBC today. Vujanovic said that Montenegro would wait for the
eventual
formation of a new democratic Serbia to solve the current dispute
between
Montenegro and Serbia.
B92 31/12/1999 -------------------------------------
MILOSEVIC: SUL MONTENEGRO DECIDERANNO I MONTENEGRINI
Milosevic: Montenegro has the right to choose
BELGRADE, Friday - The people of Montenegro have the right to choose
life
outside Yugoslavia if they believe they will be better off, FRY
President
Slobodan Milosevic said in his interview for Belgrade daily Politika
today.
Milosevic also said that nobody could take Kosovo from Yugoslavia and
that
the presence of UN security forces in the province is only temporary and
must
be endured with great patience.
In an interview for B2 92 today, President of the Montenegrin People's
Party
Novak Kilibarda said that he paid no heed to Milosevic's statement
concerning
Montenegro and that if Milosevic was serious, he should distance himself
from
Seselj's fascistic statements regarding the southern republic.
VENTI CASE INCENDIATE IN UN REMOTO VILLAGGIO DEL KOSMET
ALTRE DUE PERSONE TROVATE CADAVERI
Twenty houses burned to the ground in remote village in Kosovo
KOSOVO, Friday - In a remote village under the control of the multi
national
brigade East, twenty houses were burnt to the ground last night, KFOR
announced today. KFOR representatives said that the fire brigade was
unable
to reach the village due to the poor state of the roads in the area.
Two male bodies were found in Trestenik and a further two in Srbica last
night. The bodies have not yet been identified.
DJUKANOVIC: IL MONTENEGRO CONTINUERA' SULLA STRADA DELLA
SVENDITA ALL'IMPERIALISMO OCCIDENTALE
Djukanovic: Montenegro will continue its progress towards
democratisation
MONTENEGRO, Friday - Montenegro will persevere in its aim to develop
democratic institutions, a free market, cooperation with neighbouring
countries and its progress towards European and transatlantic
integration,
Montenegrin President Milo Djukanovic said in his New Year address on
Montenegrin state television today. Djukanovic said that 1999 had
brought
many problems and difficulties and the self-destructive policies of the
Federal Government had lead Montenegro to the edge of war.
AFP 31/12/1999 -------------
MILOSEVIC ACCUSA L'OCCIDENTE
RFY: Milosevic dénonce la "culpabilité" de l'Occident envers la
Yougoslavie
BELGRADE (AFP) - Ven 31 Déc 99 - 8h33 heure de Paris - Le président
yougoslave Slobodan Milosevic a estimé que l'Occident devait tôt ou
tard reconnaître "sa culpabilité" envers la Yougoslavie, jugeant par
ailleurs que "le nouveau siècle sera plus juste et meilleur".
"L'Occident doit avoir le courage et la force morale d'affronter sa
culpabilité pour les crimes commis lors de l'agression contre la
Yougoslavie", a-t-il déclaré, parlant de la guerre aérienne
menée au début de cette année par l'OTAN dans une interview,
publiée vendredi par le quotidien Politika. "Plus il attendra, plus la
honte sera grande", a ajouté le président yougoslave.
L'opération aérienne de l'OTAN, déclenchée le 24 mars pour le
contraindre à accepter un accord sur le Kosovo et pour mettre fin aux
exactions des forces de Belgrade contre la population albanaise dans la
province, a fait plusieurs milliers de morts et a ravagé
l'infrastructure de la Yougoslavie.
"Au milieu de ce siècle, le fascisme a dû rendre des comptes devant
l'humanité. Je crois que ce monstre néofasciste n'échappera pas au
jugement de son époque, de l'humanité, de l'histoire contemporaine",
a dit M. Milosevic, parlant de l'OTAN.
Quant au 21ème siècle, le président yougoslave estime qu'il sera
"plus juste et meilleur" que le précédent. "Je crois que la tendance
positive qui s'est exprimée au 20ème siècle l'emportera sur la
tendance destructive qui s'est manifestée à un haut degré, surtout
à la fin de ce siècle", a déclaré M. Milosevic.
Bien sûr, "le danger de guerre est présent dans chaque partie de la
planète", et "la peur d'une guerre mondiale est présente à juste
titre parmi la population du globe", a-t-il observé, néanmoins,
continue-t-il, "je suis convaincu que le nouveau siècle sera plus
juste et meilleur".
Interrogé sur ses voeux pour l'an 2000 aux citoyens de la Yougoslavie
qui ont connu en 1999 le conflit entre les Albanais du Kosovo et les
forces de Belgrade, les sanctions occidentales et les bombardements de
l'OTAN, M. Milosevic a répondu: "Je souhaite la paix à notre pays".
"Qu'il se développe librement, rapidement, de manière moderne et
avec succès. Je lui souhaite de coopérer avec le monde entier, de
manière équitable et mutuellement profitable", a-t-il poursuivi. "Je
crois que notre peuple obtiendra au cours du prochain siècle la
tranquillité et le bien-être qu'il a mérités", a-t-il conclu.
© 1999 AFP
==================================================================
NOTA DEL CRJ: Le notizie in lingua straniera sono introdotte da un
nostro titolo in italiano per facilitarne la consultazione.
La nostra selezione di notizie contiene brani da fonti diverse:
YDS - e' la "Yugoslav Daily Survey" del Ministero degli Esteri della
RFJ (cfr. http://www.mfa.gov.yu/ ).
B92 - sono le notizie che provengono dalla mailing list di RadioB2-92,
di orientamento antigovernativo e filo-occidentale:
> freeb92-e is an open mailing list for distribution of news by Radio
> B2-92. News bulletins are updated at 19.00 CET Monday to Friday and
> at 23.00 CET on Saturday and Sunday.
> For more information on FreeB92 and Radio B2-92, visit:
> http://www.freeb92.net/
AFP - e' l'agenzia di stampa francese France Presse.
IWPR - e' il bollettino dell'Institute for War & Peace Reporting
<info@...>
> Balkan Crisis Report is supported by the Department for International
> Development, European Commission, Swedish International Development and
> Cooperation Agency, MacArthur Foundation, Press Now and the Carnegie
> Corporation. IWPR also acknowledges general support from the Ford
Foundation.
> *** VISIT IWPR ON-LINE: www.iwpr.net ***
--------- COORDINAMENTO ROMANO PER LA JUGOSLAVIA -----------
RIMSKI SAVEZ ZA JUGOSLAVIJU
e-mail: crj@... - URL: http://marx2001.org/crj
------------------------------------------------------------
Lettera aperta a "Il Manifesto"
Su certe questioni purtroppo non vale dire "meglio tardi che mai"...
Cosi', accogliamo con grande sconforto le notizie che da qualche mese
possiamo leggere pure su "Il Manifesto" - particolarmente dopo la
aggressione dei paesi della NATO contro la Repubblica Federale di
Jugoslavia - riguardanti le efferatezze commesse dai nazionalisti e
dai separatisti, le meschinita' che le accompagnano e le menzogne dei
media,
iniziate a Lubiana, ma ancor prima proprio in Kosmet. In Kosovo e
Metohija si va avanti, con livelli di crudelta' crescente, per cui in
assenza della popolazione ortodossa ormai in gran parte scacciata e
sterminata ci si scaglia contro chiunque non rispetti l'ordine
dell'UCKFOR - se ci e' lecito coniare un neologismo il cui significato
dovrebbe essere chiaro.
Mesi ed anni fa cercavamo di esporre alcuni dati di fatto elementari,
dialogando con i vostri giornalisti, ma ci rispondevano "picche". C'era
la Bosnia ("aggressione serba"? Adesso ci raccontano delle fosse comuni
di serbi a Sarajevo...), c'era il Kosovo ("apartheid antialbanese"?
Adesso ci spiegano che in Kosmet abitano decine di popoli, tutti con lo
stesso diritto di considerarla propria patria...), c'era lo sfascio
della
Jugoslavia federativa ("autodeterminazione"? Adesso ci si preoccupa
anche
per la sorte della piccola Macedonia...). C'era una volta la Rossanda
che
appoggiava i bombardamenti della NATO contro i serbi della Bosnia, c'era
(c'e' ancora) Matvejevic a definirsi "ex-jugoslavo" per non cadere in un
abisso di contraddizioni chiarendo piuttosto COSA ritiene di essere (se
non slavo del sud, cosa?); e c'erano tanti altri, che ogni tanto pero'
riappaiono con il loro carico di idiozie politicamente corrette.
Esempio: tale Paolo Dieci (responsabile del Cisp) esordisce sull'ultimo
numero del 1999 affermando che "i bombardamenti da parte della NATO
sulla
Serbia e sul Kossovo sono stati, come e' noto, motivati dalla volonta'
di proteggere i civili kossovari dalla repressione dei soldati di
Milosevic". La premessa e' bugiarda, e falsifica pertanto tutto il resto
dell'articolo, che comunque non manca di ulteriori corbellerie (tipo:
l'esaltazione acritica del Tribunale dell'Aia; considerare il governo
dell'UCK come un "dato di fatto", un referente cui appellarsi per
"chiedere garanzie"). Di fronte a queste affermazioni vergognose, che
ricadranno prima o poi, come tutte le altre, come macigni, o bombe a
grappolo, su persone in carne ed ossa, non capiamo a cosa serva
puntualizzare ad esempio che la NATO ha falsificato il video del treno
colpito dal missile, scandalizzandosi ingenuamente per queste ovvieta'
del moderno "imperialismo etico" (e genocida)... Oppure che senso abbia
l'euforia per la vittoria della "opposizione" in Croazia, guidata dal
voltagabbana ex- (lui si, ex!) comunista Racan, un carrierista che ha
passato tutti questi anni ad intrigare con Tudjman, a tradire i suoi
vecchi
compagni di fede ("Mai piu' comunisti", esclamava), a presentare le
credenziali ai padroni euro-americani, ad applaudire alla aggressione
NATO contro il suo paese - perche', ci si consenta, Belgrado, Pristina e
Zagabria sono nella stessa terra, e nessun Matvejevic ci convincera' mai
del contrario.
O forse si, tutto questo serve: ad aggirare le vere ragioni della
distruzione della Jugoslavia federativa e socialista, a confondere le
idee a chi compra il "Manifesto" per il sottotitolo che nonostante tutto
esso ancora conserva, subito sotto la testata.
Coordinamento Romano per la Jugoslavia, gennaio 2000
--------- COORDINAMENTO ROMANO PER LA JUGOSLAVIA -----------
RIMSKI SAVEZ ZA JUGOSLAVIJU
e-mail: crj@... - URL: http://marx2001.org/crj
** NO COPYRIGHT ! **
------------------------------------------------------------
Su certe questioni purtroppo non vale dire "meglio tardi che mai"...
Cosi', accogliamo con grande sconforto le notizie che da qualche mese
possiamo leggere pure su "Il Manifesto" - particolarmente dopo la
aggressione dei paesi della NATO contro la Repubblica Federale di
Jugoslavia - riguardanti le efferatezze commesse dai nazionalisti e
dai separatisti, le meschinita' che le accompagnano e le menzogne dei
media,
iniziate a Lubiana, ma ancor prima proprio in Kosmet. In Kosovo e
Metohija si va avanti, con livelli di crudelta' crescente, per cui in
assenza della popolazione ortodossa ormai in gran parte scacciata e
sterminata ci si scaglia contro chiunque non rispetti l'ordine
dell'UCKFOR - se ci e' lecito coniare un neologismo il cui significato
dovrebbe essere chiaro.
Mesi ed anni fa cercavamo di esporre alcuni dati di fatto elementari,
dialogando con i vostri giornalisti, ma ci rispondevano "picche". C'era
la Bosnia ("aggressione serba"? Adesso ci raccontano delle fosse comuni
di serbi a Sarajevo...), c'era il Kosovo ("apartheid antialbanese"?
Adesso ci spiegano che in Kosmet abitano decine di popoli, tutti con lo
stesso diritto di considerarla propria patria...), c'era lo sfascio
della
Jugoslavia federativa ("autodeterminazione"? Adesso ci si preoccupa
anche
per la sorte della piccola Macedonia...). C'era una volta la Rossanda
che
appoggiava i bombardamenti della NATO contro i serbi della Bosnia, c'era
(c'e' ancora) Matvejevic a definirsi "ex-jugoslavo" per non cadere in un
abisso di contraddizioni chiarendo piuttosto COSA ritiene di essere (se
non slavo del sud, cosa?); e c'erano tanti altri, che ogni tanto pero'
riappaiono con il loro carico di idiozie politicamente corrette.
Esempio: tale Paolo Dieci (responsabile del Cisp) esordisce sull'ultimo
numero del 1999 affermando che "i bombardamenti da parte della NATO
sulla
Serbia e sul Kossovo sono stati, come e' noto, motivati dalla volonta'
di proteggere i civili kossovari dalla repressione dei soldati di
Milosevic". La premessa e' bugiarda, e falsifica pertanto tutto il resto
dell'articolo, che comunque non manca di ulteriori corbellerie (tipo:
l'esaltazione acritica del Tribunale dell'Aia; considerare il governo
dell'UCK come un "dato di fatto", un referente cui appellarsi per
"chiedere garanzie"). Di fronte a queste affermazioni vergognose, che
ricadranno prima o poi, come tutte le altre, come macigni, o bombe a
grappolo, su persone in carne ed ossa, non capiamo a cosa serva
puntualizzare ad esempio che la NATO ha falsificato il video del treno
colpito dal missile, scandalizzandosi ingenuamente per queste ovvieta'
del moderno "imperialismo etico" (e genocida)... Oppure che senso abbia
l'euforia per la vittoria della "opposizione" in Croazia, guidata dal
voltagabbana ex- (lui si, ex!) comunista Racan, un carrierista che ha
passato tutti questi anni ad intrigare con Tudjman, a tradire i suoi
vecchi
compagni di fede ("Mai piu' comunisti", esclamava), a presentare le
credenziali ai padroni euro-americani, ad applaudire alla aggressione
NATO contro il suo paese - perche', ci si consenta, Belgrado, Pristina e
Zagabria sono nella stessa terra, e nessun Matvejevic ci convincera' mai
del contrario.
O forse si, tutto questo serve: ad aggirare le vere ragioni della
distruzione della Jugoslavia federativa e socialista, a confondere le
idee a chi compra il "Manifesto" per il sottotitolo che nonostante tutto
esso ancora conserva, subito sotto la testata.
Coordinamento Romano per la Jugoslavia, gennaio 2000
--------- COORDINAMENTO ROMANO PER LA JUGOSLAVIA -----------
RIMSKI SAVEZ ZA JUGOSLAVIJU
e-mail: crj@... - URL: http://marx2001.org/crj
** NO COPYRIGHT ! **
------------------------------------------------------------
I GRANDI DIFENSORI DEI DIRITTI UMANI / 3: UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
Riproduciamo l'elenco delle persone alle quali e' stata applicata la
sentenza di morte negli USA tra l'1/1 e il 9/12/1999. A seguire, la
lista delle esecuzioni pendenti.
(dal sito http://www.smu.edu/~deathpen/ )
>
> USA Executions 1999 (as of 12/9/99)
>
> 1999 Overall Date Name State Method
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> 1 501 1/5 John Glenn Moody TX Lethal Injection
> 2 502 1/7 John Walter Castro Sr. OK Lethal Injection
> 3 503 1/8 Ronnie Howard SC Lethal Injection
> 4 504 1/8 Dobie Gillis Williams LA Lethal Injection
> 5 505 1/13 Kelvin Malone MO Lethal Injection
> 6 506 1/13 Jess James Gillies AZ Lethal Injection
> 7 507 1/13 Troy Farris TX Lethal Injection
> 8 508 1/20 Mark Arlo Sheppard VA Lethal Injection
> 9 509 1/22 Joseph Atkins SC Lethal Injection
> 10 510 1/26 Martin Sauceda Vega TX Lethal Injection
> 11 511 2/3 Darick Gerlaugh AZ Lethal Injection
> 12 512 2/4 Sean Sellers OK Lethal Injection
> 13 513 2/4 Tony Leslie Fry VA Lethal Injection
> 14 514 2/9 Jaturun Siripongs CA Lethal Injection
> 15 515 2/10 George Cordova TX Lethal Injection
> 16 516 2/11 Danny Lee Barber TX Lethal Injection
> 17 517 2/16 Johnie Michael Cox AR Lethal Injection
> 18 518 2/16 Andrew Cantu TX Lethal Injection
> 19 519 2/19 Wilford Lee Berry Jr. OH Lethal Injection
> 20 520 2/24 James Edward Rodden MO Lethal Injection
> 21 521 2/24 Norman Evans Green TX Lethal Injection
> 22 522 2/24 Karl LaGrand AZ Lethal Injection
> 23 523 3/3 Walter LaGrand AZ Gas Chamber
> 24 524 3/9 George Quesinberry Jr. VA Lethal Injection
> 25 525 3/10 Roy Michael Roberts MO Lethal Injection
> 26 526 3/17 Andrew Kokoraleis IL Lethal Injection
> 27 527 3/25 Charles Rector TX Lethal Injection
> 28 528 3/25 David Lee Fisher VA Lethal Injection
> 29 529 3/27 James David Rich NC Lethal Injection
> 30 530 3/30 Robert Excell White TX Lethal Injection
> 31 531 4/5 Alvaro Calambro NV Lethal Injection
> 32 532 4/12 Marion Pruett AR Lethal Injection
> 33 533 4/13 Carl H. Chichester VA Lethal Injection
> 34 534 4/14 Roy Ramsey Jr. MO Lethal Injection
> 35 535 4/20 Arthur Ray Jenkins III VA Lethal Injection
> 36 536 4/22 David J. Lawrie DE Lethal Injection
> 37 537 4/28 Ralph Davis MO Lethal Injection
> 38 538 4/28 Aaron Christopher Foust TX Lethal Injection
> 39 539 4/28 Eric Christopher Payne VA Lethal Injection
> 40 540 4/29 Ronald Dale Yeatts VA Lethal Injection
> 41 541 5/4 Manuel Pina Babbitt CA Lethal Injection
> 42 542 5/4 Jose De La Cruz TX Lethal Injection
> 43 543 5/5 Robert Wayne Vickers AZ Lethal Injection
> 44 544 5/5 Clydell Coleman TX Lethal Injection
> 45 545 5/25 Edward Lee Harper Jr. KY Lethal Injection
> 46 546 5/26 Jessie Lee Wise MO Lethal Injection
> 47 547 6/1 William Hamilton Little TX Lethal Injection
> 48 548 6/3 Scotty Lee Moore OK Lethal Injection
> 49 549 6/16 Bruce Kilgore MO Lethal Injection
> 50 550 6/16 Michael Poland AZ Lethal Injection
> 51 551 6/17 Joseph Stanley Faulder TX Lethal Injection
> 52 552 6/18 Brian K. Baldwin AL Electrocution
> 53 553 6/30 Robert Walls MO Lethal Injection
> 54 554 7/1 Charles Daniel Tuttle TX Lethal Injection
> 55 555 7/6 Gary Michael Heidnik PA Lethal Injection
> 56 556 7/7 Tyrone Fuller TX Lethal Injection
> 57 557 7/8 Norman Lee Newsted OK Lethal Injection
> 58 558 7/8 Allen Lee "Tiny" Davis FL Electrocution
> 59 559 7/21 Tommy David Strickler VA Lethal Injection
> 60 560 8/4 Ricky Blackmon TX Lethal Injection
> 61 561 8/5 Charles Anthony Boyd TX Lethal Injection
> 62 562 8/6 Victor Kennedy AL Electrocution
> 63 563 8/10 Kenneth Dwayne Dunn TX Lethal Injection
> 64 564 8/11 James Otto Earhart TX Lethal Injection
> 65 565 8/17 Marlon DeWayne Williams VA Lethal Injection
> 66 566 8/18 Joe Mario Trevino Jr. TX Lethal Injection
> 67 567 9/1 David R. Leisure MO Lethal Injection
> 68 568 9/1 Raymond James Jones TX Lethal Injection
> 69 569 9/8 Mark Gardner AR Lethal Injection
> 70 570 9/8 Alan Willett AR Lethal Injection
> 71 571 9/10 Willis Barnes TX Lethal Injection
> 72 572 9/14 William Prince Davis TX Lethal Injection
> 73 573 9/16 Everett Lee Mueller VA Lethal Injection
> 74 574 9/21 Richard Wayne Smith TX Lethal Injection
> 75 575 9/24 Willie Sullivan DE Lethal Injection
> 76 576 9/24 Harvey Lee Green NC Lethal Injection
> 77 577 10/12 Alvin Wayne Crane TX Lethal Injection
> 78 578 10/14 Jerry McFadden TX Lethal Injection
> 79 579 10/15 Joseph Mitchell Parsons UT Lethal Injection
> 80 580 10/19 Jason Matthew Joseph VA Lethal Injection
> 81 581 10/21 Arthur Martin Boyd NC Lethal Injection
> 82 582 10/27 Ignacio Alberto Ortiz AZ Lethal Injection
> 83 583 10/28 Domingo Cantu TX Lethal Injection
> 84 584 11/9 Thomas Lee Royal Jr VA Lethal Injection
> 85 585 11/12 Leroy Joseph Drayton SC Lethal Injection
> 86 586 11/16 Desmond Jennings TX Lethal Injection
> 87 587 11/17 John Michael Lamb TX Lethal Injection
> 88 588 11/18 Jose Gutierrez TX Lethal Injection
> 89 589 11/19 David Junior Brown NC Lethal Injection
> 90 590 12/2 Cornel Cooks OK Lethal Injection
> 91 591 12/3 David Rocheville SC Lethal Injection
> 92 592 12/8 David Long TX Lethal Injection
> 93 593 12/9 Bobby Lynn Ross OK Lethal Injection
> 94 594 12/9 D.H. Fleenor IN Lethal Injection
> 95 595 12/9 James Beathard TX Lethal Injection
> 96 596 12/9 Andre Graham VA Lethal Injection
>
>
> Methods of execution and numbers executed by that method in the USA are:
> electrocution (142), firing squad (2), gas chamber (11), hanging (3),
> and lethal injection (438).
>
> ****************************
>
> Pending U.S. Executions (as of 12/11/99)
>
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>
> Please note that these dates are only tentative.
>
> Execution dates known or thought to be considered SERIOUS are marked
> with a *.The designation would mean that an execution would be considered
> most likely to be carried out.
>
> Please note that this designation should in no way be construed as
> absolute. Stays can be granted or denied at the very last momemt prior
> to an execution.
>
> A name with no * designation may simply mean that not enough information
> is currently available to know whether the execution date is serious.
> In other words, please DO NOT automatically equate the fact that a name
> with no * designation means that his/her date assigned execution date is
> not serious. It might, in fact, be (very) serious.
>
>
>
> December
>
> 14* Robert Atworth Texas (volunteer)
>
> 14 Orlando Baez Pennsylvania
>
> 14* Jack Greene Arkansas
>
> 14* Andrew Sasser Arkansas
>
> 15* Sammie Felder Texas
>
> 16 Dennis Miller Pennsylvania
>
> 17* Wendell Flowers North Carolina
>
> January 2000
>
> 6* Malcolm Johnson Oklahoma
>
> 7* David Duren Alabama
>
> 10* Douglas Thomas Virginia
>
> 11 Roland Steele Pennsylvania
>
> 11 Richard Bays Ohio
>
> 12* Earl Heiselbetz, Jr. Texas
>
> 12 Michael Goodwin Ohio
>
> 13* Johnny Paul Penry Texas
>
> 13* Steve Roach Virginia
>
> 18* Spencer Goodman Texas
>
> 18 Andre Stevens Pennsylvania
>
> 20* David Hicks Texas
>
> 25* Glen McGinnis Texas
>
> 26 Anzel Jones Texas
>
> 13* Steve Roach Virginia
>
> February 2000
>
>
> 23 Ralph Lynch Ohio
>
> 23* Cornelius Goss Texas
>
> 24 Toronto Patterson Texas
>
(Per la serie "I grandi difensori dei diritti umani"; nelle puntate
precedenti: Winston Churchill, Benito Mussolini)
--------- COORDINAMENTO ROMANO PER LA JUGOSLAVIA -----------
RIMSKI SAVEZ ZA JUGOSLAVIJU
e-mail: crj@... - URL: http://marx2001.org/crj
** NO COPYRIGHT ! **
------------------------------------------------------------
Riproduciamo l'elenco delle persone alle quali e' stata applicata la
sentenza di morte negli USA tra l'1/1 e il 9/12/1999. A seguire, la
lista delle esecuzioni pendenti.
(dal sito http://www.smu.edu/~deathpen/ )
>
> USA Executions 1999 (as of 12/9/99)
>
> 1999 Overall Date Name State Method
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> 1 501 1/5 John Glenn Moody TX Lethal Injection
> 2 502 1/7 John Walter Castro Sr. OK Lethal Injection
> 3 503 1/8 Ronnie Howard SC Lethal Injection
> 4 504 1/8 Dobie Gillis Williams LA Lethal Injection
> 5 505 1/13 Kelvin Malone MO Lethal Injection
> 6 506 1/13 Jess James Gillies AZ Lethal Injection
> 7 507 1/13 Troy Farris TX Lethal Injection
> 8 508 1/20 Mark Arlo Sheppard VA Lethal Injection
> 9 509 1/22 Joseph Atkins SC Lethal Injection
> 10 510 1/26 Martin Sauceda Vega TX Lethal Injection
> 11 511 2/3 Darick Gerlaugh AZ Lethal Injection
> 12 512 2/4 Sean Sellers OK Lethal Injection
> 13 513 2/4 Tony Leslie Fry VA Lethal Injection
> 14 514 2/9 Jaturun Siripongs CA Lethal Injection
> 15 515 2/10 George Cordova TX Lethal Injection
> 16 516 2/11 Danny Lee Barber TX Lethal Injection
> 17 517 2/16 Johnie Michael Cox AR Lethal Injection
> 18 518 2/16 Andrew Cantu TX Lethal Injection
> 19 519 2/19 Wilford Lee Berry Jr. OH Lethal Injection
> 20 520 2/24 James Edward Rodden MO Lethal Injection
> 21 521 2/24 Norman Evans Green TX Lethal Injection
> 22 522 2/24 Karl LaGrand AZ Lethal Injection
> 23 523 3/3 Walter LaGrand AZ Gas Chamber
> 24 524 3/9 George Quesinberry Jr. VA Lethal Injection
> 25 525 3/10 Roy Michael Roberts MO Lethal Injection
> 26 526 3/17 Andrew Kokoraleis IL Lethal Injection
> 27 527 3/25 Charles Rector TX Lethal Injection
> 28 528 3/25 David Lee Fisher VA Lethal Injection
> 29 529 3/27 James David Rich NC Lethal Injection
> 30 530 3/30 Robert Excell White TX Lethal Injection
> 31 531 4/5 Alvaro Calambro NV Lethal Injection
> 32 532 4/12 Marion Pruett AR Lethal Injection
> 33 533 4/13 Carl H. Chichester VA Lethal Injection
> 34 534 4/14 Roy Ramsey Jr. MO Lethal Injection
> 35 535 4/20 Arthur Ray Jenkins III VA Lethal Injection
> 36 536 4/22 David J. Lawrie DE Lethal Injection
> 37 537 4/28 Ralph Davis MO Lethal Injection
> 38 538 4/28 Aaron Christopher Foust TX Lethal Injection
> 39 539 4/28 Eric Christopher Payne VA Lethal Injection
> 40 540 4/29 Ronald Dale Yeatts VA Lethal Injection
> 41 541 5/4 Manuel Pina Babbitt CA Lethal Injection
> 42 542 5/4 Jose De La Cruz TX Lethal Injection
> 43 543 5/5 Robert Wayne Vickers AZ Lethal Injection
> 44 544 5/5 Clydell Coleman TX Lethal Injection
> 45 545 5/25 Edward Lee Harper Jr. KY Lethal Injection
> 46 546 5/26 Jessie Lee Wise MO Lethal Injection
> 47 547 6/1 William Hamilton Little TX Lethal Injection
> 48 548 6/3 Scotty Lee Moore OK Lethal Injection
> 49 549 6/16 Bruce Kilgore MO Lethal Injection
> 50 550 6/16 Michael Poland AZ Lethal Injection
> 51 551 6/17 Joseph Stanley Faulder TX Lethal Injection
> 52 552 6/18 Brian K. Baldwin AL Electrocution
> 53 553 6/30 Robert Walls MO Lethal Injection
> 54 554 7/1 Charles Daniel Tuttle TX Lethal Injection
> 55 555 7/6 Gary Michael Heidnik PA Lethal Injection
> 56 556 7/7 Tyrone Fuller TX Lethal Injection
> 57 557 7/8 Norman Lee Newsted OK Lethal Injection
> 58 558 7/8 Allen Lee "Tiny" Davis FL Electrocution
> 59 559 7/21 Tommy David Strickler VA Lethal Injection
> 60 560 8/4 Ricky Blackmon TX Lethal Injection
> 61 561 8/5 Charles Anthony Boyd TX Lethal Injection
> 62 562 8/6 Victor Kennedy AL Electrocution
> 63 563 8/10 Kenneth Dwayne Dunn TX Lethal Injection
> 64 564 8/11 James Otto Earhart TX Lethal Injection
> 65 565 8/17 Marlon DeWayne Williams VA Lethal Injection
> 66 566 8/18 Joe Mario Trevino Jr. TX Lethal Injection
> 67 567 9/1 David R. Leisure MO Lethal Injection
> 68 568 9/1 Raymond James Jones TX Lethal Injection
> 69 569 9/8 Mark Gardner AR Lethal Injection
> 70 570 9/8 Alan Willett AR Lethal Injection
> 71 571 9/10 Willis Barnes TX Lethal Injection
> 72 572 9/14 William Prince Davis TX Lethal Injection
> 73 573 9/16 Everett Lee Mueller VA Lethal Injection
> 74 574 9/21 Richard Wayne Smith TX Lethal Injection
> 75 575 9/24 Willie Sullivan DE Lethal Injection
> 76 576 9/24 Harvey Lee Green NC Lethal Injection
> 77 577 10/12 Alvin Wayne Crane TX Lethal Injection
> 78 578 10/14 Jerry McFadden TX Lethal Injection
> 79 579 10/15 Joseph Mitchell Parsons UT Lethal Injection
> 80 580 10/19 Jason Matthew Joseph VA Lethal Injection
> 81 581 10/21 Arthur Martin Boyd NC Lethal Injection
> 82 582 10/27 Ignacio Alberto Ortiz AZ Lethal Injection
> 83 583 10/28 Domingo Cantu TX Lethal Injection
> 84 584 11/9 Thomas Lee Royal Jr VA Lethal Injection
> 85 585 11/12 Leroy Joseph Drayton SC Lethal Injection
> 86 586 11/16 Desmond Jennings TX Lethal Injection
> 87 587 11/17 John Michael Lamb TX Lethal Injection
> 88 588 11/18 Jose Gutierrez TX Lethal Injection
> 89 589 11/19 David Junior Brown NC Lethal Injection
> 90 590 12/2 Cornel Cooks OK Lethal Injection
> 91 591 12/3 David Rocheville SC Lethal Injection
> 92 592 12/8 David Long TX Lethal Injection
> 93 593 12/9 Bobby Lynn Ross OK Lethal Injection
> 94 594 12/9 D.H. Fleenor IN Lethal Injection
> 95 595 12/9 James Beathard TX Lethal Injection
> 96 596 12/9 Andre Graham VA Lethal Injection
>
>
> Methods of execution and numbers executed by that method in the USA are:
> electrocution (142), firing squad (2), gas chamber (11), hanging (3),
> and lethal injection (438).
>
> ****************************
>
> Pending U.S. Executions (as of 12/11/99)
>
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>
> Please note that these dates are only tentative.
>
> Execution dates known or thought to be considered SERIOUS are marked
> with a *.The designation would mean that an execution would be considered
> most likely to be carried out.
>
> Please note that this designation should in no way be construed as
> absolute. Stays can be granted or denied at the very last momemt prior
> to an execution.
>
> A name with no * designation may simply mean that not enough information
> is currently available to know whether the execution date is serious.
> In other words, please DO NOT automatically equate the fact that a name
> with no * designation means that his/her date assigned execution date is
> not serious. It might, in fact, be (very) serious.
>
>
>
> December
>
> 14* Robert Atworth Texas (volunteer)
>
> 14 Orlando Baez Pennsylvania
>
> 14* Jack Greene Arkansas
>
> 14* Andrew Sasser Arkansas
>
> 15* Sammie Felder Texas
>
> 16 Dennis Miller Pennsylvania
>
> 17* Wendell Flowers North Carolina
>
> January 2000
>
> 6* Malcolm Johnson Oklahoma
>
> 7* David Duren Alabama
>
> 10* Douglas Thomas Virginia
>
> 11 Roland Steele Pennsylvania
>
> 11 Richard Bays Ohio
>
> 12* Earl Heiselbetz, Jr. Texas
>
> 12 Michael Goodwin Ohio
>
> 13* Johnny Paul Penry Texas
>
> 13* Steve Roach Virginia
>
> 18* Spencer Goodman Texas
>
> 18 Andre Stevens Pennsylvania
>
> 20* David Hicks Texas
>
> 25* Glen McGinnis Texas
>
> 26 Anzel Jones Texas
>
> 13* Steve Roach Virginia
>
> February 2000
>
>
> 23 Ralph Lynch Ohio
>
> 23* Cornelius Goss Texas
>
> 24 Toronto Patterson Texas
>
(Per la serie "I grandi difensori dei diritti umani"; nelle puntate
precedenti: Winston Churchill, Benito Mussolini)
--------- COORDINAMENTO ROMANO PER LA JUGOSLAVIA -----------
RIMSKI SAVEZ ZA JUGOSLAVIJU
e-mail: crj@... - URL: http://marx2001.org/crj
** NO COPYRIGHT ! **
------------------------------------------------------------
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Poesia Autori Vari (ispirata da una lettera di Gregorio al padre)
>
------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Gregorio, cella 21, fine millennio
>
> 23:59 - finestra dai vetri leggeri,
> coperta di lana,
> riscaldamento buono,
> cena speciale di capodanno,
> non basta
>
> Libri,
> una piccola radio,
> un tavolo di verde formica intagliato,
> e la luna nel cielo terso.
> no, non basta
> Il pilota tagliatore del cermis è con la moglie
> quello miratore della scuola di Gnjilane con l'amante
> i piloti infurianti sui convogli con le famiglie
> quelli delle case, delle chiese, dell'elettricità brindano a champagne
> Belluno sembra esplodere di polvere pirica e fatui fuochi
> e intorno i miei compagni di sventura battono i piedi
> benvenuto,
> merda
>
> 00.01 - Per chi sei qui,
> cinquantasei milioni di stronzi
> stappano ritmando 20 milioni di stronze bottiglie
> ed esplodono 100 milioni di stronzi botti
>
> Chi mi chiedo,
> la base assassina continua a produrre
> squallide targhe AFI che continuano a circolare
> piloti brindano, hanno 100 tacche nella fusoliera
> una per ogni casa d'uranio infuocata
> Il pilota tagliatore del cermis è con la moglie
> quello miratore della scuola di Gnjilane con l'amante
> i piloti infurianti sui convogli con le famiglie
> quelli delle case, delle chiese, dell'elettricità brindano a champagne
> Impedirgli di volare, distruggergli le armi
> bloccare le loro bombe al suolo
> trasformare in verdi campi
> i loro cuori d'uranio
>
> maledetto cuore ribelle, eccomi qui
> isolato, contagioso, letale,
> minaccia alla democrazia
> pericolo di pace
>
> Leggi speciali
> golpiste, fasciste
> agitate nell'aria da nere toghe
> nobili Pargoli mercenari mi compatiscono e rinchiudono a vita
> Il pilota tagliatore del cermis è con la moglie
> quello miratore della scuola di Gnjilane con l'amante
> i piloti infurianti sui convogli con le famiglie
> quelli delle case, delle chiese, dell'elettricità brindano a champagne
> un deserto di fuoco ora circonda la città
> mille mani si ustioneranno
> d'altri mille altre mani dalle macerie di quest'anno
> tacciono da maggio
>
> Chi...
> ora brindano la vittoria
> prospera il loro avvenire
> i miei compagni che faranno...
>
> Mi aspettano. Tornerò. Non ora....
>
> Ora non riesco a pensare che al passato
> volgo intorno lo sguardo e il cemento mi frena
> ora punto in alto e lui mi copre, in basso mi sostiene
> dal piccolo buco di finestra solo la luna...
>
> Promontori gialli, immense valli bianche
> grotte, dune, spazi liberi
> aria o vuoto, salti altissimi
> nessun fesso con le chiavi
> che mi squadra e mi sorride.
>
> Luna, futuro altissimo e lontano
> radioso di luce riflessa
> irraggiungibile, senza patria
> da lassù domani ridere di qui
>
> Irraggiungibile,
> corro,
> libero...
>
> Ma inciampo mio malgrado sul freddo tubo
> asta di vessillo di voli planetari
> deposto a stelle e strisce a mò di proprietà
> drappo di Armstrong mi ridesti
>
> Sei già li.
> Anche li.
>
> E torno al mio presente
> nell'attesa di cambiare non guardo ciò che resta
> cemento, cella 21, una cicca e trecentomila bestemmie,
> anche in via Baldenich 11 arriverà il millennio.
--------- COORDINAMENTO ROMANO PER LA JUGOSLAVIA -----------
RIMSKI SAVEZ ZA JUGOSLAVIJU
e-mail: crj@... - URL: http://marx2001.org/crj
** NO COPYRIGHT ! **
------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Poesia Autori Vari (ispirata da una lettera di Gregorio al padre)
>
------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Gregorio, cella 21, fine millennio
>
> 23:59 - finestra dai vetri leggeri,
> coperta di lana,
> riscaldamento buono,
> cena speciale di capodanno,
> non basta
>
> Libri,
> una piccola radio,
> un tavolo di verde formica intagliato,
> e la luna nel cielo terso.
> no, non basta
> Il pilota tagliatore del cermis è con la moglie
> quello miratore della scuola di Gnjilane con l'amante
> i piloti infurianti sui convogli con le famiglie
> quelli delle case, delle chiese, dell'elettricità brindano a champagne
> Belluno sembra esplodere di polvere pirica e fatui fuochi
> e intorno i miei compagni di sventura battono i piedi
> benvenuto,
> merda
>
> 00.01 - Per chi sei qui,
> cinquantasei milioni di stronzi
> stappano ritmando 20 milioni di stronze bottiglie
> ed esplodono 100 milioni di stronzi botti
>
> Chi mi chiedo,
> la base assassina continua a produrre
> squallide targhe AFI che continuano a circolare
> piloti brindano, hanno 100 tacche nella fusoliera
> una per ogni casa d'uranio infuocata
> Il pilota tagliatore del cermis è con la moglie
> quello miratore della scuola di Gnjilane con l'amante
> i piloti infurianti sui convogli con le famiglie
> quelli delle case, delle chiese, dell'elettricità brindano a champagne
> Impedirgli di volare, distruggergli le armi
> bloccare le loro bombe al suolo
> trasformare in verdi campi
> i loro cuori d'uranio
>
> maledetto cuore ribelle, eccomi qui
> isolato, contagioso, letale,
> minaccia alla democrazia
> pericolo di pace
>
> Leggi speciali
> golpiste, fasciste
> agitate nell'aria da nere toghe
> nobili Pargoli mercenari mi compatiscono e rinchiudono a vita
> Il pilota tagliatore del cermis è con la moglie
> quello miratore della scuola di Gnjilane con l'amante
> i piloti infurianti sui convogli con le famiglie
> quelli delle case, delle chiese, dell'elettricità brindano a champagne
> un deserto di fuoco ora circonda la città
> mille mani si ustioneranno
> d'altri mille altre mani dalle macerie di quest'anno
> tacciono da maggio
>
> Chi...
> ora brindano la vittoria
> prospera il loro avvenire
> i miei compagni che faranno...
>
> Mi aspettano. Tornerò. Non ora....
>
> Ora non riesco a pensare che al passato
> volgo intorno lo sguardo e il cemento mi frena
> ora punto in alto e lui mi copre, in basso mi sostiene
> dal piccolo buco di finestra solo la luna...
>
> Promontori gialli, immense valli bianche
> grotte, dune, spazi liberi
> aria o vuoto, salti altissimi
> nessun fesso con le chiavi
> che mi squadra e mi sorride.
>
> Luna, futuro altissimo e lontano
> radioso di luce riflessa
> irraggiungibile, senza patria
> da lassù domani ridere di qui
>
> Irraggiungibile,
> corro,
> libero...
>
> Ma inciampo mio malgrado sul freddo tubo
> asta di vessillo di voli planetari
> deposto a stelle e strisce a mò di proprietà
> drappo di Armstrong mi ridesti
>
> Sei già li.
> Anche li.
>
> E torno al mio presente
> nell'attesa di cambiare non guardo ciò che resta
> cemento, cella 21, una cicca e trecentomila bestemmie,
> anche in via Baldenich 11 arriverà il millennio.
--------- COORDINAMENTO ROMANO PER LA JUGOSLAVIA -----------
RIMSKI SAVEZ ZA JUGOSLAVIJU
e-mail: crj@... - URL: http://marx2001.org/crj
** NO COPYRIGHT ! **
------------------------------------------------------------
PENSIERINI PER IL NUOVO ANNO
Alcune riflessioni di carattere generale ed un bilancio di quattro anni
di Coordinamento Romano per la Jugoslavia.
> Qualche esperienza di cui fare tesoro
La sigla CRJ nasceva nel dicembre 1995 in occasione della organizzazione
di due giorni di conferenza-dibattito presso l'Universita' di Roma "La
Sapienza". Gia' i titoli delle due giornate (la prima dedicata a "Guerra
civile jugoslava e disinformazione strategica", la seconda a "Guerra
civile jugoslava e nuovi imperialismi") miravano ad aprire un
varco nel "muro di gomma" del pensiero unico sui fatti jugoslavi, che
aveva dominato per tutta la durata della guerra fratricida in Croazia e
Bosnia anche negli ambienti della solidarieta' ed in tutta la "sinistra"
italiana. Come gruppo di persone di diversa esperienza politica ed
assortita estrazione sociale e "nazionale", a vario titolo e per vario
motivo impegnate sull'"altro versante" della opposizione alla guerra nei
Balcani - il versante jugoslavista e jugoslavo, quello di tutti coloro i
quali erano stati contrari allo squartamento della RSF di Jugoslavia
essendo per questo relegati nel ghetto del "filoserbismo paranoico" -
decidemmo di continuare l'attivita' portata avanti fino ad allora
ciascuno nel proprio ambito (dalle trasmissioni radiofoniche alle
missioni di solidarieta' nei Balcani, alla presenza critica a
dimostrazioni ed altre iniziative), possibilmente coordinandola e
rendendola piu' efficace e "leggibile" dall'esterno.
Questo specialmente sul versante della CONTROINFORMAZIONE, cioe' nella
produzione e diffusione militante delle informazioni negate dai media e
nella lotta contro la disinformazione strategica, che era e rimane
secondo la nostra analisi strumento di guerra da parte dell'imperialismo
impegnato nel "divide et impera" ai danni della Jugoslavia e di tutta
l'Europa centro-orientale.
Il 1996 proseguiva con la pseudo-pace determinata dagli accordi di
Dayton, che sancivano la spartizione della RFSJ con la occupazione e
militarizzazione di alcune delle ex-repubbliche federate da parte degli
USA e della NATO. Ma le avvisaglie di nuove disgrazie erano presenti, e
verso la fine dell'anno veniva avviato un lavoro continuativo di
informazione per via telematica allo scopo di comunicare le vicende e
le interpretazioni dei fatti sottoposte ad una piu' o meno intenzionale
censura dei media.
All'inizio del 1997 coglievamo alcuni spunti per iniziare una sana
polemica con certe aree della sinistra italiana fino ad allora attive
nella demonizzazione della parte serba e nell'occultamente della storia
della RFSJ. Soprattutto sui problemi della provincia serba del Kosmet
intervenivamo contro la disinformazione di settori impegnati ad
appoggiare il movimento secessionista panalbanese di Ibrahim Rugova e la
sua politica di boicottaggio su base etnica.
A meta' dello stesso anno aprivamo un sito internet sul server dei
Centri Sociali del Nord Est "Isole nella Rete" (http://www.ecn.org),
cercando di allargare lo spettro dei nostri interlocutori nell'ambito
della sinistra antiimperialista. Ma con il passare delle settimane
l'informazione da noi diffusa diventava sempre piu' indigesta ai
responsabili del server. Le iniziative contro la NATO ed i rapporti con
gli antiimperialisti dei Balcani (spec. la manifestazione di Belgrado
contro la NATO, in ottobre) passavano come inosservate, mentre si
acuivano le tensioni in Kosmet a causa dell'exploit della attivita'
dell'UCK, organizzazione irredentista armata, finanziata e sostenuta
dagli USA e dalla NATO. Cosi', mentre all'inizio del 1998 insieme agli
scontri armati in Kosmet cresceva anche la campagna di stampa
antijugoslava e la simpatia di certi settori del "centrosocialismo"
(oltreche' radicali, diessini, eccetera) nei confronti dell'UCK, il sito
internet del CRJ veniva censurato da "Isole nella Rete" e ci veniva
negato l'accesso ai servizi di posta elettronica.
Oltre a continuare l'attivita' in rete tramite alcuni server gratuiti,
venivano riprese le trasmissioni radiofoniche sull'emittente romana
"Radio Citta' Aperta" e tenuti occasionali interventi su altre emittenti
e nel corso di altre iniziative. Alla fine dell'anno, grazie al sostegno
dei compagni di Marx2001 e Nuova Unita', avevamo ripreso uno spazio
stabile in rete ed una attivita' di controinformazione particolarmente
intensa attraverso gli indirizzi http://www.marx2001.org e
crj@...
Il 1999 si apriva in un clima pesantissimo. Gia' all'inizio dell'estate
precedente avevamo indicato la realta' della minaccia incombente da
parte della NATO, ed ora nuovissime operazioni di disinformazione
strategica e cecchinaggio diplomatico ("strage" di Racak, "accordi" di
Rambouillet) prefiguravano l'interventismo del nostro paese e degli
altri della Alleanza Atlantica. A partire dal mese di marzo eravamo
soggetti ad una attivita' frenetica, sia in rete sia con la
partecipazione a trasmissioni ed iniziative pubbliche, sia nella
produzione di materiali di controinformazione - ad esempio con il
Comitato Unitario contro la guerra imperialista alla Jugoslavia
costituitosi a Roma.
Verso la fine dei bombardamenti, durante la manifestazione di
Aviano del 6 giugno, alcuni nostri attivisti "colpevoli" di
sventolare la bandiera della RFSJ subivano una aggressione da
parte dei settori "centrosocialisti" di cui sopra. Piu' recentemente,
nell'ambito di una operazione della Procura della Repubblica
di Pordenone per azioni di danneggiamento avvenute in zona di Aviano,
un nostro esponente ed altri compagni di realta' a noi molto vicine
venivano perquisiti ed indagati benche' fossero assolutamente
estranei ai fatti.
> Il lavoro continua
Veniamo dunque ai giorni nostri. Come si e' visto, piu' il tempo passa,
piu' il gioco si fa pesante. Non potendo ribattere nel merito di quello
che andiamo dicendo - sulle cause della crisi nei Balcani, sulla deriva
autoritaria nei paesi europei, sui crimini commessi da militari e
leaders politici quali l'attuale Presidente del Consiglio D'Alema, sul
neocolonialismo nei Balcani e fino al Caucaso, eccetera - i nostri
avversari cercano di colpire noi e tutto il movimento internazionalista
ed antiimperialista attraverso la repressione, le provocazioni,
l'operato dei loro "servi stupidi" che fanno capo a qualche ritrovo di
fumatori di spinelli o a qualche redazione di giornaletti di
autoproclamata sinistra.
Intanto l'onda lunga della guerra di aggressione contro la Repubblica
Federale di Jugoslavia continua, in termini di pericoli per la pace, e
continua allora anche il nostro impegno. Ricordiamo in particolare il
lavoro per la istituzione della sezione italiana del Tribunale
Indipendente contro i crimini di guerra della NATO, cui aderiamo, e
l'attivita', come gruppo o individualmente, in varie altre iniziative
contro la guerra (Comitato di solidarieta' alla popolazione jugoslava e
raccolta fondi per la Zastava di Kragujevac, Comitato Scienziate/i
contro la guerra, "Un ponte per...", eccetera).
Ma continua soprattutto l'opera di controinformazione. Su "Radio Citta'
Aperta" (a Roma e nel Lazio FM 88.900) la trasmissione "Voce Jugoslava"
va avanti, ogni martedi alle ore 13, a parte occasionali variazioni nel
palinsesto. Al nostro bollettino telematico e' dedicata una attenzione
crescente: esso viene ricevuto e ri-usato da individualita' e gruppi
internazionalisti, come e' giusto, benche' i documenti che facciamo
circolare continuino ad essere apparentemente ignorati dagli ambienti
politici ufficiali (compreso il PRC, nel cui seno sopravvive un settore
antijugoslavo ed affezionato all'irredentismo panalbanese) e dai
giornalisti "che contano". Il sito internet si arricchisce lentamente,
anche se la natura volontaria del nostro lavoro non ci consente di
aggiornarlo tanto spesso quanto sarebbe necessario.
In generale, benche' con grave ritardo, l'interpretazione jugoslavista
della vicende balcaniche guadagna spazio tra militanti e nell'opinione
pubblica. Questo peraltro avviene con difficolta' a causa dei danni
causati dal pensiero "politicamente corretto" (cioe'
liberal-secessionista e razzista antiserbo) diffuso a spron battente da
influenti quotidiani come "Il Manifesto" nei primi anni del conflitto; e
sfortunatamente la "correzione di rotta" attuale e' duvuta proprio alla
estrema drammaticita' degli avvenimenti ed all'accanimento imperialista
a fare a pezzi ancora tutto cio' che resta di un paese, comprese tante
vite umane.
Rispetto a questo, restano troppo indietro proprio gli jugoslavi, per la
loro difficolta' a coordinarsi e per la incredibile stratificazione di
divisioni interne (specialmente nel frastagliatissimo mondo serbo e dei
serbi in esilio).
Il riscontro che riceviamo per il nostro lavoro e' reale, ma
discontinuo. Abbiamo l'impressione che la nostra attivita' desti
aspettative svariate, talvolta contraddittorie: ognuno ha interesse per
una problematica diversa, vorrebbe trascinarci su questo o su quel
versante. Qualcuno si lamenta perche' inviamo troppi documenti, qualcun
altro ci richiede ancora questo e quest'altro.
> La sinistra antiimperialista in Italia
In qualche maniera poi, attraverso le nostre comunicazioni per via
telematica come anche attraverso tutti gli altri contatti, abbiamo "il
polso" della situazione della sinistra antiimperialista italiana nel suo
complesso. Il quadro che ne emerge e' preoccupante per la tendenza
cronica alla discontinuita' ed alla disgregazione, tendenza che nemmeno
episodi gravi come la guerra della primavera 1999 riescono ad invertire.
Sperimentiamo una commistione di settarismi, "settarismi al contrario"
(cioe' determinati da un apparente antisettarismo per cui si escludono
tutta una serie di interlocutori), difficolta' tutte personalistiche nei
rapporti con individui e gruppi, nonche' la sostanziale disabitudine a
basare l'analisi e la prassi politica su basi scientifiche piuttosto che
su slogan superficiali e passioni estemporanee, a privilegiare il rigore
del metodo e delle conoscenze piuttosto che le sparate velleitarie.
E' vero che esiste una vera e propria BALCANIZZAZIONE della sinistra
italiana nel suo complesso, all'interno della quale convivono ad esempio
interpretazioni diametralmente opposte dei fatti jugoslavi (dai
sostenitori dell'UCK a quelli che piangono la morte di Arkan come un
"compagno"), che affonda le sue radici proprio nella deriva
anti-ideologica ed anti-razionale degli ultimi anni, nella
disinformazione e nell'abbandono delle chiavi di interpretazione
marxiste. Ma esiste anche un sostanziale caos nella - ben piu'
delimitata e delimitabile - scena antiimperialista, sul piano
organizzativo-pratico piu' che su quello analitico-ideologico; un caos
che emerge con accenti paradossali negli ambienti marxisti-leninisti,
dove l'interpretazione dei fatti e' univoca e salda ma la litigiosita'
tra individui e gruppi e' feroce. Una situazione che pesa notevolmente
sulle possibilita' di costruzione di una organizzazione politica dei
comunisti nel nostro paese.
Noi non intendiamo occuparci di tutto: siamo nati, e probabilmente
termineremo la nostra attivita', incentrandoci sulle vicende della
Jugoslavia federativa e socialista. Tuttavia, il nostro lavoro ci porta
necessariamente ad affrontare anche altre questioni e tutti i nodi
presenti nella sinistra italiana, sul fronte antiimperialista, ed anche
in gran parte del mondo della cultura. Speriamo che qualcuno di questi
nodi si sciolga nel futuro prossimo, possibilmente in modo non troppo
doloroso... Per quanto ci riguarda, la nostra piu' grande ambizione e'
scomparire come Coordinamento Romano per la Jugoslavia una volta che le
drammatiche ragioni per cui ci siamo costituiti verranno meno!
Con i migliori auguri l'anno 2000... ma solo a chi ama la Jugoslavia,
la unita' e la fratellanza fra tutti i popoli!
Smrt fasizmu, sloboda narodu!
Italo Slavo, gennaio 2000
--------- COORDINAMENTO ROMANO PER LA JUGOSLAVIA -----------
RIMSKI SAVEZ ZA JUGOSLAVIJU
e-mail: crj@... - URL: http://marx2001.org/crj
** NO COPYRIGHT ! **
------------------------------------------------------------
Alcune riflessioni di carattere generale ed un bilancio di quattro anni
di Coordinamento Romano per la Jugoslavia.
> Qualche esperienza di cui fare tesoro
La sigla CRJ nasceva nel dicembre 1995 in occasione della organizzazione
di due giorni di conferenza-dibattito presso l'Universita' di Roma "La
Sapienza". Gia' i titoli delle due giornate (la prima dedicata a "Guerra
civile jugoslava e disinformazione strategica", la seconda a "Guerra
civile jugoslava e nuovi imperialismi") miravano ad aprire un
varco nel "muro di gomma" del pensiero unico sui fatti jugoslavi, che
aveva dominato per tutta la durata della guerra fratricida in Croazia e
Bosnia anche negli ambienti della solidarieta' ed in tutta la "sinistra"
italiana. Come gruppo di persone di diversa esperienza politica ed
assortita estrazione sociale e "nazionale", a vario titolo e per vario
motivo impegnate sull'"altro versante" della opposizione alla guerra nei
Balcani - il versante jugoslavista e jugoslavo, quello di tutti coloro i
quali erano stati contrari allo squartamento della RSF di Jugoslavia
essendo per questo relegati nel ghetto del "filoserbismo paranoico" -
decidemmo di continuare l'attivita' portata avanti fino ad allora
ciascuno nel proprio ambito (dalle trasmissioni radiofoniche alle
missioni di solidarieta' nei Balcani, alla presenza critica a
dimostrazioni ed altre iniziative), possibilmente coordinandola e
rendendola piu' efficace e "leggibile" dall'esterno.
Questo specialmente sul versante della CONTROINFORMAZIONE, cioe' nella
produzione e diffusione militante delle informazioni negate dai media e
nella lotta contro la disinformazione strategica, che era e rimane
secondo la nostra analisi strumento di guerra da parte dell'imperialismo
impegnato nel "divide et impera" ai danni della Jugoslavia e di tutta
l'Europa centro-orientale.
Il 1996 proseguiva con la pseudo-pace determinata dagli accordi di
Dayton, che sancivano la spartizione della RFSJ con la occupazione e
militarizzazione di alcune delle ex-repubbliche federate da parte degli
USA e della NATO. Ma le avvisaglie di nuove disgrazie erano presenti, e
verso la fine dell'anno veniva avviato un lavoro continuativo di
informazione per via telematica allo scopo di comunicare le vicende e
le interpretazioni dei fatti sottoposte ad una piu' o meno intenzionale
censura dei media.
All'inizio del 1997 coglievamo alcuni spunti per iniziare una sana
polemica con certe aree della sinistra italiana fino ad allora attive
nella demonizzazione della parte serba e nell'occultamente della storia
della RFSJ. Soprattutto sui problemi della provincia serba del Kosmet
intervenivamo contro la disinformazione di settori impegnati ad
appoggiare il movimento secessionista panalbanese di Ibrahim Rugova e la
sua politica di boicottaggio su base etnica.
A meta' dello stesso anno aprivamo un sito internet sul server dei
Centri Sociali del Nord Est "Isole nella Rete" (http://www.ecn.org),
cercando di allargare lo spettro dei nostri interlocutori nell'ambito
della sinistra antiimperialista. Ma con il passare delle settimane
l'informazione da noi diffusa diventava sempre piu' indigesta ai
responsabili del server. Le iniziative contro la NATO ed i rapporti con
gli antiimperialisti dei Balcani (spec. la manifestazione di Belgrado
contro la NATO, in ottobre) passavano come inosservate, mentre si
acuivano le tensioni in Kosmet a causa dell'exploit della attivita'
dell'UCK, organizzazione irredentista armata, finanziata e sostenuta
dagli USA e dalla NATO. Cosi', mentre all'inizio del 1998 insieme agli
scontri armati in Kosmet cresceva anche la campagna di stampa
antijugoslava e la simpatia di certi settori del "centrosocialismo"
(oltreche' radicali, diessini, eccetera) nei confronti dell'UCK, il sito
internet del CRJ veniva censurato da "Isole nella Rete" e ci veniva
negato l'accesso ai servizi di posta elettronica.
Oltre a continuare l'attivita' in rete tramite alcuni server gratuiti,
venivano riprese le trasmissioni radiofoniche sull'emittente romana
"Radio Citta' Aperta" e tenuti occasionali interventi su altre emittenti
e nel corso di altre iniziative. Alla fine dell'anno, grazie al sostegno
dei compagni di Marx2001 e Nuova Unita', avevamo ripreso uno spazio
stabile in rete ed una attivita' di controinformazione particolarmente
intensa attraverso gli indirizzi http://www.marx2001.org e
crj@...
Il 1999 si apriva in un clima pesantissimo. Gia' all'inizio dell'estate
precedente avevamo indicato la realta' della minaccia incombente da
parte della NATO, ed ora nuovissime operazioni di disinformazione
strategica e cecchinaggio diplomatico ("strage" di Racak, "accordi" di
Rambouillet) prefiguravano l'interventismo del nostro paese e degli
altri della Alleanza Atlantica. A partire dal mese di marzo eravamo
soggetti ad una attivita' frenetica, sia in rete sia con la
partecipazione a trasmissioni ed iniziative pubbliche, sia nella
produzione di materiali di controinformazione - ad esempio con il
Comitato Unitario contro la guerra imperialista alla Jugoslavia
costituitosi a Roma.
Verso la fine dei bombardamenti, durante la manifestazione di
Aviano del 6 giugno, alcuni nostri attivisti "colpevoli" di
sventolare la bandiera della RFSJ subivano una aggressione da
parte dei settori "centrosocialisti" di cui sopra. Piu' recentemente,
nell'ambito di una operazione della Procura della Repubblica
di Pordenone per azioni di danneggiamento avvenute in zona di Aviano,
un nostro esponente ed altri compagni di realta' a noi molto vicine
venivano perquisiti ed indagati benche' fossero assolutamente
estranei ai fatti.
> Il lavoro continua
Veniamo dunque ai giorni nostri. Come si e' visto, piu' il tempo passa,
piu' il gioco si fa pesante. Non potendo ribattere nel merito di quello
che andiamo dicendo - sulle cause della crisi nei Balcani, sulla deriva
autoritaria nei paesi europei, sui crimini commessi da militari e
leaders politici quali l'attuale Presidente del Consiglio D'Alema, sul
neocolonialismo nei Balcani e fino al Caucaso, eccetera - i nostri
avversari cercano di colpire noi e tutto il movimento internazionalista
ed antiimperialista attraverso la repressione, le provocazioni,
l'operato dei loro "servi stupidi" che fanno capo a qualche ritrovo di
fumatori di spinelli o a qualche redazione di giornaletti di
autoproclamata sinistra.
Intanto l'onda lunga della guerra di aggressione contro la Repubblica
Federale di Jugoslavia continua, in termini di pericoli per la pace, e
continua allora anche il nostro impegno. Ricordiamo in particolare il
lavoro per la istituzione della sezione italiana del Tribunale
Indipendente contro i crimini di guerra della NATO, cui aderiamo, e
l'attivita', come gruppo o individualmente, in varie altre iniziative
contro la guerra (Comitato di solidarieta' alla popolazione jugoslava e
raccolta fondi per la Zastava di Kragujevac, Comitato Scienziate/i
contro la guerra, "Un ponte per...", eccetera).
Ma continua soprattutto l'opera di controinformazione. Su "Radio Citta'
Aperta" (a Roma e nel Lazio FM 88.900) la trasmissione "Voce Jugoslava"
va avanti, ogni martedi alle ore 13, a parte occasionali variazioni nel
palinsesto. Al nostro bollettino telematico e' dedicata una attenzione
crescente: esso viene ricevuto e ri-usato da individualita' e gruppi
internazionalisti, come e' giusto, benche' i documenti che facciamo
circolare continuino ad essere apparentemente ignorati dagli ambienti
politici ufficiali (compreso il PRC, nel cui seno sopravvive un settore
antijugoslavo ed affezionato all'irredentismo panalbanese) e dai
giornalisti "che contano". Il sito internet si arricchisce lentamente,
anche se la natura volontaria del nostro lavoro non ci consente di
aggiornarlo tanto spesso quanto sarebbe necessario.
In generale, benche' con grave ritardo, l'interpretazione jugoslavista
della vicende balcaniche guadagna spazio tra militanti e nell'opinione
pubblica. Questo peraltro avviene con difficolta' a causa dei danni
causati dal pensiero "politicamente corretto" (cioe'
liberal-secessionista e razzista antiserbo) diffuso a spron battente da
influenti quotidiani come "Il Manifesto" nei primi anni del conflitto; e
sfortunatamente la "correzione di rotta" attuale e' duvuta proprio alla
estrema drammaticita' degli avvenimenti ed all'accanimento imperialista
a fare a pezzi ancora tutto cio' che resta di un paese, comprese tante
vite umane.
Rispetto a questo, restano troppo indietro proprio gli jugoslavi, per la
loro difficolta' a coordinarsi e per la incredibile stratificazione di
divisioni interne (specialmente nel frastagliatissimo mondo serbo e dei
serbi in esilio).
Il riscontro che riceviamo per il nostro lavoro e' reale, ma
discontinuo. Abbiamo l'impressione che la nostra attivita' desti
aspettative svariate, talvolta contraddittorie: ognuno ha interesse per
una problematica diversa, vorrebbe trascinarci su questo o su quel
versante. Qualcuno si lamenta perche' inviamo troppi documenti, qualcun
altro ci richiede ancora questo e quest'altro.
> La sinistra antiimperialista in Italia
In qualche maniera poi, attraverso le nostre comunicazioni per via
telematica come anche attraverso tutti gli altri contatti, abbiamo "il
polso" della situazione della sinistra antiimperialista italiana nel suo
complesso. Il quadro che ne emerge e' preoccupante per la tendenza
cronica alla discontinuita' ed alla disgregazione, tendenza che nemmeno
episodi gravi come la guerra della primavera 1999 riescono ad invertire.
Sperimentiamo una commistione di settarismi, "settarismi al contrario"
(cioe' determinati da un apparente antisettarismo per cui si escludono
tutta una serie di interlocutori), difficolta' tutte personalistiche nei
rapporti con individui e gruppi, nonche' la sostanziale disabitudine a
basare l'analisi e la prassi politica su basi scientifiche piuttosto che
su slogan superficiali e passioni estemporanee, a privilegiare il rigore
del metodo e delle conoscenze piuttosto che le sparate velleitarie.
E' vero che esiste una vera e propria BALCANIZZAZIONE della sinistra
italiana nel suo complesso, all'interno della quale convivono ad esempio
interpretazioni diametralmente opposte dei fatti jugoslavi (dai
sostenitori dell'UCK a quelli che piangono la morte di Arkan come un
"compagno"), che affonda le sue radici proprio nella deriva
anti-ideologica ed anti-razionale degli ultimi anni, nella
disinformazione e nell'abbandono delle chiavi di interpretazione
marxiste. Ma esiste anche un sostanziale caos nella - ben piu'
delimitata e delimitabile - scena antiimperialista, sul piano
organizzativo-pratico piu' che su quello analitico-ideologico; un caos
che emerge con accenti paradossali negli ambienti marxisti-leninisti,
dove l'interpretazione dei fatti e' univoca e salda ma la litigiosita'
tra individui e gruppi e' feroce. Una situazione che pesa notevolmente
sulle possibilita' di costruzione di una organizzazione politica dei
comunisti nel nostro paese.
Noi non intendiamo occuparci di tutto: siamo nati, e probabilmente
termineremo la nostra attivita', incentrandoci sulle vicende della
Jugoslavia federativa e socialista. Tuttavia, il nostro lavoro ci porta
necessariamente ad affrontare anche altre questioni e tutti i nodi
presenti nella sinistra italiana, sul fronte antiimperialista, ed anche
in gran parte del mondo della cultura. Speriamo che qualcuno di questi
nodi si sciolga nel futuro prossimo, possibilmente in modo non troppo
doloroso... Per quanto ci riguarda, la nostra piu' grande ambizione e'
scomparire come Coordinamento Romano per la Jugoslavia una volta che le
drammatiche ragioni per cui ci siamo costituiti verranno meno!
Con i migliori auguri l'anno 2000... ma solo a chi ama la Jugoslavia,
la unita' e la fratellanza fra tutti i popoli!
Smrt fasizmu, sloboda narodu!
Italo Slavo, gennaio 2000
--------- COORDINAMENTO ROMANO PER LA JUGOSLAVIA -----------
RIMSKI SAVEZ ZA JUGOSLAVIJU
e-mail: crj@... - URL: http://marx2001.org/crj
** NO COPYRIGHT ! **
------------------------------------------------------------
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