2000: LA GRAN BRETAGNA PREPARA LA CLASSE DIRIGENTE CHE VORREBBE
GOVERNASSE LA R.F. DI JUGOSLAVIA AL POSTO DELL'ATTUALE
1991: LA GRAN BRETAGNA COLLABORA CON FORNITURE DI EQUIPAGGIAMENTO
MILITARE ALLA SECESSIONE SLOVENA
---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: 6 May 2000 16:08:24 -0000
From: After the Rain - How the West Lost the East <palma@...>
To: List Member <martok@...>
Subject: [aftertherain] Britain Trains the Post-Milosevic Leadership
After the Rain - How the West Lost the East -
http://www.geocities.com/vaksam/after.html
This message and the message titled "The Balkans are a Good Investment"
are courtesy Bill
www.independent.co.uk
Britain trains new elite for post-Milosevic era
By Adam LeBor in Budapest
3 May 2000
British diplomats are training a Yugoslav élite-in-waiting to
oversee the country's transformation to a civil society after the
Milosevic regime falls.
Senior Serbian figures in professional fields such as the
military, law enforcement and academia are being brought to
Budapest in neighbouring Hungary to design a blueprint for
post-Milosevic Serbia, and prepare for the country's
re-integration into Europe.
The New Serbia Forum, an initiative funded by the Foreign
Office, focuses on key issues to shape the future Yugoslavia
such as instituting civilian control of the military, punishment
for those who committed atrocities under President Slobodan
Milosevic and reconstruct- ing a stable economy.
Many of the Serb participants held senior posts in Yugoslavia
before the country began to implode in the 1991 Croatian war
of independence. Their refusal to participate in Mr Milosevic's
nationalist drive forced them out of their jobs.
British officials want to prevent a repeat of the post-1989
transitions from Communist dictatorship of eastern Eur-ope's
new democracies.
Sir John Birch, former British ambassador to Hungary, said: "In
1989 there was no action plan for a new democratic
government and a lot of time was wasted arguing over
inconsequential questions such as flags and anthems,
instead of coping with the budget deficit or thinking about how
to deal with people from the old regime.
"We are not a subversive organisation, talking about how to get
rid of the Milosevic regime. We are looking at Serb solutions to
Serb problems, with outside assistance, about what Serbia
needs to reintegrate."
Forum participants, including Dr Miroslav Hadzic, a former
colonel in the Yugoslav army, said they wanted to learn from
other ex-communist nations. "It is very important for us to be in
touch with modern democratic experts which have experience
of issues such as civilian control of the army, in transition
countries such as Hungary, the Czech Republic and Slovenia,"
said Dr Hadzic, now a research fellow at a Belgrade institute.
The Western policy of isolation and sanctions had supported
Mr Milosevic, by strengthening his position, said Dr Hadzic.
"The Serbian people have no hope and without hope you
cannot do anything. All sanctions should be lifted now and
Yugoslavia should be admitted to all international
organisations.
"The Serbs are paying the price of 10 years of a bad choice,
and it is a high price."
Budapest, capital of Hungary, which borders three states of the
former Yugoslavia - Croatia, Slovenia and Serbia - has long
been a key meeting place for nationals of the south Slavic
nations, now divided into independent states.
Bosko Colak-Antic, a former journalist with Tanjug, the
Yugoslav state news agency, said: "We do not have free and
open expression, to meet experts and clarify our attitudes and
opinions. This [forum] brings together the élite of people who
can express their opinions about what should happen after the
fall of Milosevic."
Attending the forum is not without risks. Participants are often
called in by the police on their return home and questioned.
One Serb delegate said Belgrade officers asked him who he
met, and what the forum was about, then verbally abused him.
The role of the army and the police in the transition to a
post-Milosevic era is a key question. Analysts are not certain
the army will support Mr Milosevic; nor can he rely on police.
But many analysts expect the end of the Milosevic regime to be
protracted and bloody. Internationally isolated, its domestic
support crumbling, riven by factions and threatened by armed
organised crime gangs it unleashed during the Bosnian war,
the regime is likely to end not with a whimper, but with a Serb
Götterdämmerung.
One delegate said: "There is too much at stake for government
circles and they have no way out. They will fight until the last
drop of our blood."
---
FreeRepublic.com "A Conservative News Forum"
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posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or
its
management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law
and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.
British deal fuelled Balkan war
Foreign Affairs Opinion (Published)
Source: The Guardian
Published: 05/28/00 Author: Blaz Zgaga and Antony Barnett
Posted on 05/28/2000 18:17:59 PDT by Miss Antiwar
British deal fuelled Balkan war
Military sale to Slovenia flouted Tory foreign policy
Kosovo: special report
Blaz Zgaga and Antony Barnett
Sunday May 28, 2000
Britain flouted its own foreign policy by approving the sale of millions
of pounds worth of military equipment to a
former Yugoslav republic only days before the outbreak of the bloody
Balkans war, The Observer has established.
Eight days before Slovenia became the first area to break from the
unified Yugoslavia in 1991, a British firm delivered
communications equipment to the Slovenian forces to help them fight the
Serb-led Yugoslav army.
The revelation that this deal was approved by the Conservative
Government will embarrass former Foreign Secretary
Douglas Hurd, who was the principal architect of the West's policy of
supporting a unified Yugoslavia. He had warned
the republics to stay in the federation.
Until now, Germany has shouldered the blame for the Balkan tragedy by
prematurely recognising the breakaway
republics of Slovenia and Croatia. Britain's help to Slovenia casts a
new light on events.
Labour MP Ann Clwyd, who sits on the House of Commons International
Development Select Committee, said: 'These
revelations show once again that the export of military equipment from
Britain needs to be much more rigorously
scrutinised.'
After Slovenia declared independence, the Yugoslav army began its
military offensive against the 'rebel' republic. The
ensuing 10-day war signalled the start of the conflicts that ultimately
killed hundreds of thousands.
Three months after Britain exported military equipment to Slovenia the
United Nations imposed an arms embargo on the
region.
The Observer has obtained details of the multi-million-pound contract
between the Slovenian Defence Ministry and
Racal, the British defence and communications group. A fax dated 29 May,
1991, from one of Racal's military
subsidiaries, Racal Tacticom, to the Slovenian Defence Ministry lists
four batches of tactical military communication
equipment worth £5 million.
Racal's communications network played a vital role in helping Slovenia
beat the Serb-led Yugoslav forces. The
equipment arrived on 17 June, eight days before the war of independence
began.
Janez Jansa, then Slovenian Defence Minister, praises Britain for its
role in his memoirs. He writes: 'The government of
one of the more decent Western states has, on our request, officially
approved the export of mili tary radio stations with
secure data transmission to Slovenia.'
One senior source at Racal Defence Electronics confirmed that it had
delivered the equipment after it received an export
licence from the Department of Trade and Industry. He said the contract
was with the 'regional government' of Slovenia,
and the export was for 'the purpose of national defence'.
Misha Glenny, a Balkans expert, said: 'If the British Government was
fully aware of this, it would imply that the
Government was covertly operating in contradiction of its stated policy
and aims. It would also shift some of the
responsibility carried by Germany.'
The former Slovenian Defence Minister's book also claims that the
British Embassy in Belgrade learnt that the Yugoslav
air force was planning to shoot down a Slovenian aircraft due to carry
the equipment to its new owner. According to
Jansa, the British tipped off the Slovenians, who decided to send the
cargo by road. Government sources in Slovenia
confirm that the aircraft that was to have delivered the shipment was a
passenger plane owned by Adria Airways, the
national airline. The jet was to have flown from Gatwick to the capital
Ljubljana, in central Slovenia.
Suggestions that the British Embassy in Belgrade knew of the military
shipment and warned the Slovenians are strongly
denied by Sir Peter Hall, who was ambassador in Belgrade. He said:
'These allegations of British Embassy involvement
are without foundation... I had no, absolutely no, knowledge of any
military equipment being sent from Britain to
Slovenia. Indeed, given the great tension in the region at the time I
would be surprised that any such equipment would
have been sent at all.'
The Observer contacted Lord Hurd and Peter Lilley, who was then Trade
Secretary, with details of the arms shipment.
Both declined to respond. A spokesman for the Blair Government refused
to comment, saying it needed permission from
Racal to give details of any export licence.
Lord Owen, the EU peace negotiator in Bosnia, said: 'I am surprised that
such sales took place, particularly as the British
Government, the US and Nato's view was to keep the Federation of
Yugoslavia together. But this equipment was not
aggressive - it was radios not guns. I think it sails close to the
border but does not cross it.'
Blaz Zgaga works for the Slovenian daily 'Vecer'.
1 Posted on 05/28/2000 18:17:59 PDT by Miss Antiwar
[ Reply | Private Reply | Top | Last ]
To: Miss Antiwar
A united Yugoslavia would never have joined NATO and would never have
aligned itself with the
west against Russia. It was essential to the interests of the western
European countries -
Britain, Germany, France, Italy, et al - that Yugoslavia be dismembered.
2 Posted on 05/28/2000 18:28:40 PDT by josiban
[ Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | Top | Last ]
To: Miss Antiwar
After Slovenia declared independence, the Yugoslav army began its
military offensive against the
'rebel' republic.
Er...not quite. The Yugoslav army, already stationed on its own soil in
Slovenia, simply moved to
take control of Slovene border posts. It was a clumsy, chaotic affair in
which a lot of people died
needlessly.
3 Posted on 05/29/2000 00:51:45 PDT by Canuck1
[ Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | Top | Last ]
To: Canuck1
Ditto!
4 Posted on 05/29/2000 07:49:50 PDT by F-117A (clinton is a War
Criminal)
[ Reply | Private Reply | To 3 | Top | Last ]
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual
posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or
its
management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law
and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.
[ Top | Latest Posts | Latest Articles | Self Search | Add Bookmark |
Post | Abuse | Help! ]
FreeRepublic , LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
Forum Version 2.0a Copyright © 1999 Free Republic, LLC
--------- COORDINAMENTO ROMANO PER LA JUGOSLAVIA -----------
RIMSKI SAVEZ ZA JUGOSLAVIJU
e-mail: crj@... - URL: http://marx2001.org/crj
http://www.egroups.com/group/crj-mailinglist/
------------------------------------------------------------
GOVERNASSE LA R.F. DI JUGOSLAVIA AL POSTO DELL'ATTUALE
1991: LA GRAN BRETAGNA COLLABORA CON FORNITURE DI EQUIPAGGIAMENTO
MILITARE ALLA SECESSIONE SLOVENA
---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: 6 May 2000 16:08:24 -0000
From: After the Rain - How the West Lost the East <palma@...>
To: List Member <martok@...>
Subject: [aftertherain] Britain Trains the Post-Milosevic Leadership
After the Rain - How the West Lost the East -
http://www.geocities.com/vaksam/after.html
This message and the message titled "The Balkans are a Good Investment"
are courtesy Bill
www.independent.co.uk
Britain trains new elite for post-Milosevic era
By Adam LeBor in Budapest
3 May 2000
British diplomats are training a Yugoslav élite-in-waiting to
oversee the country's transformation to a civil society after the
Milosevic regime falls.
Senior Serbian figures in professional fields such as the
military, law enforcement and academia are being brought to
Budapest in neighbouring Hungary to design a blueprint for
post-Milosevic Serbia, and prepare for the country's
re-integration into Europe.
The New Serbia Forum, an initiative funded by the Foreign
Office, focuses on key issues to shape the future Yugoslavia
such as instituting civilian control of the military, punishment
for those who committed atrocities under President Slobodan
Milosevic and reconstruct- ing a stable economy.
Many of the Serb participants held senior posts in Yugoslavia
before the country began to implode in the 1991 Croatian war
of independence. Their refusal to participate in Mr Milosevic's
nationalist drive forced them out of their jobs.
British officials want to prevent a repeat of the post-1989
transitions from Communist dictatorship of eastern Eur-ope's
new democracies.
Sir John Birch, former British ambassador to Hungary, said: "In
1989 there was no action plan for a new democratic
government and a lot of time was wasted arguing over
inconsequential questions such as flags and anthems,
instead of coping with the budget deficit or thinking about how
to deal with people from the old regime.
"We are not a subversive organisation, talking about how to get
rid of the Milosevic regime. We are looking at Serb solutions to
Serb problems, with outside assistance, about what Serbia
needs to reintegrate."
Forum participants, including Dr Miroslav Hadzic, a former
colonel in the Yugoslav army, said they wanted to learn from
other ex-communist nations. "It is very important for us to be in
touch with modern democratic experts which have experience
of issues such as civilian control of the army, in transition
countries such as Hungary, the Czech Republic and Slovenia,"
said Dr Hadzic, now a research fellow at a Belgrade institute.
The Western policy of isolation and sanctions had supported
Mr Milosevic, by strengthening his position, said Dr Hadzic.
"The Serbian people have no hope and without hope you
cannot do anything. All sanctions should be lifted now and
Yugoslavia should be admitted to all international
organisations.
"The Serbs are paying the price of 10 years of a bad choice,
and it is a high price."
Budapest, capital of Hungary, which borders three states of the
former Yugoslavia - Croatia, Slovenia and Serbia - has long
been a key meeting place for nationals of the south Slavic
nations, now divided into independent states.
Bosko Colak-Antic, a former journalist with Tanjug, the
Yugoslav state news agency, said: "We do not have free and
open expression, to meet experts and clarify our attitudes and
opinions. This [forum] brings together the élite of people who
can express their opinions about what should happen after the
fall of Milosevic."
Attending the forum is not without risks. Participants are often
called in by the police on their return home and questioned.
One Serb delegate said Belgrade officers asked him who he
met, and what the forum was about, then verbally abused him.
The role of the army and the police in the transition to a
post-Milosevic era is a key question. Analysts are not certain
the army will support Mr Milosevic; nor can he rely on police.
But many analysts expect the end of the Milosevic regime to be
protracted and bloody. Internationally isolated, its domestic
support crumbling, riven by factions and threatened by armed
organised crime gangs it unleashed during the Bosnian war,
the regime is likely to end not with a whimper, but with a Serb
Götterdämmerung.
One delegate said: "There is too much at stake for government
circles and they have no way out. They will fight until the last
drop of our blood."
---
FreeRepublic.com "A Conservative News Forum"
[ Last | Latest Posts | Latest Articles | Self Search | Add Bookmark |
Post | Abuse | Help! ]
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual
posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or
its
management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law
and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.
British deal fuelled Balkan war
Foreign Affairs Opinion (Published)
Source: The Guardian
Published: 05/28/00 Author: Blaz Zgaga and Antony Barnett
Posted on 05/28/2000 18:17:59 PDT by Miss Antiwar
British deal fuelled Balkan war
Military sale to Slovenia flouted Tory foreign policy
Kosovo: special report
Blaz Zgaga and Antony Barnett
Sunday May 28, 2000
Britain flouted its own foreign policy by approving the sale of millions
of pounds worth of military equipment to a
former Yugoslav republic only days before the outbreak of the bloody
Balkans war, The Observer has established.
Eight days before Slovenia became the first area to break from the
unified Yugoslavia in 1991, a British firm delivered
communications equipment to the Slovenian forces to help them fight the
Serb-led Yugoslav army.
The revelation that this deal was approved by the Conservative
Government will embarrass former Foreign Secretary
Douglas Hurd, who was the principal architect of the West's policy of
supporting a unified Yugoslavia. He had warned
the republics to stay in the federation.
Until now, Germany has shouldered the blame for the Balkan tragedy by
prematurely recognising the breakaway
republics of Slovenia and Croatia. Britain's help to Slovenia casts a
new light on events.
Labour MP Ann Clwyd, who sits on the House of Commons International
Development Select Committee, said: 'These
revelations show once again that the export of military equipment from
Britain needs to be much more rigorously
scrutinised.'
After Slovenia declared independence, the Yugoslav army began its
military offensive against the 'rebel' republic. The
ensuing 10-day war signalled the start of the conflicts that ultimately
killed hundreds of thousands.
Three months after Britain exported military equipment to Slovenia the
United Nations imposed an arms embargo on the
region.
The Observer has obtained details of the multi-million-pound contract
between the Slovenian Defence Ministry and
Racal, the British defence and communications group. A fax dated 29 May,
1991, from one of Racal's military
subsidiaries, Racal Tacticom, to the Slovenian Defence Ministry lists
four batches of tactical military communication
equipment worth £5 million.
Racal's communications network played a vital role in helping Slovenia
beat the Serb-led Yugoslav forces. The
equipment arrived on 17 June, eight days before the war of independence
began.
Janez Jansa, then Slovenian Defence Minister, praises Britain for its
role in his memoirs. He writes: 'The government of
one of the more decent Western states has, on our request, officially
approved the export of mili tary radio stations with
secure data transmission to Slovenia.'
One senior source at Racal Defence Electronics confirmed that it had
delivered the equipment after it received an export
licence from the Department of Trade and Industry. He said the contract
was with the 'regional government' of Slovenia,
and the export was for 'the purpose of national defence'.
Misha Glenny, a Balkans expert, said: 'If the British Government was
fully aware of this, it would imply that the
Government was covertly operating in contradiction of its stated policy
and aims. It would also shift some of the
responsibility carried by Germany.'
The former Slovenian Defence Minister's book also claims that the
British Embassy in Belgrade learnt that the Yugoslav
air force was planning to shoot down a Slovenian aircraft due to carry
the equipment to its new owner. According to
Jansa, the British tipped off the Slovenians, who decided to send the
cargo by road. Government sources in Slovenia
confirm that the aircraft that was to have delivered the shipment was a
passenger plane owned by Adria Airways, the
national airline. The jet was to have flown from Gatwick to the capital
Ljubljana, in central Slovenia.
Suggestions that the British Embassy in Belgrade knew of the military
shipment and warned the Slovenians are strongly
denied by Sir Peter Hall, who was ambassador in Belgrade. He said:
'These allegations of British Embassy involvement
are without foundation... I had no, absolutely no, knowledge of any
military equipment being sent from Britain to
Slovenia. Indeed, given the great tension in the region at the time I
would be surprised that any such equipment would
have been sent at all.'
The Observer contacted Lord Hurd and Peter Lilley, who was then Trade
Secretary, with details of the arms shipment.
Both declined to respond. A spokesman for the Blair Government refused
to comment, saying it needed permission from
Racal to give details of any export licence.
Lord Owen, the EU peace negotiator in Bosnia, said: 'I am surprised that
such sales took place, particularly as the British
Government, the US and Nato's view was to keep the Federation of
Yugoslavia together. But this equipment was not
aggressive - it was radios not guns. I think it sails close to the
border but does not cross it.'
Blaz Zgaga works for the Slovenian daily 'Vecer'.
1 Posted on 05/28/2000 18:17:59 PDT by Miss Antiwar
[ Reply | Private Reply | Top | Last ]
To: Miss Antiwar
A united Yugoslavia would never have joined NATO and would never have
aligned itself with the
west against Russia. It was essential to the interests of the western
European countries -
Britain, Germany, France, Italy, et al - that Yugoslavia be dismembered.
2 Posted on 05/28/2000 18:28:40 PDT by josiban
[ Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | Top | Last ]
To: Miss Antiwar
After Slovenia declared independence, the Yugoslav army began its
military offensive against the
'rebel' republic.
Er...not quite. The Yugoslav army, already stationed on its own soil in
Slovenia, simply moved to
take control of Slovene border posts. It was a clumsy, chaotic affair in
which a lot of people died
needlessly.
3 Posted on 05/29/2000 00:51:45 PDT by Canuck1
[ Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | Top | Last ]
To: Canuck1
Ditto!
4 Posted on 05/29/2000 07:49:50 PDT by F-117A (clinton is a War
Criminal)
[ Reply | Private Reply | To 3 | Top | Last ]
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual
posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or
its
management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law
and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.
[ Top | Latest Posts | Latest Articles | Self Search | Add Bookmark |
Post | Abuse | Help! ]
FreeRepublic , LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
Forum Version 2.0a Copyright © 1999 Free Republic, LLC
--------- COORDINAMENTO ROMANO PER LA JUGOSLAVIA -----------
RIMSKI SAVEZ ZA JUGOSLAVIJU
e-mail: crj@... - URL: http://marx2001.org/crj
http://www.egroups.com/group/crj-mailinglist/
------------------------------------------------------------