The Global Reflexion Foundation contributes, according to her ability, to the distribution of information on international issues that in the media does not recieve proper attention or is presented in a distorted way. We receive information from different sources, that does not necessary reflect our opinion. If you don't want to receive it, please send us an e-mail. See also http://emperors-clothes.com/ and http://www.targets.org/ ********************************************************* Tuesday, april 3, 2001 1. Washington finances ethnic warfare in the Balkans 2. The hoax that started a war 3. Statement of the Socialist Party of Serbia ********************************************************** WASHINGTON FINANCES ETHNIC WARFARE IN THE BALKANS by Michel Chossudovsky [3 April 2001] Professor of Economics, University of Ottawa, author of The Globalization of Poverty, second edition, Common Courage Press, 2001. Synopsis While Washington supports the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, it is at the same time --behind the scenes-- funneling money and military hardware to the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) now engaged in a border war with the Macedonian Security Forces. In a cruel irony, Washington is arming and advising both the KLA attackers and the Macedonian defenders under military and intelligence authorization acts approved by the US Congress. Military Professional Resources Inc. (MPRI), a mercenary outfit on contract to the Pentagon, is helping Macedonia --as part of a US military aid package-- "to deter armed aggression and defend Macedonian territory." But MPRI is also advising and equipping the KLA, which is responsible for the terrorist assaults. In this war, the American military-intelligence apparatus is pulling strings "on both sides of the fence". What is the hidden agenda?=20 "[The] United States of America and the Kosovo Liberation Army stand for the same human values and principles ... Fighting for the KLA is fighting for human rights and American values."(Senator Jo. Lieberman, quoted in the 'Washington Post', 28 April 1999) -- M.C. WASHINGTON FINANCES ETHNIC WARFARE IN THE BALKANS by Michel Chossudovsky [3 April 2001] The Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) --transformed in September 1999 into the Kosovo Protection Corps (KPC) under UN auspices-- is behind the terrorist attacks in the Tetovo region of Macedonia as well as in Southern Serbia. In Macedonia, these assaults are waged by the KLA's proxy: the Ushtira Clirimtare Komtare (UCK) or National Liberation Army (NLA). The terrorists operate from KLA bases inside Kosovo under KFOR protection.=20 Supported by the US, the KLA and its various proxies are well equipped. According to Carl Bildt (special UN coordinator for the Balkans), the Macedonian Security Forces "are no match" for the rebels: 'the guerrillas are a competent military organization=85 They have = a core of very experienced fighters. They are well fortified, evidently well prepared, and in all probability they control substantial parts of the hinterland.'"=20 But where did they get the money? The Western media conveys the impression that the National Liberation Army (NLA) developed into a modern rebel force overnight, spontaneously "out of thin air" and that NATO leaders have no contacts with the KLA.=20 UN PEACE-KEEPING FINANCES TERRORISM According to the (London) 'Sunday Times',=20 "American intelligence agents have admitted they helped to train the Kosovo Liberation Army before NATO's bombing of Yugoslavia".(1)=20 A review of US Congressional documents would suggest that CIA support was not discontinued after the war.(2) Moreover, while the KLA maintains its links both to the CIA and criminal syndicates involved in the Balkans narcotics trade, the paramilitary organisation -renamed the Kosovo Protection Corps (KPC) has been elevated to UN status, implying the granting of legitimate sources of funding through UN as well as through bilateral channels. Procurement of military supplies, training of the KLA and military advisers has been entrusted to Military Professional Resources Inc. (MPRI), a US based mercenary outfit linked to the Pentagon. The pattern is similar to that followed in Croatia and in the Bosnian Muslim-Croatian Federation where so-called "equip and train" programmes were put together by the Pentagon.=20 MPRI's training concepts --which had already been tested in Croatia and Bosnia- are based on imparting "offensive tactics... as the best form of defence".(3) In the Kosovar context, this so-called "defensive doctrine" applied in terrorist assaults in Southern Serbia and Macedonia is intent upon transforming the KLA paramilitary into a modern military force which serves the Alliance's strategic objectives. MPRI listed in 1999 "ninety-one highly experienced, former military professionals working in Bosnia & Herzegovina".(4) The number of military officers working on contract with the KLA has not been disclosed. There is, however, a consistent thread: KLA Chief of Staff Agim Ceku (previously with the Croatian Armed Forces) has been involved in a long-term relationship with the MPRI. Ceku started working with MPRI in 1995 in the planning of "Operation Storm" in Croatia, which led to ethnic massacres and the expulsion of more than 200.000 Serbs from the Krajina region of Croatia. The fact that Ceku is "an alleged war criminal" -- according to the files of the Hague Tribunal (a body reporting to the UN Secretary General)-- does not, however, seem to bother anybody in the "international community".(5)=20 Ceku holds a UN passport (Laissez-Passer) which provides him with diplomatic immunity within Kosovo. According to ICTY prosecutor Carla del Ponte, Ceku's reputation and integrity, however, are unstained because the Hague tribunal's "inquiries ... relate to atrocities committed [by Ceku] in Krajina ... between 1993 and 1995... Ceku's record in Kosovo itself is not thought to be in question=85".(6)=20 Behind to polite fa=E7ade of international diplomacy, UN Secretary General Kofi Annan has --on Washington's instructions-- knowingly and willfully approved the appointment of "an alleged war criminal" to participate in a UN peacekeeping operation. In other words, the UN system is "financing terrorism," creating an ugly precedent in the history of a respected international body: "The United Nations is paying the salaries of many of the gangsters," who are now involved in the terrorist assaults into Macedonia.(7) RECYCLING NARCO-DOLLARS US support to the KLA is only one among several sources of KLA financing. Various Islamic organisations have channeled money and military equipment to the KLA. Prior to the 1999 war,=20 "German, Turkish and Afghan instructors were reported to be training the KLA in guerilla and diversion tactics."(8)=20 Mujehadeen mercenaries recruited in a number of countries fought against Serb Security forces alongside the KLA in Kosovo. According to the 'Sunday Times,' the recent assaults by the KLA's proxy in the Tetovo region of Macedonia have been "encouraged by mercenaries from Afghanistan and Saudi Arabia."(9)=20 Amply documented, the Balkans drug trade is used to finance ethnic warfare with the complicity of the US and NATO. The pattern of covert support --through the recycling of narco-dollars-- has been an integral part of CIA covert operations since the Soviet-Afghan war. According to documents of the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), "members of the notorious Albanian mafia have links to a drug smuggling cartel'' based in Kosovo's capital, Pristina. This cartel is allegedly manned by ethnic Albanians who are members of the Kosovo National Front (KNF) whose armed wing is the KLA. The DEA documents apparently show it is one of the "most powerful heroin smuggling organisations in the world'' with its profits being diverted to the KLA to buy weapons.(10)=20 In the words of former DEA agent and author Michael Levine: "Ten years ago we were arming and equipping the worst elements of the Mujahadeen in Afghanistan - drug traffickers, arms smugglers, anti-American terrorists=85Now we're doing the same thing with the KLA, which is tied in with every known middle and far eastern drug cartel. Interpol, Europol, and nearly every European intelligence and counter-narcotics agency has files open on drug syndicates that lead right to the KLA, and right to Albanian gangs in this country."(11)=20 While US aid --combined with drug money-- is channeled to the KLA, Washington and Brussels perfunctorily condemn the NLA-Tetovo instigated terrorist assaults while casually denying the links of the attackers to the KLA. In the words of former NATO Secretary General Javier Solana: "'it would be a mistake to negotiate,=85 the terrorists have to be isolated. All of us have to condemn and isolate them. Nothing can be achieved through violence'' =85=20 NATO has pledged to ''starve'' the rebels by cutting supply lines from neighboring Kosovo".(12) While condemning the terrorists, NATO --through the UN-- has also been "raising the urgent need for restraint by the Macedonian forces".(13)=20 This double talk is of course a form of political camouflage: you say that you are against the terrorists and then support them via the KLA with guns, ammo and military advisers paid by the US public purse.=20 FINANCING BOTH SIDES But there is something else even more terrifying which has not been revealed to public opinion. The guerilla war in the Tetovo region of Macedonia is being financed and therefore controlled by Washington "on both sides" of the border. While Washington pumps money into the KLA, the FYR of Macedonia --which has been an obedient client state-- is also the recipient of US military aid and training. Macedonia is a member of NATO's Partnership for Peace (PfP) and aspires to acquire full NATO membership.=20 The same group of US military advisers on contract with the KLA is also "helping" the Macedonian Armed Forces. The MPRI --while assisting the KLA in its terrorist assaults-- is also present behind enemy lines in Macedonia under a so-called "Stability and Deterrence Program". The later is intent upon "assisting the Macedonian Armed Forces =85 to deter armed aggression and, should deterrence fail, defend Macedonian territory=85".(14) What is happening is that the US mercenary company with a mandate "to defend the border" is also advising the KLA on how best "to attack the border".=20 Is this not crystal clear: The military-intelligence ploy is to finance both sides of the conflict, provide military aid to one side and finance the other side. And then "make them fight". It's a sinister military-intelligence game, an "insider operation" with US military advisers on both sides from the same mercenary outfit (the MPRI). Macedonia's "Stability and Deterrence Program" is in fact largely supported by US foreign military sales (FMS), namely MPRI is in charge of delivering (i.e. dumping) to the Macedonian Armed Forces obsolete weapons and hardware which the US Department of Defense wants to get rid of.=20 Moreover, with its various sources of financing (drugs, Islamic organisations, US military aid, contributions from the US-Albanian community), the KLA and its Macedonian proxy the Ushtira Clirimtare Komtare have the upper edge. The money channeled from various sources including the drug trade far exceeds the meager FMS allocations granted in the form of surplus military equipment to the Macedonian Ministry of Defence. (15)=20 The friendly and cordial meetings held in Skopje (July 2000) between General Henry H. Shelton, Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff and his Macedonian counterpart, General Jovan Andrevski, constitute an obvious smoke screen. While America's top brass pays lip service to its PfP partner and ally, the KLA --with the support of the Albanian American community-- is actively recruiting US citizens to fight as volunteers against the Macedonian Security Forces.(16) Bear in mind that this pattern of "financing both sides" is not limited to the Balkans: since the end of the Cold War, Washington has been involved in channeling covert financing and triggering civil conflicts in different parts of the World including Central Africa, the Caucasus and Central Asia. By financing both sides of the conflict, the US controls the outcome of the war.=20 MPRI OVERSEES THE SHOW While recruiting a wide range of military and intelligence expertise from its data bank of former military personnel, MPRI is controlled by a handful of former generals and ex-CIA officers. MPRI General (retired) Rich Griffitts --responsible for MPRI's program in Macedonia-- is talking to the Macedonian Chief of Staff. He also talks to KLA Commander Agim Ceku --with whom he has established a longstanding relationship since Operation Storm in Croatia in 1995. Ceku is part of the MPRI's "old boys network"; in collaboration with MPRI, he was one of the main architects of "Operation Storm". In this capacity, he also acted as Commander of the Artillery division, which ruthlessly shelled Krajina Serb civilians.(17)=20 Whether MPRI personnel stationed in Kosovo is in direct contact or communication with their colleagues in Macedonia is not the issue: all MPRI military staff in the field report back to Rich Griffitt, Crosbie Saint and Carl Vuono (President of MPRI) at the company's headquarters in Alexandria, Virginia. Crosbie Saint --in charge of the company's "International Group"-- coordinates MPRI's various operations in Kosovo and Macedonia as well as in Croatia and Bosnia. In turn, Saint --who is a former director of military intelligence-- is in permanent contact with the Pentagon, KFOR and the CIA.(18)=20 HIDDEN AGENDA=20 So what kind of war is this? Both sides in the Macedonia border war are controlled by the US. American military personnel from the same private mercenary company are stationed on "both sides of the fence" assisting their local counterparts to fight a war on Washington's behest.=20 If this war is allowed to continue, it will inevitably lead to the escalation of ethnic hatred, civilian casualties and refugees. This in turn will result in political destabilization and social unrest in both Macedonia and Yugoslavia, thereby providing a pretext to Washington and NATO to directly intervene under the disguise of "peace-keeping" and "confidence building." The hidden agenda also consists in the mobilization of ethnic Albanians in Macedonia to support or become part of the KLA'S structure.=20 In other words, Washington is "financing ethnic warfare" as a means to achieving broad geopolitical, strategic and economic objectives using the KLA as proxy force. Meanwhile, the 'international community" --warning of an impending "humanitarian disaster"-- has sent in an army of observers and human rights experts, with a mandate to protect the political and social rights of ethnic Albanians. This brokered "reconciliation" --imposed by NATO under UN auspices-- is based on the premise that ethnic Albanians in Macedonia are an oppressed social minority. It not only fosters socio-ethnic divisions within Macedonia; it also provides legitimacy to the KLA sponsored "freedom fighters" as well as international media sympathy. It tends to discredit the Macedonian Security Forces, thereby weakening their ability to fight the KLA.=20 While Washington continues to support the terrorists behind the scenes, the military alliance presents itself as an impartial mediator. In turn, NATO's informal mouthpiece, the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), is placing the blame on the Skopje government, calling upon:=20 "the legal authorities in the FYR of Macedonia, Presevo and Kosovo to act to restore peace and security, =85 all sectors of the Macedonian society [should] co-operate peacefully and =85 build inter-ethnic confidence."(19)=20 The dispatching of Bulgarian troops into Macedonia (under NATO's "Partnership for Peace" Program) to fight the rebels could (if implemented) contribute to triggering a much broader conflagration in the region. Similarly, ethnic clashes --also engineered by Washington-- have been triggered in Montenegro, which has a sizeable Albanian ethnic minority. And in Montenegro, the MUP, Montenegro's highly partisan police force is being assisted by the Croatian Armed Forces, which in turn are being trained by the MPRI under the so-called Croatian Armed Forces Readiness and Training System (CARTS). Similarly, demanding "autonomy" for ethnic Hungarians in the North of Vojvodina is part of NATO's ploy with large numbers of NATO troops stationed on the Hungarian side of the border. More generally, the various military aid packages provided to Croatia, Bosnia and the KLA are ultimately directed against Serbia.(20) Despite the compliance of the Belgrade and Skopje governments to Washington's demands, US foreign policy purports to eventually dismantle political institutions and get rid of political parties which resist US-NATO domination. Their objective is to eventually break up what remains of Yugoslavia into what UN Balkans envoy Carl Bildt has called a "patchwork of protectorates" on the "Kosovo-Bosnia model under UN "peace-keeping", namely under military occupation. (21)=20 A Dayton-style agreement is the chosen framework for displacing and destroying existing State institutions including a fragile yet functioning parliamentary system. With regard to Macedonia, the OSCE has appointed Ambassador Robert Frowick to work with the Skopje government. His terms of reference are clear. In 1996, Frowick was put in charge of implementing "democracy" in Bosnia-Hercegovina under the Dayton agreement: the Bosnian "Constitution" -- previously drafted by American lawyers at the US Air Force base in Dayton, Ohio-- was appended to the 1995 US brokered "General Framework Agreement."(22)=20 DISARMING THE NEW WORLD ORDER The terrorist assaults in Macedonia and Southern Serbia are serving Washington's strategic goals in blatant violation of international law. NATO is increasingly discredited in the eyes of World public opinion. The lies and falsehoods are surfacing and the people of Yugoslavia are determined to reserve their sovereignty in the face of American aggression.= =20 US foreign policy directed against so-called "rogue states" lacks credibility both in the US and internationally. Around the World, citizens are looking to Yugoslavia and the courage of its people who have resisted the imposition of the New World Order. The lies concerning the war against Yugoslavia have been uncovered and revealed to millions of people.=20 ENDNOTES 1. Tom Walker and Aiden Laverty, 'CIA Aided Kosovo Guerrilla Army', Sunday Times, 12 March 2000) 2. See "Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2000." HR 1555, Section 308 entitled "Report on Kosova Liberation Army" available at http://www.senate.gov/search/index.html). 3. See Tammy Arbucki, "Building a Bosnian Army", Jane International Defence Review, August 1997. 4. See Military Professional Resources, Inc, "Personnel Needs", MPRI web page at http://www.mpri.com/. 5. See Michel Chossudovsky, "United Nations Appoints Alleged War Criminal", Emperors Clothes, March 2000, http://emperors-clothes.com/articles/chuss/unandthe.htm).=20 6. See Tom Walker, "Kosovo Defense Chief Accused of War Crimes", Sunday Times, London, 10 October 1999.=20 7. Quoted in John Sweeney and Jen Holsoe, "Kosovo Disaster Response Service Stands Accused of Murder and Torture," The Observer, London, 12 March 2000. 8. Michel Chossudovsky, "Kosovo Freedom Fighter Financed by Organized Crime", Covert Action Quarterly, Fall 1999, also published by Emperors Clothes, http://emperors-clothes.com/indexe.htm 9. Tom Walker, "NATO Troops caught in a Balkan Ulster", Sunday Times, London, 18 March 2001.=20 10. According to DEA documents reviewed and quoted in R. Chandran, "US-backed KLA linked to Heroin Network" http://www.voz-rebelde.de/ipan51.htm. See also Michel Chossudovsky, Kosovo Freedom Fighters Financed by Organized Crime". 11. Quoted in the New American Magazine, May 24, 1999) 12. Quoted in the New York Times, 20 March 2001) 13. United Nations Interim Administration Mission In Kosovo (UNMIK), Press Release, 29 March 2001. 14. See MPRI at http://www.mpri.com/subchannels/int_europe.html. 15. US military aid under the FMS program for Macedonia was $4 million in FY 2000, 7.9 million was appropriated for 2001. More recently, the US announced a $13.5 million military aid package, See Government of Macedonia, Ministry of Defence, Communique, 21 March 2001; Congressional Budget Justification for Foreign Operations, Fiscal Year 2001, Released by the Office of the Secretary of State, Resources, Plans and Policy, U.S. Department of State, March 15, 2000.=20 16. New York Times, 19 March 2001. 17. See Michel Chossudovsky, NATO has Installed a Reign of Terror in Kosovo, July 1999,=20 http://emperors-clothes.com/indexe.htm. 18. See MPRI web page, op cit 19. Statement by OSCE Parliamentary Assembly President Severin on former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and Kosovo, 23 March 2001, http://www.osce.org/news/generate.php3?news_id=3D1563. 20. See Michel Chossudovsky, "The War Against Yugoslavia Is Not Over", June 2000, at www.emperors-clothes.com/articles/chuss/warnot.htm. 21. See Carl Bildt's statement at http://www.usip.org/oc/cibriefing/bildt_cib.html, Bildt was formerly the High Representative in Bosnia following the adoption of the Dayton Agreement in 1995). 22. For a discussion see Michel Chossudovsky, Dismantling Yugoslavia, Recolonizing Bosnia, Covert Action Quarterly, Spring 1996, also published by Emperors Clothes at http://emperors-clothes.com/indexe.htm. The text of the Bosnian Constitution is available at http://www.bosnia.co.uk/dayton.html C Copyright by Michel Chossudovsky, Ottawa, March 2001. All rights reserved. Permission is granted to post this text on non-commercial community internet sites, provided the essay remains intact and the copyright note is displayed. To publish this text in printed and/or other form, contact the author at [EMAIL PROTECTED], fax: 1-514-4256224. http://emperors-clothes.com/articles/choss/fin.htm ***************************************** THE HOAX THAT STARTED A WAR How the US, NATO and the western media were conned in kosovo http://www.canoe.ca/Columnists/worthington.html By PETER WORTHINGTON -- Toronto Sun, April 1, 2001 Back in March, 1999, what tipped the scales for then U.S. president Bill Clinton to launch an air war against Serbia, were reports of a massacre of 45 Albanian civilians by Serb security forces at the village of Racak, some 30 km from Pristina in southern Kosovo. Clinton told the world on March 19, 1999: "We should remember what happened in Racak ... innocent men, women and children were taken from their homes to a gully, forced to kneel in the dirt and sprayed with gunfire." Photos circled the world. NATO bombing began March 24, and lasted 78 days. White House press secretary Joe Lockhart said of Racak: "A strong message will be brought to President (Slobodan) Milosevic about bringing those to justice who should be punished for this ... " U.S. Foreign Secretary Madeleine Albright, eager to make war against then-Yugoslavia and speaking on CBS' Face the Nation, cited Racak where, she said, there were "dozens of people with their throats slit." She called this the "galvanizing incident" that meant peace talks at Rambouillet were pointless, "humanitarian bombing" the only recourse. Germany's Foreign Minister, Joschka Fischer, told the newspaper Berliner Zeitung that the Racak massacre "became the turning point for me" and war was the only answer. Canada's then foreign minister, Lloyd Axworthy, called the massacre "a disgusting victimization of civilians." Human Rights Watch (HRW) reported the dead had fingernails torn out - evidence of torture. On Jan. 16, the day after the actual massacre, William Walker, the veteran American diplomat who headed peace verifiers for the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), was=20 Taken by Kosovo Liberation Army members to Racak to see the bodies in the ditch. He declared that the dead "obviously were executed where they lay." His OSCE report spoke of "arbitrary arrests, killings and mutilations of unarmed civilians" at Racak. GROUND TROOPS Canada's Louise Arbour, then special prosecutor for the war crimes tribunal, (hand-picked for the job by Albright) was prevented by Serb authorities from visiting Racak. She vowed retribution for the massacre, urging that "international troops on the ground" were the only way to effect arrests. When Milosevic was indicted as a war criminal, the massacre at Racak was cited as evidence. The London Times wrote that victims had their eyes gouged out, heads smashed in, faces blown away at close range, all "farmers, workers, villagers, aged 12-74, men, women, children." Serbian and Belorussian forensic people investigated, but were suspect, so the European Union authorized a forensic team from Finland, headed by Helena Ranta, a dental pathologist, to investigate. The Finnish report was not made public. Ranta gave a press conference at which she was vague, admitting there was no evidence of mutilation or torture, and that Yugoslav authorities had co-operated. But she also called the killings "a=20 Crime against humanity," widely interpreted to mean Racak was indeed a cold-blooded massacre. It has since turned out, through subsequent investigations by German, French and American correspondents and by human rights and peace groups, including the anti-war International Action Centre and the Liberty Foundation, that the Racak massacre seems an enormous, albeit effective, hoax perpetrated by the Kosovo Liberation Army to persuade the U.S. and NATO to attack the Serbs. The goal was independence for Kosovo, possibly leading to the dream of a Greater Albania. We now have a far better idea of what really happened at Racak - a pre-crisis town of 2,000 and a stronghold of KLA agitation. By January, 1999, most of its population had fled to a nearby town, Stimlje, leaving perhaps 400 people behind. When four Serbian policemen were ambushed and murdered in two separate incidents in a week, Serb security forces surrounded Racak and attacked. The Serbs tipped off foreign journalists who came to see. Fighting was savage and brief, not only in town but in the countryside. Journalists found Racak had few people actually living there. Some 20 bodies were counted. Serbs and journalists left at dusk. The next day, Jan. 16, the KLA was again in control. During the night, it seems that all the KLA killed fighting in the area - 45 of them - were dumped in a gully at Racak and journalists and the OSCE investigators invited to see what was described as the "massacre" of unarmed civilians. Military insignia and/or badges had been removed from clothing, military gear replaced by civilian clothing. No weapons were in sight. The hoax was on. William Walker was first on the scene and believed what he saw and was told. The international press relayed his outrage to the world. Forensic evidence showed - as the Finnish team has since confirmed - that most of the 45 Racak dead had been shot at long range, not execution-style. Corpses tested positive with residue of gunpowder on their hands, indicating they had been firing weapons. No ammunition or shell casings were found near the bodies, where they had supposedly been massacred, nor were there pools of blood. BODIES MOVED Pathologists also found the 45 dead men had all been shot in different parts of the body, from different directions, indicating a battle somewhere else, the dead dumped together for effect. Until recently, no one was interested in the truth. "Whether or not it's a massacre, nobody wants to know any more," wrote Austria's Die Welt newspaper. Autopsy findings were delayed while the thirst for war echoed in the halls of allied power. The German newspaper Berliner Zeitung got access to the Finnish forensic findings, and sent a team of reporters to investigate and concluded: "In all probability, there was no Racak massacre at all ... " French journalist Renaud Girard of Le Figaro was in Racak and was puzzled that reports failed to mention it was a "fortified village with a lot of trenches" - a KLA stronghold. Although he wrote an initial massacre story, he later had doubts: "I felt something was wrong." Christophe Chatelet of Le Monde was in Racak the day of the Serb attack, and found one dead and four wounded when he left at dusk. The next day the KLA showed bodies from a massacre that hadn't been there before. "I can't solve that mystery," he said. (At the time, KLA commander-in-chief Hashim Thaci told the BBC: "We had a key unit in the region and had a fierce fight. Regrettably, we had many casualties, but so did the Serbs.") Further investigation shows that two TV journalists for Associated Press and two teams of OSCE observers also saw the fight for Racak from a hill, entered when Serb security forces did and left when they left. The AP crew filmed a deserted village. It was overnight that the KLA returned and gathered their dead from the fighting. Next day, Walker told the world how adults and children had been "executed," some as they tried to flee. CNN reporter Christiane Amanpour, wife of U.S. State Department spokesman James Rubin, showed little skepticism in reporting on the "massacre of civilians." CHECK THE NET For those who want to check further, enter "Racak massacre" on Google or Yahoo on the Internet and see what you get.) It changes nothing, but Racak should make people wary of government propaganda about areas where they have little knowledge, but strong feelings. Remember the emotions generated about "ethnic cleansing" in Kosovo? At the end of World War II, the population of Kosovo was 50-50 Serb and Albanian. By 1999 it was 90% Albanian. Today, it's close to 96%. Over 50 years, who's been "ethnically cleansed"? Today, Albanians in Macedonia are using arguments similar to those used against Serbs in Kosovo - prejudice, being frozen from jobs, discriminated against. Rarely mentioned are maps produced in Albania that show not only Kosovo, but parts of Macedonia and Montenegro as part of "Greater Albania." It doesn't take an Einstein to realize that the U.S., NATO and western media have been conned and manipulated into supporting an aggressive exercise in nation-building that is not likely to be resolved peaceably. NATO's beleaguered soldiers are innocents caught in a Balkan quagmire, thanks to a blundering, myopic, vainglorious political leader. <end> ------------------------------------- Backgrounder: [1] "One result of the massive military sponsorship of US communication research was that the main perspectives in the field were in tune with military priorities. Specifically, both the content and method of communication research was oriented to the goals of domination and manipulation of mass audiences." Science of Coercion: Communication Research and Psychological Warfare - book review=20 http://www.uow.edu.au/arts/sts/bmartin/pubs/94BRgl2.html [2]Doug Bandow Balkan blunders Washington Times March 30 2001 http://www.washtimes.com/commentary/20010330-14061926.htm [3]Destabilizing the Balkans: US & Albanian Defense Cooperation in the 1990s - Antiwar http://antiwar.com/orig/dakovic2.html [4] Peter Beaumont, Ed Vulliamy and Paul Beaver Observer March 11 2001 http://www.observer.co.uk/international/story/0,6903,449923,00.html [5]Martin A. Lee More bloodshed in the Balkans- The bitter legacy of NATO's "humanitarian" war http://www.sfbg.com/reality/21.html [6]Time to Pay the Piper Stratfor 23 March 2001 http://www.stratfor.com/home/giu/archive/032301 [7] David H. Hackworth,DEFENDING AMERICA, June 7, 1999: DEFANG THE KLA TODAY OR SUFFER THE CONSEQUENCES TOMORROW http://www.hackworth.com/7jun99.html [8]"Backing the KLA is simply insane," Levine protests.Levine, a highly decorated former undercover agent for the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), told THE NEW AMERICAN,"My contacts within the DEA are quite frankly terrified, but there's not much they can say without risking their jobs. These guys [the KLA] have a network that's active on the streets of this country... They're the worst elements of society that you can imagine, and now, according to my sources in drug enforcement, THEY'RE POLITICALLY PROTECTED." W.M.Grigg, May 24, 1999 http://thenewamerican.com/tna//1999/05-24-99/vo15no11_kla.htm [9] "Many reports in the past have mentioned the covert forces involved with the KLA. For example, on July 15, 1998, PBS Newshour reported that U.S. Vietnam War veterans were training KLA mercenaries in Albania." Wilson, G. http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/ops/docs99/990423-kosovo01.htm [10] " MPRI sub-contracted some of the training programme to two British private security companies, ensuring that between 1998 and June 1999 the KLA was being armed, trained and assisted in Italy, Turkey, Kosovo and Germany by the Americans, the German external intelligence service and former and serving members of Britain's 22 SAS Regiment. " http://www.thescotsman.co.uk/world.cfm?id=3D51340 [11] "American intelligence agents have admitted they helped to train the Kosovo Liberation Army before Nato's bombing of Yugoslavia. The disclosure angered some European diplomats, who said this had undermined moves for a political solution to the conflict between Serbs and Albanians. Central Intelligence Agency officers were cease-fire monitors in Kosovo in 1998 and 1999, developing ties with the KLA and giving American military training manuals and field advice on fighting the Yugoslav army and Serbian police." Tom Walker and Aidan Laverty,'Sunday Times', London Dec 03, 2000 [12] "Peaceful Eagle 95 is designed to foster cooperation between the U.S. and Albania. Soldiers will train in a variety of peacekeeping tasks, including escorting humanitarian convoys..." Defenselink, September 1995 http://www.defenselink.mil/news/Sep1995/m090595_m191-95.html *********************************************** STATEMENT OF THE SOCIALIST PARTY OF SERBIA April 01, 2001 The Head Committee of the Socialist Party of Serbia has condemned most strongly the inquiry-process and the decision on one-month temporary custody against former President of Serbia and Yugoslavia and the President of the Socialist Party of Serbia Mr. Slobodan Milosevic. The very content of the report against Mr. Slobodan Milosevic and the action of the Interior Ministry are the shameful facts in the history of Serbia and Yugoslavia, particularly having in mind that more policemen have been engaged than in the battles against Albanian terrorist in south Serbia. Mr. Slobodan Milosevic does not feel guilty and immediately he has expressed his readiness to contribute in dismantling of the monstrous fabrications. It is clear to all decent citizens of Serbia that there are no intentions at all of proving alleged misdoing of Mr. Slobodan Milosevic, but the only intention is fulfillment of the orders of the former US Administration. The final aim is to have pardoned of any crime Clinton, Albright and other who ordered the bombardment of our country and our people by trial against Mr. Slobodan Milosevic and other persecuted Serbs. In all this, the most shocking is the role of some media that have allegedly become "free" after October 05th last year. Not just that their information have not been true and accurate, but they initiated and lead persecution campaign against Mr. Slobodan Milosevic and the Socialist Party of Serbia, bringing Serbia by such information at the very edge of civil war. The leading role in that dirty campaign had "BK" TV network, whose owners have become rich in the very dubious manner that they would like to conceal. Therefore, the Head Committee of the Socialist Party of Serbia decided to break any cooperation with this TV network until their dirty approach is changed, even regardless to the fact that it will decrease the presence of the Socialist Party of Serbia in media which is anyhow very small and limited. The Socialist Party of Serbia would like to express its appreciation to all citizens who participated, besides our members and supporters, in symbolic "people guard", to all citizens who gave by that the political support to Mr. Slobodan Milosevic and the Socialist Party of Serbia. By protesting against the pressures and attacks on Mr. Slobodan Milosevic and the Socialist Party of Serbia, they defend in the same time the freedom, dignity and national pride of Serbia and all= Serbs. Mr. Slobodan Milosevic personally, the Socialist Party of Serbia and all democratic and freedom-loving people in our country and abroad are very keen to have urgent public establishment of the full truth in the process based on the monstrous fabrications against Mr. Slobodan Milosevic. We request immediate release of Mr. Slobodan Milosevic from custody in order to stop this shameful charade which will leave the blemish on the face of all Serbs. We call all citizens, along with our members and supporters, to continue and to keep up their political struggle, as well as to use all democratic means to have Mr. Slobodan Milosevic released. We request authorities to free Mr. Slobodan Milosevic immediately and to allow him to defend himself as a free person, since he is the most honest man who will never leave his country or run away anywhere. The Socialist Party of Serbia would like to express its gratitude to numerous honorable policemen who, with tears in their eyes and apologies on their mouths, were forced to participate unwillingly in the dubious action of the Interior Ministry against those same citizens who stand along with them during patriotic defense of the country, particularly in Kosovo and Metohija. We condemn, also, all fabricated attacks on the Yugoslav Army who strictly fulfilled its legal role and tasks in securing the objects that are vitally important for the country. Yugoslav Army prevented possible bloodshed since policemen from Interior Ministry have tried to penetrate into object contrary to the valid Government's decision on the security of the former Yugoslav President.=20 To join or help this struggle, visit: http://www.sps.org.yu/ (official SPS website) http://www.belgrade-forum.org/ (forum for the world of equals) http://www.24casa.co.yu/ (the only free daily newspaper in Yugoslavia) ******************************************* Global Reflexion - Amsterdam - The Netherlands Ph. ++ 31 20 615 1122 - Fax: ++ 31 20 615 1120 _________________________________________________ KOMINFORM P.O. Box 66 00841 Helsinki Phone +358-40-7177941 Fax +358-9-7591081 http://www.kominf.pp.fi General class struggle news: [EMAIL PROTECTED] subscribe mails to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Geopolitical news: [EMAIL PROTECTED] subscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] __________________________________________________
