"They definitely are a good role model for countries like Kosovo," ]
| Our Friends, the Peacekeepers |
| by Nebojsa Malic |
|
Merry Christmas, EUFOR-Style In the Serbian Orthodox Church, which observes the Julian calendar, Christmas falls on Jan. 7. In occupied Kosovo, the Serb community of Mitrovica marked the holiday with a service in the ruins of a church sacked and destroyed by Albanians while under KFOR "protection." In Pristina, the remaining two dozen Serbs who survived the March 2004 pogrom were forced to endure a saccharine photo-op visit by "Prime Minister of Kosova" Bairam Kosumi, member of the same KLA responsible for their ordeal. Two days before, in semi-occupied Bosnia, soldiers of the EU military mission raided the family home of Dragomir Abazovic, killing his wife and critically injuring his 11-year-old son. Death in the Morning As with most news coming out of the Balkans, it is impossible to tell what exactly took place in a village near Rogatica, eastern Bosnia, on Thursday morning. There is no doubt that Dragomir Abazovic was charged with war crimes in 2001, though not by the Hague Inquisition (ICTY) but by a Bosnian Muslim prosecutor. It is also clear that a detachment of Italian EUFOR troops raided Abazovic's home, and that all three members of the Abazovic family were injured (with Rada Abazovic, 47, dying from her wounds the next day). What actually happened beyond that – and more to the point, why? – remains shrouded in mystery. According to the protests by Bosnian Serb and Serbian authorities, the raid was an improper and excessive use of force by EUFOR, with Abazovic's son and wife the innocent victims shot by trigger-happy Italians. EUFOR, on the other hand, claims its soldiers acted in self-defense (!), as the Abazovics "fired first and fired repeatedly." Both Rada (called simply "the woman") and the 11-year-old Dragoljub ("the boy") allegedly fired several clips from automatic weapons (AK-47s) at EUFOR troops, who miraculously suffered no injuries, and dispatched them both with single shots: "She was immobilized [sic] by a EUFOR soldier with one shot. The boy who had also been firing at EUFOR was also shot and immobilized [sic]." Apparently, "immobilize" is the newest Empire-speak for "kill," though technically getting shot in the head does tend to, in fact, immobilize someone. In the case of Rada Abazovic, rather permanently – she succumbed to her injuries the same day. "Courage and Courage" EUFOR released their statement only after the protests from Banja Luka and Belgrade, outraged – outraged! – that someone dared imply their troops were anything but angelic: "At all times, EUFOR soldiers acted with courage, restraint and in-self defense [sic] and with courage in the face of great personal danger." Apparently, mentioning courage just once was not deemed to be enough. The Imperial press gobbled up the statement without question. "War Crimes Wife Stood by Her Man in Bosnian Shootout," Reuters headlined their story, which essentially accepted EUFOR's statement without question. Nicholas Wood of the New York Times reported it as factual truth. The tone was quickly picked up by other media. Perhaps the Abazovics really were armed. Many people in Bosnia still keep weapons, mistrustful of the imposed peace and of their neighbors of different ethnicity. But EUFOR's official story smells like week-old roadkill; "the woman" and "the boy" could have been "immobilized" by single shots only if they had poor cover; but if that was the case, how could they have possibly had time to fire several clips of AK-47 ammunition at the assailants, and not hit anything in the process, either? For the EUFOR story to be true, the Abazovics had to have been both stupid and bad shots, in which case taking them down took little or no "courage." Cracks in the "Truth" Ironically, it took a report by the NATO-funded ISN to note that Abazovic was not wanted by the ICTY, but by a local court in the Muslim-Croat Federation, and that EUFOR did not notify local authorities until after the shootout. This directly contradicted EUFOR's claim that they had contacted local police just before coming under fire. Other questions remain open. Why were EU stormtroopers used in the first place? So far, occupation troops were engaged only in seizing individuals pursued by the Hague Inquisition. Wasn't Abazovic a matter for local police? Many reports note that Abazovic's indictment dated back to 2001, insinuating that the local police refused to arrest him. It is quite possible that RS authorities could have ignored a warrant issued by their Federal counterparts (especially on such a politically-charged issue as "war crimes"), but this would be a jurisdiction dispute, to be resolved through the newly centralized police structures – not something requiring a morning raid by EU troops. Last, but not least, why now? Why on the morning before the Orthodox Christmas Eve? Pattern of Brutality The mainstream media asked none of these questions. To them, the Abazovics were clearly guilty – EUFOR said so! Dragomir wasn't "accused of war crimes," he was "an indicted war criminal," and his "war crimes wife" got what was coming to her. The son is mentioned only in passing, though the EUFOR made a point of claiming that he, too, had shot at them. Perhaps the public would have a hard time imagining an 11-year-old as a ruthless killer… but then again, he was a Serb; there was plenty of residual propaganda imagery to work with. This is not to say that Dragomir, Rada, or Dragoljub were pure as driven snow; few – if any – human beings ever are, and in any case, there is no way to know. But no one deserves to be assaulted in their home, whether on a holiday or not, and "immobilized" at the whim of some occupation officer, then smeared and slandered in the world press as a criminal while defenseless and comatose – or dead. In April 2004 , another detachment of "peacekeepers" burst into the house of Fr. Jeremija Starovlah, clubbing the priest, his wife Vitorka, and their son Aleksandar while "looking for war criminals." Confronted with protests from the Serbian Orthodox Church over such brutal treatment of their clergy, SFOR offered an "explanation" for the injuries: they were caused by a concussion grenade used to forcibly enter their home! The press accepted this obviously bogus excuse, dutifully dismissed the Church protests, and buried the incident completely. To the present day, the Starovlahs have not received so much as an apology, let alone compensation. On several other occasions , Bosnian Serb war crimes suspects (not "indicted war criminals"!) and their relatives have been killed by Imperial stormtroopers – always in "self-defense" or "while attempting to escape," of course. Bosnia's "guardians of peace" have even crashed a funeral wake , hoping to use the death of his mother to catch Ratko Mladic, the wartime military leader of Bosnian Serbs. By presenting the victims of "peacekeeper" force as criminals who had it coming – their guilt presumed, though they've never stood trial – the Imperial press has whitewashed these abuses repeatedly. Tragedies such as the one in Rogatica, and their media "coverage," will likely happen again, for as long as forces under NATO, EU, or anyone else's command continue spread "democracy" and "rule of law" in Bosnia and elsewhere with methods they would never get away with in their own countries. |
By Kevin Dougherty,
European edition, Wednesday, January 11, 2006
SARAJEVO, Bosnia and Herzegovina — It may take a few years to snap it into shape, but Bosnia and Herzegovina now has a single, unified army.
Merging the Bosnian Serb army with the Muslim-Croat force is a monumental step for Bosnia, one it is making sooner rather than later in order to address corruption and to better position itself for the future, said Raffi Gregorian, a U.S. diplomat who represents NATO as co-chairman of the Defense Reform Commission for Bosnia. The unification of the two armies formally took place Jan. 1.
Expected to take at least a couple of years, the integration is part of a series of sweeping reforms that make up "the exit strategy" for Bosnia, Gregorian said.
The merger, agreed to in November, also represents a sharp departure from the 1995 Dayton peace accord, which permitted separate militaries to exist in Bosnia. Divided along ethnic lines and egged on by politicians, it was those armed entities that waged a three-year war that claimed over 200,000 lives and left countless refugees.
"The structure that led to the break up of the country has been resolved," Gregorian said in an interview last month in Sarajevo. The separate armies, "one of the biggest problems left over from Dayton, has been done away with, and it was done willingly."
Separate armies were perhaps a necessary evil a decade ago, given all the ethnic bloodshed and animosity. Now, Gregorian said, the arrangement just doesn't make any sense if the goal is to grow a multi-ethnic democracy. About a year ago, the country went to a single defense minister after having three, one for each ethnic group.
The commission, jointly administered by Bosnia and NATO, accelerated the transition to a multi-ethnic army because of lingering concerns over the depth of support in the Bosnian-Serb army for Gen. Ratko Mladic.
Members of the military are said to have helped their former chief slip back into Bosnia in 2004. Gregorian said recently released documents indicate the Bosnian-Serb army continued to pay Mladic long after he was indicted for war crimes.
"The military in this country today is regarded with suspicion … because of the war," Gregorian said. "The military in both entities is not something that is highly regarded, and that's something we want to change. It's one of the reasons why we want a professional army, one that is focused on collective defense missions."
But first there are some basic matters to address, such as pay and benefits. Gregorian estimates it'll take about nine months to shift everyone over to a new system.
"A lot of soldiers don't get paid on time, particularly in the federation," Gregorian said. "As a result, a lot of soldiers in the past have had to take jobs outside the military to make ends meet. Now they will be able to focus on being a professional soldier and getting paid for it.
"The situation was so bad in the federation," he continued, "that if a soldier went to a bank to apply for a loan, the bank wouldn't give him a loan because they would say, 'you don't get paid regularly.'"
The newly unified Bosnian army will also shrink, going from 72,000 to 15,000.
However, Gregorian described about 60,000 of those soldiers as "passive reserves," saying they don't train or get called up. The rest are full-time troops, including 1,400 who run the conscript and reserve program. Those jobs will disappear, bringing the active-duty rolls closer to the end state of 10,000. The 5,000 remaining slots will be filled by trained reserves.
In addition to reducing personnel, the Bosnian army will start divesting itself of unneeded facilities, such as barracks, schools, warehouses, training ranges and weapon storage sites, Gregorian said. Tuzla Air Base and the sprawling training area near Livno in western Bosnia would likely remain open.
The Bosnians even plan to overhaul their wardrobe. The army will soon receive its first shipment of digitized camouflage uniforms, similar to what U.S. Marines now wear.
But even more material to the Bosnian military will be its reputation as a reliable contributor to the "collective defense missions" undertaken by the U.N. or NATO. The army, for instance, recently sent a second explosive ordnance team on a six-month deployment to Iraq.
U.S. Army Sgt. Major David L. Price, who is based in Tuzla, believes such contributions by a small, struggling nation only serves to inspire others.
"They definitely are a good role model for countries like Kosovo," Price said.
Politicians and the public "will come to see the military as the means by which they will eventually get into NATO as a member of the alliance," Gregorian added. "It's hugely important here. Psychologically, politically and practically, the idea of being in NATO is what most people associate with never going to war again."
Released : Jan 10, 2006 8:37 PM
PRAGUE, Jan 10 (CTK) - The first part of a new contingent of Czech soldiers including their commander flew to Kosovo today in order to replace their counterparts who have operated in Kosovo in the past six months, the Defence Ministry press department told CTK.
An army plane Tu-154 will take back the first group of the original unit tonight. All, roughly 500 soldiers will be replaced by January 20.
Most of the new, 8th contingent is made up of the 13th artillery brigade from Jince, South Bohemia. They are coming to Kosovo at the time when tension rises among the local Albanians and Serbs in connection with the expected talks about its future.
In autumn, all KFOR unit were on alert following a number of explosions. In November, a Czech soldier was wounded in a shoot- out with Albanian timber smugglers on the Kosovo-Serb border.
The 7th contingent was visited by Defence Minister Karel Kuehnl, chief of staff Pavel Stefka and Prime Minister Jiri Paroubek. Its commander controlled for the first time the entire central part of Kosovo. This assignment will also be executed by his successor.
pv/dr/vv
Copyright 2005 CTK Czech News Agency. Source: Financial Times Information Limited.
Released : Jan 10, 2006 7:29 PM
Budapest, January 10 (MTI) - Hungary aims to assume a leading role in the NATO peacekeeping mission in Kosovo from the second half of 2006, the defence minister said on Tuesday.
Welcoming military attaches accredited to Hungary at the ministry, Ferenc Juhasz said Hungary would focus on the Balkans among all of its foreign deployments this year. Hungary already has some 300 troops stationed in Kosovo and a peacekeeping unit of 150 is set to leave for Pristina in five days, Juhasz said.
As for another NATO involvement plan, Hungary is still waiting for a decision from Dutch Parliament to see when and under what terms the Dutch unit plans to terminate its work within the reconstruction group in northern Afghanistan, which Hungary is prepared to take over, Juhasz said.
Over 800 Hungarian soldiers are involved in international peacekeeping operations in Afghanistan, the Sinai Peninsula, Cyprus and the Balkans.
Copyright 2005 Hungarian News Agency Corporation. Source: Financial Times Information Limited.
