[CTRL] NATO HAS INSTALLED A REIGN OF TERROR IN KOSOVO

[Mrs. Jela Jovanovic, Secretary General]

 -Caveat Lector-

===========================
The Committee for National Solidarity
Tolstojeva 34, 11000 Belgrade, YU

A N T I F A-I N F O - B U L L E T I N
 * News * Analysis * Research * Action *

-- SPECIAL -- August 11, 1999 -- EDITION --

SPECIAL EDITION

_________________________________________________________________

NATO HAS INSTALLED A REIGN OF TERROR IN KOSOVO
_________________________________________________________________

By Michel Chossudovsky Department of Economics, University of Ottawa
Ottawa, K1N6N5 Voice box: 1-613-562-5800, ext. 1415 Fax: 1-514-425-6224
E-Mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] - Tuesday, 10 August 1999 -

-----

This text was presented to the Independent Commission of Inquiry to
Investigate U.S./NATO War Crimes Against The People of Yugoslavia,
International Action Center, New York, July 31, 1999.

* * *

PART I: MASSACRES OF CIVILIANS IN KOSOVO

While the World focusses on troop movements and war crimes, the massacres
of civilians in the wake of the bombings have been casually dismissed as
"justifiable acts of revenge". In occupied Kosovo, "double standards"
prevail in assessing alleged war crimes. The massacres directed against
Serbs, ethnic Albanians, Roma and other ethnic groups have been conducted
on the instructions of the military command of the Kosovo Liberation Army
(KLA).

NATO ostensibly denies KLA involvement. These so-called "unmotivated acts
of violence and retaliation" are not categorised as "war crimes" and are
therefore not included in the mandate of the numerous FBI and Interpol
police investigators dispatched to Kosovo under the auspices of the Hague
War Crime's Tribunal (ICTY). Moreover, whereas NATO has tacitly endorsed
the self-proclaimed KLA provisional government, KFOR the international
security force in Kosovo has provided protection to the KLA military
commanders responsible for the atrocities. In so doing both NATO and the UN
Mission have acquiesced to the massacres of civilians. In turn, public
opinion has been blatantly misled. In portraying the massacres, the Western
media has casually overlooked the role of the KLA, not to mention its
pervasive links to organised crime. In the words of National Security
Advisor Samuel Berger, "these people [ethnic Albanians] come back ... with
broken hearts and with some of those hearts filled with anger."1 While the
massacres are seldom presented as the result of "deliberate decisions" by
the KLA military command, the evidence (and history of the KLA) amply
confirm that these atrocities are part of a policy of "ethnic cleansing"
directed mainly against the Serb population but also against the Roma,
Montenegrins, Goranis and Turks.

Serbian houses and business have been confiscated, looted, or burned, and
Serbs have been beaten, raped, and killed. In one of the more dramatic of
incidents, KLA troops ransacked a monastery, terrorized the priest and a
group of nuns with gunfire, and raped at least one of the nuns. NATO's
inability to control the situation and provide equal protection for all
ethnic groups, and its apparent inability or unwillingness to fully disarm
the KLA, has created a serious situation for NATO troops...2

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), confirms in this
regard that:

"more than 164,000 Serbs have left Kosovo during the seven weeks since...
the NATO-led Kosovo Force (KFOR) entered the province... A wave of arson
and looting of Serb and Roma homes throughout Kosovo has ensued. Serbs and
Roma remaining in Kosovo have been subject to repeated incidents of
harassment and intimidation, including severe beatings. Most seriously,
there has been a spate of murders and abductions of Serbs since mid-June,
including the late July massacre of Serb farmers."3

POLITICAL ASSASSINATIONS

The self-proclaimed Provisional Government of Kosovo (PGK) has also ordered
assassinations directed against political opponents including "loyalist"
ethnic Albanians and supporters of the Kosovo Democratic League (KDL).
These acts are being carried out in a totally permissive environment. The
leaders of the KLA rather than being arrested for war crimes, have been
granted KFOR protection.

According to a report of the Foreign Policy Institute (published during the
bombings):

"...the KLA have [no] qualms about murdering Rugova's collaborators, whom
it accused of the `crime' of moderation... [T]he KLA declared Rugova a
`traitor' yet another step toward eliminating any competitors for political
power within Kosovo."4

Already in May, Fehmi Agani, one of Rugova's closest collaborators in the
Kosovo Democratic League (KDL) was killed. The Serbs were blamed by NATO
spokesperson Jamie Shea for having assassinated Agani. According to
Skopje's paper Makedonija Danas, Agani had been executed on the orders of
the KLA's self-appointed Prime Minister Hashim Thaci.5 "If Thaci actually
considered Rugova a threat, he would not hesitate to have Rugova removed
from the Kosovo political landscape."6

In turn, the KLA has abducted and killed numerous professionals and
intellectuals:

"Private and State properties are threatened, home and apartment owners are
evicted en masse by force and threats, houses and entire villages are
burned, cultural and religious monuments are destroyed... A particularly
heavy blow... has been the violence against the hospital centre in
Pristina, the maltreatment and expulsion of its professional management,
doctors and medical staff."7

Both NATO and the UN prefer to turn a blind eye. UN Interim Administrator
Bernard Kouchner (a former French Minister of Health) and KFOR Commander
Sir Mike Jackson have established a routine working relationship with Prime
Minister Hashim Thaci and KLA Chief of Staff Brigadier General Agim Ceku.

ATROCITIES COMMITTED AGAINST THE ROMA

Ethnic cleansing has also been directed against the Roma (which represented
prior to the conflict a population group of 150,000 people). (According to
figures provided by the Roma Community in New York). A large part of the
Roma population has already escaped to Montenegro and Serbia. In turn,
there are reports that Roma refugees who had fled by boat to Southern Italy
have been expelled by the Italian authorities.8 The KLA has also ordered
the systematic looting and torching of Romani homes and settlements:

"All houses and settlements of Romani, like 2,500 homes in the residential
area called `Mahala' in the town of Kosovska Mitrovica, have been looted
and burnt down".9

With regard to KLA atrocities committed against the Roma, the same media
distortions prevail. According to the BBC: "Gypsies are accused by
[Kosovar] Albanians of collaborating in Serb brutalities, which is why
they've also become victims of revenge attacks. And the truth is, some
probably did."10

INSTALLING A PARAMILITARY GOVERNMENT

As Western leaders trumpet their support for democracy, State terrorism in
Kosovo has become an integral part of NATO's postwar design. The KLA's
political role for the post-conflict period had been mapped out well in
advance. Prior to Rambouillet Conference, the KLA had been promised a
central role in the formation of a post-conflict government. The "hidden
agenda" consisted in converting the KLA paramilitary into a legitimate and
accomplished civilian administration. According to US State Department
spokesman James Foley (February 1999):

"We want to develop a good relationship with them [the KLA] as they
transform themselves into a politically-oriented organization, ...[W]e
believe that we have a lot of advice and a lot of help that we can provide
to them if they become precisely the kind of political actor we would like
to see them become.'"11

In other words, the US State Department had already slated the KLA
"provisional government" (PGK) to run civilian State institutions. Under
NATO's "Indirect Rule", the KLA has taken over municipal governments and
public services including schools and hospitals. Rame Buja, the KLA
"Minister for Local Administration" has appointed local prefects in 23 out
of 25 municipalities.12

Under NATO's regency, the KLA has replaced the duly elected (by ethnic
Albanians) provisional Kosovar government of President Ibrahim Rugova. The
self-proclaimed KLA administration has branded Rugova as a traitor
declaring the (parallel) Kosovar parliamentary elections held in March 1998
to be invalid. This position has largely been upheld by the Organisation
for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) entrusted by UNMIK with the
postwar task of "democracy building" and "good governance". In turn, OSCE
officials have already established a working rapport with KLA appointees.13

The KLA provisional government (PGK) is made up of the KLA's political wing
together with the Democratic Union Movement (LBD), a coalition of five
opposition parties opposed to Rugova's Democratic League (LDK). In addition
to the position of prime minister, the KLA controls the ministries of
finance, public order and defence. The KLA also has a controlling voice on
the UN sponsored Kosovo Transitional Council set up by Mr. Bernard
Kouchner. The PGK has also established links with a number of Western
governments.

Whereas the KLA has been spearheaded into running civilian institutions
(under the guidance of the OSCE), members of the duly elected Kosovar
(provisional) government of the Democratic League (DKL) have been blatantly
excluded from acquiring a meaningful political voice.

ESTABLISHING A KLA POLICE FORCE TO `PROTECT CIVILIANS'

Under NATO occupation, the rule of law has visibly been turned up side
down. Criminals and terrorists are to become law enforcement officers. KLA
troops which have already taken over police stations will eventually form a
4,000 strong "civilian" police force (to be trained by foreign police
officers under the authority of the United Nations) with a mandate to
"protect civilians". Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien has already
pledged Canadian support to the formation of a civilian police force.14 The
latter which has been entrusted to the OSCE will eventually operate under
the jurisdiction of the KLA controlled "Ministry of Public Order".

US MILITARY AID

Despite NATO's commitment to disarming the KLA, the Kosovar paramilitary
organisation is slated to be transformed into a modern military force.
So-called "security assistance" has already been granted to the KLA by the
US Congress under the "Kosovar Independence and Justice Act of 1999".
Start-up funds of 20 million dollars will largely be "used for training and
support for their [KLA] established self-defence forces."15 In the words of
KLA Chief of Staff Agrim Ceku:

"The KLA wants to be transformed into something like the US National Guard,
... we accept the assistance of KFOR and the international community to
rebuild an army according to NATO standards. ... These professionally
trained soldiers of the next generation of the KLA would seek only to
defend Kosova. At this decisive moment, we [the KLA] do not hide our
ambitions; we want the participation of international military structures
to assist in the pacific and humanitarian efforts we are attempting here."
16

While the KLA maintains its links to the Balkans narcotics trade which
served to finance many of its terrorist activities, the paramilitary
organisation has now been granted an official seal of approval as well as
"legitimate" sources of funding. 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. In turn,
Washington's military aid package to the KLA has been entrusted to Military
Professional Resources Inc. (MPRI) of Alexandria, Virginia, a private
mercenary outfit run by high ranking former US military officers.

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".17 In the Kosovar context, this so- called "defensive doctrine"
transforms the KLA paramilitary into a modern army without however
eliminating its terrorist makeup.18 The objective is to ultimately
transform an insurgent army into a modern military and police force which
serves the Alliance's future strategic objectives in the Balkans. MPRI has
currently "ninety-one highly experienced, former military professionals
working in Bosnia & Herzegovina".19 The number of military officers working
on contract with the KLA has not been disclosed.

* * *

PART II. FROM KRAJINA TO KOSOVO: THE SHAPE OF THINGS TO COME

A FORMER CROATIAN GENERAL APPOINTED KLA CHIEF OF STAFF

The massacres of civilians in Kosovo are not disconnected acts of revenge
by civilians or by so-called "rogue elements" within the KLA as claimed by
NATO and the United Nations. They are part of a consistent and coherent
pattern. The intent (and result) of the KLA sponsored atrocities have been
to trigger the "ethnic cleansing" of Serbs, Roma and other minorities in
Kosovo.

KLA Commander Agim Ceku referring to the killings of 14 villagers at Gracko
on July 24, claimed that: "We [the KLA] do not know who did it, but I
sincerely believe these people have nothing to do with the KLA."20 In turn,
KFOR Lieutenant General Sir Mike Jackson has commended his KLA counterpart,
Commander Agim Ceku for "efforts undertaken" to disarm the KLA. In fact,
very few KLA weapons have been handed in. Moreover, the deadline for
turning in KLA weaponry has been extended. "I do not regard this as
noncompliance" said Commander Jackson in a press conference, "but rather as
an indication of the seriousness with which General Ceku is taking this
important issue."21

Yet what Sir Mike Jackson failed to mention is that KLA Chief of Staff
Commander Agim Ceku (although never indicted as a war criminal) was
(according to Jane Defence Weekly June 10, 1999) "one of the key planners
of the successful `Operation Storm'" led by the Croatian Armed Forces
against Krajina Serbs in 1995.

General Jackson who had served in former Yugoslavia under the United
Nations Protection Force (UNPROFOR) was fully cognizant of the activities
of the Croatian High Command during that period including the
responsibilities imparted to Brigadier General Agim Ceku. In February 1999,
barely a month prior to the NATO bombings, Ceku left his position as
Brigadier General with the Croatian Armed Forces to join the KLA as
Commander in Chief.

FROM KRAJINA TO KOSOVO: THE SHAPE OF THINGS TO COME

According to the Croatian Helsinki Committee for Human Rights, Operation
Storm resulted in the massacre of at least 410 civilians in the course of a
three day operation (4 to 7 August 1995).22 An internal report of The Hague
War Crimes Tribunal (leaked to the New York Times), confirmed that the
Croatian Army had been responsible for carrying out:

"summary executions, indiscriminate shelling of civilian populations and
"ethnic cleansing" in the Krajina region of Croatia...."23

In a section of the report entitled "The Indictment. Operation Storm, A
Prima Facie Case.", the ICTY report confirms that:

"During the course of the military offensive, the Croatian armed forces and
special police committed numerous violations of international humanitarian
law, including but not limited to, shelling of Knin and other cities...
During, and in the 100 days following the military offensive, at least 150
Serb civilians were summarily executed, and many hundreds disappeared.
...In a widespread and systematic manner, Croatian troops committed murder
and other inhumane acts upon and against Croatian Serbs." 24

US `GENERALS FOR HIRE'

The internal 150 page report concluded that it has "sufficient material to
establish that the three [Croatian] generals who commanded the military
operation" could be held accountable under international law.25 The
individuals named had been directly involved in the military operation "in
theatre". Those involved in "the planning of Operation Storm" were not
mentioned:

"The identity of the "American general" referred to by Fenrick [a Tribunal
staff member] is not known. The tribunal would not allow Williamson or
Fenrick to be interviewed. But Ms. Arbour, the tribunal's chief prosecutor,
suggested in a telephone interview last week that Fenrick's comment had
been `a joking observation'. Ms. Arbour had not been present during the
meeting, and that is not how it was viewed by some who were there. Several
people who were at the meeting assumed that Fenrick was referring to one of
the retired U.S. generals who worked for Military Professional Resources
Inc. ... Questions remain about the full extent of U.S. involvement. In the
course of the three year investigation into the assault, the United States
has failed to provide critical evidence requested by the tribunal,
according to tribunal documents and officials, adding to suspicion among
some there that Washington is uneasy about the investigation... The
Pentagon, however, has argued through U.S. lawyers at the tribunal that the
shelling was a legitimate military activity, according to tribunal
documents and officials".26

The Tribunal was attempting to hide what had already been revealed in
several press reports published in the wake of Operation Storm. According
to a US State Department spokesman, MPRI had been helping the Croatians
"avoid excesses or atrocities in military operations."27 Fifteen senior US
military advisers headed by retired two star General Richard Griffitts had
been dispatched to Croatia barely seven months before Operation Storm. 28
According to one report, MPRI executive director General Carl E. Vuono:
"held a secret top-level meeting at Brioni Island, off the coast of
Croatia, with Gen. Varimar Cervenko, the architect of the Krajina campaign.
In the five days preceding the attack, at least ten meetings were held
between General Vuono and officers involved in the campaign..."29

According to Ed Soyster, a senior MPRI executive and former head of the
Defence Intelligence Agency (DIA):

"MPRI's role in Croatia is limited to classroom instruction on
military-civil relations and doesn't involve training in tactics or
weapons. Other U.S. military men say whatever MPRI did for the Croats and
many suspect more than classroom instruction was involved it was worth
every penny." Carl Vuono and Butch [Crosbie] Saint are hired guns and in it
for the money," says Charles Boyd, a recently retired four star Air Force
general who was the Pentagon's No. 2 man in Europe until July [1995]. "They
did a very good job for the Croats, and I have no doubt they'll do a good
job in Bosnia."30

THE HAGUE TRIBUNAL'S COVER UP

The untimely leaking of the ICTY's internal report on the Krajina massacres
barely a few days before the onslaught of NATO's air raids on Yugoslavia
was the source of some embarrassment to the Tribunal's Chief Prosecutor
Louise Arbour. The Tribunal (ICTY) attempted to cover up the matter and
trivialise the report's findings (including the alleged role of the US
military officers on contract with the Croatian Armed Forces). Several
Tribunal officials including American Lawyer Clint Williamson sought to
discredit the Canadian Peacekeeping officers' testimony who witnessed the
Krajina massacres in 1995.31

Williamson, who described the shelling of Knin as a "minor incident," said
that the Pentagon had told him that Knin was a legitimate military
target... The [Tribunal's] review concluded by voting not to include the
shelling of Knin in any indictment, a conclusion that stunned and angered
many at the tribunal"...32

The findings of the Tribunal contained in the leaked ICTY documents were
downplayed, their relevance was casually dismissed as "expressions of
opinion, arguments and hypotheses from various staff members of the OTP
during the investigative process".33 According to the Tribunal's
spokesperson "the documents do not represent in any way the concluded
decisions of the Prosecutor." 34

The internal 150 page report has not been released. The staff member who
had leaked the documents is (according to a Croatian TV report) no longer
working for the Tribunal. During the press Conference, the Tribunal's
spokesman was asked: "about the consequences for the person who leaked the
information", Blewitt [the ICTY spokesman] replied that he did not want to
go into that. He said that the OTP would strengthen the existing procedures
to prevent this from happening again, however he added that you could not
stop people from talking".35

THE USE OF CHEMICAL WEAPONS IN CROATIA

The massacres conducted under Operation Storm "set the stage" for the
"ethnic cleansing" of at least 180,000 Krajina Serbs (according to
estimates of the Croatian Helsinki Committee and Amnesty International).
According to other sources, the number of victims of ethnic cleansing in
Krajina was much larger.

Moreover, there is evidence that chemical weapons had been used in the
Yugoslav civil war (1991-95).36 Although there is no firm evidence of the
use of chemical weapons against Croatian Serbs, an ongoing enquiry by the
Canadian Minister of Defence (launched in July 1999) points to the
possibility of toxic poisoning of Canadian Peacekeepers while on service in
Croatia between 1993 and 1995:

"There was a smell of blood in the air during the past week as the media
sensed they had a major scandal unfolding within the Department of National
Defense over the medical files of those Canadians who served in Croatia in
1993. Allegations of destroyed documents, a coverup, and a defensive
minister and senior officers..."37

The official release of the Department of National Defence (DND) refers to
possibility of toxic "soil contamination" in Medak Pocket in 1993 (see
below). Was it "soil contamination" or something far more serious? The
criminal investigation by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) refers
to the shredding of medical files of former Canadian peacekeepers by the
DND. In other words did the DND have something to hide? The issue remains
as to what types of shells and ammunitions were used by the Croatian Armed
Forces ie. were chemical weapons used against Serb civilians?

OPERATION STORM: THE ACCOUNT OF THE ROYAL CANADIAN REGIMENT

Prior to the onslaught, Croatian radio had previously broadcasted a message
by president Franjo Tudjman, calling upon "Croatian citizens of Serbian
ethnicity... to remain in their homes and not to fear the Croatian
authorities, which will respect their minority rights."38 Canadian
peacekeepers of the Second Battalion of the Royal 22nd Regiment witnessed
the atrocities committed by Croatian troops in the Krajina offensive in
September 1995:

"Any Serb who had failed to evacuate their property were systematically
"cleansed" by roving death squads. Every abandoned animal was slaughtered
and any Serb household was ransacked and torched".39

Also confirmed by Canadian peacekeepers was the participation of German
mercenaries in Operation Storm:

"Immediately behind the frontline Croatian combat troops and German
mercenaries, a large number of hardline extremists had pushed into the
Krajina. ...Many of these atrocities were carried out within the Canadian
Sector, but as the peacekeepers were soon informed by the Croat
authorities, the UN no longer had any formal authority in the region."40

How the Germans mercenaries were recruited was never officially revealed.
An investigation by the United Nations Human Rights Commission (UNHRC)
confirmed the that foreign mercenaries in Croatia had in some cases "been
paid [and presumably recruited] outside Croatia and by third parties."41

THE 1993 MEDAK POCKET MASSACRE

According to Jane Defence Weekly (10 June 1999), Brigadier General Agim
Ceku (now in charge of the KLA) also "masterminded the successful HV
[Croatian Army] offensive at Medak" in September 1993. In Medak, the combat
operation was entitled "Scorched Earth" resulting in the total destruction
of the Serbian villages of Divoselo, Pocitelj and Citluk, and the massacre
of over 100 civilians.42

These massacres were also witnessed by Canadian peacekeepers under UN
mandate:

"As the sun rose over the horizon, it revealed a Medak Valley engulfed in
smoke and flames. As the frustrated soldiers of 2PPCLI waited for the order
to move forward into the pocket, shots and screams still rang out as the
ethnic cleansing continued. ...About 20 members of the international press
had tagged along, anxious to see the Medak battleground. Calvin [a Canadian
officer] called an informal press conference at the head of the column and
loudly accused the Croats of trying to hide war crimes against the Serb
inhabitants. The Croats started withdrawing back to their old lines, taking
with them whatever loot they hadn't destroyed. All livestock had been
killed and houses torched. French reconnaissance troops and the Canadian
command element pushed up the valley and soon began to find bodies of Serb
civilians, some already decomposing, others freshly slaughtered.
..Finally, on the drizzly morning of Sept. 17, teams of UN civilian police
arrived to probe the smouldering ruins for murder victims. Rotting corpses
lying out in the open were catalogued, then turned over to the peacekeepers
for burial."43

The massacres were reported to the Canadian Minister of Defence and to the
United Nations:

"Senior defence bureaucrats back in Ottawa had no way of predicting the
outcome of the engagement in terms of political fallout. To them, there was
no point in calling media attention to a situation that might easily
backfire. ...So Medak was relegated to the memory hole no publicity, no
recriminations, no official record. Except for those soldiers involved,
Canada's most lively military action since the Korean War simply never
happened."44

* * *

PART III. NATO'S `POST CONFLICT' AGENDA IN KOSOVO.

Both the Medak Pocket massacre and Operation Storm bear a direct
relationship to the ongoing security situation in Kosovo and the massacres
and ethnic cleansing committed by KLA troops. While the circumstances are
markedly different, several of today's actors in Kosovo were involved
(under the auspices of the Croatian Armed Forces) in the planning of both
these operations. Moreover, the US mercenary outfit MPRI which collaborated
with the Croatian Armed Forces in 1995 is currently on contract with the
KLA. NATO's casual response to the appointment of Brigadier General Agim
Ceku as KLA Chief of Staff was communicated by Mr. Jamie Shea in a Press
Briefing in May:

"I have always made it clear, and you have heard me say this, that NATO has
no direct contacts with the KLA. Who they appoint as their leaders, that is
entirely their own affair. I don't have any comment on that whatever."45

While NATO says it "has no direct contacts with the KLA", the evidence
confirms the opposite. Amply documented, KLA terrorism has been installed
with NATO's tacit approval. The KLA had (according to several reports) been
receiving "covert support" and training from the CIA and Germany's Bundes
Nachrichten Dienst (BND) since the mid-nineties. Moreover, MPRI
collaboration with the KLA predates the onslaught of the bombing
campaign.46 Moreover, the building up of KLA forces was part of NATO
planning. Already by mid-1998, "covert support" had been replaced by
official ("overt") support by the military Alliance in violation of UN
Security Council Resolution UNSCR 1160 of 31 March 1998 which condemned:
"...all acts of terrorism by the Kosovo Liberation Army or any other group
or individual and all external support for terrorist activity in Kosovo,
including finance, arms and training."

NATO officials, Western heads of State and heads of government, the United
Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan not to mention ICTY chief Prosecutor
Louise Arbour, were fully cognizant of General Brigadier Agim Ceku's
involvement in the planning of Operation Storm and Operation Scorched
Earth. Surely, some questions should have been asked...

Yet visibly what is shaping up in the wake of the bombings in Kosovo is the
continuity of NATO's operation in the Balkans. Military personnel and UN
bureaucrats previously stationed in Croatia and Bosnia have been routinely
reassigned to Kosovo. KFOR Commander Mike Jackson had previously been
responsible as IFOR Commander for organising the return of Serbs "to lands
taken by Croatian HVO forces in the Krajina offensive".47 And in this
capacity General Mike Jackson had "urged that the resettlement [of Krajina
Serbs] not [be] rushed to avoid tension [with the Croatians]... while also
warning returning Serbs "of the extent of the [land] mine threat."48 In
retrospect, recalling the events of early 1996, very few Krajina Serbs were
allowed to return to their homes under the protection of the United
Nations.

And a similar process is unfolding in Kosovo, ie. the conduct of senior
military officers conforms to a consistent pattern, the same key
individuals are now involved in Kosovo. While token efforts are displayed
to protect Serb and Roma civilians, those who have fled Kosovo are not
encouraged to return under UN protection... In postwar Kosovo, "ethnic
cleansing" implemented by the KLA has been accepted by the "international
community" as a "fait accompli"...

While calling for democracy and "good governance" in the Balkans, the US
and its allies have installed in Kosovo a paramilitary government with
links to organised crime.

The foreseeable outcome is the outright "criminalisation" of civilian State
institutions and the establishment of what is best described as a "Mafia
State". The complicity of NATO and the Alliance governments (namely their
relentless support to the KLA) points to the de facto "criminalisation" of
KFOR and of the UN peacekeeping apparatus in Kosovo. The donor agencies and
governments (eg. the funds approved by the US Congress in violation of
several UN Security Council resolutions) providing financial support to the
KLA are, in this regard, also "accessories" to the de facto criminalisation
of State institutions. Through the intermediation of a paramilitary group
(created and financed by Washington and Bonn), NATO ultimately bears the
burden of responsibility for the massacres and ethnic cleansing of
civilians in Kosovo.

STATE TERROR AND THE `FREE MARKET'

State terror and the "free market" seem to go hand in hand. The concurrent
"criminalisation" of State institutions in Kosovo is not incompatible with
the West's economic and strategic objectives in the Balkans.
Notwithstanding the massacres of civilians, the self-proclaimed KLA
administration has committed itself to establishing a "secure and stable
environment" for foreign investors and international financial
institutions. The Minister of Finance Adem Grobozci and other
representatives of the provisional government invited to the various donor
conferences are all KLA appointees. In contrast, members of the KDL of
Ibrahim Rugova (duly elected in parliamentary elections) were not even
invited to attend the Stabilisation Summit in Sarajevo in late July.

"Free market reforms" are envisaged for Kosovo under the supervision of the
Bretton Woods institutions largely replicating the structures of the
Rambouillet agreement. Article I (Chapter 4a) of the Rambouillet Agreement
stipulated that: "The economy of Kosovo shall function in accordance with
free market principles". The KLA government will largely be responsible for
implementing these reforms and ensuring that loan conditionalities are met.

In close liaison with NATO, the Bretton Woods institutions had already
analysed the consequences of an eventual military intervention leading to
the military occupation of Kosovo: almost a year prior to the beginning of
the War, the World Bank conducted "simulations" which "anticipated the
possibility of an emergency scenario arising out of the tensions in
Kosovo."49

The eventual "reconstruction" of Kosovo financed by international debt
largely purports to transfer Kosovo's extensive wealth in mineral resources
and coal to multinational capital. In this regard, the KLA has already
occupied (pending their privatisation) the largest coal mine at Belacevac
in Dobro Selo northwest of Pristina. In turn, foreign capital has its eyes
rivetted on the massive Trepca mining complex which constitutes "the most
valuable piece of real estate in the Balkans, worth at least $5 billion."50
The Trebca complex not only includes copper and large reserves of zinc but
also cadmium, gold, and silver. It has several smelting plants, 17 metal
treatment sites, a power plant and Yugoslavia's largest battery plant.
Northern Kosovo also has estimated reserves of 17 billion tons of coal and
lignite.

In the wake of the bombings, the management of many of the State owned
enterprises and public utilities were taken over by KLA appointees. In
turn, the leaders of Provisional Government of Kosovo (PGK) have become
"the brokers" of multinational capital committed to handing over the
Kosovar economy at bargain prices to foreign investors. The IMF's lethal
"economic therapy" will be imposed, the provincial economy will be
dismantled, agriculture will be deregulated, local industrial enterprises
which have not been totally destroyed will be driven into bankruptcy.

The most profitable State assets will eventually be transferred into the
hands of foreign capital under the World Bank sponsored privatisation
programme. "Strong economic medicine" imposed by external creditors will
contribute to further boosting a criminal economy (already firmly implanted
in Albania) which feeds on poverty and economic dislocation. "The Allies
will work with the rest of the international community to help rebuild
Kosovo once the crisis is over: The International Monetary Fund and Group
of Seven industrialized countries are among those who stand ready to offer
financial help to the countries of the region. We want to ensure proper
coordination of aid and help countries to respond to the effects of the
crisis. This should go hand in hand with the necessary structural reforms
in the countries affected helped by budget support from the international
community."51

Morever, the so-called "reconstruction" of the Balkans by foreign capital
will signify multibillion contracts to foreign firms to rebuild Kosovo's
infrastructure. More generally, the proposed "Marshall Plan" for the
Balkans financed by the World Bank and the European Development Bank (EBRD)
as well as private creditors will largely benefit Western mining, petroleum
and construction companies while fuelling the region's external debt well
into the third millennium.

And Kosovo is slated to reimburse this debt through the laundering of dirty
money. Yugoslav banks in Kosovo will be closed down, the banking system
will be deregulated under the supervision of Western financial
institutions. Narcodollars from the multibillion dollar Balkans drug trade
will be recycled towards servicing the external debt as well as "financing"
the costs of "reconstruction." The lucrative flow of narcodollars thus
ensures that foreign investors involved in the "reconstruction" programme
will be able reap substantial returns. In turn, the existence of a Kosovar
"narco State" ensures the orderly reimbursement of international donors and
creditors. The latter are prepared to turn blind eye. They have a tacit
vested interest in installing a government which facilitates the laundering
of drug money.

The pattern in Kosovo is, in this regard, similar to that observed in
neighbouring Albania. Since the early 1990s (culminating with the collapse
of the financial pyramids in 1996-97), the IMF's reforms have impoverished
the Albanian population while spearheading the national economy into
bankruptcy. The IMF's deadly economic therapy transforms countries into
open territories. In Albania and to a lesser extent Macedonia, it has also
contributed to fostering the growth of illicit trade and the
criminalisation of State institutions.

ENDNOTES

1. Jim Lehrer News Maker Interview, PBS, 26 July 1999. 2. Stratfor
Commentary, "Growing Threat of Serbian Paramilitary Action in Kosovo", 29
July 1999. 3. Human Rights Watch, 3 August 1999. 4. See Michael Radu,
"Don't Arm the KLA", CNS Commentary from the Foreign Policy Research
Institute, 7 April, 1999). 5. Tanjug Press Dispatch, 14 May 1999. 6.
Stratfor Comment, "Rugova Faced with a Choice of Two Losses", Stratfor, 29
July 1999. 7. Federal Ministry for Foreign Affairs, Yugoslav Daily Survey,
Belgrade, 29 June 1999. 8. Hina Press Dispatch, Zagreb, 26 July 1999. 9.
Ibid. 10. BBC Report, London, 5 July 1999. 11. New York Times, 2 February
1999. 12. Financial Times, London, 4 August 1999. 13. See Organization for
Security and Cooperation in Europe, Mission in Kosovo, Decision 305,
Permanent Council, 237th Plenary Meeting, PC Journal No. 237, Agenda item
2, Vienna, 1 July 1999. 14. Statement at the Sarajevo Summit, 31 July 1999.
15. 106th Congress, April 15, HR 1425. 16. Interview with KLA Chief of
Staff Commander Agim Ceku, Kosovapress, 31 July 1999. 17. See Tammy
Arbucki, "Building a Bosnian Army", Jane International Defence Review,
August 1997. 18. Ibid. 19. Military Professional Resources, Inc, "Personnel
Needs", http://www.mpri.com/current/personnel.htm 20. Associated Press
Report. 21. Ibid. 22. The actual number of civilians killed or missing was
much larger. 23. Quoted in Raymond Bonner, War Crimes Panel Finds Croat
Troops Cleansed the Serbs, New York Times, 21 March 1999). 24. Ibid. 25.
Ibid. 26. Raymond Bonner, op cit. 27. Ken Silverstein, "Privatizing War",
The Nation, New York, 27 July 1997. 28. See Mark Thompson et al, "Generals
for Hire", Time Magazine, 15 January 1996, p. 34. 29. Quoted in
Silverstein, op cit. 30. Mark Thompson et al, op cit. 31. Raymond Bonner,
op cit. 32. Ibid. 33. ICTY Weekly Press Briefing, 24 March 1999). 34. Ibid.
35. Ibid. 36. See inter alia Reuters dispatch, 21 October 1993 on the use
of chemical grenades, a New York Times report on 31 October 1992 on the use
of poisoned gas). 37. Lewis MacKenzie, "Giving our soldiers the benefit of
the doubt", National Post, 2 August 1999. 38. Slobodna Dalmacija, Split,
Croatia, August 5 1996. 39. Scott Taylor and Brian Nolan, The Sunday Sun,
Toronto, 2 November 1998. 40. Ibid. 41. United Nations Commission on Human
Rights, Fifty-first session, Item 9 of the provisional agenda, Geneva, 21
December 1994). 42. (See Memorandum on the Violation of the Human and Civil
Rights of the Serbian People in the Republic of Croatia,
http://serbianlinks.freehosting.net/memorandum.htm). 43. Excerpts from the
book of Scott Taylor and Brian Nolan published in the Toronto Sun, 1
November 1998. 44. Ibid. 45. NATO Press Briefing, 14 May 1999. 46. For
further details see Michel Chossudovsky, Kosovo `Freedom Fighters' Financed
by Organized Crime, CAQ, Spring-Summer 1999. 47. Jane's Defence Weekly, Vol
25, No. 7, 14 February 1996. 48. Ibid. 49. World Bank Development News,
Washington, 27 April 1999. 50. New York Times, July 8, 1998, report by
Chris Hedges. 51. Statement by Javier Solano, Secretary General of NATO,
published in The National Post, Toronto May 1999.

DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER
==========
CTRL is a discussion and informational exchange list. Proselyzting propagandic
screeds are not allowed. Substance—not soapboxing!  These are sordid matters
and 'conspiracy theory', with its many half-truths, misdirections and outright
frauds is used politically  by different groups with major and minor effects
spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRL
gives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers;
be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credeence to Holocaust denial and
nazi's need not apply.

Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector.
========================================================================
Archives Available at:
http://home.ease.lsoft.com/archives/CTRL.html

http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/
========================================================================
To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email:
SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED]

To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email:
SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED]

Om