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abolition-usa-digest       Monday, May 24 1999       Volume 01 : Number 132




----------------------------------------------------------------------

Date: Thu, 20 May 1999 23:24:46 -0700 (PDT)
From: [e-mail] (marylia)
Subject: (abolition-usa) New! On the Web! From TVC!

Dear friends and colleagues:

Hello. This is to announce that our May 1999 newsletter, Citizen's Watch is
up on our web site and waiting for you to peruse it. Our web site is
located at http://www.igc.org/tvc. Once there, you will find:

(1) "Stewardship: Check Under the Hood" which previews an upcoming
Tri-Valley CAREs' report on alternatives to the Department of Energy's
"Stockpile Stewardship" program.

(2) "Shared Vision and DC Days" which recounts the adventures of Tri-Valley
CAREs members and friends from across the U.S. and Russia as they advocate
in Washington, DC's halls of power for disarmament, nonproliferation and
cleanup of the Cold War legacy.

(3) "Hague: Group to Present Appeal on Fusion Weapons Research" regarding
our participation in the Hague Appeal for Peace, and highlighting an
international appeal to halt the U.S. National Ignition Facility and the
=46rench Laser M=E9gajoule, both of which may be illegal under the
Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty. (Copies of the petition are available in
English and French by email or snail mail on request.)

Also, read an analysis of the "Dysfunctional DOE," check out upcoming
events and MUCH MORE. Log on and enjoy. And, don't forget to visit our new
web links while you are there.

Peace, Marylia

++ Please note that my email address has changed to <[e-mail]>
on 3/1/99 ++

Marylia Kelley
Tri-Valley CAREs
(Communities Against a Radioactive Environment)
2582 Old First Street
Livermore, CA USA 94550

<http://www.igc.org/tvc/> - is our web site, please visit us there!
Our web site will remain at this location. Only my email address has
changed on 3/1/99.

[phone] - is our phone
[phone] - is our fax

Working for peace, justice and a healthy environment since 1983, Tri-Valley
CAREs has been a member of the nation-wide Alliance for Nuclear
Accountability in the U.S. since 1989, and is a co-founding member of the
international Abolition 2000 network for the elimination of nuclear
weapons.



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------------------------------

Date: Fri, 21 May 1999 12:08:40 -0400
From: Bob Tiller <[e-mail]>
Subject: (abolition-usa) Chemical weapons?

Today's Washington Post reports that Italian fishermen are netting
unexploded NATO bombs in their fishing nets, and NATO confirms that
sometimes its planes drop unexploded bombs in the Adriatic Sea.

A former PSR intern, who has many friends in Italy, called to say that
he heard that the Italian media are reporting that some of these bombs
are chemical weapons.  This doesn't seem credible to me, but we need to
pursue it.  Anything can happen.

Does anyone have access to Italian media reports, or any information on
the possible use of chemical weapons by NATO?

Shalom,
Bob Tiller


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------------------------------

Date: Sat, 22 May 1999 23:17:54 -0700 (PDT)
From: Timothy Bruening <[e-mail]>
Subject: (abolition-usa) Bombing of Chinese Embassy

Last week, Jared ([e-mail]) alleged that the U.S. bombed the Chinese
Embassy in Belgrade on purpose to eliminate some hostile journalists.  I
don't buy that theory.  After all, the Embassy bombing severely embarrassed
NATO and alienated China and Russia.  How could NATO possibly consider the
gain from silencing a few journalists to be worth the huge cost to NATO's
image and relations with China and Russia?


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------------------------------

Date: Sun, 23 May 1999 00:23:43 -0700 (PDT)
From: Timothy Bruening <[e-mail]>
Subject: (abolition-usa) Pay Russia To Solve Kosovo Crisis

Yesterday, I read a letter in the Davis Enterprise proposing that the U.S.
pay Russia $1 billion to send peacekeeping troops into Kosovo.  The letter
writer suggested that Russia, being on good terms with Yugoslavia, would be
able to persuade Yugoslavia to let Russian peacekeepers in to disarm booth
sides and stop the killing.  The letter writer also argued that paying
Russia to solve the crisis would help the Russian economy and improve our
relations with Russia.


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------------------------------

Date: Sun, 23 May 1999 01:27:18 -0700 (PDT)
From: Timothy Bruening <[e-mail]>
Subject: (abolition-usa) Drop Food, Not Bombs On Yugoslavia

Instead of bombing Yugoslavia, I propose that NATO parachute packages of
food, water, and medicine to the people of Yugoslavia, along with literature
detailing the atrocities committed by Serbs against Kosovo Albanians and
calling on the people of Yugoslavia to end the killing.  The idea would be
to sway the people of Yugoslavia against Milosevic.


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------------------------------

Date: Sun, 23 May 1999 15:18:57 EDT
From: [e-mail]
Subject: (abolition-usa) Re:

In a message dated 5/23/99 11:21:26 AM Eastern Daylight Time,=20
[e-mail] writes:

<< Subj:=09=20
 Date:=095/23/99 11:21:26 AM Eastern Daylight Time
 From:=[e-mail] (grupa484)
 To:=[e-mail] (Uladzimir Kolas), [e-mail]=20
(Jelena Subotic), [e-mail] (Jan Oberg), [e-mail]=20
(Ivanka Kostic), [e-mail] (Haukur_=C1stvaldsson10307-SabrCatLvr=3D=
ao),=20
[e-mail] (Hans), [e-mail] (Franco Toldi)
 CC:=[e-mail] (Svetlana Djuric), [e-mail] (Pax=20
Christi-Italy), [e-mail] (Karin Hopfmann)
=20
   REPORT
  =20
  Subject: Jelena Santic's peace trip to Berlin from 8-18 May 1999.

 Invited by parliamentarian group of PDS in City Hall of Berlin, I arrived i=
n=20
Berlin on May 8th. After the introduction with the hosts and the programme,=20
on which I had no remarks, we went to the Town Square where the=20
demonstrations were going on, organized by a famous peace group.
=20
=20
 8. May, 14.00h Approximately 40 000 people were gathered at the=20
demonstration, mostly Germans and a few "Serbian patriots" with flags and a=20
group of Kurds with pictures of Ojalan. The speakers were from the parts of=20
the parties that oppose the bombing (Green Party and SDP), a famous=20
psychologist, a famous actress, Gregor Gisy and myself. My speech (5 min) wa=
s=20
about why there could not be brought in the democracy in Yugoslavia by NATO=20
bombing, what means the destruction and the killing of civilians in the name=20
of the goals which are constantly changing, about our sympathizing with the=20
tragedy of the Kosovo Albanians, about the upcoming humanitarian catastrophe=20
of 10 000 000 people, about the struggle of NGOs against the war and about=20
the big responsibility of Slobodan Milosevic. I called for the joining of=20
antiwar movements in Europe and America and thanked for the solidarity they=20
showed and which we will need in the days to come. They said that the speech=20
was good, only a few "patriots" were shouting "boo", but I did not hear it.=20
Afterwards there was a moment of silence for all who died in this Yugoslav=20
war and a call to keep the resistance on.=20
=20
=20
 9. May, 10.00h Pressbreakfast in Hotel "Unter den Linden". Introduction wit=
h=20
my stay, positions of NGOs and few interviews.
=20
 14.00h Peace rally of young people, organized by the parliament of the=20
Berlin's suburb, Hellesdorf. This time, I spoke more about the young people=20
of Yugoslavia during the war, and about the joining the youth together. They=20
played music dedicated to the Yugoslav war, Hans Spoelstra sang his protest=20
songs. A big peace sign was made and we planted flowers in it. Then we went=20
for a protest walk throughout the suburb.
=20
=20
 10. May, 11.00h Meeting in the City Hall with the vice-president of the Cit=
y=20
Hall, Ms. Martin Michels, and with the women from the parties in the=20
parliament.
=20
 14.00h Conversation with the vice-president of Bundestag, Ms. Petra Bl=E4ss=
is=20
in the City Hall.
=20
 16.30h Discussion about the war in Yugoslavia, held in Youth Center. Presen=
t=20
were people from the parts of the parties that oppose the war, a German Army=20
officer and a politician from SDP who is for the bombing. The hall was full=20
of young people (mostly from the East), which shows that they were intereste=
d=20
in general problems. The young people were well informed about the situation=
,=20
so the officer and the politician were having difficulties. Reactions on=20
their statements were laughter and remarkable answers. I spoke about the=20
Albanians, war, individual human rights, and I said to the politician "if=20
Wily Brant was alive, non of this would have happened". That made him=20
ashamed.=20
=20
 19.00h Discussion in Autonomous Women Club
=20
=20
 11. May, 9.30h Conversation with the members of Parliament from PDS about=20
the situation in Yugoslavia and about the concrete help for the NGOs.
=20
=20
 12. May, 12.30h Agreement with the Rosa Luxemburg Foundation
=20
 19.00h Discussion in the Faculty of Engineering. Presentation of the film=20
about the Woman in Black and Antiwar campaign (Sandrina)
=20
=20
 13. May, 14.00h Meeting in Deutsches Theater where they informed me that=20
every day at 19.00h they have public reading of antiwar texts and poetry.
=20
 18.30h Visit and the discussion in the Antiwar Museum.
=20
=20
 14. May, Free
=20
=20
 15. May, 15.00h Lunch and conversation about humanitarian help in Women=20
Informative Group
=20
=20
 16. May, 19.30h At Volksb=FChne Theatre, a play written by Jean Paul Sartre=20
"Dirty Hands", discussion afterwards.
=20
=20
 17. May, 11.00h Press conference at the City Hall
=20
=20
 18. May, 9.40h Return to Belgrade, via Budapest
=20
=20
=20
=20
 Working stay in Berlin was very important because people were interested to=20
hear the real news about the events in Yugoslavia. The division of the=20
Germans from the former Eastern Germany, who are against the bombing, and=20
Germans from the former Western Germany, who are less active but more "for",=20
could be seen clearly. The only party who declared itself against the bombin=
g=20
is PDS. Green Party is divided, 2/3 of SDP is "for" and 1/3 "against" the=20
bombing. CDP is "for". Besides the lack of complete information, it could be=20
felt the changing of the public opinion. It is said that around 52% are=20
against. The young are mainly against. I was welcomed there after my speech,=20
which could be seen from the newspapers. True wish for helping the NGO secto=
r=20
is very visible. The Unions are especially interested. Everyone is aware of=20
the fact that there is a possibility for a theft and for enormous profit in=20
the restoration process. Because of that, proposals for the alternative=20
programs are in progress.
=20
=20
 Karin Hopfmann, Member of Parliament in the City Hall and my host has well=20
organized and planned my visit.
=20
=20
=20
=20
=20
=20
 May, 20 1999 Belgrade Jelene Santic=20
=20
=20
 =20
=20
=20
=20
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------=
- --
- --
=20
=20
=20
 NON'S REACTION TO THE=20
=20
 EXECUTION OF THE JAIL SENTENCE
=20
 TO DOBROSAV NESIC
=20
=20
=20
=20
 President of the Committee for Human Rights in Leskovac and Editor-in-Chief=20
of the monthly "Rights of Man", Mr.Dobrosav Nesic, on May 13 started to serv=
e=20
the sentence of 30 days in jail passed under the draconian Law on=20
Information. Municipal transgression court in Leskovac on January 21=20
confirmed the verdict of first-degree court by which, under the Article 69 o=
f=20
the Serbian Law on Information, he was to pay immediately a fine equalling=20
7,000 US, with alternative of 30 days' imprisonment.
=20
 Association of NGO's and Trade Union "Nezavisnost"(Independence) reminds=20
that the reason for the punishment of the founder and activist of one of the=20
few NGO in the South of Serbia, is in fact oral crime, i.e. alleged untrue=20
about the program of Radio Leskovac published in text "To write as the rest=20
of the sane wold does" in the monthly "Rights of Man" in issue No. 5=20
published in December 1998. The execution of the sentence almost four months=20
after the verdict was reached, before the decision of the Yugoslav's Supreme=20
Court, in the state of war in Yugoslavia, we find as inadequate repression=20
and the intense of local authorities in Leskovac to use this tragic=20
circumstances to settle accounts with those who are not same-minders. This=20
proceeding is aimed at making the atmosphere of fear and could have very=20
damaging circumstances.
=20
 We express our believes and hope that this is not an introduction to the=20
repression aimed at nongovernmental organizations, but jus an isolated case=20
of local authorities which will meet the criticism of their party colleagues=20
and the democratic public in Yugoslavia.
=20
=20
=20
     1.. Trade Union Confederation-Nezavisnost=20
=20
=20
     2.. Alternative Academic Educational Network=20
=20
=20
     3.. Belgrade Circle=20
=20
=20
     4.. Belgrade Women Lobby=20
=20
=20
     5.. Center for Policy Studies=20
=20
=20
     6.. Belgrade Women's Studies Center=20
=20
=20
     7.. Center for Transition to Democracy=20
=20
=20
     8.. Humanitarian Fund for Children=20
=20
=20
     9.. Society for Truth on Antifascist War 1941-1945=20
=20
=20
     10.. Society for Cooperation with Neighbouring Countries=20
=20
=20
     11.. ECO Center=20
=20
=20
     12.. European Movement in Serbia=20
=20
=20
     13.. Foundation for Peace and Crisis Management=20
=20
=20
     14.. FOSCODE-NGO Glasnik=20
=20
=20
     15.. Forum for Ethnic Relations=20
=20
=20
     16.. Civic Initiatives=20
=20
=20
     17.. Civil Forum - Novi Pazar=20
=20
=20
     18.. Group 484=20
=20
=20
     19.. YU Lawyers Committee for Human Rights=20
=20

=20
     20.. Committee for Human Rights - Leskovac=20
=20
=20
     21.. Safe Houses for Woman=20
=20
=20
     22.. Association of Citizens for Democracy, Social Justice and Support=20
for Trade Unions=20
=20
=20
     23.. WIN (Weekly Independent News)=20
=20
=20
     24.. Woman in Black=20
=20
=20
     25.. Student Union of Yugoslavia=20
=20
=20
     26.. Women's Center - SOS phone=20
=20
=20
     27.. Movement of Margine=20
=20
=20
     28.. Women's Civic Initiatives Subotica=20
=20
=20
     29.. Ethnic Forum - Subotica=20
=20
=20
     30.. District 0230 - Kikinda=20
=20
=20
     31.. URBAN IN - Novi Pazar=20
=20
=20
     32.. Youth Creative Group=20
=20
=20
     33.. Ecology Committee=20
=20
=20
     34.. Committee for Humanitarian Work=20

=20
=20
=20
=20
 --------------------

=20




=20
=20

=20


=20


=20

=20
=20



=20

=20



=20

    =20

    =20

    =20




    =20

    =20
     <LI>Belgrade Women's Studies Center=20
    =20

=20
    =20


    =20

    =20
     <LI>Society for Cooperation with Neighbouring Countries=20
    =20


    =20



    =20


    =20

    =20


    =20


    =20


    =20


    =20

    =20
 =20

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 To unsubscribe to abolition-usa, send an email to "[e-mail]"
 with "unsubscribe abolition-usa" in the body of the message.
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------------------------------

Date: Sun, 23 May 1999 14:41:04 -0700 (PDT)
From: Timothy Bruening <[e-mail]>
Subject: (abolition-usa) Myths of the Yugoslav War

Below is my draft letter based on the pamphlet entitled "The U.S./NATO War
in Yugoslavia: Seven Myths.  Please suggest ways to improve this letter, and
pay special attention to the section on MYTH #3, which contains an internal
contradiction.

To the editor of the Bee:

In response to the recent Bee editorial about Serbia's misleading propaganda
about Serb atrocities against the Albanians and about the NATO bombing of
Yugoslavia, I am writing to expose some myths about the war put forth by
supporters of NATO:

Myth #1: US/NATO attacked Yugoslavia because the Yugoslav government refused
to negotiate on Kosovo, a Yugoslav province with an ethnic Albanian majority.

REALITY: The US/NATO, in "peace talks" led by Secretary of State Madeline
Albright, issued an ultimatum to the Yugoslav government which had three
main points: 1) Kosovo must be granted autonomy. 2) NATO must be allowed to
station 28,000 ground troops in Yugoslavia to ensure this autonomy; and 3) A
NATO- conducted referendum for Kosovo's independence from Yugoslavia within
3 years.  In fact, the Rambouillet "peace plan" would have allowed NATO
forces to occupy all of Yugoslavia and given them immunity from prosecution
by Yugoslav or Kosovo authorities for any crimes they commit.

Appendix B, Section 6a: reads "NATO shall be immune from all legal process,
whether civil, administrative, or criminal."  Section 6b reads: "NATO
personnel, under all circumstances and at all times, shall be immune from
the Parties, jurisdiction in respect of any civil, administrative, criminal
or disciplinary offenses which may be committed by them in the FRY (Federal
Republic of Yugoslavia)."  Section 7 reads: "NATO personnel shall be immune
from any form of arrest, investigation, or detention by the authorities in
the FRY."  Sections 8, 11, 15, and 22 would have allowed NATO and its
personnel full access to the territory, transportation systems, and
telecommunications systems of Yugoslavia free of charge!  No government in
its right mind would accept such an agreement voluntarily.

US/NATO stated that it would bomb Yugoslavia if Yugoslavia didn't sign the
Rambouillet "peace proposal".  The Yugoslav government accepted the first
conditions (believe it or not) but rejected the other two, saying that
conditions 2 and 3 were a violation of Yugoslavia's sovereignty.  The next
day (March 24), the bombing began.

MYTH #2: Yugoslavia is the aggressor in this war, and US/NATO has responded
in accord with international law.

REALITY: At the time the bombing started, Yugoslavia was not attacking any
other nations.  Thus the US/NATO bombing of Yugoslavia violates Article 2 of
the UN  Charter, which prohibits the use of force against sovereignty states
not engaged in outside aggression.  US/NATO are also violating the following
international agreements: 1) The Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties,
which forbids the use of force in compelling any nation to sign an
international agreement, 2) The Helsinki Accord Final Act, which guarantees
the boundaries of European States; and 3) Article 5 of NATO' Charter, which
restricts NATO' mandate to mutual self-defense.

MYTH #3: The Clinton Administration was moved to bomb Yugoslavia due to
concerns for human suffering and ethnic cleansing in Kosovo.

REALITY: The bombing has greatly intensified the ethnic cleansing and
refugee crisis in Kosovo.  The big refugee crisis began after the bombing
occurred.  In preparation for the bombing, US/NATO pulled relief workers and
international observers out of Kosovo, allowing the Serbs free rein (I
remember hearing that the Serbs were overjoyed to see the observers leave!).
Then the bombing incited horrendous Serb retaliation against the ethnic
Albanians (the most accessible enemy).  In the year prior to the bombing,
human rights groups estimate that there were 2000 dead and 250,000 displaced
people within Kosovo and another 150,000 displaced people outside Kosovo due
to KLA violence and brutal Serb retaliation.  These numbers have greatly
increased since the bombing started.  CIA, NATO, and Pentagon officials knew
that bombing could trigger ethnic cleansing and a massive refugee crisis,
yet insisted on bombing Yugoslavia anyway.  NATO Supreme Commander General
Clark stated, "I can't say that I'm surprised by any of this.  The military
authorities fully anticipated the vicious approach that Milosevic would
adopt." (Newsweek, April 12).  Was it a "humanitarian" decision to put
nearly 2 million ethnic Albanians at risk?

MYTH #4: The US/NATO bombing is needed to bring stability to the Balkans.

REALITY: US/NATO bombing has destabilize the region.  The risk of an
expanded war spreading throughout the Balkans (a la WWI) increases with the
rising intensity and scope of the bombing.  Macedonia, overwhelmed by
230,000 refugees, fears that its 40% ethnic Albanian population will demand
independence.  Greece, a NATO member, faces the potential involvement of its
Albania minority in armed support of a "greater Albania".  In Bosnia, the
fragile peace and cease-fire have become increasingly difficult to maintain.
Outside of the Balkans, Europe is torn apart by anti-NATO demonstrations.
Russia is greatly angered by the bombing, and has as a result further
postponed the ratification of START II, ended cooperation with the West to
prevent the infamous Y2K bugs from triggering WWIII, and considered
redeploying nuclear weapons in Belarus.  China, already opposed to the
bombing, in angered by the bombing of its embassy in Belgrade.

MYTH #5: The Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA)warrants US/NATO support and agrees
with Clinton's policy of "no independence for Kosovo".

REALITY: The KLA's stated goal is an independent Kosovo: "No half measures
will be acceptable to the KLA nor any solution whose goal is not
independence." (commando leader Rjseyman Selenic, LA Times, March 7).  U.S.
drug enforcement officials charges that the KLA is heavily engaged in heroin
trafficking.  The US/NATO may need to disarm or fight the KLA to maintain a
peace agreement in Kosovo.

MYTH #6: US/NATO bombing of Yugoslavia mush not stop because bombing
requires more time to succeed.  If the bombing stops, US/NATO will have to
send in ground troops.

REALITY: Each day of continued bombing raises the death toll of ethnic
Albanians, Serbs, and other Yugoslav peoples, increases instability in the
Balkans, and increases the risk of all out war.  Is it "humanitarian" to
persist in bombings which have killed hundreds of civilians, including
ethnic Albanians, and not protected anyone?  US/NATO has bombed bridges
(including bridges with trains and buses on them and/or "human shields"
under them), refugee convoys, hospitals, homes, schools, universities, TV
stations, power and water treatment plants, factories, oil refineries
(dumping oil into the Danube) and the Chinese Embassy.  A ground war would
be hell, putting the refugees, the Kosovo Albanians, and Serb civilians at
tremendous risk.

MYTH #7: The US/NATO can't tolerate ethnic cleansing and must continue the
bombing.

REALITY: To stop bombing will not send the message that the West tolerates
ethnic cleansing; it will make clear that US/NATO values the lives of ethnic
Albanians and Serbs more than arrogantly adhering to a disastrous policy
that has unsuccessfully gambled with the fate of hundreds of thousands.  An
escalated war will not protect more ethnic Albanians. A US/NATO military
"victory" will exact a high cost in human lives.  Viable aid for the
refugees requires a timely peace process.  The estimated US cost for the
first month of bombing was $5 billion.  The billions of dollars designated
for further detestation of Yugoslavia could be used to provide substantial
immediate and long-term aid.  The only truly humanitarian alternative is to
negotiate for peace within the scope of international law.  The UN, European
Union, and the OSCE (Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe)
can help resolve the critical issues.  The first step is to stop the bombing.


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------------------------------

Date: Sun, 23 May 1999 14:41:02 -0700 (PDT)
From: Timothy Bruening <[e-mail]>
Subject: (abolition-usa) Myths of the Yugoslav War

I am trying to write a letter based on the pamphlet entitled "The U.S./NATO
War in Yugoslavia: Seven Myths.  MYTH #3 reads "The Clinton Administration
was moved to bomb Yugoslavia due to concerns for human suffering and ethnic
cleansing in Kosovo."  The rebuttal says that "The refugee crisis began
after the bombing occurred.", but also says that "In the year prior to the
bombing, human rights groups estimate that there were 2000 dead and 250,000
displaced people within Kosovo (mainly ethnic Albanians, some Serbs) plus
150,000 displaced people outside of the province, due to Kosovo Liberation
Army violence and brutal Serb retaliation."  400,000 displaced people sure
sounds like a refugee crisis to me. How can the pamphlet say that the
refugee crisis began after the bombing when there were already 400,000
displaced persons before the bombing?

How many refugees are there now?


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------------------------------

Date: Mon, 24 May 1999 12:11:11 EDT
From: [e-mail]
Subject: (abolition-usa) Re: The British Helsinki Human Rights Group: Report of a visit to Belgrade

In a message dated 5/24/99 10:13:37 AM Eastern Daylight Time,
[e-mail] writes:

<< Subj:     The British Helsinki Human Rights Group: Report of a visit
to Belgrade
 Date:    5/24/99 10:13:37 AM Eastern Daylight Time
 From:    [e-mail] (grupa484)
 CC:    [e-mail] (Ville Holmberg), [e-mail] (Svetlana Djuric),
[e-mail] (Slavko Santic), [e-mail] (Sladjana R Dankovic),
[e-mail] (Sandra Dabic), [e-mail] (Roland Salvisberg
- - Helsinki com. for H.R. - RS), [e-mail] (Reeta Vilhu), [e-mail]
(Ny Tid - svedski nedeljnik), [e-mail] (MIROVNJACI(Lidija,
Nemacka)), [e-mail], [e-mail] (Maria Sundell),
[e-mail] (Lena Bjorklund), [e-mail] (Le Mouvement de
la Paix), [e-mail], [e-mail] (HELSINKI
CITIZENS ASSEMBLY), [e-mail] (Garry E. Hunter),
[e-mail] (Franco Toldi), [e-mail] (elizabeth neuffer),
[e-mail] (Dusan Bogdanovic), [e-mail] (Dr.
Barbara Mueller), [e-mail], [e-mail]
(B.Luber-foundation "Die Schwelle"-Bremen), [e-mail] (99),
[e-mail] (98), [e-mail] (97), [e-mail] (96),
[e-mail] (95), [e-mail] (94), [e-mail] (93),
[e-mail] (92), [e-mail] (9), [e-mail]
(89), [e-mail] (88), [e-mail] (87),
[e-mail] (86), [e-mail] (85), [e-mail] (84),
[e-mail] (83), [e-mail] (82),
[e-mail] (81), [e-mail] (80), [e-mail]
(8), [e-mail] (79), [e-mail] (78),
[e-mail] (77), [e-mail] (75), [e-mail] (73),
[e-mail] (72), [e-mail] (71),
[e-mail] (69), [e-mail] (68), [e-mail] (67),
[e-mail] (66), [e-mail] (65), [e-mail] (64),
[e-mail] (63), [e-mail] (62), [e-mail] (61),
[e-mail] (60), [e-mail] (59), [e-mail] (58),
[e-mail] (57), [e-mail] (56), [e-mail] (55),
[e-mail] (54), [e-mail] (51),
[e-mail] (5), [e-mail] (49), [e-mail] (47),
[e-mail] (46), [e-mail] (45),
[e-mail] (44), [e-mail] (43), [e-mail]
(42), [e-mail] (41), [e-mail] (40), [e-mail]
(4), [e-mail] (39), [e-mail] (38), [e-mail]
(37), [e-mail] (36), [e-mail] (32),
[e-mail] (28), [e-mail] (27), [e-mail]
(25), [e-mail] (24), [e-mail] (22), [e-mail] (19),
[e-mail] (150), [e-mail]
(147), [e-mail] (145), [e-mail] (144),
[e-mail] (143), [e-mail] (142),
[e-mail] (141), [e-mail] (14), [e-mail] (139),
[e-mail] (138), [e-mail] (137),
[e-mail] (136), [e-mail] (135),
[e-mail] (134), [e-mail] (133),
[e-mail] (132), [e-mail] (131), [e-mail]
(130), [e-mail] (13), [e-mail] (129),
[e-mail] (127), [e-mail] (126), [e-mail]
(124), [e-mail] (123), [e-mail] (122),
[e-mail] (121), [e-mail] (120),
[e-mail] (119), [e-mail] (118),
[e-mail] (117), [e-mail] (116), [e-mail] (115),
[e-mail] (114), [e-mail] (113), [e-mail] (111),
[e-mail] (11), [e-mail] (109), [e-mail]
(107), [e-mail] (106), [e-mail] (105), [e-mail]
(102), [e-mail] (101), [e-mail] (100),
[e-mail] (10), [e-mail] (1),
[e-mail] (Kjell Arild Nilsen)


 >British Helsinki Human Rights Group
 >22 May 1999 BHHRG analysts
 >NATO targets Yugoslavia: Report of a visit to Belgrade,
 >10th-13th May, 1999
 >by The British Helsinki Human Rights Group
 >
 >While NATO's air campaign against Serbia continued into its second month
 >three members of the British Helsinki Human Rights Group with a French
 >colleague visited Belgrade. Understandably, perhaps, in a time of war
 >both parties to the conflict are accused of using propaganda. For
 >example, the UK news media regularly refers to Serbia as a dictatorship
 >which brooks no opposition; where there is no media freedom enabling
 >people to know what is really going on in the beleaguered province of
 >Kosovo and where people cower, hungry and frightened, at the mercy of
 >what British Defense Secretary, George Robertson, calls Milosevic's
 >"murder machine". It was to investigate these and other claims that the
 >BHHRG embarked upon its mission.ALLEGATIONS OF DICTATORSHIP
 >Members of the BHHRG monitored the parliamentary and presidential
 >elections held in Serbia in Autumn 1997. Their report, published on the
 >Group's web page, reached the following conclusions:
 >.. After serving two consecutive terms as president of Serbia Slobodan
 >Milosevic observed the Yugoslav Federation's constitution by not
 >altering (or ignoring) its provisions to seek a third term in office. He
 >next stood for election as president of Yugoslavia itself. Such respect
 >for constitutional propriety has not been observed by everyone in the
 >region: Slovenia's president, Milan Kucan, has served three terms in
 >office in spite of the country's constitutional requirement that the
 >state president should only be elected twice. In other post-communist
 >countries (Georgia, for example) the terms of the constitution have been
 >strained to allow the incumbent to continue holding office.
 >.. Although BHHRG observers found many shortcomings in the Serbian
 >election process these were no more serious than those observed in other
 >places - the Yugoslav republic of Montenegro, for example, which was
 >hailed as exemplary by other international monitoring groups. ...
 >.. Allegations have always been made that there is no media pluralism in
 >Serbia. Before the war there were several opposition newspapers as well
 >as radio and TV outlets. Numerous anti-Milosevic foreign-funded NGOs
 >also operated in the country. By May 1999 much of the opposition media
 >had been closed down. However, large numbers of people receive foreign
 >television programmes via cable and satellite and, contrary to the
 >received wisdom, are aware of the situation of the Kosovan Albanians.
 >Members of the BHHRG failed to detect signs of the sort of behaviour
 >associated with a classic dictatorship while in Belgrade. People openly
 >criticize Milosevic - but not for the war. Many say they never voted for
 >his party the SPS but while the country is under attack they must stand
 >together whatever their political persuasion. Some, like Vuk Draskovic,
 >[interviewed by the BHHRG] criticize the Kosovan Albanians for
 >boycotting elections and thus giving the SPS a free rein. The 40 or so
 >seats allocated to them in the Serb parliament might have been won by
 >the opposition which would have severely reduced - or eliminated - the
 >SPS's hold on power. He also pointed out that opposition politicians
 >favoured by the West, like Zoran Djindjic, had forfeited any further
 >chance of gaining public support
 >by leaving the country - Djindjic is in Montenegro with the West's other
 >favourite, President Milo Djukanovic. "He [Djindjic] will only be able
 >to come to power on the top of an American tank" says Draskovic who has
 >stayed in the country throughout the war.
 >Considering that a war is on, police presence in the city is minimal.
 >Even the police who asked to examine the BHHRG's cameras were courteous
 >and unthreatening. Ordinary people were friendly and keen to point out
 >that they did not blame ordinary British citizens for the bombs that
 >were falling on their country every day. In both Bulgaria and Romania
 >members of the Group were followed by local police; crossing the
 >Romanian border took three times as long as crossing into and out of
 >Serbia proper.
 WILL THE SERBS BEND? PUBLIC PERCEPTIONS
 >Nearly everyone we spoke to had endured some aspect of the bombing.
 >People talked about being thrown out of bed [after the bombing of the
 >Socialist Party headquarters, for example]; of the powerful winds that
 >blow through a building after a particularly heavy raid pulling the
 >person into a vortex and seemingly towards the epicentre of the attack.
 >Door and window frames break loose and the building shakes. One day
 >there was even an earthquake in Belgrade after an air raid on the city.
 >Marija S. a Belgrade housewife is typical. She lives in a small,
 >three-room apartment with her husband, two children, younger brother and
 >elderly parents. Her father has Alzheimer's disease but she had to move
 >him and her mother away from their home in the vicinity of some of the
 >heaviest bombing. Marija and her husband have not worked since before
 >the war and live on meagre savings. Pensions for elderly people are paid
 >late and not in full. Children all over Serbia have not been to school
 >for the past two months.
 >The worst time for the family was when the first graphite bombs were
 >used and the electricity failed. Not only power but also water pumping
 >facilities are affected when this occurs. Nevertheless, they are not
 >giving in nor do they expect the government to bend on their behalf.
 >Anyway, the authorities have become better organized than ever before
 >and the electricity problems are sorted out quite quickly andefficiently.
 >There is no shortage of food. Unlike many people in the West, Serbs do
 >not live on a diet of fast-food. The country's fields are properly
 >husbanded and fresh produce is widely available from peasant markets.
 >Cars and buses are running, no doubt fuelled by the large amount of
 >illegal petrol that is reaching the country.
 >The BHHRG also visited the Mufti of Belgrade who lives next to the
 >city's only mosque. Despite the fact that the war is (ostensibly) being
 >fought on behalf of Muslim Albanians the Mufti thinks it an attack on
 >all Muslims as well as Serbs: "We understand American politics from what
 >went on in Sudan, Afghanistan and Somalia. We understand now better than
 >before". Like many people he also attacked Clinton as an "immoralcowboy".
 ...
 >People are fully aware of what is happening in Kosovo but would argue
 >about the causes of the tragedy there. This means that they are
 >criticized by Western commentators for being heartless. However, the
 >remorseless nature of the bombing (sirens warning of an attack wail
 >twice a day) and the unpredictable way the bombs fall mean that people's
 >minds are, understandably, directed towards their own plight. Although
 >Serbs have often displayed a tendency to self-pity they have a case when
 >they point out that c.200,000 Serbs were expelled from the Krajina in
 >1995 without a similar outpouring of indignation. Bitterness about the
 >treatment of the Krajina Serbs often flares up. A hard-working
 >representative from the Yugoslav Red Cross pointed out that Kosovan
 >refugees in Montenegro were receiving aid to the value of 300DM per
 >month last year whereas neighbouring Krajina Serbs got c.30DM worth
 ofgoods.....
 >
 REPORT ON THE HUMANITARAIN SITUATION BY THE YUGOSLAV RED CROSS
 >On 8/5/99 the Yugoslav Red Cross reported that since the bombing started
 >on 24th March more than 700 civilians have been killed and 6400 have
 >been injured. Obviously, this does not take into account what has
 >happened since including the dreadful casualities that resulted from the
 >NATO bombing at Korisha on 13th May.
 >The largest number killed or wounded are from Aleksinac, Surdulica,
 >Dakovica-Prizren, Orahovac, Cacak, Grdelica gorge, Kragujevac, Koris,
 >Valjevo, Nis, Kragujevac and Belgrade. Many of the wounded will be
 >invalids for the rest of their lives. An inevitable consequence of the
 >bombing is that a large number of people have lost their homes. The
 >largest number of private apartments destroyed are in Aleksinac,
 >Surdulica, Nis, Novi Sad, Cacak, Cuprija, Prokuplje, Kursumlija,
 >Kraljevo and Belgrade
 >The destruction of factories and places of work has left 500,000 people
 >without jobs. If their families are included, this means that c.2m
 >people will be affected by this economic catastrophe for the
 forseeablefuture.
 >In Novi Sad more than 90,000 people are without running water as pipes
 >were destroyed when the bridges were bombed. Added to this are the
 >difficulties of transport and communication. The destruction of the
 >heating plant in Novi Belgrade will leave that part of the city without
 >heat in the winter if it cannot be repaired (or reconstructed) beforethen.
 >Hospitals have been hit and patients killed; health clinics are
 >destroyed in the bombing. The clinic in Aleksinac, for example, which
 >served over 60,000 people was wiped out. Disruption of electricity means
 >that high-tech. equipment (scanners etc.) in hospitals are unusable.
 >Medicines are in short supply.
 >Children gave not gone to school since the war began and many schools
 >have been bombed. Children are also among the victims some dying in
 >horrific circumstances.
 >500,000 live below the subsistence level, mostly pensioners. The Red
 >Cross fears that their means to operate soup kitchens will not stretch
 >to the numbers they fear will be in need of them, particularly when
 >winter comes. Pensions are paid late.
 >There are large numbers of internally displaced people both in Serbia
 >proper and Kosovo _ the Red Cross says there are c. 1.2m. Fear of
 >bombing has caused over one million people to relocate to the country or
 >to be with friends. Added to which are the existing 500,000 refugees
 >>from Krajina some of whom (11,500) went to Kosovo and have endured
 displacement
 >twice now. Within Kosovo itself the Red Cross estimates that 250,000 people
 are
 >internally displaced.
 >Yet, politicans and NATO spokesmen repeatedly deny that the war is
 >directed at civilians. The opposite is true: this is a war directed 7
 >rumours abounded that the KLA a shadowy organization with ties to
 >Albanian leftist groups in Switzerland and Germany was preparing to
 >launch an armed struggle. The US was rumoured to be promoting and
 >financing it from an early stage. Many, including the moderate Albanian
 >leader, Ibrahim Rugova, (and some Western journalists) speculated that
 >this was Milosevic-inspired disinformation. Others saw it as the natural
 >response to the Ghandi-esque policies of Rugova which had failed to
 >deliver full independence.
 >.. During 1998 the violence worsened. Policemen, Serb officials and even
 >Albanian "collaborators" were killed by KLA snipers and, according to
 >the UNHCR, 90 Serbian villages were ethnically cleansed in the course of
 >the year. Reprisals were taken against those considered to be members of
 >the organization. This involved the use of scorched earth tactics
 >whereby houses (in the case of Kosovo this often turned out to be large
 >compounds) were burned down to flush out the terrorists. However,
 >compared with Bosnia, where thousands were killed in a week during the
 >early part of the war in 1992 only 1700 Albanians (mainly fighters) 180
 >Serb policemen and 120 Serb soldiers were killed in Kosovo last year.
 >The regime in Belgrade has not been stupid: it knew that it was being
 >provoked into massive retaliation and refused to respond in the
 requiredmanner.
 >.. The killings in Kosovo were still the West's best hope of provoking
 >the fall of the Milosevic regime even though the conflict was of low
 >intensity compared with many other places in the world. By February the
 >parties gathered at the chateau of Rambouillet in France to discuss
 >peace. At the last moment, when it looked as though some agreement might
 >be reached the Americans handed the Serb delegation an annex to the
 >final document demanding freedom of movement (and much else) to NATO
 >troops and personnel not only in Kosovo but throughout the whole of
 >Yugoslavia. No sovereign state would have accepted such terms.
 >Naturally, they were rejected not just by Milosevic but by a vote in the
 >Serbian parliament. The scene was set for the air campaign to begin.
 >.. Perhaps the diplomatic players believed their own propaganda.
 >Christopher Hill, the US ambassador to Macedonia, was confident that
 >Milosevic would cave in before the first bombs fell despite being told
 >by well-informed Serbs that this was not going to happen. It is
 >unsurprising in these circumstances that the NATO allies were unprepared
 >for what followed.
 >With such confusion and a cavalier belief in the likelihood of Serb
 >capitulation at the last minute, NATO went to war. Despite attempts by
 >CNN among others to talk up the conflict by showing what purported to be
 >the large movement of refugees from Kosovo in the preceding months few
 >appeared to have moved out of the province before March 24th. There were
 >no camps before then. After the bombing began huge numbers of refugees
 >flooded out of the province. The rest is history.


 >THE SOUTH EAST EUROPEAN FEDERATION
 >The dissolution of Yugoslavia in 1991 displeased the West as did the
 >emergence of little nations with their motley collection of individual
 >ethnic minorities. Officials at the US Department of State began to
 >envisage a renewed federation - something more ambitious than the former
 >Yugoslavia because it would include countries like Romania, Albania and
 >Bulgaria. In fact, it would resemble something very similar to the
 >Stalin Dimitrov Plan scotched by Tito in 1948.
 >According to the idea's proponents, such a Federation would work more
 >effectively if it was composed of ethnically pure units. So, Bosnia
 >itself was destroyed as a multi-ethnic state and put together again as
 >an uneasy federation of ethnically-based groups. Croatia still has Serbs
 >in Eastern Slavonia but complaints about the treatment of this minority
 >persist - even if they have been put on the 'back-burner' while Croat
 >cooperation is sought in the Kosovo war. Anyway, Croatian nationalism
 >has been even less popular with the international community than the
 >Serb variety. Although the Milosevic regime was responsible for waging
 >war on these two countries during the early nineteen nineties the West
 >never tried convincingly to stop this happening.
 >Further south, multi-ethnic Macedonia weighed down by the influx of
 >ethnic Albanians into its territory is threatened with disintegration
 >and there are signs that the Macedonian minority in Bulgaria is flexing
 >its muscles. Watch for a possible change of borders there. Both Romania
 >and Albania have minorities that could secede from the centralauthorities.
 >The fomentors of such a policy need to deal with weak and pliable
 >states. This Serbia has failed to be. Although the Serbs will often
 >resort to elaborate historical myths and tiresome nationalistic rhetoric
 >they are less likely to be pushed around, as has been amply proved. In
 >fact, the West's bullying has actually toughened Belgrade's stance on
 >Kosovo. Whereas before 24th March 1999 many people would have abandoned
 >the province they now see it is as being inextricably tied up with their
 >own survival.
 >Of course, the US desire to reinvent the former Yugoslavia is also tied
 >to economic considerations including the ambition to control oil and gas
 >pipelines from Central Asia and the Caucasus region via the Black Sea.
 >Whether the Russians, who have been somewhat supine in the Kosovo
 >conflict, will also accept such acts of economic imperialism remains tobe
 seen.
 >
 REPERCUSSIONS
 >Hundreds of thousands of people have been rendered homeless and many
 >others maimed and killed as a result of the West's political
 >machinations and military blunders since 24th March 1999. NATO leaders'
 >pronouncements that this conflict is about human rights seems to be a
 >cruel and dishonest fig leaf put forward to hide strategic ambitions in
 >the Balkans.
 >Unhappily, the Hague War Crimes Tribunal is unlikely to be a forum for
 >objective justice, as presently composed. Far from promoting the rule of
 >law the Tribunal is controlled by NATO countries: the chief judge is
 >American, the chief prosecutor Canadian. Until NATO took sides in this
 >conflict this was not necessarily a flaw of the Tribunal but now its
 >impartiality must be questioned.
 >This means that no one from a NATO country is likely to face prosecution
 >for war crimes - such as alleged breaches of the Geneva Convention.
 >However, the words of Major-General Curtis LeMay who spearheaded the
 >bombing of Japan in World War 11, including the dropping of the first
 >atom bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki could be prophetic: "I wasn't
 >particularly worried about getting the job done. I suppose if I had lost
 >the war, I would have been tried as a war criminal". It remains to be
 >seen who will win this war and what the response of countries like China
 >will be to the.outcome.
 >Even if the conflict stops with a carefully crafted NATO 'victory' the
 >region will remain unstable with more wars - between Albanian and
 >Albanian, for example - possible. The followers of Ibrahim Rugova and
 >those of the KLA are already deeply distrustful of one another - the
 >former are alleged to control large sums of money collected as taxes
 >>from the Albanian diaspora over the past few years. The KLA, according to
 the
 >Wall Street Journal (20/5/99) would dearly like to gain access to these
 funds.
 >Either side could be joined by Albanians from Albania proper who support
 one
 >side or the other as well as different political formations in Albania
 itself.
 >And, far from having their hands burnt, it is also likely that the period
 of
 >reconstruction that will, inevitably, follow the conflict will offer
 Western
 >governments fresh opportunities for meddling in the internal politics of
 Serbia
 >and the rest of the Balkans. Large numbers of consultants, analysts and
 experts
 >will descend to 'rebuild' the country - and its neighbours. There will be
 rich
 >rewards for those who do what the donors want. A major sticking point for
 >Western politicians in the past has been Serbia's failure to enter into the
 >right kind of business deals; all these issues will be on the table again.
 >In other words, there is little optimism that much good will come out of
 >the tragic war over Kosovo. Other places have been watching events in
 >the Balkans with interest. For example, a Polish diplomat publicly
 >stated that neighbouring Belarus 'met all the conditions' for a similar
 >invasion by the West. And during the recent presidential campaign in
 >Slovakia, people have been told by state and private media that if they
 >vote for Vladimir Meciar the country will meet the same fate as
 >Yugoslavia. In the Caucasus region there is unease about the future of
 >disputed regions like Nagorno Karabakh.
 >The question is: will the United States and its allies have the stomach
 >for taking on any more adventures of this kind? If they do, the world
 >could face the nightmare predicted in George Orwell's 1984 with small,
 >low-grade wars going on all the time while people become dehumanized,
 >impoverished and ultimately reduced to meaninglessness. THE END
 > >>

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