************ Sebastian Lütgert ************ ************ To the Academic Community (fwd) ************ Fw: Official statement of the Student Union of Yugoslavia ************ Fw: Five Myths ************ NYT on Kosovo 12 years ago! ************ To the Academic Community (fwd) The Society of Professors and Researchers University of Belgrade To the Academic Community The crisis in south-eastern Europe which has been lasting for almost ten years, as well as the violent break-up of Yugoslavia, continue to take their bloody toll. Attempts in finding the solution of the extremely complex Serbian-Albanian question and the status of Kosovo and Metohija, started during the peace conferences in Rambouillet and Paris, were interrupted by mindless partiality and blackmail on the part of some international mediators. The mere thought that a problem which goes back at least several decades can be solved with bombs is irrational, while the assertion that the NATO intervention is aimed at preventing or ending the humanitarian catastrophe is deeply cynical. The initiation of that action, taken outside the bounds of the international law, is in total contradiction to the moralising rhetoric used for justifying it. The peace of a wide area of south-eastern Europe has been put in jeopardy, while possible consequences may affect the entire world. A systematic destruction all over Yugoslavia makes every sensible solution more difficult to achieve: quite contrary to the claim that only military targets have been hit, a great number of civilian targets have been affected too: apartment buildings, non-military factories and bridges, with a serious threat of further damage to medical establishments, historical and artistic monuments and schools. Above all, violence which has been unleashed on all sides, brings more suffering to an ever-growing number of human victims, including the Kosovo refugees who are pouring into neighbouring countries as well as into northern Serbia. In such circumstances, favourable conditions for a peaceful settlement are rapidly diminishing. That is why we are making this appeal to all members of the Academic Community, in Yugoslavia and abroad, to use all means available to them in bringing about an immediate cessation of the NATO bombing of Yugoslavia, an end of all military actions in Kosovo and an urgent re-start of political discussions. Members of The Society of Professors and Researchers University of Belgrade Belgrade, April 3, 1999. ************ Fw: Official statement of the Student Union of Yugoslavia -----Original Message----- From: Stevan Koprivica Date: Wednesday, 07. April 1999 08:41 Official statement of the Student Union of Yugoslavia STOP THE BOMBS! Peace does not fall from the sky especially not clad in metal and filled with explosives. The aggression of NATO forces on a sovereign country in the middle of Europe is not only illegal, since it was not approved by UN or the OESE, it is a violation of all human rights. This is an act contrary to all internationally accepted documents, such as the UN Charter, and is a direct disrespect of international law. It is a dangerous and frightening precedent: if the air strikes do not stop immediately it will be clear that World's strongest armed force has no intention of ever respecting international law. Should the UN fail to restrain NATO from further aggression the only law left standing will be a law of brutal force. The only way to reach an agreement satisfactory to all sides is through negotiations - and it is impossible to talk under shelling: the noise is too loud and the voice of reason cannot be heard. Violence has always bread further violence. It only leads to deeper conflict provoking hatred and xenophobia, and not towards a sensible solution. Should this continue, Serbia will be pushed further into isolation, making it hard for people here to believe in honesty or in any other noble intentions coming from abroad. The ones who have started the war remain unhurt. The destruction they have caused affects the ones that didn't want war in the first place. It is the innocent who suffer the most: a stray missile kills civilians, regardless of their age, sex or nationality; homes are destroyed and the ones that survive find themselves facing utter poverty. We call upon those who are in good faith, whose heads are clear and cold, and who truly desire peace: please do everything in your power to calm the trigger-happy warlords. People with common sense use far more civilised ways to solve their problems. A fair solution can only be reached using peaceful methods in an atmosphere of tolerance and with respect for all human rights. No one else has to die. Stop this madness before it grows into a war nobody will be able to control. The Student Union of Yugoslavia was initiated in February 1992 and it is the largest student organisation in Yugoslavia. SUYU is an umbrella type organisation connecting fifteen local student unions from four university centres in Serbia and a few student organisations in Montenegro. The policy of SUS is based on syndic activities and covers a wide range of social issues in Yugoslavia such as: human rights and anti-war campaigns, the environment and sustainable development, culture and entertainment. SUYU members have taken part in many actions supporting democratic reforms in Yugoslavia such as: initiating the Student Protest 1996/97, the Antiwar Campaign, OTPOR!, protests against repressive laws on the University and information, etc. The aims of SUYU are improvement of student standard and protection of student rights in Yugoslavia and pursuit of general reforms in Yugoslavia towards a democratic society. ************ Fw: Five Myths There are some good points in the following text... -----Original Message----- From: tmilosevic@perle.com by way of Stevan Koprivica Date: Wednesday, 07. April 1999 08:40 The US/NATO War in Yugoslavia: Five Myths Myth #1. U.S./NATO had to attack "the Serbs" because the Yugoslav government and President Slobodan Milosevic refused to negotiate on Kosovo, a region of Yugoslavia where ethnic Albanians are the majority. Reality: U.S./NATO bombs are falling on all Yugoslavs: Serbians, Montenegrins, Albanians, Hungarians, Romanis and other peoples who make up the multiethnic Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. There were no "negotiations." U.S. officials like Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, went out of their way to make this point when "peace talks" were held in France in February. Instead, there was an ultimatum presented by the U.S. government to the Yugoslav government that had three points: 1) Kosovo must be granted autonomy; 2) NATO must be allowed to station 30,000 ground troops in Yugoslavia to ensure this autonomy; and 3) A NATO-conducted referendum for Kosovo's independence from Yugoslavia would take place within three years. The Yugoslav government agreed to the first condition, and rejected the second and third, saying they were a gross violation of their sovereignty and the independence of their country. Myth #2. Yugoslavia is the aggressor in this conflict and Milosevic is a "new Hitler." Reality: No Yugoslav soldiers, planes or ships are attacking another country. The conflict in Kosovo is an internal issue. A developing country of 10 million people, Yugoslavia is being attacked by 19 countries, including the biggest military powers in the world, which have a combined population of more than half a billion people. Milosevic has been demonized much like Saddam Hussein is. As a State Department official said, "the demonization of Milosevic is necessary to maintain the air attacks." (S.F. Chronicle, Mar. 30, 1999) Myth #3. Clinton, Albright and the Pentagon generals were moved to action by their concerns about "ethnic cleansing" and human suffering. Reality: The U.S., Germany and other NATO powers played a key role in breaking up Yugoslavia in 1991-92, arming and supporting secessionist movements. For 45 years after World War II, the many nationalities that made up Yugoslavia lived together in peace. In the civil wars, which followed the break-up of Yugoslavia, there was much bloodshed and human rights violations on all sides. The biggest single act of "ethnic cleansing" was the forced removal of 600,000 Serbs from the Krajina region of Croatia (a former Yugoslav republic) by the U.S.-trained and armed Croatian military in 1995. More than 55,000 of these Serbs, who were resettled in Kosovo, are among the hundreds of thousands of people made refugees by NATO bombing and the conflict in Kosovo. (Julia Taft, Asst. Secretary of State on C-SPAN, 3-29-99) The U.S. "concern" about removal of people from their homeland is very selective. This is not surprising: Virtually the entire continent of North America was "ethnically cleansed" of Native people to make way for the U.S. and Canada, two of the NATO powers. U.S. policy has supported, with arms and money, the removal of Kurdish people in Turkey, Palestinians, East Timorese, Guatemalan indigenous people -- and the list goes on. Myth #4. The U.S./NATO goal is to protect the rights of the predominantly Muslim Albanians in Kosovo. Reality: U.S. officials pretend to care about the rights of Muslim people in Yugoslavia, while their policy of sanctions and war kills 300 Iraqis every day -- half children under 5 years old. Most Iraqis are Muslims. The Pentagon is not a humanitarian relief agency and the corporate-owned politicians don't really care about any people -- Albanians, Serbs, Kurds, Iraqis, or the poor and working people of this country. This war is killing people of all nationalities in Yugoslavia, and poisoning their land with radioactive depleted uranium (DU) weapons. Hundreds of thousands of Iraqis, U.S. veterans and their families are suffering from Gulf War Syndrome as a result of depleted uranium poisoning. The Clinton administration and the Pentagon talk about "supporting our troops" before they go into battle, but then deny medical benefits to veterans who suffer from the after-effects of Agent Orange from Vietnam or DU from Iraq. This war will cost many billions of dollars, money stolen from housing, health care, education and other social programs. Each cruise missile costs $1 million. The only ones who will benefit from this war will be the military-industrial complex and big business. The real U.S./NATO goal is to break Yugoslavia into ever-smaller pieces and bomb its people into submission. The Balkans is a strategic region, a crossroads between Western Europe and the oil-rich Middle East and Caspian Basin. The U.S. has established, in only 5 years, military domination of the former Yugoslav republics of Croatia, Bosnia and Macedonia, as well as Hungary and Albania. The only hold-out has been what is today the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. This is the real reason why Yugoslavia has become the target in the Balkans, just as it is the real reason that Iraq has become the target in the Persian/Arabian Gulf region. Myth #5. U.S. news reports are balanced and impartial, giving us the true story. Reality: What we see today is a gross distortion of the facts. The media is dominated by big business interests, and functions as a Pentagon propaganda machine. For political purposes, the suffering of only one group, the refugees leaving Kosovo, is shown, while the other Yugoslav victims of the NATO bombing are virtually ignored. The New York Times, CNN, ABC, CBS, NBC, The Chronicle Examiner, and others have given a very slanted view of events in Yugoslavia, to justify the massive bombing. General Electric, one of the country's largest military contractors which supplies engines for NATO jet fighters, owns NBC and co-owns MS/NBC. (Document link not converted) ************ NYT on Kosovo 12 years ago! I found The New York Times article about Kosovo, written 12 years ago! During SFRY, before Milosevic had any real power in Serbia! VERY, VERY INTERESTING! Greetings, Slobodan Markovic | http://solair.eunet.yu/~twiddle Internodium Project | http://www.internodium.org.yu ============================================================================ The New York Times November 1, 1987, Sunday, Late City Final Edition Section 1; Part 1, Page 14, Column 1; "In Yugoslavia, Rising Ethnic Strife Brings Fears of Worse Civil Conflict" By DAVID BINDER, Special to the New York Times BELGRADE, Yugoslavia Portions of southern Yugoslavia have reached such a state of ethnic friction that Yugoslavs have begun to talk of the horrifying possibility of ''civil war'' in a land that lost one-tenth of its population, or 1.7 million people, in World War II. The current hostilities pit separatist-minded ethnic Albanians against the various Slavic populations of Yugoslavia and occur at all levels of society, from the highest officials to the humblest peasants. A young Army conscript of ethnic Albanian origin shot up his barracks, killing four sleeping Slavic bunkmates and wounding six others. The army says it has uncovered hundreds of subversive ethnic Albanian cells in its ranks. Some arsenals have been raided. Vicious Insults Ethnic Albanians in the Government have manipulated public funds and regulations to take over land belonging to Serbs. And politicians have exchanged vicious insults. Slavic Orthodox churches have been attacked, and flags have been torn down. Wells have been poisoned and crops burned. Slavic boys have been knifed, and some young ethnic Albanians have been told by their elders to rape Serbian girls. Ethnic Albanians comprise the fastest growing nationality in Yugoslavia and are expected soon to become its third largest, after the Serbs and Croats. Radicals' Goals The goal of the radical nationalists among them, one said in an interview, is an ''ethnic Albania that includes western Macedonia, southern Montenegro, part of southern Serbia, Kosovo and Albania itself.'' That includes large chunks of the republics that make up the southern half of Yugoslavia. Other ethnic Albanian separatists admit to a vision of a greater Albania governed from Pristina in southern Yugoslavia rather than Tirana, the capital of neighboring Albania. There is no evidence that the hard-line Communist Government in Tirana is giving them material assistance. The principal battleground is the region called Kosovo, a high plateau ringed by mountains that is somewhat smaller than New Jersey. Ethnic Albanians there make up 85 percent of the population of 1.7 million. The rest are Serbians and Montenegrins. Worst Strife in Years As Slavs flee the protracted violence, Kosovo is becoming what ethnic Albanian nationalists have been demanding for years, and especially strongly since the bloody rioting by ethnic Albanians in Pristina in 1981 - an ''ethnically pure'' Albanian region, a ''Republic of Kosovo' ' in all but name. The violence, a journalist in Kosovo said, is escalating to ''the worst in the last seven years.'' Many Yugoslavs blame the troubles on the ethnic Albanians, but the matter is more complex in a country with as many nationalities and religions as Yugoslavia's and involves economic development, law, politics, families and flags. As recently as 20 years ago, the Slavic majority treated ethnic Albanians as inferiors to be employed as hewers of wood and carriers of heating coal. The ethnic Albanians, who now number 2 million, were officially deemed a minority, not a constituent nationality, as they are today. Were the ethnic tensions restricted to Kosovo, Yugoslavia's problems with its Albanian nationals might be more manageable. But some Yugoslavs and some ethnic Albanians believe the struggle has spread far beyond Kosovo. Macedonia, a republic to the south with a population of 1.8 million, has a restive ethnic Albanian minority of 350,000. ''We've already lost western Macedonia to the Albanians,'' said a member of the Yugoslav party presidium, explaining that the ethnic minority had driven the Slavic Macedonians out of the region. Attacks on Slavs Last summer, the authorities in Kosovo said they documented 40 ethnic Albanian attacks on Slavs in two months. In the last two years, 320 ethnic Albanians have been sentenced for political crimes, nearly half of them characterized as severe. In one incident, Fadil Hoxha, once the leading politician of ethnic Albanian origin in Yugoslavia, joked at an official dinner in Prizren last year that Serbian women should be used to satisfy potential ethnic Albanian rapists. After his quip was reported this October, Serbian women in Kosovo protested, and Mr. Hoxha was dismissed from the Communist Party. As a precaution, the central authorities dispatched 380 riot police officers to the Kosovo region for the first time in four years. Officials in Belgrade view the ethnic Albanian challenge as imperiling the foundations of the multinational experiment called federal Yugoslavia, which consists of six republics and two provinces. 'Lebanonizing' of Yugoslavia High-ranking officials have spoken of the ''Lebanonizing'' of their country and have compared its troubles to the strife in Northern Ireland. Borislav Jovic, a member of the Serbian party's presidency, spoke in an interview of the prospect of ''two Albanias, one north and one south, like divided Germany or Korea,'' and of ''practically the breakup of Yugoslavia.'' He added: ''Time is working against us.'' The federal Secretary for National Defense, Fleet Adm. Branko Mamula, told the army's party organization in September of efforts by ethnic Albanians to subvert the armed forces. ''Between 1981 and 1987 a total of 216 illegal organizations with 1,435 members of Albanian nationality were discovered in the Yugoslav People's Army,'' he said. Admiral Mamula said ethnic Albanian subversives had been preparing for ''killing officers and soldiers, poisoning food and water, sabotage, breaking into weapons arsenals and stealing arms and ammunition, desertion and causing flagrant nationalist incidents in army units.'' Concerns Over Military Coming three weeks after the ethnic Albanian draftee, Aziz Kelmendi, had slaughtered his Slavic comrades in the barracks at Paracin, the speech struck fear in thousands of families whose sons were about to start their mandatory year of military service. Because the Albanians have had a relatively high birth rate, one-quarter of the army's 200,000 conscripts this year are ethnic Albanians. Admiral Mamula suggested that 3,792 were potential human timebombs. He said the army had ''not been provided with details relevant for assessing their behavior.'' But a number of Belgrade politicians said they doubted the Yugoslav armed forces would be used to intervene in Kosovo as they were to quell violent rioting in 1981 in Pristina. They reason that the army leadership is extremely reluctant to become involved in what is, in the first place, a political issue. Ethnic Albanians already control almost every phase of life in the autonomous province of Kosovo, including the police, judiciary, civil service, schools and factories. Non-Albanian visitors almost immediately feel the independence - and suspicion - of the ethnic Albanian authorities. Region's Slavs Lack Strength While 200,000 Serbs and Montenegrins still live in the province, they are scattered and lack cohesion. In the last seven years, 20,000 of them have fled the province, often leaving behind farmsteads and houses, for the safety of the Slavic north. Until September, the majority of the Serbian Communist Party leadership pursued a policy of seeking compromise with the Kosovo party hierarchy under its ethnic Albanian leader, Azem Vlasi. But during a 30-hour session of the Serbian central committee in late September, the Serbian party secretary, Slobodan Milosevic, deposed Dragisa Pavlovic, as head of Belgrade's party organization, the country's largest. Mr. Milosevic accused Mr. Pavlovic of being an appeaser who was soft on Albanian radicals. Mr. Milosevic had courted the Serbian backlash vote with speeches in Kosovo itself calling for ''the policy of the hard hand.'' ''We will go up against anti-Socialist forces, even if they call us Stalinists,'' Mr. Milosevic declared recently. That a Yugoslav politician would invite someone to call him a Stalinist even four decades after Tito's epochal break with Stalin, is a measure of the state into which Serbian politics have fallen. For the moment, Mr. Milosevic and his supporters appear to be staking their careers on a strategy of confrontation with the Kosovo ethnic Albanians. Other Yugoslav politicians have expressed alarm. ''There is no doubt Kosovo is a problem of the whole country, a powder keg on which we all sit,'' said Milan Kucan, head of the Slovenian Communist Party. Remzi Koljgeci, of the Kosovo party leadership, said in an interview in Pristina that ''relations are cold'' between the ethnic Albanians and Serbs of the province, that there were too many ''people without hope.'' But many of those interviewed agreed it was also a rare opportunity for Yugoslavia to take radical political and economic steps, as Tito did when he broke with the Soviet bloc in 1948. Efforts are under way to strengthen central authority through amendments to the constitution. The League of Communists is planning an extraordinary party congress before March to address the country's grave problems. The hope is that something will be done then to exert the rule of law in Kosovo while drawing ethnic Albanians back into Yugoslavia's mainstream. --- # distributed via nettime-l : no commercial use without permission # is a closed moderated mailinglist for net criticism, # collaborative text filtering and cultural politics of the nets # more info: majordomo@desk.nl and "info nettime-l" in the msg body # URL: http://www.desk.nl/~nettime/ contact: nettime-owner@desk.nl ******************************************************************************** ROLUX h0444wol@rz.hu-berlin.de http://www2.hu-berlin.de/~h0444wol/rolux/