Byzantine Blog

Lying with Impunity: CNN Can't Resist Fabricating Informations

Under the title "CNN Opens a Subway in Belgrade" Serbian RTS reported that the most viewed American news television yesterday broadcast the footage of July 30 unrests which interrupted the Belgrade rally, generously stuffing it with chunks from much more violent demonstrations which took place a year ago in Budapest, Hungary.

Serbian TV commented that the impressive amount of attention Atlanta-based broadcast giant has paid to Belgrade unrest was hampered by the fact the editors didn't have enough of sufficiently explosive visual material which would justify CNN's enormous interest in Serbian demonstrations, so they once again resorted to their favorite Hollywood trick Serbs were thoroughly familiarized with since the CNN "coverage" of the 1990s civil wars in former Yugoslavia, montaging and pasting together the sequences from Budapest and Belgrade protests, and showed them as the latest Belgrade demonstrations, under the typical creepy title -- "Serb ultranationalists rally".

That is how Belgrade had been awarded the Budapest subway -- actually, just the entrance to its Andrash station when it was set on fire by the Hungarian protesters, while Serbian police was given water cannons of their Hungarian colleagues.

The CNN web page where the video clip was made available to internet viewers has in the meantime been removed. The fabricated CNN footage of Belgrade protests, along with Budapest inferno, Hungarian flags, Hungarian policemen, anti-riot water cannons and Hungarian demonstrators, is still available on YouTube, but probably not for long. A supreme trickster can't really be expected to allow a serious insight into his craft, constantly polished and perfected over the years, and repeatedly employed to brainwash the public and destroy every enemy-of-the-day, one after another.

Posted by BBlog Staff at 12:57 AM | Permalink | Comments (5)

Serbophobia as a Policy

July 30, 2008 Statement of the Serbian Association of Writers, signed by its President of the Board for Defense of Freedom and Rights, Predrag R. Dralic Kijuk

Even though the Hague tribunal issued exonerating verdicts to Naser Oric and Ramush Haradinaj, rewarding them for the crimes against the Serbs, Belgrade government has continued the humiliating cooperation with this ad hoc American court and deported Radovan Karadzic to Hague on July 30, at 3:45 a.m.

Serbian Government, a Defender of American National Interests Outside the U.S.

Democratic Gestapo kidnapped Radovan Karadzic on Friday, July 18 2008, and officially handed him over to the Council for National Security of the Republic of Serbia on July 21. On the occasion of the assault, a laptop with 50 discs with documents upon which Karadzic bases defense he has been preparing for years, was confiscated. However, the Special Court has done nothing to have the confiscated things returned to Radovan Karadzic, to allow fulfilling of his right to defense.

Against Karadzic, the first president of Republic of Srpska (and Ratko Mladic, the war-time Commander in Chief of the Republic of Srpska Army), tribunal has issued indictment for an allegedly committed "genocide", on July 25 1995, ever since he was in hiding. Up to his deportation to Hague, Karadzic was placed in the custodial unit of the Special Court in Belgrade, a court which stubbornly marginalizes the right to justice to Serbian victims.

By arresting Radovan Karadzic, Serbian government has not only demonstrated its unconditional and constant cooperativeness (in accordance with the Law on Cooperation with ICTY and in discord with all the other laws), but also its zeal in fulfilling American national interests outside of the US. Karadzic was not only sought by the tribunal but, in line with NATO-Pentagon conquistas, he has been convicted in absentia in Untied States and ordered to pay 4,5 billion dollars "to the Bosnia-Herzegovina victims of war"! That is one more reason for the former U.S. president's special envoy for Balkans Richard Holbrook to be the first to rear his head regarding the arrest, hailing Serbian government's "success" [...]

Hollywood Indictment as a Cover-Up for American War Crimes

White House has stated that Karadzic arrest had demonstrated Serbia is "honoring its promises", while charging the former RS president of failing to prevent "rapes of thousands of Muslim women in detainment camps and the setting up of concentration camps in Bosnia" (?!). How convincing this Hollywood indictment really is, is best proven by Alija Izetbegovic in person, in his confession to Bernard Kouchner, when he admitted that the story about the rape and concentration camps was a marketing trick, to win over the international public (B. Kouchner, Les guerriers de la paix).

Clearly, the American nationalist and populist politics exploits every opportunity to cover up the portions of its own infamous WW2 history. American soldiers in Europe have committed 17,080 rapes by the end of 1945, with the youngest of their victims being only three years old (Robert Lilly "Taken by Force: Rape and American Soldiers in the European Theater of Operations during in the World War II – England, France, Germany 1942-1945). Their experience in setting up the concentration camps Americans have demonstrated in 1942, when they interned 120,000 of their own citizens of Japanese origin. Survivors have received an apology from the US Congress only in 1988, while President Bush had sent them a paycheck in the amount of $20,000 in 1992.

Serbs Owe You Nothing

It is obvious that only those who suffer from political dilettantism and moral sloth can keep on fulfilling the demands by the American -- anti-humanist, racist and anti-Christian -- political administration. Culprits of the programmed destruction of Yugoslavia, of the war in Bosnia "which was American war in every sense" (Sir Alfred Sherman), of the third genocide against the Serbs in 20th century, of satanization, aggression and bombardment of Serbs by the prohibited uranium projectiles in 1995 and 1999, and the perpetrators of retroactive imposition of the Hitler 1938 pact, amputating Kosovo and Metohija to Serbs in 2008 -- United States have in no way indebted the Serbian government to defend American national interests.

Board for Defense of Freedom and Rights will, in the name of civilizational principles, continue to spread the truth about the world's only court against justice, the American tribunal in Hague, as it will also ascribe all of the decisions coming from the perverted activities of this judicial abomination (45 Serbs have thus far been convicted to 718 years of imprisonment) to the criminal responsibility of the European Union and United States of America.

Recommended: Karadzic and the Anti-Serbs, by Ron Fraser: "A pervasive anti-Serb bias guarantees that the trial of Radovan Karadzic will be at least as unjust as was the sham trial of Slobodan Milosevic" (TheTrumpet.com)

Posted by BBlog Staff at 06:14 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Kostunica: US, EU and Tycoons are Serbia's Supra-Party

In the midst of continuing daily protests against the shameful arrest and ahead of Tuesday's big rally of support for Dr. Radovan Karadzic, organized by the Serbian Radical Party, Serbian Patriotic Movements "Obraz" and "1389", and supported by the Serbian opposition (Vojislav Kostunica's DSS and Velimir Ilic's NS), Glas Javnosti talked to former Serbian premier about the arrest of Bosnian Serb republic's first president and the treacherous new government. The following are translated excerpts.

Q: Regarding Karadzic's arrest, Ollie Rehn had said out loud what most in Brussels and Washington think: Here are the results, as soon as the Serbs get pushed. Being that the Republic of Srpska [RS] president was arrested only a day after the Cvetkovic government was formed, and being that there are indications foreign secret services have located Karadzic a month or two earlier, during the mandate of your government, can this mean You and Your government knew Karadzic was in Belgrade, but were "uncooperative"?

VK: I believe we should seriously consider the significance of the most influential Western states telling us Serbia does what's required under pressure. At the same time, the Hague court has determined that the war criminals Ramush Haradinaj and Naser Oric are innocent, which in fact means that killing of Serbs is nonpunishable. After the exonerating verdict to Haradinaj, I proposed that Serbian government opens the question of the further legitimacy of the Hague tribunal. We had more than enough arguments as a state to say: we respect the international law, but we now have to determine whether the release of Haradinaj and Oric belongs to the category of respect for law and the basic justice, or if this represents the new crime against the innocent victims.

Serbia cannot be required to send Serbs to the Hague at the moment the Hague is declaring innocence of those who have indisputably committed war crimes against the Serbs. Obviously, there can't be talks about respect for the international law here, this is the blunt diktat. Simply put, the state of Serbia must also have its own rights when it comes to fulfilling the international obligations towards the Hague tribunal.

Serbia's New Government, an Impotent, Cowardly Western Puppet

Q: Was there a deeper meaning to your warning that Karadzic's arrest represents "a major success and progress at the time the EU and US are exerting the strong pressure on Serbia to recognize Kosovo independence"?

VK: Serbia had missed a big opportunity to open a serious dialog with the EU after February 17 and the unilateral declaration of Kosovo independence under the US and EU sponsorship, followed by the recognition of this creation by the most important Western states. This includes the issue of cooperation with the Hague tribunal, on which our future depends. Due to that unpreparedness to openly discuss the grave problems in the Serbia-EU relations, I have decided to stage elections.This is without even mentioning the fact that the former partners in the government have rejected our initiative to bring charges before the International Court of Justice against the states which have recognized independent Kosovo. All this points to the conclusion that Serbia today does not have an independent politics, but is only attempting to fulfill the never-ending demands coming from Brussels and Washington. And then the Western praises can be heard, garnished with cynical comments that Serbia understands only pressure.

Q: Because of release of Oric and Haradinaj, You have requested that Serbia initiates a discussion about whether the Hague has any judicial legitimacy left. Keeping in mind the self-satisfaction of the rulers in Belgrade, will Serbia ever ask for such thing? Or will it sooner happen that process against Karadzic gets turned into the trial against Republic of Srpska?

VK: Current government has no courage to invoke the question of the Hague tribunal legitimacy. It has no strength to make even the much smaller steps which would in the least irritate the interests of the world power centers. There are possibly many parties interested in trying to turn the process against Karadzic into a trial against Republic of Srpska. I hope they will not succeed and that the Hague tribunal, apart from having specialized in politicizing the trials, doesn't have a single legal basis for the trial against Republic of Srpska.

The Bills will Keep Coming...

Q: Possibly the key role in the past elections was played by the three informal, unregistered "supra-parties" -- United States, EU and domestic tycoons -- much more powerful and with bigger funds than all the political parties which formally took part in the elections. In what way has their participation deformed the political-electoral playing field and the political will of at least part of the voters? To which extent has this predetermined the winners and losers?

VK: There is no doubt that United States, EU and tycoons have most directly interfered in the last elections and that these three supra-parties acted as a coalition. Judging by the composition of the government, it is not difficult to realize this coalition of supra-parties has been helping wholeheartedly in the creation of the ruling coalition. Of course, no one has any illusions that US, EU and tycoons have been supporting the creation of exactly this kind of ruling coalition out of the humanitarian concerns -- they will keep issuing their bills for as long as this government exists. It is not easy to surmise all the consequences of such direct meddling of foreigners and tycoons in these elections.

Dacic's SPS Greedy, Corrupt and Unreliable Partner

Q: Ivica Dacic acts as if he was getting much less power and ministries from the DSS and SRS, than from the coalition around Boris Tadic. What were You offering him and was that indeed less? There is an impression that Tadic would have offered even a premiership to Dacic, if he didn't have the LDP, PUPS, Muslim and JS MPs in reserve, only in order to form the government at any cost. Since this was obvious at the time Dacic feigned the negotiations with You and Nikolic, why didn't You respond by mirroring the "government at any cost" drive?

VK: I took part in forming few of the federal and republic governments after the October 5 [2000] and it never happened that the government negotiations are not finalized because someone wasn't pleased with the number of positions. There was a simple rule: if the political parties have sat at the table to negotiate about forming the government, then the political decision was made beforehand, to form the government with the parties with which they have entered negotiations. It has never happened that someone left the table to form the government with the new partner. Because, the key to forming the government is not the number of positions, but the political decision to form the government with particular party.

So, this is the first time we have seen, after these elections, how one political group can at the same time form the government with everyone. Since that is how things are, it is really better we did not form the national government, because the national government is only formed with the reliable partners.

Q: Some are convinced that Dacic sealed the deal with Tadic way back, at the time he was negotiating the "five principles of the nationally responsible government" with You and Nikolic. Do You have some information about this?

VK: I can confirm that we and SRS responsibly approached the attempts to form the national government which would best serve Serbia's interests. Everything that went on with the others is less important today, being that they have joined a different kind of coalition.

Cvetkovic-Dacek Government's Only Quality is Obedience

Q: Your party is continually warning that Cvetkovic government will diminish Serbia's chances to preserve Kosovo and Metohija. Why? Are You worried about the fate of Vojvodina and Raska region?

VK: The first characteristic of the new government is its obedience to the foreign powers and, at the same time, the arrogance with hints of repression on domestic political scene. Such politics will deepen the internal crisis, while failing to secure any significant gains for Serbia on the foreign affairs' plane. What we are hearing from the Western states today, the way they are addressing the new government, along the lines: you are good, but give us more and more -- that will be the rhyme which will follow this government all along -- the government that has no independent policy of its own. Time ahead of us will show Serbia needs a lot of political wisdom and the firm political will to preserve its territorial integrity and the independence in reaching strategic decisions regarding development of the country. And the current government has none of the above.

Recommended: Who’s dressing up Karadzic?, by Mick Hume: "The former Bosnian Serb war leader has been painted as a Hitlerian monster to try to boost the moral authority of the West [...] When a participant in a war is singled out to be accused of war crimes, it is generally a safe bet that it will be one of Them rather than Us – the barbarians of the developing world rather than the gentlemen of the West. When Arkan, the most notorious Serb militia leader, was wanted by the international war crimes tribunal, he said he would appear there after the American government: ‘First let them call in to the Hague Tribunal those who destroyed Hiroshima and Nagasaki, those who killed civilians in those two towns, who attacked Panama and Grenada – and after them, me.’ It was hard to dispute that he had a point." (SpikedOnline); The post-Karadzic world, by Ian Bancroft: "Lord Ashdown's scaremongering about Bosnia and Herzegovina's future misses the real reasons for the state's fragility" (Guardian.co.uk)

Posted by BBlog Staff at 06:11 PM | Permalink | Comments (23)

Dr. Karadzic Gets Fully Armed and Prepared to Face the Legion

After the strict eight-day fast, Dr. Radovan Karadzic has asked for the Metropolitan of the Serbian Orthodox Church Amfilohije to hear his confession and give him the Holy Communion in the custodial unit in the Special Court building. His request was honored on Saturday, on the Feast of Holy Mother of God Troyeruchica, when Dr. Karadzic received the Holy Eucharist by the hand of His Grace Amfilohije, assisted by Deacon Stevan Rapajic.

As reported on the web site of the Serbian Orthodox Church, Radovan Karadzic has been practicing the Prayer of the Heart (Jesus Prayer) for the past thirty years -- a traditional Hesychastic practice on which he had "based both his private life and his medical profession".

According to the brief news by the Serbian Orthodox Church, Dr. Karadzic "radiates optimism and the unwavering faith in God's and human justice".

Posted by BBlog Staff at 05:07 PM | Permalink

Boris Tadic Ousted from the Piva Family as a Disgraceful Traitor

Members of the Piva family clan in Montenegro from which Serbian President Boris Tadic descends, have decided to oust Tadic from their family, after he had dishonored them with the shameful act of treachery.

"The utter shame Boris Tadic had brought upon us with the arrest of Radovan Karadzic, our Drobnjak neighbor from Penjica [Dr. Karadzic's family roots are also in Montenegro], cannot be justified in any way. We can't forgive such disgrace," said members of the Piva family clan, who had signed the initiative for ousting the current Serbian president from their family.

Georgy Tadic, Boris Tadic's cousin, is also among the signatories, along with the members of the family clans of Kecojevic, Dubljevic and Vasovic.

"This is the first time in history one of Piva decedents had sold a Serb from Drobnjak. As much as five million dollars may seem like a large sum of money, we were able to resist countless challenges through the history when it comes to honor, tradition, face and dignity of our families. Unfortunately, Boris Tadic had fallen in this one simple matter -- something he shouldn't have allowed to himself first and foremost. We shall protect the honor of our families' community in this way," Pivljani said.

They added Tadic's behavior was suspicious for quite a while and they kept quiet in regards to his habit to circumvent Piva every time he visits Montengro, while always meeting "those who have dispossessed us and pushed us to the margin, by turning his Serbian nation in Montenegro into second class citizens."

"After the treachery and the announced handover [transfer of Dr. Karadzic to the Hague], Boris Tadic's behavior had become completely clear. He can no longer be the member of our families' community," Piva family members said.

Posted by BBlog Staff at 10:14 PM | Permalink | Comments (6)

Uncle Sam and John Bull Love to Stoke Fires (Away from Home)

The ongoing spitting contest, led by the UK and US mainstream media and the Western political apparatchiks, competing who is going to spew more vitriol and throw more napalm over the still-smoldering ruins, while issuing the most damning verdicts to yet-to-be-tried President of Republic of Srpska Dr. Radovan Karadzic, is yielding quick results: old hatreds are fully resurrected and Bosnia-Herzegovina is rapidly sliding back to the 1990s, when Western mainstream talking heads' chorus played exactly the same vile role, inflaming, exasperating and prolonging the carnage in the Balkans.

Bosnian Muslim leaders have once again eagerly jumped on the Western tsunami of malice, to announce that "this is only the beginning" (another one), and to demand the abolition of the Serb republic in Bosnia-Herzegovina, being that Uncle Sam and John Bull keep assuring them Bosnian Serbs deserve to be exterminated -- a threat most certain to push the region closer to another round of bloodshed.

Sarajevo's Victim-Based Politics

Republic of Srpska Premier Milorad Dodik is well aware of the flammable muck poured around him. In the interview given to Belgrade daily Politika, he noted the worrisome escalation of the war rhetorics, bullying and overt attacks against the Serb republic after the arrest of Republic of Srpska first president.

"The main pillar on which the Bosnian Muslim policy rests is to create an impression in the world that Bosnian Muslims were the only victims of Bosnia-Herzegovina war. And once you get the halo of a victim, you then have the right to everything: you have the right to revenge, to make mistakes, the right to hate, to demand whatever pops into your head... While it is non-disputable that many Bosnian Muslims lost their lives in the war, there were also victims among the Croats, and a great number of Serbs were also killed. So, it is impossible to make a victim out of one nation alone, because that is simply not true. The Serbs and Croats [in Bosnia] were not killed by the humanitarian organizations, but by the exponents of the Bosnian Muslim ideology who are even today figuring prominently on the Sarajevo political scene. This ideology is advocating that everything that even reminds of Republic of Srpska must immediately be condemned to extinction," Dodik said.

He added that the "fate of Republic of Srpska will not be decided by Haris Silajdzic, Sulejman Tihic, Zlatko Lagumdzija and the likes, who are allegedly seeking 'justice', while in fact all they want is a showdown with Republic of Srpska".

"Sarajevo is simply boiling out of desire for revenge," Bosnian Serb premier warned.

Bosnian Muslim Leaders Want to Turn Karadzic Trial into a Trial of Republic of Srpska

Q: Theories that the arrest of Karadzic and Mladic will lead to calming down tensions and reconciliation in Bosnia-Herzegovina have been proven wrong. Why have the events moved in a direction opposite of the expected?

MD: I have already partly responded to that question. Still, I'll remind that Sarajevo political circle is using every opportunity and every instance to exploit the past events for the final showdown with Republic of Srpska and the Serbian nation. That is why Karadzic's arrest also resulted in heightening the political tensions. Even though he is not convicted, Karadzic has already been declared by the Bosnian Muslim politicians and their media a "Bosnian Osama bin Laden" [?!], "Durmitor butcher"... What if he gets released? Someone will say that is impossible. Why would it be impossible when Ramush Haradinaj and Naser Oric were released? It is well known that Karadzic accepted the Lisbon Peace Agreement [in February 1992, before the Bosnian civil war had started] and that he requested from us, the MPs, to support that agreement. [Bosnian Muslim war leader] Alija Izetbegovic accepted it too at first and then rejected it. According to the Agreement architect, José Cutileiro, that is what definitely pushed Bosnia-Herzegovina into the war.

Q: Why are the Bosnian Muslim politicians, first and foremost, trying to turn the trial against Karadzic into a process of abolishing Republic of Srpska?

MD: Because Dayton Bosnia-Herzegovina is not the accomplishment of their war aims. And because Bosnia, since Dayton until today, has not found its inner functioning mechanism. So, the fact Bosnia-Herzegovina functions at all is exclusively the result of the engagement of the Western powers which, at times, was extremely rigid, domineering and marked by the threats and punishments of a score of Serbian politicians. All that was done to preserve Bosnia-Herzegovina and to have it form even the most basic logistic framework for functioning. Yet, such politics failed to produce a favourable result. Bosnia-Herzegovina today is still a divided society, not only in the sense of the legal and territorial entities, but mentality-wise: in the way of life, the perception of truth, visions of the future... As it is, this is not the Bosnia-Herzegovina Bosnian Muslims want. And that is why they wish to turn the Karadzic trial into a trial of Republic of Srpska.

John Laughland: Idiot's Guide to Bosnia-Herzegovina War

The Plight of the Bosnian Serbs, by John Laughland (Brussels Journal)

The arrest of Radovan Karadzic in Serbia on Tuesday has provided yet another occasion for all the tired old propaganda about the Balkans wars to be taken out of the cupboard and given one last airing. In particular, the war is presented as one between a Serb aggressor and an innocent victim, the Bosnian Muslims, and the former is accused of practising genocide against the latter. Even if one accepts that crimes against humanity were committed during the Balkan wars, it should be obvious that both these claims are absurd.

...As Lincoln was an Aggressor in American Civil War

First, the Serbs were no more the aggressors in the Bosnian civil war than Abraham Lincoln was an aggressor in the American Civil War. The Yugoslav army was in place all over Bosnia-Herzegovina because that republic was part of Yugoslavia. Bosnian Muslims (like Croats) left the army in droves and set up their own militia instead, as part of their drive for independence from Belgrade. This meant that the Yugoslav army lost its previous strongly multiethnic character and became largely Serb. It did not mean that Serb forces entered the territory of Bosnia, or even that the Serbs attacked the hapless Bosnian Muslims.

The accusation of aggression is intended to introduce by the back door an allegation which in fact has vanished from modern international criminal justice. Although the crime of waging an aggressive war was pronounced to be the supreme international crime at Nuremberg, it has been dropped from the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court for the former Yugoslavia which will presumably try Karadzic once he is extradited to The Hague, and even the new International Criminal Court (also in The Hague) does not for the time being have jurisdiction over it.

The accusation has the effect of condemning the Bosnian Serb war effort at its very origins (in terms of ius ad bellum) independently of any condemnation for the way the war was fought (ius in bello). In fact, the Bosnian Serb war effort was no more or less legitimate than the Bosnian Muslim war effort. The Muslims wanted to secede from Yugoslavia (and were egged on to do this by the Americans and the Europeans) while the Bosnian Serbs wanted to stay in Yugoslavia. It was as simple as that.

Few Simple Facts

In my view, it is not possible to adjudicate such matters using the criminal law since, as political questions, they transcend it. But the fact that the Muslims blatantly cheated by holding the vote on an independence referendum at 3 a.m. after the Bosnian Serb deputies in the Bosnian parliament had all been told to go home, and the fact that the Bosnian Muslim president, Alija Izetbegovic, remained in office throughout 1992 long after his term had expired and long after he should have handed over to a Serb, meant that the Bosnian Serbs had excellent grounds for believing that the Bosnian Muslim secession was quite simply a coup d’état.

In any case, once the Muslims had seized power in Sarajevo, the Bosnian Serbs sought not to conquer the whole republic but instead simply to fight for the secession of their territories from Muslim control. Of course atrocities were committed against civilians during this period, especially ethnic cleansing. But the same phenomenon is observed, I believe, and by definition, in every single war in which a new state is created, whether it is the creation of Pakistan in 1947 or the creation in 1974 of what later became the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus. If the Muslims had the right unilaterally to secede from Yugoslavia, why should the Bosnian Serbs not have had the right unilaterally to secede from the new state of Bosnia-Herzegovina which had never before existed and a state, and to which the Bosnian Serbs had no loyalty whatever?

Redefining Genocide to Suit Muslim/Western Political Agenda

Second, the Bosnian Serbs are accused (and two have been convicted) of committing genocide against the Bosnian Muslims in the massacre perpetrated at Srebrenica. Let us leave aside for a moment the Serb claims that the numbers of people killed in that summer of 1995 has been artificially inflated for propaganda purposes; let us also leave aside the undoubted fact that the Bosnian Muslims were using the UN safe haven of Srebrenica as a safe haven from which to conduct constant attacks against the Serb villages surrounding the town, during which many atrocities were committed against Serb civilians. (The commander of the Muslim forces, Nasir Oric, was released by the ICTY in February.)

What is clear is that the Srebrenica massacre cannot possibly be described as genocide. Even the most ardent pro-Muslim propagandists agree that the victims of the massacre there were all men. The Bosnian Serbs claim that they were combatants (although that is certainly not an excuse for killing them) but the point is that an army bent on genocide would precisely not have singled out men for execution but would have killed women too. The Srebrenica massacre may well have been a crime against humanity but it is impossible to see how it can be categorised as genocide.

The Ulterior Motives and the Ultimate Outcome

Unfortunately, there is a very clear political reason why it has been so categorised. The Muslim president of Bosnia-Herzegovina, Haris Silaijdzic, said carefully on CNN the day Karadzic was captured that Karadzic’s trial was only the beginning of the process by which justice would be done in Bosnia. He said that there were hundreds of thousands of Muslims who had been ethnically cleansed by “Karadzic and Milosevic” and that their project therefore remained in force. The clear implication of what he was saying was this: if the very existence of the Bosnian Serb republic (the autonomous region within Bosnia carved out from the republic during the civil war) is found, in a court of law, to have been had as its president a man, Karadzic, who is convicted of genocide in the process of creating it, then its status would be illegitimate and it should be abolished. The Muslims continue to claim control over the whole of the territory of Bosnia-Herzegovina, while the Serbs merely want the preservation of their considerable autonomy within it.

In other words, far from bringing peace to the Balkans, it is quite possible that a conviction of Karadzic for genocide will reopen the Dayton settlement and egg the Muslims on to claim control over the Serb republic too. Under such circumstances, it is inevitable that the Bosnian Serbs would try to proclaim formal secession from Bosnia, just as the Kosovo Albanians did from Serbia.

Recommended: Save Serbia -- Kill Yourself, Tadic Boris!, Belgrade football match (YouTube); May the DOS c..ts know: if the General goes, the Undertakers [Partizan Club fans] will each get the gun and kill you all one by one ("Neka znaju picke dosovske, djenerala ako uhapse, grobari ce svi puske uzeti, sve cemo vas redom pobiti!"), Belgrade football match (YouTube); And a Special Message for the Hague "judges", YouTube

Posted by BBlog Staff at 02:41 PM | Permalink | Comments (8)

Like an Athonite Monk

Belgrade daily Vecernje novosti reports that Radovan Karadzic, a faithful Orthodox Christian, is fasting for the sixth day, emphasizing this is no "hunger strike" and that Dr. Karadzic's physical and mental health are impeccable.

According to the daily, even though he can get almost anything he requests while in custody, Karadzic had asked only for the Bible, books and icons. His brother Luka brought these from the New Belgrade apartment, where Karadzic lived before being kidnapped. Now, the icons of Christ Pantocrator, St. Archangel Michael and St. Sava are gracing the custody cell wall of Belgrade Special Court. Karadzic's icon of the Most Holy Theotokos was the only one that was not allowed in, because of its glass encasement.

Dr. Karadzic's brother also brought the latest photos of his family members and grandchildren. This was the first time Radovan Karadzic had seen the faces of three of his grandchildren -- the photo of the eldest, fourth, stood on a bookshelf of Karadzic's Belgrade apartment. He also had three suits in his closet, and Luka Karadzic had brought those too. Karadzic will probably wear one of them on his way to the Hague.

According to the reports, Dr. Karadzic is spending time in custody like an Athonite monk, reading the Bible and St. Bishop Nikolaj of Zicha. He asks for nothing. He drinks only plain water and eats bread alone. He has refused all offers to have anything brought to him from the outside world, saying he doesn't need anything. According to his brother and those Dr. Karadzic was in contact with during the past 13 years, this is the kind of life he had been leading and is accustomed to.

Serious Breach of Law, Seeking War Crimes Prosecutor's Resignation

Svetozar Vujacic, Karadzic's lawyer, said his 63-year-old client is in exceptional mental and physical health.

"The past 13 years have left no trace on Radovan. Behind the shaved beard and the long hair tied back, the same face of the former President of Republic of Srpska resurfaced. He looks exactly the same, only a bit thinner. He asked me to appeal to the authorities to end the harassment of his wife and children, his family and friends," Vujacic said.

He resolutely denied the sensation-hungry media gossip that Karadzic was hiding his identity after the arrest and allegations that he admitted who he was only after the "DNA analysis".

"To the very first question of the investigative judge, at 1a.m. on Tuesday, whether he was Radovan Karadzic, he responded positively", Vujacic said, explaining that Karadzic "lived under the alias Dragan Dabic during the past five years, he was practicing alternative medicine and worked part time as an adviser to the private medical clinics. He supported himself in this way and was paying his rent. The stories about Dr. Karadzic having private security are all false".

Karadzic's lawyer once again stressed that former president of Republic of Srpska was arrested on Friday -- and not late Monday evening as the officials claim. He said that five eyewitnesses who were on the same bus No. 73 when Dr. Karadzic was apprehended came forward and are willing to testify. The identity of three bus passengers who witnessed the arrest on Friday evening is known to the lawyer, while the other two witnesses wished to remain anonymous, out of fear for their safety.

Vujacic charges that Karadzic was kidnapped and kept illegally in custody for three days, without the knowledge and approval of the investigative judge. Due to this fact, Karadzic had requested that his lawyer brings charges against the unknown men who kidnapped him on July 18 and kept him illegally detained. Vujacic added that "someone will have to explain why they lied to both the international and Serbian public about the date Karadzic was arrested", assessing that the war crimes prosecutor Vladimir Vukcevic ought to submit his resignation over such a serious breach of law.

Karadzic will Defend Himself

According to his lawyer, Dr. Karadzic knows the content of the Hague indictment, charging him with genocide and war crimes, which was officially served to him on July 22.

"Those three indictments pertain to the most grievous crimes one can think of, as if he murdered half of the world population," Vujacic said, adding that Dr. Karadzic has been following the mock-trials in the Hague to late Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic and the leader of Serbian Radical Party, Dr. Vojislav Seselj.

Yesterday, Karadzic was also visited by his brothers Luka and Ivan, by his sister and two of her children. Visibly shaken, Ivan didn't want to give statements to the press, saying he and Radovan talked about the family and the events that took place during the past 13 years.

"Radovan is well, thank God", said Luka Karadzic, "He is healthy and calm. Other than that, I have nothing more to tell you. Nothing new has happened since the day before".

Vecernje Novosti reporter writes that Luka "did not want to go into details over his conversation with Radovan, saying he has a lot of family obligations to take care of". He confirmed Dr Karadzic has decided to defend himself before the Hague tribunal and said that Radovan hasn't discussed details of his defense with anyone.

Radovan Karadzic is Perfectly Healthy, Calm and Composed

Glas Javnosti reports that the investigative judge Milan Dilparic, the first official who talked to Dr. Karadzic late Monday night, when he was brought to him for hearing at 1 a.m, thought former president of Bosnian Serb republic was calm and respectful.

That night, during the hearing that lasted hour and a half, Dr. Karadzic informed the judge he was not arrested on July 21 around 10 p.m, as the official story goes, but at 9:30 p.m. on July 18, on a city bus No. 73.

"Karadzic was cooperative during the hearing. He was not afraid. He was calm and composed, and fully cooperated with the investigative officials. He wasn't presenting his defense regarding the charges by the Hague at the time, because that is not the part of procedure", Glas source from Belgrade Special Court revealed.

The employees of the Special Court, where Radovan Karadzic is held in custody, say that Bosnian Serb leader is a true gentleman.

"He is a decent man, a highly educated scholar with a soaring intelligence, and not some quasi-intellectual", Special Court official said.

He decisively denied malicious claims by the Bosnian Muslim daily Dnevni avaz, which reported that Karadzic "had asked for antidepressant pills in prison".

"That is an absolute lie. We are checking his health every morning in the custodial unit and the investigative judge comes to receive report by the head of the custodial unit about Radovan Karadzic's condition. Such allegations are complete fabrications: Karadzic is perfectly healthy, both physically and mentally, and he sleeps well", Glas source from the Special Court is categorical.

He added that Karadzic expressed a wish to have visits only by the family members and those who will take part in the preparation of his defense.

"He told us he wishes to have visits only by the family members and by those who will help him prepare his defense. We are receiving over a million requests each day from those who want to see him, but the investigative judge who is making decisions about that has only approved visits by the family members and the lawyers," Special Court representative said.

Two Teams of Legal Advisers

Regarding Radovan Karadzic's defense at the Hague, Vecernje Novosti reported that former president of the Bosnian Serb republic will have two legal teams to help him. The first team, headed by Professor Dr. Smilja Avramov and including Academic Kosta Cavoski and Milivoje Ivanisevic, will have the task to gather the evidence and facts. The second team will include Karadzic's lawyer Svetozar Vujacic and Goran Petronijevic.

"These people will defend Dr. Karadzic in the best possible way. Those are the ones who could work for free and it is certain that there will be quite a few of them. So, the bigger problem here will be the money [needed for the operative part of the evidence-gathering] than the number of people who want to defend him," Law Professor Kosta Cavoski told Novosti.

Asked whether the fact Dr. Karadzic is not a lawyer by profession, like late President Milosevic and Vojislav Seselj, could be cited by the Hague as a justification for denying his right to his own defense, Cavoski said this is not an obstacle for the process, because the most important issue here are the facts.

"And no-one knows those facts better than Karadzic himself. As far as I can see, there are no reasons to deny his right to self-defense, except for the fears of the prosecution and the court that such defense will be successful. What should happen right now is that both Serbia and Republic of Srpska ought to stand behind the defense of Karadzic, like Croatia has done in case of the Croat Hague indictees," Kosta Cavoski said.

According to the lawyer Toma Fila, who has experience with the so-called Bosnian cases before the tribunal, trial to Karadzic will open several very important legal issues.

"According to Republic of Srpska Constitution, Radovan Karadzic was a supreme commander. However, Ratko Mladic never accepted that, because it would mean he was only the Army Headquarters chief. Besides, there is not a single document where it is stated that Mladic was Karadzic's subordinate. So, the question here is what kind of connection could Karadzic have had with Srebrenica events, for which he is indicted," Fila said.

Kosta Cavoski: Tadic's Cronies are Shameless Liars!

Today's Kurir carries an interview with Professor Cavoski, President of the International Association for the truth about Radovan Karadzic, after his visit to Dr. Karadzic in the Special Court building.

Q: Were You visiting Radovan as his legal representative?

KC: No. According to the legal procedure, I had my request approved by the merciful judge Milan Dilparic, in the role of representative of the legal public body. The visit lasted 30 minutes.

Q: Was he glad to see You?

KC: Yes, but I was more glad. After all, I have asked to see him.

Q: How does he look, did he shave the beard off?

KC: Yes, he did. He looks exactly the same as he did 11 years ago, when I saw him the last time. He's only much more slender now.

Q: What were Your impressions?

KC: The state of his spirit is fantastic. He is healthy and composed. He has an exceptionally strong personality.

Q: We heard he's been on a hunger strike?

KC: He hasn't been eating in five days, but I wouldn't call that a hunger strike. He says that is a diet regime.

Q: When was he arrested?

KC: He was arrested on Friday, not on Monday, as they claim. They are the shameless liars! Neither was a formal decision on holding him in custody served to him within the four hours, nor was he given the right to a lawyer, nor could he contact his family. He was held illegally imprisoned for five days.

Q: What are the legal consequences of unlawful detention?

KC: In United States, when someone is illegally apprehended, he gets released. There can be no trial. The unlawful detainment is the basis for release. But here, people are being kept hidden when they are arrested.

Q: What did You talk about?

KC: Mainly about the Hague. I told him what can he expect and what is awaiting him. I backed his decision to defend himself.

Q: Will You be his legal adviser in that case?

KC: If he is permitted to defend himself, I will gladly accept to be his legal adviser.

Q: What does he expect from the Hague trial?

KC: No one believes in justice when it comes to the Hague tribunal. Radovan has no illusions either. But he carefully followed Slobodan Milosevic and Vojislav Seselj trials.

Q: Presumably, he was also regularly reading newspapers...?

KC: Not only that, he was also using the internet. They seized even his laptop to find out whom he was communicating with. And they can now be reassured neither I, nor his family were involved...

Q: Does he know how was he discovered?

KC: Believe me, it didn't seem decent to ask how was he hiding and how was he discovered. I believe he was betrayed. We shall soon find out who betrayed him.

Foreign Agents Arrested Karadzic

Q: Who arrested Karadzic?

KC: I'm convinced the foreign agents have arrested him. Those who approached him knew Serbian, but the others, I'm sure, spoke another, foreign language.

Q: We have published the statement by an eyewitness who claims he had seen the Serbian Internal Affairs Ministry [MUP] badge...

KC: The ID can be falsified, and that would be no problem for the [foreign] agency. It could also be borrowed from the neighbor who is a policeman. Even I could flash the police badge to someone if I had it.

Posted by BBlog Staff at 06:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

The Hague Circus Gets to Perform Another Day

BBC interview with Srdja Trifkovic

BBC: The fact that Karadzic could face trial at The Hague is causing consternation among those who consider the court to be anti-Serbian. Srdja Trifkovic is one of them. He is an American historian, journalist and political analyst, and an expert on Balkan politics.

TRIFKOVIC: It would be a hugely significant moment if it were to be followed by a fair and just trial that would seek to establish the facts of the case, not only on Srebrenica but also on what came to pass in Bosnia between 1992 and 1995. However, in Serbia many people – including those who favor the new, pro-European government – have a very jaundiced view of The Hague Tribunal, especially since the release of Naser Oric, the wartime commander of the Muslim garrison in Srebrenica, came just before the capture of Karadzic. In fact, in Belgrade The Hague Tribunal is universally regarded as a politically motivated tool for providing quasi-legal justification of political decisions made by the powers-that-be back in the early 1990s.

BBC: What about the indictment against Mr. Karadzic? Do you think the war crimes were committed?

TRIFKOVIC: The war crimes were committed, absolutely. What remains to be seen is to what extent the war crimes committed by the Serbs will continue to be treated as uniquely more substantial, more evil and more massive, than those committed by the other two sides. What we have witnessed in the case of Naser Oric in particular, is a truly egregious failure by The Hague Tribunal to connect the commander of Srebrenica with the war crimes which the Tribunal itself does not deny have taken place: thousands of Serbian civilians in the surrounding areas were killed between 1992 and 1995. For Serbia's "European perspective," for Serbia's ability to come to terms with the past in the way that does not provide grounds for fresh resentment and revisionism, this trial would need to mark a new beginning by The Hague – and yet I have no reason to believe that such a beginning will indeed be made.

BBC: And yet this individual, who is charged with such heinous crimes, needs to be brought to justice, even if – as you argue – there are others still out there who haven't been brought to justice. But here's one opportunity to deal with one set of crimes, surely?

TRIFKOVIC : The problem is that dealing with "one set of crimes" in connection with "one individual" is not fulfilling the function of the Tribunal as stated at the time of its establishment in 1993, which was to establish an equivalent of an international "truth and reconciliation commission." Quite the contrary, in the case of Serbia The Hague Tribunal has only generated fresh controversies and provided fresh grist for the mill of the nationalist wing of Serbia's body-politic, which keeps claiming that the cards are stacked against the Serbs' favor.

Interview with Srdja Trifkovic titled "Karadzic and the Hague" was broadcast by the BBC Radio 4, within the special "The World Tonight," on Tuesday, July 22, 2008, 22:14 BST

The Verdict is Already Written

"Radovan Karadzic will be found guilty of genocide, because the verdict is already written," Dr. Trifkovic, expert witness in a separate trial in The Hague told Russia Today. “I don’t think he will come out of jail alive,” he said [watch video].

Former Canadian Ambassador to Yugoslavia James Bissett spoke about his meeting with Dr. Radovan Karadzic in Sarajevo and shared his impressions of a man declared guilty way before the sham trial has even begun. Interview (RAM file, 10:19), also available from CBC.ca Listen Again web page.

Recommended: The Real Face of Evil, by Nebojsa Malic (GrayFalcon Blog); Has Lord Ashdown Heard of the Phrase: "Innocent Until Proven Guilty"?, by Michael Huntsman (Brussels Journal); Collection of Interviews Spanning Radovan Karadzic's Political Career, Slobodan-Milosevic.org; Karadzic's Lawyer Speaks about Arrest, Slobodan-Milosevic.org; Belgrade protests against the new government's appalling inaugural move -- arrest of Dr. Karadzic, YouTube: The New Day is Dawning, Part 1; From Topola down to Ravna Gora, General Draza Mihailovich's song, Part 2; Radovan Karadzic!, Serbia Betrayed!, Part 3; Christ Our Lord, Song of Serbian Heroes, Part 4; Tadic Boris, Save Serbia -- Kill Yourself!, Part 5; Ivica, fagot!, Part 6; Riot police gets in, Part 7

Posted by BBlog Staff at 06:55 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Karadzic’s Arrest: Bosnian Myths Rehashed

By Srdja Trifkovic, ChroniclesMagazine.org

The spirit of the media frenzy surrounding the arrest of the former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic on July 21 is based entirely on the doctrine of non-equivalence inaugurated in 1992: Serbs willed the war, Muslims wanted peace; Serb crimes are bad and justly exaggerated, Muslim crimes are understandable.

This doctrine was spectacularly reiterated a month before Karadzic’s capture, when the Muslim wartime commander of Srebrenica, Nasir Oric, was found not guilty by The Hague Tribunal of any responsibility for the killing of thousands of Serb civilians by the forces under his command in the three years before the fall of the enclave in July 1995. It is also apparent today, in the endless media repetition of Karadzic’s alleged bellicose intransigence before and during the Bosnian war.

Unresolved Issue of War Guilt

The imbalance is more than merely unfair. The talking heads gloating over Karadzic’s capture no longer need to suppress the thought that different U.S. policies could have prevented the horror of “Bosnia,” because no such thought—however pertinent in this case—ever occurs to them. Yet the fact remains that in the spring of 1992 the late Warren Zimmermann, the last U.S. ambassador to Yugoslavia before its breakup and civil war, materially contributed—probably more than any other single man—to the outbreak of the war in Bosnia-Herzegovina. The facts of the case have been established beyond reasonable doubt and are no longer disputed by experts [...]

Entire article »

Posted by BBlog Staff at 05:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (6)

How Far They've Fallen!

...Said Liz Milanovich, commenting today's meeting between the U.S. Republican President George W. Bush and Kosovo Albanian war criminal and mafia chieftain Hashim Thaci. Because, this is what the Republican Policy Committee had to say about the KLA terrorists a while back: The Kosovo Liberation Army: Does Clinton Policy Support Group with Terror, Drug Ties? From 'Terrorists' to 'Partners'

The KLA: from 'Terrorists' to 'Partners'

Excerpt from the United States Senate Republican Policy Committee Report, from March 31, 1999

[...] The Kosovo Liberation Army "began on the radical fringe of Kosovar Albanian politics, originally made up of diehard Marxist-Leninists (who were bankrolled in the old days by the Stalinist dictatorship next door in Albania) as well as by descendants of the fascist militias raised by the Italians in World War II" ["Fog of War -- Coping With the Truth About Friend and Foe: Victims Not Quite Innocent," New York Times, 3/28/99]. The KLA made its military debut in February 1996 with the bombing of several camps housing Serbian refugees from wars in Croatia and Bosnia [Jane's Intelligence Review, 10/1/96]. The KLA (again according to the highly regarded Jane's,) "does not take into consideration the political or economic importance of its victims, nor does it seem at all capable of seriously hurting its enemy, the Serbian police and army. Instead, the group has attacked Serbian police and civilians arbitrarily at their weakest points. It has not come close to challenging the region's balance of military power" [Jane's, 10/1/96].

The group expanded its operations with numerous attacks through 1996 but was given a major boost with the collapse into chaos of neighboring Albania in 1997, which afforded unlimited opportunities for the introduction of arms into Kosovo from adjoining areas of northern Albania, which are effectively out of the control of the Albanian government in Tirana. From its inception, the KLA has targeted not only Serbian security forces, who may be seen as legitimate targets for a guerrilla insurgency, but Serbian and Albanian civilians as well.

In view of such tactics, the Clinton Administration's then-special envoy for Kosovo, Robert Gelbard, had little difficulty in condemning the KLA (also known by its Albanian initials, UCK) in terms comparable to those he used for Serbian police repression:

" 'The violence we have seen growing is incredibly dangerous,' Gelbard said. He criticized violence 'promulgated by the (Serb) police' and condemned the actions of an ethnic Albanian underground group Kosovo Liberation Army (UCK) which has claimed responsibility for a series of attacks on Serb targets. 'We condemn very strongly terrorist actions in Kosovo. The UCK is, without any questions, a terrorist group,' Gelbard said." [Agence France Presse, 2/23/98]

Mr. Gelbard's remarks came just before a KLA attack on a Serbian police station led to a retaliation that left dozens of Albanians dead, leading in turn to a rapid escalation of the cycle of violence. Responding to criticism that his earlier remarks might have been seen as Washington's "green light" to Belgrade that a crack-down on the KLA would be acceptable, Mr. Gelbard offered to clarify to the House Committee on International Relations:

"Questioned by lawmakers today on whether he still considered the group a terrorist organization, Mr. Gelbard said that while it has committed 'terrorist acts,' it has 'not been classified legally by the U.S. Government as a terrorist organization.' " [New York Times, 3/13/98]

The situation in Kosovo has since been transformed: what were once sporadic cases of KLA attacks and often heavy-handed and indiscriminate Serbian responses has now become a full-scale guerrilla war. That development appeared to be a vindication of what may have been the KLA's strategy of escalating the level of violence to the point where outside intervention would become a distinct possibility. Given the military imbalance, there is reason to believe the KLA -- which is now calling for the introduction of NATO ground troops into Kosovo [Associated Press, 3/27/99] -- may have always expected to achieve its goals less because of the group's own prospects for military success than because of a hoped-for outside intervention: As one fighter put it, "We hope that NATO will intervene, like it did in Bosnia, to save us" ["Both Sides in the Kosovo Conflict Seem Determined to Ignore Reality," New York Times, 6/22/98].

By early 1999, the Clinton Administration had completely staked the success of its Kosovo policy on either the acceptance by both sides of a pre-drafted peace agreement that would entail a NATO ground occupation of Kosovo, or, if the Albanians signed the agreement while Belgrade refused, bombing of the Serbs. By committing itself so tightly to those two alternatives, the Clinton Administration left itself with as little flexibility as it had offered the Albanians and the Serbs.

At that point for the Administration, cultivating the goodwill of the KLA -- as the most extreme element on the Albanian side, and the element which had the weapons capable of sinking any diplomatic initiative -- became an absolute imperative:

"In order to get the Albanians'... acceptance [of the peace plan], Ms. Albright offered incentives intended to show that Washington is a friend of Kosovo...Officers in the Kosovo Liberation Army would . . . be sent to the United States for training in transforming themselves from a guerrilla group into a police force or a political entity, much like the African National Congress did in South Africa." [New York Times, 2/24/99]

The Times' comparison of treatment of the KLA with that of the African National Congress (ANC) -- a group with its own history of terror attacks on political opponents, including members of the ethnic group it claims to represent -- is a telling one. In fact, it points to the seemingly consistent Clinton policy of cultivating relationships with groups known for terrorist violence -- not only the ANC, but the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and the Irish Republican Army (IRA) -- in what may be a strategy of attempting to wean away a group from its penchant for violence by adopting its cause as an element of U.S. policy.

By the time the NATO airstrikes began, the Clinton Administration's partnership with the KLA was unambiguous:

"With ethnic Albanian Kosovars poised to sign a peace accord later Thursday, the United States is moving quickly to help transform the Kosovo Liberation Army from a rag-tag band of guerrilla fighters into a political force. . . . Washington clearly sees it as a main hope for the troubled province's future. 'We want to develop a good relationship with them as they transform themselves into a politically-oriented organization,' deputy State Department spokesman James Foley said. 'We want to develop closer and better ties with this organization.'

"A strong signal of this is the deference with which U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright treats the Kosovar Albanians' chief negotiator Hashim Thaci, a 30-year-old KLA commander. Albright dispatched her top aide and spokesman James Rubin to Paris earlier this week to meet with Thaci and personally deliver to him an invitation for members of his delegation to visit the United States. Rubin, who will attend the ceremony at which the Kosovar Albanians will sign the accord, is expected to then return to Washington with five members of the delegation, including Thaci. Thaci and Rubin have developed a 'good rapport' during the Kosovo crisis, according to U.S. officials who note that Thaci was the main delegate they convinced to sign the agreement even though the Serbs have refused to do so. [ . . . ]

" '[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.' Foley stressed that the KLA would not be allowed to continue as a military force but would have the chance to move forward in their quest for self government under a 'different context.' 'If we can help them and they want us to help them in that effort of transformation, I think it's nothing that anybody can argue with.' "

Such an effusive embrace by top Clinton Administration officials of an organization that only a year ago one of its own top officials labeled as "terrorist" is, to say the least, a startling development.

Even more importantly, the new Clinton/KLA partnership may obscure troubling allegations about the KLA that the Clinton Administration has thus far neglected to address.

Charges of Drugs, Islamic Terror -- and a Note on Sources

No observer doubts that the large majority of fighters that have flocked to the KLA during the past year or so (since it began large-scale military operations) are ordinary Kosovo Albanians who desire what they see as the liberation of their homeland from foreign rule. But that fact -- which amounts to a claim of innocence by association -- does not fully explain the KLA's uncertain origins, political program, sources of funding, or political alliances.

Among the most troubling aspects of the Clinton Administration's effective alliance with the KLA are numerous reports from reputable unofficial sources -- including the highly respected Jane's publications -- that the KLA is closely involved with:

* The extensive Albanian crime network that extends throughout Europe and into North America, including allegations that a major portion of the KLA finances are derived from that network, mainly proceeds from drug trafficking; and

* Terrorist organizations motivated by the ideology of radical Islam, including assets of Iran and of the notorious Osama bin-Ladin -- who has vowed a global terrorist war against Americans and American interests.

The final two sections of this paper give samples of these reports. (Many of these reports are available in full at www.siri-us.com, the website of an independent think tank called the Strategic Issues Research Institute of the United States, under "Background Issues".) In presenting samples of such reports for the consideration of Republican Senators and staff, RPC does not claim that these reports constitute conclusive evidence of the KLA's drug or terror ties. Nor are these reports necessarily conclusive as to the policy advisability of the Clinton Administration's support for that organization. They do, however, raise serious questions about the context in which decisions regarding American policy in the Balkans are being made by the Clinton Administration.

All of these sources are unclassified and unconnected to official agencies of the U.S. government, although some quote sources in intelligence agencies. Possible objections could be raised that the relevant U.S. government agencies may not have made available similar reports concerning the KLA. While it is not possible to discuss, in the context of this paper, what information is or is not available from classified sources, the author of this paper offers what he regards as two helpful observations. First, one should recognize that the absence of reporting on a given topic may indicate that the information has not been obtained, assembled, or disseminated by the agencies in question, but not necessarily that it does not exist. That is, silence by official sources does not constitute disproof of unofficial sources. The second and more troubling observation is that the Clinton Administration has demonstrated, to an unprecedented degree, an unfortunate tendency -- in some cases possibly involving an improper politicization of traditionally non-political government agencies -- to manage or conceal inconvenient information that might call into question some of its policies [...]

Clinton Administration this, Clinton Administration that, yadda, yadda, yadda... and here's the Bush Administration's record to date: backed, financed and recognized illegal unilateral declaration of independence by the very same leaders of the terrorist KLA in Serbian Kosovo-Metohija province. The Bush Administration has, in the meantime, taken lead in promoting Muslim terrorists in the Balkans, advocating the most retrograde, savage ethnic separatism and terrorism in Europe, fragmenting the Balkans further, all the way down to walled-off enclaves, creating ghettos and deepening the animosities to the point of no return, ensuring another century of bloodletting which is just waiting for the right moment to begin. Finally, today, Bush is to hug his best friend and partner, the first-rate butcher in Europe, Hashim Thaci. The Republicans have gone very far indeed.

Original photo from the SerbBlog (slightly enhanced for the current historic moment)

Posted by BBlog Staff at 12:31 AM | Permalink | Comments (10)

Bishop ARTEMIJE of Kosovo Protests Bush Meeting with 'Terrorist, War Criminal, and Racketeer' Hashim Thaci

Statement by His Grace Artemije, spiritual leader of Kosovo-Metohija Serbs, Bishop of Raska-Prizren Diocese (Amercian Council for Kosovo)

On July 21, President George W. Bush is scheduled to meet with Hashim Thaci, styled by some 'Prime Minister' of the separatist Albanian Muslim administration in the Serbian province of Kosovo and Metohija. As pastor of the Orthodox Christian people of Kosovo, I protest to the fullest possible degree the fact that President Bush would bring dishonor on his office and sully the good name of the American nation by receiving such an infamous terrorist, war criminal, and organized crime chieftain.

Such a meeting is particularly disturbing in light of President Bush's aspiration to leadership in the struggle of decent people everywhere against global jihad terrorism. In another context, he likened association with terrorists to seeking accord with the Nazis before World War II. Has he now changed his mind?

Mr. Thaci's criminal record is well-known. Under his alias 'the Snake,' Mr. Thaci is one of the three principal kingpins in the Albanian Mafia, which is based in Kosovo and operates drug, sexual slavery, and weapons rackets across Europe. According to the German intelligence service BND, he meets regularly in Pristina's Grand Hotel with his chief accomplices, Ramush Haradinaj and Agim Ceku, to manage their joint criminal enterprises. To protect his criminal 'turf,' Mr. Thaci has not hesitated to eliminate rivals through physical means. As stated by one Albanian former leader in Kosovo, 'Cadavers have never been an obstacle to Thaci's career.'

His record as a terrorist and war criminal is no less notorious. As a former commander of the so-called 'Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA),' Mr. Thaci bears primary responsibility for the terror campaign that has killed thousands of my flock and forced a quarter of a million to flee their homes in the province. Thousands of Serbian houses have been burned or forcibly taken over by Albanians, many of them illegal immigrants from Albania. Mr. Thaci's henchmen have demolished or desecrated over 150 of the churches and monasteries in my diocese. Particularly targeted for destruction have been crosses and icons of Our Lord Jesus Christ and the saints, giving proof to the Islamic jihad ferocity that motivates these attacks.

It is known that in 1995 Mr. Thaci, together with his crony Mr. Haradinaj, met in Tirana with Osama bin-Laden to plan the jihad against Serbs in Kosovo. Americans should keep in mind that the terrorist reach of the KLA is not confined to Serbia but already has reached American shores with the barely averted plot by jihad terrorists, four of whom are Albanian Muslims from the Kosovo region, to attack Fort Dix in New Jersey and kill American servicemen.

Perhaps most appalling is Mr. Thaci's role with respect to horrifying reports that organs destined for the illegal trade in organs for transplant were torn from live Serbian prisoners of the KLA. Some of the Serbian victims, after having one kidney cut out, were returned to confinement with fellow captives pending the lethal surgical removal of their other organs, waiting in knowing dread of the fate prepared for them! As documented by U.N. former war crimes prosecutor Carla Del Ponte -- someone who hardly can be accused of having a pro-Serb bias -- these reports are specific and credible and cry out for immediate investigation. The U.S.-based advocacy organization Human Rights Watch has written to Mr. Thaci with their concerns about this matter, which he has dismissed with cavalier indifference. This is hardly surprising, given that these atrocities were committed by his KLA minions, for whose actions he bears command responsibility. Indeed, in light of Mr. Thaci's criminal proclivities, is it not more than likely he himself profited from this gruesome trade?

This is the man with whom the leader of the world's foremost democracy now intends to meet! In doing so, President Bush would be committing a grave transgression against morality and decency, as well as an offense against any standard of civilized behavior. I call on President Bush, as a professing Christian and as an international leader, to cancel this iniquitous meeting. I call on U.S. authorities to demand that those responsible for the harvesting of organs from live Serbian victims be made to face justice.

+ ARTEMIJE
Gracanica Monastery, Province of Kosovo and Metohija
Serbia

Posted by BBlog Staff at 05:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (6)

Kosovo Serbs' Wailing Wall

On July 15, as the photographies of 2,500 killed and missing Kosovo Serbs were uncovered on the Wailing Wall in the headquarters of the Association of the families of the Serb victims in Kosovo-Metohija, the Association chair Simo Spasic assessed that "Serbian state and especially the international community has done nothing to determine the fate of the Serbs kidnapped and killed in the southern Serbian province."

He stressed that, according to the data of the international organizations, over 3,500 Kosovo Serbs have been killed before, during and after NATO aggression, but the Association of the families has thus far compiled detailed information about 2,500 Kosovo Serb victims, kidnapped and murdered in the southern province, "for whose suffering no one has been made accountable".

The Association is appalled by the fact Serbian delegation had left the Council of Europe session where the investigation of the sale of organs extracted from the Kosovo Serbs kidnapped, tortured and killed in Albania was discussed. Spasic added that "it is incomprehensible that strangers discuss such an important subject, while not a single Serbian delegation, not a single Serb was present to represent these families." At the time, Milos Aligrudic, leader of (Kostunica's) DSS parliamentary board, who is also a vice president of the Council of Europe Parliament, sharply criticized Serbia's new ruling coalition which decided to schedule the constitutive session of the Serbian Parliament at the same time when Council of Europe was discussing the horrific crimes Kosovo Albanians have been committing, forcing the Serbian CoE delegations to leave the crucial Brussels session.

Spasic thanked Mr. Aligrudic for joining the families and members of the Association on the occasion of uncovering the Wailing Wall, expressing hope the "state will finally stand up for our victims" and demand responsibility for the lost lives.

He added that the Association will organize a series of protests, because "it will not allow Albanian war criminals to keep avoiding justice, and continue to enjoy the premiership and ministerial positions in Kosovo and Metohija, as a reward for committing atrocious crimes against our loved ones".

Full Investigation Would Lead Straight to Thaci and Haradinaj — So None is Allowed

Vice President of the Parliament of Council of Europe Milos Aligrudic accused UNMIK of blocking investigations of crimes against the non-Albanian population in Kosovo and Metohija province in order to shield the Pristina "politicians" spawned by the gruesome KLA and supported by the Western power centers.

He reminded that the Russian delegation, led by the Vice Chairman of the Council of Europe Constantine Kosachev, had launched an initiative to investigate the charges in Del Ponte's book about some 300 missing Kosovo Serbs who were kidnapped by the terrorist KLA and transported to Albania, where their internal organs were harvested for sale. Unfortunately, Aligrudic said, the actual investigation still hasn't begun.

"If the investigation of these atrocities would be run to its full completion, it would lead straight to Hashim Thaci [current Pristina "premier"] and Ramush Haradinaj [former Pristina "premier", both KLA commanders]. Kosovo-Metohija is not a big place, and there aren't many people there who are not subservient to the notorious KLA leaders currently wielding power in the Serbian province -- and that is the main problem," Aligrudic said during his visit to the Association of the families of the killed and missing Kosovo Serbs.

West Caught in a Vicious Circle of its Own Making

Aligrudic stressed that Serbian state institutions are cooperating with UNMIK in an effort to launch the investigation which would determine the facts about the killed and missing on the territory of southern Serbian province.

"I had the opportunities to talk with director of the state Security-Intelligence Agency [Bezbenostno-Informativna Agencija, BIA], who has plenty of information regarding all this and, despite the common belief that [Serbian] state is doing nothing when it comes to communicating with UNMIK officials in relation to these atrocities, I can assure you that is not true," Aligrudic said.

"The state has done a lot -- both the police and BIA have been doing a lot -- and there is documentation to prove it, but the system created in and around Kosovo and Metohija province has been set in such a way that, as soon as the investigation starts to progress, it gets sent back to the very beginning, forcing it to move in one and the same circle, through political pressures," Aligrudic explained.

He said that "when a certain group of countries decides to sever part of the territory of a sovereign state, as is the case with Serbian Kosovo and Metohija province, all the means become acceptable, including cover-up and justification of the atrocious crimes of the 'politicians' who are today representing this fake state."

"This is the vicious circle the international community is caught in, as it strains to protect the criminals they brought to power", Aligrudic said, adding that it will be very difficult to break through those walls but, nevertheless, no efforts should be spared in trying to break through.

Posted by BBlog Staff at 08:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Get Your Barf Bags Ready: Clinton Secretary of State had her Own Secretive Trysts

By Wayne Madsen, Online Journal

Former Clinton Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, an adviser to the Barack Obama campaign and godmother of chief Obama foreign policy adviser Dr. Susan Rice, carried on an affair with Kosovo Prime Minister Hashim Thaci in a flagrant abuse of her office. WMR has received further confirmation from well-placed sources in Croatia, Serbia, and Kosovo that Albright had Thaci at her virtual beck and call for sexual encounters. Thaci was in his late 20s and early 30s when he was having the affair with Albright, who was in her sixties at the time.

On December 10, 2007, WMR reported: “It is rumored that during negotiations on Kosovo in Rambouillet, France in 2000, [Secretary of State Madeleine] Albright had more than a diplomatic interest in Thaci, who was then 31. Thaci is to become the Prime Minister of Kosovo. The New York Daily News reported that when Albright walked into the hotel room of the Albanian delegation in Rambouillet at midnight, one Albanian told her to ‘go away’ and come back in five minutes. The Albanians thought Albright was a hotel cleaning lady. Albright reportedly exploded in rage and hurled explicit language at the Albanians.”

On February 17, 2008, WMR reported: “WMR has learned from sources who were in Kosovo at the time that Thaci was Albright’s virtual ‘toy boy’ and a frequent sex partner.”

Thaci’s close relationship with Albright allowed him to press Washington during both the Clinton and Bush administrations to support Kosovo’s independence cause. Currently, Kosovo, recognized by the United States, Britain, France, and other countries, but diplomatically shunned by Russia, China, Greece, Spain, and other nations worried about their own secessionist movements, has become a major center for the drug, cigarette, and weapons smuggling business, as well as human trafficking for purposes of prostitution. The ersatz nation, led by Thaci’s former Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) cronies, many of whom had close links to Osama Bin Laden’s “Al Qaeda” units in Kosovo, Macedonia, and Bosnia, is protected by an American military force with a major base at Camp Bondsteel.

Kosovo also represents another example of the nexus between the Russian-Israeli Mafia, which operates quite freely in Kosovo, and elements linked to “Al Qaeda,” including Chechen guerrillas. Arch neocon Richard Perle was a major supporter of Kosovo’s independence and the KLA leadership as was retired General Wesley Clark, another informal foreign policy adviser to Obama.

Albright’s Eastern European lineage -- she was born Marie Jana Korbelová in Prague to Czech parents -- was often seen by foreign policy experts in the State Department as clouding her judgment on dealing with the Balkans crisis. However, additional confirmation that Albright was having sexual trysts with the leader of the KLA, despised as a terrorist by Serbia, made her untrustworthy to Belgrade and a laughing stock throughout the Balkans and the rest of Europe, according to French and German intelligence sources with whom WMR spoke.

Now we finally know what's Thaci The Snake talking about when he says that KLA sacrificed a lot to steal Kosovo-Metohija province from Serbia.

Hat tip: Slobodan-Milosevic.org

Posted by BBlog Staff at 06:41 PM | Permalink | Comments (6)

Abu Hamza to Move From Bosnia to Serbian Kosovo Province

Republic of Srpska daily Fokus reports that the notorious mujahedin Imad Al Hussein, better known as Abu Hamza, who came to Bosnia-Herzegovina responding the jihad call by the Bosnian Muslim wartime president Alija Izetbegovic, will move to another U.S.-carved wahhabi base in the heart of Europe, Serbian Kosovo and Metohija province.

Syrian-born Abu Hamza who, along with tens of thousands of other Middle Eastern mujahedins who were beheading Bosnian Serbs from 1992-1995, was awarded an honorary Bosnian citizenship for his contributions to Bosnian jihad by the Bosnian Muslim leadership, stayed in Bosnia-Herzegovina after the civil war and became an informal leader of Arab mujahedins naturalized in Bosnia, struggling to preserve their Bosnian citizenship and sheltered status.

According to the NATO forces stationed in Bosnia, Abu Hamza recently formed an organization called Ansaria (Serb. Ensarije), providing financial and legal assistance to Arab mujahidins threatened with deportation to their home countries from Bosnia. However, Abu Hamza is now getting ready to escape from Bosnia to Kosovo-Metohija province in Serbia, if the Bosnian court under the American pressure confirms decision to revoke his citizenship.

Hamza's Fellow Cutthroat Hashim Thaci Will Protect him in Kosovo Province

According to the Fokus' source in a foreign intelligence agency, the plans for Abu Hamza's escape have already been made.

"Everything is already prepared for him in Kosovo. Based on the services the mujahedins rendered to Hashim Thaci and Pristina leadership in their independence drive, the plans to make Imad Al Hussein disappear in Kosovo are already set in motion," Fokus source, who wished to remain anonymous, said.

He claims that Abu Hamza refused to escape Bosnia-Herzegovina when he was offered to do so earlier, but once he realized the decision on his deportation could be confirmed, he started the preparations to run away to Serbian Kosovo and Metohija province.

Well Traveled Wahhabi Ratlines Between Bosnia and Serbia

Abu Hamza intends to wait until the last minute and then simply disappear. The secret underground channels through which he and his family will be evacuated have been well traveled and frequently used by the mujahedins and wahhabis connecting Bosnian Muslim parts with Serbia's Raska region and the southern province of Kosovo.

"It is well known that these channels have been used by the greatest number of mujahedins who have had their Bosnian citizenship revoked and who have fled the country in time, so that the official documents about the revoked citizenship couldn't be delivered to them," the Fokus source said.

He revealed that Abu Hamza until recently believed no one can force him out of the Muslim part of Bosnia, being that even the Human Rights Tribunal in Strasbourg supported him, but there are now indications that Bosnian Muslim leaders who were protecting him are starting to cave in under the pressure of the U.S. and other states.

"When Abu Hamza was informed of this at the recent meeting in Sarajevo, he agreed to have the plans for his escape from Bosnia prepared, along with the falsified identification documents for his formal disappearance in Kosovo", the Fokus source said.

According to the report, Bosnia's naturalized mujahedin should have already been moved to the state's Imigration Center in Lukavica (Republic of Srpska), but he successfully avoided this, claiming it would represent the beginning of the deportation process, which is "contrary to the decision of the Human Rights Tribunal in Strasbourg".

In Bosnia, Abu Hamza is protected by the Muslim Security Minister Tarik Sadovic, whose job in shielding the Arab jihadists in Bosnia was greatly eased by the temporary placement of Seada Palavric at the helm of the Bosnia-Herzegovina constitutional court. Palavric will remain at the post of court's president until October 3. Before being promoted to this position, she was a high functionary of the ultra-nationalist Bosnian Muslim SDA party, formed by Izetbegovic, the very same political party which has brought Abu Hamza and the other Arab mercenaries to Bosnia to exterminate the Serbs.

Something Bad Might Happen to Hamza in Republic of Srpska

Abu Hamza, a cutthroat who apparently immensely enjoys the media attention, warned few days ago that Bosnia's highest state institutions will be blamed in case "something bad" happens to him in the Immigration Center where he was to be taken, because the Center is situated in the Serbian Republic in Bosnia. This is cited as additional reason for Abu Hamza to accept the escape plans.

Due to the fact Abu Hamza is protected by the Bosnian Muslim leaders in the federation, Fokus source believes Hamza will be informed in time about the final decision of the constitutional court, to make sure he has sufficient time to flee through the wahhabi ratlines created on the territory of former Yugoslavia during the civil wars.

Posted by BBlog Staff at 12:04 AM | Permalink

Bundestag Party Takes their Government to Court Over Serbia

Political party Die Linke (The Left), the fourth biggest party in the German Parliament with 54 MPs, brought the lawsuit against their government before the state's Constitutional Court over the continuing engagement of the German Army (Bundswehr) stationed in the southern Serbian province of Kosovo and Metohija.

Die Linke is charging the federal government with violating the state's Constitution by allowing further engagement of national army in the changed circumstances, without consulting the Parliament. They are pointing to the fact that the UN Security Council Resolution 1244 can no longer be used to justify the involvement of German troops in Kosovo-Metohija, while the new approval, necessary after the unilaterally declared independence by the Pristina separatists recognized by the German government, was never issued, Monika Knoche, vice president of Die Linke, Bundestag MP and member of the German Parliament's Foreign Policy Council, told Belgrade daily Vecernje novosti.

Party leadership stressed that German recognition of severed Kosovo province has created different circumstances, urging for redefinition of the German Army engagement in the region and explicit approval by the Parliament.

"We are requesting that the highest legal institution in Germany evaluates and confirms our position that the rights of the German Parliament have been violated. According to the law, Bundestag must approve every engagement of the troops -- a condition federal government has failed to observe. The Constitutional Court in Karlsruhe accepted the lawsuit, and we will now wait for the outcome," Knoche said.

Unilateral Declaration of Independence, a Brutal Assault on 21st Century Europe

Q: Die Linke party was against German recognition of Kosovo independence. Why?

MK: The unilateral declaration of Kosovo independence is a dreadful violation of the international law and a brutal assault on Europe's identity. UN Security Council Resolution 1244, which ended the war, expressly guarantees Serbia's territorial integrity. Recognition of an independent Kosovo is also an encouragement to the nationalistic movements. It fuels the ethnicity-based separatism, which is completely contrary to everything 21st century Europe stands for.

Die Linke is not alone in its assessment. The greatest majority of the countries which have not recognized Kosovo, although additionally guided by their own interest, i.e. by the fear of flare-out of separatism within their own borders, have also understood the risk of Kosovo becoming a model for the same ambitions which exist throughout the world. The very fact that only 40 countries out of all the states in the world have recognized the unilaterally declared independent Kosovo confirms we were right all along.

Q: Is the issue of Kosovo province considered closed by Die Linke?

MK: We are advocating reevaluation of the legal basis for the unilateral declaration of independence and Kosovo province's imposed severing from Serbia before the International Court of Justice. We believe that the process of further recognitions ought to be blocked and that wide autonomy is the proper solution -- without touching the borders. Kosovo must continue to be treated as an integral part of Serbia, while Serbia should have the perspective of joining the EU with Kosovo as its integral part.

Posted by BBlog Staff at 03:21 PM | Permalink

Serbian Parliament in Kosovo-Metohija Backed by the New Government

The new Serbian government supports recently formed Parliament of the Kosovo-Metohija municipalities with remaining Serbian population, ethnic Gorani (Slavic Muslims, loyal to Serbian state) and other non-Albanians remaining in the province. In its July 10 session, Serbian government confirmed its determination to continue the policy of the previous, Kostunica government, towards the southern province of Kosovo, "an inalienable part of the integral and inseparable constitutional, judicial and state system of Serbia", as emphasized in the official statement after the government session.

Government members assessed that, after the illegally proclaimed independence by the Pristina separatists, it was necessary for the Serbs remaining in the southern province to get institutionally organized. It was concluded that establishing of the Serbian Parliament in Kosovo and Metohija protects the Serbs and all the remaining non-Albanians in the southern Serbian province.

Kosovo Serbs Reaffirm Their Commitment

Representatives of the Kosovo-Metohija Serbs hailed the government's decision to support the newly established Parliament in Kosovo and Metohija.

President of the Serbian National Council Milan Ivanovic said he expects the MPs from Tadic's DS and Dinkic's G17 to take part in the Parliament work, to help make it a strong institution "which will articulate the interests of the Serbs and other non-Albanians in the best way, in cooperation and agreement with Belgrade."

Parliament of the Serbian and non-Albanian municipalities in Kosovo and Metohija was formed on this year's Vidovdan, June 28, in Kosovska Mitrovica, but the representatives of the DS and G17 did not take part in the constitutive session, because they said they were waiting for the approval of the Kosovo-Metohija Parliament by the new Serbian government.

"Decisions by the Serbian Government should express the full unity and we expect the government will be unified when it comes to Kosovo-Metohija province. We expect the government to have a pragmatic position regarding the results of 11th of May elections held in Kosovo province, keeping in mind that the political parties which are in opposition at the state level, are at the helm in the municipal leadership in the province," Ivanovic said, referring to the fact that Serbian Radicals and Kostunica's DSS-NS coalition have won the most votes in Kosovo and Metohija, and are heading the Serbian institutions there.

Vice President of the Kosovo-Metohija Parliament Marko Jaksic said that this institution will not oppose official Belgrade when it comes to the Serbian national interests in the province.

"We shall endeavor to preserve Kosovo and Metohija in Serbia, we shall not allow EULEX to take roots as a mission in Kosovo, nor will we allow a single symbol of Albanian statehood to be imposed in the Province", Dr. Jaksic said, adding that the main task of the Parliament will be strengthening the Serbian state institutions in the southern Kosovo province.

Posted by BBlog Staff at 06:07 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Kosovo Independence, a Notorious Idiocy

"My views are opposite of the official Slovenian policies, but they are no different from the thinking of ordinary Slovenian voters. For example, most people there believe that Kosovo independence is a notorious idiocy, but only my political party was against it in the parliament. It is now clear that we were right, but those in power caved in under the U.S. and EU pressure", Zmago Jelincic, leader of the Slovenian National Party (SNS), with six members in the Slovenian Parliament, told Belgrade daily Glas javnosti. Slovenian National Party party is regarded as the fiercest opposition to the ruling elite in Slovenia, and Mr. Jelincic is known as one of Serbia's great friends.

Q: What was Your key argument against severing Kosovo province?

ZJ: No-one can get the state carved up for him solely on the basis of being an ethnic minority in someone else's state. Secondly, Europe doesn't know the history at all, and the Europeans have no idea how did it happen that so many Shiptars ended up in Serbia.

Europe Ignores Shiptar Lies

Q: You call Kosovo Albanians Shiptars?

ZJ: That is how we called them while we were in the JNA [Yugoslav Peoples Army]. 'Albanians' are those who live in Albania and have an Albanian citizenship. That is not a derogatory term, it's a fact. As far as Kosovo is concerned, it is a horrific precedent and I expect Republic of Srpska to say one day: Thank you for your cooperation, we're now on our own. And they would be right, because what the international community is doing to them is the swinishness, it is terrible!

Back to Kosovo: there are historical facts, like after the conflict between Tito and Enver Hoxha [Maoist-Stalinist president of Albania], the border towards Albania was left open and the great number of Albanians poured into Yugoslavia [mostly Serbia, Kosovo-Metohija province, which borders with Albania].

Furthermore, Tito had adjoined certain territories of Serbia proper to Kosovo province [like the region north of Ibar river, including today's Kosovska Mitrovica and surrounding towns] -- the fact people in Europe never even mention. Nobody's talking about the Shiptar lies regarding the alleged pogroms against them, the invented story that the Serbs have turned Pristina football stadium into a 'concentration camp', the Racak lie... but all this suited the Americans. Also, the Americans knew for the Shiptar civilian convoys, but they were attacking them too [during NATO aggression against FR Yugoslavia, March-June 1999].

Q: What is Your advice to Serbian politicians, how to preserve Kosovo and Metohija?

ZJ: I thought that the Radicals will win the elections, because the radical position is necessary in relation to Europe. You can see this best in the Croat example: they haven't honored a single agreement they have signed and that always works in their favor, while Serbia always wants everything nicely and diplomatically -- that cannot bring success.

Cooperating With Serbian Politicians on Both Sides

Q: You consider the Radicals closest to You?

ZJ: Well, there is a difference between the Slovenian and Serbian Radicals. I believe that, if they had won, they would not have such radical views, but they would have been sufficiently radical to get what they want from Europe. Serbian politicians are wrong in thinking that Europe and United States are all-powerful. That is a mistake, the U.S. is going down, and Russia is going up.

Q: With which other Serbian political parties are You in contact?

ZJ: I have contacts with roughly the half of political parties, from the both sides. That is different from someone turning towards one side alone. I think that is a major mistake, one should talk to everyone, take the good ideas and offer the good ideas, because we all work in the same direction. I am a member of the EU Parliament, on the Security Board for the third term, I am working on helping Serbia out and if I want to do that, then I have to have the proper information from both sides.

EU and NATO: Clubs Where Rich Milk the Poor

Q: You are considered a great opponent to EU and NATO, but Slovenia is a member of both organizations...

ZJ: European Union is a society comprised of the rich. They take other countries into their club not in order for them to become rich too, but because they need new markets, resources and the cheep workers, so that they are getting even richer, while the small countries are getting poorer -- that is the new form of colonialism. It is not the human rights that are at the first place in the EU, but property and business. And, as far as NATO is concerned, that is the U.S.-owned economic organization. 70% of NATO work boils down to business, first and foremost the sale of weapons, mainly of the poor quality and obsolete, while the best ones are not being given to anyone. Furthermore, why would Europe fight for their interests, like in Iraq or Afghanistan?!

Q: Still, people live very well in Slovenia...

ZJ: Slovenia did advance exceptionally well, but we are not getting the money any more. Rather, like a developed state, we are giving the money to the under-developed, just like it was before in Yugoslavia [subsidizing Kosovo Albanians]. Nothing ever came up out of all that money, except for some individuals stuffing their own pockets with it. Everything is going in the same direction now, the only difference is that while there were some 2 million poor people in Yugoslavia, there are 30 million of the poor now only in Romania and Bulgaria, then there's Poland, the Baltic countries...

Q: So, the old slogan from Yugoslavia would now go "Slovenia works, Romania is getting built"?

ZJ: Well, yes, that's how it is now.

Gypsies as the Privileged Class

Q: You have caused a storm in the parliament and among the Slovenian public by Your recent request for the census for, as you called them, the Gypsies?

ZJ: See, the Gypsies are the privileged class in our country...

Q: You call them Gypsies, and not Roma -- around here that is considered a derogatory term...

ZJ: I'm against segregation, and the Gypsies are divided into Roma, Sints and some other tribes, and that is how things are. But why would they be the only privilege