Byzantine Blog

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 (2)

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)

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