--0-1624807126-1027445015=3D:83605
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=3Diso-8859-1
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit
What's Happening in Kosovo today?
A film that breaks the silence.
Interview:
Michel Collon and Vanessa Stojilkovic on their new film
The Damned of Kosovo
(Interview: Antoine Renard. Translation: Mick Collins)
++++++++++++++++++++++++
Chased from her apartment in Pristina, Maria would not have had a life
except that she looked Albanian. Her nephew, an interpretor for the
UN, was savagely murdered. Silvana's husband was kidnapped, and she
hasn't had any news about him for two years. Stanimir's home was
burned down. What do they have in common? They are Serbs and live,
or rather survive, in Kosovo. Why don't the media talk more about this
region occupied by NATO? The new film by Michel Collon and Vanessa
Stojilkovic breaks the silence. And sounds an alarm to all people now
threatened by these wars of globalization. . . .
+++++++++++++++++++++
How did this film come to be?
Michel Collon. I did this report on Kosovo to get a first hand look
at the current situation of the Serbs and other national minorities.
I remembered what Bill Clinton said just as he began the bombing of
Yugoslavia: "Our resolve is the only hope for the people of Kosovo to
be able to live in their own country. Imagine if we closed our eyes
and if these people were massacred, right on NATO's doorstep. It would
be discredited."
Clinton spoke of the Albanians. But today, what about the Serbs
and
the
other national minorities, the Roma [Gypsies], Gorans, Turks,
Egyptians,
Muslims . . . who have lived in Kosovo for centuries? Are they secure
with 45,000 NATO troops in their country?
And what did you see?
Michel Collon. An accumulation of suffering that no one could imagine
here.
But the media don't speak to us about Kosovo anymore. Isn't the
situation there under control? Michel Collon. Quite the contrary!
What I saw was: bombing attacks, assassinations, expulsions and the
destruction of homes, kidnappings and families in anguish, constant
threats . . . The situation is overwhelming: A veritable ethnic
cleansing that has run off a large part of the non-Albanian population
and has terrorized those who've stayed.
What were you able to show concretely?
Michel Collon. About twenty interviews give the victims a chance to
speak out. Their testimonies, dignified but full of emotion, brought
tears to my eyes. It was absolutely necessary to pass on their tragic
message. To break the media silence that currently surrounds Kosovo.
Their fate is a terrible warning to all people: an occupation by the
US, or by the NATO powers, is in no way a solution. On the contrary,
it guarantees terrible suffering for all the people of these occupied
regions.
The presence of NATO troops has not put a stop to the violence?
Michel Collon. Not only has it not stopped the violence, but the film
shows several exclusive documents that reveal NATO's complicity with
the authors of this violence: the militias of the KLA separatists.
Did you have any problems in making the film?
Michel Collon. Of course, in such a climate of terror, a Serb
cameraman
is risking his life if he films in a 'non-Albanian' zone. But I had
the good fortune to work with a very motivated crew. Some very
courageous people to whom I owe a great deal.
Vanessa, how did you get involved in the project?
Vanessa Stojilkovic. At 25, I had already tried several different
jobs in the photographic media, including being an editor. After a
contact through the internet, Michel Collon offered me the opportunity
to re-start the writing and editing of his film, which had broken down
because of some health problems his previous director had. I accepted
immediately.
Because you're French but from Yugoslavia?
Vanessa Stojilkovic. Yes and no. Yes, because in fact I had several
members of my family who died or suffered terribly in this war. I was
very distressed by it. Then, this film allowed me to fulfill the
promise I had made to them down there: To bring the truth to the
West. Unfortunately, many of them are already dead and others soon
will be.
The stress of the war and the bombing provoked enormous problems
of
hypertension that they didn't have the means to treat. And cancer is
growing at an alarming rate. People are dying in misery. The toll of
the war for all of Yugoslavia is not just reflected by the number of
dead, but also by the physical and psychological conditions of those
who survived. And their lack of any future.
Michel Collon truly gave me a gift when he offered me the primary
material of the interviews he put together. And his cogent analyses
that tie this war, in such a clear fashion, to the movement for
globalization. In assembling and shaping this material, I was able to
give voice to my pain, to keep my promise, and to grieve.
Michel Collon. In fact it's Vanessa who gave me a marvelous gift. I
worked four days on the filming. She worked four months on the
editing. Not at all easy, as I am not a professional filmmaker, and
what I brought to the film was in itself not really very significant.
Thanks to her, thanks to her remarkable commitment, many people in the
world will be able to discover a very important reality.
Does this film address itself only to the Serbs?
Vanessa Stojilkovic. Not at all! My principal motivation was above
all to open the eyes of all the 'native=B9 French or all the people of
Western Europe who have been misinformed. To make them aware, for
example, that we have been depriving the non-Albanians of decent
health care: People are dying because they don't have anything to
treat them with, because they don't have the necessary medical
equipment. That Serb children don't have schools to go to. That a
hundred churches have been destroyed. And that all this is still
going on.
Is this a 'pro-Serb' film?
Michel Collon. No. First, it also states the case for other national
minorities, those who have also been persecuted, 'cleansed'. The Roma
(Gypsies), for example, chased off all over Europe, these days. And
murdered in Kosovo. And also the Jews, Gorans, Muslims, Turks,
Egyptians... Minorities about whom silence is dominating.
And then, many Albanians find themselves equally victimized by a
mafia system based on terror. One of them was able to testify in
front of our camera. He was persecuted because he married a Serb!
In fact, I am neither pro-Serb, nor pro-Albanian. I think that
all
these people find themselves victims of hidden strategies: The US
wanted, just like their allies, to destroy Yugoslavia which they saw
as too Leftist. They wanted to control the oil routes that pass
precisely through there. They wanted to install their super-base, Camp
Bondsteel. And they have succeeded, by utilizing --no, by themselves
inciting-- this conflict between the Serbs and the Albanians.
Do you know that presently Washington has signed 99 year leases
for
all
the runways used by its bombers? Could someone explain to us how these
bombers will help resolve the problems of the people of Kosovo?
A much wider strategic objective, then?
Michel Collon. Exactly. This military base brings the US bombers
very close to Moscow and to the Caucauses. It is part of a larger
plan of encirclement, because Washington doesn't think Putin and his
current positions will necessarily last forever. And moreover, by
breaking up Yugoslavia as part of a global plan they sent out this
message to the people of the world: If you resist globalization, you
will be destroyed.
An editorial in the New York Times on the eve of the war had
already clearly stated this: "For globalization to work, America must
not demure from acting like the omnipotent super-power that it is.
The invisible hand of the market never functions without the hidden
fist. McDonalds cannot prosper without McDonnel Douglas, the builder
of the F-15 fighter. And the hidden fist that guarantees a secure
world for the technologies of the Silicon Valley is called the US
Army, Air Force, Navy and Marines."
You have written several books on these themes. Why a film?
Michel Collon. I realized that this medium allows one to touch those
who don't read. And it is ideal for stimulating debate. Each person
can easily give a cassette to a friend, a relative. Or organize at
his home a little screening and discussion.
And this is urgent because Mr Bush has announced that he will
attack a number of other countries. A great reason for progressives
to resume the discussion of what happened in Yugoslavia. Did the
results of the NATO intervention correspond to its promises? Are
there other hidden interests here? Was public opinion manipulated by
the media lies?
Yugoslavia, is this a preview of what will happen to Iraq, Palestine
and others? Michel Collon. Yes. Globalization, that's the war,
essentially. The policies of the multinationals only widen the gap
between the rich and poor on this planet. War became the number one
method to break their resistance. The war against the Palestinians and
the Iraqis, 'Plan Columbia', the interventionist agression against the
Congo, threats against Iran, Syria, North Korea, all that is part of
the same global war.
Vanessa Stojilkovic. The young people organized against globalization
must inform themselves more seriously on these wars. A country that
has used chemical weapons like Agent Orange, depleted uranium bombs
and other such filth can not be allowed to manipulate us and to make
us believe that it waged this war for the liberties and the rights of
Man. We can't let them rule the world and organize these wars in the
financial interests of the multinationals. And I'm also angry at the
European nations that were complicit and profited from this war.
This film is a testiment, a warning, a call for help. For the
people of Kosovo and for all the people who are threatened. The next
time NATO or the Euro Army prepare to bomb another country, the people
of the NATO countries must rise up and intervene on a mass scale to
stop their governments.
A previous film, =B3Under NATO Bombs=B2, was translated into many
languages.
What about this one?
Vanessa Stojilkovic. I have just finished the Serbo-Croat version.
And other translations are in the works. With the new technologies
for editing on computer, you can easily replace one track on the
editing, for example, the voice-over track or the subtitles, with
another. We have already started for translations in Spanish, Russian,
Dutch. And we think that the English and Arabic versions, maybe German
and Italian, will also be very useful. For all that, and for a
maximun distribution, we're looking for help.
Because the fate inflicted on Yugoslavia threatens other countries?
Michel Collon. Exactly. This film speaks to all the people of the
world. Kosovo was a warning to the whole planet. All people who do
not want to live on their knees, all countries who want to determine
their own destinies, risk being hit by this global war that Mr Bush
and his pals are planning. The only issue is to create a huge
international front of resistence to this war.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++
To order:
Full Name: ..............................
Street number: : ...............................
City, Zip code : ...............................
Country : ..........................................
E-mail : .....................................
I want to order :
O ....... Copies in French of =B3=B9The Damned of Kosovo=B2
O ....... copies in Serbo-Croat
Wants information on other versions
O English O Spanish O Italian O Russian O Dutch O Arabic O German
Wants to help make this film known :
Suggestion : ......................................................
Send this back to :
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
For Spanish version (in Spanish, please!) :
To : Manuel Espinar <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
