=?iso-8859-1?Q?Caroline_Andr=E9ani?= a écrit : > ----- Original Message ----- > From: Diana Johnstone <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Sent: Monday, July 31, 2000 12:44 PM > Subject: NATO's terrorists > > Wednesday, July 19, 2000 > Washington's Men In Kosovo: > A Year After the NATO Occupation, Terror Reigns > by Jeremy Scahill > > Earlier this year, the United Nations Interim Administration in > Kosovo (UNMIK) held a ceremony at its headquarters in Prizren to swear in > some 58 new members of the UN-installed disaster response service, the > Kosovo Protection Corps (KPC). The ceremony opened with an address by the > UNMIK administrator for the region. His remarks were being translated into > both Serbian and Albanian in keeping with the rhetoric of UNMIK that Kosovo > is to remain a multi-ethnic society and the KPC an agency of a > "multi-ethnic character" that prohibits "discrimination against any person > on grounds of race, sex, color, language, religion, political or other > opinion, national or ethnic or social origin." But, in the midst of the UN > official's remarks, members of the KPC--all of them Albanian-- disrupted > the ceremony and walked out of the room in protest of the Serbian > translation. According to a report from the Kosovapress agency, "their > family members and the Albanians who were present at the ceremony greeted > their action with applause." The KPC members only returned to the ceremony > after they were assured the event would continue exclusively in Albanian. > Shortly after this action, General Agim Ceku, Commander of the KPC took the > stage amidst sustained applause. "Today you are becoming professional > officers," he told the cadets. "Just as you knew how to triumph over all > the obstacles and difficulties of war...this time too, you will emerge > victorious." Ceku is the former Military Chief of Staff of the Kosovo > Liberation Army (KLA) and the man handpicked by the US to head the KPC. > Shortly after being appointed Commander of the Corps in September 1999, > Ceku said, "We see the KPC as a bridge towards the future, from the KLA as > a wartime organization towards a regular, modern army of Kosovo which will > be achieved with the independence of Kosovo." UNMIK officials have stood > shoulder to shoulder with Ceku as he has conveyed this aim to crowds. But > according to the UN directive authorizing the establishment of the KPC, > "the Kosovo Protection Corps will have no role in defense, law enforcement, > riot control, internal security or any other task involved in the > maintenance of law and order." The KPC is to be "politically neutral." On > paper, the KPC is slated as a "civilian emergency service agency." It's > tasks-providing disaster response services, search and rescue missions,and > assistance in demining, as well as contributing to rebuilding > infrastructure and communities." The reality is that the KPC, consisting > almost entirely of "demilitarized" KLA members, has become a US/UN funded > 5,000-man terror squad in uniform with the not so subtle aim of creating an > ethnically pure Kosovo. And the US and UN know it. > Early this summer UN Secretary General Kofi Annan told the Security > Council that violent attacks by Kosovo Albanians against Serbs and other > minorities "appear to be part of an orchestrated campaign." The Secretary > General did not say who exactly is orchestrating this campaign. Perhaps > that's because to do so would implicate the KPC. An internal UN report > prepared for Annan and leaked to journalists earlier this year accuses the > KPC of "criminal activities, killings, ill-treatment/ torture, illegal > policing, abuse of authority, intimidation, breaches of political > neutrality and hate speech." It details KPC officers using torture to > obtain confessions, making death threats, demanding so-called protection > "contributions" from ethnic minorities and business owners, kidnapping, > etc. There are suspicions in the report that the KPC is running a forced > prostitution ring. The UN report also covers the incident in Prizren where > KPC cadets protested the translation of the induction ceremony into > Serbian. "It was the clear opinion of those present that this was a > premeditated action," it said. "The speeches of General Ceku and that of > the regional KPC commander were not those agreed upon in advance. The men > spoke of the war and loyalty to the 'country.'" This event and Commander > Ceku's participation in it are categorized by the UN report as "Activities > against minorities, including hate speech." They also violate the policy of > the KPC that it "will exist to serve all of the people of Kosovo. It will > be politically neutral." This alone could be grounds for Ceku to be > dismissed as Commander of the KPC, according to UN policy. But this > infraction pales in contrast to Ceku's brutal past. A past the US knows > well because it was influential in making Ceku one of the top "ethnic > cleansers" in the Balkans, alongside Bosnian Serb leaders Radovan Karadzic > and Ratko Mladic. Ceku refined his brutality as a general in the US-backed > Croatian Army during the Balkan war and was trained by Military > Professional Resources Inc., a private paramilitary firm founded in 1987 > and based in Alexandria, Virginia with former high-ranking US generals and > NATO officials on its board. These officers include the former Commanders > in Chief of the US Army in Europe and US Central Command, the Supreme > Allied Commander-Atlantic and the former US Representative to the NATO > Military Committee. In 1994, armed with a contract authorized by the > Clinton Administration, MPRI officially began to train Croatian forces. > Just months after MPRI arrived on the scene, Croatian forces carried out > the notorious Operation Storm. In a brutal four-day blitzkrieg in 1995, > these forces expelled some 200,000 Serbs from the Krajina region of > Croatiaafter their villages were mercilessly shelled. Jane's Defense Weekly > reported that Ceku was "one of the key planners" of the operation that the > New York Times called "the largest single 'ethnic cleansing' of the war. > The criminal tribunal has been investigating Operation Storm for > years.The Sunday Times of London recently reported that Ceku is also > suspected by the tribunal of war crimes committed during raids he led in > the south of Croatia in September 1993, when he was commanding the feared > 9th Brigade. War crimes investigators at the Hague concluded, "In a > widespread and systematic manner, Croatian troops committed murder and > other inhumane acts upon and against Croatian Serbs." Investigators also > documented deliberate and indiscriminate attacks on civilians and civilian > buildings, along with summary executions, as Croatian forces "committed > numerous violations of international humanitarian law." To date there have > been no indictments at the Hague for crimes committed in Croatia. The US > has refused to cooperate in the investigation and despite the fact that > MPRI's members are almost exclusively ex-US military, information on its > operations are unavailable to the public because it is a private > corporation. > The Spokeswoman for the UN Mission in Kosovo Susan Manuel says the > UN is "aware" of Gen. Ceku's history and the accusations against him but > placed him at the head of the KPC "because he was the leader of the KLA > when we arrived, and he wanted to contribute to the transformation of the > KLA to a constructive force for the future of Kosovo." This configuration > is largely the work of Washington. At nearly every turn in the UN/NATO > negotiations with the KLA over their role in the "new" Kosovo, American > officials swooped in to appease Gen.Ceku and his KLA cronies by making > changes to key principles to agreements. In one instance when NATO > negotiators were at a standstill with the KLA over its role in the future > administration of Kosovo, then-State Department spokesperson James Rubin > came to the group's rescue, adding a clause that said, "special > consideration should be given to current KLA members to participate in the > administration and police force of Kosovo in exchange for the help the KLA > provided to NATO during its air campaign." Rubin said he had "made the deal > in his capacity of adviser to Secretary of State Madeleine Albright." Such > actions prompted Hansjoerg Strohmeyer, legal advisor to UNMIK, to say, "The > US stands to destroy the neutrality of our mission if it insists upon these > clauses." It therefore comes as no surprise that upon word that Ceku may be > under investigation for war crimes, US officials told reporters that any > indictment of Ceku would be "sealed" and kept from the public. As for the > crimes of Ceku's KPC, UN spokeswoman Manuel, says, "As far as I know, no > one's been [criminally] charged with anything." This refusal to prosecute > those in the KPC who commit atrocities has in effect given the go-ahead to > a wider campaign of terror against Serbs and other civilians. > In the year since US-led NATO forces assumed control of Kosovo, the > southern Yugoslav province has become a living hell for Serbs, Roma people > (Gypsies), Slavic Muslims and other minorities. Albanians have gunned down > Serbian children, fired rockets at UN buses repatriating ethnic minorities, > expelled thousands from their homes and businesses and created a general > climate of terror. According to the UN High Commissioner for refugees, more > than 200,000 ethnic minorities--mostly Serbs-- have fled Kosovo since NATO > troops marched in. UNHCR officials have consistently said it is unsafe to > return ethnic minorities to their homes in Kosovo. In tactics reminiscent > of the US-backed death squads in Central America, extremist Albanians have > also made the Serbian Orthodox Church a major target of attacks. According > to the Office of the Patriarch, more than 100 churches and monasteries have > been plundered, vandalized, burnt or leveled to the ground by explosives > since NATO arrived on the scene last summer. Fourteenth century monasteries > on the World Heritage List are now 21st century rubble. Medieval churches > robbed and bombed. Priceless icons lay burnt and shattered. On the morning > of Good Friday, St.Petka Church near Kosovska Vitina was blown up. Orthodox > nuns have been molested. Not one person has been prosecuted for any of > these crimes. > Washington's maneuvering to reward the KLA in the "new" Kosovo, has > forsaken human rights and ethnic tolerance to a desire to maintain a close > relationship with the forces it hopes to do business with for years to > come. By legitimizing Agim Ceku and thousands of other KLA members by > putting them in positions of authority, Washington is giving ethnic > cleansing a green light. Not criminally charging KPC members sends a clear > message to those in- and outside the KPC that crimes may continue with > impunity. It's not surprising that some of the worst brutality against > Serbs has occurred in the US sector of Kosovo. UNMIK spokesperson Susan > Manuel says, "there've been constant grenade attacks, arson of Serb-owned > homes and most recently we've had a spate of drive-by shootings." This is > also the center-point of regular invasions and assaults in Serbia proper by > a faction of the KLA. > In mid-June, British-led peacekeepers announced they had uncovered > the largest cache of illegal weapons in the year since NATO forces entered > Kosovo. KFOR said the weapons belonged to the KLA. In all, they found 4 > massive underground bunkers in the village of Klecka, which is a former > KLA stronghold west of the provincial capital Pristina. That area was under > the direct control of Gen. Agim Ceku during the bombing. According to KFOR, > the weapons and equipment in the first two bunkers alone was large enough > to fully outfit two heavy-infantry companies, eliminate the entire > population of Pristina and destroy 900 - 1,000 tanks. These bunkers > contained tripod-mounted heavy machine guns, hundreds of rifles, mortars, > rocket propelled grenade launchers, anti-tank and anti-personnel mines, > flak jackets, large quantities of ammunition and communications equipment. > The weapons and ammunition were manufactured in a number of countries > including the United States, Albania, Yugoslavia, and China. Kosovo remains > a ticking timebomb, with the trigger increasingly controlled by NATO and > its proxy institutions in the province. The violence escalates daily, with > no foreseeable end to the horror. This "new" Kosovo is the face of what > Noam Chomsky has termed the "new military humanism". Wasn't the world told > by President Clinton that the bombing and occupation of Kosovo were about > stopping ethnic cleansing? The terror there today is carried out not under > the watch of Slobodan Milosevic, but that of the US and its European > allies. Every child that is gunneddown, every person that is expelled, > every church that is blown up, is a cry for an end to NATO's "humanitarian > interventions". > > Jeremy Scahill is a reporter for Pacifica Radio's Democracy Now! > <http://democracynow.org/ > He reported daily from Yugoslavia during and after the 78-day NATO bombing. > He was on the ground in Kosovo during the NATO occupation last summer. > ### > Common Dreams NewsCenter <http://www.commondreams.org/ is a non-profit news > service providing breaking news and views for the Progressive Community. _______________________________________________ Marxist-Leninist-List mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] To change your options or unsubscribe go to: http://lists.wwpublish.com/mailman/listinfo/marxist-leninist-list
