March 1999

LONDON- It took too many years of bombing before America discovered its limitations in Vietnam. In Britain, people still today argue over the mass bombing that brought on the firestorm that destroyed the magnificent German city of Dresden. Did it break the will of the people or unite them in loathing–as it seems to be doing now in Belgrade–for the perpetuators. There are at least four ways of looking at Yugoslavia, and each gives its own pointers to policy. The first is that of the periscope. We should have seen what was coming and acted–invaded/bombed or whatever–earlier. It would have avoided Bosnia and certainly Kosovo. Perhaps there is some truth to this. But I prefer to remember the few voices who argued, long before local war-making span out of control, that UN peacekeepers could have been on the ground cooling and separating things off before tempers and the sour spirit of...

Veran Matic Namera vazdusnih udara protiv Jugoslavije je navodno bila da se zaustavi Miloseviceva ratna masina. Krajni je cilj naizgled bio da se pomogne narodu Kosova a tako i onima u Srbiji koji su takodje bili zrtve Milosevicevog rezima. Medjutim, bombardovanje je ugrozilo zivote ukupno 10,5 miliona ljudi i omogucilo nesputani napad na tek stasale demokratske snage kako na Kosovu tako i u Srbiji. Njime je potkopan rad reformista u Crnoj Gori i u srpskom entitetu u Bosni i Hercegovini i ugrozeni su njihovi napori da ostvare mir. Bombardovanjem Jugoslavije iskazana je sva politicka nemoc predsednika SAD, Bila Klintona, i zapadnih saveznika da sprece humanitarnu katastrofu na Kosovu. Zastititi populaciju kojoj se preti svakako jeste plemenita duznost, ali zahteva jasnu strategiju i unapred utvrdjenu viziju o zavrsetku. S razvojem situacije i na terenu i u vazduhu iz dana u dan postaje sve jasnije da takve strategije jednostavno nema. Umesto nje,...

Veran Matic The air strikes against Yugoslavia were supposed to stop the Milosevic war machine. The ultimate goal is ostensibly to support the people of Kosovo, as well as those of Serbia, who are equally victims of the Milosevic regime. In fact the bombing has jeopardised the lives of 10.5 million people and unleashed an attack on the fledgling forces of democracy in Kosovo and Serbia. It has undermined the work of reformists in Montenegro and the Serbian entity of Bosnia-Herzegovina and their efforts to promote peace. The bombing of Yugoslavia demonstrates the political impotence of US President Bill Clinton and the Western alliance in averting a human catastrophe in Kosovo. The protection of a population under threat is a noble duty, but it requires a clear strategy and a coherent end game. As the situation unfolds on the ground and in the air day by day, it is becoming...

Bombing the Baby With the Bathwater Belgrade, March 30, 1999 The air strikes against Yugoslavia were supposed to stop the Milosevic war machine. The ultimate goal is ostensibly to support the people of Kosovo, as well as those of Serbia, who are equally victims of the Milosevic regime. In fact the bombing has jeopardised the lives of 10.5 million people and unleashed an attack on the fledgling forces of democracy in Kosovo and Serbia. It has undermined the work of reformists in Montenegro and the Serbian entity of Bosnia-Herzegovina and their efforts to promote peace. The bombing of Yugoslavia demonstrates the political impotence of US President Bill Clinton and the Western alliance in averting a human catastrophe in Kosovo. The protection of a population under threat is a noble duty, but it requires a clear strategy and a coherent end game. As the situation unfolds on the ground and in...

Kjell Magnussons skrift hör till det viktigaste somskrivits om krig och konflikter på Balkan “RAMBOUILLETAVTALET”Texten, förhandlingarna, bakgrundenAv: Kjell Magnusson.Current IssuesReports from Centre for Multiethnic Research Uppsala University. Av Sören Sommelius Kulturredaktör, Helsinborg Dagblad, TFF:s konfliktläkningsgrupp NATOs flyg gick till angrepp mot Jugoslavien för snart ett halvår sedan, den 24 mars, som inledning till 78 dagars bombkrig med stor materiell förödelse och långsiktiga destruktiva konsekvenser för fred och säkerhet i världen. Tusentals människor dödades. Först flydde och fördrevs bortät en miljon albaner genom serbisk vedergällning och bomber. Därefter flydde och fördrevs över 200.000 albaner och zigenare i albansk vedergällning.I dag är läget på Balkan betydligt värre än det var innan NATO började bomba. Utsikterna för en varaktig fred på Balkan är knappast ljusa. Anledningen till att NATO gick i krig var formellt att Jugoslavien vägrade skriva under det så kallade Rambouilletavtalet, ett 80-sidigt dokument, om vilket parterna förhandlade under februari på...

Kosovo "Freedom Fighters" Financed By Organised Crime Heralded by the global media as a humanitarian peace-keeping mission, NATO’s ruthless bombing of Belgrade and Pristina goes far beyond the breach of international law. While Slobodan Milosevic is demonised, portrayed as a remorseless dictator, the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) is upheld as a self-respecting nationalist movement struggling for the rights of ethnic Albanians. The truth of the matter is that the KLA is sustained by organised crime with the tacit approval of the United States and its allies. Following a pattern set during the War in Bosnia, public opinion has been carefully misled. The multibillion dollar Balkans narcotics trade has played a crucial role in "financing the conflict" in Kosovo in accordance with Western economic, strategic and military objectives. Amply documented by European police files, acknowledged by numerous studies, the links of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) to criminal syndicates in Albania,...

Heralded by the global media as a humanitarian peace-keeping mission, NATO’s ruthless bombing of Belgrade and Pristina goes far beyond the breach of international law. While Slobodan Milosevic is demonised, portrayed as a remorseless dictator, the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) is upheld as a self-respecting nationalist movement struggling for the rights of ethnic Albanians. The truth of the matter is that the KLA is sustained by organised crime with the tacit approval of the United States and its allies.  Following a pattern set during the War in Bosnia, public opinion has been carefully misled. The multibillion dollar Balkans narcotics trade has played a crucial role in “financing the conflict” in Kosovo in accordance with Western economic, strategic and military objectives. Amply documented by European police files, acknowledged by numerous studies, the links of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) to criminal syndicates in Albania, Turkey and the European Union have been...

The Way Away from the “Powder Keg” to the Oasis of Peace”– and Back Again 1. The Albanian Question versus the Macedonian Question: Historical background Peace and stability in Macedonia have always been heavily dependent both on internal and external factors. From a more recent point of view, it seems that the Kosovo conflict has explicit importance for the survival and future prospects of this country. It is a consequence not only of the fact that Macedonia is the nearest neighboring country, but rather of the fact that the Kosovo Question is a part of a wider Albanian Question in the Balkans. Moreover, within its own borders Macedonia itself is burdened with a part of this complex historical problem. The puzzle is additionally made more complex by the existence of so-called Macedonian Question. The impact of the Kosovo conflict on Macedonia can best be explored through focusing on the facets...

“Bez pameti, kontraproduktivno i nezakonito NATO-ovobombardovanje suverene Jugoslavije predsednik Bil Klinton,Evropska zajednica i drugi zapadni lideri i medijiopravdavaju izgovarajuci se razlozima humanitarne prirode.Navodno – vazdusni udari sluze da sprece etnicko ciscenje,reke izbeglica, da sprece ubistva nevinih zena i dece.Diplomatskim recnikom receno ovi izgovori stizu izmarketinskog odelenja. Bombardovanje ce proizvesti upravosuprotno od onog sto navodno pokusava da spreci” kaze dr.Jan Oberg, direktor TFF-a, neposredno posle pocetkabombardovanja. Prema Obergu, ovim argumentima nedostajeuverljivost upravo iz sledecih razloga: NIJE BILO POKUSAJA DA SE NASILJE SPRECIZbog cega Zapad nije uradio apsolutno nista u prethodnomperiodu pre no sto je ova kriza prerasla u nasilnu? Bilo jepuno prilika za sporazumno razresenje. Npr. TFF je predlagaocitav niz razlicitih mogucnosti pocev od 1992. kojima senasilje moglo spreciti, a tako i ubistva kojima smo bilisvedoci prosle godine. Ni u jednom drugom sukobu nije bilotoliko prepoznatljivih, ranih znakova upozorenja, a da sepritom upotrebilo tako malo preventivne diplomatije.Kosovska katastrofa je bila medju...

“NATO’s unwise, counterproductive and non-legalbombing of sovereign Yugoslavia is justified by PresidentBill Clinton, EU and other Western leaders and media withreference to humanitarian concerns. Supposedly air strikesserve to stop ethnic cleansing, future massacres, refugeeflows, and prevent innocent children and women from beingkilled. Diplomatically expressed, this comes from themarketing department. Bombings will to produce what itpurports to prevent,” says Dr. Jan Oberg, TFF’s director,right after the bombing campaign has started. According toOberg, this argument lacks credibility for the followingreasons: NO VIOLENCE-PREVENTIONWhy did the West do absolutely nothing before this crisisbecame violent? There were many opportunities for anegotiated solutions. TFF, for instance, has suggested avariety of options since 1992 that could have preventedviolence and the killing we’ve seen the last year. In noother conflict has there been so many early warnings and solittle preventive diplomacy. Kosovo’s catastrophe was amongthe most predictable of all. It is intellectual nonsensethat ‘everything else has been tried...

LONDON– Jedini racionalni razlog za vazdusne napade zapada na Jugoslaviju je taj sto Washington i London treba da sacuvaju vlastiti kredibilitet. Zivoti mladica bice zrtvovani da bi se sacuvao obraz staraca. Rekli su da ce to uraditi i zato ce to i uraditi. Ovo je taman toliko neodgovorno koliko je i glupavo. Kako je planirano operacija ce se izvrsiti po visokoj vojnoj ceni. Ovo nece biti repriza nedavnih bombardovanja Iraka. Srbi imaju mogucnost da uzvrate, a ciljevi NATO-a su brojni. On ovde nije samo flotila ratnih brodova u obliznjim morima, u ovom slucaju ti su i NATO-ove trupe u Bosni i Makedoniji. Drugo, zapad opravdava ovu operaciju neophodnoscu da se izbegne humanitarna katastrofa. Svi cemo biti svedoci paradoksa koji ce proizvesti bombardovanje iz vazduha. Dok bude konsolidovalo podrsku bombardovane nacije koja ce stati iza svog vodje, (lekcija iz nase skorasnje istorije), ono ce takodje prozvesti i novu humanitarnu katastrofu cije...

LONDON- The only rational reason for western air attacks on Yugoslavia is that Washington and London have to maintain their credibility. Young men’s lives will be sacrificed for older men’s face. They said they would do it. So they do it. This is both irresponsible and stupid. At the most basic it will be done at a most severe military cost. This is not going to be a repeat of the recent bombings of Iraq. The Serbs do have the capacity to hit back and NATO’s targets are many. Not just the off-shore flotilla of warships but NATO troops in Bosnia and Macedonia. Second, the West is justifying the operation as necessary to avoid a humanitarian disaster. We are now going to witness the paradox of aerial bombing. While it consolidates the support of the nation being bombed behind their leader, (the lesson of its short history), it will also create...