* Dansk oversættelse under den engelske tekst

A couple of weeks ago the leading media of the West and the Muslim world made the 10th anniversary of the massacre in Srebrenica their top story. Sweden’s television prime time news program devoted 18 minutes to it out of 30 – not one minute of research behind. CNN, BBC and all the rest made it a top story, high-level people flocked to Srebrenica.

Today, on August 5, it is 10 years ago Croatia and the United States committed war crimes in Operation Storm. No one remembers, there isn’t one article on CNN, BBC or other leading media.

At the time this U.S. /Clinton-assisted ethnic cleansing of about 250.000 legitimate Croatian citizens of Serb origin by the Croat Army from Croatia was the largest ethnic cleansing in ex-Yugoslavia. It has only been surpassed by that of Serbs from Kosovo (proportionately) in 1999 which was tacitly accepted by the UN, NATO, OSCE and the EU.

Perhaps worse, the new independent state Croatia simultaneously drove out the United Nations’ UNPROFOR mission. It was a Croatian/US assault on the very legitimacy and excellence of the world organisation’s mission there and in Bosnia.

Today, the official Croatia celebrates August 5. PM Sanader calls Operation Storm “a great, magnificent and historic operation”.

Why it is left in silence by those who so vigoroulsy observed Srebrenica? Here are some possible reasons:

a) it could open a discussion and self-critical analyses of the West’s conflict-mismanagement in the Balkans at the time;

b) focus the attention to the largest – and ignored – refugee problem in today’s Europe – that of the Serb victims from Croatia, Bosnia and Kosovo who have no prospect of ever returning to their homes. They are the Palestinians of Europe;

c) NATO country media practise self-censorship, dare not question American policies and complicity in war crimes or are themselves victims of the black-and-white war propaganda and lies of the 1990s;

d) a combination of ignorance about history and/or lack of civil courage by those who were there and/or otherwise know the fact.

e) the ongoing racist dimension of human rights violations: different people who suffer and die are not given equal attention. Attention in the world media and politics is dependent on your identity. Innocent Serbs who suffer are simply less worthy of attention and compassion than innocent (European) Muslims who suffer.

f) Oh yes, not to be forgotten: one of the leading Croatian Army commanders of “Storm” was the infamous Kosovo-Albanian Agim Ceku who, from 1993, helped build the Kosovo Liberation Army, KLA – considered a terrorist organisation by the U.S. Ceku has worked intimately ever since with the international community in Kosovo as head of the Kosovo Protection Corps. Few in the international community would like that link to come up – see Robert Fisk below!

Since TFF is independent in every sense we can take up these issues – both concerning Srebrenica and Croatia – and alert you to the massive propaganda. Silence can be part of propaganda and deception too.

Please browse the link collection below. Why did YOUR media not mention Operation Storm today?

Fortunately, Amnesty International – the uncompromisingly honest, independent and fair organisation – has said what everybody else ought to say today, on August 5, 2005.

See all the links after the Danish text

Det forglemte 10-års jubilæum: Operation Storm i Kroatien

Af Jan Øberg

For nogle uger siden gjorde de ledende medier i vesten og i den muslimske verden 10-års jubilæet af massakren i Srebenica til deres tophistorie. Sverige Televisions bedste nyhedsprogram afsatte 18 ud af 30 minutter til det dog uden at have udført et minuts baggrundsresearch. CNN, BBC og alle de andre gjorde det til en tophistorie. Højtstående personer fra Europa og USA strømmede til Srebrenica.

Den 5. august var det 10 år siden, at Kroatien og USA begik krigsforbrydelser under Operation Storm. Ingen huskede os på det. Der var ikke én artikel på CNN, BBC eller andre ledende medier.

På det tidspunkt var denne amerikansk/Clinton-støttede etniske udrensning udført af den kroatiske hær af omkring 250.000 legitime kroatiske statsborgere af serbisk herkomst den største etniske udrensning i Eks-Jugoslavien. Den er kun (proportionelt) blevet overgået af udrensningen af serbere fra Kosovo efter bombningerne i 1999, som stiltiende blev accepteret af FN, NATO, OSCE og EU.

Måske endnu værre drev den nyligt selvstændige kroatiske stat FN’s UNPROFOR-mission ud. Det var et kroatisk-amerikansk angreb på legitimiteten og ekspertisen af FN dér og i Bosnien.

Den 5. august fejrede det officielle Kroatien årsdagen. Statsminister Sanader beskrev Operation Storm som “en stor, prægtig og historisk operation.“

Hvorfor blev Operation Storm fortiet af dem som så energisk mindede verden om Srebenica?

Her er nogle mulige årsager:

a) det kunne åbne for en diskussion og selvkritisk analyse af vestens konflikthåbdtering i Balkan på det tidspunkt;

b) fokusering af opmærksomhed på det største &endash; og ignorerede &endash; flygtningeproblem i dagens Europa: Serbere fra Kroatien, Bosnien og Kosovo, som ikke har nogen udsigt til nogensinde at vende tilbage til deres hjem. De er Europas palæstinensere og lever under kummerlige vilkår i dagens fattige Serbien;

c) NATO-landenes medier praktiserer selvcensur, tør ikke sætte spørgsmål ved den amerikansk førte politik og delagtighed i krigsforbrydelser, eller er selv ofre for den sort/hvide propaganda fra 1990’erne;

d) en kombination af ligegyldighed over for historien og/eller civilt mod fra dem, der var der og/eller på anden måde kender fakta.

e) den fortsatte racistiske dimension af menneskerettighedsbrud: Forskellige folk der lider og dør gives ikke samme grad af opmærksomhed. Opmærksomhed i verdensmedier og politik er afhængig af ofrets identitet. Uskyldige serbere, der lider, er ganske simpelt mindre værdige opmærksomhed og medlidenhed end uskyldige (europæiske) muslimer, der lider.

f) og ikke at forglemme: En af de ledende hærfører i den kroatiske hær under “Storm” var den berygtede Kosovo-albanske Agim Ceku, der fra 1993 hjalp med at opbygge Kosovo Liberation Army, KLA &endash; der i en periode blev betragtet som en terrororganisation af USA. Ceku har siden samarbejdet intimt med det internationale samfund i Kosovo som leder af Kosovo Protection Corps. Få i det internationale samfund ønsker denne forbindelse belyst (Se Robert Fisk herunder).

Eftersom TFF er uafhængig i enhver henseende kan vi behandle disse emner &endash; både angående Srebrenica og Kroatien &endash; og gøre opmærksom på den massive propaganda. Tavshed kan også være en del af propaganda og bedrageri.

Gennemse venligst linksamlingen herunder. Hvor nævnte dit medie ikke Operation Storm den 5. august?

Heldigvis har Amnesty International, den kompromisløst ærlige, uafhængige og fair organisation sagt, hvad alle andre burde have sagt d. 5. august 2005.

Amnesty International
Croatia: Operation Storm – still no justice ten years on

Wikipedia
Operation Storm

Ivo Pukanic, Nacional Weekly, Croatia
The role of the US in Operation Storm

Institute of War and Peace Reporting IWPR
War crimes overshadow memories of victory

TFF PressInfo April 2000
Bring more aid to people in Yugoslavia

BBC
Crotia marks Storm Anniversary

Satish Nambiar, ret, former UN commander
The fatal flaws underlying NATO’s intervention in Yugoslavia

Robert Fisk
Two prophetic articles from the Independent in 1999 – and about Ceku
“And in a world where crystal balls are always broken, I venture to make a prediction about Kosovo which I sincerely hope will prove wrong: that in the days before Nato’s troops arrive in Kosovo, the KLA’s new commander – the infamous Agim Cecu who, as a Croatian army general, “ethnically cleansed” 170,000 Serb civilians from Krajina – will “cleanse” the remaining Serbs from Kosovo. That the KLA will refuse to be “demilitarised”. That in a few months’ time – at most a year – Nato’s enemies will be the KLA, who will be raging against the West for abandoning their hopes of independence. Then we shall remember how we thought we had won the war.”

TFF PressInfo 192, 2003
A decade too late, Kosovo talks begin
– in which Jan Oberg mentions his encounter with Ceku.