Libertarian Party of NY -- Following the News -- The Balkan Situation

One year later...
In the year since the US stopped bombing Kosovo, what has happened? About one million Kosovars who left the country during the bombing have returned. About 500 people have been killed, though, according to the Washington Post, despite the 30,000 soldiers and 3,000 police officers deployed in the area by the U.N., and 150,000 Serbs have become displaced. (The stats before we started bombing were 2,000 Albanians killed and 200,000 displaced. Source: May 18 NATO Briefing on "Operation Allied Force") The infrastructure is not really being rebuilt.

Ecological Impact

Discussion of the damage to the Danube, and lack of rebuilding infrastructure... The toxins from the oil refineries, chemical plants, and other U.S. targets were deadly, yet reports say that the level of agriculture has doubled to make up for the decreased industrial output. If you know of any studies being done about the effects in the region, please send links.

6/17/00: Attacks on Roma Subside. Because some Roma collaborated with Serbs, many were targetted. As a result, some are being protected in camps by KFOR. (From the Washington Post.)

6/12/00: An international tribunal led by former U.S. Attorney General Ramsey Clark has found the U.S. and N.A.T.O. guilty of War Crimes. Their report details nineteen separate Crimes Against Peace, War Crimes and Crimes Against Humanity in violation of the Charter of the United Nations, the 1949 Geneva Conventions, other international agreements and customary international law.

6/11/00: Ethnic Violence Continues, says the Washington Post

6/10/00: One Year Later: Dubious Anniversary, from the Cato Institute: "Today, it is the NATO-allied Kosovo Liberation Army that is engaged in a brutal ethnic-cleansing campaign against Serbians."

6/7/00: Amnesty cites NATO for War Crimes and NATO denies the charges. Amnesty singles out the bombing of a civilian TV station as being clearly against international treaties.

4/26/00: Serb killings linked to corrupt government according to the BBC.

1/15/00: Arkan, called everything from notorious warlord, to patriot, to paramilitary leader, to the "Godfather of all Godfathers in the Serbian underworld," was assassinated at Belgrade's Intercontinental hotel. (Report from the BBC.)

A new Cato Institute book, NATO's Empty Victory: A Postmortem on the Balkan War, brings together ten foreign policy experts who examine the NATO allies' claim that they won a great victory in their war against Yugoslavia.

Also from Cato:
11/20/99: The Real Kosovo from Foreign Policy Analyst Gary Dempsey

As of June 22nd, 1999, NATO proclaims success Seventy-eight days of NATO bombing concluded, the Russians moved in to take the airport at Prizren, where NATO had planned to set up a command-and-control headquarters. NATO pretends this is OK, and tries to save face. KLA disarmament is the issue East and West fought over last week. (Because the KLA are the only ones who can get away with attacking the Russians?)

Meanwhile, the one million Albanian and twenty-thousand Serbian refugees face returning to a situation reminiscent of Beiruit or Bosnia: their homes are bombed and burned, water tainted, no electricity, air polluted with the spew from factories and refineries targetted by NATO, ground littered with unexploded cluster bombs and land mines, bridges destroyed, hospitals, retirement homes and monestaries badly damaged, fields irradiated with depleted uranium from NATO weapons, and finally, as if that weren't enough, seven or more separate armed occupying forces in the various cities and villages: U.S., British, German, French, Russian, Belgian, KLA (Kosovo Liberation Army) and Serb forces all 'control' areas of the country the refugees are being exhorted to return to. Perhaps the most feared, though, are Arkan's troops--the paramilitary mafia-like forces that have been terrorizing civilians since the bombing began and the power vacuum was created.

In the U.S., Clinton calls this a successful war, and marks the progress in returning refugees to this situation NATO helped to create.

As of June 7th, peace talks have broken down. Protests lashed out this weekend across the U.S. Twenty-six people got arrested Friday in Washington D.C. in an act of civil disobediance. (Washington Post) Busloads more people arrived in D.C. the next day, for a protest organized by the International Action Center (participants document the protest). In San Francisco on Saturday, 6,000 people showed up with flags and giant puppets of the president. (San Francisco Gate) Yet our government forges ahead with the bloodbath.

Target graphic and RealAudio file courtesy Beograd.com

Back before the bombs started dropping, there were a lot more options. The problem is much worse than when we started: there are over a million and a half refugees, most outside of Yugoslavia. Whole Kosovar towns are destroyed. Civilian infrastructure, from water to bridges to hospitals, has been damaged and destroyed. And, in an outrage late to explode in the Western corporate media, depleted uranium shells have been exploding over the Serbian and Kosovar land for over two months. Depleted Uranium (DU) is believed to be the main cause of the Gulf War Syndrome, which sickened thousands of U.S. veterans. DU is used to make the shell casings used in the Balkans by NATO forces. The story has finally [5/99] been picked up by ABCNews and the BBC, not just FAIR... now, even the Pentagon even admits they used DU. (More about use of depleted uranium.)

War Crimes Charges have been brought up against Slobodon Milsevic and four of his comrades, but there are those (such as Walter J. Rockler, Nuremburg prosecutor) who feel that NATO actions are equally reprehensible. You only need to view photo after photo of the destruction or see the air raid attack logs that contain reports from city after city to agree that we did not follow the simple dictum: first, do no harm. Let us not prove to the world that Americans will not CARE until we see our own returning in body bags. Unspeakable violence is already being committed in our name--it has been for two and a half months now. Let us move BEFORE 90,000 Ground Troops are Sent in... We must insist:

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There are many organizations which exist to funnel the support of individuals to those in need. We would encourage you to research one that you can feel comfortable donating to... here are some:

Realtime: The Radio B92 site provides access to hourly streamed audio files of radio programs and text versions of the programs in Dutch, English, and Serbian. Mirrors: http://helpB92.xs4all.nl/ http://www.siicom.com/odrazb/ http://www.b92.net/news/ http://www.b92eng.opennet.org Newsgroups: soc.culture.yugoslavia is recommended. IRC (internet relay chat) rooms reportedly active include: #serbia #beograd #vojvodina #kosovo #novisad Java-based chat to access irc.cg.yu, channel #beograd, from beograd.com. Web-based fora: San Francisco Gate's Forum

•the internet routes around censorship• Subject: B 92 - AM transmissions from Austria starting 2nite Date: 3/26/99 Dear all, As things are now, Radio B 92 will be relayed from 2nite [21.15 - 22.00 GMT] by a powerful 500 KW AM mediumwave transmitter located in Austria that can be heard easily all over neighbouring Yugoslavia. Austrian Broacasting Corporation ORF officials contacted me half an hour ago, after I had spread the latest news via q/depesche newsletter. They are currently experimenting with the RealMedia audio feed, an editorial office is being set up right now, radio profs from ORF [the company I will be working 4 in the internet section from May on] will help the already existing editorial office @ Public Netbase here in Vienna. cu Erich

Map courtesy of www.theodora.com/maps (used with permission).

speaking their language
About the Albanaian Language, from Uni-Stuttgart Basic Albanian Vocabulary More linguistic and other info about Albania	Croatian Language Short Croatian Dictionary
Background: For a good (but short) overview of the history of the region, showing the border changes over the last 100 years, check out the BBC's Map of Yugoslavia. Also see ABC News's Kosovo Primer
An awesome Windows Dictionary application, English-Serbian / Englesko-srpski Web-based English to Serbian Dictionary Serbian Dictionary (server down right now)	About the Montenegrin language

More links, as they come in:

6/8/99:
facts about depleted uranium use by NATO
http://www.users.bigpond.com/wattyler/19990422coghilldu.htm

uranium fears
http://www.xs4all.nl/~roman1/warningnewsuranium.htm

depleted uranium: metal of dishonor
http://www.iacenter.org/depleted/mettoc.htm

serbian monestaries and churches we have bombed
http://www.Serbian-Church.net/Svetinje/svetinje_e.html

bridges we have bombed
http://ns1.marae.com/Beograd.com/bridges/

daily maps of NATO attacks
http://www.stratfor.com/crisis/kosovo/maps.htm

windows '99 (getting safe in Novi Sad)
http://members.xoom.com/nswin99/works/win99.htm

other Novi Sad pictures
http://151.200.15.145/novisad/ns_damage/index.html

'collateral damage' by town/city
http://news.beograd.com/collateral_damages/index.html

refugees may find devastated Kosovo (no shit) http://search.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WAPO/19990605/V000737-060599-idx.html

another war diary: keep the faith
http://www.keepfaith.com/

5/24/99:
a war diary
http://www.webcinema.org/war_diaries/

about the war diary site
http://www.wired.com/news/news/culture/story/19634.html

3/31/99:
serbs forcing albanians onto trains
http://www.foxnews.com/js_index.sml?content=/news/international/0331/i_rt_0331_16.sml

germany reports yugoslavian concentration camps
http://www.foxnews.com/js_index.sml?content=/news/international/0331/i_ap_0331_42.sml

serb authorities are stripping albanians passports as they leave the country
http://www.cnn.com/WORLD/europe/9903/31/nato.attack.02/index.html

belgrad rationing petrol with coupons
http://www.opennet.org/

and cigarettes are running low...
http://msnbc.com/news/254779.asp

turkey reports that the russian black sea fleet crossed through bosphorus today
http://www.stratfor.com/crisis/kosovo/Default.htm

Italy, Belgium, UK, US, Denmark, Swiss, UN sending humanitarian aid to refugees
http://www.foxnews.com/js_index.sml?content=/news/international/0330/i_ap_0330_99.sml

New York City protests
http://www.iacenter.org/yugdemos.htm#NY

"We are especially mindful that a half million Serbian refugees from the Croatian Krajina and Bosnia-Hercegovina who have been forced from their homes by internationally condoned violence, including U.S. bombing, are again in harm's way in their exile in Yugoslavia. They were made refugees because then those great powers backed the concept of the inviolability of new international borders over the desire for self-determination of populations. Now they will again be victims to the same bombers, who this time support precisely the opposite position and back the Albanian Kosovars in their desire for independence regardless of internationally recognized borders."

Monks tell their story
http://www.wired.com/news/news/politics/story/18755.html

Official NATO homepage: http://www.nato.int/
US Information Agency homepage.

USIA Mailing list for US press releases on Kosovo:
Send a message of subscribe kosovo to LISTSERV@INFO.USIA.GOV... or look here for archived postings as they arrive.

Kosovo Liberation Peace Movement

Camera at the University of Belgrade (Beograd) -- you need to hit reload to update the image. (Not much going on here.)
Weather in Belgrade (Vremenska Prognoza za Beograd)

The Libertarian Party calls for an end to the attack against Yugoslavia:
LP Press Release
Ron Pauls's statement to his constituents
Boston Herald: Critics of attack form unlikely coalition

E-mail from Kosovo:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/1999/03/25/MN91869.DTL
http://www.npr.org/programs/morning/kosovo-emails.html

Independant radio station in Serbia shut down
http://www.wired.com/news/news/politics/story/18691.html
http://www.wired.com/news/news/politics/story/18695.html

Earlier Stories (from October):
http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/1998/10/kosovo/email/archive.html

About this Site

We are committed to bringing you the highest quality sources so that you can form your own opinion about what the U.S. and NATO are doing to the Balkans region. We hope you will agree with us that it is a humanitarian disaster, and help us Stop The War Now! This page contains links to, and now contains graphic material--PLEASE hold the U.S. Government responsible, not those who bear witness to the damage. That is the purpose of putting it here--this is being done in your name. If you find it disturbing, write to your senator and ask them to stop! Please send in Kosovo-related links or Balkan background material that you find, as well as private humanitarian-aid charities we can link to. Please write to the editors.

Link to us: <a href="http://ny.lp.org/news/balkans.htm">Balkans Dossier from the LPNY</a>

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