July 11, 1999

Special Truth in Media Reports on NATO's Kosovo War and "Peace" S99-122, "Peace" 16

HEADLINES

Gracanica                  1. Brave But Naïve Serb Bishop Again Appeals for

                                      Reason to Unreasonable (NATO, KLA)

Pristina                      2. New York Albanian Dispossesses Serb Hotel Owners

                                      With U.S. Troops Acquiescence

Dublin                        3. Former KLA Soldier Held in Dublin Stabbings

London                      4. Former British Army Chiefs Demand Public Inquiry

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1. Brave But Naïve Serb Bishop Again Appeals for Reason to Unreasonable (NATO, KLA)

GRACANICA, July 4 - Bishop Artemije, the Serb Bishop of Kosovo (with the official title of Bishop of Prizren and Raska), distinguished himself in the last several years by his unceasing attempts to reason with unreasonable anti-Christians who are the New World Order leaders (if you search our Web site using his name as keyword, you'll find a number of references to his meetings in Washington, Paris, Berlin and elsewhere with, what subsequent events have proven, turned out to be the western war criminals who butchered innocent Serb civilians).

Even before that, Bishop Artemije, had distinguished himself by his unceasing opposition to Serbia's turncoat-communist dictator, Slobodan Milosevic.

And now, during NATO's Kosovo "piss process," Bishop Artemije is distinguishing himself by a combination of unceasing courage and unceasing naivete. Courage, because he remained in Kosovo despite the threats he and the other Serb clergy from Prizren had received (see S99-110, "Peace" 4, Item 1, June 16). Naivete, because he keeps talking and trusting the enemy.

Here is one example - excerpts from a letter which Bishop Artemije sent on July 4 to the U.N./NATO commanders in Pristina - Mr. Sergio De Mello, and the British General Michael Jackson, KFOR HQ (also see a very distressing photo, just posted at our Web site, of the funeral services to three Serb victims murdered by the Kosovo Albanians in cold blood - see the bullet holes in their foreheads - in Pec, Kosovo, which Metropolitan Amfilohije of Montenegro, and two unidentified Serb priests gave on June 20).

During the night between 2nd and 3rd of July the monuments of Vuk Karadzic and Njegos (the famous Serb writers), in the very center of the city were destroyed. The pulled down statues were trailed by tractors through the streets of Pristina, while the enraged Albanian crowd was yelling and spitting on them."

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TiM Ed.: Shades of the jubilant Somali crowds in Mogadishu dragging the bodies of the dead American Rangers in 1993?

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"At the same time intensive shooting by weapons of different caliber spread around city and its surrounding that it seemed that the real war had just begun. Such provocative use of weapons, which is a direct violation of the recent Undertaking between KFOR and UCK, clearly manifests that the international community worked on one track only, forcing the Serb troops to withdraw, while on the other hand hundreds of gangs were allowed to return to Kosovo with new weapons ready to spread death and destruction against all non-Albanians.

There is no need to say what symbolic and psychological meaning the destruction of these two monuments has for our people. Their destruction is a clear message to Serbs that there is no place for them and their culture in Kosovo.

Regrettably, Pristina is not an isolated example. Several days ago a statue of the Serb Medieval Emperor Uros in Urosevac was destroyed, while the monuments to Emperor Dusan and Consul Yastre-bov in Prizren were desecrated and destroyed as well. All around Kosovo everything which belongs to the Serbian people is exposed to merciless destruction. In fact beside many outrageous murders, looting, expulsions, rapes, burning of homes, we are experiencing a 'culturocide' of our people.

We have reliable reports that on the head of the celebration and disorder in Pristina was no one else but Mr. Hashim Thaci, the leader of UCK (the KLA), who just a few hours before had signed the joint Statement in which he agreed to appeal on his people to restrain and live in peace with their neighbors.

Only a few hours later Albanian crowd, inflamed with nationalism and ethnic hatred 'celebrated' their freedom by burning additional few Serbian homes in Pristina and destroying the Serbian cultural heritage.

But this is not the end. The Albanian leaders not only failed to speak openly to their people in the line of our mutual agreement but the crimes against Serbs were continued with greater vigor.

All Serbs from Orlovac village near Pristina had to leave their homes (41 families altogether). Several Serbs were kidnapped. Yesterday, (the) Djordjevic family in Gnjilanska street in Pristina were attacked by a group of armed Albanians. Miroslav Djordjevic was seriously wounded and had to be operated for 3.5 hours in the hospital. Ratko Djordjevic, his brother, was beaten and wounded in his leg. The family was forced to leave their home.

We have just received a report from the Gnjilane area (the American sector), that the monastery of Binac near Vitina was desecrated and burned to the ground. The monks from the monastery were forced to leave and hardly managed to save their lives. A Serb Milan Ljusic was kidnapped by three armed Albanians with UCK insignia from Gorioc Monastery near Istok yesterday afternoon, while the nuns were threatened to leave the monastery or otherwise they would be slaughtered. Five carbonated Serb bodies have been found in Istok. We still do not know their identity.

Gentlemen, our delegation made a very important step forward towards peaceful coexistence of all national communities and restoration of peace and stability in Kosovo. We clearly condemned crimes by Milosevic's regime although the Albanian delegation refused to mention and condemn crimes against Serbs at all. We think that we have manifested more than our sincere readiness and wish to cooperate. But we are not going to continue doing so under any condition. Therefore we strongly demand from UNMIK and KFOR:

• To publicly condemn the violence which occurred during the "Albanian celebration" two days ago. - to energetically urge Kosovo Albanian leaders, especially Mr. Thaci to distance himself publicly from the latest violence and address openly his people and call them to live in peace and tolerance. Words without clear actions are useless. The authority which Mr. Thaci enjoys among Kosovo Albanians makes him very responsible for their present and future behavior.

• To restore both monuments in Pristina to their previous positions and to insist that the same is done in Urosevac and Prizren. The presence of KFOR must not be abused by Kosovo Albanians for destruction of the Serbian cultural heritage. The Albanians are free to build their monuments as well but not to destroy what belongs to other communities and cultures.

• To urge UCK (KLA) officials to urgently offer detailed information about all Serbs who are arrested or kidnapped by their members. We have clear indications that camps for Serbs still exist in Kosovo. Who is running them and how long they will exist more is the answer for KFOR authorities. The crimes committed against Kosovo Serbs by various Albanian military formations must thoroughly be investigated by ICTY and not by local Kosovo courts. We must have in mind that in the course of last two years many Serb civilians were killed by UCK, many kidnapped, all Serbs who lived on the Albanian controlled territory were completely expelled from their homes and their property looted or destroyed. The crimes against Serbs have not begun two weeks ago only. Publicly acknowledged investigation of the crimes against Serbs and other non-Albanians will very much prevent further crimes and atrocities for which some extremist Albanian think that they have no responsibility.

Fulfillment of these demands will give us sincere encouragement to continue our further cooperation. However, if Albanian leaders, especially from UCK (KLA), continue ignoring or minimizing crimes against non-Albanians, especially the Serbs, and put all blame on the Serbs in general, we must say that we cannot take part and cooperate in any joint commission envisaged by the latest Statement.

Our will to work together, despite severe criticism of Milosevic's media and individual protests from some of the suffering Kosovo Serbs, must not be understood as a green light for continuation of crimes against our people and Church. Unless the Albanian leadership not only condemns the latest crimes but also makes first verifiable steps to stop terror and free the arrested and kidnapped Serbs, we will not be in position any longer to meet them and work together again.

We sincerely believe that you fully understand our position. We are also taking opportunity to express our gravest surprise how KFOR could not have prevented such violence in the streets of Pristina and the destruction of our two monuments. That is why we expect that this failure will be improved and the monuments be restored to their place in the nearest future.

Despite of these latest incidents we must say that we appreciate the efforts which KFOR has made in the course of the last week. Actions in which KFOR soldiers confiscated weapons, arrested various criminals, and in several cases prevented major crimes show true commitment of the KFOR and UNMIK to work on creation of better security conditions for all communities in Kosovo and Metohija and fully implement the UN Security Council Resolution 1224, for which we remain grateful."

Sincerely Yours, Bishop of Raska and Prizren, Kyr ARTEMIJE

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TiM Ed.: See what we mean? Bishop Artemije is a good man; a brave priest; a devout Christian, but is unceasingly naïve when it comes to trusting the NATO war criminals. And their proteges, such an ordinary Albanian thug, KLA's Hashim Thaci (also see "Thugs of the World Unite," S99-117, "Peace" 11, Item 1, July 1). That Thaci went back on his solemn commitment only two hours after signing his name to it only suggests that this Albanian is even a more brazen war criminal than our own Arkansan Liar-in-Chief.

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2. New York Albanian Dispossesses Serb Hotel Owners With U.S. Troops Acquiescence

PRISTINA, July 7 - Let's send an Al Capone clone to Pristina, Kosovo. Capone's ruthless rule of the prohibition era Chicago neighborhoods was nothing compared to the lawlessness into which the Kosovo "piss process" has evolved (see S99-108, "Peace" 2, Item 1, June 13). The Kosovo "peace" became a murderous farce the moment the NATO and the KLA war criminals joined hands in "liberating" this ancient Serb land from the Serbs.

Here's an excerpt from one example of it, published in the British media (the Morning Star, July 7):

"SERB civilians who ran the Grand Hotel restaurant in Kosovo's provincial capital Pristina were 'ethnically cleansed' by a group of joint Albanian-US citizens recently. The Grand Hotel has been made a base for KFOR troops, western journalists and other camp followers who provide services for the occupation force in Kosovo.

Under the protection of NATO troops, the group, led by New York restaurant manager Arber Muriqi, ignored Serb protests and simply took over. 'I saw the opportunity and grabbed it,' Mr Muriqi is reported to have said.

US soldiers made clear that they would not intervene and told the Serbs to complain to the military occupying force about the Albanian takeover."

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TiM Ed.: In other words, to stuff it!

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"Serbs have also been driven out of towns and villages, such as Novake, Bellopoje and Grace by the Kosovo Liberation Army and under the gaze of German troops in their sector in the south.

Of course, Western-backed mass expulsions are not new. Over 600,000 Serbs were ethnically cleansed from Krajina in Croatia in the early 1990s with the help of US personnel, while the Dayton accords imposed ethnically pure zones to divide and rule Bosnia.

Those Serbs who did not leave Krajina were massacred by the Croatian army, while western advisers stood by and did nothing. The expulsion of Serbs has been deliberately played down by the press and western governments have conspicuously lost their missionary zeal to out a moral (military) crusade to halt them.

It is now clear that the Western-backed KLA wants an ethnically pure Kosovo as part of a greater Albania and also has designs on parts of neighboring countries such as Macedonia. Albania expects its place in the sun for faithfully carrying out NATO diktats during its aggression against Yugoslavia.

Hungary, a new NATO member, is also expecting its just desserts for supporting the aggression, by winning control of the strategically important northern Serbian province of Vojvodina. Budapest is encouraging the large ethnic Hungarian population to demand independence as a precursor to annexation.

Turning ethnic diversity into ethnic division has been an old trick of imperialism for hundreds of years, arming one ethnic or religious group against another, encouraging conflict and, then, marching in to act as colonial dictators in the name of humanity. [...]

The fact that what is left of Yugoslavia remains one of the most ethnically diverse areas in the region is testament to the huge role that media manipulation has played in portraying Belgrade as 'fascist' and NATO countries as promoting 'democracy'.

It is becoming increasingly clear that the opposite is true."

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3. Former KLA Soldier Held in Dublin Stabbings

DUBLIN, July 6 - Ireland is getting its own taste of the Kosovo Liberation Army. "A former KLA soldier who stabbed his wife and a man waiting for a taxi in two events on the same night has been remanded in custody for sentence next January by Dublin Circuit Criminal Court," the Examiner, an Irish newspaper reported on July 6.

Hasan Abazi stabbed the man for no apparent reason and attacked his wife with a scissors when he returned home. Judge Frank O’Donnell read from written statements made by Abazi’s wife, Sabrina, in which she said she was bitten all over her body and was knocked against a wall before being stabbed in the face. He ordered a probation report on Abazi and remanded him in custody until January 2000.

Here's an excerpt from the Examiner's story:

"Sergeant Mary Diskin told prosecuting counsel Pauline Walley BL that earlier that night, a Derek Shaw had been waiting to get a taxi with his girlfriend when Abazi shouted at them from his window. He followed them down the road and shouted "Hey You" before stabbing Shaw in the lower abdomen. Sgt. Diskin said Mr. Shaw worked in construction for Dublin Corporation and has since found it difficult to use heavy equipment such as an industrial hammer drill.

She added that when Abazi was asked by gardaí (police) if he had stabbed Shaw, he replied: "Might have stabbed one or two, none of your business, f**k off."

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TiM Ed.: Nice guys, these "KLA soldiers," NATO's allies, huh? (check out "Thugs of the World Unite," S99-117, "Peace" 11, Item 1, July 1).

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4. Former British Army Chiefs Demand Public Inquiry

LONDON, July 7 - Two former British Army Chiefs of the Defense Staff, and two senior British commanders involved in the Bosnia conflict, are supporting calls for an independent inquiry into the NATO bombing of Yugoslavia, the London Times reported in July 7.

Field Marshal Lord Bramall, Chief of Staff 1982-85, and Lord Craig of Radley, Chief of Staff 1988-91, have backed the Conservative Party in seeking a review of the effectiveness of the military operation. Colonel Bob Stewart, Commanding Officer of the 1st Battalion Cheshire Regiment in Bosnia 1991-93, and Lieutenant-General Sir Roderick Cordy-Simpson, the United Nations Chief of Staff in Bosnia 1992-93, have also supported the demand for an investigation, the Times said.

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TiM Ed.: No, don't hold your breath... These senior British officers are not demanding a review out of compassion for the over 2,000 innocent Serb civilians who perished in NATO's bombing raids. They are doing it because NATO didn't kill enough. At least not enough of the Serb military.

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"The bombing raids, which involved some of the most sophisticated precision weapons, damaged only 13 of the Serbs' 300 battle tanks, despite alliance claims of large-scale destruction of Belgrade's heavy armor," the Times said.

The Ministry of Defense, in a written answer yesterday to Iain Duncan Smith, the Tory Defense spokesman, admitted it had not conducted an assessment of the biggest military offensive in Europe since 1945.

General Cordy-Simpson said last night: "You cannot possibly conduct an operation like this, of such dramatic importance, without mounting an examination to see how we can do it better next time. This is not about laying blame. But we need to examine the political process which led us into the war situation, right through to the military outcome. I think the inquiry should be held in public."

The general said that the Serb forces still posed a threat to Montenegro and surrounding countries. 'We were told by NATO they had inflicted massive damage on the Serbian military capability. But that simply was not the case,' he said.

The influential military backing for a public inquiry will intensify pressure on the Ministry of Defense to act.

The leaders of NATO were embarrassed by the disclosure that the Serbs had used Russian camouflage techniques. They placed dummy vehicles around the countryside, with strips of black plastic sheeting running across fields masquerading as roads to delude the bombers into thinking that they were prime targets.' [...]

Mr Duncan Smith (the Tory spokesman) said: 'It now appears the Serbian forces withdrew from Kosovo virtually unscathed with the vast majority of their weapons intact. The NATO military action fell short of its objectives'."

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TiM Ed.: Tisk, tisk... Imagine that. The NATO high-tech "Empire Struck Again." And it struck out! Except against the peasants, plows and tractors. And hospitals, embassies, trains and bridges.

Also, check out... Truth in Media Statement on Kosovo Crisis, "Wither Dayton, Sprout New War?", "On the Brink of Madness", "Tragic Deja Vu's," "Seven U.S. Senators Suggest Ouster of Milosevic", "Biting the Hand That Feeds You", "A Balkan Affairs Potpourri", "Put the U.N. Justice on Trial", "International Justice 'Progresses' from Kidnapping to Murder", "Milosevic: 'A Riddle Wrapped in a Mystery'...", "Kosovo Lie Allowed to Stand", "New World Order's Inquisition in Bosnia", "Kosovo Heating Up", "Decani Monastery Under Siege?", "Murder on Wall Street",  "Kosovo: 'Bosnia II', Serbia's Aztlan",  "What If the Shoe Were on the Other Foot?", "Green Interstate - Not Worth American Lives", "An American Hero or Actor of the Year?" (A June '95 TiM story) and/or "Clinton arme secrètement les musulmans bosniaques"

Or Djurdjevic's WASHINGTON TIMES columns: "Chinese Dragon Wagging Macedonian Tail,"  "An Ugly Double Standard in Kosovo Conflict?", "NATO's Bullyboys", "Kosovo: Why Are We Involved?", and "Ginning Up Another Crisis"

Or Djurdjevic's NEW DAWN magazine columns: "Washington's Crisis Factory,"  and "A New Iron Curtain Over Europe"