[asia-apec 1259] NATO's Reign of terror in Kosovo (revised text)

[Michel Chossudovsky]

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<excerpt>Author: 

Michel Chossudovsky 

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Publisher/Date: 

Paper presented to the Independent Commission of Inquiry to Investigate
U.S./NATO War Crimes Against The People of Yugoslavia, New York, July 31,
1999 

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Title: 

NATO has installed a reign of terror in Kosovo 

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Original location: 

Submitted by author. 

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© Copyright by Michel Chossudovsky, Ottawa, July 1999. All rights
reserved. (See note at end of article). The author can be contacted at
chossudovsky at videotron.ca, fax 1-514-425-6224. 

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<underline>MASSACRES OF CIVILIANS</underline> 


While the World focusses on troop movements and war crimes, the massacres
of civilians in the wake of the bombings have been casually dismissed as
"justifiable acts of revenge". In occupied Kosovo, "double standards"
prevail in assessing alleged war crimes. The massacres directed against
Serbs, ethnic Albanians, Roma and other ethnic groups have been conducted
on the instructions of the military command of the Kosovo Liberation Army
(KLA). 


Yet because NATO ostensibly denies KLA involvement, these so-called
"unmotivated acts of violence and retaliation" are not categorised as
"war crimes" and are therefore not included in the mandate of the
numerous FBI and Interpol police investigators dispatched to Kosovo under
the auspices of the Hague War Crime's Tribunal (ICTY). Moreover, whereas
NATO has tacitly endorsed the self-proclaimed KLA provisional government,
KFOR --the international security force in Kosovo-- has provided
protection to the KLA military commanders responsible for the atrocities.
In so doing both NATO and the UN Mission have acquiesced to the massacres
of civilians. 


In turn, public opinion has been blatantly misled. In portraying the
massacres, the Western media has casually overlooked the role of the KLA,
not to mention its pervasive links to organised crime. In the words of
National Security Advisor Samuel Berger, "these people [ethnic Albanians]
come back ... with broken hearts and with some of those hearts filled
with anger" 1. While the massacres are seldom presented as the result of
"deliberate decisions" by the KLA military command, the evidence (and
history of the KLA) amply confirm that these atrocities are part of a
policy of "ethnic cleansing" directed mainly against the Serb population
but also against the Roma, Montenegrins, Goranis and Turks: 

<excerpt> Serbian houses and business have been confiscated, looted, or
burned, and Serbs have been beaten, raped, and killed. In one of the more
dramatic of incidents, KLA troops ransacked a monastery, terrorized the
priest and a group of nuns with gunfire, and raped at least one of the
nuns. NATO''s inability to control the situation and provide equal
protection for all ethnic groups, and its apparent inability or
unwillingness to fully disarm the KLA, has created a serious situation
for NATO troops...2 

</excerpt>

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), confirms in
this regard that: 

<excerpt>"more than 164,000 Serbs have left Kosovo during the seven weeks
since... the NATO-led Kosovo Force (KFOR) entered the province... A wave
of arson and looting of Serb and Roma homes throughout Kosovo has ensued.
Serbs and Roma remaining in Kosovo have been subject to repeated
incidents of harassment and intimidation, including severe beatings. Most
seriously, there has been a spate of murders and abductions of Serbs
since mid-June, including the late July massacre of Serb farmers" 3. 

</excerpt>

<underline>POLITICAL ASSASSINATIONS</underline> 


Under NATO's regency, the KLA has also ordered assassinations directed
against political opponents including "loyalist" ethnic Albanians and
supporters of the Kosovo Democratic League (KDL). These acts --ordered by
the self-proclaimed Provisional Government of Kosovo (PGK)-- are being
carried out in a totally permissive environment. The leaders of the KLA
rather than being arrested for war crimes, have been granted KFOR
protection. 


According to a report of the Foreign Policy Institute (published during
the bombings): 

<excerpt>"...the KLA have [no] qualms about murdering Rugova's
collaborators, whom it accused of the "crime" of moderation... [T]he KLA
declared Rugova a "traitor" - yet another step toward eliminating any
competitors for political power within Kosovo."4 

</excerpt> 

Already in May, Fehmi Agani, one of Rugova's closest collaborators in the
Kosovo Democratic League (KDL) was killed. The Serbs were blamed by NATO
spokesperson Jamie Shea for having assassinated Agani. According to
Skopje's paper Makedonija Danas, Agani had been executed on the orders of
the KLA's self-appointed Prime Minister Hashim Thaci.5 

<excerpt>"If Thaci actually considered Rugova a threat, he would not
hesitate to have Rugova removed from the Kosovo political landscape."6 

</excerpt>

In turn, the KLA has abducted and killed numerous professionals and
intellectuals: 

<excerpt>"Private and State properties are threatened, home-and
apartment-owners are evicted en masse by force and threats, houses and
entire villages are burned, cultural and religious monuments are
destroyed... A particularly heavy blow... has been the violence against
the hospital centre in Pristina, the maltreatment and expulsion of its
professional management, doctors and medical staff."7 

</excerpt>

Both NATO and the UN prefer to turn a blind eye. UN Interim Administrator
Bernard Kouchner (a former French Minister of Health) and KFOR Commander
Sir Mike Jackson have established a routine working relationship with
Prime Minister Hashim Thaci and KLA Chief of Staff Brigadier General Agim
Ceku. 


<underline>ATROCITIES COMMITTED AGAINST THE ROMA</underline> 


Ethnic cleansing has also been directed against the Roma (which
represented prior to the conflict a population group of 150,000 people).
(According to figures provided by the Roma Community in New York). A
large part of the Roma population has already escaped to Montenegro and
Serbia. In turn, there are reports that Roma refugees --who had fled by
boat to Southern Italy-- have been expelled by the Italian authorities.8
The KLA has also ordered the systematic looting and torching of Romani
homes and settlements: 

<excerpt>"All houses and settlements of Romani, like 2,500 homes in the
residential area called 'Mahala' in the town of Kosovska Mitrovica, have
been looted and burnt down".9 

</excerpt>

With regard to KLA atrocities committed against the Roma, the same media
distortions prevail. According to the BBC: 

<excerpt>"Gypsies are accused by [Kosovar] Albanians of collaborating in
Serb brutalities, which is why they've also become victims of revenge
attacks. And the truth is, some probably did." 10 

</excerpt>

<underline>INSTALLING A PARAMILITARY GOVERNMENT</underline> 


As Western leaders trumpet their support for democracy, State terrorism
in Kosovo has become an integral part of NATO's post-war design. The
KLA's political role for the post-conflict period had been mapped out
well in advance. Prior to the Rambouillet Conference, the KLA had been
promised a central role in the formation of a post-conflict government.
The "hidden agenda" consisted in converting the KLA paramilitary into a
legitimate and accomplished civilian administration. According to US
State Department spokesman James Foley (February 1999): 

<excerpt>"We want to develop a good relationship with them [the KLA] as
they transform themselves into a politically-oriented organization,
...[W]e believe that we have a lot of advice and a lot of help that we
can provide to them if they become precisely the kind of political actor
we would like to see them become.'"11 

</excerpt>

In other words, Washington had already slated the KLA "provisional
government" (PGK) to run civilian State institutions. Under NATO's
"Indirect Rule", the KLA has taken over municipal governments and public
services including schools and hospitals. Rame Buja, the KLA "Minister
for Local Administration" has appointed local prefects in 23 out of 25
municipalities.12 


Under NATO's regency, the KLA has replaced the duly elected (by ethnic
Albanians) provisional Kosovar government of President Ibrahim Rugova.
The self-proclaimed KLA administration has branded Rugova as a traitor
declaring the (parallel) Kosovar parliamentary elections held in March
1998 to be invalid. This position has largely been upheld by the
Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) entrusted by
UNMIK with the post-war task of "democracy ­building" and "good
governance". In turn, OSCE officials have already established a working
rapport with KLA appointees.13 


The KLA provisional government (PGK) is made up of the KLA's political
wing together with the Democratic Union Movement (LBD), a coalition of
five opposition parties opposed to Rugova's Democratic League (LDK). In
addition to the position of prime minister, the KLA controls the
ministries of finance, public order and defence. The KLA has a
controlling voice on the UN sponsored Kosovo Transitional Council set up
by Mr. Bernard Kouchner. The PGK has also established links with a number
of Western governments. 


Whereas the KLA has been spearheaded into running civilian institutions
(under the guidance of the OSCE), members of the duly elected Kosovar
(provisional) government of the Democratic League (DKL) have been
blatantly excluded from acquiring a meaningful political voice. 


<underline>ESTABLISHING A KLA POLICE FORCE TO "PROTECT
CIVILIANS"</underline> 


Under NATO occupation, the rule of law has visibly been turned up side
down. Criminals and terrorists are to become law-enforcement officers.
KLA troops --which have already taken over police stations-- will
eventually form a 4,000 strong "civilian" police force (to be trained by
foreign police officers under the authority of the United Nations) with a
mandate to "protect civilians". Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien has
already pledged Canadian support to the formation of a civilian police
force.14 The latter --which has been entrusted to the OSCE -- will
eventually operate under the jurisdiction of the KLA controlled "Ministry
of Public Order". 


<underline>US MILITARY AID</underline> 


Despite NATO's commitment to disarming the KLA, the Kosovar paramilitary
organisation is slated to be transformed into a modern military force.
So-called "security assistance" has already been granted to the KLA by
the US Congress under the `Kosovar Independence and Justice Act of 1999'.
Start-up funds of 20 million dollars will largely be " used for training
and support for their [KLA] established self-defence forces."15 In the
words of KLA Chief of Staff Agim Ceku: 

<excerpt>"The KLA wants to be transformed into something like the US
National Guard, ... we accept the assistance of KFOR and the
international community to rebuild an army according to NATO standards.
...These professionally trained soldiers of the next generation of the
KLA would seek only to defend Kosova. At this decisive moment, we [the
KLA] do not hide our ambitions; we want the participation of
international military structures to assist in the pacific and
humanitarian efforts we are attempting here" 16. 

</excerpt>

While the KLA maintains its links to the Balkans narcotics trade which
served to finance many of its terrorist activities, the paramilitary
organisation has now been granted an official seal of approval as well as
"legitimate" sources of funding. The pattern is similar to that followed
in Croatia and in the Bosnian Muslim-Croatian Federation where so-called
"equip and train" programmes were put together by the Pentagon. In turn,
Washington's military aid package to the KLA has been entrusted to
Military Professional Resources Inc (MPRI) of Alexandria, Virginia, a
private mercenary outfit run by high ranking former US military officers. 


MPRI's training concepts --which had already been tested in Croatia and
Bosnia­ are based on imparting "offensive tactics... as the best form of
defence".17 In the Kosovar context, this so-called "defensive doctrine"
transforms the KLA paramilitary into a modern army without however
eliminating its terrorist makeup.18 The objective is to ultimately
transform an insurgent army into a modern military and police force which
serves the Alliance's future strategic objectives in the Balkans. MPRI
has currently "ninety-one highly experienced, former military
professionals working in Bosnia & Herzegovina".19 The number of military
officers working on contract with the KLA has not been disclosed. 


<underline>A FORMER CROATIAN GENERAL APPOINTED KLA CHIEF OF
STAFF</underline> 


The massacres of civilians in Kosovo are not disconnected acts of revenge
by civilians or by so-called "rogue elements" within the KLA as claimed
by NATO and the United Nations. They are part of a consistent and
coherent pattern. The intent (and result) of the KLA sponsored atrocities
have been to trigger the "ethnic cleansing" of Serbs, Roma and other
minorities in Kosovo. 


KLA Commander Agim Ceku referring to the killings of 14 villagers at
Gracko on July 24, claimed that: 

<excerpt>"We [the KLA] do not know who did it, but I sincerely believe
these people have nothing to do with the KLA."20 

</excerpt>

In turn, KFOR Lieutenant General Sir Mike Jackson has commended his KLA
counterpart, Commander Agim Ceku for "efforts undertaken" to disarm the
KLA. In fact, very few KLA weapons have been handed in. Moreover, the
deadline for turning in KLA weaponry has been extended. 

<excerpt>"I do not regard this as noncompliance" said Commander Jackson
in a press conference, "but rather as an indication of the seriousness
with which General Ceku is taking this important issue." 21 

</excerpt>Yet what Sir Mike Jackson failed to mention is that KLA Chief
of Staff Commander Agim Ceku (although never indicted as a war criminal)
was (according to Jane Defence Weekly June 10 1999) 

<excerpt>"one of the key planners of the successful `Operation Storm'"
led by the Croatian Armed Forces against Krajina Serbs in 1995. 

</excerpt>

General Jackson --who had served in former Yugoslavia under the United
Nations Protection Force (UNPROFOR)-- was fully cognizant of the
activities of the Croatian High Command during that period including the
responsibilities imparted to Brigadier General Agim Ceku. In February
1999, barely a month prior to the NATO bombings, Ceku left his position
as Brigadier General with the Croatian Armed Forces to join the KLA as
Commander in Chief. 


<underline>FROM KRAJINA TO KOSOVO: THE SHAPE OF THINGS TO
COME</underline> 


According to the Croatian Helsinki Committee for Human Rights, Operation
Storm resulted in the massacre of at least 410 civilians in the course of
a three day operation (4 to 7 August 1995). 22 An internal report of The
Hague War Crimes Tribunal (leaked to the New York Times), confirmed that
the Croatian Army had been responsible for carrying out 

<excerpt>"summary executions, indiscriminate shelling of civilian
populations and "ethnic cleansing" in the Krajina region of
Croatia...."23 

</excerpt>

In a section of the report entitled "The Indictment. Operation Storm, A
Prima Facie Case.", the ICTY report confirms that: 

<excerpt>"During the course of the military offensive, the Croatian armed
forces and special police committed numerous violations of international
humanitarian law, including but not limited to, shelling of Knin and
other cities... During, and in the 100 days following the military
offensive, at least 150 Serb civilians were summarily executed, and many
hundreds disappeared....In a widespread and systematic manner, Croatian
troops committed murder and other inhumane acts upon and against Croatian
Serbs" 24. 

</excerpt>

<underline>US "GENERALS FOR HIRE"</underline> 


The internal 150 page report concluded that it has "sufficient material
to establish that the three [Croatian] generals who commanded the
military operation" could be held accountable under international law. 25
The individuals named had been directly involved in the military
operation "in theatre". Those involved in "the planning of Operation
Storm" were not mentioned: 

<excerpt>"The identity of the "American general" referred to by Fenrick
[a Tribunal staff member] is not known. The tribunal would not allow
Williamson or Fenrick to be interviewed. But Ms. Arbour, the tribunal's
chief prosecutor, suggested in a telephone interview last week that
Fenrick's comment had been Œa joking observation'. Ms. Arbour had not
been present during the meeting, and that is not how it was viewed by
some who were there. Several people who were at the meeting assumed that
Fenrick was referring to one of the retired U.S. generals who worked for
Military Professional Resources Inc.... Questions remain about the full
extent of U.S. involvement. In the course of the three-year investigation
into the assault, the United States has failed to provide critical
evidence requested by the tribunal, according to tribunal documents and
officials, adding to suspicion among some there that Washington is uneasy
about the investigation... The Pentagon, however, has argued through U.S.
lawyers at the tribunal that the shelling was a legitimate military
activity, according to tribunal documents and officials.26. 

</excerpt>

The Tribunal was attempting to hide what had already been revealed in
several press reports published in the wake of Operation Storm. According
to a US State Department spokesman, MPRI had been helping the Croatians
"avoid excesses or atrocities in military operations."27 . Fifteen senior
US military advisers headed by retired two star General Richard Griffitts
had been dispatched to Croatia barely seven months before Operation
Storm. 28 According to one report, MPRI executive director General Carl
E. Vuono:

<excerpt> "held a secret top-level meeting at Brioni Island, off the
coast of Croatia, with Gen. Varimar Cervenko, the architect of the
Krajina campaign. In the five days preceding the attack, at least ten
meetings were held between General Vuono and officers involved in the
campaign..."29 

</excerpt>

According to Ed Soyster a senior MPRI executive and former head of the
Defence Intelligence Agency (DIA) (interviewed by Time Magazine in early
1996): 

<excerpt>"MPRI's role in Croatia is limited to classroom instruction on
military-civil relations and doesn't involve training in tactics or
weapons. Other U.S. military men say whatever MPRI did for the
Croats--and many suspect more than classroom instruction was involved--it
was worth every penny. "Carl Vuono and Butch [Crosbie] Saint are hired
guns and in it for the money," says Charles Boyd, a recently retired
four-star Air Force general who was the Pentagon's No. 2 man in Europe
until July [1995]. "They did a very good job for the Croats, and I have
no doubt they'll do a good job in Bosnia. " 30. 

</excerpt>

<underline>THE HAGUE TRIBUNAL'S COVER UP</underline> 


The untimely leaking of the ICTY's internal report on the Krajina
massacres barely a few days before the onslaught of NATO's air raids on
Yugoslavia was the source of some embarrassment to the Tribunal's Chief
Prosecutor Louise Arbour. The Tribunal (ICTY) attempted to cover up the
matter and trivialise the report's findings (including the alleged role
of the US military officers on contract with the Croatian Armed Forces).
Several Tribunal officials including American Lawyer Clint Williamson
sought to 

<excerpt>"discredit the Canadian Peace-keeping officers' testimony" who
witnessed the Krajina massacres in 1995".31 

</excerpt>

Williamson, who described the shelling of Knin as a "minor incident,"
said that the Pentagon had told him that 

<excerpt>Knin was a legitimate military target... The [Tribunal's] review
concluded by voting not to include the shelling of Knin in any
indictment, a conclusion that stunned and angered many at the
tribunal"...32 

</excerpt>

The findings of the Tribunal contained in the leaked ICTY documents were
downplayed, their relevance was casually dismissed as "expressions of
opinion, arguments and hypotheses from various staff members of the OTP
during the investigative process".33 According to the Tribunal's
spokesperson "the documents do not represent in any way the concluded
decisions of the Prosecutor." 34 


The internal 150 page report has not been released. The staff member who
had leaked the documents is (according to a Croatian TV report) no longer
working for the Tribunal. During the press Conference, the Tribunal's
spokesman was asked: 

<excerpt>"about the consequences for the person who leaked the
information", Blewitt [the ICTY spokesman] replied that he did not want
to go into that. He said that the OTP would strengthen the existing
procedures to prevent this from happening again, however he added that
you could not stop people from talking". 35 

</excerpt>

<underline>THE USE OF CHEMICAL WEAPONS IN CROATIA</underline> 


The massacres conducted under Operation Storm "set the stage" for the
"ethnic cleansing" of at least 180,000 Krajina Serbs (according to
estimates of the Croatian Helsinki Committee and Amnesty International).
According to other sources, the number of victims of ethnic cleansing in
Krajina was much larger. 


Moreover, there is evidence that chemical weapons had been used in the
Yugoslav civil war (1991-95).36 Although there is no firm evidence of the
use of chemical weapons against Croatian Serbs, an ongoing enquiry by the
Canadian Minister of Defence (launched in July 1999) points to the
possibility of toxic poisoning of Canadian Peace-keepers while on service
in Croatia between 1993 and 1995: 

<excerpt>"There was a smell of blood in the air during the past week as
the media sensed they had a major scandal unfolding within the Department
of National Defense over the medical files of those Canadians who served
in Croatia in 1993. Allegations of destroyed documents, a coverup, and a
defensive minister and senior officers..." 37. 

</excerpt>

The official release of the Department of National Defence (DND) refers
to the possibility of toxic "soil contamination" in Medak Pocket in 1993
(see below). Was it "soil contamination" or something far more serious?
The criminal investigation by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP)
refers to the shredding of medical files of former Canadian peace-keepers
by the DND. In other words, did the DND have something to hide? The issue
remains as to what types of shells and ammunitions were used by the
Croatian Armed Forces -- ie. were chemical weapons used against Serb
civilians? 


<underline>OPERATION STORM: THE ACCOUNT OF THE ROYAL CANADIAN
REGIMENT</underline> 


Prior to the onslaught, Croatian radio had previously broadcasted a
message by president Franjo Tudjman, calling upon "Croatian citizens of
Serbian ethnicity... to remain in their homes and not to fear the
Croatian authorities, which will respect their minority rights". 38.
Canadian peace-keepers of the Second Battalion of the Royal 22nd Regiment
witnessed the atrocities committed by Croatian troops in the Krajina
offensive in September 1995: 

<excerpt>"Any Serb who had failed to evacuate their property were
systematically "cleansed" by roving death squads. Every abandoned animal
was slaughtered and any Serb household was ransacked and torched". 39. 

</excerpt>

Also confirmed by Canadian peace-keepers was the participation of German
mercenaries in Operation Storm: 

<excerpt>Immediately behind the front-line Croatian combat troops and
German mercenaries, a large number of hard-line extremists had pushed
into the Krajina.... Many of these atrocities were carried out within the
Canadian Sector, but as the peacekeepers were soon informed by the Croat
authorities, the UN no longer had any formal authority in the region.40. 

</excerpt>

How the Germans mercenaries were recruited was never officially revealed.
An investigation by the United Nations Human Rights Commission (UNHRC)
confirmed that foreign mercenaries in Croatia had in some cases "been
paid [and presumably recruited] outside Croatia and by third parties"41 


<underline>THE 1993 MEDAK POCKET MASSACRE</underline> 


According to Jane Defence Weekly (10 June 1999), Brigadier General Agim
Ceku (now in charge of the KLA) also "masterminded the successful HV
[Croatian Army] offensive at Medak" in September 1993. In Medak, the
combat operation was entitled "Scorched Earth" resulting in the total
destruction of the Serbian villages of Divoselo, Pocitelj and Citluk, and
the massacre of over 100 civilians.42 These massacres were also witnessed
by Canadian peace-keepers under UN mandate: 

<excerpt>"As the sun rose over the horizon. It revealed a Medak Valley
engulfed in smoke and flames. As the frustrated soldiers of 2PPCLI waited
for the order to move forward into the pocket, shots and screams still
rang out as the ethnic cleansing continued.... About 20 members of the
international press had tagged along, anxious to see the Medak
battleground. Calvin [a Canadian officer] called an informal press
conference at the head of the column and loudly accused the Croats of
trying to hide war crimes against the Serb inhabitants. The Croats
started withdrawing back to their old lines, taking with them whatever
loot they hadn't destroyed. All livestock had been killed and houses
torched. French reconnaissance troops and the Canadian command element
pushed up the valley and soon began to find bodies of Serb civilians,
some already decomposing, others freshly slaughtered.... Finally, on the
drizzly morning of Sept. 17, teams of UN civilian police arrived to probe
the smouldering ruins for murder victims. Rotting corpses lying out in
the open were catalogued, then turned over to the peacekeepers for
burial. 43. 

</excerpt>

The massacres were reported to the Canadian Minister of Defence and to
the United Nations: 

<excerpt>Senior defence bureaucrats back in Ottawa had no way of
predicting the outcome of the engagement in terms of political fallout.
To them, there was no point in calling media attention to a situation
that might easily backfire.... So Medak was relegated to the memory hole
- no publicity, no recriminations, no official record. Except for those
soldiers involved, Canada's most lively military action since the Korean
War simply never happened. 44 

</excerpt>

<underline>NATO'S POST-CONFLICT AGENDA IN KOSOVO</underline> 


Both the Medak Pocket massacre and Operation Storm bear a direct
relationship to the ongoing security situation in Kosovo and the
massacres and ethnic cleansing committed by KLA troops. While the
circumstances are markedly different, several of today's actors in Kosovo
were involved (under the auspices of the Croatian Armed Forces) in the
planning of both these operations. Moreover, the US mercenary outfit MPRI
which collaborated with the Croatian Armed Forces in 1995 is currently on
contract with the KLA. NATO's casual response to the appointment of
Brigadier General Agim Ceku as KLA Chief of Staff was communicated by Mr.
Jamie Shea in a Press Briefing in May: 

<excerpt>"I have always made it clear, and you have heard me say this,
that NATO has no direct contacts with the KLA. Who they appoint as their
leaders, that is entirely their own affair. I don't have any comment on
that whatever.45 

</excerpt>

While NATO says it "has no direct contacts with the KLA", the evidence
confirms the opposite. Amply documented, KLA terrorism has been installed
with NATO's tacit approval. The KLA had (according to several reports)
been receiving "covert support" and training from the CIA and Germany's
Bundes Nachrichten Dienst (BND) since the mid-nineties. Moreover, MPRI
collaboration with the KLA predates the onslaught of the bombing
campaign.46 


The building up of KLA forces was part of NATO planning. Already by
mid-1998, "covert support" had been replaced by official ("overt")
support by the military Alliance in violation of UN Security Council
Resolution UNSCR 1160 of 31 March 1998 which condemned: 

<excerpt>"...all acts of terrorism by the Kosovo Liberation Army or any
other group or individual and all external support for terrorist activity
in Kosovo, including finance, arms and training." 

</excerpt>

NATO officials, Western heads of State and heads of government, the
United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan not to mention ICTY chief
Prosecutor Louise Arbour, were fully cognizant of General Brigadier Agim
Ceku's involvement in the planning of Operation Storm and Operation
Scorched Earth. Canadian Major General Lewis McKenzie who served under
the United Nations confirmed that 

<excerpt>"the same officer who masterminded the 1993 Medak offensive in
Croatia that saw Canadian soldiers using deadly force to stop horrendous
atrocities against Serb civilians [had also] ordered the overrunning of
lightly armed UN outposts, in blatant contravention of international law.
His influence within the KLA does not augur well for its trustworthiness
during Kosovo's political evolution". 47 

</excerpt>Surely, some questions should have been asked.... 


Yet visibly what is shaping up in the wake of the bombings in Kosovo is
the continuity of NATO's operation in the Balkans. Military personnel and
UN bureaucrats previously stationed in Croatia and Bosnia have been
routinely reassigned to Kosovo. KFOR Commander Mike Jackson had
previously been responsible --as IFOR Commander for organising the return
of Serbs "to lands taken by Croatian HVO forces in the Krajina
offensive".48 And in this capacity General Mike Jackson had "urged that
the resettlement [of Krajina Serbs] not [be] rushed to avoid tension
[with the Croatians]" while also warning returning Serbs "of the extent
of the [land] mine threat "49. In retrospect, recalling the events of
early 1996, very few Krajina Serbs were allowed to return to their homes
under the protection of the United Nations. According to "Veritas" (a
Belgrade based organization of Serbian refugees from Croatia), some
10-15,000 Serbs were able to resettle in Croatia. 


And a similar process is unfolding in Kosovo, --ie. the conduct of senior
military officers conforms to a consistent pattern, the same key
individuals are now involved in Kosovo. While token efforts are displayed
to protect Serb and Roma civilians, those who have fled Kosovo are not
encouraged to return under UN protection... In post-war Kosovo, "ethnic
cleansing" implemented by the KLA has been accepted by the "international
community" as a "fait accompli"... 


 Moreover, while calling for democracy and "good governance" in the
Balkans, the US and its allies have installed in Kosovo a paramilitary
government with links to organised crime. The foreseeable outcome is the
outright "criminalisation" of civilian State institutions and the
establishment of what is best described as a "Mafia State". The
complicity of NATO and the Alliance governments (namely their relentless
support to the KLA) points to the de facto "criminalisation" of KFOR and
of the UN peace-keeping apparatus in Kosovo. The donor agencies and
governments (eg. the funds approved by the US Congress in violation of
several UN Security Council resolutions) providing financial support to
the KLA are, in this regard, also "accessories" to the de facto
criminalisation of State institutions. Through the intermediation of a
paramilitary group (created and financed by Washington and Bonn), NATO
ultimately bears the burden of responsibility for the massacres and
ethnic cleansing of civilians in Kosovo. 


<underline>STATE TERROR AND THE "FREE MARKET"</underline> 


State terror and the "free market" seem to go hand in hand. The
concurrent "criminalisation" of State institutions in Kosovo is not
incompatible with the West's economic and strategic objectives in the
Balkans. Notwithstanding the massacres of civilians, the self-proclaimed
KLA administration has committed itself to establishing a "secure and
stable environment" for foreign investors and international financial
institutions. The Minister of Finance Adem Grobozci and other
representatives of the provisional government invited to the various
donor conferences are all KLA appointees. In contrast, members of the KDL
of Ibrahim Rugova (duly elected in parliamentary elections) were not even
invited to attend the Stabilisation Summit in Sarajevo in late July. 


 "Free market reforms" are envisaged for Kosovo under the supervision of
the Bretton Woods institutions largely replicating the structures of the
Rambouillet agreement. Article I (Chapter 4a) of the Rambouillet
Agreement stipulated that: "The economy of Kosovo shall function in
accordance with free market principles". The KLA government will largely
be responsible for implementing these reforms and ensuring that loan
conditionalities are met. 


In close liaison with NATO, the Bretton Woods institutions had already
analysed the consequences of an eventual military intervention leading to
the military occupation of Kosovo: almost a year prior to the beginning
of the War, the World Bank conducted "simulations" which "anticipated the
possibility of an emergency scenario arising out of the tensions in
Kosovo". 50. 


The eventual "reconstruction" of Kosovo financed by international debt
largely purports to transfer Kosovo's extensive wealth in mineral
resources and coal to multinational capital. In this regard, the KLA has
already occupied (pending their privatisation) the largest coal mine at
Belacevac in Dobro Selo northwest of Pristina. In turn, foreign capital
has its eyes rivetted on the massive Trepca mining complex which
constitutes "the most valuable piece of real estate in the Balkans, worth
at least $5 billion." 51. The Trepca complex not only includes copper and
large reserves of zinc but also cadmium, gold, and silver. It has several
smelting plants, 17 metal treatment sites, a power plant and Yugoslavia's
largest battery plant. Northern Kosovo also has estimated reserves of 17
billion tons of coal and lignite. 


In the wake of the bombings, the management of many of the State owned
enterprises and public utilities were taken over by KLA appointees. In
turn, the leaders of Provisional Government of Kosovo (PGK) have become
"the brokers" of multinational capital committed to handing over the
Kosovar economy at bargain prices to foreign investors. The IMF's lethal
"economic therapy" will be imposed, the provincial economy will be
dismantled, agriculture will be deregulated, local industrial enterprises
which have not been totally destroyed will be driven into bankruptcy. 


The most profitable State assets will eventually be transferred into the
hands of foreign capital under the World Bank sponsored privatisation
programme. "Strong economic medicine" imposed by external creditors will
contribute to further boosting a criminal economy (already firmly
implanted in Albania) which feeds on poverty and economic dislocation. 

<excerpt>"The Allies will work with the rest of the international
community to help rebuild Kosovo once the crisis is over: The
International Monetary Fund and Group of Seven industrialized countries
are among those who stand ready to offer financial help to the countries
of the region. We want to ensure proper co-ordination of aid and help
countries to respond to the effects of the crisis. This should go hand in
hand with the necessary structural reforms in the countries affected --
helped by budget support from the international community.52 

</excerpt>

Morever, the so-called "reconstruction" of the Balkans by foreign capital
will signify multi-billion contracts to foreign firms to rebuild Kosovo's
infrastructure. More generally, the proposed "Marshall Plan" for the
Balkans financed by the World Bank and the European Development Bank
(EBRD) as well as private creditors will largely benefit Western mining,
petroleum and construction companies while fuelling the region's external
debt well into the third millennium. 


And Kosovo is slated to reimburse this debt through the laundering of
dirty money. Yugoslav banks in Kosovo will be closed down, the banking
system will be deregulated under the supervision of Western financial
institutions. Narco-dollars from the multi-billion dollar Balkans drug
trade will be recycled towards servicing the external debt as well as
"financing" the costs of "reconstruction". The lucrative flow of
narco-dollars thus ensures that foreign investors involved in the
"reconstruction" programme will be able reap substantial returns. In
turn, the existence of a Kosovar "narco-State" ensures the orderly
reimbursement of international donors and creditors. The latter are
prepared to turn blind eye. They have a tacit vested interest in
installing a government which facilitates the laundering of drug money. 


The pattern in Kosovo is, in this regard, similar to that observed in
neighbouring Albania. Since the early 1990s (culminating with the
collapse of the financial pyramids in 1996-97), the IMF's reforms have
impoverished the Albanian population while spearheading the national
economy into bankruptcy. The IMF's deadly economic therapy transforms
countries into open territories. In Albania and to a lesser extent
Macedonia, it has also contributed to fostering the growth of illicit
trade and the criminalisation of State institutions. 

----------

ENDNOTES 


1. Jim Lehrer News Maker Interview, PBS, 26 July 1999. 


2. Stratfor Commentary, "Growing Threat of Serbian Paramilitary Action in
Kosovo", 29 July 1999 


3. Human Rights Watch, 3 August 1999. 


4. See Michael Radu, "Don't Arm the KLA", CNS Commentary from the Foreign
Policy Research Institute, 7 April, 1999). 


5. Tanjug Press Dispatch, 14 May 1999 


6. Stratfor Comment, "Rugova Faced with a Choice of Two Losses",
Stratfor, 29 July 1999. 


7. Federal Ministry for Foreign Affairs, Yugoslav Daily Survey, Belgrade,
29 June 1999. 


8. Hina Press Dispatch, Zagreb, 26 July 1999 


9. Ibid. 


10. BBC Report, London, 5 July 1999. 


11. New York Times, 2 February 1999 


12. Financial Times, London, 4 August 1999. 


13. See Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, Mission in
Kosovo, Decision 305, Permanent Council, 237th Plenary Meeting, PC
Journal No. 237, Agenda item 2, Vienna, 1 July 1999 . 


14 Statement at the Sarajevo Summit, 31 July 1999. 


15. 106th Congress, April 15, HR 1425. 


16. Interview with KLA Chief of Staff Commander Agim Ceku, Kosovapress,
31 July 1999 


17.See Tammy Arbucki, Building a Bosnian Army", Jane International
Defence Review, August 1997. 


18. Ibid. 


19. Military Professional Resources, Inc, "Personnel Needs",
http://www.mpri.com/current/personnel.htm 


20. Associated Press Report 


21. Ibid. 


22. The actual number of civilians killed or missing was much larger. 


23. Quoted in Raymond Bonner, War Crimes Panel Finds Croat Troops
Cleansed the Serbs, New York Times, 21 March 1999). 


24. Ibid. 


25. Ibid. 


26 Raymond Bonner, op cit. 


27. Ken Silverstein, "Privatizing War", The Nation, New York, 27 July
1997. 


28. See Mark Thompson et al, "Generals for Hire", Time Magazine, 15
January 1996, p. 34. 


29. Quoted in Silverstein, op cit. 


30. Mark Thompson et al, op cit. 


31. Raymond Bonner, op cit: 


32. Ibid. 


33. ICTY Weekly Press Briefing, 24 March 1999). 


34. Ibid. 


35. Ibid 36. See inter alia Reuters dispatch, 21 October 1993 on the use
of chemical grenades, a New York Times report on 31 October 1992 on the
use of poisoned gas. 


37. Lewis MacKenzie, "Giving our soldiers the benefit of the doubt",
National Post, 2 August 1999 


38. Slobodna Dalmacija, Split, Croatia, August 5 1996. 


39. Scott Taylor and Brian Nolan, The Sunday Sun, Toronto, 2 November
1998. 


40. Ibid. 


41. United Nations Commission on Human Rights, Fifty-first session, Item
9 of the provisional agenda, Geneva, 21 December 1994). 


42. (See Memorandum on the Violation of the Human and Civil Rights of the
Serbian People in the Republic of Croatia,
http://serbianlinks.freehosting.net/memorandum.htm). 


43. Excerpts from the book of Scott Taylor and Brian Nolan published in
the Toronto Sun, 1 November 1998. 


44. Ibid. 


45. NATO Press Briefing, 14 May 1999. 


46. For further details see Michel Chossudovsky, Kosovo `Freedom
Fighters' Financed by Organized Crime, CAQ, Spring-Summer 1999. 


47.Lewis McKenzie, "Soldier's View Nato Should Disarm the KLA Before It's
Too Late', The Vancouver Sun, June 12, 1999. 


48. Jane's Defence Weekly, Vol 25, No. 7, 14 February 1996. 


49. Ibid. 


50. World Bank Development News, Washington, 27 April 1999. 


51. New York Times, July 8, 1998, report by Chris Hedges. 


52. Statement by Javier Solano, Secretary General of NATO, published in
The National Post, Toronto May 1999. 

 

----------

<center> &COPY; Copyright by Michel Chossudovsky, Ottawa, August 1999.
All rights reserved. 


</center>Permission is granted to post this text on "community internet
sites" provided the essay remains intact and the copyright note is
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For community postings, kindly send a short message to
chossudovsky at videotron.ca . 


To publish this text on commercial internet sites, in printed and/or in
other forms (including excerpts), contact the author at
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</excerpt>

----------

<center>Return to:
<<http://www.users.bigpond.com/agitprop/stopnato.htm>NATO-Yugoslavia War
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----------

</fontfamily></excerpt>     Michel Chossudovsky

    

    Department of Economics,

    University of Ottawa, 

    Ottawa, K1N6N5

    Voice box: 1-613-562-5800, ext. 1415,  Fax: 1-514-425-6224

    E-Mail: chossudovsky at videotron.ca   (Alternative Email:

chossudovsky at sprint.ca)


Recent articles:


Post-war Kosovo
http://members.xoom.com/_XOOM/yugo_archive/19990816mcpaper.htm 

Overview on the War:
http://www.transnational.org/features/Yuoverview.html 

On the role of the KLA:
http://www.heise.de/tp/english/inhalt/co/2743/1.html

Breakup of Yugoslavia: http://www.hartford-hwp.com/archives/62/022.html

Impact of the bombings:

http://www.diaspora-net.org/food4thought/chossudovsky.htm


On The Globalisation of Poverty and the Financial Crisis: 

http://wwwdb.ix.de/tp/english/special/eco/6373/1.html

http://www.transnational.org/features/chossu_worldbank.html

http://www.transnational.org/features/g7solution.html

http://www.twnside.org.sg/souths/twn/title/scam-cn.htm

http://www.interlog.com/~cjazz/chossd.htm  

http://www.heise.de/tp/english/special/eco/  

http://heise.xlink.de/tp/english/special/eco/6099/1.html#anchor1

http://www.ased.org/resources/global/articles/chossu.htm