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by Michel Chossudovsky (3-17-00)
Michel Chossudovsky is Professor of Economics at the University of Ottawa and author of The Globalization of Poverty, Impacts of IMF and World Bank Reforms, Third World Network, Penang and Zed Books, London, 1997.) www.tenc.net [emperors-clothes]
A recent report submitted to UN Secretary General Kofi Annan conceded that the Kosovo Protection Force (KPC), created under UN auspices in September 1999, has been involved in "criminal activities - killings, ill-treatment/torture, illegal policing, abuse of authority, intimidation, breaches of political neutrality and hate speech." 1 In a cruel irony, "the United Nations is paying the salaries of many of the gangsters." 2 The Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA), known for its connections to organized crime in general and the Balkans narcotics traffic in particular, was officially dissolved. In fact it was transformed into the Kosovo Protection Corps (KPC). Modelled after the US National Guard, funded by US military aid, the KPC is trained by Military Professional Resources Inc (MPRI), a mercenary outfit based in Alexandria, Virginia. The MPRI had also been involved in the training and command of the Croatian forces that drove over 200,000 ethnic Serbs froim the Krajina region of Croatia in 1995. The Kosovo Protection Corps (KPC) was slated by the UN to become - in the words of UNMIK Special Representative Bernard Kouchner - "a civilian, disciplined, uniformed and multi-ethnic emergency response... with a mandate to providing humanitarian assistance... and contributing to rebuilding infrastructure and communities...." 3 Shift in military labels. KLA Commander Agim Ceku was appointed Chief of Staff of Kosovo's new KPC. In the words of Bernard Kouchner during the inauguration ceremony: "I look to him [Agim Ceku] to lead the new members of the Corps in the footsteps of Cincinnatus, the model citizen-soldier of ancient Rome -- who left his plow standing in the field to answer the call to arms & and at the end of the war refused all honors in order to return to his civic duties."4 Who is Commander Ceku? Barely a few weeks later, the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) announced that it was "investigating Ceku for alleged war crimes committed against ethnic Serbs in Croatia between 1993 and 1995." 5 That he was being investigated was known to military and intelligence analysts well in advance of Ceku's appointment. The information was withheld from broad public view by former ICTY Prosecutor Louise Arbour. But the information was publicly available, though only in limited circles. For instance, Jane Defence Weekly reported that Ceku had: "masterminded the successful HV [Croatian] offensive at Medak [in 1993] and in 1995 was one of the key planners of the successful Operation 'Storm'." (Jane 10 May 1999) Operation Storm led to the massacre of many ethnic Serbs and the eviction of more than 200,000. These actions involved massive war crimes against civilians. United Nations Special Representative Dr. Bernard Kouchner must have known about Ceku. The UN had full access to the files of the ICTY, a UN agency. The Tribunal's Chief Prosecutor was required, by ICTY statute, to report the matter to the UN Secretary General. When the information was released a few weeks after Ceku's appointment, Tom Walker wrote the following in the Sunday Times: "A diplomat close to Bernard Kouchner the UN special representative [declared] 'If we lose him [Agim Ceku] it will be a disaster' ... 'When you get to the second level of the TMK [Kosovo Protection Corps], you're down to a bunch of local thugs.', "American diplomats... have suggested any indictment of Ceku would most likely be 'sealed' and thereby kept out of the public domain... " , "The possibility that Ceku, a respected figure in Kosovo, could be accused of war crimes, sent shivers through the international community... ", "Another diplomat said he believed Kfor, the Nato-led peacekeeping force, could not contemplate a public relations disaster with the Albanians by arresting Ceku.", "The court's inquiries ... relate to atrocities committed in Krajina ... between 1993 and 1995... Ceku's record in Kosovo itself is not thought to be in question, although the office of Carla del Ponte, the new chief prosecutor, said an investigation into his activities with the KLA could not be ruled out..." 6 Continuity of NATO operations The appointment of Ceku in Kosovo follows a pattern. To put matters bluntly, NATO and the UN are re-using, in Kosovo, the same NATO apparatus, and some of the same local ethnic war criminals, who previously served in Bosnia and Croatia. Lieutenant General Mike Jackson, until recently commander of NATO troops in Kosovo, was posted there from Bosnia Herzegovina and Croatia. The war crimes for which Agim Ceku was under investigation occured when Croatian forces, aided by the US, drove over 200,000 ethnic Serbs from the Krajina region of Croatia. General Jackson was then put in charge as IFOR commander. His job: organising the return of Serbs "to lands taken by Croatian HVO forces in the 1995 Krajina offensive." 7 In this capacity Jackson "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." 8 According to "Veritas" (a Belgrade based organization of Serbian refugees from Croatia), only 10-15,000 Serbs were allowed to resettle in Croatia. Jackson's experience in "ethnic warfare" predates the Balkans. As a young captain he was posted to Northern Ireland. There he wassecond in command in the "Bloody Sunday" massacre of civilians in Derry in 1972. Under the orders of Lieutenant Coronel Derek Wilford, Captain Jackson and thirteen other soldiers of the parachute regiment opened fire: "on a peaceful protest by the Northern Ireland civil rights association opposing discrimination against Catholics. In just 30 minutes, 13 people were shot dead and a further 13 injured. Those who died were killed by a single bullet to the head or body, indicating that they had been deliberately targeted. No weapons were found on any of the deceased." 9 Jackson's role in Bloody Sunday "did not hinder his Military career."10 He was reassigned first to Bosnia and Croatia and then to Kosovo. While Jackson made only token efforts to protect Serb and Roma ["Gypsy"] civilians, those who fled Kosovo during his mandate were not offered UN protection to return. Moreover, in post-bombing Kosovo, massacres of civilians were carried out by the KLA (and subsequently the KPC) under UN/NATO auspices. This was accepted by the "international community" as a fait accompli. The Installation of a Mafia State While calling for democracy based on "transparency" and "good governance," the US and its allies have worked through the UN to install a paramilitary government with links to organised crime. The outcome is the outright criminalisation of State institutions in Kosovo 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 provisional government) suggests the de facto "criminalisation" of KFOR and of the UN peace-keeping apparatus in Kosovo. By providing financial support to the KPC, the donor agencies, that is the United Nations and Western governments, are accessories to this criminalisation of State institutions. NATO and the UN are responsible for the massacres of civilians and the prevailing reign of terror in Kosovo. NOTES 1. Quoted in John Sweeney and Jen Holsoe, "Kosovo Disaster Response Service Stands Accused of Murder and Torture," the Observer,12 March 2000. ©
Copyright by Michel Chossudovsky, Ottawa, March 2000.
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Opening Kosovo to foreign capital by Michel Chossudovsky (3-3-00) In occupied Kosovo under the mandate of UN peace-keeping, State terror and the "free market" go hand in hand. The concurrent criminalisation of State institutions 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 (in duly elected parliamentary elections) were not even invited to attend the Stabilization Summit in Sarajevo in July 1999. More recently UNMIK Head Bernanrd Kouchner has called for the dissolution of Rugaova's parliament. "Free market reforms" have been 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 Washington based financial institutions had already analyzed the consequences of an eventual military intervention leading to the 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". 1 While the bombing was still ongoing, the World Bank and the European Commission were given a special mandate for "coordinating donors' economic assistance in the Balkans"2. The underlying terms of reference did not exclude Yugoslavia from receiving donor support. It was, however, clearly stipulated that Belgrade would be eligible for reconstruction loans "once political conditions there change".3. With regard to Kosovo, the World Bank rather than providing loans to rebuild the province's infrastructure has focussed its intervention on providing "assistance in designing the reconstruction and recovery program" as well as so-called "policy advice in economic management" and "institution building" namely "governance" 4. In other words, an army of lawyers and consultants have been sent in to ensure Kosovo's transition to a "thriving, open and transparent market economy." 5 Support granted to the KLA provisional government would be geared towards "the establish[ment] [of] transparent, effective and sustainable institutions" 6. An "enabling environment" for foreign capital is to be established alongside suitably devised "social safety nets" and "poverty alleviation programs". Meanwhile, Yugoslav State banks operating in Pristina have been closed down. The Deutschmark has been adopted as legal tender and the banking system has been handed over to Germany's Commerzbank A.G which is the sole private shareholder in Micro Enterprise Bank (MEB) formed in early 2000 at the initiative of the World Bank's International Finance Corporation (IFC), the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) together with the Nederlandse Financierings-Maatschappij voor Ontwikkelingslanden (FMO), Germany's Internationale Micro Investitionen (IMI) and Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau (KfW). Commerzbank AG will gain control over commercial banking functions for the province including money transfers and foreign exchange transactions.7 The Trebca Mines The "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 had already occupied (pending their privatization) the largest coal mine at Belacevac in Dobro Selo northwest of Pristina. In turn, foreign capital had its eyes riveted on the massive Trepca mining complex which constitutes "the most valuable piece of real estate in the Balkans, worth at least $5 billion." 8 The Trebca 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. The management of some of the State owned enterprises and public utilities were taken over by KLA appointees. In turn, the leaders of the 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. In the wake of the bombings, the Zvecan smelter (belonging to the Trebca Complex) located northwest of Mitrovica, however, remained under Serb management.9 In July 1999, UNMIK head of mission Bernard Kouchner issued a decree to the effect that: "UNMIK shall administer movable or immovable property, including monetary accounts, and other property of, or registered in the name of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia or the Republic of Serbia or any of its organs, which is in the territory of Kosovo".10 . In November 1999, the International Crisis Group(ICG) a think tank supported by Financier George Soros, issued a paper on "Trepca: Making Sense of the Labyrinth" which advised the United Nations Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) "to take over the Trepca mining complex from the Serbs as quickly as possible and explained how this should be done" prior to their eventual privatization.11 Meanwhile, the George Soros Foundation for an Open Society had opened a branch office in Pristina establishing the Kosovo Foundation for an Open Society (KFOS) as part of the Soros' network of "non-profit foundations" in the Balkans, Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union. Together with the World Bank's Post Conflict Trust Fund, the Kosovo Open Society Foundation (KOSF) will be providing "targeted support" for "the development of local governments to allow them to serve their communities in a transparent, fair, and accountable manner."12 Since most of these local governments are in the hands of KLA appointees, this program is unlikely to meet its declared objective. Out of the 20 million dollars budget for this program, only one million dollars is being provided by the World Bank. NOTES 1. World Bank Development News, Washington, 27 April 1999. © Copyright by Michel Chossudovsky, Ottawa, March 2000. All rights reserved. Permission is granted to post this text on "community internet sites" provided the essay remains intact and the copyright note is displayed. For community postings, kindly send a short message to chossudovsky@videotron.ca . To publish this text on commercial internet sites, in printed and/or in other forms (including excerpts), contact the author at chossudovsky@sprint.ca fax:1-514-4256224.
Further reading... For more on Western efforts to take over the Trepca Mining Complex see Diana Johnstone's How it is done - Taking over the Trepca mines: Plans and Propaganda at http://www.emperors-clothes.com/articles/Johnstone/howitis.htm Other Articles by Prof. Chossudovsky "Cooking the books - NATO's ethnic cleansing claims challenged" http://emperors-clothes.com/articles/chuss/nato.htm "Seattle and Beyond: Disarming the New World Order" http://emperors-clothes.com/articles/chuss/seattle.htm "NATO's Reign of Terror in Kosovo" http://emperors-clothes.com/articles/chuss/chossnato.htm "The KLA: Grim Origins" http://emperors-clothes.com/articles/chuss/kla.html "Dismantling Yugoslavia, Colonizing Bosania" http://emperors-clothes.com/articles/chuss/dismantl.htm * To browse articles at Emperors-clothes please click here or go to http://www.emperors-clothes.com A recent confidential UN report makes it clear: the UN has presided over what Prof. Chossudovsky calls "the criminilzation of state institutions" in Kosovo. For more on the secret UN report, and to read a short Emperors-Clothes commentary, see How will you plead at your trial, Mr. Annan? at http://emperors-clothes.com/news/howwill.htm To get an idea of the enormity of the crimes committed by Ceku, the Croatian military and their American handlers see Greg Elich's brilliantly researched The invasion of Serbian Krajina at http://emperors-clothes.com/articles/elich/krajina.html Could the UN leaders not have known that the KLA was a criminal-terrorist organization? See Prof. Chossudovsky's article, The KLA: Grim Origins at http://emperors-clothes.com/articles/chuss/kla.html Prof. Chossudovsky believes the KLA, or rather, its blighted offspring, the Kosovo Protection Corps, supposed to be the control apparatus for multinational corporations in Kosovo. See State terror and the "free market" Opening up Kosovo to foreign capital by Michel Chossudovsky at http://emperors-clothes.com/articles/chuss/opening.htm NATO is apparently suffering from internal conflicts, most apparent in the tormented town of Mitrovica in northern Kosovo, near the administrative border with inner Serbia. What's behind those conflicts?See Why is the KLA shooting at KFOR? at http://emperors-clothes.com/analysis/whyisthe.htm If you find emperors-clothes useful, we can use your help... (The Soros Foundation does NOT fund Emperors Clothes.) We rely on volunteer labor and on donations to cover necessary expenses. These include: Internet fees, Lexis, our main Internet research tool and phone bills. We use the phone to do interviews and discuss editorial changes. A necessity. Every month hundreds of thousands of people read E-C articles.
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