The Pope wants to visit Serbia

12 August 2006 | 14:24 | Source: Beta NOVI SAD -- Bishop Eugenio Sbarbaro, Apostiolic Nuncio to Belgrade, said that Pope Benedict XVI wants to visit Serbia.

Sbarbaro told Novi Sad daily Građanski List that the Pope wants to come to Serbia in order to unite the churches and religious communities better.

“When the Holy Father hears that he will be able to make the visit in that spirit, not only will he come, but we will rush to come as soon as possible.” Sbarbaro said.

Sbarbaro added that Pope Benedict XVI was supposed to visit Serbia while he was still a cardinal for discussions with the Serbian Orthodox Church, but that he did not get to visit because he was elected Pope before the meeting was realized.

The fact that there were trucks with bodies inside and that there were documents of some K-Albanians from Djakovitsa does not prove anything, Hoplite,other than there were boddies of some unfortunate human beings, some of whom were possibly from Djakovitsa.

Is there any reliable evidence how they were killed, or when? By whom? Do two trucks prove Kanidch's "theory?"

You can't plant a body in your neighbor's yard and claim that it is a proof that he killed someone. Judicial systems require more than allegations because you cannot prove things with allegations of who might be, or what we think it might be, or why we think it might be. Kandich did not just report the incidents — she made definitive claims, as facts, without evidence to support such claims. That's how she operates. Kandich is also blatantly one-sided, which further erodes her credibility.

The fact that there were trucks with bodies inside and that there were documents of some K-Albanians from Djakovitsa does not prove anything

Of course not, Kosta - it's the rest of the evidence which completes the story, i.e., witness testimony of killings in Kosovo, Serbian personnel who were part of or witness to the corpse transportation scheme testifying, and the subsequent DNA identification of victims recovered from the various mass graves in Kosovo.

It's all there, Kosta. You've just shut your eyes to it.

If there are sources as late as December 2005 and January 2006 that call it a "truck hoax" I would venture to say that not everyone is convinced in your verison of the story.

I don't care about them, Kosta, because they're obviously liars or just plain stupid.

Further, you seem to think that endless discussion is a substitute for recognition of facts already in evidence.

No dice, Kosta. It's probable that nothing more will come of the truck cases - the heads of the responsible Serbian government agencies at the time are in the Hague, and the Serbian government isn't about to set aside whining about Kosovo in order to prosecute members of the Police and Army for what they did there under Milosevic - it would be counterproductive to their hopes of continued sovereignity over Kosovo.

The latest from B92 is that the Pope won't visit Serbia any time soon. Here is their English-language text from 8/19/06; source Beta:

Speaking at the Independent journalists’ association of Vojvodina forum “Promoting differences”, Djordjevic said both the state and the Serbian Orthodox Church share the stand that the Pope’s visit should not take place. “There is great resistance to the idea in Serbia. The majority SPC’s Holy Synod is in favor of the Pope’s visit, but the minority that is opposed to it is far more aggressive and extreme”, Djordjevic said.

Djordjevic said that the Pope himself said in one of his addresses that he does not wish to visit a country where the church is in opposition to the idea, since he sees his mission is to bring people together, rather than create divisions.

For those not familiar with B92 (a Soros-backed institution for dissemination of lies), the use of such terms as "extreme" and "aggressive" is a way to paint the other side as evil without having to justify such claims. They will never, for example, interview one of these "extreme" and "aggressive" elements to find out why they might be opposed to such a visit.

The sole individual quoted here is a religion sociologist Mirko Djordjevich attending a "rainbow" (all inclusive, liberal) meeting of "independent jurnalists" (what an oxymoron!)

Of course, they also show now reliable numbers or names of those who are on record in favor or opposed to Papal visits in the Synod of the Serbian Orthodox Church (SPC), but rather rely on a statement by an "independent" journalist as fact. Thus, most wanton allegations of friendly sources are presented as hard facts.

B92 makes even British tabloids appear as respectable newspapers.

Of course, this story is only few days behind and in complete disagreement with an earlier B92 story, also originated in Serbia's northern liberal province of Voyvodina, based on a fabricated quote attributed to +Benedict XVI, that he wants to come to Serbia to "unite the churches" (no such recorded statement exists from the Pope).

The problem I have with the freezer truck story is that 100s of illegal immigrants from the East try to cross the border (East - Bulgaria - Serbia - the EU; it's not that hard to cross from Serbia into the EU/Hungary) every month. Now, let's face it, Serbians do help these people - they're not immune to $$$. It's not uncommon for these smugglers to simply abandon their "load" if the police are nearby.

Personally, over the last 3-4 years, I've read at least 10 news reports on some AFGHANIS being caught at the Serbia-Bulgaria border, on the Danube (Kladovo, no less!). How many don't get caught?

So, theoretically, they could've been non-Albanians (the bodies that were discovered). Some reports go as far as claiming that, indeed, the bodies that were discovered were Afghani citizens. But that's not convenient, is it?

And if I was a Serbian soldier in Kosovo, the last thing I'd do would've been transporting dead bodies in a truck, driving 400 kilometres north with NATO jets circling over my a$$.

And, if I was to come up with a story, I'd make it half-believable at least. This freezer truck story doesn't check out on so many levels.

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