Haselock: We did not mean to stigmatize the reputation of the KLA

BETA News Agency | February 7, 2002 | BETA

[Ichabod Walrus]

Haselock: We did not mean to stigmatize the reputation of the KLA

PRISTINA, 7 February 2002 (Beta) - The head of the UNMIK Information Office, Simon Haselock, stated today in Pristina that the arrest of former members of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) were not intended "to stigmatize the reputation of that organization", but he warned that no one can be immune from the law.

Individual acts cannot influence the reputation of an organization, said Haselock.

Demonstrations throughout Kosovo towns were organized by certain forces which desire to realize their own narrow interests, he indicated, without specifying, however, to which forces he referred.

According to Haselock, the Kosovo judicial system will also concern itself with crimes committed prior to the time the UN mission assumed administration of the province since, according to Haselock, there is no statute of limitations on criminal acts.

He indicated that the arrest of former members of the KLA was carried out after a long investigation, which began after the deployment of NATO forces on Kosovo territory.

"The accusations are related to crimes perpetrated against Albanians, including also women and minors. They were arrested, tortured, beaten up and then killed. These crimes are not committed against soldiers during a state of war, but against unarmed civilians," said Haselock.

According to him, the UN mission is endeavoring to form an independent Kosovo judicial system and this system will be developed independently of the political process.

Despite a warning from UNMIK, the organization committee for protests to be held tomorrow has called for new mass demonstrations in Pristina as a sign of protest against the arrest of the former members of the KLA.

Translated by S. Lazovic (10 February 2002)

[Wraith]

Right, Gorazde, the most pro-Nazi town in southeastern Bosnia where thousands of Serbs were killed in WWII.

Dear Goof, stop trying to relate the beat up people of Gorazde in 1994 with the Nazi past. Pro Nazi town? I don't believe Nazism was their top priority of the day but more like hoping to see the sun rise the next morning without the complication of a Bosnian Serb bullet in the back of the head. A rather humble daily request to hope for I would think. Every one beat up on the Muslims and demonize them for the way they reacted?

Your nationalistic B.S. reeks of pro Milosivic/Arkan support which is quit obvious in your regard to the battered population in Gorzde. Like in all the Muslim enclaves the Muslims got the worst of it during the Bosnian war and you make it sound like they are the ultimate evil that did what they wanted and to whom ever, but you fail to look in your own back yard. The Mulsims fought back any way they could despite the obvious disadvantage they had and if they stole weapons to do it I believe any population as desperate as they were would have done the same thing including you and your limited cerebral capacity.

Remember your other hero General Mladic and the fun he had at Srebrenica in 1995? The Bosnian Serb Military succeeded that time. You are another one of those simpletons that only sees evil in one direction but refuses to acknowledge the evil exhibited by the side you support. A true supporter of genocide if I have ever met one. I realy want to know what qualifies you in making the remarks you do? In any case please connect to the National Post and search for an article titled "Canada's Unsung 'Superhero'." It is the personal account of one of the unarmed U.N. military observers who was responsible for saving the town of Gorazde in 1994 from your so callws heroes in the Bosnian Serb Army and the ethnic cleansing that was sure to follow. Their is a great photo of the Bosnian Serb armor sent to deal with lightly armed civilians. I'm sure your proud of them, the Bosnian Serb Army I mean. Now try and open your mind and wonder if all that B.S. you believe in is true. After all maybe its you who is full of shit.

Here is an excerpt of the article if in case you are to closed minded to go and check it out.

"Lt.-Col. Stogran admired the Muslim defenders' courage; they were making a valiant effort. But as he stood on the Gradina ridge that April 14, he knew the town was ripe for the taking. "We could see the valley that had recently been seized by the Serbs but had not yet been razed. I could distinctly hear screams coming from the area.... It was a sorrowful sight that I shall never forget," he wrote in his diary. Soon after, Lt.-Col. Stogran, two SAS soldiers and an interpreter reached the front-line trenches of the town's defenders: "The Muslim troops were not clad in uniforms, but were wearing the same clothing that they wore in the fields of their farms. Hunting rifles abounded, not assault rifles. They fired only single rounds in an effort to conserve ammunition and make every shot count. Those poor men reminded me of my relatives who farm on the Prairies -- not soldiers, and they made no bones about it. They were scared shitless, but had no alternative but to defend themselves," he later wrote in his diary."

[Hoplite]

I'm fairly certain that the Serb Crisis Committee in Gorazde had the local Serbs vacate the town prior to the Serb assault on the town.

The assault didn't work out quite like they hoped, however, so 'ethnic cleansing' kind of backfired on them.

Oops.

[Wraith]

So you are supporting the mass expulsion of the Kosovar Albanian population from Kosovo and the civil war that would follow? That would have been the case if NATO/U.S. did not intervened as a result of listening to the ICJ. The aftermath which would have turned into a civil war would be on the conscience of that judge and his colleagues.

The US Constitution and international law that the US helped write can not be put aside based on psychic premonitions

Well Spar-ky Clinton had the balls to do it and prevented another sad chapter in the Balkan conflict. He made the right MORAL decision. You forgot about RWANDA already. It does not take a genius even in their own mind like yourself perhaps, to figure out that the Kosovar Albanians would let things go after being forced to leave their homes and province? Would constitute reason for retaliation don't you think oh wise one? I'm sure Clinton is quacking in his boots knowing you objected. Did you write your Congressman?

The expulsions did not begin until after NATO starting bombing, an act which even you can not claim was legitimate.

Legitimate in what sense? I believe it was a moral issue in order to prevent another Rwanda like situation. You know civil war probably dragging in Albania and even more of the Islamic entity as Fusion would say to turn up the heat even more. You can't see this?

Wraith said "The likes of Arkan being present while this was taking place indicates to what length Milosivic was ready to go in getting rid of the Kosovar Albanin population." Spar-ky said "Arkan was in Belgrade, I heard his interview on American TV."

Well you know, here one day and there the next. Arkan was in Kosovo, I held a photo that was found in Pristina of Arkan and his thuglings all in uniform and with weapons. Did you know that Arkan owned the GRAND HOTEL, the most luxurious hotel in Pristina Kosovo. Of course he and his tigers were there. Why would you even try and defend a thug like that? You may know U.S. congressional procedures but you sure suck at knowing what happened in Kosovo.

Rawanda resulted in 800,000 lives being killed mostly without bullets in under one month's time. Kosovo and Bosnia combined were not even close to Rawanda. Besides, the President can not put aside the wishes of Congress and the US Constitution based on psychic premonitions. Flawed ones at that.

Listen to what you are saying. You brush off the lesson of Rawanda as if those 800,000 people were nothing. Any sane person in a position of power knowing what happened in Rawanda would not want somthing like that to happen again which makes me wonder about how flawed your thinking is.

Well you know spar-ky being a non American I really don't really follow your countries politics very much or care because ouside the U.S. boarders there is the rest of the world to pay attention to, which I find more interesting.

[Wraith]

Maybe bluester's ability to accept people for what they are and not from what group they are is beyond your ability to understand. You need to get your head looked at because you have some very big issues to get a grip of. When you sit down with Balkan people that you don't know, are you one of those that has to know what their last names are?

[Wraith]

When that big black funnel cloud is a comin, best to move.

[Wraith]

Self cleansing, a new concept?

[joan]

Wraith, the Bosnian government army was provoking Serbs, and the Bosnian Muslims had destroyed the roofs of Serb houses in Goradze before the seige:

ECONOMIST 09APR94 p52 (Goradze, before NATO air strikes)
"It hardly matters who started the fight. What does matter is that the Serbs won a swift military victory."

04Apr94 Mark Heinrich Reuter
"UN peacekepers have urged the Bosnian government army to avoid provocative attacks on rebel Serbs at a time when they feel cornered by a new U.S.- Russian peace process, senior U.N. sources say. They said a renewed onslaught on the Moslem pocket of Gorazde and random shelling of government centes along the fringes of the Croat-Moslem peace zone in central Bosnia may have been incited by government infantry probes against Serb positions in recent weeks."

Guardian Jan 28, 1995 "Sir Michael's view that Gorazde was, by the standards of a hard time not suffering exceptional damage looked nonsensical from the pictures of great numbers of roofs clean off the houses. It looked so until the general pointed out that taking a roof off is the sure sign of ethnic cleansing - here, the ethnic cleansing of Serbs by Muslims, something to have happened long before the siege."

[Francohio]

In order for the Clinton Administration to justify its support for the Albanians and for the Bosnians, as well, it was necessary to demonize the Serbs, who in many ways were victims of both. In this, the Clintonians played many of the same cards the Soviet Union under Stalin played against them. In fact, the Soviet Union played the Albanian card in exactly the same way Bill Clinton did, in promoting the KLA off the international terrorist list, where they were in 1993, to the unlikely role of Balkan "Freedom Fighters."

The Serbs are not exactly saints. Neither are they any worse sinners than the
other players in the never-ending scrimmages amongst the South Slavs.

So, anyone who thinks the Bosnians, for example, did not commit multiple atrocities upon the Bosnian Serbs and Croats (and vice-versa, of course) is a fool. When it comes to atrocities against Christians, the Slav Muslims are not exactly inexperienced. They trained for centuries under their Turkish masters, who usually used the Bosnians as overseers, while the Albanian thugs in their employ did the heavy lifting.

Furthermore, the Bosnians have always done outstanding work in supporting their terrorist Muslim brothers. In particular, they have been quick to give refuge to KLA murderers, and of course al-Qaida.

The US and Britain (Clinton and Blair) were wrong to take any side in this conflict. When they took the side of the Bosnians, and then even more incredibly, the Albanians (of all people!), and began the completely unwarranted bombing of civilian targets in Serbia, they made all of us war criminals. How many Americans know, for example, that far more Serbs have been driven from their homes and made refugees than any other group in this conflict?

I am even more shamed that NATO members blame the Serbs for "trickery" in the enormous casualties caused among Albanians during the US bombing. (No use blaming NATO, we flew 95% of the missions, Britain about 3%, and the rest German, French and Dutch.)

In short, I think that as the Milosevic trial progresses, the attack on Serbia and the alliance with the KLA will prove to be one of the biggest embarassments to the US of the 20th Century.

[Hoplite]

Joan, try to stay current ok?

[Hoplite]

How many Americans know, for example, that far more Serbs have been driven from their homes and made refugees than any other group in this conflict?

Really? I was unaware - why don't we take the 800,000 Kosovar Albanians, subtract the 250,000 Kosovar Serbs, and the 500,000 Serbs from Croatia, and I'll spot you the 50,000 for our refugee comparison in Bosnia?

Do you really want to stand by such an ignorant misstatement of the truth of the matter?

[Francohio]

Well Hoplite,
take a somewhat longer view. The Albanians have been forcing Serbs to leave Kosovo for far longer than the period covered by the present unpleasantness.

BTW, I am not particularly a Serbian partisan. My point is that there is plenty of guilt for atrocities on all sides in this conflict. Thus, IMHO, it was wrong for us to side with the Bosnians, who are plenty bad enough, and particularly with the Albanians.

Bill Clinton's and Tony Blair's 'Wag the Dog' foreign policy will take generations to repair in this region.

[joan]

Would you look at that, vooch? Hoplite links to Malcolm Noel - a man who lies and causes confusion. Look at what an investigation of his work revealed:

EXPERT IN PYSCHOLOGY OF ETHNIC CONFLICT CHANGES HIS MIND ABOUT YUGOSLAVIA:

This is a fusion of the events of 1987 and 1989 and, since this connection does not seem to appear prior to 1999 (which is the year Noel Malcolm’s book appeared), it is at least a reasonable guess that:

a) Malcolm is the originator of this confusion and

b) ever since, newspapers like The Times of London and Newsday have been fusing remarks that Milosevic made in two different years and in two very different contexts (neither of them even remotely damning).

[joan]

Well Hoplite, take a somewhat longer view. The Albanians have been forcing Serbs to leave Kosovo for far longer than the period covered by the present unpleasantness.

You also have to know that the Kosovo Serbs, Roma, and Jews have been left homeless for over 2 1/2 years now.

[vooch]

Hoppie........odd to see you citing the bald faced fabricator Noel Malcolm as a authority, especially since the Ivy League Prof's expose' of Noel's invented quotations....usually you're a bit better with your sources.

Hoppie, as for your contention that the evil sinister "serbs" abandoned their homes in Gorazade as some sort of clever scheme to discredit the Iztebgovic regime.............a trifle far fetched for even the HumWarriors.......and totally contradicted by the military observors on the spot......we've all seen the film w/ the UN General showing the scores of Gorazade homes torched by Iztbegovic's fanatics thanks Joan for the citation

Hoppie, why is it whenever you are faced with hard facts which contradict your POV, you spin these elaborate complex suppositions ? Why don't you admit as so many other have.......that you were wrong ?

H

[Francohio]

One of the fastest-disappearing stories in the good grey NYT was about the Sephardic Jewish rabbinate of Kosovo who were desperately looking for help against the marauding Albanian bands who were destroying their house of worship and assaulting their people. They were, as you point out, forced to leave. So desperate were the NYT to support Clinton's policies, that after one reluctantly filed, back-page report, they never mentioned them again!

It is also very interesting to note that when the Communists ran Yugoslavia, the NYT coverage of Kosovo was very pro-Serbian, publishing a series of articles about Albanian depredations in Kosovo. The Albanians were branded as criminals, fundamentalist terrorists, and the NYT outlined their links to others such as HAMAS, The Libyans, etc. When the Communists were overthrown, the Serbs soon became the devils, and the Albanians "Freedom Fighters." Odd, ain't it?

Of course the Albanian slaughter and oppression of the Rom has been covered. Unfortunately, I think any rational person would have to conclude that in most cases, where Muslims attain, or see the possibility of attaining a majority, intolerance becomes the norm.

I hope Bill Clinton and Tony Blair are called for cross-examination by Milosevic. We are a long way from the truth.

[Great Dane]

They don't have to stigmatize the KLA, they did that all by themselves.

Now lets hear them say, we didn't mean to stigmatize the Serbs.

[Great Dane]

If you don't like them, doesn't mean they are not true. Sorry.

By the same token, just because you believe them to be true......... dosn't mean they are.

[Great Dane]

Their were elections just recently. The big problem was and is the KLA. They alone continue the bloodshed in Kosovo. I have seen enough of it.

But the KLA is doing this under the watchful eye of K-FOR, who is suppose to keep the peace.

[Hoplite]

Using your viewpoint, we should keep the Germans at arms length for the rest of eternity, no?

War crimes committed by someone's grandparents do not give the aggreived party a license to kill - and the 1990's in Yugoslavia were a case history in using the past to foment hatred in the present. It is so simplistic as to defy belief as to how the Serbs and Croats were set at each other's throats against their own best interests - same same in Bosnia and Kosovo.

As to staying out of the fight, I disagree - I see a compelling interest in maintaining stability and peace in Europe, and Milosevic was the biggest threat to those interests throughout the 1990's.

[Great Dane]

Please tell me the difference between the evil terrorist KLA and paramilitary Tigers of Arkan, paramilitary forces of Mladic, Karadzic and Martic.

The difference is remarkable, only the KLA managed to talk NATO into bombing Serbia back to the stoneage.