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.

Feh.

The story is that SerbianFire aka BlackBirdKosovo1389 aka Srpska Vatra aka 1389 aka Mladic Garde was in the Marine Reserves, as a Tanker.

He then was in Junior College where he was harassed by some Afghani students in his driveway, and skipped off to fight in Bosnia with his kin, where he joined up some unit where they could put a four eyed punk and keep him out of too much trouble.

Like any of the lower primates, if you tease him, he'll get upset and start throwing excement around.

So quit teasing the Monkey already.

So of all the handles on FR you need to know more about me?

I didn't mean to pick on you, Wraith. I just thought I could reply to you better if I understood where you were coming from. I've had to be away from FR quite a bit lately (broken arm, sick mother) and didn't get to meet you properly. Everyone who has been to former Yugoslavia comes away with a different perspective, depending on where they were, how much they moved around, how long they were there, what type of work they were doing, etc. Have you met tonycavanagh? He and I used to talk about that some here on FR. (Tony was in BiH -- great fellow, if you haven't met him already, look him up!) Also, I welcome the opportunity to learn from others who were there at different times or in different places than I was.

You've certainly lived an interesting life, Wraith. Rhodesia! Wow! The head of the Electoral Component in the UNTAC Mission (Cambodia) was Prof. Reginald Austin, who wrote the Electoral Law for Northern Rhodesia (now Zambia). Quite a gentleman! Have you heard of him?

I've heard Cyprus is a great post, and wished that Mission was open to us non-military females. I corresponded for awhile with an older couple on Cyprus (Greek) who absolutely loved the Blue Helmets. The physician husband said how grateful he was to them that his children could grow up in peace, and his wife baked sweets to take to the ones garrisoned near their home every Sunday.

I'd love to hear more about your time in Western Slavonija. I had close contact with colleagues who were there in 1995 ("Op Flash" and its aftermath) and worked with DPs from Flash who came through former Sector North. I'm sure all was quite different when you were there in 1992.

Of course, I read your posts on Kosovo with interest and look forward to more!

and I like beer. Are you a blond?

I like beer, too. (Learned to like it in Cambodia -- much safer than water there!) Did you have a favourite pivo in former Yugoslavia? I liked Karlovacko and Apatinsko.

Are you asking whether I'm blonde as an insult (blonde=stupid) or for some other reason? Yes, I'm blonde (unfortunately). I used to dye my hair dark before I went to Cambodia where there's no sunscreen, much less proper hair dye, so I went natural there, and stayed natural since. And I LOVE blonde jokes!

Hey there wonders, welcome back. When I had hair it was blond, so I guess I can offer the following without being accused of blondophobia:

There were 10 blondes and one brunette hanging on a rope off of Mount Everest. The rope couldn't hold all of them so one person would have to fall on to the cliff below and sacrifice her life so the rest could live. The brunette gives a touching story of how she will sacrifice her life for the rest of them to live, and she will let go and die and after she does this touching speech all the blondes applauded her.

She Was Soooooooooooooo Blonde... She thought a quarterback was a refund.

She thought General Motors was in the army. She thought Meow Mix was a CD for cats. She thought Boyz II Men was a day care center. At the bottom of an application where it says "sign here," she wrote "Sagittarius."

She Was Soooooooooooooo Blonde... She took the ruler to bed to see how long she slept. She sent me a fax with a stamp on it. She thought Eartha Kitt was a set of garden tools. She thought TuPac Shakur was a Jewish holiday.

Under "education" on her job application, she put "Hooked On Phonics".

She Was Soooooooooooooo Blonde... She tripped over a cordless phone. She spent 20 minutes looking at the orange juice can because it said, "Concentrate". She told me to meet her at the corner of "WALK" and "DON'T WALK." She asked for a price check at the Dollar Store. She tried to put M&M's in alphabetical order.

She Was Soooooooooooooo Blonde... She studied for a blood test. She thought she needed a token to get on "Soul Train." She sold the car for gas money.

When she missed the 44 bus, she took the 22 bus twice instead. When she went to the airport and saw a sign that said, "Airport Left," she turned around and went home.

She Was Soooooooooooooo Blonde... When she heard that 90% of all crimes occur around the home, she moved. She thinks Taco Bell is the Mexican phone company. She thought if she spoke her mind, she'd be speechless. She thought that she could not use her AM radio in the evening. She had a shirt that said "TGIF," which she thought stood for "This Goes in Front"

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