Republic of Bosnia & Herzegovina

Bosnia and Herzegovina: Fourteen years on women raped in war continue to be denied their rights

2009-10-03T23:50:00.000-07:00

Successive governments of Bosnia and Herzegovina have failed to provide justice for thousands of women and girls who were raped during the 1992-1995 war, a new Amnesty International report reveals today (30 September).

Launching at a press conference in Sarajevo, Amnesty's 82-page report, Whose Justice? The women of Bosnia and Herzegovina are still waiting, details how thousands of rape survivors are still denied justice and reparation, while those responsible walk free, sometimes within the same community. Many survivors still suffer post-traumatic stress disorders and other psychological problems, yet receive little support.

The report is based on extensive research by Amnesty International, whose representatives met with survivors of sexual violence, support organisations, local NGOs, government officials and representatives of the international community.

The report comes ahead of the 14-year anniversary of the end of the war with the signing of the Dayton Agreement in November 1995 and nine years since the UN passed Resolution 1325, the first formal and legal document from the UN Security Council requiring, parties in a conflict to respect women's rights and to support their participation in peace negotiations and in post conflict reconstruction.

Nicola Duckworth, Amnesty International's Europe Programme Director, said:

'During the war, thousands of women and girls were raped, often with extreme brutality. Many were held in prison camps, hotels and private houses where they were sexually exploited. Many women and girls were killed.

'To this day, survivors of these crimes have been denied access to justice. Those responsible for their suffering - members of military forces, the police or paramilitary groups - walk free. Some remain in positions of power or live in the same community as their victims.

'The government of Bosnia and Herzegovina has an obligation to provide these victims with access to justice and the full reparation to which they are entitled.

'For this to happen, the authorities must ensure comprehensive investigations that lead to prosecutions of war crimes of sexual violence in the country. Without meaningful justice and full and effective reparation, victims continue to suffer the effects of these horrific crimes.'

Jasmina, a survivor of sexual violence during the war, told Amnesty International:

'I can't sleep without pills. I still get upset easily when people mention the war. An image, a memory, a TV spot can be a spark. I can't stand it ... I need help.'

The authorities in Bosnia and Herzegovina have failed to provide these women with access to adequate healthcare or psychological support, which is provided only by non-governmental organisations (NGOs) working with limited resources. A Bosnian NGO told Amnesty International that the vast majority of survivors of war crimes of sexual violence are not receiving any psychological assistance.

Thousands of women survivors also lost family members. Many are not able to find or maintain jobs because of their psychological condition. Many remain without a stable source of income and live in poverty, unable to buy the medicines they need.

As rape continues to be a taboo subject, in most cases the women face stigmatisation rather than the recognition and vital assistance they need to help them rebuild their lives.

Nicola Duckworth said:

'Many women who have survived sexual violence during the war cannot get any compensation due to the complex structures of the judicial and social welfare systems in the country. In comparison to other war victims, they suffer discrimination in access to social benefits.

'The authorities must work with NGOs in developing a comprehensive strategy to ensure that survivors receive reparations, including adequate pensions, assistance with access to work and the highest achievable standard of heath-care. The government should support survivors of war crimes of sexual violence, to give them a voice to demand their rights and combat discrimination and stigmatisation they face in everyday life.'

Background
Rape and other crimes of sexual violence occurred on a massive scale during the 1992-1995 war in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) was established in 1993 to prosecute serious violations of international humanitarian law, including sexual violence. However, the ICTY was only able to prosecute a limited number of cases related to sexual violence in Bosnia and Herzegovina - 18 as of July 2009.

The War Crimes Chamber of the State Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina was created in 2005, to investigate and prosecute crimes that could not be prosecuted by the ICTY. To date, only 12 men have been convicted for crimes of sexual violence.

Read the report: 'Whose justice? The women of Bosnia and Herzegovina are still waiting' (PDF)

source: http://www.amnesty.org.uk/news_details.asp?NewsID=18431

Also see: http://srebrenica-genocide.blogspot.com/2009/10/bosnian-genocide-rape-victims-suffer-in.html

Mass Rape in Bosnia - Breaking the Wall of Silence

2009-10-03T23:46:00.000-07:00

Mass Rape in Bosnia - Breaking the Wall of Silence

an interview with Seada Vranic

Instead of a blindfold, the Serb soldiers bound Enisa's eyes with their socks. The stench made her throw up, so they hit her until she learned that 'Serb socks don't smell'. Seven 'heroes of the nation' raped her and beat her for days. At first she resisted, so they brought her to her senses by knocking her teeth out with a rifle-butt and breaking her jaw. When she lost consciousness they would 'give her a bath', i.e. douse her in cold water. Terrified that she would be driven mad, she suddenly liked the idea and saw madness as a way out. She began singing Serb songs louder and louder, then dancing with the chetnik who had presumably butchered her husband. The soldiers were dumbfounded. They threatened her, held a knife to her throat, but she only sang louder. Believing she had gone off her head entirely, the soldiers paid less attention to her and she managed to escape, by hiding in a potato sack. When the journalist Seada Vranic spoke with Enisa a few months later, in July 1992, she saw before her a hunched, grey-haired old woman with a contorted face. That was just one month before Enisa's twenty-eighth birthday.

This is just one example of the devastating testimony presented by Seada in Pred zidom sutnje (recently produced by the Zagreb publishing house 'Antibarbarus' and forthcoming in an English version, Breaking the Wall of Silence), a work recording and analysing the experiences of rape victims from Bosnia- Herzegovina. The terrible statements of the half-demented victims so shook the author, that she had the greatest difficulty in maintaining her own psychological stability.

Seada has collected the statements of young children who watched from hiding as chetniks raped their mothers and sisters, or forced men to rape their own family members. Children saw chetniks impale men on stakes after raping them, leaving them alive with the stake in their entrails. Women, impregnated after hundreds of rapes and unable to abort, showed Seada their breasts disfigured by cigarette burns. She recorded all their statements verbatim. She just left out the names, and sometimes shortened the statements when the victims recounted their ghastly experiences in too great detail.

When she began collecting this direct testimony, she believed that rape and the victims of rape were simply part of the madness of war - a chaos without rules or system. After a certain time, however, for all her her caution she came to the unambiguous conclusion that rapes were part of the Greater- Serbian expansionist policy, planned at the top levels of the state. After the first wave of information about this almost unbelievable phenomenon, world public opinion was shocked. But other tragedies in the world soon pushed this terrible dimension of the war into the background, leaving it to sociologists, psychologists and other such experts. Yet the truth was far more terrible than even the greatest pessimists expected. The atrocities were even more numerous and brutal than was initially apparent, given the difficulty of collecting the testimony of rape victims - women, men and also children - many of whom were killed after being raped.

Seada Vranic finds some relief today in devoting herself to her family, who live not far from Geneva on the French side of the border. Her husband, a Croat physicist, works in an institute for research into sub-atomic particles, her two daughters attend primary school. She was born in 1949 to Bosniak parents in Travnik, where she completed her primary and secondary education. She then studied political science at Zagreb University, after which she worked for many years as Zagreb correspondent of the Belgrade daily newspaper Borba. When she first met war victims of rape, she decided to investigate the phenomenon in depth. We spoke over several days. Although today Seada is quite composed, when she speaks of the worst atrocities she has to struggle to maintain a calm appearance.

SV I began to write on this subject almost by chance. My colleagues from Monitor (the independent Montegrin weekly), with whom I had been working for a year already, asked me to write on some Bosnian theme. I told them that my only connection with Bosnia was the refugees. That was at the beginning of the war in Bosnia, in March 1992.

Were your articles censored?

Could you write about Vukovar, for example?

Yes, and very emotionally, since there was no other way to write about Vukovar at the time. The Monitor staff journalists too were writing about the shameful war Montenegrins were then waging round Dubrovnik. I am proud of my collaboration with that paper. I don't know what it's like today, since I can't get hold of it. While writing in Monitor about Bosnian refugees, I wrote up the case of a woman with two children who had fled from Bijeljina. I realized that she had been raped.

How did you realize that?

I asked her what was going on in Bosnia. She replied: 'They're cutting throats, killing, burning...' and then, when she continued '... and raping', the word stuck in her throat. Tears ran down her cheeks. At the time I barely knew what rape meant, what kind of a crime it was, what kind of social phenomenon. I paid no special attention to her testimony. I was speaking with these first refugees at the Islamic centre in the Folnegovic settlement near Zagreb. It was only when I began to write my article that I realized how many women had been raped. I wasn't able to send the article in, since all international links with Montenegro were cut off. While waiting, I started wondering if I couldn't fill out the article with new details. I went on talking to refugees and constantly encountered rape victims. After those first stories, however, my view on the nature of the crimes was different from what it later became.

In what sense different?

At the time I couldn't accept the idea that rapes were part of the Serbian expansionist war strategy. I thought: rape is a bio-psychological act that cannot be carried out to order. Strategy implies subordination, submission to a superior. I had no doubt that Karadzic was a sufficiently monstrous being to be able to devise and initiate such atrocities; nor did I doubt that the hordes who'd arrived from Serbia to slaughter and kill were capable also of rape. It wasn't that I thought any morality would restrain them from it, but I felt sure erection couldn't be achieved to order. However, after four months the 'mosaic' took shape for me. I noticed the congruences in events in wholly different localities and I began to enter them on the map. I had victims from everywhere except eastern Herzegovina.

So then you changed your opinion about the nature of the violence?

Talking with the victims had already begun to open my eyes. I became aware that rape in such circumstances is not the same as violent sex. It is aggression carried out by sexual means. I became convinced that in this war rape is closer to Thanatos than to Eros. I realized how I too was misled by certain notions about the 'violent nature of the male', and by the fact that I too live in an environment where males dominate. Even serious people sometimes say: 'he couldn't restrain himself, so he raped'. It's a matter of his instincts, in other words. But this time everything came from the head. Rape cannot be committed in self-defence. No one can say: the woman attacked me, so I raped her. In parallel with my investigations I was reading a wide range of literature on the whole phenomenon.

You were looking for a historical dimension to the events?

I wanted to know everything relevant, to analyse various aspects: for example, how the victims react and how the perpetrators react after rape.

Your book says that victims have the feeling they have been permanently altered; that 'someone else has moved into their skins'.

According to Professor Kulenovic, the effects remain in the victim at a far deeper level and for far longer than the victim herself is able to express. Those around her are often unaware how deep these effects are. The victims are alive, their wounds are mostly unseen, to look at they're not invalids - yet they are. Therapies help, but most rape victims in this war haven't been subjected to any therapy. Most of them will never admit to anyone that they have been raped.

You mention certain ratios between the total number of rape victims and those who speak out about the crime.

Other people have collected these data. One sociologist, writing about rapes in the province of Zenica in the nineteen seventies, was astounded when she realized that in the surrounding villages only every twenty-fourth rape was reported. In the city the ratio was somewhat less, but still horrifying. Some other studies speak of less drastic ratios, but still conclude that, out of every ten rapes, only one is reported to the competent institutions. It is difficult to take in this knowledge about the wall of silence, against which I myself ran up: a mother and daughter, for example, may know about a rape, the father not.

The claims in the book about the overall number of rape victims are truly terrifying.

Nobody has exact statistics for this and the final figure will be only an estimate. There are many 'blanks' in the research. In the USA one rape is reported every six minutes. No one knows how many actually occur. In Bosnia during this war there were tens of thousands of rape victims, that's beyond any doubt, perhaps as many as a hundred thousand. Three estimates are often quoted: the Bosnian government speaks of 50,000, the Investigating Commission of the European Union of 20,000, and the victimologist Dr Zvonimir Separovic of 30,000 rape victims, with the comment that these are not the final figures, which will doubtless be larger. Personally I don't like haggling with these figures. The crime will not be any greater if a few more thousand victims are attached to it. But in my opinion even the number spoken of by the Bosnian government will eventually be surpassed.

Is a systematic effort still being made to establish the definitive number of victims?

In Sarajevo there exists a commission and an institute for collecting data about war crimes.

Do you believe that they approach their work in a serious and objective manner?

The fact that they haven't made any bombastic pronouncements is very significant. From the commission I obtained five statements by rape victims, all of which my experience tells me were authentic. At the end of each of these statements the victim confirms that she is ready to repeat her testimony in front of any court or expert commission. Out of all the rape victims whose experiences those Sarajevo bodies have collected, 1,300 have signed similar declarations. Altogether, a lot of work has gone into this.

Did the victims usually insist on full anonymity?

Yes, normally. When writing my book, I had to take care no real names crept in. I was writing under a heavy load. Just before the book was printed, after reading it through I don't know how many times, I was horrified to discover that I'd written one real forename and surname. I tried to maintain an emotional distance from the book, thinking I'd stand the strain more easily in that way. All that testimony really crushed me, I was on the brink of physical and psychological collapse.

When did you have your most critical moment?

At one point I stopped work on the book.

Why?

One victim attacked me. The case involved a family whose war experiences are detailed in my files, and was centred on the testimony of a woman from Rogatica, a village in eastern Bosnia: her two daughters, four granddaughters and four daughters-in-law had been raped, and the rest of the family burnt alive in their house. The old woman agreed to talk to me, but her granddaughter attacked me physically. She broke my spectacles. I didn't blame the girl, of course, but for a long time I couldn't compose myself.

How old was the girl?

She was twelve. As soon as she heard that her granny intended to tell a reporter what had happened to them, she attacked me.

Presumably you wondered then what you were doing, what kind of assignment you had taken on, when even the victims you sympathized with didn't understand you?

While writing this book, I've wondered many times what I was doing. So many victims begged me: 'Please, don't write about that.' But people need to know the truth. If I hadn't realized that a planned crime was involved, I wouldn't have written the book at all; but as things were, I felt I had to do so.

In discussing that criminal conception, is the number of psychiatrists on the Serbian side in this war significant?

We do not have the crucial evidence, in the shape of a document like Nazi Germany's Law on Concentration Camps, which proved that certain crimes were not just incidental, but an essential part of a policy. In the case of the Greater-Serbian aggression, we do not have any such document. It does not exist in written form, but the conception is clear. Look, for example, at what happened with the camps. Even civilians entered the camps, along with entire military units: the males would be given, say, half an hour to 'do the job'. They didn't have to ask what job they had to do, everybody knew. That couldn't happen in the army without the knowledge and approval of the top military and political authorities. When later the conspiracy of silence was broken, when people began talking about rapes, the Serb authorities knew perfectly well what it was all about. They never called anyone to account. They merely denied the accusations. And the pattern was repeated. In Foca, in Bijeljina...

What pattern are you referring to?

The basic pattern was developed in a number of variants, depending on the context. The task was performed in one way in Banja Luka, in another in the villages. But behind it all lay just one idea: to expel the population of other nationalities from a given territory. Rape is a very effective means for that purpose: if three or four raped women arrived in a village, all the villagers would quickly take flight. They couldn't kill everybody, you see: Banja Luka was too large a town for them to be able to kill all the Bosniaks and Croats there. Nor could they send all of them to camps, or to the front. So they dreamed up a monstrous plan: they went into the houses of non- Serbs and raped them. At Banja Luka rapes took place on a particularly massive scale, even though the town was outside the war zone the whole time. One rape victim from Banja Luka for a long while couldn't believe something like this could happen at all. She knew about this kind of mass terror only from films about Nazism. But then, as she says, she 'felt the fear'.

What are the other variants of the basic pattern?

The assault on Foca and its surroundings provides another example. This involved lightning terror: bombardment, burning, killing, raping... The aim was achieved very fast: within a few days, even a few hours in the case of the villages, the territory was 'clean'. They took some people off to the camps, they killed some on the spot, and others they raped.

What happened to non-Serb women married to Serbs?

One experience has stuck in my memory. The woman was divorced from a Serb husband: for years she had consulted doctors, but she had been unable to conceive. They raped her and she conceived. I didn't manage to verify whether Bosniak or Croat women married to Serbs were protected from that kind of terror. I think there was no rule about it. I know there were Serbs who tried to protect victims.

When people today discuss German resistance to Nazism, they usually conclude that it was very minimal, and that almost the entire nation fell victim to the Nazi psychosis. Isn't it the case that a similar conclusion imposes itself with regard to Serbs in the present war, and that only very rare Serbs opposed this kind of terror by their co-nationals?

At the beginning I was astounded, then shocked, by the reactions of Serbs to the aggression of their army. Some didn't react even though no explicit danger of reprisal could threaten them - I have in mind here especially Serbs living abroad. Few of them condemned the crimes, even fewer protested about them. That makes the achievement of those who did find enough civic courage to oppose the terror all the greater - I'm thinking here about Bogdan Bogdanovic, Mirko Kovac and a few others. But this was just a drop in the ocean of silence.

Taken as a whole, there really was a consensus to lie. With present-day communications, satellite programmes, world radio stations, they could not help knowing the truth. Moreover, lots of them followed the troops like vultures and looted. The majority defend themselves by saying they never saw anything with their own eyes, but then neither do they have any desire to know anything about it all. It's like walking past a starving beggar and turning your head away in order to avoid being aware of his hunger.

Perhaps people in Serbia didn't know the details of the terror their co-citizens were inflicting, but in principle they all knew what was happening. Perhaps at the beginning there were some naive souls who believed Vukovar was being destroyed by its own inhabitants, but after a few months everyone knew who was destroying Vukovar. They knew Sarajevo was under siege, with shells raining down on it.

It was only after the great shock of Germany's defeat that the Germans experienced a catharsis. The Serbs haven't...

The Serb nation too will come to its senses. But the success Milosevic is having at acting the role of peacemaker makes it clear this will not happen very soon.

Your book catalogues appalling crimes and appalling sufferings. The case of raped women who then became pregnant must be among the most dreadful traumas of this war.

Out of all the rape victims I spoke to, only eleven admitted to having become pregnant. Nine of these terminated the pregnancy, but two reached a late stage of pregnancy while still in prison, so that it was too late to terminate by the time of their release. They reached Zagreb and gave birth. This was at the time when a campaign was under way in Croatia to limit abortion rights, which added to the victims' sufferings. The number of eleven raped women who became pregnant doesn't even come close to representing the true state of affairs. Almost 80% of rape victims were between 15 and 35 years old, i.e. at the age of maximum fertility. Many victims were in prisons and camps, where they were subjected to mass rape. Some of these women were raped by soldiers and civilians literally hundreds of times. I spoke, for example, with one victim immediately after she left the Petrova Street hospital in Zagreb. When I asked her if she had become pregnant, she answered: 'No, I certainly didn't!' That kind of attitude was typical.

You have paid special attention to the strange reaction of certain feminists, who have explained the entire phenomenon as a gender conflict rather than as aggression by one nation against another.

Unfortunately many individuals have compromised themselves with such views, including one wing of the feminist movement. I am not a feminist myself, but I consider that the feminist movement has an important place in the civilized world and great merits for improving the position of women in society, so I am intentionally expressing myself with great caution here. Perhaps the feminists I mentioned had no hidden political agenda, but they spoke as though rape victims were always women. So rape becomes a result of male nature and has always existed: even Zeus changed into a bull and raped Europa. And that's how things still are today, in war and in peace. Many women still think this theory is correct.

But the victims are not just women. In the war in Bosnia- Herzegovina and Croatia, men and children were raped too. All those victims have forenames and surnames. If more than 80% of victims were of one nationality, then that is no accident. There were no rapes where perpetrator and victim belonged to the same nation, or if there were any the number was statistically insignificant. Yet certain feminists still spoke in terms of gender war.

In reality, it is quite clear in this case that certain men raped specific

Don't you pay special attention, at one point in the book, to the question of rapists among the HVO forces?

International sources and various commissions have concluded that soldiers of the HVO committed many rapes at the time of the Croat-Bosniak conflict. There were indications that rapes in this conflict too served the purpose of ethnic cleansing. But there was no evidence that what was involved here was a military strategy devised by the HVO's military and political command. I didn't come across a single source pointing to that.

Out of 202 rape victims with whom I spoke, there was just one Serb woman and one Ukrainian. Serb rape victims suffer no less than those of other nations, nor are Bosniak rapists in any sense justified by the fact that their nation has been the victim of Serbian aggression. But no balance exists among the different nations in this case - neither among the victims nor among the perpetrators - however much international politicians may have disseminated the notion of a civil war of all against all. Yet some feminists were against any counting of rape victims. Not to look at the figures, however, would mean ignoring the problem.

But don't you mention in your book how American feminists were responsible for warning about rapes at the time of the aggression against Croatia?

Certain American women spoke out very early on about rapes and the policy of ethnic cleansing in occupied areas of Croatia. Very little was said or written about this in Croatia during the war of independence. Even today I don't know why it was hushed up.

The problem of rape is a universal civilizational problem, about which all the world's citizens should know much more than they do. In Croatia this problem has long been ignored. That's why I'd like as many people to read this book as possible. I didn't write it to provoke intolerance between nations. I tried to be cool, but that wasn't entirely possible. I wasn't a cold observer, I was on the victim's side. I presented the raw facts, irrespective of whom they might upset. If the facts I uncovered had indicted my own nation, I would still have written them down. My book wasn't the result of any search for proof of given theses. And I checked all the statements in it several times over.

The publisher of your book is working with you on a series of events to promote the book in Croatia and throughout the world. It would be very useful for public opinion in Serbia too to be informed about the book. If some courageous organizer were to be found for a promotional meeting in Belgrade, would you accept an invitation?

I would go there. I'm ready to hear uncomfortable accusations. My book tells how several tens of thousands, perhaps even a hundred thousand, rapes have been committed in the name of one nation. This is a terrible accusation for that nation. If someone says such a thing and then presents solid evidence, the reactions cannot but be stormy. Despite the evidence, many people will claim that the book is anti-Serb. It will be hard for me to prove I haven't written a book of hatred, nor will I attempt it.

A crime has been committed that in numerical terms is not the greatest in the history of warfare. But for the first time in the history of warfare rape has become a part of military strategy. For the first time human sexuality has been used for the purpose of what has euphemistically been termed ethnic cleansing, but which is in fact classic genocide.

source: http://www.barnsdle.demon.co.uk/bosnia/rapes.html

GENOCIDE UNDER THE UN FLAG - SREBRENICA 1995-2009

2009-08-17T03:19:00.000-07:00

source: http://srebrenica-genocide.blogspot.com/2009/08/genocide-under-un-flag-srebrenica-1995.html

"HELP ME, MOTHER! THE CHETNIKS ARE BUTCHERING ME."

"There was a body nailed to the block. Its throat had been cut. The head was still attached. They had not quite cut through. He was nailed alive... On the second night the Chetniks got among the people at the UNPROFOR camp... They kicked, stamped, dragged out girls to rape them, killed the men... While one of the Chetniks held them, another would thrust his knife into their necks, from the side. The one who was holding them would then cut across their throat and throw down the body. I screamed when I saw my son among them: ‘My son!’ He saw me. He opened his arms towards me. A Chetnik grabbed him, stuck his knife into his neck, the other cut his throat. The blood spurted out..."

By: Dženana Karup-Druško

In July 1995, after the fall of Srebrenica, I left besieged Sarajevo for Tuzla, where a tent camp had been set up for the surviving people of Srebrenica. I left the city with a tunnel pass signed by the then security officer of the 1st Corps of the Bosnian Army, Sead Čudić, and wearing an army uniform to facilitate travel. After several transfers and a journey that lasted nearly two days, I finally arrived at Dubrava. The airport was under UNPROFOR control and it was they who decided who could come in. Looking ironically at my uniform and the proffered press card, they told me curtly: ‘Local journalists are not allowed in.’

As I waited hoping that the soldiers might change their mind, a group of foreign journalists turned up and were welcomed in by the UNPROFOR men with a smile and no questions asked. I found myself afterwards in many even more delicate situations, but don’t recall ever feeling quite so humiliated. I retreated, my head bowed and with tears in my eyes. Revolted by what they saw, my friends from Tuzla, who had brought me to the airport, told me they would find a way for me to enter the airport. We circled around by car until we saw a hole in the fence. I squeezed through. I will never forget the picture I saw next: though it was daylight, all the searchlights at the airport were lit up. UNPROFOR soldiers and officers were marching up and down the concrete paths in spick-and-span uniforms and shining boots. I was reminded for a moment of SS troops in American movies. Only a few steps away from them, stuck in deep mud, were white tents made out of synthetic fibre, full of mothers, sisters, wives... They told me about their missing relatives, about the killings, about the hell through which they had passed. I watched them with my eyes full of tears as I listened to their talk of the horrible deaths they had witnessed.

Losing three sons

A mother with two small children sat in a flooded tent that I found hard to reach even with my army boots, wading through the deep mud.

"We were in Potočari. On the second day, around ten in the morning, I was sitting with the children, having laid out some food. Five of them turned up. They pointed to my son and asked him to go with them for questioning. I told them he was not yet fifteen. He was still at school. They took him away. I followed them. One of the soldiers looked back and asked me if I would like them to take my son to Kladanj. Of course, I said, I’d give my eye for it. He told me that everything was fine, and I went back. Soon after a woman came up and said that ‘they are butchering people further along, in the wheat field’. Five or six of them rushed off to see if one of their relatives was involved. There was a block laid out among the wheat, a metre or two wide. A dozen heads that had been cut off were laid out on it. Around it were bodies in their last throes. Blood. Blood everywhere. A Chetnik [member of the Army of Republika Srpska, VRS] ordered it to be washed down. The others took cans and began to pour water. The blood spilt across the ripening wheat. There was a body nailed to the block. Its throat had been cut. The head was still attached. They had not quite cut through. He was nailed alive. They had slaughtered my son. I was screaming. They tried to shoo me away. But I could not leave. Nothing mattered to me any longer, they could kill me too."

That evening her second son was taken away. He was twenty.

"I entered the house as they were taking him away. The Chetniks were pushing me away. I wouldn’t leave. There were seven or eight of our people there. They lined them up for the slaughter. While one of the Chetniks held them, another would thrust his knife into their necks, from the side. The one who was holding them would then cut across their throat and throw down the body. I screamed when I saw my son among them: ‘My son!’ He saw me. He opened his arms towards me. A Chetnik grabbed him, stuck his knife into his neck, the other cut his throat. The blood spurted out."

She was crying as she spoke. She was unable to continue. She sighed and talked to herself. At some point I realised she was talking to her dead son. Her eyes were open but she did not see me. She started to sob, which appeared to soothe her a little. She next looked at me and said: "I drank more of his blood than of water at Potočari."

This unhappy mother lost yet another son, her third. She had no idea where he was. Nor her husband who was kept back at Potočari. They took him away, crowding them into the buses. The youngest son, who was then three years old, was in his father’s arms. He was crying, not wishing to leave his father. A Chetnik seized him and threw him on the asphalt. Another kicked him with his foot. This unhappy woman wouldn’t tell me her name, out of fear, she said, that it might harm the son and husband for whom she was waiting. They never came.

I have no one left

The entry of Serb tanks and soldiers dressed in UN uniforms on 10 July 1995 from the direction of Zeleni Jadro into the Srebrenica hamlet of Petrič broke the agreement of 8 May 1993 according to which the UN had promised the Bosnian government to protect this enclave on the Drina. Within 48 hours all of the Bosniak population was driven out of the area. Around 30,000 people from Srebrenica were driven out of their homes. Some places disappeared, as have the people. Some families were totally destroyed. Around 8,000 people went missing. What happened to them is testified to by the Potočari Memorial Centre and the thousands of graves in a cemetery where the discovered remains of the victims of this horrific crime have kept being buried each year. There were 534 funerals this year alone.

I make my way to Srebrenica for the first time, on 10 July 2009. We enter Potočari. I gaze at the former factories: Cinkara, Akumulatorka, Ekspres Transport. Thousands of people were imprisoned in them in 1995. Most of them were murdered. The sun shines in Potočari, but I feel chilled, remembering what the Srebrenica survivors told me:

"On the second night the Chetniks got among the people at the UNPROFOR camp. Panic ensued. People were fleeing, leaping over each other, children were crying, women screaming for help. As if the devil himself had turned up among us. They kicked, stamped, dragged out girls to rape them, killed the men."

Ratko Mladić came to Srebrenica and said that everything would be fine. Mensura Osmović said she heard him herself. He brought chocolate. As the children extended their hands, he would give it to them. On the following they he brought television, distributed chocolate again. Mensura spent that night under a burnt-out bus watching people being led away. They were driven off in the direction of Bratunac. I heard a young man call out: "Help me, mother! The Chetniks are butchering me."

At around seven o’clock in the evening on 10 July 2009, 543 coffins are brought from the Memorial Centre basement and taken to the cemetery where they will be buried the next day. The coffins passed from one man to the next, for over an hour. A four-year-old girl stands by a coffin saying Al-Fâtiha. When she finishes she asks her mother as she points to the next coffin: "Mother, shall I say it also for this uncle?" Her mother answers her in tears: "Do, my child, they are all our dead." The girl’s mother is called Dževada Mašić. She whispers to me as she sobs: "They murdered the whole of my family. I have no one left." I look at her and cry. I recall my own dead, who were killed a little further along the Drina, in Goražde and Foča, and think about what she tells me in her firm voice: "May they be damned! Let them have no peace in this world or the next." As a small girl, she was holding her father by the hand as the Chetniks wrenched him away. For ever. "They took him away at this very place. They killed my grandfather and his five sons. My father’s bones have not been found, so I can’t bury him. I have buried only one uncle. Tomorrow I will bury my grandfather."

An old man wearing a French beret is sitting by a coffin. I ask him quietly: "Grandpa, whom are you burying?" "My son", he whispers. He was born in 1961. I have no wish to question him further, and sit next to him in silence. The old man, Behadil Čardaković, tells me: ‘"hey found him in Zvornik. His wife has re-married and has gone to America. I haven’t seen either son or grandson since 1993. I have asked my grandson to come back ..."

Five years for shooting one thousand

A woman, her head covered, sits a little further away. They tell me she is burying her third son. She says nothing, only wipes her weeping eyes with a handkerchief. I crouch next to her and squeeze her hand, saying nothing. What can one ask a mother who has lost three sons? She looks at me and says: "My child, there is nothing I can tell you. I know how I feel..."

The women sitting next to her count their dead: one lost her husband and two brothers, another her mother-in-law and brothers-in-law, a third brothers and nephews, a fourth a son and a husband, a fifth uncles, a child... One of them says: "Let Allah punish them for this!"

Dražen Erdemović, soldier of the 10th commando unit of the Bosnian Serb Army was sentenced by the Hague tribunal to five years in prison, after confessing that he had taken part in the murder of 1,200 men and himself killed seventy. This was the first Hague verdict on the crimes committed in Srebrenica. Erdemović pathetically declared in the courthouse: "I feel sorry for all the victims, not only those who were killed on the farm." Because of his confession and his readiness to cooperate, Erdemović’s sentence was scandalously low. Should the victims be happy with this justice? After serving his sentence in Norway, Erdemović was released in 2000.

Erdemović testified at the trial of Momčilo Perišić, chief of staff of the Army of Yugoslavia at the time of the Srebrenica massacre, who was charged with aiding and abetting the crime. Erdemović told the court: "On 16 July, five days after the Army of Republika Srpska (VRS) had taken Srebrenica, at the farm of Branjevo near Zvornik we shot the Bosniaks who had been brought in, on the orders of officer Brane Gojković. The unit’s commander was lance-corporal Milorad Pelemiš, who took orders from Petar Salapura, intelligence chief of the main staff of the VRS. Some of the soldiers of the 10th commando platoon had been trained in late 1994 at the [Serbian] Army of Yugoslavia’s barracks in Pančevo. The victims were men between 15 and 60 years of age and were all wearing civilian clothes. They were taken under military police guard in groups of 10 from 15 or 20 buses and shot in the back on a field outside the farm, only one of them offering resistance. My unit was firing from 10.00 until 14.00 or 15.00, when the killing was continued by another unit from Bratunac."

Erdemović testified also at the trial of General Radislav Krstić, former commander of the Drina Corps. The Hague tribunal sentenced Krstić to 35 years in prison. Krstić was the highest ranking officer found guilty for taking part in genocide. The intelligence chief of the VRS, Zdravko Tolimir, was also charged. The tribunal in The Hague has found guilty also four VRS commanders for the crime in Srebrenica: Momir Nikolić, Dragan Obrenović, Vidoje Blagojević and Dragan Jokić who were sentenced respectively to 20, 17, 15 and 9 years in prison. The latest indictment against Radovan Karadžić accuses him of committing the gravest of crimes, including genocide, deportations, killings and other acts against humanicty committed during the war in Bosnia-Herzegovina, in 27 municipalities including that of Srebrenica.

Questions that remain unanswered

Ten years after Srebrenica, the Court of Bosnia-Herzegovina confirmed its first charge for genocide. The indictment charged Miloš Stupar, Milenko Trifunović, Petar Mitrović, Aleksandar Radovanović, Miladin Stevanović, Brano Džinić, Slobodan Jakovljević, Branislav Medan, Dragoša Živanović, Velibor Maksimović and Milovan Matić with crimes committed in the Peasant Association building in Kravice. They were sentenced to 284 years in prison, but four of them were found not guilty. Last year the Bosnia-Herzegovina Court issued another verdict for the crimes in Srebrenica: Mladen Blagojević was sentenced to seven years in prison, while Zdravko Božić, Željko Zarić and Zoran Živanović were set free. The charge was that as members of the military police of the Bratunac VRS light infantry brigade they took part in deportations, killings, and guarding the premises in which Bosniaks from Srebrenica were kept after 11 July 1995. As for those set free, the court argued that "the Bosnia-Herzegovina prosecution did not prove their presence" at the place where the victims were imprisoned, and the court did not "quite believe" its witnesses.

Last year the Bosnia-Herzegovina Court confirmed the indictment charging Zoran Tomić, a former member of the second battalion of the Š eković special police, with participation in the Srebrenica genocide. It charged Tomić also that on 13 July 1995 he took part in an attack on a column of Bosniaks, forcing them to surrender, and with capturing several thousand of the men from Srebrenica, of whom around one thousand were taken away and shot in the Peasant Association depot at Kravice. The Bosnia-Herzegovina Court filed a charge of genocide committed in Srebrenica against Željko Ivanović, called Arkan, a former member of the second battalion of the Republika Srpska special police, for participating on 13 July 1995 in the arrest and killing of more than one thousand of the men and boys from Srebrenica at the Peasant Association premises in Kravice.

The mothers of Srebrenica have initiated proceedings against the UN troops for the genocide that took place in Srebrenica, stating among other things: ‘Around 10,000 Bosnian Muslim men and boys were systematically killed in only a few days by the army of the Bosnian Serbs commanded by Slobodan Milošević, Radovan Karadžić and Ratko Mladić. At this time the indicted UN representatives and officials refused deliberately and treacherously to take any measure to prevent the genocide in the Srebrenica "safe area".’

Are the people of Srebrenica happy with the verdicts handed down and the current legal initiatives? Naturally they are not, for, as they say: "Thousands of people were killed and this could not be committed by the few dozen who have been imprisoned. What about the others? Will they ever be called to account, or will it all end with the shameless sentencing of the immediate executors? What about their superiors? When will it be finally acknowledged that Serbia was involved in it all?" There is no sign that the victims’ questions will be answered any time soon.

Where are my children?

On 11 July 2009 Fatima Halilović buried her second brother. Two places were left next to them for the two that have not yet been found. Two of those who were found lay close to the surface in the area of Cerska. On 11 July 1995 Fatima set off with her daughters to seek the protection of UNPROFOR. She stopped one of them: "He was black - I don’t know if he was Dutch. Not knowing English, I told the older girl to ask where we should go. The soldier said: "Where the big chief directs." I don’t know who the big chief was. It might have been Milošević or Mladić. They drove us at this time to Potočari, many people having died on the way to the place. We walked over dead bodies. Shells were exploding, troop carriers were passing. We were next bussed to liberated territory, but the men had been separated and killed."

The Serb forces moved the dead around several times over. The body of one of the dead at the funeral was made up of parts found at eleven different locations. In 1992 Suada Mujić left Srebrenica with two of her children and two of her brothers-in-law. But she was caught in Serbia, after which she was sent to the Palić camp at Subotica, which she left, she says, thanks to Fadil Banjović. She left behind in Srebrenica her husband, three brothers-in-law, three sisters-in-law, and her mother-in-law. One of her brothers-in-law, Mevludin Mujić, was killed in 1994, while another, Muharem, fled and ended up in the United States. Her husband and the third, Smajo, disappeared. Her father’s remains were found in Kamenica. "It is one graveyard after another. One searches through the bones and material in the hope of recognising something. I turned everything over last year and found my father. I recognised him from his clothes. His skull had been crushed. In his pocket I found a watch, a metal tobacco box, a lighter and his glasses with one of the lenses missing - we found it later in his pocket. I found my husband in Čančare near Zvornik. That was just a bit of his legs. The rest was found in Kamenica, albeit not the neck and the head. Last Friday, on the 11th, they found in Kamenica also his head. There was no sign of a bullet, but his right teeth had been smashed."

Suada’s mother-in-law died on 29 May of this year. She did not witness the discovery of her son’s remains. Suada says: ‘During the old [World War II] war, her immediate family was killed in Višegrad. She fled as an orphan to Srebrenica, where she was adopted by some people who did not have children of their own. She got married there and lived to see a war during which her whole family perished again. Many members of our family perished in Višegrad too. Mijesira Memišević, my mother-in-law’s cousin, lost both of her children, 17-year-old Meliha and 12-year-old Edin. She testified at the court in The Hague, and faced the criminal who had murdered her children. She told him: ‘I will not proclaim you guilty, but only tell me where my children are so that I can bury them.’ Eleven members of the immediate family of Suada’s mother-in-law and sister-in-law died in Srebrenica.

Why was it necessary for so many people to die on 11 July 1995? Many of the people of Srebrenica are asking this question. One of our interlocutors says that it would have been better if Srebrenica had fallen in 1992 to Arkan’s men. "Two or three thousand of us would perhaps have perished then, but the rest would have survived." Could more have been done from the military point of view? Not wishing to speak about what he did after 1995, some refer to the departure of Naser Orić, the commander who was an unchallenged authority in Srebrenica and who also dared to undertake forays at the head of his soldiers. His departure on the eve of Srebrenica’s fall many consider catastrophic - they are sure that everything would have been different had he been there. The fact is, however, that Srebrenica had many brave fighters.

Our hero

Ejub Golić was a battalion commander in Srebrenica. He led the convoy of soldiers and civilians who moved towards Tuzla after the fall of Srebrenica. The column was over two kilometres long. It marched at night. The people held onto each other’s sleeves in order not to get lost. Shells fell all round them. The dead were left by the road, and the wounded carried on. On the entry to Koljević Polje, someone from the column moved a desiccated old trunk leaning against another. There was much noise: those on whom the trees fell began to scream. A shell fell at this moment in the nearest vicinity. Chaos and panic ensued. The people fled in all directions. This was the first break-down of the column. One of the few who tried to organise and collect the people, say the survivors, was Commander Golić. At Konjević Polje he managed to put the column back together. He said then that no wounded would be left behind. And they weren’t. He would go back for the people. Entreated them to endure, not to surrender. The people trusted him. They followed behind him. He got killed in the last ambush. When his soldiers heard of his death, several of them threw themselves at the tanks. And they succeeded. They broke through the Serb line. The path was open for several thousand people from Srebrenica, but not for Commander Golić. His fighters and compatriots say, however, that they remember him. They insist: "He will always be our hero." And not only theirs.

Those who went with the army through the forest came to the base in Potočari. Hasan Nuhanovićspoke later about the role of the Dutch battalion in the Srebrenica massacre: "The UNPROFOR base was enormous and could receive the whole of the population that sought protection. They let in five or six thousand, while the rest was left to the mercy of the Serb forces which arrived at Potočari. Years later various excuses are being cited for this decision. One of them is that the base could not accommodate 25,000 people. I have filed a charge against Holland because of this decision, for it was possible to save the people. It is complicity in crime, in my view. They drove people out of the base into the murderous arms of the Serbs. They were taken to the stadium in Bratunac, where most of them were killed. As they left they were frisked by Dutch soldiers in full battle dress, who insisted they should leave behind anything that could be considered as potential weapons. The women too surrendered nail scissors, pencils...’ Nuhanović said in conclusion: ‘This is the only genocide in history that occurred under the UN flag."

Not even half of those missing have been buried at Potočari. They are still being sought. [Editorial update: DNA results of the International Commission on Missing Persons support an estimate of 8,100 Srebrenica genocide victims. So far, the identities of 6,186 genocide victims have been revealed by the DNA analysis. For more information and a source link, read here]

On my return from Potočari, I walked through a police line. A Serb police line. Wearing Serb uniforms. Carrying Serb insignia. I recall the words of Zijad Bećirović, one of the participants at the conference "Genocide in Bosnia-Herzegovina - Consequences of the International Court of Justice Verdict" held in Srebrenica, who in his paper "Are we cohabiting with war criminals?" asked: "How many of those who are policing this meeting took part in the Srebrenica genocide?"

Translated by the Bosnian Institute in the United Kingdom from the independent weekly Dani. (Sarajevo), 17 July 2009 .

source: http://srebrenica-genocide.blogspot.com/2009/08/genocide-under-un-flag-srebrenica-1995.html

NKRBH INTL ‏#624 - CRIMINAL COMPLAINT AGAINST BOUTROS BOUTROS-GHALI, CARL BILDT ET AL

2009-07-31T04:01:00.000-07:00

CONTENT

1. Carl Bildt to The Hague!

2. CRIMINAL COMPLAINT AGAINST BOUTROS BOUTROS-GHALI, CARL BILDT ET AL

—————————————————————————————-

“Mr. Bildt, whose country currently holds the EU presidency, told a committee of the European Parliament that the Bosnian people were
‘victims of the inability of their political leaders to agree.’” Financial Times,July 22, 2009

No, to the contrary, the truth of the matter is that Carl Bildt, inter alia, inflicted genocide against the Bosnians at Srebrenica in 1995 in order
to pave the way for the genocidal Dayton Agreement that was imposed upon them by Richard Holbrooke.

Bildt must still be prosecuted for his commission of international crimes at Srebrenica as outlined in our ICTY indictment of him below.

Professor Francis A. Boyle
Attorney for the Mothers of Srebrenica & Podrinja

Law Building
504 E. Pennsylvania Ave.
Champaign, IL 61820 USA
217-333-7954 (Voice)
217-244-1478 (Fax)
fboyle@law.uiuc.edu

______________________________________________________

2. CRIMINAL COMPLAINT AGAINST BOUTROS BOUTROS-GHALI, CARL BILDT ET AL

BEFORE THE INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL TRIBUNAL FOR THE FORMER YUGOSLAVIA (ICTY)

MOTHERS OF SREBRENICA AND PODRINJA ASSOCIATION V. UNITED NATIONS OFFICIALS AND OTHERS (FOR THE SREBRENICA MASSACRE)

CRIMINAL COMPLAINT AGAINST BOUTROS BOUTROS-GHALI, KOFI ANNAN, YASUSHI AKASHI,
BERNARD JANVIER, RUPERT SMITH, HERVÉ GOBILLIARD, JORIS VOORHOEVE, CEES NICOLAI,
THOMAS KARREMANS, ROBERT FRANKEN, THORVALD STOLTENBERG,
CARL BILDT, DAVID OWEN, MICHAEL ROSE, THEIR SUBORDINATES,
SLOBODAN MILOSEVIC, RADOVAN KARADZIC, RATKO MLADIC, AND OTHERS

NOTICE OF THE EXISTENCE OF INFORMATION CONCERNING SERIOUS VIOLATIONS OF INTERNATIONAL HUMANITARIAN LAW WITHIN THE JURISDICTION OF THE TRIBUNAL

REQUEST THAT THE PROSECUTOR INVESTIGATE THE ABOVE-NAMED UNITED NATIONS OFFICIALS, THEIR SUBORDINATES, AND OTHERS FOR SERIOUS VIOLATIONS
OF INTERNATIONAL HUMANITARIAN LAW AND PREPARE INDICTMENTS AGAINST THEM PURSUANT TO ARTICLES 18(1) AND 18(4) OF THE ICTY STATUTE

The Honorable Carla Del Ponte
Prosecutor
International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia
Churchillplein l
2517 JW The Hague
P.O. Box 13888
2501 EW The Hague
Netherlands

Dear Madame Del Ponte:

I am the Attorney of Record for the Mothers of Srebrenica and Podrinja Association, which is headquartered at Sakiba Zere 9, in Vogosca, Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Mothers of Srebrenica and Podrinja Association is a Bosnian human rights, non-governmental organization whose members consist of survivors and next-of-kin of the genocidal massacre at Srebrenica in the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina during July of 1995. The genocidal massacre at Srebrenica was the single greatest human rights atrocity perpetrated in Europe since the genocidal horrors inflicted by the Nazis during the Second World War. Approximately 10,000 Bosnian Muslim men, boys, and women were systematically exterminated during just a few days by the Bosnian Serb Army (BSA) under the direct command of Slobodan Milosevic, Radovan Karadzic, Ratko Mladic, and others. During this time, the above-named United Nations Officials, their subordinates, and others deliberately and maliciously refused to do anything to stop this genocidal massacre at the U.N.-declared “safe area” of Srebrenica despite having the legal obligation, the legal and political authority, and the military power to do so. Indeed, the above-named United Nations Officials, their subordinates and others deliberately and maliciously interfered with, prevented, and impeded those individuals who wanted to do something to stop the genocidal massacre at Srebrenica and its environs during July of 1995. This was because the fall and genocidal massacre at Srebrenica during July of 1995 were part of a longstanding COMMON CRIMINAL PURPOSE AND PLAN by the United Nations Organization and the above-named United Nations Officials, their subordinates, and others to carve-up and destroy the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, a Member State of the United Nations Organization.

Pursuant to ICTY Statute article 7(1), we hereby accuse the above-named United Nations Officials, their subordinates, and others of planning, preparing, conspiring, instigating, complicity, and otherwise aiding and abetting, in the planning, preparation, conspiracy, complicity, and execution of crimes referred to in articles 2 to 5 of the ICTY Statute as follows:

Article 2–Grave breaches of the Geneva Conventions of 1949
against persons and property protected thereunder, including but not limited to:

(a) willful killing;
(b) torture or inhuman treatment,…
(c) wilfully causing great suffering or serious injury to body or health;
(d) extensive destruction and appropriation of property, not justified by military necessity and carried out unlawfully and wantonly;
…

(f) wilfully depriving a prisoner of war or a civilian of the rights of fair and regular trial;
(g) unlawful deportation or transfer or unlawful confinement of a civilian;
(h) taking civilians as hostages.

Article 3–Violations of the laws or customs of war, including but not limited to:

(a) employment of poisonous weapons or other weapons calculated to cause unnecessary suffering;
(b) wanton destruction of cities, towns or villages, or devastation not justified by military necessity;
(c) attack, or bombardment, by whatever means, of undefended towns, villages, dwellings, or buildings;
…
(e) plunder of public or private property.

Article 4–Genocide, defined as “(2)…any of the following acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group, as such:

(a) killing members of the group;
(b) causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group;
(c) deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part;
…

The Bosnian Muslim population of Srebrenica was a national, and an ethnical, and a religious group, that was deliberately targeted for destruction “as such.” In addition to violating ICTY Statute article 4(2)(a), (b), and (c), the genocidal massacre at Srebrenica also involved the following punishable acts under article 4(3):

(a) genocide;
(b) conspiracy to commit genocide;
…
(d) attempt to commit genocide;
(e) complicity in genocide.

Article 5–Crimes against humanity, committed in armed conflict and directed against the Bosnian Muslim civilian population of Srebrenica:

(a) murder;
(b) extermination;
…
(d) deportation;
(e) imprisonment;

(f) torture;
(g) rape;
(h) persecutions on political, racial and religious grounds;
(i) other inhumane acts.

These criminal practices perpetrated against the Bosnian Muslim population of Srebrenica were both widespread and systematic throughout the Srebrenica enclave and its environs during July of 1995.

The continuation of the complaint can be found in the following link

http://www.republikabih.net/content/Srebrenica.htm

NKRBH INTL ‏#620 - INTERNACIONALIZACIJA SLUCAJA TIHIC - SADOVIC‏

2009-07-09T20:00:00.001-07:00

ONLINE NEWSLETTER - In English and Bosnian

No. 620

July 08, 2009

http://republic-bosnia-herzegovina.com/

CONTENT (Sadrzaj)

1. OTVORENO PISMO PODRSKE MINISTRU SADOVICU

2. BOSNIAN MINISTER THWARTS SERBIAN PLOT AGAINST BOSNIA, HIS PARTY BOSS CALLS FOR HIS RESIGNATION

3. MARCH TO SREBRENICA

4. OLD ISSUES OF OUR NEWSLETTER

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This issue of the Newsletter is distributed to 37,000 addresses on both our mailing lists; one for Bosnian and one for English laguage.

If you do not want to receive this Online Newsletter just reply with "UNSUBSCRIBE" in the subject line. Then your e-mail address will be promptly deleted.
_______________________________________________________________

Editorial

Ovim Glasnikom smo na Engleskom upoznali poslanike Evropskog parlamenta i mnoge prijatelje BiH u svijetu, sa najnovijom situacijom u vezi Tihicevog zahtjeva da ministar Sadovic podnese ostavku. Prilozi 2,3 i 4 su sacinjavali nase internacionalno izdanja Glasnika (Newsletter No. 620).

U prilog pod tackom 2 je na Engleskom kazano ono o cemu smo pisali i u Glasniku br. 619 o napadu Tihica na ministra Sadovica.

Ima mnogo nasih mladjih ljudi koji lakse citaju Engleski nego Bosanski, pa i njih na ovaj nacin upoznajemo sa najnovijim vijestima.

Osjetili smo potrebu da se licno obratimo gosp. Sadovicu i da mu kao covjeku damo moralnu podrsku da izdrzi do kraja. To je sadrzano u pismu pod tackom br. 1.

_____________________________________

1. OTVORENO PISMO PODRSKE MINISTRU SADOVICU

Veoma postovani gosp. Sadovicu,

znamo da ste ovih dana izlozeni strahovitim pritiscima Tihicevih i Dodikovih posilnih i placenika. Jedino sto vam mozemo poruciti je da ne klonete, da im se ne predate.

NE SAMO ZBOG NASE DOMOVINE BOSNE I HERCEGOVINE, NEGO NE SMIJETE POKLEKNUTI NI ZBOG VAS SAMIH. Znajte da vam je jedini izlaz iz ove situacije da pobijedite, da im ne date ostavku.

Ako im se pokorite, ako se savijete pred ljudskim sljamom kakav su Tihic i Kebo osjecacete se gorim od njih. Vi znate koliko Bosnjaci preziru Tihica. Mozete zamisliti koliki ce to udarac biti vasem ugledu ako se poklonite tom sljamu.

Nije nikakav problem ako vas smjene. Onoga trenutka kada vas udruzeni cetnici i njihovi jataci iz SDA smjene, Bosna i Hercegoivina ce dobiti novog heroja.

A znajte da ce vasi neprijatelji sve uciniti da vas dokrajce, jer vi ste opasno ugrozili cetnicki projekat spasavajuci nas iz klopke koju je Srbija namjestila svim Bosnjacima. Jer ne bi se to zavrsilo na Dobrovoljackoj. Ako Srbija zadrzi mogucnost da po svom nahodjenju izdaje potjernice Interpola za Bosnjacima uvjek ce se lako nalaziti sve novi i novi razlozi za nove potjernice. Niko od Bosnjaka ne bi bio siguran vise.

Vasom ostavkom Vi bi opasno ugrozili to dostignuce za BiH koje ste postigli, sto je vjerovatno vase zivotno djelo, ono zbog cega cete uci u istoriju. Osim toga, vasom ostavkom Vi bi samo priznali da ste nesto pogrijesili cime bi ste olaksali posao vasim neprijateljima da se obracunaju sa vama do kraja. Vise ne bi ste imali nikakve odbrane, jer bi ste vasom ostavkom sami priznali neku krivicu. Procitajte knjige zrtava Staljinovog rezima. U svima njima je poruka jasna - ne smijete priznati ono za sto niste krivi. Dakle, ne smijete dati ostavku.

Najgore od svega je da cete onog trenutka kada im se poklonite i slazete na sebe, dajuci ostavku za izmisljenu krivicu, poceti mrziti samog sebe i to ce trajati do kraja zivota. A od sebe ne mozete pobjeci.

Na kraju, znajte da je narod uz vas i molimo vas da izdrzite.

Dr. Muhamed Borogovac

Nacionalni kongres Republike BiH

_______________________________________________

2. BOSNIAN MINISTER THWARTS SERBIAN PLOT AGAINST BOSNIA, HIS PARTY BOSS CALLS FOR HIS RESIGNATION

By Tarik Borogovac

A few days ago, Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) Minister of Security Tarik Sadovic secured an important victory in protecting BiH citizens and interests from an unscrupulous offensive by Serbia in the international arena. The very next day, his party boss Sulejman Tihic of the SDA party asked him to resign, without citing any concrete reason. To us it is clear that Mr. Tihic is taking issue with Minister Sadovic precisely for doing his job.

The central issue is that Serbia has been using the Belgrade office of Interpol to issue warrants against war-time BiH government and army officials, alleging war crimes against soldiers of the Yugoslav National Army fighting in Bosnia, and against Serb civilians. All the accusations represent “the Serb version of events”, i.e. they are based on interpretations of the war in Bosnia that only Serbia and Bosnian Serb officials propagate. Serbia had initially presented its allegations and its “evidence” to the UN tribunal for war crimes in former Yugoslavia at the Hague, and the tribunal had declined to issue warrants because the evidence was insufficient and not credible.

(NOTE: Other cases that were brought against the Bosnian officials, and which were thought to be more credible, did result in tribunal indictments. All indicted persons from the Bosnian side turned themselves in promptly, and in the majority of the cases completed so far, the suspects were either cleared of all charges by the tribunal, or judged guilty of offenses much less serious than the allegations brought forth by Serbia and the prosecution.)

Based on the allegations that were already rejected by the Hague tribunal, Serbia decided to issue indictments in its own courts, and in the courts of its puppet entity in Bosnia called “The Republic of the Serbs” (RS). For the RBiH government officials and higher ups in the Army Serbia issued Interpol warrants. For others, Serbia and the RS created “secret” lists. This had three major intentions:

1. For a domestic audience, Serbia preserves some credibility for previous propaganda. Slobodan Milosevic is dead, but his whitewashed regime is still in power as evidenced by the fact that his wartime propaganda still dominates. Serbs are still the victims of genocide and aggression perpetrated by militant Muslims, and fascist Croats (tacitly backed by a combination of imperialist western nations, and fundamentalist Arab regimes). That myth would fall apart if Serbia did not act accordingly by pretending to fight to bring justice for all the Serb victims, and to uncover the enormous evidence that must surely exist for such a grand conspiracy. Simply, Serbia had to either “put up or shut up”.

2. For an international audience, Serbia shows that it is not the only one that is hiding its indicted war criminals like Ratko Mladic, as evidenced by the Interpol warrants issued for many Bosnians (and Kosovars, see the case of Agim Ceku). Of course, Serbia, as a member of Interpol created those warrants.

3. Serbia also uses the secret warrants for further ethnic cleansing of the RS by prevention of return of non-Serb refugees. The secret lists have been cited during the arrests of many non-Serb returnees to the RS. For example, several days ago, the RS police arrested Midhat Salihovic, a refugee from Srebrenica residing in Sweden, when he came back to Bosnia to bury the identified remains of his father and brother, who were executed in Srebrenica by the RS police. As a result, the refugees believe that any of them can be put on these lists, and most of them are afraid to return.

In addition, the threat of such warrants can be used to keep those Bosnian officials, who were involved in Bosnia’s defense during the war, from resisting Serbia’s political meddling in Bosnia.

Minister Sadovic recently sent a complaint to Interpol because of the misuse of the Interpol warrants by Serbia for political and propaganda purposes. He asked them to review a particular set of “red” war crimes warrants issued from its Belgrade office. The warrants in question were issued based on a battle on the streets of Sarajevo in 1992, in which, as Serbia alleges, the Army of RBiH committed war crimes against an armored column of the Yugoslav National Army, which carried the BiH President Alija Izetbegovic and his daughter as hostages. Interpol reviewed that nonsense, rescinded the warrants, and changed the rules on issuing warrants for war crimes to prevent further abuse. Now, countries cannot issue war crimes arrest warrants for citizens of other countries, if their home countries do not consent. Or, as Mr. Sadovic put it: “Serbia cannot issue red warrants against Bosnian citizens, if Bosnia doesn’t agree.”

Obviously, this is a major blow to the Serbian government. Interpol’s decision gives some protection to Bosnian officials when traveling abroad to other countries. Unfortunately, it will not help others that Serbia and RS arrest themselves. More than that, it is a blow because Serbia was exposed as a regime that is willing to engage in such criminal abuse of international mechanisms of justice for simple political and propaganda objectives.

Finally, Mr. Tihic’s swift revenge against Mr. Sadovic may be a surprise to uninformed observers, given the great service Mr. Sadovic just did for his country. However, those familiar with communist Yugoslavia recognize men like Mr. Tihic as agents of Serbia. Namely, in Yugoslavia, Serb nationalists controlled the secret police (the notorious Internal State Security Agency UDBA) and the Yugoslav National Army, employing a network of agents and informants to spy and control the citizens of Yugoslavia. There were similar agencies throughout the communist east Europe, for example, the East German Stasi. The specificity of the Yugoslavian spy network was its Serb nationalist, rather than communist ideology. Of special value to UDBA as agents were those non-Serbs who managed to prove their loyalty to Serb national ideals.

The infiltrators were successful Bosnia, and they were given the opportunity to organize politically in the name of Bosniaks, with the aim of controlling Bosniak politics. The most successful of these was President Alija Izetbegovic, who, among other things, put himself in danger to protect the above mentioned YNA column, stopped the American lifting of the arms embargo for the RBiH Army, and signed that the already defeated Serb nationalist forces should control half of BiH in Dayton. One of the last things he did was to install Mr. Tihic to lead the powerful SDA party.

Tihic (together with allies Haris Silajdzic and Zlatko Lagumdzija) have done much damage to our country in order satisfy the Serbian apetite for Bosnia, and have brought the country to the brink of definite disintegration, and to a de facto realization of Milosevic’s genocidal project of an ethnically clean “Republic of the Serbs” on Bosnian territory. The people of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and especially Bosniaks, never recognized the genocidal RS, and the signatures of a few Serbian agents that established it are illegitimate and cannot stand in the long run.

Minister Sadovic’s complaint to Interpol represents one of the rare Bosnian victories, and it is precisely the reason why Tihic wants to force him out so quickly.

___________________________________________

3. MARCH TO SREBRENICA

Autor: BIRN

07. Jul 2009. 15:07:27

On Wednesday, July 8 more than 2,500 Peace March participants will leave Nezuk, near Zvornik, and walk 110 km before arriving in Potocari, near Srebrenica, on July 11.

This will be the fourth successive year that the Peace March has been organized to honour those Srebrenica residents who fled through the woods in July 1995 in an attempt to reach territory controlled by the Army of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The march will last for three days. The march participants will arrive at the Potocari Memorial Center on July 11, where they will attend the burial of more than 500 murdered Srebrenica residents.

Some participants will start the march in Zepa, located in the vicinity of Srebrenica.

March participants who begin their journey in Nezuk will walk around 35 kilometers per day, while those starting in Zepa will walk for 25 km per day for two days.

Peace March organizers say that their goal is to pay respect to the genocide victims and remind everyone of "the massive and frightening crime committed against Bosniaks from Srebrenica by the Army and police of Republika Srpska".

Another goal is to motivate all "relevant actors to arrest and try all those who are charged with this crime, as soon as possible, with the aim of serving justice and creating preconditions for building permanent peace and tolerance among the peoples of Bosnia and Herzegovina".

Apart from participants from Bosnia and Herzegovina, people from the Netherlands, Croatia, France, Switzerland, Serbia, Italy, the USA, Australia and other countries take part in the Peace March every year.

In a resolution adopted by the UN Security Council on April 16, 1993, Srebrenica was declared a protected zone, which was supposed to be demilitarized. Members of the UN Protection Force were deployed in the town on April 18, 1993.

Forces under the command of Republika Srpska General Ratko Mladic entered the town on July 11, 1995. At that moment about 35,000 people from Srebrenica and the surrounding villages, who had sought shelter in the town, were in Srebrenica.

Following the arrival of the Serb forces, women, children and the elderly, as well as some men, converged on Potocari seeking protection from the Dutch UNPROFOR Battalion which was based there. A short time later they were surrounded by Serb forces. The men were separated and taken prisoner. Many of them, including boys, were later killed.

The women and children were deported, on buses and trucks, to territory controlled by the Army of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Shortly after the arrival of the Serb forces, some Srebrenica residents headed through the woods and over the mountains in an attempt to reach territory contrlled by the Bosnian army. A small number survived the difficult journey after spending days moving quickly and following indirect routes.

In 2007 the International Court of Justice at The Hague ruled that the crime committed at Srebrenica constituted genocide.

Individuals accused of commmiting genocide in Srebrenica are currently on trial in four separate cases being heard before the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina in Sarajevo.

The trial of eight senior police and military officials of Republika Srpska is underway at the Hague Tribunal. Ratko Mladic, who is on the run, and Radovan Karadzic, former President of Republika Srpska, who is awaiting trial at the Hague, are charged, among other things, with the genocide committed in Srebrenica.

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4. OLD ISSUES OF OUR NEWSLETTER

http://rbih-free.blogspot.com/2009/06/ncrbh-612-intl-unfinished-business-in.html

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BABY'S GRAVE DESECRATED BY SERB VANDALS IN VISEGRAD

2009-06-19T23:49:00.000-07:00

source: http://srebrenica-genocide.blogspot.com/2009/06/babys-grave-desecrated-by-serb-vandals.html

MURDERED BABY'S GRAVE DESECRATED BY SERB VANDALS IN VISEGRAD

PHOTO: Local Serb vandals killed a dog and place him next to the planned burial site of a 9-month old Amela Ahmetspahic. (Source: Federal TV Footage)

On Tuesday, June 11th, Bosnian Muslims held a funeral for a nine-month old baby and her family - victims of Visegrad massacre of 1992. Visegrad is a municipality bordering with Srebrenica.

Faced with frequent death threats, survivors of the massacre asked the Serb authorities to send at least one Police officer to secure the funeral from possible attacks. Local Serb authorities in Visegrad refused to offer any assistance.

When saddened relatives arrived at the Stražište cemetery in Visegrad they were shocked to find desecrated baby's grave. The Careva Mosque was stoned and windows broken. The vandals also killed a dog and placed him next to murdered baby's grave.

Bodies of Ibrisim and Smaila Memisevic, their daughter Mediha Ahmetspahic, and nine-month old baby granddaughter Amela, were killed by Serbs in 1992. They were dumped into Veljem Lug mass grave. Six years ago, their remains were excavated from the mass grave and recently DNA identified. Amela's father, Suljo, survived the massacre.

Boban Šimšić, who worked for the RS Police in Visegrad, was found guilty for murders of 3 our of 4 above named victims and sentenced to 14 years in jail.

PHOTO: Coffin of a murdered Bosniak Baby, Amela Ahmetspahic. She was 9 months old when Serbs killed her and her family. Like thousands of other Bosnian Muslims, they were dumped into one many mass graves in Podrinje (region around Srebrenica).

PHOTO: Cemetery Mosque attacked by Serb vandals before a funeral of a murdered Bosnian Muslim baby, Amela Ahmetspahic, and her family in Visegrad.

PHOTO: The Careva mosque was stoned by Serb vandals the night before funeral.

source: http://srebrenica-genocide.blogspot.com/2009/06/babys-grave-desecrated-by-serb-vandals.html

NCRBH - #612 INTL - “UNFINISHED BUSINESS IN THE BALKANS”

2009-06-01T14:27:00.000-07:00

CONTENT

1. Washington Office for Bosnia Welcomes the Conference “UNFINISHED BUSINESS IN THE BALKANS”

2. Announcement of the Conference “UNFINISHED BUSINESS IN THE BALKANS”

3. The Latest Development in Bosnia: People Have Rejected Once Again the Dayton Constitution

—————————————————————————————-

1. Washington Office for Bosnia Welcomes the Conference “UNFINISHED BUSINESS IN THE BALKANS”

Thanks for this announcement, Peter,

I extracted a quote from your Bosnia/Kosova announcement so amazing that I am responding to a Bosnian e-mail for the first time in years and even dug up some emails of our old “Bosnian and Kosovar hands.”

The announcement reports that “Almost daily calls are coming from various think-tanks and Congressional committees in Washington for de facto liquidation of the Republika Srpska (“Dayton II”) and for an even greater pressure on Serbia to recognize Kosova’s unilateral declaration of independence.”

I am not yet sure it is true, but I certainly hope so. (Why that might make sense for a new Obama/Hillary is described later in this e-mail)

We at the BSC and Washington Office for Bosnia were almost alone in fighting for the goal of abolishing Republika Srpska in the nineties after the fights over the embargo were over. It was our own Colleen London, who, while working in Prime Minister Ganic’s office, succinctly summed up the Dayton Accords in one sentence, “they had the abuser move in with the rape victim, so the property transfer would appear legal after she dies of her wounds.”

So these new “daily calls” for the abolition of Republika Srpska (a $10 billion property reward to the genocidal perpetrators) may possibly save the victim after all.

Even the Bosnians (except for the Bosnian Congress, an e-mail network of thousands of Bosnian diasporans) have thrown in the towel for a decade, except for a recent “abolish Srpska” announcement from Siladjic. (There seems to be some rhetoric for independent Kosova, but the US-backed diplomatic machinery of betrayal, with the acquiescence of American-Albanians, still grinds forward). So the alleged widespread calls, if they are in fact occurring, may constitute a victory for our multi-year effort for Bosnia, signaling a possible change in policy, and deserve our support.

I have recently been immersed in helping the Sudanese resistance fight oppression and genocide so I might have missed this good stuff. If anyone has any verification of these calls, I would appreciate hearing about it.

A note on the speakers - they seem to be one-sided, at least the half I’m familiar with: two Serb ultranationalists, two other persistent and effective pro-Serb ultranationalist Americans (Schindler and Jatras), and one Pat Buchanan type anti-interventionist think-tanker (Bandow). So eating a free lunch at their expense would be satisfying.

The Capitol Hill Club is a Republican venue and Jatras, the most notoriously pro-ultranationalist congressional staffer in Congress during the genocide, is also a life-long Republican.

Hillary could become Bosnia’s friend. As you may recall, during the campaign, she became famous for ducking Serb ultranationalist sniper fire while deplaning in Sarajevo :-).

On a more serious point, as Bill Clinton’s spouse, she may have learned enough about the issue to fix it, and possibly understand its usefulness as part of an administration strategy to repair America’s relationships with Muslims that goes beyond rhetoric. (Did our documents exposing the evils of the Dayton Accords - once posted on dozens of websites, many of them Islamic ones - get to Hillary?) . .

Andrew Eiva

Washington Office for Bosnia

PS: BTW, I will speak on the clash of bureaucratic obstacles versus grassroots ideals on Thursday, May 28 at 121 Caldwell Hall (80 yards northeast of the Basilica) at Catholic University (parking entrance near corner of Michigan Ave. and Harewood) to a Poli-Sci graduate studies class Thursday. It will be preceded by a showing of Charlie Wilson’s War, which touches on these issues, as I was a minor character in the book the movie was based on.

The following is the announcement of the conference:
_______________________________

2. Announcement of the Conference “UNFINISHED BUSINESS IN THE BALKANS”

Please pass this information on to all potentially interested parties!

http://www.balkanstudies.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=56:conference-program-capitol-hill-Washington-dc-may-27&catid=36:forthcoming-events&Itemid=37

The Lord Byron Foundation for Balkan Studies and The American Council for Kosovo

invite you to a conference

“UNFINISHED BUSINESS IN THE BALKANS”: RHETORIC, STRATEGY, IMPLICATIONS

Wednesday, May 27, 2009, 12 NOON – 5 PM
CAPITOL HILL CLUB
300 First Street SE, Washington D.C. 20003

(The Club is directly opposite Capitol South Metro Station)

A major security issue facing Europe is the stated intention of the Obama Administration to play a more active role in the former Yugoslavia. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is committed to wrapping up what she calls “the unfinished business in the Balkans.” Almost daily calls are coming from various think-tanks and Congressional committees in Washington for de facto liquidation of the Republika Srpska (“Dayton II”) and for an even greater pressure on Serbia to recognize Kosovo’s unilateral declaration of independence. To discuss the motives, implications, likely course, and possible results of such U.S. policy, we have assembled a panel of foreign policy experts, several of whom have just come back from Serbia and the Republika Srpska.

No cost to attendees, lunch provided.

You are also cordially invited to the reception to mark the Conference:
CAPITOL HILL CLUB
Tuesday, May 26, 6–8 p.m.
Open Bar

For all information please contact Terri Alder (202) 626-6625 talder@ssd.com

“UNFINISHED BUSINESS IN THE BALKANS”

CONFERENCE PROGRAM
Wednesday, May 27, 2009

The Eisenhower Room, Capitol Hill Club, Washington D.C.

11:30 Registration

12:00 Welcoming remarks
Ambassador James Bissett, Chairman, The Lord Byron Foundation

12:15 Keynote address: Bosnia, America’s Unlearnt Lesson
Doug Bandow

12:45 Lunch

1:30 PANEL I: DEFINING THE PROBLEM, chaired by James George Jatras

Imperial Democracy in the Balkans
Gregory Davis

The European Union’s Imperfect Role
Ronald Hatchett

Do We Need “Dayton II”?
Steven Meyer

The Balkans and Global Jihad
William Lind

3:00 Coffee break

3:15 PANEL II: PREVENTING ANOTHER DISASTER, chaired by Ronald Hatchett

The Administration’s Balkan Gambit: Dangers, Strengths, Weaknesses
James George Jatras

A Canadian Solution to Bosnia’s Impasse?
James Bissett

Republika Srpska: Essential Part of Any Solution
Srdja Trifkovic

The Balkans and the War on Terrorism: Defending the American Interest
John Schindler

4:30 OPEN FORUM

5:00 Conference Closing

P A N E L I S T S

Ambassador James Bissett is Chairman of The Lord Byron Foundation, former head of Canada’s Immigration Service, and former Canadian Ambassador to Yugoslavia

Dr. Doug Bandow is world affairs commentator, author (most recently) of Foreign Follies: America’s New Global Empire and former special assistant to President Reagan

Dr. Gregory M. Davis is the author of Religion of Peace? (2006) and co-director/producer of the documentary Islam: What the West Needs to Know

Dr. Ronald L. Hatchett, Col. USAF (Ret.), a senior DoD official under Reagan, is Director of the Center for Global Studies and professor of international relations at Schreiner University

James George Jatras is Director of The American Council for Kosovo and Deputy Director, American Institute in Ukraine. He is former Foreign Service officer and former senior analyst with the U.S. Senate Republican Policy Committee

William S. Lind is the leading authority on Fourth Generation Warfare, a prolific author, and Director of the Center for Cultural Conservatism at the Free Congress Foundation

Dr. Steven Meyer is Professor of Political Science at the Industrial College of the Armed Forces, National Defense University

Dr. John Schindler is Professor of Strategy at the Naval War College and the author of Unholy Terror: Bosnia, Al-Qaeda and the Rise of Global Jihad

Dr. Srdja Trifkovic is Executive Director of The Lord Byron Foundation, the author (most recently) of Defeating Jihad, and former foreign-affairs editor of Chronicles

(NB: The opinions expressed by Professors Meyer and Schindler are their own, and do not reflect the views of the U.S. government or the Department of Defense. )

_________________________________________________

3. THE BOSNIAN PEOPLE REJECT ONCE AGAIN THE DAYTON CONSTITUTION

By Muhamed Borogovac, Ph.D., ASA, MAAA

Boston, Massachusetts, USA

Filing the law suit for genocide in 1993 at the International Court of Justice by Bosnia and Herzegovina against Serbia and Montenegro precedes all subsequent constitutional and legal arrangements for Bosnia and Herzegovina. The final judgment of the International Court of Justice supersedes all constitutional arrangements that are today imposed on the victims of aggression and genocide, including Annex 4 to the Dayton Peace Agreement (the so-called Dayton Constitution) and the Brcko Amendment.

Bosnia-Herzegovina was a victim of aggression from Serbia, as established by the UN Security Council’s Resolutions 752 and 757 in 1992, for which Serbia was punished as the aggressor by the economic sanctions and blockade..

On February 26, 2007, The International Court of Justice in its legally binding judgment in the case of Bosnia and Herzegovina v. Serbia and Montenegro “Finds that Serbia has violated the obligation to prevent genocide, under the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, in respect of the genocide that occurred in Srebrenica in July 1995.” The Court ruled that genocide in Srebrenica against the people of Srebrenica and the entire East Region of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina was committed by the government and institutions of “Republika Srpska” and specifically the Army (VRS) and Police (MUP) of “Republika Srpska” and that Serbia had an obligation to prevent the genocide.

As a reminder, the war ended in the fall of 1995 when Dayton Peace Agreement has been signed. Even though it is an international treaty signed by presidents of three countries Bosnia, Serbia and Croatia (Izetbegovic, Tudjman, and Milosevic, respectively), it contained the new constitution of Bosnia-Herzegovina, the infamous Annex 4 to the Dayton Peace Agreement. This agreement was in direct violation of the international law, which prevents countries to impose constitutional changes onto its neighbor, and especially if one of them (referring to Serbia) committed aggression and violated the court imposed obligation to prevent the genocide of that neighbor.

In addition, the so-called Dayton Constitution was imposed on B&H even though the final version signed in Paris was never ratified in the Parliament of the Republic of B&H. Even worse, the provisions of the Constitution of the Republic B&H (Article 268) and procedures for the change of the constitution were totally ignored, as proven by constitutional scholars [e.g. Sienho Yee in the article “The New Constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina” published in European Journal of International Law article ( Yee Eur J Int Law.1996; 7: 176-192)]: http://ejil.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/reprint/7/2/176 )

These days we witnessed an attempt by enemies and traitors of people of B&H to provide some legality to the illegitimate Dayton Constitution by amending it using provisions of the Constitution of the Republic B&H (the Article 268) that requires public debate. The so-called Brcko Amendment did not have any other objective but to legalize the illegitimate Dayton Agreement, as was well summarized by Professor Boyle in his interview to BosTel: www.youtube.com/watch?v=uLugRtFoVZc

In expectation that people of B&H will be in favor of the amendment to the illegitimate Dayton Constitution, traitors and enemies of people of B&H initiated public debate as part of the procedure required for the adaptation of the amendments. However, during the Public debate, which took place in series of town hall meetings in 5 major Bosnian cities and on the internet, people of Bosnia-Herzegovina overwhelmingly rejected the constitutional change. Raffi Gregorian, an Acting High Representative (AHR) and Brcko Supervisor, was quoted expressing his regrets because of the strong opposition of the people of B&H to the amendment. Transcripts of town hall meetings are available on the website of the Parliament, which clearly show that the people of B&H rejected the amendment.

At the end of the public debate, surprisingly, the constitutional committee decided to disregard the opinion of the people of B&H and to go with the amendment to the so-called Dayton Constitution, not even mentioning the results of the public debate.

People of Bosnia-Herzegovina reject any amendments to the illegitimate Dayton Constitution, as well as the Dayton Constitution itself. Now it should be clear to the world community and all freedom loving people that people of Bosnia-Herzegovina reject the illegitimately imposed Dayton Constitution as the law of the country.

NCRBH #599 INTL - DON'T LET YOUR CONSTITUTION BE CREATED BY ENEMY'S KNIFE !!!‏

2009-03-20T14:42:00.000-07:00

National Congress of the Republic of Bosnia-Herzegovina

ONLINE NEWSLETTER - International

No. 599

March 19, 2009

http://republic-bosnia-herzegovina.com/

CONTENT

1. Bosnians donate Brcko to Serbs

2. PREVOD: BOSANCI DARUJU BRCKO REPUBLICI SRPSKOJ

3. This is the finalization of the Tudjman-Milosevic plan on division of Bosnia-Hercegovina

4. GOVERNMENT DID NOT GET PUBLIC SUPPORT FOR BRCKO AMENDMENT IN THE PUBLIC DEBATE

5. DON'T LET YOUR CONSTITUTION BE CREATED BY ENEMY'S KNIFE !!!

6. PROFESOR BOYLE NA NTV HAYATU

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________________________________________________________________________

Postovani citaoci, imamo dosta ljudi na ovoj mailing listi koji govore Engleski. Zato distribuiramo ovo internacionalno izdanje Glasnika, na Engleskom. Ako ne govorite Engleski, imacete priliku da sve ovo vidite na Bosanskom. Npr, sve iz clanka pod 3 se cuje na linku u pod 6 na Bosanskom, clanak broj 4 je prevod sa Bosanskog uvodnog clanka iz proslog Glasnika. Clank Br 1 ima pravod u ovom Glasniku. Ivanin govor, clanak br. 5 smo objavili na Bosanskom u proslom Glasniku.

1. Bosnians are donating Brcko to the Serbian Republic

The Brcko Amendment provides in relevant part as follows:

"Brcko District of Bosnia and Herzegovina, that exists under sovereignty of Bosnia and Herzegovina and that is under jurisdiction of the institutions of Bosnia and Herzegovina in a manner of jurisdiction emanating from this Constitution, whose territory is in mutual property (condominium) of entities....."

This Amendment recognizes that BIH has "sovereignty" and that Republika Srpska has "property." But if RS has "property" in and over itself, then what good is the "sovereignty" of BIH? What does it mean? BIH can assert its "sovereignty" all it wishes, but if RS has "property" in and over itself, then BIH's assertion of "sovereignty" over RS will mean very little if anything at all.

The recognition that RS has "property" in and over itself will be in derogation of and to the detriment of BIH's "sovereignty". Recognition that RS has "property" in and over itself is another way of saying that RS has "sovereignty" over itself since "property" and "sovereignty" pretty much mean the same thing legally.

The Drafters of this Amendment could not come out and give RS "sovereignty" over itself, which would have meant Independence, so they did the next best thing and gave RS "property" in and over itself, which is tantamount to "sovereignty."

Therefore the adoption of the Brcko Amendment will grant "property" to the Republika Srpska, which is tantamount to "sovereignty" for RS and thus just one step removed from formal Independence for Republika Srpska. Next, then the adoption of the Hays Reforms/April Package will finish off the job: De Facto Independence for Republika Srpska without the need for RS to secede from BIH.

Bosnia and Herzegovina will eventually disintegrate as a State. Republika Srpska will be absorbed by Serbia. The Federation will be absorbed by Croatia. This carve-up of BIH is precisely what was contemplated and designed by Richard Holbrook in his Washington Agreements of 18 March 1994. And before that by Tudjman and Milosevic in their 1991 meeting at Karadjordjevo.

Professor Francis A. Boyle

-------------------------------------------------------------------

2. PREVOD: BOSANCI DARUJU BRCKO REPUBLCI SRPSKOJ

Poruka profesora Boylea, 19 . mart 2009

Amandman za Brcko dozvoljava slijedece tumacenje u ovim bitnijim dijelovima:

"Brcko Distrikt Bosne i Hercegovine, koji postoji pod suverenitetom Bosne i Hercegovine i spada pod nadležnosti institucija Bosne i Hercegovine onako kako te nadležnosti proizilaze iz ovog Ustava, cija je teritorija u zajednickoj svojini (kondominijumu) entiteta . . . "

Ovaj amandman priznaje da BiH ima "suverenitet" i da republika Srpska ima "svojinu". Ali ako RS ima "svojinu" u i nad sobom, kakva je onda korist od "suvereniteta" BiH?
Sta to znaci? BiH moze potvrdjivati svoj "suverenitet" koliko god hoce, ali ako RS ima "svojinu" u i nad sobom, onda potvrdjivanje "suvereniteta" BiH nad RS nece znaciti puno ako ce uopste bilo sta znaciti.
Priznanje da RS ima "svojinu" u i nad sobom ce biti u svrhu smanjivanja i na stetu "suvereniteta" BiH.

Priznjanje da RS ima "svojinu" u i nad sobom je drugi nacin da se kaze da RS ima "suverenitet" nad sobom posto "svojina" i "suverenitet" pravno imaju gotovo isto znacenje.

Kreatori nacrta ovog amandmana nisu mogli tek tako javno istupiti i dati RS-u "suverenitet" nad sobom jer bi to znacilo nezavisnost, tako da su oni umjesto toga uradili ono sto je bilo najblize ostvarenju toga, a to je "svojinu" nad sobom sto je u sustini jednako "suverenitetu". Na taj nacin ce usvajanje Amandmana za Brcko dodijeliti "svojinu" Republici Srpskoj sto je u sustini jednako "suverenitetu" za RS sto je samo jedan korak manje od formalne nezavisnosti za republiku Srpsku.

Usvajanje Hejsovih Reformi/Aprilskog Paketa koje slijedi ce zavrsiti posao: de fakto nezavisnost Republike Srpske bez potrebe da se RS otcijepi od BiH. Bosna i Hercegovina ce se na kraju raspasti kao drzava. Republika Srpska ce biti apsorbirana od strane Srbije. Federacija ce biti apsorbirana od strane Hrvatske. Ovo komadanje BiH je tacno ono sto je smisljeno i dizajnirano od strane Richarda Holbrooka u njegovom Washingtonskom Ugovoru od 18. marta 1994., a prije toga izmedju Tudjmana i Milosevica na njihovom sastanku 1991 u Karadjordjevu.

Prof. Francis A. Boyle
________________________________________________

3. This is the finalization of the Tudjman-Milosevic plan on division of Bosnia-Hercegovina

[The Bosnian Hayat TV interviewed Francis Boyle, US lawyer who was legal counsel in Bosnia-Hercegovina's lawsuit against Serbia-Montenegro for genocide before the International Court of Justice. In the interview, broadcast on the Central News Bulletin with Senad Hadzifejzovic on 14 March 2009 at 1755 gmt, Boyle comments on the recently proposed constitutional amendments concerning the status of the Brcko District in Bosnia-Hercegovina.]

[Host Senad Hadzifejzovic] A US drama follows dear viewers. Former US lawyer of Bosnia-Hercegovina, a friend of our country, Francis Boyle, is also very, very concerned for the future of our country. We recorded the interview with Mr Boyle late last night. The interview was so dramatic that one could not sleep afterwards. If the Parliament of Bosnia-Hercegovina adopts the amendment for Brcko, it will automatically adopt the Dayton constitution, recognize the Serb Republic and division of the country. The big words used by Boyle in this interpretation are 'the end of Bosnia', 'break-up of the country', 'annexation of the Serb Republic to Serbia'. As a reminder for those who do not know, the so-called Bosnian parties, the three biggest ones, which have the partisan and stately target as a united Bosnia-Hercegovina, namely the SDA, SBIH and the SDP, have supported adoption of the [Bosnian constitution] amendment concerning Brcko, so that practically, apart from the small BOSS party, there is no opposition against this view. Sulejman Tihic supported the amendment, and publicly explained 'Dodik got Brcko'. It is paradoxical that Silajdzic has distanced himself from the amendment, but supported it nevertheless. It is a paradox that the SDP has supported the amendment without greater discussion. The Internet-based front of concerned Bosnians, individuals, intellectuals, groups, association is the only opposition, who are asking for support in panic, unity of Bosnians and warn of the defeating character of the amendment for the state.
The Bosnian Diaspora is also united in opposition against the amendment.

[Interviewer Kenan Cerimagic] Our guest lives in Champagne, Illinois in the United States of America, This is a great friend of Bosnia-Hercegovina, our lawyer and advisor to the lawyers from the Federation who had led the process during the arbitration for Brcko. Our guest is Professor Francis Boyle. Good evening, professor. Glad to see you again on our programme.

[Francis Boyle, in English with translation into vernacular superimposed] Well, thank you for having me and greetings to my friends in Bosnia.

[Interviewer] Let us start with your criticism against the amendment concerning the Brcko District. It is considered to be totally unimportant and used only for ratification of the Dayton Accord in the Parliament of Bosnia-Hercegovina.

[Boyle] Well, yes. There are many problems with the Brcko amendment. It seems to me that the US government is finishing up the final phase of the process of division of Bosnia-Hercegovina and the Brcko amendment is a part of that. What they want to do for the first time is to force the Bosnian parliament to ratify the illegal and unconstitutional Dayton constitution, which had been imposed to Bosnia by circumventing the rules of the former Bosnian constitution concerning constitutional amendments, not to speak about its changes. If the current composition of the parliament endorses this, this will be the first ratification and confirmation of the Dayton constitution. The next phase, in the view of Americans, will be the return to Hays' reforms and the so-called April package, which will be completion of the job. This package had previously failed due to shortage of two votes in the parliament. I believe they thought it would be difficult to start the process with the April package again, and that it would be better to start with this amendment, and if this amendment is endorsed, go back to the Hays' April package.

[Host] On our last week's programme, the supervisor for Brcko Raffi Gregorian said he considered the Brcko amendment his victory. What is the US role here?
What do they want to create in our country, Bosnia-Hercegovina?

[Boyle] As we had discussed before, at the time of the Washington Agreement, Pentagon had publicly declared that what was happening was in fact a slow motion of a division of Bosnia that will take 15 years. That is the agenda. The coming year of 2010 will be the 15th year after Dayton and the elections are planned for this year, if it comes to that at all. The Brcko amendment and the return to Hays' reforms and the April package is, for them, the final act of the Bosnia process. I do not know the new High Representative, but I am sure his intentions are good. Still, he will not have any other choice but to listen to the instructions of the British and US governments, which mostly support the Brcko amendment. Even the President Komsic [Croat member of Bosnian Presidency] said this week this was not the idea of Bosnians, but Britons and Americans. This was the case with the Hays' reforms and the April package. They were not designed by Bosniaks, but the so-called US Institute for Peace, which is only an extended hand of the State Department. This is the final act of Bosnia directed by the US and the British.

[Host] In his response to the question of what was Milorad Dodik [Serb Republic premier] getting with this amendment, Sulejman Tihic [SDA leader] simply said 'Brcko'. Is this correct?

[Boyle] That is correct. [Passage omitted, Boyle reads the Statute of Brcko and says the amendment brings Brcko back to the control of the Serb Republic].
This amendment was obviously created in favor of the Serb Republic and its extension to the Brcko, as well as cementing of the Serb Republic, which will lead to the start of Hays' reforms and the April package, which will finish off this job. Before official publishing of the document on Hays' reforms, the SDA had sent me a copy of the document during the preliminary talks, in order to get my opinion. It is clear from the talks and the document that the Serb Republic delegates knew perfectly well that the Serb Republic is fragile in the eyes of the world, which is why they asked for the existence of the Serb Republic to be forever cemented in the Hays' reforms and the April package. This is happening right now, first with the Brcko amendment, after which Hays' reforms and the April package, which have been supported, unfortunately, by Mr Tihic and the SDA, will follow.

[Interviewer] How do you comment the support for this amendment by the SDA, Party for Bosnia-Hercegovina and the SDP? Is this some kind of a sudden change of mind in Bosniak, Bosnian politics concerning this issue?

[Boyle] As for Mr Tihic, my sources from the SDA tell he does everything the Americans tell him to do. I had advised the SDA to reject Hays' reforms and President Tihic agreed with this. He then met the US Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice, who made enormous pressure on Tihic to accept Hays' reforms, which is what he eventually did. I then started to actively advocate knocking down of Hays' reforms, in which my client and an old friend, the president of the Party for Bosnia-Hercegovina Haris Silajdzic, joined me. Concerning SDP, what could you have expected for the former communist, Lagumdzija? I have continued to work with Silajdzic and the Party for Bosnia-Hercegovina, and I am convincing them that the Brcko amendment is very dangerous, as well as the Hays'
reforms and the April package. I have noticed that Silajdzic is disassociating himself from non-acceptance of Hays' reforms, claiming he want the amendment to be acceptable for the chief arbiter for Brcko Robert Owen. Media have reported that Owen said he will not accept this decision [as heard]. I would like to encourage Silajdzic to give up any support for the Brcko amendment. This amendment needs to be killed immediately.

[Interviewer] What kind of practical consequences can this amendment have on Bosnia-Hercegovina, for cases in The Hague, some new case before the International Court of Justice and functioning of the state in general, if endorsed?

[Boyle] The practical consequences will be that the Bosnian government and the central institutions will not be able to function any more. We have to understand that this was the intention of Holbrook and the State Department lawyers who had authored Dayton. The first version of the Dayton Accord, which I had analyzed for President Izetbegovic, had led de jure to a division of the Republic of Bosnia-Hercegovina. Fortunately, Izetbegovic had rejected that, while now we have de facto a government with a divided country, with a government that was intentionally created not to function. It is clear that Bosnia cannot function like this. [Passage omitted] The Brcko amendment, Hays'
reforms and the April package will only worsen the situation even more, which will lead to a final collapse of the state. I don't know how soon this will happen after ratification of the Brcko amendment and the Hays' package, but I don't know how will Bosnia survive at all as a state, if the Parliament adopts the Brcko amendment, together with Hays' reforms and the April package. I fear that Bosnia-Hercegovina will simply dissolve in all that.

[Interviewer] In your analysis of the Dayton Accord, you clearly say 'it will always be a message that genocide pays off'. Is this amendment in line with that message?

[Boyle] Well of course. The Brcko amendment provides for renewed establishment of control of the Serb Republic over Brcko and will continue to cement genocide, ethnic cleansing, rapes of Bosnian women. This amendment is horrendous [words indistinct].

[Interviewer] What would be your advice for politicians and the public of Bosnia-Hercegovina concerning changes of the constitution, step-by-step or change as a whole.

[Boyle] You have to understand that Bosnians will have only one chance at change of the constitution. You will have to give up all these amendments and organize a constitutional conference, in which all elements of the Bosnian society will be represented, including the Serb Republic, and that way reach an agreement that will satisfy all and enable you to have a functional central institutions, and not a constitution imposed by the Americans, such as Holbrook and Hays, which the British and the Americans want to impose in order to satisfy their interests. This goes for the Brcko amendments, which the British and the Americans want to impose for their own interest, in order to get rid of Bosnia as a state and a potential source of problems for them in the future.

[Interviewer] How do you comment the meeting of three leaders and support of the international community for the Prud agreement? Is this the exit strategy of the international community and the final farewell, on which Dodik and the Serb Republic have insisted?

[Boyle] Clearly, their time framework was 15 years, which is by 2010. The Brcko amendment and the April package, which Tihic supported, are parts of the same strategy to finish off the job and to leave Bosnia-Hercegovina, the state division and the break up of Bosnia, where the Serb Republic would be annexed to Serbia, and the Federation to Croatia. This was clear from the Washington Agreement, which I had analyzed for the Parliament of the Republic of Bosnia-Hercegovina, which you can find on the Internet. This is the end of the game and the finalization of the Tudjman-Milosevic plan on division of Bosnia-Hercegovina from Karadjordjevo in 1991. [Passage omitted, Boyle greets the women of Srebrenica]

Source: TV Hayat, Sarajevo, in Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian 1755 gmt 14 Mar 09

_________________________________________

4. GOVERNMENT DID NOT GET PUBLIC SUPPORT FOR BRCKO AMENDMENT IN THE PUBLIC DEBATE

This is the official complaint against the government of Bosnia-Herzegovina regarding their conduct during the Public Debate

Muhamed Borogovac, Ph.D., ASA, MAAA

-TO THE CONSTITUTIONAL-LEGA COMMITTEE OF BOTH HOUSES OF THE PARLIAMENTARY ASSEMBLY OF BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA
-To all representatives in both houses of the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina
-To Raffi Gregorian
-To High Representative (OHR-Office of High Representative)
-To the European Union (please forward to Council)

SUBJECT: PUBLIC DEBATE ABOUT CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT 1

REQUEST

As a citizen of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, by the power of the Constitution of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina I hereby participate in public debate about the Amendment 1 to the Constitution and I request that it is voted NO for the Amendment 1 (regarding Brcko) because the proposing side DID NOT PROVE support of the people to the Amendment 1.

EXPLANATION

In order for the Constitutional Amendment to be legitimate, it must have SUPPORT from the people according to Bosnian constitution. The sole purpose of the Public Debate, required by constitution, is to enable government to prove that the people support the amendment. The proposing party i.e. the BiH government is obliged to prove that the people are behind the amendment by means of Public Debate. Therefore, the low number of people who attended public discussion is a disqualifying problem for the government. People could not participate in the Public Debate because the authorities did not adequately inform them about the debate. Authorities were obliged to invite the people so that everybody feels encouraged to take part in the discussions regarding the amendment. It would have been necessary for the proposing party to secure a large numbers of people to rally behind the Amendment in order to fulfill the constitutional obligation of proving that the people support the change of the constitution. Only then their claim that "the people want this change of the Constitution" would be credible.

That is exactly why communists had always secured such large assemblies of support to their reforms during the Public Debates. That is why the constitutions of Yugoslav Republics were legitimate even under the strict Western criteria, which was confirmed by the decisions of Badinter committee.

Lawyers would say: "The burden is on authorities to prove that the people want the change."

However, instead of taking an effort to secure the credibility of people's assembles during public discussions, authorities were hiding from the people the information that there is a public debate scheduled. The question rises:
Why? The only logical answer is that they know that people DO NOT WANT the change of the constitution that in inconspicuous way legalizes partition of the country.

So even if all of 10-15 of debaters from people in Sarajevo expressed their support for the Amendment it is too small sample in order for the hypothesis that people want the constitutional change to be confirmed. On the other hand, the fact that those 10-15 debaters said NO to the amendments topples the hypothesis of the authorities i.e. it is statistically clear that the authorities did not prove that people support the Amendment. (Credibility theory and testing of statistical hypothesis are familiar topics to the author of this complain, who is an actuary in Boston, USA.)

It is of crucial importance that the opinions of large enough number of people are captured, because one cannot state that people support some change if one doesn't have convincing numbers.

Even a blind person can now see that our politicians intentionally circumvented the constitutional obligation, by putting into action their pre-meditated plan to hide this Public Debate from the people. In a normal country that would disqualify the proposed constitutional change because for which a large numbers of participants of the debate is necessary to prove that the people want the constitutional change.

The Internet was the only place were one could read correct information about the Public Debates while authorities were making countless obstructions during the debate. For example, they turned off the only e-mail address where one could send an opinion, they organized public debate during working hours instead of the weekend etc. etc. We all know that Internet use is only in its infancy in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the only important media in Bosnia and Herzegovina is television. If the authorities wanted to accumulate legitimacy to this constitutional change they should have circulated correct announcements about the debate, on daily basis on the TV and invite people to come and give them credible support.

The debate itself was also controlled so that only they (the politicians) set the tone for the discussion. They had unlimited time (i.e. Gregorian spoke for 40 minutes). But it did not help them. All speakers after Gregorian refused to support the amendment.

Conclusion:

There are no statistics where authorities can show that they accumulated enough popular support for this constitutional change. The largest number of debaters was in Sarajevo, but even there it was no more than 15 and all of the citizens unanimously rejected the amendment.

Discussions by the representatives of the authorities are irrelevant because the proposing party (i.e. authorities) should have secured the support from the people, not again the support of the proposing party itself.

As for the discussions that were sent to the Parliament directly, the amendment was rejected by an overwhelming proportion of the people. We know that because many of them sent their copies to the e-mail address Bosnian Congress USA, bosanski_kongres@hdmagazine.com

These numbers are much more credible because only people who use the Internet were informed. However, the most credible result was secured by the telephone survey of the NTV Hayat, where viewers massively and convincingly voted AGAINST the amendments 3,073 to 113. This would have been credible even under the strict U.S. standards.

If even after this obvious fact that Amendment did not get support of the people Parliament adopts the amendment it will be a grave rape of the nation. Each representative who votes for this amendment is by definition PARTICIPANT IN THE GENOCIDE, because attempt to get victims of genocide accustomed to the results of genocide is participation in genocide as well, according to the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. There is no one reasonable who would justify those who vote for this amendment. And don't forget: the crime of genocide never expires.

We can see from following Gregorian's statement given to FENA (translated from Bosnian, below), given right after the Sarajevo Debate that it is clear that the Amendment did not get the required support from the people.

"High Representative and supervisor for Brcko District Raffi Gregorian told journalists, after he listened to the debate, that he is sorry for the fact that the majority of people who expressed their negative opinions today, did not speak about Brcko or about the content of the amendment itself, regardless of the fact that all of the citizens of Brcko including representatives of the parties, including the Party for Bosnia and Herzegovina (Stranka za BiH) in Brcko, all supported this amendment and want its adoption. "

According to his words, people who speak against amendments really speak about problems that they have with Dayton in general and what they want is the new Constitution and not the new amendment that considers Brcko specifically.

"People who organized this quite loud reply of their disagreement with this amendment did not at the same time offer any other alternative, a new proposal or a new constitution ", said Gregorian.

According to his words, what we should talk about here now is Brcko.

"This amendment is good for Brcko and that is why the citizens of Brcko support it too. The amendment is completely neutral in regards to the rest of the Constitution and these amendments do not give prejudice for the future constitutional reform in any way", said Gregorian." (FENA)

Comment on Gregorian's statement:

It is not true that people in Brcko supported the amendment, only the corrupt puppet politicians who listen to the "big shots from the world". It is not true that people did not offer an alternative; Participants in the debate offered that all constitutional changes should go in one package. Have in mind that authorities are promising the people the change of the constitution, and according to them this is only the first step. People do not believe that because, if adopted that would also be the final step.

_______________________________________

Unchallenged speech of Ms. Ivana Mostarac at the Public Debate in Sarajevo, on March 17th 2009. The government official presiding over the meeting forbade the public from applauding the speakers after this speech.

5. DON’T LET YOUR CONSTITUTION BE CREATED BY ENEMY'S KNIFE !!!

March 17th 2009. G.

Nation of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina!

Stand up tomorrow and say NO and NO TO THE DESTRUCTION OF OUR REPUBLIC OF BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA!!!

1. PROUD PEOPLE, DON'T LET YOUR CONSTITUTION BE CREATED BY KNIFE!

2. FIRST YOU HAVE TO ASK CITIZENS OF BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA IF THEY AGREE TO THE ANNIHILATION OF THE REPUBLIC OF BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA AND CREATION OF SO-CALLED "rs"!

3. Articles 154 and 155 of the Constitution of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina empower us to never accept the Dayton (agreement) betrayal!

4. Dr. Gregorian, "our", as you say, representatives, don't have nor did they get a mandate to destroy the state of Bosnia and Herzegovina and people who live there. You too, have no such right regardless of your “Bohn authorities”! PROPOSITION: Dr. Gregorian, you sign, in the name of OHR, that you accept those amendments and then take full responsibility before the International community, because in the future (a dangerous one), only you will be able to correct the mistakes!

5. By you internet-based registration you intentionally turn people off in attending the public debate.

6. The debate was set during work time – intentionally so less citizens would appear.

7. It is the sole and irrevocable right and responsibility of citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina to and other ethnic groups living within, to protect and defend freedom, independence, sovereignty, territorial integrity and order established by the Constitution of the Republic!

8. WE DO NOT RECOGNIZE CAPITULATION NOR THE OCCUPATION OF THE REPUBLIC OF BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA!

9. Legalizing "RS" means a prize for the genocide!

10. Proposition to approach to the change of the Constitution of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina can be submitted by: each council of the Assembly of the Republic, Presidency of the Republic, Government of the Republic and at least 30 representatives of the Assembly!

11. It is perfectly clear then that not one point from the Article 268. Of the Constitution of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina was not fulfilled so that according to that fact, the initiative and public debate about the change of Dayton-Constitution of BiH, by submitting amendments that deals with Brcko District – is completely illegitimate and unlawful!

12. Because of embedded mechanisms for human right abuse in current Constitution , Bosnia and Herzegovina can only became a candidate for the EC member but it will never become a member of European union. So the adoption of the Amendment I on the Constitution because of the inclusion of status of Brcko, will become an obstacle for Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina’s entry in European Union!!

13. DR. GREGORIAN, show by this example that you are indeed the friend of all of the citizens of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and that you are on the side of the protectors of the Human rights,and then those who are for peace can put you as a candidate for NOBEL PEACE PRIZE!

14. Free people and people with dignity can never agree that their freedom and sovereignty be taken away by a knife and aggression.

NEVER, NO, NO AND NO!

Ivana Mostarac, coordinator
NGO "Children Movement for Peace, Love and Friendship– Children of Sarajevo”
Malik Garibija, president of ¨Youth Council¨, Sarajevo

_______________________________________

6. PROFESOR BOYLE NA NTV HAYATU

Obezbjedjen je sinhronizovani Bosanski prevod.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-6461203853370859131

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Great-Serb myths block Serbia’s European future

2009-01-06T22:11:00.000-08:00

source: http://www.bosnia.org.uk/news/news_body.cfm?newsid=2532

Author: Sonja Biserko - interviewed by Bojan Toncic

Following her participation in a European parliament debate, the president of Serbia's Helsinki Committee discusses divisions within the Serbian political elite over European integration, Kosovo, Croatia, Bosnia, international justice and human rights

Sonja Biserko, president of the Helsinki Committee for Human Rights in Serbia, has found herself once again at the centre of Serbian public attention, following a debate in the European parliament on inter-cultural and regional dialogue in the western Balkans, during which she stated that the Serbian political elite ‘remains a prisoner to Great Serb ethnocentric myths, and to the theory that Serbia is the victim of an international conspiracy’, and that ‘some of its ministers are inclined to blame Serbia’s slow integration into the European Union on the latter’s indecision’. In this interview with E-novine, she stresses that the Serbian political elite is not united on the issue of European integration, as a result of which the process has come to a halt. This, she argues, is due to the political elite’s continuing belief that its state project, especially in regard to the Serb entity in Bosnia-Herzegovina, will succeed.

What do you mean by their ‘state project’?

It is an idea that ignores the new realities. For they believe that international conditions will be created which will permit the annexation by Serbia of Republika Srpska (RS). They consequently do all they can to prove that the state created by the [Dayton] international agreement cannot work. And they are using Kosovo as a means of getting RS. They do not want all of Kosovo, in fact, but only twelve per cent of its territory. The Serbian government has created parallel institutions in this part of Kosovo, as President Tadić inadvertently admitted recently. This is the whole idea behind the Serb project that has been in operation for the past thirty years: to seize part of Kosovo and parts of Bosnia-Herzegovina, as a result of which Serbia would undergo a shift to the west. This is the truth that should be constantly repeated. This is why the history of the recent war is being brushed under the carpet, while at the same time the history of the Second World War - and even the First World War - is being pushed to the fore. All this in order to argue that Serbia lost a great deal by entering Yugoslavia - as illustrated by the recent interview given by Dobrica Ćosić, in which he presented Nikola Pašić as the greatest of criminals. Yet it was not long ago that Ćosić was glorifying both Pašić and Slobodan Milošević!

Does this mean the parties are wrong to put Kosovo at the top of their agenda?

It is a form of manipulation. The whole approach is full of contradictions. We have had demonstrations against the recognition of Kosovo, strong diplomatic reactions, threats to those of our neighbours who have recognised Kosovo. Yet 130,000 Serbians spent their holidays in Dalmatia this year. No one will be able to stop them. The fixation with the great state idea no longer interests ordinary people. The [nationalist] fervour present in the 1980s and 1990s has evaporated. Society has in the meantime become criminalised, however; state institutions and public servants pursue only their own private interests.

It is an anti-Dayton project, in your view?

Very much so. It is a policy directed against all agreements regarding established borders and relations in the region: those of Kumanovo, Ohrid, Resolution 1244.

Do you see any solution, any logical political idea in the present situation?

It is entry into the European Union. The states of the Union hardest hit by the crisis have won support from the International Monetary Fund and from European institutions to consolidate their banking systems. There is thus a solidarity in the Union. Serbia with its position, which the government calls neutral, cannot get any help, not even visas. Because of Kosovo, Serbia has been merely an instrument against the West for Russia, but all that has become irrelevant. The resolution concerning EULEX was presented temporarily as a presidential report rather than a resolution, which is not so binding, and it is evident that the Serbs and the Albanians will have to negotiate on every point. It is an ongoing process, and the deployment of EULEX has not been met with much obstruction. That card too is spent.

Does insistence on the six points help the position of Serbs in Kosovo, or is it a matter of sheer bloody-mindedness?

The six points are nothing but a game. Belgrade has shown that it is not interested in the Serbs living in the enclaves, but still keeps the question open for some reason. They wish to reach an agreement, but we don’t know what about. The European Union has been offering Serbia candidate membership, with the prospect of being taken in faster than anyone else after delivering Ratko Mladić. But they don’t want it.

You keep referring to ‘them’. One gets the impression that this refers not just to high state officials. Who are ‘they’?

I am referring to a bloc that includes also parts of the Serbian Academy of Arts and Science, and of the retired military establishment - the circles who created the atmosphere of war and initiated the hostilities, and who would like to pursue the same policy today as well. It is clear that they don’t wish to join Europe, for several reasons. For example, there would be competition, and certain standards and rules of the game would come into being, ones that no one here now respects, since everything is conducted behind closed doors. The delay in getting into the European Union is destroying the remaining potential in Serbia that is genuinely pro-European. This was my message to the European parliament: that they should talk not just with the government, but also with the people who really do want to join the EU. I have in mind the trade unions, small- and medium-size firms, civil society in some of its segments. There are points in society that could be mobilised for such an option.

Do you see some differences - some opposing positions - within governmental circles, or does what you said in Brussels apply equally to all parties?

Some, like G17 Plus, see Serbia within the EU for purely economic reasons. This is true also of part of the Democratic Party. It is evident, however, that those against are stronger, and that they are using Ratko Mladić to hamper the process of Serbia’s integration.

This much is clear, but why? As you have said, a substantial part of the Democratic Party remains a prisoner to ‘ethnocentric myths’.

Yes. [Foreign minister] Vuk Jeremić advocates Serbian neutrality. He is more of a Koštunica than a Tadić man .

Jeremić personifies the policy based on the incantation that Kosovo is Serbia. What does this waste of time and money mean for Serbia?

They are not bothered by it. They believe that the international context is such that it will permit them to realise their aspirations in Bosnia, and return Montenegro to the ‘maternal womb’. According to their analyses, the EU will break up or they will enter it on their own terms. They think that they can continue to take funds from the EU, funds that have been indispensable to Serbia’s survival. Roads, schools and hospitals have all been rebuilt since 2000 with EU funds. The government is barely surviving, and that is all it cares for.

Their state concept is centralist and as such is blocking Serbia’s development. This is highlighted by the situation linked to the Vojvodina statute, which gives the province a degree of autonomy that is minimal even in relation to the constitution of 2006. Yet the academicians are signing petitions against it. They resist any innovation that leads to democracy, and have brought the whole country to a standstill. Belgrade has become a problem for all of Serbia - a generator of anomie.

Is Doris Pack right then to speak about you being ‘negative’?

I insisted on the fact that the wars in the former Yugoslavia were prepared by way of culture, the essence of which remains the same as in Milošević’s time, in that culture and politics continue to be linked at the symbolic level. The model based on the ethnos remains dominant, which works against minorities and the region as a whole. EU’s help in creating an alternative cultural infrastructure is needed in order to re-activate a different culture elite.

Alternative communications do exist in the region, especially among young people, creating the potential for a normalisation of relations across the region as a whole. Confrontation with the past should be shifted to the cultural sphere, because this is the only way that young people find acceptable. But our problems are essentially far deeper in nature, since a structure exists that is not ready to open up. They know they are in trouble. The government knows where Ratko Mladić is, but is discouraging anyone from seeking him there. The genocide in Srebrenica is now being denied, with the government saying that history alone will tell what actually happened there. And they place the recent war events in Croatia and Bosnia in the context of 1945-95. They are far more ready to deny the genocide in Srebrenica today than a few years ago. They keep saying history, but what history? Others too, surely, have something to do with the past.

This explains why Jasenovac is constantly evoked in the context of Croatian-Serbian relations?

This is a reference used to mobilise Croatian and Bosnian Serbs: the number of victims, the digging up of graves. Instead of moving on, we return to the past. Vučić’s recent visit [to Croatia] proved, however, that the Croatian Serbs displayed political maturity, in that they resisted this manipulation.

Are Croatian-Serbian relations as bad as the politicians are saying?

They have moved on at the cultural and economic levels, but not at the political. Thus, for example, no one met with the Croatian ambassador on his departure from Serbia. There is a refusal to accept the new reality, including the new borders, combined with a desire to redraw the map of the Balkans.

What about the people in Kosovo? The latest events there confirm us in the view that Serbia is paying corrupt state security officials and sleepers of various sorts there, while stories about ordinary folk are presented against a background of dilapidated houses and children walking to school under military protection. The Helsinki Committee itself researched the situation. Has anything changed since?

They are not interested in the Serbs or anyone else, but only and above all in territory. This is particularly discouraging. Despite all the defeats, Dobrica Ćosić argues that we have not been defeated, because we have won Republika Srpska, thanks mainly to Radovan Karadžić. Eighty per cent of Kosovo Serbs live in the enclaves and are against Kosovo’s partition. Their average age is over fifty, and they have been left completely exposed. The Serbian government expects that they will either leave or die out in due course. They no longer complain about ethnic violence, but - in the conversations we had with them - about Kosovska Mitrovica and Belgrade. They insist that they have got practically nothing from the manipulation with Serbian state funds, other then some humanitarian aid.

You are talking about Kosovo south of the river Ibar. What did your Committee learn from talking with the Serbs who live there?

Ten years have passed since the departure of the Serbian state administration, since the Kumanovo Agreement, and it is obvious that they will not leave. But there are also some who might do so, provided they can sell their land more or less well, depending on its location. It is evident, however, that they have found a way of living with Albanians: they have economic and at times even family ties with them. But no one talks about that or concentrates on it, in order to make it appear that Serbs and Albanians cannot live together, just as Serbs cannot live with Bosniaks or Croats. A stereotype is being maintained that does not correspond to the truth.

But there have been many incidents that have made the Serbs feel insecure.

Not all that many in the last few years, since the March 2004 violence. And it is by no means certain who were the true instigators of some of those incidents. There has never in fact been any proper investigation of such events. This only encourages fear. We heard in our conversations with Kosovo Serbs that the fear did not last, long, especially in the towns, where they communicate with Albanians. They all know that they must live together. Both the Albanians and the Serbs are keen to do something. There is a lot of work to be done, of course, in creating a society based on stable institutions, and it would be good if Belgrade were to participate in this. So that the Serbs can remain in Kosovo and be a link to the Albanian community there.

How justified was your insistence in Brussels that Serbia rejects the concept of human rights? On the other hand, there is Ćosić’s assertion that ‘human rights will destroy the Serb identity’.

Campaigns against the advocates of human rights are an attack on the very concept itself, as being neo-liberal and Anglo-Saxon, hence by definition injurious to Serbdom. The financial crisis is now taken as a mighty proof that the advocates of this thesis are right: that the West will fall apart, that America, capitalism and the European Union will disappear. With such views and analyses, they see a chance to wait for Bosnia to be partitioned, when they will be able to take what they see as their part.

Maybe you yourself are now falling into the trap of stereotyping? Some of those close to the government have a different view.

We are talking about actual practice. Thus for example, in the case of minorities - ethnic, religious and politically vulnerable groups - who are everywhere seen as a test of democracy, we see that they are constantly under attack. This shows the government’s attitude to the other, the different. Over the past two decades, Serbia with its radical nationalism has excluded the minorities from politics.

But this government has for a long time had a law on national minorities that conforms to the highest European standards.

Yes, but is it implemented? What has happened to the minorities in Vojvodina, the Sandžak, southern Serbia? They have divided the Muslim community, invented Wahabites, kept them in the centre of media attention. Not being able to prove anything against those people, they have talked about what they were intending to do. This is used as proof that the Serbs were fighting in Bosnia against terrorists, in line with 9/11.

You think that the secret police is behind that notion?

Yes. In the case of Vojvodina, the stress continues to be placed upon its becoming ethnically Serb. Since the Hungarians alone have the capacity of being a partner, Vojvodina has been reduced to Serb-Hungarian relations. Here too one can see the attitude towards a minority that has segregated itself under the pressure of nationalism, as the other minorities have done. The Croats have fallen silent, having disappeared from some areas (Hrtkovci, Srijem, the border with Croatia). Such small minorities are under pressure to assimilate, and do not have the strength to resist. There is much talk about the Roma Decade, despite the racism directed against them.

With regard to minorities, the most important question is that of atmosphere. The state is the one to create an atmosphere in which citizens can feel free and secure. But there exist various right-wing groups which have links with political parties and the media, and which are greatly tolerated. They are linked also to certain state structures. It is said that they are few in number. We too are few in number, yet we do not have such a presence in the media. Except when they attack us.

In Serbia it is widely believed that Serbs cannot be racists, antisemitic, genocidal.

Most important is the treatment. Thus, for example, the tourist map of Serbia shows not a single location with a Catholic church. The street lamps do not work in the part of Zemun where the Catholic church is located. You may say that your house too lies in darkness, but the minority feels this differently. A cultural model that is strongly ethnocentric was promoted under Koštunica. We do not have any representation of minorities in the schools - it is as if they did not exist. They are not included in Serbia’s identity, which under Košrunica was reduced to Serbdom and Orthodoxy.

What other forms of human-rights violation have ben detected by the Helsinki Committee?

This whole anomie affects citizens. It is difficult to reach the courts, and trials are not fair. Then there is the behaviour of the police and of officials. All citizens of Serbia are under threat, especially in regard to social rights, about which they complain most when they come to our office. Political and civic freedoms are less important to them.

Do you see any change for the better in the future?

Yes, in the cultural sphere, where young people are showing interest in one another, in travel, in cinematography, the theatre, literature. This should be utilised. But the great problem is how to break through the blockade, because the ethno-elite controls all the institutions. How to deal with this? I think the whole of the Western Balkans should already have been taken into the European Union, and been treated in a special way. This is because the blockade is further destroying society’s liberal potential. One cannot compare an old EU state with one that is now entering the EU with all its patriarchal and authoritarian baggage. There should be differentiation - but the Balkans should promptly go into the European Union.

On the other hand, you criticise the European Union for its leniency?

The EU has proved unable to deal with this area. I am talking about the decomposition of a state. What it needs is a management that would bring it out of anomie. I am not sure that Serbia is capable of doing this on its own, despite the fact of EU involvement over the past nine years. What is worrying here is that Serbia is purposefully keeping itself back - it does not want to surrender Mladić, it does not want to proceed with integration.

In other words, the old great-state project is still active, albeit in increasingly comical forms?

It sounds strange, but that is true. Why is Serbia refusing to surrender Mladić and Goran Hadžić? Are they so important that the whole country must be blocked? We have seen that people did not react when other national heroes were arrested. Nationalism has not disappeared, but public opinion has changed, because what matters to people is what to eat, not whether Radovan Karadžić is in The Hague.

Croatia and Serbia are suing each other before the International Court of Justice in The Hague. Years have passed since the end of the Balkans wars, yet there is no accepted truth about them.

The aggression against Croatia is never discussed. It is unlikely that Croatia will be able to prove genocide, but it should be possible to say what happened. Serbia’s behaviour over the past few years has aroused additional suspicion in the region, which is why the cases are being filed. So that the evidence can once again be aired, so that one can say what happened. The fact that in 1991 an international conference took place in The Hague, under the auspices of the European Community, at which maximal guarantees were offered to the Serb people throughout the former Yugoslavia, is not often mentioned in Serbia. Nor the fact that a formula was offered for a modus vivendi among the Yugoslav nations, with the aim of preserving a Yugoslav framework. This was a maximal solution that everyone accepted except for Slobodan Milošević, who believed he had the JNA on his side. While the conference was taking place, he was waging war in Vukovar, Dubrovnik, at all key points in Croatia. After he had occupied thirty per cent of that country, he brought in the UN.

The Serbian government behaves as if it has not read the verdict of the International Court of Justice, which found it guilty for not preventing genocide. Though shameful for that international body, and a warning for the country to which it referred, the verdict was met here with celebrations.

Indeed, from the moment they got the verdict, everything has been moving in the opposite direction. They celebrate, while repeating that ‘history will show’ what really happened. And the framework is 1945-95, because if they were to win Republika Srpska, then it would turn out that they had waged a war for re-composition of the Balkans, as Dobrica Ćosić insists.

Translated from the Belgrade-based E-novine.com website, 15 December 2008

source: http://www.bosnia.org.uk/news/news_body.cfm?newsid=2532

NCRBH - #581 INTL - Prof. Boyle's New Year's Message for the People of Bosnia and Herzegovina

2008-12-31T16:25:00.000-08:00

National Congress of the Republic of Bosnia-Herzegovina

ONLINE NEWSLETTER - International

No. 581

December 31, 2008

http://republic-bosnia-herzegovina.com/

CONTENT

1. Prof. Boyle's New Year's Message for the People of Bosnia and Herzegovina

2. Novogodisnja Poruka Prof. Boyle-a narodu Bosne i Hercegovine – prevod na Bosanski

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1. Prof. Boyle's New Year's Message for the People of Bosnia and Herzegovina

Dear Bosnian Friends:

Notice my comments below on the Republic of Lithuania.

Despite being invaded, occupied, annexed and subjected to genocide by Stalin, Molotov and the NKVD/KGB as of 1939, the Lithuanians NEVER signed away the existence of their State under international law, in the hope and expectation that eventually they would get their Republic back, which they did in 1991. So far, BIH has not signed any document that sells out its Statehood under international law, though to be sure Owen-Stoltenberg, the EU Action Plan, and the First Draft of the Dayton Agreement would have done so.

So during the course of these upcoming constitutional negotiations, Bosnia must do NOTHING that would compromise its Statehood under international law. If you hold out and continue to resist, eventually you will get your Republic back--just like the Lithuanians did after 52 years. If the Lithuanians could triumph over Stalin, Molotov, the KGB, genocide, and the Soviet Union, certainly the Bosnians can someday triumph over Milosevic, Karadzic, Mladic, Serbia, genocide, and Republika Srpska.

Happy New Year!

Professor Francis A. Boyle

Bosnian: http://nkrbih.blogspot.com/2009/01/581-intl-novogodisnja-poruka-prof-boyle.html

Serbian nazi past and Jasenovac casualties manipulations

2008-12-26T00:52:00.000-08:00

source: http://shmajser.wordpress.com/2006/12/19/serbian-nazi-past-and-jasenovac-casualties-manipulations/

The first experiments in mass executions of camp inmates by poison gas were carried out in Serbia. Serbia was the first country to proudly declare itself “Judenfrei” (”cleansed” of Jews).

In August 1942, Dr. Harald Turner (the chief of the German civil administration in Serbia) announced that Serbia was the only country in which the “Jewish question” was solved and that Belgrade was the “first city of a New Europe to be Judenfrei.” Turner himself attributed this success to Serbian help.

The fight against the Jewish influence had actually started six months before the German invasion when the government of Serbia issued legislation restricting Jewish participation in the economy and university enrolment.

“The Serbian chetniks of Draza Mihailovic were represented as fighters against the occupier, while in fact they were the allies of the Nazi fascists in Yugoslavia….The documents in this collection indicate clearly and unequivocally that the Chetniks collaborated with the occupiers, both in the military and political sphere, as well as in the domain of economic activity, intelligence and propaganda… (source: the Serbian scholars, Dr. Jovan Marjanovic & Mihail Stanisic, The collaboration of Draza Mihailovic’s Chetniks with the enemy forces of occupation, 1976.)

In the late 1980s, with the blessing of Slobodan Milosevic, a group of Serbs organized the Serbian Jewish Friendship Society, which has propagandized endlessly about Serbia’s ‘Holocaust decency.’

In conjunction with the war in former Yugoslavia, Serbia has undertaken a campaign to persuade the Jewish community of Serbian friendship for Jews (the Serbian Jewish Friendship Society). This same campaign portrays Bosniaks (Bosnian Muslims) and Croats as a common threat to both Jews and Serbs, in an attempt to gain Jewish sympathy and support at a time when most nations have isolated Serbia as a Balkan pariah. However, even as Serbia courts Jewish public opinion, their propagandists conceal a history of well-ingrained antisemitism, which continues unabated in 1992. To make their case, Serbs portray themselves as victims in the Second World War, but conceal the systematic genocide that Serbs had committed against several peoples including the Jews. Thus Serbs have usurped as propaganda the Holocaust that occurred in neighbouring Croatia and Bosnia, but do not give an honest accounting of the Holocaust as it occurred in Serbia.

During four centuries of Ottoman rule in the Balkans, the Jewish communities of Serbia enjoyed religious tolerance, internal autonomy, and equality before the law, that ended with the breakup of the Ottoman Empire and the emergence of the Serbian state. Soon after a Serbian insurrection against Turkish rule in 1804, Jews were expelled from the interior of Serbia and prohibited from residing outside of Belgrade. In 1856 and 1861, Jews were further prohibited from travel for the purpose of trade. In official correspondence from the late 19th century, British diplomats detailed the cruel treatment of the Jews of Serbia, which they attributed to religious fanaticism, commercial rivalries, and the belief that Jews were the secret agents of the Turks. Article 23 of the Serbian constitution granted equality to every citizen but Article 132 forbade Jews the right of domicile. The Treaty of Berlin 1878, which formally established the Serbian state, accorded political and civil equality to the Jews of Serbia, but the Serbian Parliament resisted abolishing restrictive decrees for another 11 years. Although the legal status of the Jewish community subsequently improved, the view of Jews as an alien presence persisted.

Although Serbian historians contend that the persecution of the Jews of Serbia was entirely the responsibility of Germans and began only with the German occupation, this is self- serving fiction. Fully six months before the Nazi invasion of Yugoslavia, Serbia had issued legislation restricting Jewish participation in the economy and university enrolment. One year later on 22 October 1941, the rabidly antisemitic “Grand Anti-Masonic Exhibit” opened in occupied Belgrade, funded by the city of Belgrade. The central theme was an alleged Jewish-Communist-Masonic plot for world domination. Newspapers such as Obnova (Renewal) and Nasa Borba (Our Struggle) praised this exhibit, proclaiming that Jews were the ancient enemies of the Serbian people and that Serbs should not wait for the Germans to begin the extermination of the Jews. A few months later, Serbian authorities issued postage stamps (see picture bellow) commemorating the opening of this popular exhibit. These stamps, which juxtaposed Jewish and Serbian symbols, portrayed Judaism as the source of world evil and advocated the humiliation and violent subjugation of Jews.

Serbia as well as neighboring Croatia was under Axis occupation during the Second World War. Although the efficient destruction of Serbian Jewry in the first two years of German occupation has been well documented by respected sources, the extent to which Serbia actively collaborated in that destruction has been less recognized. The Serbian government under General Milan Nedic worked closely with local Nazi officials in making Belgrade the first “Judenfrei” city of Europe. As late as 19 September 1943, Nedic made an official visit to Adolf Hitler (see picture bellow), Serbs in Berlin advanced the idea that the Serbs were the “Ubermenchen” (master race) of the Slavs.

Although the Serbian version of history portrays wartime Serbia as a helpless, occupied territory, Serbian newspapers of the period offer a portrait of intensive collaboration. In November 1941, Mihajlo Olcan, a minister in Nedic’s government boasted that “Serbia has been allowed what no other occupied country has been allowed and that is to establish law and order with its own armed forces”. Indeed, with Nazi blessings, Nedic established the Serbian State Guard, numbering about 20,000, compared to the 3,400 German police in Serbia. Recruiting advertisements for the Serb police force specified that “applicants must have no Jewish or Gypsy blood”. Nedic’s second in command was Dimitrije Ljotic, founder of the Serbian Fascist Party and the principal Fascist ideologist of Serbia. Ljotic organized the Serbian Volunteers Corps, whose primary function was rounding up Jews, Bosniaks, Gypsies, and partisans for execution. Serbian citizens and police received cash bounties for the capture and delivery of Jews.

Jews are, according to Serbian Chetnik Dimitrije Ljotic, a cursed people. In his views, there are 4 methods the Jews have of ruling over other nations and the whole world, which include: Capitalism, Democracy, Freemasonry, and Marxism. He openly called for action against Jews because they were, in his opinion, the most cynical and dangerous opponents of Christian values.

The Serbian Orthodox Church openly collaborated with the Nazis, and many priests publicly defended the persecution of the Jews. On 13 August 1941, approximately 500 distinguished Serbs signed “An Appeal to the Serbian Nation”, which called for loyalty to the occupying Nazis. The first three signers were bishops of the Serbian Orthodox Church. On 30 January 1942, Metropolitan Josif, the acting head of the Holy Synod of the Serbian Orthodox Church, officially prohibited conversions of Jews to Serbian Orthodoxy, thereby blocking a means of saving Jewish lives. At a public rally, after the government Minister Olcan “thanked God that the enormously powerful fist of Germany had not come down upon the head of the Serbian nation” but instead “upon the heads of the Jews in our midst”, the speaker of these words was then blessed by a high-ranking Serbian Orthodox priest.

A most striking example of Serbian antisemitism combined with historical revisionism is the case of Bishop Nikolaj Velimirovic (1880-1956), revered as one of the most influential church leaders and ideologists after Saint Sava, founder of the Serbian Orthodox Church. To Serbs, Bishop Velimirovic was a martyr who survived torture in the Dachau prison camp. In truth he was brought to Dachau (as were other prominent European clergy), because the Nazis believed he could be useful for propaganda. There he spent approximately two months as an “Ehrenhaftling” (honour prisoner) in a special section, dining on the same food as the German officers, living in private quarters, and making excursions into town under German escort. From Dachau, this venerated Serbian priest endorsed the Holocaust:

Europe is presently the main battlefield of the Jew and his father, the devil, against the heavenly Father and his only begotten Son… (Jews) first need to become legally equal with Christians in order to repress Christianity next, turn Christians into atheist, and step on their necks. All the modern European slogans have been made up by Jews, the crucifiers of Christ: democracy, strikes, socialism atheism, tolerance of all religions, pacifism, universal revolution, capitalism and communism… All this has been done with the intention to eliminate Christ… You should think about this, my Serbian brethren, and correspondingly correct your thoughts, desires and acts. (Bishop Nikolaj Velimirovic: Addresses to the Serbian People–Through the Prison Window. Himmelsthur, Germany: Serbian Orthodox Eparchy for Western Europe, 1985, pp. 161-162).

Despite Serbian claims to the contrary, Germans were not alone in killing the Jews of Serbia. The long concealed Historical Archives in Belgrade reveal that Banjica, a concentration camp located in Belgrade, was primarily staffed by Serbs. Funding for the conversion of the former barracks of the Serbian 18th infantry division to a concentration, came from the municipal budget of Belgrade. The camp was divided into German and Serbian sections. From Banjica there survive death lists written entirely in Serbian in the Cyrillic alphabet. At least 23,697 victims passed through the Serbian section of this camp. Many were Jews, including at least 798 children, of whom at least 120 were shot by Serbian guards. The use of mobile gassing vans by Nazis in Serbia for the extermination of Jewish women and children has been well documented. It is less appreciated, however, that a Serbian business firm had contracted with the Gestapo to purchase these same victims cloths, which sometimes contained hidden money or jewelry in the linings. In August 1942, following the virtual liquidation of Serbia’s Jews, Nedic’s government attempted to claim all Jewish property for the Serbian state. In the same month, Dr. Harald Turner; the chief of the Nazi civil administration of Serbia, boasted that Serbia was the only country in which the “Jewish question” was solved. Turner himself attributed this “success” to Serbian help. Thus, 94 percent of Serbia’s 16,000 Jews were exterminated, with the considerable cooperation of the Serbian government, the Serbian Orthodox Church, the Serbian State Guard, the Serbian police and the Serbian public.

Today, many Serbs proudly cite the Chetniks as a resistance force and even claim that the Chetniks were somehow allied with the United States during the Second World War, but this is simply historical revisionism. According to the Encyclopedia of the Holocaust, Chetnik resistance against the Nazis came to a complete stop as early as the end of 1941. Thereafter, the Chetnik resistance actively collaborated with the both Nazis and Fascists, and for this reason Jewish fighters found it necessary to abandon the Chetniks, in favour of Tito’s Partisans. In reality, the Chetniks, dedicated primarily to the restoration of the Serbian throne and territorial expansion of the Serbian state, were the moral counterpart of Croatia’s Ustatsha. Both were quintessentially genocidal; the Chetniks committed systematic genocide against Bosniaks, who, for nearly all of 500 years had lived peacefully with the Sephardic Jewish community. Under explicit orders from their leader Draze Mihajlovic, the Chetniks attempted to depopulate Serbia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, and Croatia of all non-Serbs and in the process, massacred most of the 103,000 Bosniaks who perished during the war.

The main force of Serbian Chetniks rallied around Draza Mihailovic, a 48 year-old Army officer who had been court-martialed by Nedic and who had close ties to Britain. Early in the war, Mihailovic offered some resistance to the German forces while collaborating with the Italians. By July 22, 1941, the Yugoslav Government-in-Exile in Britain announced that continued resistance was impossible. Although Mihailovic and his exiled government would maintain a fierce propaganda campaign to convince the Allies that his Chetniks were inflicting great damage to the Axis, they did little for the war effort and often openly collaborated with the Germans and Italians while fighting the Partizans. At its peak, Mihailovic’s Chetniks claimed to have 300,000 troops. In fact they never numbered over 31,000.

Meanwhile, Josip Broz Tito, organized multi-ethnic resistance group, which took up the fight against the Nazis, as well as against the Ustasha’s and Chetniks. The overwhelming bulk of resistance activity against German nazis occurred in Bosnia and Croatia. According to Yugoslav statistics, at the height of the war in late 1943, there were 122,000 partisans active in Croatia, 108,000 in Bosnia, and only 22,000 in Serbia. The largest proportion of Bosnian partisans were Bosniaks, who were being slaughtered by all sides.

Attempts to form a pro-Axis Bosniak division failed when the Bosniak conscripts revolted against the Germans at a training base south of Le Puy, France in September 1943. It was the only large-scale mutiny within the German army during the War.

The Bosniak-Muslim clergy in 1941 issued resolutions condemning atrocities being carried out by Ustashe and Chetniks, and condemned persecution of Jews and Serbs. Bosniaks suffered the highest per capita losses of any nationality in Yugoslavia.

Serbian Chetnik forces initially fought against the Ustashe regime, as its goal of a “Greater Serbia” was in conflict with the Ustashe’s “Greater Croatia”. But the Chetniks’ main enemy was the partisans, so Chetniks eventually became full-scale collaborators of the Nazis.

By February 1943 the Western Allies condemned the Chetniks as collaborators, threw their support to the Partisans and began to airdrop supplies to the Partisans. Mihailovic was executed in 1946 for treason. Ironically, his son and daughter Branko and Gordana went over to the Partisans in 1943 and both publicly supported their father’s execution after the war.

While it is true that during the War, both the Partisans and pro-German Serbian-Nazi Chetniks aided Allied pilots in escaping, they did so because they were paid in gold for each one.

For years, the Serbian dominated Belgrade government has supported and trained PLO terrorists. Immediately after the murder of Leon Klinghoffer aboard the Achille Lauro in 1985, the terrorist mastermind Abu Abbas was welcomed in Belgrade. Since the late 1980’s, Abu-Nidal has maintained a large terrorist infrastructure in Yugoslavia, in coordination with Libyan, Iraqi, and Yugoslav intelligence services. During the 1991 Persian Gulf War, as Iraqi missiles landed in Israel, Belgrade supported its ally Iraq.

Although the Jewish community of Serbia is not currently experiencing persecution, overt expressions of Serbian antisemitism do surface in such mainstream institutions as the Serbian Orthodox Church and the official news media. The 15 January 1992 issue of the official publication of the Serbian Orthodox Church, Pravoslavlje (Orthodoxy), carried an article entitled, “Jews Crucify Christ Again.” In this polemic, “treacherous” and “surreptitious” Israeli politicians were said to be constrained from expressing their “pathological” hatred of Christians openly because “they know that Christian countries gave them the state.” Allegedly, nuns are so frequently beaten in Israel, that one nun was actually “happy, because they only spit in her face.” Only weeks later, when Russia extended diplomatic recognition to the former Yugoslav republics of Croatia and Slovenia, the official Yugoslav (Serbian perspective) news agency Tanjug blamed “a Jewish conspiracy” against Serbia, hauntingly reminiscent of the theme of the 1941 anti-Masonic exhibit.

The essential strategy of Serbian propaganda is to portray the spiritual kinship between Jews and Serbs as victims of the Holocaust and endangered by Croats. This concept is disseminated through the Serbian-Jewish Friendship Society, founded in Belgrade in 1988 and supported by the Serbian government. In January and February 1992, Dr. Klara Mandic, the secretary-general and principal voice of this organization, syndicated a chilling article in the North American Jewish press. This article alleged that Ankica Konjuh, an elderly Jewish woman, was tortured and murdered by “Croat extremists” in September 1991. However, even as she released this story to the press, Dr. Mandic knew that Ankica Konjuh was neither a Jew nor could have been killed by Croats. Bona-fide witnesses have testified that Ankica Konjuh, a 67 year-old Croat, was one of 240 civilians massacred by Serbian forces after the last Croat defenders were driven from the region. Moreover on 23 December 1991, the Federation of Jewish Communities of Yugoslavia met in Belgrade and demanded in writing that Dr. Mandic cease and desist misrepresenting Ankica Konjuh as the first Jewish victim of the war. Nevertheless, in late February 1992, when Dr. Mandic lectured at the Hillel House of George Washington University in Washington, D.C., she provided the rabbi with a copy of that misleading article, delivered without further comment. It is noteworthy that this speaking engagement was part of a tour arranged by Wise Communications, a Washington-based public relations firm representing the Serbian oil company Jugopetrol, a thinly veiled proxy for the Communist Belgrade government. Beginning with the proposition that antisemitism has never existed in Serbia, Dr. Mandic portrayed Croatia as preparing to repeat the Holocaust. She claimed to be a “Jewish leader,” although Jews are distinctly absent from her constituency. Less than half a dozen Jews are actual members of her society of several thousand. She introduced herself as an “eyewitness” speaking on behalf of Croatian Jews, although since the war began, she has had no contact with any of the nine Jewish communities of Croatia. When Dr. Mandic was asked to comment on Serbian (Yugoslav Army) shelling of the synagogue of Dubrovnik, the second oldest surviving synagogue in Europe, she denied that the synagogue had ever been damaged at all. Meanwhile, the attack has been well documented by the Jewish community of Dubrovnik and the World Monument Fund.

Jewish sensitivity to the Holocaust is similarly exploited by the Jewish-Serbian Friendship Society of America (Granada Hills, California), an offshoot of Dr. Mandic’s organization. Its newsletter equates the Jewish and Serbian positions during World War II, both as victims of Croats, but fails to mention Serbian complicity in the Holocaust, Serbian collaboration with the Nazis, and Serbian genocide against Croats, Gypsies, and Bosniaks. It warns of an imminent Holocaust being initiated in Croatia. A contrasting portrayal of Croatia, however, emerges from a spectrum of Croatian Jews, American Jews who have visited Croatia, and international Jewish agencies monitoring events on site. All concur that there is no state-sponsored antisemitism in Croatia; the rights of the Jewish minority are respected; and antisemitic incidents are virtually unknown. Thus, only a few dozen of the 2,000 Jews of Croatia have chosen to emigrate to Israel since the war began.

Serbia of today and Germany in World War II offer striking parallels. In 1991, Vojislav Seselj, a member of the Serbian Parliament and leader of the Serbian irregulars who call themselves Chetniks, declared, “We want no one else on our territory and we will fight for our true borders.” Croats and Bosniaks in Serbian conquered regions are forced to wear red-and-white armbands, analogous to the yellow armbands worn by Jews in Serbia during the Holocaust. The stated purpose of the expulsion of Bosniaks and Croats from captured regions is “ethnic cleansing.” The indigenous non-Serbian populations of the invaded territories are being driven from their homes, exterminated, or imprisoned in concentration camps, to create regions of Serbian ethnic purity. Jewish community centres, synagogues, and cemeteries have been damaged and destroyed by characteristically indiscriminate Serbian artillery attacks. To all of this, the Jewish-Serbian Friendship Society has remained conspicuously silent.

Belgrade has promoted the myth of Serbian kinship with the Jews as fellow victims of Nazi oppression, while concealing the true extent of Serbian collaboration with the Nazis. It is ironic that Serbia is now seeking Jewish support for a war in which both the idealogy and methodology so tragically echo nazism. The European Community, the Helsinki Commission, the United Nations, and the United States have all condemned Serbia as the aggressor. Western diplomats have characterized the current Serbian regime as “a lying, terrorist criminal organization.” Serbia, however, claims to be the victim and campaigns for Jewish sympathy and support, exploiting the powerful symbolism of the Holocaust. Serbia’s professed solicitude for the Jewish people must be reexamined.

“Beware, they’re coming” “Punish them, how are they surviving?”

“The Jew is holding the strings. Whose strings and how? He’ll answer you. The anti-masonic exhibit”

=> Jasenovac: victims of war according to data from the Yugoslav Institute of Statistics(1964), Bosniak Institute, Zurich, Sarajevo, 1998.

This study - published for the first time after so many years - provides the name by name list of victims of the Jasenovac Camp, compiled by the Yugoslav government in 1964. It is the first and only official state list of victims of Jasenovac between 1941-1945. The list contains a total of 49,602 names of Jasenovac victims. Of these, 5,900 were Croats, 26,170 Serbs, 8,121 Jewish, 1,471 Roma, 789 Muslim, 174 Slovenian, 59 Hungarian, 35 Montenegrin, 7 Macedonian, others 84, and those not identified by nationality 6,792. From the Stara Gradiska camp: 9,586 victims, of which were: 646 Croats, 7,774 Serbs, 923 Jewish, 20 Slovenian, 3 Montenegrin, 1 Hungarian, not identified by nationality 58 and other 1. The total from both camps was registered as 59,188. The book can be purchased in book stores and from the Croatian News and Information Service, HINA.

=> Serbia’s Secret War: Propaganda and the Deceit of History, by Dr. Philip Cohen, Texas A&M University Press, College Station, 1996. (Croatian edition: Tajni rat Srbije: Propaganda i manipuliranje povijescu, Ceres, Zagreb, 1997. Note: Sarajevo edition also in print)

The major part of this book concerns the systematic cover-up of Serbian anti-Semitism and the fate of Jews in other areas of former Yugoslavia, and not just within the Independent State of Croatia. On several occasions, Cohen touches upon the issue of Jasenovac, providing new data on the camp. The book is available in larger bookstores. Cohen’s book has garnered numerous positive reviews from Western critics and press.

=> The World War and Contemporary Chetniks: Historical-Political Continuity and Implications for Stability in the Balkans, by Dr. Philip J. Cohen, Ceres, Zagreb, 1997.

The basic intention of this book is to educate readers (in particular foreign readers) of the historical-political continuity of the Serbian Chetnik movement from the time of the Second World War until the present day, where Chetniks continue to play a significant role in contemporary society, in the military and political institutions of Serbia, Yugoslavia, the so-called Republika Srpska and in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The book is available (in Croatian and English) in most Croatian bookstores

Chetnik collaboration with NDH, both in English and Serbian
Chetnik collaboration with Italians, both in English and Serbian
Chetniks in Montenegro, both in English and Serbian
Chetnik movement during World War II
Web Archive - The Trial of Dragoljub-Draza Mihailovic – 1946

erbia’s Secret War!

Before getting to the actual quotes, let us read some recensations, namely those of Margaret Thatcher and the Library Journal;

“Philip Cohen’s book provides a useful counter to current myths about Serbia’s history during the Second World War. By detailing the reality of past Serbian national socialism and anti-Semitism he allows us to understand more clearly the mentality which has been at work in Belgrade, and so the roots of today’s Yugoslavian tragedy.”

The Iron Lady, former British prime minister.

“… weaves a rich tapestry covering the last 200 years of Balkan history while emphasizing the role the Serbs played in World War II … Offering a wealth of new information, this impressive, scholarly book is highly recommended …”

Library Journal

Now on with the quotes.

Quote:

As the twentieth century draws to a close and Serbia finds itself at war for the fifth time in this century, historians have drawn attention to the haunting parallels between Serbia’s role in the Balkan Wars of 1912-13 and the events of the 1990s. To be sure, the primary strategic goals of the Serbian leadership regarding territorial expansion and the extermination of “alien populations” were present in the two Balkan Wars. The same determination among the Serbian leadership to create an ethnically homogeneous Greater Serbia was also found during the two world wars. The similiarities between Serbia’s record in World War II and developments in the 1990s are striking - and critical to an understanding of present day Serbian nationalism.

Quote:

To date, the internal history of Serbia in the Second World War has received only superficial treatment in English-language studies. Serbia’s role in World War II, a complex period of history, is often clouded by a mythology that casts the Serbs as synonymous with anti-Nazi resistance and the Croats and Bosnian Muslims as synonymous with pro-Nazi collaborators. Such a conventional wisdom, however, is not home out by the historical record.

Quote:

A central thesis of this book is that the mainstream of Serbia’s political, intellectual, and religious leadership collabaroted extensively with the Axis powers, contrary to the mythology of resistance as promised by subsequent official accounts.

Preface, XXI.

Now some quotes will follow that will expose the myth Serbs have spread about the alleged historical ‘absence’ of anti-semitism in Serb lands.

Quote:

The emergence of the Serbian state in the early nineteenth century heralded a particularly difficult time for the Jews. The Serbian insurrection of 1804, led by Djordje Petrovic (better known as Karadjordje, or Black George) was a turning point in this process. Karadjordje–a prosperous pig farmer and livestock trader and progenitor of the Karadjordjevic royal family–was a man of violent temper. His brutality was legendary, and the peasants under his command were notorious for terrorizing unarmed civilians. The Jews fared especially poorly.

Quote:

By 1805, the fortress of Smederevo had fallen to Karardjordje’s forces and became the capital of his rebel government. Soon the Jews were expelled from Smederevo, Sabac, and Pozarevac, although they had lived for centuries in these rural interior towns, which contained very few Serbian inhabitants. With the capture of Belgrade by the Serbian insurgents in 1806, Jewish homes, stores and the synagogue in the Jewish quarter was attacked and damaged or destroyed, and Jews were prohibited from residing outside of Belgrade.

The persecution of Jews only ceased after the Ottomans regained control over Serbia 1813. Serbia’s Jews were Sephardic Jews, originally from Spain and refugees from the notorious Inquisition. As a recognized milet in the Ottoman empire, they had enjoyed a relatively good life in the Balkans and elsewhere. Under Milos Obrenovic’s rule, the Jews were treated better. But whenever Milos Obrenovic was succeeded, the persecution of Jews ensued. According to Philip Cohen, Obrenovic’s treatment of the Jews was linked to his economical bonds with him.

Quote:

There were expulsions of Jews from the rural Serbian interior in 1846, and then again 1861-4, in conjuction with the laws of 1846 and 1861 forbidding Jews to live outside Belgrade. Under the law of October 30, 1856, issued in response to the demands of a growing Serbian merchant class, Jews were forbidden to conduct trade in the interior.

All quotes above from the page 65, chapter III.

These sorts of legislation, also encouraged by the Obrenovic dynasty, forced Serbia’s Jewish community to either move to Belgrade or leave Serbia. Indeed, the Jewish population dropped drastically.

Quote:

In 1861, there had been 450 Jewish families (2,475 Jews), most living in the Belgrade ghetto. By 1865, the number had declined to 338 families (1,805 Jews), and, by 1869, only 210 families remained.

British observers attributed the anti-semitic sentiments in Serbia to religious fanatism, comercial rivalry as well as a belief in Jews being the secret agents of the Ottoman empire.

Quote:

In January 16, 1865, one month after a series of three highly inflammatory articles in the anti-Semitic journal Svetovide (Holy vision), two Jews were murdered during a progrom in the town of Sabac. Three months later in Sabac, a sixteen-year-old Jewish girl was forcibly baptized into Serbian Orthodoxy.

What is astonishing here is not the progrom in itself and the forced conversion, but the fact that intellectuals running a journal were the ones encouraging anti-Semitism. This means that the Jews were dealing with racism at an institutional and intellectual level, and not with just peasant bigotry and superstition.

The Jewish community in Serbia appealed to the British for help, and the Brits did put pressure on Serbia. But this did not hinder the Serbs from institutionalizing racism in their very constitution;

Quote:

In Serbia’s new and supposedly liberal Constitution of 1869, Article 23 granted equality before the law to every Serb, and Article 28 guaranteed the inviolability of domicile. Article 132, however, reaffirmed the anti-Jewish laws of October 30, 1856, prohibitng the Jews from commerce in the Serbian interior and the law of November 4, 1861, denying Jews the right of domicile outside of Belgrade.
The bishop of Smederevo had argued in favor of religious liberty for the Jews, but the minister of the interior beseeched the parliamentarians not to grant such liberties.

In 1871 a British diplomat visited the Jewish community in Belgrade — here is what the gentleman wrote;

Quote:

‘I have accompanied Dr.Levy, the late representative of the Société Isaélite at Belgrade to the Jewish quarter, and can hardly believe any poverty can exceed in misery what I have seen there … people literally starving by inches from–though most willing to work–being deprived by law of earning their subsistence …. Illnesses and fevers, caused by want of nourishment, make greater ravages amongst them than among the other poor of the place … Some of these poor would willingly emmigrate to the neighbouring Austrian provinces, but impediments are indirectly thrown in their way by the Servian authorities, who pride themselves on the number of immigrants who flock to the country, and like to be able to boast, in their so-called statistics, that there are no emigrants.’

This description brings forth pictures in my head from the movie ‘The Pianist’ when the Polish Jews are rounded up and collectively moved to the ghetto part of Warszawa. Except this was not during the WWII, but almost a century prior to it.

Quote:

In 1873, Jews were expelled from Sabac, Smederevo and Pozarevac, and, in 1876, eleven Jewish families were expelled from Smederevo. After the Serbian military captured Nis in 1877, Serbs undertook an ambitious modernization program, widening streets by tearing down buildings owned by Jews and Muslims.

Quote:

Anti-jewish sentiment was echoed by such notable Serbian political figures as Nikola Pasic, a veteran statesman, who eventually served as prime minister of Serbia and, later, Yugoslavia. In 1880, promised to block the Jews from entering the Serbian countryside, a part of Serbian politics that generally is overlooked by Pasic’s biographers.

Even Nikola Pasic huh ….

Quote:

Nevertheless, anti-Semitic tracts continued to appear in both the lay and religious press. In 1904, a booklet titled Knjiga o Jevrejima … kod koga treba da kupujemo? (Book about Jews … at whose store should we shop?) warned of the dangers of Jewish domination and advocated the boycott of Jewish businesses. In 1912, an official publication of the Serbian Orthodox Church likewise complained that the Serbian authorities did to little to protect Serbs from the predation of the Jews, who had too many rights.

Later on, still in the first half of the 20th century, the Jewish influence in the world changed Serb politics towards the Jews. They knew that the Jews were influential in the states and that the US was a growing power. Therefore, the Serbs now put on a fasade as the sympathizers of the Jewish cause, sending even the representative David Albala to talk with the Jews of USA and forge a sort of alliance with their lobby over there. But, as time progressed and anti-Semitic sentiments and fascist views on the concept of Darwinism started growing, the true feelings the Serbs displayed against the Jews started showing.

Quote:

Overall, the 1920s were a perdiod of social and economic progress for the Jews in Yugoslavia, notwithstanding a few isolated episodes of anti-Semitic activity. In the 1930s, however, anti-Jewish attacks with increasing frequency in the Yugoslav press.

Anti-Semitic Propaganda and Fascism in Serbia!

Quote:

In 1935 Dimitrije Ljotic, Yugoslavia’s leading proponent of Nazi ideology, had founded Zbor, a pan-Serbian pro-Nazi fascist party. The small but highly active organization published and distributed a prodigious number newspapers, books, and pamphlets, among them the most rabidly anti-Semitic litterature printed anywhere in the country. In Vojvodina, an ethnically mixed region that was home to five hundred thousand Volksdeutsche, Zbor published a German-language newspaper Die Erwache (The awakening), as well as the Serbian-language Nas Put (Our Way). Both publications called for war against Jews.

What is worth of notice here, is that this is prior to the start of WWII. This means that the anti-Semitic sentiments already existed in Serbia prior to the Nazi invasion — there were actually Serb politicians, such as Dimitrije Ljotic, who thought in the same manners as Hitler and Mussolini. And this was a legacy of a traditional anti-Semitism, and not some fashion of time, as is evident by Serbia’s discriminating legislation against the Jews in the 1800s, among other things.

Quote:

By the late 1930s, expressions of anti-Semitism in Serbia were growing more virulent. In Januarty, 1937, Patriarch Varnava (Petar Rosic), the head of the Serbian Orthodox Church since 1930, met with German journalists to express his “vivid interest” in the new Germany and to praise Hitler for leading “a battle which serves all of humanity”. Varnava also stressed his sympathy for the Führer’s fight against the Bolsheviks. In April, 1937, an official publication of the Serbian Orthodox Church explicitly identified the Jews as the hidden force behind freemasonry, capitalism, and communism, the world’s “three great evils”.

p.72

Here we can see even the Serbian clergy involved in printing anti-Semitic works.

Quote:

On October 5, 1940, six months before the Nazi invasion of Yugoslavia, the Yugoslav Royal Government issued two anti-Jewish decrees. One prohibited Jews from the production and distribution of food; the other restricted the enrollment of Jews at universities and high schools.

Most of the time, the Serb revolt/coup d’état is described as a successful initiative of the Serbian people in the anti-fascist struggle. The reality is quite different, however, as we shall see.

Hitler wanted to ally himself with Yugoslavia and persuade Prince Pavle to sign the Tripartite Agreement. Prince Pavle agreed under the conditions that the Greek port of Thessaloniki be ceded to Yugoslavia after the war, that Yugoslavia’s integrity would be protected against alien invaders, especially Italy, that Yugoslavia would not have to go into war on the behalf of the Axis powers and that no troop transportation would occur on Yugoslav lands — Prince Pavle also wanted the agreement to be published. Hitler agreed to everything, except the last part.

Prince Pavle held a council two days later, March 6, 1941, to consider Hitler’s offers with his government. General Petar Pesic — minister of the army & navy, favoured the agreement under the pretext that Yugoslavia was ‘unable to defend itself militarily’. Vladko Macek, leader of the Croatian Peasant Party, asked whether the Germans were trustworthy, to which the Foreign minister Aleksandar Cincar-Markovic replied that they were. Four days later, on March 10, a second Crown Council was held. At this stage. the minister of the Royal Court, Milan Antic, proposed that the Yugoslavs would accept the terms and ask for additional terms, such as more Greek territories besides Thessaloniki. Macek and Kulovec disagreed with territorial aggrandisement.

Finally, it was decided that the pact would be signed. A coup d’état was carried out — among the participants of the complot was General Simovic, who installed Momcilo Nincic as the foreign minister. This is a clear sign of where the complotters actually stood; Nincic was the president of the Nemacko-Jugoslovensko drustvo (German-Yugoslav Society) of Belgrade, a man with excellent contacts with official Italian circles.

Quote:

Following his appointmenton March 27, Nincic’s first order of business was to assure the German ambassador, Viktor von Heeren, that Yugoslavia would uphold the terms of the Tripartite Pact. Unaware of this double game, British prime minister Winston Churchillprocclaimed that “early this morening the Yugoslav nation found its soul” and officially recognized the Simovic government on the very day of the coup.

p.23-24

Quote:

In Serbian nationalist historiography, the March 27 coup has been interpreted as a popular Serbian revolt against the Tripartite Pact. The coup, however, was the work of the British intelliegence service and a handful of British-funded high-ranking Serbian officers. The motivations of the British and the Serbs were quite different. While the British sought to undermine Yugoslavia’s cooperation with the Axis, the Serbian officers wanted to remove Pavle largely because of his accommodations to the Croats. Moreover, there was a rival coup faction, which was entirely pro-German and supported by Ljotic’s Zbor.

p.24

The coup was, with other words, not inspired by anti-fascist feelings and a sense of solidarity with Hitler’s victims — it was an attempt to undermine Croatian influence in the Yugoslav state. This is confirmed by the fact that Serbian fascists also wanted to overthrow Pavle; Hitler and the German intelligentsia only refused to assist since Pavle was about to sign the pact, so they saw no reason to intervene.

One of the main men behind the coup was general Borivoje Mirkovic, whose dreams of Greater Serbia conflicted with Pavle’s liberal stance towards the Croats.

Quote:

It is doubtful that Mirkovic’s were particularly anti-German, since in his own quarters he prominently displayed a signed photograph of his fellow airman, Marshal Hermann Göring.

For those of you who do not know, this is Hermann Göring.

Quote:

The events that followed, however, bore little resemblance to British expectations. The new government not only continued the policy of accommodation of Hitler but began to recruit Serbian pro-Axis supporters. In one of its first acts, the coup government released all of Ljotic’s followers from prison and halted judicial proceedings against them. Moreover, the newly appointed minister of the army and navy Gen.Bogoljub Ilic — one of the British-funded coup leader and known as notoriously hostile to the Croats — promplty invited Ljotic, the vocal Nazi supporter, to join the new government. Ljotic had previously been encouraged to join the new government by Bishop Nikolaj Velimirovic, who had foreknowledge of the impending coup d’état.

p.26

Quote:

Thus the March 27 coup d’état, carried out by a relatively small number of conspirators, was more a testimony to the efficacy of the British intelleigence service and the opportunism of its plotters than to any wide-spread popular Serbian sympathy for the Allied cause. In reality, the coup was never so clearly anti-Axis as it was anti-Pavle and anti-Croatian, and from the begining iut was in part driven by pro-Axis Serbs. Despite revisionist attempts to portray pre-World War II Serbia as staunchly anti-fascist, Serbia indeed bred its own fascist movement.

p.27

As Philip Cohen accurately describes it, Hitler (who was planning the invasion of Russia at this time) had little confidence for the coup leaders who were de facto financed by Great Britain. Therefore, he decided to take the matter into his own hands. On April 6, 1941, Hitler’s forces invaded Yugoslavia and successfully so. Here follows more interesting and revealing quotes;

Quote:

The Royal Yugoslav Army had been poorly equipped and poorly trained. Most of the weapons and uniformsWorld War I-era, and the air force consisted of World War I-vintage biplanes with open cockpits. Furthermore, almost all of the Yugoslav commanding generals — virtually all Serbs – were opposed to fighting the Nazis and sought an armistice.

Page 28. Same generals that had been against “fascist Pavle” were themselves fascist sympathizers, we can conclude.

This war continued for twelve days; the result was 345,000 captured Yugoslav soldiers. German losses were small; 151 killed, 392 wounded and 15 missing in action. King Petar, who had replaced Prince Pavle after the (in)famous coup, as well as general Simovic and others, took the cabinet and fled to Greece. Meanwhile, Hitler dissapointed with how thing had undergone previously, decided to divide Yugoslavia, much to thé distress of territory-hungry Serbs. But this did not hinder collaboration; Dragisa Cvetkovic was put to power. Soon, collaborators from all Yugoslav territories converged on Belgrade, like retired general Djura Djokic from Sarajevo, Bosko Kostic from Gorazde, Bozidar (Bosko) Becarevic from Montenegro, Velibor Jonic from Foca, Col.Tanasije Dinic and journalist Danilo Gregoric from Nis etc.

Soon, the government or local administration was created, where notable men and Nazi sympathizers were included, fascists such as Milan Acimovic, Dimitrije Ljotic, Dragi Jovanovic, Djordje Peric, Stevan Klujic, Tanasije Dinic, Stanislav Josifovic, Momcilo Jankovic, Dusan Pantic, Milosav Vasiljevic etc.

Quote:

On August 13, 1941, under the leadership of Velibor Jonic, 546 Serbs, including some of the country’s moasr prominent and influential figures, issued an “Appeal to the Serbian Nation,” which called for loyalty to the Nazis and condemned the Partisan resistance as unpatriotic.

p.32

Quote:

The list of the signatories was published over two days. The first three to sign were bishops of the Serbian Orthodox Church.

p.33

The list of signatores basically represented the intellectual, political and artistic elite of Serbia.

Quote:

On August 29, 1941, 1941, two days after the Belgrade emergency meeting, The German authorities installed General Nedic and his Vlada narodnog spasa (Government of National Salvation) in power.

p.33-34

Now things quickly ensued. A local Gestapo force was created in Serbia under the supervision of Dragomir (Dragi) Jovanovic and Gestapo officers Karl Kraus and Hans Helm as well as Col.Ernst Moritz von Kaisenberg. The unit, intially consisting of 45 agents, grew up to 878 police guards and 240 agents in less than one month, July 1941.

The Serbs’ own SS-unit also came to existance; it was called Srpska Dobrovljacka Komanda (Serbian Volunteer Command) and later renamed to Srpski dobrovljacki korpus (Serbian Volunteer Corpus).

Quote:

The Volunteers were sent immedately into combat missions — jointly with Nedic’s newly formed detachments and the Chetniks of Kosta Pecanac — against the Partisans.

p.37

Note that the Chetniks also were pro-Nazi. Which brings us to Draza Mihailovic, the alleged anti-Nazi pro-royalist warrior. Now we will see the true role played by his cameleont organization. Dragoljub (Draza) Mihailovic was appointed minister of the army and navy by the government in exile in London. De facto, he was the leader of irregular guerrilla units commonly known as the Chetniks (cetnici) who played a most dubious role in WWII.

Quote:

The Chetniks under the command of Mihailovic initially had planned to resist the German occupation but soon fell into a pattern of military passivity compared to Communist resistance groups.

p.40

Quote:

By the late 1941, Mihailovic’s Chetniks effectively had abandoned resistance to the Axis in favor of the struggle against Tito’s Partisans, and thereafter maintained a pattern of collaboration with both Germans and Italians against the Partisans, notwithstanding sporadic acts of anti-Axis sabotage. Indeed, during late 1943 and 1944, and especially after Allied support had shifted to Tito, the Chetniks made a point to openly fight the Axis in the presence of American and British military observers.

p.40

Thus, we can clearly see the treacherous and cameleont features and characteristics of the royalist Chetnik organization, which essentially collaborated with Nazis and only fought against them when they knew that the Allies were gradually but surely winning the war — they needed any strong power’s support to establish monarchy again in Serbia/Yugoslavia. Imagine if the coup against Pavle never had taken place. The collaboration in Serbia with the fascists would have been total. Hitler initially actually wanted a Serb-dominated Yugoslavia.

Quote:

In a report sent to Berlin on September 11, more than five months after the Nazi occupation, the plenipotentiary of the German Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Serbia, Felix Benzler, wrote that there had been no battles between German forces and Chetniks. In fact, Mihailovic’s efforts to establish cooperation with the Germans had so favorably impressed Capt.Josef Matl of Abwehr (German military intelligence) that, in October of 1941, Matl reported that the Chetnik detachments of the Yugoslav army under the command of Col.Draza Mihailovic had placed themselves at the disposal of the German Wehrmacht.

p.41

At Mihailovic’s request, as Philip Cohen extensively describes it, he and his men met with the German military command in mid-November to further establish and confirm collaboration. The German delegation was headed Colonel Kogard — Mihailovic was assisted by Col.Branislav J. Pantic, Maj.Aleksandar Misic and Capt.Nenad Mitrovic. Mihailovic stated that the common enemy were the communists and that his forces would not attack the Germans. In return, Mihailovic wanted to request 20,000 rifles, 200 heavy machine guns, 100 mortars, 100,000 hand-grenades and 20,000 Yugoslav army uniforms and boots.

Quote:

During the meeting, Kogard and Mihailovic agreed that their common enemy was the Partisans. Kogard, however, stated that he could not trust the Chetniks because, unlike “Nedic, Ljotic, Pecanac, and many others, who had openly sided with us from the beginning,” Mihailovic’s Chetniks “were waging an open struggle against the German Wehrmacht.” According to Pantic’s eyewitness account, Mihailovic protested that “he had never issued any order to attack the German forces. Just the opposite. All of his orders were directed to avoid that struggle, except when his forces are attacked by the Germans. Thus had it been until that moment, thus would it be in the future.”Kogard then produced several photographs of the mutilated bodies of German soldiers killed near Kragujevac in October, 1941. Their penises had been cut off and inserted into their mouths — a form of mutilation typically practiced by the Chetniks. He maintained that Mihailovic must be held responsible for crimes committed by his Chetniks. Mihailovic stated that the crime had been committed by Partisans, not by his men. Kogard, however, insisted that he had information to the contrary. Mihailovic then conceded that it was possible his men were responsible, but that he was aware of neither the attack nor the mutilations. Kogard responded, “That does not diminish your responsibility as the commander. You are responsible for the crimes commited by your subordinates.” Largely because of Nazi suspicions regarding the Chetniks’ role in the mutilations, the mid-November meeting ended without any agreement between the two sides. The meeting, however, would not be Mihailovic’s final overture to the Germans.

p.41-42

Perhaps Kogard would have better understood the Serb culture and manners in warfare — mutilation was a common practice. Often, lips and noses would be involved, but occasionally also genitals. During the Balkan Wars, this was extensively used. And in Montenegro, heads were cut off in an almost ceremonial manner. With other words; Kogard might not have taken a ‘random’ Serbian practice so harshly and dismissed cooperation if he knew more about the Serbian nation and their ways.

Quote:

Prior to the November meeting, Mihailovic also had attempted to forge cooperative relationships with committed Axis collaborators. As early as May, 1941, a little more than one month after the Germans had invaded Yugoslavia, Mihailovic sent his second lieutenant, Vladimir Lenac, to Belgrade to meet with Ljotic. Lenac, who had headed the Zbor youth movement at Zagreb University, informed Ljotic of Mihailovic’s interest in collaboration and asked for the names of Belgrade civilians who could provide financial ssistance to the Chetniks.

p.42

On January 9, 1946, Nedic testified in the court about Mihailovic’s true intentions, ambitions and goals;

Quote:

(1) To establish order and peace in Serbia. (2) To begin a joint fight against the communist-led Partisan detachments, precisely against units of the Communist Party. (3) That I should establish a connection with [the Germans] and legitimize Draza to the Germans. (4) To remit him [Draza] a certain sum of money for paying the wages of his officers and non-commissioned officers. (5) Having pacified Serbia, to take military action in Bosnia for pacification. (6) To assist the government of [General Blazo] Djukanovic in Montenegro for its pacification. All these proposals and conditions were accepted by my side. Draza got money, and the Germans approved this.

p.42

Under this time, Mihailovic had also met with Tito on two occasions, discussing the possibility of joining forces against the Germans. The meetings were held in September 19 and October 26 — no common ground was reached. And though Mihailovic was a serpant, his promises held more value when given to the Germans than the Partisans. Thus, during November 1941, a combined force of one German battalion, the Hungarian Danube flotilla, Ljotic’s 6th Volunteer Detachment, two of Nedic’s detachments, six Chetnik detachments led by Pecanac and Mihailovic’s Chetniks, attacked Partisan controlled territories near Pozarevac.

Quote:

On November 25, however, Mihailovic’s Chetniks joined German troops and other Serbian collaborationist forces in an intensive attack on the Partisan stronghold in the western Serbian town of Uzice, where Tito’s headquarters and armaments factory were located. By December 5, 1941, with Serbian help, the anti-Nazi uprising in Serbia effectively was crushed.

p.43

Quote:

In their pursuit of Greater Serbia during the Second World War, the Chetniks regarded non-Serbian populations with a contempt that paralleled the Nazis’ attitude toward non-Aryan populations.

p.44

Serbian Chetnik ideologists, such as Stevan Moljevic, formulated Chetnik dreams of establishing a homogenous Greater Serbia that would get rid of non-Serb or ‘undesirable’ elements.

Quote:

A Chetnik directive of December 20, 1941, specified their goal to create an “ethnically pure” Greater Serbia, consisting of Serbia, Macedonia, Montenegro, Bosnia-Herzegovina, and Vojvodina, “cleansed … of all national minorities and non-national elements.” This directive further specified the necessity of “cleansing the Muslim population from Sandzak and the Muslim and Croatian populations from Bosnia and Herzegovina.” Between 86,000 and 103,000 Muslims died during the Second World War. The majority of these perished at the hands of the Chetniks.

p.45

It is also interesting to mention, briefly, the role certain Chetnik figures played (besides Draza), such as Pavle Djurisic, to whom StankoIsaSerb claims relation to (if I am not mistaken) as well as Father Momcilo Djujic, two noteworthy Chetnik figures.

Quote:

In one campaign in the early 1943, Djurisic’s forces forces killed ten thousand Muslims, ninety percent of whom were civilians, in the vicinity of Foca in southeastern Bosnia. Chetnik losses were reported to be thirty-six dead and fifty-eight wounded.After the capitulation of Italy in 1943, Djurisic established closer ties with Dimitrije Ljotic, whose Serbian Volunteer Corps provided weapons, food, typewriters, and other supplies. Nedic promoted Djurisic to the rank of lieutenant-colonel and appointed him assistant commander of the Serbian Volunteer Corps, and, on October 11, 1944, Adolf Hitler awarded Djurisic the Iron Cross.

p.45

In the figure of Pavle Djurisic, we see the personification of Serb policy in the territory of Bosnia-Herzegovina, which is that of continuous attempts to Serbianize the regions, especially the towns and regions adjacent to Serbia, such as Foca or even Srebrenica and Zvornik etc — towns which today belong to Republika Srpska. In essence, what the Serbs did in the 1990s, was a continuation of the Chetnik legacy of Djurisic. Mladic and Karadzic lived up to their predecessors’ standards.

Quote:

One prominent Orthodox clergyman and Chetnik leader was Father Momcilo Djujic. Born in Knin, Croatia, in 1907, and a self-proclaimed vojvoda (warlord), he operated in northern Dalmatia and western Bosnia, where, as early as April, 1941, his Chetniks began murdering and mutilating Croatian civilians.

p.45

Quote:

Following the surrender of Italy in September, 1943, some of Djujic’s Chetniks fled to the hills or defected to the rapidly growing Partisan movement, but a few thousand almost immediately began to collaborate with the Germans. This new Chetnik-Nazi relationship was reinforced when, in a short-wave transmission on November 19, 1943, Mihailovic instructed Djujic to cooperate with the Germans, adding that Mihailovic himself could not openly do so “because of public opinion”.

p.46

This quote is interesting. Obviously, the fascist ideology of the Chetnik movement had much in common with the Nazi ideology, and there was a common platform which provided the possibility of cooperation. Mihailovic, however, was a devote royalist, and as such he could not, atleast openly, collaborate with the Nazis for the sake of “public opinion”. Obviously, the government he was loyal to had uninentionally gotten into war with Hitler’s Germany because of the coup against Prince Pavle; this even though they tried to reassure the Germans of their loyalty to the Triparite Pact. Understandably, however, the Germans could not trust the new government — they had even denied assisting fascist Serbs, such as Ljotic, to conduct a coup.

If things had been different, collaboration between Chetniks and Nazis would have been full-scaled and open, much like that between the Ustasha and the Nazis. And in many cases, it was so, as in Djujic’s case. An ‘unforunate’ misunderstanding between the government of King Petar and General Simovic and Hitler probably saved the other ethnic groupations within Old Yugoslavia from a strong Greater Serbia which would have aimed at establishing a homogenous state cleansed from minorities.

Quote:

By the end of 1944, with Partisan victories and the demoralization of his own troops on the increase, Djujic urgently appealed to the Germans to permit him and his Chetniks to take refuge in German-controlled Slovenia. When the German authorities in Zagreb refused, Ljotic, now headquartered in Slovenia, traveled to Vienna and obtained Hermann Neubacher’s approval. Djujic’s escape to safety along with six thousand Chetniks was assisted by the Nazis and Ustashas, at the request of Ljotic.

p.46

These fascists were funny. On one side, Chetniks fought the Croats, and on the other, they did not hesitate receiving help from Ustasha.

Quote:

On November 25, 1944, Partisan forces began to attack the town of Knin, which was defended by fourteen thousand German troops, forty-five hundred Chetniks under Djujic, and about fifteen hundred Ustasha. After six days of fighting, Djujic was wounded, and, on December 1, he sent an emissary to Gen.Gustav Fehn of the German 264th Division in Knin with the following message:The Chetnik Command with all of its armed forces has collaborated sincerely and loyally with the German Army in these areas from September last year. Our common interests demanded this. This collaboration has continued to the present day …. The Chetnik Command wishes to share the destiny of the German Army in the future too …. The Command requests that [the village] Padjene be the base for supplying our units, until a further common agreement is reached.

Djujic’s forces continued collaborating with the Nazis throughout the war. They were supplied with food and ammunition, and their wounded were taken to the Third Reich and treated. Djujic even got guarantees from Ante Pavelic for his troops secure evacuation to German controlled lands.

This same man, a fascist and Chetnik and even a Nazi one could say, lived for decades in the US. He was found guilty 1947 in absentia by the communists in Yugoslavia, but he got away. This very man gave the title vojovda (duke) to Vojislav Seselj, leader and founder of the large(st) party in Serbia, SRS (Radical Party). This party has fascist tendencies, and unsurprisingly its leader was fancied by Momcilo Djujic who died 1999, on September 11, long enough to understand that Croatia was independent, Bosnia had seceeded and Kosova was liberated.

SRS …. fascist Serbia on the rise … ? Or has it been on the rise since … well, its foundation!? Philip Cohen accurately describes why the misconception of the Chetniks’ alleged anti-fascist image prevailed;

Quote:

The final step of the Chetnik plan was to seize power after the Germans were ousted in an anticipated invasion by the Allies. Thus, Serbia would be restored to full autonomy under the Serbian monarchy, and the Chetniks would establish their miltary authority over the ethnically homogenous Serbia. It is this part of the Chetniks’ endgame — their anticipation that the Allies would eventually oust Germans — that has provided the basis for the claim that the Chetniks were really a resistance force all along. In the final analysis, however, the Chetniks’ legacy was principally one in which opportunism overshadowed resistance in a near total eclipse.

p.47-48

To say that the Chetniks weren’t fascists is to be delusional. Their very ideology, as formulated by the likes of Stevan Moljevic and his likes, was fundamentally fascist; they dreamt of establishing Greater Serbia and cleanse it from unwanted minorities, which is all minorities. Infact, they were worse than many other collaborationist movements, because their cameleont ways made it unclear where they stood … and as such, they switched allegianeces continuously, making them untrustworthy. Nevertheless, their crimes were numerous. Just Foca alone echoes Srebrenica.

Quote:

For example, the safe evacuation of 417 Allied pilots, including 343 Americans, from Chetnik-held territories in Serbia during the latter half of 1944 has often been cited as evidence of the Chetniks’ strong pro-Allied sympathies. Indeed, with Allied support shifted from Mihailovic to Tito, Mihailovic’s Chetniks were courting renewed Allied support and made great efforts to demonstrate their willingness to assist the Allies. Hoiwever, none of these sources mentions that the Chetniks rescued German aviators as well, as indicated in a Nedic government report of February, 1944, and, on still other occasions, Mihailovic’s men hunted down Allied aviators on the behalf of the Germans.

p.48

I think the Chetnik movement’s true role has been neglected by historians due to successfull historical revisionism from the Serbs’ side.

Quote:

Although much of the evidence related to Serbian concentration camps was destroyed under orders of the retreating Nazis, the memoirs of survivors of the Banjica concentration camp in Belgrade offer insight into the role played by the Serbs in exterminating members of the resistance. After the German military command gave orders for the creation of the concentration camp, Belgrade mayor Jovanovic took steps to convert the former 18th Infantry army barracks into a camp, which operated from July 5, 1941, until October 3 or 4, 1944. One-half of the inmates were dispatched to Banjica by the SS, and another one-third were sent by the Serbian State Guard, Ljotic’s Volunteers, Pecanac’s Chetniks, various urban police units, and the Special Police of Belgrade.The Banjica camp, which mainly held members of the resistance, was run by the Belgrade police commissioner Svetozar Vujkovic, remembered by concentration camp survivors for his enthusiastic collaboration with the Gestapo, his role in ordering murders, and his penchant for devising tortures. In the early days of Banjica, the camp was guarded jointly by the Gestapo and the Serbian State Guard, but later this function devolved to the Serbian State Guard alone. Execution lists in Banjica were drawn up by Vujkovic, who often selected victims at random. Executions of inmates were a daily event.

p.48-49

Quote:

Jewish and Gypsy prisoners increasingly were used to fill the quotas for the German reprisal policy, which called for the execution of fifty to one hundred Communists for every German soldier killed. By the end of 1941, most Serbian Jewish males between the ages of fourteen and seventy had been shot by the Wehrmacht firing squads. In October, 1941, the German authorities ordered the construction of Sajmiste (Semlin in German), just across the Sava River from Belgrade, for the purpose of concentrating the remaining Jewish women and children.

p.63

Besides the horrible fact that concentration camps were present in Serbia, what is also noteworthy here is the German policy of reprisal. Serbs like to claim that the Nazis had ordered the execution of fifty-one hundred Serbs, when infact it was the label Communist they used in association with the term reprisal, and most of these ‘Communists’ were apparently Jews and Gypsies.

Quote:

During February, 1942, more Jewish women and children from towns uch as Smederevo, Nis, and Sabac were brought to Sajmiste, which by that time held roughly sixty-three hundred prisoners, ten percent of whom were Gypsies. Between March and May, 1942, the inmates of Sajmiste were exterminated in a gassng van. Approximately seventy-five hundred Jews, half all Serbian Jews, perished at Sajmiste.

p.63-64

Quote:

It is indisputable that the executioners of most of Serbia’s Jews were German army personnel or regular police. However, the role of the Serbs as active collaborators in the destruction of the Jews has remained underexplored in the Holocaust literature. According to widely held belief, while the Germans were murdering the Jews of Serbia, were helping or saving them. This was certainly true for some. Yet, a large segment of Serbian society willingly and enthusiastically joined in the destruction of the Jews and profited materially from their demise.

p.64

The Serbs assisted the Nazis actively in executing and bringing in Jews, especially the latter. But also in terms of propaganda, Serbian intellectuals did their share in trying to dehumanize the Jews (as many Serbs do currently with their neighbours — this forum being an excellent example) in order to justify their extermination.

Quote:

Collaborationist newspapers in Belgrade with the largest circulation included Obnova (Renewal; editor in chief Stanislav Krakov), Novo vreme (New Time; editor in chief Milos Mladenovic), Srpski narod (The Serbian Nation; editor in chief Velibor Jonic), and Nasa borba (Our struggle; editor in chief Ratko Parezanin). Obnova was the successor to the pre-war Politika. Nasa borba, which began publication on September 7, 1941, was established at the suggestion of Dimitrije Ljotic, who chose the name as homage to Adolf Hitler’s Mein Kampf (My Struggle).

p.73

Quote:

Nasa borba and Obnova proclaimed that Jews were the ancient enemies of the Serbian people and that the Serbs should not wait for the Germans to begin the extermination of the Jews. An article titled “Borba za cistocu rase” (The Struggle for Racial Purity) vowed that Jews “never again shall be physicians, pharmacists, lawyers, and judges in Serbia.”

p.73

Quote:

Zbor was active in publishing tracts such as Srpski narod u kandzama jevreja (Serbian People in the Claws of the jews), which urged that “Jewry has to be quickly and energetically liquidated, because otherwise the destruction of Christian civilization … is inevitable.”

p.75

The book mentioned in the quote above was written by Milorad Mojic, a Serbian intellectual and veteran from World War I. It was written prior to the Nazi invasion, and was ready for printing in 1940. Political reasons hindered this, however. But, during the Nazi occupation, the work was published by Zbor. With other words, it was not the Nazis who introduced the obsession with the exterminating of Jews to Serbia. It existed prior to the Nazis coming to Serbia, and this sets Serbs apart from many other Balkanian collaborators, where a deep-rooted anti-Semitism was not as evident in intellectual circles, let alone institutionalized as it was in Serbia for a long while.

Quote:

On October 22, 1941, the Grand Anti-Masonic Exhibition opened in Belgrade. The exhibition focused on an alleged Jewish-Masonic-Communist conspiracy for world domination and contained vicious anti-Jewish propaganda. Funded by the city of Belgrade and prepared primarily by Serbs loyal to the Nazis, the exhibition was initially suggested by Djordje Peric, Nedic’s chief of the Section of State Propaganda who had served as a German intelligence agent before the war. The general directors of the exhibition Peric’s State Propaganda colleagues, Lazar Prokic and Stevan Klujic. Both were prominent members of Zbor as well as publishers of the Serbian edition of the Nazi propaganda magazine Signal. Klujic was also an agent of the German Security Police. The Jewish section of the Anti-Masonic Exhibition was prepared by Professor Momcilo Balic from State Propagandaand a contributor to Nasa borba.

p.77

The exhibition was a great ’success’ with tens of thousands visitors during its first weeks. Prominent personalities, including Milan Nedic himself, attended the exhibition. The exhibition conitnued until January 19, 1942.

Quote:

In the destruction of Serbia’s Jews, Zbor’s military arm , known as the Serbian Volunteer Command (later renamed the Serbian Volunteer Corps), in general prooved a highly reliable auxiliary to the Gestapo. The Serbian Volunteer Command sprang from Ljotic’s 1st Detachment of Serbian Volunteers, which was organized as a labor brigade in Smederevo and sent to Belgrade in late July, 1941, to support the German authorities.

p.76

Quote:

On July 27, after 1,200 Belgrade Jews had voluntarily surrendered to the occupation authorities, Ljotic’s Volunteers were responsible for dividing them by profession, sending 1,080 to forced labor, and setting aside about 120 as hostages. Two days later, all 120 hostages were executed as a reprisal for the Partisan uprising. On the streets of Belgrade, Ljotic’s Volunteers closely worked with the Volksdeutsche in capturing mostly elderly Jews, who were then sent to forced labor. After mid-September, 1941, when the Volunteers were armed and became known as the Serbian Volunteer Command, they continued to hunt for Jews in hiding.

p.76

Also noteworthy is the role Chetniks played. Initially, some Jews fought in Chetnik ranks, but as the anti-Semitic sentiments in the Chetnik movement prevailed and became more evident as time passed by, the Jews abandoned the Chetniks for the sake of Tito’s Partisans;

Quote:

As the Chetniks became overt collaborators, they also began to scour the countryside for Jews in hiding. Often they murdered the Jews in Chetnik style — which meant torture, throat-slitting, and mutilation. Alternatively, the Chetniks handed their prey over to the German authorities for reward money, after stripping the Jews of whatever money they posessed. Jewish survivors testified that the Chetniks, particularly those under the command of Draza Mihailovic, “persecuted Jews mercilessly”, and slaughtered them “in a bestial way” — a reference to the similiarity between the Chetnik practice of slitting a victim’s throat and the methods used in butchering a pig.

p.77

The role of the Serbian Orthodox Church is also worthy of exploration. The church did not play a passive role in regards to the extermination of Jews. On the contrary, it assisted it by supporting the fascist regime of Nedic and through other means;

Quote:

In late October, 1941, in a highly publicized meeting between Nedic and representatives of the Serbian Episcopal Synod, Metropolitan Josif, the acting head of the Serbian Orthodox Church, promised Nedic the church’s full support.

p.81

The Serbian clergy did not settle with this.

Quote:

On January 20, 1942, Metropolitan Josif officially prohibited conversions of Jews to Serbian Orthodoxy, and, by doing so, destroyed for Jews a potential means of survival.

Philip Cohen dedicates several pages to the role the Serbian Orthodox Church played in World War I. Among other things, he writes extensively on the true role played by the martyrized Bishop Nikolaj Velimirovic, an anti-Semite. But for now, what has written so far will suffice.

An additional thing which is highly interesting, is that the extermination of the Jews was more or less (in)directly made rather obvious to the Serbian opinion, yet no noticable reactions were recorded.

Quote:

Serbia’s pro-Nazi newspapers reinforced the message of the exhibition, observing that the interests of the “Jewish-Masonic internationalists” and that of Serbs have always been divergent, and “therefore, their personal fate cannot move us, for they deserved it.”

p.78

Firstly, let us establish the meaning of fascism. Fascism is, shortly put, a political ideology that revolves around an authoritative principle (which is in accordance with what D.Mihailovic wanted, namely a monarchy and an authoritarian rule, as in the ‘old days’); terms that are associated with this infamous ideology are nationalism, militarism, anti-communism, authoritarianism, etc. Basically, facists try to put the ultimate loyalty to the nation which is, by fascists, defined by biological and historical circumstances. Additionally, fascists are anti-liberal and do not like the concept of minorities having rights — preferable, they want to expell them and create a homogenous authoritarian state.

Taking this into account, the Chetnik movement falls very well within the frames of fascism. Being anti-Axis did not necessarely mean being anti-fascism, anyless than being an opponent of Hitler’s Nazis automatically meant you were good — Hitler’s main enemy was Joseph Stalin, whose crimes against humanity compare successfully to the crimes committed by Nazis. Additionally, Chetnik ideology was thouroughly formulated by scholars such as Stevan Moljevic, who worked as an adviser of General Draza Mihailovic during the war. In his memorandum, Moljevic writes (among other things) following;

‘In this regard, the Serbs today have a primary and basic duty:
- to create and organize a homogeneous Serbia which must consist of the entire ethnic territory on which the Serbs live, and to ensure the necessary strategic and transportation lines and hubs, as well as economic areas which would enable and secure free economic, political and cultural life and development for all times.’

and …

‘Moving and exchanging inhabitants, especially Serbians for Croatians and Serbians from Croatian areas, is the only way to establish a border and create better relations between them, and this prevents the possibility that the frightful crimes which happened in the last war and especially those in the present war in all areas where Croatians and Serbians are intermingled (and where Croats and Muslims planned the extermination of Serbs) are not repeated.’

These ambitions were prioritated by Draza Mihailovic. That is why the Chetniks committed the crimes they committed in Bosnia, Sandzak and Croatia — especially in Eastern Bosnia, where the Muslim population of Foca and the vicinity suffered harshly under the Chetniks of Pavle Djurisic. Momcilo Djujic, on the other hand, committed crimes against Croatian civilians in Western Bosnia and Dalmatia, as well as Istra later on.
Chetniks also tried to invade Kosova, pillaging and killing, but they were driven back by Albanian volunteers who continued their march-victory into Sandzak, where they protected local Bosniaks.

Conclusively, the only reason for the Chetniks not being called Axis-collaborators (not fascists, which they were), was because they anticipated that the Allies would eventually win. Therefore, they limited their actions in regards to the Germans and Italians to passivity, even collaborating with them in many respects, e.g. hunting down and killing Jews. In harsh words, the Chetnik movement was like a whore selling itself to the highest bidder, which was initially Hitler and then the Allies. They even collaborated with the Ustasha, which goes to show how good they really were. And, more importantly, they were criminals down to the bones, committing vicious crimes against civilians, practicing mutilation in particular.

Draza Mihailovic supported the exile government, which after the coup had tried to accommodate Hitler and the Nazis. Had Germany accepted this, Draza Mihailovic and the Serbian royalists would have been open collaborators with the Axis. Because Hitler’s suspicions, they settled with unofficial collaboration … which meant that Chetniks avoided confrontations with Nazis until the Allies gained serious upper-hand, by which time they started rescuing Allied aviators etc.
But some Chetniks maintained their loyalty to the Nazis throughout the war, like Momcilo Djujic.

Conclusively, I would like to say that Serbia has successfully falsified its role during WWII, by dressing herself as a victimized martyr at the hands of Nazis, surrounded by collaborationist neighbours, namely Ustashas, Handzars and Ballists, whilst she fought brvaely against a merciless invader. The truth, as evident by the facts presented above, was quite different. Fascism was not introduced to Serbia, it existed there prior to the Nazis. Notable Serbian intellectuals, such as Vaso Cubrilovic, Stevan Moljevic, Nikola Stojadinovic and others, formulated what this fascism was about, namely the creation of a homogeneous Serbian state that extended beyond its natural borders.

This through expulsion and extermination!

By inflating the number of Serbian civil casualties in Jasenovac and other sites, the Serbs have even tried to equate themselves to the Jews, whom they mercilessly hunted down and handed over to the Nazis, even killing them, as they did in the Banjica concentration camp, which was essentially a Serb-run camp; there, some 23,697 victims passed through, including many Jews, of whom atleast 798 were children. All in all, 94 percent of Serbia’s 16,000 Jews were killed because of the extensive collaboration between Serbs and Nazis.

This part of Serbian history has been successfully supressed by Serbian revisionists, whom liked the idea of forging an alliance between the powerfull Jews in the US and Serbia. With a past like Serbia’s, Serbs needed to divert the Jews’ concentration from the Serbs’ deeds, and emphasize the collaborators in neighbouring countries. But Serbian fascism remains nonetheless unique. While fascist collaborators existed in all Balkan countries/among all Balkanian peoples, Serbia differed from Albania and Croatia, for instance, in the sense that fascism and anti-Semitism at an institutional level was not introduced by the German occupier, but existed there prior to 1941, infact, long before. Bearing this in mind, it sounds rather ridiculous when Serbs try to project the terms Nazi or fascist to their neighbours, in particular the Croats, when infact the Serbs themselves had a deeply rooted anti-Semitic tradition which covered almost all circles in Serbian society, be it the intellectual sphere, the political elite or even the “holy” Serbian Orthodox “Church”!!!

Bearing all this in mind, the Serbian propaganda of the alleged victim-role Serbia played during WWII, how it protected its Jews and never persecuted them etc, sounds especially cynical and evil. An example is the year 1988, when Serbs issued an émigré publication titled “Srbi i Jevreji” (The Serbs and the Jews). Its principal author was Laza Kostic. When asked what he thought of the Jews, he stated following; “I am a fanatical friend of the Jews in general and of the Serbian ones in particular”. This man was a commissar in Milan Acimovic’s Nazi-collaborationist government. The two editors of the book possesed no less dubious biographies; Radisa M.Nikasinovic had recently printed a book by Lazar Prokic titled Literarni pabirci (Literary Gleanings). L.Prokic was a prominent member of Zbor and a publisher of the Serbian version of the Nazi propaganda magazine titled Signal. The other editor, Ilija M.Pavlovic was a former officer in Nedic’s Serbian Border Guard. Ironic then, one must say, that these men wrote following passages in the book mentioned above;

Quote:

The Serbs are one of the rare peoples in the world who have lived with the Jews in peace and … love throughout the whole history of their settlement in our lands. …… The Serbs never persecuted the Jews, never carried out any demonstrations against them. Not one anti-Semitic text has ever appeared in the press, and hatred against them was not spread orally either. …… There was no more tolerant country toward the Jews. Cinsiderably later, many other countries copied the so-called “emancipation of the Jews” from the Serbs. …
… Never did Nedic’s government or (Acimovic’s) Government of Comissars even contemplate participation in any aspect of the ezterminationof the Jews by the Germans.

The book claims it was Jews who betrayed this historical friendship, that Jews are ungrateful of what Milan Nedic did for them. The echo of such vicious lies is ugly. But, as Dobrica Cosic puts it, Serbian patriotism is the ability to fabricate lies to serve the nation’s interests. And in regards to WWII, the Serbs have succeeded, because collaborationists there are mostly always associated with the Ustasha of Croatia, or Bulgaria and Antonescu’s Romania, but infact, Serbia had primitive forms of concentration camps as early as the 1800s.

Finally, a little visual display of photos as well as images from the grand Anti-Masonic exhibiton in Belgrade;

Milan Nedic and Adolf Hitler

Dimitrije Ljotic

Dragoljub “Draza” Mihailovic

Momcilo Djujic

Vojislav Seselj — Djujic’s heir

Prince Pavle

Serbian Volunteer Corps

“Come and see the anti-masonic exhibition. The Jewish dream of being the power of the world is now disappearing under the attack from finally awakened nationalism.”

“The anti-masonic exhibit, whose work is included; English-American autocrats; those againstg democratic immigration; bloody soviet aristocrats and all idiotic brotherhoods.”

” Which side will be heavier? Neither because the Jew is holding the scale. See the anti-masonic exhibition and then you will know for certain.”

“The Jew is holding the strings. Whose strings and how? He’ll answer you. The anti-masonic exhibit”

“Finance in the USA is 98% in Jewish hands!”

“The press in the USA is 97% in Jewish Hands.”

“His weapons: democracy, masonry, captalism and communism.”

“His weapons: democracy, masonry, captalism and communism (leads to death).”

“The Jews’ weapons: democracy, masonry, captalism and communism.”

“Worse than a wolf: taking world’s wealth”

“Here is the guilty one, the one to blame.”

“The kiss of an English Jew (like the kiss of death)”

“Be on the lookout, you’ll still not know or beaware.”

“The work of the Jews: fabrics, cement, cartels, factories. Wants everything!”

“How did it happen? Jews are doing well with Bolshevik and Plutocrats because Bolshevism and Plutocracy are the work of Jews.”

“Punish them, how are they surviving?”

“Beware, they’re coming”

“I did as you wished, the Communist International is on recess (Jewish Chairs)”

“Jewish Trickery Against Europe. Circa. 1941 English- Soviet. Alliance Against Facism.”

“The Jew’s balance Roosevelt and Churchill”

The last 20 pictures come from this site. The facts are from Philip J.Cohen’s book “Serbia’s Secret War”, foreword by David Riesman!

Serb Genocide of Bosnian Muslims Concerns All Human Beings

2008-12-25T01:25:00.000-08:00

source: http://www.wrmea.com/backissues/0995/9509028d.html

September 1995, pgs. 28-36

The Moral Stakes in Bosnia—6 Views

AN ALGERIAN MUSLIM

Serb Genocide of Bosnian Muslims Concerns All Human Beings

By Aicha Lemsine

Is Europe fated to be the scene of periodic pogroms and genocidal massacres which outrage humanity and the Creator? "Never again!" was the promise made by the world powers with the creation of the United Nations in 1945. After World War II and the tragedy of the Holocaust, this was supposed to be a new beginning, a fresh start.

Now, 50 years later, another group of fascists has stolen a page from the Nazis' book and taken a second shot at a "final solution"—this time directed against Muslims rather than Jews. While the conflict is cloaked in the guise of a "humanitarian tragedy" (the inference being that all people in the region are affected equally), in truth the Bosnian Muslims are being targeted by the Serbs because of their religious identity. Why, for example, have the Christian populations of Croatia and Slovenia (where fighting first erupted following the disintegration of Yugoslavia) been spared the horrors of "ethnic cleansing" by the Serbs, while the Bosnian Muslims bear the full weight of the Serb onslaught? Once again Europeans are horrified at the massacre of a minority ethnic group living in their midst while the continent's leaders try to put the best face on their cowardly compromises and moral vacillations.

Three years after Neville Chamberlain let the German Nazis have all of Czechoslovakia, the evil nature of Nazi aggression was clear and the U.S. was in the war against Germany. Three years after the Europeans decided to turn a blind eye toward the turmoil in Bosnia, the evil nature of Serbian aggression is clear as well. This time, though, the United States is still on the sidelines, its president refusing to commit to any real American involvement. Fifty years ago the U.S. helped to save Europe; now Americans are watching it slowly unravel in a paroxysm of violence and brutality.

The United Nations and the European Community badly misled the Bosnians by promising three years ago to protect them. At the same time, these international organizations have prevented the Bosnian people from defending themselves by enforcing since September 1991 an arms embargo on all of the former Yugoslavia while still tacitly allowing Serbia to ship heavy weapons, small arms, motorized transport and even men to their Bosnian Serb allies in the war in Bosnia, which began in April 1992.

The Serb regime in Pale has impressed some American commentators with its "military superiority." These pundits advise the Bosnian government in Sarajevo to face facts, hoist the white flag and accept the inevitable Serb victory.

David and Goliath With a Difference

In fact, the Serbs' military reputation was won by heavily armed thugs facing a Bosnian army starved of weapons. Bosnian Serbs have shown themselves adept at executing prisoners, raping women, shelling children and old people, harassing U.N. peacekeepers under strict orders not to fire, and that's all. The Bosnian Serbs are not troops to be feared by a comparably equipped army, much less the overwhelming military force NATO could assemble. The military conflict in Bosnia is not an evenly matched civil war but a replay of David and Goliath, except this David is denied his sling and stones.

The United Nations has taken much of the blame for the lack of forceful action, but even those inside the U.N. understand the source of the organization's shortcomings. In July 1993, in an interview with the Washington Report, U.N. Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali told me with regard to Bosnia, "If all of the member-states of the U.N. do not commit themselves to the idea of peace and security, we risk a void where the decisions will be made by a few large states...The member-states must play a role that is more dynamic and less bureaucratic."

In other words, the U.N. is anchored by 10 or so major states, connected to well over a hundred other largely powerless states (including most of the Arab and Muslim nations), all of them blowing helplessly in the wind. The Serbs have been able to confound U.N. officials, block U.N. relief missions, defy U.N. resolutions, kidnap U.N. peacekeepers and humiliate the entire organization with impunity!

What is needed is international leadership, and the world is looking toward Washington for it. The United States alone has the power to enforce world peace or, conversely, allow the globe to be engulfed at any given time in a dozen tiny brush fires of ethnic and territorial wars of attrition. The U.S. has spent the last 50 years as the "arsenal of democracy," ensuring the continued existence and power of the West in the face of the Soviet threat.

Now the world turns again to America, because the proper use of power is to protect. "It's not our fight," some Americans protest. When one is talking about the massive extermination of a people, that is everyone's fight!

As for the proper American response, most of the plans on the table fall far short of what is necessary to roll back Serb aggression and to protect civilian lives. The arms embargo certainly should be lifted, but there remain questions about how that should be done. Some politicians in Washington suggest waiting up to three months between the time the U.N. begins to pull out (or gets kicked out by the Bosnian government) before junking the arms boycott. What's going to happen over those 12 weeks when the Bosnians are stripped of protection (thin though it is) and remain deprived of the arms needed to defend themselves?

Bosnian Serb military commander—and indicted war criminal—Ratko Mladic has an answer. He's promised to press forward on all fronts, liquidating Bosnians as he goes, until there is little or nothing left of Bosnia-Herzegovina. There will be thousands more dead, wounded, missing and homeless Bosnians for the world's conscience to absorb.

But it doesn't have to happen that way. The arms embargo should be lifted effective immediately, and rather than run away, the international community should stay on the ground and support the Bosnian government militarily, economically and diplomatically, just as it should have been doing for the past three years.

Otherwise, Bosnia will be the first step toward a larger global conflagration. World Wars I and II were the result of poor choices, lost opportunities and clouded political vision on the part of European leaders. There certainly have been enough similar mistakes by this generation of world leaders when it comes to Bosnia. They have been given a three-year reprieve, but unless they act soon—and decisively—presidents and prime ministers from Washington to Moscow and London to Paris will be faced with an even more desperate situation as the conflict of Bosnia spreads beyond the borders of that troubled land.

Ethnicity, Religion or Humanity?

Criticism of the U.N., the U.S. and the Europeans has been widespread, and rightly so, but some groups which claim human and civil rights as their brief have decided not to add their voices to those calling for action. A late July press conference called at Washington, DC's National Press Club by the American Task Force for Bosnia (ATFB) and its director, Khaled Saffuri, brought together 23 civic and religious organizations active on the Bosnian issue. The number of participating American-Muslim organizations, including the American Muslim Council, Muslim Public Affairs Council, the International Union of Muslim Women, Mercy International, the Union of Supportive Shurists and Solidarity International for Human Rights, will come as no surprise.

What was surprising was that there were three times as many American-Jewish groups as American-Arab organizations present at the conference. The Arab American Institute and the National Association of Arab Americans were at the meeting, and both have been very active on Bosnia. Yet there is a discouraging tendency among some individual Arab Americans and Arab-American organizations to shy away from Bosnia and claim it is not "their issue" since it is Muslims who are being killed.

Unfortunately, it is not a new trend. In the wake of the Gulf war, which badly split the Arab-American community between those who proclaimed solidarity with Iraq and others who supported the American- and Saudi-led coalition, the bombing of the World Trade Center put Arab-American groups back on the defensive. As the media pondered the implication of "Islamic terrorism" finally reaching our shores, some individual Arab-American leaders were quick to put as much distance as possible between themselves and those Arab Muslims with whom they share a common culture. The tense 48 hours between April's Oklahoma City bombing and the announcement of Timothy McVeigh's arrest saw similar posturing as media speculation focused on a presumed Muslim connection.

Now the human drama unfolding in Bosnia serves again to reveal the sad moral and intellectual stance of some Arab-American leaders who would prefer to restrict their notion of "human rights" to their ethnic group and let the non-Arab Bosnian Muslims twist in the winds of war. These men and women are caught between pursuing a narrowly defined domestic American agenda, concentrating solely on their own ethnic and/or religious community, or getting involved with humanity as a whole. One hopes they make the only sensible—and morally sound—decision.

The veteran French peace activist Abb? Pierre recently declared, "The sadness of the Bosnian Muslims goes beyond a question of religion to one of all of humanity. In Bosnia-Herzegovina it is the future of liberty and of tolerance that is being massacred. It is not simply Muslims who live in Bosnia, but also Christians, Jews and atheists who live together—often in the same building—in respect and friendship. It is this Bosnia that should be the cause of everyone, not just the Muslims."

Aicha Lemsine is an Algerian journalist, author, and vice-president of Women's WORLD, the World Organization for Rights, Literature and Development.

BOSNIAK WOMEN & CHILDREN BURNED ALIVE BY SERBS AROUND SREBRENICA

2008-12-23T20:38:00.000-08:00

source: http://srebrenica-genocide.blogspot.com/2008/12/bosniak-women-children-burned-alive-by.html

VIEWER DISCRETION ADVISED

The events preceding and leading to the Srebrenica genocide included unprecedented levels of cruelty committed by Bosnian Serbs around Srebrenica against the civilian Bosniak (Bosnian Muslim) population of Podrinje.

In order to prolong the suffering of innocent victims, Serbs around Srebrenica would barricade Bosniak women, children, and elderly men in abandoned houses and then set them on fire alive.

Those who tried to escape would be fired upon and killed. The youngest victim was 2 days old baby whose remains contained multiple bullet holes. Some babies died in their mothers' wombs as you can see in forensic photos provided below. According to numerous testimonies presented at the ICTY, main organizers of these crimes were Mitar Vasiljevic, Milan Lukic, and Sredoje Lukic.

Forensic evidence was collected by the U.N. war crimes investigators. The remains of victims were analyzed by the Department of Pathology at the University Clinical Center Tuzla and archived by Genocid.org project.

PHOTO: Remains of a pregnant Bosniak (Muslim) woman and her unborn baby excavated from a mass grave Suha in Srebrenica region, near Bratunac. Fetus body was preserved in mother's womb with tiny legs and undeveloped brain clearly visible. She was barricaded in an abandoned house and then set on fire by Bosnian Serbs. In 1992, Serbs barricaded approximately 150 Bosniak women, children, and elderly men in two abandoned houses located in the Srebrenica region near Visegrad and then burned them alive. Zehra Turjacanin was the only survivor from the burning house in Bikavac and recently she testified 'what it feels like to burn alive' at the trial of Milan and Sredoje Lukic.

PHOTO: Pathologists at the University Clinical Center Tuzla examine remains of a pregnant Bosniak (Bosnian Muslim) woman and her unborn baby found in mother's womb. The woman was barricaded in an abandoned house and then set on fire by Bosnian Serbs. The victims were excavated from the mass grave Suha in the Srebrenica region, near Bratunac. The events preceding and leading to the Srebrenica genocide included unprecedented levels of cruelty committed by Bosnian Serbs around Srebrenica against the civilian Bosniak population of Podrinje. In July 1995, crimes against humanity had culminated in a crime of genocide, when Serbs overtook Srebrenica, summarily executed between 8,372 and 10,000 Bosniaks (men, children, and elderly), and forcibly expelled more than 20,000 people in a U.N.-assisted case of ethnic cleansing.

PHOTO: Remains of a pregnant Bosniak (Bosnian Muslim) woman and her unborn baby excavated from the mass grave Suha in Srebrenica region, near Bratunac. Baby's undeveloped head, fingers, and legs are clearly visible. The woman was barricaded in an abandoned house and then set on fire by Bosnian Serbs around Srebrenica. The events preceding and leading to the Srebrenica genocide included unprecedented levels of cruelty committed by Bosnian Serbs around Srebrenica against the civilian Bosniak population of Podrinje. In July 1995, crimes against humanity had culminated in a crime of genocide, when Serbs overtook Srebrenica, summarily executed between 8,372 and 10,000 Bosniaks (men, children, and elderly), and forcibly expelled more than 20,000 people in a U.N.-assisted case of ethnic cleansing.

PHOTO: Pathologists at the University Clinical Center Tuzla show remains of a pregnant Bosniak (Bosnian Muslim) woman and her unborn baby. She was barricaded in an abandoned house and then set on fire by Bosnian Serbs around Srebrenica. The events preceding and leading to the Srebrenica genocide included unprecedented levels of cruelty committed by Bosnian Serbs around Srebrenica against the civilian Bosniak population of Podrinje. In July 1995, crimes against humanity had culminated in a crime of genocide, when Serbs overtook Srebrenica, summarily executed between 8,372 and 10,000 Bosniaks (men, children, and elderly), and forcibly expelled more than 20,000 people in a U.N.-assisted case of ethnic cleansing.

PHOTO: Remains of a Bosniak (Bosnian Muslim) woman and her unborn baby excavated from the mass grave Suha in the Srebrenica region, near Bratunac. Baby's undeveloped body was preserved in mother's womb. She was barricaded in an abandoned house and then set on fire by Bosnian Serbs around Srebrenica. The events preceding and leading to the Srebrenica genocide included unprecedented levels of cruelty committed by Bosnian Serbs around Srebrenica against the civilian Bosniak population of Podrinje. In July 1995, crimes against humanity had culminated in a crime of genocide, when Serbs overtook Srebrenica, summarily executed between 8,372 and 10,000 Bosniaks (men, children, and elderly), and forcibly expelled more than 20,000 people in a U.N.-assisted case of ethnic cleansing.

PHOTO: Pathologist at the University Clinical Center Tuzla shows remains of unborn Bosniak (Bosnian Muslim) baby that was found in a womb of a murdered mother. The woman was barricaded in an abandoned house and then set on fire by Bosnian Serbs around Srebrenica. The victims' remains were excavated from the mass grave Suha in Srebrenica region, near Bratunac. The events preceding and leading to the Srebrenica genocide included unprecedented levels of cruelty committed by Bosnian Serbs around Srebrenica against the civilian Bosniak population of Podrinje. In July 1995, crimes against humanity had culminated in a crime of genocide, when Serbs overtook Srebrenica, summarily executed between 8,372 and 10,000 Bosniaks (men, children, and elderly), and forcibly expelled more than 20,000 people in a U.N.-assisted case of ethnic cleansing.

PHOTO: Remains of a baby bottle and baby clothing containing multiple bullet holes were excavated from the mass grave Suha in the Srebrenica region, near Bratunac. The Bosniak (Bosnian Muslim) victims were barricaded in an abandoned house, set on fire, and burned alive in 1992 by Bosnian Serbs around Srebrenica. The events preceding and leading to the Srebrenica genocide included unprecedented levels of cruelty committed by Bosnian Serbs around Srebrenica against the civilian Bosniak population of Podrinje. In July 1995, crimes against humanity had culminated in a crime of genocide, when Serbs overtook Srebrenica, summarily executed between 8,372 and 10,000 Bosniaks (men, children, and elderly), and forcibly expelled more than 20,000 people in a U.N.-assisted case of ethnic cleansing.

PHOTO: Remains of a baby bottle and baby clothing with a bullet hole were excavated from the mass grave Suha in the Srebrenica region, near Bratunac. The Bosniak (Muslim) victims were barricaded in an abandoned house, set on fire, and burned alive in 1992 by Bosnian Serbs around Srebrenica. The events preceding and leading to the Srebrenica genocide included unprecedented levels of cruelty committed by Bosnian Serbs around Srebrenica against the civilian Bosniak population of Podrinje. In July 1995, crimes against humanity culminated in a crime of genocide, when Serbs overtook Srebrenica, summarily executed between 8,372 and 10,000 Bosniaks (men, children, and elderly), and forcibly expelled more than 20,000 people in a U.N.-assisted case of ethnic cleansing.

PHOTO: Remains of Bosniak (Bosnian Muslim) children killed by Serbs around Srebrenica. The victims were barricaded in an abandoned house, set on fire, and burned alive by Bosnian Serbs around Srebrenica in 1992. The victims' remains were excavated from the mass grave Suha in the Srebrenica region, near Bratunac. The events preceding and leading to the Srebrenica genocide included unprecedented levels of cruelty committed by Bosnian Serbs around Srebrenica against the civilian Bosniak population of Podrinje. In July 1995, crimes against humanity had culminated in a crime of genocide, when Serbs overtook Srebrenica, summarily executed between 8,372 and 10,000 Bosniaks (men, children, and elderly), and forcibly expelled more than 20,000 people in a U.N.-assisted case of ethnic cleansing.

PHOTO: Remains of a Bosniak (Bosnian Muslim) child and a baby killed by Serbs around Srebrenica. The victims were barricaded in an abandoned house, set on fire, and burned alive by Bosnian Serbs around Srebrenica in 1992. The victims' remains were excavated from the mass grave Suha in the Srebrenica region, near Bratunac. The events preceding and leading to the Srebrenica genocide included unprecedented levels of cruelty committed by Bosnian Serbs around Srebrenica against the civilian Bosniak population of Podrinje. In July 1995, crimes against humanity culminated in a crime of genocide, when Serbs overtook Srebrenica, summarily executed between 8,372 and 10,000 Bosniaks (men, children, and elderly), and forcibly expelled more than 20,000 people in a U.N.-assisted case of ethnic cleansing.

PHOTO: Remains of Bosniak (Bosnian Muslim) children killed by Serbs around Srebrenica. The victims were barricaded in an abandoned house, set on fire, and burned alive by Bosnian Serbs around Srebrenica in 1992. The victims' remains were excavated from the mass grave Suha in the Srebrenica region, near Bratunac. The events preceding and leading to the Srebrenica genocide included unprecedented levels of cruelty committed by Bosnian Serbs around Srebrenica against the civilian Bosniak population of Podrinje. In July 1995, crimes against humanity culminated in a crime of genocide, when Serbs overtook Srebrenica, summarily executed between 8,372 and 10,000 Bosniaks (men, children, and elderly), and forcibly expelled more than 20,000 people in a U.N.-assisted case of ethnic cleansing.

PHOTO: Dignitaries and forensic workers attend process of exhumation of victims from the mass grave Suha around Srebrenica, near Bratunac. The events preceding and leading to the Srebrenica genocide included unprecedented levels of cruelty committed by Bosnian Serbs around Srebrenica against the civilian Bosniak population of Podrinje. In July 1995, crimes against humanity had culminated in a crime of genocide, when Serbs overtook Srebrenica, summarily executed between 8,372 and 10,000 Bosniaks (men, children, and elderly), and forcibly expelled more than 20,000 people in a U.N.-assisted case of ethnic cleansing.

According to the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, some of the victims that were burned alive included:

Kurspahic, Aisa - Approximately 49 years old.

Kurspahic, Aida - Approximately 12 years old.

Kurspahic, Ajka - Approximately 62 years old.

Kurspahic, Alija - Approximately 55 years old.

Kurspahic, Almir - Approximately 10 years old.

Kurspahic, Aner - Approximately 6 years old.

Kurspahic, Becar - Approximately 52 years old.

Kurspahic, Bisera - Approximately 50 years old.

Kurspahic, Bula - Approximately 58 years old.

Kurspahic, Dzheva - Approximately 22 years old.

Kurspahic, Enesa - Approximately 2 years old.

Kurspahic, first name unknown - Approximately 2 days old.

Kurspahic, Hasa - Approximately 18 years old

Kurspahic, Hajrija - Approximately 60 years old.

Kurspahic, Halida - Approximately 10 years old.

Kurspahic, Hana - Approximately 30 years old.

Kurspahic, Hasan - Approximately 50 years old.

Kurspahic, Hasiba - Age unknown

Kurspahic, Hasnija - Approximately 62 years old

Kurspahic, Hata - Approximately 68 years old.

Kurspahic, Ifeta - Approximately 17 years old.

Kurspahic, Igabala - Approximately 58 years old.

Kurspahic, Ismet - Approximately 3 years old.

Kurspahic, Ismeta - Approximately 26 years old.

Kurspahic, Izeta - Approximately 24 years old

Kurspahic, Kada - Approximately 40 years old

Kurspahic, Latifa - Approximately 23 years old.

Kurspahic, Lejla - Approximately 4 years old.

Kurspahic, Maida - Age is unknown, she was a little girl.

Kurspahic, Medina - Approximately 28 years old.

Kurspahic, Medo - Approximately 50 years old.

Kurspahic, Mejra - Approximately 47 years old.

Kurspahic, Meva - Approximately 45 years old.

Kurspahic, Mina - Approximately 20 years old.

Kurspahic, Mirela - Approximately 3 years old.

Kurspahic, Mujesira - Approximately 35 years old.

Kurspahic, Munevera - Approximately 20 years old.

Kurspahic, Munira - Approximately 12 years old.

Kurspahic, Munira - Approximately 55 years old

Kurspahic, Osman - Approximately 67 years old

Kurspahic, Pasana or Pasija - Approximately 56 years old

Kurspahic, Ramiza - Approximately 57 years old

Kurspahic, Sabiha - Approximately 14 years old

Kurspahic, Sadeta - Approximately 18 years old

Kurspahic, Safa - Approximately 50 years old

Kurspahic, Saha - Approximately 70 years old

Kurspahic, Sajma - Approximately 20 years old

Kurspahic, Seila - Approximately 2 years old

Kurspahic, Seniha - Approximately 9 years old

Kurspahic, Sumbula - Approximately 62 years old

Kurspahic, Vahid - Approximately 8 years old

A boy whose name is unknown - Approximately 11 years old

Aljic, first name unknown, father of Suhra Aljic - Approximately 65 years old

Alijic, first name unknown, mother of Suhra Aljic - Aproximately 65 years old

Aljic, first name unknown, son of Suhra Aljic - Approximately 1 year old

Aljic, Suhra - Approximately 25 years old

Jelacic, first name unknown - Age unknown

Tufekcic, Dehva - Approximately 28 years old

Tufekcic, Elma - Approximately 5 years old

Tufekcic, Ensar - Approximately 1.5 years old

Turjacanin, Dulka - Approximately 51 years old

Turjacanin, Sada - Approximately 29 years old

Turjacanin, Selmir - Approximately 9 years old

Vilic, first name unknown, daughter of Mina Vilic - Age unknown

Vilic, first name unknown, son of Mina Vilic - Age unknown

Vilic, Mina - Approximately 32 years old

Vilic, Mirzeta - Approximately 8 years old

Ajanovic, Mula - Approximately 75 years old.

Delija, Adis - Approximately 2 years old

Delija, Ajnija - Approximately 50 years old

Delija, Jasmina - Approximately 24 years old

Family name unknown - Hasena Age unknown

Jasarevic, Tima - Age unknown

Jasarevic, Hajra - Approximately 35 years old.

Jasarevic, Meho - Approximately 42 years old.

Jasarevic, Mujo - Approximately 47 years old.

Memisevic, Fazila - Approximately 54 years old

Memisevic, Redzo - Approximately 57 years old

Sadikovic, Rabija - Approximately 52 years old

Sehic, Enver - Approximately 13 years old

Sehic, Faruk - Approximately 12 years old

Sehic, Haraga - Age unknown

Sehic, Kada - Approximately 39 years old

Velic, Nurka - Approximately 70 years old

Velic, Tima - Approximately 35 years old

Vila, Jasmina - Approximately 20 years old

PHOTO FORGERIES OF SERB 'VICTIMS' AROUND SREBRENICA USED TO JUSTIFY SREBRENICA GENOCIDE

2008-12-09T04:13:00.000-08:00

Source: http://srebrenica-genocide.blogspot.com/2008/12/photo-forgeries-of-serb-victims-around.html

The assault on truth and memory continues as Srebrenica genocide denial activists create digitally manipulated images (aka: photo forgeries) of grossly inflated numbers of Serb casualties around Srebrenica as "evidence" to justify genocide of at least 8,000 Bosniaks at Srebrenica...

In order to justify Srebrenica genocide in which 8,000 - 10,000 Bosniak (Muslim) civilians and POWs lost their lives, Serbian media is circulating gruesome photo forgeries claiming they represent Serb 'victims' around Srebrenica. These types of fake photos were produced by Serbian right-wing nationalist sources close to Milivoje Ivanisevic who is one of the most vocal Srebrenica genocide deniers. Take a look at a sample photo forgery below (click on the photo for higher resolution) and follow red arrows. This fake photo - with forged areas being visible even to a naked eye - represents a shameful piece of Srebrenica genocide denial propaganda used to spread hatred and justification of genocide against Bosniaks (Muslims) at Srebrenica.

CLOSE UP: You're looking at a photo forgery of a non-existent Serbian victim around Srebrenica used in Milivoje Ivanisevic's crusade to deny Srebrenica genocide. Click photo for a higher resolution, then follow red arrows to see image manipulated areas done by amateur image designer(s). These areas are clearly visible to a naked eye. People who continue promoting this type of hoax should be ashamed of themselves. They should also get a basic Photoshop training as their image manipulation skills are despicable.

First thing you will notice in the above photo is that one part of the image was cut out out (lower right corner side below skull). The cut out stretches even above the skull where you can notice a straight white line (most likely done by a paintbrush tool available in commercial image manipulation software programs like Photoshop or even in some free open source programs like GIMP). The top left corner of this image was manipulated by Blur / Sharpen Tool and Smudge Tool - you can notice brush movements visible to a naked eye and even forming a line next to ladder. Now, look at the bottom part of ladders and you will notice a virtual rung or step added later as a blurred straight line. The skull was carved from a different image and re-inserted with color noise and bad image cuts around this photo being clearly visible. What appears to be skull smoking 'cigar' is actually a white dot. Keep studying this image and you will find even more faked elements.

PHOTO ABOVE: Actual photo forgery of non-existent Serb victim around Srebrenica. This hoax photo is circulated by ultra-nationalist Serbian circles and hosted by Serbianna web site in a section titled: "Srebrenica Massacre: A Photo Story." Serbianna describes this image forgery as a photo of "the decapitated head of Bosnian Serb farmer Pero Makic, who was executed by Bosnian Muslim/Croat forces in the northeastern Bosnian city of Brcko." Of course, Brcko is no near Srebrenica, but the photo is promoted in Serbianna's section showing "Bosnian Muslim atrocities in Srebrenica." The section contains about 30 images of Bosnian Serb victims who died all over Bosnia, but they are conveniently described as victims of "Naser Oric" or victims of "Muslim Terror" around Srebrenica. The fact is that many, if not most, of Serb civilian casualties in Bosnia were actually victims of Serb Army's heavy artillery attacks on Bosnian cities. In Sarajevo alone, as a result of the Bosnian Serb Army's shelling and sniper attacks, over 10,000 residents (of all nationalities) lost their lives - including more than 1,500 children.

OTHER EXAMPLES OF SERBIAN PHOTO MANIPULATIONS REGARDING SREBRENICA

PHOTO ABOVE: Serbian nationalist newspaper "Glas Javnosti" misused the above photo of Bosniak Muslim victims by portraying it as a mass grave of Serbs. What you see is a a mass grave of Srebrenica genocide victims (Bosniak Muslims) in a village of SNAGOVO during their exhumation in July 2007 as confirmed by the International Commission for Missing Persons (ICMP) and FONET (Serbian agency selling Associated Press photos). The above photo features ICMP forensic expert Sharna Daley of London UK. This kind of propaganda can be only produced by the sickest minds in order to misinform the public; and this is exactly what radical Serbian nationalists have been doing for the past 15 years. Read more here.

PHOTO ABOVE: These innocent victims of Bosnian Serb terrorism, Predrag Sekulovic (7) and Danka (4) Sekulovic, along with their parents Ranko Sekulovic and Radenka Sekulovic, where killed on Sep. 13, 1992 when their parent's truck came on an anti-tank mine, which was placed by the Bosnian Serb Army in the village of Bakic on the road to Foca to block communication between Muslim villages in largely Bosniak Muslim populated Eastern Bosnia (Podrinje). Even Milivoje Ivanisevic, a Srebrenica genocide denier who circulated these photos, wrote in his book ("The Chronicle of Our Graves") that Sekulovic family were victims of a landmine. However, these innocent children were conveniently branded as the victims of "Muslim terror" in Srebrenica, and their photos were repeatedly featured on Srebrenica genocide denial web sites to justify genocide of Bosniaks in Srebrenica. It is important to note that these children were not even from Srebrenica. It is equally important to note that in Sarajevo alone, over 1,500 children of all ethnicities were killed by the Bosnian Serb Army that used air-modified bombs to bombard Sarajevo citizens. More about Sekulovic family victims here.

Related research:
Srebrenica Genocide Denial: Milivoje Ivanisevic's Disturbed Mind of Genocide Denial
Srebrenica Genocide Facts: Responding to the Growing Assault on Truth and Memory
Serbian Media Propaganda: Grossly Inflated Numbers of Bosnian Serb Casualties Around Srebrenica

Source: http://srebrenica-genocide.blogspot.com/2008/12/photo-forgeries-of-serb-victims-around.html

NCRBH #561 SILAJDZIC, A SERBIAN AGENT WITH SWEET WORDS BUT POISONOUS ACTIONS

2008-08-07T22:28:00.000-07:00

National Congress of the Republic of Bosnia-Herzegovina

ONLINE NEWSLETTER - International

No. 561

July 31, 2008

http://republic-bosnia-herzegovina.com/

CONTENT

1. Silajdzic for BBC: Old Bosnian Serb plan 'thriving'

2. A SERBIAN AGENT WITH SWEET WORDS BUT POISONOUS ACTIONS

3. Appendix: BOSNIAN PRESIDENT AGAINST LIFTING OF THE ARMS EMBARGO ON BOSNIA

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1. Old Bosnian Serb plan 'thriving'

Bosnian President Haris Silajdzic says the arrest of Bosnian Serb wartime leader Radovan Karadzic obscures a more important issue - that his "ethnic cleansing" project is still "thriving".

Talking to BBC television's Hardtalk programme, he criticised the Dayton peace deal which ended the 1990s war in Bosnia-Hercegovina.

The following are excerpts from Stephen Sackur's interview with Mr Silajdzic, who was a Bosniak (Bosnian Muslim) leader in the war.

Q: We have seen in recent days the joy of people in Sarajevo, the tears of relief from the families of victims, of those murdered in Srebrenica. What are your feelings when you now reflect on the capture of Karadzic?

I'm especially glad for the families of victims, because at least they have some satisfaction. But then I think the focus should not be on the criminal, but on the crime.

Obviously Karadzic is arrested and his project is not arrested, it's free and thriving, living in Bosnia-Hercegovnia. [Former Yugoslav President Slobodan] Milosevic is dead, Karadzic is arrested, [former Bosnian Serb commander Ratko] Mladic will be arrested hopefully one day - and we have their project thriving.

Q: When people around the world hear that, I think they won't understand it. What do you mean, the project is "thriving"? Patently that isn't true, Bosnia is now in peace.

Bosnia is in peace exactly because that project succeeded. Hundreds of thousands of - at least half a million - people are outside their own country because they have been ethnically cleansed, they're not there, because they were forced to get out under the threat of death. Our constitutional arrangement is such that actually it rewards the aggression and genocide and ethnic cleansing and so on.

Q: But hang on a moment, the situation in Bosnia today is reflective of the agreement which your own Bosnian leadership signed in 1995, the Dayton accords, that is the system under which Bosnia runs today, you signed it.

Exactly. One technical correction - we are Bosniaks. True we are Muslims, but we have a national name, we are Bosniaks. Yes, it was signed, at gunpoint. It was signed, the question is whether it was implemented or not. I say it wasn't implemented. And I'll prove this to you.

The criminal is caught and we leave the money on his account - that is not logical to me
Haris Silajdzic

The crucial part is so-called Annex Seven of the agreement, about the return of refugees and so on in dignity. Now Karadzic, the same man captured now, said he could tolerate in that part of Bosnia - tolerate - up to 10% of non-Serbs, meaning that Bosniaks and Croats are out… Now the level of return today in that part of Bosnia is 8%. So we did not live even up to Karadzic's expectations. That's why I say the project is kicking and alive.

Q: I asked you for your reaction to Karadzic's capture, and you've already taken us right back to the detail of the Dayton accord and what you believe to be the failures of that accord. Many people say to you, Haris Silajdzic, it's time to move on, look forward, not back.

Well, those who'd like to keep that arrangement are looking back. I'm looking toward citizens' representation in Bosnia, not ethnic representation - I think that's looking back.

Q: Are you saying that for you the political future for Bosnia has to rest upon eliminating the Republika Srpska, created under Dayton? That is, the autonomous Serb region inside Bosnia?

By the way, created by that same man Karadzic. He named it himself. So I think it would be a travesty arresting this man and at the same time legalising his project. Yes I have a different future for Bosnia. I'd like to see a Bosnia of the regions, a decentralised state, but based on the economic regions... not based on ethnic regions. It's never been an ethnically divided country. It survived the 15th Century, 16th Century but did not survive the 20th Century as a multi-cultural, multi-ethnic, genuinely ancient multi-cultural world...

I give credit to the new Serbian government, and [Serbian] President [Boris] Tadic himself for doing this [arresting Karadzic]. It's a very good move for all of us, not only Serbia, Bosnia, but the whole region. I think it's turning a new page. I think it'll probably provide the ingredients for catharsis in Serbia itself… to go through real change, to challenge the established paradigms about nation, nationality, Europe and so on....

But again the focus should be on the project. The criminal is caught and we leave the money on his account. That is not logical to me.

Q: A very different perspective and different emotions are heard on the streets of Pale [in Republika Srpska]... Serbs who live in Republika Srpska, many of them feel an unfairness about the process… they say there are Muslims too who are yet to be held to account, who also committed crimes in the terrible years from 1992 to 95. Would you acknowledge that?

Oh, this is equalisation, which is wrong… They were defending themselves. It was a war against civilians, and civilians defended themselves. The crucial difference is what is your intent? The Bosniaks' intent was to defend themselves… In defending themselves they may have committed in some places some things I wouldn't like to hear or see..

When you are attacked, your family is slaughtered before your own eyes, what do you do? Defend yourself. Then the international community imposed an arms embargo not on Milosevic, because he had the arms, but on the victim - the international community, the [UN] Security Council, committed a cosmic moral mistake... not allowing us the right to defend ourselves…

There are politicians in Bosnia using nationalist rhetoric these days, and also trying to belittle symbols of Bosnia, for example throwing the flag of Bosnia publicly from the table… so this equalisation is very dangerous…

Q: ... The international community has become increasingly frustrated with you, sees you as part of the problem, blocking progress toward a reformed, modernised Bosnia…

What was I blocking? I'm fighting all my life for a multi-ethnic Bosnia. Even during the war, I had no nationalist rhetoric, no nationalist feeling. I'm fighting for more centralised power, not a centralised state. But more centralised power... So why would I reject a proposal that amends our constitution? Why?... There's a good reason. That amendment was meant to soften the position of Belgrade on Kosovo. It was compensation for Serbia…

My question is to you - if you sign a contract today and parts of it are ignored what do you do? ...You go back to the law.

Q: The EU is telling you to move on... You can change and modify Dayton, but not throw it into the trash can.

I want to implement it. There are obstructions - by whom? Everybody knows - those who kicked those hundreds of thousands out... So this looking forward into the 21st Century, if it means accepting this fascist ideology then I'm not a forward-looking man…

My strategic objective is the EU and Nato alliance... not because of economic benefit, but because of stability and peace... They can be secured under these two roofs. I'm working on it day and night…

The Karadzic arrest will reveal some more details about the genocide and Srebrenica and will prove that genocide took place in other parts of Bosnia-Hercegovina...

But shall we build our future on the results of ethnic cleansing and genocide?.. I think that's backward-looking…

The international community is in love with the status quo, but sometimes for the sake of stability and peace you have to actually do something, not follow the line of least resistance, and break some eggs to make this omelette.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7528901.stm

The following is the comment on this interview:

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2. A SERBIAN AGENT WITH SWEET WORDS BUT POISONOUS ACTIONS

By: Muhamed Borogovac, Ph. D.

What is the problem with Dayton? Why has it been so advantageous for the Serbian aggressor, and did not work for Bosnians? The answer is simple: it gave the Serbian aggressors everything they wanted immediately (i.e. change of the constitution) while the return of refugees and other provisions that benefit Bosnians were left for some undefined future. Such unbalanced contracts are commonly known as fraud.

Silajdzic complains that Annex 7 (return of refugees) has not been implemented by some imaginary entity he refers to as the "international community". However, he was the one of those who negotiated and signed the Dayton accord, even though he knew very well no clauses or mechanisms were included that would outline how that part of the agreement would be implemented and by whom. He knew that the sides in any agreement control its implementation, only if they preserve their leverage. I am one of the people who called him to warn him about it. I know at least two other members of Bosnian Congress USA, who begged him not to sign the Dayton accord for those very reasons, and he hung up on us. Prof. Francis Boyle, then legal advisor to the BiH government, had also analyzed the Dayton accord in great detail, and warned against signing it, equating it to total capitulation, which can be found at:

http://www.hdmagazine.com/bosnia/legal/boyle-2e.html

The reason that we called Silajdzic, and not anybody else, was that at that time he publicly acted as if he was in strong opposition to Dayton. He cried to women of Srebrenica: "I will never betray you." In fact, that was just a performance for the Bosnian public meant to keep the Bosnian people feeling secure that Silajdzic would not allow such unscrupulous compromises against Bosnia in Dayton.

The clauses of the Dayton peace agreement that were meant to help the Bosniak people are not implemented because the Bosnian Prime Minister and President (Silajdzic and Izetbegovic) accepted that the Dayton constitution was to be implemented immediately, even before the necessary ratification by the parliament of the Republic Bosnia-Herzegovina. That gave the Serbian side all of the benefits upfront including the ability to veto other clauses of the agreement such as the return of the refugees. This is a catastrophic deceit of people from their own leaders, who actually are Communist operatives installed on the leadership position of Bosnia before the war.

The Clinton administration also had its own shameful role in this dishonorable act the Dayton conspiracy against the victims of genocide, which marred the reputation of the USA regardless of the excuse that "Bosniak leaders signed that agreement". We omit those details as we have discussed them earlier, but the American administration was complicit because it knew that Silajdzic and Izetbegovic worked for the Serbian aggressor and the administration still decided to participate and lend the appearance of credibility to the process that tore apart a country, member of UN, that was a victim of such deeply prepared aggression.

Later, during the adaptation of the laws of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina to the Dayton constitution, the representatives aligned with Silajdzic in the new Bosnian parliament adopted versions of bills that strengthened the partition of the country. This is why former High representative in Bosnia, Ashdown, correctly pointed out in a recent interview in the Bosnian daily Avaz that Bosnia is closer to the point of falling apart now than it was in 1995 when the Dayton agreement was signed.

In his interview to the BBC, Silajdzic stated that Bosnian's hands were tied because "the international community imposed an arms embargo". The truth is that the Silajdzic-Izetbegovic government was responsible for preservation of arms embargo on the army of the Republic of Bosnia-Herzegovina. Izetbegovic twice rejected arming of the Bosnian Army by the USA. More precisely, the US Congress passed bills that offered to Bosnia unilateral lifting of the arms embargo by the United States, and he rejected those offers. He did so in his address to the UN General Assembly on October 24, 1995 by stating that he wanted the US and the UN to establish a balance of weapons at an impossible lower level (disarmament of Serbian military machine in Bosnia) instead of the offered higher level (providing comparable weapons to the Bosnian Army). He tied the hands of the friends of Bosnia by making it clear that he wished to negotiate with the Serbian aggressors on their terms. For your convenience, we copied that Izetbegovic's speech; see item #3 of this Newsletter.

Therefore, Siladzic is lying to Bosnjaks that our hands were tied by the "international community". The truth is that our hands were tied by Serbian agents Izetbegovic and Silajdzic, who signed the reprehensible (and illegal, by the Bosnian constitution which it replaced) Dayton agreement where everything that the Serbs demanded, including a new constitution that legalized Karadzic's ethnically clean RS, was implemented immediately, while tokens thrown in for the Bosnian people were left for later without any mechanism or intent for ever implementing them. Now Silajdzic feigns patriotism by begging some imaginary "internationa community" to "implement" Dayton, like he did in the above interview.

Address:

Muhamed Borogovac, Ph.D.
42 Bexley Rd.
Roslinadle MA, 02131
Phone: 781-770-0317

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3. Appendix: BOSNIAN PRESIDENT AGAINST LIFTING OF THE ARMS EMBARGO ON BOSNIA

Statement by H.E. President Alija Izetbegovic

The Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina

Special Commemorative Meeting of the General Assembly on the occasion of the Fiftieth Anniversary of the United Nations

October 24, 1995
New York

Mr. President, Mr. Secretary General, Excellencies, distinguished delegates,

The organization of the United Nations, whose anniversary we today celebrate always been a source of our hope, but also a constant cause of our disappointment. Some say that it the largest, but on occasions, the most inefficient body in human history. The number of unimplemented resolutions is a proof of this. Being as it is, our organization probably reflects the imperfection of our world. If the continuous improvement of the world is not work in vain, the further improvement of the United Nations is not only possible but very necessary.

The supreme goal is the maintenance of peace. The United Nations has succeeded in the prevention of global conflict, but it has proved less effective in stopping local ones. The sum of the catastrophic consequences in local wars since the foundation of the United Nations until today has reached a tragic balance with the world wars of this century.

The United Nations acted effectively in stopping the Gulf crisis. Unfortunately, this efficacy has not repeated itself in the case of the aggression against my country. The price of hesitation has been enormous. My people paid this price.

I would like to repeat the words of the Georgian Minister for Foreign Affairs, who at this rostrum, two days ago, stated that "we must have the courage and the will to call an aggressor, an aggressor, and genocide, genocide."

As you know, very often, there has been a lack of either courage or will, and sometimes both.

In several days, the talks on peace in Bosnia will commence. We approach this initiative, undertaken by the United States and its President, with the best of faith and with plenty of hope. Our people need and want peace. We have not started this war, and although we are winning, we have not dreamed of being victors in war. We have always worked towards peace and we would like to be victors in peace.

We want to create a society based on political and ethnic pluralism, the respect for human rights, and private enterprise. Since, on the other side, everything is opposite to this, we are confident that our ideas will triumph in a peaceful game in the next 5 to 10 years. Thanks to the remarkable superiority of our model of society and state we shall win, with God's help.

The Bosnian Government and Army will no accept the division and disintegration of our country, no matter in what packaging it may be served. The division of Bosnia will lead to the continuation of war, immediately or later.

Genuine democratic elections in Bosnia are a big -if not the only- real chance to remove from the commanding political and military functions the war criminals and nationalist fanatics who have caused this war and who will continue to poison the relations between people and nations. In order that this chance for democracy in the Balkans not be wasted, it is necessary to ensure certain conditions. These conditions are freedom and effective international supervision of elections.

If the peace negotiations are concluded successfully, the renovation of the war stricken areas will follow, in particular in Bosnia. The international community is promising significant support to the reconstruction plan. In this connection, I would make one, may be unexpected, proposal: put conditions on this assistance. Send a clear message that the party which will not respect freedoms and human rights, will not receive assistance. And decide that these conditions should be strictly observed. Do not make mistakes again, in the hope that you can buy or improve the criminals and tyrants by new concessions. And take one step further. Isolate the criminals and tyrants. That is the only way.

Those who have lead their people to the path of crime must be removed. Without this there is no peace or security, neither in Bosnia, nor in the region.

We want and have the right to integrate Bosnia, which has been destroyed, not through the will of its people, but through the force of weapons. The Bosniak - Croat Federation is an important step in this direction and all friends of Bosnia should support and assist this project.

In order to achieve peace - and what is more - to maintain it, it is necessary to establish a balance in weaponry. This balance can be established on a higher or lower level. We give the preference to the latter, and we demand the reduction of Serbian heavy weaponry. If the Serbs reject this, the only option is to arm the Bosnian Army, which, so strengthened, will become a factor of peace and stability in the region.

At present, almost all of our cities are within the reach of Serbian artillery. This artillery must be removed or destroyed. We cannot and will not agree to continue to live under permanent threat.

And in the end, in the past two days, many speeches have been delivered in this hall. We have heard nice and noble words on democracy, freedom and all that comes with it. Freedom and justice have been recalled by some of those who have stridden and continue to stride over the basic rights of people and nations.

One of the ancient holy scripts says: "Judge them according to their deeds." Therefore, let us listen to what they are saying, but let us ask them what they are doing. As soon as they return home, unfortunately, they will contiune their course. It is up to us to stop them.

I thank you.
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NCRBH #559 INTL: JUSTICE FOR SREBRENICA BEFORE RECONCILIATION

2008-07-27T02:52:00.000-07:00

National Congress of the Republic of Bosnia-Herzegovina

ONLINE NEWSLETTER - International

No. 559

July 26, 2008

http://republic-bosnia-herzegovina.com/

CONTENT

1. Karadzic will Tell World What Milosevic Could not

2. SREBRENICA – 13 YEARS AFTER

3. FREE SREBRENICA, THEN WE WILL THINK ABOUT RECONCILIATION

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If you do not want to receive this Online Newsletter just reply with "UNSUBSCRIBE" in the subject line. Then your e-mail address will be promptly deleted.
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1. Karadzic will Tell World What Milosevic Could not

24.07.08 11:00

Azerbaijan, Baku, 23 July/ TrendNews, corr E. Tariverdiyeva/ The former President of Bosnian Serbs Radovan Karadzic, who is charged with the massacre of Muslims during the ethnic cleansing in Srebrenica will speak in the International Criminal Tribunal of what his predecessor Slobodan Milosevic could not speak, said Francis Boyle, the attorney of Mothers of Srebrenica organization.

An action was brought against Milosevic because of the all crimes he committed and observers waited for the details of his cooperation with the Western ‘mediators’. He died soon of the heart attack in the prison before the decision of the Hague Court.

“So now we have a second chance with Karadzic,” said Boyle, the former official judicial adviser of Bosnian president Alija Izetbegovic and foreign minister Haris Silajdic and representative of the Bosnia government in the International Criminal Court.

The former president of Serbia Radovan Karadzic was arrested on 21 July and the next day the court issued a warrant to bring him before the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY). Everything is ready for his arrival: a cell has been allotted for Karadzic in UN prison of the Hague prison.

The representative of the Attorney General of ICTY Olga Karvan stated that in 1995 ICTY issued an international order to arrest Karadzic, who hided himself from the UN tribunal for 13 years. “Now the Office of the Attorney General waits for the arrival of Karadzic to the Hague prison of UN as soon as possible,” she said.

In summer of 1995, during the civil war in former Yugoslavian republic Bosnia and Herzegovina, Srebrenica in the central Bosnia got under the control of the army of the Bosnian Serbs which was followed by the ethnic cleansing in the occupied town. The ethnic cleansing killed over 8,000 Bosnian Muslims. ICTY accused the then leader of the Bosnian Serbs Radovan Karadzic of the massacre in Srebrenica.

The US human rights activist Boyle believes that now Karadzic will know everything about how the so-called Western "mediators" aided and abetted him in his ethnic cleansing of the Bosnians: Cyrus Vance, David
Owen, Thorvald Stoltenberg, Richard Holbrooke, Carl Bildt, Yasushi Akashi, Boutros Boutros-Ghali, Kofi Annan, etc.

“So I will be keeping a close eye on these war crimes proceedings in order to use this new information against these people on behalf of my clients the Mothers of Srebrenica,” Boyle, the attorney of Mothers of Srebrenica, protecting their interests in the ICTY, said to TrendNews by e-mail.

The task of this NGO is not to fight for women rights. The task is to search for more than 10,000 people missing in European largest massacre, committed by Bosnian Serb army, on July 11, 1995, in Srebrenica, Bosnia and Herzegovina.

According to Boyle, there are 2 separate indictments against him: the first for the crimes he committed in Bosnia in general; the second for the massacre at Srebrenica in July 2005.

Boyle is sure that Karadzic He will get a fair trial and an opportunity to defendhimself. In the course of his defense I am sure he will bring out the evidence of complicity by these Western "mediators" in order to absolve his own behavior. That will not make a difference to his own guilt or innocence,” Boyle said.

The lawyer is sure that but he will be able to use his new information against these Western "mediators" and diplomats in order to hold them accountable to my clients the Mothers of Srebrenica and Podrinja for the massacre. At the end of the day Karadzic will be spending the rest of his life in prison, where he should have been for quite some time in any event,” Boyle said.

Boyle was the one who convinced the former ICTY Prosecutor Carla DelPonte to indict Slobodan Milosevic for every crime in the ICTY Statute for the massacre at Srebrenica, including genocide.

According to lawyer, earlier the arrest of Karadzic was undesirable, but possible for West.

In Geneva during the peace negotiations, President Izetbegovic had to go in and shake hands with Karadzic. I walked right past him--I wasn't going to shake his hand because he's a mass murderer and a criminal. And he has been given visas to come and negotiate in Geneva. And in New York. The State Department let Karadzic come to New York to the Vance-Owen carve-up negotiations, with a US visa. The State Department was obliged under the Geneva Convention to apprehend Karadzic, Boyle said. The US had an absolute obligation to apprehend Karadzic if he showed up in New York, and to open an investigation, and to prosecute--instead, they're giving him a visa and secret service protection in New York, he said. “They defended military criminals and those who committed genocide. These are big powers,” Boyle said.

The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) was established by UN in 1993. It is located in the city of Hague of Holland; therefore it is called the Hague. It was established to try those who committed military crimes during the Balkan conflict in mid-1990s.

In 1994, over 160 people were brought before the Tribunal in Hague including both rank-and-file soldiers and generals with the Serbs and Croatians accounting for the greater proportion of them.

“As Bosnian Prime Minister, Haris Silajdzic stated,if you kill one person, you're prosecuted. If you kill ten people, you're a celebrity; if you kill a quarter-of a-million people, you're invited to a peace conference,” Boyle said.

The correspondent can be contacted at: trend@trend.az
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2. SREBRENICA – 13 YEARS AFTER

Jelko Kacin, MEP,

Member of the European Parliament (LDS/ALDE/ADLE)
Member of the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the EP and
Rapporteur of the EP for Serbia

On Friday, the eleventh of July, I took part in the commemoration on the anniversary of the massacre and burial of 308 Bosniak victims of the Srebrenica genocide that had been identified in the past year. At the cemetery in Potocari, tens of thousands of people gathered and remembered the thousands of innocent victims, and accompanied the remains of the victims on their last journey. Before the burial, many acclaimed figures, mostly politicians, gave a speech, headed by the presiding Chair of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Haris Silajdžic, the American Ambassador Charles English, and the high representative of the international community in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Miroslav Lajcák, and the vice-president of the European Parliament (EP) Diana Wallis, together with whom I represented the European Parliament. As many others, we laid down flowers and reflected on Srebrenica today. My contemplations are dedicated to the living that struggle with poverty and dream of a future.

Although the name of the city, linked to silver mining, points to a bright past, the present is not nearly as promising.

On Friday, the President of the Government of Republika Srpska (RS), Milorad Dodik, who could have contributed greatly (and decisively) to the soothing and placating of spirits with his presence, was not to be found in Potocari. The next day, however, he was able to come to Srebrenica and take part in a Serbian gathering in the Cultural House in the center of town. The unfortunate Bosniaks had thirteen years ago found themselves, in great numbers, at the wrong time and in the wrong place, in a protected area, and were cruelly disposed of in the aggressive action of »the liberation of Srebrenica from the Turks«, as the then-commanding Ratko Mladic said coldly, and added a frightening conclusion: »»Now the time has come for us Serbs to remind the Turks of what they had been doing to us for centuries…« …« .

The Bosniaks, of course, never had been Turks, since they are part of the Slavic population, which in Bosnia and Herzegovina adheres to three faiths: orthodox christianity, roman catholicism, and islam. Whereas the situation in Sandžak in Serbia and in the north of Montenegro is completely different regarding the peaceful co-existence of different ethnicities, relations in Bosnia and Herzegovina are still very tense. How could they be any different? The best illustration of the current situation, in my opinion, is a thought expressed by a young Bosniak during our conversations with the youth of Srebrenica. »I find it impossible to accept the claim that I live in Republika Srpska, because I live in Bosnia and Herzegovina – but my Serbian neighbor and friend, he cannot accept Bosnia and Herzegovina, because he lives in Republika Srpska.«

Serbia's President, Boris Tadic, publicly condemns the crimes, acknowledges the genocide and apologizes, but his colleagues from Republika Srpska are far from this. The statement that Ratko Mladic and Radovan Karadžic are most likely (obviously) in Serbia, made by the British Ambassador days after this are therefore important and reflect the evident two-facedness of the countries in the region regarding their arrest and extradition to the Hague. »More light, more action!«, one could paraphrase Goethe. Without full co-operation of all countries in the region with the Hague Tribunal, there will be no settling down and no European future. Is it not perverse that in the previous government of Koštunica, the only non-Serb, a Bosniak, Rasim Ljajic, was the only one responsible for co-operating with The Hague? These countries, and in particular the less developed areas, populated by Bosniaks, are in dire need of development aid and programs for rural development, which can be guaranteed by the EU. Thus the EU is both the means for, as well as the direction to, the future. The only question is – when?

On Tuesday, mothers from Srebrenica and Žepe in Nova Kasaba laid down flowers at the place where Serbs, disguised as members of the UN Peacekeeping forces, tricked Bosniak refugees to gather at a football court by the river. On the road from Srebrenica, they were joined by the most exhausted and despaired, hoping for an end to agony and for safety, by those who were unable to travel over the river Jadar to the hills and onwards to Tuzla. From there, two thousand boys and men were taken to the killing fields.

In the town Kravice, in the neighboring municipality of Bratunac, only a few kilometers away from Potocari, by the building of the former Agricultural Co-Operative, where Bosniaks from Srebrenica were cruelly tortured, they were not allowed to lay down their flowers. The local inhabitants were opposed to this, and so the mothers and widows were stopped by a cordon of RS police.

As long as anywhere in Bosnia and Herzegovina, laying down flowers in the memory of those killed in war will be a problem, there will be problems there, as well as in neighboring countries and EU member states.

Diana and I decided to suggest to the President's Conference, which prepares and coordinates the work of the EP, to invite the youth of Srebrenica, from both communities, to Brussels. We hope that days of living together, on the road to as well as in the EU, within the framework of EU institutions, will enable them to discover the history, the mistakes, and the revelations of Western Europe. Perhaps this will create new opportunities for dialogue and understanding. Measures – and much effort – are needed to create trust where there is none. Who could do this, if not the youth?

Source: IFIMES, Ljubljana, Slovenia
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3. JUSTICE FOR SREBRENICA BEFORE RECONCILIATION

Dear Mrs. Wallis and Mr. Kacin,

We hope that your intention was not malicious when you invited "the young people of Srebrenica from both ethnic communities" to gather socially. That is truly a terrible idea because the result of such a gathering can only be that young Bosniaks from Srebrenica will be victimized again. Namely, the majority of young Serbs from Srebrenica idolize Karadzic and Mladic. On the other hand, most of the young Bosniaks have lost their families in the genocide. They are a broken and conquered people, genocide survivors, and they probably would not refuse a request from important people from Europe, although such an event would humiliate them. Justice has not been done in Srebrenica, and you cannot have reconciliation while the victims are still victims and perpetrators have achieved their goals.

Real reconciliation will only be possible when justice is done, and the entity Republic of the Serbs, whose forces committed the genocide in the process of its own creation, no longer rules over Srebrenica; when it no longer is able to cloud the minds of the young people there by making heroes out of war criminals and enemies out of victims; when the lesson that conquest and ethnic cleansing are rewarded is finally shown to be untrue in Srebrenica.

It is humiliating to ask a victim to forgive a horrible crime without first getting those who benefited from it apologize and more importantly do everything possible to correct the effects of that crime. The principal motive for the genocide was to put Srebrenica under the control of Republika Srpska, and until that is corrected, there cannot be reconciliation, only further humiliation of the victims.

Dr. Muhamed Borogovac

No birdsong breaks the silence in woods haunted by the ghosts of mass murder

2008-07-23T06:14:00.000-07:00

source: http://www.bosnia.org.uk/news/news_body.cfm?newsid=2435

Author: Anthony Loyd
Uploaded: Wednesday, 23 July, 2008

Graphic reminder of the terrible, genocidal hatred deliberately ignited and stoked by Radovan Karadzic, by the author of one of the best books written on the war in Bosnia

The fruits of Radovan Karadzic’s hate lay thick in the dense forest west of Srebrenica. Even one year after the July 1995 massacre of more than 7,500 Bosnian Muslims, the ground in the forest was littered with bones.

Some had been killed in ambushes as they attempted to flee the enclave. Their skeletons formed trails along the failed escape routes. Every now and then a single corpse would stand out among the rest. At one point, at a track junction among the trees, the body of a man in a pinstripe suit had been lashed with barbed wire to a concrete post. There were no bullet marks on the post. Knives had been used.

Among many of the local Serbs in those remote eastern Bosnian villages, a cult of the dead still lingered. It was not just the old who believed in vampires and ghosts and there was widespread credence that the spirit remained near the body for at least a year after death. So for the most part only a few woodsmen ventured into the hills where so many Muslims were killed the previous summer, and the forest remained silent, eerie and empty. I can’t remember any birdsong.

Yet if they were frightened of ghosts, the Serbs had little respect for the bodies. The drivers of the timber trucks that worked the forest lanes preferred to grind the corpses under their wheels rather than roll them away.

Most victims lay not among the trees but in mass graves, having been rounded up, executed in batches and bulldozed into the soil. Most had been driven by coach to the execution sites. Blindfolded, their hands tied together, they were mown down in lines by Serb death squads. The coach drivers – civilians – were then ordered to administer a coup de grâce with a pistol, ensuring their complicity and silence.

It was probably not a task they found distasteful. For Dr Karadzic’s greatest success in Bosnia, one that still outlives his failed war strategy, was his genesis of Serb loathing.

It knew no age barrier. I remember one wounded Bosnian soldier who did manage to escape from Srebrenica telling me that an elderly Serb man had discovered him lying in a hedgerow, exhausted, unarmed, and with gunshot wounds to his arm.

The pensioner beat him with a crowbar, then went away to fetch a knife with which to finish him off. The soldier crawled away and saw the man return, crowbar in one hand, knife in the other, beating the hedge line as if searching for a wounded animal.

There was no compassion or quarter given during those terrible July days of 1995. A handful of wounded men crawled out from the mass graves at night, but hardly anyone survived.

If the scale of Srebrenica was unusual, the genocidal passions behind it were by then familiar. From the start of the war Dr Karadzic had conjured a pathological hatred among the state’s Serbs for Bosnia’s majority Muslim population – Balija, as they were pejoratively known. He engendered his rabid brand of nationalism through a combination of fear and history. Harking back through Bosnia’s fratricidal experiences of the Second World War to the days of the Ottoman Empire, he offered the vision of a Greater Serbia as the only sanctuary against the contrived threat of a new Islamic State.

‘Do unto them now as they shall surely do to you tomorrow,’ was his call. Thus it was that 10,000 died in the Sarajevo siege; women and children were killed for sport by snipers; rape became a weapon of war; massacre was established as a necessary component of ‘ethnic cleansing’ – the new euphemism for purge and pogrom; concentration camps reappeared on European soil; and killing begat killing until by the war’s conclusion more than 200,000 were dead.

If only the Srebrenica victims were my most salient memory of that hatred. They are not.

In the last days of the war I saw something in the yawning doorway of a derelict house outside Sanski Most, in western Bosnia, that 13 years later still zips through my mind untouched by time. The garden outside was an overgrown tangle of grass and a hot afternoon sun bleached the colour from the walls of the building, earlier burnt by advancing Serb troops. A sweet stench weighted the breeze. By then I had seen hundreds of bodies, most Muslim, most civilian, murdered out of combat by knife or bullet. Even so, I was unprepared for what waited in that house.

For a few moments after walking through the door I could not understand what I was looking at. The walls and ceiling appeared splattered in black, undefinable lumps, the floor was concealed by a gateau of twisted limbs and swollen torsos. It was as if an abstract charcoal sketch by Goya had come to life. Slowly, as my eyes became accustomed to the light, I could make out that there were 12 bodies. Then I saw their heads, or what was left of them. For these 12 men had been killed with a sledgehammer.

Before and since I have seen greater numbers of victims of execution. But the level of effort and involvement and hatred required to shepherd 12 men into a room, then smash in their heads with a hammer, left more of an impression than the horror of the mutilation itself and transcended the mere scale of murder.

Separated by time and geography from the scene of crime, Dr Karadzic looks an unlikely war criminal. Even the crimes with which he is charged sound clinical – until the memories come back, and ‘ethnic cleansing’ and ‘genocide’ stop being words but walls coated in skull fragments and brain.

This article appeared in The Times (London), 23 July 2008

WERE MEN AND BOYS ONLY VICTIMS OF SREBRENICA GENOCIDE?

2008-06-17T06:22:00.000-07:00

According to the Association of rape victims in Sarajevo, Zene - Zrtve Rata (Women - Victims of War), hundreds of women and underage girls were documented to be raped during Srebrenica massacre. The Serb troops abused women and even children who they had herded into makeshift enclosures. Due to cultural stigma attached to rape, many women refused to testify against the rapists.

There were also reports of babies being taken away from their mothers and killed. Sabaheta Fejzic's testimony is a sad one [click here to read testimony re-published from German Der Spiegel]. She witnessed Serb soldiers indiscriminately taking girls, boys, and men out of camp. They also took her husband and tore her young son from her arms. She never saw either one of them again.

According to the Secretary-General's Report, A/54/549, quote:

"389. The same day, one of the Dutchbat soldiers, during his brief stay in Zagreb upon return from Serb-held territory, was quoted as telling a member of the press that 'hunting season [is] in full swing'... it is not only men supposedly belonging to the Bosnian Government who are targeted... women, including pregnant ones, children and old people aren't spared. Some are shot and wounded, others have had their ears cut off and some women have been raped." (source: The United Nations)

A Dutch Bat medical orderly witnessed a rape, quote:

"[W]e saw two Serb soldiers, one of them was standing guard and the other one was lying on the girl, with his pants off. And we saw a girl lying on the ground, on some kind of mattress. There was blood on the mattress, even she was covered with blood. She had bruises on her legs. There was even blood coming down her legs. She was in total shock. She went totally crazy." (source: Prosecutor vs. Krstic Judgement)

As a result of exhaustive UN negotiations with Serb troops, roughly 20,000 women were forcibly deported (ethnically cleansed) from Srebrenica. Had UN negotiations with Serb troops failed, most Srebrenica women would likely meet the fate of Srebrenica men and boys. Some busses never reached the safety. For example, according to the witness accounts given by Srebrenica Massacre survivor - Kadir Habibovic - who hid himself on one of the first buses taking women and children from the Dutch United Nations base in Potocari to government-held territory in Kladanj, "Habibovic saw at least one vehicle full of Muslim women being driven away from Bosnian government-held territory." [source: David Rohde, eyewitness]

One of his captors at one point complained that they were not getting a good choice of the Muslim women from Srebrenica. Habibovic's account corroborates reports from refugees that many Srebrenica women were raped by Bosnian Serb soldiers. Habibovic said the men were taken to a remote location near Rasica Gai late in the evening. When the first group was taken from the truck and shot, he said he leapt from the truck and tumbled down a nearby slope.

Gunfire from the soldiers missed him and he escaped. He later heard a large amount of gunfire, which he believes were the other prisoners being killed. He reached government-held territory on Aug 20, with his wounds still fresh. Hague officials say that the tribunal's progress in dealing with rape has come from three factors - the courage of the victims and witnesses who testified, the tenacity of the prosecuting lawyers, and the years of tireless lobbying by pressure groups. The breakthrough came when prosecutors established that these rapes were entirely foreseeable.

Judges agreed that the generals in charge should have reasonably predicted that, under these conditions, the sexual assaults were likely. It was concluded that any rapes that took place in Srebrenica were therefore the fault of the commanders. Hague officials say that the tribunal's progress in dealing with rape has come from three factors - the courage of the victims and witnesses who testified, the tenacity of the prosecuting lawyers, and the years of tireless lobbying by pressure groups.

Here are some excerpts from the ICTY's (International Tribunal for Former Yugoslavia) 260 page-rulling in the case of Prosecutor vs. Krstic which resulted in Srebrenica genocide verdict:

43. Killings occurred.In the late morning of 12 July 1995, a witness saw a pile of 20 to 30 bodies heaped up behind the Transport Building in Potocari, alongside atractor-like machine. Another testified that, at around 1200 hours on 12 July, he saw a soldier slay a child with a knife in the middle of a crowd of expellees. He also said that he saw Serb soldiers execute more than a hundred Bosnian Muslim men in the area behind the Zinc Factory and then load their bodies onto a truck, although the number and methodical nature of the murders attested to by this witness stand in contrast to other evidence on the Trial Record that indicates that the killings in Potocari were sporadic in nature.

44. As evening fell, the terror deepened.Screams, gunshots and other frightening noises were audible throughout the night and no one could sleep. Soldiers were picking people out of the crowd and taking them away: some returned; others did not. Witness T recounted how three brothers – one merely a child and the others in their teens – were taken out in the night. When the boys’ mother went looking for them, she found them with their throats slit.

46. Bosnian Muslim refugees nearby could see the rape, but could do nothing about it because of Serb soldiers standing nearby. Other people heard women screaming, or saw women being dragged away. Several individuals were so terrified that they committed suicide by hanging themselves. Throughout the night and early the next morning, stories about the rapes and killings spread through the crowd and the terror in the camp escalated.

150. On 12 and 13 July 1995, upon the arrival of Serb forces in Potocari, the Bosnian Muslim refugees taking shelter in and around the compound were subjected to a terror campaign comprised of threats, insults, looting and burning of nearby houses, beatings, rapes, and murders.

517. More significantly, rapes and killings were reported by credible witnesses and some committed suicide out of terror. The entire situation in Potocari has been depicted as a campaign of terror. As an ultimate suffering, some women about to board the buses had their young sons dragged away from them, never to be seen again.

source: http://srebrenica-genocide.blogspot.com/2008/06/were-men-and-boys-only-victims-of.html

SERB VICTIMS OF SERBIAN GOVERNMENT PROPAGANDA

2008-06-11T14:20:00.000-07:00

PHOTO CAPTION: These innocent victims of Serbian terrorism, Predrag (7) and Danka (4) Sekulovic, where killed on Sep. 13, 1992 when their parent's truck came on an anti-tank mine, which was placed by the Bosnian Serb Army in the village of Bakic on the road to Foca to block communication between largely Muslim villages in the area. These innocent children were conveniently branded as the victims of "Muslim terror," and their photos were repeatedly featured on Srebrenica genocide denial web sites to justify genocide against the Bosniaks. It is important to note that these children are not even from Srebrenica. It is equally important to note that in Sarajevo alone, over 1,500 children of all ethnicities were killed by the Bosnian Serb Army that used air-modified bombs to bombard Sarajevo citizens.

Serbian activists have been supplying the internet with photos of slain individuals claiming to be Serb victims of the so called "Muslim terror" around Srebrenica. These activists are no strangers to controversy, as they are also known to misuse photos of dead Bosniaks - who were slaughtered in neighbouring Muslim villages around Srebrenica - and portray them as "Serb victims."

In order to justify Srebrenica genocide, the Serbian government propaganda - under the leadership of right-wing nationalist Milivoje Ivanisevic - claimed that over 3,000 Serb civilians were murdered around Srebrenica. Throughout the internet, followers of this denial 'cult' have been posting and re-posting same old photos of Serbian civilians and soldiers who died throughout of Bosnia-Herzegovina and attributing their deaths to the crimes of "Muslims of Srebrenica." Ivanisevic, who inspired this movement, is well known as an unrepentant Srebrenica genocide denier; we wrote about his distortions of facts extensively (part 1, part 2, part 3).

These types of propagandists will do anything to prove their point, even if that means misusing the photos of slaughtered Bosniak Muslim civilians. Recently, we reported the case of a Serbian nationalist newspaper misusing the photos of Bosniak Muslim victims by presenting them as photos of Serb victims of the so called "Muslim-Croat terror" (more info). But, they not only misusing photos of Bosniak victims of genocide - they also misuse photos of individual war crimes against the Bosnian Serb civilians. The saddest example of such marketing practice includes photos of two Bosnian Serb children, Predrag (7) and Danka Sekulovic (4) who were killed on Sep. 13, 1992 when their parent's truck came on an anti-tank mine, which was placed by the Bosnian Serb Army in the village of Bakic on the road to Foca to block communication between largely Muslim villages in the area.

The image you see on top of this article was reproduced from the book titled: "The Eradication of Serbs in Bosnia and Herzegovina" and sold by anti-Semitic Serbian Defense League web site which claims that Jews committed crimes against the Serbs by "...using 'holocaust' analogy to deceive countries in which they live into letting them use their resources in commission of crimes world-wide." No comment needed to such offensive anti-Semitic allegations.

It is important to know that the Serb allegations of 3,000+ "Serb victims of Muslim terror in Srebrenica" have been discredited on numerous occasions by the International Criminal Tribunal (more info), the internationally-backed Research and Documentation Center (more info), and even Serbia's Human Rights Watch (more info). Not to mention another allegation centred around alleged beheading of a Serb soldier Rade Rogic, who turned out to be Bosnian soldier, Mustafa Hadzipasic, who was ambushed, beheaded and videotaped by the Serbian (para) military thugs during operation Sanski Most in 1995. The "Rade Rogic beheading" video is still extensively used by ultra-nationalist Serb web sites to justify Srebrenica genocide (even though the event did not take place in Srebrenica, and the person beheaded was not a Serb soldier).

One of favorite and most referenced claims used by the Serbian government propaganda is an allegation made by the Toronto Star journalist, Bill Schiller, who allegedly met Srebrenica defender, Naser Oric, in 1994 when Oric. At that time, Oric allegedly boasted about his military victories against the Bosnian Serb soldiers in surrounding ethnically cleansed Muslim villages around Srebrenica. In 1995, Schiller claimed:

"There were burning houses, dead bodies, severed heads, and people fleeing. Oric grinned throughout, admiring his handiwork. 'We ambushed them,' he said when a number of dead Serbs appeared on the screen. The next sequence of dead bodies had been done in by explosives: "We launched those guys to the moon,' he boasted."

Dead Serb soldiers and severed heads from grenade shrapnels, but no word that those same villages were filled with Muslim mass graves from which Muslims were ethnically cleansed earlier in 1992? Naser Oric had every right to attack and recapture those villages.

Why hasn't Schiller visited Sarajevo where the Bosnian Serb Army slaughtered over 1,500 children? Had he went to Sarajevo in 1995, he could have seen severed bodies of Bosniak Muslims lying on the street and blown by air modified bombs launched from the Serb positions around Sarajevo. Recently, a former Serb General and a terrorist Dragoljub Milosevic has recently been convicted on 5 counts of terrorism against Sarajevo citizens by the International Criminal Tribunal. Another terrorist and a former Serb General, Stanislav Galic was also convicted on terror charges against Sarajevo citizens by the same UN court.

Every time Bosniaks responded to Serb attacks to defend themselves, there was another 'cavalier' attempting to equalize legitimate struggle of Srebrenica's population with brutal attacks of the Bosnian Serb Army. It seems the West, and journalists like Schiller, hoped that the Bosniaks would sit silent in Srebrenica without responding to the Serb attacks, while Serbs were bombarding Srebrenica enclave and cutting off humanitarian aid?

Schiller failed to focus on a bigger picture and write a story or two about the human catastrophe facing starving Bosniak population of Srebrenica which was bombarded by the Serbs from surrounding ethnically cleansed Muslim villages. In 1992, Serbs expelled Bosniaks from their villages around Srebrenica, and used those villages to set up military bases from which they launched brutal attacks on Srebrenica.

Nonetheless to say, not even one word of Schiller's story was corroborated by the evidence, and Schiller was a "no show" at the International Criminal Tribunal for Former Yugoslavia.

While masterminds of Srebrenica genocide, Gen Ratko Mladic and former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic, are still on the run; the Hague Court managed to convict Naser Oric for failing to prevent individual war crimes with respect to the murders of 4-6 Serbs in Srebrenica. One cannot even compare individual war crimes against the Serbs with the crimes of Genocide against the Bosniaks. At least 8,000 and up to 10,000 Bosniaks perished - among them, many defenceless children.

The indicted Serb war criminals and masterminds of genocide, Ratko Mladic and Radovan Karadzic, are still on the run and widely believed to be protected by the Serbian Orthodox Church.

source: http://srebrenica-genocide.blogspot.com/2008/06/serb-victims-of-serbian-government.html

By Legalizing Republika Srpska's Constitution Dayton Legalized Genocide

2008-05-02T05:24:00.000-07:00

By Legalizing Republika Srpska's Constitution Dayton Legalized Genocide

Author: Edin Sarcevic - interviewed in Slobodna Bosna
Uploaded: Tuesday, 12 June, 2001

Edin Sarcevic of the University of Leipzig's law faculty discusses ways in which the existing constitutional set-up in post-Dayton B-H is in contradiction with principles of international law

Q. What would be the legal procedure for changing the existing constitutional arrangement in Bosnia-Herzegovina?

A. The Dayton Peace Accord cannot be changed by altering only one part of it. From the point of view of legal science, most of it would have to be annulled, especially Annex 4. The existing constitutional system should be proclaimed invalid, or replaced by a new B-H constitution whose framework should be formulated outside of B-H. The framework could be established by consensus within the international community, or a new one could be proposed by any country in the world by reference to its own constitutional norms which proved effective in similar circumstances. For example, German legal theory can provide valid proposals, given its experience with Nazism and the annulment of the results of the Nazi period. An agreement regarding the content of a new B-H constitution would have to be reached within B-H, however. It would have to be an agreement between the 'constituent nations', citizens and the High Representative.

Q. Your analysis of the Dayton agreement points to a series of systemic legal errors due to which it is impossible to implement it.

A. Dayton Bosnia-Herzegovina is based on the premise that it is possible to harmonize extreme nationalism and the civic principle of the legal state. The experience of Dayton Bosnia-Herzegovina proves that it is possible to transform the crime of genocide into a fundamental principle of state and legal order, as shown by the existence of Republika Srpska. In other words, the Dayton agreement is internally contradictory from the legal point of view. We have a state created by agreement between three ethnic communities organized into two entities, and which can never lead to a legally consolidated structure. During the past six years the conflict between these two principles has been multiplying the original errors, and cannot develop into an integral state-legal system. The abstract B-H citizens do not exist as political subjects. According the reports produced by foreign legal experts, citizens as political subjects form some 8 or 9% of the total population of Bosnia-Herzegovina.

The Dayton Accords pretend to base themselves on the principle of legal state, but this principle is in contradiction with the primacy of the ethnic principle. In the Dayton agreement there is no separation between the ethnic and non-ethnic spheres of interests. There is no constitutional protection of the non-ethnic spheres, such as telecommunications, railways, protection of state borders, external trade: in the sea of legal absurdities characteristic of post-war Bosnia-Herzegovina they have all become transformed into ethnic collective rights. We have Serb, Croat and Bosniak railways, electrical power generation, and privatization processes. Annex 4 of the B-H constitution provides no answers to these absurdities, since the constitution expresses simultaneously the demand for the establishment of a legal state and the legal and political diktat of the ethnos.

Q. Which international legal instruments could be used to annul parts or the whole of the Dayton agreement?

A. The Dayton agreement is an international agreement. The B-H constitutional court has established that the Vienna convention of 1980 applies to it, which means that changes or the annulment of the Dayton agreement can be realized only within its framework. It can be annulled only if one signatory country - FRY, Croatia or the Republic of Bosnia-Herzegovina - were to decide that the agreement, in one of its points vital for the existence of Dayton Bosnia, is contrary to its own internal legal rules; or that there was a fallacy in regard to the subject of the agreement; or that one or more state representatives were acting under coercion or had been bribed or cheated. The case would then be heard by the International Court of Justice in The Hague, which is at present dealing with the B-H charge of genocide against FRY. In my view there are many grounds for initiating the procedure for the annulment of the agreement, but the B-H state due to its internal arrangement and the political madness which characterizes the politicians and officials of the 'constituent nations' is not in position to take a decision in this regard. The political elites in Croatia and FRY have profited from the Dayton agreement at Bosnia's expense, and have no reason for abolishing it.

Q. The legal and political circles of RS do not wish to talk of change, since in their view Dayton has 'given the Serbs a Serb state'. Can you envisage a possibility of agreement between RS and the Federation regarding the revision or annulment of Annex 4?

A. There are several ways in which the B-H constitution could be changed. One could do so through the legal institutions created by the Dayton agreement. We have in Bosnia the last European Kaiser in the shape of the authority of the High Representative and his camarilla. We are talking of
imperial prerogatives, in that the HR can bring in laws which the B-H parliament can only confirm, but not contest. The will of the citizens to whom the law applies is also excluded. The Bosnian Kaiser is responsible only to God as represented by the international community.
The Bosnian Kaiser does play a positive role when he tries to remove the inconsistencies of the Dayton agreement by strengthening the civic principle of state legitimacy, like for example the decision by the B-H constitutional court regarding the principle of national legal equality in the country as a whole. There are many cases, however, which indicate that the international community is not willing to rectify the mistakes of Dayton. This is visible in their persistent postponement of the necessary changes in the RS constitution, which they have covered up by creating the Commission for Protection of the National Interests of the Constituent Peoples (CPNICP), instead of trying to revise the RS constitution by bringing it into conformity with the institutional norms of the Federation. The RS constitution is the legal heir of the illegal set-up created in 1992, which provided the framework for conducting genocide against the Bosniaks.

Q. Whenever one mentions the crime of genocide to the Western diplomats in Sarajevo, one is told that this is being 'emotional'. What is the legal basis for the statement that the RS constitution is intimately linked to the genocide against the Bosniaks?

A. The present-day RS constitution is a formal codification of the wartime legal setup, which was legalized by the Dayton agreement. The basic premise of the RS constitution, as established by the B-H constitutional court with its decision regarding national equality, is that it protects the results of genocide and ethnic cleansing. Speaking as a German legal expert I could cite the decision of the German federal constitutional court which, in its decision of December 2000 whereby it sentenced a Serb to twenty years in prison for genocide, has established that ethnic cleansing is a legal component of the act of genocide. The International War Crimes Tribunal in The Hague has brought charges of genocide against generals Radislav Krstic and Ratko Mladic for war crimes. In this way a logical, political and legal tie has been established between RS and genocide. RS is a product of genocide: those who wish to dispute this should come up with legally valid arguments. The result of genocide can be alleviate in part by allowing the other constituent nations and the national minorities to share power in RS with the Serbs.

Q. Could the Commission for Protection of the Interests of the Constituent Peoples in RS, which was launched by the International Working Group with Petritsch's support, initiate a process leading to the removal of the results of ethnic cleansing and genocide in RS?

A. The establishment of this commission is one of the many absurdities. This procedure will not bring about harmonization of the entities' constitutions at the level of B-H. No amount of legal fantasies can make it equal in status to the parliamentary body which in the Federation is called the Chamber of Peoples, and which does not exist in RS. The Commission is meant to help implement the decision of the B-H constitutional court regarding national equality, which is quite absurd. The only rational way forward is to redraft the RS constitution by establishing there a second Chamber, which would safeguard the equality of the constituent peoples. In doing what he is doing, the HR is in fact undermining the will and intention of the B-H constitutional court.

Q. Some Federation politicians and some Americans believe that banning the SDS would open the path for revision of the Dayton agreement.

A. This is no solution. The banning of a party cannot remove the political mentality which rules in RS. Taken as a whole, RS is today united around the idea that it is the state of the Serb people and that everything is allowed in the defence of its existence. This is the context which allows us to situate the establishment of concentration camps, mass murder and deportation of Bosniaks and Croats as well as the recent events in Trebinje and Banja Luka. The brutal crimes and violence are a consequence of the internal consensus embracing the greater part of the Serb ethnic body. A ban on SDS would not suspend the mentality projected by other parties whose names carry the prefix 'Serb'.

Q. Is there a solution for the problem of implementing the Dayton agreement in Republika Srpska?

A. The Dayton agreement in its key provisions - the return of the refugees and the removal of the results of ethnic cleansing and fascistic nationalist programmes - has proved impotent. After six years of its existence it has become a basis for legalizing genocide and a stimulus for further ambitions aimed at killing policies favouring the social integration of Bosnia-Herzegovina. This is why a climate that would permit the implementation of the Dayton agreement could be created in RS in only two ways: by force or by a long-term denazification of the Serb corpus in B-H and FRY. The replacement of officials by OSCE or OHR, or appeals to and evocation of democratic norms, make no sense. I favour denazification through confrontation with and education of the Serb intellectual, religious, military and political elites, in relation to the results of ethnic cleansing and genocide. Srebrenica and Keraterm should become places for the education of young Serb generations concerning the criminal aspects of recent Serb history, not Bosniak memorial centres. The new generations of Bosnian Serbs who would be able to confront Serb crimes and their results would provide a real force also for implementation of the Dayton Accords. The process of denazification of Serb society is also necessary for combating extremist religious and political leaders among the Croats and Bosniaks, those who support the idea of ethnically pure territories and a final division of Bosnia-Herzegovina.

Q. What is the potential of the Law on Truth and Reconciliation and of the related Commission?

A. This is a policy of sweeping under the carpet and preventing the peoples of Bosnia-Herzegovina from facing up to their crimes. It means leaving the Serb people in the conviction that killings, deportations and the destruction of other people's heritage and values are a patriotic duty and heroism.

Q. The leaders of the Alliance for Change are trying to improve the situation by global political activity focussed on integration into the Council of Europe and the European Union. Sead Avdic, one of the SDP leaders, has recently stated that the violence witnessed in Trebinje and Banja Luka would not have happened if B-H had been a member of the Council of Europe.

A. One has to be politically and legally blind not to see that B-H is a completely archaic society in comparison to Europe. European standards are completely alien to us. Europe is not interested in Bosnia. The mentality nurtured by the Bosnian peoples has no place in Europe. Europe needs stability and peace in B-H for its own sake, not for the sake of the Bosnian peoples. This is why Europe is happy with the Dayton agreement which means that it need not be too bothered with the country and its neighbours, other than some formal aid to its institutions. How can Bosnia join Europe when it is easier in it to stone a neighbour than it is to gain permission to shoot a mad dog in Germany.

Q. Do you see among your Bosnian colleagues people capable of creating normal legal institutions in B-H by working through the existing institutions?

A. There are some good young people studying at the departments of law. They are not to be found, however, in the offices of the High Representative, by contrast with those whose only quality is ethnic membership. There you just have highly paid poor legal experts and good demagogues. Those who have the patience to read the separate statements of the judges of the Constitutional Court will note a low level of legal literacy. The judges act here not as guardians of law but as guardians of the ethnos. The legal expert is first of all a nationalist whose competence is measured by his ability to violate legal logic and constitutional standards. The Alliance for Change is also a prisoner of the Dayton system and will meet its fate within the ambit of the Dayton agreement.

Q. By accident you were born and grew up in the same street in Sanski Most as Mladen Ivanic, the current prime minister of RS. Does your knowledge of him help you to understand which way his policy is going?

A. Mladen Ivanic's economic ideas are in contradiction with the policy which he advocates as a politician. The policy which his government is pursuing is a continuation of the Great Serb policy previously pursued by Radovan Karadzic. Regardless of what he himself thinks of the Great Serb policy, the government which he heads has stated that the recent elections were won by patriotic forces, by which it means the SDS; and that the principle of 'one man, one vote' is inappropriate for B-H. Mladen Ivanic, after all, neither during nor after the war has ever publicly denounced the killing and deportation of his neighbours from Sanski Most or of the non-Serbs from RS.

***

Edin Sarcevic teaches at the law faculty of the University of Leipzig. He was born in Sanski Most and studied law at the universities of Sarajevo and Belgrade. He gained a Ph.D. from the University of Saarbrucken on the subject of legal state. His dissertation was proclaimed the best work on the
subject in Saarland and won him a state prize. He became assistant lecturer in the department of public law of the University of Leipzig, where he teaches four subjects including the philosophy of law. He has published four books in German: The Legal State; The Federal State - a Principle; The Final Phase of Constitutional Life in Bosnia-Herzegovina; and Religious Freedom and Ezan in German Constitutional Law. He is at present writing a book on whether the establishment of a state's constitution can be realized by way of international law. He is known as a consistent critic of the Dayton Peace Accords and a supporter of the annulment of the Bosnia-Herzegovina's constitution based on Annex 4.
This interview has been translated from Slobodna Bosna (Sarajevo), 24 May 2001

source: http://www.bosnia.org.uk/news/news_body.cfm?newsid=1534

Clinton’s envoy Holbrooke with perpetrators of genocide

2008-04-29T06:30:00.000-07:00

Clinton’s envoy Holbrooke with perpetrators of genocide

April 29th, 2008

Holbrooke with Milosevic who died in prison during the trial for Genocide in Bosnia.

Holbrooke with dictators from neighboring states tailoring Bosnian constitution.

NCRBH - #545 INTL - WITH FRIENDS LIKE CLINTON, BOSNIA DOES NOT NEED ENEMIES

2008-04-29T06:25:00.000-07:00

National Congress of the Republic of Bosnia-Herzegovina No. 545

April 29th, 2008

April 27, 2008

CONTENT

1. WITH FRIENDS LIKE CLINTON, BOSNIA DOES NOT NEED ENEMIES
2. Clinton’s envoy Holbrook with perpetrators of genocide in Bosnia
3. Hitchens is raising crucial issues

————————————————————————-

1. WITH FRIENDS LIKE CLINTON, BOSNIA DOES NOT NEED ENEMIES

For his personal gains, Clinton rewarded the aggressors and punished the victims of genocide in Bosnia with the Dayton Agreement.

The price for “peace in Bosnia” achieved by the Clinton administration in Dayton in 1995 before his reelection was too high for the victims of genocide. Against the principles of the international law, the Republic of Bosnia-Herzegovina, a member nation of the UN and a victim of aggression and genocide, was divided into two states (so-called entities). One of the two states “Republika Srpska” was created on the 49% of the ethnically cleansed Bosnian territory, awarding the perpetrators of the war crimes, aggression, and genocide in Srebrenica with their own state.

The genocide committed in Srebrenica was the foundation on which “Republika Srpska” was created. The Dayton Agreement created by the Clinton administration was sold to the public as the peace agreement. However, the reality was that the Clinton Administration used the genocide to black-mail and force the victims to accept the division of the Republic of Bosnia-Herzegovina as outlined in the Dayton Agreement. This was completed against the principles of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment for the Crime of Genocide and other international treaties.

Clinton knew this very well but went ahead with the Dayton Agreement for his own political gains. In 1992, Clinton criticized George Bush senior for not doing enough in Bosnia. The Dayton Agreement was signed just in time before Clinton’s re-election campaign with the aim to remove reports of genocide in Srebrenica and Bosnia from the news. With Dayton Agreement signed, Clinton kept his promise to bring “peace” to Bosnia, even if it was to be done at the expense of the victims of genocide.

On February 26, 2007, the International Court of Justice in its legally binding judgment in the case of Bosnia and Herzegovina vs. Serbia and Montenegro ruled that genocide was committed in Srebrenica against the people of Srebrenica and against Bosniaks of the entire East Region of Bosnia and Herzegovina (Podrinje). The ruling states that the genocide was committed by the government and institutions of “Republika Srpska”, specifically the Army (VRS) and Police (MUP) of ”Republika Srpska” - the same “Republika Srpska” to whom the Clinton-sponsored Dayton Agreement awarded the territory on which it committed the genocide and ethnic cleansing.

Under the Dayton Agreement, the unlawful governing power over the victims of genocide in the Municipality of Srebrenica was put into the hands of those who committed the genocide. After the genocide in Srebrenica, the Municipality of Srebrenica was illegally (with genocide) removed from jurisdiction of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina and illegally placed under the jurisdiction of the genocidal entity “Republika Srpska.” There are no legal provisions under the international law nor customary laws that can be used as bases to forcefully transfer the local self-governing municipality from one to another jurisdiction against the will of its people. People of Srebrenica were deprived of their will through genocide. Clinton knew this very well and he sponsored the Dayton Agreement anyway for his personal gain.

From the beginning of the aggression and genocide on the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina in April 1992 until February 1993, the legitimate defense forces of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina in Srebrenica successfully resisted the aggression from Serbia and Montenegro (the rump Yugoslavia). In that period, it is estimated that about 1,800 residents of Srebrenica, mostly civilians, died as victims of systematic aggression. Subsequent to a major offensive carried out by three corps of the Yugoslav Peoples Army (JNA) at the beginning of March 1993, UNPROFOR forces came to Srebrenica. The UN Security Council adopted Resolution S/RES/819 by which Srebrenica was proclaimed a UN Protected Zone (so called “Safe Haven”), and at the same time a demilitarization agreement was signed. Unfortunately demilitarization practically meant the disarming of the defenders of Srebrenica, and not the forces of the aggressor. The direct result of disarming Srebrenica is that in July 1995, the people seeking protection in the UNPROFOR compounds were handed over to the Serbs, making Srebrenica the largest killing site in Europe since World War II, where about 8,500 men, women, and children were brutally murdered.

Had Bosnians not been trusting Clinton, the genocide in Srebrenica would not have happened. Bosnians laid down their weapons because they believed in Clinton’s assurances that NATO would protect them in Srebrenica “safe haven”. Otherwise they would have fought with their weapons for their survival and survival of their families. Serbs would have never been able to round up tens of thousands and commit genocide at the level that they did.

Clinton vetoed twice the resolutions of the US Congress to lift the arms embargo on Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina before the fall of Srebrenica and genocide in July 2005, effectively preventing Bosnians to defend themselves and their country.

With friends like Clinton, Bosnia does not need enemies.

Dr. Muhamed Borogovac
NCR BH

___________________________________________________

2. Clinton’s envoy Holbrook with perpetrators of genocide in Bosnia
http://republic-bosnia-herzegovina.com/
__________________________________________________

3. Hitchens is raising crucial issues

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fHrYeuRLc7s&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5tX6v6oYDmY&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tfgXDJhZCko&feature=related

source: http://republic-bosnia-herzegovina.com/?p=518

NKRBH - #534 INTL 0 High Representative Lajcak: Biased and Unprofessional

2008-03-18T00:23:00.001-07:00

National Congress of the Republic of Bosnia-Herzegovina

ONLINE NEWSLETTER - International

No. 534

March 17, 2008

http://republic-bosnia-herzegovina.com/

CONTENT

1. High Representative Miroslav Lajcak: Biased and Unprofessional

------------------------------

NKRBH - #528 INTL - Serbia Exports "Kosovo Crisis" to Bosnia and Herzegovina

2008-03-02T14:32:00.000-08:00

National Congress of the Republic of Bosnia-Herzegovina

ONLINE NEWSLETTER - International

No. 528

March 2, 2008

http://republic-bosnia-herzegovina.com/

CONTENT

1. Serbia Exports Kosovo Crisis to Bosnia and Herzegovina

1.1 Dodik Unilaterally Takes away Bonn Powers from Europe

1.2 Kosovo is not a legal precedent in international law

------------------------------

REMEMBERING THE VICTIMS OF GENOCIDE IN BOSNIA

2008-02-11T12:42:00.000-08:00

On Thursday February 7 2008, Congressman John Olver of Massachusetts made a floor statement in remembrance of the victims of genocide in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and eastern Bosnia and the town of Visegrad in particular. The Congressional Record text is below.

REMEMBERING THE VICTIMS OF GENOCIDE IN BOSNIA

HON. JOHN W. OLVER
of Massachusetts in the house of representatives
Thursday, February 7, 2008

Mr. OLVER. Madam Speaker, I rise today in remembrance of the victims of genocide in Bosnia. I would particularly like to draw the attention of this body to the atrocities perpetrated by Serb forces against the Bosniak and Croat populations in eastern Bosnia. Eastern Bosnia became the site of a number of atrocities long before the name Srebrenica became known worldwide. The aggression perpetrated against the newly independent and sovereign Bosnia and the genocide of its Bosniak population took one of its earliest and most vicious forms with the attacks of Serb forces on eastern Bosnia in 1992. The multi-ethnic and multi-religious character of eastern Bosnia was systematically destroyed beginning in April 1992.
The historic town of Visegrad epitomizes what happened in eastern Bosnia in 1992. The assault on Visegrad started on April 6, 1992 when Serb military units began shelling Visegrad and several of the nearby Bosnian Muslim villages. With the takeover of Visegrad, Serb forces unleashed a campaign of terror against the Bosniak and Croat population of Visegrad. Every day men, women and children were killed on a famous bridge on the Drina and their bodies were dumped into the river. Many ofthe Bosniak men and women were arrested and detained at various locations in the town. Serb soldiers raped women and inflicted terror on civilians. Looting and destruction of Bosniak and Croat property occurred daily and mosques in Visegrad were destroyed.
As the journalist Ed Vulliamy described in The Guardian: ``For centuries, although wars had crisscrossed the Drina, Visegrad has remained a town two-thirds Bosnian Muslim and one-third Bosnian Serb. The communities entwined, few caring who was what. But in the spring of 1992, a hurricane of violence was unleashed by Bosnian Serbs against their Muslim neighbors in Visegrad, with similar attacks along the Drina valley and other parts of Bosnia. Visegrad is one of hundreds of forgotten names . . . As elsewhere, the pogrom was carried out on orders from the Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karaszic and his military counterpart General Ratko Mladic, both still wanted for genocide.'' By the end of 1992, the Bosniak and Croat communities in Visegrad were effectively ``cleansed'' through killings and deportations. Some survivors of the initial attacks on eastern Bosnia found their way into the three Bosnian government-held enclaves and United Nations-declared ``safe havens'' of Srebrenica, Zepa and Gorazde. The tragic fate of these ``safe havens'' is well known. The fate of Visegrad and the pattern of genocidal violence was similar in other eastern Bosnian towns such as Bijeljina, Zvornik and Foca.
As we prepare to mark another anniversary of the beginning of genocidal violence in eastern Bosnia and as we prepare to commemorate the 13th anniversary of Srebrenica, let us remember the victims of Visegrad and other Visegrads throughout Bosnia.

source: http://www.bosnjaci.net/prilog.php?pid=23125