Archive through December 17, 2000

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Bloomberg, 11/29 08:41 . Rocker Dinkic Takes Helm at Central Bank: Profile . Jelena Radulovic . . Nov. 29 (Bloomberg) -- When Yugoslavia's new central bank governor Mladjan Dinkic isn't formulating policy or tracing funds he says were . out of the country by the former regime, he's playing guitar with his rock band, Monetary Strike. . 36-year-old economist rose to prominence as a critic of former President Slobodan Milosevic in 1997, when he formed the G- 17 group of opposition . In 1998, he published a critique of Milosevic policies called ``The Economics of Destruction,'' and gained popularity because of his ability to . complex issues in plain language. After Milosevic was driven from office last month, Dinkic became a key adviser to President Vojislav . . is a human bulldozer, someone capable of cleaning up the piles of trash at the central bank,'' said Milos Markovic, editor of the Belgrade-based . magazine. ``He is a man of strong will and enormous energy.'' . said his main goals are to help Yugoslavia rejoin the International Monetary Fund and other international financial institutions, and to keep the . value steady at the current level of 30 to the deutsche mark. He has served as acting central bank chief since October. He was confirmed by a . of 73 in the 138-seat lower house of parliament and by 29 votes in the 40-seat upper house. . the parliament session before his confirmation late yesterday, Dinkic said he wants to increase Yugoslavia's foreign currency reserves to a level equal . about three months of imports. October imports totaled $212 million. The central bank also will take a more active role in the short-term securities . and start to lower interest rates, he said. The bank also will aim to eliminate restrictions on converting dinars to make trade and other . payments. . Goals . next goal is an introduction of convertibility of the dinar in all current account transactions,'' Dinkic said after parliament's vote. ``That would mean . elimination of the black market rate of the currency.'' . Milosevic, hyperinflation eroded the dinar's value as the country started, and lost, a series of wars in the region. In January 1994, the monthly . rate reached 313 million percent. . mass protests forced Milosevic from office following his defeat in the Sept. 24 presidential election, Dinkic said that Milosevic's associates tried to . at least $22.5 million from the central bank out of the country, in cash and via electronic transfers. He said he shut down the central bank's . to thwart the thefts. . on Milosevic . also called for Milosevic and his allies to face trial, after Kostunica had said he wouldn't extradite the former president or other indicted war . to the War Crimes Tribunal in The Hague. . Sept. 24, you chose to live in a country in which the best would rule and the worst would be in prison,'' Dinkic said at a Belgrade rally on Sept. 27. . has at most a week to leave the country, or he will have to face court, and I don't mean the one in The Hague.'' . shook a baby's rattle while talking to the 200,000-strong crowd, a symbolic gesture meaning Milosevic was ``broken like a baby's rattle,'' a common . expression to describe something as defective. . was born in 1964 into a middle-class Belgrade family, the child of two well-known economists. In `The Economics of Destruction,'' Dinkic wrote . dinnertime conversations at home often focused on economic issues. In the book, he quotes extensively from Western economists such as John . Galbraith, and argues that Yugoslavia's economy under former dictator Josip Broz Tito, often called the communist bloc's most successful, . was a house of cards kept afloat by the West. . Account . studied economics at Belgrade University and later taught there. Last year, a month after the North Atlantic Treaty Organization's bombing of . ended, Dinkic published ``Final Account,'' a study of estimated war damages. . full extent of damage inflicted on Yugoslavia's economy by Milosevic's government still is unknown, Dinkic said. Recently, he said he's concerned . gold reserves of the former Yugoslavia held at the Bank for International Settlements in Basel, Switzerland may have been looted. . wasn't able to determine whether the gold is there simply by looking through the central bank documentation,'' said Dinkic. ``So I will go to Basel, . the bank treasury and find out on my own if the gold is there.'' . to a formula determined by the IMF, 46 tons of former Yugoslavia's gold reserves should be divided between the existing Yugoslav federation, . of Serbia and Montenegro, and Croatia, Slovenia, Bosnia and Macedonia. . challenge for Dinkic will be to establish a new payment system between Yugoslavia's two republics, Serbia and Montenegro, he said. . stopped using the Yugoslav dinar earlier this month, ending a dual currency system in which it was used along with the deutsche mark. The . Yugoslav republic, which also formed its own central bank on Nov. 2, will use the deutsche mark exclusively as its currency. . the next three months one of the goals is to establish payment operations between Serbia and Montenegro together with the federal government . the governments of the republics,'' Dinkic said. . President Milo Djukanovic has refused to mend ties with Belgrade after the change in power, insisting the two republics first separate and . independent states and then create a monetary union and take joint control of the army. . the federal parliament, Montenegro's opposition Socialist People's Party deputies said they voted for Dinkic because they wanted to see the central . perform its duties across Yugoslavia, including Montenegro. Their vote was considered key in the parliamentary vote, analysts said. . is married, with no children. His band, which has one CD - also named Monetary Strike - played its last gig at a pre- election rally.

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>>>A NATO pilot admits that civilian targets were deliberately attacked during the operation . "Allied Force" and that NATO aviation used chemical weapons and experienced fatal . accidents during this operation. << . . HREF="http://www.aeronautics.ru/yugoslavia/" TARGET="_top">http://www.aeronautics.ru/yugoslavia/</A>

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DER SPIEGEL: "NATO Is Our Private Army" . SPIEGEL (Hamburg) . December 2000 . from German] . with Kosovo leader Ibrahim Rugova . Renate Flottau, Martin Doerry and Hans Hoyng in Pristina . Is Our Private Army . leader Ibrahim Rugova over the fight for his . independence, the relationship with the new rulers in . the impossibility of reconciliation between Albanians and . and the deadly struggle for power with his rivals . Spiegel) Mr. Rugova, you have fought for the independence of . for over ten years. What have you achieved? . Thanks to the presence of KFOR peacekeeping troops, NATO's . and the UN's reconstruction assistance Kosovo today is de facto . We control the country and after the parliamentary and . elections scheduled for next year also expect formal . This is an inexorable process, one we want to realize at any . . Spiegel) ...but one that contrasts with almost all statements by . politicians, who continue to see Kosovo as part of the Federal . of Yugoslavia. . I am convinced that this view will change very quickly. . have already called on the EU to show more courage. Those who want to . independent should also BECOME independent -- starting with . and Kosovo. But the international community is presently . a consensus for this problem. That is why no one wants to rush . alone. . Spiegel) Kosovo also belongs to Yugoslavia according to UN . 1244, and no one wants to change that. . This resolution was just a compromise to gain Yugoslavia's . to peace. Why can there not simply be a new referendum under . supervision on the question of Kosovo's independence? . on the issue strike me as meaningless and unnecessary. . Spiegel) Is that why you are not replying to the invitation to . from new Yugoslav President Vojislav Kostunica? . Now is not the right time for negotiations, neither for us . for the Serbs. After the elections in Serbia, when the new forces . more authority, we can talk about a normalization of relations, but . only at a relatively low level of representation at most. It . be very helpful if the Serbs would recognize our independence . . Spiegel) You do not seriously hope for that? . No one will ask the Serbs, and no one needs their agreement. . have to accept the decision of the international community. . Spiegel) And if the West calls on you to accept a status of . for Kosovo? . That is completely unthinkable. In the past, every agreement . the Serbs has turned into a tragedy for us. Most recently Belgrade . a ten-year war against us in which thousands of Albanians were . harassed and beaten. . Spiegel) Would not an independent Kosovo then destabilize the . region? The Albanians in Montenegro, Western Serbia and Macedonia . certainly want to join the new state immediately. . On the contrary. The situation would become less tense. Just . few neighbors, like the Serbs in Macedonia, are stirring up such fears. . is an agreement between all Albanian political parties of the . Yugoslavia under which they support the independence of Kosovo in . present borders. . Spiegel) Have not the Albanians in Macedonia already threatened . revolt? . They just want to receive a constitutional guarantee that . will enjoy the same rights as all other citizens of Macedonia. What . become genuinely dangerous for Macedonia would be to preserve the . uncertain, undefined status of Kosovo. That strengthens the . currents among the Albanians who are demanding more than we . such as unification with Albania. . Spiegel) For Germany as well, ultimately reunification was . . Naturally it is understandable that all Albanians would . to live in their own country. But we see such integration only in . framework of a united Europe. Naturally, I cannot rule out the . that some day another option for the future might appear, . even unification with Albania. . Spiegel) After the change in power in Yugoslavia the West . shifted its priorities to Belgrade. Do you not fear that like . President Milo Djukanovic you face the danger of taking a . seat? . I cannot rule out the possibility that Belgrade will now . the democratic card and want to collect the reward for the change. . the international community will quickly understand that the old . ideas about Kosovo have not been buried, merely covered up. . Spiegel) So you still see no difference between former dictator . Milosevic and the opposition in power? . Unfortunately, on the Kosovo issue they are all the same. . I do not exclude a possible positive change. The essential thing is . the Serbian people have finally decided to break out of their . isolation. . Spiegel) Will you be prepared for a compromise on the Kosovo . . The unconditional holding on to Kosovo was just a myth of . Belgrade elite. The rest of the population was never interested in . Naturally the Serbs also must cope with a few painful changes in . near future. But despite all reservations I am more optimistic than . . Spiegel) Could you imagine the international community offering . the division of Kosovo as an option, into a Serb north and an . south? . Impossible. The borders of Kosovo cannot be changed. The . Serbs must adapt to the institutions of our country. They will . have equal rights in all areas: political, economic and social. . will be better off than we were in the past. We have had bitter . with an exclusively cultural autonomy. . Spiegel) Why must the Serbs continue to live in ghettos and be . by KFOR when they leave their villages? . Please, the war is just one and a half years in the past. . is deep bitterness here. Hundreds of Albanians are still locked up . Serbian prisons. It will take a while yet before we can assure the . of full freedom of movement. But that is our priority. It is good . there are still 100,000 Serbs living in Kosovo. Once the situation . more stable then all the Serbs who fled can return. However, we . proof that these Serbs recognize Kosovo as their country. . Spiegel) In past weeks there have been sharp clashes on Kosovo's . with southern Serbia. Does the new Albanian liberation front want . force an exchange of territory there -- the predominantly . Bujanovac and the Presevo Valley in exchange for Serb . in the north of Kosovo? . The time is not ripe for that. Our people must remain in . Serbia. The Milosevic regime tried to ethnically cleanse this . to control the sea access to Thessaloniki, Greece that was . to Belgrade. . Spiegel) But the activities of this liberation front have caused . West to think seriously about Serbia's demand to station about a . troops of the Yugoslav Army in the border region. . That would be absurd. It would also undermine the security . the KFOR troops. After all, there was a reason why the demilitarized . zone was created. Be that as it may, for Serbia the game is over. . good. . Spiegel) Your party, the Democratic League LDK, has now won a . election victory in the local elections. Does that compensate you . the attitude of those Western politicians who had already written you . . Naturally I was happy about this proof of trust. But the LDK . always more stable than was perceived in the West. We have created . state and shaped it for ten years, without violence and without an . policy of confrontation. . Spiegel) But the USA has clearly tried to build up former UCK . Liberation Army, KLA ) leader Hashim Thaci as a future . leader of Kosovo. Now his extreme nationalist party has lost. . . I am not sure whether these parties are more radical than WE . on national issues. Kosovo's citizens have grasped the fact that the . is over and now a peace with prospects for the future must be built. . Spiegel) But politics in Kosovo appears to still be dangerous. . close friends of yours have been killed. . Our citizens were shocked by these attacks. We used to have . as the opponent, and we Albanians were the good guys. Now that . danger from Belgrade has been banished, the devil in our own ranks is . making his appearance. . Spiegel) But no one actually doubts that your domestic policy . are behind the attacks. Why are there still no arrests? . The UN administration UNMIK and the international police are . their investigations, and I expect the culprits will be . apprehended and sentenced. We have had a functioning judicial . for eight months, but none of the culprits has yet been taken into . If this continues it will not be possible to stop the murders. . Spiegel) Is the international community really interested in . of the culprits, or do they possibly enjoy political . for example from the USA? . I do not believe there is foreign protection. But I do not . out the possibility that a few political parties in Kosovo are . the murderers. That is why UNMIK must have an interest in this . solved quickly, because otherwise violence will get the upper hand . Kosovo. . Spiegel) Are you afraid? . I would like to see the people who are indifferent to such . But as a politician you have to accept this danger. The last . was aimed directly at my office and at me. . Spiegel) Isn't that a bad omen for the coming elections? . The goal of these groups is in fact to block the elections . such acts of violence. In a democratic law-based state and in . times these extremists and war profiteers would have lost their . a long time ago. . Spiegel) So you believe your rival Thaci is behind these . . Until the investigations have ended I cannot accuse anyone. . Spiegel) Most Albanian politicians are harshly critical of UNMIK . feel they are being dictated to. What could be done better? . We have to be realistic. UNMIK encountered a destroyed . and has achieved a great deal: Today we already have 20 . including finance, justice and education. But initiatives in . area of foreign investment are stagnating. Our Kosovo police could . be better. . Spiegel) Is it influenced too much by Thaci's former UCK . . Some parties wanted to see only former UCK members in the . security forces. It would clearly have been more advantageous to also . our former Kosovo police. But we will soon have a police . of our own, based above all on professional criteria, not . ones. . Spiegel) How long will the UN continue to be present in Kosovo? . After the parliamentary and presidential elections our . politicians will obtain more power and responsibility. UNMIK . stay a while longer to help with the transition, but with fewer . . Spiegel) Republican George W. Bush has already announced he will . the American KFOR troops. What happens then? A new war? . NATO must stay forever in Kosovo, whatever it calls its . For example, fixed NATO bases to protect the entire region are . . Spiegel) Do you seriously expect NATO to accept this role as . private army? . NATO is already our private army. But in the future we will . responsibility and also develop an army of our own as a protective . . Spiegel) Mr. Rugova, thank you for this interview.

[kimarx-8327]

Sounds like folorn hope against the odds!

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If It’s Good Enough for Serbia’s . Goose, Why Not for Croatia’s . Gander? . . "A good Ustasha [Croatian . Nazi] is one who can use his knife to cut a Serb child from the womb of his . mother." . . . THE FOLLOWING . . . a Reuter’s report published in the Washington Times on 28 January 1998, . "Three Croatian ex-soldiers tell media of atrocities" committed in 1991 against . the ethnic Serb minority and Croatians in Gospic who did not agree with . hard-line nationalist policies. One of the Croatian ex-soldiers spoke of seeing . "truckloads of bloated, stinking bodies, mothers and children blown up by bombs . and someone wearing a necklace made of ears." How similar this is to reports by . Holocaust survivors who described what happened in 1941: "To give a little . variety, noses and ears were cut off, and eyes scratched out. The Italians . photographed an Ustashi [Croatian Nazi] wearing two chains of human tongues . and ears around his neck." (Testimonies from Holocaust survivors, Jean-Marc . Sabatier in Paris-Match, May 25, 1957 and Edmon Paris, "Genocide in Satellite . Croatia, 1961, Chicago, American Institute for Balkan Affairs). Be it 1941 or . 1991, it appears that history repeats itself in Croatia. . Columnist A.M. Rosenthal: "In World War II Hitler had no executioners more . willing, no ally more passionate, than the fascists of Croatia. They are returning, . 50 years later, from what should have been their eternal grave, the defeat of . Nazi Germany. The Western Allies who dug that grave with the bodies of their . servicemen have the power to stop them, but do not." . The Washington Times of 29 December 1995: "Croats will ‘kill people for the . color of their skin’." [US Colonel Fontenot, Commander of NATO forces in . northeastern Bosnia]. . . . . HREF="http://antiwar.com/orig/jatras5.html" TARGET="_top">http://antiwar.com/orig/jatras5.html</A>