Archive through December 17, 2000

[d-3513]

<A HREF="http://www.decani.yunet.com/stratfor3.html" TARGET="_top">http://www.decani.yunet.com/stratfor3.html</A>

[treslavance-14575]

merci, mademoiselle. . was ignorant in regards to the heart of this situation, quite a while ago. . came to believe NATO had done something _way_ out of line. . bloody mess never became less so; it's just the country is more _ruined_ than it had been before NATO showed up. . read from your link and see nothing made better, with 'nothing better' as status quo there. . way or the other. . anyone there want _peace_? . is, does anyone other than those most likely to suffer and die from this conflict want _peace_? . _worse_ will come. . _more_ will die. . . ALL THE SAME TO THE WORMS! . THE [EXPLETIVE] SAME!! . AND AGAIN AND AGAIN! . . just another american from far, far away . at a loss.

[d-3513]

"it's just the country is more _ruined_ than it had been before NATO showed up. " . . HREF="http://www.centraleurope.com/yugoslaviatoday/discboards/boards.php3?board=9" TARGET="_top">http://www.centraleurope.com/yugoslaviatoday/discboards/boards.php3?board=9</A>

[treslavance-14575]

this was passed on to me from someone well known and loved on this page.... . it'll be a waste of a perfectly good intro if i didnt copy the link down right. . . <A HREF="http://www.sv-vaznesenje.org/forums/news/posts/206.html" TARGET="_top">http://www.sv-vaznesenje.org/forums/news/posts/206.html</A>

[tgunns-14218]

L'menexe, . .

[treslavance-14575]

m'sieu Gunns, . not a prob, just me being adolescent. . Sligar, . obliged. . me being adolescent.

[d-3507]

I had some problems last week with this . technology'... . missed something?

[d-3507]

The forgotten story of rape and murder in Kosovo, American-style . bombers had departed, the burning of villages had ceased, the peacemakers had moved in. But Kosovo had one more horror in . The rape and murder of an 11-year-old girl by an American soldier was described as the worst incident since Vietnam. Ten . later, the crimes of the 82nd Airborne Division have been exposed. But what has happened to the victim's family? . Independent, By Kim Sengupta . November 2000 . a cold and sunny morning last January, an 11-year-old girl called Merita Shabiu was playing in the snow outside her family home in the Kosovan . of Vitina when a smiling man in uniform offered her some chocolates. Having gained her trust, he led her to the block of flats standing . There, in a dank basement, he sodomised her before crushing her neck on the concrete floor with his steel-capped boot. . was a savage death, but then Kosovo has in recent years been a savage country. What made the murder of Merita different, however, was that . took place after Nato's "liberation" of the former Yugoslav province, rather than during the murderous chaos that preceded it. And Merita's killer . not Serb or Albanian, but a Nato "peace keeper": Frank J Ronghi, a staff sergeant with the élite 82nd Airborne Division of the US Army. . didn't take long for Ronghi to be arrested. Other children had seen Merita entering the building with the soldier that day – and noted that she did . return. At first, however, the Americans would not allow the UN Police to investigate the case. But enquiries by their own military police soon . damning evidence. . Ronghi had been boasting to fellow soldiers of his fetish for young girls – and had described how he had raped three, including two . sisters, while on another mission in Haiti. In Kosovo, he related with relish, there were endless opportunities, not just for rapes but murders, . The secret was to dress in civilian clothing, so that local Serbs would get the blame. . squad leader of the Alpha company of the 3rd battalion, even took his men to a wooded spot ideal, he said, for hiding a body. It was here . Merita's body was found a month later, stuffed in a plastic bag. Charged with rape and pre-meditated murder, Ronghi was convicted in August . a court martial in Germany and sentenced to life imprisonment. . incident, not surprisingly, made sensational headline news in America, and the 1,000 page report into the killing, published in September, was . of the most scathing indictments of the behaviour of US soldiers since Vietnam. But 10 months after Merita's death, her family seem to have . forgotten. What is their story? Last week, I travelled to Kosovo to find out. . Shabius have left their cottage in Vitina, and now live in an isolated hamlet in the mountains, accessible only by trekking through wooded hills. . they are facing up to the coming winter with no running water and intermittent power. What food they get comes from aid agencies, and the . promised to the sons of the family by the Americans have not materialised. Despite their daughter's death, no officials have come to see them . months. . Merita's father, Hamdi, who is 41, and her 37-year-old mother, Remzije, are unfailingly courteous and hospitable, making tea and, ignoring . shortages, offering to share their meals. They are surprised to discover that people from outside Kosovo have taken enough interest to find . through the woods. . blue school duffel bag still hangs on the wall and her parents are eager to show me pictures of her, a pretty, smiling girl with fair hair. A toy . and a plastic Stars and Stripes flag – gifts from the US Army after her murder – lies in one corner of the room. In another, Merita's . Djemile, sits on the floor, wiping her eyes at the mention of her name. . brother closest in age to Merita, 10-year-old Sami, has taken his sister's death particularly badly. "He has nightmares where he says he can . her face," says Remzije, shaking her head. "Sometimes when he wakes up, he rushes out of the room screaming. I can't sleep much either. I . of her all the time. The way she would run up when I returned home. The way she would be full of chatter about what she had been doing . friends..." With this, her voice fades away. . family tell me how they were kicked out of their home by the Serbs during the Nato bombing in May 1999. All of them, including Merita, were . to make their way through ice and forest to find refuge in neighbouring Macedonia. Hamdi is still partially handicapped by a beating he took . the hands of Serbian soldiers. . back, it is strange that having survived the enemy, my daughter got killed by someone who was supposed to be a friend, who was . to protect us," he reflects. "But maybe that is fate, maybe that is what God has willed." . does he feel now about the Americans? . do not hate them," he replies. "How can you hate a people for the act of one person? He was a bad man, he did very bad things to our . He took her soul. Afterwards a lot of American Army people came to see us. They gave us money, and to others in the area. We used . to pay for the funeral. Hundreds of people came to the funeral, including people from the American Army. We were happy to see them there." . now? . the time they said they would give our son a job at the camp. But nothing came of that. Perhaps they tried and there were no jobs available. . also said they would pay some compensation for my daughter's life. But we have not seen anyone from there for a long time, so I don't think . will be happening." . has not seen a copy of the report published after the inquiry ordered by the US Army's chief of staff, General Eric Shineski, into the activities . Staff Sergeant Frank Ronghi's unit in Kosovo. If he had, he would have learnt that the unit, the 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment, prided itself . its motto: "Shoot 'em in the face" – and that none was prouder of the men's toughness than its commander, Lieutenant Colonel Michael Ellerbe. . role of the US Forces at that time was clear: to keep the peace between the Albanian population and what was left of Kosovo's Serb . and to provide assistance to the civil powers. Instead, the report concluded, the soldiers had been running riot, violating even "basic . of conduct of human decency" and resorting to "intimidation, abuse and beating of Albanians". . US troops had undergone intense training for fighting in Kosovo. But instead they endured the monotony of endless patrols and checkpoints. . time off was spent at the barracks at Camp Bondsteel, a little slice of the Mid-West with its own McDonald's and Burger King, bowling alleys . cinemas. A place, in short, uncontaminated by locals or local products. . the bored young soldiers, many from poor neighbourhoods, would kick their heels and swap war stories. The talk soon turned to their . for local "gooks" and "schiptars", and to what a hellhole Kosovo was. The veterans, naturally, would hold court. But even in this . company, Staff Sergeant Ronghi's tales were always memorably dark. One of his fantasies, it was reported, was to find a little . with a single mother – so he could rape and kill both and leave no witnesses. . was in this poisonous atmosphere that Lt Col Ellerbe instructed his unit to "identify and neutralise" splinter Albanian groups – an order that was to . fatal, and which the report found was responsible for "creating the condition to step over the line into... criminal misconduct". . scale of the abuse in the town and its environs, a beautiful area of hills and meandering rivers, depended on the whim of the US soldiers. At . the report revealed, they would shine torches in civilian faces – but only after fixing the torches to their M4 carbines, so victims would be . down the barrel of a gun. Scaring locals was fun. One of the officers recommended for court martial by the report, Lt John Serafini, held a . to the head of an Albanian during questioning and threatened to blow his brains out. . raids would take place – purportedly in the search for weapons, but often as an excuse to trash Albanian property. Household documents, so . in a place trying to organise a new structure like Kosovo, would be torn up. Beatings were routine and ranged in scale. . report concluded that the battalion and company commanders knew, or should have known, what was going on, and recommended that Lt Col . should face disciplinary action, along with a number of more junior officers. . Marita's family did not get visits from any senior Kosovo politicians, those who fought last weekend's election and seek to lead an independent . There was no Ibrahim Rugova, the would-be President, and no Hashim Thaci, the former KLA leader who is likely to lead the opposition. For . Kosovo, there is a general feeling that independence is very much a gift of the American-led West, and in this context the adverse publicity . the death of a little girl is rather embarrassing. . now, in a final twist, it is reported that, in spite of everything, Lt Col Ellerbe was recently selected for an assignment with the Army War . putting him on a fast-track for promotion to General. . we met last week, the Shabius had not heard the news about Lt Col Ellerbe's career progress. "I am shocked, how can they do that?" Hamdi . before reflecting on what is probably the reality of the situation: "But there is nothing we can do, we are not important people." . link: <A HREF="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/World/Europe/2000-11/sengupta031100.shtml" TARGET="_top">http://www.independent.co.uk/news/World/Europe/2000-11/sengupta031100.shtml</A>

[treslavance-14575]

D: . you miss something? . . me being adolescent. . tell you elsewhere, . you want to know. . it was trivial, inappropriate mewling compared to your post. . painfully illustrates just how trivial and inappropriate it was . . . this year, the picture of that poor little girl victim appeared here, or perhaps the Russ page. i can still visualize that picture. . would appear your post refers to the same incident; i shudder to think this refers to a _different_ incident.

[kimarx-8327]

Oh god, L'menexe, extremely sad, dispicable, awful,heinous, I agree. . Oh god, the Hypocracy!!!!!! . . for the words of advice...Too late, though!

[daniela-3606]

Sweet Kim, . always... . have you been darlin'

[treslavance-14575]

evening, ladies! . to see some folx pass through here this week! . with the explosion of other boards all of a . people be running round and round . time? . URN board looks pretty neat; he even set up a . booth' and i ...[wait for it] VOTED! . didnt realize there were so many . candidates i'd heard nada about. incl a . . of eves, mum . dreams, cheri .

[daniela-3605]

"The West promises to provide Yugoslavia with financial aid. . Jovanovic: A little money will come from Europe, and the DOS will present it as "aid from friendly countries." In . reality, it will be a down payment on the purchase of our entire country. For every dollar received, we will be obliged to . pay back ten! " . HREF="http://www.iacenter.org/yugo_jovanovic.htm" TARGET="_top">http://www.iacenter.org/yugo_jovanovic.htm</A>

[d*-3525]

>>>The United States has spent considerable sums of money for the DOS electoral campaign. . Jovanovic: Yes. And how would they react if this sort of thing was done in the United States? It reminds me of a . joke that's told here: a villager sees a priest eating a huge serving of roast beef in the middle of a religious fast. "But you . told us that fasting was a one of God's commandments!" says the villager. The priest replies: "You're supposed to obey . my instructions, but you're not supposed to act the way I do!" . In short, "do as I say, not as I do." . Jovanovic: (Laughing) Yes! That's exactly the case with the United States! What they permit themselves to do, they . forbid to others. Whenever they speak of "democracy," it's merely a slogan they advance in order to dominate the . world. Another example: they want to impose an International War Crimes tribunal in order to put us on trial. But they . themselves refuse to accept a universal war crimes tribunal, which would put them on trial for all of the war crimes they . committed against various sovereign states. They know all too well that they would be convicted for what they have . done in Panama, Haiti and elsewhere! . In 1995, in the Assembly General of the United Nations, they voted against a resolution that forbade intervention in the . domestic affairs, particularly electoral, of other countries. This resolution was voted in despite American opposition, so . they ought to follow the rules of the democratic majority! "Two weights, two measures," that's the key to . American-style "democracy." <<<

[treslavance-14575]

lolol . yeah, but you're not supposed to _notice_ . part....they'd prefer you didnt. . .