Really, out of all the fascist crap I put up with on this board this is the worst

'There is no genocide committed by Serb forces.'- by Nick. Imitating NEO NAZIS saying there were no concentration camps in World War 2. Nick, the word MORON is to good for you.

'Kill Clinton, Blair and Albright and this world would be a better place. And many innocent lives will be saved.' - by Maja. Go sue America, girl.

Zoja

KOSOVO HUMAN RIGHTS FLASH #40
SEPARATION OF MEN AND MASS KILLING NEAR VUCITRN


(New York, May 20, 1999) —Serbian forces forcibly separated and then summarily executed tens of ethnic Albanian men traveling in a convoy near the town of Vucitrn (Vushtri in Albanian) on May 2 and 3, Kosovar Albanian refugees have told Human Rights Watch. The total number of dead may exceed 100.

Human Rights Watch researchers interviewed six Kosovar Albanians from the Vucitrn region in refugee camps in Kukes last week. The witnesses, interviewed separately, provided consistent accounts of how Serbian police and paramilitaries pulled ethnic Albanian men from a convoy of internally displaced persons, demanded money, and then shot some of the men in their custody.

Albanians from Vucitrn and the surrounding villages were forced by Serbian forces to leave their homes at the end of March and the beginning of April, all of the interviewees said. While some Albanians were able to stay in one spot until May 2, others had to move several times because of ongoing attacks by Serbian forces, either with small arms or by shelling. Ultimately, many displaced persons ended up in villages to the northeast of Vucitrn, such as Bajgore, Vesekovce, Kurillove and Sllakovce (all place names in Albanian), which became overcrowded with displaced Albanians. Several witnesses reported that they had to live with as many as one hundred persons in one house, and that others were forced to sleep in the open air.

The area where the refugees had gathered was largely under the control of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA). In the beginning of May, however, Yugoslav and Serbian forces launched an offensive, and shelled several villages in the region around Bajgore. On May 2, government forces reportedly broke through the KLA's front line near Bajgore, forcing those sheltering in the area to flee. A convoy of refugees set out towards the villages of Sllakovce and Ceceli, where they were joined by other ethnic Albanians who had sought refuge in those places. At that point, the convoy consisted of several hundred vehicles and three to five thousand refugees, witnesses estimated, and stretched all the way to the village of Upper Studime (Studime e Eperme in Albanian). The Yugoslav forces reportedly followed the refugees as they traveled, burning many houses in Sllakovce and Ceceli.

Witnesses told Human Rights Watch that they stopped to rest and discuss their plans in Upper Studime. Yugoslav Army forces were based in a warehouse in Lower Studime (Studime e Poshtme in Albanian), they said, a village the refugees would have to pass through to get to Vucitrn. S.A., a thirty-year-old woman from Novosella e Begut (in Albanian), who was on the first tractor of the convoy, told Human Rights Watch what happened around 8:00 p.m. on May 2:


"[We] decided to tie a white cloth to our tractor, to show that we wanted to surrender. But before we got to Studimë e Poshtme, they started shooting and shelling us in an awful way. I used a mattress to cover my children, and we drove on to Studime e Poshtme. When we got to the warehouse, we saw a line of soldiers on the left hand side of the road. They stopped us, and told us to get out of our tractors, and put our hands behind out heads, and then to sit down on the road. The soldiers started cursing us, and walked among us, kicking and beating some of us. One woman was beaten just because her child was crying."

The soldiers, who were joined by policemen and paramilitaries between 8:30 and 9:00 p.m., went from tractor to tractor in the convoy, cursing and threatening the refugees. At the same time, the soldiers coming from Sllakovce and Ceceli had reached the convoy as well. K.B., a thirty-four-year-old Albanian man from Vucitrn, told Human Rights Watch:


"When [the police and paramilitaries] arrived at my part of the convoy, they asked my brother where his KLA uniform was, and his gun. But he said he didn't have any because he wasn't a member of the KLA. Then they hit him with the butt of a gun, after which they came to me, and told me to get off the trailer. When I got off, he hit me with his gun on my cheekbone, forehead and mouth, breaking one of my teeth. Then they stabbed me with a bayonet, and almost cut off part of my ear. They took me by my elbow, pointed a gun at my back, and dragged me some twenty meters away. They pushed me towards a little stream, and I jumped over it, and fell down. When I got up, they hit me four times in the back of my head with a gun, and once in my ribs. Later, a doctor told me that they had broken one of my ribs. I fell again, and lay for about two minutes, after which I got up, and went back to the tractor."

Human Rights Watch inspected and photographed K.B.'s wounds during the interview in Kukes, Albania. The top of his left ear was torn, but had been repaired by a doctor in one of the refugee camps, and his right front tooth was broken. Others fared worse. Zeqir Aliu, a forty-four-year-old man from Novosella, related what happened to his family:


"At about 9 p.m., the paramilitary and army stopped us. I couldn't see them very well, it was already dark. They took away our money and jewelry. Then, two paramilitaries with masks and bandanas took my uncle, Remzi Aliu (54), and my nephew, Ramadan Aliu (38). They asked them for money. Then they took them away some thirty meters, and shot them with a burst of gunfire from their automatic weapons. Then they took Hajrula Aliu and his wife, but they gave them [the police and paramilitaries] 500 German Marks, so they didn't kill them."

B.A., a nineteen-year-old man from Lower Studime, told a similar story:

"When [the soldiers coming from Ceceli] came to us, a Serbian soldier grabbed my brother, who was twenty-seven years old, by his elbow and took him some three meters away from the tractor. There, he asked for money, and soon after that he shot my brother with a pistol in the back. At the same time, they took my uncle, shot at him and kicked him, and he fell on the ground. We saw two bodies lying on the ground, and we thought they were both dead. After that, they took my father as well, and while they pointed a pistol at his throat, they demanded money. My father gave them one hundred German Marks, but they asked for one thousand. I told my father to give it to him, so my father came back to the tractor and gave him another nine hundred Marks. They then released my father, but right away they caught my cousin, and asked him for money as well. So my father gave them again five hundred Marks, after which they released my cousin. After the army left, we heard my uncle asking for me to come and help him. A few minutes later, my father and grandfather went to him and carried him to the tractor, because he had been hit in his lower leg, so he couldn't walk. When they turned my brother over, they saw he was dead."

Other witnesses interviewed by Human Rights Watch reported how men unknown to them were executed in front of their eyes. The soldiers and paramilitaries reportedly walked up and down the tractor convoy, harassing, robbing and sometimes executing the refugees. The witnesses all reported hearing repeated shooting during the period between approximately 9:00 and 10:30 p.m., when the troops left the convoy. About an hour later, around 11:30 p.m., policemen from Vucitrn came. They forced the refugee convoy to move on towards Vucitrn, where they arrived around 12:00 a.m., midnight, May 3.

Several witnesses reported that they saw many dead bodies along the road. The exact number of executed refugees from the convoy is unknown. Four separate witnesses claimed to have seen twenty-five, thirty, seventy and "over a hundred" dead bodies, respectively.

The varying numbers may result from the fact that the witnesses were located in different parts of the convoy, so that those towards the front of the line saw less than those at the back. None of the witnesses interviewed by Human Rights Watch was in the last part of the column, so the number of executed men may be higher than the witnesses have reported.

In Vucitrn, the refugees were directed towards an agricultural cooperative near Motel Vicianum, where they spent the night sitting in a fenced off area, guarded by the police and some soldiers. Witnesses told Human Rights Watch that there were several thousand refugees there, and that the area was so crowded it was impossible to stretch their legs, let alone sleep. According to the witnesses, the guards roamed among the refugees all night, checking their papers, and in several cases beating people.

In the morning, somewhere between 8:00 and 10:00 a.m., May 3, around thirty policemen entered the compound. Two different witnesses separately identified Dragan Petrovic, the police commander of Vucitrn, as the officer in charge, and a third witness identified the Vucitrn police chief without knowing his proper name.

The police ordered the men between the ages of eighteen and sixty to separate themselves from the women, children and elderly men. The police checked the identity papers of the 500 to 600 men who had been separated out. From this group, all of the tractor drivers were allowed to rejoin their families, all together about 200 men.

A large truck then came, witnesses said, loaded fifty to sixty of the remaining men, and took them away in the direction of Kosovska Mitrovica. Approximately ten to twenty minutes later, the truck returned empty and transported another group of men in the same direction. Witnesses reported that the truck returned to reload with men at least eight times.

While the men were being transported, the tractor drivers were told to load their families onto their vehicles and drive towards Kosovska Mitrovica. Those who were among the first to leave the compound told Human Rights Watch that, as they drove by, they saw the truck used to transport the men parked outside the prison of Smrekonica. The witnesses claimed that they saw there several of the men who had been taken away at the agricultural cooperative in Vucitrn, including some of the witnesses' own family members.

Another witness — not one of the six interviewed from the Vucitrn convoy — also claimed to have seen ethnic Albanian men in and around the Smrekonica prison on May 3. This thirty-eight-year-old man from Bajgore, S.B., also interviewed in Kukes, said he had arrived in Smrekonica on the morning of May 2 on foot with another group of approximately 3,000 villagers from the Bajgore area. Around 5:00 p.m. that day, the police came to his uncle's house, where he was hiding, and ordered him to join the rest of the group in the Smrekonica school yard, which is next to the prison. S.B. told Human Rights Watch that he saw several thousand men being held in the prison, although it is not clear how he arrived at this number or whether he saw these people in the prison or around it. He also claimed that approximately 300 men staying with him in the school yard were taken to the prison. A few men were released from the prison every hour, he said, and all of them appeared to have been beaten.

The convoy from Vucitrn traveled under police escort through Smrekonica to Kosovska Mitrovica and then alone through Srbica, Pec and Klina, where they spent a night. From Klina, a smaller road south was taken through Kramavile and Gegje (in Albanian) to the main road which leads to Prizren and then the Morina border crossing with Albania, which they crossed on May 4.

According to the witnesses interviewed in Albania who had male relatives taken in Vucitrn, none of their family members had arrived in Albania in the past two weeks. The witnesses expressed fear that they may never see their relatives again.

*
This human rights flash is an occasional information bulletin from Human Rights Watch. It will include human rights updates on the situation in Yugoslavia generally and in Kosovo specifically.
*

New York, May 19, 1999) — This past weekend, video footage emerged of what may be the largest massacre in Kosovo since NATO bombing began: the killing of more than 120 ethnic Albanians in the village of Izbice in the Drenica region on March 28, 1999. Today Human Rights Watch released the direct testimony of an important witness to the crime.



©Human Rights Watch
The identity of the witness, above, has been obscured to protect her identity.

Human Rights Watch Photo Gallery from Albania

The twenty-year-old woman was interviewed by Human Rights Watch on April 25 in a refugee camp in northern Albania. While she, her mother, and her severely disabled brother were allowed to leave the scene of the massacre, she describes how her father, uncle and cousin were executed. She has agreed to give her testimony to the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia.

On May 16 and 17, CNN aired video footage that a Kosovar Albanian doctor claims to have taken at the scene of the Izbice massacre. It shows a large number of bloody corpses in civilian clothes — ethnic Albanians who the doctor explains were killed in the massacre — and includes interviews with alleged survivors. The footage was smuggled out of Kosovo, the doctor said, with the help of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA). Apparently corroborating this footage are satellite photos released by NATO on April 17 that show three rows of freshly dug graves in the Izbice area.

Although the authenticity of the video footage cannot be guaranteed, it matches the witness testimony provided below. The apparent massacre in Izbice is also consistent with a pattern of mass killings throughout Kosovo, in villages such as Meja, Velika Krusa and Bela Crkva, documented by Human Rights Watch and other human rights organizations. In addition, the region around Izbice was known as an area of KLA activity, especially the village of Lausa. As in other areas of Kosovo, the rebels' presence may have served as a reason for retaliation.

The following is a transcript of the woman's testimony to Human Rights Watch (her name is being withheld to protect her identity). In addition to describing the circumstances of the massacre, it includes a harrowing account of her family's escape from Kosovo:


"The Serbs arrived late in the evening during the Muslim celebration of Bajram, on March 26 or 27. There were about fifty of them. Some of the Serbs were giving loud orders. Their voices were so loud that they scared the children. By this point, Izbice had become like a base for Albanians from all the villages in the area. These refugees began arriving after the NATO bombing began, because the Serbs started shelling neighboring villages when the bombing started.


Late in the evening, when the Serbs arrived, almost all of the young men left the village. They went into the mountains to hide or to fight.

When we saw the Serbs coming we didn't dare stay in our houses. We went by tractor to a nearby field — me, my mother and father, my brother, my sister, her family, and her mother-in-law — a total of ten people. We joined the rest of the people from the village in the field, all of the other families. Families had started leaving their houses at about 4 a.m. By 10 a.m. everyone was in the field. There were thousands of people, almost all women, children, and old people. Only about 150 men were among us.

An accident happened on the way to the field in which a child was killed. It was raining and a tractor tumbled; a woman tried to jump off to save her six-year-old daughter. The woman survived, the daughter was killed.


At the field, everyone got off their tractors and huddled together. We had chosen the field because we wanted to be together. We were too scared to stay alone in our houses; it would be too easy for the Serbs to kill us there. From the field, we could see the Serbs setting our houses on fire. They were shooting in the air and yelling loudly: insulting us and scaring the children.


They told us: "Give us money if you want to survive." They said it cost 1,000 German Marks (DM) to save your family and 100 DM to save your tractor. Everyone paid, each man paying for his own family. My father paid 1,100 DM.


After the Serbs got the money, they shot out the tires of everyone's tractors, and then burned all our belongings, which were bundled up on the tractors. They also set fire to the school.


At about 11 a.m. they separated the women from the men. We asked them why they were doing this and they told us, in a very scary voice: "Shut up, don't ask, otherwise we'll kill you." The children were terrified. The Serbs yelled: "We'll kill you and where is the United States to save you?" All the women had covered their heads with handkerchiefs out of fear of the Serbs, hiding their hair and foreheads. The Serbs called us obscene things, saying "Funk all Albanian mothers," and "All Albanian women are bitches."


They took the men away and lined them up about twenty meters away from us. Then they ordered us to go to Albania. They said: "You've been looking for a greater Albania, now you can go there." They were shooting in the air above our heads. We followed their orders and moved in the direction we were told, walking away from the men.


About 100 meters from the place we started walking, the Serbs decided to separate out the younger boys from our group. Boys of fourteen and up had already been placed with the men; now they separated out boys of about ten and up. Only very small boys were left with us, one old man who had lost his legs, and my handicapped brother, who can't walk because of spinal meningitis.

So they took the ten to fourteen-year-olds to join the men. The boys' mothers were crying. Some even tried to speak to the Serbs, but the Serbs pushed them. We were walking away very slowly because we were so worried about what would happen to our men.


We stopped moving when we heard automatic weapon fire. We turned our heads to see what was happening but it was impossible to see the men. We saw the ten to fourteen-year-Olds running in our direction; when they got to us we asked them what was happening. They were very upset; no one could talk. One of them finally told us: "They released us but the others are finished."


We stayed in the same place for some twenty minutes. Everyone was crying. The automatic weapon fire went on non-stop for a few minutes; after that we heard short, irregular bursts of fire for some ten minutes or so. My father, my uncle and my cousin were among the men killed. Kajtaz Rexha and Qazim Rexhepi were also killed, as were many other members of the Bajraj, Bajrami, Rexhepi, and Aliu families.


Then ten Serbs caught up with us. They said lots of obscenities and again told us: "Now you must leave for Albania -- don't stop, just go." We had to leave.


Many hours later, when we had gone about forty kilometers and it was dark out, another group of Serb soldiers forced us into a huge hole that was along the side of the road. It seems that these soldiers had communicated with the others by walkie-talkie. The hole was giant, higher than our heads; we could only see the soldiers' heads and guns. The soldiers made us sit down in the hole and said: "Now the tanks will run you over." Looking out one of the ramps that led into the hole, we could see tanks coming; the noise was deafening. When the tanks arrived near the edge of the hole, about five meters away, we all started to scream: we saw death in front of us. You could see women trying to hide their children with their bodies. I was with my mother and crippled brother. My brother was in a wheelbarrow. Everyone was terrified, crying and screaming. When the tanks got close, we stopped hoping.


Suddenly the tanks jolted to a halt. A Serb told us, "you'll survive only if you give us 5,000 DM." A woman teacher from the village went through the women collecting money; I gave her 100 DM. When she had 5,000 DM a Serb entered the hole and she gave it to him. He said, "you can go now."


My father had given me his jacket because I had been wearing another jacket that said "American Sport" on it and he was afraid; he wanted to cover that up. Because I was pushing the wheelbarrow and wearing a man's jacket, they thought I was a man. They told me to stop and then to come over to them, but I was too afraid. It was the scariest moment of my life. Then they shined a flashlight in my face and saw that I was a woman. One of them said, "let her go."


We were tired and hungry but they took the bread from our hands, telling us, Ayou don't need the bread of Kosovo." We walked three days and nights without food and without rest. Finally when we reached Djakove (Djakovica) the Serbs forced us to enter a destroyed house full of broken windows. They let us drink some water from a nearby stream. We stayed there a few hours, sitting down and napping.


Then we continued walking to the border. The children were very hungry. We stopped in a village near Prizren. There was a line of tractors and someone pulled my crippled brother into one of the tractors. My mother and I kept walking. We walked all the way to Dushanove where, because of the traffic, we stopped for a day and a night. It rained a lot at night and someone made a fire. My brother slept but I couldn't.

The next morning the Serbs told us to go back to our home villages. I don't know what day this was. All I know is that I can never forget the day they killed my father.


The women said: "How can we go back? We have no food; we're exhausted." The Serbs said: "You're going back."


The people who had carried my brother took him out of the tractor. Everyone turned back except me, my mother and my brother. We stayed in the middle of the road. A police car drove up and I signaled for it to stop because I thought to myself I have nothing to lose; I must handle this situation.


The policeman yelled "how do you dare stop me?" and I responded "I have no way out; I have this brother and he can't walk." The policeman told me he'd find us a place on a tractor. He found one and told the people in it: "Why aren't you people helping each other out; you're all Albanians; you should help each other." So we got on the tractor even though it was very crowded.


When we arrived back in Xerxe (Zrze) the people helped us a lot, giving us food and a place to rest. We stayed there a week. We saw the army and police robbing people. We were scared because we were from Drenica, known as a UCK (KLA) stronghold, and we felt we were putting the other people in a difficult position.


When we left we saw a line of tractors at the main road but nobody gave us a lift. Then a bus stopped; it was full of gypsies and we were scared of them. A few Albanians were also on the bus and we spoke to them. When we arrived in Djakove (Djakovica) the gypsies got out. Then we arrived in Prizren and the driver, who was a Serb, told us, "may God help you; I can't help you any longer."


We spent two hours in the bus station. Some old men who couldn't walk were also waiting there. Finally we begged the driver to give us a lift to the border. We said we'd pay him whatever he wanted. The driver said "I'll think about it," and then he said okay. We paid him 50 dinars per person.


Serb soldiers stopped the bus to ask for money. They wanted every last cent from us; they didn't want to allow anything out to Albania. But the Serb driver was very kind to us. When the Serbs asked him why he was transporting us, he told them, "they are good people."


When we arrived at the border the driver wished us good luck, telling us that we were lucky to have made it. Then the bus left. The border guards took all of our documents and threw them in the trash. They asked for money and jewelry.


I entered Albania on April 17 at about 1 p.m. Some people at the border helped my brother and gave us food and water."

KOSOVO HUMAN RIGHTS FLASH #38
ARRESTS IN KOSOVO


(New York, May 14, 1999) — Two prominent ethnic Albanians were arrested last month in Kosovo, Human Rights Watch has learned. Their current locations and conditions are unknown.

Albin Kurti was co-president of the Independent Student Union of Kosovo, the largest student organization in the province. After organizing non-violent student demonstrations in support of education rights, in mid-1998 Kurti began work in the Pristina office of Adem Demaci, then-political representative of the Kosovo Liberation Army. Mr. Kurti was reportedly arrested on April 21, 1999, together with his father, Zaim, his two brothers, Arianit and Taulant, and the owner of the house in Pristina where the family was sheltering. Taulant and the owner of the house were reportedly beaten and released.

Also arrested in Pristina around April 21 was Dr. Flora Brovina, a pediatrician and head of the League of Albanian Women. According to relatives, the police were waiting at Dr. Brovina's home, and arrested her when she arrived.

Human Rights Watch expressed concern today for all those in Kosovo's prisons. There is no news about the condition of prisoners in any of the province's six detention facilities: Lipjan, Pristina, Gnjilane, Kosovska Mitrovica, Pec, and Prizren.

'There is no genocide committed by Serb forces.'- by Nick.

Yeah, right!

Zoja

LEGAL ACTIONS TO PROTECT RADIO B92

- chronology -

MARCH 24, 02:30 -- The process of usurping Radio B92 begins with the delivery of Yugoslav Federal Telecommunications Ministry Ruling No. 8/1-01-595/99. This instructs Radio B92 immediately to cease broadcasting from its transmitter. The ruling also provides for the removal and seizure of part of B92’s transmission equipment.
In its justification for the ruling, the court alleges that Radio B92 had transmitted its signal at a power exceeding the permitted 300 W. In fact B92 had been transmitting at 190 W. It is obvious that this ruling has been passed solely in order to take Radio B92 off the air in Belgrade in the face of the coming war and in preparation for the plan to seize B92 from its employees.

Radio B92 Editor-in-Chief Veran Matic, who arrives at the radio as the ruling is being executed, is detained.

MARCH 24, 04:30 -- Radio B92 learns that Veran Matic is being held at the police station in November 29 Street. Police officials refuse a request by lawyers to see him. A second request at 08:00 is also unsuccessful. The lawyers are denied any explanation of Matic’s detention.

MARCH 24, 11:20 -- Matic is released from the police station. He has not been questioned, nor has any explanation for his detention been given. Matic’s detention is illegal: he has committed no act proscribed by the law and there are no legal grounds for his detention.

Radio B92’s lawyers lodge an appeal against the Yugoslav Federal Telecommunications Ministry ruling.

Radio B92 management decides to continue broadcasting via satellite and the Internet.

MARCH 25 - APRIL 1 -- Police visit B92’s studios on several occasions, probably with the aim of intimidating journalists and management.

APRIL 2, 09:10 -- An officer of the Belgrade Commercial Court, accompanied by police and a dozen thugs, enters Radio B92’s studios and delivers Commercial Court decision No. V-Fi-2790/99 to General Manager Sasa Mirkovic. By the decision, one Aleksandar Nikacevic is appointed the new general manager of the socially-owned broadcasting company Radio B92. The court officer and his party occupy the B92 studios, evicting all staff. The premises of ANEM, the Association of Independent Electronic Media in Yugoslavia, on the tenth and eleventh floors of the same building are also occupied. The new management takes possession of the company seals of Radio B92, ANEM and another private company. The staff of B92 are forbidden to remove personal property from the premises.

This decision by the Commercial Court is illegal, as it is based on a new B92 Constitution adopted by the Belgrade Youth Council which claims, falsely, to be the controlling body of Radio B92. The Belgrade Youth Council is a phantom organisation controlled by the regime. Even if the Youth Council’s claim to be the founder of Radio B92 were true, it would not have the power to change the company’s constitution. Radio B92 is a socially-owned company and its constitution can be changed only by the majority vote of its employees.

The manner of execution of the Commercial Court decision also appears to be illegal: the process of inducting the new general manager of Radio B92 included the seizing of the premises and company seal of a completely separate company, ANEM, the expulsion of ANEM staff from the premises and the confiscation of their personal property.

APRIL 5 -- Sasa Mirkovic lodges an appeal against the Decision of the Commercial Court in Belgrade, petitioning for its revocation, in other words for the removal of the name of Aleksandar Nikacevic as the general manager of B92 from the registry of the Commercial Court.

A complaint about the manner of execution of the Commercial Court decision is also lodged with the court. The complaint demands that the court order that ANEM be permitted to use the premises which were illegally seized from it.

A note is sent to the presiding judge of the Belgrade Commercial Court, Milena Arezina, who handed down the decision replacing Sasa Mirkovic as general manager of Radio B92. The note demands that be immediately permitted to occupy its premises.

ANEM also brings charges in the First Municipal Court in Belgrade against Aleksandar Nikacevic, over the usurpation of ANEM’s property on the tenth and eleventh floors of the same building in which Radio B92 is situated. The charges include a petition for the granting of a provisional order for ANEM to be given access to its premises while the matter is before the court.

APRIL 7, 08:45 -- The First Municipal Court in Belgrade hears charges by ANEM against Aleksandar Nikacevic for usurpation of property. The first part of the hearing is conducted at the court, followed by an investigation at ANEM’s premises. Testimony was given by the defendant Aleksandar Nikacevic, ANEM Radio Network Coordinator Dusan Masic. The only member of the B92 staff available to Nikacevic, domestic Zorka Bera, was also called as a defence witness.

APRIL 8, 09:00 -- The presiding judge of the Commercial Court in Belgrade, Milena Arezina, receives Radio B92’s lawyers to discuss a hearing. The judge asks for a postponement of the meeting until April 12, to giver herself time to become familiar with the details of the case, the appeal and the complaint lodged by B92.

APRIL 12, 09:00 -- Judge Milena Arezina again receives Radio B92’s lawyers. Despite the arguments submitted, the judge resolves not to act until the Higher Commercial Court has ruled on the complaint. The judge also observes that because of the circumstances of war in the country, the work of the Commercial Court is proceeding irregularly and that ANEM’s complaint cannot therefore be dealt with until a later date.

The same day, despite the decision of the Yugoslav Federal Telecommunications Ministry, the new management of Radio B92 begins broadcasting. In a statement issued the same day, all B92 staff distance themselves from the new program.

The resumption of broadcasting by Radio B92 appears to indicate that either the Yugoslav Telecommunications Ministry has upheld Radio B92’s appeal against its banning order, or that the “new” Radio B92 is in such a strong political position that it can flout the current ban. with complete impunity.

APRIL 14 -- The First Municipal Court in Belgrade hands down Decision No. 2389/99, dismissing ANEM’s petition for a provisional order allowing the Association to use its premises. The court issues a vague justification for the decision.

The evidence clearly indicates that ANEM was in free possession of the premises on the tenth and eleventh floors, and that Aleksandar Nikacevic has seized property from ANEM. This should have resulted in the court’s granting of the provisional order. The judge rules, however, ignoring the evidence, that the property has been seized under the decision of the Belgrade Commercial Court. This is not true, as the Commercial Court decision refers only to Radio B92 and makes no mention of ANEM. The judge refuses to grant the provisional order, saying that the case can only be resolved by the Commercial Court. This, again, is not true. The Yugoslav legal system provides for proceedings in one court to be dealt with by another court when different laws and regulations are involved. The judge in this case presides over the court in a most civilised manner, implying that such political pressure is being applied that he does not dare to stand by the law and rule in ANEM’s favour.

APRIL 18 -- ANEM resolves to suspend membership of Radio B92 in the Association until the end of the war and the completion of court proceedings over the status of the socially-owned broadcast company Radio B92.

APRIL 20 -- ANEM lodges an appeal against the decision of the First Municipal Court in Belgrade. The appeal cites patently erroneous establishment of fact and erroneous enforcement of the material law. The disruption of court administration caused by the war means that the competent court in this appeal, the Belgrade District Court, is unlikely to rule on the appeal in the near future. Because of the obvious political importance of the case, it is likely that when it does so it will be subject to political pressure. Thus, if there is no change in the political agenda of the government, it is unlikely that ANEM will obtain a positive outcome from these proceedings, regardless of the fact that the law supports its case.

http://jurist.law.pitt.edu/B92chron

MINISTRY OF INFORMATION OF THE REPUBLIC OF SERBIA

Instructions for the work of news agencies and media in the case of an immediate danger of war:


Maintaining non-stop contact with the state organs and 24-hour service;


A list of persons from all the media who are to be on call on specific dates should be passed on to the Ministry;


Accurate telephone and fax numbers of those persons who are on call in editorial offices;


Courier service between the editorial staffs of the media and the Ministry of Information is to be established if the telephone lines are cut;


A strict ban on reporting the losses of the Yugoslav Army or the police - Ministry of Internal Affairs (a form of censorship);


Every journalist in the field or in editorial offices must serve the current interests of the state and take part in reporting and notifying activities;


Non-stop monitoring of the reports of the foreign media, especially of those radio stations whose signal could be received well on the territory of FR Yugoslavia;


Actions undertaken by the police and the army are to be referred to as 'defensive activities' or 'struggle to preserve and defend the country';


For the losses inflicted upon the enemy the following terms are to be used: neutralised, incapacitated, paralysed, liquidated, etc.


Not a single piece of information which could further the spreading of defeatism and panic must not pass unnoticed by the editors-in-chief;


It is necessary to constantly refer in commentaries and reports to the violation of the UN Charter, violations of human rights, arbitrary decision-making by a military alliance, the fact that it is not a decision supported by all the nations, etc.


Protection of confidential material and archiving this material and reports which would be of use in future analyses or in the processes of collecting evidence for war crimes or crimes against humanity;


So-called KLA is to be referred to as 'a gang, terrorists and criminals'.


NATO forces are to be referred to as 'aggressor';


Keep emphasising the fact that the servicemen of the Yugoslav army and the police are freedom fighters.

http://jurist.law.pitt.edu/

LEGAL ANALYSIS OF THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT'S DECREE ON APPLICATION OF THE CRIMINAL PROCEDURE DURING THE STATE OF WAR (Official Gazette of FRY No 21/99)


According to the federal government's decree, the articles of the Law on Criminal Procedure (Official Gazette of SFRY No 4/77, 14/85, 74/87, 57/89, 3/90 and Official Gazette of FRY No 27/92 and 24/94) are to be applied during the state of war unless otherwise determined by this decree. The federal government's decree is in accordance with its competencies under article 99, paragraph 11 of the Constitution of FRY according to which the federal government is authorised to pass decrees regarding the issues under federal assembly's jurisdiction if the sessions of the federal assembly itself cannot be convened during the state of war. The changes in the Law on Criminal Procedure as determined by this decree are as follows:


I Extending the local jurisdiction of the court where the defendant has been arrested or turned himself in.


The article 2 of the decree determines the territorial jurisdiction of the COURT WHERE THE ACCUSED HAS BEEN ARRESTED OR TURNED HIMSELF IN regarding the opening of the criminal proceedings against the accused who is in flight or beyond jurisdiction of the local court which would otherwise be authorised to act as determined under the Law on Criminal Procedure. This represents an extension of the jurisdiction of a local court where the accused has been arrested or turned himself in as compared to its jurisdiction under article 29, paragraph 3 of the Law on Criminal Procedure according to which the court has jurisdiction if neither the scene of the crime nor the residence of the accused is known, or if these are both located beyond the borders of FRY.


II Changes regarding the obligation to obtain the authorisation for conducting criminal proceedings as well as the warrant to make a search of an apartment, other premises and individuals.


The article 3 of this decree determines that the regulations contained within the Law on Criminal Procedure regarding the OBLIGATION TO OBTAIN AUTHORISATION for conducting criminal proceedings shall NOT BE APPLIED


1. if the accused has perpetrated a crime:

- against the constitutional order and security of FRY (Chapter 15, Criminal Code of FRY),

- against humanity and international law (Chapter 16, Criminal Code of FRY),

- against the Yugoslav army (Chapter 20, Criminal Code of FRY);


2. if the crime perpetrated by the accused entails at least 5-year prison sentence.


Thereby, in this case, the regulation contained in the article 139 of the Law on Criminal Procedure is effectively revoked, according to which the public prosecutor cannot either demand an investigation to be conducted or charges brought i.e. submit the proposal to bring charges unless presenting evidence beforehand that the authorisation by the competent state organs has been given (e.g. authorisation by the federal assembly to initiate criminal court action against MPs as well as against the assembly as a perpetrator of some criminal offences). Also the article 7 of the decree, authorises law enforcement officers to make a search of an apartment, other premises and individuals WITHOUT A WRITTEN JUDICIAL WARRANT AND WITHOUT THE CONSENT OF THAT INDIVIDUAL if there is a reasonable doubt that the person has committed one of the above-mentioned criminal offences. Thereby, in this case, the regulation contained within the article 207, paragraph 1 of the Law on Criminal Procedure, according to which the court orders a search by means of a search warrant, as well as the regulations contained in the article 207, paragraph 2 of the Law on Criminal Procedure according to which the court order to make a search is to be delivered to the person to be searched or whose premises are to be searched before the search itself commences, are effectively revoked. This also includes the regulation according to which the person, whom this court order to make a search refers to, is to be summoned before the search itself and demanded to voluntarily give information about the person in question, i.e. the objects which are being searched for.


III Changes regarding the regulations on disqualification of judges


The article 4 of the Decree determines that regulation contained in the article 39, paragraph 6 of the Law on Criminal Procedure, according to which a judge or members of the jury may be disqualified if the circumstances indicate his/her possible prejudice, is NO LONGER TO BE APPLIED.


IV Changes regarding the jurisdiction and the structure of the court


The article 5 of the Decree determines that a judge as an individual in the court of first instance is to conduct the proceedings for criminal offences for which fines or sentences of up to 5 years in prison are prescribed (thus changing the regulations according to which a council consisting of a judge and two jurists are intended to conduct such proceedings, article 23, Law on Criminal Procedure).


V Changes regarding the extension of the authority of some state bodies


According to the article 6 of the Decree, an EXTENDED AUTHORITY is given to:


- the public prosecutor in terms of CONDUCTING AN INVESTIGATION. (According to the article 16, paragraph 1, of the Law on Criminal Procedure, the investigation is to be conducted by an investigative judge of the competent court.);


- the investigative judge so that he/she may conduct investigation and undertake certain investigative measures in case of an emergency EVEN WITHOUT PRIOR REQUEST ON THE PART OF THE PUBLIC I.E. STATE PROSECUTOR (According to the article 158, paragraph 1, of the Law on Criminal Procedure, the investigation is being conducted at the public prosecutor's request.);


- law enforcement officers so that they may undertake investigative measures in case of an emergency EVEN WITHOUT PRIOR DECISION BY THE PUBLIC PROSECUTOR I.E. STATE PROSECUTOR, but the investigative judge and law enforcement officers are OBLIGED TO NOTIFY immediately public prosecutor i.e. state prosecutor of the measures.




VI Changes regarding the organs which may impose temporary arrest and determine the duration of the confinement


The article 8 of the Decree changes the regulations contained within the Law on Criminal Procedure regarding the authority of the organs to impose temporary confinement [up till now, according to the Law on Criminal Procedure, only the investigative judge of the competent court was in charge of this matter (article 192, paragraph 1, Criminal Law), and in special cases, this could be done by the organ of internal affairs as well before the investigation is initiated under conditions as determined by the article 196, paragraph 1 and 2 and the article 191, paragraph 1 and paragraph 2, items 1 and 3, of the Law on Criminal Procedure (imposing temporary confinement on individuals suspected of having committed a criminal offence which entails, according to the law, a capital punishment)].

The following organs now may reach a decision on temporary arrests:

- INVESTIGATIVE JUDGE

- PUBLIC PROSECUTOR I.E. STATE PROSECUTOR AND

- THE ORGAN OF INTERNAL AFFAIRS.

Also the regulations of the Criminal Law concerning the duration of temporary arrest have been changed so that now:

- the TIME LIMIT IS 30 DAYS (up till now the temporary arrest enforced by the organ of internal affairs could not last more than 3 days according to the article 196, paragraph 3);

- temporary arrest as determined by these organs may be EXTENDED by the court of first instance (article 23, paragraph 6, Criminal Law) for ANOTHER 3-MONTH PERIOD (according to the regulations which have been in force up till now, article 197, paragraph 2, temporary arrest could be extended by means of a ruling of the court of first instance for maximum 2 months);

- the council of a higher court directly reaches a decision on extending temporary arrests (according to the article 197, paragraph 2, of the Criminal Law, if the proceedings are being conducted for a criminal offence which entails sentences of more than 5 years in prison or even harsher punishment, then the Council of the Supreme Court of the Republic of Serbia may further extend the temporary arrest for additional 3-month period);

- also, the article 8 of the Decree does not provide for the obligation of the organs of internal affairs, in the case of temporary arrest, to notify public prosecutor i.e. investigative judge which in turn could demand that the organ of internal affairs immediately bring the arrested person to the public prosecutor etc. (article 196, paragraph 4, Criminal Law).


VII Changes regarding the authority of the public prosecutor to bring charges without prior investigation and consent of the investigative judge


The article 9 of the Decree provides for extending the authority of the public prosecutor i.e. state prosecutor to bring charges without prior investigation and consent of the investigative judge if the evidence gathered so far offer a basis for bringing charges IN THE CASE OF A CRIMINAL OFFENCE WHICH ENTAILS A PRISON SENTENCE OF UP TO 10 YEARS. The article 160, paragraph 6, which has been in force until now, provided for the authority of the public prosecutor to bring charges without prior investigation, if the evidence gathered concerning the criminal offence and the offender does form the basis for prosecution, but this relates to the criminal offences for which sentences of up to 5 years in prison are prescribed. Regarding the disagreement of the investigative judge with the indictment without prior investigation the article 160, paragraph 5, determined, up till now, that the course of action must incorporate an investigation before the indictment.


VIII Introduction of the shortest possible time limit for determining the date of the main hearing from the date of delivering the indictment


The article 10 of the Decree PROVIDES FOR A 48-HOUR TIME LIMIT starting from the moment of delivering the indictment to the accused until the main hearing. So far the article 279, paragraph 2, Criminal Law, determined that the president of the judicial council must schedule the main hearing within the 2-month time limit starting from the date of receipt of the indictment in court. Consequently, the article 10 of the Decree determines the shortest possible time limit for scheduling the main hearing so as to accelerate the criminal proceedings.


IX Changes of time limits within which the accused has the right to object against the indictment


The article 11, paragraph 1, of the Decree determines that the accused has the right to object against the indictment WITHIN 24-HOUR TIME LIMIT since the delivery of the indictment. Thereby, the time limit under the article 267, paragraph 1, of the Law on Criminal Procedure has been changed (8 days from the moment of the receipt of the indictment). Also the same article, paragraph 2, of the Decree determines that the OBJECTION MADE DOES NOT AFFECT THE SCHEDULED MAIN HEARING WITHIN THE TIME LIMIT UNDER THE ARTICLE 10 OF THE DECREE, which practically means that the objections of the accused does not affect the indictment being put into effect in legal terms. Consequently, the indictment may come into effect despite the objection against the indictment itself on the part of the accused i.e. there is no major violation of the criminal proceedings' provisions in the case when the main hearing is scheduled and sentence brought according to the indictment which has not been put into effect since the objection in the written form of the accused has been previously submitted. Also the article 271, paragraph 1, of the Law on Criminal Procedure provides for the possibility of presenting an objection against the indictment by the public prosecutor, and the article 277, paragraph 1 determines that if the objection against the indictment has not been submitted or has been rejected, then, the council of the court of first instance (article 23, paragraph 6), at the request of the president of the council before which the main hearing is to take place, may reach decision on any issue which is being resolved on the basis of this law and with respect to this objection. However, since the article 11, paragraph 1 of the Decree does not explicitly state that these objections do not affect the scheduled main hearing within the time limit as determined in the article 10 of the Decree, one could presume that the provision from the article 11, paragraph 2 of the Decree does not refer to the cases from the articles 271, paragraph 1 and the article 277 of the Law on Criminal Procedure.




X Changes regarding the delivery of the appeal against the reply


The article 12 of the Decree effectively revokes the regulations of the Law on Criminal Procedure which refer to the delivery of the appeal against the reply of the court. This means that a major violation of the regulations of the criminal proceedings does not exist anymore when the court of second instance reaches a decision, thus accepting the appeal of the public prosecutor and altering the sentence of the court of first instance so as to pass a more severe punishment, even though the copy of the prosecutor's appeal has not been previously delivered by the court of first instance to the accused as determined by the article 369 of the Law on Criminal Procedure.




XI Changes regarding the adjournment of the main hearing and/or changes of the judicial council i.e. an individual judge


The article 13 of the Decree provides for the possibility that the Council i.e. the judge as an individual MAY DECIDE NOT TO INITIATE THE PROCESS OF HEARING AGAIN if the following conditions are met:

- if the main hearing was adjourned, and the adjournment lasted for more than a month, or

- if the adjourned main hearing takes place before the altered council or another judge.

If that were the case, the court proceeds with hearing and the president of the judicial council i.e. the judge as an individual gives the account of the first part of the hearing. This represents an alteration of the article 305, paragraph 3 of the Law on Criminal Procedure, according to which the main hearing has to be initiated and all the evidence presented once again if the adjournment of the main hearing has lasted for more than a month or if the main hearing is taking place before another president of the judicial council.




XII Changes regarding the delivery of the written copy of the verdict


The article 14 of the Decree determines that a written copy of the verdict is to be delivered ONLY AT THE EXPLICIT REQUEST OF THE INTERESTED PARTY. Thus, the article 356, paragraph 3 and the article 123 of the Law on Criminal Procedure concerning the delivery of the verdict which is in the authority of the judge as an individual, have been altered so that the obligation to deliver copies of the verdict to both the defendant and his/her lawyer does not exist.


XIII Changes of time limits for appealing against the verdict


The article 15 of the Decree determines that the regulations of the Law on Criminal Procedure concerning the PRESENCE OF THE PARTIES during the process of the appeal are to be applied only when the president of the judicial council or the council itself rules that the presence of the parties, or one of the parties, or of the defendant's lawyer, WOULD BE USEFUL TO EXPLAIN THE MATTER. Consequently, the regulations from the article 373, paragraph 2 and 3 of the Law on Criminal Procedure, in their part which determines the obligation to summon the defendant and his/her lawyer for the hearing before the court of second instance, shall not be applied if the court rules that their presence has no bearing on further clarifying the matter.


XIV Extending the application of the regulations of the Law on Criminal Procedure regarding the summary proceedings and temporary confinement in summary proceedings


The article 17, paragraph 1, of the Decree determines the application of the regulations of the Criminal Law regarding the SUMMARY PROCEEDINGS before the court of first instance for all the criminal offences for which the major punishment that may be imposed is either a fine or a sentence of UP TO FIVE YEARS in prison, thus extending the number of criminal offences for which three-year prison sentences are prescribed according to the article 430 of the Criminal Law. The article 17, paragraph 2 of the Decree determines that the temporary confinement in a summary proceeding may LAST FOR ONLY THE PERIOD NEEDED TO CONDUCT INVESTIGATION, BUT NOT MORE THAN THIRTY DAYS. Thus, the regulations under article 433, paragraph 2, of the Law on Criminal Procedure are effectively revoked, and they determine that the temporary confinement in summary proceeding before indictment may last as long as needed to conduct the investigation, but not more than eight days, Also the article 433, paragraph 3 and the article 199 concerning the imposing of temporary confinement in a summary proceeding from the moment of submitting the indictment to the conclusion of the main hearing are no longer in force as one single regulation has been put into effect for the both phases of the summary proceeding.

http://jurist.law.pitt.edu/

GENEVA, Switzerland, May 23 (UPI) -- A U.N. High Commissioner for
>Refugees spokeswoman in Geneva says ``It looks as if we are heading for
>a new wave of arrivals'' of Kosovo refugees in both Albania and the
>former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.
> Judith Kumin based her forecast today on the wave of single men, in
>``pitiful condition; emaciated, exhausted, confused, bruised, many who
>showed signs of beatings; in appalling shape,'' who arrived in Albania
>and the arrival of a large trainload and several buses of refugees in
>Macedonia.
> On Saturday, 523 men without families were among the 608 refugees to
>arrive in Albania. Another 7,700 arrived in Macedonia on Saturday, by
>far the largest single day's toll in weeks.
> The Geneva-based agency now says about 815,777 Kosovars have fled
>their homes in the Yugoslav province. This includes nearly 60,000
>voluntarily evacuated to third countries and 64,000 displaced persons in
>the Federal Yugoslav Republic of Montenegro.
> On Sunday, A UNHCR spokesman in Blace, Macedonia, Ron Redman, told
>United Press International a single train, loaded with 4,500 to 5,000
>people and ``several buses'' arrived at the border point. It was too
>early to get a firm figure on the total, but Macedonia authorities had
>ordered all refugees arriving today to be kept in the Blace transit
>camp. Macedonia is fast running out of spaces for the war victims.
> UNHCR reported from Albania another approximately 500 refugees
>arrived today with ``at least 90 former prisoners.''
> As Saturday, most of the male refugees arrived late in the day.
> UNHCR said the men arriving in Albania had been pulled in mid-April
>in the village of Grmnik from a convoy of displaced persons heading for
>the border.
> The men alone were taken to Mitrovica in North Central Kosovo, the
>women and children allowed to proceed. From there, the men were held in
>Smrekovnica prison south of Mitrovica. Until Saturday, there was no word
>on their fate, and most believed they had been killed.
> The men arriving in Albania on Saturday said when they were told to
>board buses they thought they were being taken to be killed. They did
>not realize they were being deported until they were ordered off the
>buses just short of the border, out of sight of those at the checkpoint,
>and told to head in the direction of the border.
> ``Many of the men fell into each other's arms sobbing, when they
>crossed the border,'' said Kumin.

Is that why NATO bombed prison quite a few times in recent days, in Kosovo provance ? Zpka .

Her four guards, who shared the bedroom next door, let her out under escort only at night. "I was already mourning the loss of my
husband and my son, and now I was forced to sell my body," Alina said. "The Albanians told me, 'Do this or we will beat you; do this or
we will kill you.' "

"This" meant dressing in a miniskirt, fishnet stockings and high heels, packing a few condoms into her handbag and parading the
seafront motorway south of Bari, or plying her enforced trade in small towns nearby. The four captives earned 1.5m lire (about £500)
each a night - none of which they were allowed to keep.

Alina's ordeal finally ended 10 days ago, when police raided the house. Two of the Albanians escaped arrest by fleeing over the
rooftops. The two others, who turned out to be from the Albanian port of Durres, were caught and charged with abetting illegal
immigration and prostitution, kidnapping and enslavement, and face several years in jail.

The next day, with a magistrate's approval, Alina headed back to Albania by ferry. Others, however, are sure to take her place. Italian
relief workers at refugee camps in Vlore on the Albanian coast have reported visits by men who then leave the camp with young
women. In one case, a 16-year-old was taken away from a camp set up by volunteers from Italy's Piemonte region.

The man who took her had a Kalashnikov slung across his back and told relief workers he was a policeman. "There are 2,000 Kosovan
refugees in our camp," said Father Giovanni Mercurio, who manages the Rezervat E Shteti centre in Vlore. "For a month now police
have been taking girls away and we are not told their destination. But we can't do anything about it."

Relief agencies have reported their concerns to the Italian interior ministry, but a government spokesman said there was little the
authorities could do. "The girls are free, the refugee camps are not prisons. They are at liberty to do what they want and that can
include being hired by Albanian criminals. The best way to stop that happening," he said, "is to have European countries take in
refugees and care for them."

Last year, however, a Sunday Times investigation revealed that girls as young as 14 were being kidnapped or bought from their families
in Albania to be sold for £800 each into the white slave trade in Britain. Thousands of women like Alina have been smuggled into Italy
by sea and then transported overland to London, Hamburg and other western European cities.

In Durres, The Sunday Times was told that the price had since risen to £1,300. "Albanian mafia gangs are very vicious," a recent Home
Office report emphasised. "They make the Italian mafia look like crowd-control officers at a local whist drive."

From Maja's piece see above
Only 8 civilians were killed,

Maja and your babling about Serbian citizans who are dead! Give me a break death means nothing too you.Not even if they are your fellow citizans.

Emina

President signed a secret "finding" authorising the sabotage plan and also
allowing the CIA to use computers to break into foreign bank accounts and
steal money from Slobodan Milosevic, Newsweek magazine said.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk


CIA 'to recruit saboteurs in border camps'
By Ben Fenton





Newsweek

Central Intelligence
Agency



22,000 more troops head for Balkans

PRESIDENT Clinton has signed a presidential order authorising the CIA to
train Kosovar refugees to act as saboteurs behind Serb lines, according to
reports in Washington.

The covert tactic would mean American agents recruiting a sabotage force in
the refugee camps of Albania and Macedonia, but seems to fly in the face of
previous statements by the White House that it had no interest in arming the
Kosovo Liberation Army.

The KLA, regarded by most of the Nato allies as little better than a terrorist
organisation with suspect links to drug money, is also recruiting in the camps
and it is hard to see how the CIA could train and equip its own proxy force
without aiding the rebels.

This is one of several dilemmas facing the Clinton administration after the
President signed a secret "finding" authorising the sabotage plan and also
allowing the CIA to use computers to break into foreign bank accounts and
steal money from Slobodan Milosevic, Newsweek magazine said.

The presidential finding, signed last week by Mr Clinton, is believed to be the
first order given by a Western head of state which would allow security forces
to operate a "cyberwar" using computers.

The idea, according to the Newsweek report, is to infiltrate computers in
banks in a number of foreign countries, including Russia, Greece and Cyprus,
where Milosevic is believed to hold millions of pounds in personal accounts.

If they were able to gain access to the money, the CIA would then be
authorised to steal it or transfer it to the American banking system, where it
could be held as a bargaining chip against the Serb leader.

The Americans have not told their Nato ally about either part of the
presidential finding, not least because the use of information technology as a
weapon is almost certainly illegal under international treaties. !! !!!!!!! !The White
House refused to comment on the report.**

*********** One Nato diplomat said yesterday: "I can believe that someone in the CIA
believes that they have the ability to do this and I can believe that they might
have persuaded the White House to let them have a go.

"But I can't believe it will really happen. The American banking system would
be the one most likely to panic if the overall security of banking systems
around the world was compromised like this."

Henry Kissinger, the former Secretary of State and National Security
Adviser to Presidents Nixon and Ford, has accused the White House of
short-sightedness in its dealings with Belgrade.

He says in an article for Newsweek that Mr Clinton and his aides were driven
by opinion polls and used America's power and influence "ineffectively and
without conviction".

Mr Kissinger, who oversaw the end of America's entanglement in Vietnam,
condemned the President for destroying relations with China and Russia over
the Kosovo conflict in a blunder that would reverberate for generations to
come. However, he added that once started, the campaign in the Balkans
should be pressed home "with ground troops if necessary".

11 April 1999: US spy satellites 'raiding German firms' secrets'

On May 24, people around the world will come together at one moment in time for one purpose. We will stop what we are doing and quietly observe two minutes of silence for peace in the Balkans.

Please join us. This is not a statement against the United States, or against the Kosovars, or against the Serbians. It is not about national borders and governments at all -- it is about the value of individual human life and liberty. It is a gesture of peace and good will for all men, women, and children.

This is a quiet, personal moment, but a moment that will be shared across the globe. Please participate, and tell the world that you will be joining them.

URL:
http://www.momentofsilence.org

Emina and Zoja