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									Archive through May 26, 1999 - Kosovo War				            </title>
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                        <link>https://www.viexpo.com/kosovo-war/archive-through-may-26-1999/paged/5/#post-4143</link>
                        <pubDate>Wed, 26 May 1999 23:09:00 +0000</pubDate>
                        <description><![CDATA[We are looking for topic ideas that would encourage thoughtful and intelligent debate.   Please send topic suggestions to viexpo@viexpo.com. Thanks DMS]]></description>
                        <content:encoded><![CDATA[We are looking for topic ideas that would encourage thoughtful and intelligent debate.   Please send topic suggestions to <A HREF="mailto:viexpo@viexpo.com">viexpo@viexpo.com</A>. <BR>Thanks DMS]]></content:encoded>
						                            <category domain="https://www.viexpo.com/kosovo-war/">Kosovo War</category>                        <dc:creator>Anonymous</dc:creator>
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                        <link>https://www.viexpo.com/kosovo-war/archive-through-may-26-1999/paged/5/#post-4142</link>
                        <pubDate>Wed, 26 May 1999 22:52:00 +0000</pubDate>
                        <description><![CDATA[Cannabis and the Christ: Jesus used Marijuana   Phoebic NATZO bombing the Serbs in the name of Jesus. Only Jesus never bombed anyone. He was a stoner! LOL! Peace not WoD FFFF DdC]]></description>
                        <content:encoded><![CDATA[Cannabis and the Christ: Jesus used Marijuana <BR>  <BR>Phoebic NATZO bombing the Serbs in the name of Jesus. Only Jesus never bombed anyone. He was a stoner! LOL! <BR>Peace not WoD <BR>FFFF <BR>DdC]]></content:encoded>
						                            <category domain="https://www.viexpo.com/kosovo-war/">Kosovo War</category>                        <dc:creator>ddc</dc:creator>
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                        <link>https://www.viexpo.com/kosovo-war/archive-through-may-26-1999/paged/5/#post-4141</link>
                        <pubDate>Wed, 26 May 1999 22:45:00 +0000</pubDate>
                        <description><![CDATA[: Stopping a Draft Before It Starts   Strange Disposed Times May 25, 1999  Stopping a Draft Before It Starts by Michael R. Allen  What is left for the War Party to do?  They have already bom...]]></description>
                        <content:encoded><![CDATA[: Stopping a Draft Before It Starts <BR> <BR> <BR>Strange Disposed Times <BR><A HREF="http://www.rightmagazine.com/strange_disposed_times.htm" TARGET="_top">http://www.rightmagazine.com/strange_disposed_times.htm</A>  <BR>May 25, 1999 <BR> <BR>Stopping a Draft Before It Starts <BR>by Michael R. Allen <BR> <BR>What is left for the War Party to do?  They have already bombed two <BR>different sovereign nations in the last six months, are keeping the <BR>bombings up on one of those (Serbia) and have a air presence in the <BR>other (Iraq).  They have taken a defensive organization, NATO, and used <BR>it to initiate war.  They have occupied major media outlets and <BR>government organizations that report on the wars they wage.  They have <BR>mobilized two nations for war, Britain and the US, entirely.   <BR> <BR>What could be next?  How about old-fashioned ground combat with a <BR>draft? <BR> <BR>It may happen - the bizarre becomes reality quite often.  A year ago, I <BR>could not foresee the air strikes on Serbia.  This spring, I couldn&#039;t <BR>predict that the Republicans in Congress would agree to not only fund <BR>US <BR>involvement in the war, but also to advance funds to maintain military <BR>actions in the Balkans for the rest of the year. <BR> <BR>Given the frequency that "unexpected" events occur, the draft seems <BR>imminent.  Fortunately, there already is an effort to stop the draft <BR>before it starts.  Erstwhile Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX) has drafted a bill to <BR>keep conscription from being used in undeclared wars.  In the past, <BR>Paul <BR>has worked with liberals like Ron Dellums to end the draft entirely, <BR>but <BR>- sensing the hopelessness of ending it altogether in this Congress - <BR>has now made a compromise which is more popular with the meek of both <BR>parties. <BR> <BR>The bill (designated H.R. 1812) reads as follows: <BR> <BR>"To amend the Military Selective Service Act to suspend the <BR>registration <BR>requirement and the activities of civilian local boards, civilian <BR>appeal <BR>boards, and similar local agencies of the Selective Service System, <BR>except during national emergencies, and to require the Director of <BR>Selective Service to prepare a report regarding the development of a <BR>viable standby registration program for use only during national <BR>emergencies." <BR> <BR>This falls far short of the sort of bill that needs to be passed <BR>eventually.  But if this can gather more bipartisan support to at least <BR>put the draft on hold, that&#039;s all the better.  Seven members of the <BR>House of Representatives. have signed onto the bill, including former <BR>"west Coast libertarian troubadour" Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA), air strike <BR>opponent Pete Stark (D-CA), and Bill Clay (D-MO).  <BR> <BR>The legislative proposal offered by Paul ought to be enjoying the <BR>support of conservative critics of the Clinton foreign policy as well <BR>as <BR>self-proclaimed "civil libertarians" of the left.  Yet neither group <BR>has <BR>come to support it in great numbers.  One can imagine the Democrats <BR>being admonished not to make Clinton look weak and the Republicans <BR>being <BR>told that this bill would weaken support for the military.  Mothballing <BR>or ending the draft may hurt both Clinton and the Pentagon politically, <BR>but it would be welcomed by millions of young American males, including <BR>this writer. <BR> <BR>Conscription has never included women, so it clearly has violated the <BR>Fourteenth Amendment.  It also is usually conducted as a lottery, so <BR>only some young men will serve while others will stay home.  Most of <BR>all, anyone that must be conscripted does not want to fight, or he <BR>would <BR>have volunteered to serve.  All the unfairness of the draft is so <BR>evident that one wonders why any society would tolerate it. <BR> <BR>The war-making senators and bureaucrats that promote conscription can <BR>easily tolerate it, since their sons can find the right loopholes.  But <BR>what about "kids with names like McAllister, Murphy, Gonzales, and <BR>Leroy <BR>Brown," as Pat Buchanan so famously put it.  The poor and the middle <BR>class, as usual, will have to be subjected to the plans handed <BR>down from Washington - or be jailed.  And given the media&#039;s support for <BR>the war on Serbia, one shouldn&#039;t anticipate any repeat of the <BR>Vietnam-era draft-resistor pardon. <BR> <BR>The best thing for America to do is to forgo the draft in the first <BR>place.  It is unconstitutional and unfair.  Its continued possibility <BR>sits in the back of every registered young male&#039;s mind.  Some of these <BR>young men may not have even questioned registration, which was a <BR>requirement for their college financial aid.  Some may not even <BR>know about Serbia or Kosovo.  If chosen, all will have to pay the price <BR>in blood or mental anguish.   <BR> <BR>If the people support a military action, the army will attract many new <BR>soldiers.  If the war is unpopular, as the Serbian war is among <BR>Americans, the people will withhold support for the war by refusing to <BR>serve in the military.  However, with conscription the people cannot <BR>choose.  Their opinions do not count when the lawmakers control them <BR>instead of their controlling the lawmakers.  <BR> <BR>Rep. Paul&#039;s bill should be the first step in ending the military&#039;s <BR>stealing of human lives.  But one shouldn&#039;t count on the unexpected to <BR>happen if the unexpected event enhances personal liberty. <BR> <BR>(c) 1999 Michael R. Allen <BR> <BR>
<hr class="bbcode_rule" />
<BR>Too much effort to find the stock info you want each day? StockMaster <BR>lets you enter a company name and quickly shows you a daily quote, <BR>chart, and news all on one page. Free! <BR><A HREF="http://clickhere.egroups.com/click/71" TARGET="_top">http://clickhere.egroups.com/click/71</A> <BR> <BR> <BR>eGroups.com home: <A HREF="http://www.egroups.com/group/mra-report" TARGET="_top">http://www.egroups.com/group/mra-report</A> <BR><A HREF="http://www.egroups.com" TARGET="_top">http://www.egroups.com</A> - Simplifying group communications <BR> <BR>The American Sheople are starting to awaken. Protest everywhere springing up to stop this idiotic bombing. Only the hate mongers and war toy profiteers are still advocating this waste. Klintoon&#039;s back in the hotseat, for backing the corps selling Nuclear secrets. Friedo and Whitefang your NATZO is waning. The truth will free Kosovo, the Serbs and America! <BR>Peace not WoD <BR>FFFF <BR>DdC]]></content:encoded>
						                            <category domain="https://www.viexpo.com/kosovo-war/">Kosovo War</category>                        <dc:creator>ddc</dc:creator>
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                        <link>https://www.viexpo.com/kosovo-war/archive-through-may-26-1999/paged/5/#post-4140</link>
                        <pubDate>Wed, 26 May 1999 22:41:00 +0000</pubDate>
                        <description><![CDATA[Jamie Shea yesterday said: If Yugoslavian people want water and electricity they can tell that to Slobodan Milosevic and they will get it when he complies to our demand. Until then they shou...]]></description>
                        <content:encoded><![CDATA[Jamie Shea yesterday said: If Yugoslavian people want water and electricity they can tell that to Slobodan Milosevic and they will get it when he complies to our demand. Until then they should prepare to life without electricity and water. <BR> <BR>A true humanitarian and democrat speaking!!!]]></content:encoded>
						                            <category domain="https://www.viexpo.com/kosovo-war/">Kosovo War</category>                        <dc:creator>maja</dc:creator>
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                        <link>https://www.viexpo.com/kosovo-war/archive-through-may-26-1999/paged/5/#post-4139</link>
                        <pubDate>Wed, 26 May 1999 21:23:00 +0000</pubDate>
                        <description><![CDATA[&quot;EUTELSAT unilateraly canceled                                            the satellite transmition of Radio Television of Serbia TV program under                                            ...]]></description>
                        <content:encoded><![CDATA["EUTELSAT unilateraly canceled <BR>                                           the satellite transmition of Radio Television of Serbia TV program under <BR>                                           the pressure by NATO countries. It is impossible to watch RTS program abroad." <BR> <BR>What are they (Nato) afraid of ?]]></content:encoded>
						                            <category domain="https://www.viexpo.com/kosovo-war/">Kosovo War</category>                        <dc:creator>daniela</dc:creator>
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                        <link>https://www.viexpo.com/kosovo-war/archive-through-may-26-1999/paged/5/#post-4138</link>
                        <pubDate>Wed, 26 May 1999 21:04:00 +0000</pubDate>
                        <description><![CDATA[U.S. House of Representatives Congressman Ron Paul (Texas) +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Issued: Tuesday, May 25, 1999 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ FOR RELEASE: May 26, 1999   Clint...]]></description>
                        <content:encoded><![CDATA[U.S. House of Representatives <BR>Congressman Ron Paul (Texas) <BR>+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ <BR>Issued: Tuesday, May 25, 1999 <BR>+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ <BR>FOR RELEASE: <BR>May 26, 1999 <BR> <BR> <BR>Clinton in violation of law <BR>Had 60 days to pull-out of Kosovo or get approval -- neither has happened <BR> <BR> <BR>WASHINGTON, DC -- As of 12:01 am Wednesday, May 26, President Clinton <BR>will be in clear violation of the 1973 War Powers Resolution. This is <BR>the first time a president has violated the resolution since its <BR>enactment. <BR> <BR>"President Clinton has nothing left to claim: he is in complete <BR>violation of the Wars Powers Resolution, there is simply no other <BR>interpretation," said US Rep. Ron Paul (R, TX).  <BR> <BR>Rep. Paul is one of 26 Members of Congress who have filed a lawsuit in <BR>federal court against President Clinton in regards to his violation of <BR>the War Powers Resolution and the US Constitution. <BR> <BR>"No one can argue that a president must, when there is a direct, clear <BR>and present danger to American lives, take defensive actions to protect <BR>our national interest. However, 60 days ago this president decided to <BR>take aggressive action against a sovereign nation; and has since had <BR>congressional authorization rejected by a vote of 427 to 2," said Rep. <BR>Paul. <BR> <BR>Under the War Powers Resolution, a president may engage in hostilities <BR>for 60 days without congressional approval. At the end of the 60-day <BR>period, however, the president must have either received a Declaration <BR>of War, received authorization to continue the action for another set <BR>period of time, or begin withdrawing the troops. Since the bombing of <BR>Yugoslavia began, the president has been denied a declaration of war <BR>and authorization. <BR> <BR>"Once again, though, President Clinton is demonstrating his utter <BR>disregard for the Constitution and laws of this nation. He apparently <BR>views himself as a king, rather than the president of a constitutional <BR>republic; he must believe that his will is the law, rather than the <BR>Constitution and acts of Congress," said Rep. Paul. "To say this <BR>president is anything but dangerous and reckless would be a gross <BR>understatement." <BR> <BR>Rep. Paul said that while many presidents have violated, with the <BR>unspoken consent of Congress, the constitutional responsibility for the <BR>initiation of war, President Clinton has done so more frequently and <BR>brazenly than any other this century. <BR> <BR>"While I am hopeful this president will change his course, recent <BR>history has shown this president holds no more respect for court orders <BR>than he does for the Constitution or the War Powers Resolution. If he <BR>shows the same contempt as in the past, our nation faces serious trouble." <BR> <BR> <BR><A HREF="http://www.house.gov/paul/press/press99/pr052699.htm" TARGET="_top">http://www.house.gov/paul/press/press99/pr052699.htm</A>]]></content:encoded>
						                            <category domain="https://www.viexpo.com/kosovo-war/">Kosovo War</category>                        <dc:creator>daniela</dc:creator>
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                        <link>https://www.viexpo.com/kosovo-war/archive-through-may-26-1999/paged/5/#post-4137</link>
                        <pubDate>Wed, 26 May 1999 20:42:00 +0000</pubDate>
                        <description><![CDATA[Guido - kosovapress ? That is independent and and anbiased source ? Or just a propaganda tool for your reactionary ideas.   THE USE OF DEPLETED URANIUM (DU) BULLETS AND BOMBS BY NATO FORCES ...]]></description>
                        <content:encoded><![CDATA[Guido - kosovapress ? That is independent and <BR>and anbiased source ? Or just a propaganda tool <BR>for your reactionary ideas. <BR> <BR> <BR>THE USE OF DEPLETED URANIUM (DU) BULLETS AND BOMBS BY NATO FORCES IN <BR>   YUGOSLAVIA  <BR> <BR>   The public at large, both in UK and in Yugoslavia, is unaware that 30-mm bullets being fired by A-10 <BR>   anti-tank aircraft and probably all Tomahawk Cruise missiles in this action contain depleted uranium <BR>   (DU).  <BR> <BR>   The development of these radioactive weapons is based on the fact that uranium (atomic mass <BR>   238) is much denser than lead (atomic mass 207), and therefore its kinetic energy is sufficient to <BR>   penetrate tank armor or concrete buildings more effectively than lead, prior to detonation. The <BR>   design of the bullet is to incorporate a long thin cylinder of DU housed in a plastic sheath or "sabot". <BR>   This means in turn that the very small leading edge of the bullet pierces with maximum impact. The <BR>   same principle is used in Tomahawk Cruise missiles, with the aim of piercing concrete obstructions <BR>   rather than metal.  <BR> <BR>   The bullets were used in the Gulf War, and some 1 million of them still lie in the deserts of that <BR>   region where subsequently the incidence of leukemia, cancer, and birth defects have risen sharply <BR>   as a consequence of the ensuing environmental radiation. The amount of DU scattered around the <BR>   Gulf war zone is given as 350 tons, but including the nose cones of Cruise missiles and helicopter <BR>   rotors, the figure is nearer 750 tons. This is 27 TBequerels of radioactivity, one fiftieth of the total <BR>   alpha releases from Sellafield over its entire operating history. The same is happening in Bosnia <BR>   where DU was also employed. Some 80,000 US Gulf War veterans now suffer from the so-called <BR>   Gulf War syndrome, whose symptoms are identical to radiation sickness. The US military are well <BR>   aware of this and are on record as confirming 2.5mGy/hr at the surface of a DU shell, a dose <BR>   equivalent to a chest X-ray per hour. Each A-10 Thunderbolt 30mm cannon anti tank shell contains <BR>   some 275g (10.1 Bq). A single 120mm Abrams tank DU shell contains 3kg of U-238 (111 MBq) of <BR>   activity.  <BR> <BR>   When DU bombs detonate, uranium oxide is formed in particulates of between 0.5 and 5 microns. <BR>   These can be wind-borne several hundred miles or suspended electrostatically in the atmosphere. <BR>   The half-life of Uranium is 109 (ten to the ninth) years, so they do not decay. One "hot particle" of <BR>   this DU material in the lungs is equivalent to a chest X-ray per hour for life. It is impossible to <BR>   remove, so the donated lung gradually irradiates the victim until death ensues. In the use of DU both <BR>   ground-based combatants and their targets are almost certain to suffer long term radiation sickness <BR>   and premature death. The Pentagon view is that the short term effectiveness outweighs the long <BR>   term situation, but this is in error.  <BR> <BR>   The public at large are unaware that these weapons are weapons of mass destruction and have <BR>   been requested to be placed, like cluster bombs, on the Geneva Convention banned list.  <BR> <BR>   It is said that the unprecedented use of Cruise missiles with DU inserts in Yugoslavia will have the <BR>   same effect as the Chernobyl and Mile Island disaster. Again these calculations by eminent <BR>   radiation physicists are not being released to the media. In other words the action of NATO not only <BR>   In this respect but also, since they have no UN mandate, are illegal, and likely to have a long term <BR>   pernicious effect not only on that part of Europe, but on their own ground troops if deployed, and <BR>   almost certainly on the refugees from the Kosovo region. This may be partly why NATO is reluctant <BR>   to engage ground troops: You will see they are beginning already to wear submicron gas masks on <BR>   the CNN and other news program pictures.  <BR> <BR>   The Yugoslav population however, together with aid workers and ethnic Albanians are largely <BR>   unprotected.  <BR> <BR>   COGHILL RESEARCH LABORATORIES <BR> <BR>   e-mail: <A HREF="mailto:cogreslab@aol.com">cogreslab@aol.com</A> Website]]></content:encoded>
						                            <category domain="https://www.viexpo.com/kosovo-war/">Kosovo War</category>                        <dc:creator>daniela</dc:creator>
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                        <pubDate>Wed, 26 May 1999 20:11:00 +0000</pubDate>
                        <description><![CDATA[Zpka, still aroud for some more  lies ?  How is referring to my supposed age going to make me inapt for the posting on this board is beyond me (and probably everyone else). Being older means...]]></description>
                        <content:encoded><![CDATA[Zpka, still aroud for some more  <BR>lies ?  <BR>How is referring to my supposed age going to make <BR>me inapt for the posting on this board is beyond me (and probably everyone else). <BR>Being older means you can insult, patronise, <BR>threaten and have a right to lie ? <BR> <BR> <BR>If it&#039;s massacred civilians you want, try a cluster bomb.  <BR> <BR>                                           Warfare&#039;s well-kept secret weapon <BR> <BR>                                                 By Norman Solomon <BR>                 Hi! My name is CBU-87/B, but let&#039;s not be formal. A lot of my friends call me Cluster Bomb.  <BR> <BR>                 I&#039;ve been busy lately, doing what I&#039;m supposed to. And I sure appreciate the careful treatment I receive from <BR>                 the American news media.  <BR> <BR>                 My pals at the Pentagon put me in the category of a "Combined Effects Munition." My maker describes me <BR>                 as an "all-purpose, air-delivered cluster weapons system." Not to brag or anything, but such labels don&#039;t do <BR>                 me justice. When I explode, the results can really be quite awesome.  <BR> <BR>                 I have gotten to do my stuff in Yugoslavia this month. One of my memorable performances came at around <BR>                 noon on a Friday. Some people in the city of Nis were shopping at a vegetable market when boom! I <BR>                 arrived. It was dramatic as hell.  <BR> <BR>                 A news article in the May 8 San Francisco Chronicle reported that "the bombs struck next to the hospital <BR>                 complex and near the market, bringing death and destruction, peppering the streets of Serbia&#039;s third-largest <BR>                 city with shrapnel and littering the courtyards with yellow bomb casings."  <BR> <BR>                 This was one of my few moments in the U.S. media limelight, so forgive me while I quote some more: "In a <BR>                 street leading from the market, dismembered bodies were strewn among carrots and other vegetables in <BR>                 pools of blood. A dead woman, her body covered with a sheet, was still clutching a shopping bag filled with <BR>                 carrots."  <BR> <BR>                 I know, it&#039;s immodest to flaunt my press notices. But people don&#039;t get to see those sorts of news accounts <BR>                 very much in America. If the stories are reported at all, they&#039;re usually buried (ha ha) on back pages of <BR>                 newspapers and rarely even mentioned on the networks.  <BR> <BR>                 Once in a while, some Western journalist decides to put me down. The moralizing can be unpleasant. For <BR>                 instance, BBC correspondent John Simpson, reporting from Belgrade, did a rather brusque commentary for <BR>                 the Sunday Telegraph in London.  <BR> <BR>                 "In Novi Sad and Nis," he wrote, "and several other places across Serbia and Kosovo where there are no <BR>                 foreign journalists, heavier bombing has brought more accidents." He complained that cluster bombs <BR>                 "explode in the air and hurl shards of shrapnel over a wide radius." And he went on to say: "Used against <BR>                 human beings, cluster bombs are some of the most savage weapons of modern warfare."  <BR> <BR>                 Spare me the overheated pejoratives, thank you.  <BR> <BR>                 Fortunately, I hardly ever have to endure such indignities in the American press.  <BR> <BR>                 But don&#039;t forget the very real accomplishments that I can partially claim as my own. The next time you see a <BR>                 headline or hear a newscaster referring to the "air campaign," remember that my achievements are <BR>                 outrageously understated by such jargon!  <BR> <BR>                 I&#039;m a 1,000-pound marvel, a cluster bomb with an ingenious design. When I go off, a couple of hundred <BR>                 "bomblets" shoot out in all directions, aided by little parachutes that look like inverted umbrellas.  <BR> <BR>                 Those chutes slow down the descent of the bomblets and disperse them so they&#039;ll hit plenty of what my <BR>                 maker calls "soft targets." Before that happens, though, each bomblet breaks into about 300 pieces of <BR>                 jagged steel shrapnel.  <BR> <BR>                 Sometimes, as a cluster bomb, I get a little jealous of the exaggerated notoriety that the news media confer <BR>                 on outfits like the National Rifle Association. They get credited with the proliferation of murder and mayhem. <BR>                 Well, they&#039;re rank amateurs! Piddling sidearms pushers! Compared to me, they&#039;re small-time retailers. I&#039;m <BR>                 into wholesale.  <BR> <BR>                 I just laugh when I read the nasty things that so many pundits have been writing about the NRA. While they <BR>                 rant and rail against assault rifles that take a few lives now and again in the United States, I&#039;ve been busy <BR>                 slicing up tender human bodies in Yugoslavia.  <BR> <BR>                 When those high school students died in Colorado, the news media kept saying what a horrendous tragedy <BR>                 it was. But what about the work I&#039;ve done on kids and grownups in Yugoslavia? Journalists merely echo the <BR>                 statements coming out of the White House, mumbling that it&#039;s regrettable and can&#039;t be helped.  <BR> <BR>                 The pundits keep talking about gun control. Meanwhile, big bombs like me are more and more out of <BR>                 control as we roam the skies above Yugoslavia.  <BR> <BR>                 Overall, this has been a great spring for me. And from the standpoint of public relations, I&#039;m doing fine. Back <BR>                 in the offices of top Washington officials, and in the upper echelons of American news media, I&#039;ve got lots of <BR>                 friends in very high places. They may pretend not to know me, but we understand each other very well.  <BR> <BR> <BR>                 Norman Solomon&#039;s latest book is "The Habits of Highly Deceptive Media."]]></content:encoded>
						                            <category domain="https://www.viexpo.com/kosovo-war/">Kosovo War</category>                        <dc:creator>daniela</dc:creator>
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                        <pubDate>Wed, 26 May 1999 16:50:00 +0000</pubDate>
                        <description><![CDATA[The Independent, 5-24-99  War in The Balkans - Protests flare in town of deserters  By Julian Manyon in Belgrade  Anti-war protests have again flared in the town of Krusevac, 200 kilometres ...]]></description>
                        <content:encoded><![CDATA[The Independent, 5-24-99 <BR> <BR>War in The Balkans - Protests flare in <BR>town of deserters <BR> <BR>By Julian Manyon in Belgrade <BR> <BR>Anti-war protests have again flared in <BR>the town of Krusevac, 200 kilometres <BR>south-east of Belgrade, where about a <BR>thousand deserters from Kosovo returned <BR>last week. According to reports from <BR>previously reliable sources reaching <BR>the capital, trouble was apparently <BR>sparked by an announcement broadcast on <BR>local radio and television yesterday <BR>morning that the conscripts and <BR>reservists who left Kosovo without <BR>orders last Tuesday would have to <BR>return. <BR> <BR>Soldiers and their families assembled <BR>at several points around the town and <BR>then marched to the main square <BR>chanting, "We want peace not war," and, <BR>"Kosovo is no use to the dead." <BR> <BR>Latest reports indicate that more than <BR>a thousand protesters gathered in the <BR>city centre where large numbers of <BR>armed police were brought in by the <BR>authorities. Ambulances were standing <BR>by but there were no reports of <BR>violence or arrests, though it was said <BR>that police had placed roadblocks on <BR>approach roads to prevent people from <BR>outlying areas reinforcing the <BR>demonstrators. <BR> <BR>Police are said to have prevented a <BR>number of conscripts from the nearby <BR>town of Alexandrovac, also the scene of <BR>anti-war protests and desertions, from <BR>driving into Krusevac to join the <BR>protests. <BR> <BR>Meanwhile my earlier account in The <BR>Independent of the mass desertion from <BR>Kosovo last week has been confirmed by <BR>a French journalist who reached <BR>Krusevac from the south on Friday. His <BR>report, published in Le Monde, quotes <BR>one of the soldiers who deserted as <BR>saying that the men left without orders <BR>in a convoy of 70 vehicles that was <BR>observed but not attacked by Nato war <BR>planes. <BR> <BR>The men had been in Kosovo for two <BR>months where they were dispersed among <BR>village houses and became increasingly <BR>anxious about Nato air attacks. When <BR>the deserters&#039; convoy approached <BR>Krusevac last Wednesday it was met by <BR>General Nebosja Pavkovic, commander of <BR>the Third Army Corps based in Nis. <BR>General Pavkovic is said to have told <BR>the men that no action would be taken <BR>against them and they could return home <BR>if they surrendered their weapons. <BR> <BR>Later, the general reportedly promised <BR>the parents of other servicemen in <BR>Kosovo that their sons would soon be <BR>coming home. <BR> <BR>Since then, the authorities have <BR>apparently been considering how best to <BR>respond to this serious act of <BR>indiscipline which could lead to <BR>widespread disaffection in other <BR>sections of the armed forces. Some <BR>military officers are said to have <BR>advised that the deserters should not <BR>be sent back to Kosovo for fear of <BR>contaminating the morale of other units <BR>that have remained at their posts. But <BR>if yesterday&#039;s reports of a new <BR>announcement instructing the men to <BR>return are confirmed, it would seem <BR>that the Belgrade authorities believe <BR>that turning a blind eye to desertion <BR>would be even more dangerous.]]></content:encoded>
						                            <category domain="https://www.viexpo.com/kosovo-war/">Kosovo War</category>                        <dc:creator>zoja</dc:creator>
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                        <link>https://www.viexpo.com/kosovo-war/archive-through-may-26-1999/paged/5/#post-4134</link>
                        <pubDate>Wed, 26 May 1999 16:47:00 +0000</pubDate>
                        <description><![CDATA[In the shadow of the executioners  Deportees&#039; ordeal Kosovo men tell of murder threats and beatings during three weeks in Serb captivity  By Jonathan Steele in Kukes Monday May 24, 1999...]]></description>
                        <content:encoded><![CDATA[In the shadow of the executioners <BR> <BR>Deportees&#039; ordeal Kosovo men tell of murder threats and beatings during three <BR>weeks in Serb captivity <BR> <BR>By Jonathan Steele <BR>in Kukes <BR>Monday May 24, 1999 <BR>The Guardian <BR> <BR>T he 15-year-old boy sits on the green plastic ground sheet, recounting his <BR>terror as one Serb policeman after another had slapped him across the face. Too <BR>young to have been educated in Serb-language <BR>schools since Kosovo&#039;s Albanians set up their own system eight years ago, he <BR>mercifully could not understand the threats the armed men were shouting. <BR> <BR>"I told the Serbs I was only 15. My mother was crying, but they separated me all <BR>the same. Only my 10-year-old brother and sister were left behind with her," <BR>Mentor Jetullah recalled yesterday. He was the <BR>youngest of a group of 1,200 men who walked out of detention and into Albania <BR>over the weekend. <BR> <BR>Most could hardly believe they were alive, let alone free. After three weeks in <BR>Serb captivity, they were suddenly put on buses and driven to Zhur, a village 2 <BR>miles from the Albanian border. Even as they <BR>trudged the final stretch which winds along the River Drini, many said they <BR>still thought they were about to be shot and dumped in the water. <BR> <BR>Exhausted and weak from hunger, they sat limply yesterday in a huge hangar-like <BR>tent put up by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in <BR>Kukes. Aid workers said they had never seen <BR>men in such wretched condition. <BR> <BR>"I sat in a room with 66 other people. It was 12ft by 12ft square. The windows <BR>were high and you could not see out properly. We were only allowed out to go to <BR>the toilet," Mentor said. "There was not enough <BR>to eat and no showers. I&#039;ve been in these clothes for three weeks. We slept on <BR>the cement floor without blankets." <BR> <BR>His brother, Adnan, 18, wept as his younger brother talked, but he managed to <BR>smile as Mentor showed the back of his silver anorak, emblazoned with the words <BR>Bear Technology, USA. "I had to wear it inside <BR>out. They beat several people who had American symbols on their clothes." <BR> <BR>Sitting beside the two brothers, Sadat, 20, declined to give his full name <BR>because his own brother is with an estimated 4,000 men still being held by the <BR>Serbs. <BR> <BR>"The Serbs came into our village of Kciqi three weeks ago. They separated the <BR>men from the women, and made us squat on the floor. I had to leave my wife and <BR>one-year-old daughter. There were police and <BR>paramilitaries and I heard one man say to a paramilitary: "Who is going to kill <BR>them?" Then they beat us with rifle butts, shouting, &#039;Go off to Nato&#039;. We were <BR>taken out to our tractors and again one man <BR>threatened to throw a grenade at us if anyone moved. He had it in his hand. They <BR>demanded all our money and took us to Smrekonice prison." <BR> <BR>For the first three days they had very little to eat and 10 bottles of water for <BR>300 people, he said. "Then we got small pieces of bread, thrown to us like <BR>animals. They would ask fathers and sons to start <BR>fighting, just to amuse them, or brother against brother. Some people were <BR>threatened with having their testicles cut off." <BR> <BR>On Saturday morning the men were unexpectedly ordered into buses. "I thought <BR>they were taking us to be executed. We didn&#039;t know where the bus was going. <BR>There were two policemen on the bus who <BR>travelled with us all the time. They told us not to raise our heads. Some men <BR>had to sit on the floor," Sadat said. "At Zhur we were told to get out of the <BR>bus and form a long queue. We were told not to talk and <BR>to go in single file straight down the road. I thought they were going to put us <BR>in the river." At the border came the final humiliation: his wedding ring and <BR>watch were stripped off. <BR> <BR>At the start of their captivity, the Serbs interrogated them on suspicion they <BR>were supporters of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA). "We lied to save ourselves. <BR>Our village gave the KLA food and fuel, but we <BR>were never fighters. We want peace, but only the KLA can give it to us," he <BR>said. <BR> <BR>Although there is no way to confirm their stories independently, several other <BR>men gave similar accounts of seizure, threats, interrogation, detention in <BR>Smrekonice with little food and water, and the theft of <BR>watches and rings. Some had already been on convoys to Albania when they were <BR>taken from their families. <BR> <BR>Murat Ademaj, 48, from the village of Skrom, near Vushtria, said the Serbs made <BR>his group of prisoners shout "Long live Milosevic", and - in a reference to the <BR>former monarch - "Long live King Peter". He said <BR>the police told him at one point: "This is Serbia. Your country is Albania." <BR> <BR>A few men in yesterday&#039;s group claimed to have heard shots after men were <BR>dragged away, but they said it happened after dark and could not be sure how <BR>many died. <BR> <BR>Several women refugees wandered through in the hope of finding their husbands. <BR>Few couples were reunited; but for yesterday&#039;s group of exhausted deportees, it <BR>was good enough just to be alive.]]></content:encoded>
						                            <category domain="https://www.viexpo.com/kosovo-war/">Kosovo War</category>                        <dc:creator>zoja</dc:creator>
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