| To: George Papadopoulos who wrote (17431) | 3/7/2001 1:14:54 AM | | From: Yaacov | | | | George, you welcome, I knew you will enjoy that piece of news! ggg The latest news is tha once Kosovars captured Greek tanks, they just left them where they were, too rusty.
They are already here by hundreds of thousands anyway! 93% of Italian violent crimes has been committed by Albanians in the past three years.
I was dead against the Genocide of Kosovars, but I think NATO has done a very bad job. Maybe it was better to allow
Serbs to make a compromise with them without NATO! WHo knows?
Sincerely
Yaacov |
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| To: Yaacov who wrote (17432) | 3/7/2001 10:38:04 AM | | From: George Papadopoulos | | | | >Genocide of Kosovars
If that was Genocide, what could we call the actions of the Nazis to Jews, Turks to Armenians, Rwandan Hutus and those Dayaks in Indonesia recently?
a. The mother of all Genocides
b Horrific massacres
c. Crime against Humanity
d. All of the above
Anyway, the real reason the Albanians left the Greek tanks alone was because they did not know how to drive them<g>
Great article on the C section of the Wall Street Journal on the barber who thought he was a tech stock genius last year...he is not as joyous anymore about his stock prowess.
Later
G
my parents vacation home was broken into again by Albanians, they broke into almost all homes in the neighborhood, captured and sent back (they'll be back)...nothing stolen, nothing there anymore, all moved back to the city...inconvenience to move the stuff back and forth, but hey at least, they still have it. |
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| To: Yaacov who wrote (17434) | 3/7/2001 2:45:48 PM | | From: George Papadopoulos | | | | Fresh Bloodshed in Balkans As West Seeks Strategy
By Anatoly Verbin
SKOPJE (Reuters) - U.S. peacekeepers fought gunmen near
Macedonia's border and a land mine killed two Yugoslav
soldiers Wednesday as Western powers sought a way to stamp
out the latest violence to threaten the Balkans.
NATO (news - web sites)'s 19 permanent ambassadors met in
Brussels without Secretary-General George Robertson, who was in Washington for talks
with the Bush administration on ending the turmoil. The U.N. Security Council was also to
tackle the issue.
Diplomats say the main problem is preventing ethnic Albanian guerrillas operating freely
across the unmarked mountain borders between Kosovo, Macedonia and southern Serbia.
A U.S. commander said NATO-led peacekeepers took control of a town in Kosovo linked
to the flashpoint Macedonian village of Tanusevci, in the first clash between KFOR and the
gunmen since Skopje sounded the alarm last week over what it called Albanian ''terrorists''
set on destabilizing the country.
The commander of the U.S.-led contingent, Tom Gross, told reporters that peacekeepers
noticed men aiming their weapons at KFOR soldiers and said ``we engaged them with direct
fire.''
``Two of the soldiers were injured and the other three soldiers retreated about 500 meters
(yards) east of Mijak,'' Gross said. One of the wounded men was evacuated by KFOR. No
peacekeepers were hurt.
Yugoslav Soldiers Killed Near Buffer Zone
Two Yugoslav soldiers died when their jeep struck a land mine north of the town of Presevo
in southern Serbia, just outside a buffer zone which runs around Kosovo's boundary with the
rest of Yugoslavia and touches the Macedonian border.
For the past year, ethnic Albanian guerrillas have based themselves in the buffer zone, from
which Yugoslav forces were banned after being pushed out of Kosovo by NATO bombing
in 1999 to end the repression of ethnic Albanians.
Robertson said at the United Nations (news - web sites) Tuesday that NATO was
considering allowing Yugoslav soldiers back into the buffer zone.
But many ethnic Albanian leaders in Kosovo denounced the proposal, saying it would only
lead to more violence.
Kole Berisha, vice president of the Democratic League of
Kosovo party, warned it would be a ``provocation, making
possible an open conflict that would include the entire region.''
An ethnic Albanian from a shadowy group calling itself the
National Liberation Army, which has emerged recently in
Macedonia, was buried in the presence of thousands of people
in western Kosovo Tuesday, local newspapers said Wednesday.
The papers said he had been wounded near Tanusevci, taken to
a Kosovo hospital and died there.
Guerrillas withdrew from Tanusevci, which lies about one kilometer inside Macedonian
territory, Monday after a heavy exchange of fire with Macedonian forces.
Macedonia Warns Of Attacks
In the Macedonian capital, a defense ministry spokesman said shortly before news of the
clash between the peacekeepers and gunmen Wednesday, that the government expected
further attacks in the area.
Asked whether Skopje foresaw an offensive, the spokesman said: ``Offensive is a strong
word, but we have strong indications that provocations like the one in Tanusevci and with the
same intensity will happen in other places on the northern border.''
Macedonia, where ethnic Albanians make up about one third of the two million population,
has so far escaped a decade of conflict which has raged through the former Yugoslav
republics of Croatia and Bosnia and, more recently, southern Serbia.
Macedonia has been reluctant to use too much force against the insurgents to avoid inflaming
ethnic tension, but Western officials said after the killing of three Macedonian soldiers at the
weekend that they would understand if Skopje took military action.
``I can assure you that not an inch of Macedonian territory will be given to extremists,''
President Boris Trajkovski said on Tuesday. ``We have enough force to deal with terrorism
but every assistance from the international community is welcome.'' |
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| To: George Papadopoulos who wrote (17435) | 3/8/2001 9:25:56 AM | | From: George Papadopoulos | | | | They are baaaack...
dailynews.yahoo.com
NATO Lets Serbs Into Buffer Zone
By Douglas Hamilton
BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The NATO (news - web sites) allies agreed on Thursday to allow the controlled return of Serbian
security forces to a buffer zone along a part of the Macedonian border where ethnic Albanian gunmen have occupied
territory.
``Do not expect an overnight blitz,'' a military source cautioned. NATO would oversee Serbian deployments into territory
that has been off-limits to the Yugoslav Army since NATO fixed the buffer zone around Kosovo in June 1999.
The commander of the NATO-led KFOR peacekeeping force in Kosovo, COMKKFOR General Carlo Cabigiosu of
Italy, would keep a tight check on the reins as well-armed Serbian forces move back to an area where only policemen with
pistols have been allowed.
``The North Atlantic Council has today agreed to certain measures including....authorizing COMKFOR to allow the
controlled return of (Yugoslav) forces into the Ground Safety Zone in a narrow sector next to the border
with...Macedonia,'' a NATO Secretary General George Robertson said in a statement.
``...COMKFOR should at this stage retain authority over the GSZ and Air Safety Zone,'' he specified.
How Deep And When To Be Determined
The Serbian forces would be given the green light to move into the five-km (three-mile) wide zone where it adjoins the
border with Macedonia, leaving an unguarded gateway which has been exploited by ethnic Albanian gunmen.
Ethnic Albanian separatist forces occupied a stretch of the buffer zone in southern Serbia last year and began launching
attacks on police in the Presevo Valley. Recently, gunmen seized adjacent Macedonian land, apparently exploiting the gate
created by NATO's no-go order to Belgrade.
The depth of the Serbian deployment to plug this gap, whether one km or deeper, was still to be settled, NATO sources
said. Timing remained also remained to be agreed.
Military sources noted that a carefully coordinated operation would be required in the border triangle area, considering there
would be KFOR troops to the west, Macedonian army forces to the south and Serb forces entering from the east with a
hostile force in the middle.
``We don't want any mistaken firefights,'' said one.
The sources said the operation would require planning and aerial surveillance, which has been hampered by recent bad
weather. They estimated the number of armed rebels operating on the Macedonian border at no more than 200.
Cabigiosu would also determine the level of armament Serbia should deploy. Military sources said it was likely to include
armored vehicles and possibly helicopters but not tanks.
The rebels are armed with heavy machineguns and rocket-propelled grenade launchers. They are not believed to possess
sophisticated weapons such as shoulder-launched Stinger anti-aircraft missiles.
Zone To Be Ceded Soon
``This is a first step in a phased and conditioned reduction of the GSZ,'' the NATO statement said.
``Further controlled return to the GSZ should continue rapidly thereafter in defined sectors, subject to approval of the North
Atlantic Council,'' it added, in an apparent reference to 200 miles of buffer zone where there has been no conflict in the past
21 months..
``Access to the final sector which has seen the most conflict will be authorized by the Council at a later stage,'' Robertson
said, apparently referring to the Presevo Valley region where the buffer zone has been occupied by 600-800 guerrillas.
NATO's decision follows many warnings to Albanian extremists that their attempts to provoke a conflict will not be
tolerated.
Robertson noted that three Serbian policemen were killed on Wednesday by a land mine planted in the Presevo Valley,
taking the death toll closer to 40 in several months of attacks.
His statement also stressed, however, that Serbia's new democratic leadership had promised dialogue with Presevo's ethnic
Albanians and other confidence-building measures. |
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| To: George Papadopoulos who wrote (17436) | 3/8/2001 10:26:18 AM | | From: George Papadopoulos | | | | I like her sense of humor<g>: ``I'm just waiting to be accused of provoking a conflict in Chechnya, floods in India, the abduction of Aldo Moro or freezing temperatures in Siberia,'' Markovic said.
dailynews.yahoo.com
Milosevic Did Not Steal From State, Wife Says
BELGRADE (Reuters) - Slobodan Milosevic (news - web sites)'s wife defended her
husband against allegations that he grew rich and stashed away funds while in power, saying
in remarks published on Thursday the ousted leader only had one bank account.
``If there is a person who did not take anything from the state, nor got anything from it, it's
him,'' Mirjana Markovic told Yugoslav weekly Vreme in an interview. ``And if there is a man
this state owes it's him.
``Every director of a good company, or a mayor of a larger municipality, has more material
possessions than he does,'' said Markovic, an influential behind-the-scenes figure during her
husband's turbulent 13 years in power.
Markovic is a leader of the neo-communist Yugoslav Left, whose officials are widely
associated in the eyes of the Serb public with getting rich through questionable business
dealings.
Milosevic's opponents have frequently alleged he and his family took advantage of their status
to plunder state assets and hoard money in a web of foreign bank accounts.
But Markovic said her husband had no bank accounts other than the one into which his
salary had been paid.
``The ugliest thing of all that can be heard about him constantly on TV or read in the press is
that he had financially benefited from his... presidential position,'' she said.
She spoke bitterly about ex-allies who had become rich when Milosevic was in power only
to switch sides when he was ousted, buying the new leadership's silence by ``selling out their
party colleagues, political associates or personal friends.''
Milosevic's party friends had fled to other parties, retired or cut some deal with the new
leadership, ``to refrain from defending their boss, to keep silent,'' she said.
Mysterious Killings
Markovic also denied any knowledge of or role in mysterious killings and assassination bids
when her husband was in power.
``I'm just waiting to be accused of provoking a conflict in Chechnya (news - web sites),
floods in India, the abduction of Aldo Moro or freezing temperatures in Siberia,'' Markovic
said. Moro, a former Italian prime minister, was assassinated in 1978.
``It is a little bit too much, even from political opponents and malicious individuals,'' she said.
Milosevic's foes, who ousted him last year, have accused his secret police of being behind
murders and other crimes.
His secret police chief Rade Markovic was arrested last month on suspicion of ordering an
assassination attempt in 1999 against then opposition leader Vuk Draskovic.
``I don't know whether the accident on the Ibarska highway was of a political or of a traffic
nature,'' said Markovic, referring to a car crash which slightly injured Draskovic and killed
four of his associates.
But, she added: ``I sincerely believe the authorities in Serbia played no part in that matter.'' |
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| To: Yaacov who wrote (17434) | 3/9/2001 9:56:49 PM | | From: goldsnow | | | | Kind of reminds you of Soviet style revision of history?
"Nato Secretary-General Lord Robertson said: "We want to prevent what can be limited, localised skirmishes becoming bigger or spilling over into the wider region."
news.bbc.co.uk
Was not it exactly that before Maddy decided to get some respect from Milo? <gg> |
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| To: Yaacov who wrote (17432) | 3/9/2001 10:02:53 PM | | From: goldsnow | | | | Maybe it was better to allow
Serbs to make a compromise with them without NATO! WHo knows?>>>
Who knows? Who knows???!!!!
Is it a rhetorical question?
Who does not know? <ggg> |
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| To: George Papadopoulos who wrote (17436) | 3/10/2001 12:06:08 PM | | From: John Lacelle | | | | Those nice Albanian "Freedom Fighters" now seek Macedonia!
Jeesus...they are blasting away at Macedonian troops. I guess they
think that since 1/3 of Macedonia is ethnic Albanian, they must own
the place.
This situation is just like with the Taliban and Osama bin Laden. We
help em out and then they turn the guns on us.
Get the body bags ready...
-John |
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| To: John Lacelle who wrote (17440) | 3/10/2001 7:53:20 PM | | From: George Papadopoulos | | | | SHOCKING Development in the Balkans<gggggg>
dailynews.yahoo.com
U.S. Links Belgrade Aid, Milosevic Arrest - Report
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States has told the
Belgrade government it should arrest and imprison former
Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic (news - web sites) by
the end of March if it expects American aid to continue, The
New York Times reported on Saturday.
The demand for Milosevic's arrest was included in a three-page
list of demands delivered last week by the U.S. ambassador to
Belgrade, William Montgomery, to Yugoslav President Vojislav Kostunica (news - web
sites), Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic of Serbia and other senior officials, the newspaper said.
Belgrade was also asked to assist in transferring at least one person indicted on war crimes
charges to the international tribunal in The Hague (news - web sites) and to cooperate with
the tribunal on ''international charges against Milosevic,'' according to the report.
The State Department declined to confirm that the Bush administration had asked Belgrade
to take action against Milosevic.
``We are looking at all aspects of Belgrade's cooperation with the Hague tribunal, as well as
other issues relating to democracy and human rights in Serbia,'' a State Department official
said.
The U.S. Congress had already set a deadline of March 31 for Yugoslavia's new democratic
government to show a clear sign of cooperating over Milosevic, who is under indictment by
the tribunal in The Hague for war crimes, if it is to receive the balance of $100 million in U.S.
aid. About half of that aid has not yet been disbursed.
The latest demands ratchet up the pressure on Belgrade to act swiftly against Milosevic to
avoid a suspension of aid.
President George W. Bush (news - web sites) must certify to Congress by the March 31
deadline that Yugoslavia is cooperating with the U.N. tribunal on international war crimes in
the former Yugoslavia.
Belgrade has indicated that the net is closing in on Milosevic and that he may soon be brought
to trial in Serbia. But it has balked at Western demands that he be handed over to the war
crimes tribunal.
Djindjic suggested on Friday that his government might try Milosevic in Belgrade but urged
the international community to respect Serbia's desire to try the former strongman in its own
courts rather than deliver him to the tribunal.
The Times said Washington had not insisted in its latest demands that Milosevic be
transferred immediately to The Hague. But official U.S. policy remains that he should at some
point face charges before the international tribunal for Serbian actions and war crimes
allegedly committed before and during the 1999 Kosovo war. |
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