L'menexe, I looked in on the S.U.C. website (Tanjug's sponsor) to see what their discussions were like. Egads! I'm glad I'm here and not there! They're pretty rudimentary in their dialog. A lot of frank and simple talk. ;o{) I'm going to look in on Beograd.com next. I archive all their posts. Great raw information. Good for getting a feel for attitudes and sentiments. BETA news agency too.

Ya know, T'gunn remindes me of a colorful character ('JR') who I ran across while the LA Times 'OJ Simpson' forum was at its height and later at the 'Gate.' I've not checked into the Gate recently, but its got a lot of really great folks from the 'Bay area' and the western U.S. Not many who are from the Balkins region tho. A shame too.

Zoja, I discovered that DANI's content (on their web site) is relegated to old archives. Seems they are too capitalistic to put their current stuff out there for us to see (and copy.) :o) So I sent them an e-mail goading them, hoping they'll put some of it (the more recent articles) out there for all to enjoy. Helll, even Slate ( MicroSoft's site) caved into pressure from Salon (whos editor used to work for the Washington Post.) Of course Slate's content leaves much to be desired. Salon, on the other hand, is a smorgus board of fair, good and great articles.

phil

Why Kosovo? - Why Yugoslavia?

The existence of the Trepca mining complex is not unknown, nor is it's economic importance to the region disputed.

However, in all my research of hundreds of analyses, reports, articles, etc. from foreign policy journals, think tanks, analysts, government sources, mainstream and alternative news sources, I have NEVER come across anyone suggesting that the war in Kosovo is being waged over lead, zinc, cadmium, gold, and silver.

This ludicrous notion is apparent only on the above noted Albanian website!!

Nope, it's still OIL.

Whatever the $$value of these minerals ($1.5 trillion??), they pale in comparison to the value of Caspian oil - the Tenghiz field alone is estimated to contain reserves greater than those of Saudi Arabia.

Whoever controls Caspian oil will control the next century.

tommygunns

=================================================
From Kosovo Crisis Center at www.alb-net.com

Why Mitrovica?

Trepca mining complex (Tregu i vjeter), located in the northern part of Mitrovica is worth about $5 billion as a piece of real estate. Earning potential, however, is a different matter.

While under Serbia's control, a $519 billion contract with Greece was signed and it obligates the mining facility to deliver one third of the minerals it produces over five years to Mytilinaios SA, the Greek mining company. This suggests that the remaining two thirds of minerals produced over five years could be sold at a comparable price to other mining companies. The grand total would be $1.56 Trillion - paid to the owner of the mining complex - for minerals produced over five years.

The amount of $1.56 Trillion would be wholesale cost, without considering the mark-up.

Mining companies like Mytilinaios SA will sell minerals produced from the mine - lead, zinc, cadmium, gold, silver - to the international market at a marked-up price. If the mark-up is 200 percent, the net profit would be $1.56 Trillion.

''There is over 30 percent lead and zinc in the ore,'' said Novak Bjelic, the mine's beefy Serb former director in an interview to "The New York Times" a few months ago. ''The war in Kosova is about the mines, nothing else. This is Serbia's Kuwait -- the heart of Kosova. We export to France, Switzerland, Greece, Sweden, the Czech Republic, Russia and Belgium..."

The sprawling state-owned Trepca mining complex, the most valuable piece of real estate in the Balkans, is worth at least $5 billion and has made millions of dollars for the Yugoslav President, Slobodan Milosevic, according to his critics.

This just proves that Religious Shrines are not the real reason Serbia wanted Kosova. It was Kosova's wealthy mines.

Just for the hell of it, I thought I'd share with y'all one of my favorite poems/poets. Yeats' vision is as true today as it was when he wrote it in 1920-21.

tommygunns

==================================================

THE SECOND COMING

William Butler Yeats

"Turning and turning in the widening gyre
The falcon cannot hear the falconer;
Things fall apart; the center cannot hold;
Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,
The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere
The ceremony of innocence is downed;
The best lack all conviction, while the worst
Are full of passionate intensity."

Surely some revelation is at hand:
Surely the Second Coming is at hand.
The Second Coming! Hardly are those words out
When a vast image out of Spiritus Mundi
Troubles my sight: somewhere in sands of the desert
A shape with lion body and the head of a man,
A gaze blank and pitiless as the sun,
Is moving it's slow thighs, while all about it
Reel shadows of the indignant desert birds.
The darkness drops again; but now I know
That twenty centuries of stony sleep
were vexed to nightmare by a rocking cradle,
And what rough beast, its hour come round at last,
Slouches towards Bethlehem to be born?

FYI:

Re: S.U.C.

- tommygunns

The SERBIAN UNITY CONGRESS is a non-profit international organization
representing Serbs and friends of Serbs in the diaspora committed to ensuring the continuation of the Serbian heritage. It was incorporated in 1990 in response to the historic changes occurring in Yugoslavia. Its long term goal is to contribute to democratization and reconstruction of the Serbian territories.

Founders of the Serbian Unity Congress

S.U.C. Founding Members

HRH Prince Andrej Karadjordjevic
HRH Prince Aleksandar Karadjordjevic
Djordjevich, Michael
Georgevich, Dragoslav

OFFICES

Central Office:

Jelena Kolarovich, Director
PMB 352
17216 Saticoy St.
Van Nuys, CA 91406-2103
fax: (818) 902- 9891

Belgrade Office:

Slavka Draskovic, Director
Dositeja Obradovica 12
11000 Belgrade, Serbia
Phone: 011 381 11 624 129

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Milosh D. Milenkovich, President
Milosh_Milenkovich@Suc.Org

Mr. Milenkovich came to the United States from Yugoslavia in 1954. After high school education in Cleveland, he obtained a B.S. in Metallurgical Sciences from Case Western University (Case Institute of Technology) in 1964. In 1969, he obtained a law degree from Cleveland-Marshall Law School (now part of Cleveland State University). Mr. Milenkovich's initial career was in the metal working industry where he held management positions, as well as publishing articles, pamphlets, and holding seminars on technological aspects of metal working, such as heat treating, plating and steel alloying of medium carbon steels. In 1985, he left the metal industry to found his own law practice. He now practices mainly in the area of civil law. Mr. Milenkovich lives in Cleveland with his wife Elizabeth.

Ron Radakovich, Executive Vice President
Ron_Radakovich@Suc.Org

Ron, a former Vice-President of Kaiser Aluminum & Chemical Corporation is currently a management consultant with Rockdale Partners. A Minnesota native he holds B.A. and Master's degrees from the University of Minnesota. His parents emigrated from Lika and Bosna. Ron serves on several Boards of Directors, including the Byzantine American Alliance of Northern California and the Patriarch Athenagoras Orthodox Institute at the University of California, Berkeley. He is currently the Vice-President of the Serbian Orthodox Church-Western American Diocese. He and his wife Mickey live in Walnut Creek, California.

Michael Djordjevich, Vice President
Michael_Djordjevich@Suc.Org

Mike is the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Capital Guarantee Corp., an insurance company based in San Francisco. Mike received his bachelos degree from the University of California and his master's degree from San Francisco State University. He is one of the founders of the Serbian Unity Congress and was elected its first president in 1990. Mike is also the recipient of the Americanism Medal from the Daughters of the American Revolution (the highest medal the organization awards a foreign-born national); he was a member of the Statue of Liberty/Ellis Island Centennial Comission and is the author of numerous poems and books.

Nick Petrovich, Past President
Nick_Petrovich@Suc.Org

Nick was born in Uzice, Serbia, and at the age of 16 joined Gen. Mihailovich forces. At the age of 17 he escaped to Greece, later moving to Italy, and then to the United State, where he went on to study international finances at the University of Chicago and the University of Detroit. His work with Monsanto Chemical Company led him to Mexico in 1962 where he lives now. In 1972 he started his own financial consulting firm, Intercapital S.A. He resides in Mexico City with his wife Rosa-Carmen Fernandez. They have three children.

Nikola P. Kostich, Vice President
Nikola_Kostich@Suc.Org

Nikola is a well-known trial attorney, partner in the law firm of Styler, Kostich, LeBeII, Dobroski & McGuire in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He specializes in the representation of clients charged with serious violations of the law and has appeared before State and Federal trial and Appellate courts throughout the Midwest as well as the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia and the Yugoslav Arbitration Tribunal. He was born in Yugoslavia. Education in the form of a Bachelor¹s and Law Degrees were obtained from the University of Wisconsin. A post- graduate diploma was awarded to Nikola from the Europa Institute, University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Lives with his wife, Shirley in Shorewood, Wisconsin.

Dr. Vojin Joksimovich, Past President
Vojin_Joksimovich@Suc.Org

Vojin is the President and Chief Executive Officer of Accident Prevention Group, Inc. (APG) in San Diego, Ca. The company, he co- founded specializes in the field of nuclear power plant safety. Was born, raised and educated in Belgrade, Yugoslavia. Emigrated from Yugoslavia in 1965 to Great Britain. Upon receiving doctorate degree in Nuclear Engineering in London, came to the U.S. in 1970. Vojin has delivered many talks on the tragic civil war in former Yugoslavia, written numerous letters to the editors and authored forty columns in newspapers of Southern California. For his writings received Gramata from the Serbian Orthodox Church. Lives with his wife Nada in Escondido, California.

Question for anyone who cares to answer:

Is General Agim Ceku of the Kosovo Liberation Army the same Agim Ceku, the Croatian General who led Operation Storm against the Krajina Serbs in '95?

Just wondering.

tommygunns

T'gunns,

I don't doubt for a bit there is more in this war that meets the eye, just like any war. But if it would be all oil and capitalism, wouldn't it be more logical if the 'capitalist nations' would have supported the democratic resistance earlier? Try mid to end eighties??? Just look at this piece from RFE 16th of August a an example of the attitude towards the resistance now.... and the big ABSENCE of intervention from the US and NATO...


BELGRADE REGIME WARNS OPPONENTS... Yugoslav Prime
Minister Momir Bulatovic told the parliament on 17
August that an unspecified "powerful, illegal,
international movement" seeks to overthrow the "legally
elected Yugoslav government." Telecommunications
Minister Ivan Markovic of the hard-line United Yugoslav
Left said that "the agents of terrorism in Serbia are
not just the members of the so-called Kosova Liberation
Army (UCK), but those gathered in the Alliance for
Change." The alliance is one of the main sponsors of the
19 August demonstration. Elsewhere, the state-run daily
"Politika" called unnamed members of the opposition
"political midgets and losers." PM

....TAKES MEASURES AGAINST THEM. Seven policemen beat up
and arrested artist Bogoljub Arsenijevic on 17 August in
front of the Belgrade offices of former General Momcilo
Perisic's Movement for Democratic Serbia. A spokesman
for the movement criticized the police action and
promised that "our lawyers will launch proper legal
action" on Arsenijevic's behalf. The artist attracted
public attention in July when he led a violent take-over
of the town hall in Valjevo (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 13
July 1999). In Pancevo, the local Prosecutor's Office
began an investigation into opposition leader Vesna
Pesic's remarks at a recent rally in Vrsac, RFE/RL's
South Slavic Service reported on 17 August. Pesic told
the protesters that the Serbian people might get rid of
Milosevic by using the "Romanian method" unless he goes
voluntarily. Her remarks were an allusion to the violent
overthrow of Romanian dictator Nicolae Ceausescu in
December 1989. Top Serbian officials subsequently
accused her of encouraging "terrorism" (see "RFE/RL
Newsline," 16 August 1999).

Curious to say the least.

And before I get a sources and url bombardment, I will tell you this message is supproted by other sources inside the country. This item was just a handy summary.

Zoja

One more thing struck me in this little argument. This remark made by Phil:L'menexe, I looked in on the S.U.C. website (Tanjug's sponsor) to see what their discussions were like. Egads! I'm glad I'm here and not there! They're pretty rudimentary in their dialog. A lot of frank and simple talk. ;o{) I'm going to look in on Beograd.com next. I archive all their posts. Great raw information. Good for getting a feel for attitudes and sentiments. BETA news agency too.

This rudimentary argument is significant. It tells you something. It tells you people are suffering from non existing freedom of speech. Which is also the reason why DANI has such a hard time keeping their site up to date....

Please guys, discussing is fine, but keep your feet on the ground. Always keep in mind you guys have a nice safe distance from it all. Bear it in mind when you check out all the different URL's. Distance can give you handy bird's eye view, but it can also bring you further from the root of the problem....

Zoja

Zoja,

I posted the information regarding the S.U.C (Serbian Unity Congress) website to point out that there is NO indication of any affiliation with the Tanjung News Agency as Phil implied. The only obvious affiliation is with the Karadjordjevic Royalists. From what I can tell, the site's server is not located in Serbia, but in the USA.

Re:

"...wouldn't it be more logical if the 'capitalist nations' would have supported the democratic resistance earlier? Try mid to end eighties???..."

No, because the western powers were never interested in democratic reform. Their objective is, and always has been, the destruction of Yugoslavia.

Re: the artcle from RFE/RL

"Yugoslav Prime Minister Momir Bulatovic told the parliament on 17 August that an unspecified 'powerful, illegal, international movement' seeks to overthrow the 'legally elected Yugoslav government'."

1. The current government in Belgrade IS the legally elected government in an election monitored and verified by international observers.

2. If there was a widespread movement to overthrow the government of the US, you can be sure there would be plenty of harassment, intimidation, arrests, etc. In fact, that did happen in this country in the 60s and 70s. Operation COINTELPRO was a "secret police" operation that infiltrated student organizations, labor unions, anti-war groups and any non-mainstream political organization. Many people's lives were destroyed, many were imprisoned, and many assassinated.

So, yes I'm sure the events you posted are real, and I don't condon or approve of them at all. However, being a realist, I know that no government is going to passively sit back and allow itself to be overthrown. To believe it should or will is simply naive.

3. There IS a powerful, international movement seeking to overthrow the Yugoslav government - the US government, under the direction of our disgraceful President, has committed $$millions to opposition organizations inside the FRY for the sole purpose of overthrowing the government there. Even worse, he has ordered US Agencies to hack computer networks and break into bank accounts, seizing assets and money (not just Milosevic's) - this is criminal behavior of the worst kind. Are you aware of the ring of TV and radio transmitters now being constructed in Bosnia, Kosovo, Macedonia - the purpose of which is to jam communications throughout Serbia.

4. A reminder: RFE/RL (Radio Free Europe and Radio Liberty) are 100% funded by the US government (my tax $$!!) and their sole purpose is to broadcast the US government's views. In other words, RFE/RL are no different than Tanjung. Soon, there will only be RFE/RL and NATO broadcasts in Serbia - much like it is now in Bosnia.

A few questions:

a) Isn't it curious that of all the former SFRY republics, Serbia itself remains multi-ethnic, multi-linguistic, multi-religious; has multiple political parties; has independent media outlets - none of it perfect for sure, but the same cannot be said for the others.

b) Can you imagine 150,000 people marching through the streets of Sarajevo shouting "Izbetzegovic, resign!"?????? or Croatians in Zagreb? Very unlikely, indeed.

tommygunns

Zoja wrote:

"Please guys, discussing is fine, but keep your feet on the ground. Always keep in mind you guys
have a nice safe distance from it all. Bear it in mind when you check out all the different URL's.
Distance can give you handy bird's eye view, but it can also bring you further from the root of the
problem.... "

Zoja,

My feet are firmly planted in the ground. Yes, I am physically at a distance from events in the Balkans, but not necessarily "nice and safe". I live in the belly of the beast and know that sooner or later it will all come home - ultimately, it will be the American people who will confront the imperialist monster.

You may think that I'm opposed to Clinton because of his sexual scandals, but I assure you I could care less what he does with his pathetic little penis! What most don't realize (because they're not paying attention) is that he has signed into legislation more anti-civil liberties laws in the last 6 1/2 years than Reagan/Bush even dreamed doing. His latest is to allow federal law enforcement the right to break-in and place devices on any computer that will counter encryption, steal passwords, and allow government hackers to search for whatever the hell they want. Slowly, year by year, our government is doing exactly what you and others claim Milosevic did in Yugoslavia - grabbed all power for the government (I'm refering to the article Emina posted from her friend about how everything was turned upside down over the last 10 years).

Do you know Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention. If you ever get a chance, listen to their song "It can't happen here". It was recorded 30 years ahead of it's time.

cheers,

tommygunns

A few questions:

a) Isn't it curious that of all the former SFRY republics, Serbia itself remains multi-ethnic, multi-linguistic, multi-religious; has multiple political parties; has independent media outlets - none of it perfect for sure, but the same cannot be said for the others.
Tommygunns
Your obviously not aware of it, but in the end of the eighties beginning ninethees there were people marching in the streets of Sarajevo. And we had a strong underground movement. I tell you this ONLY 6 of us me one of them are still alive.It was not media covered back then cause people simply didn't care a ••••!

b) Can you imagine 150,000 people marching through the streets of Sarajevo shouting "Izbetzegovic, resign!"?????? or Croatians in Zagreb? Very unlikely, indeed.

* ANswerd your question above my sis was luckely no part of the mascares followed but my family was

Emina
tommygunns

" The SERBIAN UNITY CONGRESS is a non-profit international organization representing Serbs and friends of Serbs in the diaspora committed to ensuring the continuation of the Serbian heritage. "

T'gunn, about the only thing international about this group is their names and place of birth (except for Radakovich.)

Let's see:

1) Milosh D. Milenkovich, President...initial career was in the metal working industry now practices mainly in the area of civil law. Mr. Milenkovich lives in Cleveland,

2) Ron Radakovich, Executive Vice President
former Vice-President of Kaiser Aluminum & Chemical Corporation...is currently the Vice-President of the Serbian Orthodox Church-Western American Diocese, Walnut Creek, California,

3) Michael Djordjevich, Vice President
is the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Capital Guarantee Corp,in San Francisco,

4) Nick Petrovich, Past President...work(ed) with Monsanto Chemical Company...In 1972 he started his own financial consulting...in Mexico City,

5) Nikola P. Kostich, Vice President...is a well-known trial attorney, partner in the law firm of Styler, Kostich, LeBeII, Dobroski & McGuire in Milwaukee, Wisconsin,

6) Dr. Vojin Joksimovich, Past President is...the President and Chief Executive Officer of Accident Prevention Group, Inc. (APG) in San Diego, Ca.,

Mining, chemicals, insurance, finance, law and pro Milosevic too. Now what's going on here?

phil

TOMMYGUNNS
Btw its obvious you never lived or been to Bosnia. otherwise you would know it is still multiethnic only all groups are sabotaged and artificially separted still.

Emina

Emina wrote:

"Your obviously not aware of it, but in the end of the eighties beginning ninethees there were
people marching in the streets of Sarajevo. And we had a strong underground movement. I tell you
this ONLY 6 of us me one of them are still alive.It was not media covered back then cause people simply didn't care a ••••!"

Yes, I am aware of what happened in the late eighties. I've done a great deal of research and reading. A lot has changed since that time and I am refering to the present. The US/Nato powers have managed to divide and conquer Yugoslavia - today there are insignificant ethnic minorities in Slovenia and Croatia; Bosnia is a UN/Nato protectorate divided into three seperate ethnic enclaves; Kosovo is nearly ethnically cleansed of all non-Albanians.

No, I haven't been to Bosnia. There are many places in the world I haven't been. There are also many I have been to. It isn't necessary to have been everywhere in order to understand how the world works. I have a passion for geography, history, politics, and international relations and make an effort to educate myself and keep up with current events around the world.

As I mentioned to your sister in an earlier post, you and she are personally involved in the Balkan tragedy. I understand and sympathize with you and what you've lost. By circumstance, I'm not emotionally involved. I view the break-up of Yugoslavia from a broad historical perspective. I do not support, am not pro, any of the leaders, factions, groups now operating there. There are no "good-guys", but there are plenty of "bad-guys" - "little bad-guys" like Milosevic, Thaci, Kucan, Izbetzegovic, et. al., and some "REALLY BIG bad-guys". It's the latter that concern me. They fiddle while Rome burns, but it is the ordinary people like you who suffer.

I'm tempted to post an excellent analysis of the Balkan wars, but I'll heed Zoja's advice about long articles (for now - :>)). If you like, you can download it from

www.wsws.org

It's titled: AFTER THE SLAUGHTER: POLITICAL LESSONS OF THE BALKAN WAR. I must warn you, it's long and can put most people to sleep, but it nevertheless is (in my opinion) and accurate picture.

There are many points made in my posts and questions asked that haven't been responded to. Can I assume that everyone agrees with those points? [Note: this is tongue-in-cheek. See, I'm laughing - :-])))))))))))

Re: Thaci. I'm still working on finding some background information on him. He seems to have appeared out of nowhere at Ramboulette, but since I don't believe in ghosts or spirits I'll keep searching. At least I know where Ceku was before Kosovo. I'm checking on Selim too.

Re: S.U.C. - I'm still searching their site for pro-Milosevic evidence. I've found quite a bit of pro-Serb/Serbia, pro-Yugoslavia, and anti-NATO stuff, but so far nothing specifically pro-Milosevic.

BTW - a lot has been said about Milosevic's speech at Kosovo Polje in 1989. There's nothing like getting information straight from the horses mouth, rather than relying on CNN's or NYT's interpretation. With that in mind, I found the following:

MILOSEVIC'S SPEECH AT KOSOVO FIELD IN 1989
by Jared Israel

located at: www.emperors-clothes.com

The speech comes from a direct U.S. Dept. of Commerce transcript.

tommygunns
"Don't follow leaders, watch your parking meters"

Here's something to lighten up the atmosphere a little. Hope you all enjoy and can put them to good humored use.

tommygunns


ASS-ICONS

FOR AMUSEMENT ONLY. NOT TO BE USED AS WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION!!


>> (_!_) a regular ass
>>
>> (__!__) a fat ass
>>
>> (!) a tight ass
>>
>> (_._) a flat ass
>>
>> (_^^_) a bubble ass
>>
>> (_*_) a sore ass
>>
>> (_!__) a lop-sided ass
>>
>> {_!_} a swishy ass
>>
>> (_o_) an ass that's been around
>>
>> (_O_) ass that's been around even more
>>
>> (_x_) kiss my ass
>>
>> (_X_) leave my ass alone
>>
>> (_zzz_) a tired ass
>>
>> (_o^^o_) a wise ass
>>
>> (_13_) an unlucky ass
>>
>> (_?_) a dumb ass

Venton Surroi captures and eloquently expresses the frustration of many with the terrible behavior of some of his fellow countrymen. phil

---

Veton Surroi (Koha ditore, Aug. 18, page 1; translated from Albanian):
The Major Kosovo Albanian Daily - (The Daily Times)

THE BELLS OF SHAME

An old woman, beaten to death in her bathtub. A 2-year-old child wounded while its mother is murdered. Two kids killed by grenade launchers. A woman who does not dare to give her name in public because she is afraid that those who tried to violate her will knock on her door again.
These are [Kosova] Serbs during the last four weeks. These are the quiet people, locked in their flats, scared to death, living in an atmosphere
where every sound seems a threat, where every car that stops might take you away to your death. Add the old couple, pensioned off long ago, who
have nothing to eat and are afraid to go to the market to buy food because their deficient Albanian would be noticed. Add to this that they
also have no food because their neighbours are afraid even to buy food for them, having been warned not to "feed Serbs".

I know how the Serbs feel these last four weeks, because I and nearly two million other Albanians have been there before them. Not to mention
the Roma who also are persecuted on openly racist grounds. I recognize their feelings: Every car that stopped before our doors was a potential
danger; every sound was the announcement of inevitable death; from our Serbian neighbours, little or no help could be expected; the radio told us that the Serbian government had given its units the right to kill automatically, at will, anybody, even children and old people. I cannot
hide my shame that now, for the first time in Kosovar history, I must learn that Kosovar Albanians are able to commit monstrous crimes. I
cannot be silent. I have to speak out and say that for us as a nation it is a reason for great anxiety that for the first time, even the most
basic rule of our moral code has been broken: the rule that children, women and old people are inviolable. I know the defence everybody puts
forward automatically: that we have passed through a barbaric war in which Serbs were responsible for the most heinous crimes and in which the intensity of violence has left a thirst for revenge in a part of the Albanian people. But this is no justification. We have seen the flight of those Serbs who had served their rulers and used every kind of violence against Albanians, of those Serbs who had to fear the revenge of the Albanians who now had to open the graves of their families. But
the violence to-day, two months after the arrival of NATO forces, is not only an emotional reaction. We are faced with an organized system - or with organized systems - of violence, a spiral of violence against the Serbs; and we are faced with a thinking behind this violence which holds that every Serb must be punished for what happened in Kosova. This thinking is called fascism. This is the thinking against which the people of Kosova stood up in ten years of fighting against Milosevic.

This is the thinking against which, in the last phase of the battle, the KLA had to appear to show that the Albanian people of Kosova was ready
even to take up arms in its struggle.

The Serbian victims to-day and their life in danger and fear, the threat against their community, are a shame not only for a small part of our people. This ignominy we will have to bear collectively, it will dishonour us all, who only some months ago flooded the television screens all over the world with our sufferings. It will dishonour even the Albanian victims of Kosova, those children, women and old people who have been killed only because they were Albanians.

The others, Europeans and Americans, will not blame us because we did not defend a "multiethnic Kosova". After all, even before the war, Kosova was just as multiethnic as Slovenia; and who is talking about a multiethnic Slovenia? But they will accuse us that from being the victims of the greatest persecution at the end of this European century we so very easily changed into those that allowed (and comparative numbers or intensity are of no importance here) that others also are
persecuted in Kosova, that fascism is repeated.

And they will be right. And those who believe that this will stop with the leaving of the Serbs will be undeceived. It will be the turn of the Albanians again, but this time as victims of other Albanians.

Is this what we fought for?

Veton Surroi