MPRI - Operation Storm Croatia (...it was just for the money)

Time magazine

Jan 15 1996

"We will not be able to leave unless the Bosnian government is armed and prepared to defend itself," says Democratic Senator Joseph Biden of Delaware. "That's the ticket home for Americans." Biden, who backs the Bosnian muslims, has quietly won $100 million in Pentagon weaponry and supplies for Sarajevo in a 1996 spending bill. Some U.S. officials say it will take several times that amount to "right the military balance". Nations likely to be asked for weapons and cash include Turkey, Egypt and Pakistan. Those countries, expecting nearly $3 billion in U.S. aid this year, may have a hard time saying no.

The problem is the Bosnian Serbs. They object to the notion that the U.S., by agreement a neutral party, would make any move to strengthen the Bosnian army. The U.S. fears Serb attacks on its troops if it uses them to arm and train the Bosnians. In fact, the Clinton Administration has pledged that U.S. troops will not play an active role in rearming the Bosnians. So how is Washington to achieve what it considers the necessary balance of power in the region? After months of fretting, the U.S. has come up with a plan. Senior officials told Time that some private company, most likely MPRI, which has done work for the Croats, will train the Bosnians, who will be freshly outfitted with hundreds of tons of new weapons provided by the U.S. and its allies. Assistant Secretary of State Richard Holbrooke, who brokered the Dayton pact, recently spoke favorably of MPRI in testimony to Congress and says training "can begin as soon as the contracts are worked out."

Croatia gave a dramatic demonstration of military power last August, when it drove rebel Serbs from the Krajina region. That offensive took place seven months after MPRI began its work in the country. Other U.S. military men say whatever MPRI did for the Croats--and many suspect more than classroom instruction was involved--it was worth every penny. "Carl Vuono and Butch Saint are hired guns and in it for the money," says Charles Boyd, a recently retired four-star Air Force general who was the Pentagon's No. 2 man in Europe until July. "They did a very good job for the Croats (biggest ethnic cleansing since ww2), and I have no doubt they'll do a good job in Bosnia." ...

August 18, 2010

A private U.S. defense contractor “trained and equipped the Croatian military for Operation Storm and designed the Operation Storm battle plan,” which killed or displaced more than 200,000 Serbs in 1995, in the largest European land offensive since World War II, the Genocide Victims of Krajina say in Chicago Federal Court. They demand billions of dollars in damages from MPRI, founded by U.S. military officers who were “downsized” at the end of the Cold War, and L-3 Communications, which bought MPRI for $40 million in 2000.”This is a class action brought by ethnic Serbs who resided in the Krajina region of Croatia up to August 1995 and who then became victims of the Croatian military assault known as Operation Storm - an aggressive, systematic military attack and bombardment on a demilitarized civilian population that had been placed under the protection of the United Nations,” the 40-page complaint begins.”Operation Storm was designed to kill or forcibly expel the ethnic Serbian residents of the Krajina region from Croatian territory, just because they were a minority religio-ethnic group. Defendant MPRI, a private military contractor subsequently acquired by Defendant L-3 Communications Inc., trained and equipped the Croatian military for Operation Storm and designed the Operation Storm battle plan. Operation Storm became the largest land offensive in Europe since World War II and resulted in the murder and inhumane treatment of thousands of ethnic Serbs, the forced displacement of approximately 200,000 ethnic Serbs from their ancestral homes in Croatian territory, and the pillaging and destruction of hundreds of millions of dollars worth of Serbian-owned property. 

The victims of Operation Storm and their heirs and next of kin herein claim that Defendants were complicit in genocide.” Two named plaintiffs, Milena Jovic and Zivka Mijic, describe what they suffered in the offensive. Jovic says that as she and her husband and children fled the bombardment of Knin, on Aug. 4, 1995, “they saw dozens of bodies scattered throughout the streets and roads leading out of Knin and houses and buildings burning as a result of shelling with incendiary explosives. … While driving through the Lika area in the Krajina region, the Jovic’s refugee column was shelled by artillery, and bombed and strafed by Croatian military aircraft. People were wounded and dying all around them.”They escaped to Serbia, where they still live. Mijic, who suffered the same attack, say she and her family was a neighbor “decapitated when struck by an artillery projectile … and many other attacks by Croatian forces resulting in refugees being wounded and killed in their exodus from the Krajina.”They lived in a refugee camp in Kosovo, and were granted residency in the United States in July 2000. They claim, for the class, the MPRI and L3 knew, or should have known, when they sought work as mercenaries in the former Yugoslavia, of the atrocities and war crimes that Croatians had committed against Serbs in World War II concentration camps, and in widely reported statements from Croatian officials, including its president, in the 1980s, as the violence in the former Yugoslavia intensified. The United Nations in 1991 set up four protected areas - two of them in Krajina - to protect Croatian civilians from the Serbs. “The concern thus evidenced by the Security Council for the Serbian inhabitants of Krajina is objective proof of the imminence of hostilities coming from Croatia. This fact was known or reasonably should have been known to MPRI,” according to the complaint.”By October 1994, the accelerating campaign in Croatia to kill or oust all the Serbs in that country had focused intently upon the 200,000 Serbs living in the Krajina region. There was pressure on the Croatian Army to get rid of these people. But the Army could not figure out any way to do so. Objectively speaking it was virtually impossible to move or kill 200,000 people,” the complaint states.

The class claims that MPRI got a multimillion-dollar contract from Croatia in or about October 1994. Among MPRI’s duties were to “procure through its contacts heavymilitary equipment including artillery batteries and import it into Croatia; [and] arrange for Croatia to receive real-time coded and pictorial information from US reconnaissance satellites over Krajina in order for the data to be used for accuracy targeting in artillery batteries,” the complaint states.”It was evident that MPRI’s acts, especially including equipping and training military forces, would run counter to UN Security Council Resolution 713. But because MPRI is not a state, it is not legally bound by U.N. resolutions. Thus MPRI could do things that the United States could not do, such as importing weapons into Croatia. …”There can be no doubt that MPRI knew exactly what Croatia would do with the training and armaments that MPRI was going to provide. During the contract negotiations between MPRI and Croatia in October 1994, Minister Susak specifically told the MPRI representatives: ‘I want to drive the Serbs out of my country.’”The complaint then describes in detail the planning and execution of Operation Storm, which the victims say was named after the U.S.’ Operation Desert Storm operations against Iraq. The complaint cites an indictment from the International Criminal Tribunal for Former Yugoslavia at The Hague: “In the course of Operation Storm and the continuing related operations and/or actions, Croatian forces inflicted inhumane acts on Serb civilians and persons taking no part in hostilities, including persons placed hors de combat, causing not only mental abuse, humiliation and anguish (including threats to kill such persons or their families), but also severe physical injury, by shooting, beating, kicking and burning people, including extensive shelling of civilian areas and an aerial attack on fleeing civilians. Family members were often forced to watch while other family members were beaten and abused. Inhumane acts and cruel treatment were especially inflicted on the most vulnerable victims, including elderly women and civilians in hospitals.”Whether MPRI personnel took part in the genocide is not known and is not alleged here. But what is known definitively is that MPRI provided the means that enabled the genocide to occur. And the well-known history of the Jasenovac massacres should have put MPRI personnel on notice that employing Air-Land Battle Doctrine on a peaceful civilian population would most likely have as its aftermath the murderous ‘mopping up’ operations of the Croatian army as described in the indictment quoted in the preceding two paragraphs.”During and immediately after Operation Storm, land mines were placed in the areas that had had high-density demographics. The result is that displaced Serbians are afraid to go back to their old neighborhoods that are land-mined. The 1995 genocide is not over. The Statute of Limitations has not yet begun to run due to the presence of the deadly land mines.”The class seeks damages for complicity in genocide: Damages at $25,000 per capita for 200,000 victims of genocide amount to a total of $5 billion. The equivalent amount in today’s dollars, figured at 15 years at 5 percent interest compounded annually, is $10.4 billion.”The class’s lead attorney is Anthony D’Amato, with the Northwestern University Law School. Robert Pavich, John Ostojic, and Kevin Rogers, all of Chicago, signed on as co-counsel.

story here

What was destroyed in 4 days of MPRI"Operation Storm":

- 25.000 homes

- 13.000 commercial buildings

- 56 health centers

- 78 churches

- 29 museums

- 181 cemeteries

- 352 shops

- every serbian industrial plant

- 920 monuments

- 211 hotels and restaurants

- 410 workshops

- Before the "Storm" there were 450.000 Serbs in Croatia.

- 6.765 Serbs killed from 1991 to 1995.

- 2.670 Krajina Serbs missing.

Srbi iz Hrvatske tuže MPRI

MPRI šalje crnogorsku vojsku u Afganistan

Battle for Oil - World War III scenario

BY Michel Chossudovsky

Humanity is at a dangerous crossroads. War preparations to attack Iran are in "an advanced state of readiness". Hi tech weapons systems including nuclear warheads are fully deployed.
This military adventure has been on the Pentagon's drawing board since the mid-1990s. First Iraq, then Iran according to a declassified 1995 US Central Command document.
Escalation is part of the military agenda. While Iran, is the next target together with Syria and Lebanon, this strategic military deployment also threatens North Korea, China and Russia. In post 9/11 military doctrine, this massive deployment of military hardware has been defined as part of the so-called "Global War on Terrorism", targeting "non-State" terrorist organizations including al Qaeda and so-called "State sponsors of terrorism",. including Iran, Syria, Lebanon, Sudan.

Iran, with an an estimated ten percent of global oil and gas reserves, ranks third after Saudi Arabia (25 %) and Iraq (11 %) in the size of its reserves. In comparison, the US possesses less than 2.8 % of global oil reserves. The oil reserves of the U.S. are estimated at less than 20 billion barrels. The broader region of the Middle East and Central Asia have oil reserves which are more than thirty times those of the U.S, representing more than 60% of the World's total reserves. Of significance is the recent discovery in Iran of the second largest known reserves of natural gas at Soumar and Halgan estimated at 12.4 trillion cubic feet. Targeting Iran consists not only in reclaiming Anglo-American control over Iran's oil and gas economy, including pipeline routes, it also challenges the presence and influence of China and Russia in the region. The planned attack on Iran is part of a coordinated global military road map. It is part of the Pentagon's "long war", a profit driven war without borders, a project of World domination, a sequence of military operations. The broader implications of a US-NATO Israel attack on Iran are far-reaching. In chorus, the Western media has branded Iran as a threat to global security in view of its alleged (non-existent) nuclear weapons program. Echoing official statements, the media is now demanding the implementation of punitive bombings directed against Iran so as to safeguard Israel's security. The Iran operation is not being opposed in the diplomatic arena by China and Russia; it has the support of the governments of the frontline Arab states which are integrated into the NATO sponsored Mediterranean dialogue. It also has the support of Western public opinion. The Security Council resolution grants a de facto "green light" to wage a pre-emptive war against Iran. It is highly unlikely that the bombings would be circumscribed to Iran's nuclear facilities as claimed by US-NATO official statements. What is more probable is an all out air attack on both military and civilian infrastructure, transport systems, factories, public buildings. A consensus building process to wage war is similar to the Spanish inquisition. It requires and demands submission to the notion that war is a humanitarian endeavor. Known and documented, the real threat to global security emanates from the US-NATO-Israel alliance, yet realities in an inquisitorial environment are turned upside down: the warmongers are committed to peace, the victims of war are presented as the protagonists of war. When war is upheld as a humanitarian endeavor, Justice and the entire international legal system are turned upside down: pacifism and the antiwar movement are criminalized. Opposing the war becomes a criminal act.

The war and the economic crisis are intimately related. The war economy is financed by Wall Street, which stands as the creditor of the US administration. The US weapons producers are the recipients of the US Department of Defense multibillion dollar procurement contracts for advanced weapons systems. In turn, "the battle for oil" in the Middle East and Central Asia directly serves the interests of the Anglo-American oil giants. US-NATO military planners have envisaged various scenarios of military escalation. They are also acutely aware of the geopolitical implications, namely that the war could extend beyond the Middle East Central Asia region. The economic impacts on the oil markets, etc. have also been analyzed.
While Iran, Syria and Lebanon are the immediate targets, China, Russia, North Korea, not to mention Venezuela and Cuba are also the object of US threats. The deployment of coalition troops and advanced weapons systems by the US, NATO and its partners is occurring simultaneously in all major regions of the World. What we are dealing with is a carefully coordinated global military design controlled by the Pentagon, involving the combined armed forces of more than forty countries. This global multinational military deployment is by far the largest display of advanced weapons systems in World history. In turn, the US and its allies have established new military bases in different parts of the world. The US Military has bases in 63 countries. Brand new military bases have been built since September 11, 2001 in seven countries. In total, there are 255,065 US military personnel deployed Worldwide.

In contrast to the Second World War was a conjunction of separate regional war theaters. Given the communications technologies and weapons systems of the 1940s, there was no strategic "real time" coordination in military actions between broad geographic regions. Global warfare is based on the coordinated deployment of a single dominant military power, which oversees the actions of its allies and partners. With the exception of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the Second World War was characterized by the use of conventional weapons. The planning of a global war relies on the militarization of outer space. Were a war directed against iran to be launched, It would not only use nuclear weapons, the entire gamut of new advanced weapons systems, including electrometric weapons and environmental modification techniques (ENMOD) would be used. In 2004, drawing upon the initial war scenarios under TIRANNT, Vice President Dick Cheney instructed USSTRATCOM to draw up a "contingency plan" of a large scale military operation directed against Iran "to be employed in response to another 9/11-type terrorist attack on the United States" on the presumption that the government in Tehran would be behind the terrorist plot. The plan included the pre-emptive use of nuclear weapons against a non-nuclear state. There has been much debate regarding the role of Israel in initiating an attack against Iran. An attack by Israel could, however, be used as "the trigger mechanism" which would unleash an all out war against Iran, as well retaliation by Iran directed against Israel. The Israeli attack --although led in close liaison with the Pentagon and NATO-- would be presented to public opinion as a unilateral decision by Tel Aviv. It would then be used by Washington to justify, in the eyes of World opinion, a military intervention of the US and NATO with a view to "defending Israel", rather than attacking Iran. Under existing military cooperation agreements, both the US and NATO would be "obligated" to "defend Israel" against Iran and Syria.

World War III is terminal. Albert Einstein understood the perils of nuclear war and the extinction of life on earth. “I know not with what weapons World War III will be fought, but World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones.”

Michel Chossudovsky is an award-winning author, Professor of Economics (Emeritus) at the University of Ottawa and Director of the Centre for Research on Globalization (CRG), Montreal. He is the author of The Globalization of Poverty and The New World Order (2003) and America’s “War on Terrorism” (2005). His writings have been published in more than twenty languages.

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Zeleni koridor - prodor Islama u Evropu

U ovom trenutku, kada se politika SAD na Balkanu ponovo vraća na pozicije Klintonove administracije iz 1990-tih, ponovo je u Vašingtonu aktuelna i stara opsednutost pridobijanjem naklonosti islamskog sveta preko američke podrške muslimanima na prostorima bivše Jugoslavije. Takva američka politika direktno pogoduje jačanju već uveliko poodmaklog projekta uspostavljanja islamske “zelene transverzale” od Turske do srca srednje Evrope. Na prvi pogled nema logike da u vreme "rata protiv terora", koji SAD i NATO vode na Bliskom Istoku, istovremeno rade iza leđa svojih saveznika na "zelenom koridoru"... ali samo na prvi pogled. SAD ne ratuju protiv Islama (ali ih Muslimani vide kao krstaše novog doba), ni terorista (jer upravo svojim terorom regrutuju sve veću armiju pobunjenika), već ratuju zbog prirodnih resursa za koje veruju da će im doneti profit i moć u narednih pedeset ili sto godina. Ali dok Vašington planira pedeset ili sto, Islamski svet razmišlja hiljadu godina unapred. SAD u EU ne vide saveznika, već rade protiv njenih interesa i pokušavaju da preusmere bes muslimanskog sveta na ciljeve po Evropi, koja im je ionako mnogo bliža. SAD uporedo sa ogoljenim ratom za naftu i gas, upotrebom sirove sile, vode mnogo sofisticiraniji rat protiv Evrope. U tom ratu, Turska je očigledni saveznik SAD.

Austrougarska monarhija se štitila od prodora islama u Evropu time što je na južnim rubovima svoje imperije Srbima dala ulogu čuvara. Danas su Srbi sa tih prostora etnički očiščeni. Stvorena je muslimanska država u Bosni a Kosovo otrgnuto van ingerencije Srba, priprema se teren za otcepljenje Sandžaka. Razbijanjem Jugoslavije i stvaranjem novih »banana državica« koje nisu u stanju da same sebe servisiraju i kontrolišu svoj državni prostor stvoreno je pogodno tlo za razvoj raznih kriminalnih grupa, svih oblika šverca pa na kraju i prodora terorizma. Stvaranjem muslimanske Bosne i nasilnim odvajanjem Kosova od Srbije stvoreni su svi potrebni uslovi za prodor ekstremnog islamskog terorizma u Evropu. Tako su danas Bosna i Kosovo postali centri za okupljanje, uvežbavanje i boravak islamskih terorista koji kreću ka ciljevima u evropskim metropolama. Na Kosovu i u Bosni se intenzivno stvara i »Bela Al Kaida« koja treba da bude glavna logistička podrška budućim terorističkim akcijama. Putevi droge idu iz Afganistana preko Kosova do Švajcarske gde je albanska mafija duboko pustila korene.

Osnivanje nezavisne islamske teritorije, uključujući Bosnu, Kosovo i Albaniju, jedan je od najvećih uspeha islama posle opsade Beča 1683. godine. Islamski prodor u Evropu preko Balkana, jedan je od najvećih uspeha Islama u XX veku. Zeleni koridor ili transverzala je put od Turske do centralne Bosne. To je vlo važna kopnena veza koju muslimani vekovima pokušavaju da nasele kako bi je učinili potpuno prohodnom za prodor ka Evropi. Zato je Šiptarima bilo jako važno da ovladaju Kumanovskim regijom i Preševskom dolinom, a muslimanima Raškom oblašću (Sandžak) do granice Bosne i da sačuvaju enklavu Goražde. Kritična tačka na ovom pravcu je i severni deo Kosova (Kosovska Mitrovica) pa u tom svetlu treba posmatrati stalne šiptarse napade na Mitrovicu i njihovo uporno insistiranje da od Srba etnički očiste i taj deo Kosova. Za prodor islamskog fundamentalizma ka Evropi Kosovo i Metohija su od posebnog značaja.

Tursko nasleđe

Za razliku od drugih evropskih poluostrvskih područja, severna granica Balkana nije zaštićena planinskim lancima. Ta granica je otvorena i ispresecana sa nekoliko ključnih tranzitnih koridora koji povezuju centralnu i zapadnu Evropu sa Bliskim istokom i istočnim Mediteranom. Ovo je predstavljalo uzrok propasti kroz istoriju, prosto mameći osvajače i pretvarajući Balkan u predmet nadmetanja i sudaranja planova i interesa velikih sila. Tursko osvajanje i okupacija ostavili su neizbrisiv trag. Kada su Osmanlije prešli Dardanele i stvorili uporište na severnoj, evropskoj obali, prestali su da budu samo još jedni u nizu azijskih osvajača i pretili da postanu supersila. Linija napada išla je od Trakije preko Makedonije i Kosova, zatim preko Raške u Bosnu i Hercegovinu, sve do reke Une. Pada u oči da se špic turskog napada i kasnije kolonizacije muslimana na Balkanu poklapao tačno sa "zelenim koridorom". Turski napori na islamizaciji lokalnog stanovništva bili su daleko tvrđi, odlučniji i uspešniji duž ose koridora od npr. kopnenog dela Grčke, centralne Srbije, severne Bugarske ili Vlaške. Problem nastao nakon osvajanja novih teritorija bio je taj što Turaka jednostavno nije bilo dovoljno da ih nasele na mesto lokalnog stanovništva. Da bi iskoristili prirodna bogatstva novoosvojenih zemalja ili čak da ih kontrolišu, morali su da integrišu lokalno stanovništvo u Imperiju, kako bi te zemlje učinili profitabilnim. Ubrzo su shvatili da brutalna sila tu ne pomaže i da nemaju dovoljno ljudstva čak ni da upravljaju svojim armijama. Morali su naterati okupirano stanovništvo da se oseća Turcima i integrisanim delom jedne ogromne multietničke Imperije. Tokom pet ili šest vekova uspevali su da "poturče" i pomuslimane mnoge narode i da ih drže u pokornosti politikom štapa i šargarepe. Neki su čak i zaboravili šta su bili pre dolaska Turaka.

Nakon propasti Otomanske Imperije i povratka otpisanih naroda i država na Balkanu (pre svega Srbije), prvog a zatim i drugog svetskog rata, Turska se samoizoluje a uticaj Sovjetskog Saveza na Balkanu i Bliskom istoku ostaje prepreka njenom širenju sve do devedesetih godina prošlog veka. Sovjeti su nestali sa turskih granica a u međuvremenu izbijaju lokalni sukobi širom Balkana i Kavkaza, dok Amerikanci lansiraju operaciju Pustinjska Oluja protiv Iraka. Svi su zaboravili na Tursku koja se danas smatra modernom, proevropskom i miroljubivom ali pomalo zaostalom, Islamskom NATO državom. Jedino SAD vide ulogu Turske van njenih sadašnjih granica, u Iraku, na Balkanu i drugde, naravno ako to ide pod ruku sa američkim globalnim interesima. SAD već godinama stvaraju uslove koji pogoduju širenju turskog uticaja na sever i jug i buđenju uspavanog džina. Turska se polako budi iz stoletnog sna, pomalo zbunjena novonastalom situacijom i nesigurna kojim putem bi trebala da krene, putem Ataturka i evropske integracije ili putem radikalnog Islamizma. Evropljani ih se plaše i uprkos američkom pritisku, nisu presrećni idejom da ih prime pod okrilje EU, što Tursku gura u ekstremizam. Bez širenja van Anadolije koja ne obezbeđuje ekonomski prosperitet, Turska neće moći da napreduje. Turska više nije zemlja bogatih svetskih trgovaca i nema onaj kosmopolitski duh koji je postojao u vreme Carstva i duboko je podeljena, ne samo etnički već i između sekularnih i religijskih frakcija. Istorijske zone turskog verskog, geopolitičkog i drugog uticaja ostaju Balkan, Krim, Kavkaz i Levant.

Nakon nasilnog raspada Jugoslavije u kojem su ključnu ulogu imale zemlje "Kvinte", pre svih SAD, Nemačka i Velika Britanija, rađa se nova, muslimanska država na Balkanu, Bosna. SAD su aktivno učestvovale u bosanskom građanskom ratu 90-tih, naoružavajući muslimane i Hrvate i bombardujući Srbe iako su zvanično bili neutralna strana u sukobu. Obuku mudžahedina su vršile privatne kompanije penzionisanih američkih generala a račune za naoružavanje (prema izjavama senatora Džozefa Bidena) su plaćale Pakistan, Egipat i Turska (više o tome - ovde). Ratni sukobi su okončani Dejtonskim mirovnim sporazumom iz 1995. i podelom zemlje na dva entiteta - Federaciju BiH i Republiku Srpsku. Ono što nije postignuto u ratu (brisanje srpskog entiteta), sada se sprovodi u miru kroz diktaturu kralja srbljem i cele Bosne, (britanskog lorda Pedija Ešdauna) i kritikovanjem mirovnog sporazuma kao prepreke za evropsku integraciju BiH. Drugde u regionu, sasvim je odgovarajuće cepanje jedne države (npr. Srbije) na manje delove upravo kao preduslov ka putu u EU, dok je postojanje srpske autonomije u Bosni, potpuno neprihvatljivo. Republiku Srpsku nazivaju i "genocidnom tvorevinom" koja kao takva ne zaslužuje da postoji. Ako je to tačno za RS, postavlja se pitanje šta je onda nezavisna država Hrvatska ako ne "genocidna tvorevina", šta je nezavisna država Kosovo ali pre svega šta su Sjedinjene Američke Države, nastale na preoranim grobovima američkih indijanaca? Još jedna nova čarobna reč u međunarodnoj kaubojskoj diplomatiji je "nova realnost na terenu" koju su i domaći političari naučili na brifinzima u Vašingtonu pa je ponavljaju poput papagaja. Tako je npr. muslimanska kvazidržava Kosovo, novonastala "realnost na terenu" i kao takva mora se prihvatiti. Takvo tumačenje tragičnih događaja u južnoj srpskoj pokrajini i nametanje novonastale situacije kao svršenog čina je jako opasno po region ali i po svet, jer upotrebom sile uvek možemo doći do neke "nove realnosti na terenu" a to uglavnom ne vodi ničemu dobrom. Tako naprimer već sutra, neki "specijalni evropski izaslanik za Bosnu", potezom pera može ukinuti srpski entitet i nazvati taj čin novom realnošću, brišući time upravo uslove pod kojima je sklopljen mir. U jednom trenutku u istoriji Balkana, zaista je postojala država u kojoj su muslimani i hrišćani živeli u bratstvu i slozi. Ta država se zvala Jugoslavija. Pre raspada Jugoslavije, Bosna i Hercegovina nije postojala kao nezavisna država pa se ne može govoriti o agresiji (ostatka) Jugoslavije na BiH. Srećom, istoriju ne piše Holivud, pa postoji nada da će se nekada u budućnosti neki nezavisni istoričari odvažiti i otkriti svetu pravu istinu o nesreći koja nas je zadesila.

Ali vratimo se priči o "zelenoj transverzali". Šta predstavlja šest zvezdica iznad kosovske teritorije na zastavi "nezavisnog" Kosova? Te zvezdice su simbol šest teritorija na kojima sada žive Albanci - Kosovu, Albaniji, Crnoj Gori, Srbiji, Makedoniji i Grčkoj, što je primetio i objavio kanadski centar za istraživanje globalizacije "Global Research". Velika Albanija je projekat star više od sto godina a pokušali su da ga sprovedu Italija, Hitlerova Nemačka i sada SAD. Velika Albanija zahvata teritorije severne Grčke, jugoistočne Crne Gore, Makedonije i Srbije sve do Niša. Uključujući Sandžak i unitarnu Bosnu i Hercegovinu stvara se muslimanska superdržava na Balkanu. Kada se jednom izvrši islamizacija Balkana, ništa više neće zadržati prodor muslimana dublje u Evropu. Naseljavanje kontinentalne Evrope muslimanskim življem teče uporedo sa stvaranjem nove karte Balkana. Strah od "Eurabije" se već uvukao u kosti evropskih demokratija koje sve više pribegavaju nedemokratskim metodama kako bi izbegle taj scenario. Bojim se da je već kasno i da zemlje Evrope nemaju snage odupreti se američkom diktatu a da pri tom ne sruše same temelje evropske demokratije i ljudskih sloboda. Kada SAD zaokruže proces islamizacije Balkana pod velom borbe za ljudska prava i pravdu, prepustiće brigu o Balkanu EU. Ali tada EU neće imati mnogo posla jer će biti stavljene pred svršen čin i novu realnost nastalu decenijskim delovanjem anglo-američke politike na ovim prostorima. Muslimanska Evropa je kompenzacija za haos koje SAD ostavljaju za sobom na Bliskom Istoku a kome doprinosi i sama Evropa.

Kosovo syndrome - Sandžak

U Novom Pazaru je pre nekoliko dana održana sednica organizacionog odbora za pripremu akata obnavljanja Narodnog veća Sandžaka (NVS) i njegovih organa čiji programski zadatak je proglašenje autonomije Sandžaka. Prema rečima predsednika tog odbora Džemaila Suljevića, NVS će se zalagati za autonomiju celovitog Sandžaka, što znači i dela koji pripada Crnoj Gori.

“Sandžak nije srpska niti crnogorska kolonija, on pripada građanima Sandžaka i u budućnosti se ništa ne može rješavati mimo njihove volje, a kakav Sandžak građani žele, rekli su na referendumu u oktobru 1991. godine, kada se od oko 68 odsto glasača koji su iskoristili biračko pravo, njih oko 98 odsto izjasnilo za autonomiju Sandžaka”, naglasio je Suljević. “Nad bošnjačkim narodom Sandžaka sprovodi se kontinuirana ekonomska diskriminacija, kulturna i obrazovna asimilacija. Kroz čitav dvadeseti vijek nad njima su izvršena mnoga nedjela i genocidi. Bošnjački narod ima svoju kulturu, jezik, tradiciju, vjeru i sve ostalo što imaju i drugi narodi, a skoro ništa ne zna o sebi...” /izvor
Džemail je pristalica muftije Muamera Zukorlića čija lista je pobedila na nedavno održanim izborima za Bošnjački nacionalni savjet u Srbiji.

Ko je Muamer Zukorlić

Muamer Zukorlić je u Konstantini, u Alžiru 1993. godine završio islamski fakultet, odsek šerijatsko pravo, a postdiplomske studije u Libanu. Oženjen je i otac šestoro dece.
Čim je osnovan Mešihat Islamske zajednice Sandžaka 1993. godine, Zukorlić je izabran za muftiju, a reizabran na izborima 1998. i 2003. godine. Od 27. marta 2007. predsednik je i glavni muftija Mešihata Islamske zajednice u Srbiji. Bio je osnivač i prvi glavni i odgovorni urednik “Glasa islama”, jedan od osnivača izdavačke kuće „El Kelimeh“, prvi rektor Internacionalnog univerziteta u Novom Pazaru i prvi dekan Fakulteta za islamske studije.
Na prvim direktnim izborima za Nacionalni savjet Bošnjaka u Srbiji, koji su održani 6. juna ove godine, one koje je podržavao Beograd, naročito Rasim Ljaić, pobedila je Bošnjačka kulturna zajednica na čijem čelu je Zukorlić. Državni organi su doneli odluku o nepriznavanju prava BKZ da samostalno formira nacionalni savjet, jer nije osvojila ukupnu većinu glasova, ali je BKZ uprkos tome proslavila pobjedu i konstituisala BNV koje je na sednici održanoj 25. jula usvojilo deklaraciju kojom se bošnjački narod proglašava konstitutivnim narodom u Srbiji.
Povodom negiranja prava Bošnjačkoj kulturnoj zajednici da samostalno formira nacionalni savet, Zukorlić je 15. juna izjavio da “igranje Sandžakom znači poigravanje sa tim dijelom Srbije”.
“Država je kao zgrada u kojoj stanari mogu da se vole ili ne vole. Ukoliko većinski stanari zapale jedan stan rizikuju da se upali cijela zgrada. Zato se nije igrati sa vatrom. Ili će nam svima biti lijepo, ili će vatre biti do vrha. Samo naša kuća, gorjeti neće”, rekao je Zukorlić.

"Ovakvo stanje je neodrživo i vreme je da se pitanje Sandžaka stavi na sto. Tražimo autonomiju, teritorijalnu i političku, ali ne samo za Bošnjake, već za sve građane koji žive u Sandžaku. Ukoliko u vlastima u Beogradu na nađemo sagovornika za ovu temu, sami ćemo proglasiti autonomiju, pa šta bude. " – tvrdi Suljević . On dodaje da autonomija ne znači i želju da se Sandžak po kosovskom modelu jednog dana odvoji od Srbije, ali i ne isključuje takav scenario. "Mi ne zagovaramo nikakvo otcepljenje, sem u slučaju da se otvori pitanje suvereniteta Bosne i Hercegovine. Sandžak posmatramo u njegovim istorijskim granicama i svesni smo da je kroz istoriju njegov deo koji se nalazi na teritoriji Crne Gore bio u još težem položaju od onoga u Srbiji."

Glas imama protiv diktature Zukorlića

Istorija ove regije

Raška je geografska oblast u jugozapadnoj Srbiji koja je ime dobila po istoimenoj reci. Pre dolaska slavena, na ovim prostorima su dominantno bili prisutni Iliri. Posle dugog ratovanja i mnogih pobuna, Rimljani savlađuju Ilire 9. god. n.e. U 7. veku dolinu Raške nastanjuje pleme Srbi. U srednjem veku Raška je bila jedna od srpskih župa čiji su župani od početka XII počeli da predvode srpske pohode protiv Vizantije umesto prve srpske kraljevine Zete, da bi njen veliki župan Stefan Nemanja u drugoj polovini XII veka postao najmoćniji među srpskim vladarima stvorivši državu čija je prestonica bio Ras, koji se nalazio nedaleko od današnjeg Novog Pazara. Iz njegove države razvila se potom pod njegovim potomcima Nemanjićima kraljevina Srbija a u XIV veku i Srpsko carstvo.

Samo ime Rasija (Raška) prvi put se pominje 1189. godine. Od tada Mlečani, Nemci i Mađari do XVIII veka Srbiju nazivaju Rascija, a Srbe Racima, Rascijanima, Raicenima i slično. Ime Raška je danas sačuvano u imenu Raškog okruga u Srbiji, a teritorija nekadašnje Raške je danas poznata pod geografskim imenima Raška oblast ili Sandžak. Ime Sandžak je poreklom iz turskog jezika i ovaj naziv je prvobitno označavao zastavu, barjak; oblast koju su sultani davali na upravu svojim vojvodama (uprava nad manjom oblasti). Za vreme vladavine cara Dušana (1331-1335), današnji Sandžak je bio u sastavu velike feudalne oblasti kojom je upravljao najmoćniji srpski velikaš Vojislav Vojinović. Njegova moć i vlast postaje naročito značajna posle careve smrti 1355. godine, kada separatistički nastrojena vlastela preuzima celokupnu vlast u svojim feudalnim oblastima ne vodeći računa o interesima centralne vlasti i nesposobnog Dušanovog sina cara Uroša Nejakog (1355-1377). Pošto Vojislav nije imao djece, nasleđuje ga osamnaestogodišnji sinovac Nikola Altomanović. Ovaj moćni, agresivi i nepromišljeni mladić ubrzo dolazi u sukob sa svojim susedima knezom Lazarom Hrebeljanovićem i bosanskim banom Tvrtkom I Kotromanićem (1353-1391). Posle nekoliko pojedinačnih sukoba i nanošenja međusobnih šteta knez Lazar i ban Tvrtko sklapaju savez, i zajedničkim vojnim snagama napadaju župana Nikolu, pobeđuju ga oslepljuju i teraju u progonstvo, a njegovu prostranu oblast međusobno dele. Od te 1373. godine u sastav bosanske države ulazi čitavo gornje podrinje sa Pivom, Tarom, srednjim i donjim Polimljem (Prijepoje, Priboj, Pljevlja, Foča, Goražde, Višegrad, Onogošt (današnji Nikšć) i Bileća. Već 1377. godine, opet na teritoriji Sandžaka u manastiru Miloševo kod Prijepolja, srpski ban Tvrtko I Kotromanić je krunisan za kralja "Srbljem, Bosnom, Primorjem, Zapadnim Stranam", a ostali deo Altomanovićeve oblasti pripao je knezu Lazaru. Posle Kosovskog boja 1389. godine Osmanlijama je otvoren put osvajanja ka zapadu i severu. Već 1392. godine Turci su osvojili Skoplje, a 1396. osvojena su mnoga mesta u oblasti gdje će se kasnije osnovati grad Novi Pazar, kao što su Zvečan, Jeleč i Gluhavica. Dugo vremena u oblasti današnjeg Sandžaka vladala je dvovlast Turaka i Srba. Osmanlije ove krajeve u potpunosti osvajaju 1455. godine. Sandžaci su nastajali na sledeći način: "Turci su na osvojenoj teritoriji Vizantijskog carstva zatekli vojne jedinice zvane "teme", koje su za odbranu države ili za ratne pohode davale određenu vojnu jedinicu. Oni su zadržavali zatečenu vojnu organizaciju, s tim što su joj davali svoje ime (to jest sandžak)". Do osvajanja Bosne teritorija Sandžaka je bila krajište Osmanlijske Države sa hrišćanskim zemljama. To je zapravo bila teritorija odakle se polazilo u dalja osvajanja.

Stari turski izvori daju veliku važnost geopolitičkom položaju Sandžaka. Omer Bosnevi u svom delu Tarihi Bosna (Istorija Bosne) još 1736. godine Novi Pazar naziva ključem Bosanskog Ejaleta. A u Salnamama Bosanskog Vilajeta kaže se da je Novopazarski sandžak od velike važnosti za Osmanlijsku državu jer ima ulogu mosta između Bosne i cele države, a odvaja dve neprijateljske države (Srbiju i Crnu Goru). Kada je tačno osnovan Novi Pazar ne zna se sigurno, ali se smatra da ga je 1456. godine osnovao Isa-beg sin Ishak-bega, odmah posle osvajanja Rasa (1455). Kada su Turci osvojili Ras dali su mu naziv Pazar, jer se u Ras još od 1382. godine nazivao Trgovištem zbog trgovinskog sajma koji se organizovao u njegovoj blizini. Zbog toga su Turci novoosnovani grad nazvali Jeni Pazar (Novi Pazar), a Ras Eski Pazar (Stari Trg). Novi Pazar se po prvi put u zvaničnim izvorima spominje 1477. Period Osmanlijske vladavine protekao je u znaku masovnog primanja Islama i islamske kulture i daljneg etničkog oblikovanja Srba starosedelaca u duhu islamske baštine i tradicije. To etničko formiranje je teklo i prožimalo se uporedo sa etnogenezom bosanskih Srba, što je bilo olakšano činjenicom da je Sandžak vekovima bio nerazdvojni deo bosanskog Pašaluka. Tokom Bečkog rata sandžački gradovi su doživeli ogromne materijalne i ljudske gubitke. Naročito su stradali Novi Pazar, Sjenica, Bijelo Polje, Prijepolje i tutinski kraj. I tokom austro-turskog rata 1737.-1739. godine Austrija nastoji da uz pomoć srpskih ustanika izvede nova teritorijalna proširenja na štetu turske imperije. Srpski ustanici u saradnji sa austrijskim trupama zauzimaju Novu Varoš, Novi Pazar, vode uspešne borbe kod Sjenice i planiraju napade na Bijelo Polje, Rožaje i druga mesta. Ali osmanske snage su u uspešnoj kontraofanzivi uspele da povrate izgubljene teritorije i da izađu kao pobednici iz ovog rata. Krajem XVIII veka Porta odlučuje da iz političkih, strateških i ekonomskih razloga izvrši novu administratvno-teritorijalnu podelu. Osniva se nova administrativno-teritorijalna jedinica pod imenom Novopazarski Sandžak, koji i dalje ostaje u sastavu Bosanskog pašaluka. Ovo se dogodilo 1790. godine. Sve do balkanskih ratova 1912. - 1913., Sandžak je činio jedinstveno-administrativnu celinu s upravom i kulturnim sedištem u Novom Pazaru. Posle završetka balkanskih ratova nastavljen je proces iseljavanja muslimanskog stanovništva u Tursku. Preko luke Bar u Tursku se iz crnogorskog dela Sandžaka tokom aprila i juna 1914. godine iselilo 16.500, a iz srbijanskog dela 40.000 stanovnika. Danas se predpostavlja da Muslimani u Sandžaku čine oko 50%.

Na ovim prostorima su se vekovima ukrštali putevi koji su povezivali istočni i jugostočni deo Balkanskog poluostrva sa zemljama zapadne Evrope (Bosanski, Zetski i Dubrovački drum). Pored privrednog, ovi putevi su imali i vojno-strateški značaj. Sandžačkim drumovima prolazile su brojne vojske u ratnim vremenima, često pretvarajući naselja u zgarišta i nanoseći brojne ljudske žrtve. Ali izrazito povoljan strateško-privredni značaj nije Sandžaku donosio samo rana razaranja već i razdoblja privrednih procvata i blagodati. Novopazarski Sandžak je oduvek bio poseban i istovremeno veoma složen problem balkanske i evropske politike u celini. Po mnogo čemu Sandžak je odražavao stanje i suprotne interese i uticaje velikih evropskih sila.

"Glavna prijetnja srpskom jedinstvu nije osvajačka turska vojska, već otrov u samom srpskom narodu, tzv. “poturice”, odnosno domaći muslimani, koji su prihvatili neprijateljsku vjeru." / Petar II Petrović Njegoš

A war on drugs or war on the Mexican people?

29,000 dead, human rights leaders murdered, the constitution violated – the price of President Calderón's popularity bid.

Luis Hernandez Navarro
guardian.co.uk, Thursday 12 August 2010

Vicente Fox, the former president of Mexico, began his administration in 2000 with a popular festival. Felipe Calderón, who took over in 2006, began his with a show of military force. After his 2006 victory was greeted by massive demonstrations over allegations of electoral fraud, Calderón needed to make up for his lack of popular legitimacy. The drug war soon became the central theme of his government. Taking on organised crime – leaning heavily on the army, which helped him into office in the first place, and with financial support from the US – has given Calderón a legitimacy that he did not receive in the voting booth, while militarising politics has given him the tools to run the country using emergency measures normally reserved for wartime. Here Calderón followed much the same script used by George Bush after 9/11, when the US president made war the constituent power of a neoconservative order. But, instead of sending troops to Iraq or Afghanistan, the Mexican president has ordered them into the streets of their own country. The army now virtually occupies communities throughout the country, carrying out functions that, under the constitution, are not the responsibility of the armed forces: it has set up checkpoints, de facto curfews and inspections. In what appears to be the pilot of a plan for the entire country, in several northern states there is a situation that resembles a state of siege – one never decreed by congress. Drug trafficking existed before Calderón took office, but his handling of it – while successful in terms of his popularity – has been a disaster for security. The president launched a war without a plan, and without assessing the consequences. Now he does not know where to go. Trafficking in Mexico is now a $5bn-a-year business. Half a million people – 150,000 armed – are employed in the production of marijuana, opium and amphetamines, and the transit of cocaine, with two cartels fighting for the routes and the markets. The networks of the drug lord, Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán are barely touched. He is on the Forbes list of the wealthiest men on the planet and in sixth place in Time's ranking of the most influential people of 2008. When Calderón took office there was no indication that trafficking would increase as it has. But it was as if he had smashed open a hornets' nest. Violence became intractable, and almost 29,000 people have died since 2006. Human and civil rights have been this war's other casualty, thanks to changes in legislation. If a public building is occupied as a protest, anti-drug laws are used to accuse union leaders of kidnapping people who are inside. Homes can now be searched without a warrant. In parts of Mexico, violence has been unleashed against human rights activists, environmentalists and grassroots leaders. Raul Lucas Garcia and Manuel Ponce Rios were violently murdered by police in 2009. Indigenous and poor, they were dedicated to defending the rights of indigenous peoples in their state of Guerrero, denouncing human rights violations and carrying out social welfare projects. In Guerrero, military forces have engaged in low intensity warfare whose tactics include stealing crops, raping women, extrajudicial killings and even forced sterilisation. Similar stories can be told in other parts of Mexico. In the macabre list of beheaded corpses, unburied bodies and mass graves that newspapers report on a daily basis, the assassination of grassroots leaders barely figures. And when it does, it is difficult for the public to register the difference between those killed due to drug trafficking and those targeted for their political activism.

The president doesn't seem to care that the militarisation of politics leads to a degradation and a weakening of the political sphere. He seems little concerned with the fact that in the middle of a major economic crisis – with manufacturing at a virtual standstill, unemployment growing and the escape valve of emigration to the United States closed – Calderón's room for manoeuvre has diminished significantly. The only way out, according to his logic, is to intensify the war.