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The URL for this article is http://emperors-clothes.com/engl.htm

U.S. Arrogance and Yugoslav

Elections
www.tenc.net
[Emperor's Clothes]

By Jared Israel and Nico Varkevisser

From our vantage point in the West, we would like to relate what
we know about Western interference in Yugoslav society and the
current elections.

The Yugoslav opposition coalition calls itself democratic and

independent.

However, our research shows it is controlled by Washington, by

the same people who spent the last ten years trying to break up
Yugoslavia.

In July, 1999, the US Senate held hearings on Serbia. The

Special U.S. Envoy to the Balkans, Robert Gelbard, his assistant,
James Pardew and Senator Joseph Biden all testified. They stated
clearly that the US pays and controls the so-called "independent
democratic" opposition. [1]

The day before the hearings the United States Senate had voted
to give this opposition one hundred million US dollars. Special
Envoy Gelbard said: "In the two years leading up to the Kosovo
crisis, we spent $16.5 million on programs in support of Serbian
democratization." He added that more than $20 million had been
given to Milo Djukanovic who heads the government in the
Yugoslav Republic of Montenegro.

This money has funded, or even created, political parties, radio

stations, even trade unions. If any hostile foreign power did that
in the USA their local agents would be thrown in jail.

Here's Gelbard's assistant, James Pardew:

l "PARDEW: Well, we work through nongovernmental

organizations. We have established a ring around Serbia
which is using international broadcasts, but we're [also]
offering that to independent voices in Serbia, which are

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using international facilities." [Note unusual use of

"independent" to mean "independent of THEM but
dependent on US"] [1]

Sen. Joseph Biden didn't feel that the measures which Pardew
described went far enough:

l "BIDEN: We can make facilities available.[But] are we

prepared to shut down facilities that spew propaganda?" [1]

Gelbard tried to defend US government policy, pointing out that

during last year's war against Yugoslavia, the US had indeed
"shut down" Serbian TV, by bombing it:

l "GELBARD: Well, we have, Senator. during the conflict in

Kosovo, we and our allies - "

Senator Biden interrupted, afraid that Gelbard would say too

much:

l "BIDEN: No, I know that. I want to know from now."

"GELBARD: Well, as far as I'm aware, Serb television has

still been cut off the EUTELSAT facilities, and we have
made sure that whenever they made an attempt, we shut
them off those."

The Mechanism, for Subverting Yugoslavia

When Special Balkans Envoy Ropbert Gelbard testified before

the Senate in 1999 he said the U.S. government distributes
money to "Civil Society" groups in Yugoslavia through the
'National Endowment for Democracy' which calls itself a 'non-
governmental organization.' In fact the Endowment is quite
governmental. It is funded by the US Congress.

The National Endowment for Democracy was created in 1983 to

solve a problem. People knew that the CIA bribed people and set
up phony front groups to carry out US policy.

"When these covert activities surfaced (as they

inevitably did), the fallout was
devastating." ('Washington Post', Sept. 22, 1991)

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So Congress set up the National Endowment for Democracy to

try to do openly what the CIA used to do secretly. This had a big
advantage. Since the subversion was no longer done in secret, it
could not be exposed.

With vast sums of money and the participation of high-level

members of the foreign policy establishment, the National
Endowment and its daughter groups recruited "democracy
activists" and "peace activists" and "independent economists"
from target countries. These people were wined and dined and
paid well. Plenty of expense money. Fellowships and
scholarships and internships. They were made to feel they were
tomorrow's leaders in the American Empire.

These "activists" proceeded to set up "independent

organizations" in their home countries and then applied for
money from the National Endowment (which had recruited them
in the first place!) Isn't it amazing? The National Endowment
always gave them the money!

Meanwhile, the National Endowment recruited reporters from

the same countries. These were also wined and dined and paid
and thus were transformed into "independent journalists." They
took over newspapers, radio and TV stations, or set up new ones.
These "independent journalists" could then use their newspapers
or TV shows to defend the "democratic activists." If anyone
accused the "activists" of being agents of the U.S., the
"independent journalists" would denounce this as an attack on
"freedom" by "entrenched, corrupt interests" who hide behind
"nationalism"!

Allen Weinstein directed the research study that planned the

National Endowment. He explains:

l "A lot of what we do today was done covertly 25 years ago

by the CIA." ('Washington Post', Sept. 21, 1991)

How clever! Like magic, "agents" became "activists."

Organizations and people who did what the US government told
them to do were now called "the institutions of Civil Society."
Leaders who opposed US attempts to destabilize their countries
became "corrupt nationalists " who "opposed to freedom". Listen
to this statement from US Secretary of State Madeline Albright,
delivered to a meeting of the National Endowment for
Democracy, held by the US State Department, in Germany:

l "I know that one of the subjects you will be discussing

today is how best to assist the institutions of civil society.
This is especially vital in Serbia, where we see courageous

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political and municipal leaders, journalists, students and

other activists trying to assemble the nuts and bolts of
freedom. We are honored by the presence of some of those
brave leaders here today."

Never has bravery been so well funded.

What is the point of this huge network of "independent" front

groups? It is used to soften up the target countries, making it
easier for the US to take over, politically and economically. And
if the US succeeds in taking over, the "institutions of civil
society" can be used to undermine resistance to the horrible
effects of being made a US colony.

Buying Democracy

In a Dec., 1998 report, The National Endowment for Democracy

described some of the groups it has set up and/or taken over in
Yugoslavia. This is not a complete list. We hope to uncover
more:

l [Start of Quote] "…The National Endowment for

Democracy has been assisting democracy building
programs in the former Yugoslavia since 1988, along with
the Soros Foundation. The National Endowment for
Democracy has enabled newspapers, radio and TV stations
to purchase supplies and equipment, including newsprint
and broadcast transmitters. Past grantees include: the
newspapers Nasa Borba, Vreme, and Danas, TV Negotin,
the prominent news agency BETA, and Radio B-92, the
Association for Independent Electronic Media (ANEM).
National Endowment for Democracy funds have also been
used to bring talented young journalists from the FRY to
the United States for professional internships. Other US
funded groups: the Humanitarian Law Center (HLC), the
Center for Democracy Foundation, a prominent Belgrade-
based nongovernmental organization led by Dragoljub
Micunovic, the Belgrade Center for Human Rights
(BCHR), the European Movement of Serbian and the G-17.
The Center for Anti-War Action (CAA) has received
Endowment funding to promote the development of an
independent civil society in Serbia by fostering political
activism in the country's larger towns and cities and by
strengthening nascent nongovernmental organizations
outside of Belgrade.

"Western organizations should increase direct support to

the independent media in Serbia, Montenegro and Kosovo.
Special attention should be given to supporting the

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independent electronic media in Serbia, such as Radio B-92

and TV Negotin, Assistance should target the establishment
of small "underground" print shops and distribution
networks.

"The West should help the democratic political opposition

develop a concrete program which offers positive
alternatives to the destructive policies of the Milosevic
regime. Democratic think tanks, independent research
organizations and expert groups should be supported to
develop these alternative policy recommendations. In
addition to assistance in policy formation, [National
Endowment for Democracy] organizations should continue
to provide opposition political parties with expertise in
coalition building, message development, media outreach,
improving the operations of party branch offices and
election monitoring.

"Democratic forces in Montenegro, including media, think

tanks, student groups, human rights organizations, must be
supported financially, and nurtured.

"One of the most important tasks is to increase cooperation

between trade unions and political parties. In addition,
independent media must be encouraged to report on the
work of independent organizations." [End of Quote] (1)

We urge you to keep in mind that the terms "independent,"

"democratic" and "non-governmental" are codenames used by
the National Endowment for "Democracy" to describe
organizations they create around the world to bring down
governments and societies which they wish to re-colonize, break
up or control.

Meanwhile, back at the Senate Hearings, Senator Biden and

Special Envoy Gelbard had the following exchange about the
Serbian "democratic opposition":

l "BIDEN: What can we do about inside Serbia? For

example, [Vuk] Draskovic continues to deny access to
Studio B, which is supposedly--"

"GELBARD: No, he's actually given access to Studio B to

Radio B-92, [which] has just reopened as Radio B-292. We
want Draskovic to open up Studio B to the rest of the
opposition, and that's a message that he'll be getting from
us in the next few days."

Gelbard was Clinton's top adviser on Yugoslavia. Biden is a

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leading anti-Serb US Senator. These two men are so involved in

the control of the Serbian "independent" opposition that they
know - up to the minute! - whether Draskovic, Djindjic and
Djukanovic are properly sharing office space and broadcast time
at Studio B in Belgrade.

One of the supposedly independent groups funded through the

National Endowment for Democracy is the G-17 group of so-
called "independent" economists. G-17 and the "democratic
opposition" have been doing what Gelbard and Biden want them
to do. They have been meeting for months to plan for the current
Yugoslav elections.

Backing a Single Candidate

On August 2, 'Agence France Presse' reported that a delegation

from the "democratic opposition" met behind closed doors with
the Montenegrin leadership, trying to convince the Montenegrins
to support the "democratic opposition" candidate for President:

"The Serbian delegation, included Zoran Djindjic of

the Democratic Party and Vojislav Kostunica of the
Democratic Movement for Serbia (DSS), the most
likely Milosevic challenger.

"The meeting took place a day after US Secretary of

State Madeleine Albright met Montenegrin President
Milo Djukanovic in Rome and urged Yugoslavia's
opposition groups to drop threats to boycott the
elections and unite to defeat Milosevic. ..." ("Agence
France Press," August 2, 2000)

Here's some more information on the trip Albright made to

Rome, where she met Djukanovic:

"In addition to election issues Albright said she had

discussed with Djukanovic ways in which to increase
assistance to Montenegro which is in the throes of an
economic crisis. ("Agence France Presse," Aug. 1,
2000, my emphasis)

So Albright offered Milo Djukanovic money if he would support

the so-called "independent" opposition.

At first Djukanovic refused. Kostunica criticized him publicly

for not joining the team. Then, on September 11th, Djukanovic
endorsed Kostunica. Albright got her money's worth.

It was a stroke of luck for the US agents in Yugoslavia, working

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with their National Endowment for Democracy handlers, to

maneuver Kostunica into the no-win situation of joining Djindjic
and Djukanovic and numerous others under the umbrella of USA
sponsorship.

Kostunica has a very weak organization. He therefore depends

on the US-controlled parties, groups and mass media to
campaign. If he were to win the Presidency, the local US puppets
(Sorry! the "democratic activists") would staff his government.

The DOS (that is, G-17) Program

This "democratic opposition" has endorsed a Program written for

them by G-17, the group of neoliberal economists in Belgrade,
funded by the National Endowment for Democracy. This
Program is posted on the websites of both G-17 and the "student
group", Otpor. The program has a list of points which the
"democratic opposition" is pledged to carry out were they to win
the presidential and/or other elections. Here are some of the main
points:

1. The "democratic opposition" program proposes the option of

adopting the German Mark as a legal currency for the whole of
Yugoslavia, following the lead by NATO forces in Bosnia,
Kosovo and Montenegro. This would immediately impoverish
the Yugoslav people by making the country an economic
dependency of Germany.

2. The "democratic opposition" program calls for ending all price

controls. No subsidized food, no social protections. Working
people, including a million refugees whose conditions are
already difficult, would be buying food at Western prices but
without Western wages.

3. The program calls for the immediate shock treatment of

introducing a full capitalist society without first providing
Yugoslavs with the necessary financial means to participate in
such an economy. The result would be the transfer into foreign
hands of control of the entire Yugoslav economy. Similar
provisions for the application of so-called "modern economic
ideology" have already succeeded in destroying Russia's
economy.

4. Curiously the "democratic opposition" program makes no

mention of NATO's criminal aggression against Yugoslavia.

5. The program calls for slashing public spending,

demilitarization, radical tax changes, drastically limiting the
power of the central government. All these measures set

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Yugoslavia up to be controlled from the outside.

6. The program would accept the US dictate that Yugoslavia no

longer exists and that Serbia must come on bended knee to
Washington to be recognized anew. This would mean the
immediate surrender of all the assets and historical rights of the
Yugoslav state. These assets include billions of dollars worth of
embassies, the Yugoslav navy, the air force, bank accounts
frozen all over the world, foreign assets, property assembled by
the Yugoslav people since the end of World War I.

Kostunica's candidacy is nothing more than an effort to paper

over the easily recognized faces of the United States' discredited
agents in Yugoslavia.

An Honor Roll of the Discredited

The coalition backing Kostunica includes:

l Zoran Djindjic, leader of the Democratic Party, who fled

Serbia during the NATO bombardment and continued
before and after the bombardment to meet with the likes of
Gelbard and Albright and to take their money.

l Ms.Vesna Pesic and an assortment of similar "activists"

who sought from the early 1990s to undermine Serbia's
legitimate military defense against foreign aggression and
illegal secessionists. These people have been working with
the Endowment for Democracy for years.

l Nenad Canak, President of the Vojvodina League of Social

Democrats who has called for a Vojvodina Republic and
who provides a focus for secessionists nationwide.

l The opposition is supported by Milo Djukanovic, whose

government has invited Croatian military forces to train
special police and who, according to the British newspaper,
the "Independent," has invited British SAS troops to train
snipers to assassinate Yugoslav Army officers.

l The opposition includes a collection of various other

pseudo-political figures who have realized that taking
bribes from the US continues to be the most profitable
business in the world.

What is the US Government Trying to Do?

The US government wishes to crush the Serbian and other pro-

Yugoslav people as a force capable of resisting US/German

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domination of the Balkans and the East. There is nothing new

about this. The German establishment has been trying to crush
the Serbs as a political force or more than a hundred years.

Senator Biden said it quite clearly in the July 29, 1999 hearings:

l "I mean, for example, it's amazing what can happen when
you eliminate the extremes. I mean, the single best thing
that ever happened to the Republic of Srpska is we kicked
the living hell out of Milosevic. There ain't no alternative
left. …It's amazing what a salutary impact that has upon
extremes in countries. And that's why the single best thing
we -- my dream is to visit Milosevic in prison. (Laughter.) I
mean that sincerely. I'm not being facetious. Because you
put Milosevic in prison, and things in the region will
change drastically." (Senator Joseph Biden, Senate
Hearings on Serbia, July 29, 1999)

Note that by "extremes" Sen. Biden means: people who refuse to

kneel before the U.S. boot.

Do Biden and Gelbard and the other U.S. puppet masters believe
Kostunica can get enough votes to win? We doubt it. After all,
his campaign apparatus consists of people who are discredited as
US agents.

But if Kostunica did win, it would be great for the US

government. Regardless of Kostunica's intentions, he has a very
small organization and the US-paid opposition forces, who are
numerous, would flood his government apparatus.

The US would then use its dominant position in such a Yugoslav

government the same way it has used its dominant position in
Kosovo. Since NATO marched into Kosovo 15 months ago,
about 350,000 ethnic Serbs, Gypsies, Slavic Muslims, Croatians,
Jews, Turks and anti-fascist ethnic Albanians have been driven
out. Even the UN admits that Kosovo has been turned into a
gangster's paradise. Tens of thousands of women have been
kidnapped by the US ally, the Kosovo Liberation Army, and
forced into prostitution. This is what Yugoslavia could expect if
the US agents got their hands on the government.

Look how the US has treated its allies, the pro-Islamist Bosnian
Muslims and neo-Nazi Croatians. All things considered, these
groups did not profit by being obedient to their US and German
masters. By every standard of measurement they are worse off
today than before they illegally left Yugoslavia. Or one can look
at other countries. Take Russia. The Russian government was
fully obedient and adopted every horrible measure the US

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"advised" . They helped the United States crush the Russian

economy. And what did the people get? The worst poverty since
World War II. A falling population. But the population of Serbia
has resisted for the last ten years. If they were to stop now, if
they were to fall for the nice words, "freedom" and "democracy"
and "modern economic measures", as others have fallen for these
words, what could they expect? Could they expect to be treated
as "well" as the Russians and Bulgarians who as nations have not
resisted? No. Yugoslav loyalists would get the special treatment
the US gave the American Indians. Do you know what they used
to say? "The only good Indian is a dead Indian."

If the US, were to get control of the Yugoslav government

apparatus they would try to crush the people. KLA terrorists
would infiltrate all over the country. NATO would try to disarm
the people while fascists destroyed Serbian culture. People
would be expelled with nowhere to go. Prices would shoot sky
high. Industries would be seized. Secret lists of phony "war
crimes" suspects would be used to arrest or shoot any leader who
resisted. It would be open season on Serbs and other Yugoslav
loyalists. Of course, the Yugoslavs would not take this like
lambs. Such a government would be driven from power by the
ordinary people.

For ten long years the people of Yugoslavia have seen the
evidence that the US government has no mercy. We believe the
Yugoslavs will not drop their resistance now.

Footnotes and Further Reading:

1. The full text of the July 29, 1999 Senate hearings on Serbia
can be read at
http://emperors-clothes.com/analysis/hearin.htm

2. The NED report cited above is called "Statement by Paul B.

McCarthy, National Endowment for Democracy to the
Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe". It can be
read at
http://emperors-clothes.com/news/ned-1.htm

3. For more on the G-17 economists see the article "The IMF and
the Yugoslav Elections" at
http://emperors-clothes.com/analysis/1.htm

www.tenc.net
[Emperor's Clothes]

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