Posted on 03/14/2006 4:57:28 PM PST by Jane_N
TORONTO, March 13 /CNW/ - Agim Ceku, who is alleged to have led an unprovoked 1993 military attack on Canadian Peacekeepers in the Medak Pocket region of Croatia, has been chosen by Albanians to replace the outgoing prime minister of the U.N.-administered southern Serbian province of Kosovo.
The Medak offensive, allegedly planned by Ceku, is also known as the "Medak massacre". This name is entrenched in the minds of many Canadian Armed Forces personnel as Canada's largest military battle since the Korean War. Four Canadians were wounded in the clash that left nearly 30 Croatian soldiers dead.
According to reputable sources, Agim Ceku was instrumental in the 1993 Croatian military offensive at Medak, and was one of the key planners of the 1995 ethnic cleansing operation 'Storm'. Both of these operations involved the deliberate shelling of civilians, rape, torture, systematic arson, and the permanent expulsion of Serbs from the Krajina region of Croatia.
It is an insult to Canada, and in particular the honourable and respected personnel of the Canadian Armed Forces, that Agim Ceku is not behind bars. This recent appointment raises concern that a man who helped plan and execute two campaigns of ethnic cleansing has become the Prime Minister of Kosovo, a province where intolerance towards non-Albanians continues unchecked and unabated.
Over 200,000 Serbs, Jews, and Roma have fled the province of Kosovo due to a brutal campaign of ethnic cleansing, while the few who remain live in enclaves and ghettos protected by heavily armed international peacekeepers. More than 2000 non-Albanians have either been killed or kidnapped since 1999.
WOW. That is really interesting. Thanks for the info.
Just wanted to know which he was, Croat or Albanian. Not implying anything.
This story is mostly true but the facts need a little tweeking. 27 Croats were killed. Not one Canadian injured during the battle. Canadians were killed and inured on that tour but not in that incident. How do I know this?? I was in that battle. The Medak Pocket was one of several incidents on that tour. Very little press coverage of anything that happened there.
Good to have you here sir, may I personally thank you for you efforts in attempting to save the lives of those helpless Serbs. You should be commended.
What I found very interesting was number of foreign mercs fighting on the Croation side. Europeans and Americans fought against us in that battle. No government will ever own up to it but I believe other nations wanted a quick end to this conflict regardless of the consequences on the ground. I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't seen it.
Thanks for helping civilians!!
I'm sorry, but that part does strike me as pretty damn funny.
C & D Coy, 2 PPCLI. Believe it or not, these 2 companies were made up of reservists.
If the Canucks are upset about this choice of persons for PM they should have made him unavailable for the position, but then liberal maple leafs have more bone and less brains in their skulls, eh?
Is there a good side to ethnic cleansing? Also, Canadian troops are bound by UN ROE's and mandates while deployed. As far as I know the UN does not authorize leadership assasinations.
It is well know that US MPRIs helped train Croatian forces for Op Storm.
MPRI? Those would be the guys. Very well kitted out and looking quite out of place among croats. BMP's fitted with Browing .50's was another thing that made you look twice.
There is no good side to ethnic cleansing, and it is frighteningly common. Being unable to see both side is far worse than objectivity.
If any entity should decide to join a fight not immediately imposed upon them, it would be a good idea to win, win decisively and finally. Only fools and the UN would punish one side of a two sided ethnic cleansing and put up with a manipulator of their use of force. Canadians should be neither.
You are entirely correct but your point leans towards nation building. Boths sides were equally guilty and had I had it my way, would have been stomped out of existance. Canada learned some hard lesson's in the Balkans. Number one being you can't trust the UN to make a decision or have a spine. We now distance ourselves from these types of missions. Peace keeping is a myth that was sold to our countrymen and the legend never dies. Everyone seems to forget how the first very UN mission was accomplished.....with a very heavy hand.
Well, not intentionally, but I see your point.
Nation building is like working with old dynamite, it can be done, but you must be very careful and it can blow up in your face.
A large part of my family are Canadians, are idealistic and believe that peacekeeping can be done. I believe only sometimes, and it has probably less than a 50% chance of working.
The saying goes, "it's a dirty job but somebody has to do it." I disagree with everything after the "but". Canada got stuck, and the UN has a history of this. Remember Korea? We're still at war there and one of the most evil entities on earth still struts like the KLA and Kosovo government will. MacArthur had a simple solution.
Failure to win gave the world the modern Red China. The UN is helpful alright, that was the first UN action (admittedly enabled by the US).
Why don't any of you or any of the others write a book about it and put your photos online? Get the truth out.
There have been many Canadians who've suffered PTSD from what happened.
Some have been quoted that they saw Croat soldiers killing Serbian civilians before their eyes, that they have photos of old women tortured and killed, that they wanted to testify at the Hague about what happened.
However, it doesn't appear the Hague wants good witnesses when Serbs are the victims or when anti-Serb separtists are on killing sprees.
Did you see dead Serbs and/or their animals and pets which had been mutilated or slaughtered?
The UN reports say Dutch mercenaries were responsible for much of the systematic burning of Serbs' homes there.
Based on what you witnessed only, and not on the media propaganda, you Canadians have proof that Croatian soldiers killed Serb civilians at the Medak pocket.
Did you or any of the Canadian soldiers witness the deaths of Croat civilians by Serb forces? And if so, when and where?
PRISTINA -- Wednesday – Kosovo Prime Minister Agim Ceku would like to see a report on human rights activities in the region.
Ceku has asked all the officials from Kosovo ministries who deal with the protection of human rights, to file a report for him as soon as possible on the success of the implementation of human rights by the ministries.
During a conference for progress in the protection of human rights by the ministries, Ceku showed support for the initiative of the former Kosovo Government of forming a special service to worry about human rights issues in each individual ministry.
He put Arifa Mucolija, a special advisor for basic human rights issues, in charge of coordinating the implementation of human and minority rights within the Government and in other institutions, including non-governmental organisations.
“We must promote the values of tolerance, coexistence, reconciliation and forgiveness, so that everyone in Kosovo can feel equal and respected.” Ceku said.
[From: B92]
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