Complete Analysis of the Incident at Racak

This is the beginning of a series on the so-called Racak atrocities. Predrag Tosic and myself are introducing new features to our ever-growing list of readers at Yugoslavia Info, including special reports such as this and as well interviews with key players/commentators whose expertise will help all of us better understand the nature of NATO's aggression in the Balkans.

For anyone who has read the forwards/commentary on the Yugoslavia Info site, it is apparent that both Predrag and myself question both the legality of the NATO aggression in the Balkans as well as its "humanitarian" agenda. In particular, many Western news agencies are selectively distributing both

false and misleading "coverage" on the Balkans to their respective markets; while not commenting on the reasons for such actions, it is nonetheless apparent that much of this type of "coverage" is based in countries with

For most readers of Western news services, Racak has become synonymous with "atrocity"; so has "Serb", so has "Milosevic"; Albanians are portrayed as "victims" of the "Serbs", etc. I had heard all of this, as well as the opinions of those who thought the incident at Racak on Jan 15/99 was not a "crime against humanity"; but there were a few things I was sure of before embarking on this particular study: (a) The incident at Racak on Jan 15/99 is the only specific, dated charge in the ICTY indictment of Milosevic and four of his aides that is listed as occurring before the NATO bombing of

Yugoslavia, and (b) The incident at Racak is the most specifically-mentioned example quoted by both Western politicians and by the Western news agencies of NATO countries, as the "prime example" of Yugoslavian "atrocities" against Albanians which necessitated the NATO bombing campaign.

There is nothing I have found anywhere to justify the NATO bombing campaign on legal grounds; even many quoted supporters of the aggression against Yugoslavia acknowledge the illegality of the strikes (or say nothing at all in this regard - for instance, read: most Canadian parliamentarians) but

insist that intervention was necessary on "humanitarian" grounds. And the incident at Racak is apparently the "ace" up the sleeve of the ICTY as well - despite all the much-touted acts of "ethnic cleansing," "atrocities," "crimes against humanity" etc supposedly perpetrated by the Yugoslav government before Mar. 24/99, this particular charge must be seen by the

international court as being the most "iron-clad" and easiest to prosecute. It is the first specifically-dated charge in the indictment handed down and is crucial to the NATO-justification school of necessity in initiating these attacks.

Everything stated in this report has been corroborated at least once over, and usually more than once. There are some problems which I'll state at the outset: although I have the comments and positions of many of the actual

forensic experts who performed studies on the bodies, I cannot lay my hands on the actual forensic reports. No copies were to be found at the OSCE, University of Pristina, University of Helsinki, University of Nis, NATO, UN, EU or Government of Yugoslavia websites - or anywhere else that I've looked. This absence precludes a vital cross-reference to any definitive Racak study; however, as I say the input of the actual medical staff involved is a matter of public record and was heavily used in segments of this upcoming report. Secondly, I have received no answer from my e-mails to various institutions requesting contact with the medical staff studying the bodies found at Racak. If I ever do hear back in regards to this, I would like to give any or all of them equal time on this site to comment.

Sources used in this report were all taken from the Internet; they are numerous and will be listed at the end of the report.

As I say, the incidents at Racak on Jan 15/99 are crucial to both the whole NATO-justification for bombing , and the whole ICTY indictment. If the incidents which occurred at Racak really were atrocities perpetrated by the Yugoslav government, then NATO will continue to use this to claim the "moral high ground" in past, present, and future actions in the Balkans; as well, the legitimacy of internationally - judging the leaders and actions of sovereign states will be seen as progress in the pursuit of "justice".

If, on the other hand, the incidents at Racak were not atrocities perpetrated by the Yugoslav government, the NATO-bombers' "house of cards" claiming moral legitimacy falls apart; as well, any past, present, and future actions by NATO in the region will be severely scrutinized for hidden agendas. And if the incidents at Racak on Jan 15/99 are shown not to be atrocities, then the whole question of self-claimed objective international legalities will be shown to be just another link in the chain of selective, biased judgment fueling the same hidden agendas.

The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) is an entity established by the UN Security Council in 1993 (Resolution # 827); under the ICTY mandate from the UN, four major types of offences can be prosecuted against individuals for the following acts within the territory of the former Yugoslavia:

(1) Grave breaches of the 1949 Geneva Conventions (Article 2)
(2) Violations of the laws or customs of war (Article 3)
(3) Genocide (Article 4)
(4) Crimes against humanity (Article 5)

I share the opinion of many that the UN has no legal or moral authority to selectively pass judgment on anyone, nor to establish institutions of the same. As long as a so-called "world body" is in fact ruled by a veto-wielding minority, it cannot claim that any of its pronouncements are democratic, representative, or capable of justice. Having said that, the

ICTY nonetheless is a vital part of the war waged against Yugoslavia since 1991 (and possibly even earlier) and the beginning of UN sanctions; with an ever-increasing budget, from $276,000 (all figures US) in 1993 to over $94,000,000 as of June 1999, this "legal" weapon wields considerable power and respect (unfortunately). The incidents which occurred at Racak as detailed in the ICTY indictment should be analyzed not only in an objective international court of law (still waiting for this one) but in the court of public opinion as well; as I said in Part 1, the legitimacy of the ICTY as a capable and fair arbiter of right and wrong rests with the successful prosecution of those which the ICTY prosecutor (up until recently this was Louise Arbour of Canada) has deemed responsible for what she terms as a Yugoslav-government directed "atrocity" in this village; as well, the constant stream of propaganda against Serbs in general and Milosevic in particular leading up to the so-called "justification" of the NATO air strikes rests with this particular charge.

The full text of the indictment can be found at various Internet sources; I have used parts of the copy from the Jurist Network at http://jurist.law.pitt.edu/ indict.htm

Milan Milutinovic, Nikola Sainovic, Dragoljub Ojdanic and Vlajko Stojiljkovic with, amongst others, the following:

Under "Charges": Crimes Against Humanity and Violations of the Laws or Customs of War;

(90) Beginning in Jan 1999.... [the five accused] ....planned, instigated, ordered, committed, or otherwise aided and abetted in a campaign of terror and violence directed at Kosovo Albanian citizens living in Kosovo in the FRY. [Federal Republic of Yugoslavia]

(98)a On or about 15 January 1999 in the early morning hours the village of Racak... was attacked by forces of the FRY and Serbia. After shelling by... [Yugoslavian government forces] ...the Serb police entered the village later in the morning and began conducting house-to-house searches. Villagers, who attempted to flee from the Serb police, were shot throughout [Racak]. A group of approximately 25 men attempted to hide in a building, but were discovered by the Serb police. They were beaten and then were removed to a nearby hill, where the policemen shot and killed them...

The ICTY indictment also refers to Racak in (28): In one such incident on Jan 15, 1999, 45 unarmed Kosovo Albanians were murdered in the village of Racak....

Under the ICTY indictment, under General Allegations(82): All acts and omissions charged as crimes against humanity were part of a widespread or systematic attack directed against the Kosovo Albanian civilian population of Kosovo in the FRY.

This is a general analysis of the ICTY indictment of May 22 1999 charging Milosevic and four others with crimes against humanity , violations of the laws and customs of war, etc.

Before moving directly to the Racak charges, there are other points in the ICTY indictment worth showing as a reference to the cynical nature of these allegations.

In the preamble to the specific charges, there are constant references to the "Autonomous Province of Kosovo"; right away, when I read this, I was

suspicious: how could a so-called legal body refer to Kosovo as an "autonomous province" on May 22/99, the date of the ICTY indictment? Autonomy for Kosovo was the main topic at Rambouillet, but there was never any final agreement on the status of Kosovo. There was no legal establishment of autonomy for Kosovo; that the ICTY would refer to Kosovo as such is wrong and casts doubt on its' subsequent statements.

Under (90) in the ICTY indictment, we have this: "Beginning in January 1999... [the 5 accused] ...planned, instigated, ordered, committed, or otherwise aided and abetted in a campaign of terror and violence directed at Kosovo Albanian civilians living in Kosovo in the FRY..."

Again, without offering proof, the ICTY indictment alleges "ethnic cleansing"; the two problems I have with this statement are: (a) the UN states approximately 700,000 Albanians fled Kosovo during the 11 weeks of NATO bombing, but how did these same 700,000 avoid the so-called "ethnic

cleansers" for the 11 weeks leading up to the bombing? These 700,000 lived in their homes, not in hiding, in Kosovo and were untouched by the Yugoslav government before March 24/99- hardly victims of any government-sponsored " ethnic cleansing ", as the indictment alleges. (b) The obvious point is that if this "ethnic cleansing" was done to "...ensure continued Serbian control over ...[Kosovo]..." (in #91 of the indictment), then surely Milosevic and the other accused would have moved the approximately 1.5 million Serbian refugees from Croatia, Bosnia, etc, currently in Yugoslavia into permanent residence in Kosovo as some sort of resettlement program. With 700,000 Albanians still able to flee their homes in Kosovo, it is very likely that "continued Serbian control by means of ethnic cleansing" was not an issue - at least not on May 22/99, the date of this indictment.

I'm sure readers will find many such "facts" in this indictment; I've only listed a few to show the political nature of this ICTY document. This UN-sponsored attack on Yugoslav leaders is neither factual nor credible with even the most perfunctory glance at its contents - including the Racak incident:

(98)a "On or about 15 January 1999 in the early morning hours the village of Racak... was attacked by forces of the FRY and Serbia. After shelling

by... [government/Yugo] units, the Serb police entered the village later in the morning and began conducting house-to-house searches. Villagers, who

attempted to flee from the Serb police, were shot throughout the village. A group of approximately 25 men attempted to hide in a building, but were discovered by the Serb police. They were beaten and then removed to a nearby hill, where the policemen shot and killed them..."

"...a group of 25 men...": A group of 25 men attempted to flee the Serb police, leaving their wives, children, family relatives, etc behind? And all 25 attempted to hide in the same building? And the building wasn't the mosque in Racak, the one place you would surely take yourself and your family if you really were looking for security. Shells falling all around you, police going door-to- door, and all 25 of you run to the same place and leave all your loved ones behind?

Depending on the source, I've read that the population of Racak in Jan 1999 was anywhere from 400 to 1400 inhabitants. Even using the minimum number of 400, there were surely more than 43 males in Racak on Jan 15, 1999. Why were only these 43 males "singled out", as the ICTY indictment alleges? (ICTY indictment lists 43 males and 2 females as victims of Yugoslav government atrocities at Racak in the specific charges against Milosevic, et al).

The ICTY charges allege the village of Racak was attacked by Yugoslav government shelling; and yet, as you will see in future sections of this

analysis, there is not one civilian casualty listed as dying in their home. Rather odd that "indiscriminate" shelling against a surprised, unwarned population should produce not even one death.......

If you will notice, in the details of the ICTY charges re: Racak, there is not the "customary" allegation that the "Serbs" separated the women and children from the males; apparently, they had already separated themselves........

One last point in this section of the report: if you check the list of alleged civilian "victims" in the ICTY indictment, you will notice a curious fact: the list of 45 is categorized by name, approximate age, and sex. This indictment was made public on May 22/99, more than 4 months after the alleged atrocities occurred; and after this much time for Louise Arbour to investigate, her team could only come up with half of the approximate ages - 23 of the 45 listed in the indictment have no approximate age, which seems inconceivable given that all 45 have names and supposedly were ordinary residents of the village. The ICTY could find no one in Racak to give an

approximation of age for over half of the alleged victims? Surely, someone must have known the roundabout ages of these people. For instance, in the ICTY listing of the next four charges, all having dates of occurrence after March 24, the start of NATO bombing, (alleging atrocities at Bela Crkva,

Velika Krusa, Dakovica, and Crkolez), we find a list of about 185 alleged victims, with approximately 176 with full names, approximate ages, and sex. Obviously, a full ICTY investigation could not have occurred during the NATO bombs, and yet only 9 of 185 post-NATO bombing "atrocity" victims could not be positively recorded with approximate ages.

Here is something published by the U.S. State Department in regards to the OSCE KVM patrols being called in by KDOM to the Racak incident. Sound like Walker had a better handle on what was going?

KDOM Update Released by the Bureau of European and Canadian Affairs, Office of South Central European Affairs, U.S. Department of State, Washington, DC, January 26, 1999 (Editor's Note: With the progressive changeover of responsibility from KDOM to OSCE/KVM, the KDOM Daily Report has been replaced by this Update, which is published as material becomes available.) Compiled by EUR/SCE (202-647-5624) from daily reports of the U.S. element of the Kosovo Diplomatic Observers Mission and other sources January 26, 1999 U.S. KDOM observed the FRY police/military attack on the Racak-Pettovo-Malopoljce area throughout the day on January 15. VJ armored units and mortars fired into the villages, with at least three tank rounds visibly hitting civilian houses. Fires started by the shelling burned in the villages for several hours after the attack. By 4:30 that afternoon, the attack had ended and KDOM entered the villages where one body was found quickly. KDOM called in the OSCE Kosovo Verification Mission (KVM) to assess the situation, which turned out to represent one of the most serious humanitarian disasters of the Kosovo crisis. KDOM then undertook the evacuation of wounded civilians, including one child, two women, and an elderly man. The January 15 attack on Racak and the other villages by FRY police and military forces continues to be investigated by various international organizations, including the OSCE/ KVM, KDOM, and a team of Finnish forensic experts. The on-ground investigation performed by U.S. KDOM and KVM on the day following the event turned up 45 dead bodies of ethnic Albanian villagers. Forty of the dead were found in or very near Racak itself and five had been transported by family to nearby locations. The KVM team met with villagers at midday on January 16 where the exact location and condition of bodies was recorded. Twenty-three of the bodies were discovered on a hill above the village where, the evidence showed, they had been shot (most in the head). The dead all wore civilian clothing and no arms or ammunition were found near the bodies, some of which had been horribly mutilated. Media reports suggesting that the Racak dead were combatants who had been fighting from nearby trenches were debunked by the evidence turned up by the KDOM/KVM investigations. Following the Racak massacre, KDOM monitored Serb forces' activities in the area, including movement of personnel, equipment, and vehicles. KDOM and KVM stationed their patrols between Serb and KLA forces in an attempt to prevent confrontations. On January 19, KDOM, KVM, and NGO vehicles were used to transport at least 150 Kosovar civilians past Serb checkpoints around Racak. On January 20, KDOM and KVM interviewed witnesses to the Racak killings. KDOM visited KLA prisoners held in the Serbian prison at Nis. On January 21, five elderly Serbian civilians were abducted by the KLA near Vucitrn (between Pristina and Kosovska Mitrovica). The KLA claimed that the Serbs (including two women) had been firing automatic weapons at KLA soldiers passing their homes. On January 23, nine KLA prisoners were released by the Serb authorities in return for the release of eight Serb soldiers taken by the KLA on January 8. The KVM and KDOM facilitated the exchange of prisoners. At the time of the prisoner release, KDOM also arranged for the release to the KVM of the five Serb civilians taken by the KLA on January 21. While sporadic fighting took place in a few locations, Kosovo remained generally quiet over the weekend of January 23-24. In Pristina, the team of Finnish forensic experts performed autopsies on the victims of the Racak massacre. [End of Document] __

Don't you guys see, the most important link in this document is that the U.S. KDOM mission called in the OSCE KVM patrols. What were they doing their in the first place if it was supposed to be the OSCE KVM as indicated by the OSCE reports. No mention of KDOM in these so called factual reports. First I have ever heard of it. So if the Serbs had advised the OSCE, who called in the KDOM in the first place? It was the KDOM that transported the wounded villagers away from Racak and not the OSCE KVM as indicated by the media and OSCE reports.

OSCE controlled by Walker (U.S. State Department), KDOM (US State Department). Walker was in constant contact with the U.S. State Department while running the OSCE mission. The control factor here is quite obvious, don't you think ?It was a hand off for perception reasons.

From your post #5:

By 4:30 that afternoon [Friday, January 15], the attack had ended and KDOM entered the villages where one body was found quickly. KDOM called in the OSCE Kosovo Verification Mission (KVM) to assess the situation, which turned out to represent one of the most serious humanitarian disasters of the Kosovo crisis. KDOM then undertook the evacuation of wounded civilians, including one child, two women, and an elderly man. The January 15 attack on Racak and the other villages by FRY police and military forces continues to be investigated by various international organizations, including the OSCE/ KVM, KDOM, and a team of Finnish forensic experts.

The bodies of the said massacre weren’t “discovered” until 9:00 a.m. or so on January 16 – the next day. If those bodies were already there in the ditch before the Serb forces left at 4:30 p.m the 15th, is it likely that none of those on the scene then - (and there were plenty) - “various international organizations, including the OSCE/KVM, KDOM, and a team of Finnish forensic experts” could have missed seeing any dead in that ditch that afternoon? These missions were obviously very active throughout the village – investigating already and transporting and evacuating civilians, they say. You’ve been to the site, Wraith. Was it a hidden place or hard to miss – was it near a relatively well-traveled roadway for the village? Was the village that big?

About these missions: when did they leave the village – were they there all along – from the afternoon of the 15th until the next day? What went on the rest of the afternoon, the night and the morning – the KLA was there and the Serbs weren’t – no one noticed any massacre until 16 ½ hours after the Serbs left – only battle damage from KLA/Serb forces fighting and injuries from that fighting and one body.

These missions had the vehicles and personnel to transport wounded around and out of the village – could any have been working with the KLA and collected and transported dead to the ditch – and voila – instant massacre site. Evidence didn’t show that those people were killed at that site - there was far too little blood and their wounds didn’t match with damage to the clothing the bodies were dressed in.

I wonder if vehicles were making stops near the ditch in the hours before the 9 a.m discovery – hours when the Serbs weren’t there but everyone else seemed to be.

Rereading, I realize I made a mistake in post #11 regarding the non-KDOM investigators. The January 26th report was talking about investigations going on at the time and not on January 15.

However, KDOM was there January 15. KDOM says it observed the battle with the KLA "throughout the day January 15".

Then, at 4:30 p.m. "KDOM entered the villages". No mention how long they stayed there and were active. Were they (some at least) continually present or in & out of the village up until 9 a.m. the next day when the bodies were discovered? Where did they evacuate the civilians - it doesn't mention where - much less if they were even evacuated out of Racak?

No mention if, besides civilians, they evacuated or transported any KLA battle-wounded, dead, or otherwise. What of KLA casualties after the battle - if the KLA or other Albanians dealt with them, then why didn't KDOM report on their activities?

What would be KDOM's excuse for not spotting the bodies, given that they observed the battle through its entirety, and were close to the scene at all times and entered and traveled freely throughout the village from that afternoon until...? Why the many hours - 16 1/2 - before the bodies were discovered?

KDOM personnel were in the process of transferring into the KVM structure when Racak happened - as an example, on 12/15/98, the US KDOM had ~300 personnel.

A little over three weeks later, on 1/7/99, there were only 31 personnel assigned.

I don't know why KDOM and KVM personnel weren't scrupulously segregated as far as reporting goes, but then it doesn't really matter unless you ascribe to the X-Files approach to history - they were the same people, doing the same job, albeit under different organizations which nevertheless reported to the same governments as before, for the most part. (There was a Russian KDOM presence - I don't know what happened to them vis the KVM.)

Much ado about nothing, Wraith - the Serbs killed the villagers in Racak in cold blood, no matter who found them.

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