Free Republic

ZAGREB, Aug 11 (ONASA/AFP) - Fugitive Croatian general Ante Gotovina, who is wanted by UN court for crimes against ethnic Serbs during the 1991-1995 war, has been implicated in a ring of arms and drugs smugglers, a Croatian weekly reported Wednesday quoting a secret service report. Former counter-espionage chief Franjo Turek said Gotovina was involved with a group of Croatian officers, many like himself former members of the French Foreign Legion, allegedly trafficking in weapons and illegal drugs, the Globus weekly said. The group was linked to an attempt to smuggle some 600 kilos (1,320 pounds) of cocaine discovered by...

By and large, the media has an abysmal record (not) reporting the facts about the Croatian secession from Yugoslavia and the renewed Croat war against Serbian civilians.  There are a few partial exceptions.  We've posted three of them below.  The first is a 1993 article by David Binder.  Binder has been unique in that he has tended to buck the tide regarding Yugoslavia.  Sometimes his stories were not published and we know that sometimes they have been edited, even reversing his intent, but he has covered events nobody else even tried to write about. While the general media line was...

GORAZDEVAC, Serbia and Montenegro (Reuters) - Milisav Dakic said his wife had warned him not to let the children play outside their Serb enclave in Kosovo. But the summer heat was stifling, and the nearby stream was a popular place to cool off. Dozens of kids were playing near the dirty water on Aug. 13 last year when a gunman behind the bushes on the far bank sprayed them with bullets. Dakic's 13-year-old son Panta and 19-year-old Ivan Jovovic were killed. Four others were seriously injured in an attack shocking even by Kosovo's brutal standards. The gunman -- presumed to...

This Sunday, Decani Monastery Serbian Cycling Challenge 2d Edition will be situated on the grounds of the Shadeland Summer Camp just outside of Erie PA. All money raised goes to the Decani Monastery of Kosovo who are in dire straits after the March 2004 Albanian terrorist uprising. The Terrorists desecrated historical icons, irreplaceable artifacts, Churches and Monasteries. Over 150 total have been destroyed since 1999. All money raised goes to giving the people of Kosovo a warm meal, clothing for this winter, roof over their head, much needed medical aid for the elderly and children and the restoration/repairs of the...

"Albanians demand autonomy for the Presevo valley"; carried by Serbian news agency Beta Presevo, 28 July: Three Albanian opposition political parties in southern Serbia - the Democratic Party of Albanians (DPA), the Movement for Democratic Progress (PDP), and the Democratic Union of the (Presevo) Valley (DUD) - today adopted a political platform demanding territorial and political autonomy for the "Presevo Valley" with the right to unite with Kosovo. The text of the platform adopted by the Consensual Council of Albanian parties from the "Presevo Valley", which was formed by the three parties on 15 May, says that "Presevo Valley should...

Bosnia’s internationally-appointed High Representative, Paddy Ashdown, has used his arbitrary powers to destroy the only working part of the Dayton accords.THE HIGH REPRESENTATIVE FOR Bosnia-Herzegovina, Paddy Ashdown, appointed by the European Union under the 1995 Dayton Accords, took steps on June 30, 2004, and July 1, 2004, to “punish” the Bosnian Serb community. The move seemed clearly to be part of a push to bring about an end to the Bosnian Serb republic - Republica Srpska - within the federation of Bosnia & Herzegovina. As such, it presages the political collapse of the entire state of Bosnia & Herzegovina and,...

Washington.The citizens of Kosovo should decide their own fate and future alone, the candidate for President of the USA from the American Democratic Party, Senator John Kerry has stated, Kosovan QIK information center announced. “We will work for the fast settling of the Kosovo issue. The future statute of Kosovo should be defined as quickly as possible. The propositions of changing the borders and dividing Kosovo on ethnical grounds won’t contribute to the establishment of a multiethnic society. When we are looking for a decision for the statute of Kosovo, we would cooperate with the other regional countries in order...

Saturday night at the annual Serbian Festival held in Lackawannas St Stephen Serbian Orthodox Church, a stabbing occurred an hour past midnight. What began in the bar was ended a few blocks from the church when a Croatian stabbed a Serb. What began as a night of festivities ended in tragedy with one individual being hospitalized and the Croatian being taken to jail for a violent stabbing. I just stay out of these affairs as only I know how to. If I recieve more information, I will pass it along.People, extend your prayers to this Serbian man who was blindsidedly...

In Yugoslavia, Rising Ethnic Strife Brings Fears of Worse Civil ConflictBy DAVID BINDER, Special to the New York Times The New York Times November 1, 1987, Sunday, Late City Final Edition Section 1; Part 1, Page 14, Column 1; BELGRADE, Yugoslavia - Portions of southern Yugoslavia have reached such a state of ethnic friction that Yugoslavs have begun to talk of the horrifying possibility of "civil war" in a land that lost one-tenth of its population, or 1.7 million people, in World War II.The current hostilities pit separatist-minded ethnic Albanians against the various Slavic populations of Yugoslavia and occur at all...

"FATHERLAND SECURITY" REJECTS LDK, SAYS IT HAS KOSOVO PRESIDENT'S "BLESSING" BBC Monitoring - July 19, 2004 "Fatherland Security presidency, says it has 'President Rugova's blessing'", published by Kosovo Albanian newspaper Koha Ditore on 18 July. Prishtina (Pristina), 17 July: Through a press release sent via email on Saturday (17 July), the organization calling itself Fatherland Security has rejected the recent claims of the Democratic League of Kosova (Kosovo) (LDK) that this organization does not exist and that the party in power has nothing to do with it. "On this occasion, anonymous politicians, terrified out of fear of possible guilt, tried...

The 90th anniversary of the assassination of Habsburg Archduke Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo by a Bosnian Serb student, Gavrilo Princip, was marked on 28 June. A series of seminars and symposia took place in Central and Southeastern Europe to mark the anniversary and draw a balance sheet for what has always been a controversial event. RFE/RL's South Slavic and Albanian Languages Service featured a program in Omer Karabeg's Radio Most (Bridge) series, which brought together Professor Zijad Sehic of Sarajevo University's History Department and Predrag Markovic of Belgrade's Institute for Contemporary History. Someone once observed that the Balkans in general...

BY: Daniel McGrory ALBANIAN gangsters have established a grip on Britain's sex trade by using extreme violence. Vice squad officers estimate that Albanians now control more than 75 per cent of the country's brothels and their operations in London's Soho alone are worth more than £15 million a year. They are present in every big city, with Albanian-run brothels recently uncovered in Glasgow, Liverpool and Cardiff as well as in provincial strongholds including Telford and Lancaster. Police say that armed Albanian pimps have scared off underworld rivals. The women they traffic from Eastern Europe are petrified of giving evidence against...

"FATHERLAND SECURITY" ORGANIZATION THREATENS KOSOVO PARTY "DESERTERS"BBC Monitoring - July 13, 2004 "Phantom organization threatens those who leave and are against LDK", published by Kosovo Albanian newspaper Koha Ditore on 13 July Prishtina (Pristina), 12 July: Edita Tahiri and Edi Shukriu, two former senior officials of the Democratic League of Kosova (Kosovo; LDK), may be the target of a threat issued publicly by a phantom organization calling itself "Fatherland Security" (Sigurimi i Atdheut), which threatens "deserters of the Democratic League of Kosova and president of Kosova's independence, Dr Ibrahim Rugova, who have been undermining the LDK activities on the ground."...

Expert names some Al-Qa'idah members present in Bosnia SRNA - July 14, 2004 Banja Luka, 14 July: Darko Trifunovic, an expert on international law and terrorism, said that he supported the US plan to retain the Orao military base in Tuzla after the Sfor NATO-led Stabilization Force in Bosnia mission ended because Al-Qa'idah network and terrorist training camps were still present in Bosnia-Hercegovina. Trifunovic told SRNA that he had reliable information that there were "dangerous terrorists of the Iranian origin, who have Bosnia-Hercegovina citizenship and passports, most notably Mustafa Kamal, Shah Mohammad Ali Tala'ti, Talati Ali Sahmedi as received ,...

For Immediate Release July 16, 2004 Contact: Jin Chon, 202-464-2800 Washington, DC – Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry released the following statement today on Three Serbs Day celebration: “I am pleased to offer my congratulations and best wishes to the Serb National Federation for this year's Three Serb Days celebration. Many Americans of the Greatest Generation remember with deep appreciation the heroic efforts made by our Serbian friends to save American pilots shot down behind enemy lines during World War II. Today, the American-Serbian community continues to enrich our nation, with organizations such as the SNF playing an important role...

Stanley Miller alleged the June 23 beating also caused "spinal injuries, trunk-torso injuries, internal injuries, emotional distress, and bruises and contusions." If the city rejects the claim filed Thursday, Miller could seek damages through a lawsuit. Police spokeswoman Mary Grady said the department would not comment on "pending litigation." Police Chief William Bratton told the City Council two weeks ago that Miller's injuries appeared to be minor scrapes and bruises. But Robert Stoll Jr., an attorney for Miller, said a neurologist determined that he had brain damage. Police allege Miller led them on a 30-minute chase after they saw him...

A MONGIE, France, July 16 (Reuters) - Italy's Ivan Basso won the 12th stage of the Tour de France, a 199km stage from Castelsarrazin to La Mongie, on Friday. American Lance Armstrong finished second, Germany's Andreas Kloeden came third. France's Thomas Voeckler retained the yellow jersey. ============ Check out Serbia's Cycling Challenge

THE EVENTS SURROUNDING THE BATTLE OF KOSOVO 1389 AND ITS CULTURAL EFFECT ON THE SERBIAN PEOPLEby Mark Gottfried (1972) The Serbian culture endured through five centuries of Turkish occupation, although the Turks offered security and prosperity, for conversion to Turkish life styles. This Serbian culture was retarded for five centuries, after the Serbian defeat on the plain of Kosovo. From a culture that led Europe and the Balkans during the Medieval period, the Serbian culture degenerated and stagnated, to the point that when it regained its freedom it had centuries to recover. The Turkish victory at Kosovo, was not as...

This is the differance between the mighty mighty Marine Corps and the obsolete US Army (of course, take the ribbing to heart Army...:) yes, I know, we are part of the Department of Navy, but it is the Mens Department.

Defense & Foreign Affairs Daily, Monday, June 21, 2004Strategic Studies Association - June 21, 2004Balkan Islamists Note Continued Push for Olympics-Related Action Despite Support for Iraq Exclusive. From GIS Stations Sarajevo and Belgrade, and other sources. Proven reliable sources within the Islamist mujahedin in Bosnia-Herzegovina confirmed to GIS/Defense & Foreign Affairs Daily in mid-June 2004 that planning by  al-Qaida-related groups, Bosnian Islamists and Iranian Pasdaran forces for terrorist action related to the August 2004 Summer Olympic Games in Athens was proceeding on schedule, despite the significant movement of Islamist fighters and weapons from Bosnia to Iraq via Syria.GIS had conducted...