(en) Zaginflatch #20, 31st March 1999 (fwd)

More eyewitness reports.
//CJR

---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Wed, 31 Mar 1999 17:56:24 -0500
From: marko <marko@zamir.net>
Subject: (en) Zaginflatch #20, 31st March 1999


ZAGINFLATCH #20, 31st March 1999
newsletter published by Zagreb Anarchist Movement

ZAP / ARK
GAJEVA 55
10 000 ZAGREB
CROATIA zap_zg@geocities.com

http://www.geocities.com/CapitolHill/Senate/3707/


Dear friends,
Info about Zaginflatch is available on request.
Basically, with this newsletter we want to inform the international
community (this is you) on how antiauthoritarians in Yugoslavia and
ex-Yugoslavia feel in these moments. Also, as people who have experienced
air raids and general alerts, we want to support our friends in Yugoslavia
who are experiencing this today. We don't want to prejudice any political
solutions to Kosovo and other ex-yu problems, we just want to help our
friends, and support them in this way. All opinions published in
Zaginflatch will be just personal ones. There is no joint platform.
Zaginflatch will bring you hardly any news in the way mainstream media does
it. For this kind of info we suggest you try cnn, bbc or some other
services. They are available to you anyway.. This is meant to come from
inside... Also, if you're into alternative news sources, we suggest you try
at www.b92.net ...

Zagreb Anarchist Movement (ZAP)


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How you can help:

- forward this message to people who might be interested
- we need translators. especially if you speak soutslavic language(s). - if
you can,  print this out and send to people who don't have access to email
- if you can, help us send Zaginflatch to people who usually receive paper
version. We presently can't afford to mail them out via snail mail, and we
have an international mailing list of people who regularly receive this
newsletter since it was founded. Write to us and ask if we have a contact in
your country. It'd be great if you could send this newsletter for us...

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what follows are translated extracts from mails posted to
ex-yu-a-lista@zamir.net which is a mailing list for ex-yu anarchists, and
from private emails..

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From: Mirko, Vojvodina

I 'm late. Today is the third day of the air-strikes. What air-strikes,
they're human stupidity attacks. In peaceful times, now already pre-historic
time, while I was moving around specialised conferences held in  Geneva,
Birmingham, Paris and other European God forgotten places, I have learned
(from my British friends, it seems) that the third and seventh day are the
worst, a crisis. They also had a theory about it - a period of shock, a
period of adapting, a period of crisis, or something like that. I am late
with this out of justified reasons, and its time to let you know about the
core of the problem.
.......
My son Miroslav is better in handling the Internet than I am. That's the way
it should be, my friend told me. And Miroslav has grown up in a peace group
and not in a (military) college. Last night he was collecting information -
there is enough on chat. His report is defeating. A friend from around
Batajnica is writing to him,  and says: there was lots of bombing,
everything was shaking, and there is no more airport in Batajnica, it is not
even good enough for a field anymore. Couldn't we have turned military
instalations into firlds ourselves, rather than the bombing and millions of
dollars thrown away!
I have also gotten a report from the "kids". That is how I call a group of
smart and wonderful very young women and people, gathered around some
student unions and other organisations. We have already worked together last
year, on the "Antiwar Campaign" - posters against the war. It's not as if we
were able to prevent the war - we did not, but we have stayed in contact. I
am proud that they have excepted me - and old man compared to them - and
alongside that I am from a province. Now we are in
touch through e-mail. They have their connections in important places. They
have compiled a list of  aimed and hit buildings with remarks what has been
hit for what reason.  The list is dreadfully long and contains, along with a
series of  air-defence military instalations and lots of factories which
manufacture (or have manufactured) one or the other part for a military
machine. "Mixed" airports were also hit (the ones that are being used for
military and civilian purposes).
......
Everything is important to the army. Can we expect that the heroes from the
aircrafts will also aim at shoe factories, because the army is not barefoot?
And how does the army like these sides of the Teodosies line. The feeling of
revenge is not only developed with the Albanians (the law of Leka
Dukadjanin), but also with the Serbs and Balkanians in general. The
Americans, Germans, even the
the French, the "traditional friends" ,  will be an object of hate for
years, if not decades. Let's just remember what the situations is like with
the Turcs - they have left almost 200 hundred years ago and the people here
still hate them and accuses them  for all the evils of this world.  If this
would be happening there in the "West" (Oh God,  how simple geographical
concepts get reverse meanings). The British and the French would not even be
able to drink their beer together, let alone be in the same supra-state
(European Union). And in the same attacking legions. Something else that's
concretely.
Our real fear (in Pancevo) is actually coming from the south. The so-called
South industrial zone has three factories - an oil refinery and two deadly
chemical factories. The Americans and the rest of the gang were precise in
the case of Ucva. But in the next few impacts there were some failiures. In
Djakovica they have lit up the old part of town instead of the army
barracks.. There are victims, Albanians as well, of course. If someone from
a causy cabin presses the wrong button, or something from the complicated
electronics sets out - boom - Pancevo is gone. At least half of it, and that
the part were we are. Even worse than that are the poisonous gases.
Yesterday I was at the caffe "Europe" ( I have almost suggested the name to
be changed). While the owners of the private caffes have run away (later
more about social indifferences), the people in the state owned caffes  have
to
work. Of course I run into Pekmez (Marmelade) surprisingly sober. He
explains to Miroslav and me that this gas "falls" down,  it gets into
basements, that it stays there for days. He also said the name of this weird
thing, I did not want to remember. I had an awful time of my cognac.
There is no need for me to write to you about the lies of the majority of
western media.  You can see it from a plane. Of course they lie here too.
Yesterday I talked to my doctor. She came from Croatia (...) already "at the
beginning" in 1991. She is telling me an idiotic thesis about  the goal of
the Americans to "help the Albanians and Muslims" to create a "muslim state
here with the help of the Croatian".What should I be explaining here, when
95% of the so-called intelectuals don't know the difference between
Iraq and Iran. Not to speak of the shiits and sunits.Yesterday there was a
statement broadcasted through all the media ( connected in a network, it is
a state of war, if you haven't forgotten) from the Belgrade muftija
Jusupspahica, of course connected with hadzien (Kurban ) bajram. The muftija
knows where and what the government is of course - he has called upon the
American, who otherwise "torture our
brothers sll over Iran, Libia, Iraq and Palestine" to calm down. He has also
called upon the "brothers from Kosovo" to become reasonable.Acerim ecendi!
Irony as it is, a day before the war started, I went to the Bajrakli mosque
, and have stood long in the empty harem (not the one woth the sultans, but
the mosque one) and observed.  There are only a few people coming, they are
all old.  Belgrade is becoming a pure serbian town.
......
To those who'd like to get more deeply involved in the analysis, I can
forward  one analysis who shows upon the fact that now will happen what we
have shouted - Slobo Saddam. To those who like explicit information, some
icing on the cake: The Sand (The Deliblat Sand, the only desert in Europe,
but there will be more after the NATO actions)  is full. The people have
fled into their  weekend houses, those who have any. Some of my "friends"
have fled to a hotel in Alibunar (village, municipality, no military
instalations nearby). The ones who have money have managed somehow, and the
ones who don't are waiting for the Tomahawks. When the smoke from the bombs
clears away, the social differences will be even bigger, the poverty even
worse, the authorities even more harsh. And the matter of Kosovo WON'T be
solved! The attacks are handy both for Him and Her ,the wolfs and dukes.
EXPLAIN THAT! The common people again are fucked. As always. Kismet.I hope I
was not too strenuous. Let me know whether I should continue.

Mirko (Peace - my name is not even adequate)



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from: marko s., zagreb, markos@zamir.net


SITUATION IN CROATIA and short analysis of what's going on

After following what's going in media and trying to catch up everything that
is happening on the list, I somehow have enough "material" to write about
and to do new analysis and predictions (right or wrong)
about the development of current situation...
So, bombing still goes on, NATO started with a new way of bombing  - main
targets now are technical and human military resources of  Yugoslav army -
basically everything that is southern form  Kragujevac (look on the map).
But they still attack airports and other  targets that they find important.
>From time to time they come out with  new information about how successfull
they are... Information (from different sources) about civil victims are
different - Russian diplomacy claims (probably they use information coming
from Yugoslav government) that there's around 1000 civil victims (that
number includes just Serbs who don't live at Kosovo), but NATO claims that
there are just few civilian victims. So, what is true? No matter which
number(s) are true (although, middle of both might be true, but we can't
know that for sure), there are civilian victims, which certainly don't
represent "military machine" which is NATO trying to destroy. The whole
logic of "minimal civilian victims" is morbid if you ask me.
At the other hand, no one in Croatia speaks about that too much - media are
talking about numbers, mentioning everything that is said, but not trying to
manipulate with it. Journalists are still more or less
objective. Of course, they write and talk a lot about civil victims at
Kosovo, especially about murders of internationally exposed intelectuals,
like one of the negotiations from Albanian side, lawyer of Albanian journal
Koha Ditore and editor of same journal (I'm sorry because I didn't mention
names here, but I don't have them in front of me, I'll do that tomorrow and
pass it to Marko B. with my new article)... Also, there were some murders of
teachers. That was the biggest news in Croatia - as well as huge number of
people leaving Kosovo and looking for a safe place in Albania and Macedonia.
I would say that media here are a bit less pathetic than Sky News or CNN
when they talk about this, although, it's more or less same story. One of
the news that is not still official, but was broadcasted (as
something that said by some journalist from Finland who is in Pristina at
the moment) on main news of HTV (Croatian national tv) is that Ibrahim
Rugova, leader of Albanians from Kosovo is murdered too. I have to say that
it was a big shock to hear something like that, because he's one of the rare
people at Kosovo who saw a peaceful solution as only solution. In a way, he
is "opposition" to OVK (Liberation Army of Kosovo). Anyway, that news was at
HTV and some newspapers, but no one really knows is it true or not - few
days ago, it was mentioned at HTV that no one knows where I. Rugova is and
what is happening with him. All that can mean anything, but we'll see. And
back to NATO again - after rejection of  idea of sending their troops to
Yugoslavia, for the first time, NATO started to consider that
> option as something that might happen - Pentagon did some "home work" on
the subject and they are still trying to avoid that option, but not cause
they don't want to do it, but cause they think how they wouldn't be in the
best starting position if situation doesn't change a bit. Mainly, it means
that they need a promission of Monte Negro to use their territory to attack
from. All the official resources of information, meaning anyone who can
speak in the name of NATO, still reject that option as something that will
happen for sure. But just the fact that they talk about it, and consider all
the options of it in public means that they went few steps further from what
they say. It was like that so far, so there's no reason not be like that
this time. I can't really say what it would mean if it happens. Anything is
possible then, although, I supose that on a long term basis, Yugoslav army
wouldn't have too much chance to resist NATO troops. Of course, that action
would cause NATO huge damage - meaning, losing people and technical
equipment. Croatian parties and government are still silent about this
subject - and I think it will stay that way until it happens or at least
until it doesn't become really clear that it will happen some time soon.
There's just a big concern and fear of expansion of the conflict to
countries that are near Yugoslavia. So, Minister of external affairs of
Croatia went to US today and I suppose that part of his visit will cover
that subject too. Also, there will be a meeting on Thursday (1st of April)
of all countries around Yugoslavia (Slovenia, Romania, Bosnia and
Herzegovina, Albania, Macedonia, Bulgaria, Romania and Hungary). We'll see
what will come out from that.
Interesting thing is that beside all the military actions and bombings
happening in Yugoslavia, there's no sign of big military activity in
Croatia - no mobilisation, no preparedness, nothing. At least we can't
see that. Only thing that I saw yesterday was that police guarding American
embassy is armed with short machine guns, which is something that you
couldn't see in Zagreb since 1995. or even some time before that.
Anyway, life in Croatia goes on - not too many people are concerned with
situation in Yugoslavia, although it's a main news every day. So far only
Anti-war Campaign Croatia and one small political party (Socialist Workers
Party) sent their statements in which they disagree with NATO bombings.
Everyone else, beside few individuals, doesn't really care or supports it.
Well, this was more than enough for today - hope that my analysis are
helping you understand situation a bit better and give you some more
information apart from official media. I have to add that I still find our
anarchist network really helpful in this situation. It's not that I'm or any
of us in ZAP directly under attack - but everything that I see and hear, and
all the involvement with this newsletter brings me so close to the events.
It's hard to look at war and destruction after you had a chance to feel it
yourself not that long ago.  Especially because it happens to people that
you know / like / care for.

markoS.

ps. also, I would like to say that markoB., who is putting all this
together, did and is still doing great job! my part is small, I just
write... thanks to ARK people for help in translating messages from ex-yu-a
for Zaginflatch, too...



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from: ana miskovska kajevska, hannah_mk@hotmail.com, skopje

Today, it is Saturday, 27. 03. 1999. And I start this letter almost at noon.
Last night I returned from Serbia and I am so full of feelings so I'll try
this way to sort out toughs and to write all this feelings that
hunt me. But I don't know where to start. That is why it is the best to
write them down as they come...
Here, people are afraid as they wait for war to spread. I can just see it
from what I hear on radio where people are calling, from bigger demand for
food in stores... Strange enough, I don't feel afraid. I feel as whole fear
I survived in Amsterdam, beginning of spring when this horror on Kosove
began, through my returning here twice before (October and November). At
October I came through Belgrade, and I spoke with some people there, and
that was time when NATO has planed to attack Belgrad for the first time, so
people were for the first time in panic. In December we passed through
Sarajevo then through Kosovo to Skopje and all those police patrols took
part of my fear away. All that made me fees calm and not afraid at all. But,
I have to admit that I am amused by my calmness during this situation,
especially during the night of bombing in Pancevo, during which we were at
shelter, as it during the travelling from Belgrade to Skopje. Simply, I
don't know if this is some kind of shock in which I don't understand what is
happening, or I can keep calmness of the spirit watching people around me
and their reactions to the situation. That gives me joy, because these
moments are very interesting for examination of human psychology. I,
optimist for life, can find something to hold me even in these bad moments.
Is there going to be war in Macedonia? I believe that, especially because
this what is happening at Kosovo and Macedonia, reminds me on what happened
in Croatia and Bosnia (during the war in one country, tension in other
country between different ethnic groups grew harder).  But I decided not to
let panic to overcome me. How strange it was during my travelling when I
stopped in Belgrade. First part (I stopped to write here to tell my mother
that there is one thing she doesn't have to worry about in case of war - at
least we have enough books to keep us warm - at least for 4 winters. She
answered half joking-half serious that she would kill me) in Belgrade was OK
because I meet with
NGOs, I saw familiar people so it was very nice. Particularly because I saw
projection of new analysis on Second News on RTS (Radio-Television
Serbia)-Third year, which was done by B92. I also went to see Daniela in
Pancevo. That was great shock for me because in the meantime her father
became head of SPS (Milosevic party) for Pancevo, and whole family was so
pro-serbian and anti-everything else orientated, I felt really sick. I
decided not to start any political discussions and not to point out my
attitude because of this entire situation and psihoses before bombing. But
it was so comic: me with my Belgrade demonstration experience (which I hid
immediately when Daniela told me about her father), T-shirt, that says
"Režim na Režim" (made in zagreb), which I couldn't hide because I had only
two shirts, my materials and books in my bag which were about:
antimilitarism, conscious objection, lesbian and feminist subjects...
Danielas father consider women to stay and work at home and he showed great
disrespect toward them. I can not believe how, her father and whole family
fit in stereotype picture of brainwashed Serbs, totally backward thinking,
not to think about hate towards Albanians, disrespect towards Macedonians.
So, her father told me that it is not natural for black and whit to get
married. Daniela was obviously scared that I am lesbian, because it was the
first thing that her friends asked her when she said I was a feminist. I
have to admit that Daniela was relieved when I started to talk about my
boyfriends, although she claimed that she is not homfobic. Her father
couldn't help not to say that we, Macedonians are half Serbs half
Bulgarians. To all statements and provocation's I decided not to react. It
is almost amazing how developed is hate language used by state TV and radio.
All the time it is about Albanian separatists and their of warning to
citizens not to believe in misinformation, BUT THEY ARE THOSE WHO SPREAD IT
THE MOST!!!!
Second thing that shocked me is how fast panic is spreading, how information
can be changed and how people believe in that. It was very indicative the
reaction of people in the bus from Belgrade to Skopje, when we were stopped
by one patrol. Someone shouted that those were Albanians and it was panic
immediately. Police entered the bus it came out that they were Serbian
police. So, without reason, panic arose and once more fears and hate were
activated. The shelter. Going to the shelter made me think of something
else. How much, unnecessary thing we store in our basements, just not to
throw them away. Why you start to use your basement as a shelter then you
realize how much you don't need this stuff and how you don't have those
basic things you need in case of danger. I was watching people in Serbia and
their panic, thinking: it is true, fear for own life and lives of close ones
is something normal, but I think, how much of this panic is about some hard
confrontation with reality, I mean,
realization that heavenly and from god protected people was attacked
represent some loose of selflikness. Or not, because although they are
"chosen" they know that whole world hates them and is against them... And
with people in Macedonia is panic so big, becoming (Croatia, Bosnia, unrests
in Albania) still many people believed in oasis of peace, so how, suddenly
they feel lost. I, personally, feel that bombs are not so scary, although I
don't approve violence and fight for peace. What is ever more scary is hate
and all those negative feelings which we know will stay for long time.
Violence is very bad. I listen, in Skopje, demonstration which were supposed
to be nonviolent, lost their peace and became violent with burned buildings
and scared people that night I returned to Skopje and only empty
center of Skopje told me that something had happened. As much as I am happy
that finally this people started to demonstrate to publicly show their
opinion, as much I am revolted that this demonstration were violent and
dangerous. I am really sick of this world in which the biggest part of
people accepted violence and violent methods as something normal and
necessary for fulfilling (political) aims.


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from: Pop, Kraljevo

So, another one of us, Ciro, was caught and tomorow he has to go with army
somewhere around Raska. Fuck it, he wasn't lucky enough - a couple of days
ago he got a draft call for civil service (to work on the siren and spread
drafts) but he didn't report, so they gave him a card which says "Direction
Raska!". Who knows, maybe he'll be in the same unit with Sicko so they could
help each other wherver they are. I guess everything will be OK...

To make war in the name of peace is the same like to make love in the name
of virginity.


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from: ?!


I think that it's a good thing that people report to this list with field
information from first hand. News spread by RTS (national television,
transl.) and others who work under regime control are either untrue or to be
filtered. I just wonder what to filter.
Tonight, for example, they reported that bombing is taking place in the
wider surroundings of Belgrade. What surroundings? I haven't heard anything,
and i live by the council building in New Belgrade.
They keep people in shelters for hours and hours. Do you really think that
you're in danger for all that time?
And then once when there's no air raid the bomb falls down. Just like couple
of days before around Sremcica i Galenika. And the media newer said why didn
't the sirens go on on time but 2-3 minutes after the explosions (it is
obvious they never saw the planes). It is probably that they have decided
then that it is better to keep people in shelters and cellars then to
further expose to embarasment with late air raid alerts.

			********