Post by tito on Sept 17, 2009 19:43:11 GMT -5
Author: Sonja Radoševic
Uploaded: Wednesday, 09 September, 2009
Article translated from the Belgrade-based e-novine website criticizes as hypocritical a recent declaration condemning the genocide at Srebrenica passed by the Montenegrin parliament
In keeping with the recommendation of the European Parliament, the Montenegrin assembly finally adopted, on 9 July 2009, fourteen years after the event, a declaration condemning the genocide in Srebrenica. The intention was to prove the willingness of ‘Montenegrin society’ to confront the past. But in actual fact the declaration served to whitewash Montenegro’s role in the war.
The declaration states: ‘The assembly notes the fact that, although a link with the tradition of co-existence of people and nations was maintained during the most recent Yugoslav drama despite unquestionable deceptions and errors, there nevertheless remains a need for a more forthright confrontation with the truth regarding the events from this period.’
We have here the repetition of the story about ‘deceptions’ committed by the Montenegrin political leaders, but also the assertion that Montenegro never abandoned ‘the tradition of co-existence of people and nations’ during the war. There is no mention here of war crimes such as the deportations of Bosniaks in 1992, the ethnic cleansing of Bukovica, the creation of the concentration camp for Croats in Morinj, the shelling of Dubrovnik and various other cases of the Montenegrin ‘tradition of co-existence’ that took place throughout eastern Bosnia-Herzegovina, and that included also the genocide at Srebrenica.
Practically all the media reported the that the declaration was proposed by the ruling coalition’s group of MPs, with the explanation that at the time of the Srebrenica crime Montenegro was part of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia [FRY], which as deputy Rifat Rastoder argued was ‘unquestionably involved in the war in Bosnia-Herzegovina.’ According to the official presentation of the declaration: ‘The reason why the Montenegrin assembly should adopt the proposed declaration is that, although Montenegro was not directly involved in this case, it was at the time of the crime part of the former Federal Republic of Yugoslavia [FRY], which, as established in the trial proceedings before The Hague, was involved in the genocide.’
They key point is that ‘Montenegro itself was not directly involved’, only FRY. With this ‘constructive confusion’, the declaration on Srebrenica is secured a place in the future history textbook as yet another falsification of Montenegro’s wartime past. Since at some point in the future someone may indeed be tempted to take a lie for the truth, here are a few data that contradict this statement.
First, FRY was composed of two equal members: Serbia and Montenegro. Its army was commanded by the supreme defence council, which included two Montenegrin representatives: its president, Momir Bulatoviæ, and its prime minister, Milo Ðukanoviæ. They took part in all its deliberations, voted and in other ways formulated important decisions.
In the period between August 1993 and November 1998, the chief of staff of the Army of Yugoslavia was General Momèilo Perišiæ, who has been charged by the court in The Hague with, among other things, crimes committed against Bosniaks and Croats in Zagreb, Sarajevo and Srebrenica. These were planned, ordered, executed and otherwise aided by the Army of Republika Srpska [VRS] and the Army of Republika Srpska Krajina [VRSK] which formed part of the Army of Yugoslavia [VJ]. Perišiæ is charged that he had established the 30th and 40th cadre corps in Belgrade, through which the wages and services of the members of the JNA who served in the VRS and VRSK were paid and regulated. The highest officers of the VRS and VRSK were in fact VJ officers.
The Sarajevo weekly Dani has reported that it is in possession of Serbian archive documents which affirm Perišiæ’s - hence also Serbia’s and Montenegro’s - responsibility for what happened in the recent war in Bosnia-Herzegovina. If so, then their responsibility for the genocide in Bosnia-Herzegovina is irrefutable. According to the Hague prosecutors, Momèilo Perišiæ knew that the crime in Srebrenica would be committed. Can the same be said of his superiors in the supreme defence council?
The testimony of former Montenegrin president and VSO member Momir Bulatoviæ seems to confirm Serbia’s and Montenegro’s involvement in the genocide in Bosnia-Herzegovina. In his book Pravila Æutanja [Rules of Silence], Bulatoviæ writes about the presence of the 30th and 40th corps of the VJ on the territory of Bosnia-Herzegovina. ‘The Army of Yugoslavia’s general staff, represented by General Momèilo Perišiæ, proposed a solution [to the VJ’s participation in the military conflicts in Bosnia-Herzegovina and Croatia] which the FRY’s supreme defence council accepted in mid June 1993. It involved the formation of the 30th and 40th cadre corps within the VJ. They were to be made up of VJ soldiers who were citizens of Bosnia-Herzegovina and Croatia, and who were ready to volunteer to join them. Formally, they were members of the VJ: they enjoyed the same status and rights... In the case of death or injury, their families would have the same rights as other members of the Army of Yugoslavia.’ This is how Bulatoviæ describes the manner in which members of the Army of Yugoslavia were sent to fight in Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina. He also insists that ‘due to the inflation and data incompatibility ,it is difficult to work out the direct aid which the FRY sent during those years to the Serb borderlands’ He nevertheless thinks that ‘a real estimate of these contribution could not be less than five billion US dollars, while some data indicate a fifty per cent larger sum.’
Seen from this perspective, the declaration on Srebrenica adopted by the Montenegrin parliament is an attempt to use a condemnation of the crime in Srebrenica for whitewashing the war past, hiding as it does the Montenegrin political leadership’s involvement in the worst crime committed in Europe since the Second World War. By avoiding all reference to Montenegro’s role in the aggression against and genocide in Bosnia, its government has transferred the burden of responsibility for these events to future generations as yet unborn.
Recalling that time of evil - of the Srebrenica genocide and the Montenegrin government’s involvement in it - the Montenegrin writer Marko Vešoviæ declared at the Gusinjsko Ljeto 2009 festival: ‘Today is the fourteenth anniversary of the day when Montenegrin state television announced that Srebrenica had been liberated. Official Montenegro still refuses to admit to this. I cannot change its mind, but I have no intention of forgiving it either.’
Translated from the e-novine website, 7 July 2009
Uploaded: Wednesday, 09 September, 2009
Article translated from the Belgrade-based e-novine website criticizes as hypocritical a recent declaration condemning the genocide at Srebrenica passed by the Montenegrin parliament
In keeping with the recommendation of the European Parliament, the Montenegrin assembly finally adopted, on 9 July 2009, fourteen years after the event, a declaration condemning the genocide in Srebrenica. The intention was to prove the willingness of ‘Montenegrin society’ to confront the past. But in actual fact the declaration served to whitewash Montenegro’s role in the war.
The declaration states: ‘The assembly notes the fact that, although a link with the tradition of co-existence of people and nations was maintained during the most recent Yugoslav drama despite unquestionable deceptions and errors, there nevertheless remains a need for a more forthright confrontation with the truth regarding the events from this period.’
We have here the repetition of the story about ‘deceptions’ committed by the Montenegrin political leaders, but also the assertion that Montenegro never abandoned ‘the tradition of co-existence of people and nations’ during the war. There is no mention here of war crimes such as the deportations of Bosniaks in 1992, the ethnic cleansing of Bukovica, the creation of the concentration camp for Croats in Morinj, the shelling of Dubrovnik and various other cases of the Montenegrin ‘tradition of co-existence’ that took place throughout eastern Bosnia-Herzegovina, and that included also the genocide at Srebrenica.
Practically all the media reported the that the declaration was proposed by the ruling coalition’s group of MPs, with the explanation that at the time of the Srebrenica crime Montenegro was part of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia [FRY], which as deputy Rifat Rastoder argued was ‘unquestionably involved in the war in Bosnia-Herzegovina.’ According to the official presentation of the declaration: ‘The reason why the Montenegrin assembly should adopt the proposed declaration is that, although Montenegro was not directly involved in this case, it was at the time of the crime part of the former Federal Republic of Yugoslavia [FRY], which, as established in the trial proceedings before The Hague, was involved in the genocide.’
They key point is that ‘Montenegro itself was not directly involved’, only FRY. With this ‘constructive confusion’, the declaration on Srebrenica is secured a place in the future history textbook as yet another falsification of Montenegro’s wartime past. Since at some point in the future someone may indeed be tempted to take a lie for the truth, here are a few data that contradict this statement.
First, FRY was composed of two equal members: Serbia and Montenegro. Its army was commanded by the supreme defence council, which included two Montenegrin representatives: its president, Momir Bulatoviæ, and its prime minister, Milo Ðukanoviæ. They took part in all its deliberations, voted and in other ways formulated important decisions.
In the period between August 1993 and November 1998, the chief of staff of the Army of Yugoslavia was General Momèilo Perišiæ, who has been charged by the court in The Hague with, among other things, crimes committed against Bosniaks and Croats in Zagreb, Sarajevo and Srebrenica. These were planned, ordered, executed and otherwise aided by the Army of Republika Srpska [VRS] and the Army of Republika Srpska Krajina [VRSK] which formed part of the Army of Yugoslavia [VJ]. Perišiæ is charged that he had established the 30th and 40th cadre corps in Belgrade, through which the wages and services of the members of the JNA who served in the VRS and VRSK were paid and regulated. The highest officers of the VRS and VRSK were in fact VJ officers.
The Sarajevo weekly Dani has reported that it is in possession of Serbian archive documents which affirm Perišiæ’s - hence also Serbia’s and Montenegro’s - responsibility for what happened in the recent war in Bosnia-Herzegovina. If so, then their responsibility for the genocide in Bosnia-Herzegovina is irrefutable. According to the Hague prosecutors, Momèilo Perišiæ knew that the crime in Srebrenica would be committed. Can the same be said of his superiors in the supreme defence council?
The testimony of former Montenegrin president and VSO member Momir Bulatoviæ seems to confirm Serbia’s and Montenegro’s involvement in the genocide in Bosnia-Herzegovina. In his book Pravila Æutanja [Rules of Silence], Bulatoviæ writes about the presence of the 30th and 40th corps of the VJ on the territory of Bosnia-Herzegovina. ‘The Army of Yugoslavia’s general staff, represented by General Momèilo Perišiæ, proposed a solution [to the VJ’s participation in the military conflicts in Bosnia-Herzegovina and Croatia] which the FRY’s supreme defence council accepted in mid June 1993. It involved the formation of the 30th and 40th cadre corps within the VJ. They were to be made up of VJ soldiers who were citizens of Bosnia-Herzegovina and Croatia, and who were ready to volunteer to join them. Formally, they were members of the VJ: they enjoyed the same status and rights... In the case of death or injury, their families would have the same rights as other members of the Army of Yugoslavia.’ This is how Bulatoviæ describes the manner in which members of the Army of Yugoslavia were sent to fight in Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina. He also insists that ‘due to the inflation and data incompatibility ,it is difficult to work out the direct aid which the FRY sent during those years to the Serb borderlands’ He nevertheless thinks that ‘a real estimate of these contribution could not be less than five billion US dollars, while some data indicate a fifty per cent larger sum.’
Seen from this perspective, the declaration on Srebrenica adopted by the Montenegrin parliament is an attempt to use a condemnation of the crime in Srebrenica for whitewashing the war past, hiding as it does the Montenegrin political leadership’s involvement in the worst crime committed in Europe since the Second World War. By avoiding all reference to Montenegro’s role in the aggression against and genocide in Bosnia, its government has transferred the burden of responsibility for these events to future generations as yet unborn.
Recalling that time of evil - of the Srebrenica genocide and the Montenegrin government’s involvement in it - the Montenegrin writer Marko Vešoviæ declared at the Gusinjsko Ljeto 2009 festival: ‘Today is the fourteenth anniversary of the day when Montenegrin state television announced that Srebrenica had been liberated. Official Montenegro still refuses to admit to this. I cannot change its mind, but I have no intention of forgiving it either.’
Translated from the e-novine website, 7 July 2009