RHC-Target Yugoslavia, Thu Apr 22, 1999 Via NY Transfer News Collective * All the News that Doesn't Fit CUBANEWS FROM RADIO HAVANA CUBA E-mail: rhc@radiohc.org http://www.radiohc.org TARGET YUGOSLAVIA: NATO's WAR OF AGGRESSION Thursday, 22 April 1999 Radio Havana Cuba presents its coverage of the ongoing U.S.-led NATO aggression against Yugoslavia. HEADLINERS / KOSOVO UPDATE / 22 April 1999 As NATO and Washington prepare to send in some 200,000 troops to make sure that the Yugoslav Federation will never again threaten US hegemony, a main business center in Belgrade was destroyed by bombs on Wednesday. The Usce Business Center housed only small companies and private radio/TV stations and was considered to be a symbol of modern Yugoslavia and what was new and good in Europe. The action clearly underlines the fact that civilian installations are definitely being targeted in an effort to demoralize the people of Serbia. The business center was a focal point of New Belgrade and a representation of national pride --and thus it was destroyed. The number of dead is not yet known but will substantially add to conservative Serbian estimates of 500 civilians killed in the bombing offensive so far. With the destruction of industrial facilities, especially in the south of Serbia, more and more workers are finding themselves jobless. The resulting financial and social disaster for increasingly large numbers of the population are expected to lead to a major health crisis. The example of Iraq indicates to what extent heavy bombing and economic sanctions affect the health of the target population. Iraq now has one of the highest infant mortality rates in the world and loses some 5,000 people a month to preventable diseases. Elsewhere, Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov has announced that his country will not be taking part in the 50th anniversary celebrations of NATO in Washington. And both Russia and the Ukraine have issued a joint statement saying that a ground invasion of the Yugoslav Federation would not be permissible. Russia has pledged to provide conventional arms to Serbia should such an invasion occur. Shelving plans to send 20,000 Kosovar refugees to Guantanamo Naval Base in Cuba, the Clinton administration has decided to take in the refugees at specific locations along the US eastern seaboard with all the necessary fanfare to make sure the heartstrings continue to be tugged to ensure continued public support of his war. However, in a surprise move, US presidential candidate for the Republican Party, John Kasich, who heads the House Budget Committee, has spoken out against the war. He stated that the notion of reemphasizing a bad policy by sending in ground troops is just a huge mistake. He suggests mediation but without the take-it-or-leave-it proposals of the Rambouillet negotiations that failed, and including Russia to jump start any new peace negotiations which would also repair the damage done to US/Russian relations. And, finally, in Rome at a Vatican ceremony hosted by Pope John Paul II to honor seven Nobel Peace Laureats, Michail Gorbachov, Rigoberta Menchu and Frederick de Klerk all spoke out strongly against the NATO/US attacks. So things are already not quite going according to plan for Washington -- even before the troops move in. In spite of the coverage of the conflict by the CNN war network. In spite of the jingoism of the Western mass media, Washington's so-called "popular" war against a "belligerent dictator" that will simply not tow the US line, has not garnered the kind of support expected. And increasingly at home. With the relative success of Iraq -- which, after all, has been bombed into a Third World, underdeveloped country -- and the unilateral punishment attacks on Sudan and Afghanistan, Clinton thought he could get away with another adventure. But the normally bellicose Republicans have begun to seriously question his judgement in committing the country and Europe to such a venture. The US has completely bypassed the United Nations and gone to NATO to avoid having its militaristic sorties vetoed. But as Radio Havana Cuba has noted before, the NATO alliance is not solid -- in spite of claims to the contrary by US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, who is bombing the very people who helped save her from the Nazis in 1939. The Greek Minister of Defence has said that Kosovo is unconquerable and warns that the unreconcilable US policy toward the Yugoslav president will lead to totalitarian war that would have catastrophic effects for all nations in the region. But are the spin doctors in Washington listening? The Clinton administration has shown just to what lengths it will go with its UNSCOM fiasco -- planting spies in a UN- sponsored arms verification body that was supposed to be neutral and objective. The cowboy clearly needs to be dragged off his horse. -30- [c] 1999, Radio Habana Cuba All rights reserved Articles cannot be reproduced, reprinted or published in any system without the consent of RHC. This prohibition includes the distribution of this material via Usenet News, "bulletin board" services, e-mail lists, print media, radio and television. For the complete RADIO HAVANA CUBA NEWSCAST and other features, please write for our daily broadcast schedule. We welcome your comments and suggestions. For further information, contact us at: Postal Address: Radio Havana Cuba P.O.Box 6240 Havana, Cuba Telephone: (53) (7) 791053 Fax: (53) (7) 795007 E-mail: rhc@radiohc.org WWW: http://www.radiohc.org rhc-eng-15127 1999-Apr-22 21:36:47