TARGET YUGOSLAVIA: NATO's WAR OF AGGRESSION / Thursday, 15 April 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, 15 April 1999 Radio Havana Cuba presents its coverage of the ongoing U.S.- led NATO aggression against Yugoslavia. NATO ADMITS "MISTAKE" OF BOMBING REFUGEE CARAVAN NATO has again admitted to having mistakenly attacked a civilian target in Yugoslavia, following yesterday's denunciation by the Serbs. Belgrade charged that NATO bombs hit a caravan of Albanian refugees in Kosovo, killing 75. On Thursday, NATO confirmed the charge, although stating that it could not confirm the number of casualties. Observers have noted that at the 20 to 24,000-foot altitude from which the planes launch their missiles, it is very difficult to differentiate moving targets on the ground with a great deal of accuracy. It is believed that planes will soon begin to fly much lower, or the U.S. will use its Apache helicopters -- but that the Alliance would then be much more exposed to the Serbs' mobile land-to-air missiles. At the same time, NATO spokesman Jamie Shea said today that NATO could not discard the possibility of more civilian victims and more damage to non-military targets. Meanwhile, Belgrade has released its first account of the damage inflicted on the country, stating that 1500 missiles have launched 5000 tons of explosives over the country, with at least 500 civilians killed and more than 5000 seriously wounded. Besides listing the bridges, train stations, refineries and airports destroyed by the bombs, Serb authorities said that 150 schools have been hit -- including day care centers -- 14 hospitals, close to 10 monasteries of Christian-Orthodox churches and two cemeteries. The report also stated that 55 civilians were killed by NATO bombs that hit a train on Monday. Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic reiterated on Wednesday that he will only accept the deployment of civilian observers in Kosovo from countries that have not participated in the air strikes -- and that this point is non-negotiable. ---------------------------------------- RADIO HAVANA CUBA's VIEWPOINT / 15 April 1999 The experts and spokespeople of NATO and, more specifically, the United States are insisting that to date all air strikes that have been carried out against Yugoslavia have been directed against military targets. Yet there is clear, photographic proof that this is simply not the case. Reports coming in from the ground indicate that 150 schools and universities have either been damaged or destroyed, with 800,000 pupils and students unable to attend classes. A number of monasteries, churches and mosques that are on the European Cultural Heritage List have also been severely damaged. The blowing up of a bridge over the Danube has suspended waterway traffic between the Danube and the Rhina and Main Rivers. More than 80 factories have been destroyed with many others damaged, putting some 500,000 employees out of work. Even the cemetery of Pristina has been hit. Foreign estimates of the destruction wrought on Yugoslavia to date exceed $100 billion. So clearly, the deft surgical strikes that those impeccably dressed and well-spoken representatives of NATO enjoy telling us about are either not as precise as they would have us believe or they are deliberately targeting these civilian objectives in an effort to reduce the morale of the population. According to reports from the region, NATO has deployed some 20,000 troops in Macedonia and 8000 in Albania. If a land attack is to come, NATO and the US should remember Vietnam and recall that whatever force is at one's disposal, when the population resists your invasion, you will never prevail. And the Serbs have a long history of guerrilla fighting in the difficult, mountainous territory their land possesses. If Washington prevails in its clear intention to completely overwhelm Yugoslavia for daring to stand up to its bullying, it will most likely launch the world into the catastrophe of a global conflict. It's time for the United Nations to take a stand against this clear threat to the very existence of the human race and prevent the further use of the enormous US arsenal for its so-called "humanitarian" ventures. -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-10311 1999-Apr-15 19:25:37