Kalejdoskop 102 – Från fall till fall: Kosovo, men inte Östtimor

ALBANSKA EXTREMISTER har nu avslutat en etnisk rensning av omkring 90 procent av Kosovos zigenare, serber och judar. Detta är den proportionellt sett hittills största etniska rensningen på Balkan. Belgrad varken planerade eller genomförde att fördriva 90 procent av albanerna.
Nato hävdade att det var oacceptabelt att Belgrad hade 40.000 soldater i området för att bland annat skydda den serbiska minoriteten. Nu finns lika många NATO-soldater i Kosovo. Varför kunde inte dessa trupper med mycket mera avancerad teknik och underrättelsetjänst skydda serber och zigenare från denna förutsägbara humanitära katastrof?

Den jugoslaviska militären fick tio dagar på sig att dra sig tillbaka. I strid med Säkerhetsrådets resolution 1244 har den jugoslaviska armén inte fått återvända med gränsvakter. Den albanska befrielsearmén UCK fick 90 dagar på sig för att lämna in sina vapen. Nu har UCK i direkt strid med resolutionen inte bara övertagit den lokala administrationen och polisväsendet utan också fått tillåtelse att upprätta ett slags nationalgarde med vapen och helikoptrar. Väst samarbetar med en självutnämnd regering som aldrig blivit vald. Det ser faktiskt ut som en belöning av den politiskt korrekta etniska rensningen.

NATO och FN struntar nu i Jugoslaviens suveränitet, som garanteras i alla dokument och i resolution 1244. Jugoslavien har inte längre kontroll över Kosovos gränser till Albanien och Makedonien. Därtill införs nu den tyska marken som valuta, samtidigt som jugoslaviska lagar upphävs en efter en utan förhandlingar med Belgrad. EU-ländernas industrier kommer förmodligen snart att överta några av Europas största mineraltillgångar och Trpca-gruvindustrin i Mitrovica.

Bortåt en miljon människor är nu flyktingar i Serbien (från Kroatien, Bosnien och Kosovo). Vem bryr sig om dem? De utgör inget humanitärt problem.

Serbiens befolkning, elva miljoner människor, har tvingats på knä, liksomtidigare invånarna i Irak, som också är dubbla offer, för auktoritära ledare och för ett auktoritärt internationellt samfund.

Sanktionerna mot Jugoslavien ska upprätthållas. Man kommer inte att erbjuda någon hjälp till återuppbyggnad och de civila offren för NATOs bomber kommer knappast att få någon kompensation.

Dessa politiskt icke korrekta flyktingar från Kosovo har varken Clinton, Blair eller andra NATO-ledare lovat möjlighet att återvända. Här finns ingen CNN-effekt och inga påtryckningar från människorättskämpar eller andra humanister.

Tusentals journalister lämnade Kosovo när det visade sig vara färre massakrer än vad NATO först hävdade, liksom att i stort sett alla ägde rum efter det att bombningarna inletts.

Militären fick obegränsade medel till operationen. Den civila återuppbyggnaden kommer däremot dåligt igång. FN är bankrutt och Afrikas flyktingar får ännu mindre hjälp än tidigare.

NATO-länderna (också Danmark, som var i krig för första gången sedan 1945) bär hela skulden för detta. Men debatt och självkritik saknas. Det finns få eller inga studier av det som skedde. Ingen i medievärlden diskuterar mediernas roll i krig och fred. De som ivrade för bomber förklarar inte om det som nu sker var vad man hoppades skulle bli resultatet.

I Danmark tyckte statsministern nyligen att hela operationen var en seger för demokratin ·

I maktens korridorer hävdar nu allt fler att den internationella folkrätten bör betraktas som “flexibel” och att vi, eftersom vi inte kan ingripa överallt, måste avgöra insatserna “från fall till fall”. Men det finns etiska utmaningar, där folkrätten måste åsidosättas, hävdar man.

Låt oss därför betrakta fallet Östtimor och jämföra med Kosovo. Östtimor är en f d portugisisk koloni som ockuperades av Indonesien (Djakarta) i december 1975, samma dag som USA:s dåvarande president Ford besökte landet tillsammans med sin utrikesminister Kissinger.

Kosovo, å andra sidan, var tveklöst en del av det Jugoslavien som det internationella samfundet erkände 1996.

Den brittiske utrikesministern David Owen (senare känd medlare på Balkan) sanktionerade 1978 omfattande vapenförsäljning till Indonesien.

När det gäller Jugoslavien införde väst i stället sanktioner och bombade Belgrad, medan man samtidigt gav UCK-gerillan vapen.

Mellan 1975 och 1978 mördades 200.000 människor i Östtimor. Antalet döda i Kosovo (på båda sidor) före NATOs bombningar uppgick till några tusen.

Belgrad har inte förhindrat albanerna att hålla illegala folkomröstningar, som följts av att man utropat en självständig parallell stat som också förde sin egen utrikespolitik. Kosovos informelle president Ibrahim Rugova mottogs överallt i omvärlden. I Kosovo blev ingen i den kosovoalbanska ledningen fråntagen sitt pass eller satt i husarrest, än mindre mördad av Belgrad.

I Indonesiens huvudstad Djakarta motsätter man sig nu regimen med våld resultatet av den internationellt övervakade folkomröstningen om Östtimors självständighet. Östtimors ledare Gusmao har suttit i husarrest under många år och biskop Belo har tvingats i landsflykt.

Den akuta krisen efter valet i Östtimor har medfört ungefär lika många flyktingar (till den 7 september) som i Kosovo före bombningarna. Djakarta har infört undantagstillstånd och försvarschefen general Wiranto hotar enligt The Guardian med att administrera Östtimor militärt.

Liknande förhållanden existerade aldrig i Kosovo, där tusentals utlänningar och rader av internationella organisationer befann sig fram till det att NATO:s bomber fördrev dem.

Djakarta fördriver nu alla utlänningar och avvisar en internationell styrka.

Så varför inte bomba Djakarta och låta en internationell koalition överta Östtimor? Vore inte det en folkrättsligt bättre sak än Kosovo?

Nu avgörs frågor som denna “från fall till fall”. Det innebär att England och USA har sista ordet. Och dessa länder menar att en internationell styrka bara kan sättas in med Djakartas godkännande och efter en FN-resolution. Inget av dessa båda länder är självt berett att sända egen trupp.

Var kommer vi med tiden att hamna med detta “från fall till fall”?

Mitt bud är att världen blir allt mer laglös, styrd av ett enda lands diktatoriska makt. Följden blir diskriminering och en selektiv folkrätt.

När det gäller fallet Östtimor anpassas “folkrätten” efter det stora “humanitära” intresset för Indonesiens strategiska betydelse och för landets råvaror som olja, trä och mineraler.

VAD SKER om andra länder begår krigsförbrytelser? Alla vet att Milosevic är anklagad som krigsförbrytare. Men inte många känner till att 17 ledande advokater och universitetsjurister runtom i världen den 6 maj i år sände en anklagelseskrift till Krigsförbrytartribunalen i Haag mot runt 70 namngivna politiska och militära NATO-ledare. Anklagelserna gäller brott mot folkrätten, mot krigets regler och humanitära lagar i samband med NATO:s bombningar av Jugoslavien. Bland de utpekade finns Danmarks statsminister, utrikesminister och försvarsminister.

Något större nyhetsvärde har detta inte haft i västliga medier. Och förmodligen rinner det hela ut i sanden.

Ty sannolikt förhåller det sig så att med den nya principen “från fall till fall” är detta inget fall.

Peace & future researcher + ‌Art Photographer

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