For listmembers not in the UK: can you let us know what your national
coverage of this event is saying? We need to compare reports.
Thanks, K
---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Thu, 5 Oct 2000 20:49:56 +0100 (BST)
From: K.M. Sutherland <[log in to unmask]>
To: ROMAN <[log in to unmask]>, MOIRA <[log in to unmask]>,
dertihem sevan <[log in to unmask]>,
An. Chin. <[log in to unmask]>, V <[log in to unmask]>,
THRAVES <[log in to unmask]>, emily <[log in to unmask]>,
bks <[log in to unmask]>, So. Ge. <[log in to unmask]>
Subject: An actual revolution is happening
Fucking hell -- the people of Belgrade have burned down the Parliament
building, Milosevic's party HQ and the State television and radio
broadcasting centre, and have swept Kostunica into power. This is,
without any exaggeration, a full scale political revolution. A repeat of
the Russian February: the police and the army have defected, with security
units beginning half-heartedly to defend parliament but quickly
retreating; two Belgrade police stations have come under citizen control;
other police stations have been handing out gas masks to rioters; people
climbed through the smashed parliament windows into the interior, threw
out government documents and books, and set fire to the whole
building. Kostunica has just addressed the crowd (hundreds of
thousands) in the central square outside parliament, calling for peace and
announcing the mass defection of the army and seizure of the state tv
centre. This is amazing, historic. Milosevic and his wife have fled, but
to WHERE? They already rejected Putin's offer to mediate, so Russia will
be hostile. The socialist party in Montenegro, on whose support Milosevic
would have had to depend in a future coalition, look set to switch sides
and join Kostunica, so that Milosevic will hardly fly into
Montenegro. Kostunica has said two key things:
1. He will not help with the war crimes tribunal indictment of Milosevic.
2. He has achieved power independently and will not rely either on Russia
or the U.S.
This second point in particular is critical. Clinton's immediate reaction
was supportive but obviously hesitant; he will help Serbia to -democracy-,
but to -independence-? That would ruin the entire Kosovo initiative,
which was to wrest the remaining Russian client positions into Nato (de
facto U.S.) control. What will happen if Kostunica refuses to go along
with the States? The Serbs certainly hate the U.S. and Britain, and the
Kosovars would seem more likely to bargain with Kostunica than with
Clinton (or Gore or Bush), particularly if he reneges on statement 1
above.
He may of course be lying, in collusion with the U.S., preparatory to a
shift into NATO's hands. That would be bad news indeed.
The footage of this is -incredible-.
I haven't yet heard the French (Emily?) or German reaction.
Any news from your side would be very much appreciated.
Feel free to forward this e-mail if the scumbag U.S. press don't give it
decent coverage.
K
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