|
Back to index to Milosevic statement
Bosnia and Herzegovina: The
Rise of Political Islam BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA: THE RISE OF POLITICAL ISLAM I will just say a few words about Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is well known that peace lasted as long as the former Yugoslavia lasted, with a small delay. We had this peace. It was there because the absence of tutors and occupiers finally turned the citizens of this multi-cultural state towards one another. In the changes of the constitution on the 31st of July, 1991, in Article 1, the drafters wrote that Bosnia and Herzegovina is a democratic, sovereign state, an equal community of all of its citizens - Muslims, Serbs, and Croats of members of other nationalities that live there; and that the Socialist Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina is within the composition of Yugoslavia. This was written in the new constitution. However, even during this peaceful life among the population in this republic, you can still see -- see on the site of the Bosnian organisation Mladi Muslimani, Young Muslims, organised in 1939, find the oath which they created in the second half of 1947 in which they talk about an uncompromising struggle against everything that is not Islamic, that they will sacrifice everything on the path, including their own lives, if this is in the interests of Islam. How can you fight in a multi-ethnic community like Bosnia and Herzegovina and Yugoslavia against everything that is not Islamic? And if we keep in mind that the vast majority of the population there is not Islamic. And it happened that precisely these young Muslims had the way open to them and the means placed in their hands in order to conduct a holy war.
IZETBEGOVIC. THE TESTIMONY OF IZET ADIL ZULFIKARPASIC The first national political party that was created was the Party of Democratic Action of Izetbegovic. It is characteristic that the founder of the station and Izetbegovic's sponsor, Izet Adil Zulfikarpasic, speaks in his book about Novi Pazar the following: "When we came to Novi Pazar, we were welcomed by a large mass of people. The authorities were quite fair, the police also. Patrol cars made sure that everything passed without any conflict. In the town itself, when we arrived, the police officers withdrew from the streets and we could see only SDA guards everywhere. But then something happened at this rally that surprised me considerably. There was a rally and this rally was conducted in a sort of pro-fascist way. There were hundreds of religious flags on the stadium." And then he continues to speak in his book: "Whenever we went in a large number, then the imams would appear. They were our hosts. They organised everything. Religious officials joined the party. At some point I requested that the flags be removed, but then people appeared in caftans and dzelabija, which nobody actually ever wore in Bosnia before then." I'm going to omit some things. Anyway, Zulfikarpasic left the party because he didn't want any part of that. It is a well-known thing that Izetbegovic, as far back as the spring of 1943, led the Muslim youth of Sarajevo, and in that capacity he was the host of Amin al Huseini, the great mufti from Jerusalem, Hitler's friend who had fled to Germany. And in his book he advocates jihad, a holy war against Christians and Jews. All of this within the Independent State of Croatia of Pavelic. And at Himmler's initiative, and through the mediation of this same Huseini, a Muslim Wafe SS division was established. Not one, as a matter of fact; a Handzar Division, a Kama division, and also a Skenderbeg division consisting of Muslims from Kosovo and Metohija. Unfortunately I have to be very quick and move through this very quickly. Izetbegovic in 1990 again published his Islamic declaration, and I quote from it: "The creation of a single Islamic Community from Morocco to Indonesia. Also the fact that non-Islamic institutions cannot co-exist with Islamic institutions. We do not herald an era of piece. We herald an era of unrest. People who are asleep can be awakened only by blows. First of all, we have to be preachers and only then soldiers. The Islamic movement can and shall take over power as soon as its numbers rise to the extent that it cannot only topple the existing non-Islamic government but build an Islamic government. Members of the Islamic faith should learn, using the example of Pakistan, what should be done and what should not be done. Nowadays, the aspiration for all the Islamic communities and all Islam believers in the world should be brought together." [Not clear where quotation ends - PB] This is all aimed at "an Islamic Community from Morocco to Indonesia, from Europe to Africa." So you can imagine how people who were not the Islamic faith felt in Bosnia and Herzegovina in view of these promises that they were supposed to live in some kind of European Pakistan. You can imagine what their reaction could have been. However, as for the allegiance of Alija Izetbegovic to the Islamic fundamentalist cause, nobody can testify better to that than Islamic fundamentalists themselves. On the 11th of April, 1993, Reuters reports from Dubai that Alija Izetbegovic received an Islamic award in Riyadh in great festivities, and I quote, "for his contribution to jihad, the holy war against non-believers." So this reward confirmed that Alija Izetbegovic persevered along the road that he had opted for when he was a young man, and in accordance with the oath of allegiance he took in 1947, it meant an uncompromising struggle against everything, especially everything non-Islamic.
AN AMERICAN ASSESSMENT But it was not only the Islamic fundamentalist circles that knew of this kind of nature of the Bosnian-Herzegovnian regime; it is also clearly stated in the republican report in the Senate of the United States of America. This is a document dated the 16th of January, 1997. I'm going to go through it very, very quickly. It refers to three questions. First of all, I am going to omit the rest, how it all went. The last sentence in one is: [In English] "And the departments of state and defence were kept in the dark until after the decision was made." The second point speaks of: [In English] "The military Islamic network, along with the weapons Iranian Revolutionary Guard and Vivac Intelligence Operatives, entered Bosnia in large numbers along with thousands of Mujahedin, holy warriors, from across the Muslim world. Also engaged in the effort were several other Muslim countries, including Brunei, Malaysia, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, and Turkey, and a number of radical Muslim organisations. For example, the role of one Sudan-based humanitarian organisation..." This is under quotation: [In English] "... one relief agency has been well documented." Point number 3: [In English] "Islamic character of the Sarajevo regime. This Islamist orientation is illustrated by profiles of important officials, including President Izetbegovic himself. The progressive Islamisation of the Bosnian army, including the creation of native Bosnian Mujahedin units, credible claim that major atrocities against civilians in Sarajevo were staged for propaganda purposes by operatives of the Izetbegovic government in suppression of enemies, both non-Muslim and Muslim." In this document, it is corroborated that they themselves staged attacks against their own citizens. I'm going to skip over some other things. [In English] The report concluded, page 2: "The Administration's Iranian green light policy gave Iran an unprecedented foothold in Europe and has recklessly endangered American lives and US strategic interests." Then there is reference to the presence of Divak, also sleeping agents; then the AID, Izetbegovic's intelligence service that you brought here, rather, you brought their members here to testify against me. "[In English] [Previous translation continues]... point of jointly planning terrorist activities." [Interpretation] And then it says: "[In English] Clinton gave a green light that would lead to this degree of Iranian influence." [Interpretation] Then they give explanations as to what this is all about and you will have an opportunity to see this document. "[In English] [Previous translation continues]... Islamic revolution in Europe." And then there is reference to this phoney humanitarian agency. "[In English] [Previous translation continues]... is believed to be connected with such fixtures of the Islamic terror network of Sheikh Omar Abdel-Rahman, the convicted mastermind behind the 1993 World Trade Centre bombing, and Osama bin Laden, a wealthy Saudi immigrant believed to bankroll numerous militant groups." And then it says: "[In English] [Previous translation continues] "'... into Bosnia was of great assistance in allowing the Iranian to dig in and create good relations with Bosnian government,' a senior CIA officer told Congress in a classified deposition. And it is a thing we will live to regret because when they blow up some Americans, as they no doubt will before this thing is over, it will be in part because Iranians were able to have the time and contacts to establish themselves well in Bosnia." Later on they blew them up, the Kenyans, the Tanzanians, and also these crimes that were committed in the Balkans, but I don't have time to speak of that now. I really have to move on very quickly because you've been so stingy with time. I just wish to note that the 31st of March, 1991, in Bosnia-Herzegovina today, or rather in this federation, is an official holiday. It is the Day of the Patriotic League, the military formation that was established by the SDA. The 31st of March, 1991. They organised their party along military lines as well a year before the conflict broke out. And in this year, 1991, when conflicts broke out, half of the Serbs were killed then out of the total number of Serb victims. Analyses show, experts have proven, that Serbs were not prepared for the war at all, whereas these people were preparing for themselves for an entire year. Owen says in his book the picture of the Bosnian Muslims of being unarmed is not a true one. Even Alija Izetbegovic himself admitted on television that they were armed through secret channels. And he speaks of millions of bullets and tens of thousands of bombs, grenades, shells, hundreds of thousands of uniforms, and so on and so forth. And according to the statement made by Sefer Halilovic, the Chief of the Main Staff of the army of Bosnia-Herzegovina, in an interview he gave to Nasi Dani on the 25th of September, 1992 - 1992, gentlemen - the Patriotic League, when the war started, had 103 municipal staffs and 98.000 fighters. 103 municipal staffs. And Bosnia-Herzegovina had a total of 109 municipalities altogether. Everything is clear as far as war preparations are concerned. It is clear to all but you.
SERB OBJECTIVES IN BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINA The Serb side had three objectives. That can be seen when the entire political situation is analysed. The first one was to preserve the Yugoslav federation. And then, if it is impossible to obtain that objective, to attain their own right to self-determination like the right enjoyed by other peoples in Yugoslavia. So in case that objective is impossible too, then finding ways and means through negotiations to ensure an equitable position for Serbs in Bosnia-Herzegovina. The Serb side advocated the preservation of Yugoslavia, and it was not only the fact that this was in line with domestic and international law but everything else worked in favour of that. Unfortunately, there is no time to discuss all of this now. How justified the requests of the Serb people were, their calls for an equality of rights, that is deeply rooted because the Serb people have lived in the territory of Bosnia-Herzegovina for over a millennium. So there are deep roots in history. I have to speed things up. If one looks at the chronology of all events, and we will have the opportunity to deal with this through witnesses, indicates the following: First that what the Serbs did were reactions to what the Muslim side did, that is to say violations of the constitutional rights of the Serbs. And this, what the Serbs did, was only making up for what the other two, the Muslims and the Croats, took away from them. It can be seen that the other side gradually moved away, and finally the Serbs were cornered and agreed to a minimum of their demands. Finally the Dayton Agreement sanctioned their minimal rights, but unfortunately, later on in a fully -- this happened only after a great deal of blood was shed unnecessarily. The last chance of preserving peace in Bosnia-Herzegovina before the war was the Cutileiro plan. Everybody signed the plan, and when Zimmerman talked him into it, Izetbegovic withdrew his signature from the plan. I believe that we are going to have ample documents about this that we will present later. All of this shows very clearly that the Serb side was not the one that wanted war. It did its best to prevent a war. After the international recognition and after the break-out of the war, and it is no accident that the two coincided, the JNA started withdrawing from Bosnia-Herzegovina in accordance with the previously signed agreement. That is stated in the report of the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Boutros-Ghali, dated the 30th of May, 1992, addressed to the Security Council, in which it is also stated that the army of Republika Srpska, established on the 15th of May, was not under the control of Belgrade. And it also states that a considerable part of the territory of Bosnia-Herzegovina was under the occupation of the official forces of the Republic of Croatia. However, the then president of the Security Council, the Austrian Petar van Felner [phoen], concealed or, rather, withheld part of that report of Boutros-Ghali until sanctions were voted for by the Security Council against Yugoslavia. And it is only Croatia that should have had sanctions imposed on it on the basis of the report, by no means the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.
|