Probably not.

So, I've realised it is time to find some eyewitnesses who will - thanks to their reputation - never be blamed for pro-Yugoslav propaganda. I have found them.

The Korisa massacre. An ethnic Albanian child after a visit from his NATO protectors.

"Analysts must imbue their discussion with a sense of gravitas; they must, if they are to be considered part of the policy process, treat all statements by their own leaders as being of oracular significance, and those of opponents as being mendacious, devious, obfuscating and, well, partisan. Truth and justice belong only on 'our' side; all else is suspect. Even when the fabled boy in the street cries 'The King has no clothes', the weight and pomposity of 'analysis' and reporting - open and classified - is such that the boy's cries will not be heard. Today, given the seemingly instant and omnipresent nature of communications and surveillance, there is a belief that the truth of any situation will always emerge. But, as we discuss elsewhere in this edition, belief is most definitely not knowledge; belief does not equate to 'fact.' What is now most apparent is that modern media technologies are most effective in reinforcing stereotypes, perpetuating 'the Big Lie', and in causing distraction and the extension of pseudospeciation (the transformation of an opponent, in one's mind, into a lesser species, unworthy of equality with ourselves). "

These are the words from the editorial of Mr Gregory R. Copley, Editor of Defense & Foreign Affairs. If you have the patience to read and if you want to find out what is going on in Yugoslavia, why and how (including the KLA, Bosnia, Croatia, Islamic connections, civilian victims, refugees, lies, terrorism and NATO losses) go visit the section "Key reports on the Balkan crisis" of this online magazine. Defense & Foreign Affairs' judgement is [respected by] the governments of over 170 states around the world. This is the most objective analysis I've ever seen [on the subject of this war], the whole truth, and much, much better than I'll ever be able to write.

In the meantime, since my last article, a lot of bad things have happened. One can get use[d] to listening [to] the sound of explosions, to seeing devastation, even [to] reports of few desolate deaths, but one can never get use to see every week a new NATO mass-murder [of] civilians, carbonised children and scattered peaces of bodies. And I was sure that I already had seen everything. What a delusion!

The "military vehicles" NATO claims to have bombed in Korisa.

On May 14, during the night, NATO jets assaulted a refugee camp in Kosovo in the village of Korisa with more than 8 missiles, but mostly with cluster bombs. In the refugee camp, provisionally formed as an overnight shelter for over 500 ethnic Albanian refugees who were deserting their homes after the previous day's NATO bombing, there were mostly women and children. After the NATO jets had been targeting the village of Korisa for more than two hours, about 100 people were murdered and 100 more were gravely wounded. According to the eyewitnesses, body parts of the wretched people were flying all around. The AFP journalist [on the scene] has stated [that by] the next morning ... he saw about 48 combusted bodies and about 61 gravely wounded civilians in the hospital in Prizren. In his own words, that was only one group, and it is estimated that there are more of the killed and injured.

During the day, NATO was also assaulting the rescue teams that were coming to help the people. Also, the investigation teams that were coming to [oversee] and estimate the number of the casualties were restrained by constant and repeated bombing of NATO jets. That was confirmed by many foreign news agencies. Yet, NATO is continuing with "humanitarian efforts", determine to "help" Albanian people and "save" them from [the] Yugoslav police and army. Thanks to NATO efforts, 60% of murdered in the village Korisa were once again Albanian CHILDREN!

[But I am writing this week to show how] the spider-web of lies is repeatedly entwine[d]. This war is, above everything else, a result of the media [manipulation.]

For instance, the BBC correspondent from Belgrade, John Sympson was accused by the British government of.... diminishing [the] effects of the NATO air strikes on Yugoslavia. [He was told] that his reports don't possess enough scepticism in which could be seen the destruction of the morale of the Yugoslav people. [These reviews] on Sympson's reporting were sent to BBC editors, according their statement, by British Press Secretary Alaistar Cammbell, Defence Secretary Geoge Robertson and British Foreign Affair Minister Robin Cook - almost as if the aim of journalists [should] be to join the military campaine and not to report objectively. On April 16, Sympson stated [in his BBC report] from Belgrade that Yugoslav authorities took foreign journalists [to] the crime scene where the Albanian refugee convoy was massacred by NATO jets near Djakovica, and that it is, as he said, a "reliable sign that truth is on their side and that NATO indeed committed this crime".

Without facing that [kind of] reality, there is no efficient and serious [means of] coming out from the crisis, provoked by the aggression on Yugoslavia. However, NATO, in order to win over the public favour and hide the tragic facts, has been involved in the circle of lies and manipulations from which is very hard to escape.

"If you had evidence on so-called massive graves and burning villages, why don't you present them to us" asked American and other foreign journalists NATO spokesman Jamie Shea, at regular briefing in Washington on April 25 (this year). Jamie Shea had no answer to this question nor any evidence to support the "mass graves" theory.

But what if there was a PLANNED demonisation of the Yugoslav people and nation? I believe the evidence is there to support this idea.

In an article titled "Two hundred thousand dollars for phoney bloodshed", the Greek daily Adesmevdos Tiposreports on April 26, 1999, about [the US] CIA's top secret order for a false video tape on "harassment, torture and killing of Kosovo Albanians and refugees" in ...Yugoslavia.

The initiators of this order from the West does not insist on the authenticity of the tape, so any documents could be used. The role of the bad guys was given to the Serbs, and the author [was to be paid] 200,000 dollars. Publishing this information, the Greek daily refers to confidential documents [from a] German officer who wanted to remain anonymous. Those documents contain details of the CIA plan, coded "Roots", according to which the requested video tapes would serve as an excuse for new punishment of the Yugoslavia people.

Los Angeles Times journalist Paul Watson, a Pulitzer Price winner and correspondent from Kosovo, in the interview given to Canadian TV network CBC on April 15, denied the assertions of the NATO generals that [the] Yugoslav army is massacring Albanians in Pristina: "There is no evidence that Serbian army has committed massacres of ethnic Albanians in Pristina", he said and emphasised that his impressions differ from the version offered by NATO. Watson explained that he [has been] visiting the areas of Kosovo in which Albanians live on regular basis and that he has never seen a body or any sign of a massacre or violence. It would be very difficult to hide any uncontrolled massacre of civilians, he said, and added that there are no indications of such violence whatsoever. Watson also said that he could not agree with the governments of NATO member states which are trying to deny their responsibility for the exodus in Kosovo. It is unlikely that such a large-scale exodus would have happened if it was not for NATO air strikes, said the Los Angeles Timesjournalist.

THE BOSNIAN SCENARIO

Harf gave an interview for ... French TV in which he explained how he managed to change the initial pro-Serbia inclination of the American public for the benefit of his clients - Croats and Muslims. "The past of Croatia and Bosnia is marked by abominable anti-Semitism. It was only natural that Jewish intellectuals and organisations would choose the side which is against Croats and 'Bosnians'. We faced the great challenge of turning the tide and we did an excellent job - on August 2nd and 5th, when New York Newsdaypublished the story about Serbian camps".

Harf said that he managed to manipulate three Jewish organisations and make them publish their material in the New York Timesand organise a protest rally in front of the UN. "Everything functioned perfectly, placing the Jewish organisations on the side of 'Bosnian Muslims', that was an excellent bluff. We were in position to make the Serbs look like Nazis in public."

The article emphasised that it was official position of the agency that their job was not to verify credibility of information, but to use available information [in order to] accomplish their objective, which was [the] creation of [an] anti-Serbian stand in the public, even at the price of using half-truths, lies, misinformation and concoctions.

Former Chief of UNPROFOR intelligence in Bosnia, US Lieutenant Colonel John Sray, commented on this "success" of [the] Ruder Finn agency: "The parallel with the Holocaust generated strong emotional reactions and images, but these comparisons existed only in the fantasies of misled moralists and non-professionals in media."

"The Serbs who suffered in Muslim camps were presented as poor Muslims suffering in Serbian camps, ethnical cleansing carried out by Muslims was ignored, information on massive rapes were fabricated and disseminated in the media. This list could be expanded with other abominable examples which were accepted by general public without a trace of doubt. Organised anti-Serbian and pro-Muslim propaganda was designed to cause horror in all those people who believed in democracy and freedom of speech. ....", concludes the commentator of the Austrian Standard.

I must [remind] the readers [of] a very important fact: do not mix Bosnian Serbs with Serbs in Yugoslavia, because, we are talking about two different states, two different governments and two different geographical places divided by the official state border. It would be like if you compare ethnic Italians in USA with those in Italy.

This "Bosnian scenario" will probably be continued - the air strikes are obviously not efficient enough. What would be next?

Why not the "Markale market massacre 2" when (as was proved later) the Muslim troops fired at their own people in Sarajevo 1994, in a propaganda ploy to win world sympathy and draw military intervention against the Bosnian Serbs. There are rumours of "something" that's already going on as a preparation for the new "Markale massacre" An intelligence report confirmed that a group of NATO pilots [have been] training for some time now on Yugoslav-made Croatian Air Force planes "Galeb" and "Jastreb" in Croatia. The planes [just could] be painted in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Air Force colours and insignia and used for bombing the ethnic Albanian refugee camps in Albania. That would be the "just" cause for ground troops intervention. Additional facts that support this scenario are: for days NATO has intensified the relocation of refugees from the border regions of Albania and Macedonia further inland; the arrival of NATO aeroplanes into Albania and Skopje is not covered by TV reports as before (a business associate in Macedonia confirmed that the number of transport aeroplanes arriving to Skopje has significantly increased); and Christian Amanpour, a long-time [practitioner of] biased journalism, has arrived to Albania. Her appearance on each and every occasion where a hysteric media coverage is needed to justify extreme measures against a side that Amanpour calls as "bad guys" is probably the most significant indication of future actions as a perfect vindication for the NATO ground invasion. Beside, the Moscow State TV, also broadcasted this story on May 15.

As I've already said in the previous issue, I'm just an observer who collects facts not the judge. So, I've collected some excerpts from the Coastal Post's April, 1999, issue which reveals a lot, [from the perspective of another eyewitness, Marie-Pierre Lahaye who reports in an article [en]titled " How Demonizing A Whole People Serves Western Interests - Recolonization of the Balkans is what this is all about":

"In order to convince world opinion that air strikes are a justifiable threat against the recalcitrant Yugoslav leader Slobodan Milosevic, the international community is relying on two motives: the 'brutality' of the Serbs and the threat of [a] 'Greater Serbia' that could imperil the stability of the region. These are two myths constructed by the West to justify its intervention and prepare its domination of the Balkans. Let's start by first exploring the validity of such an accusation that was made and still remains against a whole people: the brutality of the Serbs.

To begin, we need to go back to the Bosnian war, which was presented erroneously by the dominant media as an aggression conducted by Serbs coming from a neighbouring country (Serbia). Bosnia was then a multi-ethnic Republic (one of the six that then formed Yugoslavia) populated mostly by Muslims(43%), Serbs(31%), and Croats(17%). While all had lived there for centuries, the Western media reserved the term 'Bosniac' solely to the Muslims. On the other hand, Serbs of Bosnia were never qualified as 'Bosniac' but only as 'Serbs.' This is how the public was mislead to believe that they were an exterior element, coming from Serbia, and that it was legitimate to chase them out. (For the same reason we should not refer to the ethnic Albanians of Kosovo as 'Kosovar' as most of the Western press and diplomacy have -purposely or no- taken the habit because it lets [us] erroneously imply that the Serbs although legally at home in Kosovo are not entitled to receive this appellation.) Once the civil wars erupted, the Serbs of Belgrade naturally came to the support of their ethnic brothers, but contrary to common belief , they never took the initiative of any intervention. To misjudge this fact, namely the difference between a local upheaval and an outside intervention is to blame wrongly Milosevic as solely responsible for the hostilities.

"The recent brutality of the Serbian Security Forces in defending Serbia from the repeated attacks of the Kosovo Liberation Army has been reactionary and possibly criminal, but to what extent can one say it has been worse than the atrocities of the KLA themselves, or the brutality shown by the Croats and the Muslims in the mid-nineties in Bosnia? Violence and brutality are by no means exclusive to the Serbs in the Balkans. The Western press, however, has certainly chosen its side. One just needs to review the world media to be aware of how balanced reporting -known to be not entertaining -remains a pious vow as far as Serbs are involved. I will let David Binder of the New York Times speak from his own experience :'In New York and Washington it is considered politically correct to malign the Serbs on any and all occasions until it has almost turned into racism. The Serbs are being demonized practically to the point of excluding any reporting that brings about a balance.'

"The role of US public relations firms should also be exposed. According to a US Department of Justice official document, the Washington based public relations agency Ruder-Finn served as a media counsel for the Government of Bosnia-Herzegovina in order to "facilitate a greater US leadership role in the Balkans ...and to educate US government officials, including Clinton Transition Team members and news media reporters, editors and producers to the continuing tragedy taking place in Bosnia." The same document also acknowledges that Ruder-Finn during the period from November 1992 to May 1993, rendered the same type of service for the province of Kosovo for a fee of $230,000, consisting of a "compilation of background materials and dissemination of information regarding the brutal Serbian repression of minorities in Kosovo." This provides clear evidence that a strategy of communications has been carefully planned by the ethnic Albanians with the support of the U.S. government at least five years before the violence erupted in the province, specifically targeting opinion leaders in order to manipulate the mass media against the Serbs.

"It was not surprising, therefore, to see the US-imposed head of the OSCE (Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe) 'verifiers' mission to Kosovo, William Walker, declaring his indignation at the atrocities committed by 'the Serb police forces and the Yugoslav Army' at the recent 'massacre' of Racak before the facts became known. Racak is particularly important because this occasion was used by Western diplomacy to trigger off the so-called 'peace process,' Rambouillet, followed by Paris, which ultimately revealed itself to be more of an ultimatum: 'sign and submit to an occupying army or be bombed.' In fact, there are a lot of contested truths about the 'Racak massacre.'

"The account of two journalists of Associated Press TV (AP TV) who filmed the police operation contradicts this tale' reported French television and newspapers a few days later. Walker is not an independent and neutral observer, but a US State department veteran who directed the dirty war against El Salvador and Nicaragua in the nineties. According to charges filed in US District Court by independent counsel Lawrence Walsh, Walker was responsible for setting up a phoney humanitarian operation at an air base in Ilopango, El Salvador. It was secretly used to run guns, ammunition and supplies to the Contra mercenaries attacking Nicaragua. Why Walker was chosen to head the OSCE verification mission in Kosovo remains to be seen, but it is clear that by speaking before the facts were known, he guaranteed that Washington's version of what happened in Racak became the official version.

"Now let's see if the threat of a 'Greater Serbia' constitutes a better justification for bombing a sovereign state and intervening in their internal affairs, thus violating the UN charter, NATO's own charter, and international law. Having personally been to Kosovo and Belgrade twice over the past twelve months, I never once heard a Serb talking of expanding their territory. On the contrary, most Albanians I met took great efforts to explain to me why secession from Yugoslavia was the only solution they could envision. My experience with local people thus contradicting commonly held assumptions, I started researching where the idea of 'Greater Serbia' came from. Most Western observers usually go back to the ceremonial speech delivered by Milosevic at Kosovo Polje on the 600th anniversary of the famous battle fought there in 1389. It is commonly accepted in the West that it is this speech that ignited Serb extremism. Journalist and writer Diana Johnstone went back to the original speech and was able to explain that this myth found its origin in an erroneous translation of a Serbo-Croatian word : 'Quoting various sentences in which Milosevic celebrated the restoration of 'unity' (the Serbian word Milosevic used was sloga meaning "harmony" or "accord"), Robert Cohen interprets this as the announcement of the goal of a 'Greater Serbia' that would 'unify all the Serbs in one state.' The word for political unity, as in 'national unity,' is however not sloga but jedinstvo. This farfetched interpretation is the only proof such an able writer as Cohen (who apparently knows the language) is able to produce of the alleged 'Greater Serbia' project of Milosevic. Moreover, if the ethnic Albanians succeed at creating an independent state of Kosovo, 'Greater Albania' represents a much bigger threat, as it could inflame the ethnic Albanians living in Macedonia ( 23%), and reinforce the regional enmities between Greece and Turkey.

"These two myths of the Yugoslav disaster-the brutality of the Serbs and the threat of a "Greater Serbia"- have abundantly fed the demonization process that the Serbian people have been subjected to over the past decade. From a geo-political point of view one will observe that this ongoing demonization campaign was needed to justify the foreign policies of sanctions, ultimatum, and now of air strikes. But one question still remains to be answered: what are the Western interests in Kosovo? .....Recolonization of the Balkans is what this is all about. This is part of a long-term plan, implemented soon after the disintegration of the USSR, to dismember the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia into smaller Republics, easier to dominate, in which to install and secure governments docile to the doctrines of neo-liberalism. Willing to internationalise the question of Kosovo, ethnic Albanians hoped to find in the West a reliable partner to support their desires to secede. Ironically, they were also giving the West a formidable opportunity to expand its domination on a region on which they had been seeking to install, by force or by guile, an international protectorate. 'We have completely taken over the control of the Balkans'-writes Lee Hamilton, a former US Congressman- 'US officials exercise managing functions in all states of the former Yugoslavia. We are virtually the proconsul.'

"For all these reasons, I find the present ideology of invoking 'peace' and of positioning NATO as the 'saviour' of the atavistic Balkan conflicts to be as racist as the colonial wars have been. What is worse is that it deceives world opinion twice: by invoking 'peace' and 'humanitarian disaster prevention' while at the same time bombing a sovereign country and threatening the lives of innocent civilians. It is time that we wake up and that we no longer let ourselves be fooled by Western propaganda and this imperialism in disguise. The monster is not them but us who activates all these enmities by arming their protagonists in order to justify our interventionism. NATO and the West must get out of the Balkans before it leads us to World War III. "

And even after the WW I on 1918, the great Spaniard Miguel de Unamuno wrote in his text entitled "For the Serbian people": "It is justifying above all, to let that nation to expand their own personality and not to be used as an anvil or a paddock on which should be other nations pounding and accounting their scores. After all, at the end of this war, the mountain of defamation which have been put to this nation not willing to be foreign lackey will be finally overturned."