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... GLOBAL NEWS ...
NEWS
AUSTRALIA'S HIGH COURT
DISMISSES CHALLENGES TO
INCOME-TAX LAW
THE KOSOVO MINES:
A REASON FOR INVASION?
[Given the events of the last few months,
and enormous reader interest in possible
‘hidden motives’ relating to the crisis in
the Balkans, we feel this item published
last year could go some way towards
explaining things. Ed.]
THE KOSOVO MINES:
A REASON FOR INVASION?
[Given the events of the last few months,
and enormous reader interest in possible
‘hidden motives’ relating to the crisis in
the Balkans, we feel this item published
last year could go some way towards
explaining things. Ed.]
ars are, at root, about economics, an
the rapidly expanding war in Kosovo
appears no different. Why have millions of
dollars in high-tech weapons suddenly
become available to the so-called Kosovo
Liberation Army by way of the US an
Germany?
A report by New York Times Balkans
bureau chief Chris Hedges (11 July 1998)
describes the KLA's new arsenal: the latest
anti-tank rocket-propelled grenades ani
anti-aircraft weapons. These weapons are
shifting the balance of power toward the
KLA, which is funded fully by outside
sources, mostly from the US and Germany.
In fact, the KLA is primarily a mercenary
army funded by the kind of shadowy
sources that have long been associated with
US and German intelligence services.
On 8 July the New York Times carried an
article by Chris Hedges on the real wealth
of Kosovo: the Stari Trg mining complex.
Hedges’ visit to the Stari Trg mining
complex is an eye-opener. "The sprawling
state-owned Trepca mining complex, the
most valuable piece of real estate in the
Balkans, is worth at least US$5 billion,"
writes Hedges.
According
to the mine's
‘ director,
. Novak
Bjelic, "The
war in
( WE WERE JERE Gone Kosovo is
f +0 ASK YOu tHE
about — the
SAME Taide. / mines, noth-
> ——y ing else.
ey This is
/ OR. Ser b ia's
(ee 2 Kuwait—the
4 ~~} . heart of
ny Kosovo... In
TI addition to
| mn \ allthis,
—_— | Kosovo has
By 17. billion
ay, ‘ tons of coal
—— reserves."
Hedges
describes the mining complex: "The Stari
Trg mine, with its warehouses, is ringed
with smelting plants, 17 metal treatment
sites, freight yards, railroad lines, a power
plant and the country's largest battery
plant."
Lignite deposits in the Kosovo mines
are, according to experts, sufficient for the
next 13 centuries. The capacity of the lead
and zinc refineries ranks third in the world.
Although the average person watching
the news in the evening has never heard of
Stari Trg, it has been a prize changing
hands for two thousand years.
The most important words in Hedges'
article are the description of the complex as
"state-owned".
Throughout this decade, socialist
Yugoslavia has attempted to resist privati-
sation of its industry and natural resources.
As a result, this huge complex of mines,
refining, power and transportation in
Kosovo may well be the largest uncontest-
ed piece of wealth not yet in the hands of
the big capitalists of the US or Europe.
The industry, natural resources and trans-
portation of all the former Soviet republics,
the socialist countries of Eastern Europe
and the secessionist republics of
Yugoslavia are now being rapidly priva-
tised. The major Western corporations are
gobbling up these industries.
While the fate of some industries is still
in negotiation, the lending and credit condi-
tions of the International Monetary Fund
and the World Bank require the break-up of
all state-owned industries. This is true for
the oil and natural gas wealth in the
Caucasus and the Caspian Sea, as well as
for the diamond mines of Siberia.
The decision on who will own or have
controlling interest in the 22 mines and the
many processing plants of the Trepca com-
plex will be made by whoever wins the
armed struggle raging in Kosovo. NATO
domination on the ground would put US
corporations in the best ownership position.
Nationalist strife advances their position.
Although being forced to privatise in
order to survive in today's global market,
Yugoslavia has tried to control the process
and to propose Balkan regional develop-
ment.
(Source: Written by Sara Flounders, reprint -
ed from Workers World newspaper, 30 July
1998; 55 W. 17 St, New York, NY 10011,
USA, e-mail