Dragana Trifković is the common director of the Center for Geostrategic Studies in Belgrade, Serbia.
On September 8, a session was held within the UN Security Council on the topic associated with arms delivery to Ukraine by the Western.
In the preliminary part of the session, Trifković spoke about the weaponry that were delivered to the particular battlefield during the battle in Yugoslavia, comparing it to the current scenario in Ukraine.
Within the following interview, Trifković elaborates on that point for Asia Instances.
Adriel Kasonta: We’re being told by our politicians, pundits and popular press that pumping more weapons straight into Ukraine is cash worth spending, as it will likely bring serenity. Yet the same people don’t seem to be hurrying to offer any non-military diplomatic solution to this particular conflict – something that could save Western european economies and their own people and stop unneeded bloodshed in the brotherly conflict between Ukraine and Russia. Very best reason for this warmongering masquerading as a sincere desire to secure peacefulness?
Draganа Trifković: The arming associated with Ukraine by the Western, more precisely simply by NATO, led to the escalation of the conflict in Ukraine.
For years, Russian federation has warned the West that it views the expansion associated with NATO toward the borders as a danger to national safety. Although the détente associated with relations after the Chilly War should have resulted in the pacification of passions, NATO utilized this situation to start an invasion within the east. In a short time, it expanded and built-in even the former republics of the Soviet Partnership.
At this point the West is certainly accusing Russia of aggressive behavior, however it is hard to blame the side that voluntarily retreated 2, 000 kms to the east with no firing a shot.
For me, Russia has made massive diplomatic efforts to cooperate with the West in recent decades. But it did not [see] improvements because the West did not want to talk yet ignored Russia plus belittled the right of the country to have its very own interests. That’s how we got to today’s circumstance.
The arming of Ukraine leads to further irritation of relations and poses a danger of a direct conflict between NATO and Russian federation. The European Union is suffering huge losses due to the conflict with Russia, and the sanctions have a counter-effect. I think it will probably be especially pronounced during the winter.
Unfortunately, European political elites behave irresponsibly towards their own citizens, and such behavior leads to conflict between politics elites and residents whose interests they may be supposed to represent. I think the reason is the lack of sovereignty of the EU plus European countries.
AK: During your testimony at the United Nations Security Council session on September almost eight, you drew a parallel between the present conflict in Ukraine and the one that took place on the territory from the former Yugoslavia within the 1990s. Would you become so kind about expand on that?
DT: At the session of the UN Security Council, I spoke regarding the similarities between the war in Yugoslavia and the one happening at this point in Ukraine. Even though almost 30 years possess passed since the battle in Yugoslavia, comparable effects of external influence can be seen in Ukraine and should not be overlooked.
Even before the beginning of the conflict on the place of the former Yugoslavia, the West began to arm Croatia and then the Bosnian Muslims. Both sides had been in conflict with the Serbs, but there was furthermore mutual conflict. Therefore everyone fought against everyone.
The West supplied Croats and Muslims in Bosnia and Herzegovina with vast quantities of weapons, also during an embargo, which was a direct infringement of international regulation. However , that was not every. Western private military companies trained the particular Croatian and Muslim armies but also commanded operations, for example , the particular operations of ethnic cleansing of Serbs from Croatia called “Flash” and “Storm. ”
Advisers from Croatia instructed Ukraine several times on how to cleanse the particular Russian population utilizing the same recipe. Many volunteers from terrorist organizations in the Middle East also came to Bosnia and Herzegovina with the West.
For example , the Este Mujahedin unit had been formed, which fought as part of the army of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and was composed of warriors from Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Chicken, Afghanistan, Syria and more. Some of those warriors later went to Iraq plus Syria to fight in the Islamic Condition units.
It is also worth noteing right here that Yugoslavia has been under severe sanctions from the West, which usually affected the population the most. The concluded peacefulness agreements led to the particular de-escalation of the issue, but neither part was satisfied with them. Permanent solutions have never been achieved to date.
It is also necessary to point out Kosovo and Metohija, the southern Serbian province that seceded after the bombing of Serbia in 1999. NORTH ATLANTIC TREATY ORGANIZATION launched aggression against Serbia, without the acceptance of the UN Security Council, under the pretext of preventing violations of the human rights of Kosovo Albanians. However , the Kosovar Albanians had autonomy guaranteed by the metabolism, the right to use their particular language and lifestyle, schools with the Albanian language and guaranteed participation in the republic’s authorities.
Unfortunately, a similar agreement was taken off the table for the Russian-speaking population in Ukraine. Still, NATO failed to decide to bomb Kiev because of it but instead encouraged them in the violation of all individual rights and assault against their own population.
The double standards applied by the West are visible here. The particular parallels are how the West was a vital actor in the Yugoslav conflict and the Ukrainian conflict, where it directly participated in the battle with the help of the hybrid way of warfare.
AK: What could be the outcomes of a large increase of weapons towards the conflict-affected territory of Ukraine, and how this possibly affects the neighbors?
DT: The large influx of weapons directly into Ukraine prolongs the particular conflict in that nation but also threatens the risk of the conflict growing to other areas. According to the Center for Geostrategic Studies, at least 20-30% of weapons sent to Ukraine end up in third countries. There are reports that some of the weaponry from Ukraine ended up in the Balkans, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo and Metohija. Additionally , some of the weapons wound up in other EU countries, most likely in the fingers of terrorists.
As I have already mentioned, a vulnerable peace has been founded in the Balkans, plus there is a constant danger of a re-escalation associated with unresolved conflicts. This example puts [all of] Europe at risk, especially if we consider the growing dissatisfaction associated with citizens, social unrest, the large number of migrant workers who have come to the EU in recent years, and the unpredictable economic plus energy stability.
These information can quickly escalate the conflict in other Europe, not only in the Balkans. For now, I do not see an effort by the European Union to relocate from the issue associated with armaments to the issue of solving the various causes of possible issues.
AK: It is a well-known fact that under humanitarian regulation, combatants should not immediate attacks against civilians or civilian infrastructure and take all necessary steps to avoid, or at least minimize, the loss of civilian life. However, according to a report released by Amnesty International last month, “Ukrainian fighting tactics jeopardize civilians. ”
Would you agree that will human rights and humanitarian law have already been bastardized and weaponized by the US as well as its various propaganda organizations portraying themselves since independent NGOs plus think-tanks? What does this mean for the security of human rights around the world?
DT: The big issue is that many NGOs do not work independently. These organizations rely on [significant] donations from the nation-states that provide them orders. Plenty of precedents relating to the availability of “evidence” (reports) were then utilized to demonize authorities unfriendly to the West.
Similarly, think-tanks also depend on taxpayers’ money. As a matter of fact, a number of these are closely from the military-industrial complex. The latter is tasking think-tanks with the production associated with policy papers that are then distributed to lawmakers to navigate foreign policy in favor of US intervention.
Think-tanks usually are made up of former senior safety officials who exercise the “revolving doorway. ”
Notable examples include William Walker (Greater Albania lobbyist), Dick Cheney (Halliburton), Lloyd Austin (Lockheed Martin), Frank Carlucci (Carlyle group), but also former French key of staff [Pierre] de Villiers, who immediately joined the Birkenstock boston Group after resigning in July 2017.
Such was the case during the Yugoslav wars when reports against Serbia were fabricated. Let’s state a turn in the international community’s attitude regarding Kosovo and Metohija was the result of a report on the alleged massacre in the community of Račak, where the Serbian security energies fought against terrorists through the Kosovo Liberation Army.
The particular international forces on the floor, especially the OSCE [Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe] mission headed by the American agent Bill Walker, banned investigation into the case. They ordered that killed terrorists be removed of their uniforms plus dressed in civilian clothes, and then announced that Serbian security forces acquired killed civilians.
Although no analysis was conducted and no evidence was established, Western media accused Serbia of eliminating civilians, not talking about that they were terrorists. Human Rights Watch, the OSCE and the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) confirmed such claims without any evidence, although appointed forensic experts claimed William Walker forced these to falsify reports.
AK: The Center for Geostrategic Studies, which you control, recently sent a letter to the EL Human Rights Committee, the Council associated with Europe, the Crimson Cross and other organizations and organizations dealing with humanitarian law, where it has been highlighted that the Ukrainian army is using weapons prohibited by Geneva Conventions. Exactly how did CGS obtain this information, and what would be the weapons in question?
DT: Experts from the Center just for Geostrategic Studies and I have visited war-torn areas in Ukraine several times. Our guideline is not to write about military conflicts from secondary sources yet to personally investigate and verify the reality on the ground. This need is also driven with the example of Yugoslavia, where all the mainstream media turned against Serbia.
The media campaign getting waged against Russian federation today is similar to the one we went through. Many media who described the events of the battle did not witness all those events but had taken the information from other sources.
In Izyum, we had the opportunity to verify the use of numerous shells that strike civilian objects, which includes those with cluster sac. The regional hospital in Izyum received wounded civilians nearly every day from Apr to July, which was confirmed by the hospital’s chief doctor, Aleksandar Božkov. Some of the civilians have been evacuated to Russia for further therapy.
Within July, several missile attacks … within the Donetsk region had been carried out on the civilian population and facilities by the Ukrainian military in Elenovka plus Aleksandrovka. The colony where prisoners of war from the Azov Battalion were located was also attacked.
I had the opportunity to talk to some of those who else survived. They confirmed that the attack had been carried out at night, plus 53 prisoners had been killed and seventy five wounded. Military professionals showed us the remains of areas of the rocket.
Then, at the end of July, the Ukrainian army targeted the center of the densely filled city of Donetsk. On that occasion, the military used NATO-produced Uragan missiles equipped with cluster munitions. Every rocket contained a substantial quantity of banned PMF-1 Lepestok anti-personnel mines. It completely immobilized the city and the residents’ supply of food and water for several days.
We figured the Ukrainian side perceives civilians, as well as prisoners of battle, as legitimate goals and is acting to obtain as many victims as possible among them, which goes against all the guidelines of war plus international humanitarian legislation.
AK: Was there any kind of response to the talked about letter?
DT: Unfortunately, all of us did not receive an individual response to our letter, which was sent to greater than 10 addresses, such as the UN Human Rights Committee, the Council of Europe, as well as the Red Cross. It really is an appeal straight related to humanitarian law, and the question arises as to why international organizations are not reacting. I have to admit that this is just not the first case.
We had previously addressed international organizations on other issues but were left without an answer. For example , the Center for Geostrategic Studies wrote several times to Ms Dunja Mijatović, the Commissioner for Human Rights of the Council of Europe, asking the girl to investigate the violation of the religious legal rights of the citizens associated with Montenegro, as well as the continuous violence against Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija by Kosovo Albanians. Apart from the notification that the letter experienced arrived, there were no other reactions.
Namely, we have not been informed that the Council of European countries Commissioner for Human Rights has undertaken anything to protect susceptible citizens or at least attract the public’s attention to the fact that this is occurring. I think that it is essential to reform international organizations so that they can perform their particular function again. Several non-governmental organizations should take responsibility to get initiating these reconstructs.
AK: Is it fair to express that European governments are violating their own “ Common Position ” rules that ban licensing of hands exports in a situation when they violate international humanitarian education law? If so, then what is the reason for this violation?
DT: I think the solution lies in a total change of paradigm because it relates to the collective West’s own observance of its vaunted guideline of law. The advanced decomposition with the takeover of condition bureaucracy and organs by private interests has revealed the real nature of Traditional western states today: corporate fascist techno organizations.
Therefore when these entities’ citizens become mere variables within the bigger purpose of maintaining their positions against a good emerging Eurasian bloc, respect for the rule of law (which used to be the West’s trademark self-characterization) is certainly discarded.
The West provides simply intensified the practice of exporting state violence for corporate interests. Consequently , the rule associated with law and democracy exist in the West today only on paper. Because of the abuse of humanitarian law and democracy by the West, we now have reached a position where trust in fundamental individual values is lost along with confidence within institutions.