NED's Plans for Yugoslavia - Groups Funded by Proxy CIA Via NY Transfer News Collective * All the News that Doesn't Fit ............................................................... source - lnp3@panix.com (Louis Proyect) [Note the use of the code words "independent" and "democratic" in the following. Fill in with your own choice adjectives for the NED's process of psychological and economic warfare, fomenting ethnic hatred, instability, and eventually chaos and vicious violence that the NED really uses US taxpayers' money to create. The paper contains a useful list of some of NED's overt grantees in Yugoslavia. Louis Proyect posted this along with William Blum's essay on the National Endowment for Destabilization, which follows for those who'd like a refresher to this Ollie-North-era agency, which calls itself an NGO.] (c) Copyright 1998 The National Endowment for Democracy Last Updated December 1998 by webmaster@ned.org "The Milosevic Regime Versus Serbian Democracy and Balkan Stability" Statement by Paul B. McCarthy National Endowment for Democracy to the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe 2172 Rayburn House Office Building December 10, 1998 Mr. Chairman and Members of the Commission: I am pleased to appear this morning to address this important issue. I represent the National Endowment for Democracy (NED), a private, nonprofit organization created in 1983 to strengthen democratic institutions around the world through nongovernmental efforts. With its annual congressional appropriation, NED makes hundreds of grants each year to support prodemocracy groups in Africa, Asia, Central and Eastern Europe, Latin America, the Middle East, and the former Soviet Union. Many NED-funded programs have been conducted by the Endowment's four core institutes: the International Republican Institute (IRI), the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs (NDI), the Center for International Private Enterprise (CIPE), and the American Center for International Labor Solidarity (ACILS). A substantial portion of the work has been carried out by scores of other organizations abroad (some with partners in the U.S.) working in such areas as independent media, human rights, civic education, rule of law, and conflict resolution. NED has been assisting democracy building programs in the former Yugoslavia since 1988, and in Serbia, Montenegro, and Kosovo since the disintegration of the Yugoslav Federation. During the wars of Yugoslav succession and the U.N. embargo, NED was one of the few Western organizations, along with the Soros Foundation and some European foundations, to make grants in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY), and to work with local NGOs and independent media throughout the country. The NED concentrates its funding in the following areas: 1) Independent media NED programs have helped ensure the survival of a number of independent media and helped break the stranglehold of government-dominated media in Serbia by strengthening influential sources of objective information. NED assistance has enabled newspapers, radio and TV stations to purchase desperately-needed supplies and equipment, including newsprint and broadcast transmitters. Past grantees have included the newspapers Nasa Borba, Vreme, and Danas, an independent TV station in eastern Serbia, TV Negotin, the prominent news agency BETA, and the important Belgrade station, Radio B-92. In addition, the Association for Independent Electronic Media (ANEM) received Endowment funds to expand its high-quality news programming which is broadcast throughout Serbia/Montenegro through ANEM's wide network of affiliate radio stations. NED funds have also been used to bring talented young journalists from the FRY to the United States for professional internships. 2) Non-governmental organizations a) Human rights organizations NED grants have been used to promote greater respect for human rights and improved inter-ethnic relations. For example, NED funding is providing assistance to the Humanitarian Law Center (HLC), the most important domestic nongovernmental source of information on human rights practices in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY), to continue the operations of its branch office in Kosovo which monitors the human rights situation in the province, and investigates and documents cases of human rights abuse. b) Youth participation in politics and youth leadership If Serbia is to develop into a truly democratic state, young people must be encouraged to participate in the political process and a new generation of leaders must be prepared to take responsibility for the country's future. With Endowment support, the Center for Democracy Foundation, a prominent Belgrade-based nongovernmental organization led by Dragoljub Micunovic, organized a School for Democracy for secondary and university students in Serbia in Subotica in July 1997. The forum helped facilitate the exchange of ideas and promote cooperation between young activists who are committed to reforming Serbia's moribund political and economic system. c) Think tanks NED has a particular interest in supporting independent think tanks and research institutes which focus on policy development and the promotion of civil society. The Belgrade Center for Human Rights (BCHR) has received NED assistance to encourage Serb academics, journalists and civic activists to participate directly in the formation of policy for the democratic political opposition in Serbia. With this support, the BCHR is establishing a Legislative and Constitutional Policy Group (LCPG) which will address fundamental issues affecting Serbia's future and propose courses of action that will promote democracy in the country. d) NGO development and networking NED is committed to supporting the struggling NGO sector at the grass-roots level. The Center for Anti-War Action (CAA) has received Endowment funding to promote the development of an independent civil society in Serbia by fostering political activism in the country's larger towns and cities and by strengthening nascent nongovernmental organizations outside of Belgrade. CAA has established regional affiliates in four key provincial cities in Serbia whose core activities are town meetings and educational seminars. Through this program, CAA is encouraging cooperation and information exchange between local NGOs and developing their organizational, networking and conflict resolution skills. 3) Trade Unions With NED funding, the American Center for International Labor Solidarity continues to assist UGS Nezavisnost, a multi-ethnic trade union confederation which opposes the Milosevic regime. As its 300,000 members cope with unemployment, political repression and general economic decay, Nezavisnost has continued to oppose the anti-democratic policies of the government, counteract the regime's propaganda, and challenge the hegemony of the Serbian political elite and the unions they control. 4) Promoting Economic Reform NED assistance encourages the development of new thinking in Serbian economic reform policy. The Center for International Private Enterprise (CIPE), in coordination with the European Movement of Serbia (EMS) and the G-17 group of independent economists, is conducting a research program to identify barriers to private sector development at the local and federal levels and to promote legislative change. EMS is working with local communities to develop strategies for private sector growth within the framework of open competition and public/private cooperation. EMS is publicizing its activities and recommendations through a coordinated campaign of debates, seminars, and media outreach. CHALLENGES FOR THE FUTURE Western assistance organizations should give increased attention to following areas of work: Independent media Western organizations should increase direct support to the independent media in Serbia, Montenegro and Kosovo. Special attention should be given to supporting the independent electronic media in Serbia, such as Radio B-92 and TV Negotin, in order to challenge the domination of the airwaves by the Milosevic regime. The Association of Independent Electronic Media (ANEM) should continue to be aided in its efforts to establish an independent TV network covering all of Serbia/Montenegro. Because of the new media law, independent print media like Dnevni Telegraf and Danas will need alternative means of printing and distribution. Assistance should target the establishment of small "underground" print shops and distribution networks. In addition, a legal defense fund could be established to defend journalists fined and otherwise attacked by the authorities. Assistance to the democratic political opposition The West should help the democratic political opposition develop a concrete program which offers positive alternatives to the destructive policies of the Milosevic regime. Democratic think tanks, independent research organizations and expert groups should be supported to develop these alternative policy recommendations. Furthermore, dissemination of this new democratic thinking to the broad public must be encouraged by fostering close cooperation among the think tanks, opposition parties and the independent media. Think tank programs focusing on practical policy development can also be helpful in identifying and nurturing new leaders. In addition assistance in policy formation, U.S. organizations like IRI and NDI should continue to provide opposition political parties with expertise in coalition building, message development, media outreach, improving the operations of party branch offices and election monitoring. NGO Development We should encourage programs which improve cooperation between non-governmental organizations and which expand their media outreach capabilities. The first coordinating meeting of the Forum of Non-Governmental Organizations held in Belgrade in June is a good first step, but more needs to be done in this area. Funding must also be directed at developing the leadership skills of NGO activists. Alternative educational institutions; student organizations The university law has resulted in an assault on academic freedom in Serbia. Western funders must be prepared to support alternative educational institutions, like the newly formed Alternative Academic Network, which are being organized by oppositional professors who have been removed from their positions by the authorities. In addition to alternative educational forums, Western assistance organizations must continue to look at ways to assist student organizations. For example, the student-led Anti-War Campaign protested the war in Kosovo during last spring and summer by distributing over one million leaflets throughout Serbia. Although one could debate the ultimate impact of such activities, it is important to continue assisting projects which keep student groups engaged in a constructive way in the future democratic development of their country. These activities can help develop the leadership and organizational skills of young people. Trade unions Support should continue to be directed at trade union activities which encourage the involvement of workers in civic and democracy building activities. Montenegro The victory of anti-Milosevic forces in Montenegro has created an unprecedented opportunity for democracy-building activities in the tiny republic. Due to the crackdown on democratic forces in Serbia, Montenegro is becoming more and more a haven for the Serbian independent sector. For example, several prominent independent media in Serbia have recently re-registered and begun publishing in Podgorica. In the event of an even harsher crackdown on private television and radio stations in Serbia, Western funders should focus on developing electronic media which have the capacity to broadcast into Serbia from Montenegro. Furthermore, democratic forces in Montenegro, including media, think tanks, student groups, human rights organizations, must be supported financially, and nurtured through increased contact with their Western counterparts through Western-sponsored exchange programs. Increased coordination and cooperation in the independent sector; cross border cooperation Cooperation and coordination between organizations within the independent sector in Serbia and Montenegro has been a persistent problem. The recent parliamentary elections in Slovakia demonstrate that increased cooperation among pro-democratic organizations can help oppositional political forces on voting day. Assistance organizations should consider making a certain portion of their funding conditional on the ability of NGOs, independent media, political parties, trade unions, student groups and academics to organize joint projects across different sectors in Serbia. For example, one of the most important tasks is to increase cooperation between trade unions and political parties. In addition, independent media must be encouraged to report on the work of independent organizations such as trade unions, human rights groups, and independent think tanks. This will help to publicize the work of these organizations and help sensitize the public to the importance of the independent sector. Finally, support should be increased for cross-border programs which promote the transfer of experience and advice from more advanced Eastern European countries, such as Poland, Bulgaria, and Slovakia, to the democratic forces in Serbia. In addition to being cost- effective, regional programs bring together democratic activists, forge strong bonds of mutual assistance and cooperation among independent groups across borders, and help break down ethnic, religious and historical animosities. * The National Endowment for Democracy by William Blum William Blum's website "American Holocaust" http://members.aol.com/bblum6/ned.htm How many Americans have ever heard of the National Endowment for Democracy? An organization which often does exactly the opposite of what its name implies. The NED was set up in the early 80s under President Reagan in the wake of all the negative revelations about the CIA in the 1970s. It was a remarkable period. Spurred by Watergate, the Church committee of the Senate, the Pike committee of the House, and the Rockefeller Commission, created by the president, were all busy investigating the CIA. Seemingly every other day there was a new headline about the discovery of some awful thing the CIA had been doing for years. The Agency was getting a very bad name, and it caused the powers-that be much embarrassment. Something had to be done. What was done was not to stop doing these awful things. Of course not. What was done was to shift many of these awful things to a new organization, with a nice-sounding name -- The National Endowment for Democracy. The idea was that the NED would do somewhat overtly what the CIA had been doing covertly for decades, and thus, hopefully, eliminate the stigma associated with CIA covert activities. It was a masterpiece. Of politics, of public relations, and of cynicism. Thus it was that in 1983, the National Endowment for Democracy was set up to "support democratic institutions throughout the world through private, nongovernmental efforts". Notice the "nongovernmental" -- part of the image, part of the myth. Actually, it's entirely funded by Congress, and NED engages in much of the same kinds of interference in the internal affairs of foreign countries which were the hallmark of the CIA. The NED has financed, advised and supported in many ways selected political parties, election campaigns, unions, student groups, book publishers, newspapers, other media, even guerrillas in Afghanistan, and, in general, organizations and individuals which are pro-capitalist and anti-socialist. For example, in June of 1990, the Bulgarian Socialist Party won a free and fair election and assumed power. Then, the NED and other arms of the US foreign policy machine went into action, financing and advising opposition forces in the art of creating chaos, using paralyzing labor walkouts and protest actions of various kinds. The president was forced to resign. He was replaced by someone from the opposition. For Washington policy makers, the important thing, the ideological bottom line, was that the Bulgarian Socialist Party could not, and would not, be given the chance to prove that a democratic, socialist-oriented mixed economy could succeed in Eastern Europe while the capitalist model was failing all around it. Nor, apparently, would it be allowed in nearby Albania. In March 1991, a Communist government won overwhelming endorsement in elections there. This was followed immediately by two months of widespread unrest, including street demonstrations and a general strike lasting three weeks, which finally led to the collapse of the new regime by June. The National Endowment for Democracy had been there also, providing $80,000 to the labor movement and $23,000 "to support party training and civic education programs". Before that, NED had worked its magic in Nicaragua, pouring in millions of dollars to subvert and defeat the Sandinista government in the February 1990 elections. As a result of a controversy in 1984 -- when NED funds were used to aid a Panamanian presidential candidate backed by Manuel Noriega and the CIA -- Congress enacted a law prohibiting the use of NED funds "to finance the campaigns of candidates for public office." However, the ways to circumvent the letter and/or spirit of such a prohibition were not difficult to conceive. NED first allocated millions to help organize the Nicaraguan opposition, UNO, building up the parties and organizations that formed and supported this coalition. Then a variety of other organizations -- civic, labor, media, women's, etc. -- run by UNO activists received grants for all kinds of "non-partisan" and "pro-democracy" programs, for voter education, voter registration, job skills, and so on. Large grants made to UNO itself were specified for items such as office equipment and vehicles. (Rep. Silvio Conte of Massachusetts pointed out that the $1.3 million requested for vehicles would pay for renting 2,241 cars for a month at $20 per day.) The successful UNO was the only political party to receive US aid, even though eight other opposition parties fielded candidates. Money received by UNO for any purpose of course freed up their own money for use in the campaign and helped all of their candidates. In the 1980s and the early 1990s, NED was active in Haiti, working against Jean-Bertrand Aristide and other progressives. Between 1990 and 1992, it further reduced the U.S. treasury by granting a quarter-million dollars to the Cuban-American National Fund, the ultra-fanatic anti-Castro Miami group, which, we now know, heavily financed Luis Posada Carriles, one of the most prolific and pitiless terrorists of modern times. And in 1996 NED had its team in play in Mongolia to help elect a government that was expected to be more hospitable to transnational corporations. Presently, 1998, NED is busy assembling the Haitian Conference of Political Parties, a collection of some two dozen groups, united in their opposition to Aristidism. Many of the groups are extreme right-wing Duvalierist offspring. Allen Weinstein, who helped draft the legislation establishing NED, and also founded the Center for Democracy, one of NED's funding middlemen, was quite candid when he said in 1991: "A lot of what we do today was done covertly 25 years ago by the CIA." The NED, like the CIA before it, calls what it does supporting democracy. The governments and movements whom the NED targets call it destabilization. Some organizations with close affiliation to NED Center for Foreign Journalists (U.S.) Center for International Enterprise Committee to Protect Journalists (New York) Development Assistance Committee (OECD) Danish International Development Agency European Union Free Trade Union Institute (FTUI) Groupe d'Etudes et des Richerches sur la Dimocratie et Diveloppement Economique et Sociale (based in Benin) Institute for Democracy in Eastern Europe (Washington and Warsaw) International Foundation for Electoral Systems (U.S.) International Press Institute (Vienna) International Republican Institute National Democratic Institute for International Affairs Norwegian Agency for Development Organization of American States Organization of African Unity Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Participatory Development and Good Governance Swedish International Development Authority United Nations Transitional Authority in Cambodia Westminster Foundation for Democracy (Britain) * ================================================================= NY Transfer News Collective * A Service of Blythe Systems Since 1985 - Information for the Rest of Us 339 Lafayette St., New York, NY 10012 http://www.blythe.org e-mail: nyt@blythe.org ================================================================= nyteeu-06.21.99-03:21:05-11888