Monday, April 22, 2013

MURDOCH, MORAN AND BOSTON MARATHON BOMBS













Photos: Top left: Rupert Murdoch media mogul (World Economic Forum-Davos). Top Right: Paul Moran, ABC cameraman killed in Iraq in 2003. Boston Marathon Bombings courtesy of  Aaron "tango" Tango - Wikipedia /Flicker 

MURDOCH, MORAN AND BOSTON MARATHON BOMBS
by Sasha Uzunov

To some of us, who are not part of Australia's journalism in-club or clique, we are left to reach the conclusion that the Murdoch media (News Limited) can never please our country's self appointed cultural elite, who largely form the natural constituency of the ABC, SBS and Fairfax media groups, when it comes to reporting on the war on terror.

Two events connected to global terrorism show how News Limited is damned by our 'social betters' no matter what and, moreover, who in our country has a right to "freedom of speech." The two events are this month's Boston Marathon Bombings and last month the tenth anniversary of the killing of Australian cameraman Paul Moran by a terrorist bomb in Iraq.

The identity of the perpetrators of Boston Marathon bombings on 15 April 2013 was first met with caution by some in the media.

However, when the religion, Islam, of the two accused was revealed all hell erupted when News Limited's popular conservative columnist and blogger Andrew Bolt condemned The Age  (Fairfax Melbourne newspaper):

"In fact, even after brothers Tamerlan and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev were identified and found to be - surprise! - Muslim, some still pretended not to notice or think it relevant.

'Muslim? Really? What an amazing coincidence.
'Probably meaningless.
'So in the more than 6000 words filed by The Age on its live coverage thread by 8.30am on Saturday, the word “Muslim” was used just once: “The brothers are Muslims believed to be of Chechen origin, but there is still no clear motive for the attack.”
'Uh huh."
Tim Blair of the Sydney Murdoch newspaper The Daily Telegraph took a sarcastic swipe at Australian Muslim intellectual Waleed Ally who wrote a piece in the Fairfax papers, as well as firing a broadside at the ABC's Jonathan Green.
Ok, most of you would be familiar with Bolt and Blair's anti-leftist shtick; that it's par for the course and according to our 'cultural elite' would be playing to the Murdoch right wing script.
But last month, was the tenth anniversary of the killing of controversial ABC cameraman Paul Moran. Colleague Eric Campbell, writing in the Walkley Magazine, Issue 75, April-June 2013, the official trade union publication of Australia's The Media Entertainment & Arts Alliance (Journalism section), expressed his disappointment at "still no justice for Paul Moran."
For the record TEAM UZUNOV is a proud paid up of member of the MEAA.
The MEAA released the following statement on its website on 22 March 2013:
The Media, Entertainment & Arts Alliance remembers Australian Broadcasting Corporation cameraman Paul Moran who was murdered by a suicide car bomb 10 years ago today while on assignment in Northern Iraq at the start of the 2003 invasion.
 Paul, 39, had been filming a story with ABC correspondent Eric Campbell on Kurdish "peshmerga" guerrilla fighters in the village of Sayed Sadiq. He was filming some final images of a group of fighters when a car drove up next to the group, stopped and exploded, killing Paul instantly.
Iraqi terrorist group Ansar al Islam claimed responsibility for the attack. The group’s founder, Najmuddin Faraj Ahmad, also known as Mullah Krekar ordered the attack that killed Paul.
Krekar had lived in Norway as a refugee since 1991. In 2007 he openly taunted the Australian Government to come and get him.
Krekar is currently in prison in Norway on four counts of intimidation under aggravating circumstances and is due to be released in 2015. The Media Alliance continues to campaign for the extradition of Krekar from Norway to face possible war crimes charges under section 115 of the Criminal Code 1995 (Harming Australians).
TEAM UZUNOV has previously gone into enormous detail as to how well respected and award winning journalist Colin James of the Murdoch newspaper The Adelaide Advertiser went "off script" and began to investigate Moran's working background and connection to United States military and intelligence circles. 
Surprisingly, James hit a wall at the ABC and those at Fairfax and SBS took some initial interest but then buried the story. You would think that our 'cultural elite' would have rejoiced at James examining the 'Great Satan' (America) and its murky involvement in the second Iraq War. But even the great John Pilger, who has made a fortune out of his anti-US imperialist shtick, has not even written a book or made a documentary on Moran.
Here were we republish the TEAM UZUNOV article, run on Online Opinion website

Wilkie or Wilkie not ask for an ABC inquiry?

by Sasha Uzunov - 14 September 2010.

Ex-Australian Army officer turned independent politician Andrew Wilkie is regarded as a brave man who resigned as an intelligence analyst over the 2003 Iraq War. He is now in a unique position as a member of the newly formed ALP-Green-Independents-federal coalition government to call for an inquiry into the controversial ABC TV camera man Paul Moran who was killed in Iraq.

Wilkie resigned as an analyst with the Office of National Assessment (ONA), an intelligence organisation that directly services Australia’s Prime Minister, disagreeing with claims made by the then Howard government about Iraq’s Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) and the reasons for going to war.

One of those killed in that war was Paul Moran, who helped to publicise the WMD story, which we now know was a complete fabrication. Wilkie has the opportunity to press for a parliamentary inquiry into the ABC’s employment of Moran and possible conflict of interest.

Moran, 39, was killed on March 22, 2003 by a car bomb while covering the war in Northern Iraq for the tax payer funded Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC TV). He was an Adelaide-raised freelance cameraman who worked on and off for the ABC as well as US public relations firm Rendon, which had ties to the CIA and the Bush Administration.

Walkely Award winning Australian journalist, Mr Colin James, of the Adelaide Advertiser newspaper, was the first to break the story about Moran’s shadowy past when he attended Moran’s wake in Adelaide.

He talked to relatives who revealed that Moran had a James Bond other life.

“For a freelance cameraman, Moran sure had some incredible access to US State Department officials in Washington,” Mr James said. “How many freelancers get to play games of social tennis with US diplomats?”

Moran had worked for Rendon for more than a decade in places like the Middle East and Kosovo, pushing US government spin while doing freelance work for the ABC TV as a combat cameraman.

On November 17, 2005 prominent American journalist, academic and former US Navy intelligence analyst James Bamford wrote in the influential American magazine Rolling Stone a detailed account of Moran’s work with Rendon and its link to the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and its selling of the Iraq War to the American public.

The controversy surrounding Moran stems from his exclusive story about an Iraqi defector who had knowledge about Saddam's weapons of mass destruction program. A Rendon colleague gave him the scoop which turned out to be false, but was a pretext for the US invasion of Iraq, according to Bamford.

The Australian cameraman also helped to set up a television station for the Iraqi National Congress (INC). The INC was established by the US as an opposition group to the Saddam Hussein regime.

In 2006 the then ABC’s Managing Director, Mr Russell Balding, was approached and asked if he would launch an internal inquiry into the Moran allegations. Mr Shane Wells, his spokesman, said there would be no comment. The Moran story remains a hot potato.
Feisty, tough Maltese-Australian journalist, Monica Attard, host of the ABC’s Media Watch, dared to criticise then ABC TV news boss Max Uechtritz in his refusal to answer questions about Moran.

The story was followed up by some parts of the media, but not by the ABC. It should have been. ("Death in Baghdad",Media Watch, April 14, 2003.)

The irony of all this is Uechtritz, now with Al Jazeera network, complained to The Age newspaper on June 30, 2003 about freedom of speech after coming under attack from the then Communications Minister, Senator Richard Alston, for alleged biased reporting by the ABC over the Iraq war.

“It is the duty of independent journalists in a robust democracy to question everything,” Uechtritz wrote. “The senator seems to think the media's duty in time of war is to fall meekly into line with the government of the day.”
Uechtritz was contacted at his Al Jazeera email address for comment on Moran but after many months there has been no response.

Last year, Sally Neighbour, a self-appointed national security expert who was employed as an ABC reporter while working for The Australian a commercially owned newspaper, ran a story about Moran without any reference to the CIA allegations and quoted fellow ABC journalist Mark Corcoran, a hugely respected journalist and genuine media tough guy who previously served in the Royal Australian Navy and super secret Defence Signals Directorate.
Neighbour wrote:
"Why has there been no investigation into the murder?" asks Mark Corcoran, presenter and veteran reporter with ABC TV's Foreign Correspondent program. "As of December 2009, I have still not seen any evidence of an investigation, either formally or informally, by any Australian official."
Mr Chris Warren, the Federal Secretary of the Media Entertainment Alliance of Australia (Australian Journalists Association) has asked Australia's Federal Attorney-General to investigate Najmuddin Faraj Ahmad, better known as Mullah Krekar, and his links to UN-listed terrorist organisation Ansar al-Islam, as the mastermind who allegedly ordered the car bomb that killed Moran..

The Moran case has been linked by some ABC reporters to the highly emotive Balibo Five, Australian-based newsmen and crew killed by Indonesian troops during the 1975 takeover of East Timor. But the Balibo Five had no links to a foreign intelligence agency and launching a war crimes trial against Mullah Krekar could backfire.
It could open up a can of worms. Under the Geneva Convention, journalists in war zones are afforded some protection as non-combatants. However:
Article 29 - A person can only be considered a spy when, acting clandestinely or on false pretences, he obtains or endeavours to obtain information in the zone of operations of a belligerent with the intention of communicating it to the hostile party.
Thus, soldiers not wearing a disguise who have penetrated into the zone of operations of the hostile army, for the purpose of obtaining information, are not considered spies. Similarly, the following are not considered spies: soldiers and civilians carrying out their mission openly, entrusted with the delivery of despatches intended either for their own army or for the enemy's army. To this class belong likewise persons sent in balloons for the purpose of carrying despatches and, generally, of maintaining communications between the different parts of an army or a territory.
The definition of a spy given in this Article remains completely valid since the Geneva Convention contains no similar provision. However, a spy is also a protected person in so far as he conforms to the definition given in Article 4 of the Fourth Convention. Under Article 5 of the Convention, the spy may nevertheless be deprived temporarily of certain rights, particularly the right of communication.
Article 30 - A spy taken in the act shall not be punished without previous trial.
Moran was “killed in action” by a car bomb; he was neither surrendering nor was he captured. The next question is do we prosecute enemy combatants who have killed Australian soldiers during the heat of battle, ranging from the Boer War to the present Afghanistan conflict?

Should we now ask that the Vietnamese communist government hand over the Viet Cong guerrillas and hard core NVA soldiers for prosecution over the 18 Australian soldiers killed in action during the legendary Battle of Long Tan in 1966?

Furthermore, critics call the Iraq War launched by the United States in 2003 “illegal”. Wilkie resigned from ONA because of his opposition to that war. Assuming that the Iraq war is illegal, does Moran’s involvement in “selling” that war which has resulted in hundreds of thousands of Iraqis as well as US/Coalition troops being killed, constitute a crime?

Under the Nuremberg Principles established in the wake of Nazi War Crimes Trial of 1946, Principle VI states:
The crimes hereinafter set out are punishable as crimes under international law:
    a)Crimes against peace:
    (i) Planning, preparation, initiation or waging of a 
    war of aggression or a war in violation of international treaties, agreements or assurances;
    (ii) Participation in a common plan or conspiracy for the accomplishment of any of the acts mentioned under (i).
    If you believe that the Iraq War was justified, then Moran deserves to be honoured as a hero killed in action in the global war on terror; he should have been given a state funeral just like any other Australian soldier, police officer or intelligence operative killed in action in a warzone.

    The irony is that if Eric Campbell, the ABC reporter who was wounded during the car bomb that killed Moran, had been the one killed, the case of a war crime for killing a journalist could be justified.

    The Fairfax Press and SBS TV have been obsessed with the story of Australian Commandos involved in a botched raid that resulted in the unintentional killing of five Afghan civilians last year - but that is another story. Meanwhile, it would appear that Moran’s role in selling a war that has caused so much death and destruction has slipped under the radar. Attard was brave in airing on Media Watch the Moran story.

    Wilkie has the power to call for an inquiry into Moran’s activities.

    Thursday, April 11, 2013

    CARLOS THE JACKAL: guest of Yugoslavia




    One of the most notorious international terrorists during the later stages of the Twentieth Century, Carlos the Jackal, spent three days in 1976 as a guest of Communist Yugoslavia, a defacto ally of the West, according to US diplomatic cables published in wikileaks.

    Carlos, real name Ilich Ramirez, posed as an Algerian professor during his visit to Yugoslavia between September 6 to 9th, 1976.

    The Yugoslav Interior Ministry had informed the West German authorities of Carlos' visit but then tried to backtack by saying it was a case of mistaken identity--it was not Carlos but a genuine Algerian professor.

    The US diplomatic cable makes the wry observation that a large number SDB (UDBa - Yugoslav intelligence) Agents were at Belgrade airport.

    Both the German and Amierican authorities, including the FBI, were no longer trusting of the Yugoslav  Interior Ministry.

    In another US diplomatic cable, American analysts discuss Communist Yugoslavia's indulgence in conspiracy theories involving Washington's alleged attempt to destablise Yugoslavia. The US regarded Yugoslavia as a defacto ally during the Cold War because of its independent socialist orbit away from the Soviet Union.


    www.wikileaks.org/plusd/cables/1976BELGRA06081_b.html

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    PAGE 01        BELGRA 06081  161038Z

    14
    ACTION EUR-08

    INFO  OCT-01  SS-14  ISO-00  SAJ-01  NSC-05  NSCE-00  SP-02  INR-05

    CIAE-00  EB-03  L-01  PRS-01  IO-03  DODE-00  /044 W
    ---------------------     009590
    P 160945Z SEP 76
    FM AMEMBASSY BELGRADE
    TO SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 8071
    INFO AMEMBASSY BONN PRIORITY
    AMEMBASSY LONDON PRIORITY
    AMEMBASSY MOSCOW PRIORITY
    AMEMBASSY PARIS PRIORITY
    AMEMBASSY ROME PRIORITY
    USMISSION NATO PRIORITY

    C O N F I D E N T I A L BELGRADE 6081

    LIMDIS

    E.O. 11652: GDS
    TAGS: PFOR YO FR US PINS IT
    SUBJ: CARLOS ISSUE

    REF: (A) PARIS 26714, (B) ROME 14971

    1. IN APPRAISING YUGOSLAV INTERPOL REPORT AND ZARIC'S
    COMMENTS REFTEL (A), ADDRESSEES SHOULD KEEP IN MIND
    THAT THE YUGOSLAVS THEMSELVES ADMITTED TO THE FRG EMBASSY
    IN BELGRADE THAT CARLOS ARRIVED HERE SEPTEMBER 6. FURTHER,
    THERE WERE LARGE NUMBER OF SDB AGENTS AT AIRPORT FOR
    ARRIVAL SEPT 6 AND DEPARTURE SEPT 9, WHICH HARDLY
    NECESSARY FOR "ALGERIAN TV TEAM" THAT IS STILL
    SUPPOSED TO BE IN BELGRADE.

    2. THE YUGOSLAV LINE NOW IS THAT IT WAS A CASE OF
    MISTAKEN IDENTITY. BUT WE SHOULD NOT BEGIN TO HAVE
    SELF-DOUBTS, AND SHOULD HOLD YUGOSLAVIA TO ACCOUNT
    ON THE CARLOS MATTER IN ACCORDANCE WITH THEIR OWN
    ADMISSIONS TO THE GERMANS.
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    PAGE 02        BELGRA 06081  161038Z


    3. BONN: BELIEVE BASED ON WHAT FRG EMBASSY HAS TOLD US
    ABOUT TIMING AND DETAILED CONTENT OF CARLOS ARTICLE IN DER
    SPEIGEL THAT FRG FOREIGN MINISTRY CHOSE NOT TO MAKE PUBLIC THE
    BELGRADE CARLOS CAPER BUT SOMEONE IN BONN (PERHAPS INTERIOR
    MINISTRY) HELD SPIEGEL PRESSES OPEN TO WAIT FOR INFORMATION
    SENT BY GERMAN EMBASSY HERE LATE LAST FRIDAY (I.E., THE
    "ALGERIAN PROFESSOR" COVER).

    4. ROME: CARLOS WAS HERE SEPT 6-9 BUT WE HAVE NO
    INFO RE USE US PASSPORTS. DEFER TO DEPARTMENT FOR
    GUIDANCE RE INFO FOR TWA.
    SILBERMAN


    NNN

    www.wikileaks.org/plusd/cables/1976BELGRA06271_b.html


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    PAGE 01        BELGRA 06271  241204Z

    13
    ACTION EUR-12

    INFO  OCT-01  ISO-00  FBIE-00  EB-07  SAJ-01  PM-04  NSC-05  SP-02

    SS-15  INR-07  DODE-00  IO-13  L-03  PRS-01  /071 W
    ---------------------     092475
    R 241115Z SEP 76
    FM AMEMBASSY BELGRADE
    TO SECSTATE WASHDC 8168
    INFO AMEMBASSY BONN

    C O N F I D E N T I A L BELGRADE 6271

    DEPT PLEASE PASS TO FBI

    EO 11652 NA
    TAGS: PFOR  YO  US  PINS
    SUBJ: CARLOS

    REF: (A) BELGRADE 6081, (B) BELGRADE 2671

    1. COUNSELOR FRG EMBASSY TOLD ME EVENING SEPT 22 THAT
    DER SPIEGEL LEAK ON CARLOS STORY HAD TO BE WORK OF VERY
    SENIOR LEVEL IN FRG GOVERNMENT, PROBABLY FOREIGN MINISTRY,
    REPEATING REASONS IN REF A.

    2. HE FURTHER SAID FRG INTERIOR MINISTRY HAS "LEARNED
    THEIR LESSON" CONCERNING COOPERATION WITH GOY INTERIOR
    MINISTRY.

    3. AS I INDICATED TO STATE DEPT REF B, I HAVE COME TO
    CONCLUSION THAT FBI WAS INITIALLY CORRECT IN REFUSING
    LIAISON WITH YUGOSLAV INTERIOR MINISTRY. GERMANS NOW
    CONCLUDE IT IS A ONE-WAY STREET.
    SILBERMAN


    CONFIDENTIAL


    NNN
    --------------------------------------------------------------

    In another US diplomatic cable, American analysts discuss Communist Yugoslavia's indulgence in conspiracy theories involving Washington's alleged attempt to destablise Yugoslavia.



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    PAGE 01        BELGRA 08320  01 OF 03  221019Z
    ACTION EUR-12

    INFO  OCT-01  ISO-00  CIAE-00  DODE-00  PM-04  H-01  INR-07  L-03
    NSAE-00  NSC-05  PA-01  PRS-01  SP-02  SS-15  USIA-06
    TRSE-00  /058 W
    ---------------------     090833 /13
    R 211555Z DEC 76
    FM AMEMBASSY BELGRADE
    TO SECSTATE WASHDC 9038
    INFO AMEMBASSY BUCHAREST
    AMEMBASSY BUDAPEST
    AMEMBASSY MOSCOW
    USMISSION NATO
    AMEMBASSY PRAGUE
    AMEMBASSY ROME
    AMEMBASSY SOFIA
    AMEMBASSY WARSAW
    AMCONSUL ZAGREB

    C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 1 OF 3 BELGRADE 8320

    E.O. 11652: GDS
    TAGS: PFOR, YO, US
    SUBJECT: FRIEND OR FOE?: THE YUGOSLAV PERCEPTION OF THE UNITED
    STATES

    REF: BELGRADE 1725 (NOTAL)

    1. SUMMARY: FROM AND AMERICAN STANDPOINT, THE MOST
    IMPORTANT CHARACTERISTIC OF YUGOSLAVIA IS ITS RELATIVE
    INDEPENDENCE FROM MOSCOW. AMERICANS CONCEIVE OF THEM-
    SELVES AS ALLIES OF THE YUGOSLAVS IN MAINTAINING THAT
    INDEPENDENCE. YUGOSLAVIA'S COMMUNIST ELITE, HOWEVER,
    HAS A MUCH MORE COMPLEX ATTITUDE TOWARD THE U.S. IT IS
    BASED ON MARXISM, NON-ALIGNMENT, ETHNOCENTRISM, BALKAN
    PARANOIA AND A BLEND OF MISINFORMATION AND HARD FACTS.
    YUGOSLAVIA'S LEADERS FEEL THREATENED NOT ONLY BY
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    PAGE 02        BELGRA 08320  01 OF 03  221019Z

    SOVIET IMPERIALISM, BUT ALSO BY WESTERN-INSPIRED
    COUNTER-REVOLUTION AND WESTERN-BACKED NATIONALISM.
    THEY VIEW THE UNITED STATES MORE AS FOE THAN FRIEND
    AND TEND TO TAKE FOR GRANTED OUR CONTRIBUTION TO
    THEIR SECURITY AND ECONOMIC WELL-BEING. A NUMBER OF
    THEIR PERCEPTIONS ARE DISTORTED, STEMMING FROM THEIR OWN
    IDEOLOGICIAL PRECONCEPTIONS. AT THE SAME TIME, THE
    YUGOSLAV LEADERSHIP DOES NOT ERR IN SEEING US AS ADVERSARIES
    ON A WIDE RANGE OF ISSUES AND WE MUST EXPECT A CONTINUATION
    OF BASIC SUSPICION AND FRICTION FROM WHICH WE SHOULD NOT
    RECOIL. END SUMMARY.

    2. WHEN CROATIAN NATIONALIST HIJACKED A TWA PLANE IN
    SEPTEMBER, STATEMENTS LIKE THESE WERE COMMON IN THE
    CONTROLLED YUGOSLAV PRESS: --"(THE HIJACKING) REVEALS
    AN UNDERGROUND PLOT BETWEEN MERCENARIES OF YUGOSLAV
    ORIGIN AND INFLUENTIAL REACTIONARY MAGNATES ACROSS THE
    ATLANTIC ...--(THE HIJACKERS) HAVE OBTAINED AN INFLUENTIAL
    AND POWERFUL MASTER IN CERTAIN AMERICAN CIRCLES, WHICH
    USE THEM AS THEIR WEAPON IN ACTION AGAINST SOCIALIST
    AND NON-ALIGNED YUGOSLAVIA,--(THE HIJACKING) IS JUST
    ONE IN A SERIES OF CAREFULLY PLANNED ANTI-YUGOSLAV ACTS
    CONCEIVED IN CERTAIN VERY POWERFUL AND VERY INFLUENTIAL
    CIRCLES."

    3. SUCH ACCUSATIONS CLASH SO SEVERELY WITH OUR OWN IMAGE
    OF THE UNITED STATES AND OF ITS ATTITUDE TOWARD
    YUGOSLAVIA THAT WE MUST ASK HOW THEY COULD BE MADE. ARE
    THE YUGOSLAVS TRYING TO FOSTER DOMESTIC UNITY BY CREATING
    IMAGINARY DANGERS FROM ABROAD? ARE THEY TRYING TO "BALANCE"
    THEIR OCCASIONALLY CONTENTIOUS STATEMENTS ABOUT THE
    SOVIET UNION? OR DO THEY REALLY BELIEVE THAT "REACTIONARY
    CIRCLES" IN THE U.S. ARE MOUNTING AN ANTI-YUGOSLAV CAM-
    PAIGN, USING EMIGRE TERRORISTS AS ONE INSTRUMENT? SUCH
    A VIEW OF AMERICAN BEHAVIOR IS USEFUL TO THE LEADERSHIP
    SINCE NO DISTINCTION IS DRAWN BETWEEN VIOLENT AND ILLEGAL
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    PAGE 03        BELGRA 08320  01 OF 03  221019Z

    ACTIVITIES YUGOSLAV EMIGRES ABROAD ON THE ONE HAND,
    AND LEGAL ANTI-COMMUNIST POLITICAL ACTIVITY WHICH THE
    YUGOSLAV LEADERSHIP REGARDS AS EQUALLY OR PERHAPS EVEN
    MORE THREATENING. BUT, AS STRANGE AS IT MAY SEEM TO
    THOUGHTFUL AMERICANS, THERE ARE A NUMBER OF INDICATIONS
    THAT MANY YUGOSLAV COMMUNISTS SINCERELY BELIEVE WHAT THEY
    SAY. AN AMERICAN STUDYING HERE FINDS THAT HIS STUDENT
    FRIENDS WHO BELONG TO THE LEAGUE OF COMMUNISTS ALL BELIEVE
    THAT THE CIA WAS BEHIND THE HIJACKING. FSFA DIRECTOR
    FOR NORTH AMERICAN AFFAIRS SAYS HE IS CONVINCED FBI EITHER
    ORGANIZED HIJACKING OR KNEW ABOUT IT IN ADVANCE. HOW
    CAN INFLUENTIAL, SERIOUS YUGOSLAVS REACH THESE CONCLUSIONS?

    4. AMERICANS TEND TO VIEW YUGOSLAVIA PRIMARILY IN TERMS
    OF ITS RELATIONSHIP WITH THE SOVIET UNION. WE SEE OUR
    MAIN ROLE AS ASSISTING THE YUGOSLAVS TO MAINTAIN THEIR
    INDEPENDENCE FROM MOSCOW, PARTICULARLY AFTER TITO. WE
    EXPECT THE YUGOSLAVS TO SEE US AS A FRIEND.

    5. WHILE MANY YUGOSLAV "MEN IN THE STREET" MAY HAVE
    THIS VIEW OF BENIGN UNITED STATES, YUGOSLAVIA'S
    COMMUNIST ELITE HAS A MUCH MORE COMPLEX VIEW OF OUR
    RELATIONSHIP. WHILE THEY CREDIT US WITH SOME USEFULNESS
    IN KEEPING THE RUSSIANS OFF THEIR BACKS, AS MARXISTS AND
    LEADERS OF THE NON-ALIGNED MOVEMENT, WITH AN ETHNO-
    CENTRIC BALKAN MENTALITY, AN UNSOPHISTICATED UNDER-
    STANDING OF THE UNITED STATES, AND EVEN SOME FACTUAL
    JUSTIFICATION, THIS ELITE SUSPECTS OUR INTENTIONS AND
    FEARS US AS A THREAT, DIFFERENT IN NATURE BUT PERHAPS
    EVEN GREATER THAN MOSCOW.

    6. YUGOSLAVIA'S POLITICAL LEADERS ARE MARXISTS. THEY
    ARE CREATIVE AND HAVE MODIFIED MOARXIST DOGMA AS UNDER-
    STOOD IN THE SOVIET UNION, BUT THEY MAINTAIN THEIR
    MARXIST VIEW OF THE WORLD. MARXISM HAS NOT BEEN IMPOSED
    ON THEM FROM ABROAD AS IT HAS BEEN ELSEWHERE IN EASTERN
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    PAGE 04        BELGRA 08320  01 OF 03  221019Z

    EUROPE:  THEY CHOSE IT ON THEIR OWN. IN 1948 IT WAS
    STALIN WHO REJECTED TITO AND NOT VICE VERSA. YUGOSLAV
    COMMUNISTS RESIST SOVIET HEGEMONY, BUT NOT COMMUNISM,
    AND A BUST OF LENIN IS POSITIONED AS PROMINENTLY AS TITO'S
    PORTRAIT IN THE LOBBY OF THE LEAGUE OF COMMUNISTS
    BUILDING.

    7. THE YUGOSLAVS RECENTLY SPONSORED A CONFERENCE ON
    "SOCIALISM IN THE CONTEMPORARY WORLD" FOR SOCIALISTS
    AND COMMUNISTS FROM MANY COUNTRIES, INCLUDING THE SOVIET
    UNION. WHILE SENIOR YUGOSLAV OFFICIALS (BAKARIC, GRLICKOV
    AND DUSAN POPOVIC) DENOUNCED THE IMPOSITION OF ANY ONE
    MODEL FOR SOCIALIST STATES, THEY EXPRESSED STETIMENTS
    LIKE THESE:
    --"PEACEFUL COEXISTENCE REPRESENTS THE INTERNATIONAL
    POLITICAL FRAMEWORK WITHIN WHICH THE CLASS STRUGGLE
    IS BEING CARRIED ON...MARXISM IS THE ONLY POSSIBLE


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    KOMRADE KIRO - tells UDBa striking workers enemy of the people


    KOMRADE KIRO - a 1973 US diplomatic cable, released by wikileaks, reveals Kiro Gligorov, then a leading Yugoslav Communist and later to become the first President of the Republic of Macedonia in 1991, urged strong security measures to be taken by the Yugoslav government against, ironically, striking workers and equated their actions with anti-state activities.

    In other words he was calling for the security services, such as the secret police UDBa (also known as SDB) to come down hard on industrial "troublemakers."

    Gligorov was addressing the 44th Plenum of the Party Presidium of the League of Communists of Yugoslavia.

    He also warned that the LCY had trouble recruiting workers into the communist ranks. It is no wonder when you consider striking workers were being treated as enemy of the state.

    Gligorov held high positions in Tito's Yugoslavia (1945-90) becoming the Speaker in the Yugoslav Federal Parliament as well as an "economics" expert.

    In 1991 he became the first President of the Republic of Macedonia, after it declared its independence from the collapsing Yugoslav Federation.

    Overnight, Gligorov became a democrat. So much so in 2008 he lectured the current crop of Macedonia's leaders to be moderate despite his own hardline history. He urged a compromise on Macedonia's name dispute with Greece, despite fierce public opposition.

    Below are two US Diplomatic cables published by wikileaks; one is from 1973 and the other is 2008.
    -------------------------------
    R 081525Z NOV 73 FM AMEMBASSY BELGRADE TO SECSTATE WASHDC 7782 INFO AMCONSUL ZAGREB LIMITED OFFICIAL USE BELORADE 5061 E.O. 11652: N/A TAGS: PINT PFOR YO SUBJECT: GLIGOROV SPEECH AT LCY PRESIDIEUM SESSION SURVEYS WIDE RANGE OF PROBLEMS 1. KIRO GLIGOROV (LCY EXECUTIVE BUREAU MEMBER FROM MACEDONIA) GAVE KEYNOTE SPEECH AT 44TH PLENUM OF PARTY PRESIDIUM NOV 6 (WE ASSUME FBIS TRANSLATED IN FULL). WE READ SPEECH AS DOCUMENT INTENDED TO BE ONE OF MOST SIGNIFICANT PARTY "EVENTS" BETWEEN LAST YEAR'S LETTER (FROM TITO AND PARTY EXECUTIVE BUREAU) AND NEXT YEAR'S TENTH LCY CONGRESS (WHICH PLENUM SCHEDULED FOR MAY). 2. GLIGOROV'S REFERENCES TO ECONOMIC SUCCESSES (IMPROVED BALANCE OF PAYMENTS, FOREIGN EXCHANGE RESERVES, DOMESTIC LIQUIDITY) AND ECONOMIC PROBLEMS ("SOARING PRICES", DWINDLING REAL WAGES) ARE IN LINE WITH OTHER RECENT COMMENTARY HERE. IN HIS COVERAGE OF BROAD SPECTRUM OF PROBLEMS AND CHALLENGES FACING PARTY, MOST IMPORTANT MESSAGE - THAT GREAT DEAL REMAINS TO BE DONE IN SHORT TIME BEFORE TENTH CONGRESS - IS UNDOUBTEDLY NECESSARY KICK IN THE PANTS AFTER UNWARRANTED OPTIMISTIC SPEECHES ABOUT GREAT THINGS TAKING PLACE IN PARTY AS RESULT OF TITO LETTER. THIS MESSAGE APPEARS TO BE AIMED AT TOO- COMPLACENT HEADS OF BASIC PARTY ORGANIZATION UNITS. GLIGOROV MAKES EXPLICIT WHAT HAS BEEN FREQUENT TOPIC OF DISCUSSION HERE: PARTY UNITS HAVE SO FAR FAILED TO ATTRACT MORE WORKERS INTO RANKS. ONLY IN LEADERSHIP POSITIONS (I.E., WHERE THEY ARE MOST VISIBLE) ARE WORKERS GETTING BIGGER PIECE OF PARTY ACTION, HE SAYS; OVERALL, HE ADMITS, PARTY HAS BARELY MANAGED TO STEM FLOW OF WORKER RESIGNATIONS WHICH CHARACTERIZED SITUATION BEFORE TITO LETTER. RESPONSIBILITY FOR ROUNDING UP NEW WORKER MEMBERS IN COMING MONTHS NOW PUBLICLY BEING SHIFTED TO PARTY UNIT HEADS. 3. IN HIS REFERENCES TO ALLEGED "REVIVAL OF NEO-STALINISTIC AND DOGMATIC CONCEPTS" IN YUGOSLAVIA, IT IS NOT CLEAR WHETHER HE IS TALKING ABOUT ACTUAL PHENOMENON OR WHETHER HE IS ESSENTIALLY MAKING GESTURE OF REASSURANCE TO PEOPLE IN REPUBLICS (AND PARTICULARLY TO NON-SERBS) THAT TIGHTENING-UP INSIDE PARTY DOES NOT MEAN ANY TURNING BACK FROM DECENTRALIZED FEDERATION TO CEN- TRALIZED CONTROL OF SOCIETY ON SOVIET MODEL. SUCH GESTURE OF REASURANCE PARTICULARLY BELIEVABLE COMING FROM A MACEDONIAN, SINCE MADECONIA OUTSTANDING BENEFICIARY OF DECENTRALIZATION. 4. CLEARER SIGNAL OF REASSURANCE IS AIMED SQUARELY AT FOREIGN READERSHIP - PARTICULARLY IN US: THIS IS GLIGOROV'S INSISTENCE THAT YUGOSLAV POLICY HAS BEEN ENTIRELY CONSISTENT IN ITS SUPPORT FOR ARABS, ALTHOUGH CERTAIN "QUARTERS" ARE TRYING TO PRESENT YUGOSLAV ACTIVITIES DURING RECENT FIGHTING AS ACT OF RENUNCIATION. OF NONALIGNMENT (I.E., AS HAVING MOVED INTO SOVIET CAMP). FOREIGN SECRETARIAT CONTACT SAID HE HOPED SUCH REASSURANCE NOT REALLY REQUIRED. 5. WE BELIEVE GLIGOROV'S CALL FOR HEIGHTENED SECURITY MEASURES, ALTHOUGH PHRASED IN WAY THAT APPEARS TO TIE NEED FOR VIGILANCE TO PRESSURES FROM ABROAD, IS ALSO A SIGNAL FOR INTERNAL CONSUMPTION: THAT EVIDENCES OF DOMESTIC UNREST SUCH AS STRIKES TO PROTEST WAGE CUTS OR PRICE RISES MAY BE DEALT WITH FIRMLY AS ANTI-STATE ACTIVITIES. TOON ---------------------------------
    UNCLAS SKOPJE 000669 SIPDIS STATE FOR EUR/SCE E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL, PGOV, NATO, MK SUBJECT: MACEDONIA: FORMER PRESIDENT GLIGOROV CALLS FOR COURAGEOUS LEADERSHIP AND A NAME DEAL SUMMARY 1. (SBU) Still sharp and spry at 91, former President Kiro Gligorov met with Ambassador Reeker November 3 to welcome him back to Macedonia and to share his views on the current political situation and prospects for the future. Gligorov expressed his disappointment in the current Government's lack of courageous political leadership, viewing it as a key missing element to closing a deal on the name issue. He believes that with effective leadership, Macedonians can accept a compromise on the name, saying only the adjective to describe the language and identity of the people are redlines. Gligorov also suggested that Macedonia must realize that it is not the center of the political universe for the U.S., EU, and NATO, and must recognize the limits of other states' and organizations' willingness to solve the country's problems, a view not often expressed here. Macedonia's elder statesman offered a novel view of the country's need for a self-reliant, focused and flexible approach to resolving the name dispute. End Summary. Statesmanship: Let Time Prove you Right ---------------------------------------- 2. (SBU) Former President Gligorov commented on the lack of courage among Macedonia's current political leaders, saying they are hiding behind the "will of the people" rather than leading, pressing for change, and calling for flexibility in resolving the name dispute. Gligorov believes that the Prime Minister and other political leaders must insist on a solution to the name dispute, even if it is not popular, and should "allow time to prove them right" rather than polls and ratings. He cited his own decision to allow Macedonia to enter the UN under the provisional name "the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia" as an example of courageous leadership -- making a decision that was right for the country, if not popular with the people. 3. (SBU) "There is no democracy without compromise," and in Gligorov's view, Macedonian leaders and citizens must be prepared to compromise on "anything other than their language and identity." He called the recent Nimetz proposals good bases for negotiations and resolution, saying that barring a ban on the use of "Macedonian" to describe the language and identity, "all other solutions are practically possible." The World Does Not Revolve Around Us ------------------------------------ 4. (SBU) The former President offered a refreshing view of the role of Macedonia's friends and allies, saying "we are a small country with a small population. There are limitations to how much the U.S. will or should help us." He said that Macedonian leaders relied on their belief that the U.S. could prevent the Greek veto in Bucharest rather than developing a strategy themselves before the meeting. "We must help the U.S. to help us," Gligorov offered, echoing a line the Ambassador uses frequently with Macedonian interlocutors. Gligorov added that the current leaders have done little to make it easy for the U.S. and others to aid them.

    Tuesday, April 09, 2013

    WIKILEAKS ON 1970s YUGOSLAV SPYING

    Two interesting documents have emerged in the recent batch of United States diplomatic cables to be released by international whistleblower organisation, Wikileaks:

    The first is a 1973 US State Department cable detailing the Yugoslav government's fears of "extremist" Croatian, Serbian and Macedonian activities on American soil. We hear of the Macedonian Patriotic Organisation (MPO).

    Link: wikileaks

    CONFIDENTIAL PAGE 01 STATE 167086 DRAFTED BY EUR/EE:HGILMORE:GB 8/22/73 X22140 APPROVED BY EUR/EE:JABAKER, JR. S/CCT - AMBASSADOR HOFFACKER --------------------- 026189 P R 222157Z AUG 73 FM SECSTATE WASHDC TO AMEMBASSY BELGRADE PRIORITY INFO USINT ALGIERS AMEMBASSY BONN AMEMBASSY PARIS AMEMBASSY OTTAWA AMEMBASSY MADRID AMEMBASSY CANBERRA C O N F I D E N T I A L STATE 167086 E.O. 11652: GDS TAGS: PFOR, PINS, YO SUBJECT: YUGOSLAV EMIGRE ACTIVITIES IN THE US 1. IN CALL ON DIRECTOR FOR EASTERN EUROPEAN AFFAIRS BAKER ON AUGUST 21, YUGOSLAV ACTING DCM STRBAC STATED THAT GOY IS CONCERNED THAT CERTAIN YUGOSLAV EMIGRE EXTREMISTS WHO MIGHT TRAVEL TO ALGIERS AT TIME OF NON-ALIGNED SUMMIT MEETING (SEPTEMBER 5-8) MIGHT ENGAGE IN HOSTILE ACTIVITIES AGAINST PRESIDENT TITO DURING HIS VISIT THERE. STRBAC CONVEYED REQUEST OF GOY THAT USG INFORM YUGOSLAV EMBASSY IN EVENT CERTAIN SERB, CROAT, AND CONFIDENTIAL CONFIDENTIAL PAGE 02 STATE 167086 MACEDONIAN EMIGRE EXTREMISTS RESIDING IN US, WHOSE NAMES WERE CONTAINED IN LIST HE GAVE TO BAKER, SHOULD TRAVEL ABROAD SHORTLY BEFORE ALGIERS SUMMIT. STRBAC INDICATED GOY HAD MADE SIMILAR REQUEST OF CANADA, FRG, FRANCE, AND OTHER GOVERNMENTS INCLUDING THE GOA ITSELF. 2. STRBAC STATED THAT YUGOSLAV EMBASSY HAS COME TO CON- CLUSION THAT YUGOSLAV EMIGRE EXTREMISTS ORGANIZATIONS IN US ARE NOT GIVING UP THEIR ANTI-YUGOSLAVIA STRUGGLE. HE POINTED TO FOLLOWING EXAMPLES OF EMIGRE ACTIVITIES WHICH LED EMBASSY TO THIS CONCLUSION: A. AUGUST 15 ISSUE OF CROATIAN EMIGRE NEWSPAPER DANICA (THE MORNING STAR), PUBLISHED IN CHICAGO, WHICH CARRIES ARTICLE CALLING FOR CROATS IN US TO SEND MONEY TO VALENCIA, SPAIN TO PROVIDE FINANCIAL SUPPORT FOR THOSE CROAT EMIGRES WHO ARE PREPARING FOR "X-DAY", WHICH STRBAC INTERPRETED AS DAY OF TITO'S DEATH. (ARTICLE, AS WE READ IT, SUGGESTS MONEY MIGHT BE USED ALSO FOR ASSISTANCE TO DEPENDENTS OF CROAT HIJACKERS OF SAS PLANE WHO ARE UNDER DETENTION IN SPAIN.); B. FOUR MEETINGS OF EMIGRE ORGANIZATIONS WHICH WILL BE HELD IN US IN NEAR FUTURE: (1) MEETING OF NORTH AMERICAN COUNCIL FOR THE CROATIAN STATE (NACCS) IN CLEVELAND, AUGUST 24-26/ (2) MEETING IN CHICAGO, NOVEMBER 24, OF UNITED AMERICAN CROATIANS (UAC); (3) CONGRESS IN JACKSON, CALIFORNIA, SEPTEM- BER 1, 1973, OF BRANCHES OF SERBIAN NATIONAL DEFENSE (SND) ORGANIZATION, LOCATED IN WESTERN STATES; (4) CONVENTION OF MACEDONIAN PATRIOTIC ORGANI- ZATION (MPO) IN CHICAGO, SEPTEMBER 1-3. 3. STRBAC INDICATED THAT EMBASSY CONSIDERS IT POSSIBLE THAT INDIVIDUAL US CONGRESSMEN AND POLITICAL FIGURES MIGHT ATTEND ONE OR MORE OF THESE MEETINGS. HE ASKED THAT USG GIVE NO OFFICIAL RECOGNITION TO THESE MEETINGS AND THAT IT ADVISE CONGRESSMEN AND OTHER POLITICAL FIGURES AS WELL AS GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS ON STATE AND LOCAL LEVELS OF US POLICY OF SUPPORTING THE TERRITORIAL INTEGRITY OF YUGOSLAVIA. CONFIDENTIAL CONFIDENTIAL PAGE 03 STATE 167086 4. AFTER NOTING THAT EMIGRE ORGANIZATIONS ARE FREE TO HOLD MEETINGS AND THAT WE CANNOT ASSUME THAT ALL THOSE WHO WILL ATTEND THESE MEETINGS WOULD USE VIOLENCE TO ACHIEVE THEIR GOALS, BAKER ASKED STRBAC TO OUTLINE PLATFORMS OF THESE FOUR GROUPS WITH PARTICULAR REFERENCE TO THEIR POSITION ON USE OF VIOLENCE. IN REPLY, STRBAC SAID EACH OF THESE ORGANIZATIONS IS BENT ON DISMEMBERING YUGOSLAVIA AND ADVOCATES THE USE OF VIOLENT METHODS TO ACCOMPLISH THIS GOAL. STRBAC DESCRIBED ORIENTATIONS OF INDIVIDUAL GROUPS AS FOLLOWS: NACCS AND UAC - DESTRUCTION OF YUGO- SLAVIA AND CREATION OF SEPARATIST, INDEPENDENT CROATIAN STATE; SND - DESTRUCTION AND DISMEMBERMENT OF YUGOSLAVIA AND CREATION OF A GREATER SERBIA; MPO - PULLING MACE- DONIA SR OUT OF YUGOSLAVIA AND INCORPORATING IT INTO A GREATER BULGARIA. 5. BAKER OBSERVED THAT SEVERAL OF THESE MEETINGS ARE SCHEDULED TO TAKE PLACE VERY SOON. IT IS POSSIBLE, THEREFORE, THAT CERTAIN POLITICAL FIGURES HAVE ALREADY ACCEPTED INVITATIONS TO THEM AND THAT IF THERE WERE ATTENDANCE BY ANY CONGRESSMEN OR LOCAL OFFICIALS THIS WOULD IN NO WAY REFLECT USG VIEWS. HE STATED THAT WE HAVE IN THE PAST AND WILL CONTINUE IN THE FUTURE TO MAKE KNOWN THE USG POSITION TO STATE AND LOCAL OFFICIALS AND CONGRESS- MEN WHO MIGHT NOT BE AWARE OF IT OUR ATTITUDE TOWARD YUGOSLAVIA AND TOWARD ANY ATTACKS ON ITS INTEGRITY. WE COULD NOT, HOWEVER, TELL THESE OFFICIALS WHAT TO DO. BAKER STRESSED THAT US POLICY TOWARD YUGOSLAVIA REMAINS AS OUTLINED BY PRESIDENT NIXON: WE SUPPORT THE UNITY AND TERRITORIAL INTEGRITY OF YUGOSLAVIA. 6. MEMORANDA REPORTING OTHER MATTERS DISCUSSED BY BAKER AND STRBAC BEING POUCHED. DEPARTMENT GIVING TO FBI COPY OF LIST MENTIONED IN PARA ONE TOGETHER WITH STRBAC'S ADDI- TIONAL COMMENTS ABOUT PLACES OF RESIDENCE AND AFFILIATIONS OF PERSONS ON IT, REQUESTING THAT FBI ADVISE DEPARTMENT SOONEST OF ANY INFORMATION IT MIGHT DEVELOP WHICH SUGGESTS THAT EMIGRES ON GOY LIST PLAN TO TRAVEL TO ALGERIA. ROGERS CONFIDENTIAL CONFIDENTIAL PAGE 04 STATE 167086 CONFIDENTIAL NNN
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    The second document is another US diplomatic cable explaining the domestic politicking going on in Australia in 1973 after the execution of Australian-Croats involved in the 1972 incursion into Communist Yugoslavia. For our non-Australian readers, there was a push by the Democratic Labor Party (DLP), a splinter group from the orginal Australian Labor Party (ALP), for a Senate Committee:

    link: wikileaks
    extract:
    DLP LEADER SENATOR GAIR HAS SOUGHT TO INTRODUCE MOTION TO ESTABLISH A SENATE SELECT COMMITTEE TO INVESTIGATE INTO WHETHER CIVIL RIGHTS OF AUSTRALIAN CROATS HAVE BEEN VIOLATED, EITHER BY OPERATIONS OF THE AUSTRALIAN POLICE OR BY AGENTS OF THE GOVERNMENT OF YUGOSLAVIA.
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    Full cable:

    LIMITED OFFICIAL USE PAGE 01 CANBER 02682 140351 Z --------------------- 051542 R 140327 Z MAY 73 FM AMEMBASSY CANBERRA TO SECSTATE WASHDC 0921 INFO AMEMBASSY BELGRADE LIMITED OFFICIAL USE CANBERRA 2682 E. O. 11652: N/ A TAGS: PINT, PINS, PFOR, YO, AS SUBJ: YUGOSLAV EXECUTIONS OF AUSTRALIAN NATIONALS REF: CANBERRA 2462 1. BEGIN SUMMARY: POLITICKING IN AUSTRALIAN SENATE CONTINUES ON PROPOSAL TO ESTABLISH SENATE COMMITTEE TO INVESTIGATE INTO WHETHER THERE HAVE BEEN VIOLATIONS OF THE CIVIL RIGHTS OF AUSTRALIANS OF CROAT ANCESTRY. DEBATES IN SENATE HAVE BECOME INCREASINGLY BITTER, AND RESULTING ATMOSPHERE IS SETTING STAGE FOR DOUBLE DIS- SOLUTION AND EARLY PARLIAMENTARY ELECTIONS. END SUMMARY. 2. CONTRARY TO PREDICTION IN REFTEL, SUBJECT OF YUGO- SLAV EXECUTIONS OF AUSTRALIAN NATIONALS AND, MORE BROADLY, LABOR GOVERNMENT POLICY TOWARDS AUSTRALIAN CITIZENS AND RESIDENTS OF CROAT ANCESTRY, HAS HAD NEW LEASE ON LIFE AND IS SIGNIFICANT ISSUE BEFORE PARLIAMENT. 3. SCENE OF ACTION HAS SHIFTED FROM HOUSE OF REPRESENTA- TIVES TO SENATE, WHERE DLP LEADER SENATOR GAIR HAS SOUGHT TO INTRODUCE MOTION TO ESTABLISH A SENATE SELECT COMMITTEE TO INVESTIGATE INTO WHETHER CIVIL RIGHTS OF LIMITED OFFICIAL USE PAGE 02 CANBER 02682 140351 Z AUSTRALIAN CROATS HAVE BEEN VIOLATED, EITHER BY OPERATIONS OF THE AUSTRALIAN POLICE OR BY AGENTS OF THE GOVERNMENT OF YUGOSLAVIA. COMMITTEE IS TO HAVE SEVEN MEMBERS, THREE OF WHOM TO BE NOMINATED BY GOVERN- MENT LEADER IN SEANTE ( I. E., SENATOR MURPHY); ONE EACH BY LIBERAL, COUNTRY PARTY, AND DLP LEADERS; AND ONE INDEPENDENT SENATOR TO BE CHOSEN BY THREE INDEPENDENT SENATORS. GAIR' S MOTION IS LONG, DETAILED, AND CLEARLY POINTED AT CONDUCT OF SENATOR MURPHY IN HIS ATTACKS ON ALLEGED CROAT TERRORISM AND ON ALLEGED ACTIVITY BY YUGOSLAV GOVERNMENT IN AUSTRALIA. 4. ISSUE CAME TO VOTE MAY 10, AND MOTION WAS DEFEATED 28 TO 27 WHEN THREE ALP SENATORS, WHO WERE " PAIRED" WITH THREE LIBERAL SENATORS WHO WERE ABSENT, BROKE THE " PAIRS" AND VOTED AGAINST MOTION. IF " PAIRS" HAD BEEN RESPECTED, MOTION WOULD HAVE PASSED BY VOTE OF 27 TO 25. LIBERAL, COUNTRY PARTY, AND DLP LEADERR IN SENATE HAVE DENOUNCED ALP TACTICS AS VIOLATION OF GENTELMEN' S AGREE- MENT, AND SENATOR WITHERS, LIBERAL LEADER IN SENATE, HAS ANNOUNCED THERE WILL BE NO FURTHER " PAIRS" UNTIL SNEATOR MURPHY, WHO CLEARLY ARRANGED BREAKING OF " PAIRS", APOLOGIZES. MURPHY HAS MADE CLEAR THAT HE CONSIDERS OPPOSITION PARTIES SHOULD APOLOGIZE FOR DISGUISED ATTACKS ON HIM. 5. SENATOR GAIR HAS STATED HE WILL RE- INTRODUCE MEASURE AS SOON AS POSSIBLE, " PAIRS" WILL BE OFF, AND SENATOR MURPHY LEFT AUSTRALIA MAY 13 TO PRESENT THE AUSTRALIAN CASE AGAINST FRENCH NUCLEAR TESTS AT THE INTERNATIONAL COURT OF JUSTICE. HE WILL NOT RETURN, ACCORDING TO PRESENT PLANS, UNTIL MAY 26. MOST OBSERVERS BELIEVE GAIR' S MOTION WILL BE RE- INTRODUCED AND PASSED, EITHER THIS WEEK OR NEXT WEEK, AT LATEST. 6. COMMENT: EPISODE IS SYMPTOM OF STEADILY WORSENING RELATIONS BETWEEN LABOR AND OPPOSITION PARTIES IN SENATE. DEBATE IN HOUSE ON VARIETY OF ISSUES HAS BEEN COMPARATIVELY RESTRAINED, BUT DEBATES IN SENATE HAVE BEEN INCREASINGLY FOCUSED ON CONFLICTS OF PERSONALITIES. POLITICAL SIGNIFICANCE OF THE DEVELOPMENTS, BOTH ON STATUS OF CROAT COMMUNITY AS WELL AS OTHER MATTERS, IS LIMITED OFFICIAL USE LIMITED OFFICIAL USE PAGE 03 CANBER 02682 140351 Z THE SOLIDIFYING OF THE LINE BETWEEN GOVERNMENT AND OPPOSITION PARTIES IN THE SENATE. THE DIVISION SEEMS ALMOST CERTAIN TO PRODUCE DEFEAT OF MAJOR GOVERNMENT LEGISLATION IN NEXT FEW WEEKS WHICH WILL LEAD TO DOUBLE DISSOLUTION AND EARLY ELECTIONS, PROBABLY AROUND THE END OF 1973. RICE LIMITED OFFICIAL USE NMAFVVZCZ