Abstract: In this paper there are given the basic characteristics and global consequences of the NATO aggression on FR Yugoslavia (from March, 24 up to June, 9, 1999), with particular review on general economic and ecological consequences of aggression on Yugoslav agri-business (pre-farming, farming and post-farming sector of economy).
 
 

Key words: NATO aggression, characteristics and consequences, agri-business

ecological genocide, ecological controversies, FR Yugoslavia
 
 

1. Basic Characteristics and Global Consequences of NATO Aggression on FR Yugoslavia

Unprecedented burden of accidents which all Yugoslav nations - particularly Serbs have met in recent decade, primarily has come on the wings of diplomacy in the form of "well-intentioned services" by which it has been destroyed ex-Yugoslavia - country which has been among 51 signatory countries of the Charter of the United Nations establishment (1945), then on the wings of so-called peace UN forces (UNPROFOR and SFOR) - whose contribution is ethnic cleaning from several hundreds thousands Serbs done by Republic of Croatia, and (after many-years lasting civil war) introduction of shaded international protectorate in multiethnic Bosnia and Herzegovina, and finally on the wings of cruising missiles and bombardiers of NATO aviation (with more than 30,000 military air attacks and more than 50,000 missiles and aerial bombs), by which it has been genocidly changed for 77 days the geography of FR Yugoslavia made naturally and by human work - in the form of finalisation of clear support and collaboration with the separatists and terrorists so-called UCK forces on common destruction of Serbia Republic and FR Yugoslavia with ethnic cleaning of 150 thousands of Serbs from province Kosovo & Metohia - which has been put under interference of so-called international peace forces (KFOR) as well as the UN civil administration.

Under sarcastic name in marketing sense "The Merciful Angel" Air Campaign (Made in NATO)- "19 horsemen of Apocalypse" - lead by USA, Great Britain, France and Germany, together with suppressed tolerance of so-called international community institutions (OUN, OSCE, EU, ...) as well as continuous support of all our neighbours with which we had for long period of time the signed so-called bilateral protocols on "friendly relations and cooperation", contrary to (1) all international conventions, (2) NATO Codex and (3) laws of all Alliance countries, they carried out a brutal aggression on FR Yugoslavia in the period between March, 24 up to June, 9, 1999.

Aggression that lasted 11 weeks or " devilishly long" 6,652,800 seconds - unforgettable till the end of life for more than 10 million Yugoslav people is continuation of the "support scenario" made in the name of so-called international community by the most militant representatives of so-called new world order - whose most tragic characteristics and global consequences are following:
 
 

• demographically genocide with 3,300 to 6,500 killed persons (depending on source of information), around 15,000 wounded and more than 10 million physically traumatised persons during the bombing period;
• anti-civilisation in humanitarian sense with several hundred thousand refugees and displaced persons of Albanian nationality from Kosovo and Metohia (during aggression) and around 150,000 refugees Serbs from Kosovo and Metohia (during and after aggression), as well as hundred thousand temporary refugees from areas being in the high risk zones in the time of aggression with potentially great emigration exodus abroad of Yugoslav citizens - particularly the young and educated categories of population;
• ecologically devastating with significant end heavily estimated direct and indirect damages whose consequences have both short-term and long-term character;
• economically multilateral destructive - there were destroyed or heavily damaged about 2,000 economic facilities - including 80 big industrial systems as Refinery (Novi Sad), Utva, Refinery, Petrohemija and Azotara (Pancevo), Krusik (Valjevo), Sloboda and Cer (Cacak), Milan Blagojevic (Lucani), Zastava (Kragujevac), Prva iskra (Baric), all tobacco factories in Serbia (Nis, Vranje and Gnjilane) whereas there were stayed directly unemployed 72,000 persons and indirectly another cca 200,000 persons, with total economic damage of about 30 billion US $ (excluding damages on military facilities and housing fund in Province Kosovo and Metohia, as well as non-estimated damages due to destroy of national welfare, environmental pollution and damage of cultural and historical monuments, ...) together with an estimate that in 1999 compared to the previous year it will be decreased industrial production by cca 45%, export by cca 55%, import by cca 58%, that will result in decrease of total GDP by cca 40%. In addition to that economic damage is being enlarged even after stopping with bombing because of destruction and burning of the facilities in Kosovo and Metohia by terrorist bands which are acting under suppressed protection of so-called peace forces of international community;
• long-term blocking in communication sense - there have been destroyed or damaged 60 bridges, transportation infrastructural facilities, together with numerous and difference damages of roads, railways, tunnels, bus and railway stations and all civil airports, together with long-term blockade of Danube river due to destroyed bridges;
• decadent in informative sense - there have been destroyed 13 radio and TV transmission facilities, 9 radio transmission facilities and 42 tutors together with buildings and technique, equipment and communications of mobile telephone system, paging system and Internet providers systems,...;
• destroyable and chaotic in energetic sense - there have been destroyed 2 power stations, 16 electric stations, 6 distributive facilities and 7 long-distance power lines, 3 oil and gas refineries, 2 collecting oil pipelines, 9 infrastructural facilities, 8 distributive warehouses, numerous gas stations, heating stations in Belgrade, Novi Sad, Krusevac, Pristina, Kragujevac, ...
• handicapped in cultural and national sense - there were robed, destroyed or damaged 23 monasteries and 30 churches, 37 important buildings from architectural point of view built in the period between fourth and nineteenth centuries,...;
• climatologically unpredictable - unusual and frequent weather storms with expressively extreme phenomenon for this area (hurricane storms, unusual horizontal lightning, unormal precipitation - rains, hail,...)
• tectonicly unknown - there were used so-called depth bombs and some other new military resources with tectonic consequences, and that is why many housing and other facilities have been shaken up;
• technologically innovative - utilisation of so-called cassette bombs with graphite fibbers in order to be disabled energetic system, and maybe there have been carried out some other unknown futuristic technological experiments for the "war of stars" in third millennium; and
• terminologically ominously innovative - in war and international diplomatic terminology there have been introduced new notions:

- "collateral damages" for columns of refugees, hundreds of passengers in rocketed passenger train and several buses, numerous civil settlements, embassies (NR China etc.), cultural monuments, farmers on the fields, even for the livestock in stables and blossoming orchards,...

- "preventing of so-called humanitarian catastrophe by bombing", that associates on treatment of cold by HIV virus or cancer,...

- "limited sovereignty" for economically and military weaker countries, ...

Global consequences of the NATO aggression are futuristicly pessimistic because estimates of some economists (Group 17) state that FR Yugoslavia, in the case of absence of international economic support as well as orientation only on its own sources for country, it will need up to 15 years to reach the level from the previous year (1998), i.e. up to 40 years to reach the level from 1989.
 
 

2. Consequences of NATO Aggression on Yugoslav Agri-business

Direct damage from NATO bombing has mostly affect the pre-farming sector of agri-business, that is from technical and technological aspect the most important segment of agri-business, as it includes:

• production of energy sources necessary for agriculture, because both oil refineries were destroyed, both collecting oil pipelines were damaged as well as numerous infrastructural facilities, whereas the total damage has been estimated on 600 million US $;
• production of fertilisers and chemicals for agriculture, because it was destroyed HIP "Azotara" in Pancevo, damaged HI "Prahovo" in Prahovo, Prva iskra in Baric, warehouse of "Velefarm" in Nis etc. - whose total damage has been estimated on 346.8 million US $; and
• production of agricultural mechanisation due to destruction and damage of facilities and equipment in metal manufacturing complex - whose total damage has been estimated on 1,515.3 million US $.

Direct damage from NATO bombing that has affected the farming sector of agri-business (agriculture), according to uncompleted estimates amounts to only 39 million US $ and there have been destroyed or damaged the following:

• 12 social farms, and on the Farm PIK "Pester" in Sjenica there were killed all 220 milking cows, while
• significant damages had even numerous private farms as e.g. farm of Dragise Gorica from Lukisevo village near Zrenjanin with 24 killed pigs and damaged agricultural mechanisation.

Direct damage from NATO bombing that has affected the post-farming sector of agri-business is the greatest in tobacco industry (103.8 million US $), as all three tobacco factories in Serbia were destroyed (Tobacco factory in Nis, Tobacco industry in Vranje and Factory of cigarettes in Gnjilane), while damage on food processing industry is not such great (3.3 million US $). In that industry there were damaged facilities in Miloje Zakic from Urosevac, Juhor from Jagodina, Belvit and Prvi oktobar from Nis, as well as warehouse of Fidelinka and Soprodukt from Nis.
 

3. Ecological Damages from NATO Bombing
 
 

Ecological damages from NATO bombing are not consequences accidents but planned direct ecological genocide actions of today strongest world military armada - whose direct and indirect consequences are directed primarily against population of local and regional parts of Serbia. Also they less ore more affect even the population of neighbouring countries, as well as some wider regions.

By ecological genocide actions of NATO there are endangered health security of people, flora and fauna. Also it came to the pollution of natural resources (atmosphere, water and soil) not only for existing generation but for the future ones concerning organisation of food production but also many other aspects of environmental protection.
 
 

Ecological damages of NATO bombing have occurred on the basis of:

• fire and damages oil and other chemical facilities, whereas there have been emitted great quantities of different toxic agents - heavy metals (lead, copper, zinc, nickel, mercury, uranium), toxic gases (ethylene, propylene, chlorine, ... and their compounds), soot, concentrated acids (chlorine-hydrogen, sulphuric,...) different sort of oil and petroleum products whose spots on Danube were ten and more kilometres, ...;
• destruction of energetic facilities, whereas the toxic oils from electric stations and crude oil from heating stations have leaked out;
• utilisation of military resources which make impossible access to some areas (e.g. cassette bombs) or make their ecological contamination (e.g. bombs enriched by uranium whose time of semi-disintegration is 2.5 billion years), and
• damaged ozone wrapping due to exhaust gases from supersonic military aeroplanes, that had in the period of aggression approximately 500 military flights as an average above the territory of our country.

4. Instead of Conclusion
 

Beside the fact that estimate of ecological damage originated by 11 weeks lasting bombing of FR Yugoslavia territory is very complex and practically completely unmeasurable, it is important to stress that in order to be avoided unwanted "ecological controversies", the competent scientific, research and other institutions should face our and interested international public as soon as possible with relevant data on mentioned damages in order:

• first, to be taken preventive measures for health protection of our consumers of agricultural and food products, if the results of monitoring and subsequent investigations point to the fact there is eventual need for such action; and

second, to be undertaken adequate measures in order to be prevented eventual malicious information that should have unwanted marketing connotations for exporting possibilities of our so-called "health food" toward international markets, whereas there have existed before aggression very significant potentials

¹All estimated data on economic damages given in this paper, if it is not announced something else, are taken from the book "The Final Statement"  (Group-17, Stubovi kulture, Belgrade, 1999)

²Maric S.J.: Protiv ekoloske katastrofe, "Dnevnik"  Novi Sad, from May, 29,1999, page 16

³After retreat of Yugoslav Army from Kosovo and  Metohia and entering of so-called peace forces of international community there have been burned or plundered around 25,000 houses and apartments possessed by the Serbs or they have been illegally occupied by the Albanians. Also there have been expelled cca 150,000 Serbs, Montenegriners, Gypsies,... (Beogradske novine, No. 100, pages 50-51, July,16,1999)

⁴Since entering contingent of the peace forces of international community and putting Kosovo and Metohia under their jurisdiction, Albanian criminals and members of so-called UCK  have robed and burned or grabbed more than 60 Serbian monasteries and churches, destroyed all monuments of famous persons from Serbian history and culture (monuments of Tsar Dusan in Prizren, of Vuk Karadzi} and Petar Petrovic Njegos in Pristina, ...), robed National Theatre and Provincial Cultural Centre, Press Centre, Publishing enterprise "Jedinstvo" in Pristina, ...) all museums and galleries on the territory of this Serbian Province, as well as the communal and provincial administrative headquarters, business headquarters of all governmental enterprises,... (Beogradske novine, No. 100, pages 51, July,16,1999)

⁵On crimes of "humanitarian barbarians" by the end of twentieth century best testifies a photograph by Zoran Tmusic, on which "bewildered cow eyes under destroyed concrete board as if they ask to be liberated". (Stanic R.: Ranjavanje prirode, p. 8). This photograph exactly confirms that "Man is the greatest beast in nature" - as says our painter of German origin Erih Deker.

⁶Under agri-business there are included in this paper the following: (1) pre-farming sector (production of energy sources, mechanisation and chemicals for agrarian sector), (2) agriculture and fishery and (3) post-farming sector (production of food products, beverages, fodder, tobacco and cigarettes).

 ⁷About that academician Miroslav Gli{i} says:" The world has not yet met such disasters, these are unseen damages, caused by chemical effects of bombing. This was confirmed even by numerous samples of  toxic units." (in article of Maric S. J.: Protiv ekoloske katastrofe, p. 16, Dnevnik Novi Sad, May,29, 1999)

 ⁸On importance of ecological consequences of NATO bombing during aggression on FR Yugoslavia very indicatively manifest the titles of articles in e.g. one daily and one periodical newspapers published the same day: Crater in the field (p.5), Unrecorded ecological genocide  (p.8) and Against ecological disaster  (p.16) in "Dnevnik" Novi Sad, May,29, 1999 and Bombs on vine cellar  (p.2),  Detonations decreased milk flow  (p.8) and  Wounding of nature  (p.8) in PKB "Poljoindustrija", May,29, 1999 

 ⁹ American Petrol Institute (API) has published that NATO aviation in aggression against Yugoslavia had used daily 38.4 million litres of kerosene and other petrol derivatives, whereas during combustion of each litre of aeroplane fuel it is going out to atmosphere 15 grams of nitric oxide (in article of Mari} S. J.: Protiv ekoloske katastrofe, p. 16, Dnevnik Novi Sad, May,29, 1999)

 ¹⁰ More about our ecological performances and organic agriculture in the  pre-aggression period see in  Sevarlic M. (1998): Organska poljoprivreda i prateci programi industrije u Jugoslaviji, Savremena poljoprivreda (5-6), Novi Sad, pp. 27-35;  and Sevarlic M. (1999): Ekoloske performanse jugoslovenske poljoprivrede - in  Monograph "Poljoprivreda u tranziciji", Centar za proucavanje alternativa, Belgrade, pp. 83-105.

Ass. professor Dr Zorica Vasiljevic (1955, Kragujevac, Serbia) graduated, made post-graduated studies and MA at Economic Faculty University of Belgrade, while she made her PhD at Agricultural Faculty University of Belgrade. Today she is assistant professor of Calculations and Accounting as well as Economics of Plant Protection. At post-graduated studies of Economic Faculty in Belgrade she is lecturer of Financing of Agriculture and Financial Management in Agribusiness. She is engaged as scientific researcher in the projects of The Institute of Agricultural Economics - Belgrade. She made specialisation and scientific training at LSE (London School of Economic and Political Sciences) - London, in FAO - Rome and at OHIO State University - Columbus. As author or co-author she has published more than 70 publications, whereas the greatest number from economics of investments and economics of food industry.
dimmy@sezampro.yu