(Fwd) Yugoslav dealer exported equipment to Iraq

[Ivo Skoric]

There is nothing new in the fact that Yugoslavia and Iraq had 
economic and military ties - Yugoslavia virtually built the entire Iraqi 
civilian and military infrastructure during Tito's years (and with the 
US blessing), and Milosevic continued friendly ties with Saddam, 
repairing his equipment when neither Russians nor Americans 
would do so. But the "new Serbia" explicitly alleged that they had 
broken ties with Saddam - this story testifies otherwise. Of course, 
the factory is located in Bjeljina, which is not in Serbia, but in 
internationally run Bosnia, immune to sanctions...
ivo

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      Yugoslav dealer exported equipment to Iraq 
      22/10/2002 - 4:49:20 pm 

      A Yugoslav weapons dealer has exported military equipment to Iraq, and 
Serb experts are helping Saddam Hussein defend air space against US attacks, 
it was claimed today.

      A top Yugoslav military official said that during a recent Nato 
inspection of a Bosnian Serb military factory in Bijeljina, 60 miles west of 
Belgrade, several documents were discovered linking the company and a major 
Yugoslav arms manufacturer, Yugoimport, with arms exports to Iraq.

      A spokesman for the Nato-led peacekeeping force in Bosnia, Lieutenant 
Commander Yves Vanier, admitted that the Western military alliance �did find 
something very significant.�

      Vanier said a preliminary inspection of the Orao (Eagle) factory 
uncovered the existence of a contract linking the factory to an “unreported 
export of weapons systems.�

      The UN Security Council imposed a strict embargo on Iraq after it 
invaded neighbouring Kuwait in 1990 and fired Scud missiles at Israel and 
Saudi Arabia during the 1991 Gulf War.

      Under the sanctions regime, all sales to Iraq must be approved by the 
United Nations and paid for through an escrow account which controls the 
proceeds from Iraqi oil sales.

      The sanctions cannot be lifted until weapons inspectors certify that 
Iraq is free of weapons of mass destruction. Countries violating the embargo 
could face punitive UN sanctions.

      The Yugoslav Defence Ministry said it had not approved the export of 
arms to Iraq and that it would investigate the alleged breach of the UN arms 
embargo and “undertake measures against possible culprits.�

      The Orao company, based in an eastern region of Bosnia controlled by 
Serbs, produces and exports aircraft engine parts, including parts for 
Russian-built MiG jets, and tools that can be used in the air defence and 
military industry. It also acts as a training centre for ground crews 
maintaining military installations.

      According to the Belgrade newspaper Blic, which first reported the 
findings today, Nato inspectors discovered Yugoimport’s documents.

      According to that report, the documents indicate that an unspecified 
number of Yugoslav experts are currently tasked with installing the equipment 
at an undisclosed Iraqi military facility.

      A high-ranking Yugoslav military official confirmed the report and said 
that Yugoimport �acted as an intermediary between Orao and the Iraqi 
government.�

      “Orao did not have contacts in Iraq, so they approached Yugoimport,� 
he said.

      Yugoimport, this Balkan country’s major arms dealer, enjoys a virtual 
monopoly in the export and import of arms. It is known for having had close 
links with Saddam’s regime during the 1990s.

      According to the official, Yugoimport has also exported to Iraq “a 
number of machines and calibration instruments suitable for use in the 
aviation industry.�

      Yugoimport denied the Blic report in a statement, but added “it is 
possible� that some Serbs have been involved in “a private business venture� 
with Iraq in the name of Yugoimport.

      The documents uncovered by Nato also allegedly indicate that in the 
case of a UN inspection, Yugoslav experts currently in Iraq would dismantle 
the equipment within 10 days, and that the Iraqis would be expected to hide 
it until the inspectors are gone, Blic said.

      Former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic, now on trial at the UN 
war crimes tribunal in The Hague, allied himself with the Iraqi president. 
But Kostunica said the country has since severed those links.

      British and local media have alleged that Yugoslav radar and weapons 
systems experts were using their experience from the 1999 Nato air war 
against Yugoslavia to help Iraq upgrade its air force.

      The Yugoslav air force protected military targets in Kosovo and shot 
down two US aircraft, including an F-117 Nighthawk, the world’s first 
operational “stealth� attack plane.

      Under Milosevic, Yugoslavia maintained close military links with 
Saddam’s regime, servicing Iraqi air force MiG jets near Belgrade and taking 
part in the construction of Iraqi military facilities, including bunkers in 
presidential palaces in Baghdad.

      The Yugoslav army earlier this month said it had discontinued providing 
military aid to Baghdad, saying it hoped to forge closer ties with Nato.