University Press (Beaumont, Tex.), Vol. 75, No. 45, Ed. 1 Wednesday, April 28, 1999 Page: 2 of 12
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University Press • Wednesday, April 28,1999 » Page 2
Kosovo-
Continued from page 1
Within three days, he
replied, explaining that it had
taken him awhile because he
was spending Orthodox Easter
with his parents who live out-
side of Belgrade.
First of all, I quickly real-
ized that I had contacted a
Serb who was against Milos-
evic but was pro-Yugoslavia
once the NATO bombing
began. When we started our
correspondence, he explained
the role of the KLA or Kosovo
Liberation Army, which he
opposes. He stated that they
are a terrorist organization
that is funded by drug money.
Also, he said that the United
States supports the KLA and
lies to Americans about cer-
tain aspects of the war. He
admits that his country is no
better than the United States
at propaganda that the two
countries try to indulge in.
“NATO is just a cover for
this operation,” he said. “I am
sure that it is the U.S.’s idea
and I am also convinced that
there are two major reasons
for the use of NATO forces
instead of the U.S. Army.
“First, it would be very dif-
ficult for President Clinton to
find a legal excuse for the
attacks on a sovereign country
in the American Constitution.
Yugoslavia was a threat to no
one but itself.
“We didn’t invade any
country nor did we threaten
any American interests.
Second, involving NATO
practically grants the United
States total support from all
major countries in Europe.”
I asked some questions that
he could have taken offensive-
ly, and I warned him that my
questions would be based on
news reports that I hear.
“I am a bit pissed off by the
media coverage of this war,”
he said. “I am a bit older than
you, and through time, I have
developed a habit of reading
between the lines. Your ques-
tions probably reminded me of
what I read in news net-
works.”
Vladimir is 37 years old and
I am 23.
“Two days ago,” he said,
“the media reported about the
Serbian alleged ability to have
a chemical warfare program. It
does sound scary because it
makes us look like Saddam’s
brother and it justifies the
attack on my country. So what
happens? Last'night, a chemi-
cal plant near Belgrade was hit
and it kept burning all night.
By morning, there was a 10-
mile, semi-poisonous cloud
above my parents’ home and
they spent the whole day
locked in their apartment.
Luckily, it was raining so the
real danger went down with
the rain. Also, we were lucky
that the factory management
had emptied the tanks.
Otherwise, I wouldn’t be here
writing to you. When the fac-
tory works normally, it can
store as much as 20,000 tons of
ammonia. If the storage tanks
were full, NATO officials
would say that they hit a secret
chemical warfare plant, and
we would all be collateral
damage. You will not read
about this in the U.S.”
He takes a hard line against
allowing the United States or
even foreign troops to occupy
Yugoslavian land.
When I asked him what he
thought about the German
proposal to use U.N. troops
instead of NATO troops to
implement peace, he dis-
agreed. However, he did agree
that all the refugees must be
protected, “but only by the
Yugoslav Army and police.”
“The Serbian delegation at
the peace talks in Paris accept-
ed all of the demands of the
Kosovo Albanians except for
foreign armed troops,” he
said. “We could have interna-
tional observers, but unarmed.
The withdrawal of the Yugo-
slav Army from the border is
out of the question. The
refugee crisis is the most horri-
ble thing that has happened
during this madness. If NATO
really wants to solve the
refugee crisis, they should give
Milosovic and Rugova, the
Kosovar Albanian leader, 24
hours to work out an agree-
ment.”
Vladimir said that if the
Serbs and Albanians work out
a deal, no troops are neces-
sary. If they don’t, troops will
not help.
Vladimir and I did agree on
one important idea. We are
both against arming the KLA.
The NATO mission is to bring
peace to that area and provide
foi# the return of refugees to a
peaceful environment. If
NATO opts to arm the
Kosovars, that will only bring
about a further escalation of
the war and it goes against
NATO’s mission.
I offered an analogy that
Vladimir immediately accept-
ed. For instance, let’s pretend
that California is Kosovo.
California begins secession
and establishes a terrorist
army. As a result, the U.S.
government sends in troops.
Although, the troops are there
to keep California, they kill
many Californians. In turn, 19
countries around the world
decide to bomb the U.S.A. and
arm the Californians.
On April 19, Vladimir
wrote, “It is a clear sky tonight
and I expect some bombing, so
I’ll be short.
“We spent the whole day
outside, visiting some friends
all over the city.
“We are OK, considering
the situation. I do my best to
have a normal life, regardless
of the bombing.”
At the time of the e-mail,
Vladimir said that Serb TV-
Belgrade was still on the air
but many relay stations had
been destroyed.
I questioned Vladimir
about the mass graves that
many have seen on Western
media.
“Please don’t misunder-
stand me,” he said. “I do not
think all Serbs are like angels,
but I am sure that the
Yugoslav Army does not go
around raping Albanians and
slaughtering whole villages.
Unfortunately, the Yugoslav
Army is not the only force in
Kosovo.”
Concerning other matters,
he says he does not believe the
three U.S. soldiers held cap-
tive in Belgrade will be put on
trial. He said that Milosovic is
just trying to make Americans
think of possible casualties.
Vladimir believes they will be
home by Christmas.
“There is a joke going
around about a Yugoslav
pilot,” Vladimir said.
“He was shot down by some
NATO plane and he ejected
over a Serbian village. The vil-
lagers caught him and wanted
to kill him. When the pilot
talked to them in Serbian, they
were furious. ‘Look at him,’
they said. ‘He even learned
the language.’”
In case you didn’t get the
point, the Serb villagers
thought that the pilot was an
American who had even
learned the language.
I asked Vladimir if the
Democratic Party of which he
is a member supports ethnic
cleansing.
“No, but they support can-
nibalism of political oppo-
nents,” he joked.
In conclusion, correspond-
ing with Vladimir Aleksic has
been an experience for me.
We certainly do not agree
on everything, but it has been
good for each of us to share
the other’s points of view.
Longview site of burial
Services were held Friday
at First United Methodist
Church for retired education
professor Delmas Lee Hy-
barger.
He died April 18 at St.
Luke Hospital in Houston at
the age of 88.
Graveside services were
held Saturday at Memory
Park Cemetery in Longview
under the direction of Kelley-
Watkins Funeral Home of
Beaumont.
A native of Pineland, he
lived in Beaumont most of his
life and was a World War II
U.S. Merchant Marine veter-
an.
He came to Lamar in
September of 1958 and retired
in May of 1980.
During that time, he taught
practically every course
offered in the School of
Education and Human
Development.
In addition to his duties as a
faculty member, he was spon-
sor of the Pi Kappa Alphas
and was an avid LU baseball
fan, attending every single
game every year until he could
no longer see the ball.
As a young man, he had
played semi-pro baseball.
His two daughters, Dianne
Hybarger Suddeth and Nancy
Hybarger Ledet, were gradu-
ates of Lamar.
His son, Charles Hybarger,
graduated from Texas A&M.
Survivors include Dianne
Suddeth and Charles Hybarg-
er, both of Houston; a sister,
Lois Hybarger Forster of
Longview; and eight grand-
children.
Delmas
Lee
Hybarger
Memorial
Delmas Hybarger dies;
Cardinal University Bookstore
We Want Your Used Books
Cardinal University Bookstore
Conveniently Located 670 E. Virginia at University Drive (Across from the tennis courts)* 839-8855
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Dorman, Billie. University Press (Beaumont, Tex.), Vol. 75, No. 45, Ed. 1 Wednesday, April 28, 1999, newspaper, April 28, 1999; Beaumont, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth500780/m1/2/?rotate=270: accessed June 25, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Lamar University.