According to Michael Keats, U.N. spokesman, a 900-man, multinational U.N. military unit led by NATO raided a lead smelting plant in Zvecan, a small town north of Kosovska Mitrovica, Yugoslavia, early Monday morning, 14 August. In response, on Tuesday thousands of Serbs marched in protest.

"The mine is our destiny, the foundations of our lives and security and no one has the right to gamble with it," said Oliver Ivanovic, a leader in the Serb half of Kosovska Mitrovica. He spoke to up to 3,000 Serbs who marched through the streets after assembling in their part of the industrial city, 30 miles north of Pristina, Kosovo"s capital. The protest came a day after NATO-led peacekeepers moved in to halt production at the plant, which U.N. officials here say pumps toxic waste into the air.

According to the U.N., the plant was polluting the atmosphere with 200 times the emissions accepted by the World Health Organization (WHO).

Although I'm not for pollution, the first thing that should concern any red-blooded American about this incident is the fact that a privately owned smelting plant was commandered by the United Nations without due process, something our own Constitution requires.

The second thing that should concern us is that very soon the U.N. will redefine it's mission, within the next few weeks in fact. At that time U.N. leaders from across the globe will gather in New York City to create another charter that will give their organization new powers and a mouth full of big teeth.

That leads us to the third concern. What will happen to the United States' Constitution, which obviously is light years ahead of what the U.N. has or intends for the future, so far as "real" human rights goes? Quite obviously they do not define "human rights" like we do in this country, otherwise this privately owned plant would still be in operation and forced to either incrementally limit their emissions or stop production.

In Closing

Didn't manufacturing here in the U.S. go through the process of cleaning up their emissions a few decades ago? Were they not afforded an opportunity to retool over a period of time? Why was this smelting plant in Yugoslavia not given the same opportunity? Where they offered that opportunity? It would be interesting to find out.

Given the fact that the U.N. has openly stated that they should have jurisdiction over all nations and citizens, regardless of a nation's belief in sovereignty, the events now taking place in Bosnia and Kosovo should concern all Americans, especially since one of the things that the U.N. deligates will do at this early September meeting is to increase their global goverance powers.

Why should this concern you? If the U.N. is willing to use military force to commandeer a smelting plant because of alleged pullution before this meeting takes place, then how much more will they be capable of after the new charter is formed?

Frankly, if all this does not concern America as a whole, then it would seem that there is little hope for us. If you care to share your opinion with me, I'd consider it an honor to hear it.

Al Colombo
abcolombo@yahoo.com