Co-editors: Seán Mac Mathúna • John Heathcote
Consulting editor: Themistocles Hoetis
Field Correspondent: Allen Houglande-mail: thefantompowa@fantompowa.org
The
International Commission on Holocaust Era Insurance
Claims The
Vatican and Francisan order are sued in the
USA Vatican
accused of war crimes in the Ukraine BosniaCoverUp.Com:
Internet News Service reporting on the untold and hidden
agenda at Medjugorje I want to thank you for
inviting me to speak today it is an honor. I am attorney
Jonathan Levy and I am here today to share with you some
news about lawsuits effecting Serbs. As you all know more
than sixty years ago, a tragedy began unfolding in
Yugoslavia that has resulted in untold suffering that
continues until the present day. I am referring of course to
the Ustashe perpetrated genocide against the Serbs. I am one
of the attorneys working on the class action lawsuit called
Alperin v. Vatican Bank. The plaintiffs, those
individuals bringing the lawsuit, number 28 people and
organizations, Serbs, Jews, and Ukrainians. The plaintiffs
are concentration camp survivors, people who lost their
parents and grandparents to the Ustashe terror, and four
organizations. The subject matter is the immense amount of
property, money, gold, land, factories, and other loot
stolen by the Ustashe and their Independent State of Croatia
between 1941 and 1945 and unaccounted for until now. We are
suing the Vatican Bank, Franciscan order, Croatian
Liberation Movement, and the Swiss National bank. In a
related action we are suing the CIA and American Army for
access to their records about this affair. Only in 1998, did the full
story of how the Vatican and several banks conspired to keep
the Ustashe movement and its leaders safe and alive after
WWII become public knowledge. Incredibly the source of the
information was the US State department. Permit me to
explain: The Ustashe movement stole
immense wealth from its victims. The genocide in Croatia and
Bosnia against Serbs was not only the most barbaric of the
century but had a profit motive. The war criminals Pavelic,
Artukovic, and many others made sure that Serb property was
seized right down to the gold teeth and wedding rings of
concentration camp victims at Jasneovac. As the war was
winding down, the Ustashe financial apparatus was gearing
up. Top Ustashe were positioned in Rome and Switzerland,
bank accounts were opened with the Swiss National
Bank. As Zagreb was liberated,
Pavelic and his retinue fled to Austria with an immense
treasure, gold, silver, jewels, and currency worth tens of
millions. Other Ustashe reached Italy where help from the
Franciscan order was waiting in the form of safe houses,
forged papers, and money. Pavelic struck a deal with the
British, money changed hands, and the killer of 700,000
Serbs, Jews, and Gypsies became an honored guest at the
Vatican, was chauffeured around Rome in a car with Vatican
diplomatic license plates and lived safely in his own
compound with Ustashe guards attending to his personal
security. The Ustashe were masters of
smuggling, secret codes, and financial dealings, experience
gained from their terrorist activities in the 1930's and the
assassination of King Alexander. Almost immediately, the
Ustashe with the help of their Franciscan and Vatican
sponsors, were reconstituted. While bands of Krizari took to
the hills of Yugoslavia and continued to kill Serbs, a bold
plan was formulated to make a move to South America to avoid
the justice of the war crimes tribunals. To fuel this mass migration of
war criminals, the Ustasha loot was banked and laundered by
the Vatican bank and cooperative Swiss banks. The banks were
only too willing to profit in cash poor Europe and soon
Pavelic was the toast of Buenos Aires and confidant of Juan
Peron, the Argentine president, Artukovic was living openly
in California with the help of the Archdiocese of Los
Angeles and the Knights of Columbus, and other Ustashe
killers were enjoying villas in Spain and safe houses in
Rome. We know all this because
American intelligence records in our possession document
this travesty, including transfers of gold from Switzerland
to Argentina. But as I said earlier, there are other records
still hidden from public view supposedly for reasons of
national security and these records we believe tell why the
Ustashe went unpunished for their crimes and the services
they provided for British, American, and Vatican
intelligence agencies in exchange for their freedom of
movement. Pavelic and his Ustashe grew so
bold that the greatest unpunished war criminal openly
declared the reestablishment of the Ustashe. An organization
called HOP was founded in 1956 in Buenos Aires with Pavelic
at its head and chapters throughout South America, Canada,
America, and Western Europe, and sympathizers as far away as
Beirut, Lebanon. The HOP and its terrorist cells launched a
new wave of genocide, bombings, hijackings, and murders all
bought and paid for with Serb victim money. Documents
obtained from FBI indicate the Ustashe terror reached the
United States and Canada with HOP world headquarters being
for a time here in Toronto. Since World War II, the
genocide of Serbs has been covered up; the conspiracy of the
Vatican and Croatia against the Serbs has gone unexposed for
political reasons. We want to reverse the process, the world
must know that not only Jews and Gypsies were massacred on
account of their religion during the Holocaust, 700,000
Serbs also perished, other Serbs were forcibly deported and
despoiled and hundreds of thousands converted to Roman
Catholicism at gunpoint. And this was just the beginning,
postwar the HOP kept up the terror, the Franciscans
continued to nurture anti Serbian hate, at their
strongholds, and used religious fanaticism at
Medjugorje
to reignite the old hatreds. The net result was more
genocide in Bosnia and Kraijina in the 1990's. As for the
HOP, they crept back to Croatia from Toronto and South
America, assuming positions of power in the Croatian
bureaucracy; it was no surprise that Pavelic's son-in-law
was their recent leader and enjoyed a diplomatic post at the
Croatian embassy in Rome. We seek justice and truth
through the legal system. Why has this tragedy gone
unpunished and unaddressed for so long? Why has justice been
delayed and the world so unaware the Serbs' plight? Politics
of course is responsible for some of this and a previously
uncooperative court system that took over 30 years to
extradite the war criminal Artukovic criminal to Yugoslavia
from the USA accounts for the lack of legal remedy. But now
there has been a change. Recent court rulings against
the Swiss, Austrian, and French banks and German
corporations have resulted in billions of dollars being made
available for some Holocaust survivors. The powerful Jewish
organizations and their political allies have changed the
laws; the banks and corporations that profited at the
expense of genocide must finally pay the victims and their
heirs. You may note, I said some
Holocaust survivors. Sadly, Serbs were again left out,
perhaps omitted purposely or forgotten by such "honest
brokers" as the US State Department and World Jewish
organizations. Nonetheless, the court precedents have been
established, those organizations that profited from genocide
may be punished financially, their assets taken, and the
victims compensated. This is what we hope to do to the
mighty Vatican and Swiss Banks, the Franciscans order, and
the Ustashe, make them pay the victims of their
crimes. I am pleased to report to you
that the Vatican Bank, Franciscan Order, and HOP have all
been served court papers. The Franciscans and Vatican Bank
attorneys have filed preliminary responses with an
all-important court hearing set for later this year on
whether the court may assume jurisdiction over these
entities. We think the Vatican and Franciscans will be
surprised at the outcome, an American court may finally sit
in judgment over the bloody misdeeds of the Ustashe and the
Franciscans. HOP has already defaulted by filing no
response; we are investigating their assets and will begin
procedures to confiscate their property for victim
compensation when it is located. We are in the process of
serving the Swiss National Bank through a complex
international judicial proceeding and have expanded that
action to include Serbs who had property looted by the
Germans also. There are yet other potential
sources of restitution that Serbs must be made aware of. The
German Slave settlement includes Serbs but there will be no
payment unless individual claims are filed. I challenge the
SUC to get involved in this process, Serbs need a firm hand
lobbying on their behalf, otherwise they will be virtually
excluded as they were from the original Swiss Bank
settlement. There is another matter of
urgent importance to all war victims from Novi Sad and its
environs. The Hungarians occupied Vojvodina during the
second World War and atrocities were committed against
Serbs. As with all the Nazi allies, property was looted.
After the war, the American Army captured a Hungarian
treasure train. The Americans expropriated some of the
property for their own use, much disappeared, and the
rightful owners were never contacted. A preliminary report
by the American government confirms this. Some of the
property on this train obviously originated in
Vojvodina. Serbs must organize and make a
claim to their portion of this loot. It is unrealistic to
expect the American government, which so recently has
dropped bombs on Novi Sad, will put itself out to help Serb
victims. A report is due out later this year and the period
to file claims will be short. It is time to begin addressing
past wrongs and seeking recompense before it is too
late. We are not just talking to
ourselves here. The world is listening. The Vatican bank
case has been featured in Swiss, Canadian, Australian, South
African and Yugoslav newspapers, I have been contacted by
reporters from CBS, Business Week, the London Times, Los
Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune and Reuters to name a few.
None of these journalists knew the full extent of the
Ustashe genocide until I told them about it. Even those
reporters who have worked in Bosnia had only a vague idea
about what happened at Jasenovac until I provided the facts.
We have a webpage www.vaticanbankclaims.com,
it averages a fifty to a hundred visitors per day, many of
these people are learning about the Ustashe genocide for the
first time. There is a chance now not only
to help the elderly survivors who desperately want closure
of this case within their lifetimes but together we can
reverse false impressions about Serbs in general. The questions we seek answers
to will help to exonerate the Serbs in the arena of public
opinion. We are seeking not only restitution but also
answers. Why did Ante Pavelic go unpunished? Why did the
Usatshe keep their wealth? What was the role of the Vatican,
the Swiss banks, the Franciscans, and even American and
British intelligence agencies? If these questions are
answered and the truth publicized by the media, intelligent
people everywhere will soon understand the tragedies in
Bosnia, Kosovo, and Kraijina were part of scenario of
genocide in which the Serbs were not the aggressors but the
victims. Lastly, I ask for your help.
The Vatican bank lawsuit cannot succeed without the support
of the Serb community. These 28 plaintiffs have risked more
than their names in taking on the Ustashe who today are
still a force to be reckoned with. Accusing the Vatican of
genocide is not an insubstantial act. Think of these
plaintiffs some of whom are in their eighties who have done
this, the least you can do is show solidarity. For example,
Milosh Milenkovic, when he heard of this case, contacted me
and asked to help in anyway he could, we of course were
delighted to add him to the legal team where he has been
invaluable asset. Of course not everyone is a
lawyer like Milosh but we need help: We need to hear from anyone who
has information about these atrocities or has relevant
documents; We need to hear from anyone who is a potential
claimant, that is someone who suffered a loss or is a
descendent of someone who suffered a loss of property,
freedom or life due to the actions the Ustashe, Germans,
Hungarians or their allies; And we need to hear from those
who want to show moral or financial support. Please contact Milosh
Milenkovich or myself. Above all tell everyone about this
lawsuit and our web page www.vaticanbankclaims.com. I also hope the Serbian Unity
Congress will join these efforts as one of the foremost
plaintiffs. Do not underestimate your voice; you speak for
Serbs everywhere and especially in North America, with your
support and participation, representation of Serbs in these
matters will be assured. The battle against the Vatican,
Franciscans and Swiss banks with assets of billions of
dollars will be by no means easy but we have assets of our
own, worth more than money, tenacity and a desire for the
truth. We have been fighting the defendants for close to a
year and with your support hope to win soon. Thank you Jonathan Levy is a California
attorney who has represented organizations and individuals
in a variety of Holocaust related lawsuits including
banking, insurance, and slave labor matters. He can be
contacted at: The Law Office of Thomas Dewey
Easton and Jonathan H. Levy, PO Box 6080, Cincinnati OH
45206, USA Tel: (513) 528-0586 E-mail: resistk@yahoo.com
Restitution & justice for concentration camp survivors
of Serb, Jewish, and Ukrainian background and their
relatives
Speech to Serbian Unity
Congress 11th Annual Convention, October 6th, 2000, Toronto,
Canada
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