Monday, July 21, 2008

Breaking News: Karadzic Captured, Arkan-Vitol-Duncan



The breaking BBC Story is as follows:

Serbia captures fugitive Karadzic
Radovan Karadzic is one of the world's most wanted men
Bosnian Serb war crimes suspect Radovan Karadzic, one of the world's most wanted men, has been arrested in Serbia after more than a decade.
He has been brought before Belgrade's war crimes court, in accordance with a law on cooperation the Hague Tribunal, the Serbian presidency said.
The Bosnian Serb wartime political leader disappeared in 1996.
He had been indicted by the UN tribunal for war crimes and genocide over the 1995 massacre at Srebrenica.
His wartime military leader, Ratko Mladic, remains at large.
"Radovan Karadzic was located and arrested tonight" by Serbian security officers, a statement by the office of President Boris Tadic said, without giving details.
"Karadzic was brought to the investigative judge of the War Crimes Court in Belgrade, in accordance with the law on cooperation with the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia."

Oily Duncan's old Shell pal and current office benefactor Ian Taylor's company Vitol has quite a number of links with Serbia. Including giving $1 million to Arkan (above, with Karadzic) for his assistance in doing the do, which million dollars presumably went on weapons and mercenaries, and also mentioned in dispatches in these stories from OHR International (below).


It was as long ago as 2001 - shortly after Duncan's fellow Vitol-connected-sponsoree-and-dog-of-war Arkan's funeral that The Guardian the Observer ran this report which included these paragraphs:

The other senior politician being dragged into the action is the Tory, Alan Duncan, whom Moussavi intends to call as a witness. Duncan, former Tory vice-chairman and a supporter of Michael Portillo, was a paid consultant to Vitol in the early 1990s. He worked with Vitol's president, Ian Taylor, at Shell and remains a close friend.
Duncan, a millionaire, made part of his fortune by brokering a deal between Vitol and Pakistan during the Gulf war. Duncan's company, Harcourt Consultants, continued to do work for Vitol in Pakistan until four years ago.
Moussavi said: 'It is was well known within Vitol how important Duncan was, particularly in Pakistan. I want him as a senior political figure to come to court and explain on oath how the company goes about its business.'
There is no suggestion that Duncan knew about, or was involved in, any deal with Serbia or Iran, and he is furious that Moussavi is determined to drag his name into the court action.
Speaking to The Observer, Duncan said: 'Vitol is a well-respected oil-trading company. I am irrelevant to any dispute they may have with someone else.'

The nasty white supremacist organisation/website Stormfront saw an Arkan obit with normally well-balanced white supremacists falling out about how fascist Duncan's fellow Vitol-friend and Karadzic friend wild horse Arkan actually was.

Clearly the "well-respected oil-trading company" Vitol, which owns a goodly stake in Arawak Energy in which Oily Duncan has recently declared a remunerated Directorship, and whose long time Oily pal and President/CEO Ian Taylor has been a benefactor of Oily's office, via CCHQ, have not rested on their laurels in dealing with the arguable fascist and definite war-criminal Arkan.

They have also got deep down and dirty in Iran, and Iraq, and Rwanda, and Indonesia, and Nigeria and pretty much everywhere that the ask-me-no-questions-and-I'll-tell-you-no-lies money brigade do the do.

UPDATE Tuesday 10:42: For the avoidance of any doubt; I am not suggesting that the deceased fascist war criminal Arkan and the alive-and-kicking conservative shadow oil minister Oily Duncan have anything in common politically. Their brotherhood, now sadly parted in death, simply involved both receiving Vitol or Vitol Pres/CEO support for the running of their respective offices. Oily also disinguishing himself from the fascist war criminal Arkan by holding a remunerated directorship in a Vitol-related company Arawak Energy Limited which is largely connected to Russia and the former Soviet Union. As far as we know Arkan never held such a post in any Vitol vehicle. Oily himself is particularly renowned for connections with Oman and with Pakistan and the first Gulf War and may have no connection whatsoever with Serbia and FYR.

3 comments:

Bob Piper said...

...falling out about how fascist Duncan's fellow Vitol-friend...

Phew... a quick mis-reading there, I thought you were casting aspersions on wee oily Al.

Chris Paul said...

Heaven forfend Bob! Arkan the fascist and Alan the conservative have nothing whatsoever in common politically ... apart from receiving donations from Vitol or Vitol Pres and CEO towards the running of their respective offices.

Oily has far more Vitol shared interests in Oman and Pakistan that he has or had in Serbia. As far as I know.

tory boys never grow up said...

Worth exploring Duncan's links with Marc Rich who was involved in oil trading with the former Soviet Union - in the days when the oligarchs were just plain thieves. I suspect that many of the oligarchs were linked with Serbia as a means of making oil exports without too many questions being asked. Also interesting to know if old Douglas Hurd's business connections with Milosevic were of any relevance.