It's All Business....

Under President Milosevic, Zastava was the last independent car manufacturer in the Balkans.
In 1999, workers formed a human cordon to protect their factory- but that still didn't stop the NATO bombers from carrying out their 'humanitarian mission' to destroy the socially-owned enterprise. Six years on, and Zastava is now teaming up with the U.S. industrial-military complex. What a surprise! 'Wars, conflict, it's all business', sighs Monsieur Verdoux, the eponymous anti-hero of Chaplin's 1947 classic. When one considers developments at Zastava, the privatisation of the lucrative Trepca mining complex in Kosovo, and the way U.S. multinationals have asset-stripped Iraq- how could any sane, objective individual possibly disagree?



ZASTAVA: Serbian weapons maker signs agreement with US company
Xinhua
October 21, 2005
Serbian weapons maker Zastava Oruzje on Tuesday signed the first commercial agreement with a US company for the sale of its products on the US market during the forthcoming year.
The agreement, worth 3.2 million US dollars, was signed in Kragujevac, a major city located 140 km southeast of Belgrade, where Zastava Oruzje is based, the official Tanjug news agency reported.
According to the agreement with US arms manufacturer Remington,24,000 carbine and small-calibre units will be placed on the US market, but the carbines will be delivered without butts and with the label, "Remington-Zastava."
The agreement also includes the marketing of Zastava's sports weapons, the joint development of new models of weapons, exchange of experiences, and the introduction of technical and technological innovations.
Trade Attache at the US embassy in Belgrade, Maria Andrew, said that she was very proud that one of the oldest American companies was cooperating with an enterprise from Serbia-Montenegro.
Zastava Oruzje was founded 152 years ago, and Remington 189 years ago and the two companies should set an example to other companies both in Serbia-Montenegro and the US, Andrew said.
Serbian Minister of Capital Investments Velimir Ilic said thathe was very satisfied the Kragujevac plant signed its first contract with a foreign partner, especially as the partner is a USproducer of weapons.
"It is very important that we have created a platform of safety and stability at Zastava Oruzje, so that now our plant can appear on the market with the largest producers of weapons in theworld," Ilic said.