Watching PCG's Telecast, Putin Remembers Yugoslavia

Gerald Flurry and his Philadelphia Church of God blame Germany as being responsible for the Yugoslav Wars of 1991-2001. They have said this many times. As part of this campaign to use the terrible suffering of the peoples of the former Yugoslavia to gain more members on March 28, 2014, PCG released a Key of David telecast entitled "Putin Remembers Yugoslavia". This was made shortly after the Crimea seceded from Ukraine. A transcript of it can be read on their website.

Here is the synopsis for the telecast:

Russian President Vladimir Putin has strong views about the recent history of Yugoslavia. He believes his actions in Crimea are no different than the West’s actions in Yugoslavia.

PCG teaches that Germany will arise as an unstoppable military and economic superpower. They also teach that the Pope will be a vital part of this European Empire. To convince people of this doctrine Gerald Flurry and Co. constantly cite the Yugoslav Wars of 1991-2001 and insist that Germany and the Vatican sparked this war by recognizing Slovenia and Croatia as independent states in December 1991.

Philadelphia Trumpet, June 2002

As seen on previous posts this assertion is somewhat flawed considering that Slovenia was already de facto independent after Belgrade's forces withdrew earlier in October 1991 after an armed struggle in June-July 1991.

Also Croatia and the forces of Belgrade had also been fighting for months before December 1991. By December 1991 the Belgrade government had already seized Vukovar from Croatia after a three month siege which killed about 3000 people (August 25-November 18, 1991). All this occurred before December 1991.

But regardless of contrary facts Gerald Flurry continues the cite the Yugoslav Wars in order demonize Germany and the Vatican to assert that they are all powerful menace in order to scare his viewers and readers into giving money to his PCG. PCG members are required to pay three tithes and extra offerings to his PCG. That is how PCG gets an annual income of $19.7 million in 2012.

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The following are some notes I made after watching that episode.

In this telecast Flurry repeatedly states that he is talking about facts, not opinion.

Flurry says that President Putin thinks the collapse of the Soviet Union was the greatest catastrophe of the twentieth century. But, Flurry says, Putin is really angry and upset and enraged at the dissolution of Yugoslavia.

Then Flurry quotes a speech by President Putin justifying the secession of Crimea from Ukraine given on March 18, 2014. Putin cites the precedent of Kosovo seceding from Yugoslavia as a precedent to justify Crimea's declaration of independence (which was later united with Russia).

Quotes Putin as saying America is led by the rule of the gun. (8 minutes.)

Flurry says that the US led the "conquest of Yugoslavia" as he calls it, but says it was Germany that masterminded the secession of Kosovo from behind the scenes. (8 minutes.)

People in America have never, ever looked at the facts about this, "for the most part", he says. (10 minutes.)

So many things were "so mysterious and so absolutely shameful" that many do not want to talk about what really happened to this day. (11 minutes.)

Flurry says that the Serbs were our allies in the first two World Wars. And we bombed them. This obscures the fact many Chetniks collaborated with Nazi aligned forces. A major reason why the West later chose to give aid to the Partisans.

Flurry says, "I can tell you that that rage is still burning in Vladimir Putin." (15 minutes.)

Flurry quotes from an article by Courcy's Intelligence Digest stating that Russia viewed Ukraine as a red line which must not be crossed and arguing that the West should have foreseen that Russia would drastically react to what Russia viewed as Ukraine slipping away to the West and away from Russia. The article criticizes the West for not taking Russia's grievances seriously.

The Key of David episode shows war footage. In one shot a man is running and then there is seen a fighter jet soaring through the sky. Another shot shows a corpse lying on the ground near some vehicles, the head shrouded from view. (16 minutes.) 

Speaking of these troubles Flurry says "it will lead us to World War III and it will have to be stopped by Jesus Christ himself." (16 minutes.)

While quoting the article from Courcy's Intelligence Digest the article states that Russia has been signaling displeasure regarding the Ukraine slipping away from Russia's sphere of influence for a long time. That is what Russia has been signaling. And then Flurry says, "Yes, they have. And we've signaled that more then anyone else." (17 minutes.)

Flurry says "Bible prophecy proves that". (18 minutes.)

Then Flurry shows the June 2002 Philadelphia Trumpet magazine. (Note: Albania was never a part of Yugoslavia as seems to be inaccurately implied on the cover.)

"Although what he did in Crimea was a great crime. But I say to you we've committed a greater one." (20 minutes.)

Says statements saying the Serbs were running concentration camps and were conducting genocide in order "to wipe out whole races" were later discredited and proven to be deceitful lies. (22 minutes.)

Really?

Cites a quote from Romano Prodi saying the Balkans belong to the European Union and insinuates this is being done in rivalry against the United States. (24 minutes.)

Cites Stratfor saying these events surrounding the dissolution of Yugoslavia was the "rebirth of German fascism". (24 minutes.)

25 minutes into the telecast changes to a graphic quoting Flurry's booklet about Yugoslavia accompanied by footage of a female Croatian singing Danke Deutschland.

I was very amused to see that because I have seen that video. It is from a documentary from Slovenia that was released in 1999. Actually that film strongly condemns the extremism embraced by some Serbs in those days and often mocks the self serving words of officials and demagogues and seeks to expose them as dreadfully out of touch with reality. It also showed some brave Serbs who renounced the violence and worked to stop the war during the time of Milošević.

Flurry then says if you don't think that Germany has wider ambitions then "you don't know what's really happening." (25 minutes.)

Flurry mentions the side article "A Nice Gift from NATO". When that article first appeared as an anonymous side article in 1999 it incorrectly claimed Tirana, Albania, was a port. It was reprinted in May 2001 accompanying an article Gareth Fraser. Later someone clearly learned otherwise and in July 2002 it was corrected to say Durrës, and only from this was it attributed to Gerald Flurry. (25 minutes.)

Flurry says the Germans often do not like to talk about these things because "they know how they [the Germans] manipulated the whole world". (26 minutes.)

At the end Gerald Flurry's booklet, Germany's Conquest of the Balkans is offered. That booklet was discussed previously on this blog (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3). Also on on offer is a "documentary DVD" is of an episode of The Trumpet Daily, Germany's Conquest of Europe, hosted by Stephen Flurry. Very likely it will simply reiterate these ideas.

HWA and his imitators have been dogmatically insisting that the Europeans will emerge as a superpower to destroy America since the 1930s. This is a false prophecy. Gerald Flurry's broadcast continues this shameful tradition.

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Here are some other posts regarding the topic of the Yugoslav Wars and how PCG discusses it:

Reading PCG's Booklet, Germany's Conquest of the Balkans (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3)

PCG Using the Yugoslav Wars to Demonize Germany and the Pope

PCG Advertizing Flurry's Yugoslav Wars Booklet

PCG Exploits Yugoslav Wars to Demonize Germany

PCG's Support for Serbia in the Yugoslav Wars

PCG's Ron Fraser Demonizing Bosnia as a "Terrorist Enclave" (2008)

PCG Calls Srebrenica Massacre "a Crime of Passion"

Serb War Criminals Convicted 

[Update: November 21: Although I am reluctant to post this I will do so. Please note that other parts of the video contain graphic war footage. This is the video used in this telecast of a Croatian singer thanking Germany 25 minutes into the telecast. It is a Slovenian documentary regarding the Yugoslav Wars that was first broadcast in 1999. Video (36 minutes, 34 seconds). ]