Yugoslavia

[blindpig]

What really went on? Why?

"The dynamics of Yugoslav disintegration were set in motion, not by the expansionist instincts of the Serbian masses, but by the Western powers, who began competing with each other legally to recognise and give support to one ethnic group against another in the early 1990s. German and EU recognition of Croatia and Slovenia in 1991 was followed by US recognition of Bosnia-Herzegovina in 1992. Granting diplomatic recognition to secessionist groups arbitrarily elevated the wishes of one group of Yugoslavs over those, including the large Serbian minorities scattered throughout the former Yugoslavia, who wanted to remain part of the federation. Thus the stage was set for inter-communal conflict."

snip

"In addition, analysis of Milosevic’s politics yields little evidence of expansionist megalomania. For example, at the key stage of the conflict, Milosevic, isolated and under pressure, was the one most keen to reach a compromise - while the Bosnian Muslim government under Alija Izetbegovic, emboldened by Western backing, broke off various deals. Anyone who bothers to go through Milosevic’s tedious speeches, often cited as instrumental in stoking Serbian nationalism (12), will find them littered with invocations of multi-ethnic harmony. Far from being a messianic demagogue, he was a notoriously wooden orator, more at home with backroom intrigue and opportunism than with mass politics. While Milosevic’s rule in Serbia was sometimes violent and often authoritarian, he was democratically elected, with his powerbase residing among pensioners, the poor working class and the peasantry, who supported his half-hearted upkeep of old-style socialist economic policies, and were stirred by his rhetoric of defending Tito’s Yugoslavia, by defending the interests of the Serbian minorities outside Serbia."

http://www.spiked-online.com/index.php?/site/article/248/

"The vast majority of what passes for analysis of the Yugoslav break-up and wars, and later events such as the establishment of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), is marked by a blatant disregard for either evidence or accuracy. In stark contrast, John Laughland’s excellent book on the ICTY and the trial of Slobodan Milosevic is a powerful critique based upon a detailed analysis of both the procedures and rules governing the ICTY in general, and Milosevic’s trial in particular."

"In order to prosecute Milosevic, the ICTY relied upon a legal principle which it had invented on the hoof, that of ‘joint criminal enterprise’. This concept does not appear in the ICTY statute nor anywhere else, nor even in the original ‘indictments’ of Milosevic. As I have argued previously on spiked, this novel principle essentially allows the ICTY to convict someone in the absence of any evidence whatsoever (2). Although the prosecution had originally issued three ‘indictments’ of Milosevic (regarding Croatia, Bosnia and Kosovo), this was then changed into a sort of ‘super’ indictment. Here, the prosecution attempted to make the political case that Milosevic had orchestrated a vast ‘joint criminal enterprise’, beginning in Croatia and concluding in Kosovo, to create a ‘Greater Serbia’. In keeping with the general ad hoc procedures of the ICTY, this idea of ‘Greater Serbia’ had not featured in the original separate indictments."

http://www.spiked-online.com/index.php?/site/printable/3469/

Justice or expediency, and expedient for who?

Additional reading: http://www.spiked-online.com/index.php?/site/issues/C43/

[blindpig]

1. Balkanisation

"The international community has redefined the most basic categories of political language, emptying the words ‘independence’ and ‘democracy’ of any meaning whatsoever. Ironically, the one word that the international community has restored to its original meaning is the word ‘balkanisation’, the term once used by historians and diplomats to denote the deliberate fragmentation of a region into a number of quasi-independent, mutually hostile statelets. Since the wars of Yugoslav secession ended, Western balkanisation in the region has never been more apparent. None of the peoples of the Balkans will attain any meaningful independence until the international envoys and peacekeepers are sent home."

http://www.spiked-online.com/index.php?/site/article/135/

[LeftishBrit]

2. Just to make one point...

John Laughland is very right-wing on most issues, and in particular has an absolute horror of the Europaean Union (of a similar nature to American righties' horror of the UN). This drives some of his views on Yugoslavia.

[blindpig]

3. Sort of like James Buchanan

Full of despicable crap yet spot on about certain topics. Even a blind pig finds the occasional acorn.

[blindpig]

4. Yugoslav "Opposition" Negotiates Sale of Yugoslavia

Yugoslav 'Opposition' Negotiates Sale of Yugoslavia!
by Michel Chossudovsky and Jared Israel, October 2000

People may not be aware that two prominent members of the Democratic Opposition of Serbia (DOS) just made a very important trip to Bulgaria. They met with representatives of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank and the NATO governments at a so-called "donor conference." The purpose was to set the stage for NATO governments to takeover Yugoslavia.

A "Letter of Intent" includes a "Memorandum on Economic and Financial Policies". This establishes the conditions under which all of Yugoslavia would be put under the control of Western donors and creditors. Only a Yugoslav Finance Minister, selected by Parliament, has a legal right to draft a "Letter of Intent." But Dinkic and Avramovic represent only the so-called "democratic" opposition. In what country is it legal for opposition elements to "negotiate" with enemy countries who finance their movement? This is an extreme act of interference by the NATO countries.
What measures do the NATO countries want to impose?

* End of all government price controls;
* Introduction of "free markets" without any protection for farmers or businesses from dumping of foreign goods;
* End to all social protection. No government help with medical care, transportation , food or heating;
* A freeze on credit to businesses
* Massive layoffs of workers and drastic pay cuts for workers and farmers;
* Forced liquidation of important businesses and industries, public and private
* Any future reconstruction work to correct bombing damage be entrusted to companies from the NATO countries. They would be paid with money Yugoslavia would be forced to borrow from international lenders.

The result of these policies would be: food prices would go fly high; enterprises would be driven into bankruptcy and liquidation; foreign capital would seize the entire economy.

http://emperors-clothes.com/analysis/11.htm

Ain't it great being 'liberators'?

[blindpig]

5. Backing up Globalization with Military Might

"President Bill Clinton recently praised NATO for its campaign in Kosovo saying the alliance could intervene elsewhere in Europe or in Africa to fight repression."We can do it now. We can do it tomorrow, if it is necessary, somewhere else," he told U.S. troops gathered at the Skopje, Macedonia airport.

President Clinton said in a speech delivered the day before his televised address to Americans about Kosovo: "If we’re going to have a strong economic relationship that includes our ability to sell around the world, Europe has got to be a key....That’s what this Kosovo thing is all about."

To achieve maximum profits these transnationals will stop at nothing. After all, they are non-human institutions that must expand through ever-greater profits, or go out of business. In so doing they have shown willingness to violate human rights — particularly workers’ rights — to throw millions out of work, eliminate unions, use sweat-shops and slave labor, destroy the environment, destabilize governments, install or bolster tyrants who oppress, repress, torture and kill with impunity."

http://www.agitprop.org.au/stopnato/20000104globcaus.php

[blindpig]

6. What was George Soros up to?

Claiming they were concerned about controlling air pollution, some 3,000 NATO soldiers stormed a lead smelting plant in Zvecan at 4:30 in the morning of Aug. 14. The plant was the only functioning industry in the vast Trepca mining complex in northern Kosovo, a few miles from the city of Mitrovica.

snip

The Soros group stressed that the takeover should happen before new elections in Yugoslavia so that the opposition could blame Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic for the loss of Trepca. The elections are now six weeks away.

snip

Proving once again that NATO is the military arm to insure primarily U.S. corporate control, the first move after seizing the complex was to turn it over to a consortium of private mining companies. This consortium--ITT Kosovo Ltd.--is a joint venture of U.S., French and Swedish companies.

http://www.iacenter.org/folder04/kosovo_mines2.htm

Bizness as usual.

[blindpig]

7. kick for corporate criminals and their political lackeys n/t