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March
1, 2001
Surreal
Realm
When
studying a region in such a degree of flux as the Balkans,
one must be careful not to make claims and generalizations
that bear a likelihood of coming back to haunt their author
in but a short time. Nevertheless, there seem to be two axioms
about the Balkans that prove themselves wrong much less often
than others; the first is that no one there is exactly what
they appear to be. The second, somewhat more general, is that
the more things change, the more they stay the same.
Though
seemingly tautologies without any practical use, these two
axioms have repeatedly shown how in the Balkans, the most
impossible things can happen on a routine basis, and – conversely
– how the most logical thoughts and actions can be presented
as the most irrational. Stories even Hollywood producers would
junk within seconds, should someone try to pitch them as movie
ideas, have no problem becoming unquestioned reality in the
Balkans.
LAND
OF LAW
Thus
the Yugoslav and Serbian authorities can vow to uphold the
rule of law, then pass an amnesty
law that grants pardons to members of the KLA, convicted
of terrorism by the previous government, as well as some 30,000
young men who refused to serve in their country’s military.
Much
like the notorious "Hague Tribunal," which convicts,
arrests and then holds a trial, the new authorities
have jailed the former head of Serbian state security, Rade
Markovic. He is allegedly behind the failed assassination
of Vuk Draskovic – a washed-up politician who quit his government
position in the middle of the 1999 NATO attack – and Slavko
Curuvija, a newspaper publisher gunned down during the war
on a Belgrade street. Another jailed official of the Milosevic
era is the CEO of Serbian state television, RTS. During her
ignominious visit to Belgrade, Carla Del Ponte’s accused former
President Milosevic of knowing that the RTS would be targeted
by NATO and sacrificing the people who were working inside.
Though she promised evidence to back that up, none have appeared
so far. But the new government quickly
jailed the former RTS CEO, Dragoljub Milanovic, and charged
him of neglecting to evacuate employees despite the credible
threat of NATO strikes.
The
case against both men is founded on circumstantial evidence
at best; both have been jailed for thirty days without charges,
while their prosecutors gather evidence. Not to mention that
prosecuting Milanovic for not evacuating his employees renders
meaningless the argument that RTS was a civilian establishment
and hence not a legitimate target of NATO bombers to begin
with – in the process trying to shift the blame from those
bombers, which Serbian justice cannot reach, to someone close
to the previous government and thus much more accessible and
vulnerable.
Another
example of this fascinating psychological phenomenon – self-destructive
transference/projection of frustration – is the statement
of Serbia’s PM Zoran Djindjic. This unabashed champion of
everything Western termed "something
we can talk about" the "suggestion" of
NATO’s secretary-general that Serbia should "rotate out"
the Third Army units from their positions facing the Albanian
militants, since those units were involved in "ethnic
cleansing in Kosovo." Not only are the bombers of yesteryear
and occupiers of today not the enemy any more, they actually
get to decide which units the Yugoslav Army can deploy and
where! And Djindjic doesn’t even command the Yugoslav Army…
MARVELS
OF REVOLUTIONARY LOGIC
The
remarkable properties of Balkan logic also mean that the leaders
of Serbia and Yugoslavia – not really sure themselves about
who runs what these days – can say that they are determined
to defend their country’s integrity, but still accept NATO’s
occupation of Kosovo, refrain from crushing the armed rebellion
in the supposedly demilitarized border zone, and agree to
negotiate with people they consider terrorists, all the while
asking
NATO to help them solve the problem its occupation helped
create!
With
that in mind, it seems perfectly normal to proceed with the
plans to negotiate a settlement with people who have no interest
in negotiations.
WAR
IS PEACE
Albanian
militants, namely, continue insisting on independence. Cheered
on by friendly reporters, such as those of the Toronto
Star, they have escalated their attacks. They are
very interested in negotiating with the Serbs, so much that
they actually ambushed
the head negotiator. There is no sign here that they are
paying any attention to the supposed lack of support and stern
condemnations from NATO capitals.
To
make matters even more complicated, their brethren from Kosovo
and Macedonia actually clashed
with Macedonian police this weekend, amidst reports of another
militant "liberation
army" budding in the mountains of Western Macedonia.
As Yugoslavia and Greece make deals with the Macedonian government
about that country’s borders and name, Albanians may be making
an attempt
to grab half of Macedonia for themselves!
Nonsense,
comments Arben Xhaferi, the most influential leader of Macedonian
Albanians and a partner in that country’s coalition government,
"Albanians are not interested in destabilizing
the situation." Either Mr. Xhaferi considers current
events to be the very paragon of stability, or he is flat-out
lying.
NEBULOUS
AND NEFARIOUS
Belgrade
is not the only actor in the region acting completely irrationally,
though. NATO has been sending mixed signals and contradicting
messages for a week since the brutal murder of a busload of
Serbs in Kosovo. Despite all the communiqués and statements
from Brussels, and Lord Robertson’s unusual
eloquence, no one really knows whether NATO plans to narrow
the width or the length
of the "ground safety zone" (the latter would effectively
change nothing). While the normally hawkish British muse about
fighting
the Albanian militants and accuse them of fighting a
war of race hatred, the top US political officer in KFOR
laid out a scenario under which NATO would be provoked to
attack – the Serbs!
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