http://www.antiwar.com/malic/m-col.html
ANTIWAR, Thursday, July 3, 2003
Balkan Express
by Nebojsa Malic
Antiwar.com
Liars, Halfwits, Inquisitors and Thieves
A Balkans Tragedy in Four Scenes
None of the events or statements that follow should come as a surprise.
What is surprising is the lack of reaction by their victims, or those
who unwittingly support the perpetrators. As with everything, the
ongoing Balkans drama will have consequences yet impossible to foresee.
Ancient Greeks used to say, "Whom gods would destroy, they first make
mad." Throughout the former Yugoslav federation, madness and
destruction ride together. For those who have to deal with the wreckage
in their wake, tragedy is not an artistic term. It is life.
I: Whitewashing the KLA
Between the ongoing process of debunking the lies about Kosovo and the
May proclamation that the most recent incarnation of the KLA was a
terrorist organization, it was only a matter of time before the
professional apologists for the "Kosovo Liberation Army" and its cause
would strike back.
Last week, AFP ran a story about Albanian "tolerance" in Obilic, a town
where last month an entire Serb family was murdered in the middle of
the night. Brimming with official KLA propaganda, rehearsed platitudes
and deliberate misquotes, the unsigned article stands out from the
usual AFP fare.
So "informative" is the article, it fails to mention that Albanians
renamed the town "Kastriota" after a medieval Albanian prince, since
Obilic is the name of the Serb knight who killed Sultan Murad in the
1389 battle of Kosovo. Tolerance, indeed.
On Monday, the noxious London IWPR published a lengthy report on
"necessary reforms" in the Kosovo Protection Corps, one of the KLA's
heirs. It was co-written by an editor of Koha Ditore, a flagship
Pristina newspaper whose racist Serbophobic screeds have become so
routine they don't faze even the Imperial censors. As a result, the
IWPR report whitewashes the KPC and KLA involvement in terrorist
activities, and chooses to vilify the FARK militia organized by Ibrahim
Rugova's faction. If in some places it reads like a glorified history
of the KLA, that's because it is. Only a few paragraphs amidst the
paeans to "liberation from the Serbs" deal with murders and mayhem the
KLA and KPC have perpetrated over the years, and even then with
considerable circumspection.
Meanwhile, Kosovo's outgoing Imperial viceroy had to rescue former KLA
fuehrer Hashim Taqi, who was arrested in Hungary on an outstanding
criminal warrant. Hungarian police ended up playing catch-and-release,
since Taqi has friends in infernal places. The warrant for his arrest
was dismissed as "issued by the Milosevic government," but nowhere does
it say that the change of government means people accused of murder get
a free pass. But if the person in question is Empire's golden boy, who
cares about such trifles as the law?
II: Build A Better Nation?
An opinion piece in Tuesday's Christian Science Monitor purports to
criticize the nation-building in Bosnia: namely, it claims there isn't
nearly enough of it, and that more is needed. The author, Sara Terry,
exemplifies the ill-informed Westerner who attempts to pontificate on
Balkans issues but only manages to sound embarrassing.
For example, she classifies Bosnians by religion, indicating her belief
in the "Bosnian" nation of three different faiths. That such a nation
has been shown as mythical as the unicorn is a bothersome fact Ms.
Terry is either unaware of, or chooses to ignore.
Another ignorant claim is that the Bosnian Serbs, "incited by
neighboring Serbia, had tried to take over the entire country, or at
least to split it with Croatia." No one needed any more incitement than
Izetbegovic's oath-breaking declaration of independence in April 1992,
or what is written in his 1971 "Islamic Declaration." No one (until
now, that is) has ever accused the Serbs of trying to take over the
entire country; not even Izetbegovic could tell such an obvious
whopper. As for the split with Croatia, she'd really need to ask
Izetbegovic, because he invited Croatian troops in as early as 1992.
Terry's clumsy attempt to compare Bosnia's entities with American
states reveals not so much her ignorance of Bosnia as of the United
States, for unlike Bosnia's entities (or Bosnia itself, for that
matter), the original 13 states were truly sovereign and independent at
one time.
Over seven years since Dayton, and delusions still persist.
III: "Bring me the head of Radovan Karadzic!"
This past weekend, the Hague Harpy Carla delPonte screeched on the
pages of the New York Times an appropriate venue for her opinions, by
the way - that the very fabric of the universe would unravel if the
Serbs did not turn over Radovan Karadzic and General Ratko Mladic to
her gentle ministrations.
Not seizing the wartime political and military leader of the Bosnian
Serb Republic, the High Inquisitor hectored, would "send a signal to
other, similar nationalist leaders that the world does not mean what
it says when it comes to international justice."
There is a unified World? And it speaks with one voice? Isn't there
supposed to be a memo about these things!? Far more likely that
DelPonte is suffering from delusions of grandeur, presuming to speak
for the imaginary World even though she is but a lowly flunky of the
Empire. Why, even the Empire is trying to limit its exposure to the
toxic morass that is the Inquisition: two weeks ago, American lawyers
were banned from representing clients before the ICTY.
That the High Inquisitor speaks of "international justice" even as
naked aggression goes unpunished such as, say, in Kosovo or Iraq
means she really doesn't care for the concept those words represent.
The only greater glory she aspires to lies in falsifying history.
IV: Kleptocrats Unleashed
Every government is by definition a kleptocracy, i.e. the governing
steal the property of the governed. But there are few places in the
world where this arrangement is so glaringly obvious, and yet tolerated
by the victims, as in Serbia.
The DOS government is implementing a World Bank/IMF-backed plan to
"stimulate" the economy by fraudulently selling plundered property to
foreign investors while taxing the air out of entrepreneurs. This is
not only irrational and against all economic sense, it's downright
criminal. Yet the workers who recently took to the streets in Belgrade
did not seek to end government abuses, but demanded that it "fix"
things.
Every day, the public finds out more about the government's complicity
in the sugar-exporting scam that skimmed off millions from EU import
subsidies into the pockets of government-connected "businessmen." The
high degree of government control over every aspect of life guarantees
that the scam was organized, not merely assisted, by the DOS regime.
Steeped in disdain for wishes or values of the people they rule, the
Dossies haven't yet seen a social engineering program they didn't like.
Another of their recent schemes is dismantling the military to levels
acceptable to NATO officials, for the purpose of becoming a "partner"
of the Alliance.
It isn't very libertarian to oppose the dismantling of standing armies,
but since the Serbian government enforces strict gun control amongst
the common folk, there is no one to pick up the slack. From Biblical
times to the present, a government's basic function was national
defense - or, to be blunt, waging war. The Serbian government is now
endeavoring to fail in its basic function, in order to accomplish
"reforms" and "integrate" the country with those who attacked it just a
few short years back. That is the behavior of quisling regimes, not
"democratic" governments.
It is by now clear beyond any doubt that DOS is a gang of thieves.
Again, that is not unusual, and DOS would normally be about par for the
modern Balkans, but it gets worse. Though as all other politicians,
they desire power and plunder, they owe their current position - and
the ability to acquire both - to foreign masters they must (and wish
to) loyally serve.
The continuation of their reign of chaos depends on successfully
deceiving their subjects into believing Dossie drivel about the
necessity for "reforms" and "integration," and the equally nonsensical
argument that opposing DOS means supporting Milosevic. If Serbians ever
come to their senses and realize that their choices are far more
numerous, and that they do not need to put up with a kleptocracy -
whether foreign-backed or domestic - there will be hell to pay.
Here's to hoping that happens soon.
Epilogue
There really isn't one. Apologists, inquisitors, various halfwits and
thieves continue to run rampant across the Balkans, claiming to
champion truth, justice, knowledge and prosperity. As long as they do,
things will continue to get worse. The solution, as it happens so
often, is self-evident.
ANTIWAR, Thursday, July 3, 2003
Balkan Express
by Nebojsa Malic
Antiwar.com
Liars, Halfwits, Inquisitors and Thieves
A Balkans Tragedy in Four Scenes
None of the events or statements that follow should come as a surprise.
What is surprising is the lack of reaction by their victims, or those
who unwittingly support the perpetrators. As with everything, the
ongoing Balkans drama will have consequences yet impossible to foresee.
Ancient Greeks used to say, "Whom gods would destroy, they first make
mad." Throughout the former Yugoslav federation, madness and
destruction ride together. For those who have to deal with the wreckage
in their wake, tragedy is not an artistic term. It is life.
I: Whitewashing the KLA
Between the ongoing process of debunking the lies about Kosovo and the
May proclamation that the most recent incarnation of the KLA was a
terrorist organization, it was only a matter of time before the
professional apologists for the "Kosovo Liberation Army" and its cause
would strike back.
Last week, AFP ran a story about Albanian "tolerance" in Obilic, a town
where last month an entire Serb family was murdered in the middle of
the night. Brimming with official KLA propaganda, rehearsed platitudes
and deliberate misquotes, the unsigned article stands out from the
usual AFP fare.
So "informative" is the article, it fails to mention that Albanians
renamed the town "Kastriota" after a medieval Albanian prince, since
Obilic is the name of the Serb knight who killed Sultan Murad in the
1389 battle of Kosovo. Tolerance, indeed.
On Monday, the noxious London IWPR published a lengthy report on
"necessary reforms" in the Kosovo Protection Corps, one of the KLA's
heirs. It was co-written by an editor of Koha Ditore, a flagship
Pristina newspaper whose racist Serbophobic screeds have become so
routine they don't faze even the Imperial censors. As a result, the
IWPR report whitewashes the KPC and KLA involvement in terrorist
activities, and chooses to vilify the FARK militia organized by Ibrahim
Rugova's faction. If in some places it reads like a glorified history
of the KLA, that's because it is. Only a few paragraphs amidst the
paeans to "liberation from the Serbs" deal with murders and mayhem the
KLA and KPC have perpetrated over the years, and even then with
considerable circumspection.
Meanwhile, Kosovo's outgoing Imperial viceroy had to rescue former KLA
fuehrer Hashim Taqi, who was arrested in Hungary on an outstanding
criminal warrant. Hungarian police ended up playing catch-and-release,
since Taqi has friends in infernal places. The warrant for his arrest
was dismissed as "issued by the Milosevic government," but nowhere does
it say that the change of government means people accused of murder get
a free pass. But if the person in question is Empire's golden boy, who
cares about such trifles as the law?
II: Build A Better Nation?
An opinion piece in Tuesday's Christian Science Monitor purports to
criticize the nation-building in Bosnia: namely, it claims there isn't
nearly enough of it, and that more is needed. The author, Sara Terry,
exemplifies the ill-informed Westerner who attempts to pontificate on
Balkans issues but only manages to sound embarrassing.
For example, she classifies Bosnians by religion, indicating her belief
in the "Bosnian" nation of three different faiths. That such a nation
has been shown as mythical as the unicorn is a bothersome fact Ms.
Terry is either unaware of, or chooses to ignore.
Another ignorant claim is that the Bosnian Serbs, "incited by
neighboring Serbia, had tried to take over the entire country, or at
least to split it with Croatia." No one needed any more incitement than
Izetbegovic's oath-breaking declaration of independence in April 1992,
or what is written in his 1971 "Islamic Declaration." No one (until
now, that is) has ever accused the Serbs of trying to take over the
entire country; not even Izetbegovic could tell such an obvious
whopper. As for the split with Croatia, she'd really need to ask
Izetbegovic, because he invited Croatian troops in as early as 1992.
Terry's clumsy attempt to compare Bosnia's entities with American
states reveals not so much her ignorance of Bosnia as of the United
States, for unlike Bosnia's entities (or Bosnia itself, for that
matter), the original 13 states were truly sovereign and independent at
one time.
Over seven years since Dayton, and delusions still persist.
III: "Bring me the head of Radovan Karadzic!"
This past weekend, the Hague Harpy Carla delPonte screeched on the
pages of the New York Times an appropriate venue for her opinions, by
the way - that the very fabric of the universe would unravel if the
Serbs did not turn over Radovan Karadzic and General Ratko Mladic to
her gentle ministrations.
Not seizing the wartime political and military leader of the Bosnian
Serb Republic, the High Inquisitor hectored, would "send a signal to
other, similar nationalist leaders that the world does not mean what
it says when it comes to international justice."
There is a unified World? And it speaks with one voice? Isn't there
supposed to be a memo about these things!? Far more likely that
DelPonte is suffering from delusions of grandeur, presuming to speak
for the imaginary World even though she is but a lowly flunky of the
Empire. Why, even the Empire is trying to limit its exposure to the
toxic morass that is the Inquisition: two weeks ago, American lawyers
were banned from representing clients before the ICTY.
That the High Inquisitor speaks of "international justice" even as
naked aggression goes unpunished such as, say, in Kosovo or Iraq
means she really doesn't care for the concept those words represent.
The only greater glory she aspires to lies in falsifying history.
IV: Kleptocrats Unleashed
Every government is by definition a kleptocracy, i.e. the governing
steal the property of the governed. But there are few places in the
world where this arrangement is so glaringly obvious, and yet tolerated
by the victims, as in Serbia.
The DOS government is implementing a World Bank/IMF-backed plan to
"stimulate" the economy by fraudulently selling plundered property to
foreign investors while taxing the air out of entrepreneurs. This is
not only irrational and against all economic sense, it's downright
criminal. Yet the workers who recently took to the streets in Belgrade
did not seek to end government abuses, but demanded that it "fix"
things.
Every day, the public finds out more about the government's complicity
in the sugar-exporting scam that skimmed off millions from EU import
subsidies into the pockets of government-connected "businessmen." The
high degree of government control over every aspect of life guarantees
that the scam was organized, not merely assisted, by the DOS regime.
Steeped in disdain for wishes or values of the people they rule, the
Dossies haven't yet seen a social engineering program they didn't like.
Another of their recent schemes is dismantling the military to levels
acceptable to NATO officials, for the purpose of becoming a "partner"
of the Alliance.
It isn't very libertarian to oppose the dismantling of standing armies,
but since the Serbian government enforces strict gun control amongst
the common folk, there is no one to pick up the slack. From Biblical
times to the present, a government's basic function was national
defense - or, to be blunt, waging war. The Serbian government is now
endeavoring to fail in its basic function, in order to accomplish
"reforms" and "integrate" the country with those who attacked it just a
few short years back. That is the behavior of quisling regimes, not
"democratic" governments.
It is by now clear beyond any doubt that DOS is a gang of thieves.
Again, that is not unusual, and DOS would normally be about par for the
modern Balkans, but it gets worse. Though as all other politicians,
they desire power and plunder, they owe their current position - and
the ability to acquire both - to foreign masters they must (and wish
to) loyally serve.
The continuation of their reign of chaos depends on successfully
deceiving their subjects into believing Dossie drivel about the
necessity for "reforms" and "integration," and the equally nonsensical
argument that opposing DOS means supporting Milosevic. If Serbians ever
come to their senses and realize that their choices are far more
numerous, and that they do not need to put up with a kleptocracy -
whether foreign-backed or domestic - there will be hell to pay.
Here's to hoping that happens soon.
Epilogue
There really isn't one. Apologists, inquisitors, various halfwits and
thieves continue to run rampant across the Balkans, claiming to
champion truth, justice, knowledge and prosperity. As long as they do,
things will continue to get worse. The solution, as it happens so
often, is self-evident.