I've been following this thread since it began and
would like to intervene. I've taken the liberty of
changing the subject title. Of course it started with
the French/British/... takeover of the Trepca smelter
(this follows a script laid out by a Soros
think-tank--see Diana Johnstone's Feb. 28 article).
But for the sake of keeping the debate clear on a list
named for Lenin, it is a more precise name.
As I believe most of the contributors to this list
already know, NATO attacked Yugoslavia not over
Kosovar Albanian rights or to "correct" Belgrade's
policies regarding Kosovo & Metohija, but to advance
the imperialist interests of the NATO powers (and to
decide who among them gets the bigger shares of the
spoils and the best chance to move further east where
the spoils are really big).
In relation to these imperialist powers, all the
peoples of the Balkans are oppressed-Serbs, Croats,
Bosnians, Montenegrins, Albanians, Romas of course,
Romanians and Bulgarians too. The imperialists strove
to manipulate any contradictions among these people to
the imperialists' advantage-that's nothing new.
Socialist Yugoslavia was an attempt to keep that
tactic from succeeding.
Whatever the old complaints of the Kosovar Albanians
vis-à-vis Belgrade-whether they be legitimate or
not-it should be apparent to anyone carrying on the
traditions of Lenin that the KLA was a captive of
U.S.-German imperialism, which they used as a weapon
against Belgrade.
What was left of Yugoslavia - which was mostly Serb
but which was still a multinational country - was the
only organized force in the Balkans that resisted NATO
imperialism (which I use here as shorthand for U.S.
and Western European imperialism working both in
coalition and in rivalry against the peoples of the
Balkans). Yugoslavia carried out that resistance under
the leadership of the current government, headed by
Milosevic and his party but supported by other
parties.
Most (not all of course) of the contributors to this
list live in the major imperialist countries. I think
most consider themselves Leninists. In that situation,
any Leninist should be very careful how she/he
critiques a political leader of an oppressed nation.
And especially one under attack like Yugoslavia. And
where Milosevic himself was and still is demonized by
the imperialist media constantly.
I think most on this list would agree. Yet for someone
considering themselves a communist in the U.S. or
Germany or Britain or France to use invective against
Milosevic shows they don't really understand what is
most important. Milosevic leads a government and a
people that are resisting imperialism. Do you know of
anyone else in Yugoslavia (for real now, not in your
imagination) who is in a position to do this more
effectively? Is any other political leader in the
Balkans standing up against NATO? The last I looked
they all wanted to join NATO.
Or to look for a villain in NATO's war and come up
with the Chetniks. That too shows a lack of
understanding one's own role and what needs to be
done. It shows one is susceptible to the imperialist's
anti-Serb propaganda. Or to make "self-determination
for the Kosovar Albanians" a demand for the left. This
disorients the movement.
And it so angers those who stood with Yugoslavia
against NATO that it could easily lead to angry shouts
instead of comradely discussion.
(The groups that during the war took a position of
supporting "self-determination for Kosova" hurt the
anti-NATO movement. I honestly believe it was just
their way of giving a left cover to their capitulation
to ruling-class public opinion. In France it helped
render the movement powerless.)
Now there was one point raised about the takeover of
the Trepca mines that I wouldn't throw out just
because I disagree with the thrust of the message. The
imperialists will dump the Albanians when they are no
longer useful. That's true. A U.S. soldier raped an
Albanian child. The Soros report even makes the point
that the mines must be run by West Europeans or U.S.
managers, not turned over to the locals, who it called
"too corruptible." What imperialist arrogance, as if
the best Congress money can buy doesn't dwell in
Washington.
In the long run, the NATO occupiers might even arouse
hostility with the Albanian Kosovars and clash with
them. As communists, we can never write this
possibility off. But I don't see how it can help for
us to lecture the Serbs on how to build multinational
working-class solidarity. We would better use our
energy building solidarity of our working class with
the embattled Yugoslavs. Here in the U.S. this is no
easy job. In Germany this will also be a difficult
task, as the ruling class is viciously anti-Serb,
probably because the Serbian population resisted
German rule so heroically in two world wars. Anyway,
as JI pointed out, there are Kosovars of Albanian
nationality who chose to settle in northern Serbia
rather than live under KLA (UCK) rule, and who
supported the idea of a multinational Yugoslavia.
I would also be careful on how I address the Albanian
Kosovar population and even its leaders. Even here I
don't think it's wise to use invective. Even the most
right-wing Albanian nationalist is not half as bad a
criminal as Schroeder or Blair or Clinton or any
sophisticated Social Democratic politician who ordered
the bombing of Yugoslavia. Save the brunt of our
contempt and our anger for these imperialist
criminals-and just point out that the KLA are their
puppets, their cats' paws.
Comradely,
John Catalinotto
--- Charles Brown <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
wrote:
>
>
> >>> [EMAIL PROTECTED] 08/16/00 06:09AM >>>
> I asked people on the Crashlist to quit talking
> about Yugo a little while
> back, because I couldn't find a way to anchor this
> debate to the Crashlist
> topic, but if Jared is not welcome on L-I (I'm sure
> he is, really) he is
> more than welcome on the Crashlist; and in fact,
> Yugo matters terribly, and
> has global significance in all kinds of ways. I'd be
> glad to see some debate
> about the geopolitics of Nato, its strategic reach
> in the Balkans, and the
> very-related question of energy politics.
>
> __________
>
> CB: Yes, I thought oil was an imperialist motive for
> the war.
>
> __________
>
>
> I hope this doesn't look like I'm
> shilling for the crashlist; I think L-I has a
> fantastically important role
> to play, not least in the clarification of theory.
> But somehow we haven't
> quite found the ways of *centralising* or
> *focussing* debate about the
> Balkans/Yugoslavia; we need to do more stuff on Nato
> + geopolitics.
>
> Mark
>
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From:
> [EMAIL PROTECTED]
> >
>
[mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]]On
> Behalf Of
> > [EMAIL PROTECTED]
> > Sent: 15 August 2000 23:00
> > To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
> > Subject: Re: [L-I] Moderator's note on the Kossovo
> debate
> >
> >
> > Dear friends,
> >
> > This argument about Kosovo isnot in a vacuum, in
> life or on this
> > list. There
> > was a long back and forth argument between me and
> Schneider
> > readable on the
> > LI archives. In it, I presented much evidcence,
> and some useful
> > reference
> > material.
> >
> > Besides the LI archives, where one can read the
> extensive debate
> > between me
> > and Schneider, which I won'd duplicate, here is
> some original
> > material for
> > those who want to learn more about the situation:
> >
> > On whether Serbia has encouraged nationalist
> divisions or seen them as a
> > danger, people should study Milosevich's speech in
> Kosovo field at
> >
>
http://emperors-clothes.com/articles/jared/milosaid.html
>
> >
> > and read the interview with Tika Jankovich and
> Petar Makara., 'A
> > nightmare
> > with the best intentions' about what it was like
> being a Serb in
> > the 70s and
> > 80s, at
> http://www.emperors-clothes.com/interviews/tika.htm
> >
> > The interview and Milosevic's speech together give
> some idea of what many
> > Serbs are thinking.
> >
> > On the ties between the US and the KLA, see for
> instance:
> >
> > 'The Cat is Out of the Bag" at
> http://emperors-clothes.com/news/ciaaided.htm
>
> (The above deals partly with William Walker, whose
> jobs was setting up
> liaison with the KLA during the OSCE verification
> mission to Kosovo in fall
> '98. On William Walker's death squad credentials
> see 'Meet Mr. Massacre' at
> http://www.emperors-clothes.com/analysis/meetmr.htm
>
> On the history and present practice of fascism in
> Kosovo, see for instance:
>
> History: George Thompson's 'The roots of Kosovo
> fascism' at
>
http://emperors-clothes.com/articles/thompson/rootsof.htm
>
>
> On the KLA as fascist: :
> 1) 'Driven from Kosovo: Jewish Leader Blames NATO -
> Interview With Cedda
> Prlincevic' at
>
http://www.emperors-clothes.com/interviews/prlincevic.htm
>
>
> 2) "Save the Families - Women of Orahovac Speak" at
> http://www.emperors-clothes.com/misc/savethe.htm
>
> 3) "UN appoints alleged war criminal in Kosovo" by
> Michel Chossudovsky at
>
http://emperors-clothes.com/articles/chuss/unandthe.htm
>
>
> Follow the suggested links at the end of each
> article. All together, there
> must be over a hundred articles on Emperors Clothes
> - www.tenc.net -- that
> deal with what has happened since NATO took over
> Kosovo. I will now post
> three articles -- two that deal with life in Kosovo
> today and one interview
> with a magnificent Albanian.
>
> Best regards, Jared Israel
>
> _______________________________________________
> Leninist-International mailing list
> [EMAIL PROTECTED]
> To change your options or unsubscribe go to:
>
http://lists.wwpublish.com/mailman/listinfo/leninist-international
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> Leninist-International mailing list
> [EMAIL PROTECTED]
> To change your options or unsubscribe go to:
>
http://lists.wwpublish.com/mailman/listinfo/leninist-international
>
> _______________________________________________
> Leninist-International mailing list
> [EMAIL PROTECTED]
> To change your options or unsubscribe go to:
>
http://lists.wwpublish.com/mailman/listinfo/leninist-international
__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Send instant messages & get email alerts with Yahoo! Messenger.
http://im.yahoo.com/
_______________________________________________
Leninist-International mailing list
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
To change your options or unsubscribe go to:
http://lists.wwpublish.com/mailman/listinfo/leninist-international
