>This is an odd formulation. Yugoslavia is the only part of the former
>republic of Yugoslavia that is ethnically mixed. Croatia, Slovenia, and
>Kosova all being defined in an act of ethnic purification - and Bosnia
>by one of ethnic partition.
they are all (still) 'ethnically mixed', perhaps less so, but still, despite all the pretensions and the violence which has accompanied such. moreover, I doubt whether all those the various states define as croation etc either did so prior to the wars or do so now. but I was thinking of 'yugoslavia' over the last decade or so. I waver between calling it Yugoslavia and ex-Yugoslavia - neither of which seem adequate or to escape contestation.
see below for a report on romanis in yugoslavia. there are also reports of protests against the belgrade govt for refusing romanis entry into belgrade, but i have little info on this.
>Yugoslavia is not 'carving itself up', it is being carved up. Each of
>the ethnic separatist movements in turn was sponsored by the West, as in
>the instance when US advisors assisted in the ethnic cleansing of
>Krajina.
point taken, inasmuch as the agents of such aren't confined to inside the ex-yu. but, you would not be suggesting that these processes were products of 'the west' are you? maybe internal results of the sharpening of global capitalist austerity, and certainly the strategy of 'ethnic' partitioning has been supported/encouraged by western govts as the apparent solution, but there's no way you can say the grounds for the character of this antagonism was set by the west. as the IMF called for greater austerity, and govts tried to impose it, various sections of the military and party hierarchy established themselves as the defenders of 'their ethnicities' as the means to consolidate and maintain their own power in the face of dwindling rewards. the KLA leadership came from the ex-yu military, for instance.
there is no neat distinction between the responsibilities of ex-yu nationalists and euro/US govts. the political scene of the ex-yu wasn't imported, even if it shifted into open violence as a result of the terms of euro/US commands.
something, below, from the balkan list.
Angela --- rcollins at netlink.com.au -----------------------------------------------
From: "asylschweiz" <asylschweiz at access.ch>
Rroma-Information
News of June 21, 1999
Over 500 Rroma out of Kosov@ have been stranded two days ago in the South-Serbian town Nis. They were expelled by unities of KLA. But Rromas are not desired in Serbia neither and they're told to go back to Kosov@ or "somewhere else". There are news out of Montenegro that Rromas of Kosov@ have come in the last days. Interesting think on it is that they are albanian speaking Rromas who are integrated in albanian culture since generations. A lot of them didn't neither know that they were "Matschup" (gypsies) and that therefore they'd have nothing to look for in a "pure" albanian Kosov at . In the night between June 18 and 19 they were chased away under threat of loosing their lifes.
In Southern Serbia situation is getting worse too. A lot of Rroma are threatened to leave their living-spaces to make place to serbian refugees out of Kosov at . As Non-serbian, Rroma are not desired.
Salvatore Pittà Asylkoordination Schweiz Archiv und Dokumentation Postfach 5215 CH-3001 Bern Tel: ++41/31/312'40'38 Fax: ++41/31/312'40'45 http://www.raben-net.ch/aks
Stefan Heinichen, Pfarrei Heiliggeist, Burggässli 11, CH-3123 Belp
Rroma-Information
Mitteilung vom 21.6.1999
Ueber 500 Rroma aus dem Kosovo sind vor 2 Tage in der südserbischen Stadt Nis gestrandet. Sie wurden von Einheiten der UCK vertrieben. Die Rroma sind jedoch auch in Serbien nicht erwünscht und sollen zurück in den Kosovo oder "sonstwohin" gehen. Es gibt auch Meldungen aus dem Montenegro, wo Rroma aus dem Kosovo eingetroffen sind. Interessant dabei ist, dass es sich um albanisch sprechenden Rroma handelt, die sich seit Generationen der albanischen Kultur angepasst haben. Viele unter ihnen war nicht bewust, dass sie als "Matschup" (Zigeuner) gelten und daher in einem rein albanischen Kosovo nichts mehr zu suchen haben. In der Nacht vom 18./19.6.99 wurden sie unter Androhung, ihr Leben zu verlieren, weggejagt.
Auch in Sürdserbien spitzt sich die Lage zu. Viele Rroma werden bedroht, ihren Wohnraum zu verlassen, um den serbischen Flüchtlingen aus dem Kosovo Platz zu machen. Als Nicht-Serben sind die Rroma unerwünscht.