The wisdom of hindsight does not help no albanians
Newsflashes from Kosova, althought filled with typical western war propaganda, clearly state that at least partial ethnic cleansing of Kosova from Albanians has began. Already one third of Kosovian Albanians, 500 000 together, is on the road. Some sources claim that Yugoslavian Federal Army has captured at least 20 000 Albanians. Arkan and a bunch of other well-experienced mass murderers are on their road to Kosova.
Different progressive/libertarian/left/peace/whatever organisations have written a lot of relevant NATO-criticism during last days. Still, -Wisdom of hindsight does not help Albanians. It's true that during last 10 years west has turned it's back to Albanians all the time, but mistakes made during those years can not be repaired anymore. -It is so true that USA and NATO are most hypocrite when choosing their enemies. Some dictatorships, such as one of Pol Pot's, Turkish and Suharto's, are backed, some, such as Daniel Arap Moi's, are disapproved but no finger has been raised against them, some, such as Saddam's, are fiercely opposed, or maybe just used as "good enemies", while no attempt to overthrow them is made. But you can't justify a crime with another. The fact that justice so seldom happens in this world, does not mean that it shouldn't happen even somewhere, sometime and some amount. -No doubt NATO's own inelasticity is one factor wich has lead it to dead-end . I have not enough information from the history of negotiations, to say if it was possible to continue negotiations longer or not. But it should be remembered that only threat of NATO-attacks has prevented Yugoslavian Federal Army from starting total war against UCK. Is there any reason for Milosevic to continue negotiations, is there anything they may profit from negotiations? And what about UCK, is someone expecting they are really willing to support any other goal than complete independence? This is classical situaton where none of the sides will gain from peace, and third parties, such as 90% of Kosova inhabitants, 99% of Yugoslavia inhabitants and rest of the world has to deal with that. -We have to live with the fact that air attacks have started. We can discuss about "what if"'s forever, but if we want to avoid human suffering by any means, we have to realise that we can't erase the history. -If NATO ceased to be a threat, UCK would be totally destroyed. I'm sure that would bring a peace to Kosovo, but I don't think that's a kind of peace I want. -I think authority of UN and legality of attacks is something completely secondary compared with human suffering.
What is relevant just now
I've read similar kinds of views competing with cynicism by conflict analysists from day to another, about everything that NATO and USA have screwd up. BUT ISN'T THERE ANYONE CONSIDERING HOW CAN WE STOP GENOCIDE WICH HAS STARTED IN KOSOVA? It's clear that NATO-bombings are creating so much suffering, but according to all information I have, body count in Kosova is so much faster than in rest of the country, that we should add zero or two to have comparable numbers.
I agree that we need analysis how dangerous it is when NATO is becoming a world police, how we should oppose all the legal changes in all the countries wich allow interventions, how we should oppose NATO-enlargement, how conflict of Kosova is a jackpot of USA arms industry, how CIA armed UCK for years, how USA and NATO cares no shit about opinions of the rest of the world. But to me those discussions are secondary, compared to discussion what can we do to stop ethnic cleansing of Kosova. Maybe those discussions are the most important ones after some months, when no albanians are living in Kosova, or in countryside of Kosova anymore.
I find three possible strategies for left/libertarian/progressive/peace/whatever organisations. Here is how I rank them:
1) Demand to stop bombings immediately. To me this is the next best alternative, and the next best alternative in realism as well. This would put a finish to sufferings of people in other parts of the Yugoslavia, but doesn't help a lot albanians, death machine once started it's difficult to stop. Maybe Milosevic would be able to slow a bit the speed of killing if that has been set as a price of quitting the bombings. But war in Kosovo has actually began in 1989, and NATO has been a part of it only for a week. Stopping of the bombings will not stop the war. 2) To do nothing. I think this is worst alternative, and most realistic. Practically it means backing NATO policy, punishing Yugoslavian civilians for politics of it's leader, and doing nothing when Federal Army revenges to Albanians. 3) To demand NATO to deploy immediately surface troops. I think this is the best possibility, but the least realistic. Maybe that would ruin half of the Kosova, but let the inhabitants another part to save their property, and lives of male citizens wich would othervise become executed. Thousands of saved lives and homes compared with the two first alternatives. This might increase suffering of Yugoslavian civilians, but this far I have no reason to expect that would be something comparable with genocide going on right now. Of course, I welcome all the information from Serbians following these lists is my analysis on the possible consequences of surface attacks right or not.
The thing wich I can't stop thinking, is that RIGHT NOW there is trucks in distant villages of Balkan filled with humans ONCE AGAIN, and soldiers digging deep holes to fields ONCE AGAIN. I can't think world policy or coming revolutions right now, thing wich I keep thinking is how can we stop THAT FROM GOING ON. I see no how can we stop that by stopping NATO attacks. Genocide machine has started now, and it wont stop with prayer. Friends, this is not a final round in our common struggle against the world police. No last word in that fight is said if we save lives of few thousands and homes of hundreds of thousands of Albanians. We've seen Srebrenica and Gorazde - do we want to see that once again?
Of course NATO can screw up surface attack as it has screwd up so much already. Crucial mistake might be for example trying to unarm Serbian civilians just defending themselves against UCK murderers. Maybe that offensive would became a new South-Lebanon or Vietnam, Federal Army keeping attacking superior enemy althought they lost 10 men for each killed, as happened in Vietnam.
But even if this project can't succeed in long run, maybe NATO would still have a role just helping albanians to have at least few days of time to collect some of their property with them, and to save their husbands being executed otherwise.
People who say that surface operation would ever succeed, seem to sentence albanians to vanish from the map of Yugoslavia. But even if since the air attacks started, it has been determined that no Albanians can live in Kosova anymore, maybe NATO could at least guarantee them a bit safety when leaving their homes forever.
As anarchist, generally nationalist liberation struggles are completely irrelevant to me, I understand importance of own language and cultural heritage, but I need no state for that - and Albanians of Kosova neither. It's indifferent to me where statists and nationalists draw their stupid lines in the map, as long as they don't bother decent people. Sometimes it might be even fun to see those idiots killing each other for nothing, but usually they are creating so much suffering with their stupid obsessions about nation states or imperiums, that it must be thought how to stop that.
Often it is impossible to pick a side whose victory would create less suffering. But in Yugoslavia, the Albanians are only ones from wich hundreds of thousands are in lethal danger, althought Yugoslavian civilians are under constant threat of bombs and dissidents in under constant threat of secret police, I think currently Albanians in Kosova are in biggest danger. Thus the policy option I prefer is the one giving best abilities to save them.
Vast majority of time the appeals by various progressive organisations to prevent conflicts before it's too late, or to act against human right violations, are heard by noone of decision makers. But those organisations have ever had problems to organise huge masses to back "Save Our Sons"-kind of campaigns, against interventions. Thus althought at least in US the hawks are in power from year to another, the final policy is always a compromise between hawks and doves. Currently this compromise is the worst one possible, NATO bombs, but due to general opinion, it can't use surface troops wich can face serious losses. It is a part of pacifist ideal to always take a responsability of results of your actions. It is much due to work of by progressive organisations that surface troops can't be used, but because stopping air strikes wont stop massacre, I think there is a lot of reason to think have we come to right way at all.
I agree that it is a relevant criticism against my arguments that no matter how much I whine, NATO wouldn't use surface troops. It might even be that my arguments indirectly justify them to continue idiotic air attacks. But no-one should accuse me of selling out, because people who are speaking for realism are selling out much more, price of those Albanians being raped and executed every second while you read this text. Althought my demand is maybe unrealistic, I think it might be the only one wich is moral one, because it is the only one giving a chance to Albanian civilians of Kosova.
Of course, this is not controversial with giving all the kinds of aid to civilians and dissidents of Yugoslavia, and opposing the filthy propaganda our media is screaming all the time. For example, today Finnish TV news broadcast claimed that "Slobo is a bloodlusting mafioso, who has killed 300 000 already". Not completely wrong, but how can people eat that when they are completely silent about crimes of the other side in past Balkan wars?
If someone is creating a volunteer brigade to stop bigots of UCK and Federal Army, I will gladly join that - in case we have at least 30 000 friends and $10 billion for arms. Until that, I see no other way to stop the genocide than intervention of NATO surface troo
Antti Rautiainen - antti.rautiainen at kolumbus.fi
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