re Kosov mines (mark 2)

Michael Hoover hoov at freenet.tlh.fl.us
Sat Oct 23 06:56:52 PDT 1999



> i know you hate point by point posts, but i'll try and ease it up with some
> readable formatting.
> autonomy of kosovo
> nationalism
> privatization
> Angela

Point by point matter is more than formatting issue...

re. autonomy, 1974 constitution gave Kosovo and Vojvodina de facto veto power in Serbian parliament. Recentralizing political intstitutions became issue soon afterwards and Serbian League of Communists filed for repeal in Yugoslav parliament in 1984. Revocation - in 1989? - was not tied to wars, it preceded them (and mines didn't generate much in way of revenues between 1990-1995 as they operated at about 25% capacity).

re. nationalism, when was it not an issue? Nowhere in Europe were such far-ranging concessions to nationalist rights granted in a region so potentially separatist as Kosovo. And the self-management system, which dispersed control of economic resources vital to the national economy, allowed Kosovo policymakers (dominated by Albanians after 1966) to sustain investments in low-income textile manufacture, agriculture, and handicrafts even as they received subsidies and redistributive monies from national government levies on other republics. Despite importance of Trepca mines to Yugoslavia's exports, local policymakers did not invest in extraction technology and infrastructure leaving both outdated.

Social transformation, in effect, bypassed Kosovo. Extended families of 20-40 people continued to live within walled compounds. Blood vengeance, arranged marriages, and polygamy remained common. Women continued to live secluded in the home, subordinate to male authority, and with or little or no access to education.

Kosovo's push for republic status or complete separation received Albanian support in 1980s. Certainly, Serbian leaders - including Milosevic who used issue to win Serbian presidency - exploited Kosovo, and (unlikely) threat of Albanian irredentism, to reinspire Serbian nationalism, which, in turn, was more fuel for Kosovar Albanian nationalism. One consequence of latter development was blurring of autonomist and separatist differences. Serbian government then used growing number and intensity of demonstrations as pretext to intervene.

re. privatization, 1983 Krajgher Commission report called for further marketization and promotion of private sector. Implementation met both institutional (government at all levels would lose more control of economic affairs) and popular resistance (workers would bear brunt of 'reform' costs). However, laws restricting private businesses were increasingly ignored by late 1980s, particularly those limiting number of workers employed in private enterprise.

Neo-liberal centralizers dominated Serbian party by mid-1980s, traditional conservative decentralizers dominated Kosovo party. Both were nationalists. Michael Hoover



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