-Caveat Lector- >From The Guardian (UK) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Odd bedfellows, old slogans The French response: Loyalties lost in the shuffle. Paul Webster reports Monday April 12, 1999 A leftwing revolt against the Kosovo campaign has created some of the most unlikely political and intellectual alliances since the Algerian war while undermining Lionel Jospin's authority in the Socialist-led coalition. Feuding over French participation in Nato strategy, so far limited to eight bombs on Serbian targets, has wrecked long-standing human rights partnerships, pushed old enemies into joint action, broken up a moral consensus and revived a simplistic anti-Americanism reminiscent of the 1950s. Tensions caused by anti-war campaigns led by the interior minister, Jean-Pierre Chevenement, and stalwart Gaullists such as Charles Pasqua, have contributed to belligerent reactions by the prime minister and President Jacques Chirac, whose `cohabitation' has entered a honeymoon phase with joint daily pledges of their will to go on fighting. De facto political alliances are astonishing enough with the Communist leader, Robert Hue, finding himself in the anti-war lobby alongside the National Front chairman, Jean-Marie Le Pen, while the Greens' Daniel Cohn-Bendit, puts out much the same bellicose message as the Gaullist chairman, Philippe Seguin. But the moral disorder is even more eccentric, with writers like Regis Debray and impeccable human rights activists such as Pierre Vidal-Naquet fighting a pitched pacifist battle against a philosophical pro-war lobby led by Henri Bernard-Levy and Andre Glucksmann. The argument has also split families, with the writer Oliver Todd in the pro-war camp while his son, Emmanuel, backs a pacifist group that includes the author and former Socialist minister, Max Gallo. Although about 60 per cent of the electorate approve of French intervention, according to public opinion polls which also show overwhelming support for Mr Jospin and the president, the anti-war faction is bringing more and more opponents into the streets. Apart from the Communist Party, which has revived the 1950s atmosphere with slogans like `Nato go home', the anti-war faction includes the biggest Trotskyist movements, trade unions, teachers and human rights organisations like the movement against racism, MRAP. Among press support is the popular weekly, Marianne, whose editor, Jean-Francois Kahn, described Mr Chirac and Mr Jospin as `killers of the innocents'. While the war's opponents include a strong layer of what is known as the `moral left', the underlying rallying call is the anti-Americanism which led Mr Debray to stigmatise France's co-operation as sleepwalking behind American priorities. Apart from winning over allies such as Mr Chirac's former adviser, Marie-France Garaud, leftwing suspicion of US motives has rallied middle of the road figures, including the former United Nations protection force commander in the region, General Jean Cot. In juggling with the leftwing mutiny, Mr Jospin has so far avoided a showdown although cabinet meetings underline a chasm between the leading pros and antis. The health minister, Bernard Kouchner, is the architect of a policy known as `the right to interfere' to solve humanitarian crises even in sovereign states. The environment minister, Dominique Voynet, represents what has been described as the most strident pro-war voice, the Greens.Ranged against them are Communists, such as the transport minister, Jean-Claude Gayssot, and the sports minister, Marie-Georges Buffet, who have backed marches calling for Mr Jospin to go. But the most troublesome case is Mr Chevenement, who resigned as defence minister at the beginning of the Gulf war to set up his own splinter party, the Citizens' Movement. Because a ground war could force him to lead the pacifist faction out of Mr Jospin's government, every gesture he makes is being intently analysed. Allying the three strands of opposition political, moral and intellectual he gave the whole cabinet photocopies of an article by the German writer, Hans Magnus Enzensberger, which calls for an end to the `fantasy of omnipotent morality'. The war could be over before anyone decides what Mr Chevenement really meant by distributing a work condemning `global rhetoric', which, he said, reflected `my philosophical state of mind'. What the world's media say Monday April 12, 1999 Journal du Dimanche, Paris If this war decided by Europe had not taken place, nationalism would have won another victory, symbolising the end of a century it has drenched in blood. Those, who by gut anti-Americanism, respectable pacifism or blind pro-Serbianism . . . try to justify their opposition to Nato intervention also encourage the very serious threat of nationalism that could set the Balkans alight. Bild Am Sonntag, Germany When it comes to preventing genocide, the United Nations cannot issue the orders to Nato but has to seek refuge with Nato. Nato has not arrogantly seized global responsibility, but has had this dumped on it. Anybody who now talks about UN mandates and Russian peace missions only displays naive wishful thinking. Corriere della Sera, Italy A foreign policy worthy of the name must be able to count on a stable political and electoral consensus based on a public opinion with widely shared views and values. A country (or a group of countries) that is divided on crucial questions, such as the legitimacy of the use of force, for that very reason cannot have a foreign policy. This is effectively the case for Italy and the European Union. 'Warning' as Serb journalist murdered By Chris Bird in Belgrade Monday April 12, 1999 The killing of a prominent Serb writer and publisher last night sent a chill through Belgrade's intellectual and opposition establishment, already reeling from the support that has flooded behind Slobodan Milosevic since Nato air strikes started. Witnesses said Slavko Curuvija, editor and publisher of the Dnevni Telegraf newspaper and Evropljanin magazine, was shot dead by gunmen as he left the yard of an apartment building with his partner, Branka Prpa. Witnesses said Miss Prpa was pistol-whipped by the assailants. Police had sealed off the area and started an investigation. 'This is very bad,' said a well known Belgrade journalist whose own organisation has been closed down under Serbia's tough new media regulations. 'This is a warning sign.' Mr Curuvija, in his late forties, had run into difficulties with the government ever since the strict media law was imposed following the first Nato threat of air strikes last October. Both his newspaper and magazine were banned and the authorities imposed hefty fines, officially for threatening to undermine the constitutional order. But Mr Curuvija continued to publish in neighbouring Montenegro. Mr Curuvija's last run-in with the authorities came last month when he was fined about �60,000 for a story linking the killing of a doctor to a senior Serb official. Mr Curuvija had in recent months been accompanied by two bodyguards. A clubber's war Clubbers: The music goes on despite the bombs and missiles, writes Chris Bird in Belgrade Monday April 12, 1999 The hundreds of people heading underground in the middle of the day in central Belgrade this weekend were not seeking shelter from Nato bombs, but hoping to dance away the afternoon at the Industria nightclub. 'We found this place by accident when we walked past,' a 17-year-old girl shouted over the crashing Techno music at the industrial site, the clubbers' white T-shirts glowing mauve under the ultraviolet lights. 'We need this to get rid of the stress, it's all we have.' For Belgrade's party-loving and rebellious youth, the Nato air strikes have left them frightened and confused. Many of the young Serbs who took to the streets in 1996 to protest, day after day for three months, against Slobodan Milosevic have found themselves in the unexpected position of supporting the old Communist Party apparatchik. 'The student leaders have gone to ground. It's difficult to say anything against the chief now,' said one former activist. At a nearby bar, a 30-year-old advertising executive in dungarees and goatee beard explained: 'It's so crazy everyone here was against Milosevic; we were working to change things. But the bombing's changed all that.' Many of those out drinking had lived for long periods of time in London, New York or California, where they picked up their fluent English and their passion for American films and the Internet. With their suede jackets, baseball caps, wrap-around shades and hipster pants, chatting on mobile phones, blowing kisses and shouting 'Ciao!' at one another, it was hard to remember one was in Belgrade and not at a Notting Hill wine bar. Belgraders say American drinks are no longer in fashion but the bar still did a brisk trade in Coca-Cola and western beers. One group of red-eyed revellers headed off to a street corner to roll a joint. 'This is amazing stuff and it comes from Albania,' said a young woman. 'That's their secret weapon against us.' Under the hail of state propaganda, few have a real idea about the hundreds of thousands of ethnic Albanians expelled from their homes by Serbian forces. For those who do, sympathy is watered down by their own plight. For some of the men, it was only the first time they had ventured out since the air raids began. Many fear being called up by the military under Serbia's tough new regulations. 'It is only the second time I've been out,' said Slobodan, a young designer clutching a glass of spirits and pulling hard on a cigarette. Stevan, a film-maker, was drinking hard, trying to forget he had been called up a week ago. 'I've had to report for duty every day, but so far there has been nothing to do. I'm not at all happy about it.' A lawyer in his early thirties came up to greet his friends sitting out on the street in the spring afternoon. 'I think we should be okay as there are no military targets round here. It's all collateral,' he said. Once employed at a well-known law firm in London, he quipped about filing a suit for damages against Nato countries. 'I think we've got quite a case they haven't legally declared war.' Jovan, another Belgrade yuppie who had also spent several years in London, was puzzling over what to do with the company he had set up to advertise and distribute western goods in Serbia. 'We don't work any more as all our business was with Britain. As far as we know, we are off their maps right now.' Belgrade's Industria club now opens during the day, as air raids shut down the city at night. ~~~~~~~~~~~~ A<>E<>R The only real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes. -Marcel Proust + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + Every great advance in natural knowledge has involved the absolute rejection of authority. -Thomas Huxley + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + Forwarded as information only; no endorsement to be presumed + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107, this material is distributed without charge or profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving this type of information for non-profit research and educational purposes only. DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion and informational exchange list. Proselyzting propagandic screeds are not allowed. Substance�not soapboxing! 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