I realize that it appears that I called for a
victory for the Albanians of some sort, if not
necessarily the UCK/KLA whom I've already
said I don't support. That is not what I intended.
I only said that refugees would not return unless
there was such a victory.
I have given up on the refugees returning, unlike
the NATO diplomats. The sooner they do too, the
better, unfortunately. I am not applauding this
outcome. I am staring it in the face and saying,
"there it is, tough."
The hard part will be coming up with that fig leaf
to get NATO to stop bombing. Probably it will include
some commitment to the refugees being returned. Well,
that was promised in Bosnia-Herzegovina, but, hah!, it has
not happened.
I've said before the UN is the obvious entity to be an
international overseer, with the OSCE a possible second
choice. But I don't think that even rule by either of them will
lead to a return of the refugees in significant numbers without
an Albanian "victory." Again, this is not a call for such a
victory.
BTW, with regard to those happy Albanians lolling about
in the northeast, let me note that we have already discussed
how there has been much less "cleansing" in the north by
the Serbs. This is, of course, one of the reasons that partition
is not a likely option (I have just sent a letter about partition to
the Washington Post after another dingbat went on about it
and how the "monuments so precious to the Serbs" are allegedly
in the northeast of Kosovo-Metohiha. Gag!!).
Barkley Rosser
PS: I have no more to say about the Kurds and the Kosovars
per se.
-----Original Message-----
From: Jim Devine <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Date: Tuesday, May 18, 1999 1:03 PM
Subject: [PEN-L:6973] Re: Re: Re: Rosser on Kurds/Kosovars
>Barkley writes: >... after the revocation of autonomy in 1990 the Serbs
>clearly began to discriminate against the Albanians in a variety of ways,
>including notably in admissions to the main university. It is unfortunate
>that neither group there has seemed willing on the ground to treat the
>other in a decent and fair fashion when they have been in charge. This
>does suggest the need for some outside force to be in charge. However,
>unless that coincides with a clear supremacy and victory for the Albanians,
>I do not think that many, if any, of the refugees will return. ...<
>
>It's "unfortunate that _neither_ group...." (my emphasis) so we need "a
>clear supremacy and victory for the [Kosovar ethnic] Albanians."
>
>That doesn't follow. If _both_ groups were and are involved, refusing "to
>treat the other in a decent and fair fashion when they have been in
>charge," then victory for the Albanians seems way off the mark. They simply
>launch a pogrom against ethnic Serbs (if they haven't already done so),
>with US/NATO backing, given the way some of our leaders and THE NEW
>REPUBLIC are bruiting about "collective responsibility" of the Serbs.
>
>By the way, what "outside force" should be "in charge"? The US and NATO are
>hardly outside forces at this point. They are players in the bloody game,
>seemingly the most powerful and thus the most responsible ones.
>
>Barkley continues: >... And of course, it remains the case that the Turks
>have done nothing to the Kurds that is comparable to what the Serbs have
>done to the Albanians in the last two months, not even close, which was my
>original point in this thread. Why are people so resistant to admitting
this?<
>
>I don't think people are "resistant to admitting this," Barkley. Rather,
>they see the Serb-against-Kosovar stuff as only one part of the puzzle.
>They're blaming the US/NATO for _setting off_ the chain of events of the
>last two months. They also see situation as more complicated than a simple
>Serb-against-ethnic Albanian Kosovar pogrom, bringing in issues of the KLA
>insurgency and the Serbian government's counterinsurgency, which along with
>US/NATO's strategic bombing encouraged the disgusting situation.
>
>Jim Devine [EMAIL PROTECTED] &
>http://clawww.lmu.edu/Faculty/JDevine/jdevine.html
>Bombing DESTROYS human rights. US/NATO out of Serbia!
>
>
