Louis,
Which would suggest that the revocation of
autonomy by Milosevic is a legitimate action for
them to be upset about. It is true that there was
preferential treatment of the Albanians in Kosmet
from 1974-1990, the period of autonomy. But I
would not say that there was ever particularly an
"atmosphere of tolerance and good will" between
the Serbs and Albanians in Kosmet. The preferential
treatment was imposed from above by Tito. Certainly
there was a reasonably progressive attitude coming
from him, and one that was pretty aware of the subtleties
and difficulties of the situation in the region.
It remains a matter for open debate and discussion
as to why all that preferential treatment did not result in
a better economic performance in Kosovo-Metohija. I
have on more than one occasion expressed my sadness
and mystification about this outcome, which remains a
deep underlying aspect of the current situation, speaking
of political economy and history.
Certainly what happened in Guatamala was naked
racism. But the Kurds are the same race as the Turks, last
time I checked. It is certainly unwarranted cultural repression
in Turkey. But what has it do with political economy? The
Turks have a nasty history of trying to dominate other ethnic
groups and doing so violently. Their physical, not merely
cultural, genocide of the Armenians in 1915 is more clear
even than their repression of the Kurds.
BTW, the Kurds are
getting repressed by all the nations in the neighborhood,
irrespective of their ideology, nominally socialist as in Syria
and Iraq, nominally Islamic capitalist as in Iran, or just plain
Kemalist state capitalist as in Turkey. Historical and politically
economic enough for you, Uncle Lou?
Barkley Rosser
Barkley Rosser
-----Original Message-----
From: Louis Proyect <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Date: Tuesday, May 18, 1999 2:58 PM
Subject: [PEN-L:6984] Rosser on Kurds/Kosovars
>>Louis,
>> Gosh, I just said I wasn't going to say more on
>>this, but...
>> Ummm, but in Guatemala it was a minority of
>>the population that was suppressing a majority of
>>the population, just as in Kosovo-Metohija, whereas
>>in Turkey it is the majority that is suppressing the
>>minority, as in Nicaragua.
>>Barkley Rosser
>
>No, Barkley, you don't get it. You have shifted the axis of the discussion
>once again away from political economy and history. Majority/minority is
>irrelevant to what was happening in Guatemala. The real issue was naked
>racism toward a marginalized people. In Nicaragua and Yugoslavia, there was
>a genuine atmosphere of tolerance and good-will, just as there was in
>Nicaragua. Kosovars were not brutalized in the decade preceding the
>suspension of autonomy. They received preferential treatment. They enjoyed
>a higher degree of investment in infrastructure and capital projects; their
>schools were expanded at an impressive rate; they enjoyed full autonomy.
>The Turks did not provide such treatment for the Kurds. If they did, it is
>likely that there would be no "Kurdish question". In fact, the guerrilla
>leader who was just kidnapped by the Turks demanded autonomy, not
>secession. All these things are obvious to anybody who has taken even a
>superficial glance at Kosovo in the period of 1975-1985. Why you want to
>sweep these facts under the rug is beyond me.
>
>Louis Proyect
>
>(http://www.panix.com/~lnp3/marxism.html)
>
>
