Oy Vey is Mir means "Woe is me" but it really means "What a world." In reply to Mr. Andrej, I say, "Oy Vey and Vey again". Andrej claims that my assertion - that he supported the coup in Belgrade - is based on lies. To 'prove' this he wriggles and, ultimately, he redbaits. What were my 'lies'? I offered two emails by way of evidence. One of them was an email that Andrej posted Oct. 8 It included a note from a man in Greece, along with Andrej's reply. The man from Greece had written: "Would please tell me where were you when the good old Milosevich was eliminating Muslims in Bosnia and Croats and Kosovars?" This is quite clear. The man has charged Milosevich with "eliminating" people based on religion or ethnic group. In other words, Milosevich is/was (he claims) a racist. He guesses that Andrej failed to protest this alleged racism. Does Andrej refute this outrageous slander? Does he say, 'I was opposed to these wars - BUT Milosevich never attacked anyone based on ethnic group or religion'? No. Instead he accepts the lie without comment and boasts that he was on the streets, opposing these crimes. Where was Andrej when Milosevich was doing these racist things? "[I was] At the very same place where I was when Muslims , Croats and Kosovars were eliminating Serbs: on the streets, protesting about the war..." It is a tragic fact that "Muslims [that is, Islamists] , [secessionist] Croats and Kosovars" DID "eliminate Serbs" on a racial basis during the 1990s. For example, before the attacks on Serbs in 1990-1991 in Split, the local fascist-secessionists (who happened to be Croatian) went to Serbian houses and marked them for attack. So Andrej is IN FACT equating the Miloseivch government with TRULY racialist regimes in Bosnia and Croatia. Because he presents himself as a progressive Yugoslav, Andrej's acceptance of the charge that Milosevich targeted racial or ethnic groups is a HUNDRED TIMES worse than similar charges, made by western Serb bashers, because the Andrejs of this world pose as progressives and are therefore listened to by Western progressives who might otherwise organize against Western Serb-bashing. This is precisely the role that Chomsky has played, though on a much bigger stage - as witness the wave file of his interview on Pacifica Radio during the bombing of Serbia where his ONLY criticism of the bombing of Yugoslavia was that it had (he says - and he lies) encouraged/allowed the Serbs to massacre more Albanians. OK. That's what Andrej wrote In October of 2000. But in February of 2001, Andrej says it's a lie that he has ever accused Milosevich of racialist policies. The February Andrej says: " <"Tudjman and Izetbegovic are, without any doubt, nazi like figures, with similar political <programs. Milosevic, on the other hand, was just a money-thirsty thug, enchanted by power." Doesn't this totally contradict what the October Andrej wrote to the gentleman from Greece? Yes, indeedie. Like, totally dude. Then, having accused me (Jared) of lying, the February Andrej says: " The Milosevic government did installed (sic) apartheid in Kosovo. Problem is much deeper, with a sensitive historical background, which is confirming that, troughout history Serbs were victims- just like today- but, nevertheless, Milosevic did introduced apartheid...' So - Andrej never accused Milosevich of racism - but Milosevich "did introduced (sic) apartheid" in Kosovo? Nice trick, Drej. (BTW, for refutation of Andrej's apartheid LIE, which is known by everyone in Serbia to be a LIE, see http://emperors-clothes.com/articles/Johnstone/1yugo.htm) Andrej says I am lying about him supporting the coup. Here again is his Oct. 8 answer to the man from Greece: "Milosevic was just one of the many who listened to western dictates and used them for their own, dreadful, purposes. But I am waiting for a moment when people who are more responsible for Yugoslav bloodshed than this pathetic garniture of our local thugs is going to be trailed: power structures of Germany, Imperial States of America, England and so on. We have cleaned our backyard, as the old saying goes." "WE HAVE CLEANED OUR OWN BACKYARD." This was THREE days after the coup. Andrej is right - he does not merely ENDORSE the coup - he speaks of it is "OUR own". Andrej makes a big point that the other piece I cited was not actually written by him - that he only forwarded to the list. But so what? Andrej quotes a part of the email in question, in which the writer says that a coup will be good because it will allow the writer to do more political work - and Andrej then says: >This is true, of course. And I was right. Now we really have more space >here. My magazine "Counterpoint", libertarian socialist political mag., is >now in print. Milosevic banned it. Along with my familly who was left on the >streets without job because they were, as professors, supporting students in >1996 when Milosevic had stolen the election ( he admited this fact). "AND I WAS RIGHT" - in other words, the email in question, while not written by him, was presented on Oct. 2 as REPRESENTING HIS VIEWS. And even now, when he is trying to dissociate himself from the Oct,. Andrej - he cannot resist quoting this letter (not written by him) and saying "AND I WAS RIGHT." Now let's look at the implication of what he was "right" about. Prior to the Oct. 5 coup there was far more press freedom in Yugoslavia than in the West; as Diana Johnstone, Petar Makara, Tika Jankovich and a score of other experts and Yugoslavs have confirmed the entire spectrum was represented. And yet Andrej says HIS paper was banned. His group finds the new climate to be far better. Lots of "space." Aint that nice. Today, most Yugoslavs have far LESS "space." The entire media is supervised by the crypto-Fascist Crisis Committees. Even the huge Socialist Party is able to operate only one newspaper, 24 Hours, without the Crisis Committees present. But for Andrej, there is loads more freedom. What does this tell us? Since the Crisis Committees are everywhere, preventing independent publication, perhaps they do not find his views to be a challenge to their rule? Rational refutation failing him, Andrej resorts to slander. He repeats over and over that I am lying - while his "refutations" confirm my assertions. And then, of course, he redbaits: <<Jared is very skilfull- years of experience in Maoist Progressive Labour Party- with manipulating the facts>> Dear Readers, I am an old fart of 56 1/2. In my passionate youth, I was first in the civil rights movement (went on a freedom ride when I was 18) then in the May 2nd movement (I am proud to say I was part of the group of child maniacs that disrupted and permanently closed down the infamous House UnAmerican Acitivites Committee in '64) - and became a leader of the Progressive Labor Party, which in them days was reasonably sane, but became totally nutso after the fall of 1969 - another story for another time. People in Progressive Labor in Boston (before fall 1969) put all their effort into building various mass struggles. I was a student activist - I helped lead the Harvard Building Takeover of 1969 which led to shutting Harvard down for three weeks - in itself a victory for the people. I proposed PL's pre-1969 theory of student work. It was based on opposition to hypocrisy. We conducted struggles WITH THE GOAL OF EXPOSING THE LIES OF UNIVERSITY ADMINISTRATIONS - because, so our theory and practice went, when students saw that the school administrators were lying about their non-involvement in the war in Vietnam, then these students would question many other beliefs. THAT is where I learned to expose lies, Andrej. The glorious struggles of my youth have prepared me to deal with - you. Yay, have the mighty fallen. Jared _______________________________________________ CrashList website: http://website.lineone.net/~resource_base
