-Caveat Lector-
Orthodox Lands Support Serbs
By ALISON MUTLER
.c The Associated Press
BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) -- In the West, the plight of hundreds of thousands
of Kosovar refugees has roused public outrage. But for Yugoslavia's Orthodox
neighbors, it is the NATO bombs raining down on Serbs that have stirred the
most sympathy -- and anger.
Romania, Bulgaria, Macedonia and Greece are all to some extent struggling
with a desire for full acceptance by the West, and an aversion for the NATO
air attacks which some see as threatening their regional stability.
All four have, or want, strong ties with the West and NATO. But while their
governments openly or tacitly support alliance actions against Yugoslavia,
their people resent perceived meddling by such far away countries as the
United States.
``The idea of sovereignty is very precious,'' said Dan Ciachir, a Romanian
commentator.
Nationalism and religion also make for a volatile mix. Being predominantly
Orthodox, many Balkan people feel a church-inspired kinship with the Serbs.
In former Communist countries, the church has used nationalist sentiments to
attract people back to its fold. Many church leaders think the Balkans should
be Christian, and bombing Yugoslavia has been equated by some as an attack
against Orthodoxy.
On a visit to Belgrade this week, Russia's Orthodox patriarch Alexy II took
advantage of that belief to say the Kosovo conflict deteriorated due to
external intervention.
In Greece, the church for years spoke about unwanted foreign meddling in the
region. NATO attacks merely confirmed its theories. Archbishop Christodoulos
of Greece has blamed NATO and not the Serbs for the plight of the refugees,
calling alliance bombers ``the pawns of Satan.''
For more than a century, Balkan nations have felt like pawns, and hardships,
injustice, and the whims of past and present superpowers are woven into their
history. The plight of the Kosovo refugees does not strike so deep a chord in
as it does in the West.
Local media, which have reflected such one-sidedness, have helped shape such
attitudes.
In Romania and Bulgaria, the crisis is seen as a Western plot to justify the
bombing and stir hatred against the Serbian leadership.
``Why doesn't the Romanian media have any reporters covering the refugees?''
asked pro-Western commentator Gabriel Liiceanu. He argues the coverage has
prompted anti-NATO sentiment and is jeopardizing the country's future as a
democracy.
While Western newspapers are laden with stories about ethnic Albanians
suffering atrocities at the hands of Serbian security forces, East European
media tend to focus on developments affecting their countries, while
correspondents file stories about Serbs being bombed.
When a Romanian television channel broadcast a BBC documentary about ethnic
cleansing in Kosovo this week, there were calls demanding it be taken off
from irate viewers who believed the show was a result of Western propaganda.
In Greece, where daily protest rallies are held, many news broadcasts
regularly condemn NATO. But they are unsure of how to explain the refugees,
often blaming airstrikes for the exodus even as their NATO-member government
accuses the Serbs.
Fears the West may satisfy ethnic Albanian demands for autonomy or
independence in Kosovo also create concerns over similar movements emerging
in other states with minority groups.
Macedonia, with a delicate ethnic balance of Albanians and Slavs, worries it
could fall apart because of the influx of more than 100,000 refugees. NATO
forces there are seen both as a safeguard and a threat to its very existence.
But for all the public outcry, none of the countries has so far crossed NATO.
Romania's government is waiting for parliamentary approval later this week to
give NATO unlimited access to its airspace for the bombing campaign. Bulgaria
is waiting for similar approval and its prime minister, Ivan Kostov, told
reporters at NATO headquarters that Bulgaria ``fully supports'' the use of
force in Kosovo.
``Greece has a double identity. It is a European country, which participates
in the European Union and NATO. It is also a Balkan country,'' Greek Premier
Costas Simitis said Wednesday in an address to the Council of Foreign
Relations in New York. ``That means that within our alliances we must act
according to the decision of our alliances.''
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