-Caveat Lector- > > ----- Original Message ----- > Sent: Saturday, November 25, 2000 4:17 PM > Subject: SN793:An Open Letter To Diana Johnstone > > > > "The light shone by the media is not the regular sweep of the lighthouse, > > but a random searchlight directed at the whim of its controllers" > > Douglas Hurd > > > > An Open Letter To Diana Johnstone > > > > By Bl. Doncheva, > > Sofia, Bulgaria > > > > Diana Johnstone, a well-known progressive US journalist , has let in the > > public space three articles on the September-October events in Yugoslavia, > > more or less a shocking surprise for me. > > > > I would have awarded her writings with the silence they deserve if my > > mail-box has not been assaulted with them from all quarters of the world. > > > > You see what a harm can be done by a false assessment of events by a > justly > > won popularity and authority of an honest journalist in the past. (The > > question if it is only a "false assessment of events" or ordered "false > > assessment of events" remains open.) > > > > What is wrong with "In a Spin ", the last Diana Johnstone's article I have > > received by a Zmag.org readers both from Canada and Holland? > > > > The wrong in her article can be roughly devided in three groups. > > > > 1/ She thinks the elections in Yugoslavia (September 24) have been > > "democratic". She insists on it. She repeats that sham several times. Free > > expression of free will. > > > > The truth is they have been BLATANTLY undemocratic. > > > > a) Because of the great sums of money poured into Yugoslavia from the US > and > > NATO countries > > - see Emperors-clothes (or www.tenc.net): there you will find SEVERAL > > well-grounded articles on that subject, incl. USA Senate Protocol on some > of > > the KNOWN enourmous sums of US money approved by the Senate; > > - see "New York Times" article by STEVEN ERLANGER, September 20, page A3, > > http://www.nytimes.com/partners/screensaver/index.html?eta2 > > > > b) Because of the direct most ARROGANT interference in the internal > affairs > > of a still sovereign country (before October 6 Yugoslavia WAS a sovereign > > country!) by way of the > > - so-called "temporary US Embassy" set in Budapest and the feverish > > activities of the US Ambassador there; > > - aborriginal - colonial - comprador - etc., government of Bulgaria, a > > country fully dependant on USA-NATO ("Bulgaria has lost a 100 % of its > > sovereignty", B. Dimitrov, a Bulgarian historian and scientist, on one of > > the cable TV on Sunday, Oct. 22). > > Read again Emperors-clothes > > (www.tenc.net), and also http://www.indymedia.org (There is a SEARCH > window > > there. You write Bulgaria and click.) > > At Emperors-clothes you can find the Memorandum of the Yugoslavian > > government concerning that flagrant interference and at both sites you > will > > find some translatrions from the Bulgaria media announcing how CIA have > used > > the Bulgarian territory and some of the Bulgarian US lackeys for their > > dirty tricks. > > I ask Ms. Diana Johnstone, Zmag site and D. Johnstone's fans how they will > > classify > > - lecturing "Otpor" activists in Sofia by CIA trainees for a week just > > before the elections, or > > - announced attempt at a parallel counting in Bulgaria the votes of an > > election in another STILL sovereign country? > > > > IS IT INTERFERENCE OR NOT? > > > > If there is such interference, could elections be democratic? > > > > "That is the question." That is why I think there is something rotten in > D. > > Johnstone's position re the tragic Yugoslavian September and October 2000. > > > > 2/ Ms. D. Johnstone thinks a lot about Mr. Kostunica. > > > > He is great. A nationalist. A lover of his country. A justice fighter. He > > has saved Mr. Milosevic and his family from lynching. A valorous person. A > > paradigm of perfection. > > I.e., Ms. D. Johnstone is diligently building a myth around Kostunica, > > telling fairy-stories and obstinately going round the facts. > > > > And the facts are both simple and sad. > > > > a/ Kostunica is a leader of an obscure insignificant party. > > I.e., he would have NEVER been pushed ahead as a presidential candidate if > > that had not been the decision of the newly founded DOS - and those > > monitoring it. > > Everybody of the reading public knows how DOS has appeared at the > political > > scene in Yugoslavia and the Balkans. > > Everybody knows that it has happened under the prescription and pressure > of > > the USA-CIA and German agents cradling the so-called "opposition" in > > Yugoslavia for months, not to say for years on a run. > > Everybody from the region at least knows which party and which leader has > > the last say in that coalition of parties. > > For Ms. Johnstone and the others who do not know, the answers are: > DJINDJIC' > > s party. DJINDJIC. > > She herself has given a characteristic of DJINDJIC. > > > > Logical Conclusion: > > > > Kostunica is a Nobody. > > He is only a pitiable Puppet On a String. > > DJINDJIC's man - i.e., USA-Germany-NATO's man. > > He has been intensely used to lure the Yugoslavians into the deadly trap > of > > MacDeath AllDark and Company. The Globalisers. > > > > b/ Ms. Johnstone's Kostunica myth is instilling into her readers totally > > wrong impression of her favourite's character and moral. > > > > In that connection I have the following questions to Ms. Johnstone and her > > fans: > > > > If Kostunica is an intelligent person, wouldn't he FIRST read the DOS > > program? > > > > Is it possible to admit that he has accepted to run for a presidential > > candidate of a coalition WITHOUT even having read FIRST its program?!? > > If he has read it but has not undersood the economical part being ignorant > > about the ways of IMF and WB, NWO (Globalisation) etc., wouldn't he ask > > independent specialists for clarifying the dark points? > > But if he is so ignorant about the malignant cancer wolfing the world for > > years on a run, could he be accepted as so very intelligent? > > Or, if we agree that he IS brilliant, then won't we be right to doubt his > > moral? > > How could a patriot - a nationalist, as the rumour is - stand behind such > a > > program as the one of G-17, DOS economists and IMF and WB experts? > > A program that will strip Yugoslavia from even the pale remnants of a > > sovereignity in no time!.... > > A program that will kill his people, force them on their knees, steal > their > > hopes! > > A program that will kill his country!... > > And here is another equally painful and tragic question: > > How could a patriot stand behind the future canonization - > disintegration - > > of his country? > > > > How could a patriot be for the murdering of his people and country both in > > economical and political sense?!!!?... > > > > c/ According to Ms. Johnstone the FASCIST POGROMS on October 5-6 in > Belgrade > > had been carried out without Mr. Kostunica knowledge and approval - of > > course. It seems Mr. Kostunica has lived 2-3 days on a run in a blissful > > ignorance of what is going on in the Belgrade streets and the Skupstina! > > (Notwithstanding the relish with which all the Conquerors' TV programs > have > > kept unrolling again and again pictures of the CIA orchestrated VANDALISM! > > He has not an access to a TV set - maybe.) > > Surely he had not known anything about the simultaneous attacks against > SPS > > offices in Belgrade and all over the country, or the FASCIST violence > > against SPS members. > > > > Let's agree with Ms. Johnstone that he did not know. > > > > Later he has learned and stopped them - how exactly? Ms. Johstone says > just > > that - he has stopped them and valourously saved Mr. Milosevic's life. He > > has not allowed the Chaushesku scenario to be repeated. > > But what has he done practically? Has he gone out to talk with that > FASCIST > > Mayor of Cacak? Has he sent other thugs to stop the first ones? Has he > such > > "good" thugs at his disposal to send them against the "bad" ones? > > Could an ABJECT puppet on strings interfere at critical moments? > > Is it really possible for Kostunica to exercise such power? > > Or the FASCISTS have stopped simply because the Monitoring Center has > > ordered them to stop? > > Or Mr. Milosevic and his family have not been lynched only because the > > Monitoring Center has decided not to go to such extremities just now? > > Mr. Muilosevic's lynching - and eventually of his family together with all > > his baby-grandchildren - might have been postponed for a later date - for > > another CNN bloody spin (surely while beloved Kostunica is peacefully > > sleeping with his cats...) > > > > 3/ Serb Voters' justification. > > > > Ms. Johnstone's insistent paper wall building between Kostunica and > > DJINDJIC, her fairy-story about Kostunica's "independence" from both > German > > and USA main man, DJINDJIC, is truly exasperating, mildly said. > > > > But what is unbearable - for me - is her justification of the Serbian > > voters. > > At least I accept the final part of her article as such justification. > > > > In contrast to her I do not think there is a justification for a betrayal > of > > a country and a people. > > > > Nothing can justify your Mother and Father trading for a PROVEN lie - for > an > > illusion! > > > > What can justify the trading of the children of a people for some seconds > on > > the TV and shoulder-pattings from a World Murderess? > > > > An honest and responsible journalist would have had the will and time to > add > > and underline that for the past eleven years Bulgarians have known depths > of > > misery and suffering still unknown for the poor Serb voters! > > Without being bombed. > > Without being sanctioned. > > Without being isolated internationally or banned from travelling in the > > sense the Serbs had been. > > Just because Bulgarian DJINDJIC-Kostunica-Drashkovic-Shesheli etc., have > > served us, Bulgarians, with a curtsey to IMF, WB, USA-NATO, EU! > > > > What poverty is Ms. Johnstone writing about? > > > > What does she know about poverty? > > > > Could she imagine the extent of poverty that turns a human being first > into > > a helpless stray hungry dog - then into a bewildered hungry cockroach - > then > > into a rotting piece of vegetable in a dump container?!?... > > > > The Serb voters, Ms. Johnstone, know NOTHING about poverty... > > They have had and enjoyed their SOCIAL, HEALTH, EDUCATIONAL SYSTEMS > > untouched and functioning for WHOLE ELEVEN YEARS MORE than us, the > > Bulgarians. > > > > Soon those most IGNORANT and CRIMINALLY IRRESPONSIBLE boys and girls from > > CIA "Otpor" will have to pay for their education. > > > > Soon many of the Institutes and Universities, opened for them now, will be > > closed for good. > > > > Soon all the Serb Voters will have to pay unbearable sums for what has > been > > free of charge till now... > > > > Many of the hospitals now will be closed. > > Villages will be left without doctors and medicine. > > > > Soon only those with money will be able to go to a doctor or a dentist... > > > > Soon only those with money will be operated in the hospitals that will be > > left to function. > > > > HOW MANY WILL HAVE THE MONEY? > > > > That is what CIA "Otpor" and the other IGNORANT AND IRRESPONSIBLE young > > people have jumped for in the Belgrade streets after September 24. > > > > The Serb Voters had their factories and plants - their industry - > untouched > > and functioning. They could work and live on their wages notwithstanding > how > > small they were. > > > > Soon they will have NO industry - so NO wages. In exchange they will > receive > > the NWO right to dig into the dump containers for a mouldy piece of bread! > > > > The minors who went on a strike in suport of the New World Order Reign in > > Yugoslavia will have no work at which to strike anymore. The mines will be > > closed and their 80 dollars per month now will disappear as a smoke... > > Some of them will turn into dump-containers' diggers. > > Others will blow themselves to pieces, kicked into a trap without any way > > out. (That is just what some Bulgarian minors did.) > > Some will choose simpler means - a rope, a knife, a jump from a high > storey > > or a rock... > > > > Serb Voters will NEVER be "normal Europeans again". The USA and Western > > Monsters they have sold themselves to have not planned that for them. They > > want the riches of their country - they are interested solely in that and > > the full conquest of the Balkans as a starting step for new crusades! > > > > THEY WANT THE RICHES OF YUGOSLAVIA AND ITS TERRITORY, NOT THE POPULATION. > > > > For them every population in every conquered country is only a nuisance: > > less people - less problems. > > > > Now the Serbs themselves - the Serb Voters to an extent - have given the > > World Vultures the possibility to lecture them on > > > > GENOSIDE - WHAT IS THIS? > > > > When the Serb Voters begin to really worry about what so many people all > > round the world have kept writing and warning - warning and writing - it > > will be too late!... > > > > Serbs problems till September 24 - October 5-6 were minor problems in > > comparison with what is in store for them - in comparison with what > DJINDJIC > > ' Masters will get out of their pockets for the Heroic Serb Voters indeed! > > > > How could minor problems be solved by changing them with a bunch of very > > grave - of really deadly problems - I cannot understand. It is not a > > solution. > > It is a death sentence! > > > > I have not a word of justification for the Serb Voters and all those who > > have taken part in the FASCIST Pogroms and CIA coup in Belgrade. > > > > They have welcome IMF and WB DOS leaders like DJINDJIC and DOS experts > (see > > www.tenc.net) - > > > > AFTER SEATTLE, NOVEMBER 30, 1999; > > AFTER DAVOS, JANUARY 2000; > > AFTER WASHINGTON, APRIL 16; > > AFTER MELBOURNE, SEPTEMBER 11; > > After Prague, September 26!!! > > > > How could WILFUL IGNORANCE be justified? > > > > They have betrayed not only themselves and their people and country. > > They have betrayed my country too. > > They have betrayed the Balkans. The World. > > > > Now really courageous people will fall bloody victims to what their > > IGNORANCE and IRRESPONSIBILITY has made possible - and not only in > > Yuigoslavia... > > > > Remember Guatemala. El Salvador. Chili. Colombia. Bolivia... > > > > And pray. > > > > Bl. Doncheva > > Sofia, Bulgaria > > October, 2000 > > > > "How fortunate for governments (CIA, USA-NATO) that the people (some Serb > > voters, CIA Otpor, Cacak thugs) they administer don't think." Adolph > Hitler > > > > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- > -- > > ------------------ > > > > > > http://www.zmag.org/johnstonem.htm > > 11 octobre 2000 > > IN A SPIN > > > > by Diana Johnstone > > > > The "October surprise" that brought a change of power in Belgrade was > > actually two events, one superimposed on the other. One was a democratic > > election, made in Serbia. The other was a totally undemocratic putsch, > made > > in the "international community", otherwise known as NATOland. > > The democratic election would have been sufficient to oblige Slobodan > > Milosevic to retire as Yugoslav President. The majority of Yugoslav voters > > had long wished a change in leadership, and Vojislav Kostunica emerged as > an > > acceptable alternative. > > But the NATO-backed putschists wanted more. They wanted two things that > the > > legal elections could not provide: a dramatic media spectacle that would > fit > > the Western "spin", and a seizure of power beyond the limited powers of > the > > Yugoslav presidency. > > The Democratic Election > > The Yugoslav elections were called by Milosevic himself. Having been > elected > > President of Serbia in the country's first multi-party elections in 1990, > > the "dictator" had followed the constitutional rules and left the Serbian > > presidency at the end of his second term, whereupon he was elected by the > > Yugoslav parliament to the mainly symbolic office of Yugoslav president. > > Having sponsored a constitutional change which would allow him to be > > re-elected, but by universal suffrage, he went on to call early elections, > > months before his term was to run out in mid-2001. > > Milosevic was lured into this move by advisors pointing to deceptive > public > > opinion polls indicating that he could win by a margin of 150,000 votes in > > the autumn, before winter hardships turned voters against him. This is > > similar to the "joke" played on French president Jacques Chirac, who > called > > the early elections that brought his left opposition headed by Lionel > Jospin > > into office. In Paris, it is even rumored that it was a French advisor who > > urged Milosevic to make this fatal error. > > In short, Milosevic was not a "dictator" but a calculating politician > trying > > to stay in office in a multi-party electoral system he had largely > > introduced. Aware that his popularity ratings had long been in decline, he > > counted on several factors to help him get the necessary 50% of the vote > to > > be re-elected President of Yugoslavia. These were > > � the chronic squabbling of the so-called "democratic" (meaning bourgeois, > > as the Swedes call the center right) opposition and the public rejection > of > > its main leaders (especially Democratic Party leader Zoran Djindjic); > > � the fact that Montenegrin president Milo Djukanovic was sure to call for > a > > boycott of the elections as part of his secession strategy, which would > > leave only pro-Milosevic voters willing to go to improvised polling > > stations; > > � the prospect of a couple of hundred thousand solid votes from Kosovo > > constituencies (where ethnic Albanians would, as usual, boycott the > > election) and from the armed forces. > > Aware of its weakness, the opposition which had first loudly demanded > early > > elections then threatened to boycott them, claiming that they would be > > rigged by Milosevic. The NATOland chorus joined in, proclaiming that > > Yugoslav elections would not be "fair and free" and that Milosevic was > > certain to cheat. > > In fact, thanks to a normal democratic system of multi-party supervisors > at > > polling stations, cheating in Yugoslav elections was nearly impossible in > > Serbia proper, except perhaps for the hundred thousand or so soldiers who > > vote in barracks. Kosovo and Montenegro offered limited opportunities for > > cheating only because of the obstructionism of the separatists. In the > end, > > Milosevic was a whopping 700,000 votes short. Official results gave > > Kostunica over 48% of the vote in a five-man race. This fell slightly > short > > of the 50% required to win, but indicated an almost certain landslide in > the > > runoff against Milosevic, who trailed by some ten percentage points. > > (Yugoslav electoral law calls for a second round if no candidate wins an > > absolute majority in the first round.) > > Here is where both sides contributed to a confusion that gave an > opportunity > > to the putschists to move to steal the election. Apparently in a state of > > shock, the government announced the results slowly and without complete > > details. The "Democratic Opposition in Serbia" (DOS) backing Kostunica > > demanded recognition of a claimed first round victory and announced it > would > > boycott the second round. This raised the danger of a second round that > > Milosevic could win by default. The prospect of two winners -- one in the > > first round, the other in the second -- would have created a dangerous > civil > > war situation, favorable to NATO intervention. Kostunica's backers argued > > that since Milosevic had cheated in the first round, he would cheat even > > more in the second -- this was not plausible, but widely believed anyway, > as > > the demonization of the former leader and future scapegoat picked up > > momentum. > > The DOS thereby moved the contest from the ballot box into the streets, > > where "the people" would demand recognition of Kostunica's election. This > > prepared the way for power -- and property -- to change hands amid > confusion > > and violence. > > Neither the police nor the Army was willing to support Milosevic against a > > patriotic Serb like Kostunica who had won popular support in a legal > > election. Their neutrality seems to have been ensured by the influence of > > two key figures dismissed by Milosevic two years ago, former security > chief > > Jovica Stanisic and former army chief of staff Momcilo Perisic, who > retained > > friends and influence in the police and the armed forces respectively. The > > rallying of other figures who had been part of the Milosevic power > structure > > was hastened by Kostunica's reiterated assurances that there would be no > > vengeance. Former Milosevic followers began flocking to the side of > > Kostunica seeking protection from his short-run supporter and long-term > > rival, Zoran Djindjic, well known as Germany's man in Serbia. Thus > Kostunica > > gained the Yugoslav presidency both because he was _not_ Milosevic and > > because he was _not_ Djindjic. But Djindjic has been strikingly active in > > grabbing the substance of victory away from the successful DOS candidate. > > The Media Spectacle > > It is arguable that Kostunica -- considered the most honest of political > > leaders -- could have won the presidential election just as easily (more > > easily, some supporters claim) if the United States and its NATO allies > had > > refrained from pumping millions of dollars and deutschmarks into the > country > > to support what they called "the democratic opposition". But it is far > less > > likely that without all that excess cash, we would have been treated to > the > > spectacle of the October 5th "democratic revolution", when a large crowd > > stormed the venerable Skupstina, the parliament building in the center of > > Belgrade. That event, presented to the world public as the most > spontaneous > > act of self-liberation, was probably the single most planned act of all. > It > > was staged for the TV cameras which filmed and relayed the same scenes > over > > and over again: youths breaking through windows, flags waving, flames > > rising, smoke enveloping what some newspapers described as "the symbol of > > the Milosevic regime". > > This was utter nonsense. It was like calling Big Ben the "symbol of the > > Blair regime" or the Capitol the "symbol of the Clinton regime". But the > > Western spinners needed symbols and drama for the latest episode in the > hit > > TV fiction series of the 1990s starring the "genocidal dictator", Slobodan > > Milosevic. It wouldn't do for "Europe's last communist dictator" simply to > > lose a democratic election. Something more exalted was needed. So there > was > > an attempt to revive a hit drama of a decade earlier, the "fall of > > Ceaucescu", which was also contrived and staged. If Milosevic and his wife > > met the same bloody fate as the Rumanian ruling couple, that would be > > "proof" enough for the media that they were equivalent to the dictator > > couple of Bucharest. > > But they weren't and fortunately it didn't happen quite like that. In > > Belgrade there was no equivalent of the Securitate (Rumanian secret > police) > > to stage the drama. There was only a gang of toughs bussed in from Cacak, > as > > the town's mayor later boasted to Western media, who led the mob up the > > Skupstina steps and easily broke into the scarcely guarded building, which > > was systematically vandalized and set on fire, causing considerable damage > > to public property. The liberators then went on to smash shop windows and > > steal property in nearby shopping streets. This failed to provoke the > > bloodshed that would have improved the TV show, but the vandals did their > > best. > > The fiercely anti-communist mayor of Cacak, Velimir Ilic, told the French > > news agency AFP that his armed "commando" of 2,000 men had set out quite > > deliberately on October 5 to "take control of the key institutions of the > > regime, including the parliament and the television". > > "Our action had been prepared in advance. Among my men were ex-parachute > > troops, former army and police officers as well as men who had fought in > > special forces," he told AFP. "A number of us wore bullet-proof vests and > > carried weapons", he added proudly. Ilic said contact was maintained > > throughout the action with high police and Interior Ministry officials, > but > > that president-elect Kostunica was unaware of what was going on. "We were > > afraid he'd be opposed", said Ilic. And indeed, when he got word of what > was > > going on, Kostunica by all accounts prevented the commandos from hunting > > down Milosevic and giving their spectacle a bloody finale. > > Some of these former "special forces" commandos included veterans of the > > civil wars in Croatia and Bosnia. The peak of irony lies in the fact that > > such paramilitaries, primarily responsible for giving the Serbian people > the > > (unjustified) reputation of "ethnic cleansers" and war criminals, were > > instantly promoted by Western media into heroes of an inspiring > "democratic > > revolution". But there is a consistency about it: the same tiny group of > men > > are able to perform for world media as an exaggerated caricature of "the > > Serbs", first as villains, later as heroes. > > The ordinary citizens of Belgrade deplored the violence of October 5th, as > > they had deplored the violence of the civil wars. And the large crowds who > > gathered in Belgrade squares to support their candidate, Kostunica, were > > blissfully unaware of how they were being used as extras in an > international > > TV production. > > Violence Versus Votes > > The law-abiding citizens of Belgrade were also unaware of how the euphoria > > in the streets would provide cover for an ongoing campaign of violence and > > intimidation aimed at changing the whole power structure in Serbia, > outside > > of any democratic or legal process. The Skupstina that was targeted for > > vandalism was not "the symbol of Milosevic's regime" but a parliament > where > > the Socialist Party and its allies still had a duly elected majority. The > > "democratic revolution" in the streets did not attack a Bastille prison to > > liberate dissenters, but the seat of the democratically elected > > representatives of the people. The mob ransacked and set fire to the > federal > > Electoral Commission offices inside the Skupstina, reportedly setting fire > > to ballots collected there, making it highly unlikely that the disputed > > first round score will ever be satisfactorily clarified. > > The spectacle enabled the managers of street violence to claim the > > "democratic revolution" as their own, openly attempting to relegate > > Kostunica to a figurehead role. > > Since then, throughout the country, Socialist Party headquarters have been > > assaulted and demolished, officials have been beaten and expelled from > their > > functions by gangs of "democrats". The most lucrative enterprises have > been > > seized. Strange parallel governments called "crisis headquarters" have > been > > set up without any democratic mandate to redistribute property and > offices. > > The "revolutionaries" can be sure the NATO benefactors of Serbian > democracy > > will not ask for their money back so long as they target the left, which > is > > identified only as "the Milosevic regime". The clear lesson: "democracy" > is > > not defined by elections, but by NATO approval. Methods don't matter. The > > end justifies the means. > > Franco-German Rivalries > > All through the Yugoslav drama of the past decade, not to mention for well > > over a century, internal conflicts have reflected external great power > > rivalries. This is still going on. > > Among these rival powers, Russia scarcely counts any more. The Russians > have > > more to lose from the Western absorption of Serbia than the Serbs have to > > gain from the Russians, who have been too weak to do anything to stop the > > steady erosion of their influence in the Balkans. As one observer put it, > > "the Serbs have the impression that the Russians only want to share their > > poverty, while the Serbs would rather share American wealth". > > The rival powers are now all Western. A few years ago, Paris tried to > > support Vuk Draskovic against both Milosevic on the one hand and the > German > > party (represented by Djindjic) on the other, but Draskovic proved too > > unreliable. Today, the implicit rivalry is between Kostunica, supported by > > France, and Djindjic, supported by Germany. > > This division is a matter of political principle as well as personality, > and > > relates to conflicting French and German views of the future of Europe. > > Kostunica, as is constantly repeated is a "nationalist" or, we could say, > a > > patriot, who wants to preserve his nation-state, by giving it a new, > modern > > democratic constitution. As a scholar of American federalism, he would > base > > a political order for the future Yugoslavia on the American 18th century > > model. > > For Djindjic, this is old-fashioned nonsense, good only for a transitional > > moment toward the dissolution of all the Balkan nations into a modern > > European Union where politics will take a backseat to business. Djindjic, > > who studied in Germany, believes in "civil society" where the private > sphere > > outweighs the "res publica", and public political life is reduced to > > imagery. Business versus politics could sum up the conflict between these > > two. > > Kostunica plans to stay in office for only a year, just the time to > complete > > his constitutional reform. Thereupon Djindjic, who could never have won > this > > election, openly hopes to take over. > > The Economy, Stupid > > For many years, the alternate currency in Serbia has been the Deutschmark, > > traded on every street corner by men murmuring "devize, devize". During > the > > weeks leading up to the fall of Milosevic, so many D-marks have flooded > into > > the country that the precious currency recently lost half its value. > > Everyone believes that most of this money flows in through Djindjic. It > > seems to have been spent less on the election (Yugoslav election campaigns > > are not the expensive affairs run in the United States) than on preparing > > aspects of "the putsch" that followed: the forceful takeover of media by > > "independent" (i.e., NATO-approved) journalists, of key businesses and > > official positions which has been going on since the October 5 arson of > the > > Skupstina. > > The European Union has moved quickly to lift some economic sanctions > against > > Serbia and Madeleine Albright has also proclaimed the need to give the > > Serbian people "some dividends out of democracy" and to help President > > Kostunica. "We want to support him, we want to get assistance to him. I've > > been talking to our European partners. We will be lifting certain economic > > sanctions to make sure that the people can recover and the Danube is > > cleared," she declared. > > Here the key word is "Danube". NATO bombing destroyed Serb bridges and > > blocked the Danube to European shipping, much of it German. The priority > for > > Germany is to reopen the Danube, and it is for this purpose that important > > funds will be provided. To be precise, funds will be "lent": > > Western generosity will take its usual form of the "debt trap", and > Yugoslav > > public services will have to be cut back for years to come in order to > repay > > the Western powers for rebuilding the transportation structure they > > themselves destroyed. The reconstructed transportation structure will be > > used to ship other people's commercial goods through the country to other > > people's markets. The "democratic dividend" will mainly benefit German > > business. > > But for the moment, the Serbian voters do not want to worry about that. > They > > have been bombed, isolated, sanctioned, banned from traveling to other > > countries, reduced to poverty and treated as pariahs. Their main "crime" > was > > to have wanted to preserve multiethnic Yugoslavia and to have been > reluctant > > to give up all the benefits of self-management socialism in favor of the > > "shock treatment" impoverishing people in Russia and neighboring Bulgaria. > > Since Yugoslavia was not part of the Soviet bloc, its people were slow to > > realize that the defeat of the Soviet bloc meant that they too had to bow > to > > the dictates of the West. Now they can dream of being "normal" Europeans > > again. For a relatively small minority, the dream of prosperity will no > > doubt come true. For others, there will be some unpleasant surprises. But > > that doesn't matter now. > > "People in Serbia are not looking for the truth", observed Serbian writer > > Milan Ratkovic, who lives in Paris. "They are looking for comforting > lies." > > >From being portrayed as monsters, the Serbs are suddenly being celebrated > by > > Western media as heroes. They can turn on Western TV and see heroic images > > of themselves. "Look," says Ratkovic, "we held out longer than anybody > else > > in Eastern Europe. Against us, the West had to use all its weapons and all > > its tricks." Sometimes the only way to solve a problem is to change > > problems. > > > > > > Miroslav Antic, > > http://www.antic.org/SNN/ > > > <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/">www.ctrl.org</A> DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance�not soap-boxing�please! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'�with its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright frauds�is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. ======================================================================== Archives Available at: http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html <A HREF="http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html">Archives of [EMAIL PROTECTED]</A> http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ <A HREF="http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/">ctrl</A> ======================================================================== To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om
