http://www.antiwar.com/malic/m-col.html
ANTIWAR, Thursday, August 7, 2003
Balkan Express
by Nebojsa Malic
Antiwar.com
The New Janissaries
How Low Can Serbia's Rulers Go?
This week, just as His Elevated Majesty was becoming increasingly testy
about all the questioning of his feeble rationalizations for the Empire's
Middle Eastern adventure which has turned quite sour for the troops on
the
ground Washington received an unlikely morale booster. It was
announced
that during his late July visit to Washington, Serbian Prime Minister Zoran
Zivkovic offered 1000 Serbian troops for the occupation of Iraq or
Afghanistan "any mission" His Majesty decides on.
During the centuries of occupation, Ottoman Turks would regularly round up
young Serbs and other Balkans Christians, march them to Istanbul, convert
them to Islam and train them as the sultans' shock troops and
administrators. This was known as devshirme, or the "blood levy," and these
converts as janissaries. This conscription and forcible conversion was
considered a particularly painful episode in Serbian history.
Apparently, in
the "new democracy," that has changed.
The Blood Offering
Zivkovic came to Washington in order to boost his flagging popularity among
Serbians by appearing to enjoy favor with the ultimate power. Upon his
return, he talked about "strategic partnership" and "end to pressure and
coercion," never mentioning the troops.
The Prime Minister's offer was revealed in a patronizing Washington Post
column this Monday. Even as it actually sought foreign mercenaries to
relieve the strain on its shock troops, the Empire was so scornful of its
groveling slaves that it treated the offer cautiously. The columnist who
reported it, one Jackson Diehl, was openly contemptuous.
One is tempted to treat Diehl himself with caution. He displays appalling
disrespect for facts by claiming NATO "crushed" the Yugoslav Army in
1999
(it didn't), and that Serbia was "the most frequent starting point for
European wars in the past 100 years" (it wasn't). He reported differently
from Kosovo back in 1986, when he still knew how. But given the Dossies'
record of prostrating Serbia (not so much themselves) before Washington, the
claim that Zivkovic offered troops is credible enough.
Furthermore, news from Belgrade this past weekend was that Dossie defense
minister Boris Tadic purged the top brass, forcing into retirement a
perfectly competent general who humbled NATO in Kosovo, as well as the head
of Army Intelligence. While Tadic has pledged to purge opposition to joining
NATO's satellite program "Partnership for Peace," these dismissals might be
aimed specifically at clearing the way for Zivkovic's troop offer.
"Partners" or Servants
Is it not enough that four years ago the Empire launched a war of aggression
against Serbia accusing it of "invading" its own territory thus
committing a clear-cut prima facie war crime? Now the Serbs are expected to
join Imperial aggression against Afghanistan, Iraq, and God only knows who
else, and maybe even say, "thank you very much, may we have another?" to the
whole issue of NATO's barbaric bombing.
Perhaps not. Again, Zivkovic had not mentioned the troops at all until
Tuesday night, when the word got out on CNN. Serbian media then re-broadcast
the news, and it was all over the Wednesday morning newspapers as well.
Obviously, someone in Washington talked. So much for the "strategic
partnership," then.
So what now? With the Empire "considering" Zivkovic's offer, how will Serbia
react? Will the Women In Black protest the deployment of Serbian conscripts
to an Imperial war, the way they protested "Serbian nationalist aggression"?
Or is it OK to die for foreign "democracy," but not for one's own home?
Don't bet on it. All the supposedly pro-peace and human-rights NGOs are a
pillar of Dossie (i.e. Imperial) power, guided by nothing even remotely
resembling a coherent principle. Knowing which side their bread is buttered
on, they will stay silent.
Prattle aside, there will never be a "partnership" strategic or
otherwise
between Serbia and the Empire. The neocons want servants, not "partners;"
compliance, not "cooperation." Everything Washington needs in the Balkans,
it has already received from Serbia's hostile neighbors, and even its
co-habitant in the "union," Montenegro. Far from securing some sort of
preferential treatment, further groveling will only invite further abuse.
But that is yet another concept the Dossies are incapable of comprehending.
A Power Struggle
Some clues as to why Zivkovic is courting support from Washington come from
Serbia itself. In late July, the government managed to purge the Serbian
central bank, whose governor was leader of an opposition party. In place of
Mladjan Dinkic and his G17 associates chiefly responsible for the
Dossies'
economic program in 2000, be it noted DOS appointed Kori Udovicki,
former
Energy Minister notorious for soaking the life savings of elderly Serbians
by raising electricity prices.
The departing governor accused two high-ranking advisors in the Zivkovic
government and members of his Democratic Party of money-laundering.
This
pushed the already scandal-ridden government's approval rating to new lows.
DOS-friendly analysts at Radio Netherlands speculated this week that the
scandal would herald a power struggle within the Democratic Party, from
which Zivkovic would emerge stronger and ready to "confront the voters,"
but
that is highly unlikely. Dossies view elections as a vampire would garlic
and stakes with a mixture of fear and loathing.
And with good reason. Their former Trojan horse Vojislav Kostunica is
enjoying rising poll numbers, a development the Empire is observing with
some concern. Erstwhile Djindjic stooge Miroljub Labus is also polling well,
though not nearly as well as Kostunica. Both of them are just as committed
to "reforms" and service to the Empire, albeit somewhat more subtly, as DOS.
Empire's grip on Serbia is not in jeopardy, unfortunately only
Zivkovic's.
Lessons from Another Vassal
Another recent visitor to Washington was the Macedonian KLA leader Ali
Ahmeti, until recently on the US terrorist blacklist. His one-time nemesis,
former interior minister Ljube Boskovski, was meanwhile added to the
blacklist. Neither change was followed by an explanation, leaving the
Macedonians confused. They've done everything the US has asked of them, and
more, yet the Empire has persistently favored the Albanian segregationists.
While the Empire claims to fight terrorism, it blacklists Macedonian
security officials and treats the leaders of terrorists ("murderous thugs,"
as NATO chief Robertson called them) as statesmen.
Back in September 2001 it was obvious that US actions (or rather, lack
thereof) in Bosnia, Kosovo and Macedonia made the "war on terror" as good as
lost. For their part, Macedonians learned a depressing lesson from their
bitter experience: sometimes, even being an obedient US vassal cannot save
you.
DOSta!
In fact, Zivkovic & Co. should read one of Wednesday s editorials in the
Washington Times, composed by the known Serbophobe Helle (Bering) Dale.
Her
"Are you being Serbed?" asks how these uppity savages dare protest US
hostility and demand fair treatment, when the entire world knows they are as
racist, genocidal and criminal as Nazi Germany. Zivkovic and his foreign
minister, Svilanovic, yap to presstitutes at Washington clubs over brandy
and cigars, but it s the people they represent who suffer. Dale's verbal
abuses are one thing, but deaths in battle quite another. No number of dead
Serbs can ever appease the likes of Dale and her employers at the Heritage
Foundation and the Council of Foreign Relations. Yet that s what Zivkovic is
trying to do.
DOS is nothing but a motley collection of irresponsible, corrupt, statist
kleptocrats, who came to power only because of the public's resentment of
the government they replaced and lots of bags filled with US
taxpayers'
cash. Ostensibly "democrats," they've established a "domination of political
and economic life of which Slobodan Milosevic could only have dreamed"
(BHHRG). Whatever troubles beset Serbia before 5 October 2000, the situation
today is entirely the fault of DOS. Zivkovic's groveling offer of Serbian
troops to help the Empire's wars of conquest and occupation ought to be the
last straw for the people who simply cannot take any more social
engineering, deliberately malicious or otherwise.
It is time to show these lying, plundering quisling sleazebags the door
preferably to Hell, or prison, but out of office will do. Anyone else could
run Serbia better, preferably as little as possible, guaranteeing the
Serbians their liberty but otherwise not preventing them from improving
their lives, as all governments have done so far.
At some point during the Dossie reign, an anonymous Belgrade street artist
made a pun on the ruling band of thieves' name: "DOSta," meaning "Enough of
DOS." It's time the pun becomes reality, before young Serbians start coming
home in body bags from once again serving a cruel conqueror.
Serbian News Network - SNN
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
http://www.antic.org/
