Why Kosovo: Anatomy of a needless war
by Bob Allen
_________________________________________________________________
The Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives has just published a paper
by Robert Allen entitled "Why Kosovo? The Anatomy of a Needless War".
Bob Allen is Professor of Economics at UBC and a research associate
with the Canadian Centre for Policy Altenatives-BC Office. This
article is based on his paper which can be obtained by calling the
CCPA office at 604-801-5121.
A press release describing the paper follows. The paper is on the
CCPA's webpage, and is available from their office for $2.
_________________________________________________________________
PRESS RELEASE
West bears responsibility for needless war in Yugoslavia
(Vancouver) Western countries must share responsibility for a needless
war in Yugoslavia, and the resulting humanitarian disaster, says
Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA) research associate
Robert Allen. Allen is an economist and historian at the University of
BC, and author of Why Kosovo? The Anatomy of a Needless War, released
today by the CCPA.
According to Allen, the major cause of the war was not, as is claimed
by the US and other NATO leaders, a humanitarian disaster perpetrated
against ethnic Albanians by the Serbian government.
The West's responsibility, argues Allen, begins in the 1980's with IMF
and World Bank structural adjustment programs. These programs were
implemented as a condition of debt relief, and ruined the Yugoslav
economy, laying the groundwork for the resurgence of ethno-nationalism
(which had been diluted by rapid post World War II economic growth).
"The West claims Milosevic revoked Kosovo's independence as an act of
ethnic persecution," says Allen. "In fact, Kosovo's autonomy was
removed in order to allow the Yugoslav government to implement IMF
structural adjustment reforms."
In addition to its role in creating conditions for ethnic conflict,
the West created a no-win situation for Milosevic in its insistence on
Yugoslav acceptance of the Rambouillet accords. "Contrary to the
West's claim that the Rambouillet accords provided for Kosovo autonomy
within Yugoslavia, the accords laid the groundwork for Kosovo
independence," says Allen "The accord also made demands on Yugoslav
sovereignty that no state would accept, including the unrestricted and
indefinite occupation of the whole Yugoslav state by NATO forces. The
West knew its position at Rambouillet would be unacceptable to
Milosevic."
The Western media have claimed victory for NATO--that the bombing
campaign has forced Yugoslavia to capitulate and stop ethnic cleansing
of Albanians. But according to Allen, "although the Serb government
reacted harshly to KLA rebel activity in Kosovo, the mass displacement
of ethnic Albanians and attacks on their communities only began with
NATO's bombing campaign. This was the real trigger that exploded
ethno-nationalist tensions in Yugoslavia."
"The terrible irony here is the extraordinary feature of the
Ahtisaari/Chernomyrdin Peace Agreement: its similarity to the
conditions that Yugoslavia was prepared to accept before the bombing."
These include: restriction of NATO's occupation to Kosovo; no mention
of future independence for Kosovo; command of the occupation shifts to
the UN; the UN controls the return of refugees to Kosovo; recognition
of a Serbian national interest in Kosovo; and demilitarization of the
KLA.
This needless war has, in the meantime, resulted in the deaths and
displacement of thousands of Albanians and Serbs. "Not only does the
West bear a great deal of responsibility for causing the war in
Yugoslavia," says Allen "but NATO's actions during the war have been
in violation of international law, including a bombing campaign
directed against Yugoslav civilian targets. NATO may be guilty of
criminally attacking the civilian population of Yugoslavia."
_________________________________________________________________
ARTICLE
Nato leaders have hailed their war against Yugoslavia as a moral
crusade in which they defended innocent Kosovo Albanians from genocide
and ethnic cleansing perpe-trated by Yugoslav President Milosevic.
Such pronouncements make good propaganda but distort reality. The war
was rooted in long standing tensions between Serbs and Albanians.
These tensions exploded into war due to the interventions of western
countries, who consequently have a responsibility for the tragedy in
Yugoslavia. The history of the Balkans calls into question Nato's
characterization of Albanians as innocent victims. Albanians and Serbs
have repeatedly driven each other out of Kosovo, and engaged in ethnic
cleansing and violent retaliation. When NATO intervened in Kosovo, it
was choosing sides in a long standing, brutal, ethnic dispute.
Yugoslavia's economy grew rapidly after World War II. Education,
prosperity, and urbanization eased ethnic tensions. These favourable
developments were checked in the 1980s and reversed in the 1990s when
the economy collapsed. Economic growth had been financed with foreign
borrowing, and the high interest rates of the 1980s led to a debt
crisis. Yugoslavia was "restructured" by the International Monetary
Fund and the World Bank. As a result, many factories in southern
Yugoslavia--including Kosovo--were shut down. National income fell by
two-thirds. Unemployment soared. The federal government ended transfer
payments from rich regions like Slovenia to poor ones like Kosovo.
Economic insecurity led to a resurgence of ethno-nationalism. One way
western nations have contributed to the present tragedy is through the
economic policies prescribed by the IMF and the World Bank. American
policies contributed in a more direct way to destabilizing Kosovo. In
1989, the autonomy of Kosovo was revoked by the Milosevic government,
and this is attributed by Nato spokesmen to anti-Albanian prejudice.
However, pressure from the IMF to impose economic restructuing and
recentralize monetary control was the key factor in Serbia's decision
to revoke the province's autonomy. The pretext for Nato's air war was
Yugoslavia's refusal to sign the Rambouillet accord aimed at ending
fighting between Yugoslav security forces and the separatist Kosovo
Liberation Army. While both sides were brutal, the Serbs were not
commit-ting genocide nor was there widespread ethnic cleansing,
contrary to Nato claims. The Rambouillet agreement did not simply
restore Kosovo's autonomy--as claimed by western leaders--but laid out
the route to Kosovo's independence and also authorized Nato occupation
of the whole of Yugoslavia--not just Kosovo. In a background briefing,
a senior U.S. official told the press, "We intentionally set the bar
too high for the Serbs to comply. They need some bombing, and that's
what they are going to get." The great irony of this tragedy is that,
while the Rambouillet agreement was viewed as unacceptable by the
Serbs, the current peace agreement would likely have been acceptable
to Belgrade from the start. While Nato spokesmen blame the refugee
crisis on President Milosevic, the bombing campaign was a contributing
factor. The Serbs saw the bombing as an intervention on behalf of
Albanian separatists, and many Serbs took their revenge on the
Albanians. While this cannot be condoned, it was predicted in advance,
so western powers bear some responsibility for it. Furthermore, many
people fled Nato bombs as well as Serb paramil-itaries. The hollowness
of Nato's analysis is revealed by the present actions of Albanians.
They are treating the Serbs as badly as the Serbs were treating them.
What is needed is an end to communal violence. Western policy, which
aims to solve the problem by prosecuting war criminals, will
exacerbate tensions. These trials are not seen as dispassionate
inquiries; instead, their justice will be in the interest of the
victor. People like Milosevic, who were demonized by the west, will be
charged. Other Balkan leaders on the American side will be immune, as
will western leaders who played a role in precipitating the crisis
and, indeed, who should be indicted for an air war against Yugoslav
civilians. Yugoslavia needs a process of reconciliation along the
lines of the peace agreement in Northern Ireland or South Africa's
Truth and Reconciliation Commission, in which individuals acknowledge
responsibility for atrocities and are then forgiven. Confession and
forgiveness are a better way to resolve ethnic conflicts than are
judgement and punishment. Instead of lecturing the world on human
rights, the west could ask forgiveness, too.
_________________________________________________________________
Published July 17, 1999
|
