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Pastimes : Kosovo -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Brumar89 who wrote (10443)	5/29/1999 11:02:00 PM
From: Hawkmoon	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 17770

Brumar89, I don't disagree that democracy is certainly preferable to authoritarianism and in the long-term, it provides greater political stability. But when faced with these kinds of threats to regional stability created by those primarily interested in retaining their own power, no matter the cost to their people, we are often forced to implement policies which abridge personal freedom and 1st amendment rights. We are temporarily forced to become "less free" in order to mobilize the necessary national will and economic resources necessary to deal with authoritarians who have the ability to coerce mobilization of their nation's resources to support the elite power structure, upon pain of death or imprisonment. While there exists a real and tangible Serb nationalism (which is not bad unto itself), it has been manipulated and radicalized by those who are more interested in preserving their base of power or very existence (since not many countries are willing to harbor indicted war criminals). In order to enjoy the "fruits" of whatever domestic resources remaining, Serbs literally have no choice but to support Milosevic, although they may volutarily be against "surrendering" Kosovo to NATO and the UN, few would have been willing to voluntarily "cleanse" the region either (IMO) in the manner that Milosevic has pursued(at least I have trouble believing the Serbs would be so cruel and inhumane). So the Serbs are in a quandary. They want to retain Kosovo under their sovereignty, yet they have permitted Milo to pursue a policy that undermines their claim in the eyes of the world (that being to use ethnic cleansing to solidify and expand their concept of a "Greater Serbia". Literally, the Serbs believe it is fully within their right to have all Serb populated regions consolidated under the control of Belgrade, yet rail against the Kosovars attempting to realize something similar in Kosovo. As I've stated before, I don't fully believe that the Kosovars truly wanted to secede and merge with Albania. The Albanian economy just was not something that offered anything of value to them. However, a return of the autonomy that Milosevic stripped them of certainly was required. As a final example, the Montenegrans considered themselves the true heart of Serbia. They have wished for years to separate themselves from Milosevic's Serbian rule and strenthen their ties to the west. They recognized that Milo's rule was a path to economic and political ruin. They are currently the heart of Milosevic's opposition. These are Serbs who don't share Milo's vision of a "Greater Serbia" anymore than the Kosovars. Serbian army deserters are flocking to Montenegro in droves to avoid fighting in Kosovo. So when folks say that the Serbs are "united" in their support of Milosevic, I suggest that a closer look at the facts are in order. I know that this post went far beyond your comments, but you were just the victim of one of my moments of explicative inspiration... <VBG> Regards, Ron