Re: IMF/Yugoslavia (was: Re: <nettime> remember the kosovo war on this list?)

[Carl Guderian <carlg@vermilion-sands.com>]

That article is the reason I hope the anti-Milosevic resistance turns the
same cold, skeptical eye on the IMF & World Bank when they come calling. why
dump one boss in favor of another? The issues are simple but don't translate
easily to media-friendly images and street action. On the other hand, OTPOR
and the anti-WTO protesters have been skillful at bringing their respective
issues home and I hope there's a lot of crosstalk when communications become
freer. It will be a tough job since, partly thanks to the bombing, Serbia
will likely need help to get through the winter, let alone (re)build an
economy. Maybe Serbia will end up taking the money, but not on sucker terms I
hope. Good luck to the resistance; the job isn't over yet (assuming Milosevic
leaves quietly).

The NATO bombing was wrong for a lot of reasons.

+It damaged the infrastructure that ordinary Serbians needed to live from day
to day. Did Slobo and Mira miss any meals? Did Mirko's nightclub lose any
business? I'll bet the army's still being paid. But ordinary Serbians and the
opposition needed that infrastructure and will be picking up the pieces for a
long time. Oh, yeah, and a few people died from being stupid enough to catch
a few bombs. Too bad.

+It punished everyone for the misdeeds of a few. The whole Serbian public was
made to suffer for not doing the "right" thing, when it was capable of doing
very little until recently. When punished collectively, people first note the
damage and the ones doing it. The reasons behind it make much less of an
impression. Gosh, NATO, thanks for burning down my apartment because I didn't
kill my evil landlord.

+It gave the Milosevic regime political cover to go after dissidents and
other opponents. Protesting a bad war is difficult enough, but it's damn near
impossible when your country's being attacked. Radio B92 didn't gain anything
from the bombing, that's for sure.

+It pissed off the Russians, who might have cut Milosevic loose sooner.

+It probably extended Milosevic's political life, for the above reasons,
though I'm sure NATO planners will give themselves credit for present events.
Those stubborn Serbs finally saw the light, right?


Carl


Alexander Nekvasil wrote:

> richard barbrook <richard@hrc.wmin.ac.uk> writes:
>
> > I thought that the Left was supposed to support
> > national liberation struggles and oppose fascism! If
> > the American imperialists choose to aid the oppressed
> > against the oppressors, why should we protest?
>
> Here's why, professor Barbrook.  This is an article from
> ZNet which sheds light on the economic side of the
> breakup of Yugoslavia.  The article is not new, but I
> think it fits into two recent threads on nettime, the
> one on Yugoslavia and the one on IMF/World Bank; the
> fact that these are connected is not as widely known as
> it should be, imo.
>
> cheers
> AN

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