Syndicate: Fwd: Re: open response to dejan sretenovic

[dejancs@opennet.org]

Since I have certain problems with my email connection, I am
not sure if this message has reached syndicate list and
therefore i resend it

Dejan

-----Original Message-----
From: dejancs@opennet.org
To: syndicate@aec.at
Subject: Re: open response to dejan sretenovic
Date: Tue, 30 Mar 1999 15:33:48 +0200 (CEST)

> Dear Marko,

> Thank you for your attention, but you got me wrong. I was
> trying to describe the general mood of Serbian people these
> days, not to defend the regime.I am not a propagandist of the regime but an
> individual who had a lot of troubles in this country working
> for Soros Foundation. Swastika and the inscription "NATO
> spies" appeared on the facade of the Foundation last morning.
> Hard days for those fighting for human rights and democracy
> in Yugoslavia are coming. We may disagree on certain matters,
> but i still think that all 3 sides are to blame for the 
> outbreak of the war.You said I simplify things, but I am
> afraid that you are the one who simplifies things. You know
> Serbian sentimnets about Kosovo and that's the main obstacle 
> for the Serbs to face the reality they are living in. On the 
> other side,Albanians have also reached national consensus 
> about the independence of Kosovo which means that no 
> Albanian politican has the authority to sign any document 
> which won't give Kosovo a guarantee for the future separation 
> from Serbia. Believe me, Serbian and Kosovo realities are 
> more complex than you can imagine. Two years ago SCCA 
> Belgade, together with Cultural Center Dodona from Prishtine
> organized an exhibition of Albanian artists from Kosovo in 
> Belgrade. At that time (June 97) it seemed that personal 
> communication between artistic communities from two cities 
> could be a channel for the renewal of mutual understandig. 
> Albanian and Serbian artists even started to make plans for a
> a joint show in Prishtine. But, we were naive. Our Albanian
> friends suffered public attacks from certain Albanian 
> politicians and colleagues for exhibiting in Belgrade.
> Serbian authorities and nationalists did not pay attention 
> at all. In December 1997, I was in Prishtine giving two 
> lectures, one for Serbian and one for Albanian art students.
> The division was obviuos, even the personal relations 
> between senior artists who once studied together were 
> deteriorated. And the fear for uncertain future to come was
> evident with everybody. I am not a politicain to offer a 
> solution, especially now, but I do not believe that this 
> intervention without clear idea about the consequences 
> could contribute to the solution of Kosovo problem. On the 
> contrary, it only deteriorated the situation and gave 
> Yugoslav regime oportunity to start a final fight with KLA 
> accompanied with the exodus of civilians. And the KLA took 
> the advantage of air raids and started to provoke Serbian 
> forces as well. Yes, people in Serbia think that this is 
> an imposed and unjust war beyond all international 
> principles. It not only made things worse but also 
> threatens the stabilty of Balkan region and global 
> interantional relations. Dear Marko, I think
> that Western politics felt into a deep decadence with no
> sense of responsability and now they sweat trying to find
> the most adequate way to get out of this Balkan koshmar. Is
> this going to be a new Vietnam? Is it going to do any harm 
> to Yugoslav president? I saw him yesterday on the TV. He was
> smiling. He is probably the only politican involved in this
> conflict who still smiles. I might be wrong, but I still
> stand for the lines I wrote about the calculation with the
> military threat. 

> I was just to write about media propaganda here when I got
> your response and I'll take this opportunity to tell you
> how it looks like from here.There are no information in Yugoslav
> media about the fights and humanitarian catastrophe on Kosovo
> and the assassination of Albanian politicans. When I wrote 
> that Serbs will pardon Milosevic for previous deeds, I ment
> that people here are still living in oblivion and that this
> agression will produce not only total oblivion of the roots and 
> results of Serbian nationlism in the last decade, but 
> for the real state of affairs on Kosovo. Yes, City Council 
> of Belgrade organizes each day concerts of rock, pop and 
> turbo-folk music on the main square in order to improve the
> morality of the citizens. But, these poor people know 
> nothing about catastrophe on Kosovo. As I wrote before, 
> we live in a complete media darkness. You ask where are the
> students? Most of them are hiding from the mobilization.
> Protests in this situation?! Let's be serious. It is easy 
> to stay in Slovenia and dream about the protests aginst the
> regime in the middle of the war. If people protest aginst
> the aggression it does not mean that they identify themsleves
> with the regime but with the their homeland and its future.
> And please, have in mind the difference between patriotism
> and patridiotism.

> Best regards

> Dejan Sretenovic 








> -----Original Message-----
> From: marko peljhan <marxx@ljudmila.org>
> To: Dejan <dejancs@opennet.org>
> Subject: open response to dejan sretenovic
> Date: Tue, 30 Mar 1999 00:30:46 +0200

>> dear sretenovic,
>> i have read and re-read your posting on war and peace, and must say i
>> cannot
>> and should not agree with the views expressed.
>> your simplifications of dead politicians, after they accept something or
>> not
>> are mere demagogy, leading nowhere and excusing a dictator, who is in
> power
>> for 12 years now.
>> you say that the serbian people excused him for his previous misbehaving
>> after the nato air strikes on military targets in yugoslavia have
> started.
>> have you?
>> you are talking about families in kragujevac that would face hunger? give
>> us
>> a break, please. kragujevac and serbia are far from hunger now and you
> know
>> it! maybe you do not have gasoline and some problems with getting to the
>> nearest store, but that is still not hunger and when hunger arrives, the
>> same forces that are bombing your countries military installations and
>> armed
>> forces now, will start dropping food aid. that seems to be the pattern.
>> BUT  kosovo definitely is not far from hunger, think of that!
>> your army and police, which are being attacked (you obviously and
> hopefully
>> are not and will not be) have killed many people in the past year in
> kosovo
>> and are stepping up in the past three months.  are you aware of this, or
>> you
>> still believe this is western propaganda. where is veton? where is
> rugova?
>> where is radio21? where are mine, our friends now? dead maybe? for some
> of
>> them we already know the answer.
>> yes. some of them are dead.
>> where are the people who signed the agreement, that would basically give
>> kosovo back what it had in the 1974 constitution in yugoslavia, some sort
>> of
>> autonomy and self determination and was taken away with the serbian
>> constitutional reforms in the beginning of the 90's. the constituency did
>> not protest then. the constituency agreed.
>> but the regime took away people's schools, education, culture. to almost
> 2
>> million people, that enjoyed all of that in the near past.  so, why is
> that
>> plan so bad? why sretenovic? because of the holy land? because of the
> blood
>> in the soil?
>> rather than criticising something that was already dead because your
>> government decided so long ago, think about your friends who were
> mobilised
>> into the serbian and yugoslav armies now, think about the people who will
>> have to fight for milosevic, as you clearly state, for him, almost
>> personnaly. thing of those who  being his only real opponents for such a
>> long time now do not have a chance even to live.  probably being
> sacrificed
>> in some stupid "yugo" barracks who we both probably know the looks and
>> architecture and really killed by a gbu or a tomahawk or whatever device
>> nato will use not to try to  hurt you? think of them and try to help them
>> evade this service. mobilise! organise! fight the fascism of your regime
>> and
>> the army you are all a hostage of! fight your absolutely surrealist state
>> media! do not behave as if serb patriotism is everything you are left
> with
>> because of these strikes! do not make life simpler for yourself! what
> about
>> humanity? is patriotism larger than humanity? what about your friends,
>> maybe
>> family, who are in the army and do not want to be there? it is time for
>> action and decision! why did you close your foundation and organisation
> in
>> protest of the strikes? go to work, now, now it is time to work! help
>> people! help people understand what is going on.  we will try do our
> share
>> but will you? we supported you in 1996-97? where is that dissent now?
> where
>> are the thousands of students? why nobody speaks for the mobilised?  why
> do
>> they rally behind the regime? do they identify with the regime now?  what
>> about the thousands of albanians that have nowhere to go? what about the
>> thousands of serbians who do not agree with this regime, that have
> nowhere
>> to go? what are you saying, that everybody is absolutely gone nuts there
>> and
>> supports this fascist regime? well, if i am not wrong, mr. milosevic was
>> voted into power by his constituency that he later betrayed many times,
> or
>> maybe, as it seems now, did not? please enlighten me and the colleagues
> on
>> this list.
>> i know this is a lot of questions for one short mail, but i want to
>> understand, because obviously, or maybe, i do not.
>> again, i know, is speak from here, where there is no milosevic nor his
>> paramilitaries and police units....
>> but then again, you are there and you can still have concerts and we can
>> see
>> people dance on the wreckage of a machine of war....so, there are some
>> interesting details and contours here, which you might help us to
>> understand. nato started, but now it is your share of the job and yours
> is
>> the hardest!
>> stay safe and hope to hear from you soon.

>> marko peljhan