Syndicate: A future for [Balkania]: a closer look at the problem of nationalism

[Andreas Broeckmann <abroeck@v2.nl>]

[interesting points for the cultural and political constitution of the
Future State of Balkania; -a]


To: nettime-l@Desk.nl
Date: 01 May 1999 20:58:00 +0200
From: I-AFD_2@anarch.free.de (Nico MYOWNA)


*A future for Kosova: a closer look at the problem of nationalism*
by Nico Myowna

All states on this world and neither also on Balkan based on the national
idea of France 1789. This idea express the claim for a closed, coherent
territory with a religious and ethnic clean population out of the former
multinational empire. First with the revolution in France 1789 the pro-
dominate ethnic group of the former empire try to emanzipate themself
against all other ethnic communities inside of the borders of this em-
pire. State and nation are in this idea similar to each other; the ci-
tiziens are equal and free, because they are parts of the same ethnic
group with one mutual language and one mutual culture.

Advocates of this idea claim "Serbia for the Serbs!", "Germany for Ger-
mans only!" or "Turkey for Turks!", because the freedom is definite only
possible in their notion as a voluntary union of each other like-minded
and identical persons. Therefore they are only able to acept members of
the national main culture. Mostly they claim, that only this main culture
and main ethnic group exist; they argue often, that every to the main
culture not corresponding culture must be a falsification of main culture
or belong to the main culture and main ethnic group -- like the Kurds in
Turkey, who should be "mountain-turks" for the turk constitution.

Nationalism become a kind of modern religion: a irrational legend of ori-
gin coming into being like the mythical origin of the denish flag at the
battle near Talin, Estland, om 1200 A.D. or the mythical origin of the
serbian nation in the lost battle at the Amselfield 1389 against the
Turks. Every advocate of this worldly, modern religion could hope to con-
serve immortality in the memory of all future members of his/her nation.

The Human rights are the positiv formulation of freedom inside the nation
and the national state; but freedom doesn't come in neither case out of
the pure existence of the citiziens, rather out of the constitution of the
community: the power of the community, who based on the collectively com-
bining of like-minded single persons, give and guarantee every citizien
this freedom inside the borders of their national (state) territory. Every
person is like-minded, who share the mutual language and mutual main cul-
ture and bound themself to the prodominate national notion.

Human rights are bound to the political souveranity of each democratic com-
munity. Only members of this community have the right to resist against a
government, which injure the Human rights; only members of this souveran
state could establish a new government. Human rights of single persons are
*group-rights* inside of communities, dependent of each community and only
possible through the guarantee of the prodominate group of each community
for members of this community. This notion of Human rights dependent of na-
tional souveranity include the right of the government to send foreign
persons out of borders, curtail their political rights or injure their
Human rights.

Today this notion change with the development of the United Nations: now
Human rights should be part of the international law. "The international
law should help the community of men and not states" say Kofi Annan. The
Declaration of Human Rights should be a formulation of the general freedom
of men and not only a formulation of freedom of equal citiziens inside of
a nation and national state. We as left-libertarians should support this
change, because it is a step forward to our notion of Human rights, who
are coming out of the pure existence of men as living beings.

Like further kings and czars had identified in the name of their religion
their empire as belonging to one of the religious kingdoms now nationa-
lists identify the territory of the former kingdoms with their national
territory. They combine a social unity of like-minded, ethnic identical
persons with the ground, where they live. This notion contain all forms of
imperialism, ethnic cleansing and fascism. Both Auschwitz and the ethnical
cleansing of Kosova are results of this notion. Fascism become the logical
continuation of nationalism.

The Kosova crisis is a modern religious civil war between two modern world-
ly religions. Both claim, that every member of a culture not in correspon-
ding to or clear outside of the main culture,i.e., national culture should
give up their seperatism and live in future as a member of the main cultu-
re -- he/she should be either a Serb with the ethnic origin as Albanian or
a Albanian with the ethnic origin as Serb. Both claim their right, to use
force, if a person decline to change their culture in favour of the natio-
nal main culture, and send the advocates of seperatistic cultures to their
death or out of borders. And both combine their social and/or ethnic unity
with the ground, where they live.

With the agreement between Denmark and Germany about the rights of the na-
tional minorities in the south of Denmark and the north of Germany coming
1955 a new notion into being: the seperation of the idea of state from the
idea of nation. One paragraph in this agreement proclaim:"The confession
to one of the nations in the territory of South-Denmark and the state Sles-
vig-Holsten of the Federal Republik of Germany *is free* and this national
afiliation cant be screen or refuse by administrations on both sides." In
this region nobody can dictate the national afiliation generally like nobo-
dy try to dictate the religious afiliation. Persons with diffrent national
afiliations could be -- like persons with diffrent confessional afiliati-
ons -- acepted citiziens of their state.

This notion include a refusal of the idea, to combine a region with a so-
cial unity of one nation: on one territory northern and southern of the
border between Denmark and Germany are today three autonom structures of
kindergardens, schools, neighbourhood-clubs, editor-offices of publica-
tions in the diffrent national languages, churches and libraries possible.
And since 1996 every citizien have a right to negoitate with the admini-
stration in his own national language, guided by representants of each na-
tion.

We should acept this idea, not to combine a region with one nation as a bi-
lateral base for federal structures. If we outgrow some day the state,
than we will be confronted with diffrent ethnic groups, languages and so-
cial national communities as one form of the freedom of men. We should
stretch our term of freedom to acept all forms of nationalism and ethnic
self-fulfillment, who don't contain a combination between a nation and
their claim for a national territory; we should acept every national afi-
liation, which not contain fascist elements of national freedom inside of
a ethnic clean territory. We should stop to condemn people for their world-
ly religion and mostly irrational national beliefe.

No Nation is really bound to a territory; a nation is a social unity -- a
society -- of people with the same origin, the same language and/or the
same culture and religion. A nation is a combining of persons like the
unions, the churches or other groups; it is just as ridiculous to combine
a nation with a territory as to combine a union with a terrain.

Every nation is in fact international as a social and ethnic combining of
persons, who use the same language, practize the same customs and have a
mutual notion of culture; in every region of our globe is a community of
one of this nations practicable, if we recognize the various serbian, al-
banian, denish, german, kurdish, native-american and other national com-
munities around the world. And the Internet make it possible for many mem-
bers of this communities to take part in their national discussions and
decissions.

Our notion of nationalism as a *worldly religion* should include the right
to claim religious monuments and places -- like the world religions -- but
any longer the right to claim entire territories for their property.

Theoretical is in the next centaury a *virtual* notion of nations possi-
ble: every nation could be souveran through their structures on Internet,
could carry out elections on the net to deligate representatives for a na-
tional parliament, which take place in a city with a large population of
this nation; this parliament could hit decisions who bound all voluntary
members of this nation on every place of our globe. And the United Nations
could make progress to a federal parliament with representatives of all na-
tional parliaments, which guide the mutual interests of all nations on mu-
tual structures and settle of disputes and conflicts between souveran vir-
tual nations to a global federal law.

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