Clinton Policy in Bosnia and Kosova--Behind the Smoke and Mirrors
by DeDe Faller
No sooner had the former Yugoslav republic of
Bosnia-Herzegovina voted for independence in April of 1992,
than the Yugoslav Army, together with fanatical Bosnian Serb
nationalists initiated a bloody campaign to conquer Bosnia.
As the West looked on with indifference, non-Serbs (and
Serbs of conscience) were tortured, raped, murdered and
hounded from their homes. "Ethnic cleansing" had begun.
Before it was over, an estimated 250,000 Bosnians had been
killed and more than three million made refugees.
U.S. Appeasement of Genocide
Even after ghastly images of emaciated men behind the
barbed wire of Serb-run concentration camps were beamed
into our homes, President Bush expressed little concern for
the victims. Rather than demand that the camps be closed
and the captives released, he merely called for Red Cross
access to those inside. Moreover, the Bush administration
maintained the arms embargo (a violation of article 51 of the
UN Charter) further victimizing the poorly armed Bosnian
state.
Meanwhile, presidential candidate, Bill Clinton gave false
hope to the Bosnians by condemning the genocide in
progress and denouncing the arms embargo. But once in the
White House, Clinton dropped the word ''genocide'' from his
vocabulary, and instead, furthered the myth of ''ancient ethnic
hatreds'' in an attempt to explain the aggression. While
ultranationalist Serbs continued their massacres of
non-Serbs and systematically raped women and girls, the
president refused to assign blame. Rather, he lamented, ''If
these people keep on killing each other, there's nothing we
can do,'' thus equating victim with aggressor and implying we
need not be concerned.
Rather than lift a finger to prevent more civilians from being
murdered, Clinton responded with ''humanitarian aid,''
prompting French author and film-maker, Bernard-Henri Levy
to remark that the
effort was akin to ''delivering sandwiches to the gates of
Auschwitz.'' From a safe distance, the US dropped food to the
Bosnians as if their biggest problem was hunger.
CLINTON DERAILS BOSNIAN COMEBACK
Following the Serb massacre of 8,000 Muslim men and boys
at the U.N. ''safe haven'' of Srebrenica, both houses of
Congress voted overwhelmingly to unilaterally lift the arms
embargo, but President Clinton vetoed the measure. Instead
of allowing Bosnia to defend itself, the president urged the
half-hearted NATO bombing of a few Bosnian Serb military
positions. His aim was not to defeat the Serbs, but to coax
them to the negotiating table, so they could be rewarded with
half of Bosnia! When the Bosnian government made a
remarkable comeback, recovering territory day by day, the
administration forced the Bosnians to pull back their army.
The brief NATO bombing was not intended to defend civilians
or even stop the siege of Sarajevo, but instead forced ''all
sides'' to stop the fighting. Clinton forced a solution on the
ground, followed by a destructive partition plan hastily drawn
up at Dayton. Just as the arms embargo benefited the
aggressors, so too did NATO intervention followed by the
Dayton Accords.
DAYTON AGREEMENT: U.S.
REWARDS AGGRESSION
In a further show of contempt for the Bosnian victims, the
Clinton Administration invited to Dayton the two men most
responsible for genocide in Bosnia to determine that country's
future. Serbia's president, Slobodan Milosevic, is known as
the architect of the genocide, while Croatia's president at the
time, Franjo Tudjman, openly denied the existence of Bosnia,
claiming it was part of Croatia. That these men planned since
1990 to carve up Bosnia between them was widely reported.
At Dayton, the U.S. delegation joined them in pressuring the
Sarajevo government to sign away half of Bosnia (and the fate
of its own citizens) to its murderous neighbors.
Any decent provision written into this sloppy piece of work is
negated by its recognition of ''Republika Srpska'', the
ethnically pure, fascist mini-state, occupying half of Bosnian
territory--born of genocide and expulsion of all non-Serbs. The
Dayton Accords signifies U.S.ratification of that conquest.
KOSOVA: ANOTHER CLINTON
BETRAYAL?
The breakup of Yugoslavia can be traced to 1989, when
Milosevic and his ultranationalist regime revoked the
autonomous status of Kosova and Vojvodina in violation of the
Yugoslav constitution. The Albanians in Kosova henceforth
became second-class citizens, disenfranchised from public
life and violently persecuted. The laws and practices of the
colonizing Belgrade regime was reminiscent of apartheid
South Africa.
After eight years of jackboot repression, many Albanians took
up arms in 1997 to fight for the independence they had been
denied at the ballot box as well as to defend themselves
against increasing police state brutality. The Belgrade regime
responded with continued massacres of ethnic Albanian
civilians. Parroting Serb propaganda, the U.S. denounced as
''terrorist'' the armed Albanian resistances known as the
Kosova Liberation Army, and has worked ever since to disarm
them (NATO even shelled them at least once during the air
war). As in Bosnia, the victims receive blame when they try to
defend themselves.
Clinton reacted to two years of mass murder, expulsions and
increased Serbian troop buildup, with unconvincing threats of
NATO strikes.
Several weeks after the well publicized murder of 45 Albanian
civilians followed by Serbian attempts to cover their crime
(Jan.1999), the U.S. and the West sought to negotiate a
solution at Rambouillet, France. During the second round of
talks, the Serbs obstructed every provision which restored the
rights of ethnic Albanians including the right of refugees to
return, while simultaneously amassing 40,000
additional''Yugoslav'' troops into Kosova. From that point on,
''ethnic cleansing'' increased dramatically, leaving NATO the
option of either making good its commitment or become a
laughing stock on the eve of its 50th anniversary.
Despite the fact that ground troops were required to stop
ethnic cleansing, Clinton announced to the world, there would
be none. Milosevic confidently continued his attempt to
exterminate the Albanians, at times using them as ''human
shields'' as NATO carried out an air only war from 15,000 feet
in the sky.
NATO suffered no losses and continues to make a priority of
protecting itself rather than the Kosovar citizenry. Thousands
of Serbs exited Kosova with tons of their Albanian neighbors'
goods piled high on stolen vehicles protected by NATO troops.
The territory most essential for an economically viable Kosova
is the Trepca mining complex in the Mitrovica area. Despite
the potential catastrophe of 2,000 Serb stay-behind
paramilitaries including many war criminals, Gen. Wesley
Clark assigned this area to the French who are historically
allied with the Serbs and who have actively prevented
Albanians from returning to their homes there. Predictably,
violence has continued here with Western officials wringing
their hands and increasingly calling for partition as a solution.
Ethnic cleansing of Albanians who were the majority of
Mitrovica
continues under the eye of the UN and NATO.
The Clinton administration continues to side with Milosevic by
denying the Albanians their right to self determination. The
idea of Kosova as an historical part of Serbia is a fiction
fostered by ultranationalist Serbs and continues to be codified
by the West. To cede any part of Kosova to Serbia is to
guarantee further bloodshed and injustice in the region.
Belgrade's control of the Trepca mines must cease. All
refugees must be granted the right of return (even if continued
NATO presence is required). Kosova must be independent.
DeDe Faller is the chair of the Bosnia Support Committee
