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Macedonia: BALKAN DEMOCRACY EXPERIMENT
     An Interview with Noam Chomsky
     By Darko Cekerovski
    Noam Chomsky is one of the leading world intellectuals.
Professor of linguistics and philosophy at the Massachusetts
Institute of Technology in USA, Chomsky is a harsh critic of
American world policy, but also of many political illusions of the
so-called "free world".
    While many think that without influence and involvement of
American policy (and military force) no world crisis can be
solved, Chomsky makes many critical remarks on the way so-called
international politics headed by USA try to solve problems. He
gave this interview having in mind current situation in Macedonia.
    Q. Mr. Chomsky, the international community claimed that KLA
is demilitarized. The war has moved to Macedonia while Kosovo was
under the international protection, and KFOR is not protecting the
border between Macedonia and Yugoslavia from Kosovo side. The
buffer zone in south Serbia, a few days ago was the main haven of
the Albanian extremists in the region they used for continuous
attacks on Serbian targets and in the north of Macedonia. Who is
responsible of that?
    A. To begin with, we should recognize that the term "the
international community" belongs to the domain of propaganda, not
fact.  The NATO powers modestly describe themselves as "the
international community"; those who do not follow the US lead with
sufficient enthusiasm are excluded from "the international
community," including NATO members who show reluctance.  The NATO
bombing of Serbia was, therefore, conducted in the name of "the
international community," even though most of the world opposed
it, in many cases quite strongly. "The so-called `right' of
humanitarian intervention" was sharply condemned, with this case
in mind, in the Declaration of the South Summit in April 2000; the
signatories are governments accounting for 80% of the world's
population.  The Declaration also strongly condemned the forms of
"globalization" imposed by Western power.  Accordingly, the
Declaration, a very important statement of heads of state, was
effectively barred from the US media (to my knowledge, E e was the
same).  On Western "humanitarian intervention" and the economic
programs imposed by Western power, the signatories are not part of
"the international community."
    The same is true generally, and the historical antecedents are
obvious enough.  A century ago, the Concert of Europe,
representing the self-designated "civilized countries,"
constituted "the international community." It is unnecessary to
comment on their form of "civilization" and its effects on others.
The world has changed since, but not in these respects.
    Turning to your question, "the international community" in the
case at hand is, in effect, the United States, along with its
British ally (in many respects a client state).  Their attitude
towards the KLA has varied depending on their immediate purposes.
Through most of 1998, the US bitterly condemned the KLA as a
"terrorist" organization.  By early 1999, the US was coming to
regard the KLA as a useful ally for the planned bombing of Serbia,
and they shifted from dangerous terrorists to courageous freedom
fighters.  After the bombing ended, the KLA had outlived its
usefulness and there were some (limited) moves to disarm it.  As
Serbia moved into the US orbit, US relations with the KLA cooled
further, and by now it is losing its aura and its NLA offshoot are
"armed thugs" and criminals, returning to their 1998 status.
    NATO diplomats now inform us that "the Albanians betrayed our
trust" and have been "a big disappointment." In translation, they
did not subordinate themselves to NATO plans as hoped.  NATO has
therefore cooperated with Serbia to expel them from southern
regions, and is strongly opposed to their actions in Macedonia,
which is regarded as a suitably reliable US client.
    The basic point was made clearly by Daniel Serwer, Balkans
analyst at the US Institute for Peace in Washington (readers of
Orwell will be properly warned by the name of the Institute).  He
observed that the KLA-NLA believe that in Macedonia they are doing
what they did in Kosovo, but "it is completely different.  In
Kosovo, the United States came to see the KLA as its ground
force," fighting a US enemy.  In Macedonia, "where we support the
government, the guerrillas are a pain in the neck." NATO Secretary
General Lord Robertson was an enthusiastic supporter of the
bombing of Serbia and of the KLA freedom fighters in early 1999,
though his own judgment was that until then they were responsible
for most of the atrocities in Kosovo, and Western documentation
makes it quite clear that nothing substantial changed afterwards
in that respect.  Now Robertson condemns them bitterly and informs
the world that "NATO will not collude in the slicing up of
[Macedonia] on ethnic lines that would blueprint for disaster." In
contrast, it colluded with the slicing up of  Serbia on ethnic
lines, including the post-bombing ethnic cleansing of
non-Albanians (Serbs, Roma, and others).
    The criterion is simple: does the country, or organization,
accept US goals: for the Balkans?  That is, does it accept
integration into the Western-dominated international economy on
the proper neoliberal terms: allowing foreign investors to take
over the economy, offering cheap labor and resources, and so on?
If so, it will be defended against "armed thugs"; if not, it will
be bombed with the aid of "freedom fighters." In both cases,
Western humanitarians will solemnly explain that their leaders are
acting out of profound dedication to "principles and values," thus
fulfilling the historic task of respectable intellectuals.
"History" is presented with a different cast, but remember who are
its custodians.
    I believe that KFOR is committed to preventing Albanian
operations from Kosovo, but not at the risk of casualties.
    Q. Does the eruption of fighting in Macedonia underscore the
bankruptcy of Washington policy?
    A. It reveals the partial failure of policy, but not its
"bankruptcy." The task undertaken by the self-designated
"international community" is not an easy one.  Macedonia must
remain subordinated to the Western-dominated international order,
now joined by Serbia.  Kosovo must receive some kind of autonomy
but not be permitted self-determination, because of the spill-over
effects.  For the same reason, pressures for a "greater Albania"
must be halted.  Albania and Kosovo must also become well-behaved
clients.  Bosnia must be preserved, and if nationalist governments
are elected by the three parties, the choice of voters will have
to be overridden by the Western proconsuls.  The US must retain
predominant influence, but the unpleasant work must be assigned as
much as possible to Europeans (raising conflicts between the US
and Germany, also France, which have somewhat different
intentions).  These are not easy goals to attain, but failure to
achieve them completely cannot properly be called "bankruptcy."
    Q. Does the Bush administration have consistent politics of
the Balkans and what are the differences between the views of
general Colin Powell and Mr. Donald Rumsfeld?
    A. The Bush administration is working out its tactics
pragmatically, as its predecessors did.  The overarching goals
have not changed, as far as we know.  The tactics are somewhat
different.  I would be cautious about looking for internal
conflicts.  Doubtless there are some, but they take many forms,
and part of the appearance of conflict is a public relations
exercise -- what in American slang is called the "good cop, bad
cop" routine in police interrogations.  We should be careful not
to succumb to the temptations of "Kreminology" -- seeking to draw
deep conclusions from inspection of who is standing next to Stalin
in a Kremlin photograph, and so on.
    Q. Professionals from USA (MPRI), or more specifically, a
group of retired military veterans and officers, have consulted
Macedonia that it is not necessary to purchase weapons, to have
military garrisons in the western part of the country where
Albanian majority lives. Those same people have trained the
Macedonian forces, and have done so in Croatia, Chechnya, Bosnia
and Kosovo. This is a professional private agency, but wherever it
has shown up, there is a crisis. Who are the people that the State
Department stays behind?
    A. I do not know the details in this specific case, but in
general MPRI is pretty much an agency of the US government, and I
would be surprised if this case is an exception.  If they were to
act in conflict with US goals, they would be quickly forced out.
The fact that they have trained forces of all kinds simply
reflects Washington's shifting tactical choices.  After all, the
CIA trained Osama Ben Laden and a whole array of Islamic
fundamentalists in Afghanistan.  Now Washington regards the
beneficiaries of its aid and training as the world's most
dangerous terrorists.  It is known as "the law of unintended
consequences."
    Q. The political leaders of the Albanians in Macedonia claim
that the war in Macedonia has not been imported from Kosovo and
that it is waged by ethnic Albanians from Macedonia, who fight for
their rights. The prime minister wants to declare state of war,
for which the majority of the political parties and European
diplomats claim that would lead to disastrous civil war. On the
other hand, there are quotidian battles in which extremists are
killed as well as members of the Macedonian security forces. The
West calls for political dialogue, but supports Macedonia's
decision that there would not be any negotiations with the
terrorists. Where is the end of this?
    A. That is never predictable.  It depends on the choices made
by the various actors, including the Western overseers, but in
this case, primarily the regional ones.
    Q. The Albanian mafia is perhaps the most organized one in the
world with the most brutal rules of the game. Selling weapons,
trafficking people and drugs, as well as the donations (forceful
or voluntary) from the Albanians abroad have contributed to the
financial convenience of the extremists. Why the European
governments and US don't take more strict measures to prevent
these criminal activities and refuse to put the finger on them?
    A. This is quite conventional practice.  It has nothing
particular to do with the Balkans.  Take Manuel Noriega in Panama,
for example.  For years he was a murderous killer and
narcotrafficker  and was strongly supported by the US, including
the Secretary of State George Shultz, considered the "moderate"
of the Reagan administration, who flew to Panama to praise
Washington's favorite gangster as a model of democracy after he
had "won" an utterly fraudulent election..  The reason was that
he was supporting the US attack against Nicaragua and other US
violence and repression in the region.  By the mid-1980s he was
becoming disobedient, and shortly after the US invaded Panama,
he was kidnapped, and sent to prison in the US.  Self-righteous
commentary succeeded in overlooking the fact that the crimes
for which he was sentenced were mostly committed when he was
on the CIA payroll. Or consider a far worse criminal, Saddam
Hussein.  As long as he was serving Western interests he was a
friend ally.  The US and Britain (among others) provided him
with extensive aid, including dual-use technology that could be
converted to development of weapons of mass destruction.  True,
he was gassing tens of thousands of Kurds, torturing dissidents,
and compiling one of the worst human rights records in the world.
But that was of little interest.  In August 1990 he made a
mistake: he disobeyed (or perhaps misunderstood) orders, and
instantly became "the Beast of Baghdad," a new Hitler.  British
and US leaders and intellectuals passionately proclaim that he
must be destroyed because of his awesome crimes -- namely the
ones he was committing with US-British support, a fact that
fades silently into the mist.
    If Albania makes some serious misstep that shifts it from
client to enemy, then the crimes will become a major threat to
the world order, and the perpetrators will have to be harshly
punished by the bearers of enlightenment.  Until then, they
are a minor annoyance.
    Q. Do you think that the reason for the NATO action in
Yugoslavia was to rescue the Kosovo Albanians from oppression?
    A. That was, of course, the major theme of the impressive
chorus of self-adulation that accompanied NATO's resort to force.
But from that we learn nothing.  In the technical sense, the flood
of rhetoric conveys no information, because it is entirely
predictable; virtually every resort to force is accompanied by
similar rhetoric, even though it may not reach these impressive
heights.  That was true of Hitler, Stalin, Saddam Hussein, and
other estimable figures.  In all cases, to assess the intent a
sensible person will disregard the predictable rhetoric and
investigate the facts.
    A good place to begin is with the official reasons, reiterated
until today: (1) to stop ethnic cleansing, (2) to preserve
stability, (3) to ensure the credibility of NATO.
    We can dismiss (1): rich documentation has been provided by
the State Department, the OSCE, the British government, and other
Western sources in an effort to justify the bombing.  It reveals
that the ethnic cleansing and other crimes were overwhelmingly a
consequence of the bombing, not a cause -- furthermore, an
anticipated consequence.  The Milosevic indictment, which closely
mirrors the US-British intelligence on which it is based, refers
almost entirely to events after March 24, 1999.
    To further reinforce the conclusion that human rights concerns
were, as usual, of marginal relevance at best, we can ask what the
same powers were doing elsewhere at exactly the same time: the
same criterion we would employ to determine whether Saddam Hussein
is acting from humanitarian concern.   We quickly discover that at
the very same time, the US was providing the decisive military and
diplomatic support for massive ethnic cleansing and other
atrocities, far exceeding anything attributed to Milosevic in
Kosovo,  not on the borders of NATO, but within NATO, in
southeastern Turkey.  The facts are not contested (except by
extreme apologists) but are largely suppressed in the West; in the
US, almost entirely.  Nor is that the only case.  From early 1999,
Indonesian crimes in East Timor went well beyond anything
attributed to Milosevic in Kosovo before the NATO bombing, and
were comparable to what happened under NATO bombs; the US
and UK continued the support that had been decisive helping
Indonesia carry out near-genocidal massacres for 25 years, possibly
the worst relative to population since the Holocaust.  All of that too
is suppressed almost completely in the US, largely elsewhere in
the West as well.  And there are other similar cases.  It takes an
incredible act of faith to believe that the US and UK were
suddenly motivated by humanitarian concerns in the single case of
Kosovo -- a radical departure from their conventional practice
which, just by accident, provided them with the means to rid
themselves of the one regime that had not yet accommodated to
their demands.  It was a regime of major criminals, no doubt, but
that has never been a problem, as the examples already mentioned
illustrate, and they are the merest sample.
    The other two reasons are quite persuasive, however, if we
translate from Newspeak to ordinary language.  The "credibility of
NATO" means the credibility of the US, not Belgium. "Credibility"
means the ability to command: "do what I say, or else."
"Stability" means acceptance of the rules laid down by those who
maintain "credibility."
    So, look at the facts and draw your own conclusions.
    Q. In your book Deterring Democracy, you document the way
Washington makes democratic experiments throughout the world,
focusing on economic and trade issues. What kind of experiment
is being made in the Balkans?
    A. The "democratic experiments" are of a very special kind.
The leading scholarly study of the "democratic experiments" of the
past several decades, written with an insider's perspective by a
participant in Reagan's "democracy enhancement" programs (Thomas
Carothers), points out that the US adopted  "prodemocracy policies
as a means of relieving pressure for more radical change, but
inevitably sought only limited, top-down forms of democratic
change that did not risk upsetting the traditional structures of
power with which the United States has long been allied." That's
quite accurate, and effectively answers the question.  Carothers
was referring to Washington's traditional "backyard," Latin
America.  The US is a global power, and the same principles apply
elsewhere, including the Balkans.
    Q. Since America still hasn't established the grounds of its
politics, could the confusion in Europe and in the Balkans
intensify?
    A. It surely could.
    Q. Who actually stands behind the American politics in the US:
the president, the Pentagon, the lobby groups of the rich and
privileged, the financial corporations or someone else?
    A. Policies are formulated and implemented by the Executive
branch, with varying degrees of congressional involvement.  It is
hardly controversial that "politics is the shadow cast on society
by big business," as America's leading 20th century social
philosopher, John Dewey, formulated the near-truism long ago.
Within "big business" there are a number of constituencies,
sometimes in conflict.  And external influences also exist.  But
the standard truisms identify the major factors.  It would be
rather astonishing if it were otherwise, and other countries are
hardly different.
    Q. Why Macedonia, who has been supported and encouraged by
West as successful multiethnic story, now is on the edge of the
war?
    A. Partly for internal reasons, which you know much better
than I do.  Partly because the complex plans of the US and its
allies have not been fully implemented, as briefly mentioned
earlier.
    Q. It seems that the things happening here don't have much
logic, and the feeling of impotence, incapacity and no overall
policy or strategy raise the opinion that what is going on is the
result of some hidden, conspirative US agenda. Different analysis
says that US doesn't want economically and military stronger Europe,
that Washington wants to control the instability of the region, or
that they are interested about big money from (according to some
intelligence information) the drugs, since the biggest
narco-cartel in Europe is in Kosovo. What kind of interests has
Washington have and does US control the situation?
    A. It is true that the US and Europe have somewhat conflicting
objectives.  The rest is largely fantasy, in my opinion.  I do not
see that there is any lack of logic.  The plans seem fairly
straightforward and consistent with global planning, but  not easy
to implement.
    Q. In an interview of yours you said that any disturbance in
the Balkans does threaten the interests of rich and powerful
people, and this is the essence of what makes it a crisis. Would
you explain that?
    A. Genocide in Rwanda has horrifying effects in neighboring
countries, such as Congo.  But it has little effect on the rich
and powerful of the West.  Disturbance in the Balkans impinges
directly on their interests and concerns, as it has for centuries.
I don't understand what there is to explain.
    Q. Do you think that US has placed itself above the rule of
the international law and international institutions?
    A. Of course.  Furthermore it has been perfectly explicit for
a long time, and was clear enough before that.  The basic position
of the US with regard to the international law was explained
forthrightly by the respected senior statesman Dean Acheson 40
years ago: the "propriety" of a US response to a "challenge to the
power, position and prestige of the United States is not a legal
issue," he informed the American Society of International Law. The
particular case he had in mind was the illegal US blockade of
Cuba, but the point is quite general, and it is amply confirmed in
the internal record of planning and in actual practice.  To
mention only one of the most egregious cases, when the
International Court of Justice ordered the US to terminate its
"unlawful use of force" against Nicaragua and pay substantial
reparations, the US responded by instantly expanding the attack
while distinguished intellectuals, the elite press, and
specialists in the international law condemned the Court for
having discredited itself by criticizing Washington's crimes.  The
record is rich and unambiguous.  Other states act in similar ways,
when they can.  Given its enormous power, the US can do so with far
greater impunity.
    If Western elites wish to succumb to illusions about these
matters, they are free to do so without harm to their interests.
The weak, the victims, would be well-advised to be more realistic.
The reality is that the world is governed by the rule of force.
The rule of law is useful, as Acheson explained, to "gild our
positions" with an ethical cloak, when appropriate: typically in
justifying an attack against some selected enemy.  For one of many
clear illustrations, simply look at the record of international
war crimes trials, from Nuremberg to the present.  Who stands
before the bar of justice?  Who is immune?  Does it correlate with
crimes?  With power and support by power?  To all but the most
dedicated apologists for power, the answers seem clear enough.
    Q. Do you agree with the theory that the reasons for local
conflicts are only at local level or they are result of the
interests of the big powerful countries?
    A. There is no single answer.  It depends on the case.
Typically there is a mixture of reasons.
    Q. Macedonians think that if UN peacekeeping forces stayed
here, the Albanian extremists would not be able to attack the
country. Since Skopje recognized Taiwan, UN forces were pulled
back from the country? How was one of the most successful missions
of UN forced out of Macedonia, and was there some hidden agenda?
    A. I don't see any reason to believe in a "hidden agenda," and
do not think that recognition of Taiwan could have affected the
role of UN forces in Macedonia (apart from China's role, which is
marginal when the West chooses to ignore it).  The forces that
were there were not empowered by the West to defend the country.
The US in particular, NATO in general, would prefer to see the
Albanian insurrection defeated, but is unwilling to incur
casualties.  Bombing from a safe distance is fine, but not ground
engagements that might be costly.
    Q. When you speak of the credibility of NATO, you say that it
is not about the credibility of Denmark or France, but of the
United States. If that is correct, why would Denmark and France
allow that?
    A. Partly because they have no choice.  Partly because
subordination to US power is in the interest of domestic elites.
There are conflicts.  France in particular attempts to go a
separate way sometimes.  But the role of the US as the global
enforcer in the interests of the international economic and
political powers is generally accepted, in fact welcomed, by the
NATO countries.
    Q. Professor Chomsky, you said that if the Nuremberg laws had
been applied, every post-war American president would have been
hanged. What particular actions of theirs do you have in mind?
    A. I've reviewed specific examples elsewhere, for each
President.  There is no space to repeat here.
    Q. The American anti-missile shield is supposed to protect USA
from the potential enemies. You say that it is an absolutely
insane explanation of the Washington establishment. How can such
an opinion be advocated by the world's most powerful country?
    A. It can be advocated because it is entirely rational --
assuming, that is, that one agrees to value hegemony over
survival.  But that is a fairly consistent feature of the arms
race, with many historical analogues.  The reasons are outlined
very clearly in high level documents, for example, "Vision for
2020" of the US Space Command (under Clinton).  The Space Command
points out that the general program of militarization of space, of
which missile defense is a small component, is a natural extension
of the traditional role of navies in earlier years: to protect
investments and commercial interests worldwide.  Strategic
analysts announce approvingly that "missile defense isn't really
meant to protect America.  It's a tool for global dominance," a
way to ensure global "hegemony" (Lawrence Kaplan, Andrew
Bacevich). True, it increases the likelihood of destruction, which
is not small.  But that is a secondary consideration.
    Q. Is returning of Russia with Putin in the Balkans possible,
using the situation in Macedonia and region, which for US, for
now, is difficult to control?
    A. I doubt very much that the US would tolerate this, or that
Russia has the power, in the foreseeable future, to counter US
plans.
    Q. In the Balkans, the hatred is stronger than the bullet. Now
in Macedonia the trust between the Macedonians and the Albanians
is on the edge. How can we restore the lost trust if the situation
comes back to normal?
    A. That, again, is something that you know
far more about than I.

                                *  *  *
 
Special addition: NEW AT TOL                            July 16,2001

    --- WEEK IN REVIEW ---
    'An Honest Apology'
    Polish President Kwasniewski apologizes for the 1941 massacre
of
    Jedwabne's Jewish residents.
    by Wojtek Kosc
    http://www.tol.cz/week.html
    Police Brutality?
    The Slovak government is under fire after a Romani man dies
while in police custody.
    by Barbora Tancerova
    http://www.tol.cz/week.html
    Mopping Up
    Russian military leaders may re-evaluate troop tactics in
Chechnya.
    by Robert Earley
    http://www.tol.cz/week.html
    Facing the Truth
    Families of men killed after Bosnian Serbs captured Srebrenica
mark the sixth anniversary of the massacre, while Serbia's state
television broadcasts a revealing documentary on the event.
    by Mirna Solic
    http://www.tol.cz/week.html
    A Fight for the Right to Party
    The organizers of the Pepsi Island festival sign a deal to ban
homosexual events at the party, but back down amid a hail of
criticism.
    by Laszlo Szocs
    http://www.tol.cz/week.html
    MORE WEEK IN REVIEW
    http://www.tol.cz/week.html
    Moldovan President Mixes Family Planning Bill
    Simeon II Named Bulgarian Prime Minister
    Commission Formed To Improve Armenian-Turkish Relations
    Seven Opposition Parties Form Electoral Bloc in Ukraine
    Religious Education Sparks Controversy in Yugoslavia
    .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .
    - - - TOL MESSAGE - - -
    Be sure to visit our new mediakit. We reach thousands of
people with this newsletter every week. Your future business
partners, customers and readers are probably among them. No one
reaches the region like TOL - visit our mediakit for more
information:
    http://archive.tol.cz/mediakit/index.html, or e-mail us at
    [email protected].
    .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .
    --- OUR TAKE: Apologies Partially Accepted ---
    Though recent official apologies cannot change the past, that
they are being made at all indicates some progress.
    http://www.tol.c
z/look/TOLnew/article.tpl?IdLanguage=1&IdPublication=4&NrIss
ue=22&NrSection=16&NrArticle=1482&ST1=body&ST_T1=wir&ST_max=1
    .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .
    --- ANALYSIS ---
    On the Brink of Peace
    The draft agreement put forward by Western envoys for
resolving the conflict in Macedonia calls for the strengthening of
local democracy in multi-ethnic areas.
    by Vlado Jovanovski
    From TOL's newly launched Balkan Reconstruction Report
    (http://balkanreport.tol.cz)
    http://www.tol.c
z/look/TOLnew/article.tpl?IdLanguage=1&IdPublication=4&NrIss
ue=22&NrSection=2&NrArticle=1435
    A Veteran Returns to the Top
    Lithuania's former president makes a comeback in the wake of a
political crisis.
    by Giedrius Blagnys
    http://www.tol.c
z/look/TOLnew/article.tpl?IdLanguage=1&IdPublication=4&NrIss
ue=22&NrSection=2&NrArticle=1466
    Privatization Headaches Armenia grapples with selling off its
energy concerns. A TOL partner post with Eurasianet
(http://www.eurasianet.org)
    by Haroutiun Khachatrian
    http://www.tol.c
z/look/TOLnew/article.tpl?IdLanguage=1&IdPublication=4&NrIss
ue=22&NrSection=2&NrArticle=1442
    .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .
    --- IN FOCUS: Central Europe Faces Its Demons ---
    Victims and Oppressors
    Polish self-awareness hasn't been the same since the Jedwabne
massacre came to light.
    Feature by Tomasz Krzyanowski
    http://www.tol.c
z/look/TOLnew/article.tpl?IdLanguage=1&IdPublication=4&NrIss
ue=22&NrSection=1&NrArticle=1392
    Revenge on Trial
    The court proceedings against a Pole charged with murdering
Germans after World War II has opened another painful chapter in
Polish history.
    Feature by Wojtek Kosc
    http://www.tol.c
z/look/TOLnew/article.tpl?IdLanguage=1&IdPublication=4&NrIss
ue=22&NrSection=1&NrArticle=1401
    Small Town Genocide
    The book behind the controversy, Jan T. Gross' Neighbors, has
received as much attention as the events it claims to describe.
    Book Review by Andrea Mrozek
    http://www.tol.c
z/look/TOLnew/article.tpl?IdLanguage=1&IdPublication=4&NrIss
ue=22&NrSection=1&NrArticle=1391
    Taking the Bad With the Good
    The rise of a new political anti-Semitism in Hungary has
weakened the country's ability to acknowledge responsibility for
its wartime actions.
    Opinion by Rebekah Klein-Pejsova
    http://www.tol.c
z/look/TOLnew/article.tpl?IdLanguage=1&IdPublication=4&NrIss
ue=22&NrSection=1&NrArticle=1400
    Bridging the Gap
    Poles and Germans have come a long way toward reconciliation
over the past decade.
    Feature by Natalia Hojny
    http://www.tol.c
z/look/TOLnew/article.tpl?IdLanguage=1&IdPublication=4&NrIss
ue=22&NrSection=1&NrArticle=1443
    .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .
    --- COLUMNS ---
    The Deep End: Sleepy Drivers Get a Wake-Up Call
    Quirky news from around the region.
    by TOL staff
    http://www.tol.c
z/look/TOLnew/article.tpl?IdLanguage=1&IdPublication=4&NrIss
ue=22&NrSection=17&NrArticle=1420
    Media Notes: Freedom of Expression vs. the First Amendment
    In the post-communist world, complaints about violations of
press freedoms are not always what they seem.
    by Alexei Pankin
    http://www.tol.c
z/look/TOLnew/article.tpl?IdLanguage=1&IdPublication=4&NrIss
ue=22&NrSection=17&NrArticle=1421
    .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .
    --- Focus on Yugoslavia: Stealing the Show ---
    Good Diplomacy
    Serbian delegation talks the talk at the World Economic
Forum's European
    Summit in Salzburg.
    by Victor Gomez
    http://www.tol.c
z/look/TOLnew/article.tpl?IdLanguage=1&IdPublication=4&NrIss
ue=22&NrSection=1&NrArticle=1385
    Show Us the Money, Quickly
    Goran Pitic, Serbian international economic relations
minister, tells TOL that donors understand the urgency this time
around and that the cash will reach its proper destination.
    by Jeremy Druker
    http://www.tol.c
z/look/TOLnew/article.tpl?IdLanguage=1&IdPublication=4&NrIss
ue=22&NrSection=1&NrArticle=1384
    Playing With Time
    Finance Minister Bozidar Djelic talks to TOL about
cold-calling CEOs, avoiding aid traps, and confronting the past.
    by Victor Gomez
    http://www.tol.c
z/look/TOLnew/article.tpl?IdLanguage=1&IdPublication=4&NrIss
ue=22&NrSection=1&NrArticle=1383
    .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .
    -- ANNUAL REPORT ---
    Armenia 2000: Pessimistic Stability
    While the country succeeded in maintaining order following the
shocking 1999 parliamentary attack, other signs were less
encouraging.
    by Hovann Simonian
    http://archive.tol.cz/frartic/armar00.html
    .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .
    - - - TOL PARTNERS - - -
    - The Network of Independent Journalists of Central and
Eastern Europe (NIJ), a weekly service run by the Croatian-based
STINA press agency. To subscribe to STINA's NIJ weekly service,
giving you timely news of events in the region, send an e-mail to:
[email protected]
    - Internews Russia (http://www.internews.ru) is a Russian
non-profit organization which has been working since 1992 to
provide support to independent Russian television broadcasters and
the Russian television industry as a whole.
    .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .
    --- OUR TAKE: Apologies Partially Accepted ---
    Though recent official apologies cannot change the past, that
they are being made at all indicates some progress.
    In the realm of the official apology, not all declarations are
created equal. Despite that, two recent statements of regret--one
in Poland and one in Chechnya--have shown that the world may be
changing with regard to human rights abuses and war crimes.
    In Poland on July 10, President Alexander Kwasniewski issued
a strongly worded formal apology for a massacre of Jews that
occurred sixty years ago in the eastern town of Jedwabne. The
controversy over what actually happened in Jedwabne--where as many
as 1,600 Polish Jews may have been killed not by German Nazis but
by their fellow townspeople on July 10, 1941--and Jan Tomasz Gross
in book, Neighbors, which claims to tell the story of the town, has
rarely left the front page in Poland in the year since the book
was published.
    Kwasniewski's apology at the Jedwabne memorial ceremony
brought the heated debate to a climax: "We know beyond any doubt
that Poles were among the persecutors and murderers. We must not
have any doubt that here, in Jedwabne, the citizens of the
Republic of Poland were killed by other citizens of the Republic.
People did it to people, neighbors to neighbors," he told the
assembled crowd.
    Polls have shown an even split between those Poles who
disagreed with the president's decision to apologize and those who
felt it an appropriate gesture. Jedwabne residents in particular
have felt unfairly singled out by the attention the book has
garnered, and some locals--including Jedwabne's parish
priest--boycotted the memorial ceremony in protest. And though
Israeli Ambassador to Poland Szewach Weiss in his statement at the
memorial praised Kwasneiwski and the "righteous and open-hearted"
Poles who helped his family and so many others during World War
II, not everyone from the Jewish community was satisfied with the
ceremony. The main criticism--that the new Jedwabne memorial
assigns no blame to perpetrators of the massacre--has been
tempered somewhat by the general acknowledgement that the facts
about that terrible day are not yet fully known, and although an
investigation is underway, the truth may never be clear.
    While in Poland the president was acknowledging the sins of
the past, in Chechnya, Russian officials were forced to admit
wrongdoing in the breakaway republic. Russian Lt. Gen. Vladimir
Moltenskoi on July 12 admitted that troops there have committed
"widespread crimes". Moltenskoi, the top Russian military official
in Chechnya, acknowledged the Russian military's responsibility
for human rights abuses during security sweeps--zachistiki--conducted
in early July in the Chechen villages of Assinovskaya, Sernovodsk,
and Kurchaloi, and told officers that the search had been undertaken
in a lawless fashion, laying waste to the place and then pretending
[ignorance] about the incident, ITAR-TASS reported. Zachistiki have
become commonplace in the breakaway republic, but in the three
villages in question, the ferocity of the actions broke through the
Chechnya coverage fatigue and onto the world stage.
    The military chief's unprecedented admission--combined with
the threat of four local pro-Moscow administrators to resign over
the sweeps and pressure from the Council of Europe--prompted
Viktor Kazantsev, the Kremlin envoy to the region, to issue an
apology for the abuses and to ask for forgiveness.
    Once that apology had been issued, however, the backtracking
began from on high. Russian Interior Ministry Boris Gryzlov, while
promising a full investigation and punishment for those involved,
called the sweeps "tough but necessary," the Christian Science
Monitor reported on 13 July. The Kremlin's Chechnya spokesperson,
Sergei Yastrzhembsky, played down the allegations of abuse,
questioning only the efficacy of the actions and recommending a
move toward "pinpoint operations" to target individual rebel
leaders. By the evening of 12 July, even Moltenskoi had changed
his tune, saying on state-owned RTR television, "Everything was
planned correctly and carried out properly. Some violations were
committed."
    As for Russian President Vladimir Putin, his official
silence--though Chechnya's representative to the Duma, Aslanbek
Aslakhanov, told Interfax on 13 July that the president had spoken
to him about the incidents--on the human rights abuse allegations
in Chechnya spoke nearly as loudly as his recent statement to a
group of international lawyers. On 9 July, the president told the
group that he opposes the restoration of the death penalty for
Russia and promised to maintain the country's current moratorium
against it. Then, in a wholly unexpected follow-up, Putin said
that "the Chechens should not rejoice, as they are not going to be
taken alive," gazeta.ru reported.
    The president may find it difficult to continue with that
attitude. In 1941, war crimes and atrocities were easier to cover
up, and the wide canopy of national sovereignty provided a strong
defense. That Kwasniewski was willing to issue an apology on the
basis of history not fully revealed shows the movement that has
been made in accepting responsibility--even for events long past.
Today, with suspects from two continents and even a former head of
state indicted for war crimes and awaiting trial in an
international courtroom, the pressure is on. Given the changing
standards, Russia may be wise to examine their actions in the
current Chechnya conflict to avoid later apologies--or worse.
    .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .
    -- Transitions Online - Intelligent Eastern Europe
    Copyright: Transitions Online 2001
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