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EUROPE INDEXCommunitas Main Index
KOSOVO AND IRAQ Two faces of American Strategy Europeans are looking on attentively: Serbia and the KLA (Kosovo Liberation Army) have three weeks to reach an agreement and stop the fighting which is tearing Kosovo apart. Hubert Védrine, the French Foreign Minister, has even gone to the Balkans in order to give a sign to the combatants that this time the ultimatum is serious. To be honest, Slobodan Milosevic must, once again, be having a good laugh faced with this new threat which is set to precede the next withdrawal (partial probably). A few thousand kilometres away Iraqis are almost certainly in tears as they behold the death and ruins which have been delivered on them in the most complete indifference. MORE.. translingvoj 10th February 1999 PUTTING KOSOVO INTO PERSPECTIVE The taking over in 1989 of the autonomous province of Kosovo by Belgrade was the first act which called into question the constitutional balance which was bequeathed by Tito. It saw the beginning of the break up of the Ex-Yugoslavia. MORE.. translingvoj 5th February 1999 ITALY - IMMIGRATION POLICIES Everything was started off again with a non-confirmed piece that appeared in the Italian press, 'in the first nine days of 1999 nine inoffensive Italians were murdered by dangerous illegal workers'. And thus an xenophobic and paranoid anti-immigrant debate hit the headlines in the media supporting the current regime (public TV and papers close to the coalition parties) and in the opposition camp (private channels and papers owned by Silvio Berlusconi). MORE.. translingvoj 14th February 1999 |
Kosovo and Iraq
Who Gives a Shit?Since 1991 some 100,000 have lost their lives in the Balkans and this figure simply hides the story of suffering, social dislocation and incipient fascism that dogs that region of the world. Kosovo is, indeed, only a part of that story but it is the part which draws our attention today. Kosovo is a poverty stricken place holding the record for under-employment and illiteracy in Europe. A year ago 2,000,000 were squashed into 10,900 sq kms (we say 'were' since 2,000 have been killed since that figure was produced) and since then 300 villages have been rased to the ground and 200,000 are now seeking escape from this hell hole by heading for other parts of Europe. They are not welcome - as our current report from Italy reveals. In an orgy of xenophobia the Italian press are whipping up the hatred which has also been stirred up for them back 'home' in Kosovo by Milosevic and other racists who see this part of the world as the 'historic' lands of Serbia. Fortress Europe also has closed its doors and only those who meet with the criteria demanded by the Maastricht agreement - 'flexible' workers - are welcome in a brave new world where capital aims not only to exploit us but also to turn us against each other. No one seems to give a shit because Kosovo, as we say, is poor and hasn't any oil. Iraq in this latter sense (it has oil but is certainly poor) is a different story. As we move into the 21st Century the game plan is coming clear. Military might will be used to protect US (read Western) interests (read oil). As Al Gore says: what is good for Corporate America is good for the nation. But, Al, it's not much 'good' for the people on the ground in Iraq. Voices In The Wilderness in their report at the end of last year (reported in Freedom 23rd Jan) reports on the effects of recent US/UK bombings. The details make your stomach turn. One package 'delivered' at 4.00am caused 12 women to abort their babies as a result simply of the fear this kind of attack causes. Since when were pregnant women 'military targets'? It is reported that surveys show that 70% of Americans are in favour of these attacks. What is so wrong with American society that this can be possible? In Iraq Dr Abdul Firas Abbas at the Basra Paediatrics and Maternity Hospital had this to say to the Voices in the Wilderness Team, 'Tony Blair is glad that Iraq has no power to hit back and says the embargo will continue. They have no heart - for the oil they kill the children, kill the future... You want the oil. Take the oil. But don't kill our children'. As we go into the 21st Century there will be more Dr Abbas's as US (et al) military might is used to keep the oil flowing. Only one thing can stop that from becoming the future and the choice is stark: either it is to be upper case: US or lower case: us.
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