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| KOSOVO
AND HUMAN RIGHTS (part 3) |
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is ironic that there has been no acknowledgement of
Western culpability for the bloodshed in the former
Yugoslavia. Instead we in the West have with pious
self-righteousness condemned ethnic cleansing and murders.
We have singled out the Serbs as the villains. Early in
the conflict CNN and the Western media gave them the bad
guy label. They have never been able to shake that
image. |
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| Terrible
things did take place in the wars that accompanied the
disintegration of Yugoslavia but it is simplistic and wrong to
blame only the Serbs. If there are war criminals in Yugoslavia
and I have no doubt there are- then those responsible for
creating the conditions for violence and bloodshed are equally
guilty. If not guilty directly then certainly guilty as
accessories. I am referring here to the Western leaders who
are as responsible for the killing as are those wielding the
weapons. |
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is because of my experience in Yugoslavia that I am cautious
about the so-called new human security agenda. Those who
champion human rights frequently do so for the wrong reasons.
Very often there is a hidden agenda that has little to do with
human rights. As we have also seen there is always selectivity
to human rights intervention and the choices made are not
always altruistic in nature. Furthermore, more often than not,
the intervention does more harm than good. This has been
particularly so in Kosovo. |
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| The
NATO intervention, ostensibly for humanitarian reasons, ended
up creating a human rights catastrophe. In every respect it
has been a disaster. NATO’s action has convinced the two
other great powers, China and Russia, that the West cannot be
trusted. Even more serious, the high moral ground that had
been a proud feature of the Western democracies has been
abandoned. We have shown ourselves to be no better than our
former communist adversaries-quite prepared to use violence
and force to gain our ends. Prepared as well to wrap these
ends in the cloak of high purpose and humanitarian principle. |
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long-range implications of the Kosovo fiasco are far-reaching
and ominous. In the short term the destabilization of the
Balkans caused by the war may mean a return to violence and
bloodshed. Albanian dreams of uniting all of their people in
one territory have been given solid encouragement by the
support given to them in their struggle for Kosovo. The former
Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia could well become the next
powder keg. The Albanians there are winning the battle of the
cradle and already there are increasingly vocal demands for
self- determination and possible secession. The north- west
region of Greece provides another potential trouble spot and
is shown on Albanian maps as a part of greater Albania. The
southern region of Serbia bordering on Kosovo has already come
under pressure from Albanian armed bands. |
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| Serbia
itself has been crippled economically and psychologically by
the Yugoslav wars; especially by the Kosovo experience.
Embittered and rejected by the Western democracies it is
festering with bitterness and hostility. Encumbered by a
Government increasingly isolated from its people and desperate
to remain in power by any means, the country is ripe for civil
war. Its army remains one of the strongest in Europe. Should
relations with Montenegro deteriorate further or should a
provocation be “arranged” we could see another outbreak of
conflict with all of the terrible consequences of internecine
struggle. |
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| Are
there lessons to be learned from all of this? One might hope
that we become more reluctant to accept without question those
who advocate using force to protect the human rights of people
claiming to be oppressed. A healthy skepticism in this regard
would be desirable. |
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