In May 11 you wrote :
>I am most definitely NOT cordially invited. On the contrary, I am
>visited by the topic of your conference, without invitation, every day
>and night. You guessed right: I live in Belgrade. And no, I am not
>Milosevic's follower, just as 1.5 million of Belgraders are not.
>Remember the Protest against him in Belgrade and all the major cities
>here, that NATO now bombs constantly? Close to one hundred days in the
>streets. Carrying USA and EU banners. What are we to carry now? Are you
>going to answer this question at your conference?
>I can not believe that you are planning a conference on NATO without
>even mentioning the actual goings on. Where do you live? Planet Earth
>calling to the School of Humanities (???) and Cultural Studies!=20
>You might try inviting experts from Yugoslavia (or if that is too bold,
>maybe Russia, or China, perhaps?) I'm sure it would add flavor to your
>"terrace of the 18th century mansion" atmosphere.
>And when NATO makes some kind of "patchwork" deal with Milosevic,
>leaving refugees where they are, with the opposition in Serbia
>destroyed, Milosevic voted "President for lifetime", are you going to
>organise a new conference, with some Serbian guest speakers?>
>
>Sincerely,
>Prof. Slobodanka Nedovic,
>School of Law, University of Belgrade
Dear Slobodanka
I read your comments on the Nato conference ( that is a ridiculus
case the same as the gala of Nato birthday). Do you really mean it when
you say that Yugoslavs from the opposition are not invited ? In other words
DO YOU STILL TRUST THESE BLOODY CRIMINALS and you want
to participate in their conferences ? What is your hope for the future,
that once Milocevic will be off, the Serbian Nation will be salvated and
Mr Clinton will say SORRY ?
I am a Greek sociologist and I am really perplexed about the recent crisis.
What is really happening in Beograd ? I have been in your city many times
mostly in the decade 1970-80 and people looked happy and joyful. Then
came Milocevic and the Bosnia war. Then you say that the 3/4 of Belgradians
formed the opposition every day in the roads. That was clear on TV but the
fact is that at the time Americans rather estimated Milocevic as a stability
factor
useful for signing the Daiton traity. Then all was reinversed upside down. M
became
the bad guy for Nato and bombings started. Then you don't know whom to blame
for that.
Well, my aspects are the following ( as a neighboring outsider) :
1/ It was a terrible mistake to trust Americans even 2 years ago while
demonstrating
in the streets against M with American and EU flags. These states are not to be
trusted because they were opposant to Serbs not OUT OF THE SERBIAN
POLITICAL REGIME BUT BECAUSE THEY PREFERED TO ENFORCE
CROACIANS AND MUSULMANS.
That was a German idea influencing strongly EU. The American innovation
concerns
the influence on Muslims. The same is with Greece and Turkey for the last 25
years. Both belong to Nato but US is favorable to Turks whatever the Greek
gorvement might be ( Dictature put by US in 1974 when Cyprus was massacred
with 170.000 refugees) then Conservative goverments , then Socialists.
2/ Must be some important minerals in Kosovo ( URANIUM) otherwise it's no
explained why they bomb with such rage even villages killing Albanians too.
All they want is not to have important rulers in that region and the
solution of
autonomy seemed good since an Albanian under their orders ( managed by paid
killers such as UCK) WILL MAKE THEIR EASY SERVANTS.
3/ Draskovits and the rest of opposition may think that they are democratic and
all that, but under present circumstances all that is NAIVE because the
important now is WHO CAN MANAGE HIS POWER BETTER AND
WHO KNOWS TO PLAY BETTER CHESS. The ideological questions are
off the record when you get bombs over your heads. THERE IS NO HOPE THAT
EUROPEANS ( MOSTLY ENGLISH) AND AMERICANS WILL
SYMPATHISE BETTER SERBS after EXTERMINATING MILOCEVITS.
YOU MUST BE BABY- NAIVE TO HOPE THAT. Milocevic was a good
pretext to create all this scenery, but their fault was that waited that all the
opposant should rebel against M the second day of bombings. This did not
happen and you know the reasons beter than me. Please don;t say that you
wanted to scream VIVA NATO and official propaganda did not let you.
In the contrary there was a solidarity and this is the strong point of the
Serbian
people that makes the difference with other EU nations. That proves thast you
have more common points with M than with NATO even this very moment.
You may be internationalist in ideology but when the STRONG BOSS
DON'T LET YOU BE AS YOU WISH THEN YOU MUST PAY HIM
WITH SCORN AND even HATE. What do you like from US ? Their freedom
or the lies of its leaders ? They create news like films of Holywood. CNN IS A
SMALL HOLLYWOD.But life is not Titanic nor Disneyland . French sociologists
( Baudrillard ) had said in 1991 that probably the Gulf war was a video game
and
nothing more. Bourdieu believes from early eighties that L'OPINION PUBLIQUE
N'EXISTE PAS. IT IS FABRICATED. So what do you want from US ? Money
from Wall street ? Are you jealous for their wealth ? But they spend these
money
as idiots for expensive clothes , restos and psychanalysts. Serbian and
Bosnian gypsies
are much more happier. KASTURICA WAS RIGHT WHEN LEAVING THE US
AFTER TURNING HIS WORST FILM ARIZONA ..... But "Underground" is
YOUR CULTURE and you must be proud of that.
4/ In Greece simple people like Serbs as brave heroes with not having idea what
M is doing or did against Albanians. In my opinion, he killed 2000 Albanians
totally. But Albanians killed 1000 Serbs too. What is that idiocy of ethnic
cleansing
compared with Rwanda or Sudan ? American satellites could view even a man
shaving himself , so why not showing this ethno cleansing in the CNN ?
DO YOU BELIEVE THAT IT HAPPENED ?
ARE YOU SO INTERNATIONALIST THAT YOU NEED AMERICANS
OR NATO TO HELP YOU TO GET RID OF M ?
If you are, you have better to migrate to the US or Canada, but not be
anymore proud of speaking Sebian and listening Serb music.
Maybe you have more common things with M than you name meaning freedom
and you did never consider it. Think it again.
As for me I feel ashamed to belong in UN and having been paid for
some European research programmes against social exclusion and xenophobia.
EU is hypocrite especially when paying others for things it never believed.
Maybe EU will be absorbed by the new NATO . Mr Blair is hardly working
on this direction.
What makes a nation important is not to imitate MTV or American cultural
rabbish ( in music, language, films, fashion, lifestyle etc) but rather its
own way to the future and Serbia had proved in the near past that it had
its way. Yugoslavia also had its social and financial way of living in dignity
and not as a slave of Russians or Americans. We, Greeks admired Yugoslavia
of being so independent and autonomous state even during the cold war.
Now the prize was to divide it in pieces ? If Croats never wanted to repeat
the Tito experimentation of living in the same federation with poor Macedonians
their praise will be to become the poor relatives of Austrians and German.
Soon they will forget Croatianand will speak German. Do you envy them ?
Where is their dignity ? Of course they are pro nationalist fascists but they
are IDIOT FASCISTS THE SAME AS HUNGARIANS RUNNING AFTER
THE STRONGS OF THE EART THE SAME AS MY DOG RUNNING AFTER
ME EVEN IF I NEVER ENCOURAGE IT. Albanians are even worst.
They are eternal beggars and stealers with no gratitude. Even gypsies steal
with
style. Albanians no. When you pay an Albanian in Greece as illegal worker
he will come next day to steal YOU and not another who did not pay him.
THEY ARE ETHNICALLY CRAZY. They became Muslim just not tobe
taxed by Turks and the half of them surveilled the other half as spies.
But Serbs were never as that. You never run after Byzantines, or Turks
or Austrohungarian or German or Russian why to run after EU or US ?
Sorry for the lenght of my letter , anyway I am a stranger that maybe you
cannot trust, I promise you not the consumer paradise and the Wall street
wealth but only sorrow and stress coming out of national dignity and bravery.
I did not mention Ortodoxy and all that religious stuff since I don't believe
on that but sometimes people do when bombs are on their heads, but anyway...
it disd not happen to us here, maybe it will be Greece's turn next year.
WHEN ONE IS BRAVE
HE IS BRAVE FOR HIMSELF
AND NOT FOR ANY PARTICULAR LEADER
Socrates taught : KNOW YOURSELF AND BE THE LEADER OF YOURSELF
Just remember that and if you wish you may respond to me.
Regards
Nikos Gousgounis
Ph.D. Social Anthropologist and Sociologist of Sorbonne University.
working in Athens.
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