Bosnia, Kosova & the West — The Yugoslav Tragedy: A Marxist View

Mike Karadjis. At Head Of Title: The Yugoslav Tragedy, A Marxist View. Includes Bibliographical References (p. [234]-251). A Note on Language ........................................................................... 6 Abbreviations ....................................................................................... 7 Timeline ................................................................................................ 9 Introduction ........................................................................................ 11 1. Yugoslavia in History ................................................................... 19 Yugoslavia’s nations ............................................................................................. 19 World War II ........................................................................................................ 21 New Communist-led federation ......................................................................... 22 2. Keeping Yugoslavia United ........................................................ 24 Yugoslavia’s ‘special relationship’ with the West ................................................ 24 IMF & World Bank insist on Yugoslav recentralisation ..................................... 27 Serbian domination of central apparatus ............................................................ 29 Rise of Serbian nationalism .................................................................................. 31 ’Rich republics’ ...................................................................................................... 32 Resistance by multi-ethnic working class............................................................. 34 Milosevic begins drive to restore captialism........................................................ 35 Kosova .................................................................................................................. 38 Privatisation .......................................................................................................... 41 Three paths ........................................................................................................... 43 West rejects confederation .................................................................................. 44 Did Germany ‘break up’ Yugoslavia? .................................................................. 46 Western opposition to self-determination ......................................................... 49 3. Croatian War 1991 — Transition Stage ..................................... 50 Serb minority ........................................................................................................ 51 Massive attack on Croatian cities ......................................................................... 53 Western divisions ................................................................................................. 54 Milosevic saved by US .......................................................................................... 56 4. West Prepares the Ground for Assault on Bosnia ................. 58 Vance plan ............................................................................................................ 59 Carrington-Cutileiro plan .................................................................................... 61 Independence referendum .................................................................................. 62 5. Western Intervention in Bosnia: To Whose Benefit? ........... 64 Onset of the genocide........................................................................................... 64 Arms embargo on Bosnia .................................................................................... 67 Sanctions on Serbia ............................................................................................... 69 UN intervention ................................................................................................... 70 Threats of air strikes ............................................................................................. 71 Partition plans ....................................................................................................... 72 Vance-Owen plan ................................................................................................. 73 US policy reversal ................................................................................................. 76 Owen-Stoltenberg plan ........................................................................................ 78 6. Western Policy in Bosnia ............................................................ 80 Official explanation for “non-intervention” ........................................................ 80 Western interests ................................................................................................. 87 Avoiding “small states” ......................................................................................... 88 The “key to stability” versus the ultra-right ........................................................ 89 Multi-ethnic Bosnia .............................................................................................. 90 Anxiety about Islam ............................................................................................. 93 US re-enters the scene ......................................................................................... 95 US-French military rivalry ................................................................................. 100 Britain loses “special relationship” with US but maintains it with Serbia......... 101 7. Countdown to Final Solution .................................................... 105 Moslem-Croat Federation ................................................................................. 108 Serb Civic Council .............................................................................................. 109 Contact Group partition plan ............................................................................ 111 Final solution: from Srebrenica to Krajina ........................................................ 114 Bosnian offensive blocked by US intervention ................................................. 116 Dayton partition plan ......................................................................................... 118 8. Post-Dayton Bosnia .................................................................... 120 9. Sowing the Seeds of Catastrophe in Kosova ....................... 130 Kosova and Dayton ............................................................................................ 130 Kosova in Greater Serbia ................................................................................... 131 Fears of destabilisation ....................................................................................... 132 Growing Western economic interests in Serbia ................................................ 134 Rise of the KLA & Serbia’s counterinsurgency war .......................................... 138 NATO “cannot be the KLA’s air force” ............................................................. 142 The Rambouillet plan ......................................................................................... 145 NATO launches terror, Milosevic launches genocide....................................... 147 Serbian oppositionists against NATO and Milosevic ....................................... 150 Did NATO blunder? .......................................................................................... 153 Did NATO force Milosevic to say no? ............................................................... 154 Why did NATO want war? ................................................................................ 155 Did Milosevic already have the genocide prepared? ........................................ 158 What did NATO expect?.................................................................................... 159 NATO & the KLA during the war ..................................................................... 162 The KLA & organised crime .............................................................................. 168 The KLA & the Serb minority ............................................................................ 170 Did NATO aim to destroy the Serbian economy?............................................ 174 NATO & the Yugoslav military.......................................................................... 176 Was the US aiming at the European economy? ................................................ 178 G8 plan & ‘phase three’ of the war .................................................................... 180 New European defence identity ......................................................................... 184 US pushes rival bloc in Balkans.......................................................................... 186 Conservative & ultra-right opposition to the war ............................................ 187 10. Postwar Kosova — Partition, Violence, Colonialism ......... 191 Towards partition? ............................................................................................. 195 Attacks on Serb minority.................................................................................... 199 Who is ruling Kosova? ....................................................................................... 203 Who owns Kosova’s resources? ........................................................................ 207 Working-class revolt against Milosevic ............................................................. 209 The place of Serbia in the Balkans ..................................................................... 215 Conclusion ....................................................................................... 217 Notes ................................................................................................. 225