Facing the Demon

In one of the numerous texts that concern the impending Srebrenica genocide resolution of Serbian parliament, politician and a professor of psychology at the University of Belgrade, Žarko Korać, talks about things that the resolution will bring about and that are mutually exclusive. He says that "it is impossible to think good of Ratko Mladić (commander in chief of Serbian forces in Srebrenica) and condemn the events as genocide, and it is also impossible to justify the war in Bosnia and to have compassion for the 8.000 victims of Srebrenica". Reading these lines, again, I am faced with a dilemma: If, from a perspective of international law, i think that categorizing a crime in Srebrenica as a genocide is more of a political than a judicial decision, can i truly be in favor of such a resolution? Can i, in some way, reconcile these two seemingly opposite positions?
Reflecting on it now, it was more of a soul searching than a simple dilemma. For a while now i have been considering the events from Srebrenica within the confines of the international law. A genocide is a legal category and should be deliberated as such. By doing so i wasn't entirely convinced, beyond any doubt, that the Srebrenica massacre was a genocide. I was convinced, and in some part still am, that the decision of the International Court of Justice was stretched by the politicians just enough to justify the involvement of the international community in the Balkan war.
However logical and correct, this kind of deliberation is essentially flawed when used by the Serbian nationals (to whom i accidentally belong). I know that now. For years now virtually all of the prominent political factors in Serbia have, one way or another, condemned the crimes committed during the war. Some sincerely, some quite sanctimoniously. And what the majority of them had in common is the absence of the word Genocide. Massacre yes, war crime definitely, but not Genocide. And Genocide is the key here. Only by calling Srebrenica event a Genocide, and condemning it through a resolution proclaimed by the highest governing body of our country can we truly begin to face our demons. To acknowledge the crimes and the victims doesn't seem to be a problem at all, but to admit that there has been a Genocide on part of the Serbian armed forces, is one hell of a dread. It's time to put the legal semantics aside and truly begin the process of healing for this whole region. Only by admitting to genocide are we going to oblige ourselves, morally and institutionally, never to let anyone again kill 8.000 people in our name. Or one, for that matter.

Tošo Borković

"Thank You!"

Well they did it. We applied for a full membership of the European Union, but, to get to the point straight away, one can not but wonder why just now. Before i get on someone's nerves for raining on our parade, i want to say that i am very happy that this has happened. Now, at least, our priorities and path into the future have been clearly paved. However, impact of the formal application into the EU transcends mere prospects of a better life for a half-dozen million tired people. It reminds me of a new marketing campaign that several Banks have been using around here lately. With every transaction you make with your pay card a percentage goes to the fund for the prevention of cancer or AIDS. A noble endeavor but, none the less, a marketing campaign made to boost the profits. The good thing is that, in the end, someone other than the Bank has some use of it. This is what happened to our EU application. It brings a nice PR facelift and political profit to a seriously shaken coalition of ruling parties while in return starts a long overdue healing treatment for the cancerous population. Now all they have to make sure is that the patient does not die on the operating table.
The buzzards are circling, and they want their carcass.

Economic Patriotism

It is only recently that i have heard the phrase economic patriotism being tossed around the Serbian media. Interesting is who is doing the aforementioned tossing. The answer is: employers union of Serbia. And, basically, what this unity of well-off individuals, super powerful tycoons, corporate dirt bags and your everyday slave drivers are saying is ask not what your company can do for you, but what you can do for her.

After the worst economic crisis in modern history, Serbia, among other countries, is, allegedly, starting to feel the slow restoration of its economic system. The employers have fired or forcibly retired enough of their workers to once again start threading the familiar paths of unlimited growth. However, once again we are faced with an obstacle. The one that threatens to, once again, destroy the fragile economic system such as Serbia’s. This new enemy is called H1N1, or better known for its more sinister name, Swine Flu. Now, in the eyes of the employers union of Serbia this swine flu is just another obstacle on the road to projected profit. And it is physically attacking and incapacitating the resource they so adamantly protect and enshrine. Their workers. And they didn’t sit idly by and watch as their workers are being swept away from their workplaces. No, they decided to appeal to the very core of our solidarity. Our Patriotism. But, they are talking about a very specialized kind of patriotism. The one committed to the welfare of your company, thus, indirectly, to the welfare of your country.

Of course this appeal has been made in the truest Serbian tradition. statements such as "...those that get sick should stay home and get better, but there will be a number of people that are taking sick leave out of fear. Then we will see who is the true economic patriot and who is not" are infused with the sense of inescapable ancestral scorn for those that betray the god and country. The failure to answer the call of duty has a price that we will all pay. The price of 10.5 million Euros per month.

So, fellow countrymen, This is what we can do for our country. And corporation.

Tošo Borković

Whatever Works

In the light of the recent unsettling events that took place on the streets of Belgrade (the cancellation of Belgrade pride parade and the murder of a French football supporter) one cannot but admire the tremendous skill of dodging any kind of political damage and bad publicity that Serbian politicians have exercised. The way their non-corporeal, political and corporeal, human bodies wormed their way around every moral and political trap that was laid before them during these incidents is something to be respected.

Unsettling events

Belgrade LGBT pride parade was canceled due to high security risks and the inability of Serbian police forces to guarantee safety of all the participants and bystanders. A number (all of them) of ultra - nationalist, traditionalist, fascist and religious (as well as some of the highest ranking officials of the Serbian Orthodox Church) groups threatened to attack members of the parade in order to stop the shameful exhibition of sexual deviancy and perversity. The parade was canceled one day before it was supposed to take place.
The murder of a French young man, Brice Taton, took place shortly after. One group of football supporters intercepted the other in downtown Belgrade. The man was beaten up with crowbars, and several days later he died in the hospital due to the severe trauma to his head and heart.

Tergiversation

Serbian politician's reactions ranged from true shock and condemnation through passive noninterference to silent approval. But what they all had in common was the shifting of blame and avoidance of any kind of responsibility for the things that are happening in the country they lead. It is remarkable how Serbian politicians can avoid being blamed for anything. To be a politician here, means to master a special kind of speech. The kind that would allow you to talk for hours on end but to say virtually nothing. That way, if anything goes wrong, you are not the one who gets to be blamed. And things go wrong more often than not. Because the ability (and often lack of will) of the average politician here to predict the unfolding of the events is limited to "...i'm sure that sun will rise tomorrow". The only "big picture" they know of is measured in inches and it represents the size of their television sets. In such climate it is dangerous to be responsible.
In these instances, they spent huge amounts of energy to differentiate themselves from the problem, instead of solving it. And they didn't solve it. They just managed to show to the people that they do not "share the values that homosexual people do, but they believe that any person can exercise its right to free speech and sexual orientation". But they didn't do anything to enable a chance for those peoples to do that. So the extremists have won. They have beaten the government and the parade is canceled. But the politicians didn't even flinch. Like nothing has happened.
One other reason for such a behavior is the importance of the ideals that these extremist groups represent and the extent to which they are rooted in peoples minds. Peoples that are registered voters. Direct attack on these groups results in a proportional loss of a significant number of votes. That is why they have operated without any problems for nearly two decades. Again, politicians deal with the situation as it arises, and its always in the way that would benefit their current image.
Today, Serbia really is traveling without moving.

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