From: news@cc.swarthmore.edu (USENET News System)
Subject: THE CASE OF VILLAGE VOICE
Originator: vuksan@ginger
Organization: Swarthmore College
Date: Thu, 17 Dec 1992 01:44:32 GMT

THE CASE OF VILLAGE VOICE
 
Anybody ever heard of Village Voice? Village Voice is a local New
Yorkean weekly for aging yuppies which wear jeans with suit and
tie. Voice loves to flatter itself how it still is alternative and
un-corporate. The only thing still alternative about the Voice is
its cheap print and paper. That goes with its jeans side of
personality. Above waist, and that is where it counts, in the
published articles, the Voice is not more alternative than Time or
Newsweek. It seems the Voice believes to be a voice of younger
generations. Well, it is not voice of myself. And I am a younger
generation. So, what is the role of Village Voice as the paper "on
the left from center" in the Yugoslav war?
 
The article "War Without End" (November 10th issue) follows the
pattern of how the American left percieves the Yugoslav wars.
Featuring one side (Serbian), and using other groups only as a
framework. Sarajevo is not mentioned in the article, not once.
That's left to the repugnant grown-up press. It's said: "Bosnia was
never even thought of as a country". Editors didn't bother to go
to public library and learn that Bosnia indeed WAS a country in the
medieval period before it accepted Turkish rule. It, also said that
most of the early reporting about war was done from Zagreb. The
fact is that three times more foreign reportres sat in Belgrade and
reported from there. There were other awkward mistakes like the one
that said that Milosevic came to power in Serbia in 1987 (instead
of 1988).
Although article was incomplete, it at least provided an important
story about the activity of growing anti-war movement in Serbia.
So, I thought, in the name of that goal to forgive the shortcomings
of the article.
Then comes "President of Fortune" (December 8th issue).
 
In a letter to the editor a Voice reader Amiel Alcalay pointed out
his dissatisfaction with the previous article. He raised the issues
of Kosovo (barely discussed in the former article) and
Sarajevo/Bosnia. In the reply to the letter Voice wrote: "The
issues raised by Alcalay are discussed at some length in this
week's Moving Target column." I am not sure if the writer of both
articles (James Ridgeway) even read that letter, but "some length"
was two tiny paragraphs mentioning Kosovo and NONE about Sarajevo
and Bosnia. This is a totally snobbish disregard for readers.
Village Voice obviously thinks that it is not cool to write about
something that everybody else writes about, too. "Some length" was
less than 10% of the new article. So, what the new article was
about?
In the rest (90%) of the article Village Voice run the endorsement
for one of the Serbian presidential candidates! Because, Voice has
to be pompous with being alternative, Ridgeway didn't endorse
Panic, an American capitalist. For obvious lack of knowledge about
Serbia and Yugoslavia Voice run an endorsement for a "third party"
candidate actually helping Milosevic, the Serbian strongman, to
eventually win. I am honestly afraid that Ridgeway didn't even know
that in Serbia were more than three presidential candidates. O.K.
- which candidate in Serbia did the Voice endorse? The Voice picked
up Captain Dragan. Captain Dragan is an Australian commando (he is
a Serb originally) who is a soldier of fortune by profession. His
real name is thought to be Danijel Vasiljkovic (the Voice didn't
discover the last name yet), but in the presidential campaign he
is known by his nome de guerre. Before he came to organize armed
gangs in Serbian enclaves in Croatia to fight Croatian army, he
fought as a mercenary "somewhere in southern Africa." I would
sincerely like to know for what cause and for whose money could a
white mercenary fight anywhere in southern Africa...
 
The article unfolds under the photography of a wounded Serbian
soldier that flashes, what Ridgeway calls a victory sign: a three-
fingered Serbian salute (that has origins in Orthodox Christianity
tradition, and has nothing to do with victory sign). It is very
alarming that Serbian three-fingered salute is EXACTLY THE SAME as
the German neo-nazi three-fingered salute (that means Third Reich
and is a legal surrogat for a regular but illicit nazi slute).
Although the two are probably not connected, it is terrifying that
extremists at two different places are using the same symbol.
 
I couldn't believe that the American left may fall so low: to
advertise an obviously conservative survivalist type mercenary who
fought possibly for racist causes and money in Africa, and, now,
runs for a president of country that is in the war with its closest
neighbour.
 
There are certain credits I agree with the Voice we have to give
to capt. Dragan: his care about veterans and wounded soldiers is
admirable, indeed. Also, as I discussed him with some fighters who
fought for Croatian Forces, I understood that he was a clean and
professional soldier, and that his troops spent their time fighting
Croatian soldiers (a lot of times succesfully) while Serbian troops
lead by other commanders in Krajina (Serbian region of Croatia)
were mostly entertained by massacring civilians, unable to win a
battle against Croatian troops. Upset by his clean-cut military
victories and by their failures, other Serbian leaders in Krajina
eventually ousted capt. Dragan, and he left to Belgrade. The Voice
didn't mention that the battle he lost was a battle against his
own, Serbian, bureaucracy.
 
There is at least one bad thing capt. Dragan did: his soldiers are
guilty for death of the German journalist Egon Scotland (wrote for
Suddeutsche Zeitung) in Krajina. Dragan today regrets the tragic
killing. To a journalist of Japanese TV (Hiroshi Haji) he said that
his men made a mistake thinking of a press automobile to be a
vehicle of Croatian police force. That was the first foreign
journalist killed in this war. There are over 30 journalists dead
till now. While Village Voice is writing about the war from the
safe academic distance, some guys were there for real.
 
Although, capt. Dragan does not strike me as an evil personality,
I don't believe he is fit to be a president, and I do not believe
he would be able to stop the war. Also, I don't believe he will
gain more than 10% of vote in coming elections. Not enough to win,
but enough to help Milosevic wins. After this article I believe
Village Voice's understanding of foreign policy deserves a firm
"F".