From: stojanov@husc11.harvard.edu (Milan Stojanovic)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.yugoslavia
Subject: Re: Democracy
Date: 30 Dec 92 15:52:11 GMT
Article-I.D.: husc3.1992Dec30.105212.18900
Organization: Harvard University Science Center

In article <1992Dec29.234530.13477@hpcvca.cv.hp.com> scott@hpcvccl.cv.hp.com (Scott Linn) writes:
>stojanov@husc11.harvard.edu (Milan Stojanovic) writes:
>
>What is "actually the main goal of this war"?
>

Acceptance of the right of Serbs for self-determinations.
The same moment Izetbegovic accepts this, war stops, and the "country"
could be split. 

>Also, it seems to me that (if correct) the Islamic fundamentalists weren't
>raping, destroying, killing people like the invaders of BH/Sarajevo are.
>Please tell me how to compare the two, since you brought it up.
>

First, not invaders.  Those are people comming from Bosnia also.  
Bosnia is a geographical term, and Serbs used to live there since
7th century.  I am surprised that you do not know that, considering that 
you allegedly follow the events.  Serbs were majority there before 
WWII, but this majority melted away ( guess how).
 
Second, how do you know what was going on the country side on?
Violent behaviour connected with the collapse of the central power is
tradition in that region. This is the third time in the century that this
happens, and in the previous two times Muslims inhabitants were more than 
ready to attack Serbian villages and rob, kill, rape, etc.  
This is well documented.   Serbian side claims that it happened for the 
third time, or that there were open threats.  I would remind you 
that some massacres of Serbs ( Milici, for example, not to mention
Bradina ) were either widely underreported or reported as massacres
of "Bosnians" which was, I guess, just dishonest, but not wrong.  I have
seen few time on CNN Orthodox graveyard shown with a comment about 
new victims of the Serbian aggression.  Also, just to note that only two
days ago, CNN in "Year in Review" again blamed bread-line massacre
on Serbs, although it was claimed by UN forces that Serbs did not do 
that.  CNN simply repeated the old film, without thinking.
So, cruelty has no borders in religion. 


>: Self determination has meaning only when it is applied to Slovenians,
>: not to those under the Byzantine-Ottoman influence.
>
>By this analogy, Hitler was simply executing self-determination when
>dispensing with Jews.
>

I fail to see analogy.  

Also, I think that you missed the sarcasm.
Slovenians fought bravely for their independence, but deny Serbs the
same right.  Probably, as Ministar Tanzig put, because Serbs are of the
Byzantine-Ottoman tradition.  


>I saw news reports where some of the (Serbian) fighters actually stated
>that they were cleaning house by getting rid of the non-Serbs, so that
>the region would then be "pure".

Some fighter, may be.  You should go after the leadership, and what they 
say.  Declared goal is to preserve ethnic composition as of 1991 census.

>As far as origins, I have no known ethnic tie to any Slavic region.  I
>spent two weeks in Jugoslavia for my honeymoon, just because it is such
>a beautiful place.  Right after BH had declared independence, the hotel
>my wife and I stayed at in Sarajevo was on the news, blown up.  Of course,
>whose fault is that?  According to your views, it wasn't the Serbs...

Could you give me the name of the hotel, and where it is?  I'll
answer you quikly.  

>
>Scott Linn
>scott@hpcvccl.cv.hp.com


Milan N. Stojanovic