Evening star., 1941-09-27
Insurqent YuqosIuviu

Inc growing movement OF OppOSl-
ton which seethes ir all the lands
conquered by the Axis has reached
the insurrection stage in Yugoslavia.
This country, nodded into nation
out of composite but mainly kindred
elements after the first World War,
was overrun by the Axis powers in
their Balkan blitzkrieg last spring,
but the mountainous interior never
has been occupied effectively by the
invaders. Those wild regions have
harbored well-armed guerrilla bands,
known as Chetniks Most of these
hardy patriots are Serbs, the tough
est and most indomitable among the
South Slav stocks.
1t was the Serb element which
constituted the real cement in the
new Yugoslav state formed gen.
Grafton ago. With almost fanatical
energy they strove to bring the coun-
try to a true state of unity. The
task was difficult, because the South
Slav peoples had very different his
torical backgrounds. The chief
obstacle to unification was the
Croats of the northern provinces, a
stock almost as numerous as the
Serbs, who had taken their culture
and Roman Catholic religion from
Western Europe, whereas the Serbs
had received theirs from Greek
Orthodox Byzantium. In Eastern
Europe, cultural and religious differ
enceS often outweigh ties of blood
and speech. The Croats resented the
dominance of the Serbs and demand
ed a degree of local autonomy which
the Serbs, bent on quick unif1catiOn,
refused. This caused a bitter po-
litical feud in which the most ire
concilable CroatS rejected the very
idea of Yugoslav unity and plotted
for an independent Croatian state.
Serb repression of Croat extremists
led the latter to form a secret terror
ist organization known as Ustachi.
They served as a useful fifth column
for tie Axis and were set up as a
puppet government of Croatia under
their leader, Ante Pavelic.
The Ustachi were never more than
a small minority in Croatia, and
popular sympathy was still further
alienated when they showed them
selves merely the tools of Italy, the
traditional enemy. Instead of inde-
pendence, the Croats were made into
an Italian dependency, like Albania,
nominally ruled by prince of the
House of Savoy but actually under a
military regime of Ustachi terrorists
and Italian troops. There can be
little doubt that many of the guer-
rillas now operating in Croatia are
Croats as well as Serbs.
Unfortunately, the situation is
complicated by old political and
personal grudges which tend to hin
der the movement for freedom from
the Axis yoke. In Southern Croatia
and neighboring Bosnia, the Croats
and Serbs are intermingled. Both the
Ustachi guards and the Serbian
Chetniks are committing cruelties on
the civilian population, a develop
ment that makes for bad blood on
both sides. In addition, the large
Mohammedan element in Bosnia,
which always has felt itself apart
from its Christian kinsmen of both
faiths, is playing its own hand and
thus reviving past quarrels.
Naturally, the Axis occupation au-
thorities are doing everything they
can to encourage factional opposi-
ton to the patriotic movement. Be-
sides the Ustachi regime in Croatia,
set up by the Italians the Germans
are sponsoring a provisional govern
ment in Serbia headed by General
Milutin Medic, whose troops are
fighting the insurgent Chetniks
alongside the Germans. In a recent
appeal to the rebels, General Medic
described deplorable situation
when he stated: Brother fights
brother. Crops, houses and forests
are burned. Public works are de-
stroyed and civilians killed. Do the
Serbian people want civil war?"
Yugoslavia thus presents COM
plicated and tragic picture, only
dimly discerned behind wells of CEN
sorship. That the bulk of it's
oppressed peoples is against the Axis
and longs for liberation is certain.
Yet the struggle is cross-cut by local
antagonisms which handicap the at
tainment of the larger goal.