Spanish philosopher George Santayana famously wrote that "those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it." But what of those who can?
Over and over, in the past few weeks, Yugoslavia has been on the lips – and minds – of Russians and Ukrainians, as the crisis in Ukraine threatens to erupt into full-scale civil war. In his four-hour TV conversation with the Russian public in mid-April, for example, Vladimir Putin mentioned how the West dismembered Yugoslavia so it could do what it wanted with the pieces. The "Maidan" demonstrations and the coup of February 22 followed a script developed in 2000 to subjugate Serbia. Mainstream western propaganda has certainly followed the pattern of hysterical hatred previously reserved for the Serbs, to the point where snippets of actual reason stand out like the proverbial sore thumb.
Similarities do not stop there. The Empire demanded the elected government not act against the violent "Maidan" demonstrators, just as it demanded from the federal Yugoslav government not to defend the country from separatists. But as soon as their stooges were installed in power, the Empire instructed Kiev to "establish the authority of the state." Perhaps along the same lines as Croatian 1995 "police actions" in UN protected areas.
The problem both the Kiev junta and its Western backers have encountered, however, is that Russia is not playing to their script. Though all over the south and east of Ukraine the local population has refused to submit to the government in Kiev – much like Serbs in Croatia, for example – attempts to accuse Russia of "invasion" fizzled spectacularly. In any case, there has been no need for Russian intervention, as the Ukrainian Army has until recently refused to fire on their own civilians – who would stop the junta’s tanks with their bare hands, just like the Kosovo Serbs a few years ago.
So the junta resorted to atrocity.
The Odessa Massacre
Last Friday, May 2, , soccer hooligans and "Right Sector" thugs – a Nazi militia acting as enforcers of the current regime – attacked a camp of peaceful protesters in Odessa. They forced the protesters into the Trade Union House, and set it on fire. People trying to escape the conflagration were shot, or clubbed to death. At least 46 people were killed, possibly more.
The junta blamed "rebels" for the arson and murder; allegedly the "Right Sector" mob was "attacked" by masked men wearing red armbands – alleged to be "pro-Russian militants." However, video evidence clearly showed them working with the police.
It wouldn’t have been a first such false-flag provocation to set up a "Right Sector" attack; back in February, just as the government had capitulated to EU demands, the Maidan protesters (and police!) were fired upon by mysterious snipers. This provided a pretext for "Right Sector" and other militants to seize government offices and establish the current "provisional" regime.
The Odessa atrocity may have been calculated to intimidate those Ukrainians opposed to the junta, as well as provoke an angry Russian response. After all, the West has repeatedly resorted to atrocity porn as justification for interventions – in Yugoslavia (Bosnia, Kosovo), Libya and (albeit unsuccessfully) Syria.
Sure enough, there was a lot of anger in Russia. Instead of lashing out, though, Moscow stayed silent.
Breaking the Frame
There is a phrase that offers crucial insight into the way the Atlantic Empire works: "perception management." That is how the Imperial officials "create reality" – not so much by actually creating facts, but by spinning perceptions of the public so it would accept the desired frame of reference. The mainstream media in the Empire always maintain rigid frame control, using a carefully designed vocabulary of phrases and descriptors, making it difficult (if not impossible) to even think outside of the Official Truth.
Thus "everyone knows" the Serbs were murderous, genocidal aggressors who attacked everyone around them for absolutely no reason except atavistic hateful bigotry – because the media have constantly told them so, and allowed no dissent. Likewise, the current situation in Ukraine is entirely the fault of Evil Russians, who want to reestablish the Soviet Empire and undo all the goodness that NATO has achieved in the past two decades since the "end of history."
Time and again, however, Russia has exploded Empire’s attempts at perception management. Russian media have aired recordings of U.S. diplomats managing their stooges in Kiev, and EU officials discussing the snipers as part of the junta. Meanwhile, the all-listening NSA has not produced a single shred of evidence of alleged Russian involvement in Ukraine. Not one.
No wonder the Imperial government hates Russia’s English-language broadcaster RT.
A Surprise Twist
Bear in mind that the Empire doesn’t give a damn about Ukraine, or its people – just as it never really cared about the ethnic Albanians, even as it basked in their atavistic adulation. They are tools, things to be used and, when they stop being useful, discarded. "Junkyard dogs," as one US diplomat described Croatians many years ago. The purpose of setting fire to Ukraine is much the same as fanning the flames of Bosnia: to give NATO a purpose, keep Europe under Washington’s heel, and further encircle and weaken Russia.
So when Vladimir Putin responded to the Odessa massacre not by sending men and tanks across the border – as both the Empire and many Russians hoped he would – but by proposing a truce, it was a move as brilliant as it was baffling.
After meeting with the head of the OSCE on May 7, Putin called on Kiev to "cease immediately all military and punitive operations in southeast Ukraine." He also called for release of all political prisoners, and "direct… genuine, full-fledged dialogue between the Kiev authorities and representatives of southeast Ukraine" that would give the people a chance to see "that their lawful rights in Ukraine really will be guaranteed." To that end, Putin also appealed to the people of the southeast to "to hold off the referendum scheduled for May 11, in order to give this dialogue the conditions it needs to have a chance."
Judo Statesmanship
No doubt the Western media will try to spin this as Moscow "caving in". But is that so, or is this yet another bit of political judo Putin seems so good at?
First, he rejected the Western-imposed frame, declaring the notion that Russia was a party in the conflict, and held the keys to solving it, to be "a trick thought up by our Western partners [that] does not have any grounds in reality":
No sooner do our colleagues in Europe or the US drive the situation into a dead end, they always say that Moscow holds the keys to a solution and put all the responsibility on us.
Putin deftly avoided being forced into the "invasion" narrative, placed the responsibility for events in Ukraine squarely onto the junta and its sponsors – where it belongs – and asked them to do what is essentially impossible.
There is simply no way the current regime in Kiev could even notionally agree to guarantee the rights of everyone in the country – not after it sent tanks against Slavyansk, not after the massacre in Odessa, not after two decades of forced "Ukrainization" and SS marches. Yet Putin just made them an offer they can’t refuse. And what happens when they, inevitably, fail?
All these years, Moscow has been studying Yugoslavia so it could avoid the same fate, while Washington, London, Berlin and Brussels have "learned nothing and forgotten nothing." They have absolutely no clue what they are up against.
Read more by Nebojsa Malic
- The Kiev Gambit – April 25th, 2014
- American Spring – April 10th, 2014
- Unforgiven – March 27th, 2014
- Promised Land – March 14th, 2014
- Ukraine, Bosnia on Pyres of Empire – February 20th, 2014
Lumumba P.
May 8th, 2014 at 10:42 pm
The west intention to either for democracy in any countries nor they ever were interested to learn from their mistake/wrong doing/ deceitful/fraudulent/illegal actions since the Vietnam war. On the contrary, USG have expend its militarism in cooperation with European and NATO to further expend anywhere they can or where they see feasible or where they economic or geopolitical interests, as they say, is.
What is interesting is that non of their billions of dollars or English pound or euros invested been giving a penny back as return for their investment, but they have managed to corrupt the country more before the invasion, as they have created more social problems for the people, hence, they insist that their actions is about democracy. There is not one country that would stand up and say that we are better off now then before: take a look at Afghanistan, take a look at Iraq, take a look at Syria, take a look at Libya and take a look at Kosovo and rest of the Balkan, their political systems are either in-planted regimes or are puppet to EU and USG.
Curious
May 9th, 2014 at 12:19 am
There are stories that are saying that the referendum will ahead. The secessionist will have blocked Putin's clever judo move if this is true. Kiev and its imperial backers will ignore Putin's diplomacy and continue their focus on slamming the referendum. There will probably be more blood spilled as a result. The hungry imperial beast will feast, and any defense of Russians in Ukraine by Russia will be met with claims that Putin is trying to rebuild the Soviet Empire.
bozhidar balkas
May 9th, 2014 at 6:22 am
serbs of croatia rejected Z-4 plan in '95. russia and US were also its members. the plan gave serbs the best autonomy ever.
the krajina leaders tried to come in touch with milosevic to hear what he had to say about Z-4 plan, but he was too busy his office said.
krajina leaders then rejected the Z-4 offer.
we hope now s.e. ukrainians get an offer like serbs got. but, as far as i know, EU/US is not offering s.e.ukrainians an autonomy.
the soyuz had more than a month to come up with an offer; so, why is the bloc so silent about it?
bozhidar balkas
May 9th, 2014 at 6:35 am
the death blow to tito's yugoslavia that most serb hated very deeply was delivered by three serb putsches against vojvodina, kosovo, and montenegro governments.
yes, kids, even kosovo had and autonomy and its government until '89. abrogating it and then invading and occupying kosovo constituted a casus belli.
all republics and the two autonomies protested serb illegal acts.
it's strange that US had called albanian armed resistance to the occupation of kosovo "terrorism".
and then turns around and attacks serbia or, rather, most of the time civilians.
bozhidar balkas
May 9th, 2014 at 6:55 am
milosevic and tudjman met a few times during '91 to '94 period. it seems they were discussing how to break bosnia apart. milosevic probably said or hinted to tudjman that he'd not send his army into croatia if croatia attacks krajina.
====
there is no evidence that US and/or EU/US approved of or helped milosevic carry out the three coups or tudjman/milosevic's plan to break up bosnia.
NATO attacking serb positions in '95 at least shows that EU/US did not want bosnia divided.
btw, we still don't know what tudjman and milosevic were talking about.
bozhidar balkas
May 9th, 2014 at 7:07 am
so far russia is doing the right thing, i think. kiev invasion hadn't achieved much if anything; so. russian invasion of s.e ukraine is not yet needed.
as i have already said somewhere, we need to have eu/us offer s.e an autonomy or a confederated status.
yugoslav republics, while still ruled by communist parties, have offered to serbia a confederacy, but the communist party of serbia rejected it.
obviously, in any multi-ethnic country, one person-one vote cannot work at all when one ethnos is much more numerous that another.
it cannot work in ukraine, either. it also didn't work even in canada.
bozhidar balkas
May 9th, 2014 at 7:21 am
croatia and slovenia joined EU because their two peoples wanted to join it. so, if we play the blame game, those people who voted to join EU are guilty.
to say the least about why slovenes, croatians joined EU, would be to say those events are multicausational.
political "science" [really????? is there such an animal?????] doesn't study root causes for ills that befall us; preferring, instead, to remain forever on symptomatic and anecdotal levels since, obviously, such attitude never ever elucidates events.
Michael Kenny
May 9th, 2014 at 7:49 am
White blackbirds over Serbia! Putin scores a stunning victory over the dastardly American plot to defeat him in war by capitulating first! The likes of it hasn't been seen since Chamberlain outsmarted Hitler at Munich!
3oka
May 9th, 2014 at 8:24 am
So Serbia occupied Kosovo in '89… its own teritory???
Interesting concept worth further study.
bozhidar balkas
May 9th, 2014 at 11:19 am
until '89 kosovo government ran it's police force. YNA army in kosovo was in its barracks.
===
btw, serb coalition of communists and asocialists was solely responsible for the loss of kosovo.
and even if CIA or EU urged or helped serbia to abrogate kosovo autonomy, serbia didn't have to do it.
surely, those people who are responsible for loss of kosovo would have gladly produced even tiniest of evidence– if they had any– to show US/EU helped or approved of the coup against kosovo government.
after all, deposing any elected government is very serious business and very perilous act. to me that's crime!
===
if one is going to believe croatian sources, germany was adamant against break up of yugoslavia. so was entire Left and much on the Right in canada and eu.
croatian communist government was also against separatism.
however, most croatians were.
eric siverson
May 9th, 2014 at 11:19 am
NATO is made up of the high living countries that used up most of their own natural resources , but wish to continue to live way beyond their means . These countries have developed global corporations and financial trickery that they believe should allow them the right to harvest the natural resources of the larger less developed world .The high living countries have been living on borrowed money or debts . These debts have to be repaid or the value of their money will collapse The natural resources are the creator of all new wealth and the only way these debts can be paid off . Yet no amount of wealth will satisfy the high living countries . Cheap low cost natural resources allows for higher wages and higher living standards . This is the root of the main problem all over the world WHO GETS THE MONEY ?
eric siverson
May 9th, 2014 at 11:30 am
Milosevic did not try to carry out any coupes , although he should have sent Serbia's Army into help in the Krijina . If you want a simple clear answer for the war in Yugoslavia or the Ukraine . NATO IS DOING WHAT THE NAZIS TRIED TO DO
bozhidar balkas
May 9th, 2014 at 11:41 am
serbia finds itself in an either-or situation: either support russia in all it may do or side with eu/us/kiev in all it does.
==
from what serb FM said today, it seems present serb asocialist government is gonna side with eu/us.
for many serbs, this is a bitter pill to swallow. but FM, dacic, said his main concern now is joining EU; it's a must for serbia, said he!
Lumumba P.
May 9th, 2014 at 5:13 pm
Eric, although you are right about high living, which I think you meant to say, high standard living of countries, whom are behind NATO expansion, at the same time, a country can not be corrupt unless that country is visited by a corrupt system especially countries that have a natural resources and plenty of it, like African nations and their government economic relations to IMF, middle eastern countries and etc. In such countries a puppet regimes whom are already corrupted by foreign banks are ideal, one whom is sucking the blood off of its people and letting IMF suck what is left of a non breathing homo. The existence of IMF, international monitory founds, is based on interests, the entire capitalism system and its existence it's based on the debt of people to the system, these rogue and corrupted system, which Europe is part of the system, is not about who gets the money any longer, its about if you don't give me what you have we will bomb you to death, we will destroy your country and setup a puppet regime whom will give us what we want and that's Hitlerism, as we have seen it in Iraq, in Libya, in Syria, in Balkan, Yugoslavia and now they openly cooperating with Neo fascism in Ukraine. Anders Fogh Rasmussen of Denmark, the German chancellor Angela Markell, the Swedish far right and aristocrats, a vulture capitalism assembled government, the English coalition of past and present colonialism and monarchism, the French social democracy which is based on one man (Holland) governing system, these people representing what is left of, once upon a time functioning democracy in Europe, to date falsified democracy forced on people by fraud and deceptions, meanwhile they all contributing to IMF in cooperation with Saudis and CCG creating more wars for IMF. In reality, these government are the militarism system created by IMF whereby they are obligated to defend IMF.
bozhidar balkas
May 10th, 2014 at 7:07 am
"yugoslavia's lesson learned"? serbia wages four wars and loses all four of them.
serbia also loses kosovo, parts of croatia; probably also e. bosnia.
and now serbia loves EU.
initially serbia was winning easily those wars [it withdrew from slovenia after a weekend war because, as serb defense minister, kadijevic, explained "serbia was too strong and not weak"]
during those wars, serbia had slaughtered about 100k and expelled nearly 2 mn people.
nebojsa would make a good history professor in any US university.
and how many people have russia/s.e ukraine expelled or killed?
so, how can any reasonable person compare what serbia did from '91 and what russia did after after '14.2.22?
i other words, what's russia's lesson today?
bozhidar balkas
May 10th, 2014 at 7:23 am
russia's lesson learned! well, it won back own land. did it know [or expected] that EU [or parts of it], US, swoboda, right sector, most w. ukrainians would get very angry?
did she know NATO would not attack russia because it did the right thing in taking possession of crimea w.o. firing a shot?
my gawd, say demorepubs, "what a goddamn diabolics–world never having seen anything like that before". 'gawd, russian people are so inhuman, base, evil…"
"taking so much land that we wanted so bad for us, pisses us off, you won't believe"