Socialist Action /June 2001
Document by Greek Trotskyists:
National Liberation Struggles in the
former Yugoslavia
BY ANDRES KLOKE
Following is a resolution submitted by the OKDE
(Greek section of the Fourth International). It appeared as an article in
the May edition of Spartakos.
The armed conflicts that broke out in March between
the UCPMB (Liberation Army of Presevo, Medvedja, and Bujanovac) in southern
Serbia and the UCK (NLA, National Liberation Army), which started some operations
in the area of Tetovo (Macedonia), and the "security forces" of
Serbia and the Macedonian state mark a new period of the historical injustice
and suppression of the Albanian people, in the past by the Yugoslav state
and now by new Yugoslavia and Macedonia.
Without in the least respecting the democratic
will of the Albanian majority of the population in the areas, the imperialist
powers had no objections to the annexation of Kosovo, (North) Macedonia,
and other areas with a huge percentage of Albanians by the Yugoslav state
(1912-13), which was dominated by the Serbs at the expense of other nations.
The result was that more than 50 percent of the Albanians were kept out
of the new Albanian state.
Thus an uninterrupted chain of violent national
suppression of the Albanians who lived in Yugoslavia was "programmed"
and continues to today.
After the defeat of the German occupation forces
in the Second World War, Tito annexed Kosovo by military force. From 1948
to 1966 the Tito regime treated the Albanian Kosovars mainly as a source
of danger, potential supporters of Enver Hoxja's hostile Albania and traitors.
The Albanian Kosovars never got the status of an autonomous republic like
all the other bigger nations of Tito's Yugoslav federation. Thus the national
question of Yugoslavia's Albanians remained unresolved.
It is well known how the new president of the Serb
"communists-socialists," S. Milosevic, abolished the autonomy
of Kosovo and Vojvodina, thus provoking the dissolution of the whole Yugoslav
federation and opening up a circle of nationalist hatred, particularly of
the predominant nations, the Serbs and the Croats. These conflicts led to
the catastrophic wars of 1991-95 under the conditions of capitalist restoration
and of the attempts of the party and state bureaucracy to transform itself
into a capitalist class.
This procedure was and is characterized by a shameless
enrichment of the ruling cliques and a degradation of broader layers of
the working class of entire former Yugoslavia without precedent (with Slovenia
as the only exception). The legitimization of the mutated, now bourgeois,
"democratic" parties overwhelmingly stemming from the old ruling
bureaucracy, seems to be low in the eyes of broader layers of the workers
and the unemployed. This obviously applies also to the Republic of Macedonia.
Inequality in the Macedonian state
When Macedonia was founded as an independent state
in 1991, the political leadership of the Slavomacedonians aimed at managing
the obvious problem of peaceful coexistence between the nationalities of
the country. They gave some concessions to the minorities but defined the
state as that of the "Slav Macedonians" and different minorities
in the first paragraphs of the constitution.
Thus even the juridical rights of the Albanians
remained unclear. The language of the Slavomacedonians became the (only)
language of the state. Although Xhaferi's DPA (Albanian Democratic Party)
is part of the government, real equality between the Albanians and the Slavomacedonians
has not been achieved.
The Albanians, who probably make up between 35
and 40 percent of the population, and, therefore, cannot be regarded as
one minority among others, are still underprivileged. The unemployment of
the country amounts to around 35-40 percent regarding the whole population
but 60 percent among the Albanians and 80 percent among the Albanian youth.
The Albanian university of Tetovo, which was founded
after 1991 (since Milosevic's racist regime had deprived the Albanians of
the University of Pristina), was banned by the Gligorov regime in the beginning
and never recognized by the state.
The picture of "national peace" in Macedonia
that was deliberately spread by western media had not much to do with reality.
The institutions of the state and the armed forces are actually controlled
by the Slavomacedonians. The offensive of the Macedonian army against the
UCK (NLA) in the area was the most striking verification of this situation
and shows anything but equality between the nationalities.
There is no doubt that the parties and the political
leadership of the Slavomacedonians lost the opportunity to undertake clear
steps in the direction of more equality after 1991. They contented themselves
with the preservation of the (bad) situation seeking for agreements with
the Western grand powers whose help is necessary for the survival of the
weak state.
After the establishment of the NATO protectorate
in Kosovo the Macedonian state was also transformed into a "protected"
area and is mainly being used as a base for imperialist troops.
The appearance of the UCK (NLA)
So it was not at all accidental that the developments
eventually led to the outbreak of violent conflicts. The Slavomacedonian
leadership appeals to the fact that the NLA of the Tetovo area was built
and provisioned by "imported" forces of the Kosovar UCK (KLA).
This may be true but the NLA undoubtedly managed to secretly recruit hundreds
if not thousands of young Albanians from the Tetovo area in a very short
time.
It was able to present itself as a new political
party of the Albanians and to organize a demonstration in Tetovo attended
by thousands of people. In this way the NLA and the political forces close
to it have become an important factor of the interior political situation
and it is obvious that they have got the support and the sympathies of a
large part of the Albanian population.
All the attempts of the state leadership to "solve"
this problem by means of military force, by closing the borders to Kosovo,
etc. will inevitably lead to further disappointment for the Albanians and
to the stiffening of their attitude. In order to avoid more conflicts now
and in the future it would be necessary for the Slavomacedonian leadership
to break with its wrong policy after 1991 and to start negotiations with
all the political forces of the Albanians, including those that are close
to the NLA.
It seems crucial that the Slavomacedonian side
make important concessions regarding the realization of democratic conditions
and full equality for the Albanians.
The situation in southern Serbia
The same applies to the Presevo area in southern
Serbia, where the UCPMB clashed with Serb troops. There, too, partisans
(or "extremists" or "terrorists," as they are referred
to) have been "imported" from Kosovo but the real problem consists
of the persisting historical and, after 1989, aggravated suppression of
the Albanian population by the racist state power.
The declaration of the Albanian partisans ("Declaration
for the Prevention of Armed Conflicts and for the Solution of the Crisis
in Presevo, Medvedja and Bujanovac," February 2001) denounces the Serb
state power for gross violations of human rights at the expense of the Albanians
during the last decades. It denounces more concretely:
- Racist discrimination against the Albanians by
the state;
- Police and military suppression, the killing
of Albanian civilians;
- Burning and the devastation of houses during
the Kosovo war (1998-99);
- Use of school buildings and economic installations
as military camps and police stations;
- Exclusion of the Albanians from the local administration
and the imposition of one-sided Serb education programs in the schools;
- Deliberate abandonment of economic development
in the area and the total lack of sources of information.
The declaration also stresses that:
- The borders between the area of Presevo, Medvedja
and Bujanovac, which belongs to Serbia, and Kosovo were imposed against
the will of the people.
- The situation of the Albanians worsened even
more after the application of the new Serb constitution of 1992 and due
to the consequences of the Kosovo war.
- There are clear indications that the final aim
is the "ethnic cleansing" of the area.
- The situation has not improved after Milosevic's
overthrow.
It will be difficult to dispute that this description
corresponds to the real situation. The declaration demands negotiations
under the aegis of international organizations (NATO or UN) and the demilitarization
of the area that should be put under international military control.
At this point the illusions of the UCPMB leadership
in the role of the imperialist powers has become quite clear. It hopes that
with their help the problems of the Albanian population will be settled.
Nevertheless, the declaration is undoubtedly right
when it states: "The problem of the final status will have to be solved
when a democratic society will have been created that will allow the population
of the area to decide for itself."
The role of the Kosovo UCK (KLA)
The decisive question is that of national self-determination
for the Albanians in Macedonia and southern Serbia, who in the 20th century
never had the opportunity to decide freely for themselves (not even in "socialist"
Yugoslavia).
This "omission" of the state leaderships
proves now to be the source of ceaseless tensions. It is also obvious that
the social and national problems of the Albanian population are closely
linked to the still open question of the national self-determination regarding
Kosovo.
After 1989, the repressive apparatus of the Milosevic
regime imposed an apartheid system on Kosovo. The armed resistance of the
KLA against this barbaric suppression in 1997-98 was absolutely justified.
That was the time when the American and international diplomats of imperialism
called the KLA "terrorist."
With the negotiations of Rambouillet the tensions
reached the climax and the situation changed. The Belgrade regime started
expelling the entire Albanian population of Kosovo while American and international
imperialism used the tremendous suppression of the Kosovars as a pretext
to terrorize the whole of new Yugoslavia with disastrous bombings.
At that time NATO imperialism used the UCK as a
pawn of its policy since the UCK had been subordinated to its aims during
the Rambouillet negotiations and had agreed to the bombings, thus giving
up its own demand for national self-determination.
It is nevertheless a huge exaggeration to claim
that the KLA and the political forces that later developed from it are simply
"willing tools" of international imperialism-a viewpoint for years
supported by the official parties of the Greek left, with particular zeal
by the CPG [Greek Communist Party] but also by the SYN [a bloc based on
the former Eurocommunists], and by most of the non-parliamentary left groups.
Imperialists deny self-determination
The 1999 war resulted, at least temporarily, in
the end of the unbearable subjugation of the Kosovars by the Serb state
but not in the achievement of their national self-determination-due to
the setting up of the NATO protectorate. The imperialists deny their right
to decide freely and democratically on the status of Kosovo as a state.
This status obviously could be, according to the
will of the overwhelming majority of the population, that of an independent
republic or could lead to unification with Albania (which would be more
or less equivalent to the creation of "notorious" "Greater
Albania").
The future exploitation of the significant natural
resources of the country and in particular the Trepca mines remains controversial
and unclear.
With the retreat of the Serb repressive forces,
a huge part of the Serb minority also left. There were attempts on the lives
of civilians, mainly on Serbs and the Roma. It is absolutely necessary not
only for peaceful coexistence but also for the internationalist prospects
of former Yugoslavia and all the peoples of the Balkans that the rights
of these minorities are protected effectively.
The struggle of the workers for the possession
and the control of the Trepca mines against the plans of the imperialists
and the exploiters of the multinational corporations could become the starting-point
for the common struggle of the peoples against imperialist domination and
capitalist restoration but also for the de-escalation of nationalist hatred
on all sides.
It is getting more and more clear that the arrogance
of the imperialist powers is an obstacle to the realization of the Kosovars'
elementary rights.
Faced with the crisis in Macedonia and southern
Serbia, the NATO powers and particularly the governments of the EU countries
are pursuing as usual their absolutely cynical policy of "stabilization"
and "pacification." As in the cases of Bosnia-Hercegovina and
Kosovo, this leaves unresolved all the social and national problems of the
peoples or, more precisely, leaves behind it irreconcilable racist hatred,
chauvinist partitions and the, in every respect, catastrophic consequences
caused by the use of the imperialist military apparatuses.
The constant orientation of this policy is the
consistent refusal of the peoples' right to national self-determination
and the imposition of short-term plans that usually aim at the reinforcement
of the state apparatuses at the expense of the populations. This orientation
tries also to equalize the balance of power between the new states of former
Yugoslavia. Therefore international imperialism is decidedly supporting
the new Belgrade government and Macedonia's state power.
The interests of Greece
The imperialist interests of Greece, Italy, and
Turkey play a decisive role in the area of the southern Balkans. Contrary
to the aggressive and chauvinist policy of the Papandreou government after
1993, which tried to destabilize and to dissolve the Macedonian Republic
with an economic embargo, today it is obvious that the existence of this
state favors the policy of "peaceful economic penetration" of
the southern Balkans by Greece, the biggest imperialist power of the area.
The existence of the Macedonian Republic reduces
the probability of a direct confrontation between its neighbor states (Greece,
Serbia, Bulgaria, Kosovo, Albania). From this viewpoint it is interesting
that the governments of the "Multinational Pacification Force of Southeast
Europe"-in which Greece, Italy, Turkey, Bulgaria, Romania, Albania,
and Macedonia participate-are seriously considering sending the troops of
the "Balkan Brigade" to the border between Macedonia and Kosovo.
There is no doubt that the re-dividing of "spheres of influence"
in the southern Balkans is in a stage of busy development.
The famous "inviolability of the borders"
is nothing but either rash or deliberate support for the interests of the
strongest states that maintain their domination of Balkan territories annexed
in the past by military force, usually with the blessing of imperialist
diplomacy. If the abolishment of all the state borders, which must be the
final goal of the revolutionary workers' movement, cannot be achieved immediately,
the only democratic criterion for drawing them are the will and the "sympathies"
of the populations themselves.
The "inviolability" of the borders is
for years a constant part of the foreign policy of the Greek governments
and corresponds to the interests of the country's ruling class.
The reformist parties of the Greek left, the CPG
and the SYN, that are also "worried" about the "security"
of Macedonia's and Serbia's state borders thus fully comply with the official
policy of the elite both of Greece and the biggest capitalist powers.
What attitude towards UCK and UCPMB?
The UCK and the UCPMB are led by petit bourgeois-nationalist
leaderships that cherish illusions in the role of the imperialist powers.
The forces of revolutionary Marxism do not support
such organizations either politically or in relation to all their actions.
But we understand and are open to the wishes of the (in this case) Albanian
population for full social and democratic equality, particularly with regard
to its struggle against the repressive state powers that are supported by
international imperialism.
Not even the UCK calls for the secession of the
Macedonian territories mainly inhabited by Albanians as a state. Anyway,
this could hardly be realized. Any solution based on the principles of democracy
and equality as well as on an attempt to achieve real reconciliation of
the nationalities would be preferable.
The precondition for such a solution will be, however,
that the Slavomacedonian leadership abandons the use of military force and
that, in the future, the development of a class-conscious workers' movement
is able to ensure the essential realization of equal rights and equal citizenship
between the different nationalities.
Self-determination and socialist prospects
The defense of the right to national self-determination
has belonged to the principles of the socialist and revolutionary movement
since the London congress of the Second International in 1896. It does not
mean that the workers' movement and the forces of revolutionary Marxism
must always or "automatically" support the secession of areas
with nationally oppressed populations as separate states but that it is
their right to decide freely about this.
Frequently the argument is presented that as international
socialists we should not support further state secessions, new bourgeois
leaderships, or generally nationalism, but that instead we should struggle
for the socialist federation of the Balkans. This argumentation overlooks
the fact, however, that we have to distinguish between the nationalism of
the oppressors and that of the oppressed.
The national question cannot be "obsolete"
as long as nationalist and racist suppression continues to exist. Therefore
we have to side unconditionally with the oppressed peoples in their struggle
for their rights and liberation. This applies in principle and regardless
of the particular leaderships of the struggles for national liberation.
We support these struggles exactly because the
aim of national liberation often cannot be realized in the framework of
the capitalist and imperialist system. Eastern Europe and the Balkans in
particular belong to the best examples of this assessment.
After the collapse of non-existent "socialism"
[in Eastern Europe] the national question re-appeared in an urgent manner.
The ruling Stalinist bureaucracies proved unable to guarantee the equality
of nations but, instead, over decades imposed barbaric national suppression.
Thus they eventually led the federations into collapse and dissolution.
This is not only a warning for the future but marked
also the experiences of all the nations concerned. The collapse combined
with the inevitable economic crisis and the dramatic retreat of the workers'
movement on an international scale created the preconditions for nationalist
and petit bourgeois leaderships to dominate the movement and to subordinate
them to their own interests.
The revolutionary Marxists must not forget that
"class struggle is national in its form and international in its content".
Without being founded on the revolutionary traditions of the international
workers' movement regarding the national question there is no possibility
to promote the fraternization and the solidarity between the peoples as
precondition to the Socialist Federation of the Balkans in the framework
of the United Socialist Nations of Europe and later of the world.
Socialist Action /June 2001 |