<< Im not the author, i found this online and am reposting. Original author is Julien Philippe >>
It is quite ironic, and quite unfair indeed.
After the WW1 Serbia fought on the right side of History, with the Entente versus the Empire Alliance, loosing 25% of its population, Serbia had a choice to make :
A greater Serbia, like promised in 1915 in London if the war is won. 25 % of the Serbs died for that war to be won :
or Yugoslavia, as a Kingdom for the Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes.
Serbia chose Yugoslavia : not so selfish of them. And Slovenia grabbed a bit of territory thanks to Serbia’s presence as a winner of WW1…
Nationalist pressures existed on both Serbian and Croat sides in the 20s and 30s, on one hand Belgrad centralism, on the other the rise of the Croatian nationalism with the Ustase-to-be. But thanks to the Serbian choice. for Yugoslavia to be, the Yugoslav Kingdom secured Croatia and Slovenia to go out of the crumbling AH in a new strong country of their own with Serbs.
In 1929, the Kingdom was redivided in banovine. If we look at the ethnic configuration and let aside the geographical names used to avoid to refer to historical names, we got Slovenia, Croatia, Dalmatia, Serbian Krajina, Bosnia, North-Serbia + Voivodina, Central Serbia, Extended Macedonia, and ”Montenegro i Herzegovina”. The “evil Serbs” obviously meant no harm here :
In 1934, The Ustase killed king Alexander in Marseille, Regent Paul took the lead of the Kingdom and led it to neutrality at the beginning of WW2. Sadly for Yugoslavia, the British helped by the Yugoslav communist party led by Josip Broz Tito since 1937 sponsored a coup in 1941. Young Peter II took the reign and Nazi Germany declared war on Yugoslavia :
That war leads to the creation of the Independant State of Croatia, a Nazi Puppet state led by Madman N°1 Ante Pavelic. This genocidal maniac attempeted Genocide on Serbs, but also on Tziganes and on Jews, killing also thousands of Croats not supportive enough of the cause, and dozens of thousands Croat resistants. Hundred of thousands die out as a total, mainly Serbs.
The Serbs Tcheniks under Draza Mihajlovic resisted, but the communist resistance of Josip Broz Tito was waiting for orders from Moscow. Once Barbarossa Operation stated, Tito woke up and led his own Partizans to resist also. But not in cooperation with the Chetniks. Tito’s reckless warfare at first led thousands of Serb civilians to be slaughtered in response for minor and useless military actions against little Axis units occupuying Serbia.
Ultimately, Tito’s forces, who suffered less losses than Mihajlovic Chetniks due to more sporadic warfare, gained grounds until Chetniks disbanded in smaller groups (many of them ending in the Partizans, and some of them… siding with the axis like the French did to protect their own by submitting, or sometimes just because they were no better than the Axis units themselves and wanted to kill people from other ethnies). British support switched from the crumbled Chetniks to Tito’s Partizans, and with these Serbs renforcement, Tito finally started to operate on a large scale and lead an intense warfare against the axis troops, ending up freeing most of the country and ultimately slaughtering most of the Ustase still breathing at the end of the war.
After the War, Tito also cleansed through lethal ultra-repression everyone not agreeing with him. Royalists, nationalists from each ethnie, adverse intellectuals, among them too demanding Serbs after their sacrifices and losses, and after its breakup with Staline, stalinists… He’s even wondered about that repressive policy, and was quoted as such (I can’t find back the exact quote) “We should maybe reconsider our repression… With such amount of violence and death, said-Death doesn’t even scare anyone anymore…”
Croatia on its side, had gained… Istria from the outcome of WW2, Mussolin’s Italy being defeated. But it was all brotherhood and unity, so the Krajina Serbs territories were not integrated into Bosnia to take them away from Croatia grasp, And Croatia lost its former Banovina territories back to Bosnia. These decisions to restore A.H Bosnian borders to make a socialist republic of Bosnia i Herzegovina were gonna lead to a lot of problems later.
Then, from the late 40s to the 50s, Serbian industries were widely transfered to Croatia and Slovenia, and to a lesser scale, to Bosnia (the military redoubt of Yugoslavia) under the policies of Edward Kardelj, Tito’s Slovenian right hand, to allow these agrarian territories to catch back on Serbia… at the expense of Serbia ? “Weak Serbia, Strong Yugoslavia” was the unofficial moto, this one obviously not being favourable to the Serbs.
Nevertheless, Serbia had still “too much weight” for the Slovenes and Croats surrounding Tito, due to being the biggest republic in terms of superficy and numbers in Yugoslavia. Croatian spring and following trends led Croatian and Slovenian Nationalists, hiding in Tito’s and Kardelj’s shadow, to obtain a new federal constitution in 1974 :
“Kardelj’s constitution” of 1974 had 4 main objectives, 3 being very interresting here : Cripple Serbia (which was always the backbone of Yugoslavia), weaken post-Tito Yugoslavia leadership, give broader Autonomy to the republics and even… prepare the grounds for independence for Croatia and Slovenia :
Weakening Serbia : Serbia was divided between central serbia, SAP Kosovo, and SAP Vojvodina (despite the 55% of Serbs living in Voivodina)). This decision backfired with Milosevic anti-bureaucratic Revoluion, allowing him to take 4 votes over 8 in the federal presidency (Serbia, Montenegro, Vojvodina, Kosovo… + at times, the “easy to sway” Macedonian vote), instead of the 2 over 6 he’d have had without that move. Croatia could have also benefited of “more seats” if Dalmatia, Istria, and / or Slavonia were made Autonomous Provinces, like Voivodina and Kosovo, and Bosnian Serbs, Bosnian Croats and Muslims were given each a seat in Bosnia due to its ethnical mix-up.
But it did not happen, for the goal was not to balance Yugoslavia… But to cripple Serbia and prepare Yu’s breakup once Tito (who was fiercely against that idea) would be dead. In other words, cripple Yugoslavia, not only by weakening its Serbian backbone, but also by making Tito’s leadership irreplacable, being president for Life and then replace by a collective / rotating presidency.
Create a secession possibility, by allowing each republic to secede, in agreement with all the other ones… A powder-keg, due to the temptation given and the extreme difficulty to reach a consensus about it in case it would actually happen.
The only things the Serbs can be blamed for in this constitution… Is to have allowed it to pass. I guess their elites did… to not end up in Tito’s jails.
In the late 1980s, the SANU memorandum was devastating in the communist Yugoslavia, going against Tito’s way, policy, and historiography. But it was partially right (points 2, 3, 5 are quite obvious and required to be assessed and threated) and… An extended Serbia (Ridiculous claims of ultra nationalist Seselj and his kind over Dalmatia, a large part of Slavonia, or the other ethnical regions of Bosnia, were seen as delusions by the wide majority of the Serbs themselves, and there is “Greater” claims in every ultra nationalism in the Balkans) was the ideological alternative only if other Yugoslav Republics tried to secede and take away with them the 2.5 millions of Serbs living on their lands there. 2 mens among others were the growing protagonist of these times :
The Serb Milosevic was ruthless, played with nationalism to rise in Power, unable to lead Yugoslavia and Serbia but to their doom on which he made a lot of money on, like his “pal” Tudman. But he played the constitutionnal game initially rigged against Serbians interests in Yu… and turned it (at the time, and not for long) in favor of Serbia, which was in turn in favour of keeping Yu united. So others had finally their window to break the game. Slovenia and Croatia disrespected that constitution that they… were the main authors in the first instance by going toward independence against the rest of Yugoslavia’s will.
The Croat Tudman was even worst, a nationalist-fascist serbophobic and antisemit crook gifted with smart wits. In its new constitution of december 1990, he lowered the status of the Serbs from constituant nation to ethnical minority in Croatia, hence increasing ethnic tensions… And didn’t offer to give back their territories to Yugoslavia… hence abducting these Serbs from Yugoslavia against there will. Cannot blame the Serbs to refuse to be unlawfully adbducted from a country they bled and gave so much for, for the benefit of all other ethnies present, when these abductions were the twisted ideas of selfish and crooked ideologs or oligarks to be, in disrespect for all Peoples of Yugoslavia interests.
In 1991, like a symbol, Josip Rheil Kir, a peacemaking police commandant holding Osijek and its surrounding at peace, was killed by a HDZ (the party of Tudman) extremist to be sure nothing would hold things to degenerate, Tudamn already being sure to have German support and U.S goodwill in his pocket for Yugoslavia implosion was benefiting both countries.
The German leaders were looking to recover their former area of influence (Slovenia and Croatia) as sattelites state of their economical predominance, and were financing the nationalists and soon arming the new countries to be, in support of their independence.
The U.S leaders alo saw in Yu’s breakup economical opportunities, but more importantly a way to legitimate NATO’s existence as a world-police in general, and the U.S meddling in European affairs in particular, and after not enforcing the U.N Embargo on arms for Yugoslavia so the situation would reach a full scale war stage in Croatia, pushed toward war in Bosnia by sabotaging the Carrigton Cutileiro plan (They told Izetbegovic to remove his signature) so their would be no peace, Bosnia would go in flames and merge said-flames to the already ongoing Croatian War of Independence, requiring NATO to intervene to “restore peace” with humanitarian airstikes. More than 120 000 deads for both wars. They did the same thing in Rambouillet in 1999, sabotaging the peace plan that finally reached a consensus to be able to strike Serbia and build a NATO base in Kosovo, whatever the human cost of it’d bring for the Serbs of Albanians. 15,000 deads.
As for the outcome “and awards” of the first Yougoslav wars :
Tudman was the smartest, and unlike Milosevic, did have a correct reading of the course of History, the balance of Power in Europe, and of his assets. He had the advantage from the start, and played excellently his chess-game. As evil, greedy, and half-fascist as he was, “He did what he had to do to serve his agenda, and did it well, at the expense of everyone, including his own people.” And was greatly helped in that success.
Milosevic, on his side, was not inflamatory as Tudman was, but merely a greedy powermonger, mediocre chess-player, strong only because the strength of the Serbs. Too proud, not realistic enough, not competent enough to lead Yugoslavia and Serbia through these times, he led Serbia to its doom and exhaustion by overplaying his hand and not compromising when it was the time to, may it be with the Slovenes, may it be with Rugova as 2 exemples of his political failures. “He did what he had to do to serve his agenda, and did it badly, at the expense of everyone, especially of his own people.” And was greatly helped in that failure.
As for Bosnia, the Bosnian Muslim Alija Izetbegovic wanted to use the Bosnian Muslim weight to win a referendum for independence, despite the Serbs will to remain Yugoslavs. And he did. Despite Karadzic warning about that, and the war it would provoke. And that happened. A peace was signed in march 1992, but sabotaged by the U.S and Izetbegovic. And all-out war broke out in Bosnia. Izetbegovic was the worst Yugoslav leader of his time, for he was an islamic ideologist and cared more about his religious beliefs and their reign on Earth than about his people who could be cannon meat in his kind of Jihad if it had to come to this. And his legacy is… A failling state, a divided country, and 100,000 deads Bosnians to achieve that.
These 3 leaders would have been more helpful in a collective grave as soon as 1990 for the sake of all the Yugoslavs.
Serb leaders, were not rebels but Yugoslavs. Bosnian mulslims, Croats, and Slovenes leaders were the rebels, acting unlawfully against Yugoslavia… And their own people, all ethnies together. And if Milosevic and the Serbs have indeed a grave responsability into the way it went, they were certainly not the main culprits, nor the initial ones.
Serbs wanted to stay in Yu, and the constitutionnal law to be respected in Slovenia, and more importantly, in Croatia and Bosnia where so much Serbs were living on their ancestral lands. Tudman Croatia degraded in its new 1990 constitution the status of the Serbs from constitutive people to ethnic minority. A terrible move, when all the Serbs in Croatia knew the Tudman feelings about their People in general, and reducing drastically the Ustase attempted genocide scale in particuleir… Tudman did that to scare the Serbs, obtain a violent reaction, and play the victim after… Smart, but evil… Izetbegovic undertstoor Tudman strategy, and replicated it : he played an unconstitutionnal power-coup despite not having the military backbone to support it, so the Serbs would overwhelm Bosniaks, be seen as the warmongers, and it would took a U.S of NATO military action to suceed it, whatever the number of deads would be. Croatia and Bosnia were not legitimate independent States, they were federed republic, and as they had had to comply with the federal rules allowing its secession only if the other republis agreed, and they did not. The West ratified these unlawful and kamikaze move in Dayton.
So if Slovenian, but more importantly Croatian and Bosnian leadership decided to secede unlawfully from Yugoslavia, they gave as a consequence a reason for the Serbs in Croatia and Bosnia to do the same… For the Republics territorial integrities were CONSUBSTANTIAL to the integrity of the territory of the Whole Yugoslavia. If one was questionned, the others could be as well.
And then no, the Bosnian Serbs were not the only wrong ones in Bosnia, and there was not a “right side” once the Bosnian war started, and if initially there was one before that, that was Yugoslavia (the country, its unity under the constitutionnal law), and the Serbs (these 2.5 millions Yugoslavs who lived in other Republics and wanted to stay in said country).
As for the last war in 1999, Slobodan Milosevic holds a great responsability into his mishandling of the Kosovo crysis. As well does the Albania Mafia coallized in the Terrorist organisation UCK, sponsored by U.K training, German and Albanian weaponery, and U.S diplomatics and intelligence. As for the last chance for peace, Rambouillet, despite the Serbs playing ball, it was sabotaged by the U.S (again !) taking/using the Albanian side and… imposing Yugoslavia inacceptable conditions for peace to happen (Free access to NATO troops in its territory). So on this one, no, the Serbs are not the main responsibles, they just hold their fair share by allowing situation to degenerate in the first instance.
The Serbs are not responsible also for Montenegro secession in 2006, sponsored by the West, once again, and helped by a crooked leader, Milo Djucanovic. Yes there was a referendum, won by the independentists with 55.5% of the votes (Treshold was 55% to mitigate the possible frauds), but would Yugoslavia in general and Serbia in particular not been led into 15 years of atrocities and economical cataclysm, never Djucanovic would have been able to remain in power, being one more western proxy in the dismantling of Yugoslavie, and the Montenegrin people would have remained with Serbia in a federation.
In the 90s, Serbs made mistakes, bad moves, and the Croatian Serbs and Bosnian Serbs commited atrocious warcrimes, helped by a badly led JNA. They were the first to move in Croatia indeed, after being broadly provoked by Tudman. But Croats also commited ugly warcrimes in both Bosnia and Croatia. Bosniaks as well. and later on, same for the Albanian UCK in Kosovo, No one is glorious here, really.
But Yugoslavia was not sabotaged by the Serbs, who wanted to remain inside and keep it alive, after sacrificing for Yugoslavia the extended Serbia they won in the aftermath of WW1, bleeding for Yugoslavia in WW2, and being progressively screwed in it in the after WW2. They sacrificed Serbia for the sake of Yugoslavia as long as they could, until it was not possible anymore, as the SANU Memorandum testifies. Yugoslavia was not a great Serbia, but something more. They were only 40% of its population. Serbs wanted to keep it whole. And if not whole, as a country for all Serbs, Serbian Serbs, Croatian Serbs, Bosnian Serbs, Bosnian Muslims, Montenegrins and Yugoslav Macedonians, on the lands they were living on for centuries already (and yes, the Kosovar Albanians interests should have been more taken in consideration as well before they turned themselves (willingly or… not) to the UCK terrorists, and then to the U.S greed). After Slovenia and Tudman Croatia led the way, Alija Izetbegovic killed that last chance by his unlawful political moves and bellicist manigances with the U.S once Slovenia was gone and Croatia at war, for a broad Yugoslavia could only keep existing if Bosnia remained part of it.
And yes, Milosevic, byproduct of the Serb ressentement toward their difficult fate in Yugoslavia, failed from the begin to the end. For he was not up to the challenge, and the winds of History were needing a great captain to save Yugoslavia from itself and from abroad.
But looking at the Yugoslav History from WW1 to its end, I’d say that the blame is collective for its fall. As for the Serbs, they sacrificed the most, endured the most (from WW1 to the 90s economical sanctions that ruined Serbia before the 99 NATO humanitarian airstrikes crushed it even more), and tried the most to keep Yugoslavia alive. So it’s quite ironic and unfair indeed to blame and… shame them for everything, while they carried Yugoslavia name until even this name was deemed unworthy by the World in 2003.