Regarding the Big Meeting in Belgrade
Miloslav Samardzich writes:
Today's demonstrations in defense of Kosovo & Metohija greatly remind me of the demonstrations in defense of Kosovo & Metohija from Milosevich's era. The centralized one held in Belgrade on the 21st of February, came like the one held at Gazimestan, St.Vitus Day in 1989. Only, Milosevich gathered a larger public. It was said - a whole million. And for what it is, the place was more suitable, after all.
Interestingly enough, only one man all these years completely stayed within the first plan: Emir Kusturica. He didn't speak at Gazimestan, as he did in Belgrade, but he spoke and still speaks the same story. They criticized him for supporting Milosevich, and now they will criticize him for supporting Kostunica, Nikolich or whoever. The truth is, however, the man comprehends the substance of the real story. And, in essence, it's all the same: the Great Powers are taking away Serbian land. The highlighting of the first plan by the politicians and their respective party's is nothing more than a halation around the real story.
Twenty-some years ago, it wasn't quite clear what the intent of the Great Powers were, and then fury was directed towards the Croatian and Slovenian politicians, who supported the Albanian separatists. The Communist role in that process was known even then, as it is known even today, but it is somehow limited. For that reason, it would have to be explained who opposed the Communists the most. Because of the Communist past, and the comprehension of its complexity, it is inexpressible for politicians.
Opposing them, therefore, were the Serbian soldiers and politicians with General Drazha at the forefront. This is what Drazha wrote at the end of 1943:
"Yugoslavian Communists promised Kosovo to Albania in order to bring into their ranks Albanians, against the Serbs. This promise was given by Tito, and that same resilient Croatian who in association with Pavelich is systematically eradicating the Serbian people in Lika, Kordun, Banija, Dalmatia, Hercegovina and Srem.Tito today promises the Albanians the glorious Serbian Kosovo, pride of our history, and tomorrow he will promise the Bulgarians Southern Serbia, Bachka and Banat to the Hungarians, so as to reduce the Serbs to a Belgrade Pashalic".
He wrote this as well:
"In order to confront this evil in its path, I decree: First, that in the entire country, in all our frontiers, to be declared: that all Serbs are to rally in a unified battle against our most dangerous adversary, the Communists, in whose ranks can be found Ustashi and the entire scum of this country".
The chances that the Communists would defeat Drazha were the same chances that Thaci had to defeat Pavkovich. But, the Great Powers intervened.
Again, Drazha writes: "Observing current events in the country, we thought that the British propaganda didn't know what it was doing.However, we are currently uncovering that the British are aware and are calculatingly working on the formation of a Croatian block.This entire block would have a Communist form, or as they put it, a Partizan form for the sake of legitimacy in front of the Allies.
In this way, the Great Powers placed before the legal army and political structure, one terroristic paramilitary group.
The political structures, assembly and the government, nevertheless, were doing their job, continuing from where their predecessors left off. They requested that, at the new peace conference, to be returned to Serbia what was taken from her at the previous conference, after World War One: access to the sea via Skadar. At that time Nikola Pashich was at the forefront of the Serbian delegation. He stated that the Serbian Army in 1912 liberated Skadar from the Turks, and that she had to relinquish it due to Austro-Hungarian threats. The "Black-Yellow" monarchy no longer existed; nevertheless, the Great Powers solidified her acquisition. The Great Powers were united even back in 1878. The Serbian Army liberated Kosovo from the Turks. Under pressure of the Great Powers, the Army had to retreat, regardless that it was well known that the Serbian population on Kosovo & Metohija were facing the largest scale of genocide against them to date.
In that effect, there is a single line from King Milosh Obrenovich and his best diplomat Jovan Ristich (1878), across to King Peter Karageorgevich (1912), Nikola Pashich (1918), Drazha (1944) and Milosevich (1989), to Kostunica and Nikolich today, as there is a single line from Bismark, Lord Beaconsfield, across to Franz Joseph and Lloyd George, Churchill, Roosevelt and Hitler, to Clinton, Bush and the rest. It's better to know that everything didn't start from the 5th of October 2000.
Miloslav Samardzich is the editor of "Pogledi" magazine and is an author of numerous books regarding General Dragoljub "Draza" Mihailovich, the Chetniks and WWII in Yugoslavia in general. Miloslav is considered an expert in this field and has been called upon on many occasions to debate the Communist and Fascist versions of actual events in the region.
This article was translated from Serbian to English.
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