We Are Not Angels

In principle we should always be ready to react in the same way, with equal astonishment to atrocities, even if they were to happen every day.  In the same way, general moral codes would require that we do not divide victims and culprits according to “ours” and “theirs”, but that we sympathize with the former, and condemn the latter, regardless of what nation they belong to.  Besides that, in theory, our sense of compassion should take hold of us to such a degree that we should not even think about how some great atrocity, someone’s tragedy or death, can be usefully exploited.

Somehow I cannot remember when the last time was that I met someone who adhered strictly to these principles.  I do not know where saints and angels congregate, but we obviously don’t frequent the same places.  My God, did they maybe all join JUL, and are they busy making all those glitzy, heavenly video spots?
In any case, everything that could be heard here on the latest Kosovo story, the one about the atrocity in the village of Klecka, sounded too human, too exploitative, too argumentative, too vengeful, shameless and low.  The story itself, the atrocity itself and the victims immediately became insignificant.  The petty bitterness of politicians could not hold back even for one single day which, in cases like this, should be reserved for public manifestations of grief, which is supposed to take place in silence.
Otherwise, I am prone to believe that something quite close to the official version happened in Klecaka: that is to say that the UCK kidnapped, tortured and executed those people, and later burnt the corpses in order to hide the evidence.  More precisely, I believe that something of the sort could easily have happened, simply because in war even a far more disciplined army has difficulties refraining from atrocities.  The real crime is the war itself, while atrocities are mere side effects.  It is not clear why the UCK would be immune to this, as Adem Demaqi wishes us to believe, and, in any case, there is ample evidence of atrocities on both sides.

But no one cares any longer what really happened.  The race for exploiting this tragedy began sooner on the Serbian side than if a gold mine had been discovered.  No one had time even to be surprised, let alone to be shocked, as if the ground had been set for this horrific discovery.  It’s only surprising that none of the Albanians came up with the idea of accusing the Serbian police of having committed the atrocity for propaganda reasons.

The heaviest words and the harshest judgments were already in circulation, far before such gory evidence surfaced.  That is probably why this facade of moral indignation is so unbecoming for people who continuously speak about genocide against the Serb people.  What would they have to be surprised about in this instance?  Didn’t their theories and interpretations of the genocidal intentions of Serbian enemies, both in Kosovo and before Kosovo, predate all this tragic evidence?  Furthermore, such theories, if they are propounded with sufficient vigor, can ultimately produce evidence which will only support them.

I would like to see the investigating judge who, after this sensational discovery of the “first crematorium in Europe since the Second World War,” would dare to pass any other judgment, even if the investigation were to warrant this.  But this is still a side issue.  This is not the first sentence passed before the court case, and who here is still interested in nitpicking over laws and the legal system.  We are all aware what sort of system we live in, and are we really willing, just because of Albanians and the UCK, to attempt passing a camel through the eye of a needle.

We will do everything according to the law later, but lets beat the iron while its hot, and let’s exploit this incident to finish the job in Kosovo while there is still time.  Admittedly, this is how we thought earlier, also.  We postponed organizing our country because of wars; or the other way around, we waged war in order to avoid cleaning up our system.  But this is our last chance.  Now it will not be necessary for some time to come, because lawlessness has become so rooted, has become so ingrained among our people and stifled all desire for resistance.

As far as the main theme is concerned, the usefulness of the tragedy in Klecka, it only appears to be limited, to the extent that it is directed at the outside world.  Namely, it is clear that this story has not left a profound impression on the world, and it is unlikely that it will appreciably change the world’s impression of the conflict in Kosovo.  In any case, I did not notice that anyone harbors an especially romantic image of the UCK.  But there, people remember that this is the third war that Milosevic is waging, while it is only the first one for the Albanians.  Besides that, even if it was to get a stronger reaction in the world, this tragedy does not promise to change the Serbian negotiating position on the status of this region.

However, this media campaign, the call on world media to “come see for themselves,” and the bitterness at their subjectivity and coolness, all that should above all leave an impression on Serbia itself in realizing that with Milosevic and Seselj it must indefinitely remain isolated.  Because no one in the world sees our troubles, while terrorism appears to be subject to a double standard.  Now it is true that there are many standards in the world for similar things, but I would never believe that this regime would like to be judged by standards which civilized countries apply among each other.  For instance, just try to find a president like Slobodan Milosevic anywhere else in the world, his wife who would fit the description of Ms. Markovic, their partner Seselj — and you will see that Serbia is getting along fine precisely because there are double standards.  It is being treated like an unpleasant excess or a chronic patient who should still be approached with consideration.

If that were not the case, who could possibly negotiate with Milosevic?  He is mostly viewed as a problem, and not as a solution, so that it appears that an answer is being sought for the sum of two plus two, without it necessarily having to be four.  The answer “four” would put him out of the picture, but for as long as he is accepted and continues to occupy the position he occupies, the only possible answers are three and a half, or five.  Thus, it appears that only half-solutions can be sought for stability in Kosovo and the region, all together with double standards, with acceptance of the fact that Serbia has veered off quite far, and with a lot of hope and faith in miracles.
Finally, everything that has been said here is merely an attempt to explain our present inability to react normally, like human beings to atrocity, tragedy and death.  Nearly everything that was said about it was warped, directed at something else, even toward conflicts between political parties.  The dead look that much more sinister, because the living have not taken the time to pay any attention to them.  And who, anyway, is alive here?  Isn’t our problem perhaps in that there is a shortage of life here, and not a surplus of death?