>Date: Thu, 25 Mar 1999 17:41:19 -0800 (PST) >From: Phil Agre <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > >[The following is a letter from Belgrade by a friend of a friend >who is there conducting research for his doctoral dissertation in >history at Stanford. It is forwarded with permission. If anyone >has other reports from the region, please do send them along. >For more reports see <http://www.eGroups.com/list/kosovo-reports/>, ><http://www.salonmagazine.com/news/1999/03/25newsc.html>, and ><http://www.radio21.net>.] > >=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= >This message was forwarded through the Red Rock Eater News Service (RRE). >Send any replies to the original author, listed in the From: field below. >You are welcome to send the message along to others but please do not use >the "redirect" command. For information on RRE, including instructions >for (un)subscribing, see http://dlis.gseis.ucla.edu/people/pagre/rre.html >or send a message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with Subject: info rre >=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= > >Date: Thu, 25 Mar 1999 23:35:47 +0100 >From: Dusan Djordjevich <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >Subject: Re: from enemy territory > >[...] > >Belgrade >Thursday, March 25, 1999, 7:30pm (local time) > >Air-raid sirens have just sounded in Belgrade, marking the second >night of NATO's bombing campaign in Yugoslavia. There were two waves >earlier today of 2-3 hours each, the last one ending with an all-clear >signal around 4:30pm. (One quickly learned to distinguish the two >signals with the help of civil defense bulletins on TV and brochures >stuffed this morning into mailboxes.) The normally bustling center >of the city was extremely quiet today, in terms of both pedestrians >and cars, despite the beautiful spring weather. Half or more of >the stores seemed to be closed, and the large "Zeleni Venac" outdoor >market near my apartment was nearly deserted. As part of the state >of war that has been declared, gasoline will not be sold for private >use. Spring break has started early: schools and universities have >suspended instruction until at least April 2. > >Most who live and work in Belgrade's central districts don't fear >direct air strikes. In the outskirts and across the Sava River in >the highrises of the post-WWII settlement "New Belgrade," people feel >less secure, as many could hear explosions last night during strikes >against such targets as a factory in the suburb Pancevo and the >military airbase some 20 km NW of here. > >People here have lived with the threat of air strikes since October, >but no one was sure what to expect and there was a good deal of >skepticism that such a serious bombardment would take place. Most >now are calm but very worried and upset. Constant calls to friends >and relatives (phone lines are working for the most part). For the >moment, at least, there is little appetite for the black humor with >which Serbs typically greet difficult times. I wanted to escape for a >couple of hours on Tuesday and watch "Twins" with Arnold Schwarzenegger >and Danny DeVito on TV -- but they'd replaced it with the historical >drama, "The Battle of Kosovo." Other shows are being pre-empted by >old Partisan vs. German WWII movies. Classical music and Mexican soap >operas are apparently still acceptable. > >For those who have them, satellite dishes and short-wave radios >provide news from west European stations to complement the local >reporting. (There's also the Internet, of course, but very few >people have access to it.) It's frustrating, though, since from what >I've seen -- mostly on BBC World and Sky News, occasionally CNN when >it comes in well -- there's a fair amount of Gulf War-type parroting >of official pronouncements, and superficial coverage and analysis. >In Serbia, Radio B-92, the main electronic source of independent news, >was kicked off its frequency. For the moment, Pancevo's independent >station is carrying the B-92 news programs, so they can still be heard >in Belgrade. I see in the message you sent that the RedRockEater >list carried the report that B-92's editor-in-chief Veran Matic was >detained by police Wednesday morning. Fortunately he was released >after several hours, but the regime will certainly continue to quiet >independent and critical voices. > >It should be said, however, that criticism of the regime in any case >is likely to be very muted. Some "experts" on BBC, CNN, NPR have >been saying that they expect mounting criticism of Milosevic, even >some kind of popular and/or elite revolt against him, as the damage >inflicted by NATO mounts. This is a misreading of the mood here, >to put it mildly. (It also reveals ignorance of the usual effect >of air strikes.) Even the most vehement opponents of Milosevic and >his policy in Kosovo see this primarily as an unwarranted and unwise >attack on their country, and their anger and disappointment with >NATO and above all the U.S. is only likely to grow. Milosevic could >have signed the Rambouillet document and allowed foreign troops into >Kosovo without serious domestic dissent in the short term, but in time >such a move may well have cut into his already dwindling popularity. >As it is -- in the general view here and surely in Milosevic's >own calculations -- the bombardment is almost certain to renew and >consolidate support for the government and hurt if not cripple the >prospects of democratic opposition forces. > >For myself and many people with whom I've spoken, one of the most >worrisome aspects is how unpredictable the course of events seems at >the moment. It's not just our own ignorance, but the fact that no >one in Brussels or Washington seems to have a good answer to the "What >next?" questions, and it is not yet clear under what circumstances >either side might back off its stated resolve. > >As I write this, I've just heard that all NATO-country journalists >are being expelled from the country, which will of course make it >even more difficult to get an accurate picture of the situation. As >it is, no one seems sure exactly what is happening on the ground in >Kosovo, where some predict a stepped-up offensive by Yugoslav forces >and significantly more suffering for the people of the province -- >the very people whose welfare is ostensibly NATO's primary concern. > >******************************* > Dusan Djordjevich > PhD Candidate > Department of History > Stanford University > [EMAIL PROTECTED] >******************************* >
