Ejup Ganic, second in command to Alija Izetbegovic in Sarajevo,
had a traffic accident on the road Sarajevo-Mostar (well that
road was not really known for its safety even before the war)
just a few hours before the Croatian offensive begun. He was
immediately hospitalized in Split, Croatia. Ganic was long
suspected by many Croats of being a 'traitor'. In the beginning
of the war Ganic supported the idea (which however Izetbegovic
and Silajdzic found repulsive) of giving in to Serbs (like
forming confederation with Serbs instead of with Croats, and
fighting with Serbs against Croats, instead of with Croats
against Serbs). He never publicly advocated attacking Croats, and
he never openly cooperated with the Karadzic's Serbs. But about
two years ago in an interview he said in oblique terms how
Muslims are actually Serbs that accepted Islam and how it would
be natural to stop that internecine war. Serbs didn't buy it.
Izetbegovic overheard it (he kind of reminds me of Ronald Reagan
slowly dozing of on all those high-level diplomatic meetings).
Tudjman nevertheless fastidiously kept notes.
The Krajina felt in Croatian hands so quickly and helplessly
because the brave and invincible Serbian Army performed a full
scale 50,000 people vanishing act on Saturday. Now, Milan Martic,
their commander calls for re-conquest, Of course this is
unrealistic given that they have not been able to defend it with
the same force they now want to use to attack it. Soldiers,
civilians, their extended families - all 200,000 people that run
away in this largest example of 'ethnic cleansing' in the Balkan
war yet, were not 'bused' or 'trucked' away at the gunpoint - as
this was usual practice applied on cleansed population in Zepa,
Srebrenica and less recent places. Serb refugees from Krajina run
away lured by the Bosnian Serb Radio aired paranoia hours before
Croatian army marched in towns and villages that they held. They
run in their own cars, or, for that matter, in cars they stole
from their Croatian neighbors who decided to stay in town. On
their way they were pelted with rocks and manure and not with
mortar shells and grenades. Which is definitely a new and
obviously highly effective way of ethnic cleansing. The downside
is that you let the enemy healthy able-bodied male population
escape the mandatory ritual slaughter. Croatian offensive made
Bosnian Serb Army 50,000 men stronger. Now the BSA has the same
manpower as the Bosnian government army. So, if the BSA crushes
Sarajevo because of that, the international community should be
aware of a sacrifice they made Croatian Army make for a
presentable p.r.
Internet community can rejoice that this was the first war in
history with a dedicated Web page. The war was fully televised,
as we are already used to with contemporary warfare. But since
Croatian TV (which crew entered every city with Croatian Army)
can't be see as extensively as for example CNN, they opted for
Internet. Croatian TV created a Web page (few days before the
offensive) which it updated hourly with still pictures - images
of recaptured townships, Serb refugees, celebrating Croatian
forces, maps tracking Croatian army advances, visits of officials
(like the U.S. ambassador Peter Galbraith who visited Krajina the
day after it's recaptured), damage of Serbian shelling (like a
kid without a leg in Bihac), damage (of course, lesser) of
Croatian shelling. The page is still there. It has tons of .jpg
images. It is certainly partisan to Croats (well, it's done by
Croatian state-run TV), but it is not annoyingly and overtly
propagandist. To download some fresh pieces of war go to:
HTV.
(downsides: it is s-l-o-w. Croatia's pipe to Internet is 68kbps.
Also, displaying of images is not done thru interlaced giffing)
For impatient there is a mirror page
served from a U.S. server.
Inspired with the unenviable role of UN protection force in
former Yugoslavia, and curious about how do the feel (being hated
by all sides whom they are not able to protect from each other),
I deliberately decided to put myself in a role of a sarcastic
observer in one of relatively benign (at least from a Bosnian
perspective) recent NewYorkean conflicts.
On Saturday, August 12, a moderate number of gay community
activists marched from Astor Place to Cherry Tavern on 6th street
just of Avenue A, shouting on their way: "Whose streets? Our
Streets!" which curiously sounded like "Whose streets? Aus-
schwitz." They assembled on the opposite side of the street
facing Cherry Tavern, which was guarded by three officers and
barricaded by blue barricades. Few grinning teens looked
disinterested through the iron-fenced Tavern's windows. Police
used the Benny's Buritto's outdoors dining area as a 'safe
heaven' between the gay community demonstrations and the counter-
demonstrations staged by The skinheads on pedestrian crossing on
the West side of Avenue A on 6 th street.
Two skinheads seen drinking beer in Cherry Tavern beaten a gay
man on that corner. They returned to Cherry Tavern for another
beer after beating. Cherry Tavern later cooperated with the
police investigation and two perpetrators were arrested. Tavern's
bouncer claims that those two were not a part of the regular
crowd that frequents the place.
But gays were not pleased with that outcome. So, a gay-community
intelligence gathering team was dispatched to Cherry Tavern one
evening. At one point they took their cameras out and started
taking pictures of a bunch of beer-soaked skinhead kids playing
pool. That pissed skins off, which brought more violence to
already heated conflict.
The gay community crowd demonstrations featured usual posters and
slogans with some of them more event-specific (talking about
"hairism"). Occasionally, a lone cry would pierce the air:
"Nazis". Speaker (a guy who got beaten in the photographing
incident) took an extensive approach to 'skinheads plague',
mentioning the killing of Ethiopian student in Portland, Oregon
and the similar incident with a Hispanic in Queens, linking both
those accidents committed by skinheads in a plausible accusation
that all skinheads are intrinsically evil. Skinheads community
crowd, from their side of the barrier, featuring no posters,
responded with just one 'slogan': "Bullshit." I spotted two most
vocal skinheads earlier when they were monitoring the gay group
advance to their 'territory.'
The entire event lasted about twenty, twenty-five minutes. Police
force was abundant and grumpy, obviously displeased with having
to protect people whom they would rather see stab each other.
Gays then retreated to their safe grounds in the West Village,
while skinheads did a round around the block and back to the
Tavern. Bouncer was pacing nervously in front of the Tavern
asking everybody who looked suspicious (almost anybody with
traces of hair on his head) for ID. Two white-shirted police
officers were discussing the safety issues of the event in the
middle of 6 th street. One of them was bragging about how he
defused some situation, kind of didn't you see stuff. A group of
German tourists walked by the Tavern, lively discussing "die zwei
Gegendemosntrazionen." They had fun. Patch of alternative
journalists with pocket cameras left following the gay group.
All except one: a lady managing editor of The Outlaw Biker. She
stayed around the tavern (she was also that defused situation
that I mentioned earlier). And I hanged out with her for a while.
Mostly because I was too lazy to go all the way to West Village.
Tavern's bouncer wore The Outlaw Biker T-shirt, and he was giving
instruction to her whom to interview. Not all skinheads have
shaved heads, and just a very few of them follow the rigid dress
code. Not all of them were white - there are Hispanics, Blacks
and Asians among a majority of white kids(well, this is New York,
it would be hard to expect any group to manage to be racially
"pure"). In the matter of fact - the way how they look they are
not much different than the about 60% of those gay rights
demonstrants who just left. You can't tell Bosnian of Serbian
either. Awgh, peacekeeping is so messy.
The equivalent of the UN sponsored economic sanctions - a boycott
- which gay community threw on Cherry Tavern, apparently just
made the Tavern cater even more to the skinheads crowd in hope of
revenue. Bouncer made a point of being very friendly to every
skinheads kid that passed by. This certifies the prevalent
importance of economy in any type of situation.
I was allowed in the Tavern but not long enough to scout the male
bathroom (which just has to have some interesting drawings or
reading matter - it is given for such a place). Well, I'll give
it a more closer look the next time when dust settles a little,
and a cease fire takes an effect. Anyway, the insides are not
particularly different than at any other cheap-beer place in this
neighborhood or anywhere else: a pool table, a bar, few
inexpensive chairs and tables, a juke-box with plenty of loud and
fast alternative rock (Social Distortion was on while I was in).
The only thing I recorded as unique to the place is a picture in
the corner near the gentlemen's bathroom, featuring a rather
large amount of money, called, appropriately, "Money."
The Outlaw Biker editor, blaming the incident on outsiders and
picturing the gay community people as such (outsiders, swears
that most of the skinheads kids live in the neighborhood. My
experience (I lived on St Marks place for 3 years not seeing them
around, plus I have few skinheads friends who live in Brooklyn)
and observation (one of the skinheads from the Tavern
demonstrations took the same train uptown that I took; he got off
on 51 st street, probably taking E or F to Queens) tells a
different story.
My conclusion?
Gay community obviously over-reacted. To a counter-productive
effect probably. Skinheads are a social phenomenon: here we have
a group of people that generally expect to be hated. They feed on
hatred. Because it justifies their somewhat misjudged narrow view
of the world. Some sort of reconciliatory educative non-violent
conflict resolution project would be recommended. Well, it
definitely may work better than shouting "Nazis" and "Bullshit"
over a row of policemen who shout "Move on."
A large cockroach emerged on the street in front of the Tavern
and amusingly frightened four properly pierced skinhead girls
(who did not have shaven heads, though). Everybody was shouting
"kill it, kill it." So one of the skinhead guys finished the
roach. This roach - the last thing in his life he knew was the
sole of a doc martens boot - became thus the next victim of
skinhead violence. One of the girls joked that the Animal Rights
movement will be now the next to come demonstrating against the
Cherry Tavern.
I expect that this article contains a bias towards skinheads
(since I was not briefed by any participant of the gay
demonstrations). But, also I expect to be taken as partisan and
hated by both sides. Which is anyway a fate that awaits any
observer.
Just of avenue A on 5th street there is a small pub, with really cool juke-box
but with no name or any memorable sight, commonly known as "Sophy's". There,
recent off-the-boat Irish and their protestant pals from Ulster, former
soldiers of Croatian army together with Serbs (sons from members of the old
Yugoslav diplomacy) and skinheads (from Skinheads Against Racial Prejudice)
hang out with local artsy crowd shooting pool, playing pinball, rollin' 'em
up, and drinking a lot of beer in a perfect harmony. The common denominator:
one dollar draft beer.
Conclusion: cheap booze and liberal drug policy are important steps towards
the world peace. Living in New York counts, too.