UNMIK ON AIR

18 December 2003

IS NATIONALISM ON THE RISE AGAIN?

By Sputnik Kilambi & Zoran Culafic

Hello and welcome to UNMIK ON AIR.

Developments in the last decade and more have shown that almost everywhere in Eastern Europe, the euphoria of the post-communist era has been short-lived. The demands and exigencies of western-style free-market capitalism has seen wages fall, unemployment rise and the old social guarantees disappear – the transition, as experts warned, was painful and provided fertile ground for nationalists of all hues to emerge or re-emerge as the case might be. The Balkans is no exception, judging from the victory of Croatia’s hard line HDZ, a party founded by the country’s former strongman, Franjo Tujman, in recent elections. Many fear that a repeat could be played out in Serbia - that nationalist radicals, many allied with the former Milosevic regime could stage a comeback in the upcoming general elections. Ruling parties in both countries have accepted the strict rules imposed by international financial institutions but the changes have come with a price.

Dusan Janjic from the Belgrade based NGO Forum for Interethnic Relations believes that while a parallel can be drawn between Croatia and Serbia, there are also big differences. Serbia, he says, is paying the price for the Milosevic period.

Dusan Janjic: It might look like a regional phenomenon but if you look deeply – The Serbian and Croatian cases are completely different. In Serbia the institutional crisis is deepening, in Croatia institutions exist. The crisis in Serbia is deepening because of two things – because it did not face up to the consequences of the Milosevic regime and did not clean it up, and because the democratic leadership that took over came across as weak, divisive and ultimately undemocratic.

For Zarko Puhovski, president of Croatia’s Helsinki Committee for Human Rights, one thing all political leaders in countries from ex-Yugoslavia countries have in common is that the logic of nationalism helps when you are in trouble.

Zarko Puhovski: The majority of politicians in all the post Yugoslav nations, and particularly in Kosovo, are indeed nationalists, in essence if not always in form. They always accepted the logic of sacrificing individuals for the sake of higher national aims.

Although populism and nationalism are still the weapons of choice in political games in the Balkans, for Zarko Puhovski, some things have changed in the past decade. One of the most important changes, he says, is the perception of the crimes committed in the past. People from ex-Yugoslavia are increasingly accepting the fact that everyone who committed war crimes must be brought to justice, no matter what ethnic origins he has.

But the mindset in political circles has yet to keep pace with the changing public opinion. Unfortunately, adds Puhovski, the old thought pattern that seeks to classify suspected war criminals as “our” and “theirs” continues to exist.

Zarko Puhovski: It is a positive thing that the concept of holy cows has been abandoned the old dictum that the enemy of my enemy is my friend, in the sense that everyone who fights Milosevic is a good guy and therefore he should be supported. That’s finished today. It seems to me that the most important thing today is that we have more or less a clear stance that everyone who was involved in criminal activities no matter what his nationality or political links will at some time be sanctioned.

The rise of nationalism isn’t specific to Serbia or the Balkans, argues Dusan Janjic. Politicians everywhere play the nationalist card when it suits them, Seselj and his radicals, for example, he adds have never won as many votes as France’s extreme right leader Jean Marie Le Pen. Austria, Italy and recently Switzerland have all seen hard line nationalists elected to parliament.

However, while Seselj awaits trial in the Hague, his Serbian Radical Party has been trying to put on a new, softer face, the only way of gaining more public support. Having realized that war led nowhere, they are now articulating popular dissatisfaction.

Dusan Janjic: They say now that they will save socially owned enterprises, provide jobs for people, establish a policy of low prices for bread and other staples so they are using communist, or rather Stalinist methods, which is very familiar to Seselj and his basic ideology. So they went back to Stalinism and in combination with nationalism it looks like a solid guarantee to people getting poorer, and they represent the majority of citizens of Serbia. According to European standards 80 per cent of citizens in Serbia are poor.

But many analysts agree that the fact that people give support to nationalist parties doesn’t mean that citizens in the Balkans are determined to look for solutions through radical or extreme means. Both Janjic and Puhovski argue that what is happening is that political leaders are manipulating people and their emotions.

Zarko Puhovski: But the next question is how far they will go to implement it. Because when they get into power they will have to abandon some of their fiery rhetoric and then it’ll be discovered that some pre-election promises cannot be fulfilled. So the politicians are obliged to take more realistic positions, towards The Hague Tribunal for example or similar issues.

Nonetheless, while political leaders have to show more maturity in their pronouncements and programs and desist from nationalist populism, ultimately the future of each country is in the hands of its people. And their responsibility cannot be underestimated says Zarko Puhovski.

Zarko Puhovski: Whether these people are sincere nationalists or not, they find a reason to use nationalism as a means to electoral success. This fact speaks volumes about us, the citizens of these states, more in fact than about the politicians themselves.

A thought to ponder over here in Kosovo as well.

And with that we end this edition of UNMIK ON AIR. Thanks for listening.