he partition of Bosnia-Hercegovina into tiny enclaves of
ethnically dominated provinces is the net result of many months
of "peace talks" led by British and American negotiators. The
Vance-Owen "peace proposal" is illustrated on the accompanying
map (linked). While this arrangement may win the approval of those who
are said to be leaders in the ethnic struggle, many have
troubling questions that remain unanswered.
or example: What would it mean to say a province was
"Serbian" (or Croatian or Muslim)? Would this designation imply
that:
- The dominant ethnic militia is recognized as a legitimate government?
- Other cultures, religions, and political philosophies may be repressed?
- Preference is given in economic, legal, and other matters to the dominant ethnic Elite?
f these "provinces" are to be given autonomous status, what
will become of the many minority members within those areas?
Many of these districts contain a larger number of ethnically
diverse people than the total population of the 'dominant'
group in whose "province" they may live. The presumable reason
for this division of Bosnia (or any other country) would be to
separate warring factions that are so locked into the embrace
of their mutual dance of death that only forcible separation
will end the conflict. How can such a division along ethnic
lines, be accomplished when, over the course of the last 500
years, members of the three major groups (and many others) have
distributed themselves in random fashion around the
countryside? If the world's proclaimed interest is the assurance of
protection for the rights of human individuals, how will
permanent ethnic division help?
icious gangs of nationalist extremists have declared
themselves unable to live with their neighbors because of
historical differences. Through acts of rape, murder, and
mindless destruction, they struggle to 'separate' themselves by
military genocide.
n this atmosphere, talk of human rights guarantees carries
little weight with the zealous demagogues who now rule their
fiefdoms through force of arms and appeals to irrational fear.
Locked into this separationist mind-set are the U.S. and
European peace negotiators who find the acceptance of this new
form of Apartheid as a politically and economically cheap
solution for their dissolute pragmatism, embarrassing lack of
political imagination, and utter bankruptcy of moral
commitment.
f the ostensible reason for this segregation is to ameliorate ethnic friction, then we must assume that "ethnic
cleansing" is a strategy that now has the imprimatur of the
western negotiators . Moreover, a forcible separation will, in
the eyes of each ethnic group, again represent another
"historical wrong" against one's own people which would then
have to be eradicated in some future ethnic cleansing.
We advocate therefore, the establishment of a UN protectorate
for the entire region.
- The administrative, legal, and police functions would be supervised by the UN.
- A program of Ethnic Healing would reintroduce the opposing sides. Educational opportunities could be created that would permit the various peoples to begin to understand the historical origins and social mechanisms of irrational hatred and see the value of tolerance.
- Skills in conflict resolution would be promoted to prevent perceived injustices from being coupled to the history of hate and thus provoke fear and hostility.
- Full human rights would be protected as civil and political rights are gradually restored, along with the infrastructure of a unified and democratic government.
t is not the intensity of our courage against aggressors,
but the depth of our commitment to the ways of peace that will
distinguish our generation of human beings from its
predecessors. The world is too small, our weapons -too destructive,
the stakes -too high, to permit us the luxury of accepting the
conventional wisdom regarding the inevitability of war.
Redrawing the lines on a map can never be substituted for the
more difficult work of reconstructing the topography of social
sympathy and mutual acceptance. What is happening in old
Yugoslavia is happening everywhere, in less intense ways perhaps,
but still needing a positive human solution to a pandemic human
conflict.
