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WORLD AND LOCAL NEWS
Crisis level in the Balkans
Could U.S. involvement in Kosovo lead to another Vietnam, or worse, another World War?
Jonathan Howard
Co-Editor in Chief
In response to the launch
of an offensive against
Kosovo Albanians by
Yugoslav president
Slobodan Milosevic, NATO
launched air attacks on
Wednesday, March 24. A war
in Yugoslavia, which would
most likely include U.S.
troops, is a situation that is
unwanted, but imminent.
To understand the
NATO strikes, one must
understand the situation that
has been smoldering in
Yugoslavia for almost 50
years. Kosovo, a province of
Serbia (Yugoslavia's
dominant republic), is
occupied by ethnic
Albanians and Serbians.
Kosovo is considered a holy
land to Serbians, but
Albanians now outnumber
Serbians 9-1 in the area,
causing Albanians to
consider the land theirs and
seek independence.
Kosovo was granted
autonomy in 1974 by then
Yugoslavian president
Marshal Tito. Tito's death in
if he won the presidency, he
would win back Kosovo for
The after affects of an air attack on Belgrade
1980 left the door open for
Serbian politician Slobodan
Milosevic, who was the
leader of Yugoslavia's
communist party in 1986, to
use Serbian resentment of
Albanian influence in
Kosovo to stir nationalism.
Milosevic declared that
the Serbs by any means. Upon
winning the presidency in
1989, Milosevic shut down
Albanian media, suppressed
the use of the Albanian
language and stripped
Kosovo of its autonomy.
A divided Kosovo was
formed: One with Muslim
ethnic Albanians and
Orthodox Christian Serbian
living side-
by-side in
tension. The
same
situation had
been seen in
Croatia, with
Christian
Croats and
Muslim Serbs
living
together
under strife.
Intergroup
fighting
would occur
in 1992,
leading
NATO to step
in to try to
repair ties
and
implement
peace treaties
in the
warring country.
A truce/cease fire was
eventually accepted, ending
an eight month offensive by
Serbian troops that left 1,000
dead and over 125,000
homeless. The truce was
severed by news of Serbian
soldiers massacring 45
Albanian villagers in Racak,
Kosovo.
NATO began its bombing
with the hopes of preventing
fighting in Kosovo to spread
to other areas of Europe and
causing rifts in the political
structure and, possibly,
massive warfare.
NATO's attacks, though,
have so far been fruitless.
Milosevic continues his reign
of terror as the "ethnic
cleansing" of Kosovo only
escalates. Recent news of U.S.
troops being captured has
not helped NATO or
President Bill Clinton in
trying to find support for the
fighting. Many feel that the
current situation could easily
devolve into a Vietnam type
battle, with no true "winner,"
per se. Also, it would be of
note to mention that both
World Wars began in the
Balkans. One began with a
near assassination in Austria.
The other with Hitler
breaking the Munich treaty in
Czechoslovakia. U.S. military
involvement in such a
tinderbox may only lead to
one thing: an explosion.
New York's state of mind
Protests over NYC Police Department atrocities swell
Angry protesters in New York City
Hassan Christian
Staff Writer
Daily anti-violence protests,
low police morale, and a mayor
under siege. The crisis has
officially begun.
On the 29th of March, the
beginning of jury selection for
the Louima case began, thus
signaling that New York City
had a major crisis on their
hands.
It was only two years ago
that New York City was
publicly celebrating the success
of its new polices on crime. The
crime rate was at a record low,
the lowest in 28 years, and New
York Police Department was
basking in the accolades
received for keeping everything
running smoothly. Mayor
Rudolph Giuliani was enjoying
the highest approval rating of
his tenure. Crime in New York
finally seemed under control.
Then, in August of 1997, a
national spotlight was cast onto
New York's
police
department
when a young
Haitian man by
name of Abner
Louima was
sodomized and
tortured in a
police station
bathroom. It
soon became
apparent that
not everything
was good in
Gotham. By
mid-February,
the police and
mayor were
officially in a
crisis after an
unarmed man
was shot 19
times by four
officers in front
of his apartment building.
How did all this happen?
There had already been many
incidents that happened yet
were kept low key, with the use
of what the media dubbed the
"blue wall of silence." But few
people knew what problems
been troubling the nations
largest police department until
the media brought to light
many of the recent cases of
police misconduct. Some
of the recent incidents
were the "sex for
protection" scandal in
which 20 Manhattan
officers were getting free
sex in return for protecting
a brothel from raids. There
was also the issue of Police
Commissioner Howard
Safir flying off to the
academy awards despite
having the Diallo
controversy on his hands,
thus angering many New
York citizens because of
what was perceived as a
lack of sensitivity.
One of the most
important items under fire
is the police department 7 s
"stop and frisk" policy.
Many contend that the
policies violate the public's civil
rights. The Civil Rights
Commissioner will hold
hearings in May.
In the meantime, the
department will have to deal
with a multi-million dollar
lawsuit filed on Louima's behalf
and waves of daily protests at
police headquarters. Almost
1,000 people have been arrested
in the daily protests, including
some of the city's high profile
citizens. Former Mayor David
Dinkins, Kweisi Mfume, and
Susan Sarandon are just a few
of the dozens that have been
arrested during thirteen
consecutive days of protests.
The protesters seem prepared to
keep going too.
"Extremely aggressive
practices have come to place,"
says Barbara Olshansky of the
Center for Constitutional
Rights, which recently also filed
a lawsuit against the New
York's Police Department and
Guiliani. "We have to be
vigilant in drawing those lines
so innocent people won't be
afraid to go out at night."