It is interesting to see the amount
of bias that still surrounds the facts of this conflict. Even delving into the
background of Yugoslavia it is presented with either a negative connotation to
Serbia or a negative connotation to Albania. Even with public opinion, there
were misconceptions of who the enemy really was.
Obviously, the war in the 90s arose
due to political agendas; however, it was not difficult to swing public opinion
between the two groups. Serbian soldiers were told that the KLA soldiers were
terrorists and that all the Albanians had to be removed because it was
impossible to tell who was truly the enemy. But why were they so quick to
believe this claim? The KLA did not attack them first, so why did they believe
Milosevic? There was an underlying racism between cultures the entire time,
even dating back to the Ottoman Empire. It is human nature even as an infant to
believe different is bad and this region fell subject to that innate instinct.
As separate cultures developed and differences began to show through it became
natural not to trust those who are different from you, who believe differently
than you do. This fear of the unknown and unwillingness to trust spurs the
racism and when Milosevic gave both the Albanians and the Serbians a reason to
distrust one another further they latched on and war broke out.
Despite any bias that may have been
around before the time of the war, the media really enhanced it. “Kosovo was different. This was the
media's war almost as much as the generals”. I found this quote really
interesting because it was a war between who could make who the bad guy. NATO
was depicted as the enemy and it didn’t help that they were bombing Kosovo
either. NATO was depicted as the hero to the US public. It was a war of lies
just as much as it was a war of violence and the public was the swinging
pendulum swung from the fingertips of politicians.
Sources:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/591916.stm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/674056.stm
- Chandler Barre
No comments:
Post a Comment