As everybody could foresee, in Macedonia the next center of conflict is developing, and the German federal government of social democrats and Greens is pushing the deployment of the German army for a war which is to be a robust one this time. The foreign minister Fischer even asserted on the 6th of July in the Bundestag (parliament) that by a deployment one would be able here to prevent a civil war, and therefore - how noble! - one should send the troops. Well, the tense political situation in Macedonia is nothing else than what NATO's strategy has created. The NLA which is active also in Macedonia is nothing else than what was massively sponsored in the 1999 war. Bombing small Serbia by the most modern NATO weaponry has in fact served nothing but the so-called liberation of Kosovo in the way this organization, which is world-widely accused of trafficking in drugs and human beings, wished it.

This time, however, it is to be a deployment for the German military, the Bundeswehr, in the course of which direct military intervention is planned. A new stage of making the population get used to war. And all of that is publicly presented, and no, almost no reaction for weeks from the usual forces which are dominating the public opinion. Didn't we have quite a large "anti war” movement in this country with a certain clout? It is completely integrated, though. The opposition by the so-called left becomes weaker and weaker because it is in cahoots with the social democracy, because it is itself green in its substance. Every force which here is referred to as the left or the new left, as for example the so-called ecology movement, the human rights movement, in reality adapts completely to this new belligerent policy.

This is even harder, more distinct in July 2001 than in the war against Yugoslavia in 1999. The ecology movement, the anti nuclear movement, the same sex liberators and what else has shaken this scene, is fit into this imperialist concept and does not make a sound. This is no wonder as they themselves absolutely get along with the international exploitation, the translocation of an important part of the heavy bodily work to the peoples and nations of the former colonial world, furthermore to Eastern Europe, resulting finally in the deprivation of rights of wage labor all around the globe. This whole political scene which poses as a left one and as "opposed to any form of repression” strives in the first place to safeguard this society against a possible spreading of revolutions, and it strives to make the revolutionary left blind for the basic contradictions governing politics.

One must read it twice: Fischer, formerly an "autonomist" (activist of an anarchist current labeling itself "autonomists”, tr.s remark),in July 2001 is criticizing the Christian Democrats (CDU) for inadequately following NATO's demands. The CDU raises only minor matters, as the inadequate military finances and the need for a longer preparation, but nevertheless Fischer admonishes to proceed with decision and to be strictly loyal to NATO! The pretension in this strategy is that one wants to collect weapons, but nobody believes that it will be confined to that, nobody believes either that it will take only thirty days.

Immediately following is the statement that, in case it should take longer, one has to prepare for more and for a larger deployment, and already talk is about tens of thousands of soldiers from Europe who are to take part there and who have to take into account direct fighting. And how many people show off! Schroeder, the chancellor, is all the time standing up for unconditionally safeguarding the Federal Republic's loyalty to NATO. One really has to ask what are his afterthoughts. The foreign minister Fischer, the former "autonomist” raises his finger accordingly, and the pacifist Ruehe, a former defense minister from the CDU, together with Fischer says Yes to this whole basic strategy. And still on the 23th of July the Greens decide that they basically support a deployment of the German military in the Balkans based on NATO's schemes, the so-called voluntary handing over of the weapons by the NLA.

Where were the "autonomists", the so-called undogmatic people who for years came to the fore in so-called struggles when the seriousness of the matters was not at all yet comparable to now? How does it come that exactly when the Federal Republic actually is marching into the imperialist war, they are getting more and more quiet, and the hotter the matter becomes, the part of them which is really ready for action against it is getting smaller and smaller?
Not for the first time, along with the well-known rightist opportunists also anarchistic and so-called autonomist forces take such a position during the imperialist war.

And the objectives behind this war are not to be underestimated. It is not only about the Balkans. It is about the European armies, those of the Federal Republic included, getting a safeguarding role in the Balkans for a possible concept against Russia, it is further about assigning to the Federal Republic and other European states a backing into the direction of Eastern Europe while the US concentrate on the Pacific, simultaneously by their armament taking the whole European and Russian space into their scope. This is o n e of the options. From this deployment in the Balkans further conflicts may arise in the future, for example between the European states, like such deployments in foreign states having already several times provoked conflicts between larger states. And this country because of the political structures which rule it is looking on
.

And then massive demonstrations of the Macedonians against the Western states, the US, Great Britain and the Federal Republic arise. They accuse these states of favoring the Albanian NLA people, the Albanian separatism which is tied to social reaction. It becomes clear that this is not going to be a walkover. Now voices from the governing party itself are to be heard which criticize the foolhardiness of this concept. More use of peaceful methods is demanded in order to push through the European interests. Thus the Schroeder-Fischer government comes under pressure.

Now it is increasingly feared that a second Balkans deployment could ruin all the positions built up there in the meantime. Additionally it could happen that Russia and China, as well as India are again alarmed. Therefore strong diplomatic efforts ensue, above all by the US, aiming at calming and including, not only because of the rocket defense system but also the situation in the Balkans. Bush meets Putin, Powell goes to China, the US attempt to gain time for their strategic agenda, but the acid test at this neuralgic point cannot be avoided.

Thus the imperialist policy in Europe has itself created its calamities, and NATO, which remains the main military safeguard of the international exploitation runs into important contradictions itself. One thing is certain in any case: this continuing conflict in the Balkans must be debated on quite a different scale than up to now. The attempt by the political parties and the media to depict this deployment as the completely "normal” thing must decidedly be attacked.

RedNE -ks 
29.7.2001
 

(Translation of the German original)

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From the Press

From the "Frankfurter Rundschau" July 7, 2001:

"Berlin pushes ahead with deployment in Macedonia

Scharping: Bundeswehr mission longer than 30 days

Independently from the unclear situation in Macedonia the federal government sets the agenda for a possible deployment of the Bundeswehr for a voluntary disarmament of the Albanian fighters. After a new cease-fire had come into effect the situation largely stayed calm during Friday. The night before there had been single fights, during which unknown persons also shot at a convoy of German KFOR soldiers.”

Karl Feldmeyer in a commentary by the conservative "Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung" of July 13, 2001:

"Whereas officially only the collection of weapons in Macedonia is on the agenda, off the committees there is already talk about what the alliance could do if there is no political agreement and the Macedonian conflict should expand. The considerations aim at the deployment of a 35.000 strong NATO force for preventing fights between Albanian and Slav Macedonians.”

From the unanimous statement by the Greens of July 23, 2001:

"The council of NATO decided on June 29, 2001 a scenario for a possible military deployment of NATO troops. The NATO council describes the necessary conditions for that:
- existence of general framework agreement for the political solution of the problems in Macedonia
- agreement about a cease-fire and its modalities
- self-obligation by the NLA to voluntarily to hand over the weapons, parallel to which the Macedonian government should oblige itself to disarm the armed Slavo-Macedonian civilians.
In this we see also the necessary preconditions for a deployment of the Bundeswehr in Macedonia. We are firmly convinced that only if the three preconditions are fulfilled a NATO deployment can have the desired positive result. NATO is confronted with the task of preventing a cementing of ethnical settlement borders. Therefore a sensitive approach in the region is required. We therefore ask the conflicting sides to take part in a peaceful solution at last. The core of and the difference to the previous deployments of the Bundeswehr would be the voluntariness and the agreement of the conflicting sides concerned. The letter by president Trajkovsky of June 14, 2001, to NATO secretary general Robertson in which he asks for support of his 'plan and program for overcoming the crisis in Macedonia' provides a fundament. Only in this way a situation can be prevented in which NATO gets in between the two conflicting sides. The appeal for help by the Macedonian government is the precondition in order to get a legitimization in terms of international law.
5. Such a deployment would not be a combat mission but a peacekeeping step.”

(Quotations translated from the German originals)