ЈОВАН ИЛИЌ: Балканскиот геополитички јазол и српското прашање

The Balkan Geopolitical Knot and the Serbian Question

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Main Attributes of the Serbian Question

In order to fully understand and analyse the problem, we will attempt to make a definition of the Serbian question. In our opinion it consists of five elements which are closely related and conditioned. They are:

• The aspirations, wishes, needs that the maximum possible number of the Serbs in the Balkans and the Danube valley live in one, their own state. This is a question of self-determination. The Serbs must have equal rights as other peoples in the former Yugoslavia.
• The need that the Serbian state should become a democratic state, which means that its interior order is to be based on parliamentary democracy, market economy, law obedience and the protection of human rights.
• The demand that the Serbs behave in a democratic way towards non-Serbs in their state and towards non-Serbs in other states. This means that the Serbs as a people and as individuals shall observe ethnic and other features and interests of other peoples.
• The demand that the Serbs as a people and Serbia as their state are acknowledged equal rights and accepted as a constructive member of the international community. In other words, it is indispensable that other peoples and other states behave in a humane just and equal way towards the Serbs, regardless of where they live.
• The demand for an inherent unity of the Serbian people based on the principles, needs, and demands listed above as the four elements of the Serbian question.

With regard to the contents of the Serbian question and main geopolitical and economic directrices of Serbia - its functional environs, the Serbian question could be satisfactorily solved in the following way:

1. To allow the Serbian people their own administration on its historical and ethnic territories, also allowing other Yugoslav peoples the same rights. The Serbian people, compared to other Yugoslav peoples, has an additional right to self-determination and uniting because it was exposed to genocidal extermination many times. The Serbian people, united in this way, would be a key factor of stability in the Balkans as it is not in its nature to ill-treat and tyrannise other peoples. Since a large part of the Serbian ethnic area lies west of the Drina river, the western geopolitical and historical directrix is given primacy over other directrices because it is a symbol of the union of the Serbian countries.

2. In the process of delineating the Serbian ethnic area on the territories of the former Yugoslav republics of Croatia and B&H the first principles to be applied shall be the ethnic and economic ones. It will be necessary to take account of and reconcile to the utmost the interests of the Croats, Serbs and Muslims. Immediately after the cease of war enmities and delineation, it will be necessary to initiate extensive economic and other co-operation, so that the available common natural resources and the already built infrastructure systems could be used to the utmost as well as market economy mechanisms and co-operation in science and culture.

3. Inside Serbia and the F.R.Y. and in the whole area of the former SFRY and the Balkans it will be necessary to verify the interior state order on a democratic civil-political and ethnic principle. This principle reads that the main conductor of all activities in a state is Man, individual, citizen, freely associated in his union of interests. The second component of the same principle stipulates that, if necessary, equal ethnic communities as collective subjects may exist and allow the accomplishment of a series of their specific anthropogeographic characteristics and interests.

4. Since Serbia, the homeland of the Serbian people, is located in the central part of the Balkans, in the area in which the main natural trajectories and anthropogenic lines and knots of the infrastructure are located, it has a marked transit function for the neighbouring and other states. At the same time, as a landlocked country it has great need to communicate with other countries. That is why its own geopolitical communication cross is operative on the territory of Serbia. That cross - knot contains, besides the said western directrix, the northern, southern and south-west ones. The northern directrix enables connections of Serbia with the economically most important part of Europe (Central Europe) and is a land bridge to Ukraine and Russia (branching in Budapest). The south-west connection means deepening the relations between Serbia and Montenegro and the egress of Serbia to the sea, and the southern one interconnects the three Orthodox states - Serbia, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, and Greece and gives Serbia an egress to the Aegean sea. Other directrices are also important - the western one (the Sava river) which connects Serbia with Croatia, Slovenia, Alpine and Western Europe and the south-east one (the Nišava-Morava river valleys) that connects Serbia with Bulgaria, Turkey and other areas in the Orient.

5. The Serbs should endeavour to realise better and more universal relations with all the neighbouring countries and peoples within the shortest possible period. Special attention should be paid to the reinforcement of the relations between Serbs, Croats, Muslin-is and Albanians. As for other countries, every possible effort should be made to restore normal interstate relations. Without co-operating with the most developed countries we would remain at the periphery of policies, economics, science and technology and would be an object rather than the subject in international relations. Cvijic says, "The development of Serbia (and Yugoslavia - added by the author) should be in accord both with the prevailing general ideas in the world and with the objectives of our national work."^[18]

What are the Solutions? The Balkans to the Balkan Peoples!

1. The leading establishments of the Balkan peoples and states should be much more constructive, rational and tolerant when realising and solving ethnic, political, economic and other problems in the Balkans.

2. In the former Balkan socialist countries the post-communist reconstruction of the society and policies should be completed as soon as possible, i.e. a comprehensive parliamentary democracy, legality, and market economy should be introduced.

3. In resolving national questions and in shaping new states it is best to apply a combined civil-political and ethnic principle. When delineating states, primary principles should be: ethnic, functional, economic, and historical. The principle of democratic regionalism will be also useful.

4. The Balkan peoples should take their destinies into their own hands and regain a position of the subject in international relations after 640 years. The state boundaries need not be changed as they were internationally determined and recognised after the Balkan wars and after World War I.

5. The Balkan peninsula lost its geopolitical and geostrategic significance it had in the period of the "cold war" because of the changes in the key social and political relations in Europe (disappearance of the Eastern bloc, the USSR and Warsaw Treaty). It has no longer major significance for the international capital since it does not possess any geo-resources of world importance and because its productive and consumptive powers are proportionally small (45 million inhabitants with rather low per capita incomes). In this information-spreading globalistic period there is no need for conquering and formations of spheres of interest by means of methods of the 19th and the first half of the 20th century. It means the time has come "to leave the Balkans to the Balkan peoples". This action should be aided by external powers, primarily those that have participated in the formation of the Balkan geopolitical cross and knot for centuries. Upon this gesture of the foreign factors, the Balkan peoples and states should arrange their internal relations in such a way that they are compatible with requirements and needs of the contemporary world of culture, civilisation, science and technology, with full respect for domiciliar ethnic, historical, and other specifics. Through negotiations and settlements, they should responsibly, honestly, and conscientiously endeavour to meet maximum territorial, ethnic, economic, and other interests of all the Balkan peoples. This can be best realised by applying the combined civil-political and ethnic principle in shaping nations and states. If necessary, the principle of democratic regionalism, including t1)e so called ethnic enclaves (enclaves), can be applied.

In fact, the application of the principle of demographic regionalism and the system of ethnic enclave (exclave) with appropriate autonomy can help to solve complex problems that arose in the Yugoslav area and in the Balkans as a whole due to ethnic, economic, cultural and political, territorial, and structural non-homogeneity and dynamic non-uniformity. There is a large number of scientists and public servants who are of the opinion that the democratic regionalism will gain in significance in the forthcoming social and political order and territorial organisation of Europe (Europe region). One should be aware of the two simultaneous global processes: 1) overall merging ("global village") and 2) democratic regionalisation. The latter means that smaller local communities, even in the same nation (regional or subnational communities), should be allowed to resolve their social, economic, cultural, and political problems by themselves, naturally not at the expense of the whole and other regional communities. An illustration of this is, for example, the wish of the Istrians to have their specific regional autonomy inside the Republic of Croatia.

The Balkan peoples and states may, if necessary, realise an overall or partial territorial federative or confederative system on the Balkans. Namely, the Balkan peoples should become their own lords after 640 years and change their status of an object to the status of the subject in international relations.The term "Balkanisation" should fundamentally change its meaning - instead of conflicts between the Balkan states and their subordination to foreign powers, the term should mean fruitful co-operation and active, equitable participation in international relations. Somewhat modified Scandinavian model of interstate relations should be implemented in the Balkans.

6. In the acute Yugoslav crisis it is most important to resolve the Serbo-Croat relations. The starting fact should be that the Serbs experienced two genocides organised by the Croatian state in the last 50 years. The Croats have the right to form their own state. The same right must be given to the Serbs. This means that the Serbs on the territory of the former SR of Croatia on which they have absolute majority (Republic of Serb Krajina) should be given a chance to decide with whom they want to live. Other, the so-called "urban" Serbs in the Republic of Croatia should enjoy all the rights stipulated for national minorities in international standards, provided that the international control for the implementation of them is instituted.

The Serbo-Croatian relations extend to Bosnia and Herzegovina and to Vojvodina. These questions can be settled by negotiations. Success would be rapid if 1) the Croats recognise the Serbs west of the Drina as a people equal to them and 2) if they refrain from unduly claiming and annexing to their state the Serbian ethnic areas west of the Drina river. With fulfilling these requirements, the Serbo-Croatian relations would be rapidly and essentially resolved. Later, it would be relatively easy to establish economic, cultural, sports and other relations, links and dependencies. This time the Serbo-Croatian relations should be shaped in a satisfactory way for both sides, implementing, if need be, the process of population resettlement and exchange of the territories. If these relations were settled the Serbian and the Croatian question would be resolved to a great extent.

The Croats in Serbia (Vojvodina) have never been threatened by the Serbian side on the basis of ethnic differences. They were and they are equal citizens of the Republic of Serbia.

7. The civil war in Bosnia and Herzegovina showed that the unitary B&H cannot exist. Solutions are possible on the grounds of the Geneva Agreement on Bosnia and Herzegovina. Nevertheless, if fruitful understanding in B&H and elsewhere is desired, it is necessary for individuals and members of different collectives to have equal rights. This particularly applies to the three ethnic collectivises in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The war in B&H broke out because the equality of the peoples was impaired (disrespect of consensus). After delineation, relationships on equal terms should be nurtured as well as the regard and respect for justified interests of the three peoples.

8. National minorities in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia do not have reasons for revolt on national grounds because they enjoy all minority rights formulated by the international standards. And more than that. The leading establishments in the F.R.Y., Serbia and Montenegro, should endeavour in the forthcoming period and make the adherents of all the national minorities in the F.R.Y. feel it as their homeland. On the other hand the adherents of the national minorities should show by their loyal and constructive efforts that the F.R.Y. is their only homeland.

9. The Federal units in the F.R.Y., the Republic of Serbia and the Republic of Montenegro, namely the Serbs and Montenegrins as the constitutive equal peoples of the same ethnic origin should constantly promote their relations and connections thus enhancing the prosperity of their fatherland. Ardent resistance to any form of separatism and secessionism should be effectuated as it is against the interests of Montenegro and Serbia.

10. The F.R.Y., and Serbia in particular, should continue to work towards the union of all the Serbian countries, without harming the interests of the neighbouring peoples.

11. We should think thoroughly what awaits us in future. The area of the former SFRY and of the Balkans as a whole is inhabited by small peoples. Because of their geopolitical position and other circumstances described above, the Balkans were either occupied or subdued to foreign influences in the past. Now that we are quarrelling again many want to enter our area.

It would be very good if reason and common interest prevailed in the process of approaching and regaining trust among the Yugoslav peoples. The foundation of relations among the peoples shall be Man, citizen, overall equality of peoples regardless of their national, religious, social, and other affiliations.

The elements that unite us shall be emphasised just as the actual and progressive elements in the time to come. Democratic principles shall be realised, not only proclaimed.

(Source: The Serbian Questions in The Balkans, University of Belgrade, publisher - Faculty of Geography, Belgrade 1995)