WHAT ERRORS WERE MADE IN THE PSYCHOLOGICAL ACTION TAKEN IN THE BALKANS BY THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY, FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF THE CRIMINOLOGICAL CONSEQUENCES IN SERBIA TODAY

Mila Alečković-Nikolić^*

Institute of Criminological and Sociological Research, Belgrade

The aim of the paper is to call attention to the psychological, historical and political aspects of the Balkan problem. What errors were made in the psychological action taken in the Balkans by the international community? The question is how to achieve the comprehension of the historical conflict through a psycho-social analysis on one side and a geopolitical analysis on the other. The question is how to achieve political universality in the world of American reductionistic hegemony, with permanent economic wars through the instrumentalisation of Islam. Finally, the aim of our analysis is to understand why the psychological warr failed in the Balkans and what are the consequences in the field of criminology today.

KEY WORDS: psychological war / suppression / pavlovian reflex / criminological consequences.

^* Email: anmila@sezampro.yu

We will address several problems faced by present-day Serbia, which prevent reconciliation among the Balkan peoples. To the extent the policy conducted by the Serbian government over a period of fifteen years was unfortunate, the position of the international community and Europe was often maladjusted to Balkan reality.

Let us begin by listing the errors made by the international community, in the name of democracy, that is, in an attemp to "solve the Balkan conflicts": Change of the subject; Deliberate confusion over the regime and the people; Emotional "Pavlovian reflex", applied due to the ignorance, that is, the lack of ethno-psychological knowledge; Suppression.

Change of the SubjectTo penetrate the Peninsula, establish new military bases, plunder the wealth of the soil, use qualified yet low-paid work force, build the bridge to the new „silk road" after destroying the bridges on the Danube, continue to stir up ethnic conflicts, weaken Eastern Europe economically so as to become even more dependent, get hold of the wealth of the Caspian Lake and Central Asia... It seems as if we are in a book by Zbigniew Brzezinski: Will this big "economic project", which is contrary to the peaceful policy pursued by the United Nations, be now facilitated or aggravated?

During the past 15 years, the international community or, to be more exact, the powers which are called by that name, regarded the Serbs as the occupiers in the Balkans and Kosovo. If we exempt the groups of Albanians that moved in secretly, and if we bear in mind their migrations to Germany and Turkey, the number of Albanians in Kosovo can be estimated at about 50 per cent of the population at a maximum (of which 3 per cent accounts for Catholics); 30 per cent accounts for "non-Serbs" and "non-Albanians" or, in other words, various ethnic groups (Roma, Aromanians, Vlachs, Goranci, ’Egyptians’ and even Cherkesians), who had good relations with Orthodox Serbs. The conclusion: the view that Albanians constitute 90 per cent of the population was wrong from the very beginning.

Deliberate Confusion over the Regime and the PeopleThe psychological action against Serbia as the aggressor in the last war was, despite the mobilization of large resources, poorly conducted: the change of the subject: deliberate (conscious) confusion over the cause and effect of the war; deliberate confusion (by the Allies) over the Serbian regime and the people; emotional Pavlovian reflex, applied with much ignorance and the lack of knowledge about the Balkan mentalities and, finally, psychological and historical suppression – the favourite 200 years old child of the continent or, in other words, all those earthly characteristics of psychological action, cherishing an aggressive approach and reflecting a big gap in knowledge and general culture at the end of the 20th century, brought about the disasters in Korea, Vietnam, Afghanistan, Cyprus, Somalia, the Great Lakes region in Africa, Nicaragua, Iraq and, recently, in Serbia, despite the good will of the United Nations.

Since the very beginning of the war in the Balkans and Kosovo, it was insisted on the effects of the conflict and not on its causes. Alas, to those who, in the wealth of their memory, have some knowledge about Kant’s theory, there is no need to explain why only the causes are important when one should speak about guilt and judge about it. Consequently, we know the main cause of a great part of that hypocritical war. According to General Pierre-Marie Gallois¹, that was the wish of the military-industrial complex of the world’s greatest power to penetrate the Peninsula; establish new military bases (like those in Grahovo in Bosnia, Krivolac in Macedonia and Bondstill in Kosovo); plunder the wealth of the region; exploit qualified yet low- paid work force; open the "bridge to the new Silk Road" by involving Turkey which is conveniently located between the Balkans and the Caucasus. Therefore, it is necessary to stir up ethnic conflicts with the help of corrupted local leaders, cut off the bridges on the Danube, weaken Eastern Europe economically, thus making it increasingly more dependent, and stir up the manipulated groups against Russia. It is the question of getting hold of the riches of the Caspian Lake and Central Asia which, as we can see, is already underway. As for the last important aim – to take possession of the region rich in oil, gas and mines for one more century of life on Earth, General Gallois and some other morally pure persons have already written enough.

¹ Pierre-Marie Gallois Le sang du pétrole, éd.l'Âge d'homme, 1990. et 2003.

It is out of question that this wealth should not be exploited. But, this can only be done with the consent of those on whose territory it is located and not by groups of the world’s predators, at the will of American parasitic national-capitalism. That is the real cause, the real geopolitical context of wars in the Balkans. The rest is derived from the bribability, ambitions and inability of local leaders.

Unfortunately, massacres in almost all parta of the former Yugoslav territory, Albanian irredentisim, killed or abducted soldiers and civilians on all sides are only the tragic Consequences of this main two-faced Cause.

There is only one psychological and moral question that is now posed to the world’s democracies and the United Nations: is one American life worth more than one Iraqi, Jordanian, Syrian, Serbian or Albanian life?

Deliberate confusion over the regime and the people resulted in the hypocrisy of the so-called punishment of the Serbian regime by destroying the cities, civilian targets and hospitals. On the other side, confusion over the Albanian people and UCK leaders was also a fatal error.

We can state today that no sooner had Milosevic been deposed from power than the same pressure was tested by putting the blame on the new Serbian President and then exposing him to various pressures.

"If you are against multinational companies, you are a nationalist, that is, a fascist!, explained Henri Gobard in his La guerre culturelle. If you are against transnational or national-American capital and low-paid work force benefiting only the big business bourgeoisie, you are a nationalist! If you are against military bases in your country (France, for example, has no US base in its territory), you are a nationalist! If you are for the preservation of your language and against the deportation of foreign workers, if you dare to speak about your specificity, your culture, your identity – you are a nationalist! If you oppose the exploitation of mines in Kosovo by the Allies, that is because you are a nationalist! That goes no endlessly, concludes Henri Gobard in his book La guerre culturele². It should be noted that in the period from the arrival of the "forces of the international community", the American and other ones, in Kosovo up to 2000 (only seven years ago), about one thousand Serbs were killed and as many abducted. In one year, after 10 June 1999, that is, the arrival of the KFOR and UNMIK forces, 1027 persons were killed, of whom 902 were Serbs. Let us add 200 people killed by NATO bombings and 7000 wounded. The UN Resolution 1244 is not implemented. Ninety sacral buildings, Serbian churches and monasteries, were destroyed only in that period; drugs, prostition, arms trafficking, trading in the icons stolen from the churches (it is estimated that there are about 10,000 of them) and, finally, trading in human organs removed from the dead as well as from the living (hence such a great number of abducted Serbs – about one thousand). In the words of Jacques Chirac, those are the moments or places "from which the Republic retreats" ("les zones d'où la République se retire").

Causing the Emotional Pavlovian Reflex Due to Ignorance or the Lack of Ethno-psychiatric KnowledgeLet us say "Pavlovian" just here, because everything started with this Russian physician (medic). Skinner, Gatri, Bandura³and other American scientists (psychology of behaviour) have developed various psycholgical techniques of "social manipulation", inspired by the genius of this Russian physician. Unfortunately, if one does not know the foundation of Pavlov’s theory, the results are logistic and human disasters, like in Iraq or in the former Yugoslavia. The modesty of all ethno-psychiatrists, who are familiar with the advantages of experiencing various psychological mentalities (the legacy on the basis of which the United Nations was conceived and formed), understands perfectly well why the analysts who knew (or did not know) that the Serbian people was in good relations with history, that it is proud and brave, with a certain instinct for territory (this is why it had its state in the early 8th century already) and why it did not react to the allegation that it was an "occupier". It is evident that rhetoric was wrong.

²Henri Gobard La guerre culturelle, Iere éd Copernic, 1979.

³Albert Bandura L'apprentissage social, Mardaga 1995.

The former Yugoslav triumvirate in power had the problems in carrying out necessary reforms due to a difficult economic situation after the ten-year period of war and embargo, 78 days of bombings of the infrastructure and increased corruption in its circles. Naturally, like always in history, on the eve of great political changes, the inability of the old structures becomes evident and the arrogance of bureaucrats, in addition to their inability, causes disgust. The people endures the apathy of the disintegrating authorities and it is clearly felt that everything will fall apart.

Disgust, which I have just mentioned, refers actually to the question of Sense: who can be trusted in this corrupt and contaminated world, which could not, or did not want to prevent the burning of the cities and destruction of schools and hospitals, whereby only one authoritarian figure benefited from the misfortune of the people. Who could now be a judge in this region?

The national opposition and the parliamentary majority in Serbia were on the same line of defence against the NATO criminal bombings. That was a direct result of the unsuccessful psychological war in the Balkans.

SuppressionSince the time of the ancient Greeks it has been known that politics and morality are strictly separated and that they have different destinies. We also bear in mind that important elections whll be held soon in several Western countries. And it has been known since Tocqueville (Alexis de Tockville) already that democracy and a "tyranny of the majority" are necessary until they become self-destructive.

American officers forgot the bombing of Serbia after bombing Iraq. In a way, the United United Nations was betrayed. Like in some other countries, from which they are leaving after an armed conflict, the most powerful ones are now creating a schysophrenic climate in Serbia, dividing it into two parts: the good and bad. This is again a fatal error and psychological inability to understand the mentality of the other, at the moment when Serbia needs peace and the whole Balkan region – stability.

Neither the Serbs nor Albanian civilians have forgotten the bombings. The Vietnam syndrom could really occur, because in most cases the success of self-suppression, as we are reminded in the clinical world of virtual reality, can be only relative. Short and artificial. That is the unavoidable destiny of every psychological illusion. Spinosa was right at least in one respect: one of God’s faces is certainly Nature.

Apart from casette bombs and bombs containing depleted uranium, the NATO forces also used phosphorus and napalm in order to scorch the land and definitely destroy the spirit of sincere Americanophilism in the Balkans. Such an outcome was already predicted by Spengler. This spirit will never be the same. By obeying the orders of the Pentagon, despite the ideals of the United Nations, the Western democracies excluded themselves in a way from the Balkan conflict (this error was not repeated in Iraq). Despite intellectuals, workers and students from our Serbian diaspora, who have been living in America and Western Europe for years, despite their wish to turn the page and begin the common Christian life again, despite the market and exchange needs, the feeling of bitterness will remain in their minds and in necessary cooperation in the future. It seems that psychological suppression does not function in Balkan culture.

In the Balkans, the contemporary European is viewed as a ’man of barter, trade and exchange, workshop and product a middleman, an interpreter of material horizontalism" (Philippe Forget, Gilles Polycarpe⁴). As a banker or, better said, a bourgois. Close to the words: consumption, tax, invoice, violation, management, statement, confirmation, complaint, tax payer... Such a being does not receive visitors; it is not inspired; it does not communicate with the world, except by cell phone, computer screen or "single currency" It cannot be attributed a great moral or other depth and it is doubted that Salvation could come from it. But, we are also aware of the fact that we cannot be completely deprived of its products⁵.("Les réseaux et l’infini", Economica, Paris 1998).

How to Revive the Ideals of the United Nations and Reconciliation Among the Balkan Peoples? How to revive the psychological and ethnopsychiatric approach on politics and geopolitics?

Hoping that this is possible, one event is probably more than symbolic: in a NATO country, in Greece, on the square which is well known from all history textbooks, like in the unpoisoned time of the ancient Athenians, the economic wars at the end of the 20th century were condemned loudly and fearlessly by the free, unbriddled, unbribable and morally straight world.

We predict what is now needed in the Balkans: the preservation of the civil peace and spiritual unity of our peoples; eradication of the criminal corruption of the political classes; adequate channelling of the national sentiment; solving of the historical problem between Serbs and Albanians and the artificial problem between Serbs and Montenegrins, two branches of the same people. This is a big task before God. Faced with the persistent hypocrisy of the political world, one should not impatienaly look for the justice of emotions, that is the weakness of the Balkan people.

We will also have to "remain cautious" about the abuse of democratic freedom, concealing the increasingly worse subordination of the people to the forces of money and transnational companies, through the weakening of the peoples by stupidifying cultural productions.

⁴ Philippe Forget, Gilles Polycarpe Le réseau et l'infini, éd Economica, Paris, 1997

⁵ Les réseaux et l’infini", Economica, Paris 1998

What is also expected from us in the Balkans is the ultima ratio of the countries, reconstruction of cities and, naturally, request the removal of foreign military bases.

The fate of the Balkans still remains unpredictible. God sees the continuation but waits, as Tolstoy would say. This existential uncertainty is especially important for the region – the crossroads at which, at one time, the Great Schism divided the Christians, at which the conquering Islam was stopped, at which the cold war was blazing a trail; the dangerous crossroads are not only the key to the future of the Balkans, but also to the future of Europe and the rest of the world.

The continuity of history is only one of many interpretations. According to Bachelard, Brunschvieg or Kuhn⁶, couldn’t we also mention jumps, shifts and returns?

We can state in conclusion that the history is returning before our eyes, but one should only have History so as to understand that and fight.

The Balkan population will live for a long time, despite the wars it has experienced. "Death does not exist, there are only migrations", said the Serbian author Miloš Crnjanski.

And reconciliation among the peoples will come slowly.

Let us quote Malraux that the era in which we live will be the era of the revival of the psychological approach on politics and geopolitics or it will not exist.

⁶Gaston Bachelard, Léon Brenschwig, Thomas Kuhn (philosophie de la science, philosophy of science)

LITERATURA

(1) Albert Bandura (1995) L'auto-efficacité. Psychologie scientifique et développement personnel, Edition De Boeck-Wesmael

(2) Alvin et Heidi Toffle (1994) Guerre et contre guerre. Fayard: Paris

(3) B.F. Skinner (1981) Selection by consequences, Science, 213, 501-514.

(4) B.F. Skinner (1957) Verbal Behavior, Copley Publishing Group, 478.

(5) B.F. Skinner, C.B. Ferster (1957) Schedules of Reinforcement. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall. 741 p.

(6) D. Radovanović, A. Bulatović (2005) Korupcija . Beograd: Institut za kriminološka i sociološka istraživanja.

(7) Daniel Gaonach (1995) Manuel de Psychologie pour l'enseignement, Hachette

(8) Gene Sharp (1995) La guerre civilisee, Presses universitaires de Grenoble.

(9) Henri Gobard (1979) La guerre culturelle, ed. Copernic

(10) Liang Qiao, Xiangsui Wang (2003) La guerre hors limites, ed Rivages.

(11) M. Nikolić Alečković (2002) Strah u srpskoj tradiciji, u O domu i iskonu, etnopsihološki eseji, Gutembergova galaksija Philippe Forget, Gilles Polycarpe (1998): Les réseaux et l infini, Economica, Paris

(12) Pierre Marie Gallois (1989) Le sang du pétrole, l'Age d'homme, Paris

POGREŠNO VOĐEN PSIHOLOŠKI RAT NA BALKANU I NJEGOVE POSLEDICE U RAVNI KRIMINALITETA

U radu Pogrešno vođen psihološki rat na balkanu i njegove posledice u ravni kriminaliteta analiziraju se najpre aksiološki, psihološki i politički aspekti balkanskog konflikta. Zatim se analiziraju Metodi pokušaja delovanja na strane u konfliktu (a naročito na srpsku stranu) koje je tokom godina preduzimala internacionalna zajednica. U radu se pokazuje kako su i zašto pogrešno vođen psihološki rat, odnosno nedovoljno poznavanje osnovnih psiholoških zakonitosti uslovljavanja i razuslovljavanja (kako prostog, tako i kognitivnog i emotivnog) od strane 'internacionalne zajednice' i nepoznavanje etnopsiholoških okolnosti čitave balkanske regije, umesto da smanje, upravo povećali kriminalitet ovog područja (ubistva, progoni izbeglice, trgovina ikonama, drogom, ljudima, ljudskim organima itd..). Zaključak: nikakvo međunarodno političko delovanje nije moguće bez poznavanja bazičnih zakonitosti psihologije učenja i psihosocijalne dinamike.

KLJUČNE REČI: etnopsihološki / Pavlovljevsko uslovljavanje / potiskivanje / kriminalitet