"Fools' Crusade" Chapter Five [4]

THE NEW IMPERIAL MODEL

2. VICTIMS AND VENGEANCE

Johnstone treats us to a little sociology by way of an introduction; here we are informed that Albanian society--being traditional in nature--is prone to ideals of vengeance. She quotes sources calling Albanians as having a "culture of hatred" and a "culture of spite." The focus on blood feuds and tribal concepts of honor underlines this introductory paragraph.

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THE MYTH OF THE SERBIAN MEMORANDUM

Four pages in which Johnstone argues that the infamous memorandum of the Serbian Academy has been completely misconstrued by anti-Serb Croats and Albanians. It wasn't, she assures us, any sort of manifesto, certainly not one advocating ethnic cleansing. An argument that she bolsters by:

1) claiming that the authors were sincerely, and without guile, merely addressing the underlying weaknesses of post-Tito Yugoslavia; and
2) ignoring the context in which the memorandum was written.

The entire section consists of little else; one is either willing to suspend disbelief and believe her, or one is not. I don't feel compelled to give her interpretation the benefit of the doubt. At any rate, we already know who she finds blameless. What is of interest in this chapter is the venom she directs at ethnic Albanians; we will get there soon enough.