Still A Million Lives Away

Whether Bosnian Muslim or Croat
you’ve got good reason to applaud
capture of the Butcher of Srebrenica.

Pause and recollect who made war
on whom 15 years ago. Opportunists
driven to seek independence from
Yugoslavia? Or merely tragic views
of ethnic purity with sad histories
reaching back beyond sacked and
ravished village communities which
they were supposed to protect?

For that, amongst others, you can
thank Dr (poet) Radovan Karadzic –
and alongside him General Ratko
Mladic. And for Sarajevo.

But if you are a Serb you may see
things a little differently depending
upon where you stand. You plan on
joining European Community – a
pre-condition and a good reason to
betray Karadzic it would seem. Add
Mladic as a bonus and most likely
they’ll agree to anything. This bit
I know that I can understand;

on the other hand if Karadzic and
Mladic had succeeded would you be
so magnanimous in joining hands
with ethnicities crushed in brutal
cleansing? When guilt and wealth
are weighed equally – equality is
still a million lives away.
© 23 July 2008, I. D. Carswell