Sunday, February 02, 2014

Ecoutez, les Serbes!

If I seem to be on RT every other day, that's only because I am. This past Friday I did another live interview on the situation in Ukraine, a recorded one for later, and another recorded segment for their Arabic service. And in the process let one cat out of the bag.

You see, as of January 1, I've been President of the R. Archibald Reiss Institute for Serbian Studies, a nonprofit intended to challenge the falsified history (and media imagery) of the Serbs. It was named after the criminal investigator who came from Switzerland in 1914 to document Austro-Hungarian atrocities in Serbia. Reiss fell in love with the people and the country, went into exile with them in 1915, and settled in Belgrade after the war, helping organize the Red Cross and improve the police. The title of this post was the title of his 1928 testament - alas, unpublished for many years - that gave a frank assessment of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, renamed Yugoslavia the year (1929) Reiss passed away.

I've been meaning to make the announcement here, as well as via other outlets, once our website was up and running. But as the page came online mid-last week, I was neck-deep in paperwork. Friday's RT appearance seemed as good a time as any, and would reach a greater audience as well. So in keeping with my tradition to shoot from the hip (for better or for worse, my interviews on RT are never scripted), I had them use my new title and affiliation.

Do bear in mind that when I post here, or on Sivi Soko, or on Antiwar.com, I do it in my personal capacity. Anything Institute-related will be published there.

The Institute's mission is to challenge the lies, fabrications and fictions told about the Serbs and Yugoslavia, and contribute to the accurate history thereof, for the sake of better understanding, justice, and peace in a corner of the world where they've been absent for far too long.

Do we really think the truth will matter? Oh yes. Because the real cause of death, hatred and suffering is an edifice of lies erected by the would-be conquerors and despots alike, a sham they have created to dress up the wastelands they've made and called peace.

"And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." (John 8:32)

7 comments:

Nikole said...

This is wonderful news. Fighting the disinformation with sporadic letters doesn't have enough clout. As witnesses die the lies gain strength. Thank you for this new venture. What else can the rest of us do to support it?

CubuCoko said...

There are several ways to help the Institute. Spread the word of our existence. Donate (since we are a non-profit) and buy our publications, once the publishing arm gets rolling. Alert us when you spot anti-Serb propaganda, so we may respond. Where there's a will, there's a way.

I was just thinking. . . . said...

Something like this is loooong overdue. I have long been wondering why someone didn't start something for the Serbs akin to the Jews' Anti-Defamation League. I especially thought that someone like the Serbian Bar Association should start it. I thought about doing something like it myself but I am not Serb and I thought that this was something for the Serbs themselves to do. Congratulations and I hope that it has some effect!

Defender said...

Bravo, Nebojsa. My wife's family lives on ulica Arcibalda Rajsa in Belgrade and they are big fans of his work. You have the wholehearted support of the Karanovic family. I would be happy to assist in any researching/writing capacity if needed.

Milk said...

Have you seen this article on North Kosovo?
http://www.vice.com/read/kosovo-isnt-a-great-place-to-be-a-politician

Clearly an article aimed at more than the typical foreign policy audience, based on the publisher. I think those are the most relevant, because they are about perpetuating 'fact-independent' myths to continue manipulating emotional responses.


I liked the caption about the billboard celebrating Albanian Kosovo "national hero". A camoflaged dude with machine gun in hand, tragically killed by a "Serbian hit squad including helicopter and artillery support". I.e. the ARMY in a military operation, not some shadowy death squad, doing what is standard practice when camoflauged men with machine guns and bombs are killing people and trying to take power by force.

Of course, of all the people quoted in the article, there was basically nobody speaking against capitulation to Albanian Kosovo regime.

Pretty laughable all in all, basically contrasting Serbian mafia reign as the ONLY alternative vs. capitulation to Kosovo Albanian regime. I mean, anything else (e.g. normalized union with Serbia for at least North Mitrovica) must be ruled out, right?, because SERBS MUST BE PUNISHED. Ethnic secession and territorial separation only rolls one way, don'cha know? Kind of shocking the article ignores Albanian mafia's own history and continued reign in 'independent' Kosovo... Or somehow it's seeking to blame North Kosovo Serbs FOR the Albanian mafia's reign... WTF?

I mean, disregarding everything else, it would be a rational move to seek to remain part of Serbia, because for all it's problems Serbia simply has a brighter future than 'independent' Albanian Kosovo. I mean, it's actually a real country, for starters, and not some failed state EU 'territory', so you don't have to reach very far there. The article even briefly alludes to sectarian hate crimes being committed in Albanian Kosovo BETWEEN christian/muslim Albanians: yet another reason for North Kosovo Serbs not to want to capitulate to the Albanians. Yet, 'the Serbs must be punished', so anybody who opposes acceding to the LAUGHABLE Albanian Kosovo regime has no valid motives except gangsterism...

American journalism shines bright. Sounds like the writer managed to have a good time getting drunk with KFOR troops, though.

Milk said...

I would hope that VICE magazine might be open to other perspectives, and perhaps might accept another article submission that explores Serbia/Kosovo from less mainstream perspective. The writing style there is very different than what you're used to, but perhaps either you can manage a more pop-culture friendly style, or know a writer who can? Contacting them to just denounce the writer in question is unlikely to be productive, but if you can spin it to offer a new perspective they could publish, that might be more effective.

CubuCoko said...

Well, it's Vice. I can only imagine the author ended up doing this story because he couldn't pitch them a story involving Vegas and porn...