The Destruction of Yugoslavia: Myth and Fact

Below is a work-in-progress expose of the anti-Milosevic and anti-Serb myths surrounding the destruction of Yugoslavia, which are repeatedly endlessly in the West. If you have come to this page believing Milosevic to be the fascist-style nationalist he is portrayed as in the West, then please begin by reading these excerts from his speeches.

Persecution of Non-Albanians in Kosovo

MYTH: Protests by Kosovo Serbs and Montenegrins in the 1980s against persecution by Kosovo Albanians were nationalist and orchestrated by Milosevic.
MYTH: Serbs, Montenegrins and other non-Albanians were not really being persecuted in Kosovo, that was just Serb nationalist propaganda.

Milosevic’s Rise to Power

MYTH: Starting in April 1987, Milosevic rose to power by exploiting a wave of anti-Albanian Serbian nationalism.
MYTH: Milosevic’s famous words, “Nobody must beat you”, were a nationalist rallying cry.
MYTH: Milosevic staged the events that allegedly prompted him to say “Nobody must beat you”.
MYTH: In the so-called “Anti-Bureaucratic Revolution” Milosevic overthrew the governments of Vojvodina and Montenegro, replacing them with his puppets.
MYTH: In November 1988 Slobodan Milosevic had the popularly elected Albanian leaders of Kosovo removed and replaced with his hand-picked puppets.
MYTH: The 28 June 1989 celebration in Gazimestan of the 600th anniversary of the Battle of Kosovo was nationalist.

The 1974 Constitution

MYTH: Serbs only objected to the 1974 constitution because it gave the provinces real autonomy, and they wanted a centralised state that they would dominate.
MYTH: Only Milosevic and Serb nationalists objected to the 1974 constitution and sought change.

The 1989 Amendments to Serbia’s Constitution

MYTH: The 1989 amendments to Serbia’s constitution abolished Kosovo’s autonomy.
MYTH: The 1989 amendments to Serbia’s constitution affected in a negative way the rights of the Albanians of Kosovo.
MYTH: Those Albanians that supported the amendments and opposed separatism were Serb puppets, genuine Albanian leaders were opposed. (This Myth is already busted within this Myth)
MYTH: The 1989 amendments to Serbia’s constitution were not approved by the necessary two-thirds majority in Kosovo’s Assembly.
MYTH: The 1989 amendments to Serbia’s constitution were illegal.
MYTH: Milosevic passed the constitutional amendments unilaterally, without the agreement of the rest of Yugoslavia.
MYTH: Despite abolishing the autonomy of the (previously) autonomous provinces of Kosovo and Vojvodina, Milosevic kept their places on the Presidency of Yugoslavia in order to create a “Serbian bloc” of votes that he controlled, with which to dominate Yugoslavia.

The Federal Government of Yugoslavia

MYTH: The Federal Government of Yugoslavia was Serb-dominated.

The Yugoslav People’s Army (JNA)

MYTH: The Yugoslav People’s Army (JNA) was Serb-dominated.
MYTH: Through the course of Yugoslavia’s break-up non-Serbs were gradually purged from the JNA, and it became a Greater Serbian army.

The “War” in Slovenia

MYTH: The Yugoslav People’s Army (JNA) attacked Slovenia in June 1991.
MYTH: Slovene armed forces were the legal forces of the Slovene state.
MYTH: It was the Serbs that ordered the JNA to move against Slovenia.