BETA news agency weekly political overview brought a report on the Serbian parliament session at which the decision on the Kosovo referendum was passed in its weekly report of April 9, 1997.
The session of the Parliament at which the decision on the referendum was passed was shown live by the state TV. The passing of this decision is the first joint presentation of the new coalition partners, the Left and the Radicals. The observers in Belgrade believe that Milosevic, even before the new Serbian government was formed, planned the organization of resistance towards the internationalization of the Kosovo problem, and that towards this goal he chose the Radicals as coalition partners.
The discussion which lasted the whole day in the Serbian parliament and which preceded the decision on the referendum had somewhat the atmosphere which was present at the sessions like this before and during the wars in Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina. The representatives of the Serbian Socialist Party (SPS), the Yugoslav Left (JUL) and the Serbian Radical Party (SRS), have raced each other in their attempts to find a stronger metaphor with which they would prove what Kosovo really means for Serbia and to describe bad intentions of the international community.
Vice president of the Serbian government and the leader of the Radicals, Vojislav Seselj stated in the discussion on the Referendum that the Western powers want to destroy Serbia and Serbian nation based on the same formula which Hitler used in 1941. The Yugoslav foreign minister Zivadin Jovanovic called the demand for international mediation concerning Kosovo during the debate as a "mill for crushing the territorial integrity of Serbia." Stating that after the Serbian referendum "part of the horrible influence of the USA in the world will decrease," one of the leaders of the SRS Tomislav Nikolic also said that in the case of war "Serbia can count on three soldiers from his home."
The fact that the session was shown live on the state TV was most skillfully used by the Radicals. Showing their faces at the parliament speaking podium, but in front of the TV cameras as well, were all the key members of that party, giving a quite clear notice that they are currently part of the regime in Serbia and that they want to have no inferiority complex compared to Socialists. The discussion on the Referendum was lead at the "field" at which the Radicals fare much better than both the Socialists and the Left. That is why, if he continues in the same direction, Milosevic will in the future have much more problems to keep the step with the Radicals and prevent their enlarged "visibility" on the TV screens.
Worst off in this new "referendum" atmosphere is the Serbian Renewal Movement (SPO) of Vuk Draskovic, the party which was considered as the potentially most serious coalition partner of the Left in the government, before the Radicals stepped in. The representatives of this party stated their opposition to foreign meddling during the parliamentary debate and voted for the referendum. The stance of rejecting international mediation is contrary to the opinion this party had so far, actually asking international mediation in all crises in the Balkans.
The referendum , obviously, is in good part intended for "internal consumption" and its goal is to stimulate new national homogenization. One of former closest allies of Milosevic, former Belgrade mayor Nebojsa Covic, now the president of the Democratic Alternative, says that "somebody is attempting to strengthen their authority with this referendum and to pass the responsibility for former and consequences of possible future serious mistakes onto somebody else."
In this story about the referendum the least contentious is the result itself of this public voting. Even those parties who speak of the futility and damage of the news "Milosevic trick," are not daring call their membership to boycott the referendum. It is possible that they fear being accused of "treason" of the state. It is also possible that, after losing seats in the Parliament due to the election boycott, they lost the zeal for action. Even with the hesitation of the parties of the so called democratic center to call to boycott, a small turnout at the polls is to be expected. That is why the authorities are currently attempting with full force to mobilize the public to respond to their patriotic call and vote in the referendum.
Those that do go to the polls will vote against meddling of the international factors, as it is suggested to them every day through the state media.
Part of the political public believes that, in the attempt to achieve as good results as possible in the referendum, the regime (the Left and the Radicals) will be ready to falsify the number of the voters that turn out at the polls. Since there will be no independent control of the voting, nor will there be independent observers, the results of the referendum can be easily tailored to the wishes and needs of the regime.
Source: "BETA" news agency weekly news review of April 9, 1998