In its October 5, 1996 issue, Belgrade weekly "Vreme" brought an
analysis by Uros Komlenovic concerning the pre-electoral situation in
the sensitive Sandzak area.
In Novi Pazar's Lejlek mosque, a smallish, yet as the initiated
claim, the most beautiful Islamic place of worship in the city,
mevlud was "`taught'' on Saturday, October 5 of this year.
Word is of a religious ritual of a family nature which is most
often held on the 52nd day following somebody's demise, yet also on
much happier occasions such as weddings and births... The above
mentioned mevlud was arranged in honor of the president of the Muslim
National Council (MNVS) Sulejman Ugljanin's return to the country.
Two days later and two to three kilometers further off, in front of
the ancient church of St. Peter, on the spot where state assemblies
were held during the Nemanjici times, Seselj's radicals were holding
a rally. The meeting was late due to the fact that the speakers and
their escorts had a car crash on their way there.
In front of less
than a thousand gathered people (among them were found a rather large
number of inquisitive Muslims and plainclothes policemen),
accompanied by beer, patriotic music and lukewarm applause, Dr.
Vojislav Seselj and Maja Gojkovic were hitting left and right,
attacking the ruling coalition ("Yugoslav United Thieves'' and
similar), the "traitorous'' bloc "Zajedno,'' the New World Order, the
"`evil'' of America and Europe, Croatia and the Muslims... "It is no
accident that the meeting of the radicals was held directly following
Ugljanin's return,'' claims a member of the main board of the Serbian
Renewal Party and until recently, the first man of this party in the
region, Branislav Ivanovic. "The government's intention to polarize
the population and sneak their way into the gap in such a manner lies
at the back of everything. It was like that in 1990 as well.''
Sulejman Ugljanin's political rivals among Sandzak's Muslims are of a
similar belief.
There is a thesis which is in circulation by which the authorities
have allowed Ugljanin to return due to two reasons: to divide the
Muslim electorate and to prevent a possible cooperation of the
Muslims with the coalition "Zajedno'' which simply cannot"`swallow''
Sulejman Ugljanin, even "toned down.'' Which is how in Sandzak,
besides the ruling coalition, two national blocs shall fight for the
Muslim votes: the List for Sandzak and the "Bosniac List of Sandzak.
The List for Sandzak is headed by
Sulejman Ugljanin. It is made up three Parties of Democratic
Action (SDA): SDA of " Yugoslavia, SDA of Sandzak and the Real SDA.
Alongside them we come upon the Liberal-Bosniac Organization of
Sandzak (LBO,S), while the Reform Democratic Party of Sandzak (RDSS)
has left the coalition in the last moment prior to the legal time
limit for submitting the "federal'' lists. The fourth (their members
claim the"first and only real'') party bearing the name of SDA
(devoid of the geographically valuable term of reference) shall
present the backbone of the Bosniac list of Sandzak on the federal
elections, which is comprised of the Party of Sandzak's Bosniacs and
the Social-Democratic Union as well. The head of the list is Rasim
Ljajic who claims that, regardless of the conflict between his party
and Ugljanin's parties (of which VREME wrote on a number of
occasions), he was prepared for cooperation in name of a mutual
interest.
At this moment it is difficult to assess the power of the two
Muslim political blocs in Sandzak. It is a known fact that Sulejman
Ugljanin can count on the support of most of the priests and most of
the rural population which he had fascinated with his "fighter''
style and image of a "people's man.'' Beside that, his coalition is
more prosperous during his residence in Turkey he was assisted
financially by Erbakan's Islamics, various international
organizations for human rights and, most important of all, by
Sandzak's numerous "`guest workers.'' Ljajic has legitimacy on his
side (at the time of the separation most of the municipal boards of
the then joint SDA had supported him) and the fact that his
restraint, avoidance of harsh words and efforts not to rouse
tensions, fit in well with the climate of appeasement in Sandzak. And
while the "grapevine war'' is stirring up in Sandzak's alleys amongst
Ugljanin's and Ljaljic's followers, Sarajevo, that is Izetbegovic and
central SDA are wisely keeping quiet and for now are not publicly
declaring support to anybody. The Serbian authorities are acting in a
similar manner, since, naturally, such a situation suits them. Even
the Serbian electorate of Sandzak is divided---the ruling coalition,
the "Zajedno'' bloc and the radicals are in the game.
Otherwise, when authorities are spoken of in Sandzak, the first
party that comes to mind is the Yugoslav United Left (JUL) which is
on the offensive here. Many claim that on the lists of the ruling
coalition in electoral units 19 (Uzice) and 21 (Kraljevo), besides
the"`regular'' JUL members, "SPS members'' can also be found who are
actually loyal to the president's wife. Lacking a stronger civil
party (RDSS practically has only Muslim members), JUL is threatening
to take over the votes of the nationally "moderate'' Muslims, and
even of a few Serbs. Those who are spiteful ask themselves why JUL
didn't stand up for peace and inter-national tolerance when terror
over Sandzak's Muslims was at its most extreme and why they failed to
"protect public property'' when corruption (especially in relation to
office space in the cities) was in full swing. Talking to VREME, the
president of JUL's municipal board for Novi Pazar denies the
accusations:
We are the first JUL municipal board in the country---we were
founded in April of last year. Our board is made up of people who
had, even in 1990, spoken out against nationalistic euphoria, and who
were quieted down in the meantime, so it is not true that we have
only now thought to condemn nationalism of the right-wing parties and
the passivity of the ruling one---we simply didn't have a chance to
publicly express our stand.''
Alongside the "responsible claim'' that JUL does not blackmail
people and that it has no privileges ("on the contrary''), Zuhra
Mumdzic ticks off all that she resents in their coalition partners:
"What we condemn most has to do with inter-nationalistic
relations, primarily acts of ethnic cleansing in certain
institutions, especially in the police department and municipal
bodies where almost all Muslims have lost their jobs. There is also
the question of passivity in the housing-public utility services
issues, non-reactions to illegal construction, the selling off of
public property for mere trifles...''
Which is how JUL is slowly taking over even the little left-over
space for any kind of political "beliefs'' which transcend
nationalism in Sandzak. The immediate dangers of serious conflicts
have diminished here, yet distrust is still high. This point is best
illustrated by the recently completed vaccination of children against
poliomyelitis infant paralysis. By the action of the World Health
Organization and UNICEF, all children up to five years old were to be
encompassed in it from 15 municipalities from Kosovo and an
additional 14 from Serbia, mainly those which border Kosovo. The fact
that the municipality Novi Pazar was included in it yet not the
neighboring Raska (municipality with a marked Serbian majority),
brought about an unbelievable reaction in Novi Pazar---on the portal
of the mosque a warning somehow appeared stating that it was all part
of a treacherous conspiracy with the intention to sterilize Muslim
children. Persuasion and explanations didn't help a single
bit---slightly more than half the population was vaccinated in Novi
Pazar.
Source: Belgrade weekly "Vreme", October 5, 1996
The pre-electoral views of the Montenegrin branch of the SDA party
are discussed in the September 6, 1996, issue of the Podgorica weekly
"Monitor" by Esad Kocan.
While there was thunder all around and Bosnia was burning,
president Bulatovic was estimating the moral value of the political
parties. The patriotic norm was then fullfilled by the ruling
Democratic Party of Socialists, National party, and Seselj's
Radicals. The rest - all bare domestic traitor. The top of the SDA
party first had the treatment of the citizens inclined towards
terrorism.
Now, that peace is won, the President will have to, judging by all
indicators, to make a new list of party patriotism. Most culpable for
this surprise job is the leadership of the SDA party. For some time,
there are indications that the leaders of the Montenegrin branch of
the national party of Muslims-Bosniaks is more and more inclined to
spread around FRY patriotism. The leader of the party, Harun Hadzic,
is quite precise" We cannot support independent Montenegro if that
would mean another breakup of our nation in Sandzak and FRY. Who
supports that, supports the destruction of Muslims-Bosniaks in these
regions".
But, this party, as far as it is known, did not change its opinion
concerning the independence of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is usually
beleived that behind all key actions of the SDA party of Montenegro
and Sandzak is the national central committee in Sarajevo. The theory
is hard to verify, but there is no proof that this time the principle
of "democratic centralism" was in operation.
There are serious indications that the SDA top for Sandzak and
Montenegro has brought the decision to regulate the situation of the
Muslims within Milosevic's project of rump greater Serbia through its
own initiative. The visit of its delegation to "all mighty" Lilic,
his tenderness towards exiled Sulejman Ugljanin - are the most
obvious proof of this new spiritual climate. To Milosevic and
Bulatovic, the decision of the SDA to play the role of constructive
criticism comes as a token electoral gift. It is not known whether
Hadzic and Ugljanin seriously count that as a counter measure, when
he unveils the new constitution, Milosevic could give them the
autonomy of Sandzak.
Source: Podgorica weekly "Monitor", September 6, 1996
I the October 11, 1996 issue of the Novi Sad weekly "Nezavisni",
Zoran Lekovic looks at the pre-electoral situation in Vojvodina.
The one that needs somebody else to exist bewcause he is against
him, or because he is for him, demonstrates in that manner his lack
of power. The one that needs a borrowed messiah, actually adits that
he does not beleive in himsel either. How does he expect that the
voters beleive him either ?
This is not the first time this happens to our opposition. It has
hang like that previously to Milan Panic, some even on Dobrica Cosic,
who were also invented by the regime- he used them and then threw
them away - so that the opposition would get a hold of them, lake a
chewed up bone. One more time it was seen that the best politics is -
the politics that is true to itself, ebven if it is not a best one.
It became obvious one more time, that those Vojvodina parties who
have given up on the Serbian opposition a long time ago were right,
and which have, along with a number of local non-governmental
organizations and citizens groups, started developing a strategy and
tactic for the solution to the Vojvodina question, with their own
forces. The Manifest for autonomous Vojvodina has, in that manner,
become a founding stone of the Vojvodina political option. From that
action, which was begun as far as a year ago, an authentic,
self-building and self-contained coalition arose - Vojvodina, whose
bearers of legal legitimacy are the parties registered for the
elections, LSV, NSS and SGS, but also the Vojvodina club, the
Independent parliament members group in the Vojvodina parliament,
Banat Forum and all other signatories of the Manifest (17 of them),
who actually are not entering the elections by themselves. The most
known names: Nenad Canak, Dragan Veselinov, Mile Isakov and Bosko
Kovacevic, certainly carry some weight, but even so nobody gave them
any serious chances in the elections. It was shown though, that this
coalition, even though the smalles one, is the strongest and most
compact since it is best founded.
It simply beleives in something
concrete, in Vojvodina, but, it seems, even more that the Serbian
politics, in Serbia and Yugoslavia. Deeply convinced that Serbia must
democratize itself, in such a manner that it would be decentralized,
conscious that tihs cannot happen overnight, it knows that you must
start from something and that this process will be initiated there
where the conditions are most suited for it. And it has begun to work
on this to create conditions in Vojvodina, convinced that Vojvodina
is most mature for democratic changes and that as such, it is capable
and ready to bregin this process, hoping at the same time, that
Serbia, at some point, will be gratful for it.
Until then, it has to
withstand the accusations of threason of Serbia and the opposition,
be ready to bear the guilt for all that will not go smoothly in this
process. But this is better than to wander from one corner to the
other, threaten, trade, offfer yourself and sell, acting at one
moment as mighty, crying as a coo coo bird the next about the bad
electoral conditions and various conspiracies.
Source: Novi Sad weekly "Nezavisni", October 11, 1996
Seki Radoncic of the Podgorica weekly "Monitor" discusse in the
October 18, 1996 issue of that magazine the role of the Montenegrin
police in the electoral campaign.
The open suspicion of the democratic opposition in Montenegro that
the ruling party will use the police for party purposes during the
electoral campaign has been confirmed these days through a concrete
accusation. The police is accused of covert and public taping of the
opposition gatherings, tearing of its electoral posters, turning off
of electricity on its meetings, eqavesdropping on the oppositionary
leaders, arrest of their bodyguards, interrogation of the authors of
"unsuitable slogans"...
Everything starts with open taping of the opposition gatherings,
particularly of National Unity with police cameras. Recently the
police spectacularly arrested Budimir Razic, former boxing champion
and now the body guard of the oppositionary leader Novak Kilibarda.
The police also searched Razic's house and weekend house.
The police also brought in for interrogation K, Misko Djukic, the
DJ of the independent Podgorica radio station "Antena M". The police
was particulalry intersested, as Djukic states, whehter he was the
author of the slogan "an end to thievery", which is often heard at
the "National Unity" gatherings, as well as the unpleasant songs of
the pop group "Brain Elliminator".
Since the activities of the Montenegrin police is not under the
control of the multi party parliament in Montenegro, there is a
beleif in the opposition that the police in the electoral campaign
eavesdrops on their leaders contrary to the constitution. This is
particularly true of the ioppositioanry leaders Slavko Perovic and
Novak Kilibirda.
Source: Podgorica weekly "Monitor", October 18, 1996
Podgorica weekly "Monitor" brought in its issue of October 11,
1996, a text by Nebojsa Redzic, which adresses the possible electoral
manipulations.
Almost with no cause at all, with the start of the electoral
campaign of the opposition, all state services started functioning,
from the firemen and policemen, to the President of the
Constitutional Court and State prosecutor, so that they would be able
to strengthen the impression made by the verbal loops made by the
ruling foursome.
It is obvious that it was not enough for the DPS to have all the
material, technical and organisational advantage, but has insisted to
demonstrate this advantage in all the spheres relevant for the
evualtuation of the regularity of the elections. And talking about
regularity, after all that has preceded the ccampaign, and what is
happening during its course, is almost impossible.
There is an evident panic of the regime,which is particularly seen
with some of its individuals. True though, the barricades and guns,
as the memory of previous elections were not activated, but some new
delicacies were promoted, enough to be a serious test for the
population of not so respectable civil courage. Making a list of car
plates which visit the oppositionary gatherings, request of ID's and
checkup of all which move towards the gathering places and police
cameras which register in detail all present, are only part of the
special treatment by the police of the "non-political" and
"non-partisan" structured police force.
It is also interesting to note the method in which the "most
massive" political group - the DPS, gathered the signatures for its
participation in the republican and federal elections. Somewhat due
to the lack of spontainety of the membership not ready to come to the
feet of the activists who have organised the collection of
signatures, and much more due to checking of loyalty of the employees
in state services, this paper was offered to those who had to express
their support for the DPS as a part of the system which was built
after this party, or its leaders in previous incarnation, came to
power.Interesting, for example is the case from the municipality of
Berane, where the medical emergency vheicle driver conditioned the
transport of the patients to the hospital with the signatures of
support for the DPS. So , let somebody dare not sign.
The use of children in the promotinoal gatherings of the DPS has
become an integral part of the scenario, soulessly aggressive until
it becomes unbearable.
Also, in recent days a number of files from former political
prisoner's archives was activated, particularly those who were
imprisoned for their support of Soviet Unio during the late fourties
until mid-fifities. This is quite a number of people, some forty
thousand.
All that the regime has done so far, without asking anybodys
opinion about the regularity of the electoral campaign, pales in
comaprison to what it is ready to do when the voting itself is in
question. The old rule that the one who counts the votes wins, in
Montenegro is strengthened with different manipulations based on the
experiences from previous three elections.The opposition has already
filed a formal request to see the official voting lists, as to
prevent the already sseen methods, of dead people voting, the right
of the individuals to vote for the whole family, neighbourhood or the
whole village.
Source: Podgorica weekly "Monitor", October 11, 1996
Slobodan Reljic Belgrade jurnalist writes in Belgrade quaterly
"Pravo na sliku &rec" (The right to picture words ") about
role of printig media in in fortcoming election in SRY.
It is not hard to tell what influence the independant media will
have on the outcome of the forthcoming election in the federal
republicof Yugoslavia. To put it consecly :not much.
There are meny reasaons for this, not only fundamental ones,which
one should look for in the structure and distribution of power among
the layers of the society, but trivial ones, like the situation in
newspapers offices and the price of newspapers . This text will deal
with "trivial reasons".
Using only four basic mathematic operations even a layman in the
statistc will realise the range of influence the Yugoslav independant
media have. To regularly buy one one independant political daily
newspaper and one montoly , say " Nasa Borba " and "NIN", requires 30
DEM per month.
The average wage in this contry is around 150 DEM per month. So
one fifth shoul be set asade for the newspapers .The cost of living
for a modest four member family in a two room fleat (rent, water
,heating ,electrisity phone cannot be covered by 100 DEM. Then there
is a bread and litre of milk for which one must set aside 2 DEM every
morning. .. And the list goes on.
The Wall Street Journalhas recently calculated that the average
price of one hour in Germany is 40 DEM. The same amount of work in
Yugoslavia costs 1 DEM .One copy of the NIN montly, cost 8 dinars ,
which is 2,35 DEM. Therefore , the sacrifice that the Yugoalavs are
making every month in other to read their favorite newspapers becomes
clear by means of the foloving conperason: if a German were to pay
for a copy of Der Spiegel" at the price of two and the half works, it
would cost 99 DEM.
Thera meny conclusions. One that Yugoaslavs might the most feitful
readers in the world , because it is realy hard to imagine a German
who would pay 100 DEM.for the copy of magazine insted of 5 DEM. It is
even harder to imagine such mass lunacy becase by dedefinition the
mass media require exsactly that) for a twomillion peculiar people
top apppear every week. It is true though, that their numbers are
decliningin Yugoslavia as well.
Therefore, the election in this expensiv country will be
influenced mainly by electronic media ; or those for wich the state
collects the obligatory tax included in people's electrcity bills, or
the so-called commercal electronic media , which support themselves
by renting advertising time to the companies, which are again under
the direct control of the stae and the party. (the rulling party and
the allies) mechanisms.
In this way the madia circle closes. Any eventual suprizes can
neider be creatednor supported in the media
These are the fact about the independant media pending this year
elections. Noting can be alterd . But, like in a fairy tales ,
miracles might occur.
Source : Belgrade quaterly "Pravo na sliku i rec" ("The Right to
pictures words"), October, 1996
Milan Milosevic of the Belgrade weekly "Vreme" analyzed the final
results of the independent opinion poll in the last pre-election
issue of that magazine of October 31, 1996.
In the last month and a half we have asked on three occasions:
"For which party would you vote if the elections for the Yugoslav
Federal Parliament were held today?". According to these polls, the
coalition "Zajedno", was at some point more, at some others less
ahead of the leftist coalition (SPS-ND-JUL). The polling team of the
"Partner" agency made it third attempt of checking the public opinion
of Serbia without kosovo, between October 22 and 26, on the sample of
1000 of those eligible to vote in 97 lcal communities and 28
municipalities, and got these answers to the same question:
SPS-JUL-ND - 23,9 percent;
"Zajedno" - 26,1 percent;
Serbian Radical Party - 10,4 percent;
Other parties 4,9 percent;
Undecided- 15,9 percent;
Not voting 19,5 percent;
This means, and this is clearly seen from the data, that the
leftist coalition remained quite close to the strength it held at the
last republican elections in Serbia in 1993, he;ld by the SPS
(24,3:23,9), and that the coalition "Zajedno" is a bit stronger (for
3,1 percent of the electoral body), that the sum of the results of
DEPOS, Democratic party and DSS (23,5:26,1). The "Partner" research
team (six researchers and 33 pollers), after three rounds of research
decided to cautiously announce its prognosis - that around four
million people will vote in Serbia (without Kosovo) and that the
"Zajedno" coalition will win more votes that the leftist coalition
(SPS-JUL-ND). How much will this be, the researchers did not say,
since the final round of the campaign, with possible surprises, was
yet to come.
Source: Belgrade weekly "Vreme" (electronic edition), October 31,
1996
Olivija Rusovac, gave an electoral summary-commentary in the
October/November issue of the revived Vrsac bi-monthly "Kosava".
This regime simply cannot thin in compound categories of the civil
society. It sopeaks with the language of dictate. That is why its
representatives, like Ratko Markovic, can speak such nonsense that
"only a strong state can secure human rights". This, in other words
means that human rights will never be achieved, since such a regime
will always say that human rights threathen a strong state. The
similar empty phrase was used by Dobrica Cosic when he supported the
regime with the statement "first the Constitution, then democracy".
This was the end of any democracy.
It was easy to rebel the nation, it was easy to start a war, it
was even easy to lose it, but this regime has it the hardest in
peace. It was not able to establish a dialogue with other nations in
former Yugoslavia, and now it is even unable to reach it with its own
people in Serbia. It finds itself in a curios position. It enjoys
certain (degrading) kindness of the US and the West, and inside ,
more and more, it is burning under its feet due to strikes of
workers, professors, salesmen, doctors, due to the situation in
Kosovo, and unfullfilled hopes in foreign credits.
Unfortunately, the opposition has not fully comprehended that the
peacetime demands from ita more diversified and complex engagement.
Its relation to ethnic questions posed by the recently concluded war
is unclear, and it acts like it knows exactly what it would do in
peace. The opposition is still making up its mind about accepting the
values of democracy and civil society and it is not adept enough to
use the advantages of the discontent of the great number of workers
with the social conditions within the country. It does not have
enough courage when it adressses those that do not accept anymore the
degrading conditions of living and who have discarded fatalism. Its
stance towards minorities, Kosovo and Vojvodina is unclear.The
opposition in Vojvodina has no understanding for Serbia, and the
opposition in Serbia does not understand the problems of Vojvodina.
But, besides the complaints, the opposition has to be congratulated
on opening up all the key questions of the society, and that is the
prerequisite for a dialogue without which there is no modern society.
Although our opposition, in its greatest part, is not modern, it is
turned more to the future than to the past.
Source: Vrsac bi-monthly "Kosava", October/November 1996
Balkan Media & Policy Monitor
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Editor: Ruzica Zivkovic.
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