Marching Across the Drina River

Serbia in the beginning of October 1991 was nothing like the much promised Sweden. It was instead a desolate country despised by everyone, with parents looking for their wounded children, soldiers returning in a disillusioned state from the front, with mobilized pacifists and warmongers working under cover.

The Serbian Assembly has for the second time in a week held a conclave meeting on security where it had to listen to none too favourable reports on the resistance to mobilization in most Serbian towns: after Valjevo, Smederevo and Kragujevac the outcry of the reservists took place in Kikinda (Vojvodina) to where 200 reservists retuned, in Novi Sad, in Krusevac, where, as was reported, the lordmayor spoke to them prior to their return to the frontline. The reservists' families from Loznica and Leskovac (around 400 of them) ventured to Banija (one of the war torn regions) to find out which reservists were willing to return home. The Banja Luka (Bosnia) Corps Command appealed to the families not to come, claiming that each soldier was allowed to write home.

Some of them are fleeing because they don't want to fight, others because they don't think the war onslaught is fierce enough. The cases of both groups, however, are evident examples of the great loss of military and civilian authority... The reservists' complaints illustrate a very poor state of affairs in the Army, disorganization, panicky moves (sending soldiers to the front without any preparation, no medical checkup and adequate equipment). Ibro Hadzic, the federal delegate, demanded from the Yugoslav Parliament an interpretation of the law on mobilization since, as he pointed out, with the present state of affairs any commander can declare mobilization. Serbia and Montenegro, where the declaration of the general mobilization was rumoured, are keeping quite for now, mostly because of the international pressure.

The difficulties concerning mobilization are presently being kept hidden by putting pressure to the rebels to return to the battlefield and by recruiting volunteers. The Novi Sad Military Headquarters called the volunteers between the ages of 20 and 60, who were not yet assigned to their military positions, to report. No Serbian political party backed the reservists' protests which is in fact gravely endangering the strategy of the Serbian political leadership. After he stated that the reservists in Serbia were given no clear military aim and that there were flaws in mobilization, Zoran Djindjic (the Democratic Party) was subjected to fierce opposition from Seselj (the leader of the Serbian Radical Party), who was supported by the outspoken socialist majority. Since the war propaganda cooked in the new media saucepan in Belgrade did not bear fruit, the regime is trying to find the culprit to justify the absence of war enthusiasm.

The unfortunate aspect of it is that the opportunity for altering the disastrous Serbian politics has gone amiss.

Instead, the militarization of political life is being intensified - the Serbian Radical Party and the Serbian National Revival are hosting rallies with the rifles pointed to the masses. The authorities, of course, are covering up their eyes and ears, since the present power holders in Serbia wish to exclude every opposition.

This week there were rumours that Kadijevic was in home custody, which were later refuted. Dr Aleksandar Ivanovic, one of the two psychiatrists from the Military Academy hospital, who went on hunger strike and were later suspended, said on the ITV Studio B that it would be very fortunate if the news were true. The rebellious reservists from Pazova marched through Belgrade chanting: "Treason on the front! We don't want an ustacha! We want Adzic!". The pressure on Kadijevic will be reflected on Milosevic too, where certain opposition delegates fear that he will delegate the interests of Serbia into the hands of the Communist Party - Movement for Yugoslavia. The alliance is in good health for the time being. Milosevic represents the last resort for the Movement, since only in Serbia the mobilization can be carried out with some success, while Milosevic needs the Movement so that he could say to the world that Serbia is not at war. Nobody knows how long it will last for, and the dilemma is primarily focused on who will declare the general mobilization - Milosevic or Borisav Jovic (the Serbian Socialist Party president). Some smaller parties and even some reservists do not call for Milosevic, but for Adzic and Branko Kostic (Federal Presidency vice-president) when calling for the new supreme commander. In an interview Kadijevic blamed for the escalation of the hostilities both Serbian and Croatian sides.

The Army has incompetent political advisers and a very primitive propaganda support from the Belgrade coup supporting crew. The delayed military defence of Yugoslavia is being carried out in such a manner that it is losing supporters even among the Serbs who consider Yugoslavia their homeland.