Who Will Finish The Race?

Sometime in mid April, when Serbian Renewal Movement (SPO) leader Vuk Draskovic dreamed of restaging the St. Vitus' Day rally (June 28), he said: ``This heat will bring something.'' He had anticipated that sometime in June the heat would be at its height, that the majority in Serbia would realize that disaster was just round the corner and that the creators of this disaster must be resisted by force, and that the final decision would be: ``Us or them!'' VREME concluded at the time that the Serbian opposition was at its lowest of lows since the time of its inception. In June, a month and a half later, policemen were beating up opposition leaders and kicking around MP's identity cards. The dedicated work of the Committee for the protection of Draskovic, the Civic Alliance and several civic organizations probably halted this repressive wave in June. They did not however, manage to change anything in the disastrous strategy followed by the democratic center, hesitating between parliamentary obstruction and the ``street.'' A month later, with regard to the dismissal of Yugoslav President at the time Dobrica Cosic, the SPO returned to the Federal Parliament, while with regard to Draskovic's arrest the DSS returned to the Serbian Assembly. However, during an attempt by SPO deputies to warn the public from parliament of the state of Vuk Draskovic's health, this group of deputies adopted a rather passive stand.

In the finally completed Assembly, the Socialists and Radicals made so much noise that the opposition was not given a chance to speak. The public was disgusted with what was taking place in parliament and could no longer differentiate between the two sides.

``Our'' side was preoccupied with private and party business. Democratic Party of Serbia (DSS) leader Vojislav Kostunica embraced Vuk in jail, and was deeply moved. Vuk said: ``Let no bitter words be spoken.'' This however did not help save the opposition. Kostunica moved closer to Serb Republic in B H Vice President Nikola Koljevic and flirted with Serbian Radical Party (SRS) leader Vojislav Seselj.

The leaders of the two most important opposition groups were moving in opposite directions with regard to relationships with Bosnian Serb leaders. Vuk Draskovic was consistent, and opposed the division of Bosnia. Draskovic understood that all questions pertaining to Serbia were being resolved in Bosnia, but compared to his political friends, he viewed the issue as a tragedy and was not inclined to agree with Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic, but considered him a danger to Serbia (see interview).

Member of the Serbian Liberal Party Milan Bozic said on the independent Belgrade radio station B92, that the opposition was now in the situation in which Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic had found himself a year ago, when he burned his fingers. After Karadzic's survival on rejecting the Vance Owen peace plan, the national democratic opposition started flirting with him, seeing in him a potential ally for toppling Milosevic, said Bozic. This was done by the DSS, then by the Democratic Party (DS) and by Slobodan Rakitic in the name of the SPO. Bozic says that there was talk again among the opposition about it not having a ``national program,'' and that this was one of the main reasons for its failure.

Political life has been reduced to issuing announcements with regard to Geneva, while political answers concerning the domestic scene are unclear and childish. Seselj has demagogically opted for social themes and is forming a shadow cabinet, something he has been going on about for two years. Serbia's political energy has been used up, and the batteries have not been recharged. The voters do not believe that anybody has the strength to effect a turnabout. One after the other, opposition leaders have started haranguing the people for not rebelling, in order that they might take over power. In this regard DS top official Zoran Djindjic was most explicit. The people are naive, but not childish. Last spring (1992), 800,000 people signed a petition demanding Milosevic's resignation. During the summer, there were 200,000 participants during peak hours at the St. Vitus' Day rally. The University staged a series of protests. However, all this is slowly being forgotten.

The results are well known and of practically no use to anyone. The Socialist Party of Serbia (SPS) lost the elections, but leaned on the SRS which helped stop Draskovic, who was believed to be preparing a revolutionary coup. The way things stand now, they don't seem to know what to do with him. For the time being they are satisfied that the majority of laws are being passed and that the government is still in power.

Vuk Draskovic who showed the greatest populist strength and energy, a combination of ethnic vigor and impulsive vacillating which nearly cost him his life, has returned to the political scene with the halo of a victim and the threat of court proceedings, but without a lucid idea on what to do. It could come about, that in spite of a statement on being open for cooperation, he might start working on his own, and he could begin by putting the cadre situation in his party in order. Draskovic worked for DEPOS (Serbia's democratic opposition alliance), but could not sacrifice his ego to it, probably feeling that the association had been created with the sole purpose of ousting him from the position of leader. Draskovic helped in the creation of the Democratic Party of Serbia by bringing to it, on a silver platter, a large number of deputy places. Many were surprised by its hasty distancing from the SPO, so that the logical question why the Democratic Party split at all, crops up. The Democrats led by Dragoslav Micunovic attracted the Reformists in Vojvodina a year ahead of elections, in the same way in which the SPO had aided their agony. Cosic, by whom the Democrats had sworn, created, before their very eyes, the Social Democratic Party, which in its turn split into two, before Daddy's eyes. The Civic Alliance, a group which had suffered the greatest demonization during this period, was hypnotized by the knowledge that nationalism dominated in Serbia, and did not have the skill to materialize the potential of a liberal and pacifist Serbia, even though the civil potential is much greater than practical political results show. Former presidential candidate Milan Panic is now trying single handedly, to promote the idea of economic integration after the war. Crown Prince Karadjordjevic on whom the SPO counted is involved in humanitarian work. Cosic, on whom the Democrats counted, is silent, while Karadzic on whom Kostunica counted, is stuck in Geneva. An old joke sums it up best: twenty years ago, during the persecution of the liberals, some journalists fell out of favor. One of them sought asylum on the Sports Page. He ended his report from the racecourse with: ``Serbia doesn't have a horse which can last the race.''