Fighting Fascism in Downtown Tokyo

After its 3:0 victory over Chile's "Kolo-Kolo" in Tokyo last week, Belgrade's Red Star became the football champion of the world. Red Star's victory unleashed the passions of Serbian patriots. Ultimately, Red Star was not only playing football in Japan -- it was on a battlefield, fighting for Serbia, for Yugoslavia and for the right of all peoples who so wish to live with the Serbs in one state. They were fighting against Genscher, Kohl, and De Michelis, who were, presumably, wearing Chilean jerseys!

The following quotations, taken from the Belgrade press and public statements, prove that football is more than a game in Serbia 1991.:

On December 9th, Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic, sent a message (written in cyrillic alphabet) to the best football club in the world: "Congratulations on your great victory in the Intercontinental Cup and the winning of the World championship. We are all very proud of your great success. Warm greetings."

Borisav Mikelic, former director of the "Gavrilovic" enterprise, current vice-president of the football club "Partizan", was very precise in his telegram: "This was not just a sports match -- it had other motivs too. At a time when Genscher, Kohl and De Michelis, aided by the Croatian ustashas Tudjman and Mesic, are trying to revive fascism and are fighting against the Serbian people and the Orthodox religion, Red Star's victory is a contribution to the strugle for dignity of the Serbian people. Contrary to what Mr. -- or rather, ustasha -- Mesic belives, Yugoslavia indeed will survive!". At the end of his telegram, Mikelic states : "Red Star's victory in Tokyo means much to our fighters in Banija, Kordun, Lika, Knin's Krajina, Slavonija and Baranja. It emboldens us before we go into battles with the ustashas."

Zeljko Raznjatovic - Arkan, commander of Serbian paramilitary forces in Slavonia, arrived at the stadium, followed by the Red Star fans, to personaly congratulate the team. Arkan told journalists: "This is one of happiest days of my life!". The youth of Serbia is proving that it can not be defeated by the fascists...We have enjoyed the match, but we did not shoot in the air to express our joy -- we are saving the ammunition for our enemy! This war will go on for a long time." Raznjatovic brought an original gift to the players: a street sign from Tenjski Antunovac, a village conquored in Slavonia before Arkan's departure for Belgrade.

Warren Zimmermann, US Ambassador in Belgrade, sent the following telegram to the team: "Red Star proved what all in Belgrade already knew -- that you are the best in the world! Warm Greetings to all players!"