Accused of Sabotage

The miners at "Kolubara" went out on strike only days before New Year's Eve, which resulted in power-cuts throughout Serbia. The authorities could not have possibly swallowed this since the strike threatened to endanger the production of electricity which is now Serbia's only reason for pride.

The strike was broken, or, rather, "frozen", by means of another exclusive piece of property of the Serbian regime - television. The last of 5 strikes at "Kolubara" in 1993, all of which were staged because of meager salaries, started at 1.00 p.m. on December 29 when the Miners' Union declared its beginning. 17,000 miners called a strike as the Government failed to fulfill what it had signed previously, i.e. that miners would be paid 34.5 DM in dinars every Wednesday apart from receiving still outstanding foodstuffs worth 50 DM.

Two hours after the strike was announced electrical power was cut throughout Serbia (the miners thought it was much too quick) and the state put its finger on the miners. Television enthusiastically encouraged the citizens to condemn the miners for demanding "such outrageous" salaries and moreover in DM. On the other hand, it was not reported that the miners said that an equally important reason to strike was a lack of safety equipment, gloves, working uniforms, lighting in shafts, etc. which is why two of their colleagues were recently killed. The fact that they fulfilled their production plan back in November was also omitted.

As the miners refused to give up their demands, Vladimir Zivanovic, the Serbian Minister of Energetics, and his deputy paid them a visit. Their meeting with the representatives of the Strikers' Board resulted in mutual accusations. Director of "Kolubara", Milan Obradovic, (who, according to union members, "neither encouraged nor tried to stop the strike") typed out memos for dismissal of 10 members of the union and introduced a work duty for another 4,500 miners. Faced with such threats, repeated promises by the Government, and shocked with what they described as "unprecedented TV defamation", the miners decided at 2 p.m. on Friday, December 31, by a narrow margin to "freeze" the strike until January 15. Electricity was magically restored in few hours' time so that the Serbian Interior Ministry could, as it turned out later, see "who was behind a sabotage and an attempt to undermine the constitutional order." The same day when the strike was frozen the District Public Prosecutor's Office in Belgrade submitted a request to the Serbian Interior Ministry to "collect the data and identify the persons who created difficulties in electricity supply be refusing to work," and, "to establish the elements of a sabotage which is a criminal act."

This request was presented to the public only on Tuesday, January 4, when the Strikers' Board of EPS, which also rallies the representatives of "Kolubara," were to hold a press conference in Belgrade. The press conference did not take place since three leaders of the EPS union were taken to the Serbian Interior Ministry to be interrogated. Zdravko Vucetic, the leader of the "Kolubara" union, managed to tell the journalists that they were no saboteurs, as that had only demanded their salaries, according to a previous agreement and asked for safety equipment." After he finished talking to the journalists, Vucetic was approached by an unknown man who asked him to follow him to the exit. That is where, according to Vucetic, he was grabbed by three policemen wearing civilian clothes, who took him away for an interrogation after "bringing him to his senses" by a punch in the chest. During the interrogation investigators insisted that he tell them that the strike had a political background and inquired why he undermined the system, where he obtained telephone numbers of various newsrooms in Belgrade, why he gave statements to independent TV station Studio B, why the Democratic Movement of Serbia (DEPOS) supported the strikers' demands... Vucetic, like others who had been taken away, was allowed to go 9 hours later.

What Vucetic has to say now about a "frozen" strike is that anyone can now do as they please since thanks to television and the Prosecutor's Office all responsibility has been attributed to the union and not to the Government and the management of EPS, neither of whom respected what had been agreed nor provided acceptable working conditions.

Union leaders are still uncertain as to what is to be done next. Those more radical believe that "one must deal with the mafia in a mafioso way," so that the authorities must come out and admit that they survive only thanks to the production at "Kolubara." That is why they demand a half an hour on TV in order to deny all accusations made on their account. They also want the Government to stop spreading fear and false information and to stop arresting people.

As a compromise solution on Wednesday afternoon the Government was informed that the strike would be continued unless the miners have been paid by Thursday. Television responded the same evening, never mentioning this announcement. What was shown was the footage of miners working in shafts of "Kolubara", which is their contribution to the "stabilization of the situation in electrical industry". Even a dredger was given an opportunity to speak on TV. He said that "no one had asked the miners what they thought..."