An Emperor's Distance

Is it possible that the Serbian Assembly's standing orders contain a secret decree which strictly forbids sessions to be conducted and finished regularly, that the agenda is observed and that the deputies sit it out until the end, as is their duty?

It is interesting that the Assembly, such as it is, has managed to consolidate itself and turn into a long-standing scandal which no longer excites anyone. A year or two ago political tensions inside the Assembly were much greater than outside it. People hadn't given up yet, and it looked as if things could no longer continue as they were and that the multi-party Assembly would just fall apart or be brought into order, and that we would finally find out if we were living in a dictatorship or a democracy. There was hope and faith in a miracle which would pull us out of the war and make peace between us and the rest of the world.

Something entirely different happened. That unclear situation which seemed untenable persisted, and we still aren't sure what kind of regime we are living under. It's not as if laws do not exist, but if you're in a jam, give your cousin at the police force a call. We have an Assembly, but parliamentary procedure is subject to the Speaker's whims. Some kind of a miracle is taking place. The miracle maker is the same man whose miracles we have witnessed in abundance so far. At the last Assembly session, Speaker Dragan Tomic put the declaration of support for the peace plan for Bosnia to the vote before the debate had finished, thus causing the entire opposition to walk out of the Assembly. I think that the Serbian Renewal Movement (SPO) lost most by this gesture because they found themselves, albeit unwillingly, in company with the all-Serbs-in-one-state supporters of Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic. Tomic was not only in a hurry to push through the declaration before the referendum in the Bosnian Serb Republic, but it appears that the Socialist Party of Serbia (SPS) was supposed to look like the only party supporting peace. Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic can now deal more easily with the world powers and seek a reprieve. He can say that there is no better alternative to him in Serbia now or in the future.

We thought we knew all there was to know about Bosnian Serb Commander General Ratko Mladic, but he has just begun to show his peaceful side. He says that it might not be such a bad idea for the arms embargo against the Muslims to be lifted, because in that case he would be able to annihilate the Bosnian army with a clear conscience before the arms arrived. Or rather, that thus far he had felt sorry for them and had refrained from doing so. Can you imagine what Sarajevo would look like now if it hadn't been pounded by someone as chivalrous as Mladic?

They are probably having a grand old time in Pale (Bosnian Serb political center) thinking up all of these bluffs for Western consumption. Nevertheless, the arming of the Muslims strikes me as the worst thing that the world could do. Such a move is aimed primarily at easing the conscience of and impressing the American public. Characteristic of US President Bill Clinton's foreign policy, this would simulate the resolve of a true statesman, and it could very well happen that Bosnia would then be forgotten. The armies would be left to fight a fair fight until they exterminated each other. And since this is above all a war against the civilian population, it would make the parties equally genocidal.

It is clear that the world powers find it difficult to admit to humiliation and defeat by Karadzic and that they don't know how to make him give back what he has taken by force without also using force themselves. But there is no hope in Bosnia that the Bosnians themselves, regardless of the uniforms they wear, and with arms of any kind, might bring about a justice which would be the foundation of civilized life. In Bosnia only force exists and justice can only come from somewhere far away, where they still understand what justice means.

We saw that France and England are resolutely opposed to American ideas regarding Bosnia, something which our ``global thinkers'' here still don't consider sufficiently important, relying instead only upon Russia's spiritual closeness. However, the lack of a unified Western position is interesting because we, like Russia, are simply a convenient excuse. Namely, it is not so much that some European countries understand the Bosnian problem better, nor that they hate the Bosnians and love the Serbs. The Europeans wish to tell the Americans, via Bosnia, that now that the USSR no longer exists the US can also start minding its own business. Bosnia reminds America of precisely those events which forced it to intervene and stop the nationalist orgies of the Old World twice in this century. They would prefer not to do so again. Russian Foreign Minister Andrei Kozyrev claims that he never mentioned observers on the Drina River when in Belgrade. In that case, it must have been Milosevic who mentioned them, since he would like to cut off Karadzic, free of charge, if this would result in Karadzic abandoning the idea of unification. But since the world wants to watch and pay for the privilege, then he will haggle. It seems that he asked for all that he could think of: the lifting of sanctions, observers on the Una River (Croatian-Bosnian border) and that only Russians and Greeks monitor the Drina River.

The West might even agree; the Serbs would take it for granted that their Orthodox brethren would turn a blind eye when necessary; Milosevic would allow what he wanted to cross the Drina only when he wanted it; then he would blame the observers. The Serbs in Bosnia would complain about the blockade, while Belgrade and the world would be left guessing. Milosevic would be the only man who would know what was really happening, and that's the best thing of all.

For years his authority has been based upon and flourished due to the fact that only he knows what is going on, and we have all been able to see that it certainly wasn't what he was talking about. This has led to an enormous distance between him and the others. All think that somewhere, up high, unheard of plots are being cooked up, while those who depend on him never know if they are still in favor, because they are not given any indication of what they are supposed to be doing; therefore they cannot follow or support any particular policy. All that remains for them is to be loyal to him personally, and every one of his sudden moves only reinforces this type of behavior.

Of course, those working in propaganda have the hardest time. Thanks to the recent switch to peace, a very old dilemma in this field has been resolved. Some people were so zealous in discovering world conspiracies that we came to ask ourselves if the matter concerned lies or insanity. The dilemma has been resolved in favor of lying. There are no more conspiracies; the international community is no longer mentioned with anger and horror and suddenly everything has become normal and natural. And had someone really believed it all, the insane construction would not have been dismantled so easily. It is nice that the Serbs in Krajina are helping the unfortunate refugees from Velika Kladusa. It is alright if they think that they will manage to get some international aid for themselves as a result of these circumstances; even if it is true that Fikret Abdic's Muslims were the Serbs' allies against those other Muslims. It is not clear what kind of a lesson should be drawn from the fate of these refugees and their defeated autonomous province. That one should not have an Abdic and follow him blindly? That it is not possible to isolate oneself from this war and survive by just doing business? That local autonomies here have no future? Or is it the other way around, that they will soon start springing up everywhere and that Fikret Abdic is just the defeated apostle of a new movement?

The Muslims' flight from other Muslims and their seeking a haven amongst the Serbs has made it possible for us to hear words of compassion and pity for non-Serbs on TV Serbia for the first time in several years.

Elegant Belgrade gardens are ready for the autumn round of diplomatic parties and cocktails. Hidden from the public eye, our side and their side will meet and talk politely. These are probably the only remaining oases of civility in the city. I don't think that our corps diplomatique should have greater ambitions. Most of them are new and probably can't wait to get posted to some quiet and normal country. Many of those who knew the old Yugoslavia are left shocked and practically heart-broken over the scope of the disaster. I met some of them; they look like the biggest victims of communist propaganda since they suffer from an incurable form of Yugonostalgia.