Playing on the Reformists Ticket

There can be no other solution and this has been clear ever since the political partnership broke up and Milosevic accepted the Contact Group's peace plan for Bosnia while Karadzic rejected it. The Serbian president's decision was proclaimed a "peace option" and the Bosnian Serb Republic (RS) president's decision a "war option".

Promoters of the Milosevic strategic U-Turn appeared in the RS parliament formally on December 28 when they formed a parliamentary deputy group. This parliamentary group includes Milorad Dodik (group chief) of Laktasi, Momcilo Micic of Tuzla, Nikola Peric of Obudovac, Uros Gostic of Doboj, Ratko Borkovic of Gradiska, Stanko Pantic of Modrica and Milenko Pantic of (Bosanski) Brod. All seven were once deputies in the Bosnia-Herzegovina parliament; representatives of leftist parties (the Alliance of Reformists and Nijaz Durakovic's Social Democrat party). Their first public appearance as a parliamentary group was in early January when they met Contact Group members. Dodik told the Contact Group that their four hour meeting was held thanks to Milosevic. He added that the Contact Group "definitely assured" them that the peace plan for Bosnia was just a basis for negotiations. "We have a different approach to the plan than the Pale leadership because we insist on talks and believe the plan can be taken as a basis for negotiations," Dodik said.

Although the group is small compared to the size of parliament (84 members), it has caused some anxiety in Pale which speaker Momcilo Krajisnik voiced: "Someone wants to break up the RS parliament", he said.

RS Information Minister Miroslav Toholj said the "Group of Seven" were politically marginal but "seem to have promised Belgrade that they would restart a parliamentary debate on the plan after the referendum and win over a number of deputies. So, have they?" Toholj wondered.

The current nonchalance must have been upset when the group asked Karadzic and Krajisnik to "urgently call a session to achieve final peace in the former Bosnia-Herzegovina". The demand, reported by the Belgrade media, blamed Karadzic and Krajisnik for the casualties in the past six months, criticized them for delaying the negotiations and recalled that they were not elected by the people but appointed by parliament and added that parliament had to define new stands for the talks and priorities in regard to the territorial division. Pale were criticized for favorizing some RS regions at the expense of the Bosnian Krajina, Posavina and Semberija.

The group also presented its platform.

Behind the political front lines that the group finds itself in now, there are currently other political forces which are demanding things of Karadzic and his associates and asking him to come clean about everything. Those people include Banja Luka doctor Drago Ilic, head of the RS Socialist Party who makes no secret of his close ties with the Serbian ruling party. "President Milosevic realistic policies will continue to play a decisive role on the road to peace", Ilic said.

Ilic added: "The four year term of the current authorities, who were elected in a state that no longer exists, is over. We are ready to accept a new term if peace talks begin immediately, and end in peace within six months".

Just four days later, on January 27, a Banja Luka socialist spokesman signed an opposition proposal to hold "immediate elections in the RS".