Improvements in Teaching

Students of the Medical Faculty and the School of Dental Medicine in Srbinje (former Foca) await the arrival of a "very important ecclesiastical figure", said Serb daily Oslobodjenje.

The dignitary is none other than Zahumlje-Herzegovina and Coastal Bishop Atanasije "who will hold a lecture on The History of Dental Medicine and Medicine, From the Aspect of This-Worldly Beliefs" (?!). Lectures on yoga are finished and Ljubomir Zukovic who is described by Oslobodjenje as "our greatest expert on Vuk Karadzic and his works" (Serb enlightener, ed. note) is expected to make an appearance. Apart from lectures on yoga, the history of the Serbian language and aspects of this-worldly views on caries, the students have at their disposal a library with over 600 books, while classes have been "modernized with three computers".

 

Raid

Over 70 ticket controllers working for the Belgrade public transport company (GSB) triumphed in a spectacular, but announced raid at bus stops near the bridge in Branko's street. GSB ticket controllers sold 1,831 single ride tickets (at the price of 1.5 dinars), wrote out 270 complaints, and fined 81 passengers (the fine was 30 dinars). 142 transport cards were confiscated while 20,000 passengers left the vehicles voluntarily and otherwise, and walked.

It is believed that 50,000 Belgraders have been checked by ticket controllers. The passengers had the choice of buying a ticket from the controller, leaving the vehicle, handing over their transport card or of showing up in court.

 

Punishment

During his visit to Valjevo, Yugoslav Foreign Minister Vladislav Jovanovic was the guest of the local Socialist Party of Serbia (SPS) branch in the municipality chamber. Academician Mihailo Markovic, Russian academician Mirjana Markovic, Minister without portfolio Tomica Raicevic, SPS vice-president Borisav Jovic had also been guests when visiting Valjevo. And nothing ever went wrong, to the satisfaction of the public and the guests.

This time everything went wrong. The loudspeakers which had been borrowed from the local Youth Center for the occasion didn't work, so that Jovanovic, a lyrical soul, was barely audible.

The SPS acted quickly and concluded that the person guilty for this obvious act of sabotage must be punished: considering that the Youth Center director is a SPS member, and therefore a reliable and proven comrade, he was absolved of all responsibility and Youth Center workman Veseljko Belosevic who had the misfortune to be in charge of sound equipment that evening, was blamed.

The director ordered Veseljko to write out a statement. The Party represented by the director will decide on Veseljko's punishment for this glaring example of sabotage.

 

Grenades

Grenade explosions have been the reason for four deaths and twice as many injured persons in the last few days in the center of Belgrade. On Saturday (12 February) in the Cukaricka Padina suburb a certain Sreten Dekic better known as Koska (The Bone) tried to open a bottle of beer with a hand grenade. The result: he was killed on the spot, while his friend and three passersby were injured. On Monday (14 February) after a family row, and it is claimed in a state of nervous disorder, Nebojsa Belivuk activated a bomb. The result: three dead and three seriously injured persons.

According to Ministry of the Interior data for the city of Belgrade, from the beginning of 1995 six persons have lost their lives in hand grenade explosions, of which two were suicides. The deceased lay down on their "war souvenirs" and then activated them.

 

A Swiss

Stories that the Serbs don't have friends in the world have been denied by our well known and traditional friends, such as John Kennedy and Daniel Schieffer. Thanks to the official daily Borba which recently carried an article "A Swiss Turns Serb", we can now count on Chris (who is shy about giving his surname), born in Zurich, whom the fighters have affectionately nicknamed "Jovo the sniper". Jovo alias Chris, told Borba journalist: "Look, I've decided to convert to the Orthodox faith when all this ends, so that it won't look like the Serbs converted me during the war. That's why I say: we Serbs. My name will be Jovo, they gave it to me in the war. I'll get christened and convert to the Orthodox faith in the Church of St. Sava in Vojnic. I'll get myself a Serbian citizenship, my fiancee is Serb, from Virgin Most. When we get married I'll probably become a real Serb, you're from where your wife is." Jovo/Chris tried to explain the charm and beauty of life in the new Serb states: "I like the way you live, even though there's a war on - all live as they want to! In the West and in my country, in Switzerland, the people have everything, but they must work and live according to strict norms prescribed by the system. Even those cows you see on Milka chocolates must conform to the system. I think that the people here (in the Republic of Srpska Krajina) are born as individuals and pure democrats".

 

La Vie En Rose

After having shunned the media for quite a long time, Mme Dafina Milanovic, whose hands were kissed by all those important figures while she was the "Serbian mother" and Dafiment bank owner, with Mihalj Kertes in charge of her bank's security, has appeared on Channel Pink. She was the guest of charming TV personality Milovan Ilic Minimaks, who said that they had met for the first time in person. Mme Dafina then made a few statements.

She is well, everything is alright (but the trademark jewelry was missing). She will reach an agreement with National Bank (NBJ) Governor Dragoslav Avramovic (in hospital?) and the NBJ will approve the payment of money to those Dafiment Bank account holders who are pensioners, seriously ill and need their money in order to undergo treatment abroad. She is waiting for things to sort themselves out, and then, to the joy of the nation, she will start working again. But only for a while, because her greatest wish is to devote her time to her grandchildren.

Mr. Ilic was polite and didn't ask, considering the ownership of Pink Channel, whether his guest had joined the League of Communists-Movement for Yugoslavia. Or if a reincarnated Dafiment Bank, now that it had taken care of pensioners, housewives and various tricksters, would devote its collecting activities in the coming pink period to the international proletariat.

Citizenship

 

BORA DJORDJEVIC, better known as Bora-Corba (famous rock singer from Belgrade), explained his national option in an interview to the paper Smederevac: "My national option has never been in jeopardy for one second. It is very clear and I didn't turn back when things got tough, so that I don't see why I should do so now, when official politics have turned their back on them. While many of my colleagues were scared shitless to pass through the Corridor, which isn't all that terrible, I went back and forth many times. That's where the war found me and I am now very proud of the way I am met in Republika Srpska or the Republic of Serb Krajina (...) I must boast that I am an honorary citizen of Knin and that I have a Republic of Serb Krajina I.D. card. I'm going to get such a document from Pale, Republika Srpska soon, and this is something I say everywhere with pride (...) Then I'll be the only Serb who has united the Serbs, symbolically, in one person. Right now I'm probably the only person who has all three Serb citizenships."

 

Genes

LJILJANA ZELEN-KARADZIC, wife of Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic in an interview to the Serb daily Oslobodjenje, said, speaking of her children, what daughter Sonja had not inherited from her: "A calm, keeping my opinion to myself. She is much more open and likes to say what she thinks. It's difficult to say whether this is good or bad. Sonja, just like Radovan, is more open with people, they accept people first and then judge. I don't do it that way, because I have intuition, a strong sense of intuition, and I have never made a mistake and misjudged a good person so far.

What about son Sasa?

"He's more introvert. Actually, they're both very close to their father. Sonja, like all daughters, but Sasa is 21 and there's a bit of a struggle for independence, maturity".

Radovan?

"I know for sure that Radovan does not wish to spend his whole life in politics. Politics are something he entered accidently, something he never thought of in our earlier conversations. He wishes to work in his profession again one day."