A Stop for Westerners

The session of the Krajina parliament at which the representatives were supposed to elect the new government had been initially scheduled to take place in Mirkovci (Eastern Slavonija) on July 10. It was then rescheduled "for technical reasons" for July 12 at 1:00 p.m. That morning, members of parliament and ministers from the Western part of Krajina started for Mirkovci, via Belgrade. They were not stopped at any of the road checks in Serbia. But, at the border crossing at Tovarnik, the representatives of the people of Krajina encountered several members of the Krajina military police and ten or so policemen in civilian clothes who refused to lift the ramp and let them carry on their journey. They were also told, just in case they were determined to make their way to Mirkovci some other way, that other border crossings at the Ilok and Bogojevo bridges were also blocked. The Krajina state officials were left with no option but to wait by their parked cars with the members of the UN forces and wait for further developments. Therefore Rajko Lezajic - President of the Krajina Parliament, Health Secretary - Dr. Stevan Djuric, Information Minister - Drago Kovacevic, etc. waited in Tovarnik from 10:30 am. The temperature at that moment was around 33 degrees Centigrade. Interior Minister, Slobodan Peric argued with the policemen at the crossing, possibly trying to convince them that he is the minister responsible for giving orders to the police. However the policemen remained firm. Neither were they much impressed when Peric's assistant mounted a police siren on the top of Peric's car.

President of Krajina, Milan Martic successfully made his way to Mirkovci. He was the only official from Western Krajina who was let through by the police at Tovarnik. In Mirkovci, at around 2:00 p.m. in the local council building, he met with several MPs from Eastern Slavonija (Serbian Radical Party, Serbian Democratic Party of Krajina, and Serbian Democratic Party of all Serbian states). During the meeting, a black armoured van arrived outside the building. Out of it came seven of Arkan's Serbian Volunteer Guards; eyewitnesses say that their regiment insignia were clearly visible on their uniforms. They positioned themselves in front of the building where Martic held his meeting with their backs to the church, with LAWs over their shoulders, holding automatic weapons ready to fire.

Martic spent about half an hour in the offices of the Mirkovci local council after which he too left Eastern Slavonija.

His only comment on the whole affair with the border crossings and the cancellation of the parliamentary session was: "Improper".

Although the unification with the Bosnian Serbs, declared at an earlier session of the Krajina Parliament held in Borovo Selo, has largely been forgotten, there is a view that with the unification the leaders from Knin lost the trust of the Serbian President which they once held. The appointment of General Mrksic as the Commander of the Krajina Army could be explained in this context. According to one interpretation, he was chosen to establish some kind of order, independent of all political clashes. It is being claimed that the building of Mrksic's authority was helped by the Serbian regime through the mobilization of refugees as well as through financial help. The popularity of General Mrksic is currently on the rise, but it is highly unlikely that he will be able to rise above the existing divisions, especially on the regional level.

In any case, General Mrksic is in a much easier position than Dr. Babic or Martic. Dr. Babic, aware of the difficulties which he would undoubtedly face, was not at all pleased with his appointment as the Prime Minister. However he had no choice - refusal to form a government would mean the loss of political credibility. He is faced with two possibilities: either total solidarity with the Bosnian Serbs and with it total political isolation of Krajina and an even more desperate economic situation, or complete submission to the political will of Belgrade. As usual, he opted for a third option. He tried to demonstrate the unity of Krajina (between its Eastern and Western part) and thus insure some kind of autonomy for his own policies.

In Eastern Slavonija, he held consultations about the composition of the new government while the parliament session in Mirkovci (the only local council in eastern Slavonija faithful to Knin) was probably called in order to bring Goran Hadzic and other secessionist into line, or rather, to show that they do not enjoy the confidence of the people.

Such a thing would have suited neither the leaders of the Serbs from Eastern Slavonija or the government in Belgrade. This led to the above mentioned blockade in Tovarnik. According to some, it is also revenge for the sacking, by the Knin authorities, of Borislav Mikelic who enjoyed Serbian President's complete confidence. Mikelic's recent appearance in a political program shown on Serbian Television indicates that Belgrade has not given up Mikelic and has no intention of doing so. It is evident that Slobodan Milosevic is trying to cause another, so far the greatest, political crisis in the ranks of the Krajina Serbs. Because of the proclaimed unification with the Bosnian Serbs, as well as other reasons, he simply does not trust the officials in Knin. By organizing the events at the Tovarnik border crossing which demonstrated potential secession of Eastern Slavonija, Baranja and Western Srem, he tried to point out several things to those in Knin. First of all, instead of unifiers of Serbian people, they will turn out to be those destroying its unity and thus become public enemies- a fate already experienced by Vojislav Seselj. From a military perspective, Knin which is expecting an attack by the Croatian Army in autumn could not count on any assistance from Belgrade, or the opening of the Eastern Slavonija front where the Serbs are strongest. Finally, Krajina will be left without its richest part, forty percent of its population, and quite certainly without financial help from Serbia which it so desperately needs.

Well-informed sources claim that the Serbian president is looking for new political leaders in Krajina. One of the ways in which they could be found has already been mentioned by Mikelic - new elections which could be extracted from the current leadership with a combination of political pressures mentioned above. A possible alternative would be the repentance of the current leadership accompanied by unambiguous signs of political loyalty. In any case, a lot more will become clear after the next session of the Krajina Parliament, which is this time expected to take place in Knin.