Director's Personal Guards

"The civil war in Serbia will break out in Politika", said the Company's journalist after seeing what was to be seen in the Politika Belgrade headquarters: an armed guard in front of the office of Zivoard Minovic, the Company Director, several armed Minovic's guards in the RTV Politika offices, tighter security (Minovic's again) in all parts of the building. Finally, Dragan Hadzi Antic, Director of the daily Politika and Minovic's opponent, was seen with a bodyguard (armed, of course) and those around him qualified it as "the creation of a new security system in Politika".

All of it looked like misfortune. One company, two directors and two armed personal security guards. One of the directors (Minovic) also sealed off the office of the other director (Hadzi Dragan Antic). Unofficially, the latter said he would oust the former. And then everything stopped, at least for the moment.

Some now say Slobodan Milosevic should deserve credit for curbing the "civil war" - rumor has it that he sent word to the quarreling directors to calm down since he did not have time now to deal with them - while other comment the lull by voicing the simple argument that neither of the directors is currently strong enough to win. Those trying to explain it all are having the greatest difficulties. The clash is logical, in essence. To be the head of Politika means to be very close to the authorities but it also means to be powerful and rich, and that is something that hardly anyone wants to share. In other words, Politika cannot have two heads. Or, if it already has them, they have to quarrel.

The two above-mentioned men began bickering a long time ago, messing with each other's lives more or less successfully. Last summer, for instance, Minovic spearheaded the dismissal of RTV Politika's Director Aleksandar Tijanic, whom Antic supported. This summer, the attack was launched by Antic. Slobodan Ignjatovic, one of Minovic's proteges, was dismissed from the "hot" post of RTV Politika Director.

Sealing off offices and arming ensued after that, because Ignjatovic refused to be dismissed and the Company Politika (Minovic) even hired a lawyer to prove that his dismissal was illegal. The attorney of the daily Politika (Antic's attorney) briefly replied to these attempts: "The decision to dismiss Mr. Ignjatovic from the post of RTV Politika Director is as legal as the decision to appoint him had been".

Behind all this lies a much larger story, the one about various groups trying to secure themselves crucial influence in Serbia. Hadzi Dragan Antic, declared as a "peacekeeper", mostly keeps company with the people in the Yugoslav United Left (JUL) (Mirjana Markovic, above all); he also maintains good relations with the Socialists close to JUL, he is friends with various businessmen close to JUL; his associates claim he is frequently Milosevic's house guest. Minovic, who is rumored to have tried to join the JUL and failed, is closer to the old, tested core of the Socialist Party (Pankov, Minic, Jovic), while Antic's followers "accuse" him of being close to (ex-RTV of Serbia Director) Vucelic, (poet) Brana Crncevic and Jovica Stanisic, who heads the Serbian State Security. In other words, Minovic would turn out to be the "war-monger" and an SPS hard-liner.

The victory of Dragan Hadzi Antic is the victory of a (still emerging) "wide front", on the left side, in which united will stand Milosevic, JUL, Mira Markovic, SPS, rich people close to them and many others whose presence there will surprise us. Minovic's success will be the victory of the more orthodox part of SPS and proof that the power will neither be shared nor ceded for the time being. Rooting for one or the other is a personal choice.