Peace Process Debate

At the closed session, the new Yugoslav Foreign Minister, Milan Milutinovic, was given the task to announce the details of the peace talks conducted by Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic. Seselj's Radicals, most of Djindjic's Democrats and some MPs of Kilibarda's National Party of Montenegro left the hall as soon as it was announced the session would be closed to the public.

The discussion was initiated by the Serbian Renewal Movement (SPO), the deputy club of which in mid-April submitted an interpellation on the Federal Government peace talks policy, allowing for the possibility that the session be held behind closed doors should state reasons call for it.

The parliamentary debate "on the recognition of Bosnia-Herzegovina", as it was called then, was not held during the regular parliamentary sessions which ended according to the Rules of Procedure on May 31 in a cul-de-sac and wrangling between Federal Parliament Speaker Bozovic and the Radicals.

According to the official statement, the October 4 session of the Federal Parliament was called in keeping with the interpellation by a group of MPs of DEPOS-SPO, Darmanovic's Social-Democratic Party of Montenegro (SDP CG) as well as at the initiative of the MP groups of the Socialist Party of Serbia and the Democratic Party of Socialists of Montenegro (DPS CG).

It did not seem likely this spring that the Government would allow a cross-examination of its foreign policy. Ex-Foreign Minister Vladislav Jovanovic said that the Federal Government was not obliged to ask for the Parliament's approval to recognize other states. The national block parties were frequently issuing statements "against the recognition", criticizing the weaknesses and illegitimacy of Milosevic's negotiating position, but failing to clearly state what they would do. Seselj said that the "Radicals will topple Milosevic before he recognizes Bosnia". The Radicals first announced a spring rally, then an autumn turning-point rally - which they used to backbite Dr. Mirjana Markovic. They also submitted an initiative for a vote of confidence in the Federal Government because of its national policy. One thousand days ago, they were chasing away (ex-Yugoslav Prime Minister) Milan Panic the same way.

On August 21, 1992, the Federal Parliament discussed the platform for the London Conference ("Queen Elisabeth" Center, August 26, second year of the war). It is at this session that Panic, despite accusations of conducting an "anational policy", courageously told Brana Crncevic (who now resignedly left the hall) and Seselj of his intention to recognize the ex-Yugoslav republics within "Tito's borders" and won the unwilling support of the then hot-headed MPs, (similar composition, different mood).

Slobodan Milosevic after that launched the slogan "Serbia will not stoop", which won him the elections, chased away Panic and (ex-Yugoslav President) Dobrica Cosic and conducted the war policy for the next 300 days; this "skillful tactician" has for the past seven hundred days been trying to wring himself out of it...

In early August 1995, the Knin Krajina followed Western Slavonija's suit, "voting with its legs" (Dusan Mitevic's expression); in September, the Bosnian Serbs became NATO's targets, and a larger part of the Serbian front in western Bosnia dangerously cracked. (Bosnian Serb leader) Karadzic, on whose survival the national block in Belgrade was counting, turned the negotiating keys during the breakdown over to Milosevic and the Belgrade national block was left without its strategic backing; after that, several parties and some nationalists-intellectuals signed another declaration on Serbian unity, but failed to strike a responsive chord.

SPO, which asked that the session be attended by the Serbian and Montenegrin Presidents and the Yugoslav Army Commander-in-Chief in addition to the Yugoslav President, the Federal Prime Minister and the Federal Foreign Minister, and then learned that only Minister Milutinovic would address the MPs, presumed that state and army secrets would be discussed and supported the decision that the session be held behind closed doors. Draskovic, for whom this is a sensitive subject as his party considers one of its accomplishments the introduction of live TV coverage of parliamentary sessions, cited state reasons and that "not everything should be taken to the green market". The first MPs who had left the hall, however, say that Milutinovic said nothing new in his report and that he had written his text presuming that the session would be public, which is unusual considering that the Federal Government had requested the previous day that the session be closed to the public.

In the afternoon debate, Milutinovic is said to have shown certain respect for the MPs, answered at least 28 questions the MPs mentioned in their discussions and, according to some witnesses, left a much better impression than his predecessor Jovanovic. Milutinovic spoke of the derails, and even left the impression that the Yugoslav side had freedom of choice on some points of the negotiations. Our collocutors mostly agree that no state secrets were divulged during the discussions, maybe only some details the authorities consider politically sensitive.