Serbia: State Owned

A two day international (Serbian-Russian) meeting on the goals of societies in transition started in Belgrade last Monday. The gathering was financed, among others, by the republican and federal science ministries, the Beograd railroad company and the Pozarevac meat factory.

The Yugoslav United Left (JUL) was promoted in Kikinda that same day with party directorate president Mira Markovic explaining party stands on privatization as one of the main and unavoidable levers of transition. The daily press reported her as saying that "unless the Yugoslav Left gets more involved in political life in our society, the prevailing danger is the establishment of a primitive, thieving, South American type of capitalism. I link that fear with the danger of the idea of absolute, total privatization of all goods and values and the determination to allow the unlimited import of foreign capital."

It is a public secret that the Serbian authorities have ordered the spreading of a story on transition and privatization but the people who obeyed the order found that their mission was to pave the way for negotiations with international monetary institutions following the lifting of the sanctions and the return of the FRY to the UN. In any case, the campaign could never give birth to the idea of total privatization, nor can the idea be a close concept to serious people and experts regardless of their political leanings. Markovic's fear of total privatization is accompanied by the hope that conditions will be created "for the material well being, equality of working people, free education".

JUL is not closing the door to foreign capital but only "under the assumption that that process is organized under rules that will clearly define the limits and character of the process", Markovic explained.

 

Skoplje: Stable But Risky

The most often used word in Skoplje since Tuesday, October 3, when unknown bombers attacked President Kiro Gligorov, is "stable". The council of doctors who are taking care of the president use it every day in statements.

The same word is used to describe the current political situation in Macedonia. Gligorov's closest associates keep repeating that there is not anything strong enough to turn the country back from its course, a course which is most often described as rapprochement with Europe and opening the door to international organizations and institutions.

The state security council used the word stable at its special session to describe the situation in the country and added that security forces were doing everything to keep things that way.

The real situation would be better described as "stable with risks". Considering the injuries and age of the president and doctors' experience in similar situations, you could say that his recovery is burdened by the significant risk of direct and delayed complications.

Most political leaders and parties are avoiding direct statement and speculations on things to come which can be considered in good taste since the president is in intensive care. The only person to predict early elections was Menduh Taci, spokesman for the radical Albanians, who added that the Albanians could show their true power at those elections. In an interview to a foreign news agency, Taci disputed the results of last year's census and claimed there were many more Albanians in Macedonia than the census showed.

And while Taci's statements were limited to news agency reports, much more attention was drawn by a press conference by VMRO-DPMNE leader Ljupco Georgijevski last week.

He said the attack on Gligorov could have been ordered by top political leaders and close associates of the president out of political or economic ambitions. He described the extremists in his own party as men who are satisfied to just shoot in the air and brawl in bars, not men who are capable of launching a sophisticated attempt on the president's life.

The Macedonian police, the very people who are in the best position to provide reliable information, have not gotten very far or are keeping quiet because of their investigation. The collection of evidence at the scene has been completed with the help of US, British and German experts. The initial conclusion is that the attack bears the hallmarks of "a world famous terrorist organization" but no one said which. The public was told that no one had been arrested yet but that a large number of suspects are under investigation.

The conclusion was that the investigation is going slowly. The man best placed to make that statement, police minister Ljubomir Frckovski, has not met the press 10 days after the attack. Officially, he is too busy to make statements and will do so as soon as he can. Amid the overall "stable but risky" mood his position seems to the most unstable and dangerous.

Makpres news agency reported that Frckovski offered his resignation to Prime Minister Branko Crvenkovski but added that the resignation had either been rejected or will be discussed later.

 

Croatia: Massacring the Elderly

Several days after Franjo Tudjman rejected detailed claims by the West that his troops were committing crimes in the Krajina, nine elderly Serb civilians (aged over 60) were massacred in the village of Varivode near Kistanj. These were not bearded monsters but the very people the Croatian president appealed to remain in their homes without fear.

The investigation is underway. The Helsinki Watch committee report, signed by president Ivan Zvonimir Cicak, spoke of 12 people, while the Croatian police said nine. This time the police were proved right after three more people were found alive.

Novi List published a list of the massacred civilians: Jovan Beric (75), Milka Beric (71), Mara Dukic (70), Ljubo Dujo Dukic (75), Mirko Pokrajac (85), Mara Beric (70), Rajko Beric (69), Spiro Beric (60), Jovan (60) and Marko Beric.

At the time of the slaughter, several more people were living in the village. No one knows what happened to Spiro Dobrijevic. Mirko Dobrijevic and Vukica Beric (80) are in Knin hospital with Bojanka Milosevic (42) who was allegedly under police protection. She was interrogated by the police for two days and no one knows what happened to her later. Soka Dobrijevic is safe with relatives in Sibenik while Milan Pokrajac (77) was found at his home.

If UNCRO is right that there were 17 people living in the village then there are another three missing. UNCRO claims only one person is missing.

Several days after the slaughter, Yasushi Akashi made his critical contribution, condemning the crime and adding that "reports state that the attack was committed by 3-4 people in military uniform. He said "the attack is the most brutal single attack on Serbs who are still in Croatia and shows the need for international overseeing and protection of the remaining Serb population".

The Croatian authorities promised to investigate the crime and bring the perpetrators to justice which Akashi said "would be a step forward in the process of establishing the trust of the remaining Serbs". He voiced the hope that "this tragic incident will motivate Croatia to work at creating conditions for the return of the people who fled the Krajina".

Helsinki Watch figures show that will not be so easy. Namely, most of the people killed in Operation Storm, and that number is rising daily, are being buried in Gracac, Knin and other designated graveyards. An EU report said an average of six people were being killed every day, mainly the elderly.