Only a Loyal Muslim Is a Good Muslim

Prijepolje and Priboj, both towns somewhere in the middle of the Belgrade-Bar railway, have mixed populations - Serbs and Muslims

While Serbs, especially the ones in power, claim that the inter-ethnic relations are traditionally good and undisturbed, Muslims organized in their parties say they have been exposed to ethnic cleansing which has now "evolved" into perfidious pressures. Despite all this, it can be said that events in Sjeverin and Strpci are the past and that Muslims are returning to " normal living" because they have realized that only a loyal Muslim is a good Muslim, according to the local and higher authorities. Loyalty means minding one's own business and not being politically engaged in the Party of Democratic Action (SDA). The other one-sidedness is a stimulus. Membership in the leftist parties is followed by prizes such as offices and other benefits. But this refers to Serbs, too. Local Socialist Party of Serbia (SPS) president Milenko Puzovic, speaking about last year's achievements for the Prijepolje newspaper "Polimlje," said that the socialists had "strong support from the citizens and other left-oriented forces."

President of the municipality of Prijepolje Stevan Puric has Slobodan Milosevic's portrait in his office. According to the 1991 census, Prijepolje has a population of 46,000 - 53 per cent Serbs, 43 per cent Muslims, "the rest are Montenegrins and others." The municipality is undeveloped, 13,000 people are employed, mostly in the socially-owned business. There are some small private businesses - trade, restaurants, services... As for economy, Puric said, they hope it would get better.

Inter-ethnic relations? Traditionally good, Puric said. The relations did cool down for a while, especially after what happened in Strpci, but everybody condemned the incident and Milosevic promised the minority would never again be kidnapped. Due to all this, Puric said, the Muslims did not let themselves be taken in by the provocations. The vice president of the municipality is Munik Podbicanin, the chief of one of the municipal departments is Ajdin Zainovic who is with Puric during our visit, there are Muslims who are company managers, school headmasters... "Say is that right, Ajdin," Puric asked his associate. Zainovic said Dayton meant relief for everyone and that the rightists of both nationalities were not so vociferous any longer. But people must live together, the extremes are ten per cent, "is that right, Ajdin?" "There are extremes everywhere," Ajdin said.

Muslims moving out? Some, but not under pressure, local government president Vasojevic said energetically. "The ones who left were those who were active in the Muslim party, the militant group who went to Alija's (Izetbegovic) army and also some of those who evaded mobilization. No other citizen has left Prijepolje," he said convincingly. Some people did move out but this did not change the national structure much. Did some people change their personal names? There was one in Sjelasnica, the village Puric comes from. His name was Hajrudin, now he is Stojan Kasamovic. He considers himself a Serb, Puric explained.

Does the opposition exist? Yes, there are deputies of the Serbian Radical Party (SRS), Serbian Renewal Movement (SPO) and Depos in the Municipal Assembly, Puric said and added the authorities treated the opposition better than the opposition treated them. He again asked Ajdin to confirm his words. Ajdin approved.

The building of the Islamic Community faces the Town Hall, the windows of the Islamic Community are face to face with the windows of the president's office. The building also houses the premises of Muslim releif organization "Merhamet," used also by Party of Democratic Action (SDA), Sulejman Ugljanin's faction. Physics teacher Nedzad Hodzic - teaching at the technical school - does not approve of divisions and factions. Therefore he does not recognize Ljajic's wing in charge of which is his colleague Zevdzo Huric. Although well-informed people know the party has been dismissed, Huric spoke about the violation of party regulations. He said life was getting back to normal. It was difficult during the real torture of arrests, beatings, and dismissals from work, problems with mobilization... His estimate is that about 5,000 Muslims have left Prijepolje in the past few years. They wanted equality. He said it was different now, that everything was getting back to normal and that he believed common sense would win, that "people will be people." On the wall behind Hodzic's back - a calendar with the picture of Ugljanin and Izetbegovic, a map of a united Bosnia with Sandzak attached to it. A little later, a Serb told us that the figure of 5,000 Muslims who had allegedly fled was nebulous. In order to support his statement, he called a Muslim sitting at the next table in the cafe: "Come on, tell the reporter how many of your people did my people force to leave?" The Muslim tried to avoid answering the question, but since the Serb kept insisting, the Muslim said: "I don't know. And do you know how many of your people did your people force to leave? Three hundred thousand only in the Belgrade area."

Priboj is down the river. Squeezed between the hills, it stretches for several kilometres along the Lim. Although it is noon, there are a lot of people in the streets. Petrol is being sold at four dinars a litre (there is none at petrol stations), cigarettes, various smuggled goods... The embargo and the war nearby seem to have well shaken up the inhabitants of Priboj. First of all FAP, the car factory. Thanks to the largest lorry producer, the average salaries in Priboj were the third highest in Serbia before the sanctions were imposed. And then FAP stopped working and the salaries are among the lowest in Serbia. The factory stopped working because there are no Mercedes engines. The local engineers worked on the gear-shifts alone for four years - without success. The factory has been producing only the bodies for lorries. Only 20 per cent of the workers are working, mainly in the administration. When the electricity and other bills are paid, only a few dinars are left for salaries. Other businesses in the municipality are not doing well either, because they mostly depended on FAP.

According to the 1991 census, there were 30 per cent Muslims. It is somewhat different now, because a number of Muslims have left, some for political, some for economic reasons, but none under pressure. But people are coming back, president of the municipality Popovic said. The problem is, he said, that this is the border region (Kukurovici, Strmac, Sjeverin...), and many Muslims left because they were afraid. Where to? First to Priboj, and then further on. Another problem for the Muslims was that two thirds of the municipality of Priboj can be reached only via the territory of the Bosnian Serb Republic. After 18 Muslims from Sjeverin had been kidnapped, they were forbidden to travel that way. Of course, the position of the Serbs was not any better either after the observers arrived, Popovic said. Their transport, too, was forbidden, but only the transport of goods, so they could at least travel, and Muslims left for good. There was not a single inter-ethnic conflict during the crisis and the war, thanks to the understanding between the Serbs and Muslims, Popovic said.

However, there was not so much understanding on all levels. Various militia, volunteers, kidnapping were kinds of pressure. Provocations came from outside Priboj, from both sides. In order to show that the Muslims had equal rights, Popovic named those who were company managers, chiefs of municipal departments, library manager, deputy commander of the police department. A lengthy list. And five SPS Muslims are deputies in the Municipal Assembly. SDA?

Practically non-existent. SPS? United, with the new programme for the new century. Popovic gives short answers to all the questions.

SDA offices are in the new part of Priboj. Ugljanin's faction is in a private house. The secretary says everything is all right now, young people go out together, make friends with each other. President of the committee Bajro Hamzic says the attitude toward the Muslims has been negative since the war broke out. People were being arrested, harassed, kidnapped, killed. He reads the list with details and dates - instigation, bombs, kidnapping, expelling, desecration of graveyards... Now? Better, but there are still pressures in a perfidious form. The radio broadcasts advertisements of Serbs from Sarajevo who want to trade houses. A big problem is that of displaced persons, the Muslims who came from the border villages to stay with their relatives in Priboj. Since they are the citizens of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, they do not have the status of refugees, and that is where the problems arise. There were about 2,500 of them, now, according to "Merhamet" census, there are 380. They wrote to Milosevic, sent letters to all addresses in the world (ahead of the peace conference in Paris) -nothing. They want to return to their homes, they ask for compensation of the damage, they want to be able to move freely, they want to be able to reach their villages via the Serbian territory instead of being taken off buses and trains in the Bosnian Serb Republic. If something had been done, more than 10 Muslims would have remained in Sjeverin of the 600 that used to live there.

Noon. The private restaurant "Zlatibor" is completely full. SPO deputy from Sjeverin Ljubinko Djukic confirms Hamzic's words. There were about the same numbers of Muslims and Serbs, about 500 Muslims. There are only ten now. They left after the kidnapping on the bus. The remaining ones will leave, too, when the sanctions of the Bosnian Serb Republic are lifted. Then they will be allowed to cross the Bosnian Serb territory. Who is in their homes? Serbs form Bosnia, refugees, but this is all organized, he assures us. The socially-owned shops still have names like "Brotherhood-Unity." A Muslim taxi-driver says: "It hurts me that the state does not treat me well even though I fulfil all my duties as a citizen."