Witch Hunt

People around Vuk Draskovic have been asking what Slobodan Milosevic really intended when his media were thrown into competing to describe Vuk's "latest betrayal".

The ferocity of the regime's reaction to what Draskovic wrote in letters to the foreign ministers of the US, Russia, Germany, France and Italy was completely disproportionate to the "crime in question". Similar letters with similar claims were written by the same man earlier and he also showed that he naively believes the West will severely rebuke the regime. In most cases earlier, the interventions by the Serbian Renewal Movement (SPO) leader went unnoticed but, not every year is election year. Many things started pointing to the conclusion that something much bigger is behind all this; perhaps even the regime's ambition to ban the SPO after alleging that Draskovic demanded a foreign military intervention. At first glance, the idea of banning the SPO might seem slightly paranoid amid a paranoid media campaign but when things began falling into place, it didn't seem that naive any more.

Just a day before Politika got the ball rolling with an unsigned comment titled "Draskovic Wants Foreign Intervention in Serbia" (without quoting the disputed letter which did not demand an intervention), the daily published a Tanjug report from an annual press conference in the Serbian constitutional court. That report mentioned that the court has two cases demanding a ban on political parties. The judges said the two parties were the SPO and the Sandzak branch of the Democratic Action Party (SDA). The SPO case dates back to June 1993 when Draskovic was arrested after demonstrations in front of federal parliament. The prevailing belief was that the case was taken out of legal proceedings since no one mentioned it in the meantime.

The day after that Politika attacked Draskovic, and said he had called the great powers to intervene and promised to organize attacks on the inside. The Charge D'Affaires of the German Embassy in Belgrade, Gerhard Schrembgens, was dragged into the story after being reported to have been involved in organizing the March 9 demonstrations. That night, the Serbian state TV (RTS) joined the witchhunt. An anchor read the Politika comment off camera while viewers were treated to pictures of Draskovic and the German diplomat trading papers and chatting just prior to the demonstrations. The suggested impression was that Draskovic was disappointed with the demonstrations and wanted foreign powers to send bombers in for a repeat of the April 6, 1941 bombing of Belgrade.

Vecernje Novosti suggested the same thing in its Sunday edition in a comment titled "Traitor's Call". The daily didn't quote the letter but the author made claims of what Draskovic urged: blood, atrocities, Serbia in ruins and under occupation.

In later stages of the campaign "healthy forces" in the judiciary were summoned. There were demands for the public prosecutor to enforce the constitution since "everything is crystal clear". The tale of Draskovic's treasonous activities grew and comments came from veterans of slanderous journalism. Radio Belgrade aired a half hour comment which portrayed Draskovic as "blacker than the devil".

Draskovic could face proceedings under Article 133 (verbal crimes) of the FRY criminal code which says that inciting to topple the authorities by force draws a sentence of three months to five years. If that is done with help from abroad the sentence is one to eight years.

All through the campaign, none of the state media quoted the letter although the SPO said they sent it to all of them. One article complained that the investigation hadn't been started and that the prosecutor's office said there were no grounds to start it.

Vecernje Novosti showed that nothing in this story is obvious on March 27 when it concluded that Draskovic "hadn't really called for a military intervention" but did ask foreign government to help him get Serbia in line with his ideas. It concluded that that is treason after all.

Regime media campaigns over the past few years have used the same methods to attack the SPO and they now have logical outlines. But, the Serbian constitutional court said recently that the case isn't current and voiced surprise at the ferocity of the attack ("From the court's point of view the letter is completely irrelevant," one source said). The court sources said the recent mention of the case is pure coincidence and added that some reporter asked if there were any demands for a ban on political parties. The judges replied that there were two cases although the SPO case was almost forgotten since the prosecutor hadn't provided any evidence to proceed with it. Court sources added that there were no indications that things would change.

If all that is true, what could be the real reason for the attack on Draskovic?

In a statement to VREME, Draskovic said Milosevic wants to remove all embarrassing witnesses like the SPO and Civic Alliance (GSS). He said Milosevic fears parts of the opposition could unite and organize rallies across Serbia. As for the letter, Draskovic said he sent a similar letter to the Serbian president earlier informing him that he had told several foreign governments of the concept of the March 9 protest and invited their diplomats to attend. "The Socialists had their congress and we had our March 9," he said.

Sources close to the SPS didn't deny that permission for the attack on Draskovic came from party leaders and added that some of the media went overboard. VREME sources said similar campaigns will be staged throughout the election year since SPS leaders feel the opposition has to be compromised. They said Draskovic is paying the price for associating with the SPS a few months ago and then turning his back on them.

Assessments in the SPS are that the party's position isn't as firm as they seem and that the opposition isn't as hopeless as they are suggesting. Nine months before the elections, the situation is touch-and-go with the economy in a much worse state than it was a year ago, with unclear influence on voters and frequent scandals rocking the SPS. All those claims meet with the same response: they're fabrications by the Right.

The anxiety of ruling circles could be pushed deeper by statements like the one by Carl Bildt who keeps saying that he will ask Milosevic to make sure the elections in the FRY are free and fair. The Draskovic campaign sent a message to Bildt and others that this is Milosevic's backyard and they have nothing to do here. The German Charge D'Affaires was chosen because he's the only high ranking diplomat who showed up for the demonstrations. He was also interviewed by the SPO's Srpska Rec magazine earlier and said the EU and US certainly haven't given Milosevic a free hand to do what he wants with the media and human rights. Draskovic exposed himself and he was targeted.

Informed sources said that the whole thing is just a precursor to what is going to happen. Allegedly, a working group has also been set up for Djindjic and will get to work once the Democratic Party (DS) leader appears in court in a slander suit filed by Serbian Prime Minister Mirko Marjanovic.

Get ready Zoran Djindjic.