Badza and the Mosque

In his shining colonel-general's uniform, Radovan Stojcic Badza (commander of the territorial defenses in Eastern Slavonia in the Croatian war and now deputy Serbian internal affairs minister), tried very hard on Monday, April 16, to convince TV viewers that crime is dropping rapidly, that the police are solving almost all crimes in some fields and that some media are incorrectly reporting to diminish the success of the police.

To make the show as convincing as possible, an RTS camera crew went out with the police to confirm the general's words. They reported that nothing was happening in Belgrade that night. Stojcic was hardly out of the studio when central Belgrade was rocked by the most powerful explosion the city has seen. The Bajrakli mosque was bombed and luckily no one was injured. The blast shattered windows on surrounding buildings.

On March 30, unidentified attackers threw a hand grenade at the mosque.

This time the police arrived quickly and secured the mosque so experts could do their job. Despite Badza's assurances that the city can sleep calmly, the neighborhood of the mosque was awake and very disturbed.

The conversations between police and local people were interesting:

"Why don't you just raze the mosque instead of putting us through all this?"

"We didn't throw the explosives."

"Maybe you didn't but you know who did, Badza said on TV you're the most efficient police in Europe."

The next day Mufti Hamdija Jusufspahic said the blast caused great damage and that it was aimed at destroying the mosque.

The police said they were working hard to solve the case but judging by the true efficiency of the police the bombers will probably never be found.

The municipal authorities were quick to respond. They sent out workers to replace the broken windows the next day and the police are now providing a guard at night.

Sarajevo: Election Campaign Opens

As you can see I'm alive and well, Alija Izetbegovic told an SDA rally, denying rumors that he was withdrawing from politics because of his failing health. A day earlier, Haris Silajdzic set up an American-style party for Bosnia-Herzegovina and the campaign began.

Silajdzic's party was formed in the expected spectacular way amid unprecedented security with a presentation of its program and leaders. The meeting was intertwined with video and girls dressed as NBA cheerleaders.

Party leaders said the party is following a 1,000 year old road and relying on Bosnian traditions of tolerance. It advocates Western democratic achievements, a market economy and principled solutions for problems. Its main issue is preserving Bosnia as a democratic, unitary, civil state.

Silajdzic was elected party president with eight deputies including the controversial former culture minister Enes Karic, who once called the independent media all kinds of names. Karic is a professor of Islamic sciences. He changed his dogmatic stands towards the end of his term in office and fiercely opposed pressure on the press.

The first party convention was attended by almost 1,000 delegates from across the Moslem-Croat Federation. Almost half of them were women which is unusual for Bosnian parties.

Another political figure made a comeback after a few months away. Bosnian Presidency President Alija Izetbegovic showed up for a ruling SDA party rally in Zenica. Sarajevo has been rife with rumors that he's retiring because of his health and there's been mention of Ejup Ganic, Edhem Bicakcic, Hasan Muratovic as his appointed successors.

A confident Izetbegovic said he was sure of an election victory and added that the people still support the SDA. "This is not a pre-election rally. When the time comes we'll go to the biggest field in Bosnia and rally a million people," he said.

Clearly, the election race is going to be between two figures: Silajdzic and Izetbegovic. Dani, an independent magazine, polled 2,000 people in five towns and declared Silajdzic the favorite over Izetbegovic. Izetbegovic won only in Gorazde. Silajdzic leads 37% to Izetbegovic's 34% at state level.

Silajdzic was given a slight advantage in other polls but no one is talking those polls for granted, since polls before the war predicted the communists and reformists would win.

Domestic Foreigners

Visiting a foreign cultural center is excellent therapy for a bad mood. The staff are all polite, optimistic and want to communicate. Suzi Vasovic-Bose, coordinator of the Goethe Institute, speaks excellent Serbian and voiced happiness that the center in so busy: "We're here to help, everyone is welcome." The press attaché at the French Cultural Center, Nadja Petrovski, noted that Belgrade residents feel the openness and feel at home in the center. Milan Aleksic, founder of the Center for British Studies at the British Council, feels a lot can be done to everyone's satisfaction and benefit.

The centers have very similar goals: teaching the language and spreading the culture of their country but with some differences. The British Council, an independent, non-governmental organization, presents information on culture, business and management. Its London head office assessed that social sciences are the most interesting thing for this region and the Belgrade center focuses on that. The other centers also have specific qualities: "Besides cultural programs, we also have the Russian State Science Center which will present companies interesting to both countries," Mr. Maslinikov said. The German Goethe Institute is oriented only towards culture as is the French Culture Center although they organized lectures on the history of football recently in the belief that general culture means all kinds of information.

The French center completes all its projects in cooperation with Yugoslav institutions in an effort to coordinate the interests of both countries.

The latest program organized by the British Council was a concert by the Balanescu Quartet, and Aleksic said they are trying to help by introducing people.

The Goethe Institute cooperates with everyone. They organized drama performances in several theaters in Belgrade recently. "Our goal is for Belgrade theaters to get to know German authors and we help them financially," Vasovic-Bose said.

The main activity of the centers are their libraries and various language programs. The British library is filled mainly with books on social sciences. "That's our priority and we try to get those books and provide users with access to them. This isn't limitation but focusing," Aleksic said. He added that they're trying to achieve diversity in cultural exchanges and are bringing in experts and artists from many fields. Anyone can use British council books but not everyone can become a member. Professions linked to social sciences have a priority.

The French center press attaché said they are trying to attract as many people as possible to their programs: "Unlike the others, we don't organize lectures for 50 people but 500."

Special requests are the exception. Just 10 requests are enough for the center to screen a film on any subject. "We are trying to show Belgrade residents everything that is in France's power," Petrovski said.

But, all of them agree that the centers have to meet several conditions: quality, interest, public awareness of them and the program goals of the organizers.