Wheat Fever

Zoran Djindjic, leader of the Democratic Party (DS), and Dragoljub Bjelic, editor in chief of Telegraf weekly, went on trial in Belgrade’s district court last Tuesday. Both men are charged with the crime of damaging the reputation of the Republic of Serbia which means they publicly mocked Serbian Prime Minister Mirko Marjanovic.

The charges said Djindjic made claims in a paid advertisement in Telegraf that Marjanovic abused his position for illegal financial profit. "As president of the DS, Djindjic ordered his party’s experts to draft the text of the ad which he then approved and titled Mr. Marjanovic, Don’t Take Bread From the People and handed to Telegraf which published it on January 24," the charges said. They added that Bjelic put the title Marjanovic Earns 200 Million DEM Trading Wheat for Russian Gas and Leaves Serbia Without Bread on his front page. The trial was not attended by Marjanovic because the court did not subpoena him, but his spirit was felt in the courtroom.

Judge Goran Cavlija opened the trial by checking on basic details of the defendants and noted that Djindjic told an investigation hearing that he had been sentenced only once (for a political crime) while a court report said he had been sentenced twice. "Yes. I took Aristotle’s Metaphysics from a bookstore in 1974 and didn’t pay for it. Some people like books, some people like wheat," Djindjic replied.

The charges specified that the DS ad "claimed the prime minister took one million tons of wheat for himself at a price no greater than 160 USD a ton, that he forced the goods exchange directorate to take Russian gas, for which holds exclusive import rights, instead of money for the wheat, that he charged 50% over international prices for the gas and that, without work, risk and his own capital and thanks only to his post and political bosses, Mirko Marjanovic got 130 million USD, or 200 million DEM, in one operation."

Djindjic told the court that Marjanovic’s name in the ad was a symbol of links between the Serbian government, Progres, Progresgas Trading and the republican goods reserve directorate. "Marjanovic does not figure as a presidential figure in the ad but as a symbol of universal monopoly," he said and added that "the prosecutor, instead of investigating what happened to the wheat, is defending the main monopoly holder, Marjanovic". Djindjic said documents and facts proved that illegal operations were being done with wheat in Serbia, that published figures are not correct, that Serbia is facing a shortage of flour, that decisions on wheat are taken by government ministers who are also directors of the largest companies and the greatest monopoly holders because they issue the import and export licenses. The conclusion is that there was a danger of bread shortages at the time the ad was published. Djindjic said Marjanovic’s Progres company didn’t export the million tons of wheat which was partly thanks to the DS which caused the fierce reaction and panic among exporters.

Djindjic said it’s indicative that some people who spoke publicly about the wheat no longer hold public posts, such as Agriculture Minister Ivko Djonovic, goods reserve Director Matic and National Bank Governor Dragoslav Avramovic.

Djindjic and his defense lawyers face a tough job because they have to prove that the DS ad was true. The only thing that is certain is that the court was instructed "from above" not to let the trial last long, as in the case of NIN weekly journalist Vesna Kostic. She was sued by Marjanovic for libel after she wrote that businessmen believe the prime minister has 40 million DEM. She was arrested early one morning, taken to court and got a suspended sentence.

It’s also interesting that the public prosecutor got a lot of phone calls. The justice minister, republican prosecutor and other officials wanted to know how the trial was going. The impression is that many people are afraid the prime minister’s hopes might not come true and that he could fall.

The courtroom was full and the crowd included Vesna Pesic, Nikola Milosevic, opposition party MPs and a number of foreign observers.