The Big Sleep

For years, especially around election time, we hear complaints about a certain number of worried people on the subject of the short memory span of the people, that is the electoral body. Furthermore, we get the impression that this symptom is comprehended as a newly-discovered or newly-acquired national or socio-mental defect, which in any case proves difficult to explain within the scope of existing scientific knowledge. In discussing the abrupt and massive memory shortage, only a metaphorical meaning can be found. The first thing that comes to mind is media manipulation, which at this moment in Serbia, is truly primarily turned toward inducing forgetfulness. It also creates, in its essence, a pleasant feeling that each day is so new as if we were just born. As such a strategy is never absolutely efficient, a certain number of us are left behind to remind of what has happened before, who said and did what, although this pretention of having a memory and a knowledge of the past seems more and more boastful, conceited and arrogant.

For example, FR Yugoslavia has just now recognized that Croatia exists from a long time ago, and Croatia has recognized that this country exists, also from a long time ago. Since these are neighboring countries, it is certainly important and wise to recognize and respect each other; to agree to settle all disputes in a peaceful manner and to cooperate in all areas. And why have these two ancient countries recognized each other only now, is a question which not a single attentive TV viewer here will pose. If there were some misunderstandings and differences of opinion between them a few years back, that is a thing of the past which should be left to historians. Therefore, to talk about something that happened one year, two, five or only two months ago, is something only historians can do. Others know nothing of it, they don't remember, or so they claim. Who has any interest here in the fact that in Croatia, before it began to exist a long time ago in its present borders, war was waging due to those very borders? Haven't those who had disputed those borders and who had demolished those towns been defeated? Haven't they dissapeared from the scene? The tragedy of all those Serbs who had once lived in Croatia and of whom henceforth a double entry shall be kept have also been surrendered to oblivion. In theory they will go back, in reality they won't.

The ideal towards which Milosevic's Serbia is striving is to classify even the occurences of yesterday as history, to enable the authorized historians to employ themselves with it, since they shall know how to treat the material which this government regularly supplies them with in a correct manner. Such skills are referred to by the ordinary people as "making pies out of manure".

It seems as though the authorities truly believe in the efficiency of the combined strategy of media repression and historical reshaping of the past. If that wasn't the case, Milosevic wouldn't dare sign three major defeats in one day: the recognition of Croatia, the opening up of The Hague Tribunal office in Belgrade and the acceptance of the International Monetary Fund's conditions. All of them are rational and worthy decisions but, of course, only if there is no-one to remember and ask about what had happened before.

If Milosevic had just come to power, if he had dismissed and put into jail those who had led Serbia in the last ten years or so, all would be right. He would sign someone else's capitulation and would start anew. Since he wishes to start anew after his personal capitulation, there is no other option but to declare an all out war with the past. Which means that, on the forthcoming elections, he and his party shall -alongside a brighter future- promise an irreproachable past as well. All others, all the opposition parties, shall most definitely have an incomparably weaker and less-desired version of the past.

As far as relations with Croatia are concerned, with the normalization of relations and mutual recognition, Milosevic and Tudjman have - in the first instance- recognized each other's continuation of power. It is of the utmost importance to both of them, but even more so to Milosevic, due to the fact that Tudjman didn't sacrifice anything. His Croatia doesn't have any problems with its international status, but it does have some with its prestige, especially due to its relations toward the (former) Serbian minority. Such a calamity definitely sits easier on Tudjman's shoulders now that Belgrade has recognized him and accepts him as he is.

Milosevic, however, has forsaken everything, all of his previous territorial claims and pretensions. His international standing is drastically boosted by Zagreb's recognition and he can now believe that, in the eyes of the world, at least the Croatian episode of his delinquent past has been successfully ironed out. Luckily for him, in Serbia itself, those who had stood up against war because of the changes in Croatia's AVNOJ borders represent an absolute minority. And Milosevic could very calmly stand in front of a jury made up of those who had adored him for having plunged into war and who are blaming him for losing it. In front of them, his conscience is clear. He has done more than he had dared and could do, although national blindness shall never accept his defeat as its own.

Even the acceptance to cooperate with The Hague Tribunal was late just as everything that is extorted always is. Who would be in a hurry to follow up unpleasant conditions? But manufacturing a false remebrance could be of help here too. Once something is finally accepted even after a mighty resistance in this hospitable country, there arises a natural tendency to accept it completely and even a tendency to learn to love it. In the foreseeable future, such a jury couldn't have dreamed of difficulties in defending itself from an avalanche of official and unofficial, organized, private, public and secret denunciations and reports.

The announcement that FR Yugoslavia shall meet all the conditions of the International Monetary Fund was dictated by, like everything else, Belgrade's intention to recover all that it once had and never should have lost. This time, Milosevic first had to give up his wish to set conditions upon the IMF himself, which is why he fired the bank president Avramovic three months ago. But, that is yet another of a number of episodes which we are obliged not to remember.

It is considered extremely important that now, more seriously than ever, the intention to commence with major privatizations and to open up toward foreign investments is emphasized. In this manner, Milosevic is proving that as a communist he was equally successful as a nationalist. He stood for that doomed issue long enough so that nobody has the right to accuse him of treason and of selling off national wealth. He maintained a policy of Albanian isolation in Serbia; he refused to trade with anybody and to allow anyone's foreign capital into the country, up to the moment when the prices went down for everything. There is no businessman who wouldn't be overjoyed to deal with such a partner. The first post-war elections are coming up. It could be stated that, if he had managed to win before and during such a criminal war and despite international sanctions, Milosevic has even more right to hope for success now that he is extracting himself from all that. But, if previously, votes against him could have been votes against war, they could now be votes against defeat, which could outnumber the previous ones. This is why it is so important to attain the level where it is of no importance to anyone, that war and its outcome do not evolve into a topic of conversation and that no one should look upon the election as an opinion about it. This is why new tasks and achievements now await television, which is probably why the Ministry of Information has been fortified.

Therefore, in order to enable this regime to stay in power, it is of the utmost importance to turn as many citizens of Serbia as possible into zombies, without memory, without self-consciousness and without energy, wishes and will to carefully take a look around them. As an ideal, it is most definitely contrary to the old revolutionary dream of class and national consciousness. But, consciousness has not been trendy for a long time and maybe it is up to zombies to maintain the stability of this world. I don't wish to say that it would be good to become finally reconciled to such a condition, yet it seems to me that even the local opposition, if it truly wishes to triumph, might have to find ways to address people who remember nothing.

Of course, if everybody were to embark upon such a road, moral and all other differences shall be lost between the regime and the opposition, since that isn't of importance to the zombies anyway. But, in such a manner we shall probably start resembling what is considered a normal country.Which means that with a lot of luck we are, so to say, on the road again to becoming a part of a not-in-the-least interesting and attractive world. This is a world from which we had distanced ourselves for the wrong reasons and in a wrong direction.