When The Saints Are Marching

As of now, even Albanian children will be able to attend school. It has been modestly stressed that this miraculous surge of mercy was mediated by Saint Edjidi, while it is expected that we on our own will comprehend who the main benefactor really is. This is just the newest in the series of divine acts which he will, as of now, perform on a regular basis, at least once a week, until the elections.

There may be some people who might still remember the times when all the saints combined couldn't help anyone. In Bosnia, there was demolition, arson, robberies and killings until the moment when the earthly powers marched in, and when all of a sudden peace had no alternatives. In Kosovo, Albanian children had for six years attended schools set up in private houses, cellars and attics, which didn't unduly worry Belgrade education lovers until they were convinced that it was hindering the lifting of the left-over sanctions as well as their re-acceptance into the International Monetary Fund. That filled their hearts with such noble feelings that they immediately heard and understood the voice of Saint Edjidi.

Milosevic's "positive transformation" can, in the first place, be explained by the influence of foreign pressure, which is important to understand for a number of reasons. Primarily so that those who depend on his will know what to expect and what to hope for in the future from him. Therefore, we have a president who will, only under threats, supervision and guards, only if he is blackmailed, if his hands are tied, if he is cornered - agree to make peace with his neighbors, to cooperate with the world, to negotiate with the Kosovo Albanians, to tolerate the opposition and independant media, to start off the process of privatization... The good that the citizens of this country can hope for does not arise from him, but from those who are in a position to threaten or promise him money.

While he was ruling at will and listened to nobody in the world, he produced wars, crimes, misfortune, mass graves and refugee lines. Not alone, yet all that would be difficult to perceive if we were to neglect or leave out his personal contribution. Because of that, only resistance, obstacles and external pressure can make Milosevic's transformation into a benefactor humanely understandable. The present Milosevic would otherwise appear unnaturally, monstrously joined to the previous one. It would seem as though he always could have done this and that; that he didn't have greater reasons nor deeper needs to destroy all that had surrounded him; that he didn't have any serious thoughts and that, to him, it is pretty much the same whether he has to deal with war or privatization.

Therefore, the appearance of a higher power rehabilitates him psychologically and proves that only one, that is the first Milosevic is authentic, while the other one emerged under extortion. If they leave him be for a while he could think up all kinds of things, which means that we are left to hope that far off world offices will take care of us, after they had appeased their own interests.

As for the elections, Milosevic is a bit old fashioned and surely doesn't enjoy such a procedure. In the real sense of the word, he was elected only once: in 1989 when he had gathered two million people in Gazimestan. Such a manner agreed with him most, and he has been cashing in on that legitimacy until today, while all other votes were a question of formality and technique. The upcoming elections are the first test for the new Milosevic - the benefactor.

How badly such a costume suits him is evident by the fact that he has ceased to appear in public unless he has to. All deals to do with peace and recognition have been dealt with by Milosevic in total privacy, while the results are announced in the shortest possible form, without any explanations, as if each word pains him. What a difference when compared to the deafening noise and avalanche of the strongest words during the times of the "anti-bureaucratic revolution" and preparations for the war! Of course, the president didn't make a personal appearance to announce the joyous news of his agreement with Ibrahim Rugova on returning the Albanian pupils into the schools. The text was read by Minister Tijanic, while Prime Minister Marjanovic uttered a few appropriate sentences of explanation, never lifting his glance off the paper in front of him. The media handled news that Milosevic was preparing definite measures for privatization in a similar fashion. As they are obviously uncapable of being glad of such news, the Socialists announce such things in contrition and defeat. They know that it was not their intention and policy, while they shall try to act out that they are delighted and strongly believe in everything that they hate and are afraid of on the elections.

If the opposition has a chance this time, it boils down to this. Not so much in criticizing what the regime is up to now, but for not believing in it. Taking Kosovo as an example, the opposition parties, of course, would be more convincing if they had taken some kinds of steps towards the Albanians, but that's easy to say now. A part of the opposition definitely does not want to and would in no way be in a hurry to enter into a dialogue with the Albanians, but a larger part had good reasons for fear and therefore left Milosevic the initiative.

Namely, if even a week ago any opposition leader had met with Rugova and asked him how his health and family were, the newspapers and television stations would have noisily announced positive proof of treason and as of then, there would have been no help. There were plenty of such examples in the past in which the traitorous meetings between the opposition and foreign diplomats were filmed, which Milosevic had been seeing on a regular basis, both prior to and after. Even the German ambassador was publicly practically suspected of espionage and that on March 9 of this year, quite a while after the commencement of the Dayton process of normalization, only for having been spotted with opposition leaders.

Not a single person who had, so to say, opposed the war and predicted defeat, has ever managed to vindicate himself of accusations of treason let alone was able to turn it into some sort of political capital. With Kosovo, anyone would have an even worse fate, although the opposition, despite everything, shall still bear part of the responsibility for having, for such a long time, kept almost completely silent regarding the most difficult and largest problem of this country.

Now that the coalition "Zajedno" has somehow been entered into, even without the Democratic Party of Serbia (DSS), the elections could even turn out to be interesting. It seems to me that it isn't necessary for them to have a particularly agressive campaign, especially since even strikes have become frequent. If television here hasn't hopelessly turned people into vegetables, by now they had to comprehend elementary things, and opposition speakers might even manage to confuse them with their surplus words or even scare them with vehement rhetoric. I would say that everything is so transparent that it would suffice to say "We didn't do this to you", or "It's all on account of them".

However, since democracy was introduced into Serbia, the most important and most difficult task remains for people to believe in it. The opposition is once again facing the same paradox: they have to call upon the citizens to overthrow the non-democratic government in a democratic way. People who are, with each step, faced with the truth that nothing depends on them and that nobody asks them anything, should be convinced that they shouldn't believe what they see; that they shouldn't be afraid, while they feel fear; that they should be free, while they aren't.

All in all, the prospects of the opposition winning are excellent, that is non existant. All depends on whether it is still possible for hope to triumph over experience here. This is what could make these elections interesting, because things are progressing so that on the future ones, all we shall have is yet more experience. Besides that, who can guarantee that Vesna Pesic will once again be able to repeat the achievement of convincing Draskovic and Djindjic? Will any of them manage to remain on the political scene if they miss this chance as well? Those who are interested in seeing the replacement of this government might only be left to watch and follow the mere effects of biological laws.