Young and Self-Confident

Getting from Belgrade to Zagreb is not such a wild adventure any more, although the shortest way is still through Hungary which takes twice as long as it used to when the Belgrade-Zagreb highway was serviceable. Everything has to be done in a roundabout way, through mediators, via Hungary or Bosnia, which makes the direct meeting more exciting. Crossing the borders is not a problem. But, when you find yourself "deep in enemy territory", you can't shake off the feeling that you have exposed yourself to unpredictable risks, which, of course, can be quite thrilling.

Had they not have invited me, I would have found a way to get there. I didn't know what exactly it was that intrigued me, what I expected to find there and what I hoped for. The whole political climate depended earlier on what the two capitals had to say to one another and on the quality of this dialogue. When the first insults and curses were exchanged, Yugoslavia was doomed, although most of those outside Belgrade and Zagreb still wanted to preserve it. Today, dialogue is interrupted, forbidden, prevented, and anyone who tries to ignore this is accused of being a nostalgic Yugoslav.

I discovered that what I really wanted to find out in Zagreb was whether this "hostile city" has really become part of a foreign country. Judging from all that has been going on, this is the way it should be. However, the enemy is more and, at the same time, less than just a foreigner. Belgrade and Zagreb have become enemies, but not strangers. These cities have never been further apart than today: air, railway and car traffic has been interrupted, TV centers don't cooperate, you can't get Croatian press in Serbia and vice versa, telephone lines have been cut or disconnected... but I was surprised at how interested people in Zagreb were to know what is going on in Belgrade. For a second I thought that the effort to separate Serbs and Croats had failed after all.

It is true that the atmosphere in Belgrade is a bit more relaxed than in Zagreb and there is evidently more freedom of speech. The organizers of the lecture I was invited to were worried that they would be accused of "yugophilia". The official press and TV in Zagreb are much more aggressive and even more unreliable in professional terms than those in Belgrade, and the independent media are practically non-existent.

I wouldn't say that Zagreb lives in fear, but the war could certainly be heard and seen there. People there really did spend months waiting to be bombed, listening to air-raid sirens and hiding in cellars. You can't just ignore this, even though many of them suspect that the authorities intentionally stirred the panic. There are still sandbags in the center of Zagreb, and when approaching the city you can still see anti-tank barricades.

The Croatian regime is young, self-confident, strengthened rather than weakened by this war. They don't live any better then we do, but the rate of inflation is not as high, since the authorities are not forced to pay out for social stability. Such authorities are skilled at threatening, forbidding things, firing people from work. I haven't heard anyone mention the arrogant division into urban and rural Serbs, although such a distinction is officially made. Being a Serb in Zagreb today has become very difficult even for the most loyal ones. Moreover, being a Serb anywhere outside Serbia has become difficult, which is the most disastrous result of Milosevic's politics.

However, Zagreb will not be given time to consolidate. The international community which recognized Tudjman and brought him peace will be the first to bring him into line and force him to stop dealing with "the Serbian problem" in his general-like way: it's either them, or us.

And those who wanted to exchange Yugoslavia for a Greater Serbia must also be deeply disappointed. But, Belgrade still shows no sign of willingness to break its colossal isolation and make amends. After thinking it over, it will finally realize that it must eventually consent to negotiate with Zagreb. Zagreb, which cut the line, will realize that talking to Belgrade is not so dangerous any more now that General Nambiar's soldiers are controlling the lines.