Regime's Dangerous Minds

While Slobodan Milosevic was telling his supporters about the "foreign factors and local fifth column", the most zealous socialists, which were crowding around the stage, started to chant: "Arrest Vuk". Milosevic - who had a few years ago on similar calls (of an immeasurably larger) mass to arrest Azem Vllasi first said "I can't hear you well", and then promised that there would be an arrest - this time failed to react, even though he could hear quite well what was demanded of him. There were no arrests the next day, only the assessments of the SPS counter-meeting organizers that the coalition Zajedno leaders and their supporters, "prone to terrorism", once again showed their "true face". In these announcements, naturally, there was no mention that the "peaceful and dignified" counter-meeting participants from Vrbas had drawn their guns and fired them in Knez Mihajlova street. Supposedly at the "fifth column".

At the beginning of our conversation, on the day when shots were once again heard on the streets of Belgrade, the president of the Serbian Renewal Party (SPO) and one of the leaders of the coalition Zajedno, Vuk Draskovic, repeats his claim that Serbia was on the brink of a tragedy, almost civil war, on Tuesday afternoon.

VREME: Did you fear that at one point things could get out of control?

DRASKOVIC: Very. I kept warning days in advance that a bloodshed scenario was being prepared. The hand which had loaded the gun which had fired in the vicinity of the SPO premises straight at the head of an SPO member Ivica Lazovic was, ideologically and propaganda-wise, a statement made by Ljubisa Ristic 35 days ago saying that the Yugoslav United Left (JUL) was prepared for an armed squaring of accounts with the chetniks. The other hand, which had made the bloodshed scenario public, was the hand which had, in the last issue of the Duga magazine, written her diary. The hand of the wife of the president of Serbia. In that scenario it was clearly stated that in the attacks on the coalition Zajedno, the main punch would be aimed at SPO. Only thanks to the extreme efforts of our security, the constant appeals which I kept repeating to the Belgrade citizens throughout the day via radio B 92 and radio Indeks - begging them not to head for Terazije and to avoid conflicts with the drunken, armed and misfortune-trained people who were brought to Belgrade - great evil was prevented. I was never so afraid as yesterday around three, since I was not certain that the angry and humiliated Belgrade citizens would accept our appeal and call to head from the Square of Liberty towards the Dunav embankment, a direction we had never traversed before. Only to be as far away from them as possible and in order to give them enough time to hold their meeting and pull out of Belgrade.

Were any thoughts given in the coalition Zajedno to stop your daily protest for just one day?

At one point true panic and desperation were present due to a feeling that things were getting out of control. Djindjic and I then decided to quickly head towards the square, to personally separate the people, with the help of the loudspeakers and with the authority that we have.

In the announcements of the organizers of the supporters of Slobodan Milosevic's counter-meeting the coalition Zajedno is being accused of terrorism. Special allusions are made at the recent statement of your wife and her call for the use of force...

It was clearly apparent yesterday who has the weapons, who came to Belgrade armed, and who used those weapons in Belgrade.

Yet that could not be seen on the state television, RTS?

It was shown on all world television stations, and that is enough. And it shall be broadcasted one day even on state television, since accounts shall have to be rendered for what had happened in Belgrade yesterday. It is almost unbelievable that a head of state organizes a meeting for the defense of an electoral theft. To hold that meeting in Belgrade and to drag people from Kosovo, Vojvodina to it, unfortunate peasants, famished workers, to ply them with alcohol along the way, to hand out arms to the chosen ones, to pay a day's wages to all and to call upon them to liberate Belgrade of nazi forces, the Germans, swastikas, of a handful of criminals and walkers. However, if only there wasn't a bullet in Ivica Lazic's head and if only no citizens had been hurt yesterday, we could almost say that it is very fortunate that Milosevic has organized all of it. Because it showed that despite all the propaganda he wasn't capable of gathering even a few hundred Belgrade citizens to that meeting, that he wasn't able to draw more than 40-50 thousand people from the whole Serbia, even though they had planned more than half a million of them and announced that there were that many of them. Anyway, they have counted the present people on Terazije in the same way they had counted the election ballots on November 17. Another thing became clear - that of these 50 thousand which came yesterday the majority shall never again answer another call made by Slobodan Milosevic. It was also shown that, despite the state television and propaganda, the largest number of those who were expected to come refused to come and that his propaganda machine of lies no longer delivers the expected results.

After this counter-meeting on Tuesday, however, a difficult impression remains that Serbia, as never before, is divided into two almost irreconcilable sides. Into a Serbia which goes for a walk every day and demands that the results of the local elections be recognized and the other television Serbia which is driven into Belgrade. Isn't that also the most baleful result which this government has generated in the last few years?

Communication between those two Serbias would be quickly re-established if state television was freed. The majority of people which came yesterday were totally uninformed and instead of heads, were carrying television sets on their shoulders. Changes inside their heads shall unfold either when television is freed, therefore freeing their heads as well, or when they themselves directly become convinced that they have to remove those televisions from their heads since they are only feeding them lies. Which is exactly what happened to the majority of those who came to Belgrade yesterday. They came here as a certain kind of people, and they left Belgrade as different people, regenerated.

Do you see a way out of all this? Is the only way out in recognizing the results of the November 17 elections? What if the authorities in the meantime forbid the protests, as is being said these days?

They have already forbidden them and we didn't respect that, nor do we intend to respect it. The demonstrations shall cease at the moment when Milosevic recognizes the results of the November 17 elections. When the reason why Serbia has taken to the streets is removed. Naturally, along with the election results of November 17, there is a whole list of additional demands for the responsibilities of those who had stolen the elections, for the responsibilities of those who had organized what had happened in Belgrade, for freeing the media etc.

These days an article appeared in the Guardian which claims that OSCE shall demand of Milosevic to recognize all the results of November 17, yet at the same time claims that an agreement has been reached with the opposition to organize new elections in spring, under essentially different conditions. Is that true?

Well, I don't know if that is speculation and to what degree. The only thing I know is we cannot agree to anything other than the November 17 results. As far as the new elections are concerned, our stand is very clear on that as well. We agree to them, but following an establishment of free media and a solution to a number of other issues, and only if beside the local, the federal elections are to be repeated as well. They have stolen off us on those elections too. The only list at the federal elections which was forbidden to hold a party and personal definition was the list of the coalition Zajedno. Beside that, we have proof which we have presented to OSCE, on large thefts on the federal elections, especially in Kosovo and Metohija.

At certain moments during Slobodan Milosevic's speech held at the counter-meeting it seemed as though he was sending word that whatever the OSCE shall say on the elections isn't that important. Did you have the same impression?

I understood that speech in such a way, as a preparation for self-isolation. And as preparation for a double war - with the world and in Serbia itself with the democratic opposition, which the head of state has called the "fifth column".

Does the coalition Zajedno have a clear strategy of what you aim to achieve in the days that are ahead?

Well, we talk things over on a daily basis and we have a general strategy which is obvious. Which is to confront violence with non-violence and not to give up.

These days you often spoke of Milosevic's resignation. Do you really believe that this time, with one stone, that is one egg, two birds could be killed - recognition of the election results and the resignation of the president of Serbia?

I have always repeated that Slobodan Milosevic's main obligation, as head of state, is to respect the electoral will of the citizens, since the Constitution and legal order should be derived from that very will of the citizens. However, if the head of state tramples over the electoral will of the citizens, he thereby abolishes himself as head of state and presents himself as a head of some kind of legal and constitutional terrorism. Meaning, the condition of all conditions is the recognition of the electoral will of the citizens. Until he recognizes the electoral will of the citizens, he does not recognize himself as the president of Serbia.