Serbia Without President

Serbia only has a lost and broken Slobodan Milosevic who has locked himself into the presidential cabinet from where he is issuing more and more absurd orders

When students invented the "cordon against cordon" action, it seemed as yet another in a series of their inventions. In order to become the most successful and most important of all, someone had to decide, in an infantile and imprudent way, to defy all by keeping police forces on Terazije night and day. I say "someone" since I don't know who it was, and he or she has to hold some kind of power. That someone is definitely not the President of Serbia, but could easily be Slobodan Milosevic.

The President of Serbia would not steal ballots from the opposition at the local elections. If he had found out about it, he would most certainly have done all that was in his power to correct it and to punish the culprits instantly. He wouldn't have had the need of any international commissions, and even if he were to call upon them, he would most definitely not have rejected their recommendations and brought shame upon himself and his country in the eyes of the world. If the citizens are demonstrating he would ask why and would seek solutions, and would definitely not send other citizens to fight with the former. The President of Serbia definitely does not see the legal opposition as a "fifth column".

But Serbia does not have a president. It only has a lost and broken Slobodan Milosevic who has locked himself into the presidential cabinet from where he is issuing more and more absurd orders. All that he has been doing in the last two months has only been enlarging his initial problem. When the opposition and the demonstrators refused his offer of a general fight a month ago, he has decided to comprehend it as an acknowledgment of his weakness and since then he has been organizing a daily parade of uniforms, weapons and equipment.

The President would have until now definitely understood the nature and force of the civic resistance, and even that resistance would not have evolved into a general democratic movement if Serbia had a president. Yet Milosevic, who only comprehends the logic of physical power, doesn't know what to do with non-violent resistance, with people who do not enter into conflicts, and refuse to move or be subordinated. It was important to him and he saw it as some kind of victory when he had managed to prevent protest walks. They can hate me, despise me, and mock me as much as they like, the main thing is that it is known who is stronger, reasoned this man in the president's shoes. Yet when students decided to outstay the cordon, he believed that luck had finally smiled upon him and all was headed towards a clear point of conflict. This is how that completely idiotic situation came to be for both him and the police on Terazije which has been going on (at the time of writing) for three days and three nights. All of a sudden, nothing is important anymore. The opposition can say whatever they like. The citizens can rally in other places. Throughout Serbia all can stop and wait. The whole world can warn, promise and demand whatever. Even the very students can undertake whatever comes to mind and pass any other place apart from Terazije.

There is nothing funnier than powerless force. I have the feeling that Belgrade and other cities throughout Serbia have fallen into this unprecedented ecstasy and cannot stop quaking with joy, mainly due to the fact that they have uncovered force as powerless. That is the only explanation for the miraculous inspiration from which the students are deriving better and better, subversive merry ideas and an inexhaustible energy of exaltation.

Throughout all this, Milosevic has focused upon this one spot and has taken the stand as though it were his last defense and as though the ultimate victory or defeat depends upon who shall endure there longest. From all previous fiascoes and failures, this one seems to be the largest one. Namely, there is no way he can win. That battle of such importance for students and citizens which has taken on the form of street merriness has no reason to stop. And the rules have been clearly defined: word is of measuring out patience, which means that Milosevic will admit defeat even if he orders the police to disperse the demonstrators.

After three days the police already somewhat resemble the character from the Russian novel The Life and Spiritual Evolvement of the Soldier Ivan Conkin, who is left to guard a plane which has been downed over a certain village and, having been left forgotten on that assignment for years, starts leading a villagers existence while grass starts growing over the plane. The policemen from the cordons are getting acquainted with the students, are telling them the stories of their lives, are sharing meals and drinks and are exchanging gossip about the government. If things carry on like this, they shall soon be exchanging hats for protest badges and whistles, and maybe at the scene a mixed, civil-police marriage shall be entered into, and that in front of the Patriarch who has developed a habit to drop by.

This ridiculous government is inevitably turning into a theater of the absurd and all we should hope for is that Milosevic will endure at least a few more days and won't decide to suddenly recognize the results of the local elections and fire the unfortunate rector. In the course of these two months, since they have seen that he doesn't know what to do, the citizens have not only liberated themselves and discovered their strength, but have also organized their lives which evolve around the protests, adjusted them to their daily routine and accepted them with a feeling of duty. Those who are somehow prevented from stepping out and whistling according to their duty, feel as though they have failed to wash their face that morning.

Therefore, as long as Milosevic is only inquiring about how his cordon is holding up, things couldn't be better. During that time people here are maturing and are learning to take over responsibilities for themselves and others with unbelievable speed, as well as to live without a government such as this. That war chief, that quarrelsome bully, that heartless manipulator who has been leading them towards a conflict with the entire world and among themselves, is being surpassed and is becoming superfluous. The unhealthy relation between himself and the people was never clearer. While he was strong and almighty the people seemed perfectly worthless, and that those same people now seem so impressive is the best proof that Milosevic doesn't exist anymore.

He tried to undertake what he had been adept at before, he pretended not to notice anything, then he threatened, pulled out accusations for treason, mentioned reforms, hinted at personnel changes, put Kosovo under our noses, yet in essence he is retreating and is giving up. It must be due to the fact that he feels how this is no longer his game, and I believe that physically he cannot endure all this. Yet, his destiny shall soon fail to be of any importance for this country.

At this moment the problem of Serbia is that the lever of formal government is in the hands of a former person whose only wish is that all would leave him alone, and in such a situation self-proclaimed pretenders are appearing, who usually believe that one only needs to appear energetic and decisive. Here, above all that is JUL and Mrs. Mira Markovic. This party without its electorate and this woman who hasn't been chosen by anyone for anything except by Milosevic as his spouse, are now appearing in the role of crisis managers, announcing a government reconstruction, demanding a constitution of local assemblies and threatening the "fifth column".

What they are talking of, what they believe in and what they wish for is infinitely removed from the conscience and feelings of today's Belgrade and Serbian citizens. Their attempt of a government take over, apart from being capable of provoking a certain amount of violence and bloodshed, would turn out to be equally as sad. It would be as if comrade Brezhnev were to attend a rock gig and attempt to push Mick Jagger off the stage and rouse the public.

In order to break this liberation movement in Belgrade and Serbia now, an infinite amount of power would be needed as well as totally uncalled for brutality. What we have here is not the defense of a valid regime from a group of militant fanatics, but instead an electoral theft from peaceful and disciplined citizens. The legitimacy of power cannot, therefore, be lessened. Who would ever comprehend, accept and justify the terror of a minority of debtors over millions of creditors. On top of that such a large number of cameras are present here that not a single moment of violence and not a single perpetrator would remain unregistered. I am not capable of seriously believing in the possibility of such an outcome, although I see that JUL is calling upon patriotic forces for help. I suppose no one is seriously counting on SPS anymore, but then they most probably cannot count on the absolute loyalty of the army and police. Mira Markovic and Vojislav Seselj can be a harmonious and dangerous team in the war against the rest of the world, but only in their readiness to incite the nightmare of a bloodshed, and not to gain control of this country. That would last two days at most, and would be of such a nature that at the end both Le Pen and Zhirinovski would renounce Seselj, and no congratulations would arrive for Mira Markovic from China.