Opera in Zemun

Operation "Opera Orientis", a scandal which has for weeks been shaking the Airforce Centre in Zemun (Belgrade), was conceived sometime during the panic after the war in Slovenia.

During the chaotic retreat from the western republic last summer, a group of "experts" for propaganda warfare suddenly turned up at the Airforce Command. Today, no one can - or wants to - remember who brought them. Anyway, the "Opera" plan was officially introduced as "a new and modern approach" in public relations. The "Opera" group soon managed to impose its style on the Airforce Public Relations Department: censorship and discipline. The aim of the group was best described by Lieutenant-Colonel Ziherl, the coordinator of the "Opera" team, who said that the purpose was accomplished since "the crowd is hungry for information".

After having censored everything, the big experts in psychological warfare turned to more practical things. The team was founded in September as a sub-department of the Airforce "morale department", under a cover name, but it soon got to business. One of the team was registered as owner of the "Opera Orientis", a "Radio & TV and Trading Co.". Instead of these activities, the company goes into the airline business by opening the Batajnica-Udbina-Batajnica line using military cargo aircrafts (one way ticket - 4,400 din). Thus a serious gap in the domestic air traffic was bridged: since Bosnia became risky for land traffic, and Krajina bosses began to fly by "Learjets", someone had to move the military, refugees, diverse paramilitary units and their specific cargo back and forth. Thus the Yugoslav Airforce finally lived to see its own version of a Vietnam War phenomenon: the so-called Mickey Mouse airline as a side activity.

"Opera" rented its premises at the Airforce Centre in Zemun to two lawyers; soon some twenty other employees appeared, although officially there were none: they were all on the Airforce payroll in the capacity of permanent employees or as "reservists - volunteers". In a "special task" atmosphere and consequent secrecy, the "Opera" has gained access to Airforce Security Department funds and documents, which it was by no means entitled to, and also to vehicles seized during war with counterfeit papers.

All went smoothly and everybody was happy, except the people who lost their jobs in the Information and Financial Control Departments. However, they were easily dealt with under the guise of "special warfare" secrecy.

While the war was going on, everything went smoothly; with an aura of "refugee heroes" the "Opera" artists from Zemun did their thing in a "conspirative" atmosphere over "Krajina affairs", an atmosphere which has already taken roots in Belgrade, and which has been (and still is) used as a pretext for many machinations. The people at the Airforce Command are claiming that the Command "is ready to force the issue into the open, no matter how many people are involved" and regardless of their position.