Political Dungeons

The Prime Minister of the Government of Kosovo in exile, Bujar Bukos, and the pretender to the Albanian throne, Lek Zogu (until recently also in exile), met in Tirana and called for the unification of all Albanians.

The former President of all former Serb government properties in Croatia, Goran Hadzic, after a meeting with Patriarch Pavle, stated that in the event of an exodus of Serbs from East Slavonia, he is considering forming their government in exile.

Milan Martic, the President of Krajina and a Hague candidate, in exile in Banjaluca, is not only giving up on the plan of housing his countrymen throughout Muslim villages in South-Western Bosnia, but had recently announced to international forces that any attempt to apprehend him would "result in many casualties"...

The active politicians who act in exile or are getting ready to do so are predestined. Nearly the whole of "war-torn" former Yugoslavia is swarming with those passive presidents, ministers and members of parliament of self-proclaimed ruined states.

Serbia is certainly the most populated with politicians in exile. There is at least one president of Krajina, its premiers and presidents of parliament, an uncertain number of ministers, members or directors of members’ clubs, directors of public companies, presidents of parties... In any case, the entire population of Krajina is in Serbia.

By contrast with Hadzic who is still in his house in Pacetin and on whose limousine there is a bright sticker "RSK", the above mentioned have nearly given up on politicking — just as much on the "restorational nation-building" kind associated with Krajina, as on the current national sort.

Croatia has also accepted a kind of government in exile. We are referring to Fikret Abdic Babi and his officials from the former Republic of Western Bosnia. Like the Government of Krajina, this one also disappeared on its own. Thanks to the property and funds of Agrokomerc which Babo stashed away in good time, but also thanks to the services of Croatia during the war in Bosnia, the greater part of these politicians are well situated. Once in a while, when Zagreb feels the need to assert that the Muslims in post-Dayton Bosnia are not unified, Abdic attacks Alija Izetbegovic, and the matter ends at that.

There is also another specific characteristic of politicians in exile, in a unique self-exile. We are referring to Dr. Radovan Karadzic and General Ratko Mladic. Both had to give up their offices, public appearances, and to withdraw into a profound illegality due to pressures and political compromises. No one seriously believes that they are hiding away in some secret hole, awaiting their destiny. On the contrary, all those familiar with the situation claim that their influence in Republica Srpska (RS) continues to be considerable. Even if it was nonexistent, their very freedom, as according to the Dayton Accord the handing over of war criminals is mandatory, reflects the power and significance of their "exile".

The most numerous politicians in exile come from Croatia and Bosnia and Hercegovina where war raged, and on whose territory many self-proclaimed states arose. Even Serbia, which was "not at war", can also say that it has a government in exile from a part of its territory. We are referring to the Republic of Kosovo and its government in exile scattered from Tirana to virtually all West European capitals. The extent of its influence on the territory whose population it pretends to represent is not possible to estimate. It is ascertained that relations between Bukos’s cabinet and the most important Albanian leaders clustered around Ibrahim Rugov are far from friendly. However, given that estimates indicate that over seven hundred thousand Albanians are living in Western Europe, and that a large part of them are sending three percent of their earnings toward the fight for the independence of Albanians in Kosovo; and given that the government in exile is in a position of collecting and controlling those funds, then it is considered that its influence is hardly marginal. Claims are made that what is at stake are Albanian politicians in reserve that await the eruption of the conflict in Kosovo. Everything else falls more or less into an unavoidable immigrant political folklore.