Summer Pause for Winter Shock

For most people, even politicians, summer is a time to relax, travel, rediscover family and friends, stroll along the beach, swim, fish, read mysteries or love stories and whatnot - in any event, a chance to forget about business. However, the job of our president is not like any other, and he is not a man like any other, so his summer vacations are something else. They are political news, as the vacation of any president is. Last year, one statement said that President Yeltzin had extended his vacation due to nice weather (this was an attempt to conceal his heart problems). Thus, the vacation of the Chief of State is not a private act, but here there is no one who could inform us about it, so we are the last to hear the news, from our neighbors.

Several days ago, the Greek daily newspaper, Katimerini, informed that the president of Yugoslavia, Slobodan Milosevic, has been spending several days in Greece (which he had, even before, preferred over Montenegro) on vacation, and allegedly on the yacht of a Greek tycoon. Let's not speak of the fact that, in an organized state, the question of impeachment would be raised due to such conflict of interests, regarding the unpleasant possible interests of that businessman in the state whose president he was hosting, etc... The first thought of anyone familiar with the personality and works of the president will not be that this man simply likes luxurious vacations, since probably everyone likes this. Most observers of Slobo and "slobism" will assume, perhaps, that the president has, while strolling on deck with a glass of whisky in his hand, watching the calm sea, in fact, wheeled dough from this tycoon for the elections in Serbia, maybe selling something for which he does not know the exact price.

Nevertheless, the political biography of President Milosevic shows considerable consistency between the type of the person with whom he spends his summer vacations and the political goal he is about to achieve this coming fall. His vacation with Stipe Suvar during the time of the disputes in the communist party, and after that with General Kadijevic during the time of preparations for the war, have been replaced now by the news on his cruising. Does that mean that we have something to look forward to?

According to Slaovljub Djukic ("He, She and We"), at 1:30 a.m. on May 25, 1987, the editorial staff of the Politika daily received a text from opus about a pursuit against the student periodical. This particular text, which dealt with the Serbian minister of culture and Branislav Milosevic, but was in fact aimed at Dragisa Pavlovic and Ivan Stambolic, was published with the signature of B. Jovanovic, and was written, rewritten, and given it's final form by Mira Markovic and Zivorad Minovic in the home of the Milosevic family at Vracar.

During the same year, on September 13, this "dream time" of writers met again in Pozarevac, at the home of Mira's grandfather, this time reinforced by the presence of Slobodan Milosevic, Dusan Mitevic and Slobodan Jovanovic. This time their task was to deal away with Dragisa Pavlovic, and there's no one better suited for the task than the press. The deal was to publish commentary in the Politika Express daily, which was to be taken over later by Politika. The text was written by Mira Markovic, "and the editor-in-chief of Politika, Zivorad Minovic, was helping, whose role this time also included that of the typist." They had only to chose who would sign the text. Their choice was Dargoljub Milanovic, a journalist with pedigree, a corespondent from the provinces whose career reached for the stars from that moment on.

Milosevic's biographers have also noted, as political fact, one of his vacations from thirty years ago, which seems almost like a self-fulfilling prophecy. In his book "He, She and We", Slavoljub Djukic mentions the summer of 1968 in Zadar. Mirjana Markovic walks with her relative through one of Zadar's squares and stops at a store window with a framed picture of Tito. Mirjana watches at the window and foretells that "one day, Slobo's picture will stand in that place". And it did, although not exactly in Zadar.

In our time, we will also see evidence that decisions can be brought in bathing suits. In "The Last Days of SFRY", under the heading "August 3, 1990", Borislav Jovic writes that he has received Veljko Kadijevic in Njivice, upon Kadijevic's request. "He reports about the military situation in Slovenia, about their intentions and the counter-measures to be taken. The Slovenes have firmly decided to carry on until the end, at the price of incidents, clashes and war... The Army will, in a couple of days, work out a detailed suggestion for SIV and the Presidency. The remainder of the arms should be taken from them and all available legal measures should be harshly applied, including punishment."

Jovic describes the real summer political idyll of August 10: "We spend the entire day on the ship and at the sea (the island of Mljet); we are having a picnic at sea, Veljko, Slobo, Bogdan and I, with our families. We seize the opportunity for a more thorough exchange of opinions. I have discussed many issues, separately with Veljko, and separately with Slobo. All three of us have seldom talked."

But let's return to the present. Along with news of the visit of the Yugoslav Minister of Foreign Affairs to Greece, the conservative Athens periodical leaked news that a visit by the president of the state had preceded the visit of his minister. The identity of the yacht and the Greek tycoon is vaguely mentioned, and the news resembles that of some years ago - that Milosevic had cruised the Greek sea together with his wife and son. One Belgrade citizen who was selling piroshki on the beach says that the former Serbian president was seen spending his vacation at the hotel Porto Karas, a luxurious building with polo court, south of Neos Marmaras, in the middle finger of the Halkidiki. This is the same hotel where Papandreu used to spend his vacations. The story says that the Serbian president was reserved, that he was there with his heir, in the company of the family of a Serbian businessman; the younger ones were spending their time in discos, drinking Jack Daniels.

This spring, there were competitions around financial arrangements, as well as various, unconfirmed news stories about the trips of various Montenegrins to Greece. Since the summer vacations of politicians are considered as one of the utmost state secrets, and it is difficult to establish the purpose and the meaning of this amount of secrecy, it must be concluded that when judged by the secrecy in respect of his vacations, the President Milosevic is still a Bolshevik, although, by his aristocrat boastfulness, he is not.

This visit to Greece is probably part of some kind of strategy regarding a financial opening in the course of the announced transition of the package-arrangement type. Recently, however, Milosevic has quite transparently avoided meetings with lower rank European politicians, or with officials of international organizations, on several occassions, justifying this by his absence from Belgrade. The last time, he canceled a highly ranked visit. Robbin Cook, the British minister of foreign affairs, did not come to Belgrade at the beginning of August, because Milosevic could not receive him. Also, the first meeting with Holbruk and Geldbar was postponed for late evening hours, because Milosevic was expected to return from Greece.

Essentially, however, news about this vacation was not true. By persistency in defending his power, by the obsession which ties him to this power, it is improbable that this politician has ever been on vacation.