A Flea In The Ear

As expected, tensions in Banja Luka are not waning. One day after the meeting between Plavsic and the American Envoy, Robert Gellbard, with which she was generally pleased, a new SFOR operation of occupying all police stations in the city began. The most fighting occurred around the main police station, the Public Safety Center, where international forces were implementing Biljana Plavsic’s decision regarding replacing the Director and Vice-Director of the Center. While the members of the international force were establishing order — that is to say, giving a deadline to the workers in the building for vacating the premises, after which time they would open fire — the newly appointed Directors, Plavsic’s new players, were awaiting in an armored vehicle the opportunity to assume their new positions with all due pomp and circumstance. Everyone had to vacate the Public Safety Center. Common policemen who guard the building were handed their personal belongings and told that their services were no longer required. The question is for how long? The Center’s Workers until yesterday were bitterly pacing around the building and threatening the SFOR soldiers, while common people were wailing that Banja Luka is "under occupation". Blocked entrances, a concentration of tanks, weapons and soldiers, and an incessant flying of helicopters should perhaps not be described in such strong terms, for after all, what we are seeing is "merely" the execution of a decision by the President of the Republic. That selfsame individual had brought the brutal actions of SFOR onto the recently fired workers of the Center, had demolished doors, and given a heavy boot — a visa exit to the outside. It is possible that with this action Biljana Plavsic lost the trust of the people, a people exceptionally sensitive to "aggressors" and "occupiers". At the same time, the question presents itself: how long will the old staff accept the rule of its new directors?

Even though the decision by the Federal Court of RS, in itself political, did not cause any significant changes in the political map of Republika Srpska (as was expected), the Sunday escapade by the soldiers of Unit 6 of the Special Brigade for Anti terrorist Activities stirred and disturbed the RS public for an umpteenth time. The question presented itself: what else is in store for this Republic? The latest forced entry by Dragan Lukac’s special unit — otherwise loyal to President Biljana Plavsic — into the Public Safety Center leaves in its wake split authority in the police and an urgent visit by the American Envoy Robert Gellbard to Banja Luka. Gellbard supported the player on which America is placing its hopes for the implementation of the Dayton Agreement — the reason for which Plavsic herself changed from an adamant nationalist into an adamant democrat. This was also the reason behind the conflict in the Public Safety Center.

WAGES, THEN HARD EVIDENCE: In the Sunday drama, the building of the Public Safety Center was surrounded by members of international military and police forces. The Hollywood-like tension was completed by SFOR snipers placed along rooftops. Members of the international force mediated in the negotiations between the Director of the Banja Luka Center, Djura Bulic, who is loyal to the Pale lobby, and the commander of the Special Unit, Dragan Lukac, who is loyal to Biljana Plavsic.

With a "successful operation" Lukac’s soldiers were sent once more to Banski Dvor, while SFOR soldiers occupied the police building, with the explanation that they will guard the building "until the investigation is completed". After that, according the Commander of the Southwestern Sector of SFOR, British General Agnus Ramzey, it will be returned to the Banja Luka police force. Even though they have no intention of getting involved in "internal affairs of RS", the surveying of police archives in the building of the Civilian Station of Public Safety in Banja Luka by international military and police forces practically means that a protectorate has been enforced over a segment of the Republika Srpska police. In the words of Alune Roberts, spokesman for the international police in the building of the Public Safety Center, "much more" than evidence of wiretapping was found; even some material of whose existence IPTF was never informed was found, which was a source of worry to them.

It is interesting that at this moment, none other than the Pale chiefs are pointing to the protectorate, probably with the objective of fueling public fears. The Vice President of the ruling Serb Democratic Party, Aleksa Buha, commenting on the announcement of the international political factor that it will support the decision of President Plavsic to dissolve parliament, as well as her decision to call the elections, stated that under those circumstances "the decision of the Federal Court is belittled and a protectorate is being instituted over justice in RS". In the first stage, the two governments of Republika Srpska — the one represented by President Plavsic, and the one embodied in the person of Momcilo Krajisnik, MP in the Parliament of Bosnia and Herzegovina — clashed over who would accept responsibility for calling on the international community to intervene. According to the good old custom of Serbs in Republika Srpska, finger pointing ensued. When things cleared up a little, Plavsic was the first to point the finger at Momcilo Krajisnik on Serb Television. A little later, Krajisnik sincerely thanked the international forces for the offered help and a well done job. The SFOR Vice-Spokesman for the Southwest, Major Mark Morgan, confirmed that the presence of SFOR was really requested by Krajisnik. However, Mike Right, the SFOR Spokesman for the Southwest Sector refuted the statement that Krajisnik asked for SFOR intervention, but confirmed that Krajisnik gave the go-ahead for the special forces to be dispatched from Pale for the purpose of "freeing" the MUP building from Lukac’s Special Unit.

The leader of the operation of braking into the police building, Dragan Lukac, explained that the whole operation was conducted under the suspicion that President Plavsic’s safety was in jeopardy. As considerable hard evidence was gathered, Lukac expects that a criminal case will begin against those responsible for undermining the Constitution and the safety of the President of RS. According to the Banja Luka lawyer Milan Trbojevic, better known as Biljana Plavsic's representative in the Pale public dispute, this is a criminal matter. "Wiretapping is a criminal act, except where an Investigating Judge permits such actions. Such permission can only be given when a criminal investigation is being conducted against someone whose phones are being tapped, and when there is good reason to believe that that person committed a criminal act", Milan Trbojevic thus shed light on the phenomenon of "wiretapping", an otherwise favorite police method in the police-political practice of Republika Srpska.

With Plavsic’s latest decision regarding the replacement of the directors of the Public Safety and the State Security Centers in Banja Luka, the RS police authority has been practically split in half. The newly appointed directors and appointees could not simply take over power, nor did the old ones wish to hand over that power. The "replaced" policemen still continue to work in the building of the Public Safety Center. While IPTF is leaving the building, taking with them a heap of Banja Luka police material, the RS MUP is issuing a statement that the Center is again working normally, as if all of its employees are in their jobs.

It is true that, for a brief moment, the newly appointed Director of the Public Safety Center, Major Milan Sutilovic, was taken away for a brief talk. The part of the police loyal to Minister Dragan Kijac released Sutilovic after several hours, after which the latter did not join his newly appointed colleagues in the press conference.

And while the new directors continue to believe in a peaceful transfer of authority, Dragan Kijac is calling a meeting in Banja Luka in which all those loyal to him should show up. In short, Plavsic’s decision was refused as unconstitutional, while a warning was issued that all responsibility for chaos in RS will fall squarely on the Presidents head.

And while the Serb Democratic Party is issuing statements that it has never been stronger than it is now, its members until yesterday are leaving it in panic with the explanation that "the future cannot be build on cynicism, lies, empty promises, inventions of enemies and convictions that the entire world hates Serbs, all of which are positions supported by SDS echelons". All this changing of ranks will be welcomed by none other than Plavsic herself, for the use of her new adamantly nationalist party. In this way, she is staying with the program which united and mobilized all Serbs five years ago, and she will concern herself above all with the protection of Serb national interests.

It would appear that speeches on the program of this new party awakened in Plavsic that same nationalist fever which had once distinguished her in the eyes of the public, both domestic and foreign, with extreme nationalism. The newfangled democrat, in a brief moment, sheds her light democratic cloak, and begins to talk in a language in which she feels much more comfortable.

Ministers are accepting resignations, the Pale chiefs are desperately trying to keep their shaking throne, the President of the Republic is making decisions which no one is respecting, while the police state is wiretapping loyal citizens. Everyone is supporting the Constitution and the Dayton Accord, while few are actually respecting either. In short, no prognosis of further developments in RS has anything positive in it.