One People, Two Masters

The communications between Pale and Plavsic has died down entirely. Following the "democratic seizure" of the police headquarters at the Banjaluka Security Centre, Biljana Plavsic has appointed a loyal minister of interior affairs, Mirko Pavic. Even though the President has stated that the new minister has already begun to do his job, Pavic explained that he still has not started to work, since the procedure stipulated by the Constitution has not been carried out yet.

Apart from two administrations that already exist, including several presidents, both legitimate and illegitimate, and two sets of police, Republika Srpska now has two ministers of police. At the same time, the Banjaluka media that were loyal to the leadership in Pale changed their tune and now they stand by Plavsic. Naturally, both sides involved in the conflict are offering solutions. Both deem their own solutions to be the best and the only acceptable option. Plavsic is offering elections, and Pale respect for the decision of the Constitutional Court. When asked whether the developments in Republika Srpska are leading to the establishing of a protectorate, Milan Dupor, the Legal Advisor to the President of Republika Srpska, replied - that every person that is sick in the head ought to have a guardian.

Meanwhile, puppet general Pero Colic has angered Plavsic with a recent statement made during the extended collegiate session of the Army of RS held at Bijeljina, in which he threatened Plavsic that "the army will take things into its own hands." Since she remains to be "commander-in-chief of the army" which must not, as she put it, be a political or party institutions, Plavsic has demanded that the Army stands by the position it adopted two months before that it will not get involved in the political nightmare in Republika Srpska. Many people believe that Colic is bound to receive a letter of dismissal, which Plavsic had prepared for him as a welcome gesture. If one is to believe Plavsic who is doing her utmost for the sake of the implementation of the Dayton agreement, she ought to have intervened in the Colic case two months ago. Colic then told the Serb radio in Brcko that every honest Serb who is "socialising" with the Muslims and Croats must go to the police station and report himself, since every traitor has got to have a file. The then legitimate President of Republika Srpska failed to react. As could be expected, Pero Colic, who is known as the general who went to attend the session of the dismissed Parliament of RS only to fetch flour for the army, did not appear at the meeting that Plavsic scheduled with the representatives of the General Staff and corps commanders. According to the reliable sources at the General Staff, he remained in Sokolac. One could say that there is yet another division in Republika Srpska - the division in the army. This is confirmed by the arrival of only two corps, 1st and 3rd, to the meeting with Plavsic. No official statements were issued. Holding on to the position that the army must be apolitical, Plavsic was not in a situation to issue a statement saying that all generals present at the meeting supported her.

However, the extended collegiate session of the General Staff held in Bijeljina sent a message to the President saying that "owing to her role of a commander-in-chief of the armed forces she has secured for herself a way for unobstructed implementation of her own will in the sphere of the Constitution and the laws approaching the thesis that #etat c#est moi#." At the same time, Colic sent a letter to general of SFOR, Cordy Simpson, with an explanation that the military leadership will not sit idle whilst Republika Srpska is vanishing. This letter has triggered immediate reaction by stunned representatives of SFOR, who queried what action could the army initiate given the fact that military barracks are under control of the international military forces. According to the Dayton agreement, every movement by soldiers as well as use of weapons are under control of these forces. Colic#s followers have the support of the collegiate body of Defence Minister Milan Ninkovic, who warned the President of RS in no uncertain terms that she is preparing "unconstitutional and unlawful purge of the cadres in the Army of RS." Possible personnel changes in the army were first suggested by Plavsic's Legal Advisor, Milan Dupor, who said that Colic might be punished with a dismissal because of the Bijeljina letter.

Republika Srpska is practically divided into two parts: the eastern and western part. Two administrations are ignoring each other - Pale is clinging to the decision of the Constitutional Court, and Plavsic is wholeheartedly supporting the Dayton agreement. Anything connected with Biljana Plavsic is a priori unconstitutional and anti-democratic. Pale rejects the October elections that Plavsic has called. And vice versa, every decision coming from Pale is a priori doomed to failure.

The official representatives of the authorities of RS, who are currently at dispute and who have severed all relations, are not the only ones to be feuding. The conflict has affected "ordinary people" as well. The Banjaluka studio of the Serb Radio-Television suddenly got "disgusted" with the propaganda coming from the studio in Pale, even though it had taken part in it without holding back until recently. It therefore decided to stop broadcasting and to subsequently become the new state media in the service of Biljana Plavsic. The "liberation" of the state television and radio by the people was rather touching. It appears that Plavsic#s security is interpreting democracy as it sees fit. Miro Mladjenovic, the SDS spokesman, who was appointed by Miroslav Toholj, the General Director of Television in Pale, editor-in-chief of the Banjaluka studio, was thrown out by Plavsic#s men from the building. He issued a statement condemning violent behaviour of Plavsic#s security.

This is how the state media of Biljana Plavsic were created - former employees of the Serb Radio and Television came to their senses and some former opposition activists decided to join ranks with the fans of the President of Republika Srpska. All of those who had the opportunity to see and hear the liberated media in the service of Plavsic could well conclude that there was no change whatsoever in the black and white version of viewing the events. At first, there was a live broadcast of Plavsic#s rally, the same rally was reported at length on the nightly news, and then it was re-run again. Her previous rallies were hardly mentioned in television reports before. The same thing was repeated all over again the next day. The situation in Banjaluka was aptly described by a journalist who said that every word spoken against Plavsic is now equal to a suicide. Radoslav Brdjanin#s invitation to the excited crowd calling for the liberation of the Serb Radio testifies that democracy can be dangerous. Fortunately, there is still a handful of conscientious and professional journalists who prevented the lynch of the journalists of the old state media. The techniques have remained the same. What we are seeing are only slight variations. The citizens are finding it most difficult to cope with the fact that the Banjaluka studio is now excluded from the unitary broadcasting scheme in Republika Srpska, so that they cannot watch their favourite TV series Kasandra. Whilst the journalist of the Serb Radio and Television were trying to talk about their profession and "professional ethics" at the round table discussion, the viewers were calling and asking when will their favourite heroine be returned to them.

The time of rallies has returned with all the democratic passions that accompany it. Those having a different opinion who happened to be at the rally could feel how democracy hurts. A pregnant woman, who was swearing at the President of RS Biljana Plavsic, shouting "whore, traitor" during the last week#s events in front of the Public Security Centre in Banjaluka, had her hair pulled out by Plavsic#s supporters. A drunk carrying a picture of Radovan Karadzic at the rally held in support of Plavsic received slaps in the face and the picture of the former leader of all Serbs was torn into pieces. On the other hand, the SDS is involved in organising the rallies of support of this party which draw only half a dozen people. The members of the Municipal Board of the SDS in Banjaluka who present their conclusions outside of the municipal building receive a welcome by Plavsic#s supporters - eggs. The same people then run to Banski dvori and shout "Biljo, Biljo". Upon hearing her admirers, the happy President appears on the window, waving and greeting them. She does that with the same exhilaration with which she sings the verses, "The Serb army, grey falcons, the Serb army, true knights" at the rallies, and claps her hands enthusiastically. After falling out with General Pero, this will certainly not be her favourite song any longer.

Even though the SRT journalists advocate truth, it appears that this area is in a information blockade. The news from Pale and other "undemocratic" areas only slowly and rarely reaches this part of RS. Small wonder then that the news that the closed session of the Parliament of RS was held on Jahorina Mountain had a hard time making it here. Guesses were being made for about twelve hours as to what was discussed there behind the closed doors. Only late at night it was learned that Krajisnik was demanding that no hasty stand concerning the international community is adopted. At the same time, according to him, Plavsic represents a key person in this dispute, and should RS fail to preserve the unity of its national forces, this republic will become a dead letter. The former Speaker of the former Parliament, as Plavsic normally addresses him, Kalinic has called on Biljana Plavsic that she as well should put her office to the test - in the early elections.

After the Governments of RS cut all relations with the disobedient President, Plavsic did not fail to reiterate at the press conference that the Government is acting unconstitutionally. At the same time, she was most deeply hurt by the fact that her office was taken away from her in an article published by the state paper "Glas srpski". That "Biljana Plavsic is the President of RS and is not a person without office", insulted Plavsic responded. A group of employees of the state security remained loyal to dismissed deputy chief Ljuban Ecim. New commanders regard them as outlaws. In the same way, Lukac#s special forces have been considered outlaws from the moment they split from the Ministry of Interior Affairs. Predrag Ceranic, the new chief of the state security, believed that many police stations have expressed loyalty to new commanders. It appeared that a group gathered around Ceranic had lost compass, just as the independent media did. The new chief of state security spoke live in a program of the NES radio, organising the hunt for missing or disobedient security officers loyal to Ecim. He explained that the situation in Laktasi, in the vicinity of Banjaluka, had reached a boiling point, and that the police station was being liberated - dismissed policemen gave us a surprised look, wondering whether we were all right. Only a minute later, the outlaws were already in Prnjavor, according to Ceranic. We were as well. We came across equally surprised citizens who were asking themselves what was happening in Banjaluka. They are being told on television that war is being waged in this city, and in Bijeljina questions are asked how many people died in the capital of President Plavsic. Prnjavor is only 50 kilometres away from Banjaluka. The mood of the people in Prnjavor is divided. The Prnjavor police station does not issue any official statements - official statements are fetched at the Ministry of Interior Affairs in Bijeljina. Dragan Kijac used to be at the helm there. This appears to be the outer reach of Plavsic#s influence. Therefore, it should not be surprising that she was more than happy to embrace the Banjaluka TV studio, since her influence among the people needs to be enhanced. It is questionable how many policemen are genuinely loyal to the new leadership. Plavsic#s forces took control over the police stations in Prijedor and Mrkonjic-Grad.

True, many people appear to be catching the last train in Banjaluka. The number of those jumping on the Plavsic#s wagon is rising. Vice-President of Republika Srpska Dragoljub Mirjanic has recently decided to stop the silence. He is the person because of whom Plavsic could not leave Banjaluka. She feared that Mirjanic could sign some paper in her absence that would be detrimental for RS, like the one concerning the special relations between the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and RS. The political evolution of the Vice-President of RS took a long time - three months later he realised that "his opinion is absolutely identical with the opinion of the President of RS when she made a decision on dismissing the Parliament of RS." The ultimatum issued at the closed session of the Parliament on Mountain Jahorina indicates that there is no end in sight to the turmoil in Republika Srpska. This ultimatum demands that the TV and radio are returned to its owner. Unless this is done in three days# time, the Ministry of Interior Affairs and the Public Prosecutor will act as they are legally entitled. By whom?