The Street Light Rally

On Tuesday evening police caterpillars removed the last traces of the turbulent two days in Banjaluka — automobiles of the Pale delegation. Eggs, bottles and stones with which the participants in the so-called All-Serb Assembly for a single, undivided Republika Srpska were greeted, left a bitter taste in the mouths of the supporters on both sides.

SIMMERING: All those who lived through the months of political conflicts in RS felt that the few unusually calm days in Banjaluka last week were a sign of nothing good. This time the announced pre-election meeting of the Serb Democratic Party (SDS) was responsible for everything. The list of eminent participants was quite long. Responsible for predicting one more democratic vision of Serb conflicts, those present included proven fighters for the Serb cause from Serbia itself, which antagonized the citizens of Banjaluka from the very start.

Earlier attempts of the SDS of Banjaluka to organize meetings against Biljana Plavsic were mostly unsuccessful — no more than ten people were able to congregate to simmer up things against the President of RS. As the question concerns community elections, the next thing that bothered the citizens of Banjaluka most was the bringing in of people from the Eastern part of the Republic. According to many, they had no business being in Banjaluka just as the representatives of international organizations equally had no business being there.

The simmering atmosphere resulted in the prohibition by the Banjaluka Center for Security of all meetings until September 11 because of the strong indications that civil peace was being threatened. In spite of this prohibition, SDS and its spokesman in Banjaluka, Miro Mladjenovic, were very explicit about holding meetings. As in any case they do not respect the newly-appointed commanders of public and state security, the organizers of the Assembly did not even register its holding with the Center in Banjaluka.

MEETING FROM LIGHT POSTS: In the course of the day, Assembly guests kept arriving ceaselessly. But without all honored fanatics for the SDS cause. At entrances to Banjaluka, according to SFOR spokesman, Mike Right, around 70 buses and 130 civilian vehicles were stopped. Weapons were found along with 200 DM’s on every individual, which confirmed the suspicion that the crowed was paid to be there. Five minutes before the prohibited meeting, there were more journalists present than meeting participants. The "release" of others was awaited, with the explanation that the organizer, if need be, is prepared to sleep on the Krajina Square. As others were nowhere in sight, and as doors were still locked, Momcilo Krajisnik and Gojko Klickovic went for a walk with their people around the center of town. According to the estimates of the SDS City Committee Spokesman, Miro Mladjenovic, 10 thousand people were present at the Assembly. According to all other estimates, there were only 300 SDS supporters compared to approximately two hundred supporters of Plavsic. Assembly participants huddled beneath a street light from where they addressed, as Momcilo Krajisnik calls them, the worthy citizens and those "egg thieves" across the street.

After addressing the Assembly briefly, Krajisnik and his delegation was accompanied to the hotel by Biljana’s sympathizers. At the hotel’s entrance door stones were hurled at them, while the BMW with Serb-Sarajevo registration plates had all its windows smashed. In the early hours, Krajisnik’s delegation held a press conference. For the prohibited meeting which was therefore not held Biljana Plavsic was blamed. In spite of that, the meeting was successful for Krajisnik because it increased the election chances for SDS at the local level by at least ten points. As Plavsic is merely biding her time with the international community, and is unable to practically carry out any part of the Dayton Agreement Krajisnik demanded for her unqualified resignation. He did not miss a chance to chastize the President for her unbecoming treatment of the Serb Patriarch. To the journalists’ question how much the All-Serb Assembly cost, he answered by directing them to the organizer or the financial police, and saying it certainly cost less that meetings held by Ms. Plavsic. And when everyone thought that the worst was over and even well-concluded, from the suburbs of Banjaluka came word that serious conflicts broke out between the bused-in, uninvited guests and the local police. The battle was mainly waged with stones and strong SFOR force backed police actions. Banjaluka was cut off for several hours from its suburbs, especially from the one road leading to Prnjavor. The buses never arrived in Banjaluka, and SDS support never showed up.

The day after the real drama began, with the locking up of Hotel Bosna. As it was ascertained that Krajisnik’s security was armed to the teeth, the local police decided to carry out a detailed search. No one could get back to Pale until the whole delegation was disarmed. And that disarming lasted a whole day. International Police, according to its spokesman Alun Roberts, only had the assignment of ensuring safe passage of the Pale delegation. In the mean time the crowd in front of the hotel kept increasing and demanding that the gentlemen from Pale leave Banjaluka for good this time. The Pale vehicles alighted next day in front of the hotel, only to be met by inquisitive journalists. The local police was showing weapons left in unusually conspicuous places. At the same time, inside the hotel the RS Premier Gojko Klickovic was explaining to journalists that the weapons had been planted.

As the first delegation from Pale, including Dragan Kalinic and Gojko Klickovic accompanied by security, left somewhere around three in the afternoon, followed by taunting whistles and eggs. The problem arose when Momcilo Krajisnik and Dragan Kijac were due to be escorted to the armed SFOR transport vehicle. The most vehement citizens of Banjaluka taunted them with shouts, "Thieves, thieves!", with the intention of wishing them to never return again to this city. Only a day earlier, in the press conference in Hotel Bosna, Momcilo Krajisnik claimed that he feels better than ever in Banjaluka. That used to be, as he said himself, his city. Ironically, only a few hours after he waited for the "foreign enemy" to secure safe passage for him to Pale.

The American General Jacques Klein told reporters that Momcilo Krajisnik made a mistake by coming to Banjaluka. He departed, admittedly in the first instant ready to greet, and even to smile at those who prepared such a welcome for him. The smile disappeared amid hurled eggs and stones, which kept missing him with surprising consistency. A few of his men left Banjaluka sobbing.

Welcome to the Hotel Bosna

It happened many times up to now that the pages of many leading world journals carried stories and facts which during the war had been "bought" and "sold" by journalists, politicians and all kinds of informers on the balconies and in the rooms of Hotel Bosna. In the end it happened that the hotel itself appeared on front pages as in it took place one of the most uncertain post-war battles in which Serbs from Pale and Banjaluka played with each others lives, after last weeks SDS "counter-meeting". In any case, for months now the battle between informants loyal to Biljana Plavsic and Momcilo Krajisnik has been waged in and around this hotel.

Hotel Bosna had been built in 1970 in the same place where an older hotel, damaged by an earthquake, stood. It is in the middle of Banjaluka, right next to Banski Dvori, where the offices of the President of RS, Biljana Plavsic, are. At the time when it was built, this hotel had been included among the most successful architectural works in former SFRY.

Since 1993, the Hotel entered private hands. Supposedly three lawyers had taken over its ownership, even though publicly only one of them was mentioned — the Radical Pantelija Damjanovic who is an MP in the Pale Parliament. In the Hotel’s garden different stories can be heard regarding how much Pantelija paid for Hotel Bosna — figures range from 300,000 to three million DM’s. However, in circles loyal to Biljana Plavsic it can be heard that this very Hotel is the best example of "wild privatization" conducted by Pale, and that one day its purchase for an insignificant sum could very well come under serious review. Journalists, who along with politicians are the most frequent guests of the Hotel, rarely venture out of the pleasant shade of the hotel’s garden. That garden is frequented by nearly everybody who is anybody in Banjaluka, and who can offer some important information. The government and the opposition are both guests at Hotel Bosna, along with all those who like to keep abreast of things. The garden also offers a clear view to the guests of Banski Dvori and Biljana Plavsic.