Rectors and Political Vectors

The appointment of Ph.D. Jagos Puric as Rector of the University of Belgrade came as a surprise for several reasons; the former offensive line of the so-called University Group, which played an important role in the coming to power of Slobodan Milosevic, has for some time now been a political zombie: he was not to be found in centers of political power, nor in any of the many forums — he was not even present on any of the party’s elections lists.  Surprise was also due to the fact that the regime, which principally surrounds itself with second rate, “dispensable” intellectuals, had decided to appoint a man with a solid scientific reputation to the position of Rector.  But even the newly elected Rector performed a salto mortale which often leads to serious “spinal fractures”:

“Self-rule at the university is older than all Yugoslavias put together...  Even with the 1905 Law on the Founding of the University, passed by King Peter, it was defined as the highest professional and self-ruling institution within the given field.  The right to chose its own self-rule has been and remains part of tradition at the University of Belgrade...”
This is how the unsuccessful candidate for Rector at the University of Belgrade, Ph.D. Jagos Puric, spoke in 1993.  This week, for the first time in the 160 year-long history of University of Belgrade (BU), the Government of Serbia appointed Jagos Puric as Rector without consultation or consent from BU.  Thus, is accordance with the most restrictive law in the long history of BU, which discontinues autonomy of universities and according to which rectors, deans, and even professors at the University are appointed by the Government of Serbia, the distinguished professor of physics, a former Communist and a member of JUL, entered the rector’s quarters on Kapetan Misina Street, having been appointed by the red-black coalition with a view to “depoliticizing” and “liberating” the university.  Unfortunately, the imposed Rector Jagos Puric is better known by the public at large for his activities in the field of politics, rather than in the field of science.

Those who know Jagos Puric do not deny his reputation as a scientist: this expert in the field of atomic physics is an author of more than a 100 works which have been published even in international journals, as well as of several textbooks and reference works, which is certainly not the case with university people who are highly rated in the ruling coalition.  However, in academic circles, Puric is reputed for his staunch political attitudes, as a sinister figure who had for years been the hand of pogroms, so that even now his appointment to the position of rector is perceived as the coming of a true commissar who will execute decisions passed by JUL.

BITTER MEDICINE: Rector Puric, like so many public figures today, came directly out of “Mira Markovic’s military overcoat”: even during student days they were personal and party friends at the University Committee of the League of Communists.  Professor Puric became famous overnight when TV Belgrade carried live the session of the Municipal Committee of the League of Communists, which was actually a dramatic overture to the historic Eight Session of the Central Committee of the League of Communists of Serbia.  Together with his colleague, Professor Radisa Smiljkovic, who is today an Ambassador to Bulgaria, Puric directly attacked Dragisa Buca Pavlovic, at the time the President of the Municipal Committee of the League of Communists, who criticized the “loosely promised speed” in resolving the Kosovo knot, without ever mentioning the name of Slobodan Milosevic.  Pavlovic supported “patience and coolheadedness”.  Initially, the presidency of the League of Communists gave its support to Buca Pavlovic, but soon after, following commentaries in the Politika and Ekspres dailies, the salto mortale of the so-called University Group ensued (Rados Smiljkovic, Jagos Puric, Stipe Lovreta, Zoran Todorovic Kunda, Nebojsa Maljkovic, Snezana Aleksic).  Television viewers remembered the crescendo message by Rados Smiljkovic that “heavy wounds require bitter medicine”, and of the exasperated Jagos Puric who stated that the situation in Kosovo needs to be solved with “utmost possible speed” — Professor Puric called for “defense of the homestead” as well as for “going for the throat”.  The Politika and Ekspres dailies gave enormous publicity to the leftist side of this conflict, while the photographs of Professors Rados and Jagus illustrated the “uncompromising and principled attitude” of the University Group.  Jagos Puric was also one of the five signatories — along with Ph.D. Smiljkovic, Ph.D. Slobodanka Gruden, Ph.D. Mihajlo Milojevic and Dusan Mitevic —  of the famous letter submitted to the Presidency of the Central Committee of the League of Communists of Serbia and to the Presidency of the Municipal Committee of the Organization of the League of Communists of Belgrade which denounced the “method of pressuring used by the President of the Presidency of FR Serbia, Ivan Stambolic” (a letter of support to Buca Pavlovic).  What followed was an “acceleration of history”, the Eighth Session and everything that ensued.

ON ICE: All of the President’s men — as Buca Pavlovic called the central nucleus of the University Committee of the League of Communists, which of course included Mira Markovic — made important political careers soon after the Eighth Session, while many also made a lot of money.  Only Jagos Puric, personal friend and godfather to the most influential couple in this region, was “put on ice”.

Admittedly, in 1993 he was nominated for Rector by his colleagues at the Physics Faculty, but Puric, despite the reputation he enjoys among colleagues and experts, did not even come close to the required two-thirds majority of members of the University, as used to be decreed previously in the Law on Universities.  Evidently, his nomination for the position of Rector was not supported by the political echelons (Dragutin Velickovic was elected), while colleagues from other faculties did not forget how his party dealt with “opponents of the conclusions reached at the Eighth Session”.  Last year, when Velickovic was finally driven away, Professor Puric was once again run for the position of Rector, but this time did not even succeed at his faculty: two thirds of his colleagues voted against him.

It is difficult to say with certainty whether the many years of “being put on ice” were the result of yet another insider  conflict among the leftists, of injured vanity (supposedly, Ph.D. Mira Markovic was advised, when the Mathematics Faculty broke up into several faculties, that she would “fare” better at the Faculty of Geography, than at the Faculty of Physics), or of a desire to devote himself more to scientific work.

However, it is certain that the new Rector, who is coming at the request of JUL to the top of the oldest institution of higher education in the country, will not have an easy time of it.

CONFLICTS AND SUPPORT: The appointed Rector is being faced with not only a University which is verging on economic collapse, but also with the fact that the majority of Belgrade’s faculties and institutes have risen against the new Law on Universities in their Scientific Educational Committees, and with the fact that the walls of many faculties are plastered with the open letter written by several hundred professors of the University of Belgrade which states that the new Law on Universities is fundamentally anti-civilization in its view that the life and work of universities should submit to state dictates.   The front doors to many faculties have also been plastered for days now with a Declaration — an ethical codex — with which the Belgrade Council of the Association of University Professors and Scientific Workers of Serbia is stating that its members are not consenting to be members of executive councils, supervisory councils, deans and vice-deans according to the decrees of the new Law.  A group of 16 professors from the Law Faculty in Belgrade is stating for the public that it refuses with disgust to sign “the statement of loyalty”, while it is being joined by individual voices: Slobodan Marinkovic, Professor at the Medical Faculty, accuses the dean of the Medical Faculty, Radivoje Grbic, of direct responsibility and participation in this illegal measure which is detrimental to the entire country.

The Constitutional Court of Serbia has already been sent an initiative for examining the constitutionality and legality of the Law on Universities...  There are also other tactics: many people at BU think that they should not “serve their heads on a silver platter” to a regime which had ruined the country, lead a war and created economic catastrophe: they think that a “contract” ought to be signed, if that is what the new Law requires, and that later resistance should be offered from inside.

In a brief statement for the public, the imposed rector said that “investment in science and higher education, both civilizationally and financially, brings in the highest returns for every country”.  Until yesterday, the Government which appointed him claimed that there is simply no money.  And as far as his promise — that he will do everything so that young educated people do not leave this county and will work on creating an atmosphere for nurturing the creative abilities of professors and students — is concerned, that especially is mere phraseology: it is rumored that at the Faculty of Physics, Professor Puric personally contributed to some young and very talented people packing their bags and leaving for the outside world.  The Professor also contributed to a very tense atmosphere: it is only one thing that he does not communicate with half of the faculty, but it is far more serious that last year he did not hold his lectures regularly, with the faculty forum being forced to take up this issue for discussion.  Some people at the University think that Jagos Puric is the main culprit in the breakup of the former Mathematics Faculty, and now the Government is suggesting that he will apply a similar formula to the “overly cumbersome University of Belgrade”.

The new Rector is being received by insulted, impoverished and even frightened teachers and associates.  The question remains open as to how professors will react to the latest events, to the insulting, and in their consequences catastrophic decrees of the Law on Universities, which affects the status of the universities and of science in this society.  Everyone will have to find an answer on their own to this fundamental question, this personal, moral dilemma — Rector Jagos Puric included.

The appointed Rector is being faced with many trials right from the start: from the “spinal fracture” on autonomy of universities from the beginning of this article, to the support from his coalition partner, Ph.D. Vojislav Seselj, who commented on Professor Puric’s appointment with the following words: “Jagos Puric is a patriot...  As far as I know, no criminal affairs have been linked with his name.”  At the very least, this is all a lot of hype about a scientist who is not denied his expertise either by his political opponents, or by his colleagues with whom he does not communicate.  Evidently, Ph.D. Zoran Ivosevic, Supreme Court Judge with the Supreme Court of Serbia, is right when he says that the Law on Universities is perceived as spiritual aggression of an out-of-tune legislative orchestra over reason, because it supports submissive behavior and political narrowness, while it hinders freedom and creativity of spirit.  Rectors and deans have become the Government’s vassals.  With the new Law on Universities, the Government has instituted “emergency administration” over higher education, with the Minister of Education as the “Head Emergency Administrator”.  Besides great authority, rectors and deans are actually becoming marginal figures.  It is indicative that the daily Politika, which printed texts from one day to the next whose collective title could read “This Law is Good”, merely printed a brief note that Jagos Puric has been elected to the position of Rector of UB: without a biography, and without mention of his scientific and political work!?  Someone decided that this is how it should be...