The Last Staged Elections

A Memorandum from the Holy Synod of Bishops announced that "the Serbian Orthodox Church openly distances itself from this government and those like it, as well as its constitution which was brought in without wide support, and the elections that are in preparation, which, in their urgency and manner of preparation, in no way evoke trust". The Church seeks "the forming of a government of national trust, national unity and salvation".

The Memorandum says that "no-one's position is more important than the fate and freedom of the whole nation and no-one has a monopoly over the people and the future of our children".

DEPOS, which was founded last week by a group of non-party individuals and representatives of the opposition, has demanded that Serbia and Montenegro call elections for a constitution making assembly, that all organs of the SFRY be abolished and that a "concentrated, temporary coalition government of Serbia and Montenegro" which would function until the end of the elections, be formed. As an identical formulation is used in the Memorandum from the Serbian Orthodox Church, it becomes clear that national institutions are creating an alliance against Milosevic.

Now, more clearly than earlier on, Milosevic's war policy is being condemned. DEPOS has joined the Serbian PEN in defense of Sarajevo and Mostar, seeking the condemnation of all forms of murder, bestiality and persecution of people of all faiths and nationalities, as well as the mindless and senseless destruction of communities and cities in the attempt to take over as much territory as possible.

The man whose position is in question described this catastrophe in an interview to Television Serbia as "the beginnings of a middle-sized country with great potential for development", "which doesn't suit the big powers", etc.

As the catastrophe takes place, he speaks of speedy development, "the mobilization of foreign capital". One of his advisers in his pre-election campaign says a similar thing: "We must hold out against the pressure!"

Milosevic's main theory is: "This nation has no foreign boss"!

He said that this pressure from abroad "will have to decrease after the elections". A CSCE commission, following a visit to Serbia and after this interview, announced that the elections of 31 May would not be fair because of the unnaturally short lead time and because of the monopoly over the media. Milosevic gives the impression that this conclusion is unimportant to him, in other words, he pushes the future voters in front of him as a shield.

Milosevic is now aware that he is not collecting votes "for" himself , but "against America". For a leader of his type there can be no greater challenge - alone against the world in a Balkan storm.

It is clear that he is no longer in top form, that he doesn't really know what to do, and he gives the impression of distraction. He repeats the old phrases, only now it is less clear whether he is just lying or, what is worse, may believe in what he says.

Milosevic (or was it the army?) had begun to give signs that he was giving way, but he is now confronted with the problem that his partners no longer believe him and will no longer do business with him, and it is obvious that not even his subordinates listen to him any more. The comment of the few MPs this reporter informed of the massacre in Sarajevo came down to the sentence: "Now we're in deep shit!"

Used to playing for all or nothing, Milosevic nonetheless decided to organize the last defense of Serbia.

The main obstacle in the way of the regularity of the elections is the tragic news from Bosnia and the women and children refugees who stand each day on Terazije. If the war in Croatia was accompanied by the quiet refusal of thousands of people to answer the call to mobilization and, on the other hand, the hot-headed and acrimonious war propaganda, the war in Bosnia is being followed in Belgrade by paralytic shame and far more overt condemnation of its senselessness.

Dr. Vladan Vasiljevic of the Serbian Liberal Party, on the DEPOS speakers' platform, said: "We want the usurpers to wake up and put an end to the bloodshed. Mostar has been destroyed. Sarajevo is on the verge of devastation...". At the same time, Vuk Draskovic emphasized that "a new Nuremberg process is close at hand where crimes against civilization will be tried".

Milosevic did not understand that by proposing the formation of a government of national salvation, DEPOS and the Serbian Orthodox Church were offering him a ladder by which to step down.

According to certain rumors, Mrs. Helen Delic Bentley has also advised Milosevic to resign. The rumors say that she offered him the place of Director of the American-Serbian Bank, but he turned it down. It is questionable whether Mrs. Bentley has the mandate to carry such messages, but, on the other hand, it is clear that in the American political system, such a message could not be passed without the approval of the State Department. The opposition, however, still has its doubts about it.

Milosevic has no other response to this "writing off" except stubbornness. As a matter of fact, he tries to transform the fact that he has been "written off" into a factor for maintaining his own power.

His favorite, Vojislav Seselj, is of no further use, his final pre-election meeting collected only a few people, and the "Duke" has rudely attacked almost all of Milosevic's antagonists, showing no lenience even towards academics and writers, the founders of DEPOS, who he has called "masons", "false nationalists", "Titoist academics".

A Socialist Youth exercise has managed to collect the signatures of a few writers, academics and the director of the zoo, in support of the elections.

There has been no official discussion in the Academy about this, and it is not clear whether the news that another paper will be issued from the building is true, though the majority of the academics signed the DEPOS lists.

At one point last week it looked as if Milosevic had no-one left to "save" - the army is divided and no longer covers up his actions; the Serbs in Bosnia are openly against him; national institutions criticize his inability to carry out a national program and have proclaimed him an obstacle to the determent of a catastrophe, openly criticizing "his" war. Towards the end of the week he got together the directors he himself named and began to promise a bright future in a state that "isn't small".

It seems as though the meetings that DEPOS has organized throughout Serbia have slightly cheered up the part of the opposition that hopes that Milosevic will be forced out by large-scale pressure. Last Wednesday at the Engineers' and Technicians' Club, when asked at the end of a speech whether he was satisfied with the actions of DEPOS, Vladan Vasiljevic of the Serbian Liberal Party optimistically said: "We're on our way!". When asked by a woman: "Why don't you start, Vuk?", Draskovic answered: "I want to, but I don't know if the people want to". In Novi Sad they shouted: "Vuk, save us!"

Vojislav Kostunica, the star of DEPOS, said in Novi Sad that on Sunday 31 May the "last staged elections" would take place.

Last week Vuk Draskovic a number of times called "photo reporters and lovers of antiquity and wonders" to record on that day "the original forgery from 1945"... "What can we do? Bring them down, bring them down, bring them down!"

In Nis the organizers estimate there were around twenty thousand at the DEPOS meeting, and the Nis Socialists stated that there were only two thousand against the elections.

Draskovic says that the key to the solution of the whole Yugoslav drama is in Belgrade and once again announces that something similar to a demonstration will take place in the capital city, "when the sign is given". At the Engineers' and Technicians' Club he said that he will request from DEPOS that it make a decision on some form of non-parliament action against the regime.