Tomb of a Pharaoh

It has become unbearable to me that I am able to say anything that comes to my mind in this country where I live.  Yes, this is my personal problem, I would not like to bother anyone with it.  But still I ask myself, how is it possible that here, where all the vices of the world have taken root, and where an official, colossal lie is the order of the day, someone can point their finger at all that, for as long as they wish, without any consequences.  No consequences whatsoever.  And if everyone has sunk into ambivalence, if the truth does not move anyone and serves no real purpose, then it might be just as well to keep quiet.

I keep resisting that temptation, but not without a sense of guilt.  Not a single answer to the question “how is that possible” has satisfied me.  I tend toward the opinion that Serbia, through the years, has been shaped by and molded by a system which is characterized by something original and never-before-seen.  That is to say, it turns out that the most disreputable tyrannies in this century have liquidated their opponents all for nothing, and while only willing to afford a certain number of “independent media”.  On the other hand, states in which there was some sort of freedom of speech, these took care of what they did.

Milosevic’s Serbia certainly holds the record on wars, defeats, refugees and immigrants, sanctions, state robberies, drop in standard of living and hyperinflation — and all that with political parties, with elections and relative freedom of speech.  This paradox has been observed for some time, but was never quite as unsettling as now when the picture has been completed, and next to Milosevic as leader, and his wife as the principal ideologue and strategist, stands Seselj as the executor, while Draskovic covers all their backs against any eventual opposition.  For, if you haven’t forgotten, he is the opposition.

Before this fortress of authority, all discussion appears fruitless, not like an unneeded alibi.  Of course, within the fortress itself, there is nothing actually happening.  Everything in the country is standing still or falling apart, because everything has been invested into this imposing edifice which, because of this, looks ever so much like the tomb of a pharaoh.  Serbia finally has a regime which functions smoothly, everyone has their place on the team and they all complement and help each other out, just like in the happiest of all possible countries.  Draskovic is scurrying before Seselj and taking the words out of his mouth, Seselj is enthralled with JUL, and the other way around, and above everyone, Milosevic, at peace and full of contentment, is keeping a fatherly watch.

And it’s no use that we all know that this abattoir has been erected with our money and lives, and not to protect us from them, nor to protect us from anything.  You can say this once, twice, five times, but after that everyone will declare you to be a perfect bore.  And when they begin to tear down Belgrade and to fire professors, it’s merely a two-day calamity, and what follows is a big “so what”?  Name any other problem, ask about pensions, or the situation with JAT, and you will be told that you hate Serbs.  Can’t you see that everyone in Serbia agrees with everything?

For as long as things remain thus, there is nothing left for our people to do but to pretend to be dead, which is exactly what they are doing.  That means that everyone must mind their own business and accept all strife peacefully and without a sound.  Everyone is working and collaborating only as much as they need to, lying, pretending, smuggling and bribing when they can, and not believing anything.  In fact, this is a kind of boycott and a form of resistance which looks like underground water, which usually succeeds in the end, only if you have enough time to wait.  And, of course, this is turning into a bad habit.  You are quietly boycotting the government by boycotting your own life.  A government which you do not respect, and which you do not believe in, cannot use you — as long as you lead a useless existence.  And if they even take that from you, you know that you have not been shortchanged by much.

I fear that this became the dominant mode of behavior for our people sometime ago, behavior which is based on long experience.  But this does not mean that people would not easily recognize and accept anything that is better.  All that would be necessary are several firm laws, several convincing gestures and several people who can be trusted, or at the very least, people who have not been tested yet, and who have yet to prove their worth.  But how could you expect the people to give Milosevic, Seselj and Draskovic any credit, when the people know them so well by now?

For as long as their fortress stands, so will the people stand still.  Everyone is waiting for cracks to appear, which could happen soon and for many reasons.  Namely, they are strange company, who have been more successful at driving everyone else away than actually forging firm ties.  With this alliance, everyone of them had to lose, of necessity, a lot of prior credibility.  Besides that, even when you do not look too closely, which I personally try to do for health reasons, holes and seams are readily apparent.

First of all, Draskovic and Seselj hopelessly repel each other, only being connected through Milosevic who has separate arrangements with each one.  Draskovic’s situation is the most precarious, and he stands the chance of disappearing at any moment if it appears to him that his efforts are not being sufficiently remunerated, or if Seselj crowds him out, which could create an opportunity for someone better.  Seselj is a more difficult case, because he is becoming as indispensable to Milosevic as Mira Markovic herself.  Seselj is something like false teeth on this regime, a regime which cannot do without biting and snapping, while without Seselj it would be toothless.  His ambition is to become more indispensable to Milosevic’s people than Milosevic himself, and it appears that he’s well on his way.

Let us remember that Seselj calmly let Milan Milutinovic go ahead of him in the Serbian presidential elections, and we all know where that selfsame Milutinovic is today.  If push came to shove, he would not have the authority to fire even a single assistant at the University, let alone to threaten NATO and the rest of the world, to threaten Albanians, Montenegrins and once again the Croatians, and to once again agitate among the Bosnian Serbs.  It is Seselj’s man, and not Milosevic’s, who stands more chance of becoming president of the Republic of Serbia.

 Milosevic is still managing to keep this useful menace at a safe distance from the center of power, but I fear that their clash is inevitable.  I would gladly cheer you up with some optimistic prognosis, for instance that in this clash both would perish, but I know that you won’t believe me.  All the same, it will be an entertaining spectacle.  But one devoid of pleasure.  Someone will be on the losing end, but we are hardly likely to come out as winners.