Minister Vucic’s Flying Duo

When on Tuesday editors in chief of Belgrade’s independent media met after NUNS (Independent Association of Journalists of Serbia) scheduled the meeting to discuss the forms of protest, everything became clear. That same morning the daily “Danas” published the “warning” it received from the Ministry of Information (signed by Aleksandar Vucic, Minister) in which threats of closure are being issued to this newspaper if it does not follow Vucic’s famous Decree on patriotic reporting.  The “Radical Agitprop” even affixed a prohibition at the end of his act which forbids any further dissemination or mention of the “warning”, as if what is at issue is a state top secret.  Following the farmer’s reasoning that “frightened chickens get their heads cut first”, the staff of “Danas” decided to publish the “warning”. Danas Chief Editor Grujica Spasovic stated that: “This warning is just like being told to wash your neck before being taken to the gallows — to make sure that the cord does not get dirty. However, we decided to soil the cord.”  Milan Becejic, from the “Blic” daily summed up the situation with one sentence: “The Government is no longer just afraid of comments; now it even fears the news.”  Nebojsa Spajic of Belgrade Media Center asked why censorship is not insituted, just like during the time of the Habsburg Empire or Milos Obrenovic’s iron-fisted rule: so that every editorial staff has a censor who reads each text and approves them, or cuts out what is not to his liking.  In that way everything would be easier, more useful, cleaner and more proper.  As it stands, journalists are forced to anticipate what it is the Minister might not like, what might be happening in his head, will he or wont he leave them without a job, etc.  The Radical mindset embodied in this Decree calls to mind the decision adopted by the Reichstag, sometime between 1942 and 1943, when it was decided that laws adopted during the Third Reich will no longer be made public, as the law and morals have melted into one and the same thing among Germans: either you are a patriot or a traitor; there is no other alternative.

On Tuesday evening, around 8:45 p.m., Belgrade was abuzz with rumor that “tonight three dailies will be closed down”, all of which are on Vucic’s black list. It is supposed that the first alarm came from someone’s source within the Serbian Ministry of Information.  There was no opportunity to relax: at 22:13 p.m. the message came from the editorial office of “Danas” that “they have guests”.  In less than fifteen minutes, the courtyard of the building housing the newspaper’s editorial office, in 3 Jagiceva St. was jam packed with uniformed and undercover policemen, journalists and friends.  The police did not prohibit entry into the building and behaved in a gentlemanly fashion; they were merely asked for assistance and their involvement stopped at that.

In the building itself there was considerable excitement: the center of attention were two individuals dressed in civilian clothes who were attempting to give the Director of “Danas” Dusan Simic a letter which began with the words “Resolution...”, and ended, “Aleksandar Vucic, Minister”.  The management of “Danas” refused to accept something which it considers aggression and against the law, and entered into argument with the two individuals.  To the questions on what authority they can ban a newspaper and confiscate property without a court order; how they dare to brake two constitutions and several fundamental laws in such a blatant manner; whether they listened to that day’s address of the nation by President Milosevic who clearly stated that all danger of military intervention has been removed; whether it is clear to them that in this manner they are doing far greater harm to the state than the benefit of closing down a small paper, regardless of how insolent that paper might be — to all these questions they answered by stating that they are merely following orders and that nothing else concerns them.

In the meantime, the offices of “Danas” became a gathering ground for around thirty domestic and foreign journalists, an ad hoc press conference was called, a few bottles of something, accompanied by sandwiches appeared.  In fact, no one noticed when the policemen and the two Ministry officials vanished from the premises at about 23:10 p.m.  Everyone was busy reading the mentioned letter and vainly attempting to figure out what is at issue.

Namely, that “Resolution” has a paragraph in which it is stated that “work at the newspaper ‘Danas’ is temporarily suspended, effective from 10 p.m., October 13,” facilities are being appropriated temporarily, premises being are sealed off, appropriated facilities are being safely kept, and the suspension is active for as long as the “Decree on Special Measures”, etc.  There is also advice on available legal recourse: a complaint can be filed with the Government of Serbia within three days.  However, the greatest confusion was cause by the unannounced departure of the police and officials from Vucic’s cabinet.  This did not cause any early optimism among those present, and with good reason.
While Vucic’s officials and the policemen allotted to them were going somewhere through the dark Belgrade night, the editorial staff of “Danas” were busy analyzing the “explanation” of the mentioned resolution.  Beside the general, “patriotic” introduction, where there is mention of “spreading fear, panic and defeatism”, “negative influence on readiness of the population” and “sarcasm” directed at the Government’s efforts in doing this and that, the “explanation” only cites “only few examples” concretely — in total, three, and all from the October 13 issue.

The “only few examples” are the following: “Danas” quoted news from the German press (the veracity of that the news items was not mentioned), news from Avignon on the formation of four groups of NATO aircraft bombers and — what is most interesting — news from Subotica that their local newspaper “Zig” went into publication with eight empty pages as a sign of protest against the Decree by the Radicals.  While debates were waged in the editorial office on whether a true news item is beneficial or detrimental for the public; on whether it is better to know or not to know how many airplanes the possible enemy has; on why the event in Subotica is such that it should not be reported on and, in any case, on why that particular paper was not being suspended, but “Danas” instead” — Aleksandar Vucic’s flying duo materialized from the dark and windy Belgrade night and went on a renewed attack.

Precisely at 0:35 a.m., two individuals in civilian clothes and an unspecified number of policemen carried out a raid on the editorial office of the newspaper “Dnevni telegraf”, in the building which also houses the state newspaper “Borba”, asking the staff to remove themselves from the premises, proceeding to seal the rooms off. It seems that the flying duo, in the meantime, went for consultations to the Right Place where they were told that the classic Radical approach is more efficient than excessive and unnecessary convincing. The Director and Editor in Chief of “Dnevni telegraf” Slavko Curuvija was not at the meeting with other editors in chief that day, nor did he publish Vucic’s “warning”, which he got the same day as his colleagues at “Danas”; all the same, it did not do him much good.  After he was cordially taken out of his office, as he sat in his chair, Curuvija kept wondering why no one in the government, all former friends, is not answering his cellular phone calls. Curuvija was also handed a similar letter: the only difference was that “Dnevni telegraf” was being criticized for a headline (of true content), some spoof by Bogdan Tirnanic with the Decree, along with a report from a Washington reporter (again truthfulness not being questioned).

Curuvija and Spasojevic announced that they filed a complaint with the Government of Serbia, while their confiscated property is being watched by security workers from the “Stankom” company, according to the authorization by Minister Vucic; that’s a good thing, because what is at issue is expensive computer equipment.  They will watch over the equipment at the taxpayer’s expense for as long as the famous Decree is in effect; as the young Minister said recently, the Decree will be in effect for as long as there is any threat to Serbia in general and from whatever direction, even if it were to come from Darth Vader.

But, patience, my good reader...

Well, if on the first try the light-handed flying duo took one and a half hour to get from the editorial office of “Danas” to the editorial office of “Dnevni telegraf”, well, on the second, they were there in under fifteen minutes.  Somewhere around 2:10 a.m., what was already becoming a festive gathering among members of the journalistic profession at the offices of “Danas”, a party no less, was summarily interrupted by the appearance of Serbian police formations (reinforcements came from an intervention squad from federal police), accompanied by the already legendary duo at their forefront: Miljkan Karlicic and Dragan Beljac. The two lawyal officers of the Serbian Minsitry of Information gave a very self-assured order after which the editorial office of “Danas” was quickly emptied, as soon as those employed there gathered their private belongings.  During the evacuation the police appropriated three negatives from one “Danas” journalist for which there was justified suspicion that they contained images of the raid and the police intervention.  Later inspection established with complete certainty that the negatives contained images of one beautiful, stout male cat with yellow eyes who does appear suspicious, but is in fact quite innocent (unless Minister Vucici pins the cat down with some anti-patriotic activity).

Members of the “Danas” editorial office and their colleagues and friends moved their little get-together to the nearest restaurant, “Zlatni opanak” (“Golden Loafer”), which they only left at around dawn, before Minister Vucic would issued an announcement stating that everything that happened during the previous night is true and that such actions in fact “protect the freedoms and rights guaranteed by the constitution”, etc.  The question that must of necessity follow — i.e. do such shameless and arrogant announcements threaten combat readiness of citizens by causing them to puke and to have diarrhea — will not be posed by us here out of respect for the Government and its decrees. 

However, there is something else: on Tuesday, October 13, between 9 and 9:45 p.m., Minister Aleksandar Vucic was located by phone and several very precise questions were directed at him regarding the upcoming closure of two daily newspapers and appropriation of property.  He answered all questions with: “I known nothing about that.”  The same answer was also given by the president of the Serbian Radical Party, at the same time and to the same question.  O.K.: Seselj didn’t have to absolutely know what the young Vucic was intending to do, even though I highly suspect that the disciple did not report immediately to his master Vojisalv Seselj.  But the fact is that Minister Vucic lied to the Belgrade public that evening: the Resolution on closure, suspension of work and appropriation of property were written and signed by Vicic, and lay in the secure inner vest pocket of Miljkan Karlicic’s light blue blazer — all the while the good Minister claimed “not to now anything”.  At the moment when he was lying, it was already too late for preventive actions at the targeted editorial offices (half an hour before the raids); therefore, security reasons could simply not be sufficient reason for that lie.  Therefore, the natural conclusion, based on the facts at hand, on material evidence and statements by witnesses, follows of itself.
The Minister of Information in the Government of Serbia, Aleksandar Vucic, is a blatant liar.