Too Big for His Boots

What are we to do next? We have a president obsessed with the idea of bringing all Serbs into one state, and now, in the whole wide world, there is no place for him to hide. Who will now look after the Serbs - in Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Serbia? They were told that they can't live with others; they were promised that they would never have to again and everything was done to make coexistence impossible; an unimaginable quantity of hatred was generated, grave crimes in the name of "Serbianhood" were committed, and in the end they are just where they were at the beginning. They were persuaded that the whole world was their enemy, and now Serbs are about to discover that the only possible protection from revenge and from the terror of their own government can only be provided by that very same "enemy".

Last week, Slobodan Milosevic missed his last chance to retire with the minimum of dignity. It would have sufficed to order just a little lower figure to the Electoral Board instead of proclaiming more than a 50% turnout, and to say that, under such conditions, his conscience demanded of him to thank the people for their confidence and - leave. He might still have had enough time to catch a plane to Cyprus. But he decided to stay with the people till the end. Furthermore, by holding these elections Serbia has become an accomplice to the regime which, under the terrifying international blockade, is using the people as shield, citing the electoral results.

Milosevic has been saying to the whole world that he can be got only over the people's dead body. When an English journalist asked him if he would resign if it would result in the lifting of sanctions, I thought he would answer that he never actually was the president of Serbia. He will finally try to explain that he has never even heard of Slobodan Milosevic.

The UN Secretary-General's report was hailed by the media as crucial evidence that the truth about Serbia has eventually reached the world. Stories about a new conspiracy started immediately and a lot of fuss was made about the alleged "hiding" of the mentioned report, which clearly proves the sanctions to be unjust.

The truth is, however, that the report simply mentioned Croatia's responsibility in the Bosnian war. There is no doubt that Tudjman's (the Croatian president) turn will come, but Milosevic was given priority because of all he has done before disassociating himself from Karadzic (the "leader" of Bosnian Serbs) and Major-General Mladic (Commander-in-Chief of the Serbian forces in B&H).

It seems that only a few hours before the final decision was made Belgrade became aware of the fact that sanctions would be implemented. Messages and letters were sent in all directions, but already by the next day all traces of panic were gone and the new situation presented as "normal". We have been slightly outlawed, but this will pass; our economy will be halted, but at least the workers will have a chance to rest for a while; we're out of gas, but we have horses and bikes. The explanation for the economic restructuring towards the production of nothing has fallen to Radoman Bozovic, Serbian Prime Minister, as the executer of Milosevic's last political will.

Many consider Bozovic to be Milosevic's choice by criteria of similarity, since he depicts drchnost (obstinacy) as an important national characteristic even better than Milosevic himself. (I believe that anyone who manages to find an equivalent for this particular word in any foreign language deserves to be congratulated). Those who tend to look for explanations in the domain of mentality might understand the nature of the present Serbian regime by taking into account the mentioned feature. Bozovic's posture with his chin up looks ridiculous to everyone who does not know how hard it is to look down one's nose at a superior world. Drchnost actually means that one is incapable of accepting one's own size, which is the number-one problem in Serbia.

This is why, listening to what Bozovic said at one of his press conferences, I thought for a moment that sanctions would soon show results. Among other things, he said that he was hoping the EC's aim is not to find out how long a small state can hold out under blockade. Leaving behind whether he thought of Serbia or "Yugoslavia", the word "small" is a novelty in his vocabulary. Until now it only mattered who in Europe is smaller than "us", by whatever criteria, and it was believed that "our" state will continue to grow after Karadzic completes his job. If Bozovic finally, in self-pity, admits that Serbia is small indeed, even if he doesn't really mean it and even if it was said under pressure, one should know to appreciate it, since drchnost makes it extremely difficult to utter such things.

With the help of the media and all kinds of experts, the Prime Minister, however, first tried to calm the public down by listing all possible solutions and ways out when the nation has been exposed to such injustice. The question of how to survive the sanctions was forced, as if they were a natural disaster, when in fact they were implemented to make us ask: why? Because of whom? Orientation towards suffering and surviving does not lead to the lifting of the sanctions but towards the Chinese type of communism. On the other hand, there is an obstacle between the people and the international verdict: the regime - which must be disobeyed. This means that the people will be pushed to rebellion and the regime to oppression.

Milosevic doesn't have to try to please anyone any longer. He only has to keep an eye on the army and the police, to give them everything they want, and let things roll as long as possible.

It may be that he still hasn't made up his mind, and is trying to give more fun and games to the world, but as soon as he realizes that it is all to no avail, he'll resort to more armed conflicts, even in Serbia if necessary.

Whatever he does, it is evident that this regime has come to its end. Everybody is wondering what the closing scene will look like. Those with weaker nerves left before the end of this horror-movie, and those who had no place to go and those waiting for the end in the hope that it will be worthy of all their pain and suffering, have stayed. I believe that the role of the opposition and popular protest will be small in the final outcome and that some kind of agreement will eventually be made in the circles close to Milosevic. He will be overthrown by a "group of patriotic officers" or something like that, but the power must not remain in their hands. An heir would have to enjoy the support of the Patriarch or Dobrica Cosic ( writer and would-be father of the nation).

The question of who could replace Milosevic and the general impression that there is no satisfactory answer probably has helped this regime to live a bit longer. In any case, the chances that those who have been against Milosevic from the beginning will now be given an opportunity are slim, since too many influential people would have to admit they had made a terrible mistake. The most cunning will appear on the scene, those who parted with Milosevic yesterday. They will take the credit for getting rid of bolshevism, but will never frankly admit the defeat of the national project. If it avoids civil war, Serbia will become peaceful, but conservative and old-fashioned, like the rest of the post-communist states. Radoman Bozovic would fit in perfectly, except that only he stayed by Boss' side for too long. A replacement for him shouldn't be hard to find.