Helplessness, Anxiety, Clamor and Rage

It is yet to be seen what the concept of "solicitude of the Fatherland" for the Serbs in Bosnia and Croatia, who, it is said, are threatened with extermination, consists of. On the one hand, the choice of Cosic is a good move on the part of Milosevic to calm down the upprising Serbs - no-one in Serbia can influence them as much as Cosic.

If Milosevic was behind Cosic's election, counting on the example given at one time by Havel, it was not a particularly successful undertaking, because, along with emphasizing Cosic's dissident role, most commentaries stressed the fact that he was the author of Milosevic's national program, Serbian nationalism etc. The mistaken pushing of Panic as President in the name of Cosic before he had even accepted the candidature placed Cosic in the unpleasant position of having the first Serbo-Montenegrin disagreement in the new state set in motion over him. The Montenegrins might look back and remember Cosic's speech in Budva a few years ago when he called on them to clarify whether or not they were "de-Serbed".

The leader of the Democratic Party, Dragoljub Micunovic, was the warmest of the opposition politicians in the center in his salutation of Cosic's election, stressing that he was a personal friend and that he himself had proposed a year ago that Cosic be president of the government of national salvation in Serbia, but that this had been rejected. However, Democrat Vojislav Kostunica said that Cosic was a "president without program", though he should be made to keep his word regarding the question of free elections in the near future. Slobodan Rakitic, leader of the SPO (Serbian Renewal Movement) group of MPs, recommended Cosic's tolerant tone, but Vuk Draskovic, SPO leader, was very disappointed. The strongest reaction was that of Ms. Vesna Pesic, leader of the Reform Party, who said that the election of Dobrica Cosic simply made public the policy behind the scenes.

In any way Cosic hasn't quite pulled the right moves in regard to the opposition parties, keeping himself in "lofty neutrality" in such a way that he always actually supports Milosevic on key issues - whether the elections should be postponed or not held at all.

On the Socialist side, the tone of constructive cooperation was given by the leader of the Socialist MP group, Lilic, and two otherwise silent MPs, Bogdan Trifunovic and Professor Milorad Unkovic. Trifunovic listed the priorities of future Serbian politics: the lifting of the sanctions, peace in Bosnia, democratic agreement on the necessary changes... Unkovic asked that the formulation given by Cosic be repeated in Serbia - that a government of national salvation be formed.

At noon on Wednesday one could get a clear idea of the scope of this compromise: the Serbian President harshly repeated that he had no intention of changing his politics, that the decision about his resignation could only be taken by the people who urged him to carry on and "not give in to the first threats". In fact, he hurried to prejudice the results of the parliamentary discussions and to make clear that he was still the one to be asked: on the "reconstruction" of Bozovic's government (of national unity) and the formation of a federal government (of national salvation), maybe even early elections.

Someone as young, fair and innocent as the student vice-president, Dragan Djilas, was an ideal antipode to the arrogant and irritated Milosevic, who plunged into the fire, roughly interrupting the talks by turning his back on his counterparts as soon as he had finished his speech in which he showed that he hadn't the best hold on reality ("it isn't a question of the fall of Serbia"), that he was unaware of any kind of catastrophe and that he had no wish for change ("in this sense we will continue to lead in politics"), that he identifies his position with that of the nation ("when we resolve this situation in which I am" - which was printed in the newspapers as: "...in which we are"). In other words, the president offered certain indications that he was not in fact capable of carrying out his duties. It was uncovered, as clear as daylight, that he is obsessively bound to maintaining his power. When the students came out of the building, it was clear from their faces that their collocutor had shocked them, and later it could clearly be concluded that the talks had shaken him and filled them with despair. The advice they received from the church to once more, and if necessary, another ten times, beg the president to resign seems rather false.

Following the President's speech, debates in the Serbian Parliament once more became tough. Mihajlo Markovic, an MP of SPO, caused a real furor when he said that it no longer helped to talk about an international conspiracy, the Vatican, Genscher, Zimmermann, the Free Masons, and all the other enemies: "Serbia's enemy is here in Belgrade, he's inside Serbia, he's the one who brought Serbia to this!"

According to the impression given by Slobodan Rakitic to the VREME reporter, there is nonetheless an agreement on the elections and round table talks on the horizon. At a press conference Micunovic prognosed that a consensus on a concentrated government, and what this party considers to be very important - a consensus on the forming of some kind of administration in mixed communities to prevent and alleviate potential conflict, were maybe possible.

The Serbian government supplied the interpretation that the forming of a State Council which would take over Milosevic's power in Serbia was not based on the Constitution. One constitutional magistrate told VREME that with regards to a transitional government there are no constitutional obstacles. This means that the main battle could be fought for the position of Parliament President because, according to the Serbian Constitution, a President of the republic unable to perform his duties can be replaced by the President of the Parliament, and this, in the minds of some observers, could be the ambition of Mr. Dragoljub Micunovic.

Cosic, who has announced gradual change, will maybe have to close his eyes to the wish of DEPOS to apply more pressure to Milosevic.

The fact that DEPOS was not informed in time of Cosic's decision, which is claimed by some DEPOS members, could be proved by the small disturbance that arose inside it and by the postponement of the "sabor" (meeting). To the question why DEPOS postponed the demonstrations, Matija Beckovic answered that the students had postponed them by their strike. In fact, the students have given DEPOS the opportunity of a small breathing space which many of its founders, as old friends, feel they owe Cosic, though they can't wait long.

Cosic talks of a refinement of the Constitution and they talk of an assembly to rewrite the Constitution. Without their pressure he probably couldn't carry out this refinement, and against him they would have trouble collecting together a constitution making assembly. DEPOS has called its "sabor" for June 28th at Terazije and Commander-in-Chief Cosic will have to persuade General Panic to keep to the sidelines. The Federal Ministry of Defense has denied that it was true that Panic had already promised this to Draskovic, stating that the army will "carry out its duty" in preventing conflict, and from Draskovic's own denial that he was the source of this information it can be seen that some kind of promise may actually have been given.

Prince Aleksandar, who commented on Cosic's election as "a delaying of the agony", has announced his arrival. Patriarch Pavle, who, from loyalty to Milosevic, last autumn advised Aleksandar not to come, would have difficulty now in deciding to complicate relations with the dynasty, his bishops, the Royal Council and DEPOS. For this reason it is not unlikely that the Patriarch could soon give his blessing to Aleksandar and crown him. It is not impossible that some members of DEPOS and the Royal Council have not already taken steps in this direction. Also, not without foundation is the conjecture that in the talks between Cosic and the Patriarch a postponement of this coronation was one of Cosic's demands.

Cosic could see Aleksandar as a personal rival in the mission of pacifying the Serbs, and this could also distance him from his friends in DEPOS.

Prior to Cosic's presidential nomination, a conference began in the Academy of Science and Art called: "The Serbian People at the Beginning of a New Era"!