Ten Personalities That Left a Mark on the Political Life in Serbia in 1999

Slobodan Milosevic

At the beginning of 1999, FRY President Slobodan Milosevic stated that Yugoslavia will not give up Kosovo "even at the cost of being bombed."  After the failure of the negotiations in Rambouillet and in Paris, and the failure of the negotiations with the American Envoy Richard Holbrooke ("I know, you will bomb us, your mission is finished"), on March 24 NATO began its war against FR Yugoslavia.  Even though the many bombs dropped on Serbia ("enough for three Hiroshimas") during the two-month campaign did include several bombs which were dropped on April 22 on the empty residence of the FRY President in Uzicka Street, Wester politicians still have not managed to show that they waged war "against Milosevic", and not against the Serbian people.  In order to add greater weight to their war policy, the EU denied visas to Slobodan Milosevic and to all the members of his family, with that list having been modified later to include 582 individuals who are close to the regime.  Since May 27, Slobodan Milosevic and four of the highest government officials in the FRY and in Serbia have been indicted by the Hague Tribunal for war crimes committed in Kosovo.

At the beginning of June, like a man halting at the very edge of a precipice, Milosevic accepted the peace plan brought to Belgrade by Chernomirdin and Arthisari (Clinton: "Where's the trick?").  After the Yugoslav Army's and NATO's representatives signed a military- logistical agreement with NATO Generals in Kumanovo, and after the Security Council adopted Resolution 1244, the Yugoslav Army and Police began withdrawing from Kosovo.  Serbs and Montenegrins from Kosovo also left with the Army, while those who remained tried to survive the chaos which the KFOR is monitoring in Kosovo.  President Milosevic announced victory, he announced a renewal of the country, and awarded nearly five thousand medals until the year was up.

On the same day, the Day of the Yugoslav Army, when Milosevic promoted 20 generals and awarded 3,000 members of the Yugoslav Army, the Holy Sinod of Archbishops of the Serbian Orthodox Church demanded that Milosevic and the Federal Government submit their resignations in the interest of the Serbian people and its salvation.  In the weeks that followed, a petition was signed in many cities in Serbia for Milosevic's resignation, but he did not show in any way that he acknowledges such demands.
At the end of September, Milosevic announced in Pancevo that the renewal of the country is successful and "victorious", and while opening the new railway station in Leskovac, he accused the organizers of the opposition protests of being "cowards, blackmailers and sycophants."

At the end of November, the group called "Spider" was arrested under suspicion of having planned the assassination of the FRY President with the help of the French secret service, which merely added fuel to the regime's propaganda about a battle against foreign conspiracies.

The war confirmed Slobodan Milosevic's authority as the supreme commander, while the end of the war and the loss of Kosovo renewed the debate about the catastrophic consequences of his ten years in power.  The sense of defeat which gripped the country and the indictment for war crimes made Milosevic's stay in power seem unlikely.  On the other hand, however, the international indictment brought together all of the regime's heads and increased their motivation in defending their power, which now became a defense of life, making the early departure from power by Slobodan Milosevic that much less likely.  Perhaps his opponents might be handicapped by the fact that the political battle with him has now been reduced to a kind of chase after a "man with a price on his head."  His supporters, on the other hand, are proving themselves motivated to simply destroy political opponents.

The regular scheduled Congress of the Socialist Party of Serbia (SPS) is being announced for February 2000.  The party elections leading into the Congress are in progress, with word coming from several SPS ground roots organizations that Slobodan Milosevic has been nominated for SPS President once again.

Milutin Mrkonjic

The head contractor for the post-war reconstruction of the country is the Director of the Center for Research and Projects of the Traffic Institute.  At the beginning of this decade he was responsible for "high speed railways" in Serbia, a project that the opposition used as a symbol of false promises.  As the Director of the Directorate for Reconstruction of the Country, he visits construction sights and checks whether the work on bridges and solidarity apartment complexes is "ahead of schedule."  He does this with inspiration, elan and certainly with the know-how of a demagogue ("pray tell me, does this measure up to your standards...").  He demonstrates considerable authorizations, including the ability to suspend contractors, which shows that the regime is controlling well its managerial staff.  Mrkonjic is probably one of the election advantages that the SPS has in its cards.  He is appealing in his presence before the TV cameras, demonstrating the ability of the regime to control the situation and to avoid the catastrophe which was predicted by everyone.

Lieutenant General Nebojsa Pavkovic

Prior to the bombing, on February 23, the Commander of the Third Army of the Yugoslav Army, General Major Nebojsa Pavkovic called on all soldiers and officers in the Pristina Corps, should the need arise, "to go to war with courage and like heros," "as befits the descendants of Knez Lazar, the immortal Obilics, Sindjelics, Vukotics, Tepics and all other known and unknown heros..."

After the war he stated: "The Third Army did not lose the war in Kosovo," adding that "I cannot accept that anyone should downplay the results of our defenses..."  "We did our job in the most honest and correct possible..."

In peacetime he kept repeating that "the Yugoslav Army stands behind the President, the Supreme Commander who defends the country."  He complemented his expressions of loyalty to the Supreme Commander with attacks on the opposition which was demanding for a resignation by the President, or, as the General puts it, was organizing "political carnivals."  He also attacked the former Chief of Headquarters of the Yugoslav Army, General Momcilo Perisic, who is now part of the opposition Movement for a Democratic Serbia.  Perisic sought protection from the court, but the judge threw out his suit against the "Politika" daily which published Pavkovic's words of insult against Perisic.

Pavkovic's popularity personifies the fact that after a conflict with an enemy that is many times stronger the Army acquired self-confidence, perhaps becoming a politically relevant factor in the country.  His popularity also indicates that the leaders of the Army are far closer to the regime than they are to the opposition.

Vojislav Seselj

On February 19, the Serbian Radical Party (SRS) called on all "patriots and citizens of Serbia," in the event of a NATO attack, to resist "the onslaught by unbridled American totalitarianism and hegemony," for "Serbia's freedom, honor and dignity are priceless."  Seselj frequently excelled in the use of war rhetoric for the defamation of political opponents and the independent media (especially before and after the war).  He is one of the ones who "discovered" a "secret CIA document" on January 12, an article which was available to everyone on the Internet.  He used this document to begin leveling accusations against the independent media, syndicates, etc.  Following the state of war (as well as before it), Seselj was ahead of everyone in weighty accusations for betrayal against opposition parties, student organizations, independent media, syndicates, judges, etc.  In this he is presently ahead even of Professor Mirjana Markovic, who announced a "decontamination" of the independent media through the JUL Directorate.  The war rhetoric used by the Radicals and by JUL after the war has ended might reflect demagogy and might also reveal paranoia in the government and the regime.
Even during the war, on April 27, the Presidential Collegium of the Serbian Radical Party expressed the conviction that "Serbia and the FRY will defend themselves against outside aggressors on the military level, but will also have the strength to politically deal swiftly and efficiently with their allies within the country."  This was stated at the time when Vuk Draskovic was demanding for a swift end to the war, at a time when all politics had stopped in Serbia, both because of war censorship, as well as because of a widespread consensus that political conflicts should be laid aside while the country is at war.

When on June 3 the FRY President and the Serbian Parliament accepted the Chernomirdin-Arhisari Peace Plan, the Radical Party MP's voted against it in parliament, and on June 14 Radical Ministers announced that they will resign their positions in the Serbian Government.  Of course, the resignations were not accepted ("It's only them who think that they submitted their resignations," one Socialist said).  Furthermore, they were ordered by the President of Serbia to continue to hold their offices as ministers.  Not only did the Radicals remain in the Serbian Government, they also entered the Federal Government in which they got five portfolios on August 12.  After the post-war crisis, when according to opinion polls it appeared that the Radicals are paying the price of national defeat, Seselj increased his anti-American rhetoric.  He no longer stressed disappointment in Russia that he expressed at the end of the war ("my heart hurts when I think of Russia"), and he began Satanizing political opponents with ever greater enthusiasm.

At the end of the Fall, the SRS announced the holding of a Fatherland Congress in February of 2000.  In the pre-congress period it has been mentioned tens of times that Seselj should once again be chosen President of the Radical Party.  The defeat in war and the signing of the peace did damage the rating of the Radicals.  The chaos in Kosovo and the continuation of sanctions, this continuation of the verbal state of war, are offering the Radicals a chance to get back their popularity.

Milo Djukanovic

The President of Montenegro, Milo Djukanovic is the most difficult domestic opponent that the Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic has, but is also the most comfortable.  He is the most difficult because Slobodan Milosevic evidently lacks the means to do away with President Djukanovic, and the most comfortable because he personifies the confrontation between the two federal units and the crisis of the federal state, which gives Slobodan Milosevic the opportunity to once again present himself as the guardian of state unity.

Because of the fact that during the bombing of the FRY Djukanovic spoke with officials from countries that were taking part in the attack on the FRY, the FRY Government accused Djukanovic on May 28 of aiding the aggressor by going against a uniform Yugoslav foreign policy, and demanded that state officials take appropriate constitutional and legal measures against him.  However, all that boiled down to empty threats.

That is to say, the situation in Belgrade and Podgorica was merely getting worse as time wore on.  On May 30, the Montenegrin Government adopted a document entitle "The Basis of a Project for Establishing State Relations Between Montenegro and Serbia."  During the summer, negotiations with representatives of the ruling parties in Serbia were announced, but after they became familiar with the Montenegrin proposal, Belgrade officials merely increased their attacks on Djukanovic and threw out the Montenegrin platform as separatist and as counter to the Constitution of the FRY.  A dual monetary system was introduced in Montenegro, with the German Mark having been adopted as legal tender.  The Montenegrin Government kept increasingly drifting apart from the Federal Government, while the crisis of the incomplete state continues.  It is not entirely clear whether it could escalate or whether the present, "unbearable coexistence" will continue.  The Montenegrin public appears to be divided into three camps: one favors the status quo, one is neutral, and the third is for an independent Montenegro, and for Montenegrin independent in principle.

Vojislav Kostunica

President of the Democratic Party of Serbia (DSS), Vojislav Kostunica has developed a systematic equidistance from the regime and from Western countries - he supports cooperation with the international community, but claims that there is far less reason to trust the international community than some other opposition parties would like to believe.  He was the first to describe the military-logistical agreement on Kosovo that was signed in Kumanovo as "one more step in the direction of losing FRY sovereignty over Kosovo" and as capitulation.  He was among the first to assess that "beside the UN Security Council Resolution, a NATO military dictatorship is being established in Kosovo, within which that which is called the KFOR does not suit anyone, while everyone has to adjust to it."  He criticized politicians who called on Serbs not to flee from Kosovo: "It is not worth staying if because of that you lose your life, and the only ones who will be able to return to Kosovo are those who manage to stay alive."

Kostunica criticized both the Serbian Government and the international community for not managing to protect the Serb Kosovars from an exodus, from being murdered, molested and looted, and claimed that "as far as Kosovo is concerned, both politics are far off the mark."

It is easy to understand what Kostunica does not want (he criticizes the regime, Djukanovic, Western bureaucracy, Djukanovic's regime, and he does not want an election without adequate conditions).  It is slightly more difficult to understand what this politically and constitutionally most versed opposition politician actually wants.  Many members of the opposition mention him with irony, criticizing him for staying on the sidelines, away from everyone, and that "he is an opposition that is against everything" (Miodrag Vukovic) and merely holds lectures to everyone.  According to what opinion poll researchers (S. Brankovic) and social psychologists (B. Kuzmanovic) are saying, public opinion in Serbia is mostly against Western politicians, but at the same time has a tendency toward western democracies.  In this context Kostunica is an educated representative of a cross section of Serbian public opinion, and this is why despite the impression that the DSS lacks strong party infrastructure and that it is a loan rider, it regularly appears as a force to contend with in all election polls.

Vuk Draskovic

On Holy Cross Day, January 18, 1999, he entered the newly formed Federal Government as one of its Vice-Presidents, "responsible for relations with the international community."  He held that position for less than a hundred days, only to have been fired from it on April 28 because of statements he made in an interview for Studio B (he demanded that Serbia accept immediately the offers made by the Russian Intermediary Chernomirdin and to come out of a war without perspectives).  Later, on September 16, he stated that while he was Vice- President of the Federal Government he had personally prevented the Government from adopting a decision on a military occupation of the media in Montenegro and had personally prevented liquidations of opponents of the regime.

After the 1999 war, Draskovic refused to discuss re-acceptance to the Federal Government, demanding an early election.  On the other hand, he criticized the revolutionary rhetoric which came through in the speeches made by the leaders of the Alliance for Changes (SZP), asking "Who will carry out that Rumanian method?"
After the August 19 meeting in which SPO came out together with the SZP and in which the SZP supporters greeted Draskovic with loud whistles, the SPO leader stated that he will never again participate in a meeting with other representatives of the opposition and that he will go out alone in the election.  He kept repeating that an early election is the only possible solution, predicting that if they are not held soon, civil war will inevitably brake out.  Beside two meetings in Kragujevac and Nis, SPO waited to see what the outcome of the SZP protests will be.

Draskovic's behavior during the war, his participation in the defense of the country and urging for a swift end to the war protected his political position from gratuitous Satanization by the regime.  However, the regime's propaganda men still managed to catch the fact that he kissed Madlein Albright's hand in Berlin, and they keep repeating this incessantly.

On October 3 he received non-life threatening injuries in a serious accident near Lazarevac, when SPO official Veselin Boskovic (brother to Danica Draskovic) and three other members of the party died.  SPO treated this event as an assassination against Vuk Draskovic, proclaiming battle against state terrorism, which he puts at the top of his list of priorities.  The founding of an Organization of Hawks is announced, along with "operative teams called the 'Serbian Defense Movement.'"

At the beginning of December, Vuk Draskovic began a criminal suit on behalf of SPO against the Chief of State Security of Serbia Radomir Markovic and the Chief of the State Security of Belgrade Milan Radonjic because of the assassination attempt, and demanded a full investigation against these individuals.

At the session of the Head Committee of SPO, held on December 11, Draskovic gave the Government a deadline until December 15 to state whether an early election will be held, and announced that in the event of a negative answer, that he "will personally call the leaders of all influential and responsible opposition parties in Serbia to agree on a joint plant of action."  In the meantime, SPO officials state that the SPO could begin organizing demonstrations with the objective of forcing an early election.
By joining Momir Bulatovic's Federal Government, Draskovic opened himself to criticism from other opposition parties.  Also, his refusal to immediately resort to non-institutional means of protest lead him into a confrontation with the opposition parties closest to him, especially those in the Alliance for Changes.  At this moment, everyone on the opposition scene is looking at what Draskovic is going to do.

Zoran Djindjic

The NATO intervention in the Spring of 1999 damaged the Alliance for Changes because the state media satanized Zoran Djindjic for the fact that he was not with his voters during the war and was holding meetings with Western politicians who were waging war against his country.

From June to December of 1999, within the organization of the Alliance for Changes, Djindjic left his mark on the demonstrations throughout the cities of Serbia; he said that "the government can only be defeated by the people, and in no way can it be defeated by political parties," and that "voices in the Army and the Police will appear that will not offer obedience to Milosevic and that will realize that it costs more to support him than to give up on him."

At the beginning of the series of meetings, he stated that he will resign as President of the Democratic Party "if Milosevic does not fall until the New Year."  Since the SZP protests did not yield the promised results, and since the SZP did not prove to be a very stable coalition, there is considerable talk regarding this promise at the end of the year.  At the session of the Head Committee of the Democratic Party (DS), held at the end of December, a statement of progress was adopted, which could be indirectly interpreted as Djindjic's stay at the head of the DS, as a significant player on the Serbian political scene.

It would be superficial to assert that Djindjic merely acted on the street - the influence of the Democratic Party can also be observed in the teams of experts brought together during 1999.

With his persistence at times when action did not promise any tangible results, Djindjic managed to partially neutralize the effect of the regime's stanization of him and of his own mistakes.  He probably strengthened the influence of the Democratic Party which was handicapped after the failed boycott in 1998, but he did not managed to forge "a wining combination" with the Alliance for Changes.

Mladjan Dinkic
Coordinator of the Group of Economists G-17 Mladjan Dinkic worked since the middle of June on forming a transitional government of experts, and this became the top issue in the summer of 1999.  At the beginning of August, Dinkic stated that the opposition parties with the Alliance for Changes, the Serbian Orthodox Church and G-17 agreed on key issues facing the Serbian transitional government of experts in "The Pact for Stability in Serbia."  Following this, at a meeting between the Serbian Patriarch Pavle and leaders of the Serbian opposition, held on August 9 at the Patriarch's Residence, consensus was reached among all participants regarding the formation of a transitional Serbian government of experts and regarding participation in the August 19th meeting in Belgrade.

Even after the failure of that August 19th meeting, Dinkic still kept expressing his conviction that the transitional government of experts will be put together.  Dinkic also called on MP's in the ruling coalition to offer support to the Pact for Stability in Serbia and to "sign their resignations in this way," for that is "the only realistic way in which the crisis in the country can be overcome peacefully."  The regime wanted nothing to do with that idea.  Beside the fact that the prescription of the government of experts was not easily accepted, Dinkic, Labus and others decided to test the atmosphere in Western European capitals.  In the meantime, the G-17 became the "G-17 Plus" - with people from different professions becoming part of this Association.

Dinic resorted to various means for promotion, including his musical talents ("Ahead of Schedule Concert" at the end of December).  The main cause behind the failure of the project mostly lies in the elements of utopia in the idea itself - it was not realistic to expect that a government of national salvation will be accepted without an election or a putsch.  At the end of 1999, the idea of a parallel government of experts, of a people's council and the coordination of the opposition is being associated with the name of Dragoslav Avramovic.  But even in this, old problems are surfacing, because the SPO is refusing to acknowledge Mr. Avramovic as the opposition coordinator.

Ivan Novkovic

For several months the TV technician in TV Leskovac became the symbol for national dissatisfaction which the opposition parties did not manage to articulate.  On July 1, during the half-time broadcast of a basketball game between Yugoslavia and Germany, Novkovic interrupted the regular broadcast in order to air for seven minutes his protest because of the great number of losses of life of the residents of Leskovac in Kosovo and because of the bad situation in the region.  Grave, wearing a tie and with the paper shaking in his hands, Novkovic firstly presented himself, excused himself because of his nervousness and proceeded to demand that Zivojin Stefanovic, Chief of the Region of Jablanica, submit his resignation.  He also called on everyone to gather at the central square in Leskovac on July 5 to protest the local government.  When the seven minute statement was finished, Novkovic put on a music video (entitled "Angel, look at your home") by the very popular Serbian band, Riblja Corba (Fish Soup), and then exited the TV station.

A great number of residents of Leskovac gathered at the square in Siroka Carsija and before the home of the Chief of the Region of Jablanica.  During the nine days of protest, nine people were arrested.  The management of TV Leskovac suspended Novkovic and all other staff who were on duty while Novkovic played his protest cassette.  Novkovic was arrested in the house of his friends where he was hiding.  Judge Mirjanan Markovic sentenced him to one month in prison for "organizing a meeting without the permission of the relevant authorities."  The trial lasted about twenty minutes.  Following the civil trial, Novkovic is now awaiting the criminal trial, which is still pending.

Somehow Novkovic is more appealing than Bogoljub Arsenijevic Maki, the self-taught painter born in 1955, who organized protests against the government and the opposition with the Civil Resistance of Valjevo on July 12, in which the group of demonstrators tried to enter the local government building.  The police intervened, with the injured toll on the police side being three, and five on the side of the protesters.  Arsenijevic is a restless individual who is prone to public exhibitions - several years ago he erected a statue in honor of the Serbian President at the time which has a phallic shape, and he also made a statue in honor of his favorite opposition politician which is shaped like a red behind.  He was placed on parol for his artistic efforts.  Maki also suffered more than Novkovic - he was brutally beaten up during his arrest in the middle of August in Belgrade, when he exited the offices of the Movement for a Democratic Serbia.  Because of a broken jaw and a dislocated shoulder he was recommended to be hospitalized, but was kept at the district prison in Valjevo for ten days prior to being taken for facial surgery to Belgrade.  In the middle of November, Arsenijevic Bogoljub, the father of five, was sentenced to three years in prison.  Such drastic treatment (broken jaw, strict sentence), following a relatively benign incident, makes Bogoljub Arsenijevic Maki a victim of the regime's inordinate paranoia.  Novkovic is more a symbol of the spontaneous protest of common people.  Looked at physically, he differs from people his age in that he resembles the present Presidente of the FRY in his youth, which is why he is called Cobi.  In terms of the media, he represents the opposition's new thinking which indicates that Serbian politics is tired of Belgrade, with the healthy opposition being in the province.

Personalities in Vreme

VREME's documentation center saved 1963 different articles for the year 1999.  We used computer analysis to see how many articles were devoted to what politician and got the following results: