How Canak put a foot in his mouth!

The government reaction to last week´s rally of the opposition parties in Serbia could have been reduced to the now already ritual lies on the number of present citizens had not Nenad Canak gotten carried away and pointed with his hand to a pole from which we would hang Slobodan Milosevic. Opposition radicalism is counter-productive for the goal which the opposition parties, probably, wish to attain and therefore, probably, Nenad Canak along with them.

If Canak really believes that and says what he thinks, he deserves to be expelled by the other partners from the united opposition association, since damage from such a political stand and manner of speech is enormous, the benefits nil.

Passionately calling those who don´t think like Milosevic and do not approve what Milosevic does to take "justice" into their own hands reminds me of a certain kind of national judgment, and history clearly demonstrates that no one has managed to defend himself when accused by the people on the streets, even if he was as innocent as a lamb.

Just to make things clear, I don´t believe Milosevic is innocent, but I believe even less that Nenad Canak is called upon to play the role of plaintiff, judge and executioner. So many functions for such a young man. Let´s look at it from another point: what if Milosevic called his supporters to hang Canak. All those affected and non-affected upon would scream until they were blue in the face to protect the innocent Canak who at this moment is as guilty as Milosevic, i.e. innocent until, in the course of certain regular court proceedings, proven guilty.

Simply, it can be said that Canak, from the platform on the Republika Square, worked for Milosevic. Canak is only widening the two trenches in Serbia and is helping Milosevic to strengthen his. He is inflaming the already enraged, is convincing those who are already convinced, is making it even more difficult for those who are indecisive to make a decision, is strengthening the abstinence lethargy, and is scaring those who had once voted for Milosevic and are now thinking about voting for someone else.

It seems as though Canak has confused a thing or two; since, when one is talking about an "exit strategy" which would enable a regular transfer of power in case Milosevic loses the elections, no one is contemplating asylum for Milosevic on a certain "St. Helena" (let alone a public hanging in front of Jugoeksport), but rather in sending a clear message to the wavering Milosevic voters that there will be no reprisals because they had once loved him.

By pointing his finger at the pole, Canak is suggesting to those very people that they will be next, so that those who had voted for him once will do so again, out of fear of being blasted away by Canak. When political temperament overrules political wisdom, politics become a dangerous game. Anyway, Canak is a sworn autonomist and, if in need of radicalism, should practice it in Novi Sad and bypass Belgrade. Those 30.000 or 500.000 (depending on the news agency) of us who were present at Belgrade´s Republika Square didn´t come in order to count the poles.