Writings on the Wall

Upon hearing the question what is currently going on in Serbia, certain eye-witnesses answer "a miracle", others "nothing" or "nothing new", while all are thinking of the same thing and no disputes would erupt if they were to describe the events. Yes, the regime is shutting down or taking over independent and opposition media; yes, the university is closed; yes, police are arresting, interrogating and beating the citizens over and above the call of duty; yes, Otpor ("The Ressistance" movement, primarely student) is growing and the government is officially starting to swear. (Let's be prepared for the possibility that, for example, following federal law minister and his letter to Carla del Ponte our domestic ministry of foreign affairs could soon send a demarche entitled "To the shitty general secretary of the shitty United Nations".) Is this in any way new and unseen, or the same as before only slightly more emphasized?

That the foreign world is seen as being populated exclusively with criminals and whores is not the worst thing. It isn't the worst thing, although it is ominous, that the government has the same opinion with regards to a good half of its own people. The most ominous of all to me is the story of the "moral bridge", the first of its kind in this part of the world. This stylistic clumsiness, less characteristic of Milosevic himself yet reminiscent of his wife, demonstrates that in the pinnacle of power a huge surplus of justice, innocence and virtues exist, spilling over onto everything in its vicinity, nothing is morally neutral anymore, holiness shines and withstands the forces of darkness which means that they are up to their necks in pure fundamentalism.

Therefore, there are no more disputes, only exorcism exists now. Anyway, what could saints possibly talk about with the devils? From all political programs and ideas, only the Bible and the Gun remain. It isn't the police force which is swirling their clubs over Belgrade, it's Archangel Gabriel in pursuit of Satan. It is no longer a question of Serbs nor Serbia, the regime nor the opposition, but the salvation of humanity itself, nothing less than that, and who dares now say that it should be put to the vote and should be decided on at the elections?

If I have understood things properly, this is the basic idea, i.e. the practical sense of it. When human affairs are portrayed as biblical conflicts of good vs. evil, when someone starts presenting himself as the executor of God's will, it is difficult to establish where basic shrewdness stops and Messiah madness begins. In any case, the most bombastic possible explanations and justifications are in the making, meaning that crimes await us. If all has to do with such morality and justice, if only sly traitors and mercenaries are on the other side, all is allowed in such a battle, there is no regulation nor law which cannot be violated. True, all of this has already been seen since Serbia has had a war government for years which, up to now, has managed to bring every problem and every conflict to the point of combustion.

Such a government naturally consists of pure moralists and humanists, protectors of those who are weak and innocent, since war is initiated exclusively on account of the most noble motives today, with God's help, this being a truly international trend which Serbia itself felt on its own skin last year as a victim of a humanitarian intervention.

Despite all this, I don't believe this war plan will be successful. Many things are no longer as they were. The words uttered by the government have sunk to the lowest level of consciousness. This time no one, not even the person who shall present Milosevic with the National Hero Medal, believes with even a single particle of his brain the official version that the war against NATO was victorious and that a year ago that Russian and Finn signed their capitulation in Belgrade. (Since what would stop us from immediately launching another such famous war?) This time, or so I believe, deep hypnosis would be necessary to enable anyone to recognize the students as terrorists and fascists. This time even those people who should be the last defense of the regime most certainly feel that the end is near. While on that subject, I must admit that I have felt that end on a few previous occasions, and I have left proof of that on this very same spot,  and it always turned out to be a mirage. However, here I stand, ready to carelessly expose myself to the same risk once again. I would say it is a matter of weeks or months. It can't be years, even with the help of the opposition.

These newest cramps found me in the US where those interested, while listening to news from Belgrade, asked me three questions. First, is the regime about to collapse? Second, is the opposition possibly collapsing? And third, what should the US do? I knew the answer to the last question only (You've done more than enough, just sit and watch now!), but I was more intrigued by the first two, and therefore treated myself to a visit to Belgrade.

I remained a few days only, I didn't manage to see all those I would have wanted to, but it was enough to remind myself where I belong, and as far as collapse is concerned, I concluded that it is a general trend in Serbia. Standard political hydraulics by which the opposition strengthens if the regime collapses and vice versa don't apply here. There were previous times when both looked a lot better, people believed in the one or the other while now hardly anyone believes anyone, yet that still harms the regime more, primarily thanks to Otpor. That movement is messing things up for many in the opposition as well, although no one dares to admit it, while the regime couldn't claim that the fist was referring to someone else.

Just like in those winter protests, when the main strength lay in the whistles and banging of the pots and pans, this fist now says nothing yet all is clear. Anyone can stand behind that symbol for any reason at all. It would suffice if things were not going your way these days, and beside this, in the very center of this organization lies a huge hole so that government force is mainly charging at thin air. Commands such as : catch!, don't let go!, arrest!, break!, trample! are ridiculing and shaming those who are carrying them out. There is one more discrepancy in comparison with those winter walks: Kosovo has gone in the meantime.

Yet, from all that I have seen in Belgrade, I liked the graffiti and messages with which regime activists are competing with Otpor and the opposition on the city walls best. We never had that before. The government said what it had to say via television and radio stations and its printed media, not caring about the scarce independent and opposition media. It is no longer enough that they are snatching, suffocating and punishing that media, it has now started writing on the walls. It must be that the government has concluded that nothing that is said on television is important anymore, no one listens or believes that now, the only important thing is what is written on the fence. And the government is sending its employees with the task to mingle with the people, to mask themselves as carefree students, elementary school pupils, angry pensioners and laid off workers who will spontaneously express their revolt against foreign currencies.

In other countries authorized services usually, from time to time, organize actions of cleaning the walls from all graffiti while the state of Serbia is different in that sense too. It isn't cleaning but correcting other peoples' graffiti and writing its own. The opposition city government is in charge of cleaning the walls anyway. However, what we have here is no petty malice, rather, this seemingly all-mighty government which is demonstrating such force to all at this very moment is at the same time uncovering its weakness and panicky fear from a painted fist.

As for the opposition, all there has slowly been reduced to a single yet huge problem called SPO, or, more precisely, Vuk Draskovic, who has been wavering between two sides for quite a long time. Such a position sometimes pays off, under the condition that such a person doesn't miss the last opportunity to choose, and he seems to have let such a moment pass. The regime has started to plunder his party property in Belgrade while the opposition will soon deprive him of a large part of his rooters and voters. Some who still have a certain understanding for him say that it isn't as easy for him as it is for the others from the opposition because he has something to lose. And why has that sworn member of the opposition found himself in the position where he has so much to lose? How is it that in his battle against the establishment he has managed to amass so much that he can no longer decide what he cares about most?

Yet, not taking violence into account, all that surrounds politics and the parties is slowly becoming less important. I had the impression that people in Belgrade are talking about that less than before, as though the city has simmered down and all are trying to find certain aspects of life in which such things would no longer touch them. In a way even Otpor is a statement of a certain apolitical and not only anti-regime attitude, yet those young people still have a wish to express their belief. Even that shall be lost in the next phase, where backs are simply turned on politics which is happening everywhere in the world. True, that isn't in keeping with the classic ideal of a citizen who is concerned about public deeds, but many things are no longer what they were in those times.