Under Surveillance

The Serbian leader has attempted to impose an undeclared state of emergency, but it's a big question exactly how he will cope with it. The Government's cynicism provoked an unprecedented war of words in the republican parliament - MPs obstructed proceedings and criticized vehemently and persistently the state-ownership concept of Bozovic`s government and laying of the foundations of future police suppression of political discontent.

The opposition resorted to obstruction in order to coordinate the parliamentary debate with the growing public pressure. The government also used obstruction: it withdrew the bill on POLITIKA

publishing and broadcasting and then submitted it once again for debate. In this it failed, but the law was then adopted in a chaotic atmosphere in which those who voted and those who counted the votes could have been hardly distinguished...

POLITIKA found itself at the focal point of the struggle for preserving the autonomy of institutions, for opposing the concept of Serbia shaped as integral public enterprise.

Political forces working to effect changes in Serbia, and those which have changed their attitude towards Milosevic`s regime, have chosen POLITIKA as the arena of the decisive battle before the forthcoming elections (for which the date has not even been set yet), which, in the words of its own director, helped cement Milosevic in the seat of power, and now wants to escape from the embrace of a drowning man.

POLITIKA has begun the first strike in its history, and signaled that it wouldn't stop at that. If it emerges victorious, it will not only redeem itself for its earlier sins but also create a chance for the freedom of press in Serbia.

Serbia polarized itself sharply - "pro regime" or "pro autonomy". Opposition leader Vuk Draskovic described the placing of POLITIKA under government's control as a part of the strategy to create a "lies manufacturing corporation", which would be followed by the "SPSization" (SPS - Socialist Party of Serbia) of Studio B and Radio B-92.

Dragoljub Micunovic, the leader of Democratic Party (DS), called for the formation of a parliamentary hearings committee to inquire into the reasons behind the privatization of POLITIKA, while PM Radoman Bozovic preserved in granting himself exclusive rights to sell POLITIKA. An opposition MP said that Bozovic was putting into practice his promise to become the "editor-in-chief of Serbia", that the media were a growing ballast of an undemocratic regime, that all radio transmission frequencies had been placed under state control and had to be returned to the federal government, that the law served to spotlight the hypocrisy of the regime.

The Government's whim wasn't unsystematic: Mr. Bozovic defended state ownership with the assertion that even in Germany privatization would take decades. He said it was more fair that the shares be sold by the state than by workers` council decree. Speculations that Milosevic will return the law to the Parliament for review are probably ungrounded, although his interventions in the Parliament have been appropriate thus far, but an offensive of this magnitude could hardly have been launched without his consent. Bozovic promised his ownership would be temporary, but he could easily prolong the situation and make profit from it. A vague obligation that the "opinion of the editorial board" would be taken into consideration had been inscribed initially, and then it was adopted that the Parliament would be "informed" about the privatization.

Micunovic pointed out that the new law contradicted the republican Law on Transformation of Social Ownership, and said that Bozovic had to have much more power to impose a dictatorship, since disregard for the law is nothing but dictatorship. Bozovic rejected the accusation and said that the laws are not in contradiction. After this dramatic week, it is clear that the conflict over POLITIKA is much more than an ordinary government - opposition bickering. Bozovic argued that the ownership transformation of POLITIKA was not in the competence of the federal Law on Information, while Micunovic pointed to a "certain level of separatism" and resistance to the federal government, and that everything is being done to discredit the federal government amidst its negotiations concerning UN sanctions.

Bozovic came up against Serbian intelligentsia and a large part of the opposition fighting for freedom of press. Federal President Dobrica Cosic said that he had been informed that the law was unconstitutional, but that POLITIKA itself could also have reacted in a more appropriate manner, concealing his real intentions behind his apparent fairness.

The Federal Minister of Information, chosen to the post at Cosic`s suggestion, said that the attack on POLITIKA could represent a sufficient reason for a minister to resign. Federal Prime Minister Milan Panic again let Bozovic slip, by saying that he "doesn't believe" that the whole affair was about nationalizing POLITIKA but about finding a "transitional solution leading to privatization". Commenting on speculations that Panic could save POLITIKA, one journalist has been heard to say that Panic can't even save himself.

Bozovic is also trying to sidestep the agreement reached on the Law on the University. Resistance by the academics who drafted the law compelled the Government to withdraw its proposal and entrust the task to a joint commission, whose resultant project was then described by Education Minister Danilo Markovic as "an opinion". The new solution is that the government, rather than the University Council, appoints the Rector and Deans. Certain provisions of the Law, such as those covering a "ban on religious and political activities", clearly represents the Government's answer to the recent student protest.

Professor Bora Kuzmanovic, President of the Independent Trade Union at the Belgrade University, said that the University would go on strike if the law is adopted. Students reacted similarly, attacking the Government's totally arbitrary decision to withhold the paychecks of professors who took part in the strike. Another dispute between the federal and the republican administration arose on this point. Federal Education Minister Ivan Ivic unequivocally came out against the draft of the republican law.

According to an opposition MP, both the Law on Public Rallies and the Law on University are aimed at eliminating all the results of the so-called democratization. The Government was also accused of seeking to curb public gatherings prior to the forthcoming elections. A whole series of provisions of the Law, in particular the one demanding that a deposit should be paid before any rally, effectively banished the opposition from city centers, confining it to suburbs. The most curious thing is that those very same ruling party MPs who wanted to deprive the people from their right to protest, while they go wild in the Parliament - sing, swear, call each other rats and pregnant frogs, say poems, make classroom noises, threaten each other, spread ethnic and religious hatred and act subversively - systematically undermining the authority of the Parliament.

A similar debate was held on the legislation on Public Law and Order, which has been described by the opposition as extremely repressive. Only a few of twenty-four punitive provisions do not feature imprisonment.

Many SPS MPs demanded ban on demonstrations and more severe penalties for resisting public officials. Milosevic's regime has turned its back on the army, clearly preferring to pamper the police as its last remaining protector.

Numerous warnings were also heard that the growing violence and terror, to which the authorities have been turning a blind eye, must be suppressed. The regime is now threatening to defend itself from the anarchy it created itself by repression (although numerous recent terrorist and violent acts, abductions, threats and incidents involving the use of firearms in public places passed without adequate legal investigation). Serbia is a country in which it is easier to pass a law than to replace the Minister of Interior.

The events show quite clearly that Milosevic's regime doesn't want to share power or reach any kind of agreement at the round table, but only use vacation season to consolidate its power and place new constraints on the activities of the opposition.

The first result is the crisis which has struck that part of the opposition which had adapted its strategy with the eventual round-table accord, particularly the Democratic Party which has split. The newly formed Democratic Party of Serbia, chose for its leader Mr. Vojislav Kostunica, the strongest advocate of cooperation with Serbian Renewal Movement (SPO) and DEPOS (Democratic Movement of Serbia).

"The time has come for each bird to turn to its own flock", said Mr. Kostunica. Mr. Micunovic, on the other hand, talks about rejuvenated optimism in the "old flock". Both appeared contented, although the party's split and coming dispute over the division of assets and liabilities is likely to hurt the entire opposition. Judging by what Mr. Micunovic has told VREME, the Democratic Party is unlikely to alter its strategy. The intention of DEPOS to unite the entire opposition has thus far only to split it.

A new political regrouping is in full swing. The parties which make up DEPOS have said that they will appear at the elections as a coalition, although it remains unclear how they intend to share out their gains. The Socialists, who have not been hurt by the brief conflict between the President of the party (Mr. Borisav Jovic) and the President of the Republic as much as some might have hoped, are preparing a congress at which, the social-democratic dissidents say, a hard-line option is likely to prevail.

The Government is prepared for a fight to the bitter end and for the suppression of the June democratic uprising, creating reasons for new tensions and radicalization of the situation in Serbia.