The Bicycle Thieves

According to a report on the participation of the Yugoslav delegation at the London Conference, Panic spoke very sharply of provincial political demagogy which had fanned ethnic mistrust and hatred.

It was clear that he himself would soon become the target of such a demagogy.

It could be seen that the old mechanisms for exerting mass pressure were being put into operation, but things were not as they had been before.

Circles close to the Socialist Party were heard to make unauthorized statements; that they wanted to "press Panic a little", that they "would see", e.t.c. Government officials were very cool, some even prepared to bet that the action against Panic would come to nothing, and showed openly that they believed that Parliament needed them more than did authority. The Montenegrins were suprised and took umbrage. They criticized their coalition partner for not consulting them prior to starting a debate on the Prime Minister, who, it might be said, had been enforced on them two months ago.

The delegation from Kosovo arrived at the Yugoslav Parliament on August 31, carrying a large picture of Slobodan Milosevic. Panic received the delegation that very same afternoon. He reiterated that it was necessary to abrogate laws "which had never been applied", and that the University of Pristina should be opened, that Albanians if they wanted to, should be allowed to study in their own language, just as Mexicans can in California. Panic, however would recommend (he would never order) that they complete their education in the Serbian language, in order to find jobs more easily. Panic said that British Foreign Secretary Douglas Hurd had invited him to meet with Ibrahim Rugova (leader of Albanians in Kosovo), and that he had accepted with pleasure, and that domestic "democrats" must abandon the principle whereby "my freedom is possible only if I give you your freedom".

It was clear that the delegation from Kosovo had been envisaged as additional pressure on Panic and an aid to the action of the Serbian Radical Party (SRS) and a group of deputies of the Socialist Party of Serbia (SPS); they had launched an initiative for a vote of confidence in the federal Prime Minister, exulting like children in the Parliament corridors.

President of the Association of Emigrants Brana Crncevic, was the most active deputy and said of Panic that he was a man who could be "dangerous to the state"; that Panic had "instructions from above", and that "it was not known to what extent he represented the Americans or us." At the time when Panic dismissed Mihalj Kertes as head of the Secret Police because Kertes had not agreed with the government's opposition to ethnic cleansing. Crncevic, who must have played a role in encouraging Serbian xenophobia, claims that there has been no ethnic cleansing in Yugoslav territory. This detail could point to the main reason for the attack against Panic. After Kertes's dismissal, many of the creators of Serbian xenophobia felt threatened. The concrete decisions of the London Conference contain a provision which says that "the sides must achieve control over the undisciplined elements in their areas".

Violence, however, did not stop. A rally was held in Hrtkovci (a village in Vojvodina, where the expulsion of Croats had first taken place on a large scale), demanding the release of Municipality President Ostoja Sibincic and his assistant Rade Cakmak.

A bomb exploded in Zemun, in front of house with four children. "Our only fault is that we come from mixed marriages; our godfathers are of different nationalities. If this is some kind of warning, then I have to say that our children have not done anyone any harm", says a 30 year-old woman in tears. Panic tried to convince the public that they should not fear armed groups and that with regard to this, he had confidence in the Chief of the General Staff and the Minister of the Interior.

However, in an interview to Serbian Television, Panic said that he had not negotiated with Croatian President Franjo Tudjman alone, but had asked him to write down his demands, which Tudjman had shown at a lunch attended by Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic. Negotiations with Tudjman were initiated by President Cosic before leaving for London, and the reason given was that many people had been brought into a very unfavourable situation regarding everyday life because of their unresolved status, their rights concerning property which being frustrated, including the possibilities of receiving pensions and health care services. Panic's offer that Serbs in Croatia also be Yugoslav citizens, is in conflict with the logic of those who have sacrificed people for territory.

A Socialist official told VREME that the intention of the Socialists was to "tighten the screws on Panic a little", and make him understand that things cannot be the way he imagines and that they would "see and assess" if they would go to the very end against him. Panic must have known that there would be a reaction, and replied readily that they had lost fifteen games with a score of 12:0.

The day after the launching of the initiative for Panic's resignation, SPS leader Borisav Jovic denied that the Socialist party had had a stand on such an initiative at the time of its launching, and said that he "could not oppose the majority of Socialist deputies who wished to launch such an initiative", even though his conduct in Parliament did not point to neutrality. Asked by deputy Oskar Kovac if a debate on confidence in the government required the government's report on the London Conference, Jovic said, as if he were the boss, that it did and did not, because the London Conference was only a deatil of the government's work. In a statement to the Tiker news agency, Jovic had earlier described Panic as an "inconstant politician who was not informed of his competencies", and added that Panic would not get away without public criticism. The Socialists held a number of meetings at which Panic was criticized. After that, the SPS executive board ordered its members to vote for Panic -- "if his government accepts good natured criticism".

It is possible that the Socialists wished to play the game of cat and mouse with Panic, just as they had with Ante Markovic, to tie his hands and beat him up, having first stolen his bicycle -- the one he had ridden in this race, to accuse him of having signed the capitulation of their policy, to strip him of all authority, and to attack him as if they were in opposition and as if they were the ones who had just arrived from the United States.

It is obvious that the Parliamentary majority will obstruct Panic's government as much as possible. The Yugoslav Parliament has put off the discussion of the draft law on amnesty, demanding that it be considered under regular procedures in a packet with other laws concerning the army. The General Staff has given a negative assessment of this draft law and Justice Minister Tibor Varadi later said that the Defence Ministry had approved the project and that the General Staff and the Defence Ministry would have to coordinate their stands. In spite of this, Panic says that he enjoys the confidence of the officer corps.

Some of the participants of the lost war wish to undermine the peace negotiations in order to prevent the question of their guilt being brought up. Serbian Radicals, as the upholders of that kind of rigidity which is characteristic of a great part of the ruling regime, are playing an open game in the destruction of peace arrangements, and in trying to topple Panic because he is negotiating, and curiously, because Panic is Defence Minister.

In an interview to Belgrade Television, Panic said that it was time we looked ourselves in the face, that we never wished to admit to making mistakes, but we have; that we are not "a celestial people" but, are perhaps better than others at football, but that according to some, we are now the "cancer of the world". "Enough kidding, said Panic at a press conference.

As if nothing had happened, as if his back were not up against a wall, Borisav Jovic continues to claim that "sanctions are unjust and should be lifted by those who introduced them".

Cosic voiced criticism, that as the President who had given Panic his mandate at the Socialists' proposal, he had not been consulted and said that he would not follow them absolutely. Panic claims that Cosic personally called him many times and in the end brought him to Yugoslavia, but that the idea of coming had first been put to him by Congresswoman Helen Delic-Bentley. In an interview to Tanjug news agency, Cosic says that he was "suprised" with the proposal for Panic's resignation.

Crncevic polemicized with Cosic, claiming that "Panic, or no Panic, it does not change matters". At that moment many doubted Cosic's loyalty to Panic, considering that Panic's brand of liberalism differs from Cosic's nationalism. According to an opposition deputy, Milosevic miscalculated in thinking that the differences between Cosic and Panic were insurmountable, and that Cosic would keep to the sidelines. The deputy said that Milosevic made a similar miscalculation in the affair over POLITIKA (a Belgrade daily.)

Two days later when it had become absolutely clear that the public supported Panic (according to Partner -- an agency for researching public opinion, 82 percent Belgraders support Panic), Cosic sent, through Tanjug, a very sharp open letter to the Serbian Radical and Socialist deputy groups, calling their decision premature, politically detrimental and "traditional in the bad sense". At the same time he thanked the Montenegrin deputies for their wise stand.

Cosic's unrestrained praise of Panic, says that he has invested all his authority in order to protect his Prime Minister: "in spite of an unadaptability to our circumstances which are difficult to understand for people from other environments, Panic's exceptional activity, rare political energy, loyalty to the state's basic goal, a single-mindedness aimed at lifting sanctions, a new style and impressive communicativeness have led to the achieving of important results. Panic has made visible the peaceful and democratic face of our denounced and isolated country", said Cosic. Cosic's protection however, does not mean that he has urged for an extension of Panic's competencies. Cosic just said: "I know what he is doing". It is not a sure thing that after this affair, Panic will remain unfettered and that his manoeuvering capabilites will be increased in future actions.

Before the start of the process against Panic, the results of the London Conference were assessed in Belgrade as the signing of capitulation and a confirmation of the failure of Milosevic's policy, only written down in English.

On his return from London, Dobrica Cosic's pessimism was less depressive. On August 29, at Belgrade's Surcin Airport Cosic said: "When I left, my fears were greater than my hopes. Now my hopes are greater than my fears. I think I can tell the citizens of Yugoslavia that they need no longer fear intervention. Our international position is very difficult, but not hopeless".

Milan Panic said that "it had been a good conference for the Yugoslav government", that his letter had been the framework for the Conference, and recalled that if the Yugoslav side did not do all that to which it had agreed, then the UN Security Council would be called on to apply all international sanctions. Ahead of the Parliamentary session, Panic said that when he had first arrived, Belgrade had been faced with the possibility of bombardment.

Public controversies between Panic and the other members of the delegation and the important differences which had cropped up in London, were interpreted by many as manoeuvering, because Panic more than Cosic, felt a need to confirm his legitimacy by publically dramatizing these differences. Finally, Panic became a sign for recognizing these changes which the world wishes to see in Yugoslavia, and if he survives, he will have to fight to cash in on the credit he has now won.

Of the opposition parties, the Serbian Renewal Movement (SPO) was the first to react to the call for Panic's toppling. The SPO issued a statement saying: "the ink has not yet dried on the London documents and Slobodan Milosevic continues to play Russian roulette with the Serbian people", and "such a policy leads to further confrontations in Serbia". SPO leader Vuk Draskovic proposed that on the same day when the vote of confidence was under way in Parliament, citizens of Belgrade should gather in front of Parliament "and speak out". Draskovic lucidly noted that the law on limited gatherings was not being applied, that gatherings were allowed, considering that the group from Kosovo had gathered in front of the Yugoslav Parliament without having first paid a deposit.

"Panic cannot make it alone!" said a leaflet calling Belgraders to go out into the streets in a show of support to Panic and in order to prevent SRS leader Vojislav Seselj from taking over power. Several parties denied responsibility for the leaflet, while Panic told the students to stay at home, and that when he needed their help, he would ask for it. Panic said that Milosevic was being cooperative, probably a reference to some tactical concession to Cosic. The words "they must go" can only refer to one particular political group -- the one which tried to steal his London bike. Milosevic was greeted by about 1,000 Belgraders in front of Parliament in the usual way -- with catcalls.