The Lion's Appetite

For the time being, the case of Vuk and Danica Draskovic has managed to disturb Belgrade which had already started to feel pride in the fact that it was merrily and light-heartedly suffering its deleting from the list of European cities. For a moment we sat up and noticed that there was some kind of an opposition, precisely when it looked as if we would have to wait for some other generation of leaders and parties. Vuk Draskovic has invested all he has, and in such a manner as would make even the hardest pagan heart tremble. There are, however, no signs that this has led to any serious changes in the country.

In the middle of Serbia's great catastrophe, Draskovic has offered a classic example of Christian salvation through a clear and convincing moral challenge. The war offered a number of such challenges, but on the whole, Serbia resisted them, if it managed to discern them through the fog of lies. This time Belgrade knows exactly what is at stake, and that it is no longer happening to others, but is in our own front garden. It was not a matter of differentiating between the authorities and the opposition, the Left and the Right, this and that policy, but between life and death. That is something which should precede all policy.

It proved that matters weren't such here, and that in an atmosphere of war, politics are conducted on a life and death basis. This was also done by Vuk Draskovic. However, he has found himself in a situation which justifies such a stand. Vuk had earlier carried political clashes over into the field of morals, good and bad, justice and injustice. After being arrested and beaten up, and with the political process being prepared, he was offered the perfect opportunity for such a stand. He is in the right, today more than ever before, and there is no better way of opposing this authority than by unmasking its violent nature. With the hunger strike, Vuk has shown that it is necessary to choose between the regime and life, since this regime and life are not compatible.

Concerning Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic, the other participant in this affair, his attitude is understandable if you can put yourself in the shoes of someone totally obsessed by power. For him, Vuk Draskovic is a prisoner of war, the commander of the enemy army whom he can release at the end of the war, if he makes him completely harmless, or if holding onto him becomes too dangerous from the point of view of war goals. After all that he has done, there is no reason to doubt that Milosevic would prefer to let his POW die. In his overall plan it wouldn't change things much.

As with the war over Bosnia, pleas and interventions from abroad only served to convince Milosevic that he was in the right, and that he has captured a big shot. He sees that all his enemies care about Draskovic, and perhaps he is not far from the idea of offering them Vuk's head in exchange for the lifting of sanctions, or at least for two tankers of crude. All in all, the French idea of getting Draskovic for nothing, turned out to be naive. The case is a good illustration of Milosevic's new attitude towards the world.

Milosevic never for a moment believed in Mme. Mitterrand's humane motives, since why should anyone have such irrational motives. He wished her a pleasant stay in Belgrade and sent greetings to her husband. Regarding the court, Milosevic said he didn't know how things were in France, but here the courts were independent.

Even though Vuk Draskovic's life is at stake, I admit that I wasn't too shocked by the mission's failure, since I do not believe that Draskovic would have agreed to embark on a journey whose end he could not foresee. If someone in France really believes that our problems can be rephrased and treated as humanitarian ones, why didn't they then suggest that Milosevic be treated in Paris? We would find it easier to bear such a loss, and the case is much more interesting from the medical point of view.

Milosevic took the opportunity of showing the world how to retaliate in equal measure. The cutting short of the CSCE observer mission's mandate serves the same purpose. What business do those who first chucked me out of their society have observing me, thinks Milosevic.

The imprisonment and hunger strike of Vuk Draskovic are probably the last chance for Serbs and Serbia to show themselves in a different light to the world, or if you like, to improve Serbia's image. The world had already given up on Serbia, and the drama of Vuk and Danica Draskovic has made it glance in this direction again. The case has ended the way Milosevic wanted it to and the curtain has dropped.

I never thought that I would be giving lessons in patriotism, but I think that the Serbian opposition has not been up to this patriotic task. It would mean a lot for Serbia's future if it were shown that this was not just the gesture of a brave man, but that Draskovic's sacrifice has resulted in the speedy, natural and united reaction of at least half of Belgrade.

The lion is now waiting and stalking for signs of weakness, fear and nervousness. It knows that it risks whatever it does and that a wrong move could make his frightening roar start resembling the mewing of a cat.