Issue 176 - February 13, 1995

The career of the young and promising head of the General Staff Information Service promised to result in the rank of general, perhaps even more. The colonel career was characterized by politically correct stands, sometimes risky steps but he was always among the first to choose the right side until the high command decided differently

Recollections on the article Stand By Your Man (Digest No 173, January 23) which obviously rocked the military and political leaders of the country

According to the proven method employed in taking over Borba newspaper and many local newspapers, the Socialists have long harassed independent NTV studio B with complaints, all in the name of "protecting social property", and in the end, through a brief, illegal procedure, tried to finish it off and place it under the control of the Belgrade City Assembly

This is a real problem, highly complex that Tudjman lowers down to political levels; the fact the Croats aren't multiplying is caused by Yugoslavia and communism in translation - the Serbs.

Serbian Radical Party (SRS) leader Vojislav Seselj, Democratic Party of Serbia (DSS) leader Vojislav Kostunica and Democratic Party (DS) leader Zoran Djindjic have a voting body totalling close to 1,400,000 votes; at local elections they fare better than the Serbian Renewal Movement (SPO) led by Vuk Draskovic; they have no intention of dealing with Vuk individually, but united; and what is worse for Draskovic, they seem to be ready to accept every one of his suggestions, but on their terms. This is why the battle will go on and the fighters will do their best to trick one another

The closer the beginning of the disentangling of the Kosovo crisis, the greater the edginess of its protagonists. The world powers seem to have reached a consensus over the principle for the resolving of the Kosovo question, and are strengthening diplomatic pressure in order that their compromise proposal might be accepted as the basis for Serbian-ethnic Albanian talks. Belgrade and Pristina are hurriedly searching for modes in order to come up with the right answers to the temptations that await them

For the first time since the war broke out, the opposition seems to be coordinated and in agreement, and has started its first decisive battle with the authorities with only one possible outcome: the removal of the one-party rule and national monopolies of state institutions

The statement by the five Presidency members who distanced themselves from Izetbegovic and Ganic coincided with coordinated activities by the B-H opposition against the SDA leadership. The rallying of the opposition was initiated by the Union of B-H Social Democrats. Sejfudin Tokic is a member of parliament and vice-president of the Union

By refusing to accept a stepped up control of the property owned by officials, the Serbian Government has passed up an opportunity of returning the citizens' trust in state institutions, and the authorities have lost an opportunity of saving face