Issue 484 - March 30, 2001

Serbia should protect its sovereignty and independence as long as the country can bear it and as long as it proves profitable

It is worth hoping that the latest arrests are examples of the final implementation of the law, not just a cheap political demagogy

During the investigation the imprisoned former Chief of State Security, Rade Markovic, pointed the accusatorial finger at his former chief, Jovica Stanisic, on more than one occasion. Among other things, Markovic accuses his former chief of shady dealings in the Brodograditely marina, Section for Motor Boats, which is swamped with boats owned by the former big wigs of State Security: Stanisic has a boat there called Jenny Brendon, which was bought in Great Britain; Mihalj Kertes has a boat called Dunav and a high speed motor boat Papillon; Rade Markovic has a high speed motor boat without a license number and registration, which he claims not to be his, even though he originally bought it from Brodotehna; Franko Simatovic Frenki has a high speed motor boat Formula; etc., etc. Also docked in the same marina is the state security boat Kole, originally built for Tito to go duck hunting, and whose registration cost nearly million German marks

Last week the Serbian prime minister Zoran Djindjic, in his text for VREME, addressed the public warning that Serbia is in dire need of a “social consensus”: “Our society seems to have lost its mutual goal, as though it has divided again into interests and discussion groups. Some are threatening with strikes, others are on strike, yet others are theorizing on for and against reasons…” “The times of economic restraint and sacrifices aren’t over.” This appeal came on the eve of a public discussion on the Serbian budget in which there are indications that the epidemic of strikes was spreading.