Issue 91 - June 21, 1993

Milosevic knows now that sanctions will remain, and that no matter what Serbia does, the West will not be more alarmed than over Sarajevo. He will receive demarches, appeals, demands and pleas from high places. But he has already seen all the impotence and indifference of such high places. The frightened people are close to reconciling themselves to the status and fate of slaves

The war psychosis is a part of every day life on the territory of the former Yugoslavia and the generations, which formed their values on war patterns, are already coming of age. The build-up of weapons continues along with the counting of potential soldiers

Eight soldiers of the Yugoslav Army were killed in June, and another five were wounded. Seven soldiers were killed and four wounded in Vranje, one killed and one wounded in Sabac. Everything took place in their military barracks. In the first case, the weapon with ammunition was seized from the soldier, in the second, it was the sentry who fired. Both soldiers who pulled the trigger were Hungarians and both committed suicide after the murder

The center for political research and public opinion at the Institute of Social Sciences in Belgrade (IDN), carried out a public opinion survey in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (minus Kosovo where there are no conditions for such an undertaking). The sociologists' magnifying glass has revealed serious signs of society's disintegration: the growth of xenophobia, the strengthening of national narcissism, a rejection of the world, ostracism, the militarization of the public, decreased opposition, along with increased dissatisfaction with the regime, and stepped up radicalism of every kind

The Yugoslav People's Army (JNA) became an orphan in 1980. Its disintegration followed the break-up of the country, which it was to guard by the Constituion, conviction and tradition. More precisely, the JNA oulived the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (SFRJ) by the amount of time it need to opt for "its own side" in the Yugoslav wars. However, the ethnic cleansing withing the Yugoslav Army (VJ), which is currently underway, had begun long before it changed its name and started the so-called transformation

No one believes in the success of the federal government's new measures, judging by the first reactions of businessmen and experts. And why should they, when the Government itself doesn't believe in it?

In view of the tragedies in Vranje and Sabac, we asked Professor of Psychology at civilian and military colleges Zvonimir Dzamonja, a retired Yugoslav People's Army (JNA) Colonel, whether the army was presently safe for recruits