Milosevic Prolongs Power

Constitutional Coup D'Etat

Quite unexpectedly, the Assembly of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia ensured the president of the state two more terms in office, reduced his dependence on Montenegro and changed some of the fundamental postulates of the state system

AIM Podgorica, July 8, 2000

(By AIM correspondent from Belgrade)

If everything goes according to the plan, Yugoslav president Slobodan Milosevic will rule for another eight years, instead - as he promised - of leaving the post when in summer 2001 his term in office ends.

While the democratic part of Serbia was busy dealing with the announced draconian law against terrorism - pursuant which everybody who the regime might even slightly be suspicious about can in no time be sentenced to 20 years in prison - somewhere in the mysterious offices a decision was made to amend the 1992 Constitution of FRY as a matter of urgency. Not only will Milosevic remain in power, but he will rule in a country made to his taste.

FAIT ACCOMPLI: The manner in which the Constitution was amended is the best illustration of the rule of Milosevic's regime. While passing of the mentioned anti-terrorist act was announced from the very top of the authorities time and time again for weeks, causing a sharp polemics in independent media, absolutely nothing has leaked in public about amendments of the Constitution. In the midst of writing an article on the mysterious taking of the draft law against terrorism off the agenda of the Assembly of FRY, a journalist of a Belgrade weekly learnt that the next day, on July 6, an extraordinary session of the parliament had been convened with a single item on the agenda - amendment of the Constitution.

Member of the Constitutional Committee of the Assembly, Laslo Joza, never got the text of draft constitutional amendments. "I was told that they could not send them by fax", he said. President of the Democratic Party of Serbia, Vojislav Kostunica called the convening of the session of the federal assembly "conspiratorial", and president of Christian Democratic Party of Serbia Vladan Batic concluded: "They rule like bandits and convene sessions like bandits".

In the morning of July 6, not even the most experienced experts on constitutional law in Belgrade believed that on that very day the text of the amendments of the Constitution would actually be passed - they had declared that the procedure would just be initiated. Deputies of the parliament - who are meeting rarely or not at all, and when they do, they see each other just for a short while in order to rubber-stamp some Milosevic's decision or to hear out the speech of Li Peng - were extremely efficient. They passed amendments to the highest legal act in the country in just a couple of hours. They are amendments with far-reaching consequences, too.

THE PRESIDENT AND HIS PEOPLE: First, on the president: he will not be elected by the federal assembly any more, but by the people. Back in 1997 when he had just come to the post of the president of FRY, Milosevic had once already become possessed by the wish to be elected by his people, but the Montenegrins said No at the time. Milosevic did not insist, and Montenegro supported his election in the assembly. This time, however, the amendment according to which the president is elected directly has been passed. Why? First, in order to reinforce his position in relation to the Assembly and the Government which have no influence on his election any more. Second, because he would not have to grapple for every Montenegrin vote in the assembly in order to become president (Montenegrin deputy Milan Gajovic, as reported by TV Montenegro, was brought to the session of July 6 from Podgorica by the special airplane of president Milosevic). Third, because Serbia has about ten million inhabitants, and Montenegro some 600 thousand, so Montenegrin votes in direct elections would represent an insignificant quantity. Fourth, even if Montenegro wished to nominate its candidate for president, what chances would he have with the majority of voters in Serbia?

NEW CALCULUS: Instead of being entitled to a single four-year term in office, nowadays "the same person may be elected president, twice at the most". Of course, the previous three years Milosevic has spent in office would not count because the procedure of his election was different. Judging by the announcement of Nikola Sainovic, high official of the Socialist Party of Serbia, presidential elections will be scheduled before the expiry of Milosevic's term in office next year "so as not to disrupt continuity in operation of the state", whatever that might mean. Unofficially, rumour goes that the elections for president could be scheduled together with the federal and the local elections which are planned to take place in autumn. As commented by foreign media which reminded that Milosevic was indicted for war crimes by the Hague Tribunal, "remaining in power would be the best guarantee for Milosevic against court persecution".

NEITHER RELIEVING OF DUTY NOR RESIGNATION: The possibility of the president being relieved of duty is equally probable as that of the Danube flowing upstream: according to the newly passed amendments, the president can be relieved of duty if the Constitutional Court (controlled by Milosevic) establishes that he had violated the Constitution, and then the procedure for relieving him of duty is initiated by at least half of federal deputies in both assembly chambers (controlled by Milosevic), and then two thirds of the deputies adopt the proposal for relieving him of duty. Even that was not enough. The procedure for election of deputies to the Chamber of the Republics which should (as its name implies) guarantee equality of two member republics of Yugoslav federation. Instead of having deputies in the Chamber of the Republics, as before, delegated by republican assemblies (20 from Serbia and 20 from Montenegro), in the future, they will also be elected directly by the voters.

Since deputies in the Chamber of Citizens are already elected directly in the elections, former judge of the Constitutional Court of Serbia, Slobodan Vucetic, wonders why should the Assembly have two chambers of citizens? In order to avoid the effect of multiplication of Montenegrin votes due to federalism. Because of the drastic difference in the size of the two republics, now Montenegro has five times more deputies in the Assembly than it would be entitled to according to the number of inhabitants. And finally, deputies of the Assembly of Montenegro would be eliminated from the Chamber of the Republics, and therefrom the influence of legal Montenegrin authorities which are opposed to Milosevic. The manner of election and relieving of duty of ministers in Federal Government is also changed. Until now, the prime minister could nominate and relieve of duty ministers as he pleased, and in the future he will have to ensure agreement of the parliament for that. The goal is to weaken the post of the prime minister and (further) strengthen the post of the president.

THE GREATEST CHALLENGE: The opposition, with its few representatives and without influence in the federal parliament, sharply attacked the amendments of the Constitution. They were not accepted with understanding in the West either. American State Department called them “grotesque”, and officials of the European Commission and EU Council of Ministers stated that they look upon “arbitrary amendments of the Federal Constitution” and the announcement of the anti-terrorist law as “factual introduction of state of emergency in Serbia”.

The key political issue for the denouement in FRY is, however – what Montenegro will do. President Milo Djukanovic, who was called a traitor by the General Staff of the Army of Yugoslavia, and deputy prime minister of the Federal Government, Radical Tomislav Nikolic, demanded his arrest, declared that “by illegal amendments of the Constitution of FRY Belgrade has destroyed the constitutional system of the country and questioned its destiny”. At its extraordinary session on July 7, the assembly of Montenegro passed the Resolution on Protection of Interests of Montenegro and rejected amendments of the Constitution judging that they were a threat to equality of this Republic. If in the meantime they do not decide to schedule the referendum on independence, the forthcoming scheduling of presidential and federal parliamentary elections will probably be the greatest Montenegrin challenge in the conflict with Milosevic.

The announcement of president of Serb Radical Party Vojislav Seselj from the assembly platform that federal elections will in the future be organized by the federal government most probably means that elections are planned even contrary to the will of the Republican authorities.

If federal prime minister Momir Bulatovic, unrecognized by the officials from Montenegro, decides to actually distribute ballot boxes around that Republic, maybe even with the help of the Army, pretending that legal authorities do not exist – will Djukanovic be able to peacefully watch, pretending that he does not see them either? Or will he use his numerous, modern and well-equipped police to prevent such elections? In any case, the conflict with Montenegro has never been more probable.

Roksanda Nincic

(AIM)