THE CITY HOSTILE TO HOSTILITIES

Subotica as a Multinational Community

Subotica, a city in northern Serbia, almost at the Hungarian border, is an etnically mixed environment with members of 21 nations living in it. This city has succeeded in preserving peace, tolerance. The opposition is in power in this city. Many European projects are being carried out in Subotica, the most successful among them being "The Open University" financed by Soros Foundation. The citizens of Subotica say that they have managed to preserve their city from nationalistic madness.

AIM, BELGRADE, Dec. 21

When for the first and, until now, for the last time, strangers in masking uniforms appeared in Subotica with cartridge belts and armed to their teeth, the citizens got so agitated, that the Chief of Police was forced to take the six masked men into the police station for questioning. Soon afterwards, an announcement was issued about who these characters were, and where their arms had come from, and that they were part of the intimidating scenery for the press conference of the leader of Radicals - Ssesselj. After that, the men in uniforms left, Subotica calmed down, and Ssesselj probably, then, or recently when he addressed the rather empty central square in Subotica, could not have felt too much at ease in this city.

This precedent in Subotica, inconceivable in other cities of Serbia, whether ethnically homogeneous or mixed, is the result of an inviolate mystery of how Subotica successful preserves the spirit of the city, the spirit of tolerance, unity and common interest, in the face of which the rule of national elitism of all colours remains defeated. And it is not only Ssesselj and Arkan who are not welcome in this city, but this refers to the supporters of Croatian and Hungarian nationalism as well. This is because, although the Democratic Community of Hungarians in Vojvodina has won at the last elections for local authorities, the actual and the executive power remained in the hands of the opposition, personified in the party called the "Pigeons of Subotica".

There is an abundance of precedents in this town at the border with Hungary. The most important one is the undisturbed coexistence of 31 nations and ethnic groups, and almost as many creeds. The odd thing which to a certain extent can serve as an illustration of the fidelity of Subotica to itself is the fact that this is the only city in "reduced" Yugoslavia where the number of the members of that unrecognized nation of Yugoslavs increased significantly in the latest 1991 census, in relation to the previous one. The demographic picture of Subotica shows that there are 48 per cent of Hungarians, about fiften per cent of both Croats, Bachka-Croats, and Yugoslavs, about ten per cent of Serbs, and the remaining portion is formed of a diversity of nations, among them even one woman from Chile. The citizens of Subotica explain the secret of this happily operating "blend" of nations by its tradition (way back in 1747, Subotica already had a multinational theatre which gave performances in several languages), by mixed marriages, specific lowlands-climate, long rule of Austria-Hungary... Besides, there is the unmistakle mark left by the Open University and the famous flee market.

• Tolerance and awareness that it is necessary to live together is the spirit which prevails in Subotica, which the newcomers did not manage to deteriorate. It is true, though, that the number of thefts has increased. I will not say that the guests are the ones who steal, but it is all, just like an occasional scene of a fight or a quarrel in the streets here and there, imported from the outside. But, with all the difficulties, Subotica has succeeded in preserving its identity of tolerance and I believe that, had this been a different environment, war would have broken out a long time ago - Blassko Koppilovicc, the owner of "Zrnomag", one of the financially the "heaviest" firms in Vojvodina, says. - The second, but less important thing is the interest. There is no division among the native citizens of Subotica according to nationality or language. Because, if someone tells me "Good morning" in Hungarian, and I reply in Serbian, or the other way round, it means that there can be no business deal, the communication is interrupted.

Things do not all run smoothly in Subotica, though. Speaking of communication, the children are less and less bilingual. They say that the Republican authorities are to blame, because they demand extra money for any lessons in the second, minority language, requested by the parents.

A respected journalist of the independent weekly called "Suboticcke novine" (Subotica News), Ljubomir Djordjevicc, says that the citizens are slightly infected by a phobia of the changed composition of the police forces. They do not see among the policemen the faces they used to know, they drank coffee with, or whose children went to school with theirs. Newspapers and journals bearing the mark of nationalistic exclussiveness appeared, but the citizens of Subotica remained optimistic, and the most highly esteemed newspaper with the highest circulation with a steady increase is still the Subotica News.

• All the people who have certain impact on our public life were selected according to positive characteristics and they all must fulfill the following five criteria: talent, knowledge, ambition, honesty, and tolerance. I think that Jewish mentality had a significant influence in Subotica, which left deepest traces here, but the proximity and the influence of Central Europe is also not negligible - this is how Mihalj Sechei, an economic eminence of the region, the Manager of the "Agros" Bank, and a Deputy in the previous session of the Republican Parliament contemplates about the "mystery" of Subotica.

Squeezed between the central authorities of the Socialist Party of Serbia and the local authorities of the Democratic Community of Hungarians from Vojvodina, this city is attempting to become a part of Europe. Some of the attempts are successful, such as the Open University largely financed by the Soros Foundation, some are subdued at the very beginning, like for instance, the idea of the Council of Europe to link, economically and culturally, the region of Subotica with three European cities, all in the spirit of regionalization of Europe. The actors of the attempt were instantenously called traitors, national subversive elements, and similar names.

• The Open University is extremely powerful, and the authorities can do absolutely nothing against us, primarily because we are founded on independent, privately owned capital, both from the country and from abroad - Bossko Kovachevicc, the Director of the Open University says. The institution of the Open university incorporates numerous developemnt and research projects on tolerance, independent journalism, local self-management (which was practically applied in "Agora"), a school program for talented children, or a program about healthy food production.

• Ecology does not recognize borders and it tears down all barriers. It is one of the issues which can get us all together. - Tereza Horvat says about one of the projects she leads within the Open University.

When speaking of the experiments which the Open University is involving whole of Subotica, many are full of doubts, and tend to say that they are practically ineffective projects. Among those who are doubtful is the neuropsychiatrist, Fabijan Skenderovicc, one of the active participants in the project of "Agora". When speaking of the most important experiment - about Yugoslavdom, he does not accept that its ineffective in Subotica.

• The idea of a Yugoslav nation has always had many supporters here, and since conditions favourable for conflicts have been created, Yugoslavdom was also the expression of a wish not to jeopardize the existing relations
• Skenderovicc says.

That is exactly what forces any newcomer (either in the sense of ideology or simply meaning a man unaccustomed to order and cleanliness) to leave his primitivism of any sort at the gates of the city. Hence, the citizens of Subotica reject with a kind smile of a cultivated Central-European citizen any possibility of a forcible change, like the method of demographic changes already attempted by the regime.

T. Lukin