MOVEMENT FOR VOJVODINA

The everlasting illusion of political parties from Vojvodina which are in favour of its autonomy, that they must have a partner in Belgrade, as a sort of lightning conductor and guarantor that they are not separatist is still bothering some of them, but the number of those who are advocating full independence and relying on their own associated forces in a kind of a movement for Vojvodina is also rapidly increasing.

Written by: Mile Isakov

In the Northern Province of Serbia which was deprived of the autonomy it had in former Yugoslavia by the will of Slobodan Milosevic and his "anti-bureaucratic" or "yoghurt revolution" in 1988, the number of those who are dissatisfied with the status of Vojvodina in the present "rump" Yugoslavia is growing. The need and the demand for turning the formal autonomy which exists now, with no power of the Province Assembly and with no budget of its own, into real, factual autonomy are emphasized more and more frequently. For giving Vojvodina back, as the best developed part of Serbia and Yugoslavia, the possibility of independent decision-making, which it had won a long time ago, even while it was part of the Austria-Hungary Empire and later as a part of Yugoslavia, on account of its multi-ethnic composition and its specific historical, economic and cultural development.

The views how this could be achieved and how Vojvodina could be liberated from economic exploitation and political and cultural underestimation are different and range from the radical ideas about refusing to recognize the existing Constitution and creating parallel institutions of power, all the way to moderate attempts to regain the autonomy it was deprived of step by step from within.

Recently, the Vojvodina Reformists (RDSV), the last of the Mohicans of the all-Yugoslav movement of Ante Markovic, abandoned their fundamental principles by entering the extramarital affair with the ruling Socialist Party of Serbia (SPS), with the intention to try to profiteer somewhat by taking advantage of the momentary weakness of the regime due to its conflict with the nationalistic opposition. Namely, with the votes of their representatives in the city and the Province Assembly, they enabled the SPS to maintain power in Novi Sad and Vojvodina at the moment it was threatened by united opposition which was joined by Seselj's Radicals. In return, the Reformists got several more honorary posts in the city and the Province government. So far, though, Novi Sad and Vojvodina got nothing except a new experience, and it is hard to believe that the Reformists will manage to change anything with two or three ministerial posts of minor importance. Their explanation that they have done it in order to prevent introduction of coercive measures in Novi Sad, which would have been imminent due to the stalemate in the Assembly and the impossibility to elect the mayor and city government, is assessed by many people in Vojvodina as not a highly convincing pretext, because they say, the city has been under coercive measures for years now.

"We did not form a coalition with the SPS", President of Vojvodina Reformists, Dr. Dragoslav Petrovic says and explains: "Our political stance and political attempt cannot be explained by the term coallition. A coalition relationship implies a political agreement which encompases joint effectuation of program objectives in different arrangements, primarily through the executive power. We have neither tried, least of all created any political arrangement with the SPS, which could be a foundation of a coallition agreement on any level. It is a fact that we have contacted the SPS during the parliamentary crisis in the Province Assembly and the Assembly of Novi Sad, and agreed about some solutions. It is clear to me that to many people who do not have the opportunity to follow closely integrally all political developments, this might seem absurd... After the split of its coalition with the Radicals, the SPS could not maintain the majority in both Assemblies, and by an agreement which does not oblige us to support the ruling party, we have overcome the parliamentary crisis in Novi Sad and Vojvodina and prevented introduction of coercive measures."

The first to react to such interpretation of the Reformists was the League of Social Democrats of Vojvodina headed by Nenad Canak, which was in a coalition with the Reformists in the last elections: "Without going into the essence of the political move of the Reformists in the past period, we must note that the RDSV, at the level of Novi Sad but also at the level of the Province of Vojvodina, has entered into direct collaboration with the National Socialist regime of Slobodan Milosevic, and thus taken part in implementation of the occupational rule over Vojvodina. Ours consistent stance is that with those who are responsible for the death of hundreds thousand citizens of this and not only this country, there can be no talks, least of all a coalition partnership. With abomination and disgust we reject the very idea that even indirectly we could find ourselves in a situation to assist that regime even morally, as our former partners did. The pretext of the leaders of RDSV that this gesture has 'spared Novi Sad coercive measures' is mildly speaking frivolous. For seven years now, Novi Sad has in this or that way been experiencing coercive measures, and their formal introduction would just expose the essence of the shameful situation not only Novi Sad, but the whole of Vojvodina is in. This just prolonged the illusion of 'institutional functioning of city authorities', and with it the silent agony of the citizens of the capital of Vojvodina."

The other former partners of the Reformists of Vojvodina, the Democratic Community of Vojvodina Hungarians and the Civic Alliance of Serbia (GSS) disassociated themselves from this move. Vice-President of the GSS, Dr. Zarko Korac in his statement for the Vojvodina journal "Nezavisni", said the following:

"They informed us about their move and we expressed considerable reservation, let me use a mild expression, about their act. We said that we will not enter into agreements with the Socialists, because we consider them responsible for the situation Serbia is in. This is the issue about which the GSS and the RDSV disagree at this moment."

The election of the mayor of Novi Sad caused turbulent reactions of all other parties too, and ferocious disapproval of citizens, because the elected Djuro Bajic from Mokronoga (Wet Foot), near Drvar (Bosnia), is not worthy of the post both professionally, being a machinist who "graduated an abbreviated course at the College for Organization of Work ", and by his origin, according to the opinion of the majority. The fiercest critics who believe that the mayor cannot be a man who has none of his folks at Novi Sad cemeteries, nicknamed him "Chief Wet Foot" and mock the "deeply contemplative inauguaration speech of Djuro Bajic who uttered the historical - 'Let's go', on the occasion.

This was all the immediate cause for opening of a discussion in Vojvodina about the need for the provincial political parties to gain autonomy, even of those who have their central headquarters in Belgrade, such as the New Democracy of Vojvodina or the Democratic Party whose provincial membership differs significantly from the Serb leadership. It is more frequently and more often heard that it is necessary to get rid of the tutorship from Belgrade, and even refuse to participate in the elections in Serbia and turn to Vojvodina alone, gather together all those who are in favour of the autonomy and prosperity of Vojvodina, regardless of their ideological differences, so that anyone from Serbia who wishes to take power can get votes from Vojvodina only by offering certain consessions for the Province.

What the regime is trying to do with the Reformists now reminds many of what has been seen at the notorious Eighth Session of the League of Communists of Serbia, when Slobodan Milosevic overthrew the more moderate Ivan Stambolic by neutralizing those who were in favour of the autonomy at the time, fraudulently, by convincing them not to interfere in "Serb matters", because it was allegedly a conflict between Serb leaders which did not concern them at all. Those in favour of the autonomy from Vojvodina abstained from voting at the time, believing that for them and for Vojvodina it was irrelevant who would rule in Serbia. But had they voted for Stambolic at the time, Milosevic would never had come to power in Serbia and there would probably have been no war. But, when he did win, "he repaid them fair and square" by discharging them and by abolishing the autonomy of Vojvodina with the help of Kosovo rallyists and the "yoghurt revolution". Now he is in trouble again at home with the nationalistic block of the Democratic Party, Democratic Party of Serbia and the Serb Radical Party. He succeeded convincing the Reformists that they were a greater danger for Vojvodina than he was, and that those in favour of the autonomy are much lesser problem for the regime in Serbia than the belligerent supporters of Greater Serbia.

Those who have good memory are afraid that he is trying again to neutralize the problem of Vojvodina until he settles accounts with the nationalists with its help, and then continue dealing with Vojvodina as before.

The opposition parties of Serbia do not give much confidence in the people from Vojvodina either, because they court them only before the elections in order to collect their votes, and then forget them. The honourable exceptions are the Civic Alliance and, curiously enough, New Democracy which as a regional party (originally from Valjevo) recognizes the autonomy of Vojvodina in its program of decentralization of power and regionalization of Serbia, although it participates in the administration of Serbia. But, the problem is that their being principled is inversely proportional to their influence and power.

Pressured by the public opinion in Vojvodina and its own membership, the leaders of the Reformists keep mentioning that they will break the engagement with the SPS and return the party into the embrace of the authentic Vojvodina movement which has finally, maybe due to their very move, in self-defence, started to get together and turn to themselves. If they do not do it themselves, they are aware that it can happen without them. Canak's League of Social Democrats, New Democracy of Vojvodina, the Alliance of Vojvodina Hungarians, the newly founded Vojvodina Party and many associations such as the Subotica Pigeons, the Banat Forum, the Vojvodina and Novi Sad Club, the European Movement of Vojvodina, but Vojvodina organizations of the Serbian Renewal Movement (SPO) and the Democratic Party which look upon the autonomy of Vojvodina differently than their central headquarters in Belgrade already share this stance.

It would be something like the Istrian Alliance in Croatia which won the elections in Istria, or like the Democratic Movement of Serbia (Depos), which despite all its defects, played a significant role in Serbia. Some have already begun to call it the Movement of Democratic Changes of Vojvodina (PDP) or simply the Movement for Vojvodina. Those who are engaged in its gathering and constituting of its program keep reminding that the Serbs in Krajina and the Albanians in Kosovo at first demanded autonomy, but when they did not get it, are now demanding a republic and secession, offering this as a topic worth considering, as a pragmatic experience, but maybe also as a threat.

Mile Isakov