WHEN EVEN THE MUTE SPEAK OUT

Serbian Gdansk in Kragujevac

Due to fifteen-day strike of the workers, Kragujevac is under double blockade: by the media and by the police. A large number of policemen has been transferred from other parts of Serbia into the vicinity of the city. Regime-controlled media have, either completely passed over in silence the developments in Kragujevac, or reported about them in completely inconspicuous places or tried to turn certain episodes of the strike into "creation of an atmosphere of lynch", "pre-election manipulation by the rightists", "incidents committed by hooligans".

AIM Belgrade, September 8, 1996

Even the mute have spoken out! This bitter joke which has become very popular among the rebellious workers of Kragujevac (among the hundred odd workers on hunger strike, one was deaf-mute) expresses a wish to show that it has become clear to eveyone what has happened in the city on the Lepenica and what calls for immediate action.

Kragujevac is, its inhabitants say, a dead city. Dimensions of the economic catastrophe are more obvious than anywhere else in Serbia. What used to be one of the most prosperous cities of former Yugoslavia - where comparatively high standard of living was enabled by manfacturing and export of weapons and cars - in the new state dropped to the almost unbelievable 170th place according to the height of the income. Due to the war and the sanctions, foreign markets for weapons have been lost, the Army of Yugoslavia is forced to decide what of the existing arsenal will be destroyed - pursuant the obligations from the Dayton accords - and it has no money to order or buy anything in Kragujevac. There are no buyers for the cars either, so that production - even if the optimistic plan of the Serbian Government is carried out - has dropped to one tenth of what it used to be in late eighties.

The "gold rush" has passed, only hopelessness, hunger, devastation are left. The assessments speak of between 20 and 30 thousand people who are literally hungry. About 30 thousand workers of "Zastava", "Filip Kljajic" and other ruined factories have for five years now been on either paid leave or forced vacation, and 15 thousand young people are in a futile puruit of any job. When the fact that pensions and salaries in Kragujevac are approximately by 50 per cent lower than those in Novi Sad, Nis and Belgrade is added to this - it is quite understandable why the explosion has occurred in the once rich workers' capital of Sumadija.

The strike started on August 19, almost harmlessly, as before in numerous other towns of Serbia. About 4,500 workers (armourers) of "Zastava" - Special Purpose Production went on strike. They demanded to be paid arrears salaries for the months of June and July, reimbursement for annual leave for last and this year, as well as to be paid back by the state at least a part of the 68 million dollars earned from selling weapons abroad.

Four days later, the strike acquires a radical form, when about a hundred workers decide to go on hunger strike. The list of demands expands, resignation of director of Zastava and local authorities in Kragujevac are demanded. "Red band", "Thieves, thieves", "Fascists", "Wake up, Serbia" - echo through the city. Other workers join those on strike, so that there are about 15 thousand people downtown every day. That is how "the several-days long protest gathering of a group of workers", as these developments were qualified by Kragujevac Socialists - developed into an uprising and so far the most serious challenge to the current regime. Not only because of the demands, but also according to the exceptional organization of the strike and resoluteness not to accept the bits thrown to them by the authorities.

The authorities have reacted according to the already tested recipe. Everything was, at least publicly, left to the management of "Zastava" and local politicians. Since their hands are mostly tied, the first to resign was the director of the armament factory, then the president of the local municipal administration followed suit. Regional Committee of the Socialist Party for Sumadija, reached a conclusion on September 7, that "reasons for further gathering of armament factory workers have ceased to exist", because "dynamics was agreed" of payments of salaries and reimbursements. However, workers on strike do not even wish to hear out such explanations. They are fed up of promises and "agreed dynamics", when there is simply no money and no work.

That is when Kragujevac found itself under double blockade: by the police and the media. A large number of policemen were transferred from other parts of Serbia into the vicinity of the city. Last week they prevented the arrival of workers from Uzice and Nis who wished to express solidarity with their colleagues from Kragujevac.

State-controlled media are a separate story. They have either completely passed over in silence the developments in Kragujevac, or carried them in quite unconspicuous places, or tried to turn certain episodes of the strike into "creation of an atmosphere of lynch", "pre-election manuipulation by the rightists", "incidents committed by hooligans". Cameras of state television did not show this strike even for a second. Therefore, the confused viewers could hear explanations of the director of "Zastava" that all social demands of the strikers have been met and the conclusion of the Socialists from Kragujevac that "conditions have been created for continuation of production and making a profit which will further improve the economic status of workers of this factory" without having previously been informed about the event itself. Belgrade daily Politika informed its readers in just a few lines about the beginning of the strike. Somebody calculated that this was about one twentieth part of the space devoted to another major event of the same day - death of the Bulgarian fortune-teller, the "famous" Vanga.

Although the strike continues (fortunately without the hunger strike which was after 11 days interrupted), the biggest loser of this "happening of the workers" is already known - it is the regime-controlled trade union, the so-called Independent Trade Union of Serbia. Its real role - which could so far be brought down to preserving social peace and persuading the strikers to believe the rulers - was completely exposed in Kragujevac. Asked to comment on the acting of Tomislav Banovic, President of the Independent Trade Union of Serbia in the past two weeks, the leader of the strikers' committee briefly answered: "All the best about the deceased".

Analysts claim that Kragujevac marks the end of the period when workers were satisfied with the role of on-lookers and fans. It is believed that time is coming when because of a protest of electronic industry workers in Nis, teachers from Subotica will theraten to go on strike, as well as miners from Kolubara and metal workers from Belgrade.

Serbia has not awakened yet, but the painful process has, obviously, begun. Kragujevac got the leading role in it, there is no doubt about it. Regardless of how the strike will end, the trade-union movement in Serbia will never be what it used to be before August 19.

(AIM) Grujica Spasovic xxx xxx xxx