ECHO IN THE VALLEY OF TEARS

The state television reached the climax of creative imagination in the announcement of participation of Dr Novak Kilibarda and Slavko Perovic at the rally in Belgrade. The leader of Liberals, who is always treated as an anti-Serb, addressed himself to the citizens of Belgrade with the exclamation "Long Live Democratic Serbia" and "Long Live Democratic Montenegro". After creative processing and editing by the crew of Television Montenegro, the only thing that remained was: "Long Live Serbia" - this was the opportunity to show supporters of a sovereign Montenegro how "their Slavko" sold out to Belgrade. At the same time it was explained that students had not allowed the leader of the National Party to address them. He deserved that for having united with the Liberals and betrayed Serbdom. Independent Podgorica radio station Antena M, the next day carried speeches of both Slavko Perovic and Novak Kilibarda in extenso. But, it was of no use.

Montenegro and Protests in Belgrade

AIM Podgorica, 1 December, 1996

Milosevic is again the most deserving person for the fact that the Montenegrins turned back to their tradition once again. Just when their heritage with the hit song which (in a paraphrase) goes: "From Krnovo, a wolf is howling, where are you Schiffer Claudia", was going to become part of the world trends, Milosevic made them turn back again. The song "Government is falling down, Government is falling down, in the midst of Belgrade, it will fall here too, with a little bit of luck", is echoing in front of the Montenegrin Assembly like in the good old times. Only the actors are different.

Coalition National Harmony (united Liberals and Nationals) organized so far two rallies as a sign of support to the opposition Belgrade under the working title - against election theft and manipulations in Serbia and Montenegro. The authorities here are not singing anything this time. They are wisely silent about the developments in Belgrade, and what they are thinking can be concluded only by the fact that they have directed all their media forces to show that in Serbia, a handful of discontented persons are engaged in demolition. First, from Belgrade, just two days from the beginning of the protest, state television reported the most important: "New Democracy condemns terrorism in Serbia". A little later, consumers of the official TV daily news, thanks to the precise eye of the camera, had the opportunity to see for themselves that in Belgrade streets, small groups of delinquents were detaining passers-by and maltreating hard-working enthusiastic employees of state television. And that is how it goes to this day. Short news from Belgrade are read after those about the strike of railway workers in Croatia and sowing of sugar beet, and every time it is explained that the immediate cause of the walk of idle citizens of Belgrade is - "alleged victory of the opposition".

Perhaps the most interesting reaction of Montenegro to the events in Serbia is that the local opposition chiefs are starting to envy the Serbian opposition for its having Slobodan Milosevic. Domestic opponents of the regime claim that it is easier to oppose open terrorism than a mixture of fraud, lies, bribery and fear, which the Democratic Party of Socialists rules by. Dr Novak Kilibarda, President of the National Party, marked the Serbian dictatorship as - classic, and the Montenegrin as - perverted. That the leader of Nationals is not talking arbitrarily is shown by the manner in which the authorities humiliated both the organizers and the participants of the first gathering of support to protests in Serbia. It did not even occur to them to ban the gathering, it just turned out, in front of the building of the Assembly of Montenegro where the protest gathering was held, that it was impossible to get power for loud-speakers, because the working hours of this institution at three o'clock in the afternoon - had ended, so leaders of the National Harmony were forced to shout at the top of their voices in order to address the gathered citizens and this sight, with appropriate commentaries in the evening daily news program turned into an ideal illustration of "hysteric wrath and vandalism in front of the building of the Assembly of Montenegro". On the occasion, therefore, a new genre was introduced into state-controlled journalism: the spectators were duly informed about what the leaders of the National Harmony were talking about among themselves, but not about what they said to the present citizens and the absent authorities. The secret that the deputies were forbidden to enter the national parliament was carefully hidden from the "healthy nation". The show was completed the next day, by a press conference of chosen members of the ruling party who sent word: "Not even a nation with much lesser state tradition would not even think of electing such quacks, immature and unbalanced persons for serious affairs of the state".

Haggling continues. Two days after the first one, a new protest was held, this time with loudspeakers, but with no television cameras - leaders of the National Harmony asked the crew of state television not to waste time. The Montenegrin leadership was once again invited to state its stance concerning support to Milosevic's electoral theft. Nevertheless, domestic topics were predominant. "The Serbs have their Sadam, and let them fight against him. We have Bulatovic, Djukanovic and Marovic and it is our obligation to overthrow them, because they are the rabble who have stolen our future, democracy and freedom", said Slavko Perovic. A new gathering is announced for Tuesday in front of the building of Montenegrin Television, where resignations of its heads will be demanded. "We will not leave until they fall", Perovic said. Appearance of such demands speak in favour of statements of the leaders of the National Harmony that protests in Montenegro are not just an expression of support to the oppositionist Belgrade, but also "continuation of the struggle for our own freedom and our own dignity".

The course of this struggle shows the differences between Montenegro and Serbia. Contrary to Serbia, the votes here have not been vulgarly stolen. The manner in which the convincing victory of the DPS was won was described by the leaders of the National Harmony in their address to the important institutions in the world. Briefly: adoption, on the eve of the elections, of the election law which ensured an enormous advantage for the authorities of forty thousand votes; use of all state institutions and state money for the election campaign of the DPS; manipulation with the electoral register, open animosity of state-controlled media towards the opposition culminating with the threat that change of authorities means revival of the war and deepening of the crisis; intimidation of citizens inclined towards the opposition. Due to all that, leaders of the National Harmony are warning international institutions that the results publicized by the ruling party are not results of free will of the voters, but an expression of abuse of power and direct manipulations of the electoral procedure. "We expect from you to refuse every support to enemies of freedom and democracy", Dr Kilibarda and Perovic stress in the end of their open letter. Sociologist, Dr Milan Popovic, briefy but precisely explained the situation in Montenegro: "In the election in a (detention) camp, the administration is certain to be the winner".

The last two rallies in Podgorica did not gather a crowd which would alarm the authorities. There were too many improvisations in them - many big words without a precisely set goal. Fatigue is felt over here after the election defeat, but it is quite clear what democratic Montenegro has lacked all these years. Ever since the victory of the anti-bureaucratic revolution, the Montenegrin University only once declared a different view than the authorities - in 1991, students and professors supported March demonstrations of students in Belgrade. But never the domestic opposition parties. The Academy of Sciences and arts observed that it was not nice to throw people out of their homes only after the Serbs from Kkrajina had been banished. Associations of various creative professionals, since it was prescribed that peace has no alternative, are moping with boredom. Independent institutions which have from the very beginning been labelled as those which gather highly-qualified traitors, are not capable even to protect themselves.

"I hope that the present developments will influence Montenegro to awaken from fear and lethargy. Developments in Serbia will be a litmus-paper for the University and the students' movement which has never never been heard ever since the DPS had won power in Montenegro", says Dr Novak Kilibarda who is a university professor himself. So far only students of the Faculty of Philosophy and a considerable part of their professors expressed support for their colleagues in Belgrade. The rest of the University is submissiveely silent. The Montenegrin opposition, realistically speaking, can do nothing in the parliament which it had not already done in the previous four years when it turned the ruling majority into a group of citizens without tone. In the forthocoming period, the National Harmony will quite certainly test different forms of non-parliamentary struggle. Protests in Belgrade and Zagreb have just made it more transparent - without support of elite social institutions, the democratic movement in Montenegro will not have the strength to throw the current authorities out of its seat. Next week already, it will become clear whether Montenegrin society is mature for an authentic rebellion against "perverted tyranny" or commotion in Podgorica is merely an echo of developments in Belgrade. If the Montenegrin University, where 90 per cent of Montenegrin intellectuals has settled down, will have nothing to say about the state-controlled television such as it is, one thing will have to be accepted: Montenegro is not capable of helping either itself or anyone else.

Esad KOCAN