IN VILLAGES NOBODY GOES FOR A WALK

Provincials in Belgrade

The provincials are conformists and they will readily shift and show inclination to a new ruler if they see that the throne of the current one is shaking. Although it is evident that Milosevic is frighteningly quickly losing contact with reality which is surrounding him, there is no doubt that he has realized that he cannot rely much on that part of Serbia, which is indeed the only one he has left. That is why he has decided to gamble with his own, but also with the destiny of the entire country, by opposing formations of his policemen to the rebellious citizens around Serbia

AIM Belgrade, 29 December, 1996

Eight years ago, ralliers from Backa Palanka (the name of the small town which, by coincidence, means something like the provincial town in Backa), headed by Mihalj Kertes (nowadays Director of the Federal Customs Administration) occupied Novi Sad and introduced their type of "order" in it which this city is still recovering from; since Belgrade is somewhat larger, towards the end of 1996, United Serbian Provinces have set out to conquer it, brought by Slobodan Milosevic to the capital of Serbia, to make it again a place to his liking. This ambitious undertaking of turning Belgrade into a provincial town by force has not succeeded.

Although regime propaganda claimed that more than half a million of admirers of the personage and actions of the current President of Serbia were escorted (by police) to Belgrade, the actual picture was crushing for the regime: several ten thousand confused and terrified people found themselves in Belgrade streets, people who obviously even in normal circumstances would not have been able to find their way round Belgrade. At the very entrance to the city, they were welcomed by wrath, contempt and indignity of the inhabitants of the capital, who experienced this mass political excursion as an "invasion" of the unconquered city by the obedient provinces. That is why many citizens who have never before participated at any rally took part at the gathering of the opposition on 24 December, just to show that "Surdulica (a small town in the south of Serbia, symbol of provincialism) shall not organize life in Belgrade according by its measure".

In central Belgrade streets, the "imported" ralliers had to pass pass through two thick rows of citizens who stood along pavement edges calling out insults and "friendly advices" to them to go back where the President had brought them from. It was obvious that the newcomers were caught unprepared and confused by the "welcome" organized for them in the capital. Where they had come from they had been told that a handful of manipulated vandals were running wild around the capital and they were convinced that they would be welcomed as liberators by an enormous majority of citizens of the "demolished city". Instead, they were welcomed most probably as citizens of Ljubljana would have welcomed "anti-bureaucratic" ralliers which Milosevic had intended to export to Slovenia in 1989. Fortunately, the close contact was prevented at the time.

One of the unwished for side products of the counter-demonstrations directed by the regime is the fact that everybody could see for themselves that support to Milosevic - voluntary of extorted, it almost does not matter - may be expected only from the part of Serbia which can hardly read and write, the part of Serbia which draws all knowledge about the world only from Radio-Television Serbia, and possibly regime-controlled dailies which do not print texts longer than five or six sentences in order not to tire their readers. All Milosevic has left is the suburban and provincial consciousness which believes the authorities without any doubt, people who live in poverty and misery and in complete ignorance about who is the most responsible for the situation they are in. Everything that personifies high-quality, knowledge and energy is on the other side.

In the past months, with his open arrogance and haughtiness, Milosevic has definitely and irrevocably turned against himself the civil silent majority whose motto is "not to get involved in politics", and the universal pretext for this squeamishness is that "they (politicians) are all the same". Now, it is impossible to retreat any more and find a pretext for remaining neutral, so that among the persistent protesting "walkers" there was much more citizens who traditionally mind their own business than "angry" oppositionists who participate in all anti-regime manifestations. Probably one of the major reasons for that is that Milosevic has so flagrantly hurt the civil feeling of good taste: steal if you know how and if you do not get caught; a politician caught in such foul dealing must leave the scene. Instead of doing that, however, Milosevic is trying to convince himself and the world that nothing has happened and that everything can be as it used to be: what you have seen - you have not seen, what you know - you do not know. This is the act that hurt the citizens the most, because they do not seem to like to be so openly treated as fools.

The picture of real and alleged Milosevic's supporters who marched around Belgrade on 24 December was pitiable: they reminded of Soviet tourists from the "golden" times of Leonid Breznyev, closely huddled together, obedient, intimidated by the people they saw, poorly dressed and creased from long riding in buses. While Belgraders asked them what they were doing and why they were carrying pictures of the one who had brought them to ruin, they smiled in bewilderment and shrugged their shoulders. With such an "army" it is impossible to win political battles even in Serbia. Small towns are conformist and they will readily shift their inclination to another ruler, if they see that the throne of the current one is shaking. Although it is evident that Milosevic is losing contact with reality which is surrounding him with frightening speed, there is no doubt that he has realized that he could not rely on such Serbia, which is indeed the only one he has left. That is why he has decided to gamble with his own, but also with the destiny of the entire country by opposing formations of his policemen to the rebellious citizens and by responding to peaceful demonstrations with force, brutality and most primitive repression.

He found pretext for police repression in the fact that the walkers were "disturbing normal flow of traffic" and in this way upsetting normal life in Belgrade and other cities where people are demonstrating. The pretext could not be clumsier, because now it is the police instead of the demonstrants which is efficiently blocking the traffic and making the atmosphere in the city tense and unpleasant. A part of the police forces is acting brutally to the citizens and the demonstrants, and in occasional verbal conflicts it is possible to hear the following comment of the police: we will show you citizens, you will all end up ploughing fields, and there you can whistle all you want. Undoubtedly, Milosevic would love to see something like that happen. In villages nobody goes for a walk.

(AIM) Teofil Pancic