STALINIST PERFORMANCE FOR THE PEOPLE

How the Rector of Belgrade University was (Not) Removed from Office

Just an hour after they had by open vote offered support to students' demands one of which was removing the Rector of Belgrade University from office, members of the Council passed a secret vote of confidence to Rector Velickovic

AIM Belgrade, 20 January, 1997

It was just a little past five o'clock in the afternoon, but it was already dark in Belgrade, on that 15 January. In the Administration Building of Belgrade University, there were more untouched glasses of whisky on a tray than those who were drinking to celebrate the vote of confidence to Rector Dragutin Velickovic passed by the University Council just an hour after they had by open vote offered support to students' demands one of which was removal of the Rector from office. While they were waiting for the announced press conference, through blurred windows, journalists were watching a big discarded banner which read: "Dragutin, shame on you!", and punches which students' security was receiving from their deceived colleagues in the attempt to prevent lynching of the Minister of education who was hurrying towards the building of the city board of the Socialist Party of Serbia (SPS).

"All this is terrible, but we shall persevere. I know how it will all end, but I dare not utter it", says a twenty-two year old dark girl with a cap on her head bearing a motto of the students' protest "Neither to the Left Nor to the Right - Straight Ahead". It was the 55th day of the '96/'97 Students' Protest. The following day, the protest of the students was marked by washing of the Administrative Building with brushes, brooms and a large hose, but that same evening, a poll of the only independent Radio B 92 showed that 91 per cent of the citizens believed that "the University was not washed, because it was stinking from within".

Stench from Within

Dragutin Velickovic, however, did not on his own ensure for himself this infamous place in the history of Belgrade University (BU); it was the University Council which passed a vote of confidence to him, which was then assessed by professors and many members of this body as a "dishonourable act of double morality". As an almost anonymous person in the sphere of science, Professor of the Faculty of Agriculture, Dragutin Velickovic, was appointed to the post of the Rector of BU by a decree, as assessed, "after a sickening Stalinist performance for the people, i.e. as on that session Prof. Dr Zagorka Golubovic said had said, "the Rector was chosen contrary to the will of majority of faculties". This was in 1993, when after two tumultuous but even blood-stained previous protests of students in '91 and '92, his predecessor Professor Rajko Vracar was removed. The regime which had not forgotten that Vracar was the rector who had walked from the students' dormitories in New Belgrade at the head of the students' march which had been cold-heartedly beaten up at the Branko's bridge, did not wish to experience any more surprises, and as soon as things settled down, introduced a new rule of electing members of the highest University body - its Council.

By a special decree, it was established that this body, apart from 38 members elected by the University should have another 38 members, from among "prominent public personalities" nominated by the Government. The fact that some of these "esteemed public personages" do not even have university education was overpowered by party loyalty, so that even the former minister of police, Radmilo Bogdanovic, who had been removed from office because of demonstrations of 9 March '91, became a member of the University Council. President of the Directorate of Yugoslav United Left (JUL) and Milosevic's wife, Mirjana Markovic, apart for herself, ensured a seat in the BU Council for her loyal Hadzi Dragan Antic, Director of newspaper company Politika, whose nickname "Struja" (Electricity) marks that in his education he had reached the level of an electrician, and the first man of JUL in Belgrade, hotel manager Slobodan Cerovic was also nominated to be a member of the University Council. Although a professor of the Faculty of Civil Engineering, Branislav Ivkovic got a seat in the Council as a minister, along with the minister of education Dragoslav Mladenovic and minister of culture Nada Popovic-Perisic. All this, but also events which followed, showed that fear was founded that Rector Velickovic would also primarily work in the interest of the ruling party, because he is its high official, and not in the interest of the University.

The two-month protest of students caused by changing of election results ensured Velickovic a new place in the history of BU. He will be remembered as the rector who did not see it fit to address thousands of protesting students in the longest students' protest in the 160-year long history of BU. When he was asked why he had not done it (as a man who speaks about himself with superlatives), Velickovic answered: "I am surprised, myself!", and then clarified to astounded journalists that he believed that the students should have asked him to talk to them. Although he is "always ready for a dialogue", Velickovic did not consider invitations addressed to him every day by the students from the plateau on which they gathered to be serious, saying that "it is not fit for a rector to speak at a square where many spoke who have nothing to do with the University". Nonetheless, expressing complete lack of understanding, he said: "I have been with them all the time, since I watched them through the window of my office".

"Manipulated Students"

That is why before the beginning of the session, many members of the Council publicly said not only that "one should not waste words on the Rector, but also that as an accomplished fact and for the regime the most harmless possibility - removal of the Rector from his post might blunt the cutting edge of the protest if enough stress is put on the fact that one of the three students' demands would then be met. During the recess, even the Rector did not hesistate to say that his "party would sacrifice" him, but the only thing that proved to be true was that this item on the agenda was completed much faster than the first part in which support to students' demands was discussed. The gap between "two Serbias" clearly showed during the five-hour long vehement discussion in which university professors reproached not only the Rector, but also the Minister of education, for communuicating with them solely by orders and directives in writing, for creating an atmosphere of intimidation, for pressure exerted by members of the ruling party, for threatening disobedient faculties that their salaries would not be paid, and for enabling the police to roam around faculties in order to determine who was in protest.

On the other hand, there was the impression of people who acted as if they had lived in another country. They were defenders of the Rector who spoke about the disturbed teaching process, the Dean of Veterinary College said that the teaching process in his domain was disturbed only by a lack of microscopes, and the Minister of education that there was no strike, but that the teaching process was interrupted at one faculty only.

At the same time, high officials of the ruling party were the ones who spoke about the need to depoliticize the University, about "instrumentalization for political purposes", about "manipulated students", which apart from disapproval in the session hall caused salvoes of whistles of thousands of students who followed the session from outside. Members of the Council in the beginning believed that it was a pure coincidence, but soon it turned out that those outside unmistakably knew who was speaking and what he was speaking about. When they realized that representatives of the Students' protest were informing their colleagues via mobile phones and pagers about everything that was happening at the session, Minister Ivkovic stated: "This concert is performed by a modern means from the 21st century. It may begin!" And it did. Trumpets and whistles from the street accompanied his statements too, since although removed from the post of the head of Belgrade socialists just a day before, by constantly mentioning manipulations, Ivkovic evidently directed the tone of speeches of representatives of the regime at the University.

Nevertheless, when after much haggling, a formulation was reached which was in fact hiding behind what was agreed by the students with vice premiers of the Republican Government, by open vote, the council supported the demands of the students one of which was to remove the Rector from the post. And although after that it seemed that removal of the Rector was merely a question of procedure, an hour later, the secret ballot the result of which left Velickovic at the post of the rector, showed that the regime would not yield easily, because like in the case of decisions of electoral commissions, it turned out once again that the primary principle here was that anything was possible.

Velickovic also reacted in compliance with this principle. Just two days prior to that, in answer to the question whether he would submit his resignation, he answered that students' demands should be respected, and they resolutely mentioned his removal from office, but now, asked to comment on contradictory decisions of the Council to support the demands, but not to vote in favour of removal of Rector for office, he answered: "Students' demands cannot be an imperative. Their demand was met by putting the issue of my removal from office on the agenda. After all, a rector can be removed from office only by those who put him there, and that is the Council".

Those who had thought that it was all a part of the game of "saving the reputation" of the Rector who would submit his resignation after the vote of confidence, were soon disillusioned. Having expressed satisfaction by the outcome of the voting, in front of the session hall door, while from without shouts of the students echoed: "Throw the Rector to Us" and "Rector, Go Away!" he said: "I do not even think about resignation now. My mandate is expiring in two months anyway, so I hope I won't have any more problems with the students".

Hopes of professors who had offered support to the Students' Protest were quite the opposite. Immediately after the decision of the Council had been stated, a member of the Council and a professor at the Mathematics Faculty said: "I am astounded by the behavior of my colleagues in the Council. I am simply ashamed. They are people without a slightest trace of morality. I do not consider Velickovic to be the rector of BU any more. I am sure, however, that this decision will mobilize us even better and that we shall find a way to resist. They are not even aware that they are defeated and that soon, when they get the order, they will come here again to obediently vote in favour of anything they might be asked to do, even removal of the Rector from office!"

Forty eight hours later, it took the students twelve and a half hours in the third night action they call "cordon against cordon" - a specific game of tiring out the special police forces - to take the lead by 6:0. When at five in the morning, the commander of special units said: "That's enough. We shall use force!", the students sat down and from the streets covered by snow for a whole hour kept shouting: "Shame on You!" The cordon withdrew at 6.30 a.m. Day was breaking above Belgrade. Walking around the city without the police, the students shouted: "Wake up! Wake up!"

Entrefilet

Pressures

After the statement about the result of the vote of confidence to Rector Velickovic had been issued, Professor Vlajko Brajic submitted resignation in revolt that orders were issued to members of the Council and that pressure was exerted on them, which he himself had experienced before voting confidence to the Rector. Although journalists insisted, Brajic did not wish to answer who had exerted pressure on him, nor whether the order had referred to support to the Rector. Professors who intentionally wore badges of the Students' Protest on lapels of their coats claimed that pressure could have been exerted only by those who rule, but with the story in his speech about hand bombs and threats he was exposed to, the Rector induced other members of the Council delegated by the Government to state: "It is America, all pressure is directed from America".

Bojana Lekic