NEW CONFLICT OR RECONCILIATION?

Temptations of Biljana Plavsic

Her television performance created the illusion in the public that the President was resolute to continue the struggle for the rule of the Constitution and law and to openly and courageously defend her stances and ideas.

AIM Banja Luka, 10 April, 1997

In the interview given to state television on 7 April, Biljana Plavsic, President of Republica SRpska, calmly made it public that she had not given power attorney to Vice-President Dragoljub Mirjanic to sign the decree on ratification of the Law on special parallel relations of RS with Yugoslavia and in this way denied the statement of the Chairman of the Assembly, Dragan Kalinic, who had actually shown to the deputies in front of the cameras a document which was supposed to be her power of attorney to Vice-President Mirjanic for signing the decree.

News that President of the Republic, Biljana Plavsic, would be a guest in a special live phone-in program of state television leaked among Banja Luka public on the very day of the broadcasting and immediately gave rise to different commentaries. Most of them believed that the President would publicize that the state and political leaders public had united, and put an end to her conflict with the majority of the deputies who had, despite her intensive opposition, taken sides with Krajisnik and voted in favour of the Law on ratification of the Agreement on special parallel relations with Yugoslavia. Minority of the others believed that the announcement of the appearance of the President in the most popular television program was a new round of squaring accounts.

The lost battle with Krajisnik in the parliament in the presence of the public was the second defeat of Biljana Plavsic. Many had believed it to be her definite fall. Few had expected that after the accusing addressing the parliament she could appear on state television without this being an act of accepting the stance of "party majority" and beating her breast in the best bolshevik tradition.

The television appearance in public created the illusion of resoluteness of the President to continue the struggle for the rule of constitution and law and to openly and courageously defend her stances and ideas. With her first sentence, however, Plavsic confused the host (Drago Vukovic) by asking him why she had been prevented to appear on tv for four months. "Something has happened between the President and the TV. Twice publicizing of a statement (of the President) concerning certain current events was refused by TV. But you had a guest, Mr Seselj, President of the Radical Party of Serbia, who demanded on our TV resignation of the President of Republica Srpska", Director of Serb Radio-Television was carefully reproached. The confused host hardly managed to admit that he had not expected the attack, when a new blow followed: "You'd better see to it that power failure does not suddenly occur". This was a hint to a frequent phenomenon of "power failure" which leaves most of the spectators in the dark during significant events on television which are unfavourable for the ruling party and the establishment in Pale.

The statement that she had not given power of attorney to Vice-President, Dragoljub Mirjanic, to sign the decree on ratification of the Law caused a scandal in the public. Vice-President Mirjanic was said to be a forger and Aleksandar Iliskovic, Vice-President of the Serb Party of Krajina, demanded that he be discharged even from the post of the professor "because he is bad example to the students". Nezavisne novine carried a part of the assembly discussion on the existence of the power of attorney and the readers were warned that Mirjanic could answer for the crime of spreading false rumours pursuant Article 203 of the Criminal Law of RS.

In reactions to the interview of Biljana Plavsic, different opinions could be heard. Zivko Radisic, President of the Socialist Party of RS, assessed that the interview was an act of reconciliation of the President and the Serb Democratic Party (SDS), and Predrag Radic, President of the Democratic Patriotic Block, reproached her for the mild criticism of those who had limited her constitutional rights. In the SDS and the Radical Party, nobody wished to comment on the declarations of the President and left analysts with the dilemma what the unexpected appearance of the President on state television might mean.

Although the ordinary public will approve of the speech of Biljana Plavsic and it will bring her a lot of political points, there are no indications of a political shift in the direction of the announced defence of the rule of the Constitution and law. The President did not dare to clearly and bravely say that the fact that she had been excluded from the procedure of signing the agreement with Belgrade and then from its ratification, was violation of the authorization of the president of the state given to her by the Constitution. She failed to accuse for this act the SDS whose leadership had reached these decisions, although she had known who was behind it. Directing the attack against the television was a skilful avoidance to name the culprits and covering up of real problems in operation of the authorities.

Confession of the President that she had not been present at the latest Assembly session when the controversial ratification took place due to illness arouses suspicion. This makes the assumption quite logical that her absence was planned in order to get the job done without hindrance and "legally" and without her obvious denial. Legal experts in Pale had found a constitutional possibility for the Vice-President of the state (Mirjanic) to replace the President in her absence and put the legally relevant signature on the decree on ratification of the controversial Law. The agreement between the SDS and Plavsic to end the controversy in this manner was ruined by awkward formulation of the Chairman of the Assembly who called the silent agreement of the President "power of attorney". For the President who had wished to remain consistent and pure in the whole affair, this formulation was inconvenient and caused her an additional headache. The television appearance was the only way for her to save her honour and the SDS agreed to make this concession.

If Biljana Plavsic really wishes to protect the constitutional system and defend the authority of the President of the Republic, she should have publicly said in the tv program who stood behind the illegal state documents and who had and with what aims in mind usurped the post of the President of the Republic. Her professional honour demands that. If the President of the Republic was told by the President of the SDS, Aleksa Buha, that "the SDS is responsible for the destiny of Republica Srpska and that it was the party issue how this or that would be resolved", as he had answered deputy Predrag Lazarevic from the Assembly platform, this should be publicly said and she should accept the post of the President of the state ruled by a single-party dictatorship, or use the President's constitutional authorizations.

According to everything said in the television dialogue, Biljana Plavsic has indeed accepted the role of the "shadow" president who will within limits of democratic tolerance at the same time critzicize and praise state administration and her own party, but who will do nothing contrary to strategic party interests. That is why the President can say that she would not let the Government pass the exam and at the same time crizicize and praise the Prime Minister, and call the Chairman of the Assembly who had publicly deceived the deputies a "wise man". That is why she can criticize financial power wielders who became rich during the war and become donors of the poor state by not paying taxes, but do nothing to punish them pursuant the law. That is why she can also easily forget that her publicly made demand to the Government to investigate participation of the Ministry of internal affairs in business operations of "Selekt-imex" and "Centrex" was simply ignored.

It seems that this time Zivko Radisic was right when he assessed that the public appearance of Biljana Plavsic was in fact the act of her reconciliation with the SDS. She will continue to get a chance to appear on television from time to time and be critical, while Krajisnik and her other fellow-fighters will undisturbed do their jobs. It seems that it is sometimes possible to feel well even in the role of an uncrowned queen.

Branko Peric