SALVO FROM ALL GUNS AND ARMS

Serbian Media War against Djukanovic

AIM Belgrade, 23 October, 1997

Barrage on Montenegrin prime minister and newly elected president of the Republic Milo Djukanovic from all available media guns and arms lasted for about half an hour in TV daily news of Radio-Television Serbia (RTS). A special, one-hour program followed. That is how much time of the most popular time of the day between 19.30 and 21.30 h, on Tuesday, 21 October, was devoted to the results of the second round of presidential elections in Montenegro by state television of Serbia. The arrow was discharged, the target is known, in other words, the regime in Belgrade will not accept the victory of reformist Djukanovic. That is why it is endlessly repeated that he had stolen the elections, "that he is a mobster and a secessionist at the same time", and that the true winner is Momir Bulatovic who is infinitely loyal to the president of FR Yugoslavia, who is also a patriot and an honest fellow... State television, as it has already become a rule, is closely followed by press controlled by the regime.

And while this goes on, two opinions are controverted in Belgrade: does the latest cry and hue in the media resemble the one just before the war or the one from the time when "anti-bureaucratic revolution" was at its height?

After Dr Mirjana Markovic disparaged him in her diary, the Montenegrin prime minister almost disappeared from Belgrade state media; after the split between Djukanovic and Bulatovic, these media unreservedly backed the latter. The RTS made a" professional accomplishment" in following the election campaign. In its carrying extracts from the tv duel of the two presidential candidates, spectators could see only Bulatovic and hear only what he had to say.

The same happened when Bulatovic lost the elections and after consultations with Belgrade, decided not to recognize the election results. Ever since that moment, state media have not reported a single information which would imply what Djukanovic thinks about the whole affair and whether he has anything to say to all these accusations.

This propaganda madness, however, is not deprived of a system: first, reporters come from Podgorica "amazed and shocked by the theft and violence" used by Djukanovic and his supporters. Then, there are voices of the people who say the same as the journalists and politicians. Then Bulatovic again, followed by a statement of the ruling Socialist Party of Serbia (SPS) and the Yugoslav United Left (JUL) which kills every hope in the rule of reason, and then statements of satellite and police Serbian parties. In the end, like a cherry on top, reports of foreign correspondents. They all together repeat only one thing, and that is that "Djukanovic is a mobster and a traitor, an exponent of the new world order", the cat's paw of "all Serb fiends" - the Albanians, the Muslims and the Croats.

In its "reporters' records", along with listing accusations for the elections theft from Bulatovic's headquarters (some polling stations remained opened until 4 o'clock in the morning, Albanians from Albania voted, police terror), RTS glorifies "peaceful gatherings of revolted and honest citizens", who have rump Yugoslavia at heart, of course, which is then corroborated by tone records: "Milo Turk", "Yugoslavia", "This is not Turkey", "We will not let you go, Momir"... the pictures on TV are corroborated in state newspapers in all their issues: "In Plav they hoisted Albanian and SDA flags. People are afraid that the massacre of the Orthodox population like in '41 and '44 in Velicija and Murin will be repeated" (Bulatovic's supporter, Branislav Otasevic in Politika ekspres).

Therefore, another case of the long-known combination of producing paranoia with national homogenization and war cries is rolling hour after hour on Belgrade television for days. Everything is deja vu in this space at the time of the anti-bureaucratic revolution and just before the war broke out. Djukanovic himself, if he remembers how he came to power and Zuta Greda, should know exactly what he is up against.

The whole of Serbia, and not just Serbia, is learning Bulatovic's declarations by heart several times a day: "Our election victory was prevented by crudest of thefts and robberies. According to our data only on the territory of the electoral district of Podgorica about eight thousand votes were stolen". There are also members of the Main Board of the Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS). They speak of police torture, intimidation of voters, bribery, distribution of flour and oil. The most important thing is that they stress that they are not interested in power, they care only for justice and honesty. Or, how can they hand over Montenegro to Djukanovic who will then deliver it to its sworn enemies? That is why they have all, in the interest of the "citizens who have begun to self-organize and express their protest", decided to enable them to do it every day. Just to make it clear that the revolt is by no means anarchic, but that there is who will organize it and lead it. In the end, in chosen statesman's words, Bulatovic says that he is, "for the sake of the citizens whom he served and still serves, setting out to war against mobsters, robbers, separatists and traitors".

In big style, on TV, statements of Serbian authorities are repeated incessantly. First, JUL: "Djukanovic is supported by Islamic fundamentalists, Albanian and Ustashe separatists who intend to establish territorial, ethnic and religious division of Montenegro, which should enable dismemberment and dissolution of Yugoslavia", claimed the spokesman of this party, Ivan Markovic, concluding that JUL did not recognize the election results for that reason, and that it supported Bulatovic and protest gatherings of the citizens. In his appearance in front of journalists, Markovic made what one could call a big blunder: having said that the difference between the protests in Podgorica and the ones last winter in Belgrade because of the theft in local elections was in the fact that "over there people have gathered for the sake of legality, and that here protests were against legality", passing over the fact that the courts in Montenegro have not yet come out with their decisions concerning the appeals of Bulatovic's DPS. In other words, as concerning the "Left" over here and as concerning its interests, affairs are solved either in institutions or outside institutions - whatever need may be.

The statement of the SPS is almost in the same tone: "By brutal violation of fundamental legal and moral norms, the election victory was snatched away from the citizens who have integrity and stability of Montenegro and FR Yugoslavia at heart, with the help of sworn enemies - Islamic fundamentalists, Albanian and Ustashe extremists whose ultimate goal has always been and still is dismemberment of Montenegro and FR Yugoslavia". Secretary general of the SPS, Gorica Gajevic sent a telegram of support to Bulatovic's DPS which begins as follows: "Dear comrades, we are addressing you expressions of our support in the most difficult moments for Montenegro..."

This typical war vocabulary with unconcealed threats would be incomplete without the statements of the Serb Radical Party which is convinced "that followers of Alija Izetbegovic, Ibrahim Rugova and Sekula Drljevic started to celebrate victory of their presidential candidate in Montenegro Milo Djukanovic too soon..."

It is known where these three parties with the help of the media have led Serbia: insane and lost wars in Bosnia and Croatia, displaced Serbs from across the Drina, economic sanctions, general poverty of the population... That is the reason why it is not recommendable to just wave one's hand at these statements like complaints of losers. Their aim is not just to frighten Djukanovic's supporters and encourage Bulatovic's - apart from proclaiming voters of non-Serb and non-Montenegrin nationality citizens of the second order - but also to ensure foundation for direct use of force if they succeed to create the necessary conditions for it.

In order to prove that the whole wide world shares the opinion of SPS and JUL, Belgrade state media in the end harnessed their foreign correspondents. According to them, foreign media mention Djukanovic solely as a smuggler and a criminal connected to Italian mafia, potential separatist, secessionist, man who will sell Prevlaka to Croatia and all kinds of things in this sense.

What is awaiting Montenegro and Serbia, Djukanovic and Bulatovic, what moves the Belgrade regime will make, what it is really capable of doing, it is still too early to say. Two things are, nevertheless, for sure: so far force has been the only argument respected over here, and media attacks from all guns and arms arranged like this one usually led to something that did not end well. Not so much for the regime itself, as for all those who are forced to live under it.

Philip Schwarm (AIM)