THE SOCIALISTS IN REPUBLICA SRPSKA

Hostages of Belgrade and Pale

AIM Banja Luka, 23 December, 1997

After parliamentary elections, the Socialists in Republica Srpska are faced with great temptations. Loss of about 50 thousand voters has blazed up the smouldering internal conflicts and brought the party to the verge of an open split. On the one hand are the members of the hard core headed by the president of the party Zivko Radisic, and on the other are those in favour of internal reforms headed by the vice-president Dr Dragutin Ilic.

The internal split among the Socialists was a few days ago revealed by Vojislav Seselj, president of the Serb Radical Party in Serbia, who explained with it the vague stand of the Socialists on the offer to join the coalition with the Serb Democratic Party (SDS) and the Radicals in the national parliament of Republica Srpska. "The Socialists in RS are going to rack and ruin. There is no way to find out whether Radisic or Ilic is the head", says Seselj.

Sources close to the head of the Socialist Party of RS claim that for quite some time internal discontent with the organization and the manner of operation has been evident, but especially with the subordinate position in relation to the Socialist Party of Serbia and Slobodan Milosevic. The story about disagreement of a part of the Main Board with the policy of Slobodan Milosevic has leaked in public after President of the Republic Biljana Plavsic dissolved the National Assembly of RS. AIM sources claim that there were persistent calls from Belgrade which demanded that the Socialists in Banja Luka refuse to accept the dissolution and show with their presence that they recognized legitimacy of the assembly. When they did not succeed to convince them by phone, Nikola Sainovic, a high official of the Socialist Party of Serbia (SPS) came in person to RS and in Brcko spent a whole day persuading the deputies of the Socialists of RS to attend the session of the dissolved Assembly. Majority of the Socialists successfully resisted the pressure. Deputy Milovan Stankovic left the meeting, sharply warning Sainovic that he would not "sell cheap" and that he was going to Doboj to organize a rally of support to Biljana Plavsic.

Pressure on the Socialists continued after the local elections. Insisting of Belgrade on cooperation with the SDS and the Radicals resulted in a publicly announced meeting of Radisic with the leaders of the SDS and the Radicals in Bijeljina and agreement on joint constituting of the local authorities in 12 municipalities where "Serb interests are threatened by participation of the parties from the B&H Federation in local authorities". This agreement actually marked a coalition of the Socialists with the SDS and the Radicals so that the consequent statements that it was not a coalition but a "constituting agreement on organization of efficient local authorities" were quite unconvincing.

Haggling of the leadership with the nationalists spread confusion among the electorate of the Socialists. Frequent meetings of Krajisnik and Milosevic and signing of the contract on special relations additionally confused and disoriented the membership of the Socialist Party. Such confusing and "high" policy of Belgrade and Pale was linked with the presence of Nikola Sainovic at the ceremony of laying of the corner stone of Serb Sarajevo and presence of the official delegation of Serbia at the opening of construction works for the railroad between Bijeljina and Milosevac. After that, just a few days prior the parliamentary elections, Biljana Plavsic publicly declared that the airplane of Yugoslav airlines from Belgrade had not landed at the opening of Banja Luka airport due to the "fiendish plan" of Belgrade and Pale to let only the airplane from Sarajevo with the delegation of B&H Federation land in Banja Luka, which would then be used by Krajisnik and Buha in the election campaign against her and her party (Serb National Union). Persons well informed about developments concerning opening of Banja Luka airport claim that the airplane from Sarajevo circled over Banja Luka waiting for the permit to land, and then was instructed to return to Sarajevo. The Socialists expressed approval of the opening of the airport but did not react to the statement of the president nor did they comment on the failure of the announced airplane from Belgrade to appear.

Games with Socialists as the central players continue after the parliamentary elections. When it became clear that the SDS and the Radicals would not have the needed majority in the parliament, news appeared that the Socialists were joining the "patriotic coalition" with the SDS and the Radicals. The news was confirmed by the statement of Milosevic given to an Athens journal several days after the elections, which was carried by the local Glas srpski. Then the coalition with the Socialists was announced and welcomed by the leaders of the SDS and the Radicals - Aleksa Buha and Nikola Poplasen. In their rhetoric, the Socialists unexpectedly became a proven patriotic party.

Leaders of the Socialists needed plenty of time to react to what was an accomplished fact for the public. In order to make the impression of a consistent and autonomous party, the Socialists publicly declared that they would not join any coalition, making it clear to the Serb National Union of Biljana Plavsic not to count on them as a coalition partner either. If the Socialists, indeed, persist with this policy, it is certain that it will not be easy to constitute the executive power on the level of the Republic. Whether they like it or not, the Socialists are taking the responsibility for obstruction, which was imputed to them by a commentary of the most popular state tv program dealing with seven unsuccessful attempts to elect mayor of Banja Luka. Therefore, the Socialists will have to shoulder accusations of being in a silent coalition with the SDS and its strategy of preventing Biljana Plavsic from constituting the government with her candidate for prime minister. Since the agreement between Milutinovic and Krajisnik on dual citizenship has been signed in the meantime, there will be plenty of arguments against the Socialists.

The Socialists were drawn into the political scrape by the longterm strategy of the SDS and its two goals: first, to prevent constitution of local and republican authorities at any cost and by all means and in this way prove to the voters the impotence of the opposition and the significance of the SDS as the state-building party, and second, to compromise the Socialists through constant negotiations with them in order to win over their voters for their own cause or to disperse their electorate. So far they have been successful in this strategy.

By dancing to the rhythm of drums from Belgrade, the Socialists of RS have turned their political program into political cooperativeness and become the political hangers-on with no authentic colour or style. In internal haggling of factions gathered around Radisic and Ilic, at the last two sessions of the Executive Committee of this party it was possible to hear, as eye-witnesses claim, heavy accusations and sharp warnings. Radisic was accused of being the obedient follower of Belgrade, that he slowed down the activities of the party, that he was unpermissibly meek and soft, that he was scheming too much and speaking in diplomatic and vague language. Ilic was reproached for causing disharmony in the party, for being tactless, too sharp and rash and that he lacked patience and efficiency. In the end of the long "open and constructive" discussion, solution was found in rapprochement and reconciliation.

Reconciliation of the opposed factions does not mean that the problems of the Socialists in RS have been solved. The question they have to face is whether they will continue to be hostages of the obscure, undefined and vague policy of Belgrade or whether they will join the company of modern social democrats turned towards the world and the neighbours. After the destiny of the Serbs in Croatia, after the Dayton accords and its successful two-year long obstruction, after the split with Montenegro, after the shaping up of the future of Kosovo, after the economic collapse of Serbia, after the political fiasco in the country - the Socialists in Serbia headed by Milosevic are gradually ceasing to be the trademark of the Socialists in RS.

Branko Peric