Txhais los ntawm Tamara Vukov
“The tradition of the oppressed teaches us that the ‘state of emergency’ in which we live is not the exception but the rule.” – Walter Benjamin
TV: Lub Ob Hlis 4th ntawm lub xyoo no, Tsoom Fwv Teb Chaws koom pheej ntawm Yugoslavia tau hloov los ntawm lub xeev tshiab ntawm Serbia thiab Montenegro. Tom qab kev tua neeg ntawm Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic thaum Lub Peb Hlis 12th, 2003, lub koom haum tshiab nom tswv no tau ua tiav feem ntau ntawm nws lub neej nyob rau hauv lub xeev xwm txheej ceev. Txawm hais tias qhov kev txiav txim ntawm lub xeev xwm txheej kub ntxhov tau nthuav tawm ntau dhau los ua lub sijhawm zoo los txhim kho kev ywj pheej tiag tiag thiab rov qab txiav txim siab rau lub tebchaws, koj puas tuaj yeem piav qhia txog qhov kev ntsuas kub ntxhov no zoo li cas thiab qhov ua tau tiag tiag hauv lawv lub npe?
AG: Lub xeev xwm txheej kub ntxhov sawv cev rau qhov kev sim siab ntawm ib pawg neeg me kom coj lub tsev uas lawv nyob thiab nthuav nws mus rau hauv tsev loj cuj thoob tebchaws. Txawm tus neeg txawv txawv, qhov kev sim siab no tau ua tiav. Tsoomfwv tau teb rau kev tua neeg ntawm Zoran Djindjic los ntawm kev qhia txog lub xeev xwm txheej kub ntxhov. Tub ceev xwm tau tso cai rau ntes thiab kaw neeg rau 30 hnub yam tsis muaj kev txiav txim plaub ntug, thaum tus neeg raug ntes tawm mus tsis muaj cai rau tus kws lij choj. Tub ceev xwm tau txais txoj cai nkag mus hauv tsev yam tsis muaj ntawv ceeb toom, txoj cai tsis muaj kev sib txuas lus hauv xov tooj, ua raws, soj ntsuam, thiab tshawb nrhiav. Tus thawj coj ntawm tub ceev xwm tam sim no tuaj yeem ntes leej twg tawm tsam nws raws li qhov tsis txaus ntseeg. Kev tawm tsam thiab kev sib tham nom tswv tau raug cai, thiab txoj cai txav mus los tau raug txwv hnyav. Censorship tau tshaj tawm, thaum ib qho kev sib cav rau pej xeem txog cov laj thawj rau kev qhia txog lub xeev xwm txheej kub ntxhov thiab nws qhov kev tshem tawm thaum kawg tau raug cai. Human Rights Watch twb tau hnov qab, ceeb toom rau tsoomfwv Serbian tias tus cwj pwm tswj hwm zoo li no tau ua txhaum cai ntawm European Union cov lus qhia, tsis hais txog kev coj ncaj ncees.
The second serious aspect of this state of emergency is that no limits have been set around it. Based on the decision of the parliamentary president, the state of emergency is about the hunt for those guilty of the assassination, but also for other guilty parties of several other crimes. It was introduced for a completely unspecified and indefinite period of time. It is difficult to determine when all the parties guilty of some unspecified crime will be captured, and which crimes need to be resolved according to the government before “adequate conditions†are attained for the withdrawal of the state of emergency.
Xav txog qhov kev coj ua ntawm cov txheej txheem kev cai lij choj uas lub rooj sib tham hauv tebchaws tau txiav txim siab thaum lub sijhawm ua raws li lub xeev xwm txheej ceev. Kev sib sau ua ke uas tau hu ua lub tsev ntawm National Assembly tsis yog lub rooj sib txoos ntawm cov tswvcuab zaum. Tsis muaj leej twg tau sim los txiav txim seb muaj pes tsawg tus tswvcuab tuaj, thiab lub tshuab hluav taws xob rau kev sau npe tuaj koom raug txiav, raws li ntau tus tswvcuab lawv tus kheej.
Nyob rau hauv luv luv, post-Yugoslav haiv neeg tau muaj nws txoj kev ywj pheej tshem tawm yam tsis muaj kev qhia meej lossis cov lus cog tseg txog thaum twg nws yuav rov qab los. Thiab seb nws puas yuav rov qab los ntawm tag nrho.
TV: Dab tsi yog qee qhov cuam tshuam hauv tsev ntawm lub xeev xwm txheej xwm txheej thiab hais txog tub ceev xwm ntes koj tau hais txog? Puas yog nws txwv rau lub hom phiaj ntawm cov neeg ua phem ua phem, raws li tau nthuav tawm ntau hauv xov xwm? Puas yog cov chaw xaiv tsa dav dav thiab cov qauv kev tsis pom zoo ntawm nom tswv raug tsom?
AG: Tus Thawj Fwm Tsav Saib Xyuas Kev Ncaj Ncees Vladan Batic tau thov tias lub tebchaws Serbia niaj hnub xav tau cov tsev loj cuj niaj hnub nrog tsawg kawg ntawm 2000 qhov chaw. Zoo li peb tuaj txog! Modernization nyob rau hauv tam sim no Serbia zoo li txhais tau tias kev tsim kho ntawm niaj hnub tsev lojcuj.
However, I don’t know if there will be enough room in these prisons for the 7,000 working people who have thus far been detained and imprisoned under the state of emergency. They include anarchists, retirees who publicly rejoiced over the murder of the premier, a few folk singers, newspaper columnists, as well as so-called “direct criminals,†to borrow the minister’s jargon. The former are all “indirect criminals.†They are guilty of opposing the so-called “Europeanization of Serbia.â€
TV: So if the measures being taken under the state of emergency have not been restricted to the reasons for which it was implemented, i.e. tracking down Zoran Djindjic’s murderers and targeting organized crime syndicates, is there a broader political agenda at play? Is it being recuperated politically at all, and if so, in what sorts of ways?
AG: There is no question that the murder of premier Djindjic is a hideous crime. But does that justify such a broad and total seizure of freedoms of the entire society? I think the answer to this question is a resounding “no.†You cannot jail a whole society– yet the implementation of a state of emergency does in effect put the entire society in jail. The simple fact that the state of emergency has not be withdrawn after several days shows that it is being used to conduct a “power-turf†war between different interest groups. The interest group in power is using its own weapons – terror and violence – to eliminate another interest group.
The Serbian government is clearly attempting to criminalize all opposition, all competition, or any dissident, political option. It is employing a method of martyrization of the murdered premier, with the help of the disciplined media and intellectuals who are granting legitimacy to such an assault on human rights and logic, to maintain power even after the withdrawal of the “state of emergency,†which is likely to become permanent in Serbia.
In a recent interview given to a well-known Belgrade daily, minister of justice Vladan Batic presented his own particular categorization of “evil suspects†in response to the question of who the murderers were. To begin with, the minister indirectly put the majority of citizens into question as possible suspects in the murder of the premier. He then went on to declare how “thankful the citizens are, smiling, in high spirits†and, in general, “grateful to the government for the introduction of the state of emergency which has allowed them to feel more secure.†Is this really the case?
Why, for instance, have strikes been outlawed? What could the connection between a strike of discontented workers and the murder of the premier possibly be ? Strikers didn’t kill the premier. According to official accusations, the murder was the work of criminals who were in secret negotiations with the premier.
Furthermore, Batic expressed an intense animosity towards “journalists, analysts, and columnists.†Where does such animosity come from? Batic considers them to be a third category of criminals to be fought. All critics of the reforms are likewise equated with murderers. Particularly journalists and dissidents.
Ib tsoom fwv tsis muaj peev xwm tab tom nthuav tawm kev ceeb toom kom zais lawv lub luag haujlwm. Qhov kev tua neeg no puas tuaj yeem tiv thaiv tau? Tom qab kev tua neeg, tsis muaj leej twg tso lawv txoj haujlwm tawm. Tsis muaj txoj haujlwm raug rho tawm. Tib neeg tab tom coj peb hla lub xeev xwm txheej ceev. Ib tog twg siv qhov xwm txheej tragic. Qhov kev tshaj tawm ntawm lub xeev xwm txheej kub ntxhov tau cuam tshuam rau pej xeem kev sib cav, khi tes ntawm txhua tus neeg xav dawb thaum lub xeev cov neeg ua haujlwm zoo tib yam pib lynch txhua tus neeg xav tsis zoo thoob plaws hauv xov xwm. Qhov no puas yog kev cai ywj pheej? Zoo li nws yog.
A few days ago, the vice-president of the government announced that we should not complain that there is no opposition. Now we are a democracy, so opposition is no longer necessary- we are so democratic, that no opposition needs to exist. This is so-called “total democracy.†A situation in which democracy, in its total self-fulfillment, abolishes itself. They are so devoted to democracy that they no longer need it.
TV: In such a context of criminalization and suppression of dissent that you describe, has there been any organized reaction or overall response from so-called civil society? I’m thinking particularly of the burgeoning NGO sector often funded by Western organizations that massively expanded in post-Milosevic Yugoslavia, and whose mandate it is to monitor “human rights.â€
AG: It is interesting to note how this suspension of elementary human rights is being viewed by the so-called non-governmental organizations (NGO), an exceptionally powerful factor in the political life of Serbia, along with a large number of “rent-a-dissident†types.
Prior to the current situation, they knew how to vehemently protest even the smallest of incidents in which the rights of a citizen belonging to an ethnic minority were endangered, when it came to criticizing “nationalism†(which is the issue from which these organizations profit the most, since the foreign aid that sustains most of them is based on this). Now when citizen’s basic freedoms and rights are denied, not for one individual, not in one community, but to the entire society, the NGOs and rent-a-dissidents are supporting it, promising complete loyalty to the Serbian government. There is a constant stream of televised exchanges between state intellectuals and “dissidents†who discuss how Djindjic’s death is “international,†or how “the state of emergency is finally severing the umbilical cord from the east.†Or in a somewhat more morbid tone, how “Djindjic’s funeral was a plebiscite for a public in need of faith and hope,†or how the “political murder of the premier is a terrible thing,†because “we have to pay in tears for every joy,†so that we might one day attain a “catharsis, a catharsis of the ordinary citizenâ€â€¦
TV: Muab hais tias qhib kev tshaj tawm xov xwm ntawm lub xeev xwm txheej yog txwv tsis pub thiab censorship tau siv, dab tsi cuam tshuam rau kev sib cav txog pej xeem dav dav thiab ntau cov lus nug los ntawm lub xeev xwm txheej ceev?
AG: The public is being bombarded by unbelievable stupidities. Ministers promise that there will be regular provision of water and electricity. Why wouldn’t there be? Has war broken out? Images of maternity wards are being broadcast in the media, with promises that they will defend children’s nurseries. They proclaim that water sources are not polluted. Food provisions have been normalized. Public transportation, they say, is running on time. Police curfews have not yet been introduced. Economic reforms continue full steam ahead. The vultures from international bureaucracies have also started arriving, promising accelerated entry into the European Union.
Why didn’t this government arrest organized criminals immediately after the October 5th “revolution� Who was stopping them? Journalists? Columnists? Analysts and commentators? Why didn’t they confiscate the property and riches of the Milosevic-era elite? Why did they allow them to get even richer and to acquire everything through accelerated privatization? Who are they financing? Why is there greater and greater poverty in an already devastated economy? Ultimately, these are all questions that the current government, gripped by a collective neurosis, will have to answer one day.
TV: I want to turn a bit to the wider context of power and rule that led up to the current state of emergency. Regarding Djindjic’s assassination, Sonja Biserko of the Helsinki Committee (a vocal NGO) recently proclaimed that “the abject act marks the beginning of liberation from Milosevic-era pathology†offering an unprecedented opportunity for reform. To what extent do these current measures represent a real break from the prior regime as claimed, and what has (or hasn’t) changed in the transition between the former and current political systems?
AG: In fact, in order to fully understand the current state of emergency in Serbia, it is necessary to go back for a moment, to Milosevic’s Serbia, and provide a short analysis of what we might call “Milosevic’s system.â€
Milosevic’s regime was authoritarian. There existed parties, elections, and a parliament, but not true democracy. The constitution and many other laws were seemingly democratic in nature, but in fact were nothing more than a screen for the rule of one person.
Milosevic, txawm li cas los xij, tsis yog tus thawj tswj hwm. Nws style ntawm txoj cai yog heev tshwj xeeb, thiab tsis tuaj yeem hu ua totalitarian. Nws zam txim, los yog raug yuam kom zam, qee cov xov xwm ywj pheej thiab ob peb lub chaw TV hauv zos. Ib yam li ntawd, Milosevic tsis tau sim tsim qee yam ntawm Stalinist kev ntseeg ntawm tus kheej. Nws yog qhov tsis tshua pom nws tshwm sim hauv TV; Ntau tus hais txog nws txoj kev yooj yim ascetic, tsis muaj qhov xav tau los qhia tawm nws txoj cai.
Finally, though Yugoslavia is rightly considered to be one of the most corrupt countries in Europe, it is not at all the case that Milosevic ruled solely in order to enrich himself. When NATO air-bombers dropped “smart†bombs on Belgrade, they also dropped flyers and leaflets. I still have a copy of one in particular – on which they printed a photo with text explaining that Milosevic had a yacht and a villa “just like these†(in the picture). The inability of the CIA to acquire a photo of Milosevic’s possessions speaks for itself.
Thaum kawg, Milosevic tsis yog, raws li feem ntau thov, feem ntau tig mus rau sab hnub tuaj, Moscow, thiab Orthodoxy. Nws hais lus Askiv zoo, thiab tsis hais lus Lavxias. Nyob rau theem ua ntej ntawm nws txoj haujlwm, nws tau mus xyuas New York tsis tu ncua, thiab tau hais tias nws suav tias yog nws lub nroog nyiam. Ib zaug, Milosevic muaj lub tswv yim, tsis yog qhov tsis muaj tseeb, tias Washington yuav lees txais nws txawm tias nws txoj cai tswj hwm tib yam uas lawv lees txais Tito. Tom qab tawg cov lus cog tseg rau ob tog, ob qho tib si tsis muaj kev ntseeg hauv tebchaws thiab kev cuam tshuam, ua rau muaj kev tsov rog hauv Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia thiab Kosovo, ib qho tom qab, qhov xwm txheej pom tseeb tau coj mus rau qhov sib txawv.
Txawm li cas los xij, Milosevic nyiam qhov kev cai lij choj hauv Serbia, thiab muaj qee qhov kev txhawb nqa rau nws txoj haujlwm nom tswv.
In time, however, that amount of political support dwindled to 20% of the electorate. But with that 20% support, Milosevic was able to retain 100% rule. Firstly, thanks to his control over the major media, he confused and demoralized a dissatisfied and disoriented citizenry. When it would come time for elections, they would stay home, or would give their votes to the so-called “fake opposition.†On top of that, the existing electoral system allowed 30% electoral support to translate into 50% parliamentary representation. All that one required was to find a suitable coalition partner, and one would achieve stable rule. And coalition partners were never in short supply, because power and rule in Milosevic’s Serbia brought great riches.
Qhov ntawd yog li cas Milosevic tuaj txog ntawm pawg neeg feem coob thiab kev tswj hwm txoj cai. Tias yog vim li cas nws tsis tas yuav mus rau qhov tshwj xeeb, kev tswj hwm kev tswj hwm. Tag nrho cov phiaj xwm kev nom kev tswv thiab kev txiav txim siab tau ua los ntawm cov nom tswv txoj cai.
The foundation of Milosevic’s power was based in his rule of his own party. The Socialist Party of Serbia was the true seat of political rule controlled by Milosevic. As the total master of the Party, he achieved control of the Parliament as well. By constant changes to electoral laws (1992-1997), he built a system in which, at any moment, the party could switch its representatives and replace them successively.
Kev tswj hwm ntawm tsoomfwv txoj cai lij choj hauv kev tsim cov cai lij choj, kuj tau muab Milosevic kev tswj hwm tag nrho ntawm pawg thawj coj, hauv lwm lo lus ntawm tsoomfwv feem ntau (raws li cov koomhaum tsim cai lij choj thiab cov thawj coj tsis sib cais).
Once he gained full control over both legislative and executive power, Milosevic only had to establish control over the judiciary. According to the Constitution of Serbia, judges were permanently appointed, but were elected and dismissed by parliament. Because he controlled the parliament, Milosevic was also able to control the judiciary. According to a law that came into effect on July 30, 1991, all judges (2,939) and prosecutors (619) were to undergo purges through so-called “reelection†in parliament. These purges, however, were very selectively and sloppily carried out, so that many who were not doing their jobs according to basic principles or professionalism retained their positions simply because they were following orders and directives coming from the top of the Government. This resulted in a situation in which many of the other judges opposed the judicial theft of the local elections of 1996. From then on, Milosevic proceeded with a rearrangement of the state of the judiciary. In 1997, when Milosevic further consolidated his rule, he also set out to further “resolve the state of the judiciary.†This effectively meant the firing of around 60 “unsuitable†judges, who were guilty only of upholding the principal of an independent judiciary.
Qhov ntawd yog li cas thaum kawg tag nrho cov nom tswv thiab cov neeg txiav txim plaub tau muab tso rau hauv txoj haujlwm ntawm kev vam khom rau Milosevic. Ib yam yog qhov tseeb rau tub ceev xwm thiab tub ceev xwm cov neeg tseem ceeb. Nrog rau txoj cai lij choj xyoo 1995 ntawm kev xaiv tsa cov tswv cuab ntawm MUP-a, Serbian tub ceev xwm, Milosevic tau sib sau ua ke txoj cai tshwj xeeb los txhawb cov tub ceev xwm rau cov tub ceev xwm tub rog thiab xaiv cov tub ceev xwm laus hauv tub ceev xwm. Raws li lwm cov kev cai tshwj xeeb, Milosevic tau ua tus saib xyuas ncaj qha ntawm Lub Tsev Haujlwm Saib Xyuas Kev Ruaj Ntseg Sab Hauv. Qhov no tso cai rau nws tsis tsuas yog los ua ib tug ntawm cov tseem ceeb masters ntawm tsov rog nyob rau hauv Bosnia thiab Hercegovina, tab sis kuj tswj Serbian tawm tsam.
Particularly important for the functioning of Milosevic’s rule was the direct political supervision of the economic elite. In Milosevic’s Serbia, the primary means of capital accumulation did not take place on the market. To the contrary, the major financial profits to be had were achieved via state intervention – in other words through state monopoly, systematic privileges, monetary speculation and shady financial transactions, generalized larceny and appropriation of property, illegal imports, backroom deals and bribes. It was a given that, in such a system, the power elite could not only easily convert their own “political capital†into real, financial gains, but also to control and influence the flow and direction of the entire economy.
That is how Milosevic succeeded in constructing a tight clientalistic net around the entire national economy. It was a net that spread out to encompass anywhere that capital was being produced, starting with himself and his family, all the way down to factory workers and vendors on the street. Entry into this protected net meant guaranteed financial gain. The most powerful members of that net, the economic elite, could count on rapid accumulation of riches thanks to the market monopoly, from rigged participation in state “barter arrangements†(the import of oil and gas), to the illegal trade of cigarettes, weapons and other goods. This was achieved via the granting of import-export permits, on the acquisition of foreign currencies based on a rigged, lowered exchange rate, in the privileged granting of land, etc. The middle members of this privileged net could count on unrestricted trading (even on a small scale), on good/full employment, and high state salaries, on the right to buy state-owned apartments at an exceptionally low price, etc.
In the 1990s, a unique structure of power was installed in Serbia. I have called such a structure a kleptocracy. The dominant paradigm of the “Milosevic doctrine†is what we might call, from this historical perspective an “authoritarian isolationism.â€
TV: So how did the context change in the post-Milosevic era, with Djindjic’s ascent to power? What was the legacy of this “authoritarian isolationism,†and what was brought in to replace it?
AG: With the “petooktobarska revolucija†(the “October 5th revolutionâ€) and the overthrow of Milosevic, many hoped for real, progressive change. However, instead of any meaningful step towards economic and participatory democracy, for which many true Yugoslav leftists had hoped for, a new system was installed, with a new authoritarian doctrine: that of Djindjic. Djindjic’s system might be called an “authoritarian modernism.†Neoliberalism with a local accent.
Djindic constructed a chancellery system, to his misfortune, simultaneously paralyzing the presidential system, marginalizing the parliament, and building his own sub-ministries within the official government ministries . One Yugoslav historian has called this “Djindjic’s naÔve cunning.†It was also his biggest mistake. He should have sought to reduce his rule, and to increase the role of a coordinator or negotiator who would not take absolute power. Such a strategy might have held a better future. Instead of that, he accrued more and more control, combined with less and less popularity and authority. He was not respected even by the so-called elite. Had he pursued a somewhat different strategy, he might have been able to say – “I’m not popular amongst the people, but ‘intelligent’ people, judges, business people, the press elite, and well-known intellectuals are on my side.†That is one possible form of power politics. I do not want popularity but authority. However, he had neither popularity nor authority, yet accrued greater and greater power.
Djindjic’s system really showed its true colors in the “junski udar,†the June Take-over, which could be considered the crucial watershed in the political life of post-Milosevic Serbia. It should be noted that this take-over was very skillfully executed. Djindjic, in other words, was not a Milosevic, who reacted with much greater and more open brutality towards his political opponents.
The take-over was initiated when the presidency of DOS (the coalition of opposition parties that overthrew Milosevic), which consisted of the presidents and key ministers of the various coalition parties, passed a motion on May 24th, 2002 to revoke the mandates of 36 DOS members of parliament who were “most frequently absent from the regular sittings of Parliament.†The parliamentary majority passed this motion on June 12th.
At first glance, the motion seemed innocuous – “the aim is to establish order in the country, so that elected members of parliament actually work sufficiently to merit their pay,†explained premier Djindjic. In actuality, however, such a motion was completely illegal. Among those 36 unseated members, the majority were from the DSS, the party of Vojislav Kostunica, the Yugoslav President and most serious political rival to Djindjic in his role as Prime Minister.
In fact, it was understandable that DSS members had abstained from these regular sittings of parliament, given that the DSS had decided to boycott these sessions in protest over Djindjic’s political maneuvering. What was all the more humorous, the DSS wouldn’t have been able to replace its 36 unseated parliamentary members with other DSS members even if it had wanted to, because their member’s list only had 13 remaining names on it. Because the DSS was unable to replace its revoked seats with their own members, those seats went to other parties from the DOS coalition – first and foremost to the Democratic party of Zoran Djindjic. Outraged by this ridiculous theft of parliamentary seats, all the sitting members of the DSS, the strongest and most popular party in Serbia, resigned from parliament.
This is how Djindic successfully employed an anti-parliamentary take-over to significantly increase his political power. For a significant period, he threw his major rival, Kostunica’s DSS, out of the game and thereby seized a parliamentary majority that would neatly and efficiently control the passage of governmental laws.
So that is how the question of parliamentary quorum was effectively resolved in Djindic’s favor. Soon after, the rules were further altered to include an exceptional expansion of the parliamentary president’s power. He gained the power to punish elected members for “disrupting order in Parliamentary sessions†by revoking their parliamentary seats for up to 90 days.
Qhov txiaj ntsig thib peb tseem ceeb tau txais los ntawm Thawj Tswj Hwm Djindjic hauv Lub Rau Hli Take-Over yog nws txoj cai tsis muaj kev sib tw ntawm cov tseem tshuav ntawm DOS pab pawg. Txij thaum ntawd los, tsis yog ib qho ntawm cov neeg sab nrauv hauv DOS muaj cov tswv cuab txaus los tawm tsam thiab tawm tsam tsoomfwv.
Why didn’t Djindic’s political take-over arouse a serious public outcry? Firstly, because it was skillfully executed through a preplanned and complex procedure that most ordinary citizens did not fully grasp. Secondly, and more importantly, because Djindjic in the meantime succeeded in gaining control of the most influential mass media in Serbia. When the first open showdown between Djindjic and Kostunica took place in August 2001, the extent to which Djindjic had succeeded in tipping the balance to his advantage in all the media was clear. In addition to the most watched commercial television station, TV Pink, the influential TV Politika and TV Studio B, the daily newspapers Novosti and Danas, along with Nedeljni telegraf all clearly fell into line with his political camp. By June 2002, Djindjic had also gained control of the daily Politika, the state television (RTS), and the other large private television station (BK Telecom). So when Djindjic executed his political offensive, no one had any reason or interest in publicizing or even explaining it, let alone opposing it for the patently anti-democratic takeover it was.
Basically, by mid-2002 Djindjic had easily taken over Milosevic’s entire system of political control of society. He had total control of his party. With the government and parliamentary majority behind him, he easily secured control of the boards of directors of the most important businesses – from the oil industry to forestry. Likewise, the majority of the middle management elite as well as a portion of the social elite harboring political-management ambitions rushed in to put themselves at his service.
That is how a new post-Milosevic clientalistic network was secured by Djindjic. Moreover, economic “transition†and “privatization†became the ideal excuses for its additional expansion. Djindjic, exactly as Milosevic had, succeeded in gaining control of the legislative, executive, judicial-political, economic, and even partly over the military-police elite. Milosevic’s system was thereby transposed into a new, neoliberal Serbia.
I have already described how the executive branch ruled the judiciary under Milosevic’s rule. The new regime continued that practice. A new purge organized by the loyal minister of justice, Vladan Batic, took place by precisely the rules established under the authoritarian Milosevic regime, in which the minister of justice acted as the direct head of the judicial elite.
What was Djindjic’s successful expansion of his power based on? His power base was never among the voters or the electorate. Like Milosevic towards the end of his rule, Djindjic and his party could not count on more than 20% of the electorate’s support. But, like Milosevic, Djindjic was able to seize 100% rule with 20% of the vote .
TV: Tom qab nws raug tua thaum Lub Peb Hlis 12th, feem ntau ntawm cov xov xwm sab hnub poob tau koom nrog ib hom kev cai dab qhuas ntawm Djindjic, ua rau nws tsuas yog saib rau pem hauv ntej, tus neeg sab hnub poob cov nom tswv hauv cheeb tsam, tsuas yog ib tus muaj peev xwm thiab cog lus los nqa. kev txhim kho kev vam meej, kev cia siab, thiab lub neej yav tom ntej rau lub tebchaws. Koj twb tau taw qhia txog qhov uas tus cwj pwm zoo li no tsis yog qhov nruab nrab, tsis hais txog cov txheej txheem nrog rau kev hloov pauv kev nom kev tswv thiab kev lag luam uas tab tom raug vaunted li supposedly assured lub neej yav tom ntej ntawm lub teb chaws. Dab tsi yog qee qhov cuam tshuam ntawm tus cwj pwm zoo li no thiab cov txheej txheem ntawm kev hloov kho tau raug siv?
AG: Dindjic installed his own specific ideological monopoly on neoliberal reforms and reformism. The notion that he is a “pragmatic reformer,†who is trying to “lead a dark and backward Serbia into Europe†– such ideological nonsense was quickly supported not only by Western governments, and all sorts of analysts, but also the disciplined media, and members of the local “fake†opposition: the influential non-governmental organizations (NGOs). Neoliberals had been overjoyed that “justice had been fulfilled†and that Milosevic finally found himself “where he belongs†(i.e. the Hague). Furthermore, domestic liberals were sympathetic to the long line of laws and policies proposed by Djindjic’s government (on privatization, work, taxes), in order to bring Serbia into the world of “strict but just market capitalism.â€
Such a logic of power recalls in many respects another eastern European case, that of Slovak premier Vladimir Mecijara’s (1991-1998) “pragmatic, pro-western reform,†which very quickly showed itself to be nothing more than reckless self-preservation. Mecijara took four years to achieve clientalistic control over national resources and the public media. Thanks to the already developed clientalistic system that he inherited, the Serbian chancellor hurtled down that path much more quickly. In the few months prior to his murder, Djindjic held absolute power in his hands. This absolutism cost him his life.
I have shown that there was no essential difference between Milosevic’s and Djindjic’s system. The same outcry, from the depths of Milosevic’s time, continues to resound in the wasteland of transition. A similar, voracious logic of power saturated both systems.
TV: Djindjic’s murder has also largely been portrayed in the Western media as the terrible price paid by someone who was valiantly trying to crack down on organized crime and political corruption. Having long ignored and overlooked it, it seems that much of the Western media have suddenly discovered “organized crime†as a political factor for which ordinary Yugoslavs have long paid a heavy price. What is the word inside Serbia and Montenegro regarding the actual circumstances surrounding Djindjic’s murder?
AG: Different scenarios have been proposed to explain the murder of Djindjic. The one that seems the most realistic to me says that Djindjic made “the wrong deal with the wrong people,†a deal that he himself probably broke. I believe that Djindjic really did go after and tried to liquidate some group of organized criminals, who likely had a good deal of experience in war crimes gained in the Yugoslav wars, and were linked to state security forces. But the reason for this is not because Djindjic had clean hands or that he was on a one-man crusade to rid the country of organized crime. Rather, because he effectively established absolute power, Djindjic was most likely trying to deceive some of the very people with whom he himself had collaborated to gain power, and whose names could be found on the wanted list for the Hague “tribunal.†Such people do not forgive double-crossings in their agreements and dealings.
A not insignificant number of people also believe that Djindjic was the casualty of a “great chess game,†in which the German chess piece – Djindjic himself, who was particularly tied to German political circles – was simply switched for a pro-American one. I consider this version to not be very likely.
TV: Yuav ua li cas peb thiaj tuaj yeem txuas lub xeev xwm txheej tam sim no hauv Serbia thiab Montenegro mus rau thaj chaw dav dav thiab lub ntiaj teb xwm txheej xwm txheej uas peb zoo li tau nyob hauv ob peb xyoos dhau los nrog kev tshwm sim ntawm Bush cov lus qhuab qhia?
AG: Kev tswj hwm kev sib raug zoo los ntawm kev ceeb ntshai heev uas tsoomfwv tau siv los ua kom cov pej xeem nyob hauv kev tswj hwm yuav paub txog North American cov neeg nyeem. Qhov kev tua neeg no yuav raug suav hais tias yog ib hom hauv zos, Balkan version ntawm lub Cuaj Hlis 11th tshwm sim.
After September 11, 2001, America was introduced to one type of state of emergency, which was the starting point for a permanent global state of emergency in which the whole world lives today. It appeared in its full clarity with the military order declared by the President of the United States with the decree of November 13, 2001. That decree concerned the status of non-citizens (those without US citizenship) who are suspected of terrorist activity, subject to a special court that employs indefinite detention and the turnover of suspects to military commissions. The American Patriot Act of October 26, 2001 had already granted authority to the attorney general to arrest any “alien†suspected of posing a danger to national security. The innovation in the orders of President Bush lay in the radical erasure of the status of these individuals, and in the very production of an entity whose legal status cannot be fully classified, officially described or named publicly.
One could argue by analogy that the state of emergency in Yugoslavia in many ways resembles the recent American clampdown. Terrorists (or in the Serbian case “organized criminals”) are not the only ones to suffer, but all those who do not agree with neoliberal reforms are targeted. The Serbian government has declared a local, preventative war on all of its citizens. This war is permeated by explicit tactics of psychological denunciation: citizens are encouraged to regard one another as potentially suspicious and to inform on one another to the police. This was a post-World War II practice, a technique of social control that was brought in to Yugoslavia after the break with Stalinism in 1948 , and that, in later Yugoslav social history, unfortunately had very serious consequences.
TV: Koj xav tias yav tom ntej kev nom kev tswv cuam tshuam li cas ntawm lub xeev xwm txheej kub ntxhov yuav nyob hauv Serbia thiab Montenegro tom qab tshem tawm? Kev tshem tawm ib feem ntawm lub xeev xwm txheej ceev tam sim no tab tom sib cav, tab sis ntau tus neeg tswj hwm tau qhia tias qee qhov kev ntsuas yuav raug khaws cia txawm tias tom qab nws tshem tawm. Piv txwv li, tub ceev xwm yuav tuav tau qee lub hwj chim uas lawv tsis tau muaj yav tas los. Yuav ua li cas yog lub zeem muag rau yav tom ntej kev nom kev tswv hais lus?
AG: Lub xeev xwm txheej kub ntxhov no tsis tuaj yeem daws cov teeb meem kev sib raug zoo uas muaj nyob hauv Serbia niaj hnub no. Cov xwm txheej tam sim no muaj kev puas tsuaj tiag tiag. Kev txom nyem yog qhov tob zuj zus thiab nthuav dav mus. Tus naj npawb ntawm cov neeg poob haujlwm tau nce mus txog ib lab tus tib neeg. Txhua hnub muaj tshaj 15,000 tus neeg ua haujlwm ua qauv qhia. 70% ntawm cov pejxeem tshaj tawm nws tus kheej kom qis dua txoj kab kev txom nyem. Hauv ib qho pa, qhov tsis hnov tsw ntawm kev txom nyem thiab tsis hnov tsw ntawm kev poob siab yog kis thoob plaws hauv Serbia. Qhov tob ntawm pej xeem kev tsis txaus siab tsis tuaj yeem muab tso nrog kev ua phem.
If Milosevic’s system functioned under a doctrine of “authoritarian isolationism,” and under Djindjic we had “authoritarian modernism,” then this is a system of authoritarian idiocy!
Ib tus neeg sau xov xwm paub zoo tau sau cov kab hauv qab no ob peb lub hlis ua ntej kev tua neeg ntawm Djindjic:
“In Tito’s Serbia, it was dangerous to think because you could always end up in prison. In Milosevic’s Serbia, it was dangerous to think because you could be declared a traitor. The danger of thought in Djindic’s Serbia is in creating extreme feelings of loneliness and isolation, to the extent that, if the coexistence of the post-Milosevic extremists continues, leads one to the inevitable question: “Can I retain my sanity?”
Hauv post-Djindjic Serbia, nws yog qhov txaus ntshai rau kev xav vim tias koj tuaj yeem xaus rau hauv tsev lojcuj, koj tuaj yeem raug tshaj tawm tias yog tus neeg ntxeev siab, thiab txawm li cas los xij, koj yuav raug coj mus rau qhov kev sib cais tag nrho.
Andrej Grubacic is a historian and social critic from Belgrade, Post-Yugoslavia. He can be reached at [email tiv thaiv].
Tamara Vukov has been involved in social justice activism and alternative media (film/video, community radio, and digital media) for ten years. She is a doctoral student in media and communication studies in MontrÈal, QuÈbec. Her most recent web project, Balkan Mediations (see http://www.pomgrenade.org), examines the questions raised for North Americans by the 1999 NATO bombing of Kosovo and Yugoslavia. She can be reached at [email tiv thaiv].
ZNetwork tau txais nyiaj tsuas yog los ntawm kev ua siab zoo ntawm nws cov neeg nyeem.
Pab Nyiaj