*** Kragujevac Socialists in the Wake of Milosevic's Arrest
** Socialists against the Hague & DOS
Kragujevac Socialist party chapter president Milan Zivanovic says the
ruling coalition is to blame for people being worse off than before and
predicts that in the fall there will be an "explosion of social
dissatisfaction"
AIM Belgrade, July 18, 2001
When rallies for the defense of Slobodan Milosevic started in Belgrade,
the Kragujevac Socialists decided it was the time for them to head that
way. About three hundred of them, mostly older people, left for the
capital, to defend "Sloba, our freedom," wanting to tell "NATO's lackeys
and traitors," looking them straight into the eye, that "Serbia will not
sell its sons." There were as many passengers for Belgrade as could fit
into three buses and several cars.
Visibly tired, partly because of their age and partly because of earlier
journeys to Belgrade, for five days in a row this group of acquaintances
from Kragujevac, loudly criticized the government in Serbia, complaining
of low pensions and deteriorating living conditions.
Pensioner Radoslav Maric believes that "every honest Serb has to be
against the arrest of Slobodan Milosevic and his handing over to the
Hague tribunal." He regrets the fact that nothing was done to prevent
the extradition of Milosevic to The Hague and recalls that many people
from Serbia participated in the wars in the former Yugoslavia, which
means they all should be tried. "My son was a conscript when the war
broke out, and his military service was extended for three months. He
was in many places -- on the Dubrovnik front, in Serb Krajina and
Baranja. Does this mean that he should be tried in The Hague as well?"
says Maric, deeply shaken and adds that it is "illogical to try a man
who was defending his country." He finally says that if he made
mistakes, "Sloba should be tried at home, by his people," continuing
then to complain of his small pension and his inability to make ends
meet. When told that the current government is not responsible for the
low standard of living and that the economic situation cannot be
improved instantly, Maric agrees and adds, "If only the people could get
some relief."
Pensioner Vera Simov also headed for Belgrade in a bid to topple the
Serbian government for "betraying Serbs and Serbia." She wanted to say
at the rally, in the capital city, that "the transfer of Milosevic to
The Hague is treachery and a disgrace, because some people did that for
money." She says that "by sending Sloba to The Hague, the DOS wanted to
relieve the West of responsibility for bombing our country." Vera also
says her two sons took part in the wars of the past decade "defending
their people and country," and adds, "I am afraid that our children, who
responded to the summons to defend the country will be considered
traitors tomorrow."
A pensioner and former Zastava factory employee, Branko Misic, is the
most vocal defender of Slobodan Milosevic." He says that his handing
over to the Hague court was "the greatest betrayal of the Serb people."
He categorically demands that the DOS government step down, because it
betrayed the country. "If Milosevic had to be put on trial, that should
have happened here, before our courts. If the government does not trust
our courts, then it does not trust the state either," says Misic,
fearing, as he put it, that "the transfer of our citizens to The Hague
will not end with Milosevic."
The Kragujevac Socialists are convinced that Yugoslavia's cooperation
with the Hague tribunal has strengthened and unified the party, bringing
about its revival and allowing it to occupy the place that rightly
belongs to it as the leading force on the opposition scene. According to
the Socialist Party of Serbia regional center for Sumadija, the party
has over 22,000 members. The Socialist believe that the DOS has failed
in making good on its promises in Kragujevac, a town that is "a social
time bomb" because is has 20,000 unemployed, 25,000 laid off workers,
and some 16,000 refugees.
Milan Zivanovic, president of the party's Kragujevac chapter, blames the
ruling coalition for people being worse off and predicts that in the
fall, "an explosion of social dissatisfaction" is likely. "As an
opposition party, using the institutions of the system and by organizing
protest rallies the Socialists have to constantly point out the
government's mistakes and advocate social justice," says Zivanovic. He
stresses that people cannot live on donations, and that the government
is incapable of organizing production. Therefore he concludes that "the
future belongs to the Socialist party."
# Olivera S. Tomic
(AIM)
Serbian News Network - SNN
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
http://www.antic.org/
