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STINA news agency
phone/fax: ++ 385 21 347 121, 357 040, 591 581
E - mail: stina@zamir.net
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The Network of Independent Journalists for Central and Eastern Europe - Weekly
service
from Issue No. 190 - September 15 , 2000.
FRY/ Serbia:
AWAITING FINAL BATTLE
By Branka Vujnovic
With elections around the corner, Serbian political scene is becoming more
and more like a field awaiting the final battle. There are no abstain from all
methods and means to destroy a political opponent even before total votes'
count, which makes this ongoing election campaign the one which surpasses all
earlier by harshness and lack of fair play.
According to their fierceness in dealing with the opponents, the ruling
coalition comprised of Socialist Party of Serbia( SPS) and Yugoslav United Left
(JUL) is considering the September elections for both Yugoslav president and
parliament as a matter of survival in power or definite disappearance from the
political scene. Preparations were already made, so the left has the upper hand
in battle for votes, especially in the media. Beginning of the election campaign
was met by more than 500 radio and TV stations in 160 counties and cities in
Serbia. Most of them ended controlled by the government during the past year, in
various ways. All 16 TV stations in Belgrade broadcasting 18 channels are
controlled or even owned by SPS and JUL, and Belgrade citizens are thus
"freed" of alternative electronic media, with the airspace above city
cleansed for the needs of the government propaganda.
Several months ago government also took over radio and TV station Studio B,
once most popular radio station B292 was exiled from Serbian territory and its
program can only be heard by those lucky enough to have a satellite dish. The
only independent radio station which survived purges is Radio Index whose
program cannot be heard in all parts of Belgrade.
In Voivodina and inner Serbia balance of power on air is somewhat different -
in some counties survived individual "non-regime intruder" whose
influence is mostly negligent. Contrasting situation is only present in cities
of Nis, Kragujevac and Uzice where local independent electronic media were
dominant in the last 4 years.
Yet, overwhelming government influence in media is more than obvious. There
are endlessly repeating video spots of the left parties, and viewers can also
watch propaganda of Serbian Renoval Movement,(SPO) the party that is recently
also supported by regime. Polls on media coverage of the parties and reporting
during the election campaign show that regime-controlled media openly and
fervently support SPS and JUL. Everything related to the opposition, or better
put, Democratic opposition of Serbia(DOS), is covered in a negative manner.
Dissatisfied with the treatment in state-controlled media which gave more
attention to Slobodan Milosevic than radical candidate Tomislav Nikolic, Serbian
Radical Party (SRS) left the managing board of state television and stopped
broadcasting their commercials on Serbian television. Radicals now use private
TV Palma for their media campaign. A very popular TV station, Palma doesn't run
information news services and is well-known by broadcasting porn movies after
midnight. DOS doesn't have election campaign in electronic media - due to
extremely high prices DOS representatives decided not to run commercials via
Serbian television. Government-controlled media stubbornly refuse to over DOS
tour of Serbian cities.
Presidential candidate Vojislav Kostunica is only mentioned in commentaries
where he is labelled as "mercenary of NATO and west". Due to ignoring
of the opposition in media, real election campaign is going on in the streets.
Every, even the smallest place in Serbia, is covered in posters which remain
glued to wall one day at most, after that time they are replaced by posters of
their political opponents. Posters of SPS and JUL are warily monitored by the
police, so opposition activists strap them and put new ones during night
actions. More and more frequently, there are clashes with the rival teams.
Police is extremely fervent in keeping the public order, and those caught,
always supporters of the opposition, end up in police stations. Same fate came
recently to a middle-aged gentleman who was frustrated with hours-long waiting
in line for oil and sugar and angrily tore left election poster in public.
Written on the poster were the words - "we are going forward to new
victories".
SPS and JUL messages, which flooded Belgrade, are based on resistance to
aggression and "new world order", and main opponents are USA and Nato,
and not the opposition parties. As Slobodan Milosevic explained to the voters -
there is no real opposition, only a "handful" of persons alien to
Serbian nation. Leftists' main motto "People vote, not Nato" that can
be seen at every corner has been immediately renamed into "People vote, not
Mira" (Mirjana Markovic, leader of the JUL and wife of president
Milosevic). Besides many policemen located throughout Serbia, the most prominent
motto of the national movement Resistance is "he's finished". Members
of the organisation use their humorous actions and great popularity with public
to especially provoke government, police frequently arrests them. They were
brutally expelled from their Belgrade headquarters, and several of them were
interned in police station in the place Vladika Han where they survived hell,
from kicking and wire-strangling to hanging from their feet. Pictures of the
beaten young boys were published by all independent newspapers.
Besides cruel clashes with the political opponents, this election campaign
will be remembered by lines for oil and sugar. As was expected, the government
recalled that there are some oil and sugar among otherwise deficit reserves. As
a result, there has been a Serbian-wide campaign which could be called "We
give you oil, you give us votes".
However, as soon became clear, there are not enough goods in the magazine so
many citizens wait all day long for their litre of oil or a kilo of sugar at
lower price. The only alternative is to buy the same oil and sugar on black
market by significantly higher price.
Besides all that, lines are still full of Milosevic's supporters who will, if
needed, use their fists to defend their president from "Nato and USA
supporters". A female journalist of Montenegrin television experienced it
last week in Novi Sad. She was trying to interview people waiting in line
outside a shop. In response she was beaten with an umbrella several times, and
revolted citizens drove away cameramen shouting "We are this poor because
of your Djukanovic (the president of Montenegro). He sold himself to
Americans".
A journalist of independent news agency Beta met similar fate in Pancevo.
When he asked was the government to blame for shortages in the market, most of
the "waiters" turned against him, and he eventually saved himself from
beating thanks to running. Aggressive, pompous and over-expensive campaign of
SPS and JUL still, judging by new polls, fails to yield expected results.
Although handicapped by harangues of accusations, without enough money and
with no access to the most popular electronic media and press Democratic
opposition of Serbia and its presidential candidate Vojislav Kostunica lead by
all polls. Government representatives stubbornly repeat that polls made by
prestigious institutions were "ordered, even wrote in CIA offices".
But the public in Serbia had no chance to read one single poll that showed SPS,
JUL, radicals or SPO as victorious. General opinion is that choosing Vojislav
Kostunica for presidential candidate was crucial factor in so high opposition
support.
That the choice was right was clear at the beginning of DOS tour in Serbia.
Unexpectedly, many people eagerly accepted the man that appears in the public
without any bodyguards, who was never a member of the communist party, has no
western bank accounts, or villa on Dedinje and, apart from other opposition
politicians, he's untouched by corruption scandals and former co-operation with
the regime in any form.
And before all, he is a stubborn Serbian nationalist, which is still very
important in this country. "I like that he promised nothing. He's a god
amid all others who fight Milosevic by day, and try to suck up to him at night.
He is modest and honest as we are, only smarter", are the most frequent
remarks of the citizens gathered at his election rallies, together with the most
famous: "He must be an honest man, he has only two new suits". Burst
of emotions and agitated way people are listening to "their president"
is a clear sign that here have been some serious changes among the voters in
Serbia during last years. Statements said by government representatives about
Kostunica being "rigidity and bore incarnate" were proven wrong, as
were those uttered by people close to him who stressed Kostunica's main failures
were lack of charisma and imagination. It turned out that the expert on
constitution law and always serious politician is capable of attracting and
thrilling voters. Prophets have already put out a story saying that a famous
Serbian prophecy in an expanded version says that Serbia will be saved by a man
who has the same name as the village he is coming from. Vojislav Kostunica is in
line with that description, he was born in the village Kostunici. Serbia can
check whether the prophecy was right very soon - at the elections, on 24th
September.
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