Click
here for the NIJ Archive
Issue No. 184. - August 2, 2000.
Contents :
1. FRY/Serbia: THE LAST CHANCE
By Zoran Mamula
2. FRY/Montenegro: THE PERIOD OF GRAVEST ORDEALS
By Slobodan Rackovic
3. Lithuania: NEW FACES, SAME OBJECTIVES
By Howard Jarvis
4. Special addition : NEW AT TOL
FRY/ Serbia : THE LAST CHANCE
By Zoran Mamula
In less than two months, on 24th September,
there will be
presidential and parliamentary federal elections in Yugoslavia, as
well as local elections in Serbia. Most local analysts think
that the forthcoming elections will be crucial for the survival of
a small Yugoslavia, which after the breakup of the former state
which comprised six countries, now has only two states left -
Serbia and Montenegro.
After recent changes in the federal constitution
which now has
the Yugoslav president being elected at the general elections instead
of by parliament as before, a candidate from Montenegro, the drastically
smaller federal unit than Serbia, cannot possibly win the
elections and become a president of the federal state. Authorities
in Podgorica said that they will not take part in the federal
elections which, as they said, serve only to prolong the totalitarian
rule of the current president Slobodan Milosevic. This decision
was further augmented with changes in the elections for the
Council of republics which were also passed without participation
of the official Montenegrin representatives. The changes are that
delegations of the republics in the Council are now chosen by
citizens, which puts the smaller federal unit into a subordinate
position in the federal assembly. First advisor of the Montenegrin
president Miodrag Vukovic said recently that if Milosevic wins
the elections, Montenegro will certainly have a referendum on
independence.
So the difficult task of saving Serbian-Montenegrin
federation
has gone to Serbian opposition, which thanks to ten-year old
internal struggles never managed to win Socialist party of Serbia
and its president Milosevic. This time, after many months of
negotiations, opposition did reach an agreement on joining their
forces at all elections, but it is only a partial success since
the strongest opposition party Serbian Renowal Movement (SPO)
still remains at their decision of not participating at the
elections, while "terror of the state over political rivals is
going on". All polls show significant popularity of opposition as
compared to parties of the ruling coalition - Milosevic's SPS, JUL
of his wife Mira Markovic and Serbian radical party, ultra
nationalists led by Vojislav Seselj. During the last poll
conducted by well-known agency "Strategic Marketing" 37 per cent
were in favor of opposition, 30 per cent said their sympathies
were with the ruling par ties,.
However, this advantage of opposition is valid only
in the
case of opposition parties making a joint list at the elections,
which is at the moment rendered impossible by the boycott of the
Serbian revival movement. According to election experts, possible
change of SPO strategy could cause even more trouble, since
besides joint candidates of all the other parties there would be a
list of SPO candidates which would disperse the votes for
opposition and make their defeat certain. On the other hand, the
left (SPS and JUL) and Seselj's radical can count on pretty stable
voters and for them it is not important whether they will go
together to the elections or with two lists, since it is almost
certain that they will continue their coalition, the so-called
"patriotic block" after elections. Although it was old news that
elections would be at the beginning of autumn, it seems that the
government is once again more ready than the opposition for it.
Election campaign of the ruling parties erbia is in full swing.
Defense and reconstruction of the country are very persuasive
slogans for the voters. On the other hand, the opposition is still
announcing its "door to door" campaign. While the ruling coalition
made serious and systematic preparations, brought election laws
and put in motion an aggressive media campaign based on
reconstruction and rebuilding of the country "damaged in the NATO
intervention", opposition held endless meetings in order to agree
on the joint election actions. General opinion is that opposition
is favored only by the fact that people want change, no matter who
brings them, since its activities to persuade the voters are
downright futile. Opposition's eternal catching-up with the ruling
coalition is best illustrated by the fact that only now did the
opposition parties initiated talks about their mutual candidate
for president of the FRY, while the regime name is long known - it
is, of course, Slobodan Milosevic. Although time confirmed that
not one opposition politician was ready to accept another one as
presidential candidate, there are already several names in the
public with most chances given to Vojislav Kostunica, president of
the Democratic party of Serbia.
Most think that, despite the fact that he leads
a relatively
small party, he has certain advantages over other opposition
leaders. He is a moderate nationalist, which is very important in
Serbia. He is also an anticommunist that has never cooperated with
the regime. He is equally critical to Serbian regime as to
Montenegrin authorities, international community and their Kosovo
policy. With such personality, regime media will have a hard time
during the next two months to successfully label him as a traitor
like they did with SPO leader Vuk Draskovic or the president
of
the Democratic party Zoran Djindjic who met several times with the
officials of NATO countries during the war and stated they were in
favor for full cooperation with them. Kostunica also has some
characteristics that are rare among opposition leaders - he didn't
take part in any financial scandal, and in all polls there are
more those who trust him than those who do not.
In last week's research conducted by the Institute
of social
sciences whose election polls were always close to real results,
Vojislav Kostunica got 42 per cent support, while Milosevic had
only 28 per cent. Yet this result is valid only if leader of the
Democratic party gets support of all opposition parties, including
always presidential candidate Vuk Draskovic, who for the time
being refuses to do so.
Agreement on the joint presidential candidate will
show
whether Serbian opposition is mature enough. Its leaders must
forget past struggles and false pride. Otherwise, this would not
be the first time that united support to an opposition candidate
failed, since it happened in 1997. There was an agreement in
Together coalition to support Draskovic at the Serbian
presidential elections, but in the last moment Draskovic's
coalition partner Zoran Djindjic decided that "Vuk is not good
enough".
Election conditions are the worst in the last ten
years of
multi-party system. After taking over the only independent TV
station Studio B, shutting down many independent radio stations,
among them the most popular B292, almost all electronic media are
now state-owned. Few independent newspapers left are under immense
pressure with artificial lack of paper and ban on its import
for
non-governmental publications. There is also now famous Law on
information with harsh punishments for the newspapers that publish
any critical comment on the current government. Therefore one
asks himself what will be the opposition media campaign and where
will they present their attitudes and programs.
Constant danger is also announced Law against terrorism
which
can, thanks to its wording that can be applied very widely,
proclaim the most dangerous opposition parties unlawful.
International election control will be almost impossible. The
authorities already said that they will not "invite
representatives of the organizations and countries which took part
or supported last year's NATO aggression on FRY" which means that
not only will the representatives of NATO countries not be able to
come as monitors, but the same will happen to OSCE or Council of
Europe officials. In such a situation, it is not difficult to
forecast that monitors from "friendly countries" like Zimbabwe,
Belarus or Iraq, no matter what happens on 24th September, will
say that the elections were free and democratic.
One is certain - after the elections it will be
clear whether
FRY will survive or we will witness another Balkans' storm.
***
FRY/Montenegro: THE PERIOD OF GRAVEST ORDEALS
By Slobodan Rackovic
During next weeks and months Montenegro faces a
period of
the gravest ordeals in its modern history, since it has become
totally clear that Slobodan Milosevic's regime will do everything
it can this summer and autumn to punish this country and strip it
of its freedom and centuries-old sovereignty.
Montenegro, the smaller of the two units of the
Federal Republic
of Yugoslavia, is at the literal historic crossroads - either it
will become a province of greater Serbia or it will return to its
centuries-long independence that it has brought with it when
joined together with Serbia in 1992. The era of verbal and
political disputes and discussions between Podgorica and Belgrade
is now obviously a thing of the past and now there is a time of
final conclusion in this artificial federation. It is also a kind
of conclusion that could, when we take into account the bellicosity
of
Yugoslav president Slobodan Milosevic who has already initiated
four separate wars with his neighbours, end in armed conflict!
The republic of less than 700 000 and
14,000 square
kilometres, much smaller and weaker in a military sense than
Serbia (with a population of 10 million) has managed during the
past years and months to at least evade grave political conflicts
with Belgrade by limiting them to verbal fights in media. But,
after quick and violent changes of the Yugoslav constitution,
passing of federal election laws and dating federal parliamentary
and presidential elections as early as 24th September, in which
Montenegro took no part, official Podgorica was put to the wall,
into a situation with only two choices - take it or leave it. If
it "takes", that is accepts position of a region given by new
Constitution and accepts elections as proposed by Milosevic which
will guarantee him the office of lifelong Yugoslav president,
Montenegro will wipe out all important results it has made during
the last 3-4 years since it split with conservative, isolationist
and militaristic policy of Belgrade. If it " s", that is refuses
to accept decisions brought at the federal parliament without
Montenegrin representatives and boycotts September's elections -
then Montenegro risks fighting one of the biggest and best armed
army not only in Balkans, but also in wider region of Europe - the
Yugoslav Army (VJ).
"Slobodan Milosevic chose the most appropriate
moment for
federal parliamentary and presidential elections - the time of
intense election campaign in the USA, when Pentagon will not have
much time or interest for events in far Montenegro. Milosevic is
obviously in a hurry to realise his dream of unitarian state with
him on top for the rest of his life, so he tries to incite
struggles and polarisation in the country, even armed conflicts,
since it is the only atmosphere than can make him win. He will use
any means to achieve his goal, not paying attention to
consequences" - said for STINA vice prime minister of Montenegro
dr. Dragisa Burzan, asked to comment on the situation.
Pro-western president Milo Djukanovic and his administration
are completely aware of the delicate and difficult situation they
are facing, but they refuse to surrender. International community
is constantly and rather hypocritically suggesting them not to
irritate the wounded lion Slobodan Milosevic and not to hurry with
their separation from FRY, although foreign nations don't
acknowledge it as a state. Yet Montenegrin officials, respecting
tradition of their brave ancestors, cannot bear themselves to
accept inferior position of Montenegro in Yugoslav community.
That's why Montenegrin parliament passed "Resolution about
protection of interests of Montenegro and its citizens", as an
answer for illegitimate decisions of the federal assembly. The
resolution outlawed all decisions made by Yugoslav federal
institutions. Accordingly, Montenegro will not participate at the
federal elections on 24th September, which will lead to direct
confrontation between Montenegro and Serbia, especially if
Montenegrin authorities prevent voting on their territory.
Instead of participating at the elections, Montenegrins
will
most likely soon have a referendum on constitutional and legal
future of their republic. There are many supporters of the idea to
hold referendum on the same day with elections in Serbia, which
would be very strong provocation which already warring Milosevic
could not sustain. Many foreign statesmen and political analysts,
including Janos Bugayski of the UN, are already asking for NATO
troops to be deployed on Montenegrin territory before Milosevic
strikes if they don't want to come late (as in Croatia, Bosnia and
Kosovo). There is already mention of the name of such peace
international forces (MFOR), although the general secretary of
NATO George Robertson well hides intentions of his organisation.
"We will not reveal our plans to Milosevic" - said Robertson
enigmatically. In the meantime, Montenegro is doing its best to
come close to as much as it can to the western system of
collective defence. "Entry of Montenegro in is our priority, but
there is an obstacle - Montenegro is still not internationally
recognised", said recently president Milo Djukanovic at a press
conference. However, news that Montenegrin prime minister Filip
Vujanovic officially submitted paper for Montenegrin entry into
"Partnership for Peace" clearly shows that there is an ongoing
race with time, literally a struggle for survival. Podgorica
doesn't hide that its vehement lobbyists at western allies are
Slovenian, Croatian and Czech presidents Milan Kucan, Stjepan
Mesic and Vaclav Havel who recently met with Milo Djukanovic
Dubrovnik behind closed doors. Allegedly, most talks were about
possibilities of defence of Montenegro from military aggression
from Serbia, and there are even some indicators that Slovenia,
Croatia and Montenegro (possibly even Bosnia) plan to form
informal regional association which would, besides economy,
culture and other elements, incorporate also security dimension,
which completely fits into strategy of the Pact for stability in
south-eastern Europe.
Meanwhile, security and political situation between
Montenegro
and Serbia is getting further complicated with reckless speed.
There were recently several direct clashes between Montenegrin
police (which numbers as much as 20,000 people) and Yugoslav Army
and it is a real miracle they haven't spread like wildfire to
whole republic. Yugoslav navy forces sprayed a boat of Montenegrin
police with bullets. The boat was making its regular patrol of
Montenegrin-Albanian border on the lake of Skadar. In Adriatic
Sea, a military warship captured police gunboat and harassed its
crew. In Niksic a military policeman beat three peaceful citizens
in a local coffee shop, and in the same town military lorries with
policemen armed to teeth are patrolling the streets and
frightening its citizens with machine guns pointed at them. In the
north town of Berane a squad of military police literally occupied
the local police station, and similar incidents in which Yugoslav
Army demonstrates its wild and unchecked force are repeating on a
daily basis. "We are at the limits of our tolerance, since
security of the citizens and state of Montenegro is very, very
endangered" - said minister of Montenegrin police Vukasin Maras,
which best illustrates the situation in this republic.
And really, it is only a matter of day when Yugoslav
army will
start getting kicked, since it is totally clear that proud
Montenegrins will not for long tolerate arrogant members of the
army which the people don't anymore recognise as their own, but as
a completely illegal formation. That said one highly positioned
government official, which could be a signal for clashes between
police and citizens with the soldiers. Already there were even
proposals to cut off power and water to the barracks and to
encircle military objects with heavy construction vehicles, as in
Croatia in 1991-1992, but president Djukanovic calls for
tolerance, probably to get more time. It is clear that he won't be
able to ask for patience much more, since Yugoslav army is already
coming into fight with population. In the area of Niksic the army
blocked all roads leading to the neighbouring Herzegovina (Bilece
and Gacko) which in turn spurred locals to block roads used by
military trucks. Trade with their nei rs in Herzegovina is of
utmost importance to these people, so their direct confrontation
with the army is not improbable. Army also blocked Albanian
border, thus rendering void Montenegrin-Albanian agreement on
complete liberalisation of traffic between the two neighbours.
Something similar was used last year at Montenegrin-Croatian
border, but the incident was resolved thanks to great tolerance of
police and locals. It is an impression that they don't want to be
tolerant anymore. Milosevic can barely wait for such outcome since
it would give him motive to open new war zone in Montenegro, fifth
in the former Yugoslavia countries.
Montenegro is coming through the worst ordeals in
its modern
history. On one hand there is a constant threat of Milosevic and
on the other international community shows no understanding for
its decision to hold the referendum on the independence of this
oldest southern Slav state. The world must not let Montenegro
become the greatest loser of the break-apart of Tito's Yugoslavia
as it was in 1918, after WWI, when it was occupied by Serbian
troops helped by their French allies. Besides much verbal support
coming from democratic countries to official Podgorica, Montenegro
also needs clear military guaranties of international community
and "green light" that it can decide on its own fate.
***
Lithuania: NEW FACES, SAME OBJECTIVES
By Howard Jarvis
For the first time since Lithuania won back its
independence,
declared in 1990, it is facing the prospect of a coalition
government in which no one party will enjoy a majority. In a few
months time, Lithuanians will be voting in legislative elections.
They are expected to largely reject both the party of the right,
the Homeland Union (Lithuanian Conservatives) and the party of the
left, the Lithuanian Democratic Labour Party (LDDP), which have
been alternating in power until now. A profusion of comparatively
new parties and new faces are about to enter the scene.
The lack of turbulence in Lithuanian politics thus
far says
something about the stability of the party system in Lithuania -
especially compared to the regular breakdowns of coalition
governments in Latvia and Estonia, its Baltic neighbours to the
north. It also confirms the reestablishment of democracy in the
country. Some commentators have suggested that the political
stability of the 1990s is about to be challenged, but this is
unlikely. None of the comparatively new players are advocating
radical policy changes.
Lithuanian political scientists are generally puzzled
about
the sudden proliferation of the country's political parties.
During the economic boom of 1995 to 1998, many spoke of a coming
era of consolidation. The fall-out from the Russian crisis of two
years ago, however, damaged Lithuania's economy more than others
in the region. The country is still struggling to claw its way out
of a deep recession. In the run-up to the elections, the current
Conservative government is keen to be seen paying public sector
wages on time. But it is no secret that the government is
drastically curbing spending wherever it can.
Except for the defence budget, that is. For the
last three
years, the Homeland Union has controversially set spending on
defence at a steady two per cent of GDP, a figure recommended by
Nato to applicant nations. Politicians who are seeking to gain
political capital as the elections approach have won popularity by
criticising the high level of defence spending.
Arturas Paulauskas narrowly lost presidential elections
two
years ago to Lithuanian American Valdas Adamkus. He bounced back
to watch the popularity of his fledgling New Alliance (Social
Liberals) rocket from a shaky initial rating of two per cent, when
he suggested that part of the defence budget be transferred to
education and health. These are two areas that Lithuanians care
passionately for, which have suffered greatly under the current
economic conditions. The New Alliance is now, quite suddenly, the
most popular party in the country.
While the municipal elections held in Lithuania
in the spring
should not be taken as serious pointers as to who will benefit in
the legislative elections, they do give a hint of what is to come.
The New Alliance came out on top, with 270 deputies (out of about
1,600) and 11 mayors elected nation-wide. The party achieved
plurality in 14 of the country's 60 local governments. These were
better results than any of its rivals.
Two parties languishing in the background for many
years have
done exceptionally well within the last year, enough to ensure
they do better than most - if not all - of Lithuania's mainstream
parties in the forthcoming elections. On the left, the Peasants'
Party, led by Ramunas Karbauskis, is expected to consolidate its
rural voter base by continuing to demand subsidies for the
agricultural sector and a referendum on entry to the European
Union.
The other, the Liberal Union, was from its formation
shortly
after independence a party with classic right-wing principles
popular with educated young people and businessmen but rarely
winning more than two per cent of the vote. It suddenly gained
massive voter appeal when Rolandas Paksas became its leader.
Paksas, a stunt pilot by profession and formerly mayor of Vilnius,
became prime minister last year.
His opposition to a major oil deal with an American
firm,
Williams International, which led to his resignation just four
months later, made him a public hero. However, his star has waned
in recent months, if only because he is associated in people's
minds with the economic and governmental crisis of last year. For
the majority of the population, his image has been built on
negative achievements, because as prime minister he had little
time to achieve the sort of positive things he achieved as mayor
of Vilnius.
A reliable set of forecasts for the legislative
elections
appears in the article Shifting Party Sands, by Nerijus
Prekevicius and Terry D Clark in the 10 July edition of Central
Europe Review, at www.ce-review.org .
It is likely that no party will gain an absolute
majority in
the next government. Several, therefore, including the Liberal
Union and the New Alliance, have grouped around President Adamkus
to form a centrist coalition. If this agreement holds until the
elections the coalition should easily win at the polls.
But it will be an unstable government. It embraces
both the
left-leaning Paulauskas and right-of-centre Paksas and Adamkus.
Lithuania has no experience with such coalitions; the current
governing coalition of the Conservatives and the Christian
Democratic Party is an ideological one and is dominated by one
party.
Each of the 'new' parties are led by young, charismatic
and
intelligent politicians. None uses populist rhetoric when arguing
his principles. Each seems like a breath of fresh air in
comparison to the stale arena of 1990s politicians, many of whom
have spent a great deal of time fending off accusations of
dishonesty and corruption. Although such accusations were not
always accompanied by a great deal of evidence, they were usually
magnified by Lithuania's increasingly scandal-hungry media.
There are few extremist politicians in Lithuania.
Right-wing
populist Vytautas Sustauskas managed to become mayor of
Lithuania's second city Kaunas during the municipal elections, but
only after negotiations with parties other than his Lithuanian
Freedom League. This party is weak at the national level and not a
serious contender for the coming legislative elections.
Lithuanians are too much concerned with the economic situation to
vote for simple xenophobia and anti-Semitism.
One major problem is that the New Alliance, the
Peasants'
Party and the Liberal Union are essentially top-down,
one-personality parties. Most Lithuanians would not be able to
name more than two members of each, and their long-term voter base
and structure are questionable. The lack of a culture of
compromise in the last few years has resulted in highly-publicised
quarrels and splits in the ranks of the major parties.
Rather than being driven by sound ideological ideas,
parties
have been established simply around where their leaders stand.
Depending upon these individuals' personal attitudes, a party
could lean to the left on property ownership and to the right on
social values, or vice versa. Their motivation has simply been to
use the consequences of the economic crisis to catch votes. Some
of the new or smaller parties are depending on showbiz figures to
boost their popular image. Two of the 'Three Tigers', Lithuania's
trio of opera singers, are in the top five in party lists.
The Peasants' Party are Euro-sceptics, but all the
major
players are dedicated to both EU and Nato membership by some
means. US Ambassador to Lithuania Keith Smith recently commented
that the next government is likely to be more pro-Russian than the
current one. Paulauskas' party has strong links to Russian
business circles. The ruling Conservative Party has angered
Russian officials with claims for compensation for losses under
Soviet rule, primarily of human life due to the mass deportations
to Siberia under Stalin.
However, that the Kremlin still refuses to admit
that the
Soviets invaded the Baltic States in 1940 is an insult to every
Lithuanian, Latvian and Estonian. Due to the tragedies of the
past, any future leader of Lithuania will continue to be sceptical
of Russia. After the elections, the Seimas, Lithuania's
parliament, will be filled with new political parties and new
faces. But there will be no major changes in direction.
***
Special addition : NEW AT TOL
Transitions Online (TOL) http://www.tol.cz
is the leading
Internet magazine covering Central and Eastern Europe, the
Balkans, and the former Soviet Union. If you aren't already a
member, fill out our registration form at http://www.tol.cz/trialsubscr.html
to receive your free two-month trial membership. If you'd like to become
a TOL member
right away, go to http://www.tol.cz/member.html.
And if you're a
citizen of a post-communist country, FREE annual memberships are
still available at http://www.tol.cz/trialsubscr2.html.
NEW AT TOL: WEEK IN REVIEW
In an ongoing effort to bring our readers the best
and most
significant news from the region, we have revamped our Week in
Review section to include the TOP 10 stories from the 28 countries
TOL covers. Fewer in number but more in-depth, these stories will
offer readers a sharper, filtered look at post-communist countries
in transition. http://www.tol.cz/week.html
Slovenia: Coalition Crisis Resurfaces
Moldova: Parliament Beats Out President
Yugoslavia: Pre-Election Clampdown of Press Continues
Yugoslavia: Airlie Declaration Promotes Peaceful Coexistence
Macedonia: Albanian-Language University Recognized
Czech Republic: A New Political Beginning
Kazakhstan: The Explosion to End All Explosions
Belarus: Disappearances with Traces
Russia: Temporary Cease-Fire Against Oligarchs?
Hungary: New Libel Law Could Produce Self-Censorship
Our Take: Poland: Say it Ain't So Lech
A TOL editorial
http://www.tol.cz/ourjul31.html
This month's "In Focus" package: Survival of the Fittest
Corruption, foul-play, high hopes, nostalgia for past glory,
dwindling crowds. At least in those areas, sports in
post-communist societies is no different than in the West. Where
it concerns political interference, however, the ball is in the
East's court. Beyond the stated goal of boosting national pride,
supporting sports is a splendid way for those in high places to
raise their international profiles, win popularity points at home,
and network with the rich and famous.
http://www.tol.cz/pack.html
IN FOCUS: The Ice King
by Mikhail Vaniashkin
http://www.tol.cz/aug00/theiceki.html
Eduard Silik, the father of 8-year-old Ilya, believes
purchasing $250 of hockey equipment for his son was well worth it.
All the gear is top quality, and makes a big dent in cameraman
Silik's monthly wage of $150-$200. Despite the low wages, many
Belarusian families make sure they can fit their sons with sticks
and pads. With the president's patronage and the construction of
multi-million dollar Ice Palaces, hockey offers one of the few
opportunities for upward social mobility.
IN FOCUS: Political Scoring
by Polia Tchakarova
http://www.tol.cz/aug00/politica.html
This past year, a slew of Bulgarian ministers decided to
expand their portfolios to include the realm of sport. In addition
to building up ministerial prestige, the change is also part of
the campaign launched by the ruling United Democratic Forces (UDF)
to cleanse Bulgarian society--including the sports world--of its
shady connections. Since 1989, quasi-mafia figures have permeated
the country's sporting life--politicians have decided that
something needs to be done.
IN FOCUS: Exercising to a New Beat
by Alice Drukerova
http://www.tol.cz/aug00/exercisi.html
Fugner's hall in the downtown Sokol building is a stunning
work of art: a vast, new Renaissance-style room with arches,
arcades, a wooden floor, and a paneled ceiling. The building has
always been used as a gym, something that would have pleased the
founders of Sokol, the oldest Czech athletics club. Sokol
supporters have enthusiastically held two mass rallies since the
fall of communism, one in 1994 and the other last month, yet
membership still stands at around 180,000--a far cry from the
glory years.
IN FOCUS: Skating on Thin Ice
by Mike Scollon
http://www.tol.cz/aug00/skatingo.html
Despite a string of impressive showings from its well-stocked
stable of athletes, Russia's national figure skating program faces
a dire future should it fail to prepare for the future. Lured by
ample ice time and plentiful fringe benefits offered by private
foreign training centers, scores of skaters and coaches have taken
the leap abroad. A glance at the team rosters serves as evidence
of the impact the migration has made. Nearly every Western
European and Eastern European squad has a Russian-born skater.
MEDIA: Combating Vigilante Journalism
by Dusan Babic
http://www.tol.cz/aug00/media.html
The recent killing of a Serbian UN translator--after a Kosovar
Albanian newspaper alleged his involvement in war crimes--has
prompted harsh regulations against offending media and led some
press freedom groups to complain about "dictatorship" and new
forms of censorship. Yet media commission official Dusan Babic
argues that the international community has successfully laid the
foundation for democratic and professional media in post-Dayton
Bosnia, a formula that could also work in Kosovo--given time.
IN THEIR OWN WORDS: Prelude to the Fall
http://www.tol.cz/itowa/jul00bos.html
Over the last five years, the massacre of up to 8,000 Bosnian
Muslims in Srebrenica on 11 July 1995 has become etched in
collective memory as the worst mass murder in Europe since World
War II. As the anniversary of the tragedy approached, the Sarajevo
weekly Dani published on 7 July recollections by Emir Suljagic,
who spent the war in Srebrenica. Excerpts of his story, entitled
"The Camp Without Barbed Wire," are below. Here, he describes the
mood two years before the massacre.