Glas Javnosti, Belgrade, Yugoslavia
March 19, 2001

Balance sheet of the new government: Neither bread nor circuses
by Kosta Cavoski

More than 160 days have passed since the overturn of October 5, 2000 ad
80
days have passed since the overwhelming victory of the Democratic
Opposition
of Serbia (DOS) in the December elections - enough time to draw up the
first
balance sheet of the new government.

In the very beginning of this new democratic era, the greatest emphasis
was
placed on the ?EUR�thrill?EUR? of the foreign players with the new
government in
Belgrade. Cited in support of this is the quick acceptance of Yugoslavia

into the United Nations and OSCE. However, no mention is made of the
fact
that we were accepted as a completely new country which was created
yesterday, even though our membership in the United Nations was only
suspended; consequently, by submitting a request for acceptance as a new

country we practically co-validated the violation of the UN Charter
carried
out by that suspension.

An ugly shadow has been cast on this caring and benevolent approach of
the
so-called international community toward the new government by the
unexpected demand of Milo Djukanovic that Montenegro completely secede
as an
independent country and the incursion of Arbanas terrorists armed to the

teeth into the external safety zone, all with the unspoken and perhaps
the
direct support of the North Atlantic alliance.

For ordinary people who don?EUR�t care much about dignity or the
territorial
integrity of the state, far more significant is the economic progress
which
was promised and the longing desire for an improvement in life
conditions
which have become intolerable. On the eve of the elections, these hopes
were
fueled by the casual statements of DOS leaders such as Vladan Batic,
Mladjan
Dinkic and others to the effect that four to six billion marks of gifts,

assistance and favorable loans would pour into our country after their
election victory. It was even public talk that the NATO member countries

were prepared to compensate the damage they had caused by their
aggression
in the form of appropriate assistance.

It quickly became apparent that these were false promises and
transparent
deceptions. Instead of four to six billion marks, barely three hundred
million has arrived for the most part in merchandise, electricity and
other
basic needs, hardly any of it in the cash necessary to revitalize the
economy. And so the economy continues to stagnate, while prices,
especially
of food items and other expenses which are absolute necessities,
continue to
spiral upward. And what is worst of all, salaries are increasingly
losing
the race with prices which has an especially adverse effect on the
growing
ranks of the poor.

This has induced some groups of employed persons - the workers of
?EUR�Telecom?EUR?,
?EUR�Zastava?EUR? in Kragujevac and, most recently, education workers -
to begin
strikes and to demand significant increases in salary. By granting the
possibility of an initial twenty percent salary increase with successive

incremental increases thereafter the Serbian Government has managed to
stave
off the first strikes; however, it is highly questionable whether it
will be
able to continue to do so when health workers and other destitute groups
of
workers begin their own strikes. In other words, due to the almost
complete
lack of generous support previously promised from abroad, the new
government
has not been successful in revitalizing the economy and in securing
enough
bread and other needs for its citizens.

In addition to a full belly, which is always the highest priority,
ordinary
people also need some form of comfort and food for the soul: in these
modern
times, this is equivalent to an entertaining television program.
Milosevic?EUR�s
Socialists were not lacking in this respect; like true pirates (lest we
say
thieves) they broadcast the best and the newest films and television
series
for which they obviously paid nothing to their creators and producers.
Especially memorable were the exceptionally good film marathons run by
TV
Politika which were broadcast with the intent of discouraging people
from
going out into the streets. The new government doesn?EUR�t have the
knack for
this nor the money to pay copyrights; consequently, it is compensating
for
the huge lack of good films with an almost repulsive excess of public
appearances by its leaders.

During the time of imperial Rome social peace was preserved according to
the
dictate: bread and circuses! It would appear that our new government is
incapable of providing us with either.



by Kosta Cavoski

More than 160 days have passed since the overturn of October 5, 2000 ad
80
days have passed since the overwhelming victory of the Democratic
Opposition
of Serbia (DOS) in the December elections - enough time to draw up the
first
balance sheet of the new government.

In the very beginning of this new democratic era, the greatest emphasis
was
placed on the ?EUR�thrill?EUR? of the foreign players with the new
government in
Belgrade. Cited in support of this is the quick acceptance of Yugoslavia

into the United Nations and OSCE. However, no mention is made of the
fact
that we were accepted as a completely new country which was created
yesterday, even though our membership in the United Nations was only
suspended; consequently, by submitting a request for acceptance as a new

country we practically co-validated the violation of the UN Charter
carried
out by that suspension.

An ugly shadow has been cast on this caring and benevolent approach of
the
so-called international community toward the new government by the
unexpected demand of Milo Djukanovic that Montenegro completely secede
as an
independent country and the incursion of Arbanas terrorists armed to the

teeth into the external safety zone, all with the unspoken and perhaps
the
direct support of the North Atlantic alliance.

For ordinary people who don?EUR�t care much about dignity or the
territorial
integrity of the state, far more significant is the economic progress
which
was promised and the longing desire for an improvement in life
conditions
which have become intolerable. On the eve of the elections, these hopes
were
fueled by the casual statements of DOS leaders such as Vladan Batic,
Mladjan
Dinkic and others to the effect that four to six billion marks of gifts,

assistance and favorable loans would pour into our country after their
election victory. It was even public talk that the NATO member countries

were prepared to compensate the damage they had caused by their
aggression
in the form of appropriate assistance.

It quickly became apparent that these were false promises and
transparent
deceptions. Instead of four to six billion marks, barely three hundred
million has arrived for the most part in merchandise, electricity and
other
basic needs, hardly any of it in the cash necessary to revitalize the
economy. And so the economy continues to stagnate, while prices,
especially
of food items and other expenses which are absolute necessities,
continue to
spiral upward. And what is worst of all, salaries are increasingly
losing
the race with prices which has an especially adverse effect on the
growing
ranks of the poor.

This has induced some groups of employed persons - the workers of
?EUR�Telecom?EUR?,
?EUR�Zastava?EUR? in Kragujevac and, most recently, education workers -
to begin
strikes and to demand significant increases in salary. By granting the
possibility of an initial twenty percent salary increase with successive

incremental increases thereafter the Serbian Government has managed to
stave
off the first strikes; however, it is highly questionable whether it
will be
able to continue to do so when health workers and other destitute groups
of
workers begin their own strikes. In other words, due to the almost
complete
lack of generous support previously promised from abroad, the new
government
has not been successful in revitalizing the economy and in securing
enough
bread and other needs for its citizens.

In addition to a full belly, which is always the highest priority,
ordinary
people also need some form of comfort and food for the soul: in these
modern
times, this is equivalent to an entertaining television program.
Milosevic?EUR�s
Socialists were not lacking in this respect; like true pirates (lest we
say
thieves) they broadcast the best and the newest films and television
series
for which they obviously paid nothing to their creators and producers.
Especially memorable were the exceptionally good film marathons run by
TV
Politika which were broadcast with the intent of discouraging people
from
going out into the streets. The new government doesn?EUR�t have the
knack for
this nor the money to pay copyrights; consequently, it is compensating
for
the huge lack of good films with an almost repulsive excess of public
appearances by its leaders.

During the time of imperial Rome social peace was preserved according to
the
dictate: bread and circuses! It would appear that our new government is
incapable of providing us with either.

---

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