New Premier Means Business in Yugoslavia

For Serbs bent on denying the reality of an approaching civil war, Milan Panic has inspired a faith in miracles.

The 62-year-old California businessman with steel-rimmed glasses, monogrammed shirts and a fierce determination to rescue his homeland has discovered a receptive audience for his message that there is still one escape from the looming apocalypse.

From the moment he was designated Yugoslavia’s new prime minister last week, Panic has come out loudly and unmistakably against the savage war in Bosnia-Herzegovina, all the while protecting the pride of its Serbian instigators by declining to talk about who is to blame.

“I don’t want to get into a debate on what they did wrong,” Panic insisted repeatedly during an interview with The Times, saying he can bring about an end to the killing only if he is granted a “clean break.”

Panic (pronounced PAHN-itch) has distanced himself from Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic while avoiding outright criticism of his role in the past year of ethnic conflict that has killed more than 17,000 people.

He also claims to outrank Milosevic under a new federal constitution.

“He will do his job, and I will do mine,” Panic said. “But God help him if he gets in my way.”

He contended that the Serbian economy, despite six-digit inflation and a paralyzed industry, is by virtue of its size still the most promising among all the republics that once made up Yugoslavia. He even boasted that, once revitalized, the new Yugoslav alliance of Serbia and Montenegro will pay off the entire $14-billion foreign debt of the old federation.

“This would be a tremendous relief for Croatia, Slovenia and Bosnia. . . . I think they need it. They’re broke,” Panic said of the breakaway republics, entwining an innate Slavic generosity with a hint of I’ll-pick-up-the-check American arrogance.

Most encouraging of all for the 10 million people of ostracized Yugoslavia is Panic’s confidence that he can restore their reputation as a country that is fit company for the rest of the world.

Being granted a fresh start by the international community that has slapped the new Yugoslavia with punitive sanctions appears to be the cornerstone of Panic’s recovery plan.

But those who see Panic as having suddenly opened a possible escape from economic chaos and threatened unrest generally agree that he can accomplish little as long as Milosevic stays in power.

On the contrary, any breaks accorded Panic would likely serve to legitimize the Serbian strongman, who is widely accused of masterminding the deadly conflict now engulfing the Yugoslav ruins.

Panic was appointed by Yugoslav President Dobrica Cosic, who in turn was named to head the new two-republic federation by a parliament and power structure designed and controlled by Milosevic.

The California businessman’s outbursts of determination contrast with his habit of avoiding specifics or saying anything that could offend.

Convincingly adamant in his opposition to killing, Panic promises to visit embattled Sarajevo soon to try to negotiate a lasting cease-fire among the Serbs, Croats and Muslims fighting there.

Once again employing his “clean slate” approach to tackling Yugoslavia’s problems, Panic said he would take the rival warlords at their word but warned that they would burn him only once.

“I don’t take too many bad checks,” he said, displaying his fondness for the business analogy. “These clowns who sign agreements will break them only once with me, and then I’ll refuse to meet with them again.”

Asked why he had faith in his own ability to mediate in the conflict, he smiled and stated confidently, “I know when a Serb is lying.”

Panic, an astute businessman who has spent most of the past three decades manufacturing pharmaceuticals in Orange County, readily admits that he is more American than Serbian, but he considers that an advantage.

He claims not to fully understand the fever of nationalism gripping the former Yugoslavia. He agrees with his compatriots that the current tensions can be traced to historical injustices but has an attitude grossly disparate from that of his fellow Serbs.

“So what?” he says of Serb claims to have suffered under the old Yugoslav system. “Everyone suffered under communism. That’s a fact, but it is the past.”

Panic’s eagerness to put history behind him will prove both a challenge and an asset. He will face his steepest uphill struggle in persuading fellow Serbs to let bygones be bygones, but if he succeeds, he will have broken the spell binding Balkan peoples in a vicious cycle of killing.

“Give me 100 days. In America we always give new governments 100 days” to show that they can make a difference, he said, noting that he has formally appealed for such a grace period from the 52-nation Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe.

Panic is loath to say much directly but, by conversational inference, recognizes the sovereignty and independence of Bosnia-Herzegovina, which the Serbian leadership under Milosevic has steadfastly refused to do.

U.N. sanctions against Yugoslavia can be lifted “very simply,” Panic said. “You don’t participate in generating wars in other countries.”

His wriggling out of straightforward statements appears grounded in concern that by openly differing with Milosevic, he may alienate people before he has a chance to win them to his side.

Despite flagging support for Milosevic, the Serbian president remains unquestionably the strongest political figure in Yugoslavia, and any effort to topple him could provoke a civil war.

Milosevic has been able to ride out a recent storm of protest because there has been no obvious successor from among the weak and disorganized Serbian opposition.

The largest party out of government is the Serbian Renewal Movement, headed by nationalist writer Vuk Draskovic, whose criticism of Milosevic is more for losing the recent ethnic battles than for starting them.

“The political body in Serbia isn’t divided between opposition and government, as in most countries,” said Dusan Knezovic of the Democratic Party. “Here it is divided between a minority that is politically active and about 60% of the population that is too absorbed with everyday problems to pay attention to the future.”

Panic, if he sticks to his view that the federal leadership calls the shots, not Serbia, could find himself in a head-on confrontation with Milosevic.

What is needed to repair the country, he said, is a better understanding of democracy, but he concedes that this will be difficult amid the remnants of a Communist system.

“People take positions here, and when they can’t solve them democratically, through elections, they take up arms,” Panic said. “These guys learned too much from Marxism-Leninism. That’s how the Communists thought you solved problems, by launching revolutions.”

Panic reserves the most gusto for the gargantuan economic problems that await him, and he never hesitates to equate his three decades as a successful entrepreneur with the daunting task of running a bankrupt country.

“The worse the problem, the easier it is to solve the first phase,” said the magnate, who has taken an indefinite leave from his Costa Mesa-based company.

Panic exudes an awesome respect for U.S. democracy that appeals to some Yugoslavs while alienating others. But the new federal government leader, who has yet to be confirmed by Parliament, predicts that he will be able to win over his doubters.

“There is now someone in Belgrade who is talking peace,” Panic said of himself. “This is a great change, but very difficult for these people to swallow. These are very proud Serbs.”