Milosevic’s Political Rivals Looking to Postwar Struggle

The beefy bodyguard, on duty protecting one of Serbia’s top opposition figures, jumped nervously from his seat when he saw an approaching soldier in camouflage uniform.

The soldier had just entered the lobby of the Hotel Montenegro and was visible through the glass doors of the nearly empty hotel restaurant, where Zoran Djindjic, the president of the largest party in Serbia fully committed to democracy, was giving an interview.

It isn’t easy being an opposition politician anywhere in Yugoslavia these days. Even here in the relative safety of Montenegro--the republic ruled by pro-Western political opponents of President Slobodan Milosevic--Democratic Party leader Djindjic and his bodyguard couldn’t completely relax.

But the soldier had other business in the hotel--he went to the men’s room. Djindjic carried on explaining how he and Montenegrin President Milo Djukanovic hope to use this small republic as a base from which to spread democratic ideas and objective information into Serbia, the much larger of the two republics that form Yugoslavia. Both men appear to assume that Milosevic may well survive in office once the war is over, despite his indictment Thursday, along with four top aides, on war crimes charges.

“We must find a way to explain to the people what has happened during the war and our position on different issues,” Djindjic said.

As Djindjic spoke, he was constantly interrupted by calls on his mobile phone. With one of the calls, his voice suddenly adopted a tone of enormous respect as well as a touch of formality.

“Your statement on BBC was very good,” Djindjic said into the phone. “There’s no one who is a greater patriot than you. . . . Your compliments mean a lot to me. I appreciate your support above everything.”

The caller was Crown Prince Alexander, the British-born heir to the Yugoslav throne, who lives in London but has emerged as one of the players trying to build a healthier society for postwar Yugoslavia.

Among the greatest assets Djindjic and Djukanovic bring to the struggle for democracy in Yugoslavia are their strong connections to Western Europe and their ability to charm foreigners--a sharp contrast to the dark aura surrounding Milosevic and his inner circle.

The indictments of Milosevic and his closest supporters will make life harder for the democratic opposition in the weeks ahead, but in the long run the Yugoslav president’s power will wane, Djindjic said.

“It is a high-risk game now, between Milosevic and the people around him and NATO,” Djindjic said on the day the indictments were announced. “We can try to survive in Montenegro as a democratic element, try to survive in Serbia as democratic parties not in direct confrontation with Milosevic. He will be very dangerous now.”

Lobbying Efforts for Western Backing

Both Djindjic and Djukanovic have traveled to Western Europe in recent weeks. That was partly to lobby for what they called, in a joint statement written for Western leaders, “decisive international help” in the formation of a democratic postwar Yugoslavia--including backing for a television station they plan to launch.

“Montenegro needs more support,” Djindjic said. “It’s very important that normal life be protected in Montenegro without crises in food, oil, gas lines, this kind of thing. The international community ought to give financial support for refugees and for the economic situation. It will be enough.”

But close ties to the countries that are bombing Yugoslavia are also the two men’s greatest liability, because such ties open them to charges of disloyalty.

In Djukanovic’s case, that liability is compounded by his policy of keeping Montenegro out of Milosevic’s fight with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. And for Djindjic, it is aggravated by his decision a few weeks ago to flee Serbia and set up operations in Montenegro, largely out of fear that goons in the service of Milosevic might kill him.

Djindjic’s fear is not unfounded. Prominent opposition journalist Slavko Curuvija was killed last month after being accused on state-run television of being a traitor. State media in Belgrade, the Yugoslav and Serbian capital, and pro-Milosevic politicians are now bombarding Djindjic with the same charge.

Some fellow opposition figures have also blasted Djindjic, among them former Yugoslav Deputy Prime Minister Vuk Draskovic, the leader of the Serbian Renewal Movement. A onetime opposition ally of Djindjic who joined Milosevic’s government early this year, Draskovic was fired after making critical remarks last month and has been maneuvering in recent weeks to portray himself as the country’s leading opposition figure.

Sniping From Ostensible Allies

Draskovic--whose democratic credentials are much weaker than Djindjic’s--has criticized the Democratic Party leader for “running away from Serbia at its most difficult moment.”

Djindjic has even faced sniping from within his own party.

Earlier this month, a Draskovic-controlled television station, Studio B, aired an hourlong interview with Miodrag Perisic, a leading figure in the Democratic Party and a critic of Djindjic. The interview was widely interpreted in Belgrade as an effort by Draskovic to draw supporters away from a weakened party.

But Perisic, a former party vice president, is still on the Democratic Party’s executive board. He showed up at its headquarters recently while it was under attack by pro-Milosevic demonstrators.

Perisic, who was hit by two eggs on the way into the building, said he does not believe he betrayed his party by giving the critical TV interview. He said he understood Djindjic’s decision to leave Belgrade, but he faulted Djindjic for not turning over leadership of the party to someone else.

“Djindjic is doing a fair job of shuttle diplomacy,” he said. “But he needs to untie himself from the party. He cannot run it by remote control.”

In the protest that Perisic encountered at the party headquarters, a crowd of several dozen pelted the building with rocks and eggs. Most of the demonstrators were young men with short hair.

Still, there are indications that Djindjic and Djukanovic are providing fresh inspiration for some people in Serbia, especially younger ones.

“Secondhand information reached me about democrats from Serbia in Montenegro and that they were working on some postwar political plan,” said Stojan Miladinovic, 27, a student in Belgrade. “When I found out through my friends in Montenegro what exactly it’s all about, that gave me some kind of new energy and hope to believe in tomorrow.

“I admired President Djukanovic ever since he managed to brace himself and beat old-fashioned Communists. I was dreaming of a politician like Djukanovic for Serbia. Believing that kind of man and his kind of plan has a chance to succeed, through motivating the right people, I recently joined the Democratic Party.”

Democratic Party Vice President Slobodan Vuksanovic seemed ambivalent when asked about Djindjic’s departure.

“I cannot defend him, nor can I accuse him,” he said. “I’d like to see him here, but I couldn’t take responsibility for urging him to stay.”

Some powerful figures within his party strongly back Djindjic’s move.

“Djindjic is in Podgorica because with the beginning of the war, an atmosphere of lynching and liquidations of people who are political opponents of the regime was created in Serbia,” said Zoran Zivkovic, the mayor of Nis, Yugoslavia’s third-largest city and an opposition stronghold. “This was proved by the liquidation of Mr. Curuvija.

“Mr. Djindjic got information from circles close to the regime that he is the next one. No one could guarantee us that that was not true.”

Djindjic said that he really had no choice and that, besides, he can be more effective for now in Podgorica, the Montenegrin capital, because he can work with Djukanovic.

“It was very dangerous,” Djindjic said. “From the beginning of the war, I was only two times in my apartment. . . . My bodyguards [in Belgrade] cannot have guns. You need a special license, and it was rejected for me. All criminals in Belgrade and Serbia work for Milosevic, and they are armed.”

Vuksanovic said the opposition’s task in Serbia “is simply to present ourselves as normal patriots--there are too many crazy patriots now.”

The only politics possible at this time, he said, is to help people survive the NATO bombing. This is the main focus of democratic politicians who govern cities such as Nis and Novi Sad, he said.

“The war has hurt all democratic forces in Serbia, but it is not damage that cannot be repaired,” said Zivkovic, the Nis mayor. “People who voted for the Democratic Party know who they voted for. They know that it is not a party of traitors, that we’re not using empty rhetoric and that beating the chest is not our style.”

Another tool of Milosevic’s control has been the selective targeting of political opponents for induction into the army.

Ljiljana Lucic, another vice president of the Democratic Party, said presidents of 20 local party chapters and about 1,500 other party members have been mobilized into the reserves during the war.

A messenger arrived at party headquarters Thursday with a government notice for Djindjic. Lucic said the message was thought to be an army induction notice. The messenger was turned away.

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Holley reported from Podgorica and Boudreaux from Belgrade.