The management of "Tamnava East" yesterday submitted resignations and sided with the workers. "Only the current authorities can cause black outs or cause the breakdown of the whole system in order to try to turn the public against the strikers," Rankovic told the Beta news agency. He stressed that even if the thermal power plant "Nikola Tesla" stops working other power plants in Serbia are still available and the consumption of electricity is small at the moment, since all but a few of the large companies are not working at the moment. Rankovic also emphasized that the "Kolubara" coal mine is in itself a large consumer of electricity. He reminded that three years ago villagers from the village of Medosevac blocked the mine for 20 days in protest against the failure of the government to pay for their expropriated land and houses "and even then there was no breakdown of the electrical system".
Workers of the mining basin "Kolubara" are continuing their strike because of the refusal of the authorities to recognize the victory of Dr. Vojislav Kostunica in the first round of presidential elections. During the last night the Police did not try to enter "Tamnava" open cast mine, where about 7,500 workers have been on strike for three days. Several hundreds of miners remained in the mine until morning. They are guarding the objects and heavy mechanization in fear that "miners from Kosovo could be brought to Tamnava to start production," as the strikers told the Beta news agency.
Two days ago the Police did not come to Tamnava and the morning shift reached the mine without problem. The traffic towards the mine was not been interrupted. The Police blocked the approaches to the mine two nights ago and only after long negotiations allowed about 500 workers of "Tamnava Istok" and citizens to reach the mine and join the workers who are guarding the equipment. The striking committee informed Beta that last night the police presence at the crossroads leading towards the mine was much smaller than two days ago.
Workers of "Tamnava Istok" were yesterday addressed by DOS leaders Nebojsa Covic and Vladan Batic. They had previously talked to the director of "Tamnava Istok", Slobodan Jacimovic, and trade union representatives. Batic and Covic called on the workers "to persevere until the morning" and "to organize well and try to avoid anything undesirable". The director of the mine, Slobodan Jacimovic, told the Beta agency that he "is not a leader of the strike but [has] joined the workers". To the question whether he was afraid, he responded that he was not because "[his] children were with [him]".
Since yesterday morning, almost all companies in Lazarevac are on strike because of the refusal of the authorities to recognize the victory of Dr. Vojislav Kostunica in the first round of presidential elections.
"According to the information I have, the government of Serbia has demanded from the management of Electro Kosovo, now in Belgrade, to recruit Serbs expelled from Kosovo and Metohija as scabs for Kolubara mine and other public companies. The Serbian Government demands that Kosovo Serbs who are paid by the government replace workers who have joined the general strike and protests in Serbia. As far as I was informed, the management of Electro Kosovo refused this demand, justifying that by technical and other difficulties," Momcilo Trajkovic, the leader of the Serb Resistance Movement, stated for Danas. Trajkovic appealed to the Kosovo Serbs not to give in to the Government pressure. The Serbian Government could blackmail them by refusing to pay salaries. Trajkovic also added that the management will be held responsible for any manipulation with the workers.
"Also, we shall refuse, as needed, to supply our goods until the above mentioned goals are achieved, in order to avoid participating indirectly in spreading of doubts and misinformation through the media printed on our paper," emphasizes the statement.
"'Matroz' is an important part of this town, Vojvodina and this state. Therefore, gentlemen, you who have so far allegedly ruled trying to protect our interests, heed our advice: recognize honestly the victory of democracy and step aside - you have been replaced."
The municipal trade union in Sremska Mitrovica also condemned abuses, forgeries and other activities whose goal is to misrepresent the will of the citizens. It offered its support to all means of civic disobedience and left it to the workers to decide on their own how they would protest. The trade union warned that in case of dismissals it would organize a general strike.
It is difficult to come up with any different interpretation of the statement of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA), except that Moscow has turned its back on the DOS and abandoned the huge majority of voters who voted for the democratic changes. Alexander Yakovenko, a spokesperson of the Ministry, assesses for example that the decision of the Federal Election Commission (FEC) to call the second round of the presidential elections is "legal and based on the results from the first round". According to Yakovenko, Yugoslavs themselves should decide whether they want a recount but he adds that Moscow "is convinced that only the strict observation of the legal framework by all political forces can help Yugoslavia overcome this difficult phase in its history."
Hiding behind rhetorical phrases and insistence on legal forms cannot, however, disguise the fact that the official statement of the Russian MFA is full of holes like a piece of Swiss cheese. If anyone thought that the Ministry decided too early that the FEC decision was "legal and based on actual results" since it also mentions the recount, they were very wrong. It turns out that for the official Moscow the only true result is the one issued by the FEC, even if it is falsified. In that context, the proclaimed Putin's readiness to send Igor Ivanov to Belgrade to resolve the election crisis is most likely nothing but another example of Russian political flirting with Milosevic. That is confirmed indirectly by a denial of the special envoy for the Balkans, Vladimir Chizov that "Moscow warned Milosevic not to use force to impose his will on the voters."
With that official stand the Russian authorities only added gasoline to the fire of the existing chaos and confusion. Of course, this is not an example of Russian fickleness but a consistent feature of Russian foreign policy. The Russian foreign policy has recently been characterized with more or less open flirting with Milosevic as a trump card in the power games with the West. Above all, its goal is to make political points on the domestic scene, even though that extends the political life of the regime in Belgrade. The statement issued by the Russian MFA could mean that Moscow has sided with Milosevic as a more suitable partner than Kostunica. The key for such behavior probably lies in the fear that Kostunica could be more cooperative with respect to the West and thus leave Moscow without any allies and influence in the Balkans.
"Although the Albanian representatives do not mention election results, I stated at a TKAC meeting that all of this is a referendum against Milosevic and the existing system, as well as that Kostunica has received the trust of all ethnic communities [in Serbia]. I really expect that the recognition of Kostunica's victory, in spite of the present difficult security situation, will improve the living conditions of Serbs in Kosovo and prompt the international administration to get seriously involved in the return of expelled Serbs," believes Rada Trajkovic.
Serb sources in Kosovo claim that the leaders of Kosovo Albanians are rather disturbed by the results of the federal elections, although they refuse to comment on them in public. Allegedly, there are also indications that Kosovo Albanians could participate in the second round of the presidential election.