It is interesting that reactions to this disgusting pronouncement came almost exclusively from the members of the so-called civilian, non-governmental sector. Not a single representative of the so-called Serb nationalist parties or movements found it necessary to react. No Seselj, nor Pelevic, no uncompromising fighters for the Serb national and religious values from "Obraz" [Honor, a conservative youth organization]. How come they were not bothered by this comparison? They either agree with Ljubisa or believe that pronouncements made by this Marxist-leftist political party are totally irrelevant.
Briefly, Marxism has become a brilliant, universal means for all sorts of attempts to gain personal legitimacy and similarly for personal showdowns. As soon as arguments run low, one turns towards the label: a Marxist! That word shuts everyone up. Here, no doubt, there was so much suffering because of Marxism that decontamination must be very thorough and affect every individual. Of course, true Marxists should not be included in this decontamination process - they can be used as examples that we are democrats after all. Besides, they are true patriots!
A similar sort of works, less relevant politically, but following a similar pattern, concerns fascism. For more than ten years an impression has been created here that fascism has been growing stronger day by day. This must be a very soft and slimy variety of fascism, which hasn't been able to in these ten years attain any of the usual characteristics of fascism, such as concentration camps, mass executions, destruction of every opposition, a ban on all the free media... Fine, although it is not fine, perhaps this is some Balkan variety of quasi-fascism, which has a hard time moving from words to actual deeds, but, nevertheless, the use of the term fascism seems to dilute the horror of what is usually referred to abroad by that term. If fascism was in power in Serbia for the last ten years, than it is indeed a miracle that Milosevic was overthrown - no fascist regime in history was overthrown peacefully from within. Fascist regimes must be overthrown by external intervention and occupation.
Of course, there are other forms of government - military juntas, tyranny, monarchy, oligarchy, dictatorship - and these are usually transformed or overthrown by action from within. I find it hard to chose where we are in that spectrum. Nevertheless, I think Michnik's term for post-communist regimes, democratorship, would be the best choice.
This aside was prompted by the assessment of Milanka Saponja, regarding increasing frequency of anti-Semitic outbursts, that the state leadership was generating fascism. In this case, above all, she was referring to the refusal of the state prosecutor to accept the suit filed by the Jewish Alliance of Yugoslavia regarding the publication of the "Protocols of the Elders of Zion". Actually, the Jewish Alliance of Yugoslavia did not file a suit against the text of the "Protocols" but against the introduction written by Djordje Katic. In the introduction Jews are linked to the NATO bombardment and similar stuff. In shot, a post-modernist embellishment of the "Protocols". Milanka Saponja interprets the decision of the prosecutor as some sort of conspiracy between the state leadership and the judiciary.
Milanka Saponja interprets the refusal of Aca Singer, the president of the Jewish Alliance, to accept such an assertion [that state leadership encourages anti-Semitism] as follows: "Singer is perhaps misled by the gesture of Vojislav Kostunica, who twice apologized to the Jews and perhaps the Alliance of Jewish Communes is afraid of confronting the authorities". Links between the legislative and executive branches of government are one of the basic characteristics of undemocratic systems. The expectation that the executive authorities would influence certain decisions of the judiciary is a rather strange expectation coming from someone who supposedly advocates greater democracy. Would, consequently, a different decision be a reflection of the independence of the judiciary or of greater influence of the executive authorities on the judiciary and the lack of democracy? To make everything even more absurd, the Jewish Alliance filed a suit against the content of another book ("Holly Gospel - Jewish Mirror" - a contribution to the characterology of the Jews). If this suit is accepted, which is very likely, what would be the conclusion - that we are a thoroughly democratic society?
Of course, such mistakes were quickly exploited by a Belgrade daily [Glas Javnosti], known by its zealous nationalist view of events and current trends, but even more those from the past (among other, that daily newspaper, is consistent in its use of the term Shiptars for Kosovo Albanians). It dedicated a whole page to the appearance of Anti-Semitism and its interpretations. According to that daily, it seems that only the Helsinki Committee for Human Rights in Serbia has spotted any evidence of anti-Semitism in Serbia.
A lot has been written about anti-Semitism and holocaust, including many good and intelligent books. One of them is the book by Zigmund Bauman "Holocaust and modernity" which deals with the appearance of anti-Semitism in Austria in the 1960's, when the number of Jews in this country was negligible. Bauman refers to that trend as "sedimentary anti-Semitism". Outbursts of Anti-Semitism were also recorded in Poland in the 1960's and 1970's. Present day Hungary is simply awash with anti-Semitism. I hope that it is not necessary to remind the readers of the incidents of enmity and pure racism against Roma all over Europe. However, it is unlikely that these trends would be characterized as fascism. Especially fascism that is "generated" by the state leadership.
Opportunities for public expression of anti-Semitism or racism have not been regulated in Europe and especially the USA as simplistically as some apparently believe. There are famous cases, some of them even reached the United Stated Supreme Court, in which fascist organizations demanded their right to organize a protest rally in parts of the city with predominantly Jewish population. They were granted that right! But, with huge limitations and strict rules. The real answer was not, however, in the hands of the American judiciary, but the residents of that part of the city. They organized an absolute boycott, so that the new Nazis passed through a ghost town in which everything was shut down and there was no one in the streets.
Once fear becomes a part of a society it is difficult to banish it. Ordinary verbal threats can be used for labeling. And when another step is taken, going from verbal threats to concrete action, as during the attack on the "Love parade", then it is clear that the "steel heel" is ready for further actions.
However, let us return to the "hero" from the beginning of this article. Ljubisa Ristic is a convinced anti-fascist. I am convinced that he would totally sincerely say that he is not anti-Semitic because he has many Jewish friends! His anti-fascism is a rather post-modern phenomenon - it has neither continuity, nor action, nor, trust me, complications nor denouement. Only timeless quotations. In such a historical psychodrama there is no space for facts as they are also liable to after-the-fact interpretations and modifications. Hence, digging up of the bones of Ustashe terror in Hercegovina, on the eve of the war and the break up of the former Yugoslavia, is for Ljubisa Ristic something absolutely unrelated to the joke about dogs and Serbs (probably because these are not bones of Serb victims dug up by Serbs themselves). Or, is there a difference between the digging up of the bones in Serbia and in Croatia and Bosnia-Hercegovina?
Antifascist Ljubisa Ristic, of course, is not an anti-Semite but he is definitely not bothered by the anti-Semitism of Nikolaj Velimirovic (see N.Veliirovic "Behind prison bars"). Instead of anti-Semitism, Ljubisa would only point out the existence of huge Jewish-Masonic-Trilateral-Vatican conspiracies.
What is serious and causes concern is not the magnitude of quasi-Communism or fascism, but the fact that ordinary national, religious and racial prejudices, which exist in all societies - especially on their margins, among the uneducated, poor and frustrated classes - have today obtained their institutional content and framework in some political parties and movements. Hence, it is not the biggest problem that many democratically oriented people praise Nikolaj Velimirovic, without actually reading anything written by him, nor that others believe that anti-Semitism is an essential part of the Serb character. The much bigger problem is the need to explain everything with one all-encompassing theory, a mythical conspiracy. That reveals the uninterrupted historical line going from the Prizren league and Garasanin's "Nacertanije" to the Vatican-Communist international conspiracies.
Here, and not only here but in the whole region, the increasing number of prophets, experts and analysts cannot agree not only regarding the cause of the wars but also regarding their consequences.
They are all dissatisfied. "Obraz", Ljubisa, Radicals, let alone patriots are all dissatisfied. They are moved to tears by the situation of their people, the Serbs. In that dissatisfaction they rely on only one thing - hope that the people will change soon. And that those who oppose that will get scared and shut up.
Besides, let us not get carried away. It's always been like that. Those who think that in this country everything was fine some thirty or seventy years ago, are either in possession of a very selective memory or were in power at the time.