The West wants to help, but they want to see a serious opposition project. The final outcome of the whole situation now largely depends on the opposition.
President of the Association of Independent Electronic Media (ANEM) and founder and former editor-in-chief of the famous Belgrade Radio B92 Veran Matic is certainly one of the best-informed journalists in Serbia. He has spoken and met with almost all the presidents of Western states and governments and even drank espresso with Hillary Clinton and American vice-president Gore in the White House.
"The original" Radio B92 has recently started broadcasting its program on the frequency of Studio B Channel III under the name B2-92. Veran Matic is currently trying to rebuild the ANEM infrastructure and is investing his authority in trying to restore Radio B92 to its proper owners.
VERAN MATIC: This campaign was envisaged as a wide-ranging public campaign since the problem of Radio B92 is also the problem of other radio and TV stations throughout the country; all of them have serious problems because of this unfortunate Information Law. This is really a radical reaction against the independent media. Our colleague Nebojsa Ristic, editor-in-chief of TV Soko from Soko Banja has been condemned to 1-year imprisonment for displaying an ANEM poster in his window!? He is still in prison and his sentence was even confirmed by a higher court! And all of that because of a poster which could have been seen all over Belgrade?!
GLAS: On the first night of war, when your transmitter was switched off by the Police, you were also arrested...
I was then taken without any reason to the central city Police Station in 29 November St.. They treated me like a common criminal: they emptied my pockets, took my shoelaces and the belt. They didn't even allow me to make a phone call because, as they told me, they had orders to do the whole thing as quietly as possible. Then they put me in a cell with another man, who was asleep. I spent there eight ours in a conversation with him. He introduced himself as a former JUL security worker who had been "framed" for a murder. The following morning, again without any explanation or a paper, I was released. No one talked to me, no one asked me anything. They probably just wanted to show me who's in charge here...
Did you have problems later?
Before the Radio was taken over on April 2, we had received frequent visits from the state security asking about everything and anything. Later, some "well informed" individuals frequently passed on that I was on "the list" and that I could end up like Slavko Curuvija. Actually, it was only after the war that I found out that I was in real danger.
Thus, your life was in danger?
If the news I receive is true, and they come from very reliable sources, that is not far from the truth.
After all this, you are today, if not the "number 1 enemy of the state" then a least one of the top 10 enemies of the state. To what extent does the regime actually fear Veran Matic? This kind of a regime should fear anyone who thinks differently. The regime has done all it could to destroy this state and its institutions, values which had been built for years. Very few regimes and governments have managed to cripple their own people to this extent. The current hard line attitude of the regime is again going in the wrong direction. Instead of reaching for a compromise they are raising the stakes although that cannot bring anything good to anyone, including themselves.
You were recently in Sarajevo at the Stability Pact Summit. To what extent are the Western Governments, with which you have excellent connections, sincere in their avowed intention to assist the democratization of Serbia?
You can be certain that they are very determined to do something. Of course, there exists a certain mistrust of the Serbian opposition and the lack of belief that it can replace the regime, which has solidified over the years. That looser complex of the Serbian opposition has in a way also affected foreign politicians. A precondition for assistance is a serious project with internal support. At this moment, that is a sort of a trap. They say: we want to help, but you should first change the authorities! That is similar to that legendary anecdote about a Serb farmer who told Vuk Draskovic that he would vote for him once he gets into power.
Who is a political favorite of the West in Serbia. Some claim that the West favors General Obradovic?
My impression is that they do not have concrete favorites. They usually like to mention Mr. Avramovic, but on the other hand they do not see him as someone who could be an authentic leader, mostly because of his advanced age. Zoran Djindjic is definitely favored by Germans and Austrians, while the Americans appear not to have their favorite at all. However, Western diplomats are convinced that it is crucial to find that someone. As early as last December, Mr. Holbrooke asked me in a conversation: "Who if not Milosevic?" I responded that it is wrong to rely on leaders, but that the unification of the opposition forces is the key. He was very condescending and dismissed those ideas, especially when I mentioned General Perisic as a possible serious player in that unification of the opposition forces. He said: "Oh, yes, that is the General who shelled Mostar." I responded: "Yes, that is him, but every other week you talk to Milosevic, the man who issued orders for the shelling of Mostar, and I haven't noticed that that bothers you.
Is it realistic to expect that Milosevic will resign?
That is hard to say... The First Family is clearly showing by its behavior and decisions that it does not understand what has happened here and what they are responsible for. They simply do not understand how ordinary people live in this country. Slobodan Milosevic and Mira Markovic live in a totally irrational world which they have created. Just recall that Ms. Markovic has stated on several occasions that the present authorities had used violence to come to power and that they will not give it up without violence. All recent actions by the regime are going in that direction. Although there are speculations about certain countries which could offer an asylum and security for them, I believe that Milosevic has been pushed against the wall. He has gone too far. In the Milosevic case, the Hague Tribunal will never agree to make a deal, and the First Family does not trust anyone any more. Hence, it is unlikely that they will depart for Russia, Libya, China, although these countries may have already offered their protection... With all that in mind, will Milosevic resign? I very much doubt it.
Spokesmen for the regime use every opportunity to denounce you as a foreign hireling and traitor.
It is difficult to respond to such accusations. It is true that they say things like that but it is interesting that, this year, they have not issued a single indictment or tried to prove their crazy accusations. The stories of this kind brought about the murder of our colleague Slavko Curuvija! He was killed only a few days after the regime press declared an open hunt on him.
Therfore, you claim that Curuvija's death was the direct consequence of the regime's propaganda?
It is difficult to think of a different motive for his murder. Everyone knew that Slavko was in Belgrade and had not made any of the statements fabricated by the regime press...
Will those who gave the orders and committed this murder ever be found?
I hope that with the democratization of Serbia the time will come when some secret files will be opened and a commission formed to investigate all political murders since the end of World War II... Only then shall we learn who killed Curuvija and scores of other people.
You are a recipient of an impressively named prize "Leader for 21st Century" and the international award for courage and tolerance "Olof Palme". Do you have political ambitions?
Not at all. I simply do not posses the passion needed for successful political activism. I could perhaps help with some advice or my existing connections abroad, but I cannot be a part of an administration regardless of its goals.
I do not remember whether we had coffee, but it is true that we had a twenty-minute conversation at the time of "Monica-Gate". We didn't talk about Monica, but about the ways of assisting independent media in our region. I have been trying to explain to various Western foundations for a while to what extent it is important that the independent media are entertaining and can offer good movies and TV programs... They usually reply that that is expensive and difficult to achieve. However, Hillary immediately understood that idea. We even spent a part of the conversation working on an outline for the project "Hollywood for Democracy in Serbia". Immediately after that conversation, the things started going much better and several large and expensive producers contacted ANEM with offers of assistance. By the way, Hillary is a very energetic, direct and pleasant woman.