Telecommunications Minister

Vreme, Belgrade, FR Yugoslavia, August 21 1999

This should not present too much of a burden for any of the above-mentioned people, in view of the more than congenial agreement of the Yugoslav Left with the Serbian Radical Party in all the important issues of complicity in power. Markovic's statement that the Yugoslav Left supports the government in its "resolute implementation of laws in general" could be countersigned by any honest radical. Furthermore, the statements that the Information Law was "a highly professionally and well shaped act for the protection of the freedom of information" that "in the best way possible protects the citizens from lies and alarmist fabrications", while at the same time "protecting journalists and public media".

HIS THOUGHTS: Briefly, when he says "political right" Ivan Markovic is not referring to the Serb Radical Party. Or, in other words, JUL will "find a way to deal with aggressive and conservative political right exemplified by the illegally elected president of Montenegro". Milo Djukanovic (for whom, according to Ivan Markovic voted "Islamic fundamentalists, Balli Combetar [WWII Albanian fascist movement] supporters and Ustashe [Croatian WWII pro-Nazi movement] separatists" [Markovic was referring to the support Djukanovic received from members of Montenegro's Slavic Muslim, Albanian, and Croatian minorities]) and Svetozar Marovic "cannot represent Montenegro". Instead "together with Albanian secessionists and terrorists they are following a precisely outlined orders of their foreign paymasters: their goal is to destabilize and dismember the Republic of Serbia". That intriguingly simple logic of spokesperson and minister Markovic is necessarily followed, instead of a conclusion, by a political statement: "Milo Djukanovic's illegally established authorities with all means, including organized groups of criminals, want to prevent the promotion of the political program whose determinants are Yugoslavism, peace, freedom, elimination of crimes and the building of a dignified and on social justice based society""

Of course, United Yugoslav Left (JUL) is fighting for the above mentioned goals. JUL defines itself as both a political party and a political movement. In accordance with that, members of the party are required to show both self-initiative and discipline. In that sense, Ivan Markovic is convinced that "comrade Mira Markovic is responsible for all initiatives that benefit the citizens" but that "every attack on president Slobodan Milosevic is also an attack on Yugoslavia".

WHO SHOULD BE BLAMED FOR THIS VICTORY?: With such clear criteria, it is that much easier to unmask enemies, and even more straightforward (if that is possible) to thwart their plans. In February 1998, two days before the "cleansing" of Kosovo from terrorism began, the future minister stated the following: "The whole territory of the Republic of Serbia is under control of the legitimate authorities and no one else controls even the smallest part of the Serbian territory". Somewhat later, when the question of foreign mediation in Kosovo hit the agenda, Markovic was also unequivocal in his rejection: "First, because we have learnt something from history, secondly because Yugoslavia now has its president Slobodan Milosevic, and thirdly, because it has United Yugoslav Left!". When everything ended the way it did, Ivan Markovic included among the precisely listed effects of the resistance to the NATO aggression the "facts" that "the people and the state have been preserved", that "Kosmet remained a part of our country", that "our country has not become a colony, and the security of the citizens in Kosovo and Metohija is guaranteed by the International Community", that "the U.N. has been brought back to the international political scene as an active participant", that "the whole world guarantees the security of the citizens in Kosmet", that "diplomacy won over violence" and that Yugoslav resistance has confirmed "the right of states to establish their international and legal subjectivity despite their size and military might under their disposal".

When Louise Arbour issued an indictment of the Hague Tribunal against Slobodan Milosevic, Ivan Markovic had a sharp reaction. "You lie because you are paid to do so, because you are unable to form your own opinion," he stated.

In July, Markovic revealed to the domestic public new details about the secret CIA plan, which was last year uncovered by doctors Ratko Markovic, Vojislav Seselj and Milovan Bojic. On his visit to the village of Babusnica, Ivan Markovic stated that "CIA is financially supporting certain media in our country, immediate environment of these media and, what is worst, people who at least formally have Yugoslav citizenship and who are formally Yugoslav citizens". Besides that CIA "also finances deserters, draft evaders, some of whom used to be Generals, while others were outside the country [during the NATO aggression]".

PARAINFORMATIVE MEDIA: In the continuing war waged by the New World Order against Yugoslavia, the "parapolitical and parainformative fifth column in the country is in the first ranks of NOW", claims Markovic. "The purpose of these foreign mercenaries is to destroy the moral strength of the people that prevailed over the moral weakness of the NATO aggressor. They wish to use propaganda during peace to cause dissent among the people who ... managed to defend themselves from the strongest power with their spirit, reason and unity".

Incidents involving Ivan Markovic and the media during the past year start with the First Congress of the Yugoslav Left in July 1998. Accreditations were given to the state media Dnevni Telegraf, BK Telekom, and "over 40 foreign media". Those denied entry to the Congress included Beta and Fonet news agencies, Radio B92, Studio B, Blic, Glas Javnosti, NT Plus, Nasa Borba and Vecernje Novosti. The list of the (un)wanted was "made by the deputy president of the Yugoslav Left Directorate Ivan Markovic himself". Some time later, in October 1998, Ivan Markovic dismissed the criticism and request stated in a letter sent to Slobodan Milosevic by the editors of the Belgrade weekly Evropljanin Slavko Curuvija and Aleksandar Tijanic, the first victims of the Information Law. At that time, late Slavko Curuvija judged the application of the Law against Dnevni Telegraf and Evropljanin as "a retaliation against the independent media". He also said that Ivan Markovic "used to come to Dnevni Telegraf, quite often and expressed his respect of the paper and the editor and most often gossiped about Mira Markovic, Milovan Bojic and Leposava Milicevic, as well as about their financial transactions with the arrested Nenad Djordjevic", and that he was "a kind of a part-time associate" of Dnevni Telegraf.

The protests did not prevent the "resolute implementation of the law in general" and consequently minister Ivan Markovic, of late in charge of the "assignment" of frequencies, will hardly have any dilemmas in his new position. According to his simplistic logic, the independent media "that were paid by the foreign powers to announce that the bombardment of Serbia would start on June 21 (1998), continue their dishonest doing". In other words, they "seeking to politically and psychologically destabilize the FRY and the Republic of Serbia and our public, publish lies about the economic situation in the country, dramatic changes on the market and just as dramatic change of the dinar exchange rate".

Why are the independent media doing what they are doing? "Because they are independent from patriotism, independent from truth and independent from morals and thus think that they are also independent from the judgment of citizens". Last Monday, in his first ministerial address on a panel discussion organized by the Yugoslav Left in Stara Pazova, Ivan Markovic did not mention the media. He said that, while the federal and republic governments invested maximum efforts in the interest of citizens ("they build infrastructure, roads and bridges, reconstruct the destroyed buildings or construct new housing") others "gather and waste time, rallying. Some parties also, by refusing participation in governments, demonstrate their irresponsibility and actual disregard for the well-being of the country and its citizens".

As for Markovic's confidence "that the competent bodies shall, on the basis of their authority, treat foreign mercenaries and their actions according to the law", this confidence was no doubt reflected in the initiative by Mladenovac Yugoslav Left branch launched on August 17 to "establish a popular tribunal" to try all those who "during the bombing were outside the country and supported the bombing, those who boycotted the elections and now wish to take power in the streets". The meeting was attended by Ivan Markovic's party comrade in the federal government Bratislava Morina, in charge of the refugees and displaced persons. One gets the impression that they operate on the same frequency.