Barry S. Marjanovich wrote:
> World Alert, December 11, 1997
> BELGRADE, Servia - Servia's presidential front runner, a proxy of Yugoslav
> President Slobodan Milosevic, will face a run-off in two weeks' time
> against a far-right nationalist. Milan Milutinovic, currently Yugoslav
> foreign minister and the candidate of the ruling socialists, won 41.5 per
> cent of the vote in the first-round presidential contest. Behind him was
> Vojislav Seselj, head of the far-right Servian Radical Pary, who won 32.65
> per cent. Seselj has been denounced as a fascist by the US envoy to the
> Balkans. The run-off is needed on December 21 since neither candidate won
> more than 50 percent of the vote.
> SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS SSSS
Zemunske Novine had been a drab, boring weekly paper issued by the local
authorities in
Zemun, a suburb of Belgrade, until Vojislav Seselj and
his Serb Radical Party won the
Novemeber 1996 local elections there. Soon, the paper
was transformed into a glossy weekly
with an endless series of articles about the successes
of the new local authorities and Mr. Seselj's
face smiling from almost every page.
http://www.cdsp.neu.edu/info/students/marko/yupatpress.html
We Must Not Forget
by Natasa Zikic and Marinko Maric
Zemunske Novine, Belgrade, FR Yugoslavia, 8/5/97
Jaded public, disturbed at the time by the news about the huge auction
of art pieces owned by the Zemun municipality
has finally shut up facing the humane character of this action.
Every child received 2,000 dinars. So much bread, butter, cakes... So
many pairs of shoes, sneakers, shirts... So many
fulfilled childhood dreams...
Auction hammer of the persistent Zemun mayor, Dr. Seselj, auctioned off
this happiness. And he sold only the
unnecessary. Forgotten items! Tito's statues, old decorations, communist
books used for brain washing... Oil paintings,
graphics and other works of art were sold for unbelievable amounts of
money under the guidance of this amazing
auctioneer. The citizens of Zemun bought knowing that money will reach
the needy. It was received by the widows of the
fallen warriors, heroes, victims. Mothers!
Anonymous collector bought the painting by Milan Konjovic for 40,000
dinars. Another extremely beautiful painting by
the legendary Peda Milosvljevic, entitled "Paris", was sold for 60,000
dinars. Thus, the paintings of these two artists,
famous for their patriotism and dedication to their nation, were used in
the right way. For some new generations for
whom Paris is now only a far away, inconceivable shore.
(...)
"If my former husband were alive, he would have been happy because of
this. He left four children". Widow Nevenka
Begnajic has already raised two of them. She reached Zemun in the last
wave of refugees from Knin. Before the war
they had lived in Benkovac.
"We were received by relatives. We've been living with them for two
years so, fortunately, we don't have to rent an
apartment. The elder daughter works, so we've been surviving somehow;
hopefully, soon we shall be able to finally
resolve the problem with the disability pension. I am grateful to our
Seselj for organizing this assistance. That's a lot of
money. It wasn't easy to organize this event. It serves him well. People
say all sorts of things about him. Let them babble,
he hasn't changed. He is incorruptible. If he were in power during the
war, it wouldn't have all ended so tragically for the
Serb people. Now he has some power and still, they won't let him work.
Slanderers. He is a good, honest man.
"First, I'll buy sneakers for my kids. I work for a privately owned
company, but cannot earn enough for my children. This
money came at the right time," says this middle aged woman.
MIlena Alavanja from Benkovac has been struck a bitter blow by fate. She
lost her husband Marko in the war, in
1993. Her elder son Elvis was wounded in an artillery attack. The child
lost his arm. Younger Denis is aged seven and
will start school in the fall. Milena works from time to time for
private firms. The small three member family lives
temporarily in Petrovcic.
"The most important thing for me is that my children are alive; somehow,
we will figure out everything else. I'm trying to
get a disability pension for my Elvis, as a victim of war; that way he
would be taken care of for life. With this money, I
will buy them sneakers and trousers. I'll dress my orphans.
"I've been counting this money and I can tell you, Seselj is a special
person. That's a wonderful gesture! I don't have
anyone closer than him. I must tell you that while my husband and I were
still in Krajina we put all our hope in Seselj. I
was at the front as well. I had to defend my home. I was next to my
husband when he died. I know Seselj's units very
well. His men were the most disciplined at the front, especially in
Benkovac. After my husband's death I took his place in
the trenches, I did some sentry duty as well. That was a horrible time.
Now, I'm facing a new battle, battle to raise my
children. Seselj has been and remains a great man," says moved Milena.
Zorica Milijasevic, widow with three children, received 6,000 dinars.
The Milijasevic family, from Zemun, whose father
Dusan had died on the Majevica mountain in 1994 as a volunteer, received
a few months ago 3,500 dinars from the local
authorities in Zemun. Zorica emphasizes that the Serb Radicals provided
only assistance to her and children when they
needed it the most.
Zorica has three daughters. The eldest one Tamara is celebrating her
birthday today, so that her two younger sisters will
be very busy and get a lot of presents.
"This means a lot to me. Salaries are not paid on time, there is no help
for families with children [guaranteed by law]...
Since Dr. Seselj has become the mayor of Zemun he has helped a lot to
the citizens. Especially to the children of dead
fighters, war invalids and disabled persons. All those who live on the
margins of the society, forgotten by everyone. You
can only imagine what I think about the man who gave to my child 2,000
dinars while my monthly salary is 180 dinars,
plus paid lunch. Seselj is the only candidate for the president of
Serbia. If we were only that lucky; this long suffering
people would finally have something to hope for," adamantly concludes
the widow.
(...)
Zorka Kovacevic, widowed with two children, found a job in the municipal
Parks maintenance company. Now this
family, originally from Zadar, can count on the mother's small salary.
Daughter Mirjana is seventeen and son Miroslav is
sixteen. Both of them are A students. Their mother isn't even thinking
about sending them to the college. The only worry
is how to find enough money to feed them.
The Kovacevics have been struggling for a long time with poverty in
Krajina. After they had lost all their property in
Zadar, in 1991, (that's when their father and husband Nikola was
killed), Desa moved with the children to Knin; four
years later, she had to leave Knin in a column of betrayed and sold out
Serbs and came to Serbia.
"I have been sharing a house with another family. Neither of us has any
legal claim on that property. We are afraid that
someone will throw us out on the street. My son is sick. He suffers from
hypertension. That's a consequence of our
suffering. It's been six years sine Nikola died, and during all that
time only Voja [Seselj] has helped. I haven't met him
personally. I've only seen him on TV. What a man! He is the only one I
trust, because he addresses the poor and
refugees. Milosevic has never done that. First, I will buy food for the
kids, and then some clothes with what's left after
that," sadly speaks Zorka Kovacevic, holding in her hand an envelope
with 2,000 dinars.
Svetlana Gasparevic, from Slavonia, is starting a new life in spite of
all suffering. Her first love, father of small
Aleksandar who is starting school in the fall, was killed at the start
of the war in 1991 on the Osijek front near Divos.
After that, Svetlana escaped with the child in her arms to Serbia, only
to return to the liberated Erdut several months
later. After the surrender of this Serb territory to the Croats,
Svetlana has again come to Serbia. She works in a private
boutique. She emphasizes that even after so much suffering she still
hasn't become a chauvinist; nevertheless, she finds the
media campaign in some Belgrade media against Dr. Seselj so outrageous
and discouraging that she wanted to find some
of the journalists who write such articles and ask them: can my
Aleksandar attend a school in Osijek with his Yugoslav
passport?
"I was really affected by that. Can I go to Osijek? Where is my
property? Believe me, I am not a nationalist. But this
campaign against the mayor is horrible. He is the only one to offer some
hope to the children of the dead fighters. Today,
Aleksandar received 2,000 dinars. Last time he also got 2,000 dinars. I
also applied for a plot of land and got one for
free. Now, I have my own land in Grmovac. I can build a house. That's
the future of my son. That's my future. Those
attacks on the only man who has helped the poor are horrible. Stop that,
in the name of God. That's the persecution of a
just man. I passed Dr. Seselj in the street few days ago. He says hello
to everyone... He is a real gentleman, he is not
arrogant. Dr. Seselj is the cure for this suffering people," says this
outraged widow.
(...)
Translated on 11/21/97
