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Yugoslav Democracy on Hold Vane Ivanović YUGOSLAV DEMOCRACY ON HOLD First Edition – February 1996 Published by: “DODIR” d.o.o. Liburnijska 6 51000 Rijeka CROATIA Copyright – by “DODIR” d.o.o. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED EDITORS Dr.sc. Marko Ivanović Petar Ladjević COVER DESIGN Jelena Trpković BOOK DESIGN “ARCODE” Zagreb PRINTED BY “TISKARA JARŽA” d.o.o. Zagreb, CROATIA UDK: 323 (497.1) “194/199” & 327 (497.1) “194/197” ISBN 953-96765-0-9 960209012 Vane Ivanović YUGOSLAV DEMOCRACY ON HOLD “DODIR” Rijeka, 1996 This book is dedicated to: The participants at the Meeting in March 1963, on the Stansted Estate in England, who there signed the Outline of a proposal for a democratic alternative in Yugoslavia. They were - Božidar Vlajić, Miha Krek, Branko Pešelj, Franjo Sekolec, Ilija Jukić, Dušan V. Popović, Miodrag Djordjević, Vladimir Predavec, France Čretnik, Vane Ivanović and Desimir Tošić. In the course of private and public debates that followed some of the Stansted initiators died. Others joined what had become the Executive board. The signatories of the final text published in February 1982 in London, that became known as the Democratic Alternative were: Branko Pešelj, Franjo Sekolec, Desimir Tošić, Vladimir Predavec, Vane Ivanović, Bogoljub Kočović, Teufik Velagić and Nenad Petrović. I wish in particular to record here the prominent role played throughout the two decades by my distinguished friend DESIMIR TOŠIĆ Individualist. Democrat. Suaviter in modo, fortiter in re. FOREWORD ═════════════════════════════════ ¡ ¢ £ ¢ ¤ ¥ ¦ § ¨ © ¥ ¡ ¢ § ¢ ¥ © ¨ ¦ ¥ ¨ ¡ ¥ ¤ £ ¦ ¨ £ ¡ ¡ ¤ ¢ § ¨ ¤ ¥ ¢ § ¢ £ ¨ ¤ ¥ £ ¤ ¥ § ¥ ¢ ¨ ¨ ¦ ¢ ¦ § ¨ ¦ ¨ ¨ ¤ ¢ ¡ ¤ ¢ § ¨ £ ¦ ¨ ¨ ¤ ¦ £ ¦ ¨ £ ¥ £ ¢ £ ¦ ¢ ¥ ¤ £ ¦ ¨ c © ¨ ¦ ¥ ¨ c ¢ £ ¥ ¦ © ¢ © ¦ ¢ ¨ £ ¨ £ ¨ ¦ ¥ ¥ ¤ ¥ § ¢ § ¢ ¦ ! c " ¥ ¨ £ © £ ¢ £ ¦ ¢ # ¥ ¢ ¢ ¤ $ © ¨ § ¥ % ¦ © ¢ ¨ ¦ ¨ c ¢ £ ¦ ¨ £ £ ¢ ¢ £ ¢ £ c ¢ £ & ¦ £ ¤ % ¨ ¥ § ( ¥ ¢ ) * % ' Blood-spattered walls and torn human flesh, endless columns of dedrabbled civilians trudging through wasted landscapes, bloated bodies, both man and beast, rotting by roads or gliding down rivers, hollow faces and empty eyes, broken lives - this has been the backdrop for the drama of nation-state building among the South Slavs in recent years. The picture sear the brain; the terms chill the blood: ethnic cleansing, ethnically pure ... The world watches: the horror will pass ... surely? It did before, didn't it? And beyond it, a truth will come, won't it? But when thousands upon thousands of bodies are flung into pits, it's the truth that's being buried. When a library rages in flames in Sarajevo, it's the truth, historic truth, that's scattered across the sky. In the lands of South Slavs, with each new Idea, a new truth. Old truths, layer upon layer, fill the pits. History spins down in a vortex of deafening claim and counter-claim; the only common ground she finds as foothold is xenophobic: the Turks are to blame ... Austro-Hungarian oppression ... it's the Americans' fault ... The reliable chronicler alone can hardly still the vortex. But when the chronicler is shown to be prescient, the chances grow. And when the chronicle is imbued by passionate campaign for tolerance and understanding, they surely grow still more. In Vane Ivanovi} it was the certain knowledge that Yugoslavia could not break apart without violence and bloodshed that fuelled this campaign. It's the world's shame that it paid it insufficient attention. Gregor Fulton McGregor London January 1996 THE DEEPFROZEN DEMOCRATIC ALTERNATIVE FOR YUGOSLAVIA ═══════════════════════════════════════ Trough the development of the media of public information and in particular television, most of the Earth's population is able actually to witness events that in the future are bound to be described as historic. Among those that we shall remember are the first steps man made on the moon, several wars, the fall of the Berlin Wall and the collapse of communist rule in Eastern Europe. In the state of Yugoslavia communist rule did not collapse through violence or as a result of massive public demonstrations. The governing machine simply gave up ruling. But, as elsewhere in Eastern Europe, many of the communist leaders in the several component nations simply transformed themselves into vociferous nationalist tribunes and so retained the levers of power. The paramount such lever was the enormous wealth hitherto controlled by the communist party, stemming from the original confiscation of land and other property and its decades' long control of the economy. A vitally important part of this controlled property - the so called "social" property - were newspapers, magazines and their distribution, book publishing, radio and television. Thus, nationalism (the most powerful of the forces that toppled communist power) was harnessed by the ex-communist leaders themselves in order to foster the crystallisation of separate nations. By way of controlled media they organised popular approval of extreme nationalist programmes. In the resulting flowering of nationalist euphorias Yugoslavia broke up. The inevitable grabbing of land among independent states and attempts to secure their frontiers by force followed as night follows day. The violent conflicts and tragedies that followed them have been widely and in detail reported by the world's media, as have the attempts by European and world organisations to restore peace and help those who were suffering. This book is not another contribution to the sad accounts of the present day. Nor is its purpose to try to enquire and establish why the violent conflicts did erupt. The publication in 1995/6 of a book on the deep frozen Democratic Alternative to Yugoslavia must at first sight appear to be broadcasting of a lost cause. It is quite true that in present circumstances any kind of union of the South Slav nations, freely conceived and constitutionally brought into reality to exist in conditions of individual and communal liberty of law and order, is at best in a state of narcosis. Why then tell the story of an unsuccessful attempt to propose a peaceful and democratic way of establishing a modus vivendi tolerable and useful for all the nations of Yugoslavia? A glimpse of what was desirable and possibly achievable in peace and freedom might nevertheless prove to be of help to the coming generations of South Slav when they, as they must, reconstruct their lives. They might well reconsider the advantages for the South Slavs of mutual harmony in their relations with non-Slav neighbours and the world's great powers over the practice of mutual extermination. This edition in the English language might at the same time remind those who act for future. Great powers that paying heed only to the loudest and roughest in the Balkans does not necessarily lead to long term settlements. It would not be the first time in human history that, after wounding emotional explosions, healing and revival soon followed. The instinct for self preservation must sooner or later alert men and women to its most potent and lasting means - respect and tolerance, among kith and chins and close neighbours. But of course, common sense must also be a factor. This, the shortest possible story of the unattained Democratic Alternative for the nations and lands of the South Slavs should be viewed as a contribution to this latter, alas up to now a minor, factor - common sense. At the conference at Yalta in February 1945 communist dominion over Yugoslavia was acknowledged by the Governments of the United States, of Great Britain and of the Soviet Union. Early in 1946, after an election for the constituent assembly (described at the time by the Prime Minister of Great Britain, Mr Clement Attlee, as a one-horse race) communist Yugoslavia achieved recognition. Among many others I refused to recognise such a state. Realising that as an individual I was quite powerless to influence any of the world's Great Power or, indeed, any of the members of the United Nations, which organisation had accepted communist Yugoslavia as its founder member, I had no alternative but to seek political asylum in Great Britain where I had been a legal resident since 1925 and in whose armed forces I had volunteered to serve during the Second World War. I was accepted as a political exile in Great Britain. I re-started the family shipping business and benefiting from the civil and political freedom obtaining in Great Britain took part in some peaceful exile political activities. These will be dealt with in this book chronologically. My principal activity was in connection with a proposal for democratic reform of the communist dominated state of Yugoslavia by peaceful means. It became known as the Democratic Alternative for Yugoslavia. It is now deep frozen and awaits re-consideration by future generations of South Slavs. £ ¦ © ¨ ¢ ¥ % ¥ ¦ ¨ c ¢ ¤ ¨ ¦ ¦ ¢ ¦ ¢ ¨ £ ¡ ¢ ¡ ¦ ¢ § ¢ ¥ ¨ c ¦ ¨ £ ¨ £ £ ¥ ¨ ¦ ¨ £ ¦ £ ¢ § ¢ ¥ ¨ © ¢ ¢ ¨ £ ¢ ¤ ¨ ¦ ¨ ¤ ¨ £ ¦ © ¢ " ¨ £ " ¥ ¥ ¤ ¨ ¦ ¨ ¤ ¨ ¦ © ¢ c c ¢ ¢ ¨ £ c ¢ c " % c ¤ ¤ £ ¨ ¦ ¥ ¢ ¥ £ £ ¦ ¦ © ¢ © ¢ ¥ ¢ % ' ¨ £ ¢ ¢ £ ¢ £ ¦ ¦ © ¨ £ ¨ £ & " ¢ ¢ £ ¨ £ ¦ © ¨ ¥ ¦ ¨ c ¢ ¦ © ¢ ¦ ¢ ¦ ¨ ¢ c ¨ ¢ ¦ ¥ ¦ ¦ © ¢ ¤ ¨ ¦ ¨ ¥ ¢ ¨ ¤ ¢ £ ¦ © ¢ ¥ £ ¦ © ¦ ¦ © ¢ ¥ § ¨ § ¤ ¨ ¦ ¨ ¦ c ¤ ¤ £ ¨ ¦ § § ¨ " ¦ © ¢ £ % " % ¥ ¢ § ¢ £ ¦ ¨ £ ¦ © ¢ ¦ ¢ ¥ ¥ ¨ ¦ ¥ % § § ¨ ¥ ¤ ¨ £ £ ¢ ¥ ( ¥ ¢ ¤ ¨ £ ¨ c £ ¦ ¥ ¥ ¢ § ¢ ¥ ¦ © ¢ ¦ ¢ ¦ ¦ © © ¦ c £ ¦ ¥
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