-----Original Message----- From: Michael Pugliese <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: Partija rada <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Cc: Vladimir Krsljanin <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>; International Action Center <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>; Owen Jones <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>; Mrs. Jela Jovanovic <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>; Down with Capitalism <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Date: 19 April, 2001 6:59 PM Subject: SPS FALLING APART >SPS FALLING APART > >Members of Serbia's former ruling party are abandoning it in droves > >By Sinisa Stanimirovic in Belgrade > >The arrest of former president Slobodan Milosevic has left his once powerful >Socialist Party of Serbia, SPS, in ruins. > >Even though Milosevic tries vainly to pull party strings from inside jail, >the days of the SPS are plainly numbered. Most of its leadership is either >in prison or on the way there. The party is drowning in debt as creditors >suddenly become bold enough to demand their money, a step they dared not >take for years. > >Some SPS officials fear for their lives at the hands of vengeful opponents >who suffered in the Milosevic years. Many SPS members are rushing to switch >to other parties. > >After Milosevic's arrest, the SPS leadership was taken over by former >foreign minister Zivadin Jovanovic, now under investigation for allegedly >issuing a diplomatic passport to Milosevic's son Marko. > >Serbian president Milan Milutinovic, who is accused of war crimes by the >Hague tribunal, resigned from the post of the SPS vice-president last week. > >The former speaker of the Serbian parliament, Dragan Tomic, once a senior >party official, was expelled from the SPS on charges of financially ruining >the party. > >Since 5 October, the party has lost nearly 250,000 people - half its >membership. > >Some of the defectors joined the Serbian Social Democratic Party headed by >former Yugoslav president Zoran Lilic and some went to the Democratic >Socialist Party, led by a formerly close associate of Milosevic, Milorad >Vucelic. > >There are no big names in Lilic's party, except the former head of the >secret police, Jovica Stanisic. Vucelic's party includes one-time senior >party officials - Borisav Jovic, Zeljko Simic, Goran Percevic, Slobodan >Jovanovic, Petar Skundric and Dusanka Djogo. > >Kostunica's Democratic Party of Serbia decided not to let in anyone from the >Left. But in the Serbian provinces rich entrepreneurs from the SPS are >managing to wheedle their way in with cash. > >A hard core of SPS members have remained loyal to the party and to >Milosevic. They include Branislav Ivkovic, Ivica Dacic, Zivorad Igic, Gorica >Gajevic, Oskar Kovac. Two others Uros Suvakovic and Dragoljub Ivanovic have >been arrested and Mihalj Kertes, Nikola Sainovic and Jovan Zebic are under >investigation. > >>From his prison cell, Milosevic recently tried to dismiss the party's >secretary general Zoran Andjekovic. In a letter conveyed by his wife, >Mirjana Markovic, Milosevic complained that Andjelkovic was not by her >husband's side at the moment of his arrest. But Andjelkovic had a good >excuse - he was having gall bladder operation at the time. > >One party leader said those SPS officials who are left engage in bitter >recriminations over who was to blame for various illegal deeds. Panic grows >among them as police investigate their property and financial transactions >while in power. > >Our source claims that Branislav Ivkovic is constantly being reminded by his >party comrades about the time when he was at the head of the Serbian >government commission for housing, when flats were being given away in large >numbers. > >Threats are also directed at Milan Milutinovic, who formally remains the >Serbian president. He is one of the five on the Hague wanted list and has >been refusing any contact with Milosevic recently. > >"Milutinovic is constantly being warned to be careful what he says, because >if Slobo goes to The Hague he will not be far behind," our source said. >Gorica Gajevic, until recently a secretary general of the SPS and one of >Milosevic's most loyal associates, is frequently being mentioned in >connection with industrial scandals. She is also in fear of her life, after >mobs threatening political revenge broke into her flat on two occasions. > >Most SPS officials who stuck with Milosevic to the end find it is now too >late to change direction. They know they will not find a job anywhere >outside the party. Informed sources within the police and the judiciary >predict that almost the entire former and present leadership of the SPS will >end up behind bars. > >The party's financial situation is dire. Accountants estimate its total >debts at some 10 million German marks. The party owes money to the Radio >Television Serbia, RTS, and several other big state enterprises. > >Nenad Ristic, RTS director, said Andjelkovic had agreed that instead of >money, the party should hand over three of the eight local television >stations it owns. > >The state directorate in charge of rebuilding the country has said it will >soon present the Serbian government with a list of debts owed to it by >institutions and individuals, a list on which the SPS will figure >prominently. > >The State Bureau for Accounts and Payments had blocked the central account >of the SPS for three months because of, as we have unofficially learnt, a >debt of four million dinars (over 130,000 marks). > >The Serbian government is asking all SPS government officials to return what >they took from the state. Under the previous government, some 150 official >mobile phones went missing at a cost of over 500,000 marks. The tally of >missing computers and other equipment is still being assessed. The SPS >claims that none of this ended in party hands. > >In November last year, the federal parliament adopted legislation on the >financing of parties, specifying that the SPS must return property it >inherited from the former Communist League of Yugoslavia ten years ago. > >At the moment, the only functioning party building is SPS headquarters wher e >about 20 people are still employed. At other branches, most employees no >longer show up for work. > >The SPS, it seems, is falling apart at the seams. "There is a great >confusion after the arrest of Milosevic", commented one SPS member. "Those >leaders who are left are too worried about themselves to think about the >fate of the party." > >Sinisa Stanimirovic is a regular IWPR contributor _______________________________________________ Marxist-Leninist-List mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] To change your options or unsubscribe go to: http://lists.wwpublish.com/mailman/listinfo/marxist-leninist-list
