Politics in July 1999

*Srebrenica - four years later

It has been four years since the fall of Srebrenica. Four years since this town has entered the new Bosnian and world history in the most cruel way possible.
Speak the best about the dead ones. And usually, everyone is trying to say something.
Also this time, many have gathered around Srebrenica memorial activities, feeling the need to say "something". Just anything at all.
The central manifestation to mark the fall of Srebrenica, under the name "Let's Not Forget", took place in the middle of the last month in Tuzla. As it usually happens, political commissioners visited the survivers from Srebrenica - families of the killed, war invalids, demobilized fighters... Their only purpose is to be visited once a year, so the politicians who were accomplicers in these people's tragedy, could release themselves from the guilt, once a year. Again, till the next anniversary. Along with some promises that are used only before the elections.
As I said, some more-or-less wellmeaning people have come to Tuzla - members of local authorities, and many other foreign activists, politicians. Dutch, and others.
To remind you, Dutch units that were part of the UN troops, were securing the protected zone of Srebrenica. But they failed to defend it properly, now fellow-citizens are there to lay down flowers, Maybe they even defend the "innocence of the army" and honour of the country they come from. With an inevitable compassion. Hypocrisy or something else?
I have enough prejudice and and bitterness to leave the answer to this question to others.
But, not the politicians or the foreigners managed to answer the question which is a lot more important and I'm wondering; probably this is out of place. Why and did Srebrenica have to happen? Was it really necessary to send 10.000 people to death?
For what and why?
Maybe they are not able to answer this, but they are showing compassion through an enormous doze of sympathy. There they are, gathered around the deceased. All of them, whose "guilty conscience" made them to be a part of the manifestation. If they were more determend four years earlier, the history would have been different.
But it's too late today.
For many things.
I'm sure there will be other political commissioners and citizens of other states that will be equally sorry and laying flowers, but this time in Kosovo. And somewhere else after that.
The list is getting longer day by day. And Srebrenica is just another metaphore for mass human slaughter houses which are becoming a very frequent custom at the end of the 20th century.
Blood (ours, of course) is the easiest and the fastest way of getting money these days. And the money makes the world go round.
We'll talk about humanity some other time.
* Pact on Stability in Southeast Europe - Summit in Sarajevo
One of the signs that International Community didn't forget this country (in the words of one of our own politicians), is the summit that is taking place in Sarajevo at the end of this month. The pact on stability is the first of more meetings whith the goal to improve the safety situations in this part of the continent.
It is expected 4000 diplomats and all 66 heads of the Pact members to come during 29 and 30 July. There is only one number 6 missing to imply something evil, but, no bad ideas this time. One high officer in Bosnian police, described this as the arrival of, not one, but 66 Popes. So it should be treated as such. The most important figure in all this is Bill Clinton, in person. It is clear that it's impossible to decide about anything without the USA influence. Even if it had very little (or nothing) to do with America.
The biggest part of the organization is up to state institutions with a help from SFOR and International cops.
It is interesting that the summit costs will be only around 6 million marks. And, of course, it would be naive to believe that the EU will cover the costs. Most of them will be payed by this unfortunate country. But who ever notices small things like that in a situation when starvation is at the door of many houses in B&H, the industry iss collapsing, waiting for their new privat owner and only a few get salaries. The summit is what matters.
We wanted a summit - we've got it.
Those who should will make money on it. And they like to point out that the profit doesn't matter. What matters is for Sarajevo to get the supreme political meaning and event.
It's nice to have an excuse.
Enormous sums of money have been taken out of the national budget, but it's obvious that idividuals will get the profit at the expense of the country. That's why it's clear why the country won't give the money to those who received the title of social cases during the war, such as starving workers, pensioners and others. There are more and more of them each day. The only way of making money on this people is by taking from them, not giving.
All city services are at their best, to make everything look best for the summit. It is unknown why we can't have Sarajevo like that always, clean and beautiful as one communal organization says. Maybe the recipe for that is to have summit every other day. Sarajevo is cleaner than ever. Anything that can be fixed is being fix. Does this town exist for the people who live in it or for the beasts that crawl wherever they can smell blood and money, covered with hundreds of cameras? I'm sorry to say that this latter thing seems to be closer to the truth.
A few months ago, I wrote about Sarajevo as it really is. In a place reallity is treu. I wrote about the flea-market in the centre of the town, where misery has come up to the surface, like never before. Without make-up. A couple of days ago, the bulldozers destroyed the last tracks of that side of Sarajevo. As well as the hope of the people that were selling the last parts of their belongings in order to earn some money for surviving the following day. That image of Sarajevo is unwanted in catalogues that will be offered to visitors. Brecht's story of the mother killing her own children proved to be true once again. After successfully chancing people in killing machines, now these people are pushed to ruins.
It's been little discussed about the contest of the summit itself. That's probably the least interesting part. Do you expect something radical or spectacular? A new assassination or something like that? I don't.
Euphoria is beginning.
A big circus is coming to town and the race for money and excitement is growing day by day.
We'll talk about the result the month.