This Monday in Serbia we had two funerals - one real, one symbolic.
The first was officially organized by the family of General Ratko Mladić, whose remains were buried at the Topčider cemetery after the funeral. Although this is a wartime commander of the Army of Republika Srpska, convicted at the Hague Tribunal for war crimes, the state provided the family with not only logistical help, but Mladić was buried with full state honors.
Truth be told, President Vučić was not among the mourners - he found a way to avoid attending the funeral, but the entire state leadership was present. With the transmission on several televisions, we could see a large number of ministers and the highest state officials, as well as a column accompanied by military honors. Some TV stations have been preparing for this media event for days, which was obviously used for daily political purposes. The message to the voters is that Vučić is the greatest Serb, the greatest patriot who will not bow to The Hague, the West or the EU. Vučić's regime is portrayed as the "defender of Serbia" who is fighting against the historical injustices brought upon us by the Hague Tribunal.
Photo: Tanjug/Miloš MilivojevićFuneral of Ratko Mladic
Of course, Vučić never questioned the recognition of this court, its decisions or, God forbid, terminated cooperation with The Hague and annulled its decisions. Instead, for decades he and the radicals have been doing everything to portray The Hague as a place where Serbs are judged unfairly.
In this revision of history and construction of the myth about innocent Serbs, the only victims, there is no place for crimes committed in the name of Serbia and Serbs, only for victims and heroes. I wonder why that trip to Srebrenica, when this same Vučić wanted to pay his respects to the victims who were killed when the Serbian units were commanded by Ratko Mladić.
Photo: AP Photo/Marko DrobnjakovicAleksandar Vučić in Potočari, July 11, 2015.
We could feel that continuous noise of double messages during the transmission of the procession with the coffin, which was followed by thousands of people from the church to the cemetery. Mladić, despite the fact that he was a communist officer, became a Serbian hero with almost supernatural powers, and Milorad Dodik, who previously openly criticized him, changed his statements about him. We also forgot about the multi-year search for Mladić who was hiding, and who was actually hidden by a part of the secret services from the part that was looking for him.
This state spectacle may not have bothered Vučić's voters, but it distanced us even more from the environment - primarily from BiH, which reduced diplomatic ties with Serbia to a historic minimum. Marta Kos, who postponed her visit to Serbia, was not enthusiastic either, but that's why the visit of the President of Uzbekistan went well. You will understand that like like like is happy if you read more carefully about the state of media freedom and human rights in Uzbekistan.
But as soon as Mladic was buried, Prime Minister Đuro Macut announced an invitation to President Vučić to dissolve the Assembly and call new elections. Matsut actually committed political harakiri only two months after it was concluded in the Assembly, at a special session on confidence in the Government, that this is the historic Government that received the highest marks, preserved the peace and stability of the country, reduced tensions and united the country, and I don't know what else it did great. Macut toured the villages in a van and at the fairs, together with Minister Lončar, inspected the villagers who did not know where their health center was. In any country, the fall of the Government would be the main news, but even on this occasion, Macut did not fight for a picture on the front pages of newspapers, except sometimes in the size of the passport photo, which is always accompanied by either Vučić or Mladić, who are incomparably larger. We actually already knew that Vučić was chosen as the only candidate for prime minister at the main board of the SNS, that the government would have only 12 ministries instead of 30 or so, and that Vučić would call for elections either on September 9 or 10.
Photo: Tanjug/Jadranka IlićConsumer goods: Đuro Macut
I remembered how Prime Minister Cvetković, from the time when Boris Tadić was president, was portrayed by cartoonist Marko Somborac as a cafe cook. With Đuro Macuta, that already small importance was further reduced below the level of recognition. For me, two gaffes will be remembered, one of which is his misspelled name in a document published by the Serbian Government office and delivered to the media. Another example is the counter rally at Autokomanda, when Vučić's security did not recognize him and shoved him aside in front of the cameras.
Vučić publicly presided over Government sessions, scolding ministers, humiliating them, while Macut had the task of opening the session and giving Vučić the floor. This is the man who allegedly had lunch at the "27" restaurant the day after the murder was committed there, and we have no idea whether it was intentional or accidental. We did not receive an answer to this question, which can be answered with "yes" or "no" in the Assembly. That's why I have the impression that nobody will remember Prime Minister Matsuto and his historic mandate for too long. The man managed not to speak out on any important state issue.
In Serbia, registration for the famous 6000 dinars from the State Action Fund has begun, and the payment of this money to deceased shareholders has also been announced. When money is handed out to the living and the dead, it usually means that there will be an election soon. If Serbia now gets involved in pre-election fever and if Vučić really calls for elections, we will have elections sometime around the time Ratko Mladić is given forty days. Cemetery politics again.
