Author(s): Uroš V. Šuvaković / Language(s): Serbian
Issue: 1-2/2019
Using the content analysis of available documents and literature, the basic thesis of the paper argues that pluralization of the Serbian society is directly connected with the „opening of the Kosovo issue“ and resolving the position of Serbs and Montenegrins in Kosovo and Metohija (K&M), in the ‘80s of the 20th century. The actions undertaken by Albanian separatists and chauvinists, discriminating Serbs and Montenegrins in K&M, attacking lives, properties and cultural (primarily sacral, orthodox) inheritance of Serbs and Montenegrins in the area of the southern Serbian autonomous province, had the goal to create ethnically pure (Albanian) Kosovo by forced migration of members of the referred nations. It was only the first step in creating conditions for obtaining the status of the seventh Yugoslav republic, later to secede from Yugoslavia and accede to Albania, creating so-called „Great Albania“, as the accomplishment of the final goal of Albanian chauvinists planned even by the First League of Prizren in 1878. However, these actions provoked reaction of citizens of Serbian and Montenegrin nationalities, who organized themselves and started public actions at the social-political scene of Serbia, by going to the highest state officials, petitions, gatherings, meetings... It was a novelty in the political practice of the socialist Yugoslavia, on one hand bringing the support and solidarity of the citizens of Serbia, Montenegro, Macedonia, while on the other hand bringing the accusations for awakening of „Great Serbia nationalism“, arriving from the western Yugoslav republics, primarily from Slovenia and Croatia. Serbian resistance movement was a democratic and mass movement of Serbs from K&M. The fact of self-organization of citizens who are at risk is a democratic act. It was democratic also because it was pleading for the protection of basic human rights of Serbs and Montenegrins, jeopardized in K&M. Likewise, in the later phase, the advocacy was going in the direction of the constitutional revision in Serbia for „its equality with other Yugoslav republics“, which was a democratic advocacy. Besides, although the members were numerous Serbs and Montenegrins from K&M – members of the League of Communists of Yugoslavia (LCY), the talks, gathering, meetings organized by this movement were characterized by critical spirit, critical word and free demonstration of thoughts and attitudes. It was a mass movement because only a few Serbs from Kosmet were not participating in it. National and democratic are usually opposed. We do not see any conflict here, especially not in this case: citizens Serbs and Montenegrins in K&M were jeopardized as the members of those nations by Albanian separatists, therefore they established the Movement that was national for those reasons; simultaneously, they pleaded for the human rights for those who were jeopardized, but they were pointing out at every moment that their request was the equality, meaning also the equality in accomplishment of human rights, which is a democratic and civic principle. The support of Slobodan Milosevic to deprived Serbian and Montenegrin people in Kosovo and Metohija, the conclusions from the 9th session of the Central Committee of the LCY and the 8th session of the Central Committee of the League of Communists of Serbia, which was broadcasted directly for the first time in the socialist practice of all the European socialist states, represented the important points in the pluralization of the Serbian society, with the function of Gorbachev’s „glasnost“ and Habermas’ „parliamentary debates“ regarding the formation of political public opinion. The „meetings of truth“, i. e. the „meetings of solidarity” had a special importance, dispelling from the political scene the ossified political oligarchy, contributing to democracy of political system and starting its pluralization. Solidary awakened acting of citizens, as well as the work of the Committee for defending freedom of thoughts and expressions and the cooperation of the movement with it, especially on formation and affirming in public of the Petition 2011, but also with simultaneous publishing of the SASA Memorandum, and finally the change of the political course of the League of Communists of Serbia especially regarding the issue of K&M, represented the publishing of the renewal of the political pluralism in the Serbian society that, in the form of multi-party system, de iure comes in 1990 with adoption of the new Constitution of the Republic of Serbia, the first in the history of Serbian constitutionalism where political parties are explicitly mentioned.
More...
