Slobodan Milošević – demon czy zbawca narodu serbskiego?

Abstract

Slobodan Milošević’s brilliant political career began from the speech delivered on Kosovo Field in April 1987. The sentence ”nobody has the right to beat you” captivated Serbian crowds, complaining about discrimination from Kosovars. His theses about the necessity of reconstruction of the historical position of Serbia, the restoration of autonomic districts (Vojvodina and Kosovo) for the fatherland, found an acknowledgement in society. Taking an advantage of the situation, he conducted the ”antibureaucracy revolution”, which enabled him to gain power in the Communist Party. Milešević being only a messenger of his nation, executing his infallible will. Therefore the whole fame fell to the nation. On the other hand, the commander did not hold any responsibilities for defeats. The commander received support from a part of artistic environments and the Orthodox Church as well. The culture was the essential aspect of kindling the Serbian nationalism as well as the necessity to defend the Serbian language. According to many poets, Serbian culture was (is?) not limited to state borders, even to terrains where Serbian minority lived, but it was connected with ”spiritual space”, which was even where there had been no Serbs for decades (centuries). Through years Milošević was altering his rhetoric – he started with critic of nationalism, but in the end he became its propagator. There is no categorical answer to the question if Milošević was guilty of the break–up of Yugoslavia? It is doubtless that nationalisms among nations of former Yugoslavia caused the explosion of the bloody civil war. However, it might have been assumed that the economic and political situation created circumstances for radical moods to grow among nations of this state. Also the geopolitical situation changed fundamentally in 1991. Middle East conflict became a priority of the USA foreign policy, France and Great Britain weren’t involved themselves in saving Yugoslavia. In this circumstances, the war had already decided about the borders of the indenpendent republics. Over a decade of Slobodan Milošević’s rules brought Serbia to huge economic and political crisis. De facto, this country lost its importance in the region, as well as its territory (Kosovo). Many Serbs live outside Serbian boarders in Croatia, Bosnia and Kosovo as well. NATO raids ruined the infrastructure of the country, UN embargo ruined economy. In the years 1992 – 1994 inflation reached the world record of 313 million % (!). Milošević, overthrown in 2001, was passed on to the Hague War Crimes Tribunal, being accused of the heaviest crimes against mankind. The Court did not manage to judge him – he died for heart attack in a prison cell in 2006.