The Contribution of Women to Peace and Reconciliation

miss individual politicians and entire leaderships. Within a few months,
some 5000 activists were sacked.
In March 1989, under his leadership, the Serbian constitution was changed
and placed above the Yugoslav constitution. With this act, Serbia in effect
seceded and withdrew from the Yugoslav state. Unfortunately, the act
and its implications were taken seriously neither in Yugoslavia nor abroad.
The Albanians protested in Kosovo against the simultaneous unilateral
Serbian abolition of the autonomy of the provinces, which was imposed
at the same time. Again they were shot upon, twenty-two demonstrators
died. The battle against the Albanians strengthened the Serbian nationalistic
movement, its mass rallies which drew ever more people. On
June 28, 1989, two million people assembled on the “Field of the Blackbirds”
to commemorate the 600th anniversary of the lost Battle of Kosovo.
In his speech, Miloševi announced that Serbs were once again
fighting a battle – without weapons, although these were not precluded.
This remark too was not taken seriously, it provoked no reactions.
The later war criminal Zeljko Raznjatovic, ´
“Arkan”, organized thousands
of unemployed young men in paramilitary units to give them a sense of
importance and belonging which they frequently missed so – like their
parents, who had left their villages after the Second World War and settled
in industrial areas. They were ready to fight for Serbia and at the
same time wanted to gain status symbols for themselves: stereos,
money, recognition, respect.
Miloševic´ thought that control of the party would secure him control of
Yugoslavia. At the Party Congress on January 22, 1990, his attempt to
abolish the autonomy of the party in the republics failed. Since no agreement
could be reached, the Slovenian Communists left the hall early.
That demolished the political leadership of the country as its bearing pillar.
This event was interpreted in Europe as a conflict between Serbian
nationalism and the new democracies in Slovenia and Croatia. Once
again, there was no reaction.
Within the government, there were various attempts to get out of the
Yugoslav crisis peacefully. The Slovenian and later also the Croatian lead-
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