yugoslavias implosion

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ChApter 1
all-Yugoslav solidarity in confronting Serbia’s aggressive attitude
also laid bare the impotence of pro-Yugoslav politicians in the republican
leaderships to stand up to what had been a long time coming. It
was only after he struck against Albanian miners that Slovenia pulled
its men from the federal special forces unit. Slovenia warned that
this was no longer a matter of relations within Serbia and that the
future of Yugoslavia was at stake.
Paradoxically, while destroying the multiethnic autonomy in
Vojvodina and Kosovo recognized by the federal constitution, Belgrade
insisted on ethnic autonomy for the Serbs in Croatia although
the federal constitution contained no provision for such autonomy.
After the dissolution of the League of Communists of Yugoslavia
at its Thirteenth Congress in January 1990, Milošević announced that
“Serbia has to prepare itself to live without Yugoslavia.” He also said,
“Our goal is to establish borders within which there will be no war.
Outside those borders war cannot be avoided.” 128At the federal level,
efforts were still being made to come to national agreement. The six
republican presidents held summits at Ohrid, Brioni, Cetinje, Brdo
(near Kranj), Belgrade, and Sarajevo to try to patch up their differences,
but their disagreement only grew greater. Milošević’s arrogant
attitude at press conferences following these gatherings was publicly
approved in Serbia, where most people understood his behavior
as a reflection of his superiority. The first multiparty elections were
held in 1990 in all the republics except Serbia. Milošević paralyzed
the federation because he commanded four votes in Yugoslavia’s
collective Presidency, having managed to gain control of not only
Vojvodina and Kosovo but also Montenegro. He refused to recognize
the new legitimate government in Croatia and its representative
Stipe Mesić (who was supposed to succeed Borisav Jović as president
of the Yugoslav Presidency). He also fully embraced the nationalist
program and employed mass rallies as a tool to achieve national
128 Borisav Jović, Last Days of SFR Yugoslavia (Poslednji dani SFRJ , p . 131 .