yugoslavias implosion

Tito, who by his visionary inspiration and personal ability succeeded
in bringing together all the Yugoslav nations and nationalities in the
struggle for national and class emancipation. And also in the struggle
for life together, the centuries-old dream of all the Yugoslav
peoples.” 98
Milošević’s first visit to Kosovo in April 1987 made him aware of
the potency of nationalism and marked a turning point in the treatment
of the Kosovo problem. At a meeting of the Serbian lcy Central
Committee in June 1987, Milošević acquiesced to the view that the
situation in Kosovo must be addressed, though he did not adopt the
nationalist line: “Yugoslavia as a state is not abolished, so it ought to
and must exercise its functions. I know of no more pressing function
of a state than its obligation to protect the physical integrity of all its
citizens. … [T]herefore I consider that one ought no longer to appeal
to the Serbs and Montenegrins [in Kosovo] to be patient. … [A]ppeals
for patience sound hypocritical, to say the least.” 99
Until the Eighth Session of the Serbian Central Committee in
September 1987, Milošević behaved as a politician trying to enlist
the Communist Party in confronting the accumulated economic,
social, and political problems, a politician taking a highly critical
view of Serbian nationalism. The appearance of the energetic
and determined Milošević was welcomed in the conservative circles
within republican parties that were apprehensive of reform and
transition and saw in him a chance to recentralize Yugoslavia. Conservative
party stalwarts and leading figures in the ypa—men such
as Nikola Ljubičić, Petar Stambolić, Dobrivoje Vidić, and Branko
Mamula—played an important part in Milosević’s rise to power. A
man of the system, Milošević quickly grasped the importance of a
98 Ibid ., address to the League of Communists of Serbia Central
Committee Presidency, September 1987, p . 162 .
99 Slobodan Milošević, Godine raspleta, pp . 154–56 .
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