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M. Pejanovic, THROUGH BOSNIAN EYES VI. SECRET MISSION TO KRAJISNIK Every new step taken at this time on behalf of the concept of a peaceful, multiethnic Bosnia was a source of optimism for the people ofSarajevo. They were still living in hope, though shells were already tearing the city apart. There were still ambitions to stop the conflict before the launch of full-scale warfare. One source of hope was the possibility of finding replacements for the two places in the Presidency left empty by the resignations of SDS members Biljana Plavsic and Nikola Koljevic. According to all regulations of the Constitution and election law, these places could be filled by those Presidential candidates of Serb nationality who had received the next highest number of votes in the elections of 1990. Next in line, therefore, was Nenad Kecmanovic, who had received 500,783 votes, some 55,000 votes fewer than Professor Koljevic. Next came myself, as the recipient of around 335,392 votes.31 Thus we were the two who, in accord with the Constitution and the election laws, should and could become new members of the Presidency in the situation created by the resignations of Plavsic and Koljevic. Naturally this was discussed with the remaining members of the Presidency and within the bloc of civic opposition parties which we represented, Kecmanovic as the Reformist candidate and myself as candidate of the SDP-DSS coalition. There were plenty of debates on this issue, both public and private. Most of my own talks were with the members of the Presidency, but at the same time I consulted with all presidents of the opposition parties, especially the SDP, which had supported my candidacy during the elections. 31 Zoran Tomic and Nevenko Herceg, Izbori u Bosni i Hercegovini (Mostar: 1998), p. 72. 59 M. Pejanovic, THROUGH BOSNIAN EYES During this period of suspense - a time of great expectation, uncertainty and fear - Professor Filipovic came to my house in Breka, and, finding me busy, suggested that we should meet up a . little later and start working together. There was much to discuss: not only our drive to form a central committee for the opposition parties, but also the ongoing talks over initiating proceedings for our entry into the Presidency. Professor Kecmanovic, after his departure for Belgrade in summer 1992, wrote at length about this period, for the Belgrade magazine NIN in particular, describing what he personally wit~essed and experienced and the people with whom he spoke. My own memories are also clear, and I remember every episode in detail. With almost every step we took, people were asking eagerly whether we had yet decided to join the Presidency and whether we would try to save this country from war and collapse. The idea that our joining the Presidency could mean the redemptionof this country and the survival of its essential ideal of multiethnic,common and equal life for the Bosnian peoples, inspired a new public mood in favor of democracy and patriotism. People were optimistic that we would help find a solution by political agreement and political means, withou~ killing or bloodshed. In this, the thinking of ordinary people was close to mine. I had accepted the arguments of the bloc of opposition parties, which were all in favor, but Professor Kecmanovic and I each had to make the decision individually. He and I met and talked together, but the decision was not an easy one to take. Personally, I was fully aware of all that was facing us, although up till now I had not'allowed myself to believe that our way of life could be so valuelessly destroyed by war. This was now an encounter with raw reality. I had ,in mind the fact that a single organized political force, the 50S, had started the war - a party that not only won a majority in the elections and within the Serb nation, but which seized for itself the right to represent the interests of all Bosnian Serbs. A model of life and values had been created in which the SDS was the global representative of the Serb nation. Historically this could not correspond with the truth, nor could one party represent a whole people - especially when other parties also had candidates who were members of the Serb nation, who had personally received mandates in the elections, and who saw the whole Bosnian question very differently. But within the 60 [3.138.122.4] Project MUSE (2024-04-19 06:56 GMT...

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