The media tsunami around doctor
Dabic, alias Karadzic, does not seem to be subsiding.
Serbian Orthodox Church in Belgrade immediately
stated that Radovan Karadzic was "a quietist
that has practiced contemplative prayer for years".
Persons familiar with Hesychasm and who read some
of St. Gregory Palama's writings were really confused
because none of it was contained in the work -
or the atrocities - of the legendary fugitive
who said himself he was a brigand. Belgrade theology
professor G. Radenkovic was not confused and said
- in Dnevnik daily, 25 July 2008 - "he is
definitely not a praying quietist, because this
degree of spirituality requires supreme spiritual
and moral qualities". Professor Radenkovic
insisted the statement was a "sacrilege of
centuries-old holy ideals that are not easily
attainable".
After a dispute whether Karadzic was a criminal
or a hero, a man killed his interlocutor in Montenegro.
Local papers reported on the funeral procession
of the poor man. The rest really looked like a
circus.
The mountains around Guca resounded and everywhere
you looked you could see icons of Radovan Karadzic
and general Mladic. Medallions and gingerbread
hearts with images of the two were sold, while
speakers invoked an Apis* to put an end to the
situation in Belgrade. No one seems to know how
this all will end.
The papers published sensationalistic photos of
Doctor Vojislav Kostunica, the then president
of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, on his
visit to Trebinje in 2000, kissing a hand of a
priest - some say it was Radovan Karadzic - because
he allegedly thought the person was a bishop.
It is highly unlikely that Doctor Kostunica was
unfamiliar with the symbolism of pectoral icon
and the persons who are entitled to wear it. There
was not much sensation in that, anyway, because
the national television RTS filmed the ceremonial
transfer of the poet Jovan Ducic's earthly remains
in Trebinje. Every person present was able to
differentiate between a bishop and those that
were not, but very few people know even today
who the monk whose hand the head of state kissed
was. It seems that this circus-like political
imbroglio needs to settle before we can tell more
- but it may not be over soon.
What we do know is that Serbian Patriarch Pavle
sent a blessed icon, which he signed in his own
hand, to Doctor Karadzic. Maybe the icon and the
prayer is what the Hague prisoner needs, but it
is less clear why the Serbian Orthodox Church
became involved, because it is an institution
to which many people are attached and would like
to feel it seriously as their Church. There will
always be church fairs, but the Serbian Orthodox
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Church should withdraw
from the circus-like politics, before
it gets hurt. Our Church has many years
of tradition behind it and should take
them into consideration, because Srebrenica
was not just any crime - some horrible
acts were proven in court and there is
much information available about them.
There will be a lot of "material"
in Karadzic's trial and maybe it would
be wiser to wait, instead of rushing to
give blessings - which is something many
persons in the episcopal office are not
aware of. Now everyone has the right to
talk and write about Srebrenica, with
the exception of the survivors and the
victims, who are not even aloud to speak.
And there has been
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a lot of talking and a lot of writing and a lot
of lying on all sides. The persons who knew Karadzic,
who harbored him, provided food and clothes and
took him to places now claim they did not recognize
him, while strangers claim they knew him and speak
tasteless nonsense. The persons who knew who doctor
Dabic was and who were his "make-up artists"
were the same persons that arrested him and sent
him to the Hague. The rest is a real circus and
brigand legend, as if we did not have enough of
that. Persons who have read the famous P. Todorovic's
reports written at the end of the 19th century
about brigands and their coupling with the radicals
may very well assume that the history is repeating.
Literally and shatteringly and in our papers.
Truth be told, it is difficult to separate the
circus from the serious things at our fair, and
there is plenty of both. The media also embrace
the fair-like atmosphere - the joyful abundance.
It may seem like a joke but it is not - Vuk Draskovic
quite seriously explained - according to Pravda
daily, 14 August 2008 - the Nicene-Constantinopolitan
dogma about the Holy Trinity from 381 that is
"of the same essence" in this way: "Tesla
was contemplating one day the idea of the Holy
Trinity and it was the germ of the idea that resulted
in alternating current". This statement is
equally perplexing for theologians and scientists.
Another newspaper - Gazeta, 13 August 2008 - reported
in large print on its front page about a "Vidovdan
Testament" in Vienna, and a call, posted
on banners, to Serbs to give contributions "for
assassination of Boris Tadic". Vienna police
took the thing seriously, while in Serbia it is
a common practice and similar actions disturb
few spirits.
The already mentioned publication of Serbian radicals,
Pravda, presented computer "games" that
were described in detail and recommended: "In
the game you aim Ceda Jovanovic's portrait, which
turns by one click of the mouse into a bloody
spot". These were Belgrade papers published
in July 2008, and not in May 1903 - which announced
in detail how the treasonous dynasty of King Aleksandar
and Queen Draga would end.
A circus-like atmosphere or something similar
is also present on the political scene. The head
of our state Boris Tadic arrived in Beijing to
provide support to our athletes. A circus-like
insipid gesture ensued. Our president was sitting
right behind his American counterpart George Bush.
Electronic media caught every gesture and every
word - and for a reason, because there is nothing
accidental in the actions of world leaders. It
is not easy to explain all that Boris Tadic did
and then said to his American counterpart. Maybe
some of his advisers made a practical joke on
the Serbian president, because the three fingers
was never a traditional Serbian salute and it
had nothing to do with the Holy Trinity. The United
States president had better advisers, who explained
the gesture by recalling it was the salute of
Srebrenica "heroes", who shout Karadzic's
and Mladic's names in Belgrade streets. Furthermore,
George Bush was told that this was the salute
made by the head of the Independent State of Croatia
when he met with the reporters after the "historical"
meeting with Hitler in 1943.
* Dragutin Dimitrijevic Apis, a colonel in
the army of the Kingdom of Serbia who organized
a putsch against King Aleksandar Obrenovic
